"Well," Ayse replied, "what's your definition of a monster?"
Baloo's lips hesitated. "To… To be different and scary to people. To terrify people with only a look, no matter how hard I try to apologize."
"Oh? I guess you would be a monster by that definition," Ayse reasoned, startling the hulking man. "But that means I'm also a monster. And that LaRee is too."
"No!" Baloo insisted. "You're normal! You're not scary, or terrifying–"
Stopping in his tracks, Ayse smiled, pointing at something.
Baloo then looked away to see the fallen, splintered tree that Ayse had kicked Baloo into. Batting his eyes, Baloo tried to rephrase, "I-I mean that you don't look like a monster–"
"What about this? I'm sure this scares normal people, doesn't it?"
Baloo's words stopped then and there. As soon as Baloo's eyes returned to Ayse, they were glued to Ayse's uncovered back. The large, detailed skull. All three, bulging burn scars used as eye sockets. That plain, silver crown on top…
