Just Give In

Chapter 46:

Tubbo's P.O.V.

It's been a couple days since Foolish and his small family had come to Puffy's house, and in all honesty, it was the most fun I'd had in a while. Foolish Jr. loved to watch me tinker with Charlie or any other electronics that I had spread on my desk, while Finley loved when I would play in the garden with her. 

Both kids adored my wings, and I gave them each countless rides, unable to stop the large smile that would spread across my face each and every time they laughed. With the three of them staying there, it just felt... right. It felt more like home than the treehouse ever did, that being with Tommy ever did. 

Currently, it was around 9pm and the two littles were curled against each side of me. Foolish Jr.'s head was resting close to my ribs, his hands grasping the thin blanket he covered himself in before falling asleep. Finley was curled against my chest, clutching her doll close to her chest. Both had soft snores coming from them, and I found them absolutely adorable. 

I, myself, had a hand running through Foolish Jr.'s hair, gently detangling the bright blonde hair as he slept, while my other hand held a book open, my arm resting across Finley's back. A small smile was permanently stuck on my face, my eyes taking in the story that was laid out before my eyes.

It was a tragedy from ancient times, but it was incredibly funny even though almost everyone dies. I had just gotten to the part where the main female lead was about to reject the antagonist for the 7th time when I felt it. 

It started out a small ray of warmth, reminding me of when Tommy and I used to sunbathe during the day. It started in my chest, but slowly worked its way towards the top of my head, making my vision blur and my thoughts become fuzzy. 

I felt myself drop the book and my entire body go limp, both arms now hugging the two kids close to me. The warmth spread through my head, but that is when I started to enjoy it less and less. It didn't feel as safe as it once did, but felt more like it was invading my personal space, that somehow it was going to hurt me in some way. 

The warmth soon turned into a burning sensation, one that made me wince and brought forth small tears towards my eyes. The two kids next to me shifted, and I looked down at them, barely registering the fact that both of their faces were contorted into something of discomfort. 

Tears began to flow out of Finley's closed eyes and Foolish Jr. began to whimper softly, both of their grips becoming tighter. Both grabbed my shirt and fisted it, trying to pull me closer. I hissed quietly as the burning just increased, letting the first few tears slip out of my eyes. I heard a thump somewhere from inside the house, causing my antennas to twitch and a shout almost escaped my mouth at the sharp pain that erupted when they did that. 

A small cry left Finley's mouth, and I decided that it was time to wake both of them up. I tried to sit up, to gently remove their grips from my shirt, but my head was now full of just pain. The burning sensation only increased every time I moved, increasing the tears that flowed down my face and the pressure I had biting on my tongue. 

Another thump was heard, this time closer to my door, and I was about to look up towards it when Finley began screaming in pain, Foolish Jr. following not too long after. Panic flared within my chest, and I tried desperately to wake them up, but my attempts were in vain as a scream of my own ripped from my throat.

The burning sensation increased dramatically, making it feel like my skull was splitting in half, which might have been true. I felt something wet soaking into my shirt and looked down to see that both Finley and Foolish Jr. had blood rushing from their heads, leaking onto my shirt. They were both trembling in the pain, their screams never ceasing and the tears always flowing. 

I saw something white within the curls on Finley's head, but I shut my eyes tightly as the pain increased and I felt something wet soaking into my hair, tripping down from my scalp. Another scream ripped from my throat, and it was answered by two different screams that didn't come from within my room, though I couldn't really focus on that. 

My head began pounding profusely just as the pain started to ebb away slowly, leaving behind an ache that I knew wouldn't go away for a while. The screaming died down, but the tears never stopped. I finally managed to open my eyes, though I could barely see anything because of the blurriness from the tears. 

Looking down, I saw that both Foolish Jr. and Finley were awake, their emerald eyes staring up at me with concern, pain, and fear. Each had a firm grip on my shirt once more. I shakily brought my arms up, to which both children launched themselves onto me, squeezing my neck as I rubbed both of their backs. I softly murmured reassuring things to them, wanting them to feel safe again, when I felt it.

 It was the soft poke of something hard, but not sharp, on my neck that made my reassurances falter. Last time I checked, neither of them had anything hard in their hair. And Finley's doll was laying on the bed near my hips, so it couldn't have been that. 

Pulling back slightly, both children unlatched themselves from around my neck, and I saw how hurt they were really. Both of their eyes were red rimmed and puffy, tears still flowing down their face, making their eyes look glossy. 

Both of their hair was messy, but it wasn't the I-just-woke-up messy. It was the I-just-got-dosed-with-a-hose messy. There was something dark dripping from Finley's curls and the same dark liquid had matted down Foolish Jr.'s hair. But it made it a lot easier to spot the thing that had poked my neck.

My eyes widened, and my hands immediately drifted towards Finley's curls, slowly approaching the two new additions to the little girl's head. My index finger gently brushed one of them, and I saw Finley physically shiver, her eyes widening comically along with my own. 

Foolish Jr. looked towards his sister with curiosity, only to gasp as his eyes zeroed into the same new additions we both noticed. His own hands shot into his hair, his eyes widening as he felt the same new additions to his head. 

I looked towards him and saw that his were slightly longer than his sister's, but not by much. Both kids turned their gaze towards me, and I saw their eyes fill with awe and wonder, and I had a pretty good guess as to why.

Slowly unwrapping an arm from around one of them, I reached my hand up towards my antennas, but felt something poke the side of my hand when I moved it close to my head. Goosebumps appeared on my arms from the incredibly strange sensation that washed over me and I knew, in that moment, what had happened.

For some reason, we all now had horns.

1249 words

-Zia