Sooooo…. Here’s some more sketches from the Arabian Knights AU!
The piece here would happen closer to when the Professor finally gets Sun and Moon to stop trying to fight each other. They begin asking them questions at first to learn more about their culture, however, the more questions they ask, the more they realize that they want to know what exactly happen to the Jinn and why they were all captured and trapped inside magical objects.
In the scene below, the Professor asks Sun why wishes tend drain the Jinn so much especially since everything they have read and translated so far indicates that the Jinn are able to grant wishes to the humans, no matter the complexity. Sun corrects them and clarifies that they are translating the term in their research incorrectly. Rather it is not "wishes" Jinn grant, but "favors". This moment takes place after a particular situation where Y/n had to make a "heavy-duty" wish that caused Sun to disappear back into his bottle for a couple of days. The Professor became very scared and worried for Sun’s well-being.
In the scene below, Y/n is trying to speak with Moon, hoping that he opens up to them and lets them show him that they mean no harm. However, sadly, the conversation is turning out to be very one sided… All Moon can think about is breaking free, however his bindings (like Sun’s) will not allow him to raise his powers against the owner of his ring.
Ok, so I've been playing tug o' war with myself on whether or not to post these, buuuuuut remember how a while back I said I reeeeeeeeeally wanted to draw some soft scenes from the Arabian Knights AU…? Yeah, well, I was drawing so many tense scenes that I needed to do something soft for once. I simply couldn’t resist anymore. So, here are some WIPs. These are still conceptual, so please don't pay too much mind to the settings
Hey friend, request/recommendation - put the majority of your fic under a read more. Long posts can be annoying to scroll through and more likely to make someone want to block you rather than read it. It's also a good way to entice people to interact more directly with it.
Hi, thanks for the advice! I'll admit I'm a little green when it comes to navigating tumblr. How exactly do I go about putting it under a read more? Happy to go back and edit all my posts, as annoying people is the last thing I want to do.
Thanks for taking the time to help me out! Appreciated :)
It's been busy past couple of weeks! But thankfully, mostly for positive reasons. Worked a big 'ol theater summer camp all of July, made some good progress in figuring out what's going on with my body, and signed up to go back to school! Gonna try my hand at Medical Coding.
May have taken me two months to get this chapter out, but I feel pretty good about how it turned out! Hopefully you'll feel the same 🙂
Slight trigger warning for a bit of verbal abuse towards the end. I'm a big believer in respecting trigger warnings, so should you wish to skip but still want to know what happened, feel free to message me and I'll give you a generalized, abridged version.
Credit for the Chrysanthemum OC headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!
“Goodness, that’s quite the uh… escapade. Are you sure you’re alright?”
Chrys waved off her concern, her arm covered in an assortment of colorful bandages, an apologetic smile across her face.
“Oh no, this is nothing, really. I’m more concerned for her. Are you sure you don’t want to take her to a doctor?”
Marigold’s mother smiled back, tired, but accepting, with an assuring nod.
“Yes, at least for tonight. Our family doctor has likely already retired for the evening, old man that he is, and she’s been through enough for one evening, I think. We’ll check in with him first thing in the morning.” She glanced away before meeting Chrys’s eyes once more, a cautious vulnerability seen within. “You know… I knew that she hadn’t been herself lately, quieter, prone to getting lost in her own little world, but I… I just thought it was her way of mourning, of dealing with her grandfather passing. Kids are always so difficult to judge with this kind of stuff, especially at her age. I guess with all the chaos going on, I missed just how badly she was truly hurting… ” She sighed, defeated. “Maybe I’m both a bad wife and a bad mom.”
Chrys’s initial instinct was to assure, to dismiss the statement, but something in her held back. Her gaze instead pivoted to Marigold, the frail and pale thing clutched once more to her mother’s side, with one hand latched firm to her own lips, her regressive thumb sucking the only sign of any thought behind her glazed, heavy-lidded eyes. Her entire body exuded pure exhaustion.
Unsurprising, given the circumstances. Fainting would be draining to even the hardiest of adults, let alone a young child.
She could still see the moment clear in her mind; How heavy the child’s tiny body felt as she fell limp in Chrys’s arms, her ear-splitting scream taking up the last of what strength the poor thing had left. In hindsight, Chrys recognized she’d been wholly unprepared to handle this sort of emergency. Without a bit of outside help, she was loathe to think of how much worse everything could have progressed from there.
Marigold’s mother continued. “Oh, but listen to me, postulating like some college intern. Pay me no mind, I should have known better. Daring to hope she might still have a normal birthday party despite everything going on right now was just wishful thinking on my part.”
“I mean, I wouldn’t exactly say that.” Chrys said, finding a touch of strength in her voice. “Yeah, it ended badly, but there were some good moments. Though, maybe in the future a small family gathering might be better, rather than some grandiose party. All these kids to play with, and all she really wanted was her brother, you know?”
Marigold’s mother grew quiet and pensive, listening intently. “You… may have a point there.”
Chrys’s attention shifted to the rest of the quickly dwindling crowd of kids, each still smiling as their guardians came and picked them up one by one, blissfully unbothered by everything that had transpired once they’d returned from dinner. Nothing but joy and laughter on their minds, with new crafted masterpieces to show off at home.
Shame washed over her, knowing that Marigold wasn’t one of those smiling faces. This was her day, her chance to be pampered and celebrated. And she was leaving worse off than when she arrived.
So much for wanting to give her the best birthday party ever.
“Well, thank you again, for everything. I’m going to get us home now, get her in bed. You have a good rest of your evening, dear.”
Marigold’s mother afforded her one last, polite smile, before turning and walking away, guiding along the ghost of a daughter who trailed behind her.
Chrys managed a weak smile as they left, for their sake, but couldn’t maintain it long. As soon as the two disappeared from sight, her facade crumbled, revealing the miserable expression waiting underneath.
What a week. And it’s only Wednesday…
An out-of-place giggle pulled her from her thoughts, coming from the other side of the entrance, where the last child waited to be dismissed. He sat on the floor, legs outstretched while Moon, back towards her, helped him to tie his shoes.
“Oh my, you have snakes on your sneakers. Whatever shall we do? Here, let's tie them together in one big bow so that they can’t slither off on your way home.”
He spoke with a softer inflection compared to Sun, far more gravely and nearly an octave lower. The boy cackled louder this time, amused as Moon added little “hissing” sounds as he looped each shoelace. The scene brought a soft smile to her face.
“Hunter!” A voice shouted from out in the hall, manifesting in what must have been the boy’s mother storming through the gate, her distress evident. “Hunter Daniels, stop messing around this instant! It’s time to go!”
Heels slamming the ground with each step, she grasped the boy beneath his arms and hoisted him to his feet, with enough force to cause him to stumble before finding his footing, a single shoe still left untied.
“Mom, stop! I’m not ready!”
“You’re ready enough! If I’d known this birthday party would take place in here I never would have let you come, even if the Chanceller’s are footing the bill. Now let’s go!”
“Okay, okay!”
His meek protests faded as they rushed from the daycare, a chaotic blur as the boy struggled to keep up with his mother’s furious pace. The gate doors closed behind them with an out-of-place and heavy “thud”.
“Yikes,” Chrys said, hesitant to make a sound in the wake of their departure. “What’s got her in such a tizzy?”
Moon remained still, crouched in the same position on the floor, as if he’d been frozen from the very same moment the woman arrived.
“Moon?” Chrys asked, hesitant. “You alright?” She inched a step closer, enough so as to nearly place a hand on his shoulder. Just before she could, he snapped back to life and rose to his feet, shoulders tense, hands balled, and addressed her without so much as a tilt of his head in her direction.
“I’m fine. The party is over now. You can go home.”
His words were curt, devoid of any of the warmth or affection he’d just shown the boy in helping him get ready. The sudden and unexpected shift in his attitude caught her off-guard. He’d hardly spoken since he’d found her and Marigold in Kids Cove, but that could be easily justified given the situation at the time. Now, his introversion felt cold, prickly almost, as if a web of thorns had woven throughout his personal space, threatening injury to any who dared to get too close.
Had she said something wrong?
Capitalizing on her momentary hesitation, he strode into the heart of the room without another word, and began the hefty task of taking down all the various pieces of decoration still attached to the playplaces, leaving her to stand alone.
It was then she realized, while watching him from afar, that this was the first time she’d had the chance to see him out in the open, uninhibited. No impenetrable darkness, no near death experiences, no frightened child in need, nothing. Though she knew she was staring, she couldn’t seem to look away.
All the bits and pieces of him she’d seen so far still rang true. His base was a carbon copy of Sun’s, but with a different overall theme, obvious in the details.
Even his clothes are black-light reactive, just like the stars on the ceiling. How clever.
Remaining quiet, she made her way to where he was, keeping just enough distance to not infringe on his personal space, yet close enough to still make her presence known. His body language communicated that he wished to be left alone, but she chose not to comply.
It was about time they had a chance to chat one-on-one.
“So… is now a good time to thank you?”
He paused, a confused expression emerging, hands lost in a mess of different strings and streamers.
“What?” He said. “You don’t need to thank me. Recovering a missing child is literally my job.”
Irritation colored his voice, his words landing with a bite before he scowled and returned to his work. He did everything in his power to avoid participating in the conversation.
“I mean, that’s not true.” She replied. “I don’t know what I would have done with Marigold if you hadn’t shown up when you did. But, even so, that’s not really what I was talking about.” She tested the waters, stepping closer. “I meant the storeroom, and the paint shelf. Remember? I never really got to thank you for coming to my rescue.” She leaned on the playplace within his line of sight, making herself unavoidable. “That… was you, wasn’t it?”
With how reluctant he was to speak, she knew she walked a fine line, attempting to get him to confess his participation without pushing too far. She’d already gotten all the confirmation she needed; There was no mistaking his voice, not now that she was so close. The only question that remained was whether or not he would deny it.
His eyes drifted to the floor, and he sighed, finally abandoning the knot he’d been attempting to untangle. He whispered, just soft enough that she was unsure if he meant for her to hear it or not.
“And if it was? Would you still want to thank me then?”
His statement carried with it the weight of sorrow, dissonant to the standoffish demeanor he wore now. Nothing she had thought to say felt appropriate given this unexpected vulnerability, leaving her at a loss for words.
As if taking her silence for judgment, he grumbled, and turned back to his previous task, brusquely brushing her off.
“Nevermind. Like I said, you should go home. Forget about all this. I’ll get it cleaned up.”
Mentally, she berated herself. She’d overstepped, and now the wall was back up. His body language, his voice, all worked to push her away, reject her attempts at outreach. But why? To what end? Nothing about his behavior made sense to her. What did he gain by forcing distance between them? Without a clear goal in mind, the wisest thing to do now would be to leave, follow his advice and go home. Respect his unspoken wish to be left alone, and wait until next time to try and make friends again.
Only who knows how long that would be.
With a slight pout of her lips, she stepped back, and moved to the opposing playplace, setting to work on untangling another mess of strings which held a large banner in place.
“What are you doing?” He stopped, following her every move with an incredulous look. “I just said I’d take care of it.”
“I know.” She stated, looking anywhere but at him. “And I opted to disregard it.”
She heard him make a throaty click, and had to stop the smirk that threatened to break through.
“I had no intention of letting Sun clean up all of this by himself. I’m not sure what makes you think you are any different.”
Maintaining a veneer of disinterest, Chrys continued to work, doing her best to ignore the prickle that rose to the back of her neck as she sensed rather than saw Moon approach her from behind. Only once his shadow blocked the light from reaching her did she deign to turn around.
“Yes? Can I help you?” She quipped.
The permanent smile on his face quivered, the corners tightening with annoyance. He leaned over, closing the gap, with his arms crossed in what she thought was a half-hearted attempt at being intimidating.
“Go. Home.”
“No.”
His eye joined the rest of his face in twitching, and he closed them for a moment as he let out an exasperated sigh.
“Maybe I should have let you go rushing to your own death. Would have been fitting, seeing as how stubborn you are.”
“Yeah, you could have.” Chrys said, refusing to look away from his strained smile and tired eyes. “But you didn’t. So whether you like it or not, it’s my turn to return the favor. I owe you. Now, mind telling me where this goes?”
She held up the banner she’d been working on, now free from its constraints. His eyes widened, bouncing between her and the impossible knot he’d yet to figure out himself. Throwing his hands up, he rolled his eyes.
“Fine! You win. Just, I don’t know, be careful? And don’t get in my way.” He pinched the center curve of his crescent nose as she grinned, pleased. “You can put all the decorations in the tubs behind the security desk.”
For the next half hour, the two kept to their own, working separate yet cooperatively from the other to remove all the birthday decor from the Daycare. Trip after trip was made, until the last spool of streamers was placed in their proper place.
“There!” Chrys said, placing the lid on the final tub. “Finished.” She mimed clapping the dust from her hands. “Aren’t you glad I stuck around?”
Moon came up beside her, picking up the tub and hauled it over to the entrance, placing it among the rest of the packed up decorations.
“You were not… not helpful, I suppose.”
Chrys chuckled. As they had worked, the wall he’d erected to keep her at bay had been chipped away at, their interactions growing more relaxed and less curt. Speaking occurred without as much difficulty, though he still remained a man of few words. Another interesting contrast between the two brother’s, she presumed.
Following behind, Chrys waited until he was finished before approaching, having learned in their brief time together that he seemed to dislike someone coming up to him from behind when he wasn’t looking. Having already grabbed her bag from her locker, the clock chimed the time, signaling that even if she wished to stay, her shift was nearing its end. All that was left to do was to check-in and say goodbye.
“Well, I guess that’s everything. Anything else you need me to do before I go?”
He crossed his arms and cocked a hip, cracking a raised eyebrow to her. “Don’t tell me you’re actually going to listen to me now? And here I thought you were trying to avoid leaving at all.”
She laughed. “Oh, I’ll be right back here bright and early tomorrow, trust me. I don’t want to hear Vanessa berate me for being late again.”
For the first time, she heard him laugh. Lightly, softly, but there. The sound made her smile.
“No, I can't imagine you do. She has a rather impressive way of making you feel like utter garbage the moment she says your name.”
“Hey,” Chrys said. “Least she doesn’t butcher it. You wouldn’t believe the ways people have managed to mess up “Chrysanthemum” before. Someone even once called me “Chlorophyll”. Chlorophyll! Like, how did they possibly come to that conclusion? It’s not even spelled remotely the same!” She held out her hand, her expression and tone both mockingly cheerful. “Hello! Pleasure to meet you, my name’s Chlorophyll! Don’t mind me, I’m just a plant!”
Moon chuckled, amused, surprising her by taking her outstretched hand and giving it a firm shake. “Pleased to meet you, little Ms. Walking Houseplant. Let’s hope you’re not poisonous, shall we?”
The two shared another chuckle, lightening the air around them further. Though the camaraderie was still new and unfamiliar, it came with a natural, inviting flow Chrys found refreshing…until a tiny, clacking sound caught her attention.
Following the sound, it wasn’t hard to determine what had caused it. There, dangling from his wrist, a yellow and gold gemstone bead bracelet rattled against itself, the colors contrary to the cool blue of his arm. Her mirth faded as she recognized what she was looking at.
“Uh, Moon…why are you wearing Sun’s bracelet?”
A knot caught in her throat, her “gift” staring at her in the face. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but her mind raced with the implications of what she saw, of what it meant. To have transferred to his wrist in the short time between when she last saw Sun, given all the chaos that occurred…it wasn’t realistic to think it had gotten there by any mundane means. Now that she thought about it, Sun still hadn’t returned since rushing off after Marigold’s disappearance…were her earlier suspicions actually right?
“Actually,” She spoke with as steady a voice as she could manage. “Where is Sun right now? I-Is he coming back soon? I want to say goodbye to him before I head h-home—”
“Don’t play dumb.”
His hand tightened around hers with a crushing force, and his cold glare made her stomach drop. For the first time, the sheer magnitude of his unnaturally tall stature left her feeling vulnerable and exposed. Reflexively, she buckled towards him, clutching at their hands.
“Moon, s-stop, you’re hurting me!”
“Why?” He spat, his expression steeled. “You late on sending in your report? Let me guess, it’s all about how you’ve been keeping tabs on us, trying to see if we mess up? The “poor, damaged robots” not keeping up appearances well enough for management’s liking? Oh no no no, can’t have that now, can we?” He made a clicking, “tsk” sound before yanking, hard, on her arm, drawing her in dangerously close. “Is Vanessa getting worried we’ll cause another controversy? Is that really why she hired you?”
She tried to pull away, to put the safety of distance back between them, but his hold was unyielding. He waited, eyes demanding an answer, yet she could think of nothing. None of the accusations he slung at her made any sense, and as the fire in her hand grew, she couldn’t even find the strength to speak up in her own defense. Bitter, confused tears burned hot trails down her cheeks, and she dug at Moon’s hand on hers with an ever-increasing panic.
With a growl of frustration, he threw her away, sending her sprawling backwards, her back falling into the wall with a heavy, solid “thud”. Her legs barely found the strength to keep her standing in time, having to prop up the majority of her weight on one hand as she found her footing.
“I bet you thought you were so clever, didn’t you?” He stalked towards her, eyes sharp and fierce, a cruel smile in place. “I’ll admit, you had me going there for a while. What a talented, pretty little actress you are, giving such a stellar performance.” He slammed his hands to the wall on either side of her head, causing her to cry out. “You may have Sunny fooled, but not me. Your little “nice girl” act has failed. But I can promise you something, starlight,” He spat the last word. “I won’t let anyone hurt my brother again. Not you, not Vanessa, not even the owner of Fazbear Entertainment himself. If you want us scrapped that badly, well…I guess you’ll just have to try a little bit harder.”
Rage rolled off him in waves, assaulting her senses. She wilted under his biting words, each as confusing and damaging as the last. Her breath hitched as he drew close, hovering his face just a few inches from her ear.
“…still grateful I saved you?”
His voice dripped with venomous sarcasm, and she trembled against her will. She could hardly breathe, hardly think, her overly-stressed mind an incoherent mess. This wasn’t what she’d expected, wasn’t what she’d thought might come about from making those damn bracelets, but she regretted it all the same.
He pulled back with a snarl, his sharp teeth bared.
“’Cause it won’t happen again.”
Despite how her gut screamed at her not to, she dared to meet his gaze head-on, silently asking for mercy, respite, anything to make this stop. His red eyes, once a sight that brought her relief, now gleamed a hellish ruby, not an ounce of compassion to be found within.
She swallowed, her mouth dry. “…P-Please…Sun will—”
“Sun’s not here.”
His curt response left no room for retort, and she pressed herself as far as she could into the wall, the desire to be as small as possible almost unignorable.
“Though…you bring up an excellent point” he said, tilting his head. “It would do him some good, I think, to see you without his usual “sunny-colored lenses”. Let’s fetch him, shall we?”
With a gravelly roar, he pulled back his arm, and slammed it down again with enough force to shake the wall. Chrys cried out, flinching away from the sound, her hands flying to protect her face. She shuddered, waiting for the pain to arrive, but it never did. Cracking her eyes open, the brightness that greeted her left her momentarily blind until her eyes adjusted. Glancing beside her, she gasped to see the light-switch smashed, cracks breaking through. Turning to Moon, she was surprised to find him watching her, as if he’d been waiting for her to. Using the same hand he smashed the light-switch with, he reached down and took her chin in his fingers, forcing her to face him completely.
“Don’t look away.”
Without the softness of shadows to cloak his features in an air of fantasy, his countenance appeared duller, weathered, the colors washed out by the intense lighting, leaving him with an almost exposed, unnatural appearance, like a nocturnal animal caught out in daylight. Time stilled around them, each second strained and drawn out. She trembled under his gaze, unsure of what to do and too terrified to find out.
Though she wouldn't have long to wait.
In a snap, everything changed. Moon, clutching at his chest, let out a deep, guttural wail, as if his very heart had stopped. He dug and clawed at the edges of his faceplate, stumbling backwards with a lurch. With each second that passed his cries grew more and more anguished, and with horror settling in her gut, Chrys realized she’d heard these tortured sounds once before, in the sudden darkness of the storeroom.
From his outermost extremities in, his body metamorphosed. As his limbs shook and jerked at odd angles, the colors of his pants changed, leeching up his body like a poison in stripes of red and gold. Not limited to just his clothing, the color infected his arms, his chest, rising up his body until finally, his head.
Moon’s screams warped, the sound shifting to reflect more of another’s voice than his own, tears flowing uninhibited down her face as she recognized whose. The tension in the air grew and grew until all at once he went limp, his arms falling from his face to dangle lifelessly at his sides. His head spun on its axis, with his hat sliding in-between the separating plates, revealing a tangled mess of bare wiring and circuitry before being replaced by golden pointed rays and a soft, yellow complexion.
Btw, for anyone interested, if you haven't yet checked out the FNAF Fangame "After Hours" by snowyrey, I highly recommend you do! The new voice acting added for Sun and Moon is phenomenal!
I can't tell you how good it feels to be getting a chapter out only about a month after the last update, instead of, you know, four 😅. But for any who were concerned after my last authors note, I can say I am doing a bit better than I was, a fact I'm both grateful for and still getting used to. I had a surgery at the beginning of this month, which took me down for about two weeks to recover from, but I can say it was well worth it, as I'm already seeing improvements in my health. Just trying to take it all one step at a time, even when bad days still arise.
If anything, it gave me plenty of time to work on this chapter and get it to a place where I'm happy with it. Only two more chapters left in Act 1!
Also, it was my birthday earlier this past week! Gemini season has begun! :D
Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!
Outside the walls of the daycare, the low lighting grew dense and heavy, lit only by harsh emergency lighting. Everywhere stood masses of confused patrons, huddled in groups of various sizes in shops or along corners. Somewhere, Chrys heard a mechanical voice stick out amidst the chaos, dissonant against the flow of human ones flooding the air. She dashed forward, following the direction of the sound. A human staff member may not be able to contact an animatronic, but perhaps a robotic one might.
Just a ways ahead, she found the source of the voice; A single staff bot currently attempting—and failing—to corral a large family into remaining still enough to be scanned. While expressionless, Chrys could swear she heard exasperation in the bot’s monotone voice.
“Guests, please remain in place. Scanning will commence—GUESTS. Please remain in place. Scanning will commence—GUESTS. Please remain in—”
“Hey!” Every face in the vicinity turned to look at her. She disregarded those that were human and spoke only to the staff bot. “Are you able to get a message to an animatronic? It’s urgent.”
Head cocked, her request was met with a blank stare. A red laser pinprick lit up the center of its oval iris, washing over her.
“Employee designation recognized. Request granted. What is your message and intended recipient?”
The family huffed from behind the bot, but she refused to let them distract her from her goal. If they wanted this to be over sooner, they should have been more patient and cooperative in the first place.
“Uh, for Sun.”
“Sun is off-line. Choose available recipient.”
“Wait, what?” The bot’s response made her pause. “But I literally just saw him a couple of minutes ago.”
“Sun is off-line. Choose available recipient.”
“Oook then… uh, what about Moon? Is he available?”
The bot remained silent for a moment before answering, the sound of a fan revving signifying his inner query. “Affirmative.”
“Great!” She pumped her fist. “Then, uh, tell him he needs to go to Kids Cove as soon as possible. I have reason to believe that’s where Marigold’s gone. You know, the missing kid.”
The staff bot bobbed its head before returning to duty. “Received. Message sent.”
“Great, thank you!”
Hopefully he gets there quickly…
Task completed, she let her feet lead the way back, letting the frustrated bot return to his unenviable duty. Though with each step, her assurance wavered. A peculiar knot still remained lodged in her chest, weighing on her. But why? She came to a halt when a flash of pain shot through the inside of her cheek, catching up to her that she’d been chewing at it without realizing it.
This didn’t make sense. She’d done what she sought out to do; Give someone better suited to help Marigold in this situation an advantage, point them in the right direction. That’s all that she could do, right?
So why did she feel so dissatisfied?
A single thought repeatedly clawed to the surface, eating away at what was left of her confidence. What if… what if she was wrong? What if her deductions meant nothing, and she was pulling help further away from where it really needed to be? Should she have thought to check it out herself first, and called for help later? Was she just wasting everyone’s time, sending them on a wild goose chase?
She groaned, the butts of her palms shoved to her eyes as she spun in place. She didn’t think this through! Stupid, so, so stupid! If she’d bungled this she’d feel like the worst sort of person—a detriment, with the audacity to burden others with her incompetence.
Looking out from beyond her hands, she found herself standing in the space between the front gate of the Daycare and the path which led to the elevator. The realization dawned on her that this would have been the most likely path for the party to have followed upon returning to the Daycare. What were the odds that this was where Marigold had run off?
While things weren’t crystal clear, her eyes had had enough time to adjust to the dim space that she could make out some of the graphics and advertisements around her, scanning for anything that might have caught a child’s eye. A cut-out for Roxy Raceway, a poster of Freddy singing, and—there! Protruding from a wall, a mounted arrow sign, pointing down a conjoining hallway, with the words “Kids Cove” written at its center, surrounded by what looked to be an image of palm trees.
Bingo!
Her body took off of its own volition, and soon the slap of her sneakers joined the cacophony of the crowd as she jogged, deftly avoiding wayward packs of confused and irate people until she reached her destination; A wide open and decorated archway that once would have made for a inviting display, now cordoned off by an array of wooden crates, opaque sheets of plastic and caution tape, with two signs bookending the haphazard mess of clutter. Flashlight in hand, Chrys drew close, using the light to read the message.
“Kids Cove.” She breathed. “Closed for renovations. Do not enter without special authorization. Fazbear Entertainment will not be held liable for any harm received past this point. Well,” she sighed, craning to try and look beyond the blockages. “Trying to find a lost kid counts as special authorization, right? Right. Of course it does.”
After a minute of examining the area, she discovered a small opening between the sides of two crates, just large enough for her to squeeze through if she dropped to her belly and shimmied on her side.
“Guess I know how she would’ve gotten in…”
From the floor, nothing but a void greeted her beyond the crates. No light, no glow, only an inky abyss, one that even her flashlight couldn’t overpower, at least not from this angle. Positioning herself down to an army crawl, she ignored any dust her movement kicked up, though they made her nose sniffle, and inched her way through. Once she could stick her top half out on the other side, a quick look confirmed her suspicions; No emergency lighting present, not like the rest of the building. The air felt oppressive against her skin, tickling the hair on the back of her neck. If Marigold managed to make it in this far before the lights went out, there’d have been no way for her to have found her way back out again on her own.
“Marigold?” She called, pulling herself to her feet and stepping carefully into the dark, the flashlight acting as her anchor and her guide, lighting her way past the abstract and colorful shapes partially revealed within the minuscule circle of light.
With a bit of examination, the abstract shapes revealed themselves to be different kinds of playground equipment. Jungle gyms, slides, swings, all in various shades of underwater or muted jewel tones, with most still in some incomplete form of assembly. She had to hand it to those two attendants. For as infuriating as they were, it appeared as if they knew at least a little of what they talked about.
The further in she went, the more apparent it was how secluded this section of the pizzaplex was from the rest of the building. None of the fanfare from the guests outside could make it this far, making every sound more pronounced within the silence. Her footsteps, her breathing. Though she was here with good intentions, she couldn’t shake the feeling that perhaps this wasn’t the wisest of decisions. Ignoring the goosebumps which prickled across her arms, she pressed on, reminding herself that she was an adult, and there was a kid in need right now. It was her responsibility to keep herself under control.
“Marigold?” She called out again, her voice bouncing throughout the room. “Marigold, can you hear me?”
Waiting for the last of her echoes to fade, she held her breath, hoping to better catch even the softest of sounds.
“… Miss Chrys?”
She whipped to the side with a sharp gasp, flashlight darting to try and locate its source.
“Marigold?” Chrys repeated, hesitant to trust in what she heard as the real deal and not just a figment of her imagination.
“Miss Chrys!”
“Marigold!!!”
Certain now without the shadow of a doubt, Chrys rushed ahead, narrowly avoiding the scattered pieces of unfinished playground equipment littering the floor.
“Where are you? Are you hurt? Don’t worry, I’m—AHHH!”
Her words switched to a shout as the floor disappeared out from under her, stomach lurching as she sprawled forward, arms outstretched in a desperate attempt to cushion her fall. Her flashlight flew from her grasp, the beam darting about in erratic streaks, before going out with a bang and a crackle, leaving her blind in the dark as she hit the ground.
“Miss Chrys!!!”
Marigold’s terrified voice shrieked in her ear, closer than ever before, adding to her disorientation. Her knees and elbows smarted, having taken the majority of her weight in the fall, and her shoulder ached, but overall, that seemed to be the worst of it. The fall must not have been that bad, though to Chrys it felt like she fell a good couple of feet, at least.
“Miss Chrys, are you ok???”
Reminded of the present by a pair of tiny hands yanking and tugging at her shirt, Chrys shook herself from her daze and did her best to focus.
“Marigold, is that you? Oh, I’m so glad to—oof!”
“I’m sorry!!” The girl launched herself at her so hard she pushed the air from her lungs, and clung to her as if she were a lifeline. “I thought big brother would be here, his office is here, he’s always working! But then it was all blocked off, and I wasn’t sure if I should look behind it, but I wanted to find him so I tried, but then there was nobody, and, and then, then the lights went out, and I didn’t know how to get back, and I tripped and fell and now my ankle hurts and… and… WAHHHHHH!!!!”
The girl spoke in a single, fluid torrent, her words a bleeding mess of incoherent emotions and distress. Her tears broke into full bodied sobs, her breathing disjointed by deep gasps of air.
“Hey, hey!” Chrys sat up, scooping the wailing child into her arms. “It’s ok, it’s ok. You’re safe, that’s all that matters. Everything’s ok, shhhhh…”
She rocked in place, patting gently along the child’s back in a soothing motion, keeping her little murmurs of reassurance soft and calm and steady.
“There you go, that’s it,” Chrys said, sensing her efforts were taking effect. “Take a deep breath for me. In—” She demonstrated the motion first, pleased when Marigold imitated. “And out. Good, good.”
The poor thing sat on her lap tucked in the fetal position, head nestled up under Chrys’s chin. She hiccupped and sniffled as her tears ebbed, snuggling in as close as she could.
“Marigold,” Chrys asked, pausing to consider her words before continuing. “What’s going on, why did you run off? We were all so worried.”
The girl coughed, the sound heavy with mucus, and curled even further inward. “… he promised.”
“Promised? Promised what?”
Silence hung heavy in the air around them, until after another wet cough, Marigold continued. “Big Brother promised he’d celebrate my birthday with me. But… everything’s been so bad lately. Since Grandpa didn’t wake up, all Mama and Papa do is shout and yell and cry, and Big Brother is never home anymore! I just… I just wanted everyone to smile again, like when mama and I first moved in… he promised!!!
The wails started anew, face pressed into her chest, the tears soaking through the already wet fabric as she worked herself up again. Chrys winced alongside each of her pain-filled cries but remained silent, giving her the space to release all the pent up grief and confusion bottled up inside. She knew how it was to be so overwhelmed that you couldn’t think straight. Wrapping her arms fully around her shaking frame, she held the girl close, cheek pressed to the top of her head, rocking gently back and forth. Words wouldn’t help here. Just presence and kindness. To know it was alright to cry, to know you were safe while you let it all out, give voice to the ache that refused to leave.
To know you weren’t alone.
A memory appeared in her mind then, foggy, but there, of her mother holding her in a similar position soon after her Dad had died. Oh, how she’d cried and cried, inconsolable, but her mother had let her, holding her tight as the soft melody she sang soothed her frazzled nerves…
“When the Sun sets…”
The same song found purchase in her own throat now, vying for space amidst the child’s cries. Chrys sang just above a whisper, a purposeful breathiness intermingling with each note.
“And the Moon rises…”
Marigold shifted, turning so as the side of her face rested against Chrys’s chest, where her heartbeat was strongest. Chrys ran a gentle hand over her head, caressing the soft curls.
“The stars will dance for you. As the petals blow, from the trees embrace, carrying away your light. And there I’ll go, to the waters edge, to sing with you again….”
Marigold’s breathing settled as the last note faded, the music having won against the sorrow. The empty air around them no longer carried a sense of unease, but rather that of a comforting shield, protecting them in an otherworldly cocoon of peace and quiet.
“What… what song is that?” Marigold’s tiny voice asked, her sniffle the loudest.
“Just… a lullaby my mother taught me. It always used to help me whenever my heart hurt. Maybe it can help yours too.”
Though she didn’t reply, Marigold seemed content with her answer, snuggling in closer and twirling a lock of hair as they sat together in comfortable silence. They should start trying to find their way back soon, Chrys knew, alleviate everyone’s worry and return to enjoying the rest of the party, but… she couldn’t find it within herself to move the exhausted girl quite yet. Poor thing could use an extra minute or two.
Though, despite her wishes, fate seemed to have a different plan. A sharp clang, thin and metallic, rang out from the darkness, shattering their illusion of solitude. Marigold gasped and stiffened. Chrys remained silent, listening.
“Monster…” Marigold whispered, in the tiniest of voices. She trembled, attempting to back further into the safety of her arms. Chrys adjusted, using a free hand to wipe the wet strands of hair out of Marigold’s tear-soaked face.
“It’s ok,” Chrys replied, reassuring. “Maybe something fell, or…” In the distance, a soft tinkling sound resounded through the void, active, and growing closer by the millisecond. It took Chrys a split-second to realize what it was.
“Bells… they’re bells! Oh, thank goodness. Marigold, it’s alright, that’s no monster, that’s just Mr.—”
“No!” Marigold screeched, fighting against her “No, no! Monster, monster!!”
Tugging against her hold, her behavior grew more frantic by the second, forcing Chrys to struggle in order to keep Marigold still. If she slipped up and let her run off into the dark like this, she could only imagine how badly she could get hurt. She had to figure out a way to get her to calm down before things got out of hand.
Wait, the flashlight! Of course!
Everything always seemed scarier in the dark; it’s why night-lights were staples in childhood bedrooms. Marigold just needed to see that there was nothing to fear! Deciding to try, Chrys switched her hold to a single arm, just long enough to snatch the tool from the ground and smash the defiant button, hoping to make the stubborn thing work through sheer force of will alone.
“Come on, come on!”
The jingles grew louder, only to stop just before they would have reached them, the lack of noise louder than the sound itself. A red glow began to break through the darkness surrounding them, illuminating the dark shapes around them bit by bit. Marigold exploded the second she noticed, kicking and clawing as if her life depended on it, her tiny nails digging into Chrys’s arm hard enough that she could feel the sharp pricks of pain and warm wetness bloom across her skin. Dropping the flashlight, Chrys abandoned her previous plan and focused solely on restraining Marigold, certain now that she would inevitably harm herself in such a state.
“Marigold, stop! It’s alright! Relax! There’s no monster, I promise! You have to calm down!”
A sharp “crunch” from the side interrupted her just then, followed immediately by an eruption of light which split the space between, blinding as her pupils constricted.
Blinking against the pain, snippets of vision registered as her eyes adjusted. Blue fabric against yellow stars. Grey and blue endoskeleton. A sleeping cap more hood than cap draped over thin shoulders. And a silvery, crescent moon face, framing blood red, glowing eyes, the very same which had stared down at her while she lay on a concrete floor.
So, remember how in my last author's note, I said I was feeling better? "More like a human"?
Yeah, I spoke too soon.
These past few months have put me through the wringer. Super stressful work environment, and new meds messing with both my mental and physical health. I'm taking steps to change the meds, and banish this nasty depression it has kept me trapped in. I can only apologize for how long it's been since my last update, though I did my best to keep writing.
This chapter might be a bit smaller than what they usually are, but it was hard-fought for. I hope you all like it, and thanks for being patient with me.
Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!
The alarm replayed across the air, ominous and oppressive. Chrys looked towards the sound, the weight of the message sinking under her skin. Never before had she found herself in this situation; never again did she want to. The worry that gnawed at her stomach threatened to make her vomit, and the last thing anyone needed was for her to bring her lunch back out for a visit. She forced the sensation down from the back of her throat, and turned to face her partner, ready to follow whatever instructions he had for her.
“Sun, what are you—”
Yet she stood alone. The entrance doors clicked shut, broadcasting what must have been his departure. For him to leave without a word and so abruptly was unlike him.
Wait, what even are our protocols? What am I supposed to be doing here??
The two attendants from the Atrium stood out against the sea of quietly occupied children. If anyone here might have a shot of giving her some kind of guidance, her best bet was from other employees.
“Uh, hey,” Chrys asked, hurrying over, doing her best to project some sort of veneer of calm, lest her anxiety take control. “Everything seemed fine when I left. What the heck happened?”
Neither moved to look at her, or acknowledged that she’d spoken. Their game of “Go Fish” was more interesting, eyes locked on their individual sets of cards. Chrys waited, arms crossed over her chest, gaze pointed, until someone caved. The one on the right took that title; A heavyset, disheveled looking man with greasy hair, who offered only a measly, nonchalant shrug in consolation.
“Eh, she must have slipped from the group while we were walking back. Kid was there when we lined up.”
Soon the other joined in, a small, diminutive stick of a woman, likely around the same middle age as her counterpart. She clicked her teeth and added a card to the center pile. “My guess is she got distracted by something we walked past and snuck off. I’ve heard of stuff like that happening from some of the other staff. Hell, this place is like temptation in a bottle for kids.”
Chrys’s composure threatened to crack. Could they not hear themselves right now? Her tone took on a sharp edge. “What do you mean “you guess”? Aren’t you worried about her?”
“Oh chill, she’ll be fine.” The male attendant answered, unfazed. “They’ll send every mechanical bozo they’ve got in this place after her, like that creepazoid clown you’ve got here. Soon as the lights go off she won’t stay missing for long, I can tell you that.”
Chrys bristled. She didn’t appreciate the blatant, derogatory dig. “Is that about Sun?”
“Nah, the other one.” The same attendant answered. “After all, the guy’s part of security now, it’s his job to handle shit like this.”
Just then, every light in the vicinity began to fade, blanketing the daycare in a soft but artificial twilight. Some of the children shouted in mock terror, their cheeky giggles giving away their true amusement. Chrys startled out of reflex, eyes wide as she watched the scenery take on new life around her.
Stars. So, so many stars.
On every post, every wall, every support beam, even the ceiling and the fake clouds dangling overhead, glow-in-the-dark stars greeted her with their nostalgic light. Never would she have thought that the cheap ones she used to have decorating the ceiling of her childhood bedroom might be able to provide any sort of substantial light, but here they were, their collective amount—and likely higher quality—creating more than enough illumination to easily see by.
“See? Right on cue.” The attendant continued. “I bet you he’s the one who finds her first. Five minutes, tops.”
“Nah, it’ll be Roxy. Fast is like her whole thing. Ten bucks.” The woman chimed in with a barking laugh.
“Ha! You’re on!”
In the background of their grating banter, a new message spoke through the intercom, pulling Chrys from the conversation.
“ATTENTION ALL GUESTS: PLEASE REMAIN IN PLACE. OUR ANIMATRONIC STAFF AND SECURITY BOTS ARE CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING. THEIR SCANS ARE FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES ONLY. LOCKDOWN WILL REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL THE MISSING CHILD IS IDENTIFIED AND RECOVERED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.”
The automated voice spoke with an ignorable note of authority, demanding obedience through command. She could only imagine how frightening this situation must be to the other children throughout the pizzaplex; To go from having the time of their lives one instant, to then finding themselves in a world of darkness and danger the next. At least the children under her responsibility seemed impervious to this, safe and secluded as they were here in the Daycare. A small blessing.
Marigold, however, could afford no such luxury. Wherever she was, odds were that she was alone, overwhelmed, without anyone to guide or comfort her. And if anyone with less than innocent intentions found her before one of the animatronics could… she closed her eyes against such a thought. The math, however, remained clear; With each minute that ticked by, the risk of this turning into a catastrophe grew.
There had to be something she could do, anything to help speed things along. In a building this large, with all the various nooks and crannies she might have wandered into, going about this in a blind sweep would be far too tedious. Kids were masters of subverting your expectations, able to get themselves stuck in the most ridiculous of places. Pressing her palm to her forehead, Chrys dug through her memories, seeking anything notable, any sort of outlier that might give her some insight into whatever was going on in that little girl’s mind.
She’d been teary and reluctant to leave her mother when she’d arrived. Commonplace, most children suffered from some form of separation anxiety at that age. She played, she laughed, she had fun… and seemed hellbent on continually bringing up a certain ambiguous “big brother” every chance she could get. Was that the missing key? What was it she had said about him again? Something about wanting to share a pizza together, that he was some grown up that worked at some beach…
No, wait, that wasn’t it. She’d said here at the beach. Did… did she mean the pizzaplex?
“Hey,” Chrys said, interjecting herself back into the conversation. “Is there anywhere in the Pizzaplex that’s beach themed, or, I don’t know, might be considered kinda “beach-y”? Someplace like that?”
The two attendants shared a look of confusion, glancing at the other for mutual confirmation that they’d heard her right.
“Uh, not really.” The man replied, in a tone that made clear what he thought of her question. “The big things are the band performances, golf, the raceway…. everything else is pretty standard kid stuff, like the arcades. It ain’t really a “beach-y” kinda place, if you catch my drift.”
The woman piped in with a snap of her fingers. “Oh, hey now, isn’t one of the free zones pirate themed? They might have some beach decor or something.”
“Oh yeah, Kids Cove, right? I always forget about that place. Hasn’t it been, like, under construction or renovations for forever or something?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Internally, Chrys vibrated. It may only be a nugget, but this was more of a lead than she had thirty seconds ago, and she’d be a fool to dismiss it.
“Yes! That’s got to be it! Marigold had said something earlier that makes me think that might be where she’s gone! We have to let someone know. How do we contact Sun? Or Moon? Is there a way we can ping them or something?”
The pair scoffed at her.
“Who do you think we are, Vanessa? She’s the only one with direct line access to those overpriced tin cans.” The man patted the seat between the two of them. “Listen, why not sit down and relax with us for a second? I’m sure someone will find her soon, and everything will be just fine. I promise.”
His voice dripped with a syrupy sarcasm, the kind that came across as both patronizing and belittling. In her veins, her blood boiled. A little girl was out there somewhere, likely now having the worst birthday of her life, and they weren’t willing to lift a single finger to help her? To even try?
No. Unacceptable.
“Fine. If you won’t help me, then I’ll just go out there and find a way to tell them myself. Stay with the rest of the kids until I get back. Don’t work too hard now.”
Without giving either of the two a chance to retort, she pivoted and left, marching her way to the entrance of the daycare, stopping only once to grab a flashlight from the charging station mounted on the wall behind the security desk before stepping beyond the gate.
There was no way she was going to let that little girl suffer any longer than was necessary.
Didn't expect this past month, almost two, to be so filled! Overbooked with theater gigs for the holidays, family stresses, and getting Covid for christmas kept me rather occupied. Throw in some negative company-wide changes at my workspace come the new year, and we're off to a rousing start! Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
You know, it really is times like these that I cherish having a medium like this to escape to.
But, I've taken some time for myself, and am feeling far closer now to the definition of a human being than I was before, so that's a positive. Here's hoping for a smoother rest of the year, and thank you to everyone who has given me the joy of knowing you're enjoying my story. Y'all have given me some big boosts in moments where I really needed it this past year 😊
With that said, on with the show!
Credit for the Oc Chrysanthemum goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!
The path to the Atrium followed a different route than she’d yet taken, giving her a chance to see more of the pizzaplex than her morning walk into work would normally have allowed. Together, they re-entered the main lobby, this time turning at the top of the staircase to make use of the elevators. Exiting at one of the uppermost floors, the group entered into a massive, open convention hall of a room, with a stage nearly as impressive anchored along the farthest wall. Parents and children mingled about, creating an indiscernible din of voices. The outer layout reminded her of an old mall’s food court, with restaurants lining the outer perimeter and advertising a variety of offerings, ranging from Mexican to Italian to Carnival-style fried food, all pizzaplex themed, while the inner layout resembled more that of a performance arena. An odd mixture of architecture, that somehow, still managed to blend together as one cohesive unit.
The center of the room held the majority of the tables and chairs, many of which were already occupied with other parties and single families enjoying a meal. The attendants, keeping their lead, guided the line of children towards the only empty table left, the one specially reserved front and center, and already prepared for their arrival with decorations and boxes of hot pizza. As soon as the Atrium staff gave the “OK”, the children scattered, clamoring to claim their seat. Marigold, guided personally by the staff, sat at the head of the table, in a chair adorned with balloons and streamers. Unlike the rest of the children, who chattered excitedly, barely restraining themselves from the goodies before them, her attention appeared elsewhere, twisting herself this way and that around the back of the chair, as if looking for something.
Before Chrys had the time to check in on her odd behavior, all the lights began to dim, casting everything in a surreal neon glow. The children’s squeals spiked as their anticipation grew, then quieted as a building melody thumped through the speakers, followed by a soft, rolling fog which crept out across the stage. Amidst the fog emerged four black pits, obscured among the wisps of smoke, before a voice joined the music, unseen but inviting.
“Weeeeelcome, Superstars! Are you ready to have the most fazzeriffic, rockin’ birthday ever?!?”
The entire room shouted.
“I said, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!?”
Another universal scream, impossibly louder this time.
“Fazz-tastic! Ah one, two, three, four!”
Electric guitar, base, and an electric keyboard all sounded off in unison, collectively creating a stylized melody she didn’t recognize. The instruments harmonized well, and when the voice rejoined in song, the fullness of sound created was something enjoyable and thrilling.
“You could go anywhere, spend a fortune for wasted time, but we all know a birthday at anywhere but Fazbears should be considered a crime!”
Four animalistic, robotic faces appeared from the depths of the pits, breaking through the fog with glitz and glamor, shredding away on instruments dangled at the hip except for the dapper bear down front and center, singing into a stationary microphone. It took Chrys only a second to realize who they were; The Glamrock animatronics. While she recognized three from the advertisements plastered everywhere around the ‘plex, she couldn’t help but take notice of the one playing the bass, their encounter together when they’d accidentally met outside the daycare still fresh in her mind.
“So here’s our wish to you, our most special of guests, that your time with us will blow away all the rest!”
A few quick, hard cords, and the short rock ballad reached its end. As the last note drifted through the air, the entire band threw their fists up and shouted at the top of their mechanical lungs.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!”
The kids at their table cheered and clapped their hands off before digging into their pizza, doled out by the Atrium staff. As the last of the applause died down, Marigold once again returned to her peculiar behavior, this time stretching so far as to almost tip her chair over.
“Woah, careful!” Chrys moved just in time, catching Marigold by the shoulders and righting her. “What’s so interesting over there?”
Marigold looked around one more time, her confusion apparent, eyes brimming with tears.
“Miss Chrys… where’s big brother at? I thought he’d be here by now. I don’t want to eat without him! He loves pizza.”
Chrys’s spirit sunk. Whatever she’d thought preoccupied Marigold’s mind, this was last on the list. And she was no better prepared to handle this question now than she was the first time.
“I, uh, I’m not sure. I haven’t heard anything about his arrival yet. Maybe your dad is bringing him?”
Marigold shook her head vehemently. “No, no! Big brother is a grown up! He works here at the beach!” The tears which hovered at the edge broke free, trailing down her cheeks in a miserable descent, her voice cracking. “Mama told me he’d be here…”
Her heart broke to see such sadness in one so small, even as her mind hurried to update the image in her head of this so called “big brother”. Never would she have guessed all this upset was over some adult.
“I’m sorry Marigold. I know how painful it is to be expecting someone only for them not to show. But sometimes things can get complicated. Maybe something came up at the, uh… the beach, and that’s why he’s not here yet?”
She hoped her words would be enough to appease her, at least long enough for her to still enjoy her dinner. Grabbing a napkin from the table, Chrys gently blotted the tears marring Marigold’s face, and helped her to blow her nose. While she no longer cried, the girl’s eyes still shimmered with disappointment.
“How about we work on eating our pizza while it’s hot, and we’ll save a couple of slices for “big brother” to enjoy with you later, okay? Do you think that would be alright?”
She sniffled, though a corner of her mouth ticked upward in a weak attempt at a smile. “Ok, Miss Chrys. I’ll try.”
“That’s the spirit. Now, what kind would you like? I think there is—”
“Now, I know I’m not seeing waterworks from our very own guest of honor, am I? Here, I got just what ya need.”
The coarse and crass voice rang in Chrys’s ear, a pink puff of cotton candy materializing in her face, delicate and covered in glitter. Monty flashed the both of them a toothy grin as he handed the stick off to Marigold.
“There ya go. Happy Birthday little lady, hope you have a rockin’ day. Oh, and to let you in on a little secret,” He held his hand to the side of his snout and leaned down, blocking out the others. “We were playin’ just for you, ya know. A special performance, for a special kid.”
The little girl’s eyes lit up, and a grin graced her face for the first time since entering the Atrium. Hands free, he gave her hair an affectionate ruffle, and her melancholy mood seemed to abate, at least for the time being. She set right to work tearing apart the puffball, little hums of happiness escaping her as she popped the fluffy pieces into her mouth.
“Helps to have access to a kids preference profile, eh?”
Monty, nudging her with his elbow, eyebrows waggling, shot her a look that others might have found charming. She, however, did not consider herself one of those people, and ignored it as such.
“Oh come on, the silent treatment? That’s a little harsh, don’t ya think?”
The look she shot him made her thoughts apparent.
“Alright, alright, fair enough. But yesterday was a fluke, y’all just caught me on a bad day is all.”
From the corner of her eye, Chrys noticed the other Glamrocks inching closer, making what little space remained at their end of the table cramped. She stepped back, leaving more than enough room for the others to come up and greet Marigold, as they appeared to want, and happily so if it meant she could also put a little extra distance between herself and Monty at the same time.
Too bad he failed to get the same memo.
“New girl,” he croaked, following right on her heels. “I ain’t pulling your leg here. It wasn’t my intention to get so, uh… outta line. You didn’t do nothin', Sun was the one who pissed me off. So, uh, sorry you got sorta roped into my bad mood there, I guess.”
He spoke animatedly with his hands, swiping them over his red mohawk multiple times in a nervous, uncomfortable fashion. She kept her eyes trained on him, listening, but withholding any of the appeasement he sought, at least for the time being. On the surface his apology felt genuine, enough so that she felt bad for not giving in then and there. But… there was still something “off” about the way he held himself, the way he fidgeted. Of what exactly, she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but whatever it was, it made her hesitate.
“Wait, I know! Here,” he rushed back to the table. “A peace offering. A chance to start over, yeah? Clean slate?”
Looking between him and the slice of pizza he offered, she contemplated her decision for a moment, before letting go with a sigh, taking the plate from him with a compromising smile. She was probably just over-thinking things. It’s never easy to apologize to someone, especially someone you just met. She'd be rude to reject his attempts at reconciliation now.
“Well hey, alright then!” Seeing her accept the pizza, his eyes shot open, surprised, before morphing into a full-mawed grin, hands held on his hips in triumph, an enthusiastic and boyish pose. Endearing to those who likely knew him better, she imagined.
Still not quite my cup of tea, though.
The aroma of the fresh food tickled her nose, making her mouth water. Maybe Sun did have a point about her measly packed lunch. Monty had only grabbed a simple slice of cheese, but the scent carried with it a savory mixture of fresh herbs and hearty tomato sauce, and her stomach rumbled. Guess the “Pizzaplex” did actually live up to its namesake.
“Now that we got that out of the way, tell me. How are things going over in the daycare? Smooth? No outbursts? Or, uh… incidents?”
Chrys paused mid-bite, questioning what she heard. “Incidents?”
“Yeah, incidents! You know, a parent not showing up to pick up their kid, something getting broken, someone getting killed, that sorta thing…”
She choked on her food. “Killed?! What the heck do you think happens in the Daycare, human sacrifices?”
“I dunno. Wouldn’t be the first time someone left the daycare on a stretcher with a blanket covering their face.”
She froze. He delivered the statement in such a deadpan voice that any response she might have had died on her tongue. Was he joking with her? She searched his eyes for any sign of deceit, for anything that might negate the gravity of the subject, but found none. Gazes locked, he refused to break the contact, the seriousness in his eyes souring her stomach.
“What… What are you talking about?”
“So ya don’t know then? Huh. Guess I owe Roxy ten bucks.” He shrugged. “Not really my place to say, if Sun really hasn’t told you yet. Go ask him yourself if you’re brave enough, but don’t be surprised if he don’t say much. Doubt he’d be too keen on discussing how his brother gutted someone in cold-oil.”
She swallowed thickly, trying to keep the majority of her emotions from bubbling to the surface despite the race her pulse now ran. “How… how do you know all this?” Her voice came out flat, her nerves getting the better of her. She dug her nails into the paper plate, ripping it along the edges, needing something to do with her hands.
He exhaled through his snout, long and loud. “Not really a day any of us could forget, though Fazbear’s sure done their best to get us to. We were closed for days afterwards. The Daycare even longer than that.”
Licking her lips, her mind struggled to process. “But… how do you know Moon was the cause? Were you there, did you see him? Where was Sun during this? You’re trying to freak me out saying something terrible happened, but wouldn’t I have heard about it on the news if—”
The low, visceral growl that came from Monty startled her silent. “Look, new girl, believe me or not, but that doesn’t change the facts. You’re lucky I even took the time to tell you this much. If I were you, I’d want to know who I was working with. Do with that what you will. It’s your neck.”
Throwing his hands up, Monty clunked his way back to the table, just in time to join the rest of the Glamrocks for their departure.
“It’s been a faz-tastic time with you all! Enjoy the rest of your party! And Happy Birthday Marigold!”
Freddy shouted his goodbye before leading the rest of the band backstage, disappearing one by one behind the curtain. Chrys stared at Monty’s back until he too vanished, their time together leaving a bitter taste in the back of her throat. There’d be no way she could go back to the Daycare as she was before, not without a moment to collect herself, at least.
Quickly tossing her empty plate away, she found one of the attendants as they gathered the children, herding them single file, and waved for their attention.
“Hey, do you mind taking the kids back without me? I, uh, just need to use the bathroom real quick.”
The attendant shrugged. “Yeah, that’s fine. We’re good.”
“Great, thanks!”
Popping over to the nearest restroom, Chrys had the unexpected good fortune to find herself the only occupant. She approached one of the mirrored sinks, and splashed the coldest water she could get from the tap onto her face. The water soaked into her hairline and dampened the strands of hair which had fallen out of place, but she hardly noticed, savoring the chilling sensation. The prickly, tight feeling in her skin lessened, and she could feel the whole of her body relax. Looking in the mirror, her dark bags appeared even more pronounced under the unforgiving fluorescent lights, and she sighed. There was no one to blame but herself for how exhausted she looked.
Patting herself dry with a paper towel, the thoughts which clamored to come forward broke through, creating a battlefield in her mind.
Moon. Some, supposed murderer, and the daycare, a crime scene. Just imagining it made her cringe. Monty had to be exaggerating, had to be; No company, no matter how profit-driven, would ever let a robot remain active in any capacity who still posed a threat to their patrons. But, even if Monty was just blowing smoke… what did that say for real life? His claims were too extreme to be without some kind of credence, but all rumors needed some nugget of the truth in order to be believable, to spread. What could have happened to create such a violent reputation?
She hung her head, shaking away the urge to catastrophize. Without any other perspective or information she’d drive herself mad analyzing the never-ending possibilities. Not to mention how nefarious it felt to speak about someone she’d never even been introduced to yet.
Though, perhaps that wasn’t fully accurate. They had met, if just for a moment, hadn’t they? Her gut knew who it had been with her in that dark storeroom. She closed her eyes, letting the moment replay in her head. The disorientation, the crashing. He was the only reason she was able to walk away from that room unscathed. And no matter what anybody else said, no matter how many different ways she tried to look at it, no one who would jump headfirst to someone else’s defense could be some ruthless killer. Not in her eyes.
Maybe Monty was right. Maybe not. Or maybe the truth lay somewhere in-between. But she’d be a fool to place so much confidence in such an unreliable source so soon. Things always get warped the moment they transfer from one mouth to another after all, and this would be no different. Looking into the mirror one last time, Chrys settled the fight in her mind. Until forced to otherwise, she would choose to believe in the Moon who’d saved her.
It’s all she could trust for certain.
With renewed conviction, she left the bathroom and the Atrium as a whole, pleased with herself for remembering the way back to the daycare without having to reference a map. Upon entering, however, the atmosphere felt nothing like it did when she’d left it; a raw, worrisome tension filled the air, almost palpable in its heaviness. Looking around, she found nothing of immediate concern, until she noticed all the children from the party quietly drawing at the Arts and Crafts tables, still chaperoned by the two Atrium staff.
They should have left once the kids were all safely back here. What’s going on? Where’s Sunny?
As if on cue, he appeared, stepping out from behind one of the playplaces, his stride frantic and erratic, fingers digging into the side of his faceplate as he swiveled his head around in a constant, 360 degree motion. As the door clicked closed behind her, his head whipped to face her, and he came speeding over.
“Chrys! Oh, Chrys, Chrys, Chrys, I am SO glad to see you. Is Marigold with you? Have you seen her? Please tell me you’ve seen her.”
“What?” Chrys answered, anxiety rising. “N-No, she should have returned with the rest of the party. I just stopped off at the bathroom for a second.”
“Ohh,” he moaned, eyes clamped shut as he yanked forcefully on his two lower rays. “That, that’s not good. Not good at all!”
Chrys scanned the children, checking off a mental headcount as she eyed each kid. “Was she not with everyone else when they got back?”
“No!” He screeched. “I scanned everyone when they arrived, double checked, triple checked! Scoured the Daycare! She’s not here!”
Dread sunk in her belly, and her mouth went dry.
“She… she couldn’t have gotten far, Sun. I’ll go back to the Atrium, look around—”
“No, no.” He cut her off, his expression steeling into something cold and resigned. “There are… protocols, for situations like this. We’ll handle it.”
Straightening to his full height, every inch devoid of his normal whimsy, he stepped around her, and strode over to the security desk with determination. In the same moment he reached over to the underside, the music playing through the speakers stopped with a harsh cutoff, startling everyone in the vicinity. A shrill, repetitive blaring took its place, followed by a monotone voiced recording which announced the words no caretaker ever wanted to hear.
Side note: I blame Monty for this chapter taking so long to make. Ended up having to re-write his segment more times than I can remember before it finally felt right. I swear, these characters are the ones who are really in charge of telling this story, I'm just the messenger 😅
I think this is like the most effort I ever put into something that was supposed to be a funny goofy but then turned into me giggling and kicking my feet. I'm in need for soft Moon cuddles, with all his gremlin energy still present...
Close ups, mostly Moon's limbs because I like how they're gripping the net fkdkkd
And finally the "reference" that started it all lmao😭
So…. did I vastly underestimate how hard the holiday season as a whole would weigh on my mental health? Hoo boy yes I did. Did I also bite off more than I could chew in a single chapter, and end up splitting it into two so I didn't go mad? Also yes. Did I take into consideration any of my personal health issues throughout all this, and prioritize them amidst an uptick of work in order to avoid crashing and burning? No, no I did not.
Needless to say, sorry for the bit of a delay in an update, but please enjoy what I have so far for you all! Hopefully I'll be able to get the next one edited and posted soon.
And as a personal note, please don't be like me. The holidays can be unduly hard sometimes. Please don't forget to eat, drink water, and get some rest. There is no shame in taking care of yourself. I hope for anyone else struggling right now, you find some tiny moments of joy to help carry you through <3
Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!
It was almost too easy to stay on the sidelines while Sun and the kids ran about, weaving in and around as they screamed their little heads off. As caretakers, they’d naturally fallen into a good working dynamic together, their individual care styles complimenting the other; Sun, with his never-ending energy, kept everyone up and playing, a veritable fountain of excitement. Whereas Chrys, when the inevitable would occur and a lone child would tap out, out of breath, she would step in, meeting each one with grace and keep them occupied until their little batteries recharged enough that they felt ready and able to rejoin the group.
The party progressed well, managing to make it to a third round of “Princess and Gremlins”, a tie-breaker to determine the fate of the kingdom. In an unforeseen twist, the kids decided to forge an alliance in order to defeat their true obstacle, the mighty dragon, who ensured not a soul could reach the princess. Gremlins and Knights alike swarmed Sun’s feet, their war cry valiant and determined.
“Ack, what is this??? Betrayal! Betrayal most foul! Run my princess, run while you still can!”
Using his superior reach to his advantage, Sun took Marigold off his shoulders and placed her outside the swarm of kids, before collapsing to the ground, surrendering to their tickle attack.
“No! You are too much for me! I… I have been… defeated…”
With over-dramatized flair, Sun breathed his last, and the kids cheered, standing triumphant over their slain foe.
“Ha, alright you little monsters, you’ve won, you’ve won. Let him get up.”
There was little resistance as they followed Chrys’s instructions, the whole group a mess of sweat and smiles. He’d succeeded in tuckering them right out.
“It seems to me like everyone could use a break,” Sun asked, head raised. “Would anyone like to sit and listen to a story?”
Shouts of “Yes!” and “Yeah, yeah!” followed.
“Wonderful! Head on over to the reading corner then, Sunbites, while Miss Chrys gets you all a little something to drink.”
The children needed no more encouragement, and finding their second wind, pushed their little legs as fast as they could go to claim the best spots on the rug first. Chrys sauntered over, stopping at Sun’s head, arms crossed as she loomed over him for once.
“You doing alright down there?”
His smile faltered, and for a moment she worried something actually was wrong. His face held a seriousness she wasn’t used to, at least not from him. She tucked a strand of hair that fell out of place behind her ear in an effort to mask her growing concern.
“Uh, hello? Earth to Sunny? Those kids didn’t knock your motherboard out of place, did they?”
Still, he didn’t answer her, but sat up on his elbows, rotating his head on its axis so he still faced her head on, despite his torso remaining angled in the opposite direction. There was a look to his eyes she couldn’t place, something intense yet… sincere. The lack of levity she normally saw there sent a rush of goosebumps across her skin. She could do nothing to break the tension while he continued to stare, grateful then once he finally spoke.
“The lights make your hair look like you have a halo around you. It’s… stunning.”
His tone held nothing but awe, a dissonant thought for her to comprehend directed at herself. Heat snuck into her cheeks against her will, and she turned away, unable to stand to meet his gaze any longer. If such a comment would have come from anyone else, she’d have denied it without a second thought. But from Sunny… her instincts misfired. She cleared her throat to break the silence.
“Oh, s-stop kidding around, ya goofball, the kids are waiting.”
She booped his nose, the easiest way she could think of to get them back to the casual ease she was used to with him, and give her a chance to hide her cheeks. Thankfully, he took the hint.
“Right you are, sunshine! You mind grabbing the juices?”
“Not at all. You get going.”
True to form, he flipped his head around and curled himself into a rolling tumble, popping himself upright to dismount before jogging over to the group of waiting kids, bells jingling mirthfully. Chrys watched him leave, a smile worming its way onto her face even as she shook her head.
Don’t read into it too much Chrys, he probably doesn’t realize how things like that can be misconstrued. Get your head on straight…
She’d learned the day before that a small fridge sat just behind the security desk, which housed all their cold refreshments. While meals weren’t usually their responsibility, it was good to have some water and juices on hand for certain situations. Using the loose fabric of her shirt to make a pouch with, she filled up on little juice pouches and tiny bottles of water and made her way towards the back half of the room where everyone else waited.
Sun’s voice cut through the cacophony of childish voices, heard all the way from where she was. It sounded as if someone was having an argument over their spot selection. She wasn’t surprised, not with how easily amped these kids were. Sun was a saint to have handled this many kids on his own before.
She hurried back, managing to reach the group just as everyone seemed to settle down. While she handed out the drinks, Sun called out to Marigold, asking her to come up front.
“As our birthday girl and honorary princess for the day, why don’t you pick out the story? Go ahead and choose whatever you want from the bookshelf.”
She smiled wide, and ran to search the collection. It took her hardly a minute to find the one she wanted, and soon came bounding back, book in tow.
“Why thank you!” Sun took her selection from her. “Let’s see… Oh. “The Gardener’s Daughter”. I don’t recognize this one. Well, we can just discover it all together then!”
Trailing a finger down the edge lengthwise, he flipped the book open, and pulled out a small microchip embedded in its blank pages. He then inserted the chip into a hidden port at the back of his head, eyes glowing entirely white while the information transferred. The kids waited with bated breath, their anticipation mounting once his pupils returned to their normal sky-blue color. Chrys found the perfect place to sit, where she could still keep an eye on everyone, and made herself comfortable, sitting crisscross on the floor. With a squeal of glee, Marigold hurried to rejoin the group, but chose instead to plop herself down on Chrys’s lap rather than return to her original spot. Chrys gave a small “oof” as her body adjusted to the child’s additional weight, and the girl relaxed against her.
“Alright, is everybody ready?” Sun asked.
“Yes!” Shouted the crowd in unison.
“Fantastic!” Soft, subtle woodwind music began to play through the loudspeakers at his command, adding a touch of magic to the atmosphere. Chrys made one last quick visual sweep over the group, just to make sure all was well, before letting her attention fall completely under the spell of Sun’s dynamic storytelling.
“Once upon a time, there lived a young prince in a magnificent castle. His life was a blessed one, full of all the luxuries one could imagine. But for all his riches, there was one thing he lacked, something he desperately longed for. Companionship. His father was a stern, serious ruler, his smiles saved only for court. His mother, lost to childbirth. The boy was alone, with not even the servants willing to care for him more than their duties demanded.
For weeks upon weeks, months upon months, the boy pleaded for a friend to any who would listen. He’d willingly go to every magic lesson with the cranky old wizard, would never refuse to eat another vegetable again, whatever it took. For just as long a time, his wishes fell on deaf ears. Until one day, the fates decided to grant his request.
The boy awoke to find that they had lost their best gardener in an unfortunate accident, killed while protecting his father. As a means to reward the man for his valiant service after death, the king appointed the man’s widow as the new royal nanny, providing both security and sustenance for his family, including that of his only child. A girl, of about the same age as the young prince.
He had his playmate at last.
From then on, the two spent every spare second of the day together. Playing. Exploring. Growing. Learning. The years passed quickly for the pair, though their time together dwindled as they grew older, pulled apart by their individual studies. Though the responsibilities of life kept them apart, the prince thought of her often, his heart always yearning to be by her side.
With the dawn of the prince’s 20th year, the time finally came where he’d mastered his studies, earning him the right to be considered of age, and the entire kingdom ran atwitter with excitement. The king sent invitations far and wide for all to come and celebrate the prince with a glorious ball. The servants decorated, the chefs cooked, and after months of preparation, the night of the ball arrived.
Family and honored guests of all kinds arrived in droves, all dressed in their finest in the hopes of attracting the eye of the newly eligible young royal, though none would be able to. The prince had his sights set on one person, and one person only. He searched the ballroom high and low for her, failing to find even a glimpse. That is, until the band started to play a new song, capturing the attention of all.
There she stood, the Gardener’s Daughter, singing alongside the band with a voice that stilled the entire ballroom, no longer a child but that of a beautiful young woman, as bright and inviting as any flower bloom. The prince, mesmerized, knew then and there who his future queen would be.
But as quickly as the fates could give, the fates could also take away.
Black smoke filled the room, pouring in from every window and doorway. All the guests choked, and the prince faltered, unable to see his beloved in the onyx haze. An evil chuckle resounded, and like the wind, the smoke disappeared, revealing to all that though everything appeared the same, something was very, very wrong.
The Gardener’s daughter had disappeared.
In a fit of rage, the prince—”
The sharp creak of the entrance gates cracking open disrupted the illusion, shattering the story. All eyes drawn to the front, two human staff-members entered the daycare, their uniforms identifying them as part of the Atrium’s food team. Any chance the new guests might have had of a warm welcome crumbled as the children registered what had happened, their shouts of disapproval instant.
“It’s alright my little sunspots, it’s alright! We can finish the story another time, I promise!”
Sun did his best to console the children, but they were having none of it. Chrys attempted to nudge Marigold off her lap in order to help him get the situation under control, but even she fought with her.
“No! I wanna hear what happens next! What is the prince gonna do, what happened to the gardener’s daughter?”
“Yeah! We were just getting to the good part with all the spooky stuff!”
A little boy shouted in support of Marigold, prompting others to follow suit. Sun sighed, and popped the microchip out from the back of his head, making it clear that the time for storytelling was done. A chorus of dejected “awww’s” rang out.
“Now kids, don’t you know that stories are meant to be read in bits and pieces! That’s why we have bookmarks, after all.” He stood, gesturing for everyone to stand. “Right now it’s time for pizza and cake, and presents! Aren’t you all getting hungry?” A few kids nodded their heads. “So, let’s all go put our shoes back on, and keep the fun going! I promise the story will still be here when you get back.”
At his word, the majority of the kids obeyed, their frowns slowly dissipating as they scuttled towards the cubicles by the front doors. Marigold gave one last pout before climbing out of Chrys’s lap and followed behind the others. Having had the extra weight sitting on her for some time, Chrys struggled to stand, grunting like an old lady as uncomfortable tingles flowed through her legs.
Sun stopped and reached a hand out, to which Chrys took eagerly. He pulled her to her feet with hardly any effort at all, another reminder of how much hidden strength those gangly limbs held.
“Thanks,” Chrys said, wiping the wrinkles from her pants. “Interesting uh, story there, Mr. Narrator. Can’t say I heard that one growing up.”
“I believe it! You know, I’ve read each and every book we have here dozens of times over, and this one is completely new to me! No idea where she found it.”
Chrys laughed. “Watch it be some creepy magic book or something, poofed here out of nowhere to haunt the daycare.” She wiggled her fingers and made a parody of a spooky sound.
“Oh, don’t put that extra responsibility on me. I don’t know how to count inventory for a book that can vanish at will.”
They followed behind the children’s trail, the majority having already gotten their shoes on and standing in a line by the door, likely a habit from school. The few who remained hurried to catch up, struggling to tie their laces. Chrys and Sun split, assisting all who needed it until everyone was ready to go.
“Alright my little sunbites! Off you go! Eat all the things! And when you come back, there will be a special surprise waiting for you all! Now have fun!”
The staff waiting at the entrance, arms crossed and faces painfully bored, slunk off the door frames they leaned on and started the line moving out of the daycare. Sun waved them all off before turning to face her.
“Chrys, why don’t you go with them? Get yourself something to eat too. I can handle the changeover here.”
She furrowed her brows. “Wait, you sure? I’m alright, I ate already, remember?”
Sun sighed, and cocked a single, swirly brow at her, his face and voice uncharacteristically deadpan. “A protein bar, a cheese stick, and a cup of fruit do not a meal make. You need something more substantial, and we won’t get another break before the party is over. So no butts!”
He booped her nose, a reflection of her tactic from earlier, and ended the conversation with a smug smile. She made a humorous, mouthy sound, and playfully batted his hand away, prompting an even cheekier grin to plaster Sun’s face. He wasn’t giving her an inch. She rolled her eyes with a smile, but still acquiesced to his demands without fuss. Truth be told, she wouldn’t have thought to deny him anyway, but he needn’t know that.
“Alright, alright. As you wish, good sir.” She walked backwards, giving him a spirited bow with a forehead salute before returning to a normal posture, and picked up her pace to catch up with everyone else as the last few kids rounded the corner.
This fic is now over 20,000 words long, and we're not even to the end of Act 1 yet. Hoo boy do I love torturing myself with massive projects that take full control of my life lol
Anyhoo! Please enjoy! Next chapter is shaping out to be a bit of a long one, so I'm shooting to try and get it out before the end of the month.
Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum Headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!
“Yes ma’am…. N-No, I’m sorry, I…. It’ll never happen again, I promise…. Yes…. Thank you….. Yes, of course…. Goodbye.”
Chrys hung up the phone at the security desk, her heart hammering a mile a minute. She hadn’t been fired. How had she not been fired? Her second day, and she’s over four hours late. By all intents and purposes that should make her a no-call-no-show. Not exactly employee of the month kind of behavior. Officer Vanessa had been livid—who wouldn’t be?—but more than forgiving all things considered.
I should buy a lottery ticket with this kinda luck.
Sun cocked his head out from behind one of the support beams of the playplace, his worried eyes asking her what the verdict was. She replied with a wide grin and a thumbs up, to which he pantomimed clutching at his heart and breathing a sigh of relief, the jester. He scrunched his face then, and jabbed a pointer finger at the packed lunch sitting next to her on the desk. She laughed, and waved his instruction away, opening up the zippered lunchbox to prove she understood the assignment. Satisfied, he grinned wide, and returned to his task, tying off a banner hung off the edge of the structure which read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” in colorful, excited letters.
She’d been smart to throw a little something together the night before. Given the frantic rush that turned out to be her morning, there’d have been no time to even consider trying to make food then. Neither did she have any intention of giving Sun yet another reason to worry over her; Given how he’d reacted yesterday, she could just imagine him calling for a full stop of all preparations until he was satisfied she’d eaten enough. That was the last thing either of them needed. Smiling at the absurd image, she grabbed a cheese stick out of the bag, and set to work on chewing it down.
With nothing else to do while she ate, Chrys watched Sun’s journey across the daycare, blowing up balloons, decorating areas with confetti and shiny cut pieces of tinsel, and wondered how this afternoon might go. It hadn’t occurred to her that hosting parties in the Daycare had even been an option. From all she knew, the daycare was just that—a daycare. Sun had mentioned they were few and far between before she’d gone to take Vanessa’s call, so perhaps she wasn’t all that far off in thinking that. One thing, however, was clear; Sun was tickled pink at the prospect. She hadn’t seen his rays stop moving since.
With the last of the streamers hung perfectly in place, Sun came bounding back over to the security desk, resting against the upper edge to lean overtop. His excitement was infectious, and she smiled, hiding the mouthful of food she’d just eaten behind her hand.
“Oh, this is gonna be so much fun, Chrys, just you wait! It’ll be freeplay the entire afternoon! Nothing but games, games, games! Oh, you’re gonna love it!”
With a wipe of her napkin, Chrys finished her lunch, and gathered all the trash together to be thrown out later. “Sounds like a blast. What about cake and presents? Do we do those here, too?”
“Oh, yes!” His face fell a twitch. “But… not this time. These parents bought the Ultra Deluxe Fazzerific package, which includes presents, pizza and cake with the entire Glamrock band over in the atrium. It’s one of our most top-tier offerings.”
“Oh. Sounds expensive.”
“Very!”
Coming out from behind the desk, Chrys took in the newly transformed Daycare. “So how will I be able to help? Is there an itinerary to follow?”
“Nope! Well, yes, but nothing you need to be concerned with, I’ll lead it all. Just help me keep an eye on the kids, make sure no one is hurting themselves or others, that sort of thing, and we’ll be all good! As long as everyone is safe and the birthday girl is having the best day of her life, that’s all that really matters.”
The clock rang twice, signaling the start of what would normally be the second shift. Sun jumped, and raced towards the gate, waving for Chrys to come join him.
“Ok,” he said, stationing her to stand opposite him on the other side of the door. “We’ll open the gate together, and yell “Welcome, new friends!” at the same time. Ready?” She nodded. “Great! Here we go!”
With that, the Daycare flung open its doors, and together they rang in the start to the party.
Peels of excitement ripped through the crowd, converging into their own miniature stampede as the children rushed past each other to disperse into the daycare, diving head-first into whatever caught their attention the most. Sun spared one encouraging glance to Chrys before running into the thick of it, matching their energy and then some.
Chrys laughed, but took the chance to look out into the waiting area, if only to make sure there were no stragglers left before moving on. She found she was glad she did; There was still one more friend yet to be welcomed inside.
Standing in the otherwise empty waiting area stood a young mother, dressed in affluent but feminine, neutral-toned business attire, with a little girl no older than five or six years old clinging to her side, head full of strawberry blonde curls pressed as far into the side of the woman’s leg as was physically possible.
“Please, don’t worry too much about her. Give her some time, she should open right up.”
The woman spoke with a kind but firm tone, her words every bit as much a command as a reassurance. She put off the air of someone who was used to taking charge, despite the slight crack of fatigue which broke through. Kneeling down, she detangled herself from her daughter’s death grip on her skirt. “But, do be sure not to let her out of your sight. We’re going through a… a bit of a rough time, right now. You look away for one second and she’ll up and hide on you, I guarantee it.”
Switching between mother and child, Chrys could sense the underlying unease radiating off both of them. A mother who seemed drained, yet doing her best to hide it, and a child who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Neither a good state of mind to be in before a party.
“Don’t worry, there will be supervision present the entire time, we’ll make sure of that.” She took hold of the little girl’s hand at her mother’s behest, and felt the tiny fingers squeeze her own. Without her mother close, the girl curled in as tight as she could, chin tucked to her chest.
“See to it that you do. Bye sweetie, please try to have fun, for me. I’ll be back to pick you up in a few hours. I love you.”
The child stirred, and looked up from the floor. Her bright blue eyes were full of tears, and she squeaked out a meek “Love you” back before her mother turned and walked away, a quick, air-blown kiss her last bit of encouragement before disappearing around a corner.
Hand in hand, Chrys walked the two of them inside, closing the gates behind her. She knelt down to be more at the child’s eye level, and spoke in a soft, soothing voice.
“Hey there, it’s ok. I know this is a lot. My name’s Miss Chrys. What’s yours?”
She sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “… Marigold.”
“Marigold?” Chrys repeated, adding a bit of excitement to her voice. “What a lovely name! Did you know that’s the name of a flower?” The child nodded. “I think that’s super cool. Hey, wanna know a secret?” Another silent nod. “My name’s the name of a flower too! Have you ever heard of a Chrysanthemum?” This time a shake, the girl’s ringlets bouncing side to side. “It’s a fall flower, with lots of thin, yellow, white or red petals, like the color of my hair. Just like yours, too!”
Untucking a strand of her own hair, Chrys held it out, ushering Marigold to do the same. She tapped the two strands of hair together, similar to a drink toast. “Now we’re flower buddies! How does that sound?”
Chrys held her breath, waiting to see if her efforts had taken root. A quick double-take between her own hair and Chrys’s face, and the little girl repeated the gesture, tapping the strands together with intent, the tiniest of smiles peeking out underneath her drooping bangs. Chrys exhaled in triumph. If there was one thing she knew about childcare, it’s that if you could get a kid to smile once, you could do it again.
“There ya go! That’s it. Now, let’s figure out something to do. What do you say? Anything out there look like fun?”
Chrys watched as Marigold scanned the area, her face revealing nothing. Guess they’d have to figure this one out the old-fashioned way. But before she could brainstorm possible ways to keep this child engaged, she caught the tell-tale jingle of Sunny approaching, and internally relaxed. He’d know what to do here better than she.
“Oh my! What do we have over here? Did Miss Chrys find you, little star?”
He knelt down before them, his head extending unnaturally low in order to not tower over the two of them. The little girl looked to Chrys, her round eyes a mix of trust and uncertainty.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Sun is a friend of mine. He’ll help make sure today is lots of fun!”
“Absolutely!” He spun his rays fast enough to create a funny whizzing sound, earning a small giggle from the child. “We can’t have the birthday girl spend her special day stuck under a raincloud, now can we?”
Wait, birthday girl? The statement clicked in her head, and had there not been a child present, she would have smacked her own forehead in exasperation. How had she managed to miss that? She struggled to keep her face neutral. It wouldn’t do to let the very kid they were trying to cheer up in on her little fumble.
“Tell me,” Sun continued, taking the helm on guiding the conversation, much to Chrys’s relief. “Do you… like crawling through the tubes? Or we could make some sparkly crafts? Ooo! What about getting a game going with all your friends? I’m sure they’d be so excited to see you!”
“They’re not my friends.” Marigold said, her tiny voice cold. “They’re from my class at school. Mama told them to come. I don’t have any friends, except big brother. Is he here yet? I wanna see him.”
Chrys froze. She shot Sun a quick cursory glance, silently asking if he knew anything about this. With as little movement as possible, he shook his head no.
“Uh, sorry sunshine! No one here has arrived registered as your brother. But, uh, who knows! He might come later. W-Why don’t we all play a game in the meantime? We could play “Princesses and Gremlins”! Although… ah, nevermind. That wouldn’t work.”
He exaggerated the last of his words, going from excited to overly sad with ease, keeping a keen eye trained on Marigold through his dramatized antics, taking in her feedback and adjusting as needed.
“… Why not?” Marigold asked, hesitant but intrigued.
“Because we don’t have a princess, silly! Everyone knows those can only be played by birthday girls.”
“B-But…” she tugged at the hem of her cool blue, tailored dress. “I-I’m a birthday girl! I could be the princess!”
Sun gasped, hands to his cheeks. Chrys had to stifle a giggle of her own. “Well tie me to a kite and send me to the sky, you ARE indeed! So, how about it? Will you be our Princess today?”
Marigold puffed out her cheeks, the determination bringing a fire to her eyes that Chrys wouldn’t have thought possible five minutes ago. The little girl nodded with a purpose, hands balled into tight little fists.
“Great!” Sun morphed back into his standard, smiley state. “The game is simple; We’ll split everyone into two teams. One team sides with the princess, the brave knights.” He struck a dashing pose. “Everyone else are the gremlins, who will try to breach the knight’s defenses and kidnap the princess!” He made an attempt at a grotesque face, releasing it only once he’d earned a happy giggle from Marigold. “Whoever gets the most ribbons from the other team, or manages to get both of the princess’s ribbons, wins!”
If Marigold’s eyes could grow any bigger, Chrys would think they were saucers. There was no doubt Sun had nailed this one.
Oh, he’s good.
“And who will you be, Mr. Sun? You a knight, or a gremlin?” Chrys asked, teasing.
“Neither! I’ll be the mighty dragon, sworn to defend the princess till the end of days! All who threaten her will be tickled!!!” Ever the one for theatrics, he released a mighty “roar”, arms held above his head and cocked to turn his hands into pretend claws. Marigold squealed, ecstatic.
“Come, my princess! Your kingdom awaits!” Taking her laughter as permission, Sun picked the now beaming child up, rays shrinking inward and head dipping low to allow her to safely sit on his shoulders. She shrieked anew as he stood, thrilled at the newfound height. Chrys watched with a warm smile on her face, feeling a sense of pride to see him so masterfully bring out the best in such a nervous little girl, a feat not many could claim.
Hands holding Marigold safely in place, Sun rushed to the center of the daycare, calling all the children together as he went. Chrys made her way instead to the large toy box anchored against the wall, to grab all the accessories they could need for said game to commence. Sun had been right; Already she was enjoying herself. She’d missed this feeling, of helping others to find the joy she struggled to keep hold of, especially in ones as innocent as kids. Arms full of velcro ribbons and adjustable woven belts, she followed Sun’s lead, determined to do everything she could to make sure that this was the best dang birthday party these kids had ever seen.
Spending the afternoon playing the Sun and Moon fangame "After Hours" was JUST what the doctor ordered to cure this bout of writers block. The CG's are so freaking PRETTY
Satisfied
Bleeding hearts seems fitting for a vampire moon
@fieldofleurs i heard you also like @xitsensunmoon 'Biting the hand that feeds' AU so i made you another gift :)C
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