Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I'm hungry." Hyein uttered from the back of their group, her stomach growling right after to affirm the statement. She was usually the tallest amongst the other girls, but her newfound posture resembled that of the hunchback of Notre Dame - made her look 20 times older and 5 times shorter.

"Damn, how's the dirt smell???" Hanni had noticed the change in posture and opted to take the opportunity and throw a nasty spike down Hyein's path. It had been 20 minutes since her last argument with anyone, ESPECIALLY Minji, and girl was about to lose it if nothing in her life spiced up any kind of scenario. (As if them getting kicked out of their hometown wasn’t spicy enough to make a whole fairytale book out of it.)

"I think you'd know." A spark finally ignited in Hanni's eyes - Minji butting right into it was exactly what she was hoping for. It's as if the gods had listened to her prayers to let her have yet another pointless argument; or maybe they were just as bored as she was.

“Ok miss alpha wolf of the pack, I don’t suppose YOU’D know how to drag us out of the current situation-”

“You mean the situation YOU dragged us into in the first place?” Hanni didn't even get to finish before Minji snapped back at her with a cleverly thought out remark that left her losing yet another argument with this stuck up bitch.

“Um… NOT cool mama?? You know I always think of us first. I wanted US to live a better life...” She hung her head and dramatically placed a hand over her chest, as if she was in fucking church, reciting some other 20-page-bullshit-poem about god they forced her to learn within the upcoming week.

"Right…” Minji gave Hanni a dirty over the shoulder look and continued. “I don't suppose stealing the neighbour's cow to sell as fresh meat and then promptly getting caught, considering we lived in one of the only two houses in that part of town, was part of the plan." Minji hissed at Hanni.
"Girl, don't be yelling at me! I wouldn't have assumed they were smart enough to put 2 and 2 together-" Hanni was cut short as Minji went on a tangent on her shrimp built stature of 5'3.

"A farmhouse, or a dense forest ranging miles into god knows where? Hm, I wonder where I should check first… WHAT DO YOU THINK???” In a sorry excuse of an attempt to defend herself, Hanni circled her eyes around for a second and opened her mouth - but Minji was not ready to let the midget get a word in just yet.

"But before you even say anything, I actually want to thank you." She finally gave it a rest and waited for Hanni to say something. The other girl was a little too stunned to even comprehend the situation - she was just getting chewed the fuck up like one sentence ago, what happened??

“W-wait… so- thank me?...” She paused. The pause was long enough to have Minji say something, but an awkward silence settled in, and it didn’t seem like Minji was about to lift it any time soon. So Hanni continued. “You’re welcome…?”

That was finally the cue for Minji to continue. “Oh yeah, don’t mention it. I mean, you couldn’t have made it more obvious, like HEY!! HELLO THE COW IS RIGHT HERE!! Maybe yelling it in everyone’s faces would have had the same effect. I mean you didn't even just underestimate the guy - no, you practically called him a dumbass to his face. Cause really, I can’t believe you went ahead and asked him how much his cow would SELL for at the meat market, only for it to go missing the next fucking day. If you ask me, you already put the 2 and 2 together FOR them.”

Hanni smacked a hand over Minji's lips cause at this rate, girl was not about to give it up nagging and yapping like someone's grandma when they refused her cookies.

"OKAY WE GET IT THANK YOU!!!" Minji smacked Hanni's hand away and gave her a threatening glare. "Ok but like, come on, cut me some slack-" Hanni pondered for a bit, then a thought sparked and she punched the palm of her hand eureka style. Surely this would convince Minji that Hanni wasn't always just the useless dumb little girl she made her out to be, or so she thought. "Remember the time I stole someone's newborn when I was 3 years old, because I really wanted a younger sister, and told my parents it was a gift from God?!"

"Oh yeah... I almost forgot about that." They both discreetly glanced over to where Hyein was stood and then quickly turned the other way to avoid eye contact. "Don't mention that to her."

"Right."

Speak of the devil. "Unnies... what do we do now?" Hyein was overlooking the trees following the road until the trail disappeared into the distance. There didn't seem to be any sign of an approaching carriage. And honestly, even if there was, it was probably just gonna pass them by without a second thought - just like the countless other carriages that had already passed them that day. Hyein was close to losing hope as they'd been sitting there in desperation for the past few hours, waiting for someone to stop for them.

"Okay well, first of all, say thank you to Hanni Pham!!" Hanni just rolled her eyes and kicked the rat faced taller girl in the shin. "Ouch- and second, we should honestly count ourselves lucky the only thing they decided to do to us was get us ejected from the town with our hands and feet still intact." Hyein nodded in agreement while Hanni fumed at the backhanded insult, ready to throw hands. She may be a foot shorter, but a pony is still a horse after all and the bitch got kicks to throw.

"Guys! Can we stop the bickering please! Haerin is trying to sleep..." Danielle and Haerin had been lying down by a nearby tree the entire time. The Golden Retriever sang the cat some lullabies, affectionately stroking her hair and hushing her to sleep.

"Ew." Hyein felt a little homophobic. The chitter chatter came to an end when Haerin sprung up to point past them: directly towards the road. The other girls swiftly turned to look and saw another carriage slowly approaching them. They all signalled at it - a sudden urge of motivation and hope for a ride to the next town over filled their hearts, but then the carriage just kinda passed them by, and they were back to square one, unfortunately.

"So like, what now?" Hanni asked, arms crossed.
"Meow meow meow meow...?" Haerin finally spoke and the girls shifted their attention towards Danielle.

"Huh... OH! Sorry, teehee! She said 'Do we really have to flash them?’" Hanni and Minji just kinda looked at each other and silently nodded in agreement. "Flash?" Hyein asked, but the girls just shushed her and told her not to worry about it while they waited for the next carriage to pass by.

***

"MEOW!" Haerin pointed at the road a second time, another carriage steadily approaching. All the girls got up on their feet as they anticipated it. Minji's brow furrowed as she waited for the right moment for their operation. Beside her, Hanni's impatience was growing, she was getting ready to make a move, but Minji blocked her path with her arm and.. just.. a bit... more....

"NOW!" Minji yelled, Danielle nodded and got into position. Her leg sprung forward, her heel slightly off the ground as she took a hold of her dress. Her heart was racing, sweat dripping.

The most embarrassing part of this was that Haerin had to see her do such an unspeakable act. Maybe if she wasn't there, then she wouldn't have a problem with it... How barbaric! Danielle felt truly ashamed. Ashamed enough to sneak one last glance over at Haerin’s direction. Luckily, she found the cat-like chingu was already distracted while looking at a butterfly flying over her head. Hesitation delayed Danielle's timing slightly, but it was of no matter. Minji covered Hyein's eyes as Danielle sprung her dress ever so slightly over her medieval ankles and flashed the bony bumps towards the carriage driver or whatever you call it.

He was a short man, his stature was good but his nose was big. Dark eyes matched his gloomy raven hair. Studying his features, the girls noticed that his nose wasn't the only body part of his that seemed unusually big.

Damn, his feet are really big, Hanni thought to herself. The man began to speak, he seemed confident, but there was a sound of confusion evident in his voice. "Um... are you girls ok? It's getting late, it'll get dangerous once night time falls.. and I'm not sure what you're doing with your... foot? But if you need a ride I can hitch you one, no problem!" His smile was warm and inviting, which was suspicious to everyone but Hyein and Dani. Unfortunately, their options were limited and their chances of surviving out there at night were lower than potentially taking out a 5'7 dude. I mean, 1v5, who finna win - it's not like he's the goat, right?

Chapter Text

As the girls gathered their things, one by one climbing onto the back of the carriage, the man spoke. “By the way, m’ladies, once I drop you off at my village, I reckon you won't have a place to stay, will ya?”

The five of them looked at one another, a half smile on their lips and an unsure expression in their eyes as they fidgeted awkwardly. “Well yeah, all we've got thus far is five shillings and a dream, Mister-…?” Minji slowed her speech and came to a halt as she looked at the man, unsure of how to address him.

“Call me Bangchan.” He introduced himself to the girls, pulling up the plank in the back of the carriage once they all hopped on, and snapping the hinges in place before giving it a slight tug to make sure it was secured.

“Wait, hold on–” Danielle interjected, “What was that dream you were just talking about? Did I miss something...?” She scooted over next to Haerin as she spoke, stroking the catlike girl’s head. The latter leaned into her touch, cradling her head on Dani’s shoulder.

Minji and Hanni pushed a couple of fruits and vegetables out of their way as they also settled down.

Hyein found her comfort spot on top of a haystack piled in the back of the carriage, and spoke: “Actually, yeah. You were probably off picking flowers for Haerin when we came up with the idea.” She teased - though to be fair, it most likely wasn't too far off anyway. An assumption soon turned to fact, when Danielle gasped and whispered in Hyein’s direction: “How did you know…?”.

Bangchan glanced back at the group. “Well then I'm curious, what dream did you girls have in mind?”

Hyein diverts her attention to Bangchan, she hesitates a bit: “I mean, really we were just daydreaming, but uh… we were thinking it'd be fun if we made music together to perform for our town. But then we got kicked out, so that's that…”

Danielle's face lightens up at the idea. “Aur my gosh that's saur cute, I can't believe you guys didn't tell me about this!!!”

Bangchan smiled and nodded in agreement with Danielle, the both of them had a somewhat similar air to them. He then turned over on the front seat and flicked the reins signalling for the horse to start moving.

“Meow, meow, mrrp.” Haerin chirped, eyes half closed. All the girls instinctively turned to face Dani.

“Aur gaursh! Quit being such a party pooper, I'm sure it would have worked out fine!” Dani spoke in response before opting to translate for the group.
“She said it's a.. um... bad idea- and that you guys are stupid.”

Haerin frowned and shook her head, seemingly dissatisfied by the inaccurate translation. She then wrinkled her nose, pinched it with her fingers and made a waving motion with her other hand, pointing at Danielle right after. The girl fidgeted uncomfortably and opened her mouth to correct herself.
“She said- uh...”

“She said it's a shit idea.” Hanni chimed in to help a girl out. Danielle wasn’t too keen on cursing.

With that, the conversation came to an end. The girls were left pondering if it really was such a bad idea, and if Haerin was right. Yet they couldn't help thinking that if they never gave it a try, then that would only solidify their failure.

***

“So like… Are we there yet??” Hanni asked. It had been five minutes. FIVE minutes, and Minji could not emphasise this enough, since they took off in this damp, old, dirty, crusty, dusty ass carriage surrounded by more cabbages than she’d ever eaten in her entire lifespan. Which wasn’t that crazy of a number, but still - being this close to “vegetables” made her uncomfortable. She scoffed: Yeah sure… ‘Vegetables’. More like Satan's hellspawn. It felt like she was travelling through Dante’s Inferno - and if this is how Hell turns out to be like, maybe she was gonna take up a new hobby called Sunday’s Church.

“I wonder if Eve would have eaten the apple had it been like… a cabbage or something...” She pondered out loud without noticing, which granted her a “What’d you say???” from Hanni, before said girl went back to voicing the phrase she’d been repeating ever since they departed six minutes ago.

“Ayo excuse me Mr. Chan, but Minji’s been around cabbages for so long she’s starting to lose it. Are we there yet??”

…That was it, the final straw, the nail in the coffin, the seasoning on the noodles. Minji was ready to boil over - and that she did. Though she hated the gesture, she leaned over the edge of the carriage and grabbed one of the rotting cabbages that was tumbling and rolling next to her due to the bumpy road, and she chucked that bitch at Hanni’s head. The dwarf pony (if those two things could coexist within one person’s stature that described Hanni perfectly, but truly a pony was just a dwarf horse and calling someone a dwarf pony seemed far-fetched but not when it came to Hanni, that girl was quite literally pocket sized I'm afraid), didn’t even need to dodge, the cabbage missed her by a mile.

Danielle and Haerin were lazing around across from Minji and Hanni. They seemed to be doing their usual rituals with Haerin napping, her head resting against Danielle’s lap while the older girl was humming and caressing her to sleep.

Unfortunately the peacefulness of their daily interaction was cut short by the previously mentioned cabbage thrusting full force onto Dani’s nose.

“AUR WHAT THE FUCK???” Before Danielle could even register what she’d done, Haerin had jolted awake and gotten on all fours, her hair standing up like a scaredy cat’s. Danielle covered her mouth in shock and tried easing the catgirl’s fright, but all she would do is just stare at Danielle intently, eyes wide and figure hunched over.

“Wuar– Haerin!! I’m sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, I...” The retriever reaches out her hands to try and calm the startled cat, but Haerin just hisses in response to the gesture.

“Damn… that's harsh...” Hanni had been observing the two ever since the cabbage throw; she was pretty invested in the drama. It was kinda like watching her parents fighting - all she longed for was some bread and butter and the vibes would be just right.

On the contrary, while the Group Assigned Gremlin was enjoying the show, Minji had gasped in response and quickly made her way over to Danielle, crawling next to her to make sure she was okay.

“Oh my god, your nose is bleeding!” Minji grabbed a piece of her muddy dress and tore some of it off to place over Dani’s bloody nose.
“Here, take–” She finally met the other girl’s eyes. Tears threatened to come pouring at any moment. Was the nose bleed really that bad? Minji couldn’t help but feel guilty, cursing her soft centred nature. Sometimes she wondered how Hanni managed to find amusement in any situation, it was truly a superpower. One she hated, albeit wished for sometimes.

“Dani– look… I’m so sorry..” She began the apology, her eyes hovering on the hardwood flooring of the carriage. Minji’s features softened then, and she looked up again only to be met with a stream of tears running down her friend’s cheeks.

“Hic– snif– H–.. Haerin– she's mad– mad at m-MEEEEEEEEEEE WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH” Dani bursts out into a full blown war cry as Minji tries to calm her down.

Amidst all the chaos, Hyein makes her presence known, slithering around like a ball python and plucking off a strand of hair from each of her friend’s heads before slithering her way back to her haystack den. Given her usually unusual theatrics, none of the girls bat an eye - matter of fact, they didn’t even notice her; it was just another Wednesday afternoon to them.

“Is everything okay back there??” Bangchan calls out from the front as he steals a glance at the girls.

“No yeah, everything’s fine-” Minji calls out only to be interrupted by Hanni. Ever since the day they met, the miniature size rat could not miss ONE opportunity. Almost as if it was her life mission to be an inconvenience to everyone, especially to Minji. They’d been throwing rocks at each other every chance they got with Hanni always being the initiator and Minji unknowingly being the enabler. Hanni may be a dumbass, but she thrives on the idea that everyone underestimates her wits when it comes to mischief and manipulation - a pro politician in the making, one could say.

Hanni placed her hand over the railing and leaned over next to Bangchan, pouting as she whined: “Mr. Chan!! Minji is so mean! She threw a CABBAGE at Dani and now her nose is BLEEDING...” trying her best to sound believably worried while her other hand rested behind her back flashing Minji the middle finger.

Minji clenched her fists, rag still in hand. Her face resembled that of a beetroot, a so-called vegetable she despised most in life, which would be right next to Hanni Pham as the first thing on her suicide note if she ever were to kill herself. Her anger issues got the better of her as she took the rag with both hands and tore it a second time, clutching it tightly against her fists, her knuckles yellowish white from the friction. She banged on the hardwood floor of the carriage and directed her attention to Hanni, eyes wide with anger and brows furrowed like those of the Lorax.

“ACTUALLY, I WAS THROWING IT AT YOU, HANNI PHAM!” She blurted out, loud enough to earn her a displeased hiss from Haerin who hated loud noises - as proven earlier - and an annoyed groan from Hyein who’d been quietly digging around in her haystack den in the corner, god knows what she was up to.

Hanni instinctively put her hands up as if she was being held at pitchfork point. “Woah– Oww-kayyy.. calm down... you’re gonna pop a blood vessel!”

Even though her tone was meant to ridicule and poke fun at her outburst, Minji decided to be the bigger person of the duo, as she almost always did, and gave Hanni the benefit of the doubt. Maybe even for once in her life, Minji agreed with her and nodded in said agreement as she took a deep breath in order to calm her active nerves.

A truce short lived, as Hanni chimed in one last time: “Oh and by the way, you should work on your aim a little, hoe.”

Their exchange was interrupted before Minji got the chance to snap back. “Hey! No profanities! Matilda can hear you…” Bangchan calls from the front of the carriage as he looks back at the two girls duking it out, with stares so sharp they could probably puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to die at sea…

“Who the fuck is Matilda???” Hyein had finally poked her head out of the haystack she’d been digging around in making voodoo dolls of all the girls.

“HYEIN???” Minji’s attention was finally off Hanni for the first time ever since they had hopped onto this carriage and was now focused on Hyein, whose use of language had surprised her. God, ever since they had gotten wrapped up in this mess, everything seemed to have been flowing downstream, and they stood one step away from the waterfall awaiting them.

“Huh?” Hyein tilts her head to the side in confusion, “I’m not Matilda.” Then she just shrugs and goes back to messing around in the haystack.

“Matilda is my baby girl, right honey?” Bangchan’s horse neighs in repose, hooves raised eagerly against the dirt path, little pebbles clanking against the iron horseshoes.

Amidst the only wholesome interaction they probably had had ever since the start of this journey, Danielle was now curled up into a ball still sniffling and crying. The nosebleed had laid off, but that didn't make her feel any better. Haerin was much calmer by now, deciding to join Hyein in their little witchcraft shenanigans. Despite that, Danielle was too caught up in her own self pity, she couldn't bear to look at herself, let alone even so dare glance at Haerin.

It felt as if an earthquake had hit her cozy little stone house, and left her out and about in a mid December morning to fend for herself. The cold was ruthless and she was lost on what to do, as the frostbite gnawed at her fingertips. Where to go, as the breath of cold air was starting to pierce her nostrils. Or how to act, as the light of day shone dimmer and dimmer, laying forth a dreadful night that would find her dead by next morning come.

Not only had she sworn for the first time ever, she had done it in front of everyone, in front of Haerin of all people, yet that wasn't even the worst part. It was the way that Haerin had instinctively retracted away from her, and the cherry on top was the unapologetic hiss from her chingu which had left her dumbfounded for words. Something she had never done before.

It's as if getting dragged out of their hometown had made matters worse for them. Her friendship with Haerin was wavering. Like a plant she devoted her full attention to, watering it and sunbathing it in moderation so come summer, the fruits of her labour bloom into the most beautiful flower amongst the Garden of Eden. It was never a chore to Danielle - on the contrary!
It felt as if God had bestowed upon her a cruel punishment of His making, but why? She did nothing wrong, she wasn't the one that got them thrown out of their hometown!

Hanni was the first to acknowledge Danielle’s silent breakdown in one corner of the carriage, and to everyone’s surprise (even her own), she slid over to the sulking retriever.

“Hey, Dani?” She didn’t seem to respond, her head still cradled on her knees, arms wrapped around them. Hanni pressed her lips together in a firm line and placed a hand over Dani’s right shoulder, rubbing it lightly in a mediocre attempt at reassurance before continuing. “Why the long chin? Come on Dani, it's literally not your fault.”

Dani sniffled loudly under Hanni’s touch and she finally lifted her head to meet Hanni’s eyes. An awkward silence cloaked their interaction and for a moment Hanni regretted her newfound empathy. Danielle didn’t seem to share her discomfort, she was lost in thought staring at Hanni for so long that she forgot to blink. When she finally did blink, Hanni took it as an opportunity to breathe out the air that had been marinating in her lungs.

“You’re right…” She started in a low mumble. At this point Hanni had stopped rubbing her shoulder and was just kind of staring at Danielle, unsure if any sudden movements would send her spiralling into yet another episode. “It’s not my fault...” Danielle's voice got a little louder, not enough to spark concern, but enough to make Hanni very slowly remove her hand from Dani’s shoulder.

Suddenly Danielle raised her index finger, and in an accusatory manner pointed it right at Hanni. The latter leaned backwards, creating as much distance between herself, and the now seemingly angered retriever, as she physically could without moving from her position. The emotions within Danielle began to rouse, she got so angry, teeth bared ready to pounce on Hanni. What could she do? This is the first time in her life she’d ever gotten this violently angry, it was displeasing to her, to say the least.

“It's not my fault…

IT'S YOUR FAULT!” She howled at Hanni, ears so red steam threatened to come gushing out any second.

Hanni was too stunned to speak, all she could do in her defence and confusion was throw her head forward slightly, an exaggerated expression painted on her face. Her brows furrowed slightly and her lips pressed together resembling the beak of a duck.

“Wh–? Wharradu?” Hanni raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner and her eyes searched around as if anyone else had an answer to the question. Danielle snatched the fuck out of Hanni’s white collar and brought her closer. Her bulging knuckles revealed the bone underneath and the fabric of Hanni’s collar wrinkled from the ruthless pressure.

“You know you hella wrong for what you did.” Danielle’s face was inches from Hanni's, her loathsome eyes unblinking as the other girl was helplessly trying to wriggle her way out of Dani’s grip - to no avail, at which point panic started to set in.

“Girl.. what are you TALKING ABOUT???” Hanni’s hands cupped Danielle’s struggling to pull her off and away. It was a fruitless attempt that kept getting more frustrating by the second. Upon realisation that there was no way of escaping the monstrous grip of her lovely friend, that had been a godsend up until a few seconds ago, she pressed her forehead against Danielle’s forcibly and reverted back to asking her the same question, louder this time.

“WHAT DID I DO??”

Suddenly Haerin appeared from the haystack she’d been fidgeting around in with Hyein and crawled her way over to Danielle and Hanni’s heated squabble. Hanni noticed her from the corner of her eye and thanked the seven heavens she was here to put an end to this baseless quarrel. Danielle though seemed to still be a little too occupied with Hanni to notice Haerin’s presence to which Hanni grabbed her jaw tightly and forcefully directed the retriever’s gaze to the cat.

“GET YOUR DOG BITCH!” Hanni cried out.

“HEY! I said no profanities...” Bangchan chimed in to reiterate his earlier point.

Haerin was not impressed by the comment. At this point Danielle was in awe enough for her grip on Hanni to soften significantly. And as if her collar hadn’t had enough, Haerin opted to take a hold of the back of it and effortlessly flung the tiny girl to the side and away from Danielle to where the garden Gnome went colliding with a speechless Minji.

“Meow.” (we good) Haerin crouched next to Danielle, hugging her own knees close to her chest as she held out something in her hand. Danielle hadn’t noticed though, her eyes more focused on Haerin’s big catlike ones - anything else in her peripheral vision was a blur. Haerin took the object of her interest in both hands and hovered it on the empty space between their shared gaze. Now Danielle’s eyes didn’t meet Haerin’s but were instead met with a haydoll that resembled a cat, a singular hair intertwined in with the rest of the hay strands. Hyein’s odd behaviour from earlier made sense in her head now.

“Meow!!” (it's me!!) Haerin tilted her head to the side, a bright smile glued on her face proud to show Danielle the fruits of her hard labour, while she was out throwing hands with Papa Smurf. Meanwhile, as if Danielle had forgotten how to properly interact with a human in the last minute or so, all she did was stare at the doll, then Haerin, then back at the doll as if she was a lost puppy unsure of its surroundings.

Haerin lowered her hands a little, the doll no longer in the way as her smile fell off slightly. An eyebrow crept up sealing her perplexion. This wasn’t Danielle’s usual reaction to receiving gifts. She should be all over Haerin by now, her ribs should be hitting the abort mission button and her ears should be on their way to self destruction. Right then, to her satisfaction, there came the breath-taking hug she'd been waiting for that made her ribs implode, as well as the jumbled up incoherent appreciative speech that went on to thank her to the point she felt her ears would spew out blood.

“Haerinohmygodilovethissomuchthisissoincredibleiwillliterallycherishthistillthedayidieiwillkeepitbymysideforaslongasiliveandwhenifinallyhitthegraveyardimgonnatakeitwithmetothegraveyouwillneverseemepartwayswiththisitssoincredibly–” As much as she loved the praise, Haerin had to pinch Danielle’s lips shut using her thumb and index finger to save her ears the trouble.

“Meow meow, meow..” (of course you do, I'm awesome..) If Haerin had the luxury of whiskers, they’d probably be standing up in proud satisfaction right now.

On the other side of the carriage, Minji and Hanni sat curled up next to each other, their hands clasped together, whilst observing the retriever and the cat reuniting in an emotional gut wrenching finale. Minji’s hand was placed firmly on Hanni’s shoulder, adding yet another wrinkle to her dress. Hanni’s hand was wrapped around Minji’s waist as she squeezed tightly on the taller girl’s robes, occasionally tugging at it when a sudden burst of emotions would come drifting by. They glanced at one another and sniffled in response, a waterfall of tears threatening to come pouring out. In the midst of their emotional turmoil, Hanni took a hold of Minji's dress and tore off yet another piece of it to blow her nose with. This, in response, granted her a smack on the back of the head; Hanni simply responded in annoyance. “It was already ruined!”