Outstanding Lack of Parenting Skills pv M.Romero closed

Interacting with @Hanako Tone and his worm
Mentioning briefly @Starlee Kennedy

Admittedly, Tina was quite squeamish when it came to bugs. They were too small and too skittery, sometimes had many or no eyes (she wasn't sure which was worse to look at, honestly) and often moved too fast, a feat which more often than not sent her into a frenzied panic. Within seconds they could be crawling over her shoes, scurrying under the hem of her trousers, vanishing from her sight only to reappear far to close to where she was standing moments later. That said, she wouldn't dare hurt these weird, fragile creatures: she was quite the empath when it came to animals and insects alike, no matter how gross they looked, or how freakishly they moved. In fact, the only time she'd ever killed a bug was in a moment of abject terror, slamming the nearest object she could find down on the large, quick-footed spider that had made its way into the family bathroom, killing it instantly.

...She'd ran crying to her papa afterwards, because she felt awful.

Flobberworms weren't like spiders. They were slow, plump and curious things, with slimy bodies so long that when Tina had first set eyes on her shimmering slug-like companion, her stomach turned. No ordinary worms she'd ever had the pleasure of coming across were that big, and they were already strange and nauseating to watch over. Whilst her brother was fascinated by creepy crawlies in-between the cracks in the pavement and under rocks in the garden, Tina didn't share his passion. Moreover, she had zero intention of getting slime on her newly-cleaned school clothes this fine Monday.

Nevertheless, she was determined to give this horrible, blubbering, toothless beast the best day possible. When Professor Céspedes had handed the Flobberworm over to her, it was thankfully swaddled in an ample sized blanket (which meant that she didn't have to touch its pulsing, slippery body - yuck), similar to how she was swaddled in her own warm, winter coat, pink of course. in addition, she was already prepared with a tasty bite for her new friend to munch on; she'd done her research, and had discovered that Flobberworms were especially keen on lettuce and cabbage. This was a poor choice of snack in her opinion, but at least her unnamed friend would enjoy it. Speaking of unnamed...

"Ferguson. I think that suits you," she told the Flobberworm as they walked towards the Courtyard, where he would be christened using the fountain so as to declare his name more formally. She'd never experienced the ceremony as a baby herself (not that she would have been able to recollect) nor had her siblings - her family wasn't religious - but she didn't want Ferguson to miss out on anything life had to offer. Plus, it was something for them to do. She lovingly petted his ridged body from over the blanket, hoping he might react in some way. "It sounds all prince-like. Plus, Fergie is a cute nickname."

It turned out Flobberworms like Fergie quite unresponsive.

The Courtyard was mostly empty, which made sense. The sky was cloudy, the air crisp and chilly, the perfect conditions to mark the beginning of February. As she drew nearer to the fountain, however, still humming a comforting tune to Ferguson the Flobberworm, the image of the solitary boy sitting beside it became less blurry, coming into clear focus. Even with his back turned to her, and his head stuck in a book, Tina recognised him and thus stopped dead in her tracks.

It was him from the Masquerade Ball last October.

Although she couldn't quite recall his name, it was far easier to remember their awkward interactions. He had been annoying, sort of creepy, and had even had the audacity to dump a paper bag on her face shortly after they'd met. They'd eventually faked being 'dates' to get under the skin of her friend, Starlee (the Hufflepuff felt guilt seep back into her chest at the memory, but shook the feeling off) and he had made every moment of the evening unbearable. She was also certain Starlee had seen through their act, as perceptive as she was and as clumsy Tina was, which made the whole ordeal pointless. As though he couldn't get any more insufferable, he was now sat right in the way of Fergie's Christening, being all obnoxious and existing. Martyna scoffed, pressing forwards and preparing to tell whatever-his-name-was to 'move out of the way' and make room for her and Fergie, when she noticed the flowerpot besides him. A lonely Flobberworm poked its head out the top, clearly seeking to escape.

"What are you doing?" Tina gasped, unable to contain her voice. Outraged at his neglect of the poor, slime-oozing beast, she fumed, puffing her cheeks. Yeah, they weren't the nicest things in the world, but no worm deserved this treatment! She stomped over, pointing her free hand accusingly at the pot, and tightening her grip protectively around Fergie, careful not to squish him. "Are you even trying to look after it? Has it even had any food? Have you even thought to give it a name?"

Martyna was furious! How dare he smugly sit there, more interested in his book than his new friend? She was in the right mind to reach forwards and free the Flobberworm from its prison, when she realised she'd have to actually touch it, and hesitated, pulling her hand back. No matter how sweet his Flobberworm might be, it was still pretty disgusting to touch it without some kind of protective wrap stopping any direct contact. Defeated, she turned her attention back to him, holding Fergie tight.

"You have to show them kindness. That's what Professor Céspedes told us," she said, impassioned by the situation at hand. After all, someone had to fight for the Flobberworms! "Now if you don't mind, I've got a Christening to host for Ferguson. So..." she nodded her head in the other direction, implying that he move. He was in her way.

_{Word Count: 800+/800}
^{Errand Complete!}

[font=PT Sans]Although he lived in a self-proclaimed ‘trouble making’ dorm where battle cries were their way of saying ‘good morning’ and sudden pillow fights were just another Tuesday, his ears were not prepared for the penetrating screech of an upset Martyna Romero. His book dropped to the floor, his head turned around hastily with an oddly worried look. Once he found the cause of it, his face turned sour.

It was that moron moon he had the most displeasure of meeting at the cursed Blossom Ball. He almost didn’t recognize her in normal attire. He bit back a comment about the moon outfit fitting her best. He didn’t lack enough empathy to guess the Blossom Ball wasn’t her best day either. They both didn’t have fond memories they wished to remember, he was sure. Hanako was actually doing a good job at that before she showed up in front of him again. Efforts to ignore the teeny weeny moon squished themselves into his daily schedule that he almost forgot about her.

Well..almost of course.

“ やれやれ。。” he muttered bitterly loud enough for her to hear as she stomped towards him, trying to ignore most of her existence as he slowly picked up his fallen book, realizing that he was too fast in doing it. Now he actually had to pay attention to her.

“..why are you making it seem like giving it a name is as important as feeding it?” he couldn’t help but question quizzicaly” Nice to see you too, Moon-ron. Get it? Because you dressed as a moon out of all things? Hahaha.. Aaaaa shut up, you know what I mean “ huffed Hanako. Her tone sounded so serious he wasn’t sure if she was really joking or not. His eyes wandered were her hands, where a familiar-looking creature was held enough tight for it not to fall. Was this… a battle between parents? In one way or another, was she lecturing him how to take care of his child? How annoying.

"have to show them kindness. That's what Professor Céspedes told us”

“ Kindness? But whatever for~?” he asked innocently. “ I’m pretty sure I’ve been giving it much more attention than it needs. If I can thrive this long with the amount of attention I’ve received, imagine what this little bugger could do~”. He smiled, slightly rocking the pot as if making sure the flobber worm flopped back into the base of the pot.

“Now if you don't mind, I've got a Christening to host for Ferguson. So.. "

“ A Christening?!” he repeated, torn between giving her a nasty look or howl with laughter. He chose the latter. Trying to catch his breath between chortles and wheezes, the flobber worm jail dangerously tipped over the edge from his hectic movement. Of course, that went unnoticed by the boy. “ Woah ahahdshaha..hahaha.. “ he left a short but peaceful silence, taking the time to be grateful for not dying from laughter.

“ Ferguson is its name, huh? Well then little moon, since you seem to have no problems criticizing my parenting skills- I’ll give you a little evaluation of my own, yea~? Or should I call it a reality check instead?” he grinned sweetly, putting his book aside as the situation that unfolded around him seemed to be much more entertaining. “ Once the time limit is up- we’ll be sending these little buggers back to Professor Centipede. That means Ferguson will be one of the many buggers bugging around once again. That means Ferguson- Christianized or not- will never remember you at all. Not the warmth and smiles you give- not the name you bestowed. Got that? Don’t you know how dangerous it is to give something a name when it's destined to go away?” he criticized, glancing at Ferguson. “ All I’m saying is- you’ve already made the mistake of naming him. Why must I move an inch so you can create new memories that’ll only bring you heartache in the long run? Hmph, and you complain about how I take care of my flobberworm”.
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@Martyna Romero