MOTH MOUND

CHAPTER 3

DEFY

DEFINITION

Appear to be challenging (someone) to do or prove something.

"he glowered at her, defying her to mock him."

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DATE - JULY 2ND 2015

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"I tried to talk to him, Alvi.." Tabby's fingers fiddled as she sat on the floor by my mattress, "It was my fault, I didn't listen..." Tabby rested a hand on my tail that had winced away out of reflex, and she also jolted her hand back. The silence was between us as she remained in thought. "I know I'll read you a story!" She then jumped up and scurried over to the small pile of books in the corner, "What do you want me to read to you?"

I squinted at her, and she sighed heavily, "Cmon, Alvi, I'm tryna make it up to you..." She had a pouty tone in her voice, "Whaddya wanna read?" I eye her again after I let off a sigh; her persistence was always enough to push me over.

However, I squinted again and forced myself to gargle to try and reference the book I'd like to read. Tabby groaned, "No way, we aren't gonna read your dumb dictionary-nerd books!" She had slumped back. I gargle in annoyance before I turned away, which did not do much as I had eyes on the back of my head.

Tabby seemed to notice a different book. She knelt down and picked it up, "Oh, Alvi!" She cooed as she loudly shuffled back.

She had the book behind her back and waited until I turned my head before she showed it off, "Ta-da!"

In her hands was a novel, with a watercolor cover and a title that read, "Oliver and the Over-sized Apricot.' Which I now know as a crude knock-off. The book pile is littered with such shameless copies like 'Donny Plates and the Wizards amulet,' or 'The Mishaps of Bruce Badger.' And so forth.

But I sigh and let myself remember the enthusiasm of Tabby as she reads out the scenes, the voices she'd do, and how she'd act and do her own adlibs. So, it was easy to give in. I force myself to shift slightly and made room on the mattress for her to sit down.

"No need to make room, Alvi, I'm a performer, I'm born to stand!" She posed before she opened the first page. She fake cleared her throat before she began to read aloud, voice passionate and wistful as she set the scene.

Before the third sentence was done, the door was booted open, Warden stood tall and blocked out the light from the hallway, "Tabitha." He started, but before he even spoke, Tabby was tensed in the shoulders, and her TV head hung low.

"You ignored my messages and alerts." His voice was hollow and deaf.

Tabby took a moment before she responded, the silence of the room made the gears in her neck all the louder, "I... I wanna stay with Alvi today; I didn't charge properly." Her voice was quiet as the tension in the room rose.

There was a long pause, one that felt like a challenge to break. If you spoke, it was a declaration of defeat or war. Tabby stayed hung low, while the Warden's sharpened eyes remained stagnant on the cyborg.

I counted twelve seconds before Tabby's robotic legs started to walk herself out of the room, the book slowly let go on the way out, many pages surely smushed. The door shut harshly, a rattle trailed up to the hung lightbulb. A few taped papers on the wall slipped to the floor.

With an inhale of my gils, I brace myself and reach out to the book. My body strained and stung as I pushed my muscles, maybe a tad too far. I grabbed the book, my body had collapsed at the mental relief. Thankfully, the return to my bed was much more manageable.