The Disobedience

The kitchen had gone deathly quiet after Victor stomped away upstairs, doing who-knows-what. Aunora decided not to follow the child, giving herself time to sooth her temper.

Aunora couldn't help but to get angry with Victor, it was her brash nature and easily-triggered aggression speaking out. With a grunt, Aunora threw herself in a chair, tapping her fingers impatiently on the counter.

"He was very frightened," Esper commented quietly, placing his hands in his lap.

Aunora immediately stood back up, her rage revived and brimming to the top. "Frightened?! He sure as heck better be! I'll put the fear of the gods in him!"

Esper's mouth twisted into a dissatisfied expression. "That's not what I meant. He was upset before you started yelling at him." Esper slowly stroked the fabric on his sweater. "He was probably already stressed about his blood test, and the quote-unquote 'abandonment' by his parents just made him feel worse," he murmured.

"Still pisses me off that he got all sassy with me," Aunora muttered, "I thought he was a good kid."

Esper smiled. "We all have our moments, Aunora. Victor taking out his stress and anxiety on the people around does remind me of a certain someone-"

"I don't do that!' Aunora shouted, cutting Esper off and waving her arms.

Esper chortled softly, covering his mouth. "I never accused you of doing so," he murmured mischievously, a calm smile holding steady on his countenance, "There's no need to be so defensive."

"I am not being defensive!" Aunora retorted, sounding incredibly defensive.

Esper kindly patted Aunora on the back. "Okay."

Just them, Victor trudged downstairs, holding his hands suspiciously behind his back. Careful not to look at Aunora or Esper, he slid in front of the refrigerator. His shoulders were hunched like he was on guard while he shuffled through the fridge's contents, a slight tremble visibly racking his frame.

He pulled out a bottle of water, and raised the object in his other hand- a medium-sized glass container. Murky liquid stirred within, and Victor brought it to his lips.

"Hey!" Aunora snapped, nearly making Victor drop the items in his hands, "Your parents told me you couldn't have anything!"

Uttering no words, Victor protested, desperately playing a hopeless game of tug-o-war with Aunora over the glass bottle.

"Give it to me, brat!" Aunora yelled, finally heaving the container out of Victor's sweaty hands. "I told your parents I was gonna get you to this appointment, and I'm not going to let you ruin it!"

"Everyone, please calm down," Esper said sharply, stepping between the huffing demon woman and the resilient child, "Yelling will solve nothing."

"It will when it's somethin' like this!" Aunora countered, sloshing the bottle. She paused, staring at the object in her hand. "What is this stuff anyway?"

Victor's face was flushed a deep red. "I-It's my medicine. I gotta take it everyday or it makes me feel sick," he rasped, his voice barely above a croak.

"Oh." Aunora blinked, not sure what to say. She quickly found her gusto again, temper firing back up when she saw Victor's bitter expression. "Well just take it and get it over with already! We gotta go soon!"

Victor flinched at her words. "I don't wanna go!"

"To freaking bad, kid!" Aunora took a step towards Victor, her impression-in-comparison height making him shudder. "All this backsass you're giving me ain't gonna roll, you hear me?! I'm taking you to this stupid doctor's appointment whether you like it or not!"

"Y-you're so mean!" Victor squeaked.

"I'll show you mean!" Aunora balled her fists, and Victor's eyes widened.

The boy reared back in fear, tears becoming visible in the corners of his eyes. "I hate you, Aunora!" Victor screamed, immediately covering his eyes and running upstairs.

Author's Note- o u c h