Chapter Text
The mobster looked at the little girl before him and wrinkled his brow. “Small girl has won fight. Is worthy of Mafia’s recognition.”
The girl in question focused really really hard. The language people on this planet used was simple enough, but she still wasn’t fully used to it. Especially with the weird dialect the people on this island seemed to use.
The mobster nodded, decisive. “What is name of small girl?”
Oh. Oh! The alien child quickly hid a grin behind her hand. He wanted to know her name! She was the best translator ever!
Huh. She’d been starting to wonder if no one here had names, since she hadn’t heard anyone use one on the island. Or, well… ok she’d been told that each planet would have a different culture, but there was no way that everyone on that planet was named Mafia. That just wouldn’t make sense!
Names were supposed to be something special and unique to you! Something that no one else would ever have. That’s why they were so hard to say!
She puffed up a little in pride, adjusting her hat. She could say her whole name with no mistakes at all! She’d been the first one in her training group to manage the temporal twists necessary. She was the coolest!
She took a deep breath, and- ah! She’d almost forgotten. Embarrassed, she reached into her bag and pulled out the Piece of Time she’d just gathered. It shimmered softly in her hands, threads of it-was and it-is and it-will-be all interweaving into a densely packed tapestry of energy and untapped potential.
She put it down on the ground and nudged it away with her foot. The Mafia in front of her stared at it, confused, and she glared at him. She wasn’t a little kid anymore! She didn’t need to cheat!
Breathing in, the girl felt for the weave of time in the air around them. No need to go too far – a few seconds on either side of the moment she needed would be good enough. No, not that one. Too wiggly. No, that one doesn’t taste right. Ah! There! Perfect!
Just as the increasingly confused mobster was about to ask a question, the girl opened her mouth and said who she would become. A split second before that, she said who she had been. In between the two, she said who she is. Between one heartbeat and the next, the sounds harmonized together, combining into the truth of who she was.
“What is sound? Where did little girl hide speakers?” The mobster looked confused, twisting back and forth.
The girl frowned. A different talker? She could speak her name just fine on her own! She was a big kid! See – she had the big kid hat and everything! She pointed at it in case he’d missed it somehow, then crossed her arms and sulked. And she’d done such a good job with her name, too!
“Is in hat? Ah ha! Mafia is too smart to be fooled by hidden trap.” The mobster grinned at her, so she scowled some more. “No being upset, small child. Was very pretty noise.”
He… thought her name was pretty? She was pretty sure that was what he’d said. Well, uh, he was right! The girl unfolded her arms and started bouncing her umbrella off the cobblestones. She had the best name!
Alright, fun was fun, but she had work to do. She scooped up the Time Piece off the ground and stuck her tongue out at him. Just because he was being nice now didn’t mean that she wasn’t still taking her fuel source back!
The mobster was starting to look nervous as she continued to bounce her umbrella around, so the girl decided it was time to get going. With one final wave, she dashed off around the corner and pressed the Recall to Ship button on the inside of her hat. One Time Piece down, the rest to go! She’d finish this off in no time.
oOo
A very confused Mafia peered around the corner where he’d seen the tiny girl disappear seconds before, only to find the alleyway completely empty.
“Little girl? Mafia still did not learn name of child.” He looked around for a few moments, but no one answered.
He huffed. “Mafia will name child, then. Is young person. Name will be Little Girl.”
He crossed his arms and nodded to himself, proud. “Is good name. Mafia is very creative.”