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8 - Guilt

Dust had been part of our family for about one month, now, and I could already see the problems we would face. On the outside, Dust was a shy child. On the inside, he was terrified..constantly. I hadn't felt even a little bit of joy from him, even if he said he was happy; he wasn't. I wasn't quite sure what to do. He was scared that his food would be poisoned, he was afraid to be alone with anyone but me, he constantly avoided Flapjack, and he wouldn't play with a toy unless he was sure that it was safe..and only one toy fit that description: his hood. Needless to say, we needed to do something. So, we were going to do something. While Dust was sleeping, Killer, Horror, and I had formed a plan to get Dust accustomed to life with us; it could have taken a very long time if we didn't do something ourselves. The next day, we were up early, and we were ready to enact our plan. As soon as Dust exited his room, we were waiting for him; we probably shouldn't have startled him, but we couldn't take it back, now.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Dust asked. 

"We've decided that we're going to help you to overcome your fears." I answered.

"Why?"

"We wanna play with you!" Killer exclaimed; Dust flinched.

"Dust, remember what I said." I reminded. "Those terms are not what you think they are; we have no desire to hurt you."

"O-oh.." Dust tried to relax a bit.

"So, what are you afraid of?"

"..." Dust shook his skull.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No.."

"Are you afraid of Killer and Horror?"

"..." Dust nodded slightly.

"Why?" Horror didn't understand.

"Is it the eyes?" Killer knew that his eyesockets could be intimidating.

Dust shook his skull.

"Is it because they haven't gained your trust?" I knew how to help, if that was the case.

Dust thought for a moment before nodding once more.

"Would you like us to help you trust them?" I wondered, receiving another nod. "All right, then."

Dust, although he was scared of most people and things, was not scared of me, which was a bit unexpected; usually, it was the other way around. I had found that Dust also liked to be carried by those he trusted, and that resulted in my carrying him occasionally; he was light enough to not make much of a difference. I carried him into the living room, and Killer and Horror followed close behind. When we reached our destination, I set Dust on the couch and sat with Killer and Horror on the floor.

"All right, Dust." I pulled Killer and Horror onto my lap. "What makes you scared of them?"

"...I don't know.." Dust looked down.

"How about you meet them? Killer?"

"Hello!" Killer waved at Dust. "I'm Killer!"

"I-I know.." Dust was confused.

"We're gonna start over! What's your name?"

"D-Dust.."

"Nice to meet you, Dust! Would you like to tell me about yourself?"

"I..I'm not safe.."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not safe..you don't want to know me.."