companionwolf

(a/n: hehehehrghrhrhgh nonsense fic ch 3 is here)

He passes the dolls, and the movies, and the books, and turns into a aisle of plastic toys. On one of the shelves is a cardboard display box, filled with small stuffed animals that resembles the creatures from Minecraft. In the corner of it is a lopsided Creeper.

Pillow Central approaches, and before he has even picked it up, he hears the hiss.

“Hey, hey, I’m not gonna hurt you,” he says.

“You risssk discovery,” it answers. It’s voice is raspy. “You ssspit in the face of what we are all taught. What do you think you are doing?”

Pillow Central feels a beat in his chest reminiscent of a human heart, but he knows better. “Humanity’s at stake; there are aliens hiding in stuffed animals that only just recently decided Now was time to come out,” he says. “I’m looking for information.”

“Ssso you come to a chain ssstore?” The Creeper is not impressed.

“Look, I thought since you guys hear all sorts of things, you’d have something to offer,” he says.

The Creeper is quiet. Then: “Hazel.”

“What?”

“Ssshe’s a regular,” it says. “No one wantsss to go home with her. Ssshe’s mean; ssshe cuts toysss up and turnsss then into Frankstiensss. But recently ssshe hasn’t come. We are worried.”

“I’m not going to intrude on someone’s house”, Pillow Central says.

“You don’t have to,” Creeper says. “Ssshe hangs her creationsss on her front yard tree. Like I sssaid, she’s mean. Find that tree, talk to thossse poor sssouls. They’ll certainly have sssomething for you.”

“It’s nearby, this uh... tree?”

“You’ll be hardpresssed to misss it.”

“Ok,” Pillow Central says, “look for the tree with the disfigured stuffed animals on it. Got it. Anything else?”

The Creeper considers. “Ssstay low,” it says. “Don’t be a hero. Not for the humansss. Do it for usss.”

Something lashes in Pillow Central’s chest at that, but he swallows a retort, just nodding instead and setting the Creeper back down as he walks away.

He ends up buying a sewing kit and a coloring book (with crayons); the sewing kit in case something happens, the book for Espeon because she will get bored and he doesn’t need her pestering while he drives.

He reaches the car; as soon as he shuts the door, Espeon begins to speak.

“What did you see? Did any humans talk to you? Did you buy any- oh!”

She silences as he drops the book and crayons on her head. She inspects them, and then grins at him. “Thanks,” she says.

“I tried to find something you’d actually like,” he says as he drives out of the parking lot.

Alice has seated herself on the sewing kit. “What did the residents say?” she asks.

“A squishmallow directed me to a Creeper, who told me about this regular shopper- a woman who cuts up and then resews stuffed animals. Hangs them on her tree. We’re going there.”

Espeon looks up from the fish she has began to color bright green. “That seems like a bad idea,” she says. “I’m a stuffed animal.”

“We all are,” he says. “Sort of.”

“I doubt she would harm us,” Alice says. “For all intents and purposes, we belong to you at the moment, Central. Humans don’t usually cut up and mutilate things that don’t belong to them, and even fewer cut up and mutilate something that walks and talks like they do.”

“Still,” Espeon says, “I’m staying in the truck when we get there.”

“Your choice,” Alice says. She turns to Pillow Central. “I would like to accompany you in inspection of this tree. I am curious as to what this kind of traumatic rebuilding would do to a Awakened being.”

“That’s a bit morbid, Alice,” he says.

“Sorry,” she says. “I would like to try to make them feel better, if it is any consultation to know my intentions.”

“Hard to feel better when you’ve got a fifth of your body and are hanging from a plant,” Espeon says.

“Let’s just scope it out first,” he says. “Then we’ll let Alice play therapy.”