i love sentient doll chara, who is probably corrupting cross
also, timeline time.
so cross is nine in this story uwu
—
Cross tugged on Error's shirt, demanding his attention for the fifth time. "Ma! Ma!! MA!!" Error groaned, "What?" Cross opened his mouth, exclaiming: "Meh pona nish! Gin?" (I want a sandwich! Please?) Error's expression shifted into disapproval.
"En monn onget, Cross." (In common tongue, Cross.)
Cross huffed, "Hio noiiiiii??" (Why thouuughh?) Error took his son's hands, kneeling down, voice stern, "Lo new latteles." (You need practice.)
Cross shook his head, groaning, "Meh ypyk poeeerrrrr!" (I don't want tooooooo!!) Error lightly slapped his wrist, "Cross." The little boy pouted, "Tin." (Fine.)
"I want sandwich." Error smiled, "There, was that so hard?" Cross stuck his tongue out, "Shato mako, powo." Error's smile faltered a bit, though just he sighed and stood up. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."
Cross snickered, making grabby hands "Gimme." Error sighed again. Cross had the habit of combining words, which of course makes sense since his native language also has some combined words. (pona is want a, po is want and na is a. combined words.)
"Cross, it's 'give me', not 'gimme.' Try again." Cross rolled his eyelights, scoffing, "Anto rantaksa, shatin."
"Cross!" Error sharply admonished him, "Do not speak to me like that, young man."
"Like what?" Nightmare said as he stepped into the kitchen. Cross perked up, running over to greet his father. "Pa! Good morning!" Nightmare smiled, patting Cross's head. "You're getting good at that." Cross beamed at the praise, bouncing on his toes. "Pa, you can buy sweet, yes?"
"Not today, kid, I've gotta get some paperwork done." Cross's face flushed with rage, and he stomped his foot. He kicked Nightmare's shin, to the dark monster's shock, and pointed at him, furiously shouting. "SHATIN!! SHATIN, POWO, SHATIN!!"
Nightmare opened his mouth to retort, but Error beat him to it. "Cross, if you don't stop this instant, you're grounded." Cross mocked him with ridiculous noises, running out of the room before Error could respond.
Error stared after him, his eyes wide with shock. Nightmare ran a hand over his skull, shaking his head. "What's gotten into him?" Error shrugged, "I don't know. He shouldn't even know those words at his age." Nightmare glanced at the half-made lunches, moving over to take a can of juice. "What was he saying? I don't know the words at all."
Error's expression shifted into one of dismay. "Well, they don't translate well, if I'm honest. Shatin is a very hateful word, though powo a much tamer word." As he spoke, Error took a knife from a drawer, setting it aside to peel an onion.
Nightmare took a cup, mulling over the words as he filled it with water. Curious, he asked, "What do they mean?" Error scooped up the peelings, throwing them away silently. He was still for a moment, letting out a breath before saying, "Powo means something similar to 'village idiot." He took a cutting board, cutting off the stumpy end of the onion, the knife clacking against the plastic board.
"It's an insult to someone's intellect, their sense of wisdom. It challenges someone's ability to make wise choices." Nightmare hummed, "No different than calling someone a fool, I suppose." Error chuckled, "That's true." He started dicing the onion, the atmosphere more lighthearted now. Nightmare wanted to ask what the other word meant, but he let it go, not wanting to ruin the now calm mood.
— next day —
"Pa?" Nightmare startled, nearly dropping his book. He pulled his reading glasses down, peering at Cross over the rims. "Cross? What is it?" Cross was rubbing his arm, his eyelights wavering around the edges. "I'm sorry for what I said." Nightmare almost cursed at the perfect pronunciation, his mouth opening in shock. He ignored it for now, exchanging his shocked expression for another. He patted the seat beside him, waiting until Cross was sitting to lightly pet the child's skull.
Cross was frowning, looking up at Nightmare hopefully. "Is it okay?" Nightmare nodded, "It's okay, Cross." The boy's frown eased, the distressed creases fading. Cross started to get up, but Nightmare set a hand on his shoulder, urging him to sit.
Cross sat back, blinking at Nightmare in confusion. Nightmare took his glasses off, folding them and putting them aside. "I want you to tell me where you learned those words, okay?" Cross shrugged, "Friend taught me, yesterday." Nightmare's brows furrowed, "Friend? Who?" Cross gave him a toothy grin, holding up the ratty doll he carried nearly every day. "Friend Chara."
Nightmare let out a breath, nudging the doll aside, "Cross, there's no way that a toy taught you swears." Cross's eyes went wide, his mouth twisting into a worried frown. "Pa, he isn't not-" Cross paused, glancing down at his hands for a moment. He looked back up, "He isn't a toy. Can't call him that." He held the doll up again, shaking it a bit, "Get angry."
Nightmare scoffed, plucking the doll from Cross's hand, paying no heed to the boy's warning shout. "Cross, it's a doll, dolls don't feel things." Cross grabbed at the toy almost desperately, wincing every time Nightmare would do something. "P-pa, please!!" Nightmare finally stopped, not liking how upset Cross was getting. He let him take the toy back, a shiver passing through his body once he let it go. He glanced around, confused. Cross was oblivious, patting the doll's head and quietly telling it to calm down.
Nightmare glanced down at the toy, unease churning in his nonexistent gut. The button eyes seemed to glow, despite being black. Nightmare quickly looked away. Something was wrong here.
—
Error already knows something is up with the doll, and now Nightmare is getting bad vibes from it? hmmmmm