August 16, 1186
"It wasn't on purpose!" Sevvie wailed, like all nine-year-old boys did from time to time but none would admit? Or did they? Having never actually been a nine-year-old boy, Ashe couldn't know for sure. But based on what Lonriad had told him, it didn't seem implausible. "I know I should've just gone and waited when she didn't answer, but the door wasn't locked, and I didn't see her dress on the floor or anything. I swear, I didn't mean to see her naked!"
That was what he'd thought the issue was? Poor Yvanette probably hadn't even considered that she was naked until after Winter had pulled Sevvie away. "Sevvie...""I swear, I didn't look! I closed my eyes as soon as I realized--"
"Sevvie, you're not in trouble. And it's not about whether she was naked or not." Yvanette was young enough that such a thing was a concern only for that most depraved sort. Ashe did not want to think that Sevvie would grow up to be such a monster. "It's the, uh... the other thing..."
"What, that she can turn into a cat?" Whatever value there was in conversational tip-toeing, kids never saw it. "Is that why she spends so much time in the privy at school? Stupid Wolf thinks she has diarrhea all the time."
And Xeta, at least, would waste no time telling her son how rude it was to speculate about other people's bowel movements--once Rona deemed Yvanette sufficiently comforted that she could leave her side and mention this to her sister, at least. "Yes, that would be why. Look, she can't help when she transforms and when she transforms back, and the whole thing is very stressful for her..."
"Why?" Eh? "I think it would be great fun to turn into an animal."Nine-year-old boy or not, that may have been a popular opinion among children in general. Ashe recalled more than one occasion of curling up in that small bed in his father's house, pretending to be a fox. You do have the hair for it, his father would say. Pity that fathers couldn't say much either way to those kids who didn't have to pretend. "Perhaps it would be, if she could control it. But for now, it's a major source of anxiety and she's terrified of it being widespread knowledge, so I'm going to have to ask that you keep this a secret. Can you do that?"
"I guess so."
"Good." Ashe looked over at Lonriad, who nodded--not surprisingly. Sevvie was a good kid. If Yvanette wanted her secret kept, then Sevvie would keep it. Even if he was never sure just why he had to. "I know it might be hard for you to understand, but we're all entitled to our secrets. I'm sure you'll have some of your own some day, if you don't already."
Sevvie shrugged. Maybe the reasoning didn't matter all that much. "Is this why Yvanette's so sad all the time?"NEXT CHAPTER:
4 comments:
Well, today was... kind of a roller coaster. Ended up having to reinstall Office. Luckily, I have awesome friends who always get me into a better mood.
Sucks about Office! Hope you didn't lose anything!
Naw Sevvie made me smile here, he's such a sweet kid, and so typical that he be more worried he'd seen her naked than turning into/out of a cat.
And I think my first thought would be the same, it'd be cool to have shape shifting abilities! Hopefully he can help Yvanette out now, with keeping her secret and also getting through things such as schools! I'm sure she would be humiliated knowing the other kids talk about her for going to the toilet!
Aww, Sevvie's little inflated cheeks when he asked about why Yvanette is sad all the time.
Ekho: Luckily, it was just the program itself, so all the files are safe. :)
Sevvie is a sweetheart. And I figured that would be a natural response for a kid like him--he knows it's not nice to see girls naked without their permission, but he has no frame of reference for cat transformations. But yeah, once she gets over the shock of his having found out, it would be to Yvanette's advantage to have a sympathetic, understanding ally among her peers.
Pen: He does worry about his friend, the poor little guy!
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