Chapter three
Terrible two's
It was a wet afternoon in the Underworld, the rain poured down from the black clouds in the sky giving the plant life some much needed water to drink. The last two weeks was humid and dry and if it wasn't for the sudden rain fall, the plant life would have wilted and died.
Inside the palace was chaos, with everyone rushing around searching for someone, who had decided to disappear out of thin air. The maids were searching high and low in every room, the kitchen staff were searching the kitchen and the huge stock room. They were also on their second round in doing so, just in case they missed an area a toddler might squeeze into.
"Where could he be?" Ruby asked herself as she looked in the library with Tanya, both searching high and low but not having any luck.
Outside the weather was getting worse with hypnotising flashes of purple lighting and bangs of thunder that was as loud as a drum being played right next to your ear drum. The rain was smashing onto the ground a little harder then it was earlier too.
In the throne room, Collin was looking behind the golden throne chairs, where they would when having meetings with the council. Collin sighed seeing that his missing son wasn't there but he did find the missing red teething ring Shadow lost a little over a year ago.
"Ok think where would a two year old hide…I think I preferred it when he was teething at least we could control on what he bit." Collin whispered in a low tone as he examined the red teething ring in his hand that had many teeth marks and dented holes going all the way round.
Emily burst into the throne room and ran up to her husband with a worried look. Her eyes were puffy from crying and cheeks stained by fallen tears that had long since dried.
"No one can find him we have searched the whole palace…you don't suppose he's out in the garden in this storm, he will get ill being so young or worse." Emily announced as tears threatened to fall out of her eyes yet again over her missing son.
"Come on lets go out and look." Collin said wiping a tear from his wife's cheek that fell and then grabbing her hand to rush outside.
They both reached the garden entrance within seconds and looked out. The rain was coming down so fierce it was damaging the grass, causing muddy patches to form. A sudden roar of thunder made the two jump a little and they gasp as they witnessed a streak of lighting strike down in the distance of the garden.
"SHADOW!" Emily shouted as loud as she could, clapping her hands beside her muzzle so her voice was made louder, but didn't get a reply.
"Stay here and I'll search around." Collin announced in a comforting tone to his extremely upset wife.
Emily nodded and watched helplessly as her husband rushed off into the rain to find their lost son. Collin went deep into the garden searching frantically for Shadow. He stopped as he heard a faint noise of a young child giggling and bushes being rustled in the distance. Collin quickly moved to the source of the noise and as he got closer he froze when her heard Shadow's voice.
"Splash….oooo pretty lights." Shadow said splashing in a muddy puddle then stopped and looked up as a flash lit up the sky.
"Shadow!" Collin called in a relieved and annoyed tone as he approached his soaked and muddy child.
"Daddy…da skys is pretty, looks." Shadow said happily as he pointed up with a smile.
Collin sighed at his son, realising Shadow clearly didn't know the havoc he had caused, and was slowly becoming less annoyed and more thankful that Shadow wasn't harmed in any way or kidnapped.
"Come on Shadow lets go back inside and get you dried and cleaned up, we don't want you to get ill." Collin suggested, taking a hold of his son's little hand and slightly dragging Shadow towards the palace in a some what quick pace.
"No I no wanna go inside I wanna stay outs." Shadow whined trying to pull himself free from his fathers grasp .
"NO SHADOW, STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Collin shouted over the roars of thunder.
Shadow continued to struggle within his fathers grip but from the amount of rain that was falling onto their hands, caused Shadow's hand to slip out of Collins grasp. Since Shadow was pulling with all of his might to break free, the sudden freeness of his hand made him fall backwards with such a force he landed a few feet away from his father, making him bang his head in the process.
Collin gasped and ran to his son who was laying on his back on the ground with his eyes closed and hissing through clenched teeth from the impact. As Collin rushed to aid his son, he slipped also and landed next to Shadow in a muddy puddle face down. Collin lifted himself up onto his knees, wiped some of the mud from his face, he picked Shadow up and sat him onto his lap as he moved to a sitting position.
"Are you alright Shadow?" Collin whispered into his son's ear as he cuddled him.
"N-no's…I is h-hurt back of head." Shadow sobbed into his fathers muddy chest and clutching Collins soaking wet robes.
Collin rubbed the back of Shadow head gently and mumbled soothing sounds to him as he lifted the both of them up and headed inside where Emily was worryingly waiting.
"Thank goodness you found him…Shadow what was you doing outside in this weather?" Emily said in a relieved tone then questioned her wet and muddy son in a serious tone.
"I…I was plays i-in rain a-and looks a-at pretty sky." Shadow sobbed out with tears of pain running down his cheeks then added "I is hurt head."
"Hush now sweetie it's alright mummy isn't angry with you. What! he hurt his head, how?" Emily said softening her tone and smiling lovingly towards Shadow then questioned her husband in a shocked tone when she realised her son was hurt.
"He will be fine Emily, he slipped onto his back had banged his head on the wet grass. I'm sure it is more shock then anything." Collin explained in a soft voice as he comforted his upset son.
"Well if you're sure…I'll go and let everyone know he is safe and you go get the both of you cleaned up." Emily sighed as she spoke back to her husband.
Collin nodded and watched Emily walk off in the direction of the library first. Collin rushed off in the opposite direction towards his and Emily's bedroom. Shadow had calmed down by the time they entered and walked into the bathroom. Shadow was somewhat looking forward to finding out what bath time with his father was going to be like. If his father had bathed him before, he couldn't recall what it was like.
Collin put Shadow down and started to run a warm bath for the two of them. Shadow stood at the side of the tub and watched silently at what his father was doing. He then reached to touch the water and splashed it a little as his father sorted out the towels for them both.
The bath was finally done and Collin stripped his son from the muddy blue jeans and t-shirt then Collin stripped himself of his black jeans and red robe. He gently put Shadow into the bath, passed Shadow his light blue rubber duck and then carefully climbing in as well, keeping his wings folded into his back so to make more room for Shadow to move and splash about.
"Lets get you cleaned up first then you will have more time to play. How does that sound?" Collin suggested in a loving tone.
Shadow nodded while making the blue duck swim on the surface of the water and with that Collin got to work, grabbing the children's body wash, squeezing a small amount into his hand, foaming it up a bit then started cleaning his son's black and red head quills first.
"Ouch…head stills hurt daddy." Shadow complained in a slight whisper as his eyes started to form tears.
"I'm sorry my son, I'll be more gentle." Collin apologised then started to clean Shadow's body once he finished.
Shadow started to giggle as his father cleaned the ticklish spots on his body, mainly his sides and where his small patch of white chest fluff was. His giggles turned into a laughing fit as his father took advantage of the situation at hand, trying to distract his son from his sore head.
"So you're ticklish here…oh and here…and most definitely here." Collin stated as he attacked his son with the tips of his fingers, going from one place to another.
"Hahahaha, hehehe y-yes I tickle, I tickle there." Shadow laughed out with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks, completely forgetting about his sore head.
"See bath time with daddy is fun…ok you're all clean so now it is my turn. Play nicely ok Shadow." Collin said with a smile, receiving a nod from Shadow then started scrubbing the mud off his own fur.
Once Collin was finished he slowly stepped out of the bath and wrapped a large bath towel around his bottom half. He then picked Shadow up and put him down beside the bath tub, pulling the plug out before wrapping Shadow in a smaller bath towel.
They both walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom area. Collin noticed Shadow's clean clothes and a soft bristled brush on the bed and silently thanked his wife for dropping them off, that was something Collin had forgot to get from Shadow's room in fact he forget to go to his son's room altogether.
Collin kneeled to his sons height and started to dry his wet but clean fur. When he was finished Shadow had become a small yet cute ball of fluff. This made Shadow frown a little and crossed his arms over his puffy out white chest fur, he didn't like being all fluffy so he tiptoed to grab the brush from the edge of the bed, sat down on the floor and started to brush down his black and red fur before starting on his white patch.
Collin, seeing this decided to allow his son to brush what areas he could reach and got to drying himself. Since Shadow was still brushing himself and doing so very slowly Collin, once dry, started to dress himself in clean clothes and a fresh red robe.
"Alright my son it's my turn to brush your fur." Collin announced warmly as he was given the smallish brush.
"I no like fluff, no want fluffy daddy." Shadow ordered to his father who got to work on Shadow's head quills and avoiding Shadow's sore spot.
"Don't worry my son once your adult fur comes, no longer will you have to put up with having puffy or fluffy fur ever again." Collin assured Shadow while gentle brushing down his un-brushed head quills while sitting on the bedroom floor.
When the brushing ritual was done, Collin got Shadow dressed in the clothes his wife picked out for Shadow to wear. Shadow was put in a creamy coloured jumper and a baggy pair of grey jeans with an elastic waistband, so it was easy for him to pull them up and down for when he needs to use the potty. Collin also, with difficulty, put a pair of white socks on Shadow. It was difficult because that was another place Shadow was ticklish, on the soles and sides of his feet. He wouldn't stop squirming and laughing every time Collin touched or went near his feet.
Once the two were presentable, Collin gathered up his and Shadow's wet and dirty laundry out of the bathroom, dumped it in the laundry basket along with the used towels and picked it up to take down to the laundry room. While he did this Shadow stood and watched with curiosity, holding his brush close to his chest with both hands, to put back into his room opposite to his parents.
"What daddy doing with dat?" Shadow asked as he pointed to the laundry basket and looking up to his father with a puzzled expression and tilting his head slightly to one side.
"I'm taking our dirty clothes and wet towels to the laundry room so they can be washed, dried and ironed, ready to be warn and used again on another day." Collin answered as he picked up his son with his free hand.
"I come to…peas" Shadow replied with a pleading look, holding onto his father's robes so not to fall out of his arms.
"Shadow it's naptime and I can hear your mother getting your room ready for you." Collin answered as he exited his room, walked across the corridor and entered Shadows room but leaving the laundry basket outside in the corridor by the door
Emily was in fact in Shadow's room and pulling out the covers, ready for her sons naptime, the lullaby lamp was set ready to be turned on and now Shadow was here to take is needed nap. Collin put Shadow onto his bed and Emily took the brush from her son and put it on the dresser.
"I no nap! I no tired." Shadow stated with his arms crossed over his chest and frowning in disapproval to what his parents wanted him to do.
"Shadow you know what happens when you don't take your nap, right?" Emily asked as she laid Shadow down and pulled a thin layer of his covers over him.
"I go bad mood…but I no tired yet." Shadow answered then yarned and rubbed his eye's as he heard his lullaby music playing beside his bed and glowing a dim yet soft light.
"Sweet dreams my son, I'll see you later." Collin whispered warmly, kissed Shadow's forehead then left to drop off the laundry.
"Shadow do you want Mr Hoppy?" Emily softly asked referring to her son's favourite mocha coloured stuffed bunny with long floppy ears and a white fluffy ball of fur for a tail.
"Yes peas mama." Shadow whispered softly, yarning as he nicely took Mr Hoppy from his mother.
"Have a nice nap sweetie, I'll come and wake you up in a little while ok." Emily said in a loving tone, kissing him on his cheek.
Shadow smiled and closed his eye's to sleep. He turned to his side facing the door and curled up in a more comfortable position, hugging Mr Hoppy close to himself. Emily sighed softly as she watched her son curl up then exited his room, leaving the door open as she left.
It wasn't long into Shadow's sleep that Shadow started to toss and turn, moaning quietly to himself as a dream took place. Shadow clutched his bunny tightly to himself as tears became visible, running down his cheeks and landing onto his bed sheets causing a small wet circle to form, growing wider and damper as more tears were added to that spot.
All of a sudden Shadow opened his eyes and shot up from his laying down position with a gasp. Shadow was shaking from fear and the tears fell from his eyes, showing no sigh in stopping any time soon. After a few minutes Shadow found that he was slowly calming down, his shaking stopped and the tears were slowing by the second.
"I..I no l-like bad dreams." Shadow whispered to himself in a low tone still holding and cuddling into Mr Hoppy tightly from fear, as if the bunny could save and protect him from harm.
Shadow was still a little sleepy but was too scared to go back to sleep, afraid that the dream would come back and start all over again. So he got out of his bed, carefully climbing over the safety bars around his bed, and walked out of his room with a sleepy look while holding Mr Hoppy close to his chest. Shadow's eye lids dropped halfway over his eye's and he gave out a long and tiring yarn as he wondered down the corridor in no particular direction in mind. Shadow didn't care where he ended up as long as he was someplace else.
He didn't get far when someone rushed towards him and picked him up from behind. At first Shadow thought his dream became real and struggled within the persons grip with closed eyes but as soon as he recognised the persons sent he calmed down and opened his eye's.
"J-Joey!" Shadow sobbed as tears fell once again.
Joey bent down and picked up Shadows stuffed bunny and passed it to him. Which Shadow took gratefully, hugging Mr Hoppy and wiping the tears out of his eyes with the its ears. Joey turned Shadow around and cuddled his cousins son to his chest as he walked towards the kitchen.
"Its alright Shadow no more bad dream, it's all gone now." Joey whispered softly to the two year old, gently stroking his back to calm him further.
"H-how you know I had bad dream?" Shadow questioned in a sleepy yet croaky voice as he felt his eye's closing half way from being calm and relaxed in Joey's embrace.
"…Just a lucky guess…" Joey answered after thinking what to reply to Shadow so he wouldn't become confused.
Joey was going to tell Shadow about his gift of sight and being able to sense others distress but he thought otherwise, it would only prompt Shadow to ask questions he couldn't answer without confusing the poor infant. So Joey opted for a little white lie instead.
"Maybe a cup of warm blood might make you feel better." Joey suggested then froze on the spot outside the kitchen entrance.
Shadow watched Joey's eye's cloud over and he waved his little hand over them to get Joeys attention, when that didn't work he poked Joey in the eye slowly, multiple times. All Shadow's efforts failed so he decided to pull at Joeys nose, and hard at that. Still it didn't bring him back to reality, making Shadow annoyed enough to growl at him in a vicious way. Shadow did something he hasn't done since he gained all his teeth, he sunk his fang into Joey's shoulder, going through Joey's dark orange hoody and t-shirt before piercing through to Joeys skin. Blood was drawn and flowing into Shadow's mouth as Shadow instinctively locked his jaw making his fangs dig deeper into Joey, swallowing the warn rich blood.
This completely brought Joey to his senses, suddenly feeling pain and smelling blood. He looked down at Shadow and panicked a little as he watched him drink his blood in slow motion. Joey tried to gently pull Shadow off of him but couldn't, Shadow was sinking his teeth in too deeply for Joey to remove Shadow away from himself without causing more harm to himself then Shadow was.
"Sh-Shadow s-stop!" Joey whispered as he lightly backed into a wall and slid down onto his bottom then added "please s-stop."
Shadow heard Joey's desperate cry for him to stop, he did stop and removed his fangs from Joey's flesh. Blood covered Joeys wound, clothes and Shadow's muzzle, with more blood seeping from the two fang bites. Shadow realised what he did and knew it was wrong, many times he remembers his parents telling him not to bite anyone. Shadow pushed himself away from Joey and stood in front of him with a sad and apologetic look as he clutched his bunny, making blood stain the fake mocha coloured fur. Tears became visible in his eyes and softly fell down his cheeks as he stared at his fathers cousin, horrified of what he had done.
"I…I s-sorry Joey, you i-inored me and looked funny eyes…I sorry." Shadow whispered sadly as he looked into Joeys half lidded eyes.
"It's o-ok Shadow, you didn't…" Joey started to reply in a drowsy whispered voice and slightly out of breath, but Shadow interrupted him.
"N-NO! I is been bad. I no stay here." Shadow shouted with tears falling much faster then before and after his words, ran off as fast as his little legs could, which was pretty fast.
"SHADOW!" Joey weakly shouted after Shadow in a croaky voice as he helplessly watched the toddler disappeared around a corner.
Shadow ran and ran, never stopping or looking behind him as he passed many different rooms and pushing passed some maids. Tears flew off from the corners of his eyes as he ran, creating a trail on the polished floor. He finally stopped and hid inside a room he had never been in before and squeezed himself behind a squared metal machine that has a transparent circular door on the front. Shadow curled up while hugging Mr Hoppy as even more tears fell, mixing with the blood upon his muzzle as they fell and landing onto the stuffed bunny.
"I b-bad Mr H-Hoppy…coz I like its tastes n-nice…I-I bad…" Shadow cried hysterically into Mr Hoppy, making more blood and tears smear into the bunny's fur.
Meanwhile outside of the kitchen entrance, Joey was being helped up by his cousin and steadied onto his feet while a maid cleaned up his shoulder with a damp cloth. By this time the blood stopped seeping through and the wound was healing over.
"This is my fault not Shadow's. He's too young to understand what happened, he was only trying to get my attention and snap me out of my vision." Joey explained while also defending the infant.
"I realise this but he still needs to be told." Collin said in an annoyed tone as he tried to get around in his head what his son did.
"I don't think…no, I know you don't need to tell him, he knows what he did was wrong just by the horrified look he gave me and the way he ran off. Please don't think I'm telling you how to raise your son…thank you." Joey stated then thanked the maid for her help.
"I know you're not Joey but I need to see he is sorry for what he did and if that means a very firm telling off then so be it…I don't think I'll tell Emily about this, she will only worry for his possible doomed future of darkness and destruction." Collin replied sighing at the end of his sentence.
"I understand…I saw him run in the direction of the laundry room. You don't mind if I lay down for a couple of hours? I'm starting to feel a little dizzy and light headed." Joey said holding his head with one hand and supporting himself with the other hand on the wall.
"No not at all, go a head. I'll get someone to check on you in a little while." Collin answered with concern in his voice then rushed off to find his son, for the second time that afternoon.
Collin rushed in a slightly angered pace as he stormed down the corridors to where he assumed his son was. Workers in the palace quickly moved out of Collin's way, not wanting to bump into him as he rushed towards his destination.
Collin reached the laundry room and scanned the area with annoyed and slightly angered eyes but saw no sign of Shadow being in there. The Overlord stood still in one spot and remained quiet with he closed his eyes, trying to sense his son's presence. After a few seconds Collin opened his eyes and frowned, walking towards the washing machine and standing in front of it.
"Shadow I know you are behind the washing machine, come out now. I need to have a chat with you." Collin ordered in a firm tone and with his arms crossed over his chest.
"G-go ways I-I stay where am." Shadow called out in a muffled tone as he spoke into his stuffed bunny.
"SHADOW YOU EITHER COME OUT OF THERE WILLINGLY OR I WILL DRAG YOU OUT!" Collin shouted in frustration feeling more angered now than before.
"N-NO!" Shadow shouted back with tears falling down his cheeks and clutching a hold of Mr Hoppy for dear life, knowing he was in very bug trouble with his father.
"Right you just wait until I get my hands on you!" Collin threatened as he gripped the washing machine and moved it to one side, with little effort.
Collin looked down as his son and softened his temper and features. Shadow was curled up into Mr Hoppy, shaking a little with the occasional hiccup from all the crying he was doing. Blood stains were on the bunny as well as on Shadow's jumper, dried and looking a duller copper red instead of the bright red blood looked when wet. Collin sighed and kneeled down to his son's level and sat on the floor. He couldn't stay mad at his son when he was like this. It was clear that Shadow did know what he did was wrong and was horrified about it too.
"Shadow look at me?" Collin softly asked as he looked down at his two year old son.
Shadow hesitated in obeying his father's simple request but did eventually look up at him. Shadow had tears and blood on his cheeks and muzzle, his ruby red eyes shone from un-fallen tears and they also showed just how scared and upset he was.
"I s-sorry. I n-no mean t-to." Shadow whispered as the tears in his eyes finally fell to join with the others down his cheeks and landing onto Mr Hoppy's head.
"Hush now my son, I can see you're very sorry, come here." Collin softly said and pulled Shadow into a comforting hug, causing Shadow to bury his head into his father's chest.
The two stayed like this for a few minutes before Shadow lifted his head up to look at his father with concerned eyes.
"Daddy is Joey ok?" Shadow asked in a worried tone.
"Hmm...Yes he is fine and resting from blood loss...now Shadow I don't think I need to tell you not to do anything like this again, unless you are in danger I don't want you to bite anyone, understand?" Collin answered his son in a caring tone and with a small smile then changed his tone into a serious one as he lightly told his son off.
"Yes daddy I un-stand." Shadow whispered in a low tone then lightly sighed, relieved to hear that Joey was alright.
Collin pulled Shadow away gently and steadied him on his feet. He also stood up and moved the washing machine back to its correct position, again with little effort. Collin switched on the machine and then put some fabric softener into the draw. The overlord kneeled down onto his knees, opened the door and then looked over to his son, who was watching him very closely with a curious expression.
"Shall we put Mr Hoppy in for a bath, I don't believe he likes being dirty with blood." Collin warmly suggested motioning to his son to come forward a little.
"Will be alright?" Shadow asked in a concerned tone and had a worried look as he walked further towards his father and the washing machine.
"Of course he will Shadow, Mr Hoppy will be absolutely fine." Collin assured his son then watched him put the stuffed bunny into the machine with care.
"Now all's we have to do is close the door...that's it and press this button here...good, now we wait for 20 minutes for Mr Hoppy to have his bath." Collin said giving his son instructions with a lovingly smile.
"That ages..I get towels ready?" Shadow stated then asked as he looked through the door and watched the soapy water rise.
"Not exactly my son, you see this button here...well when he is finished we will press that and he will dry inside the machine. It will take an hour but you will have a clean and happy Mr Hoppy." Collin explained to his curious son.
Collin took a hold of Shadow's hand and led him out of the laundry room. They slowly walked towards Shadow's bedroom, to clean Shadow up and put a bloodless top on him. Upon arriving to Shadow's room, Emily was just about to rush out in search for her son and gently bumped into her husband.
"Collin Shadow's not..." Emily started to say then noticed her son beside his father holding hands.
"There you are Shadow...did you spill your drink over yourself again?" Emily asked not having a clue to what Shadow had really done to cause blood to be down him.
"Afraid so my love, don't worry I'll change him and bring him to the dining room for dinner." Collin lied to his wife, not wanting her to worry.
Emily smiled lovingly and walked off away from her son's room. Collin and Shadow entered and closed the door behind them. Shadow became confused at his father's answer to his mother but decided not to bring it up. Collin noticed his sons puzzled expression and sighed lightly.
"I didn't tell your mother what really happened because I do not what her getting upset, so shall we pretend nothing happened earlier, but that doesn't mean you can go around biting others." Collin stated as he removed Shadow's blooded jumper and chucked it to one side.
"Ok daddy...why mommy be upset?" Shadow asked as he watched his father pull out a light blue t-shirt with the words 'daddy's little boy' on the front in white letters.
"Because...your mother can be emotional about others getting hurt and it would upset her if she knew you did it, so we'll keep it as our little secret ok...arms up" Collin explained then instructed his son all in a soft tone.
Shadow obeyed his fathers command and lifted his arms up. Collin put the blue t-shirt onto his son then went over to the dressing table and grabbed some wet wipes to wash Shadow's muzzle. Shadow thought better then to struggle and put up a fuss when his father wiped his face clean, he felt he deserved some sort of punishment for what he did.
"There all clean...again!" Collin stated in a warm tone and with a grin then added in the same tone "let's see if you can stay clean for the rest of the day."
Shadow smiled a cute little smile up at his father as the two held hands and walked over to the bedroom door. Collin opened the door and led the way out, down the corridor and towards the laundry room.
"Let's see how Mr Hoppy is doing shall we. He should be almost done by now." Collin said in a soft tone as he gently pulled his son along.
"Then put on dry, can I put on dry?" Shadow asked in a happy tone as he slowly walked beside his father.
"Yes of course you can." Was Collins answer, looking down at his son with a warm smile.
The two carried on walking in a somewhat slow pace to the laundry room, completely forgetting about the little instant that happened earlier.
(There we are, just one more chap that I already had after this then I'm sorry to say it will be a little bit of a wait for the next chap to be uploaded.)
