The Dresden Files / Bob / #31. Monster
Title: In Plain Sight
Author: Cyloran
Fandom: The Dresden Files (tv-verse)
Character: Bob, young Harry
Prompt: 31. Monster
Word Count: 935
Rating: G
Summary: Harry Sees a monster.
Disclaimer: The Dresden Files do not belong to me; just passing through.
Table: Here There be Ghosts
From the violent slam of the distant front door and the sound of sneakers pounding on polished wood, the ghost knew that something was amiss several moments before his young student burst into the study.
"Bob! BOB!" exclaimed Harry, dropping his book bag to the floor without so much as a pause as he raced across the room to the tall, pale figure standing in the corner.
"Harry, please!" admonished Bob with a slight scowl. "This is a study, not a coliseum. There is no need to shout."
"Out there!" continued the boy, too excited to listen. He jabbed a finger at the tall, many paned window. "In the garden! I saw it! And I think it saw me!"
"I suppose it was ludicrous of me to assume that your excitement was in anticipation of today's lesson," said Bob with a martyred sigh. "Very well, then. What, exactly, did you see in the garden?"
"A monster!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "There's a monster in the garden, Bob!"
Whether Harry was thrilled at the prospect or frightened by it was hard for the ghost to determine. "I believe that is the gardener, Harry. While his manners could be considered frightening, I would hardly call him a monster."
"No! No, Bob! You're not listening to me!" exclaimed Harry. "There's a MONSTER! In the GARDEN!" When Bob did not seem immediately concerned, Harry let out a little cry of boyish frustration and ran over to the study's ornate antique desk, snatching up the human skull from its customary resting place.
"Harry! What are you doing?"
"I'm going to show you," he said with determination, tucking the skull under his slender arm like a willowy football player.
"Harry, wait! You cannot just-urk!" The conclusion to Bob's sentence was abruptly cut short as he suddenly found himself jerked forward by the wrists. Stumbling, he was forced to trail after the boy like a reluctant puppy on a leash. Fortunately, Bob did not have to avoid any obstacles in his path since he could pass directly through them.
"Harry, please!" Bob managed but the excitable boy was already flinging wide the front door and racing outside, forcing him to follow.
Harry ran down the flagstone pathway, flying past neatly clipped boxwoods and flowering bushes. Angling a bit left, he jumped over a row of azalea and ran toward a small copse of trees forming a natural boundary. He skidded to a halt in the grass just a few feet away from a majestic oak, far enough away to get a good head start if the monster decided to come after him but close enough to show Bob.
"There!" hissed the boy as the ghost caught up with him.
"Harry! Do you have any idea what your Uncle will do to you if he finds that you've left the house with-"
"Bob, will you just LOOK?" Harry demanded, jabbing his finger at the tree. "Please?"
"Oh, very well." The ghost sighed and, as bidden, turned to follow his young student's gaze. He frowned slightly when he saw the oak tree.
"Do you see it, Bob?"
"That depends," he said carefully. The ghost turned to regard Harry. "What is it that you see?"
"That thing right there!" Harry pointed again. "It's small and it has big green eyes and a wrinkly body that kind of looks like the tree trunk only with thin arms and legs that move and teeth, Bob! It has teeth! Little sharp teeth." It was really those sharp, jagged rows that frightened Harry although he wasn't about to admit it.
"That is not a monster, Harry."
"It … No?"
"No."
"But it's glaring at me!"
"Actually, I believe it is laughing at you."
"It's not going to, like, try and bite me?"
"Not unless you try to bite it."
"Why would I do that?"
"Harm the tree with blade or fire and it amounts to much the same thing." Bob regarded the little creature with a thoughtful expression. "Clearly I have overlooked one of the more important aspects of your education. But then, it had not occurred to me that it would be necessary quite so soon."
"Uh, Bob? Are you talking to yourself or to me?"
"Both." Bob started walking toward the tree. "Come along, please."
"Hullo, Bob? Monster in the tree?"
"It is not a monster, Harry. It is a tree spirit. Each tree has one. Indeed, all living things have a spirit. It will not harm you if you do not harm it."
"Yeah?" Wary, Harry began to follow. "So how come I've never seen one of these guys before?"
"An excellent question," replied Bob. "It seems that your excitability has dictated today's lesson." With a sweep of his hand, he motioned for Harry to have a seat in the thick grass within the cooling shade of the oak's leafy boughs.
Harry did as he was asked, carefully setting the yellowed skull in his lap. "So, um, I guess I'm going to learn all about tree spirits." With sharp little teeth.
"No," said Bob as he stooped down to regard the boy with pale blue eyes. "What you have done today most wizards find difficult to achieve until they are considerably older." It was just another indication that the boy was destined to be a powerful wizard. More importantly, it further confirmed Bob's suspicion that Justin Morningway's plans for Harry's future were far from altruistic. "It is time that you learned about the Third Eye and your Sight."
Harry glanced up at the tree spirit. It's sharp little smile widened as it waved at him.
Author: Cyloran
Fandom: The Dresden Files (tv-verse)
Character: Bob, young Harry
Prompt: 31. Monster
Word Count: 935
Rating: G
Summary: Harry Sees a monster.
Disclaimer: The Dresden Files do not belong to me; just passing through.
Table: Here There be Ghosts
From the violent slam of the distant front door and the sound of sneakers pounding on polished wood, the ghost knew that something was amiss several moments before his young student burst into the study.
"Bob! BOB!" exclaimed Harry, dropping his book bag to the floor without so much as a pause as he raced across the room to the tall, pale figure standing in the corner.
"Harry, please!" admonished Bob with a slight scowl. "This is a study, not a coliseum. There is no need to shout."
"Out there!" continued the boy, too excited to listen. He jabbed a finger at the tall, many paned window. "In the garden! I saw it! And I think it saw me!"
"I suppose it was ludicrous of me to assume that your excitement was in anticipation of today's lesson," said Bob with a martyred sigh. "Very well, then. What, exactly, did you see in the garden?"
"A monster!" Harry exclaimed excitedly. "There's a monster in the garden, Bob!"
Whether Harry was thrilled at the prospect or frightened by it was hard for the ghost to determine. "I believe that is the gardener, Harry. While his manners could be considered frightening, I would hardly call him a monster."
"No! No, Bob! You're not listening to me!" exclaimed Harry. "There's a MONSTER! In the GARDEN!" When Bob did not seem immediately concerned, Harry let out a little cry of boyish frustration and ran over to the study's ornate antique desk, snatching up the human skull from its customary resting place.
"Harry! What are you doing?"
"I'm going to show you," he said with determination, tucking the skull under his slender arm like a willowy football player.
"Harry, wait! You cannot just-urk!" The conclusion to Bob's sentence was abruptly cut short as he suddenly found himself jerked forward by the wrists. Stumbling, he was forced to trail after the boy like a reluctant puppy on a leash. Fortunately, Bob did not have to avoid any obstacles in his path since he could pass directly through them.
"Harry, please!" Bob managed but the excitable boy was already flinging wide the front door and racing outside, forcing him to follow.
Harry ran down the flagstone pathway, flying past neatly clipped boxwoods and flowering bushes. Angling a bit left, he jumped over a row of azalea and ran toward a small copse of trees forming a natural boundary. He skidded to a halt in the grass just a few feet away from a majestic oak, far enough away to get a good head start if the monster decided to come after him but close enough to show Bob.
"There!" hissed the boy as the ghost caught up with him.
"Harry! Do you have any idea what your Uncle will do to you if he finds that you've left the house with-"
"Bob, will you just LOOK?" Harry demanded, jabbing his finger at the tree. "Please?"
"Oh, very well." The ghost sighed and, as bidden, turned to follow his young student's gaze. He frowned slightly when he saw the oak tree.
"Do you see it, Bob?"
"That depends," he said carefully. The ghost turned to regard Harry. "What is it that you see?"
"That thing right there!" Harry pointed again. "It's small and it has big green eyes and a wrinkly body that kind of looks like the tree trunk only with thin arms and legs that move and teeth, Bob! It has teeth! Little sharp teeth." It was really those sharp, jagged rows that frightened Harry although he wasn't about to admit it.
"That is not a monster, Harry."
"It … No?"
"No."
"But it's glaring at me!"
"Actually, I believe it is laughing at you."
"It's not going to, like, try and bite me?"
"Not unless you try to bite it."
"Why would I do that?"
"Harm the tree with blade or fire and it amounts to much the same thing." Bob regarded the little creature with a thoughtful expression. "Clearly I have overlooked one of the more important aspects of your education. But then, it had not occurred to me that it would be necessary quite so soon."
"Uh, Bob? Are you talking to yourself or to me?"
"Both." Bob started walking toward the tree. "Come along, please."
"Hullo, Bob? Monster in the tree?"
"It is not a monster, Harry. It is a tree spirit. Each tree has one. Indeed, all living things have a spirit. It will not harm you if you do not harm it."
"Yeah?" Wary, Harry began to follow. "So how come I've never seen one of these guys before?"
"An excellent question," replied Bob. "It seems that your excitability has dictated today's lesson." With a sweep of his hand, he motioned for Harry to have a seat in the thick grass within the cooling shade of the oak's leafy boughs.
Harry did as he was asked, carefully setting the yellowed skull in his lap. "So, um, I guess I'm going to learn all about tree spirits." With sharp little teeth.
"No," said Bob as he stooped down to regard the boy with pale blue eyes. "What you have done today most wizards find difficult to achieve until they are considerably older." It was just another indication that the boy was destined to be a powerful wizard. More importantly, it further confirmed Bob's suspicion that Justin Morningway's plans for Harry's future were far from altruistic. "It is time that you learned about the Third Eye and your Sight."
Harry glanced up at the tree spirit. It's sharp little smile widened as it waved at him.