Stranger things

The weather wasn’t particularly great that day. Since Zhènyǔ had a day off, he did not want to spent it inside and decided to bring Xìnyì to the park to see the swanna’s and whatever other pokémon were there. The kid was holding a bag with old bread, throwing it in the water or to a nearby pokémon.

For a moment he grabbed his phone, checking a few message’s he’d received to make sure nothing major was happening. He never truly had a complete day off, but he managed.

A high pitch scream filled the air. Zhènyǔ turned around instantly, feeling how small hands held onto his pants. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, no immediate danger was present. Then why was Xìnyì scared?

”She— she—”

That was all he managed to say. With a worried look in his eyes he looked down at his son. She. There was only one woman nearby, her small posture was nothing to be scared off, but there was something off about her.

“What did you do?” Zhènyǔ asked sternly, his purple eyes pinning her to the spot. One hand rested on Xìnyì’s head, trying to sooth the boy.

Xìnyì hid behind his leg, tightly gripping his pants as he peeked around him at the girl. It was always the same and Zhènyǔ feared that it would never change. From what he could see, there was nothing that should’ve scared him. Only a girl, barely any bigger than his son was.

Zhènyǔ narrowed his eyes as he looked her up and down. “You telling me he reacted like this over nothing?” Not that it was out of the question, but he would like to think his son was at least a little bit brave.

A cat-like creature accompanied the girl. Also not worthy of a scream. Then his eyes fell on her ears, next her nails that resembled claws. Never had he seen anything like this before. Zhènyǔ straightened his back some more. “Did you try to scare him with those?” How he liked to believe those were fake, like her ears. They looked a bit too real.

If he’d been angry before, he was now a raging storm. At his side his hand curled into a fist. There were a few lines you did not cross, but this girl managed to find the worst one. Zhènyǔ pinned her down with narrowed eyes.

“Exactly, a child, so don’t you dare blame him.” His voice was low and had a clear edge to it. Seeing those claws it was understandable they would freak out a child. It was not fair to blame Xìnyì. Behind him he could hear the soft sobs of his son, clearly getting more distressed by their bickering.

Zhènyǔ heaved a deep breath. This could not escalate with his son here. “It might be wise to do something against those—” His purple eyes looked down at her hands. What was a good way to describe her hands? “—nails, before you hurt someone with those.”

Zhènyǔ had never seen anything like it. Yes, some people had a unique fashion taste, but this was different. It caused immediate distrust, especially after seeing how his son reacted. She was not normal, which was reason enough for him to assume she’d done something.

Slowly the corners of his mouth pulled into a smile the more she spoke, before it was accompanied by a sarcastic laughter. Now he was to blame? The laughter quickly died down again. “You might want to start looking at yourself, instead of putting the blame on others.”

Xìnyì only held onto him tighter, burying his face against his leg. It was his reaction that only fueled his anger towards the girl. She was brave to continue going, he had to give her that. “Change no. Hide? Something worth considering.” he would surely hide those parts of him if he were to look like— that.

Was she delusional or straight up stupid? It might be both. There was no getting through to her and he was done trying to. Who knows, it might also be an effect that came with her strange appearance.

Zhènyǔ scoffed when the girl had the audacity to ask for an apology while Xìnyì still clung to his leg. “Have fun waiting.” A sarcastic smile decorated his lips before softening the moment he looked down at his son. With him here he did not want to cause too much of a scene.

“Come on, there is nothing to be afraid of.” Gently he led him as he turned their backs towards the weird girl. He did not fear her, but he understood while Xìnyì would. “I’ll make you pancakes once we get home,” Zhènyǔ promised, hoping that would be enough for his son to forget all about her.