Ravensdagger_Headpats

Chapter Four

Taylor didn’t care how embarrassing Cheshire thought it might be, or how much she complained, or how red her face went when a few passing women commented on how cute she looked, there was no way she was letting go of the girl’s hand.She figured that the moment Cheshire was free the girl would find some way to cause a ruckus.“We’ll get to the end of the Boardwalk, then turn back for home, okay?” Taylor said.“That’s not even a whole mile,” Cheshire said. “Y’er still gonna look like a frog.”Taylor’s eyes didn’t twitch because she had more self control than that. “Do you have to keep insulting me?” she asked.“I bet it all ends up in your thighs,” Cheshire continued. “It sure as heck ain’t ending up in y’er boobs, ya know.” She made a cupping gesture with her free hand, then looked up at Taylor and gave her a toothy grin.“You’re a real pain in the ass,” Taylor said.“Nah, I’m awesome is what I am.”She kind of wished that she had as much confidence as the four-foot-nothing girl next to her. Taylor looked up when she felt Cheshire’s grip on her hand tightened and found that the girl was looking off into the distance.Following her line of sight revealed a massive toystore with a gathering of people, mostly mothers and their children, circling around in a rough semi-circle. And in the middle of that gathering was a life-sized victorian doll, or at least a woman in a costume.She curtsied to the crowd of children and adults, then, with an extravagant bow, she turned and gestured towards the front door of the toystore where a giant lion with a lacy mane and button eyes shouldered its way past the door and roared at the crowd.There was gasping and cheering as the lion stood on its big, fluffy hing legs and began to dance.Taylor looked down when she felt Cheshire tugging at her and was soon lost in the guileless ocean of two brown eyes that looked up to her. “Please?” she begged.“I don’t know, you’ve hardly been behaving yourself,” Taylor said. Any guilt she might have felt was washed away with the thought of how much trouble she was going to be in the next day.“Please?” Cheshire begged. “I’ll behave. And you’ll be the best big sis ever, yeah?” Her eyes grew wider and wetter, the were practically sparkling.“I’ll hold you to it,” Taylor warned. It took all of a second for the meaning to register with Cheshire and she whooped with joy before escaping Taylor’s grasp and shooting across the street.Cursing, and glad that there were no cars on the Boardwalk, Taylor jogged after Cheshire and caught up with her on the edge of the crowd, bouncing up and down in a vain attempt to see over the shoulders of the adults on the edges.Remembering what her mom used to do when she was that age, Taylor grabbed Cheshire by the shoulders and turned her around. “Get on my back,” she said as she crouched down.Not having to be told twice, Cheshire hopped onto Taylor’s back and wrapped both arms around her neck. She soon had Cheshire’s cheek pressed up against hers as the girl leaned forwards to watch the giant stuffed animals playing and dancing.Taylor tried to enjoy the show despite the weight on her back and the little knees digging into her kidneys and kicking out every time the animals did something particularly exciting. It was an impressive display. She had no idea how the doll-girl’s powers worked, but they seemed to lend her a lot of fine control over her stuffed animals.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.The musical accompaniment was a little lacking, and was certainly aimed at the younger members of the audience, and there was no real story to the show, just big animals acting silly, but it was still enjoyable.After a good five or so minutes the animals, now half a dozen in number lined up and-to a chorus of cheers and a change of tune-bowed towards the crowd.Taylor clapped and Cheshire tried to join in without falling off.The crowd was quick to disperse, a lot of them heading into the store where a couple of young clerks were handing out coupons by the door and the doll-cape was making tiny teddy bears for excited kids. Taylor took one glance at the price tag for what was essentially a teddy bear and blanched.“We should meet ‘er!” Cheshire said.“I don’t...” Taylor began, but an idea that hasn’t really solidified yet started to prickle at her. If Cheshire came to be because she had presumably been close to Shadow Stalker at some point, then how close to the doll girl did she have to get to do the same to her. “Okay,” she said.“Onwards!” Cheshire said as she pointed forwards.Snorting, Taylor adjusted Cheshire’s position on her back with a hop and moved towards the cape in the victorian dress. She was, perhaps, the most approachable cape Taylor had ever seen. It made sense, seeing as she worked with children.Waiting a bit for the press to clear up, Taylor found a moment to come close when some of the kids ran back to their parents to beg for cash. “Uh, hi,” Taylor said. For all that the doll-cape wasn’t intimidating, and was a whole foot shorter than her, it still felt awkward to come close.“Hello,” she said with a smooth, gentle voice. “Can I help you? Or maybe interest you in a plushie?” She looked up at Cheshire, then tilted her head to one side. “I could even make one to look like your... daughter’s onesie.”Taylor felt her face burning up. “She’s my sister,” she was fast to say. “My little sister.”“Yeah, she ain’t my mom!” Cheshire added. “Big sis, can I have a plushie?”Taylor was glad that Cheshire was on her back. It saved her from having to endure the puppydog eyes she just knew the girl was aiming her way. “You don’t need it,” she said. “And I couldn’t afford it besides.” Turning back towards the cape, she tried on a smile. “I just wanted to say that I liked your show, it was really neat. Are you, um, sponsored by the store?”“Not quite. They pay me to help advertise, and I make a small profit off of the dolls and plushies,” the cape explained. “It’s not too much, but it’s an honest living.”“That’s really cool,” Taylor said, and she was being honest. She could only hope to find that kind of independance one day. “A-anyway, I should be going. My sister is getting grumpy.”“Bitch, I ain’t grumpy.”“See,” Taylor said.The cape tittered. “I do. I’m glad you enjoyed the show.” She extended a hand and Taylor was quick to grab it for a shake.The moment their hands touched she felt a weight settle into the pit of her stomach, filling a hole that she didn’t even know she had. “It was nice meeting you. C’mon, Cheshire, let's get back home.”“Y’er no fun!” Cheshire protested.Taylor ignored her. She had bigger things to worry about.

Chapter Five

Taylor didn’t know exactly what kind of preparations she needed to do in order to use her power.She thought back to when Cheshire had appeared and... and let go of those memories with the same speed she would use upon accidentally stepping in dog droppings.Groaning to herself, Taylor paced across the length of her room, arms crossed and head bowed as she tried to think. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to experiment with her power. The warmth in her gut was still there and she had yet to really poke it. The problem was that she feared the consequences.Would Cheshire disappear is she summoned another clone?The question worried her. Not that she liked Cheshire or anything. The girl was a pain in the rear and nothing else.She had the impression that the answer was no, that Cheshire would be fine, but she had no reason to know if that impression was accurate or not, or even where it came from. Capes were supposed to have some instinctive knowledge of how their powers worked, was that it?“I’m going to do it,” she declared.“Are ya sure?” Cheshire asked from her spot on Taylor’s bed. She was on her back and staring at the ceiling, arms and legs sprawled out every which way. “You could keep on wafflin’ like you’ve been doin’. Not like I’ve got anything better to do than watch ya waste both our time.”Taylor ground her teeth, but Cheshire was essentially correct. “Fine,” she said. She moved over to her little desk and pulled its chair back before sitting down. She leaned forwards until her elbows were on her knees and focused. Cheshire sat up on the bed, arms out behind her to keep her up while her legs kicked at the sides of her mattress.Taking a deep breath, Taylor focused on the thing inside her and waited. It gave her an impression of calm waters on the brink of receding, of something that put up a strong front against the world, but who was wilting inside. She closed her eyes and poked at the feeling in her gut.It bloomed, expanded, and burst. Taylor opened her eyes in time to see a figure pop into existence before her with neither sound nor fanfare before she felt a wave of tiredness sweep over her.She took in a deep breath to settle her nerves, and then another as the realization hit her. She really was a cape, a parahuman. It wasn’t some elaborate trick, and Cheshire wasn’t playing some cruel prank on her. She smiled at the new girl in the room, her good mood rising in her chest and leaving her feeling light headed. “Hi,” she said.The girl before her curtsied, pulling at the sides of a puffed out dress and revealing white stockings and buckled shoes. “Hello,” she said.Taylor took a good look at her. She was relieved to see that however her power worked, it didn’t create an actual clone of the cape she touched. The girl was tiny, a whole foot shorter than Cheshire and had tanned skin and middle eastern features with huge, guileless dark eyes. Nothing at all like the doll cape they had seen at the Boardwalk.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.“Hey,” Taylor said for a lack of better things to say. “It’s nice to meet you?”Cheshire snorted. “Hey little sis,” she said. “Glad you made it. Give big sis a minute to get her shit together. In the meantime, lemme lay down the law, yeah?”“I would rather rather hear the law from my bigger sister,” the girl said with a prim and proper tone. Her accent had just the faintest british hint behind it.“I am y’er bigger sister. I was out first, and I’m bigger. So there.”“Cheshire,” Taylor warned and the girl back off with a huff, one hand reached to the cat-eared hoodie she wore to pull it down over her eyes.“What?” Cheshire asked. “D’you see how prim n’ proper she looks? Bet’cha she won't do nothing if it means gettin’ ‘er hands dirty.”Cheshire was at least right about the way the new girl looked. She stood with her back straight, even if it didn’t help her look any taller. Her dress had little flowers embroidered along the edges and was a soft brown that matched her hair with a few sky-blue pleats. The entire front of her costume was covered in a big smock of the same blue and a beret sat at a jaunty angle on the back of her head.“I am not merely prim,” the girl said in a tone that would have been haughty if her voice didn’t squeak so much. “I’m trying to be civilised. Do you even know what that means?” One hand rose to the sides of her poofy skirt where Taylor noticed she had pockets cleverly hidden by the lacy frills.Cheshire jumped off the bed and raised a fist. “I’ll show you civil eyes when I poke yours out, doll girl.”The new girl’s eyes widened and she ‘eeped’ before moving next to Taylor and using her as a human shield.“Yeah, that’s right. Y’er a coward is what you are,” Cheshire said, a fanged grin growing on her face.Taylor was about to start trying to calm the two down when a knock sounded at her door and it opened a moment later. Her dad poked his head in. “Heya kiddos. It’s getting a little late, you two-” he froze, taking in the new girl before his brow scrunched up. “I mean, you three should be getting ready for bed.”“Daddy!” Cheshire said as she shot across the room and stopped next to Taylor’s dad. “Tell big sis that I don’t need to go to bed yet,” she demanded.Danny laughed and placed a hand on her head. She turned, shooting an impossibly smug grin at the new girl. “None of that. You need your sleep to grow big and strong. But before that,” he said as he leaned forward and gave the air a sniff. “Maybe a bath is in order.”“I don’t need no bath,” Cheshire protested immediately.“So that’s what the smell was,” the new girl said.“Bitch, I will cut you.”“Girls!” Danny barked. “No hurting each other, not even with words. And, uh, especially not with knives.”Cheshire’s cheeks puffed out as she looked up to him. “Only if ya give me more headpats,” she said.Danny laughed and pat the top of her head. “Sure thing, little kitty. Taylor, can you take care of your sisters?”“Yeah,” Taylor said faintly. “I’ll do what I can.”

Chapter Six

Taylor woke up because something was snoring in her room, and it wasn’t her. Blinking a little, she turned her head just enough to see her alarm on the nightstand, then squinted until she could make out the numbers. It was too damned early. She still had fifteen minutes to sleep in and she was going to profit from each and every one.Whoever was snoring could wait for later.The door to her room creaked open and she blinked awake with a start. Tiny feet pit-patted closer and when Taylor looked up it was to see the new girl, the one she had summoned just last night and had yet to name, stepping into the room with careful footfalls. She was carrying a tray that was nearly half as long as she was tall, tongue pinched between her lips as she carefully walked closer.On the tray was a pair of plates full of eggs and a tea kettle that steamed a little, letting a nice familiar scent fill the room.“Hey?” Taylor asked as she tried to push herself up to a sitting position.The girl froze, then noticed that Taylor was up and with a shrug walked closer without trying to be quiet. “I thought big sis would like some breakfast in bed this morning,” she said with a small smile.Taylor shrugged. She wasn’t about to say no to that. “Did you cook it yourself?” she asked.The girl shook her head and was about to speak when a loud snore cut her off. She glared towards Taylor’s feet.Giving in to the inevitable, Taylor looked down. Cheshire was on her back, one arm over Taylor’s legs and the oversized T-shirt Taylor had given her as pyjamas riding up to expose her tummy. Her mouth was wide open, one fang in full display as a bit of drool slid down her cheek.“I did not cook it myself. Dad did.”“Ah, yeah, that makes sense.” She pulled her legs out from under Cheshire. All that accomplished was making the girl mumble something before rolling onto her front so that her other arm could hug Taylor’s legs but she was already sitting up with her back against the head of her bed. “Thanks,” Taylor said as she allowed the new girl to place the tray on her lap. “That’s really nice of you.”The comment earned another small smile and the new girl looked down demurely. “It was nothing,” she said.Taylor shifted so that the second plate was closer to the girl. She then picked up one of the forks and dug in. “Yeah, it tastes like dad’s cooking,” she said.“It could use some salt,” the girl agreed.Taylor nodded, but continued eating while Cheshire snored at her feet. Her leg twitched a few times, poking over the edge of the bed. She figured that given enough time, Cheshire would fall off the side. “So,” she said. “I have school today. It’s Friday, so last day until the weekend. Will you be okay staying here with Cheshire?”Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.The girl nodded. “I will be. No worries. I’ll try to make sure she behaves.” She took another bite and kept her eyes down. “Um, big sis?”“Yeah?”“Would you happen to have any sewing supplies? Maybe some yarn, or some cloth?” She looked up, dark eyes peeking through brown hair. “I, I’d like to help a little, but I can’t without things to work with.”“Of course,” Taylor said. She actually felt rather bad. Unlike Cheshire, this girl was polite and actually helpful, if a little shy. “By the way, have you thought of a name for yourself?”She shook her head, a tinge of red climbing to her cheeks. “That, that would be the height of impropriety. Only big sis should name us.”Taylor paused. She wondered, as she poured two cups of tea, if that was part of her power or just this girl’s feelings on the matter. “How about you tell me about the things you like? That way I’ll be able to give you a name that you like.”“Of course.” She had that small smile again. “I know how to sew, fix any kind of clothes, make little plushies and teddy bears and all sorts of things with cloth. I would like to think that I’m pretty good that that. And I like fashion. Pretty dresses, matching the right colours together, picking out outfits so that they compliment the wearer. It’s a science, but also an art! And it’s a great art. There’s so much depth to it. Fabric choices and styles. From simple crocheted items to entire gowns with mixed materials. I, I really like that kind of thing, and my power lends itself well to it.”“I see,” Taylor said. She could keep her own smile off her face at the pure delight pouring out of the girl. “I don’t think a name like needle would fit then?”She could tell that the girl didn’t like it, but didn’t want to say no.“No, not quite. It’s a nice name but not for this little sister, right?”“If you say so, big sis.”Taylor chuckled and set down her cup to pat the girl on the head. It earned her another small smile. “How about Crochet?”“Like the needlework? Yes, yes I like that very much.”“Well then Crochet, do you want to help me bring all this downstairs? Then we can rummage around for materials you can play with while I’m gone.”Crochet nodded fervently, her poised act discarded for the moment. “I would love that, big sis.”