The rest of the owners jumped on Madam when the silence stretched out for far too long.
"Stop bullying our Little Miss," they scolded her, biting every part of her exposed skin, "Nom. Nom. Nom."
She scoffed in return, "Or what? You want to fight?"
"We're not going to fight you, we'll just nom nom nom you," they answered and nipped her on her. "Nom!"
Sometimes, the owners acted very childishly around Madam. Their mature and competent side would evaporate, and I wondered whether it was an act or if they were really this immature in nature.
"Am I supposed to feel threatened by that?" Madam asked, looking utterly unimpressed. "Great, now even my males are turning herbivore on me," she grunted a laugh and bit the nearest buttock, "Keep flashing yourself like deers, and someone's going to get the idea you want to be plucked."
"..." They covered their behinds in response and returned to their seats, "Bully!" they called her out, "Meanie! Meanie pants!"
The corner of Madam's mouth twitched into a crooked smile.
"Losers," she muttered under her breath and grabbed a bowl of fruit and nuts, popping them in her mouth.
The ones I picked. She didn't comment on the flavors and continued to eat in silence.
"Losers?" they repeated in a questioning tone, "It takes one to know one!"
Please, could someone tell me why the owners thought it would be a good idea to provoke Madam further?! They were supposed to do the opposite! The opposite! I thought to myself, chewing on the buttercup in agitation.
Karrak was the only one calm and collected, feeding me more buttercups as I got worked up by their behavior. I didn't want to be the reason for the family's demise like their last chick, whoever that was.
I wiggled out of Karrak's arms and crawled out of the way to hide in the corner behind a stack of crates. Out of sight, out of mind. That was my motto when it came to avoiding trouble. Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way I had hoped it would.
Karrak lifted me by the dress, only for it to tear, and it felt like something inside me split together with it. The ugly sound cut through the air like a whip, and suddenly every head turned, "..."
No. No. No, please no.
"My..." I blinked hard. "My dress," my voice hitched in disbelief as I tried to hold onto it to keep it from slipping down my body, "My dress... it's...it's torn."
"I'm...sorry," Karrak said, trying to fix the dress, but the more he fumbled with the fabric, the more it tore. "Sorry," he repeated, "I didn't mean to."
I shook my head. My lips trembled, and the tears came on their own, rolling down my cheeks. Kurus spent a whole day sewing this for me. Just so I could have something nice to wear. Something that was mine. And now it was ruined.
I looked up at him through blurry eyes. He was staring at me, not moving, like even he didn't know what to do.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice breaking apart in pieces. "My dress..." I hiccuped and began to sob uncontrollably, pulling the dress up, "I'm so sorry. I will fix it, I will...I will."
Moyu draped his cloak over my shoulder, and everyone began to panic when I refused the cloak.
"You've given me too...too much already," I tried to breathe, but it was becoming difficult. My chest hurt. Them surrounding me only worsened everything. "It's wrong. It's...it's not right."
They paused, clearly searching for a way out, then their eyes lit up at the same time. Without warning, they ganged up on Madam, and dropped her right in front of me. "Here, bully her all you want. Little Sheep is all yours now," they said before scampering away.
Kurus quickly took my torn dress and slithered after them.
"We love you, bye," they called out.
They disappeared into the woods, leaving me alone with a very pissed off Madam.
Karrak tried to sneak away, too, but she caught his cloak, yanking him back, "Where are you going?"
"Uh..." He glanced at the direction where the rest disappeared, "Somewhere to cry in peace?" he responded, flapping his big hands in the direction he was trying to escape to, "Anywhere but here?" he added, making one step towards the woods, and it was my first time seeing Madam struggle.
She had to dig her heels into the ground to prevent him from moving forward, and he was still pushing her along.
"Let me go, Yaya," Karrak said. I couldn't see his expression behind his mask, and his voice sounded anything but sincere, "I have to go comfort myself in the woods. I hurt our Little Miss. Oh, my poor heart." He pressed his hand to his chest, "Oh no. My heart is bleeding."
She kicked his ass, making him stumble forward and he used it to leap all the way toward the woods while holding his behind.
He disappeared, but his voice was still audible, "I will return a better man."
"Cowards!" Madam yelled after them, "Get back here and comfort her yourselves! You got a lot of nerve leaving me behind to do the dirty work for you!"
"WE LOVE YOU TOO BYE!!" They shouted from the woods, "YOU ARE THE BEST!! WE WILL BRING BACK SOUVENIRS!!!"
"SOUVENIRS, MY ASS! ! YOU BETTER BRING BACK CASKETS, BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD ONCE YOU COME BACK!"
A quiet chuckle escaped my lips, making me sniffle and wipe my face. They were so silly that it made me laugh and cry at the same time.
Madamp turned to me with a deep scowl on her face. I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating an onslaught of harsh words and kicks.
She remained quiet, and after a while, she let out a deep sigh, "I can't believe them."
She slumped down next to me and continued to mutter curses under her breath.
I thought she would have been used to them by now, but the owners kept surprising her, it seemed.