(this is another fic taking place during the arc where Wooly is trying to do better, mostly for his own selfish reasons but shhhh)
It was a simple walk through the woods. Amanda and Chickenscratch had run on ahead⊠besides their giggling it was quaint, quiet. Wooly closed his eyes and listened to the birds. Felt the fake, plasticy breeze. Piper watched as he smiled, he looked somewhat peaceful. All she felt was pure disgust.Â
âYou know, the real outdoors are better. The sun on your skin⊠the gentle papery flow of the breeze, the fresh air. Too bad you gave it all up huh?â she smirked. Woolyâs smile faded.Â
âIt canât be that great if you gave it up too.â he pouted.Â
âItâs not worth all the pain.â she mumbled. Wooly frowned.Â
âWell there had to be more than just pain right?âÂ
âThere was⊠but it always gets taken away. Here everything is permanent. Thatâs what you liked about it too, right?âÂ
âMmmâŠâ he looked away.Â
âI donât want to be here⊠or there⊠or anywhere⊠I donât want to be anyone anymore⊠but Iâm not strong enough like Amanda to say I want to dieâŠâ
âStop saying things like that. Neither of you are going to die.âÂ
âI canât run from everything like you do⊠force myself to forget⊠I donât want to be selfish like you.â
âThatâs probably for the best,â he muttered. He paused, twiddling his thumbs. âBut⊠thereâs plenty of great things about this world. Come on, this place is supposed to be a better world, remember? We can make it better! Then everything will be perfect!âÂ
âI suppose⊠for once youâre rightâŠâÂ
âEverything will turn out fine. We can fix it!â
Just then Amanda came back running toward them, immediately they noticed her hair and clothes were a total mess and she had bite marks, scratches, and bruises all over her arms and legs, including a black eye. Â
âWe have a problem.â she said.Â
âHow about⊠last one to the end of the trail is a rotten egg?â Amanda suggested. Chickenscratch nodded. âOn your mark, get set- GOOAAAH-â A foot came under her, she quickly landed chin-first on a root. âOwwwwâŠâ She looked up to see Chickenscratch sticking his tongue out at her before running ahead. âYou little-â She bounded after him, immediately tackling him as they both rolled off the trail and through the woods, only being stopped by a tree. He immediately kicked her off of him. âYou tripped me, you little runt!â Amanda snapped. He glared at her, before running back up and hitting her over and over. âOw- will you-â She bit his arm as it flew at her, he grabbed her hair. She picked him up and threw him off her. âOW THATâS IT YOU ARE GOING DOWN.â He got up and ran. âWHY YOU GET BACK HERE!âÂ
This sort of siblingly hitting, biting, pulling of ears, hair, fur, and tail, random illegible shouting at each other, continued for a while until Amanda finally shoved him into a bush. âTHERE! HA! DONE NOW?â Chickenscratch stayed down. âSEE I WIN.â Amanda beamed with satisfaction. âCome on, letâs go back on the trail. He started moving around restlessly, making panicked little grunts. Amanda frowned. âYou okay buddy?â She realized he was stuck. âOh⊠oh⊠itâs a BUR BUSH!â She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him out, he cried out in pain. âWhatâs wrong-â her eyes widened. âOh no⊠you have fur. Itâs stuck. Okay well if I pull you out REAL quick it wonât hurt too much I thinkâŠâ he shook his head, holding his hands close to his chest so she couldnât do it. âHey! Iâm trying to help! Come here!â She tried to grab him by the shoulders and pull him but he shoved her away. âThen how am I supposed to-â her eyes widened. She had an idea but she didnât like it. âWait I know, wait here.â She ran off back toward the trail.Â
âNoh! Mandah!â He cried out, but Amanda was already out of sight. Tears welled up in his eyes as he began to wail.Â
At the mere sight of seeing Amanda so banged up Wooly panicked.Â
âWe got in a fight.â Amanda shrugged.
âA fight?!âÂ
âHe started it! He tripped me!â Amanda protested, âUm⊠anyway Chickenscratch is kind of⊠stuck.âÂ
âOh boyâŠâ Wooly sighed, âWhere is he? And weâre talking about this later.â Amanda rolled her eyes and led the way. They arrive to see Chickenscratch crying as he is still stuck in the bush.Â
âThe burs are sticking to his fur and it hurts when we try to pull him out.â Amanda explained.Â
âBut we can pull him out right?â Wooly asked. Amanda nodded. âThen whatâs the problem? Painâs just a part of life.âÂ
âHeâs scared.â Amanda frowned. Wooly leaned over to Chickenscratch with a warm smile.
âWell thatâs okay⊠just count down from ten⊠close your eyes and it will all be over? Ready⊠10⊠9⊠8âŠâ he grabbed both of Chickenscratchâs hands. Chickenscratchâs pupils danced with worry. â7⊠6⊠5⊠4⊠3⊠2âŠâ he closed his eyes and whimpered. â1!â Wooly quickly ripped him out of the bush, he cried out in pain. âSee? Itâs alright now! Youâre out! Like ripping off a bandaid!â Chickenscratch hit him, still crying. Wooly tilted his head, his face contorting. âWhat? I helped!âÂ
âYou hurt him!â Amanda snapped.Â
âWell it was going to hurt anyway!â Wooly argued.Â
âCouldnât you be gentle?!â
âHeâs out now! Isnât that what matters?âÂ
âUUUGH I canât STAND you! Why are you always like this?!âÂ
âI solved the problem Amanda!â He stopped and took a deep breath. âWhatever⊠We're going home.â
âWha?! Why! Our walk isnât over yet!â Amanda said. Wooly glared at her.Â
âLook at you two! We need to get you cleaned up! Come on.â he didnât sound like he was going to take no for an answer. Amanda followed as she grumbled under her breath.Â
âThe first aid kit is under the sink, Piper you get Amanda cleaned up⊠Iâll take care of Chickenscratch.âÂ
âReally? Iâm surprised itâs not the other way around.â Piper pointed out.
âYou really think sheâd let me try and help?â Wooly scoffed.Â
âThatâs surprisingly self aware of you.â Amanda said.Â
âI donât want to waste my time.â he replied. Piper had gotten the first aid kit and pulled Amanda into the living room. He closed his eyes and summoned a brush and a comb in front of him and sat down on the kitchen tile. âCome on, sit.â He patted the space in front of him. Chickenscratch stood there, his arms close to his chest, hunched over, frowning. Wooly sighed. âIâll be as gentle as I can, okay?â he said softly. Chickenscratch slowly crept over and sat down. He started to carefully twirl and separate the burs from his fur using a comb. âIâm sorry, okay? Maybe⊠I shouldnât have been so hasty.â Chickenscratch twirled circles with his finger on the ground. âWhy were you two fighting anyway? I thought you were best friends.â A little sharpness could be heard in that statement. Chickenscratch shrugged. âYou shouldnât be getting in fights⊠thatâs how people get hurt like thisâŠâ his little hand tightened into a fist on the ground. âLook at you, youâve got so much junk in your fur⊠like you two were just rolling around in all thatâŠâ he sighed, âBoth of you are going to need a bath⊠hmmm I could go for a nice relaxing bubble bath myself.âÂ
âYeah! Sounds nice doesnât it? I think Amandaâs got some bath toys you could use⊠like rubber duckies and sailboats⊠I bet you would love that huh?â Wooly grinned, Chickenscratch nodded quickly, it was good to see him cheering up. âUgh⊠this is hard because your fur is so tangled⊠this canât be just from today⊠have you been brushing it?â He shook his head. âWell that wonât do, you need to take care of yourself.â he made a little noise of stress, slamming his leg down on the tile. Woolyâs eyes widened. âOh but youâre still little⊠hmmâŠâ he couldnât believe he was going to say this. âHow about this, Iâll help you. Weâll make it part of the morning routine. Sound good?âÂ
âOhayâŠâ he said with a small nod. Chickenscratch looked back at Woolyâs wool which was also very tangled and matted and frowned.Â
âThank goodness for cartoon logic.â Piper said, putting a bandaid on another freshly cleaned scrape.Â
âI mean this should be gone by the next episode⊠you wouldnât want to be looking like a mess in front of all those people do you?âÂ
âI donât want to be watched by all those people at all.â Amanda pouted.Â
âOh donât be like that!â Piper smiled, âacting is fun!âÂ
âI donât want to do it anymoreâŠâÂ
âI donât know what to tell you about that.â Piper sighed. âSeriously? Did you have to go and beat him up like that? Youâre older than him. You should know better.â Amanda looked away. âOne of these days you need to get your act together and be a little more mature. There. Now go get yourself ready for bed.â Amanda glared at her, before getting up and storming off. âSome days I donât know what to do with that girl.âÂ
Chickenscratch was struggling to sit still⊠It felt like it was taking forever.Â
âLook buddy Iâm almost done. Maybe Iâll even give you a little treat after that⊠how does that sound?â he asked. Chickenscratch smiled. âA little treat, thatâs good to eat! Oh yes, weâll have a little treat!â he sang. Chickenscratch continued to fidget, causing Wooly to accidentally pull on his fur.Â
âOw-â
âSorry, I told you, you have to sit still.â Wooly said. But Chickenscratch was getting very bored of this. Woolyâs eyes widened, he drug through his wool and pulled out a toy train and ran it across his leg. âTrain is pulling into the station.â he smushed it against Chickenscratchâs cheek. âAh! Itâs home!â Chickenscratch giggled and continued to run the train up and down his leg. âThat should keep you pretty still.â Wooly concluded, feeling quite proud of his little distraction. Amanda walked in, her pajamas on and hair in a bonnet, clearly all ready for bed. She watched from a distance. Her eyes wide, her mind full of confusion. Then she remembered, Wooly used to be pretty fun before she found out the truth⊠before things started to go downhill for them and Amanda began remembering her old life and wishing to return⊠before things turned sour⊠things once were good⊠and that made it so weird to see them getting along like this⊠it made her⊠kind of angry. Because why only now did he seem to be trying to be nicer to them? Sometimes it made her feel like she was losing it. Heâs bad. Heâs supposed to be bad. Why is he being so nice? That isnât fair! She sat down in front of them with wide, dilated, cat-like eyes. âHe-hello Amanda, do you need something?â She said nothing and continued to stare at them. âChickenscratch? Donât you have something to say to Amanda?â Chickenscratch glanced back at Wooly, then at Amanda, then at the floor.Â
âOh⊠Iâm sorry too⊠Iâm sorry you got stuck in a bush todayâŠâ Amanda muttered. Wooly smiled.Â
âSo you two can be all good again? No more fighting?âÂ
âMhm.â Amanda nodded. She continued to stare at Wooly in absolute bewilderment. Sweat dripped down his face as his head shot down to stare at his work. âI guess I should start making my dinner tonightâŠâ Amanda mumbled.Â
âWait, Iâve got it. You two can go play, as soon as I finish thisâŠâ he replied. Amandaâs brow furrowed.Â
âWell⊠I guess Iâll go clean the toys in the living room while I wai-âÂ
âI got it!â Wooly snapped. Amanda and Chickenscratch flinched. âAh- aha⊠just⊠go relax⊠read a book⊠I donât knowâŠâ he mumbled. Amanda shrugged. âAnd I could read the bedtime story tonight too⊠and breakfast is on me⊠alright?â A sense of desperation was sinking in his throat. He couldnât shake the feeling that the ending to this story was coming⊠he could be better⊠he had to be⊠otherwise what will he be left with when the story is done? Riley said what mattered most was how you made those around you feel. If he made them happy, would they stay? Could things be good between them again? He could fix it⊠he could fix anything right? He couldnât be left with nothing.Â
âYou donât have to do all that.â Amanda grimaced.Â
âLet me!â his voice cracked. Amanda backed away, she was giving him that look again. Chickenscratchâs head turned back and forth, not liking this tension in the air. Wooly gently pulled the last bur out of his fur and brushed it smooth. âThere buddy⊠you can go play nowâŠâ Chickenscratch stood up and ran off. He glanced at Amanda.Â
âIâm fine Wooly.â She said sharply. He frowned, staring at her black eye. A thought hit his head and he chuckled. âWhat.âÂ
âHe really likes to go for the eyes, doesn't he?âÂ
âPfft- yeah I guess so.â Amanda smirked. He fell quiet, looking down and twiddling with his thumbs.Â
âLook⊠Amanda⊠I know⊠I havenât been the best about listening but⊠if you need someone to talk toâŠâ he muttered. Amanda grimaced, before falling into a disgusted glare.Â
âI swear Iâll listen better this time! Iâll do better!âÂ
âI still donât want to talk to you.âÂ
âBut Iâm tryingâŠâ
âSo?â
âDoesnât that count for something?âÂ
âI still don't have to tell you anything!â Amanda snapped. Wooly clasped his hands together and looked away. âBut⊠I guess⊠it isnât a terrible change. Youâre still the worst though.â Wooly frowned.Â
âI guess Iâll go get dinner startedâŠâÂ