He identified who it was a bare second before she hit him, which was just embarrassing. And painful. She somehow always managed to catch him right in the middle of the shin. Biting down on the "OW" before it got past his teeth, he caught his youngest daughter behind the arms and pulled her away from his leg. "Hazel?"
"They cheat," she complained, baby-girl vicious, "First they said I wasn't allowed to play, Daddy, they said I cheat, just because it took them forever to catch me last time, and isn't that the point, but Daddy--" she fought his hands, rolling over so she could scowl directly up at him, "Daddy, they took my boots."
Now that he looked, the boots she had on definitely weren't hers, unless Joshua was hoping she'd grow up faster by the challenge--no, that sounded more like Sascha's very special idea of sympathetic magic--
Hazel huffed at him, waving her hands at his face open-palmed so he looked at them. "Daddy. They took my boots," she complained again once she was sure she had his attention.
"And your shirt, unless that one's new," he agreed, and she grinned up at him gap-toothed. "'s new," she informed him, adding "Iain thinks this one might last longer" almost absently as she looked back down at her feet.
"Did you want me to get your boots back?" he asked, carefully gentle, and she snorted.
"No," she shot back, "I want a find-me so I can get them back, Josh can always find--" she squeaked as he scooped her up, rubbed noses with her conspiratorially.
"Bet I can do better than your brother," he murmured, and a grin spread across her face to match his.
"And Daddy? They *took my boot*!" - Wild Roses, Fintain and Hazel
He identified who it was a bare second before she hit him, which was just embarrassing. And painful. She somehow always managed to catch him right in the middle of the shin. Biting down on the "OW" before it got past his teeth, he caught his youngest daughter behind the arms and pulled her away from his leg. "Hazel?"
"They cheat," she complained, baby-girl vicious, "First they said I wasn't allowed to play, Daddy, they said I cheat, just because it took them forever to catch me last time, and isn't that the point, but Daddy--" she fought his hands, rolling over so she could scowl directly up at him, "Daddy, they took my boots."
Now that he looked, the boots she had on definitely weren't hers, unless Joshua was hoping she'd grow up faster by the challenge--no, that sounded more like Sascha's very special idea of sympathetic magic--
Hazel huffed at him, waving her hands at his face open-palmed so he looked at them. "Daddy. They took my boots," she complained again once she was sure she had his attention.
"And your shirt, unless that one's new," he agreed, and she grinned up at him gap-toothed. "'s new," she informed him, adding "Iain thinks this one might last longer" almost absently as she looked back down at her feet.
"Did you want me to get your boots back?" he asked, carefully gentle, and she snorted.
"No," she shot back, "I want a find-me so I can get them back, Josh can always find--" she squeaked as he scooped her up, rubbed noses with her conspiratorially.
"Bet I can do better than your brother," he murmured, and a grin spread across her face to match his.