Nod popped up between Ronin's knees suddenly, his blanket falling back from his head, and twittered at him impatiently.
It had been three days since Ronin had gone back on duty, and he was still coming home to Nod under his blanket.
Nod had started taking toys under with him, and he would sit and play with them, occasionally poking his head out to demand food. When Ronin went to his study to work in the afternoon, Nod followed him down the hall like a little multi-colored ghost, and settled either under Ronin's desk or in the middle of the floor to play.
"Hello chickadee," Ronin slid his chair back from his desk so there was more room for the boy, "what's up?"
Nod clamored into his lap, losing his blanket in the process and bringing Cheep-Cheep with him. He sat the stuffed chickadee on the desk, and Ronin was quick to move his ink well back. He didn't really want to have to figure out how to get ink off a stuffed animal.
Nod wiggled until he was comfortable, then reached for the quill. Ronin moved it out of his reach, and Nod growled and pointed insistently.
"How about a pencil instead?" Ronin plucked one from the holder and offered it to the boy.
Nod pouted, but took it, and reached for the report Ronin had been reading. Ronin was quick to slide it away from the boy. Nod grumbled and glared at him.
"Do you want to help me with work?" Ronin asked.
Nod pointed irritably to the paper Ronin had taken away.
"How about you write me a new report about what you and Cheep-Cheep did this morning?" Ronin suggested, sliding a blank piece of paper in front of him.
Nod pouted at him, clearly knowing this wasn't the same as helping Ronin with his work, but after a moment he relented and started drawing pictures. Ronin gave the boy a squeeze, then picked up the report and went back to reading.
While trying to do administrative work with Nod around wasn't very efficient, at least it wasn't boring.
Ronin glanced over when he heard Nod start to make little growling noises. He was still sitting where Ronin had left him on the floor, coloring with something akin to franticness. Sometimes Nod growled when he was drawling animals that growled, and Ronin shook his head slightly and turned back to Finn and the map spread on the table between them.
"So you're moving extra units to the bogs to patrol?" Ronin leaned over the map, studying the patrol routes marked on it.
"Yeah," Finn nodded, "I actually want to get two blue units out there as part of the patrols. The scouts have been reporting signs of bog hoppers, so I'd like to have the blue units in the area as a precaution."
"That should…."
There was the sound of something hitting the wall, and Nod started to cry loudly. Ronin jumped and looked back over at the boy. Nod was still sitting on the floor, but he was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Nod, what's wrong?" Ronin hurried over to him, "what happened?"
Nod continued to sob, and Ronin sat on the floor, pulled him into him lap and starting to check him over, "did you get hurt?"
While Ronin tried to calm the boy down, Finn came over to see what he had been up to. He had enough younger siblings to know that even coloring could be a dangerous activity if they tried hard enough.
The piece of paper Nod had been drawing on was covered in dark, angry scribbles. Finn crouched down and picked it up, taking a closer look. Underneath the scribbles he could just make out three blobby figures. One had his back to the other two, and one had a scowl on his face and was holding onto the third one by the arm. The third one was a tiny crying boy who was reaching for the first one.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what Nod had been thinking about while he was drawing.
"Ronin," Finn held the drawing out to him.
Ronin frowned at it for a moment, then his face fell and he slumped. He cuddled Nod against his chest and started rocking him.
"I'm so sorry chickadee," Ronin murmured, "I shouldn't have let him take you. He won't come near you ever again. I promise."
Finn sighed softly. Nothing was ever easy when children got hurt, especially when they were hurt by adults. They couldn't understand why it had happened, and it took a long time for them to believe it wouldn't happen again.
Nod hiccupped and whimpered in Ronin's arms, his cries starting to quiet. Finn glanced down again at the paper, then settled on his knees next to the coffee table, smoothing out the sheet on it. While Ronin continued to coo softly to the distraught boy, Finn started folding the paper. Nod quieted a bit more as he watched him, his thumb finding its way into his mouth.
By the time Finn finished with the sheet, there was a paper bird in his hands, the scribbled side of the paper just barely visible.
"You can't make the bad things that happen go away," Finn held the bird out to Nod, "but they don't have to stay scary."
Nod reached out tentatively, taking the bird from him. He sniffled, turning it over in his hands, then made a quiet chirping noise, moving the bird like it was flying.
"Thanks Finn," Ronin said softly.
"Yeah," Finn stood and stretched, "Are you good with how I have patrols set?"
"It should be fine," Ronin nodded, using his hand to gently wipe tears from Nod's face.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning then," Finn clapped him on the shoulder as he walked by.
Nod sat up, twittering and waving the bird at him.
"You hold onto that," Finn told him, reaching down to rumble his hair, "paper birds are lucky."
Nod cocked his head to the side, then slid down to sit more comfortably in Ronin's lap, rubbing his eyes on his sleeve and twittering at the bird cradled in his other hand.
"Good night Finn," Ronin said, "Thanks."
Finn waved and let himself out, leaving Ronin with his little chickadee chirping in his lap between the occasional sniffle.