🌼🐌 answered asks ! // unprompted. ( always accepting ! )
@thirdstreeter sent: "Listen, kid. Ya gotta learn ta toughen up. If not - yer gonna have alotta people walkin all over ya. Do ya want dat?"
WORDS FROM THE OTHER ARE INTERPRETED AS A WARNING, resulting in the child to feel quite alarmed. The sunshine in her features slowly faded; her set of bright green eyes dulled into a pair clouded with worry, and the precious smile that was once spread wide on her freckled face shrunk into a rather fearful frown. What a terrifying thought! People would … step on her? Why would anyone do such a thing?!
Clearly, the little girl misunderstood the entirety of the young woman's words, with a couple parts of her advice taken a bit too literally. Little Ari wondered silently, ' What does ' toughen up ' mean, and why would people want to step on me if I don’t do that? '
Perhaps it was just best to answer the question asked, despite not understanding the most important parts of it.
" nnn … no, thank you … " little Ari whimpered, her tiny fingers met at her chest to twiddle together nervously. " — I … I don't wanna be st — stepped on, please … tha … that sounds like it would hurt vvv … very, very much … "
" but I don't knnn … knnn— I don't know what miss m — means … www … what does ' tuh - ffin ' mean, please? "