Perhaps the oldest has changed his opinion

"Why are you back?" asked the child.

Daimone stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, his brothers' mockery still ringing in his ears. Clearing his throat, he bowed low and said, "A good night to you child. My name is—" Before he could finish, the child turned her back to him and went back to sleep. Annoyance flared within his temple, but he kept his frustration in check.

With a wave of his finger, the child was swept out of bed. He twirled his finger and she turned towards him, an expression of surprise on her face.

"You shouldn't ignore your elders, child," he told her.

She looked over her hovering body in amazement. Then she turned up her nose as if she wasn't impressed and turned her head away. "Well, you didn't answer my question," she stated.

"I'm back because I have to be back, are you happy now?" he spoke rapidly, trying to maintain a kind face.

"No, I'm not happy," she said pointedly, crossing her arms, still not looking at him.

"Well, then, what do you enjoy?" he asked. He conjured a giant teddy bear with sharp and human teeth, flickering it towards her. She caught it before it hit her, telling him that she was indeed paying attention.

She held out the bear in front of her, eyes narrowed. Its mouth trembled before snapping open into a wide grin. Daimone watched her, wondering whether she liked it. She threw it to the floor, stating, "It's hideous!"

The bear frowned from where it laid on the floor, and tears streaked down its fluff. Daimone made it disappear before it could cry its horrid cry and conjured up a prettier teddy bear. It had a normal, stitched, mouth this time, and a red bow had been tied to its neck. The eyes were human-like, with brown pupils set upon the whites of its eyes. It blinked nervously. Daimone flung it to the child, and, again, she held it in front of her to inspect it.

"You're ugly," she whispered to it.

It blushed, hurt, and disappeared without Daimone having to will it away. What a monster of a kid, he thought, quietly apologizing to the absent teddy bears. "Those were the best contenders, just so you know," he told her.

"I didn't tell you to give me any teddy bears," she told him.

"Then what would you like to see?" he asked, almost desperately. He flung out both his hands and conjured up a party of all sorts of stuffed animals, ranging from a winged ox with hands for hooves to a colossus whale sporting a miniature city on its back to a normal looking bunny with stretched human ears for its two ears. They all floated around the little girl, trying to get her attention in various ways. She looked at the winged ox for a moment before petting its head. It reared up against her happily before the rest of the animals jealously dragged it away.

Daimone chuckled to himself. He had done his part and made the child one step closer to liking him.

"…om…"

"What?" asked Daimone, snapping out of his reverie.

"My mom," the little girl said quietly. "Can you show me my mom?"

He contemplated her request for a while. Then the animals around her dissipated in a swirl of colors, congregating into a single point. Out of that point, Tammy Farlan formed, a gentle smile on her face. The child's face glowed with inner joy even though she didn't smile. Her shiny eyes never left her mom's as she asked Daimone to lower her onto her bed. He did what she asked.

"Can you make her tuck me in?"

Tammy Farlan did what the child wished. Tammy Farlan did something extra and kissed the child on the head.

"I didn't ask you to do that," the child called to Daimone.

He didn't say anything as Tammy Farlan sat beside the child and patted her head. After a while, the child told Daimone she wanted to see the bears again. They appeared on the laps of Tammy Farlan, not wanting to look at the child.

The child leaned close to them and whispered an apology. Then she kissed both the bears on the head and fell back into her bed. Both bears turned a happy shade of pink, and the one with the teeth let out a happy, horrid laugh.

When the child finally went to sleep, Tammy Farlan and the bears disappeared. Daimone stared at the child for a moment longer before turning away and sifting back to his home.