I had no words.

Nor did she.

"Come on, little one!" Witch happily called her child towards her, and the young girl made tiny noises as she giggled and laughed while trying to walk towards her mother.

I held my breath as the small child stumbled across the yard, leaving her father's protective grasp as she did. The small girl, so tiny she could fit in a basket, wobbled hopelessly as she headed for Witch who was kneeling only a step or so away from Fredlo. I completely forgot how to breathe for a moment as I stayed utterly focused on the young girl… ready to pounce forward to save her if she fell. We were in the front garden, not far from the house, and as such this place was relatively safe… the grass was soft and warm, the ground not too hard, and I'd long picked up and removed any sharp stones or sticks… But humans in general were so frail, and Witch's child was probably the frailest thing I'd ever known. So it worried me, greatly, to see her left to her own wobbly feet… as if about to fall at any moment…! But she didn't, Witch's daughter made it to her mother with a happy giggle as Witch picked the girl up and spun her around a bit, praising her for walking so well.

Squirming a bit as I watched Witch and the child laugh, I tried to remember any instance of me and my own mother having such a moment. It didn't take me long to figure out that I'd never had such a moment… and had also not seen such a moment between my parents and my siblings either. Which was very disheartening, and not just because I hadn't found any… but rather also at how quickly I had scanned my memories.

There had been a lot of them. Years and years, an almost untold number… yet not once had I ever seen my mother smile like Witch was now. Nor did I remember any of my siblings, or me myself, giggle and laugh in the way her daughter was doing either.

Suddenly the very happy and blissful moment was… ruined, as my chest began to actually hurt.

I blinked a bit and glanced downward, as if expecting to find a terrible wound or something. Of course there wasn't one, and I did know what the feeling inside me was… but did I want to admit it? Did I want to confront it…?

Not really. Because it made me feel ungrateful.

Yes my past was… not as good as it could have been. But look at me now.

Smiling again, I looked back to the happy family and found Witch and Fredlo standing close. They were whispering about something while their daughter made bubbly noises while grabbing at her mother's hair.

When would she start speaking, I wonder…? Sometimes every so often I thought I heard a word, or at least an attempt at one, but so far hadn't heard a word spoken just yet from her. Witch and Fredlo didn't seem worried at all over it, but it concerned me. How long had it taken me to speak, I wonder? I felt as if I could remember nearly all of my childhood, but… some things were also blurry…

"Rennalee."

My ears stood upward as I looked back to them, since my eyes had drifted downward again. My chest still kind of felt heavy, though it wasn't hurting as much anymore.

"Hm?" I smiled at the two as Fredlo went ahead and took the young girl from Witch. She didn't want to be taken, though, and clung to Witch's hair with a firm grip. One that made Witch flinch a bit as she tugged her hair free, and then headed my way.

"She's stronger than she looks. I might want to cut my hair shorter for a while until she grows out of that phase," Witch said with a smile as she stepped over to me.

I shifted ever so slightly as I nodded and thought of my own hair. It was long right now too, very long. Not as long as it used to be, before I had started living with Witch, but not far off from it. "Maybe name her hair-grabber?" I suggested.

Witch gave me a look. "Your naming sense is so weird, Renn."

Was it…? I had thought it would have both worked and been cute. "Why is it you wait so long to name your children anyway?" I asked. It was kind of upsetting they hadn't picked a name yet. It was why I kept offering suggestions. It even kept me up at night sometimes, as I just continued to think of all the possible names one could give her.

"It's just a tradition. We wait until her coming of age to give her a proper name. We'll probably pick a nickname or two for her shortly, no… not hair-grabber. Or toe-nibbler either," she said, referring to the name I had suggested last night.

I smirked at that. "It sounds cute though."

Witch huffed at me and crossed her arms. "By the way… want to try again?" she asked.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

My lips pursed and my tail went stiff as I glanced at Fredlo. He had headed over to the table nearby, as to go sit down at it with the girl.

"But…" I whispered as I thought of her screams a few days ago.

"She can't be scared of you forever, Rennalee," Witch said.

Says who…?

"She's so happy right now… what if I make her cry again?" I asked worriedly. She was giggling up a storm while sitting on her father's knee!

"That's why this is the perfect time to try again! Just go on up and sit with her, give her a gentle smile and it'll all be okay," Witch suggested.

I wanted to groan as Witch grabbed me by the arm and tugged me towards her family.

Great. Here we go again…

As Witch pulled me over to Fredlo and her daughter, I quickly collected myself and tried to put on an even face. I didn't let my fast beating heart of worry bother me, or at least tried not to let it do so, as I stepped over to them… right as the young girl turned and looked at us.

She saw her mother first… and as such broke out in a happy grin. She made some of her noises as she reached out for her mother, grabbing at the air as if saying she wanted to grab at her mother's hair again… and I had an idea because of it.

Grabbing my own hair, I smiled as the idea gave me hope. Maybe this would work…!

Stepping forward, I put forth some thick locks of my hair forward towards the girl. I offered them, as if like a peace-offering, and smiled. "Hey there toe-nibbler…!" I said as I did so… and flinched as the girl immediately looked over at me and went still.

Her tiny little eyeballs went wide, to the point that they basically went all white like her mother's nearly, and then she took in a deep breath…

And released a cry as she quickly went to swinging her arms and legs around, as if to bat me away with them.

I instantly stepped back and groaned as Witch giggled at me and Fredlo went to calming the girl down. "There, there," he said calmly as he turned her away from me, so she couldn't see me anymore. Like his wife, Fredlo had a small grin on his face. He too found it utterly amusing that their daughter seemingly was terrified of me.

"I just wonder what it is…!" Witch said loudly as she laughed. "Maybe it's your teeth? Or ears…? She looked you straight in the eyes though just now, as if she hadn't even noticed anything else… wonder what she finds so terrifying?" Witch wondered as she went ahead and stepped forward to take the girl from Fredlo.

Her screaming began to diminish now that she was in her mother's arms, but Witch began to turned and sway… as if to lull her into sleep, but in doing so she nearly allowed the girl to lock eyes with me again. I stepped back and away before it could happen, as to not re-trigger the child's tantrum.

Gosh! I knew the girl really didn't mean anything by it, as Witch and Fredlo so obviously believed… but it just…

I fought back tears as I bit back a whine and stepped back a bit. "I'm… going to go catch some fish…" I said, and then turned and hurried off before either the girl could see me again or Witch and Fredlo could tease me over it as they had the other day.

Hurrying off around the house, as to grab some of my fishing supplies that I stored in the shed behind it… I continued to fight back the tears that kept wanting to take over my eyes. They were thick and heavy, the kind that I knew would make me even sob once they really got going.

Some disciple I was…! Witch saw me as family, as I did her, but how could I be such a thing if I couldn't even look her daughter in the eye without making her scream in terror? Maybe I was far uglier and scarier than I thought…!

What if the girl never got over her fear of me…? What if she always acted so? It would…

Grabbing a fishing pole, I barely paid enough attention to grab some bait too before running off towards the nearby lake. I'd spend the rest of the day catching fish, both so I could give the child some time to calm down and become happy again… and also for my own heart to heal from its terrible shuddering pain it was currently enduring.

What if I never got to hold her? What if she grew up before I could convince her I wasn't scary? She was growing up so fast… so humanly fast. She hadn't inherited her mother's abilities. Didn't have the glowing eyes. Didn't have the powers. She was as human as Fredlo, and even he was already starting to age! His belly was growing bigger by the day it seemed!

That meant in no time at all the girl would grow. It felt like only yesterday she had never left her crib, unless to suckle or be carried around. And now she was out here learning to walk… that meant I'd blink, teary eyes likely, and then she'd be my height… and then I'd blink again and…

Sniffing as I cried and ran, I decided next time to wear a hat. Maybe it was my ears!

And if that didn't work, I'd not smile next time. And if that didn't work… I'd wear a mask! I could make one, I think, surely…

One way or another I'll figure it out. I had to.

Otherwise…

Nearing the lake, I slowed as I went to wiping my face of tears. There was no real reason to hide them, no one was around and I knew Witch and Fredlo wouldn't follow, but I also planned to look at the lake's surface in a moment. I was going to again try and find the source of the young girl's terror… for the eleventh time.

Walking up to the edge of the lake, I ignored the small dock that Witch and I had built years ago and instead just stepped onto the bank. My shoes sunk a tiny bit into fresh mud, the summer sun had softened it a lot, and I glared at my own blurry reflection.

I guess I did look kind of scary… what with the wild hair and ears… but it was hard to see anything better in the water's reflection alone, especially since it was so clear.

While staring at myself, a new and better name idea came to mind. One I'd likely not share or suggest to anyone else, even though very fitting.

"Heart-breaker."