19 Mar 2020, 03:52
Toddler Talk
This thread is a private pre-Hogwarts story. including @Kara Capricorn and Hanako Tone/
"おかさん, I'm bored " Hanako drowned out.おかさん: mother
" We haven't even entered their house yet. We just rang their doorbell " Asagao Tone replied in her regular monotonous voice, tapping the handle of her luggage as it calmed her down. Just because Hanako was barely 6 years old, she wasn't about to give him some special treatment. She saw him as an equal and thought that babying him as her husband did will just shift the balance of their parenting.
Not like the young Tone wasn't used to it. He just saw it as a note that his mother didn't love him as much as other mothers. Perhaps that's why he wanted to meet his mother's friend. The one family she keeps visiting a few times. His curiosity that came with his young age was just dying to see what mules were taking up his mother's attention away from him.
" Why don't you head out to their garden at the back? " he heard his mother suggested, assumingly worried her child would get too bored and start breaking vases again. " My friends have a child your age. We're going to stay here for a while, it's great if you would be friends with her ".
She decided to bite back another sentence about Hanako's only other friend, Lei Liu. Personally, she was silently ecstatic to wake up one morning and have Hanako come up to her, asking to come with her. After seeing Hanako spend most of his time either with his grandmother or Lei, she was coming to the terms to the fact that her child was exceedingly shy.
With work piling up, she admits, the chance to get to know her child slipped away from her grasp. Now almost 6 years old, she can't be confident about his personality at all. Other mothers would be disgraced if they knew. She had reports from the caretaker, but haven't really seen her son herself.
That was why this trip to her friend's house was the best way to bond with him. The only problem is how terrible she is with children. Her face was unusually devoid of extra emotions and she talks to her child like an adult would to another adult.
And she managed to make her child think she thought of him as a nuisance and wanted him to get away from her sight under 3 minutes. Which, he responded very cooly with.
He scoffed and went to the direction of the garden. Leaving his mother, blind to the effects of her lack of words.
Last edited by Hanako Tone on 8 May 2020, 23:56, edited 1 time in total.
19 Mar 2020, 11:14
Toddler Talk
The little six year old Kara watched as her sister Mia disappear into the large brick house from their large garden. Her sister Mia was nine, and Mia had offered to bring out some lemonade for them. She was playing catch with her older brother Gabriel, who was ten as off two weeks ago.@Hanako Tone
The sun was in her eyes a little as she turned to hear a rustle in the bushes leading towards their backyard garden. She peered closer to see a boy with shiny black hair and some warm, brown eyes nearing her and had many leaves stuck onto his hair from the bushes.
As soon as the boy was out in the open, she walked towards him. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her brown eyes always glittered in the sun. She was just wearing a nice black t-shirt with some jean shorts.
"Hello, I'm Kara, nice to meet you!" Kara said, with her voice calm and bubbly at the same time.
After she said those words, the door swung open with Mia bringing a pitcher of lemonade and some cups on a tray outside. Mia noticed the boy and then placed the tray on their outdoor table and walked over, her curly hair practically smacking her in the face from the breeze.
"Hello, you must be Hanako! Your mother was talking about you to our mother, Lilly. Anyways, I'm Mia." Mia said softly.
"Hey kid, nice meeting you! I'm Gabriel." Kara's brother called from across the garden.
In the garden, there were many bushes, shrubs, flowers, and herbs all arranged by Kara and her mother. Mia didn't like getting dirty, so she instead usually watered all the plants on the inside of their house. With so many plants in their garden, back and frontyard, Kara believed if ou could name a plant, it was somewhere in this array of plants.
Mia walked away and Kara looked at her, she then brought some lemonade over and offered in to Hanako. Kara then got an idea of how to welcome the boy herself. She ran over to one of the flowerbeds and plucked a pretty flower. She walked over back over to the boy, whom she now knew was Hanako, thanks to her sister, and handed the flower to him.
"Welcome to our home!"
Reducio
This is Kara's house, and it still is, they have never moved:
Reducio
This is the flower Kara gave to Hanako:
22 Mar 2020, 08:41
Toddler Talk
Not even a second later, it seemed like he met the one his mother talked about before.
He watched in silence as the events unfolded in front of him. Childlike face, unamused at what has just transpired. He was going to live with a bunch of monkeys for a week? He groaned internally at the thought of his quiet and private life slipping away.
But on the bright side, if he survived this, he could do anything. And Hanako Tone could do a lot of things.
Instead of acknowledging their warm greeting, he accepted the cup of lemonade given to him by Mia and took glances around their garden. What he could compliment on this monkey filled house was how they took care of their garden. A garden filled with colorful bushes. shrubs and flowers like this must've demanded great care. Not that he knew how much effort it took since he had only seen the gardener do it. But if he had a chance, he'd definitely try it out himself.
Being surrounded by such a beautiful garden almost eased his previous tantrum.
However, the youngest of the family came up to him and in her hand, she revealed a small red rose. The petals looked soft and delicate, stained with rich red that almost looked glossy under the sunlight.
And that's exactly all it took to make Hanako's face sour.
" You just killed it ". He dully noted, glaring at the flower in her hand that was clearly supposed to make him feel more welcomed. " Now it's just waiting to wilt. It was happier back in the bush. You to be really mean to give me a dying flower ".
He tore his eyes away from Kara took sips of his lemonade, who managed to lighten his mood. A few minutes inside and someone already managed to piss him off. He hates flowers plucked like this and it was just insulting to the beautiful display of a garden around them.
Although he had to silently thank Kara. He didn't even need to find a reason to be mean. She had presented the opportunity for him to squash her feelings and who was he not to take it.
"Nice home you all have here. " He monotonously added, seemingly to enjoy the lemonade more than the people around him. It was something he always heard a guest say when they visit his house, so he assumed it was a normal thing to say when entering a new house.
" I don't want to be friends with any of you. " He bluntly stated. " Not you.." he glanced at Mia. " Not you..." he glanced at the older guy, whom name he had already forgotten. " And definitely not you .", he stared at Kara, putting back the dead rose to her.
" But I will stay with you guys for a week. So stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours ". It was truly a sight to see a 6-year-old child say such rude things. Funny, if you took notice of Hanako's high pitched voice and adorable baby fat-filled face. But rude nevertheless.
He wanted to show these monkeys he didn't want anything to do with them.
@Kara Capricorn
22 Mar 2020, 11:08
Toddler Talk
"You just killed it. Now it's just waiting to wilt. It was happier back in the bush. You to be really mean to give me a dying flower." He had scowled, his mean words directed at Kara.@Hanako Tone
Kara was innocent at the time and always gave flowers away to her family, which they always either weaved into a flower crown with ones from the past or just wore them in their ear.
Kara noticed Mia glaring at Hanako as he drank his lemonade briskly.
"I don't like this kid." She growled under her breath, making sure Hanako could hear or see them.
Gabriel listened to Mia, but then turned.
"Just give him a break." Gabriel whispered to Mia.
"Nice home you all have here." Hanako added with a more light tone, but of course, it seemed he just couldn't be nice as he continued.
He hen blankly stared off and stated "I don't want to be friends with any of you."
Gabriel's face went blank, and almost laughed, for Hanako was a six year old. Mia's brown skin looked like it was going to melt off from all of her anger towards Hanako right now, and Kara, she just stood there, and finally turned her gaze from him.
"Not you," He said, glancing at Mia "Not you," He then glanced at Gabriel, "And definitely not you." He said, glaring at Kara finally.
Kara just looked at Hanako with a blank face, everyone already hated her, and now someone else did to.
Mia growled something under her breath as she turned for the door, and slammed it shut behind her, nearing all the parents talking with each other.
"But I will stay with you guys for a week. So stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours." He added finally, shoving the rose into her hands.
"Don't cry, don't cry, it's what makes everyone hate you, your emotions." She kept telling herself, not noticing she said it aloud.
"Hey, umm, Hanako," She began, as she heard the door behind her slam shut, with Gabriel now gone.
"The thing about the rose, it's completely fine, because it's not from the main garden. You see, my mom and I made a small flowerbed together that I could pluck and give, but I never pluck the flowers from our main garden, cause as you can see, the flowerbed I got the rose from, it has my name on the wood, showing I have permission, it's always been like that, and I don't ever want to hurt them, or you, so I'm sorry, I guess I can give this rose to someone else." She said, her voice sometimes breaking from trying to hold back tears.
Kara turned towards her flowerbed and gently placed the rose on the side of the wall.
Kara turned back to Hanako and then she heard the door swing open.
"Your mother wants you, Hanako." Mia said, and the look in her eyes said that she was happy about it.
"Well then, I'm going with you." Kara said, going into the house first.
She saw a woman there, whom she believed was Hanako's mother.
"Hello miss!" She said.
(Hanako can respond as his mother)
31 Mar 2020, 15:46
Toddler Talk
Asagao Tone stared at her son, then back at Kara, then back to her son. She covered her eyes with her hand and took a deep breath.
" Nice to meet you, Kara " she said formally.
Not even an hour and her son had already caused trouble. She wasn't particularly shocked when Mia came and reported about her son's behavior. She promised herself this week was the week she would get to know the boy her son had become and is willing to accept anything.
Perhaps it's because it's her son and her mother instincts but distant as she was, the urges to defend her son were tempting. Was it her fault he ended up this way? She gave him the best caretakers to protect him while she was away, yet why does she feel somewhat guilty for the horrible memories he might have implanted in the poor girl's heart.
It was fortunate she wasn't the kind to easily show her emotions on her face. She had to remind herself the past was done and the only thing she could do right now to mend Hanako's relationship with Kara.
" I am..." she turned to Kara's parents, in a low whisper " So sorry for his behavior. What do you propose we do to mend this? You both have so much more parental skills than I do.." she admits to her close friends, a faint smile on her lips as she looked at them for guidance.
She was very terrified of having a child in the beginning. It was a last-minute decision but her lack of parenting skills was definitely in need of improvement. Although she was usually seen as a show-off or a know it all, she always listens to needed advice.
--
He listened to Kara voice our her unnecessary opinion but continued to ignore her eyes. From the way her trembling voice, it really looked like she was about to cry. Hanako made a lot of people cry and this girl was no different. But it didn't mean he wouldn't be affected by it.
He was almost grateful when Mia burst back to the garden to basically tell Hanako he's going to face hell. He nonchalantly watched as Kara zoomed-in inside before he did. Did she want front row seats to see him get scolded? Maybe he did manage to make her hate him. He looked at Mia with a bored gaze.
Wanting not to show her satisfaction, he smiled innocently at her and smugly replied as he passed her; " Annoying and a tattletale aren't you~? Great personality you got there, Mia. Really brings in more friends~ " he belittled before entering the room.
He faced his mother, standing there with the same stoic face she always wore. He tried to look unbothered and hid his guilt by looking anywhere but her honey brown eyes. Because this was the only time he could make her talk to him. Only when he got in trouble.
He took a sneak glance to see his mother whispering to another pair of adults. They were too attractive it was hard not to look away, but for the sake of his ego, he will look away. He wondered what might've happened next. Will he be sent away? A part of him didn't want to.
Going back to that empty house, and by someone, he actually wanted to spend time with? It's gonna hurt and a few plates will definitely be broken.
Kara was just standing there, greeting his mother as if Hanako didn't just make her cry. This kid is weird. He wanted to get away from her.
@Kara Capricorn
31 Mar 2020, 23:53
Toddler Talk
"I am... So sorry for his behavior. What do you propose we do to mend this? You both have so much more parental skills than I do.." Asagao had whispered, a disappointed smile growing on her face.@Hanako Tone
Lilly looked at her old friend with sympathetic eyes.
"It's ok. Kara may be a little sensitive, but she'll still welcome Hanako in with open arms. It takes time for a relationship to grow, as I remember you did the same with me in the first grade." Lilly whispered sweetly, with her always sugar-coated voice.
"Also," She continued "I think the reason he's so distant is that he misses you. I know you're a busy woman, but you should always make time for your children, not just Hanako. I think that your kids would appreciate it."
Hoping that Asagao got the message, she took her friends hand and started to lead her upstairs.
"Come on, let me give you a tour around our home!"
____________
"Nice to meet you, Kara." Miss Tone said formally.
Kara smiled, and then saw her mother talk to Miss Tone for a bit until putting on a smile and leaving with Miss Tone up the stairs.
She looked at Hanako, who was pondering, then a sad look appeared for a second then disappeared as soon as it came.
"Well, I guess it's just us now." Kara said softly.
She looked off as Mia and Gabriel left them to go into their basement, which was where their playroom was.
"Umm, well, I'm sorry about the flower, again. I didn't mean any harm." Kara whimpered, as she rubbed her eye quickly.
4 Apr 2020, 14:19
Toddler Talk
Asagao listened to her friend intently, showing no sort of changing emotions on her face. It was true, she took time for her and Lilly to be friends. Especially considering how emotionally distant Asagao was when she was younger. But now they’re even visiting each other's houses and Asagao never felt so comfortable in another person’s home. Will Hanako and Kara be like this in the future as well?
She thought more about what Lilly said about making time as she was lead upstairs. Would her kid really appreciate a mother who can’t even speak to him properly? She had given him the best care any money could buy. She said nothing to reply to her friend, instead, she just kept the thought in her mind linger a little longer.
She didn’t even get to give her son a good-bye as she was pulled away and up the stairs by none other than Lilly. Was this her plan to make their children spend more time together? She hoped she was right about that.
----
"Well, I guess it's just us now.". he heard Kara mutter softly. To which, he merely replied with silence. Way to break the silence, captain obvious, Hanako thought. He was vaguely surprised his mother just left him without any sort of punishment. Was he relieved he wasn’t sent back? Yes. But now he had to come to the fact that he was going to spend a whole week with these people. Who knows if his early departure here would come earlier than expected.
He heard her apologize once again and this time, he couldn’t ignore it.
“Oh, for the love of grass. I know that, idiot.” he scoffed. “ Stop crying just because someone like me didn’t like your gift. It’s a big waste of your tears and your apology. Next time someone does that to something like that, just whack them. Jeez, what an idiot”. He muttered the last part loud enough for her to hear it.
Even at a young age, Hanako still lacked the power to speak what he means without turning it into an insult. Genuinely, he just didn’t want Kara to cry over something like that anymore. Not only does he feel guilty, but he was irritated that she didn’t fight back. It was harder to hate someone like Kara.
@Kara Capricorn
11 Apr 2020, 13:36
Toddler Talk
“Oh, for the love of grass. I know that, idiot.” Hanako sneered to her. “Stop crying just because someone like me didn’t like your gift. It’s a big waste of your tears and your apology. Next time someone does that to something like that, just whack them. Jeez, what an idiot”@Hanako Tone
Kara's eyes widened with surprise, she was in awe of this boy. To have so much confidence was a marvel to her. She looked at him, he had a glimmer of guilt in his eyes, was he sorry? No, he seemed to proud to be like that, he was prideful, but not stuck-up, to Kara's delight.
"I'm so-" Kara stopped herself in her tracks, she was mad, all she could ever do was apologize. She hated that she was to scared to stick up for herself, she was sick of it!
Her eyes grew into a determined sparkle and a small, sideways grin grew on her face that she would continue to show for the rest of her life to show she wasn't backing down anymore.
"Hanako," Kara began, her voice more demanding "I'm tired of this. My whole life I've been to scared to even stick up for myself. I want to become strong, and brave, and confident, just like you! Please, teach me how to be confident, not afraid of what other people think of me, I wish that my life wasn't simple, for comfortable is the enemy of progress!"
16 Apr 2020, 17:46
Toddler Talk
Occ note: don’t know what happened but it multiplied ;-; sorry for the inconvenience
“ Are you kidding me ?!” He groaned and tore his eyes away from Kara’s scene, hands on his eyes as if he wants to undo what he just witnessed.
He should do the same for his ears to be honest. Spent his entire time breathing in this new unfamilat place to make her hate him just to piss off his mom and now she was revealing her troubles and asking for help?!
Just who the grass is she?!
Asking if Hanako could help her when he had been nothing but a jerk? Where was her pride?! He had never meet anyone like her and it fried his brain.
Perhaps that’s why she asked for help?
It didn’t take a genius to see how different the two children were. There was him, who does not hesitate to speak his mind even if it hurts someone. Then there was her, who was less keen on speaking her mind but was braver than Hanako himself. Brave enough to be kind and willing to be herself despite the heartache it might bring.
Both of them owned qualities that the other lack. Both able to learn from another if allowed.
But Hanako didn’t want to help her. He didn’t want to learn to be brave. He wanted to stay in his room, make tantrums , and scare away people because they scared him more.
He didn’t want to change.
To see Kara, standing before him asking for help because she wanted to improve, it made his heart sank. Not that he’ll show it. Not with him smartly covering up his face with his baby fat filled arm.
“ I’m a special case and I was born with this talent “ he said, facing the wall instead of Kara since his sight is currenly blocked and so is his logic. “ What you want to learn is something you need to learn by yourself. But I’ll agree to help you sometimes if I feel like it “ .
Kara didn’t need to know he too, needed help from her. He didn’t want to grow afterall. Not yet.
“ But you must be my guard. Protect me from c-“ he let his arms down, expecting to see Kara but was greeted by a wall instead. He spun a bit and stopped at where Kara stood.
Well that was embarrassing .
She didn’t need to know he was. “. I hate cats. Protect me from them and I’ll help “. He said confidently, despite the red on his face betraying his tone.
@Kara Capricorn
7 May 2020, 17:56
Toddler Talk
“But you must be my guard. Protect me from c-." He hesitated for a second. "Cats. I hate cats. Protect me from them and I’ll help."@Hanako Tone
"Cats, huh? Well, alright! I guess I'll have to keep Milo away from you." Kara said.
After her small deal with Hanako was settled, a large, fluffy, brown tabby cat would be seen stalking down the stairs, eyes narrowed at Hanako, wondering who he was. Kara immediately turned around to go and shoo the cat upstairs.
"Well, that's Milo for you. He's just curious, but if you have allergies, he has a lot of fur, so any allergies would flare up pretty easily. I'll make sure to keep him at a safe distance." Kara said.
As Kara walked back down the stairs, she heard the patter of Milo's paw steps atop them through the ceiling.
"Wait, you and your mother are staying here for a week, at least I think that's what Mom said...Anyways, if you're sleeping over, you most likely will have to sleep on a small cot in the basement, if that's okay. Your mother will most likely be sleeping on the pull out bed right there." Kara said, pointing to the couch.
As Kara was saying that, she heard the clock start to chime. The time was now 8:30, around the time where her mother would put her and her siblings to bed.
Her siblings had heard the chime of the clock as well. She saw Mia and Gabriel go out of the basement, then go upstairs to their rooms.
"Come on Kara, bedtime! Me and Hanako's mother will help Hanako settle in!" She heard her mother call.
"Well, goodnight Hanako, see you tomorrow morning!"
Action: Kara has now left the thread, and is finished.