"I’ve known you were there since I was a little kid" (10 is really grown up!!!)
It was strange being the one to break the ruLes. Throughout all the land of Underbed, one could count on every bogeyman knowing the one rule of being a bogeyman: Don’t Get Attached.
One could not derive the proper nourishing terror from their childish victims if one got attached to them. If one got attached, they stopped scaring to their full potential. They took easy outs, ignored OBVIOUS smorgasbords, and allowed the child ease out of their fearful state and do the worst thing a victim could do: become comfortable. Comfortable children DON’T produce fear! They exude “Happiness”, “Friendliness” and possibly a bit of “Selfishness” depending on the level of comfort available.
But that wasn’t the worst thing getting attached could do to you. The very worst thing is how it makes one like the child. It makes the child’s bogeyman want to protect the child. How can a bogeyman who feeds on fear stay strong when they suddenly find themselves wanting to protect their source of nourishment from the things that frighten them? More than that, what can such a bogeyman do when they find themselves face to face with their so-called prey after defending them from a fellow hungry bogeyman?
This and a good deal more questions whirled about in mind of the feather-headed bogeyman as he looked down at his 10-year old charge. Long, curved claws tugged uneasily at the monster’s tattered waistcoat which now sported a few new tears thanks to the bogeyman he’d just driven away. He hadn’t meant to break the Cardinal Rule of Underbed. In fact, it had been happening so gradually, that he hadn’t realized he’d broken it until this very night! Oh, what punishment he would face upon his return…
“You must be quite surprised to see a creature like me in your bedroom,” he murmured with a click of his beak. But the lad’s response left him stunned.
“I’ve known you were there since I was a little kid.”
Pale, almond shaped eyes blinked in surprise as the bogeyman stared at his former-pray. Slowly his dark feathered face softened and he knelt down to look at the child face to face.
“Indeed?” the monster chirped with a slight grin. “Well then, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Owlind Clawrest, the bogeyman under your bed, and apparently, your protector for all these long years.”