Chapter 13 - Caught on Camera
"Whatever emotion she was wearing now, it was one he didn't recognize, one he'd never seen before on the faces of any scientist or person in town.
That emotion gets shoved aside, and is replaced with determination.
Then- suddenly she's moving forward, letting go of his hand and pulling him into a strong hold around the torso with both of her arms.
He can't help the fear that comes, at first."
Summary: Matchstick spends a day by himself until Tikki gets home with some new clothes for him, and he finds out the labs weren't the only places with security cameras. He doesn't take it well.
---
Mystic
Dreams came gently, for once.
No cold darkness, no shattered windows, and no taunting voices. A cloudy dream, filled with some kind of music he didn't recognize, from a voice he felt he should know. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't grasp the identity of the singer, only absorb the peace that their singing brought.
He could distantly feel someone's hands running through his hair, while he was tucked up in what felt like a hug.
Hair? He had hair? All he could ever remember having was a tiny tuft on his forehead, the same charcoal black as his skin. And for that matter, he must be really small, to fit so snugly in the arms of another.
Whoever it was doing this, they sang to him a lullaby he couldn't remember.
He felt safe, wrapped in the comfort of the unknown.
…
When he wakes up, the ghost feeling of loving arms around him is replaced by the soft embrace of the blankets and couch cushions. He's warm, but the comfort granted by the feeling of another presence has departed.
All he can hear is the pop of embers in the fireplace, the hum of the heater in the walls, and the quiet ticking of a clock.
Spooky
He blinks and sits up more, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. The awkward position had left his muscles feeling a little stiff, but everything seemed to right itself when he stretched with a great big yawn. All of the curtains were closed over the windows, but the bright light filtering in through their fabric at least told him it was daytime now. Maybe morning, still...
That was... a weird dream. It wasn't scary at least. It was a happy one, he was pretty sure, and left him with a sense of warmth and comfort... but it also left him feeling a little sad, for some reason. He couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was because he was by himself again, for today?
He dragged himself off the couch and lumbered groggily over to the kitchen. Maybe the strange emptiness was just his stomach telling him it was hungry. Yeah, that was probably it.
Mystic
Opening the fridge- which is apparently what the white storage box was called- yielded expected results. The brown bag was gone, which meant Tikki had indeed left for the day. She must have moved very quietly, to avoid waking him. The stack of sandwiches they'd made together was still on a plate, waiting for him under a sheet of thin plastic just like Tikki showed him. She said something about it 'keeping them from drying out'. There were other containers full of unknown ingredients in the fridge; he'd seen them only briefly while Tikki explained how to make a sandwich in the first place. One of them held those extremely spicy peppers that were definitely present in at least one of his lunch sandwiches.
Was it even lunch time yet? When did he wake up? A glance at the curtained windows didn't yield any useful information, since he couldn't see outside to judge the sun's position.
Ah- there was a digital clock on the counter. 10:15, it said.
He didn't know how to read a clock, so the numbers didn’t tell him much.
Whatever. Now he could definitely parse the ache in his stomach- though, the ache in his chest felt separate in a way he couldn't place. Either way, there was definitely hunger in this equation, which could be eliminated by stuff in the fridge.
Spooky
He took the plastic wrap off the sandwiches and picked one up off the top of the stack, making short work of it. After taking out a second and chowing down on that, his stomach felt okay enough that he put the wrap back on and stuck the remaining sandwiches back in the fridge.
He was still a bit hungry, but he didn't know when Tikki was going to get back, and it might be good to save the rest until later. Tikki had also showed him where the drinks were in the fridge, and where the cups were. There was a carton in the fridge that had a picture of a familiar orange spherical fruit, the same that used to be on the tree outside... Opening it up, he saw it seemed to be some liquid form of those- definitely smelled like it too! He poured some into a cup and put the carton back, taking a sip. Ahh, he'd kinda been missing the taste of those things...
...What now?
His eyes went over to the TV. Maybe he could play more games? How did she set it up again...?
Mystic
It took some time to figure it out. Pressing the button on the remote didn't make him jump this time, since it was already set to the previous input when he was playing the Pink Guy game. The controller was already hooked up to the console box, so that was done for him. Next was...
Which button did she push to turn on the box, again?
Finally, he found it, after several unfruitful attempts. And besides, even if he did jump a little at the initial loud noises- which he totally didn't!- at least Tikki wasn't around to witness it.
Although, now that he was back at the 'start' screen for the console, he did have a full box of games he could pick from. There were many more than just the Pink Guy game. Maybe he could try another one, after beating it?
Spooky
It was definitely something to consider! In the meantime, he sat down with the Pink Guy game, or as he figured out from actually reading the title screen this time, 'Kirby'? Was that what the pink guy was called? Huh...
Making his way through the levels went a lot more quickly this time, now that he'd gotten the hang of how it worked. He died a lot less, only twice before he made it to the end. He wasn't sure why various names appeared on the screen afterwards, and they kept disappearing too quickly to read all of them, but the ones he did read weren't recognizable to him anyway. Weird, but it didn't last too long.
Regardless, he'd won! Yesss!
Now, to see how many other games he could try to win before Tikki got home... He rifled through the box and grabbed another at random. It was a little difficult to make out the colorful blocky letters at first glance, but he figured out it said 'Super Mario World' on it. It had some little man with a red hat and a yellow... blanket? around his neck, and he was on the back of some kinda lizard. And they were jumping... in a blue sky. O... okay? Might as well see what this one's about...
Mystic
After beating 'Kirby', this next game turned out to- somehow- be even more absolutely batshit insane.
Not only was the world colorful and full of things, but this time, those things didn't even appear to be visually congruent with one another in places. Turtles in and out of shells would get in the way, there were golden discs everywhere that made a satisfying ding! noise when he picked them up, and flowers he saw on the path spit fireballs or tried to eat the little red guy's face off. Sometimes he'd run into one of those dinosaur things, and it was either small and soft-looking and needed to eat a bunch of the enemies in the path, or it would just manifest fully grown and he could ride on its back. There were guys in the clouds, guys in the water, guys that threw fuckin' hammers at him, and walking mushrooms all over the place- some of which were good for him, and others which looked exactly the same but hurt him instead.
Despite being a little overwhelming, it was still-? Fun? In a strange way, the incredible amount of sensory input felt like a challenge. Dying and starting over was still frustrating, and the pace of the game was faster than Kirby's, but even if he had to figure out the layout as he went, it still gave him the same rush of positive emotions and made him feel energized.
Spooky
He definitely died a lot more at first, but having made it through another game just before this one, he was doing better than he would have, had this been his first. Going between platforms was more difficult without the ability to float like Kirby, though this guy could also get different powers that made getting through the level easier. He could even throw fire, which was great for dealing with enemies. Just like in real life!
Dying wasn't frustrating either- well okay, maybe a little in certain places he had difficulty with. But once he made it to the end of each level and it played a little victory tune, any frustration that level had given him felt like it was worth it. Like he'd overcame it all and beat it soundly into the dirt. It was a good feeling.
Mystic
Once again, more hours passed.
He played through level after level- getting briefly stuck in the forest section of the game where the map looped on itself a whole lot, and in the giant spooky houses full of flying sheets with goofy faces. They laughed at him and stuck their tongues out, as though mocking him. They were adorable, and rude! It was hard not to like them.
He was starting to get hungry again. And on top of that, he could feel a very slight headache coming on the longer he looked at the screen, and his throat itched. Maybe the orange juice from before didn't quite sate his thirst.
There was another digital clock on the face of one of the electronic boxes below the screen that read 2:07.
...Still can't read clocks.
He's had to adjust his seating position many times while playing this game. His muscles and joints felt strained if he sat cross-legged or leaned to one side for too long, so he had to shift and move around. He tried leaning back on the couch, but that caused something lodged into the rock on his back to jab him. Ouch! He had to bite back a loud curse of pain at the feeling.
Spooky
His breath hissed out through his teeth instead, and he slammed on the pause button. Uggh, if that wasn't a sign to get up, he didn't know what was. He walked around the living room for a bit, noticing the fireplace had all but died out. Moving the fence thingy out of the way, he tried to relight it, but the logs in there were pretty spent. There was a thing with some fresh ones nearby, though...
He grabbed one in his hand and just set it in there on the rack like someone just putting something in a microwave, the other burnt up logs beneath it crumbling into ember-filled ash. He put another one in and lit the both of them, then put the little fence thing back. There! He smiled at his handiwork, not really caring that he'd gotten soot all over his hand, and then all over his clothes.
He didn't notice it was getting on anything until he smeared it on the fridge in getting the sandwiches back out, after which he panicked a bit and did his best to wipe it away with his shirt. He then had to run his hands under the sink water, squinting in mild discomfort as he did. Didn't help that it was cold... There was only one lever on this one, how were you supposed to get hot water?
Grumbling, he started to dry his hands off on his shirt- ....ah, shit.
After running his hands under the water again, he found a clean dishrag to dry his hands instead.
He then wolfed down the rest of the sandwiches until his stomach stopped complaining, though by that point they were gone. Welp... at least there was more bread and stuff if he needed to make more, but this seemed like a good stopping point.
And since the orange juice didn't really help, he filled a cup with water from the sink and downed that instead, breathing out a puff of steam when he did. That was better... It wasn't like the honey cider, but it did soothe his throat just a little bit.
Mystic
...
How strange, being on his own in this house. He knew it wasn't his place, technically Tikki owned it. But she gave him free reign, and was trusting him with it, and he was managing to do stuff like feed himself and clean up his messes all on his own! Tikki had given him a blanket and a pillow that were now his, and he slept (mostly) comfortably, without a muzzle or shackles slapped on. He still fumbled like a colt with some of the unfamiliar tasks, but he was getting the hang of it.
Felt good to stick it to Aria, that their 'expensive training' was going towards keeping him alive as far away from them as possible. Mental middle fingers were being sent in their direction with a grin.
With every hour he spent away from their prying eyes, or the fear of being discovered outside, he could feel some sort of tension in his body slowly begin to unwind. Like a coiled spring held under tension for years, he was able to let some of that internal pressure creep out, and... he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Was he supposed to feel good? Maybe... for now, though, he just felt numb. Everything had suddenly moved very quickly in the last week or so. He needed time to come to terms with everything.
...he had food. He had warm, soft things to sleep on. He had fun games to play when he was bored, which was admittedly a lot of the time. And while he didn't build or own the property, this was 'his' place, too. Nobody was going to demand he complete tests, shock him when he misbehaved, or administer some sort of liquid in a tube to... make him stop.
Snowfall and cold weather notwithstanding, he felt more free than he had in a long, long time.
Spooky
Emboldened by this sense of newfound freedom, he did the one thing he'd been wanting to do for so long. He took in a deep breath, flipped the bird to the sky with both hands, and shouted "FUCK YOU, RAINER!!" as loudly as he could before his voice caught and he quickly devolved into smoky coughing.
Okay, maybe he couldn't do everything he wanted yet, but as he sat there hunched over and wheezing, he started to laugh, as well as he could with his throat in this state. Fuckin' worth it.
After a few moments, when he caught his breath enough, he filled the cup back up in the sink and gulped it down.
Mystic
Take THAT, stupid science lab and its halls full of white-coated assholes! He could curse them out and they couldn't do anything to stop him anymore!
He definitely needed that second gulp of water, though. Yelling hurt his throat something fierce. Washing down the smoke he could taste at the back of his tongue, he gets his composure back.
Refreshed and revitalized with spite and fresh water, he can get back to his games with a full stomach.
--
This 'Mario' game was a lot longer than the Kirby one. By the time the sun had set through the curtained windows, he was almost finished with an island full of fire-breathing dinosaurs. He had no idea how many sections of the game map were left. It had to be close to the end, right?
...
clck-click
The handle of the front door jiggled, a faint rattle of metal coming from the lock.
Spooky
It was a small sound, but he picked up on it quickly over the sounds of the game, anxiety breaking his previous state of focus. Sitting up, he hit the pause button, not sure what to expect. What was- was that sound coming from the door? He turned to look, eyes wide as he tried to figure out if it was Tikki or, as his anxiety warned him, someone from the lab? Had they heard him yell? Oh shit...
Not really having anywhere to hide in time, he threw himself down as the door just started to open, crouching almost flat against the couch cushion as he listened...
Mystic
The handle jiggled some more, before he heard a resounding click.
creeeeak
...
plap-plap plap-
thnk-
"Ow- hey- Sticks, you around? Could use- some help with all this-"
That was definitely Tikki, much to his great relief. There was no mistaking that floppy sound of her webbed feet on the floor. But what did she mean by 'all this'?
Peeking over the couch, it was revealed to be- a mountain of bags in her arms, which were almost totally blocking her line of sight indoors. They also appeared to be rather cumbersome, as she tried to balance them carefully as she inched her way to the open counter space. In one hand, she clutched a small key, the rest of that arm wedged in an awkward hold around the bags to make sure she didn't drop anything.
"Sticks...? You here? Agh- fuck-"
Spooky
He jumped over the back of the couch and hurried over, grabbing the bag that had started to get away from her and picking it up before it could fall. He held it like it weighed nothing.
Seeing where she was going with it, he plopped the bag down on the counter, but not without having a curious peek inside. It was loaded with food! Tons of it, looking like she'd gotten it from one of those big buildings with shelves full of the stuff. He recognized some of the packaging.
"H-hi Tikki," he said, sounding like he'd swallowed a cup full of powdered chalk. Okay, yelling earlier was a bad idea, now he sounded worse than yesterday...
Mystic
"Thanks," Tikki grunts, exhaling once the unbalanced weight is relieved from her arms.
Tikki, upon setting her burden of bags on the counter, shoots him a worried glance.
"Did you not sleep well again, Sticks? Or catch a cold? You sound really hoarse... just hold on a minute and I'll make something hot for your throat, okay? I gotta get all this new stuff in the fridge first."
With more speed than expected, Tikki swiftly unloads as much from the bags as possible, organizing the new foods by type and whether or not they needed to go in the fridge.
However, some of the bags didn't contain food. A few were stacked with neatly folded clothes, articles that were far too big for Tikki to wear without impeding her movement.
"I wanted to surprise you, but I guess that's what I get for trying to get everything inside in one trip," Tikki mourns. "I just figured since it's still a sensitive time, you'd appreciate the door being open for less time. Maybe I was overthinking it."
...
She pauses again.
"Is your shirt covered in soot?"
Spooky
He tore his gaze away from the bags full of clothes and back to Tikki, before looking down at his clothes. They were smeared with soot. In the shape of his hands, no less. His cheeks glowed orange and he glanced to the side guiltily.
Honestly, he'd forgotten it was there, but now he was the spitting image of a dog that had been caught eating food off the table.
Mystic
"Welp. Guess the lesson of today is 'laundry' after all," she says, letting out a chuckle. "I suppose my shopping was perfect timing, then. Should have seen this coming, with a pyromancer in the house. That's on me."
As promised, she goes about heating the water for another hot drink, sorting the remaining food into the various locations throughout the kitchen while it boiled.
"Besides getting ash all over yourself- playing in the fireplace, I assume- how was your day alone, Sticks? The house didn't blow up, so I'm guessing positive reviews are in order?"
Spooky
He watched the fire on the stove beneath the kettle curiously as she sorted out the rest of the food and put them away. A little ring of flames...
He snapped out of it when she spoke to him again, and he looked down at her and nodded- today went pretty well. He smiled proudly as he motioned towards the TV, where he still had 'Super Mario World' paused- by the looks of it, he'd gotten pretty far into the game!
Mystic
"Oho, trying a new one!" Tikki grinned in approval. "You beat Kirby already? And you're almost all the way through Mario World? Damn. Should I be worried about the longevity of my game collection, now?"
A familiar whistle of the kettle sounds, and she removes it from the fire, turning off the stove with a click of the burner. Taking the kettle to the counter top, she rips open another packet of cider mix, and dumps it into the mug before pouring the steaming water along with it. The same spicy sweet smell wafts upward. She grabs a small plastic container filled with a clear golden liquid, which goes in as well.
"You even did all your dishes by yourself," Tikki says with pride, examining the dish rack with his plate and cups. It wasn't much, but it was something! "You learn fast."
She slides the mug of cider over after stirring it with a spoon.
"One cider mug, fresh off the stove. Ready to go learn how to do laundry, buckaroo?"
Spooky
He looks almost bashful, but he grins as he takes the mug. He did a good job taking care of the house! Taking a congratulatory sip of the still steaming cider, he nods.
He didn't know what the laundry was, exactly- hopefully it didn't involve putting his hands in water like the dishes- but he was curious enough to wanna see what it was all about. It was cleaning clothes, right? He remembered when his blanket and pillow were just done being, uh... laundried? the first night he was here, and they were really warm and soft...
Mystic
Tikki takes him to that small closet-like room where he’d seen her walk off with piles of clothing the first day.
She spends some time explaining the basics of the two machines in the room- one washed clothes with soap and water, and the other dried them with hot air. The soap had to be loaded into the washer in a small tray, but other than that, the machine did the rest once set to the correct mode. Tikki decided to once again keep it simple, and told him to never use another setting besides ‘Permanent Press’. He didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded important. As for the drier, it needed nothing besides loading in the clothes and pushing the start buttons.
“Okay, time to lose the dirty shirt,” Tikki says, picking up the bag she had stuffed all the new clothes into, and pushing it into his arms. “Garfield is retiring, now. Go try these on instead.”
Spooky
Okay, laundry seemed straightforward enough... He did his best to commit the steps to memory, when a bag was shoved at him and he nearly fumbled it before getting a more solid hold on it.
What was a Garfield...? Well either way, he had to change his clothes. He looked through the bag and pulled out a new shirt that he liked the colors on, and another pair of soft pants that was longer than the pair he was wearing, and- huh?
He held up a pack of smaller garments that looked kinda like shorts? But were shorter? And looked at Tikki as if to ask what they were.
Mystic
Tikki snorts.
“They’re boxers, you dork. You put them on under your pants so wearing pants is more warm and comfortable. Gotta dress in layers in this climate.”
She pats him on the shoulder as she passes him to exit the laundry closet.
“You can use the guest room to change, if you want- again, there’s nothing in there, and it’s a bit… fucked up. But it has more space than the bathroom.”
Spooky
Oh, huh... He gave a small shrug and put those and the clothes he picked out on top of the bag, following her out. Once she pointed out to him where the guest room was, he went in and closed the door behind him.
It was... Weird. The rest of the house was so lived in, full of stuff and signs of life, but true to what Tikki said, the guest room was completely empty. No furniture, nothing, just a big empty, and kinda dusty rectangle, save for obvious signs where her transformation had caused damage.
Hell, swap out the walls with some white ones and change out the floor for tile or cement, this would've looked no different than a testing cell... Maybe that was why he felt so unnerved.
He changed out his clothes quickly, and left the bag in there when he was done. Might as well, if that was the place he was supposed to change clothes in. He did his best to shake the feeling of unease as he gathered up the dirty clothes and took them back to the laundry room.
...and just kind of stood there with them, since he wasn't sure where he was supposed to put them. Unsure what to do, he went to go find Tikki instead.
Mystic
Tikki was in the living room when he emerged, sitting on the couch and leaning forward against her knees. She had a frown on her face, watching something on the screen. It looked like she changed it momentarily away from his game screen, and was back to the noise and colors from the first time she’d ever turned it on. He could hear people speaking through the screen, though the words didn’t mean much to him. Brow furrowed and her chin in one hand, she was listening intently to whatever was being broadcast.
”-local sightings of the latest cryptid resident, the Cat-Man, have been coming in hot for the past few weeks now! The reported incidents have even been captured on security cameras of local shops, as it appears the strange entity has a crafty mind for food theft- just like the average domestic feline!”
The picture on the screen showed a very grainy camera feed of the outside of a store at night, with only one light source in the form of a single bulb over a back door. A dark figure flashes across the screen, pulls open the dumpster in the half-shadowed alleyway, and hops inside.
”Multiple accounts of store owners who caught the supposed Cat-Man in the act have corroborated claims that the strange entity has glowing eyes visible in the dark, despite previous theories that it was simply the reflective shine of a cat eye.”
The camera feed zips forward to show another person emerge from the building, and chase the dark figure off, a brief glimpse of bright spotlight eyes visible for one moment before vanishing.
”There have been no recent reports of the town’s favorite tall tale, the Silver Fang, but enthusiasts are clamoring to-“
At that moment, Tikki notices him standing there.
“Oh- sorry,” she says, masking the worry with another smile. “I just wanted to check the news. I’ll switch it back to your game. Need help with something?”
Spooky
It didn't occur to him that the voice on the TV had been talking about him, at least at first... The grainy footage they showed gave him pause, though, and he stood in the doorway to the hall, squinting as the figure fled the dumpster on screen. It looked just like the reflections that greeted him in darkened windows, when he used to scrounge around town at night.
That... Was that him? Why was he on the screen?
He jumped a little when Tikki spoke, though at her question he remembered why he was in here and held up the wadded up ball of dirty clothes in his hand.
Mystic
Tikki presses a button on the remote, and the screen goes black before displaying the same green text as before. The paused Mario level returns within short order, right back to where he left it before Tikki got home.
"The dirty laundry can go in the hamper," she explains, standing back up from the couch. "There should be a basket in or outside the laundry room. That's the dirty laundry hamper. I use that to put my dirty clothes in to be washed, and once the hamper is full- or I'm close to running out of clean clothes- I load the washer to start the cycle."
She points out the hamper, which currently sat in the hall.
"Since we don't have a lot of clothes to wash right now, it's okay to just throw it in the hamper for now, and we'll wash it later once it's more full."
Spooky
He nodded and went to go toss the clothes in the basket, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he'd just seen...
He returned to the living room, not really sure if he should bring it up, though... She did look very worried. Still, if Tikki was worried, maybe he should know about it?
Giving her an inquisitive look, he pointed at the screen, then himself, hoping that got his question across.
Mystic
Tikki's smile, which had been present up until that point, falls. She lets out a sigh, glancing back at the TV that now showed the game screen image.
"You're wondering about the news?" She runs a hand through her plant-like hair, taking a deep breath and letting it out through her nose. "Yeah... it looks like you've been caught on film by store cameras. The time on the video they showed was from a couple weeks ago."
Guess there was no point in beating around the bush, or trying to hide it. Tikki takes the remote again, and switches the input back to the news network. It continues rambling away in words he didn't recognize, but the text on screen said 'Cat-Man Cryptid Sightings'.
"It probably doesn't change anything about our current situation," Tikki continues, biting her lip. "You were already hiding out here with me, and I deal with dodging press all the time because of my 'Silver Fang' situation. Not to mention, we get a lot of weird animals and cryptids that spring up every now and then- I think people just really want something cool and strange to exist in this town to give us some sort of unique identity, I guess. Harmless fun, mostly. The one thing I'm concerned about is... there's a chance it might get Aria Corp's attention. The average layperson won't be able to tell that's you, but..."
...if someone in Aria happened to see the video, they might recognize him.
"I don't think this puts you in any more danger than you were already in," Tikki says, filling the silence in her worry. "From what you said, Aria was already looking for you. I'm just- fretting, I guess."
Spooky
He... hadn't known they had cameras. Why did humans always have cameras?
His pulse spiked at the realization that anyone from Aria could have seen it. There were a lot of people who worked there, and if any one of them saw, they would know he was still in this area. Despite her words of reassurance, he broke out in a sweat and clutched at the front of his shirt, backing up to lean against the door frame. He felt like he was gonna fall over, but he nodded, trying not to look like his vision was going unfocused.
Mystic
"Hey- hey, are you ok??"
Tikki's voice sounded warped and distant, as the fear clouded his mind.
"Sticks- Sticks, it's ok- you're gonna be ok-"
His heart was pounding in his chest, drumming a frenzied beat and sending blood pumping into his brain so quickly that it felt like every beat was stuffing cotton into his skull. There was a ringing somewhere in the ears he didn't have.
He feels hands clamp onto his shoulders.
Tikki is in front of him, looking up with fierce eyes.
"Sticks- listen. Look at me. Breathe. Take deep breaths, okay? Take deeeep breaths, slow and steady."
Spooky
It's difficult, trying to hear what she's saying, let alone following it. His mouth was open but it felt like no matter how much he panted, he wasn't getting enough air. Shaky and numb as he was, it was feeling more and more like Tikki was holding him up by the shoulders.
And the fear was only growing worse as he struggled to get himself back under control. He couldn't do it, he couldn't get it to stop, something was wrong with him. Aria was gonna find him and he couldn't do anything about it he could barely stand up there was not enough fuckin’ air!!
Thunk!
His head rolled back and hit the door frame with a dull thud. Staring wild-eyed up at the ceiling, he gasped for air like he was in the middle of a water endurance test. Fuck, that's what this felt like. This was exactly what he felt like, when the water started to creep up past his shoulders...
Mystic
Lost in his own head as he was, he's wrenched somewhat back to reality as the hands on his shoulders clench tighter, and begin to push downward. He can feel as his knees, already weak, buckled underneath him when the strong grip guides him to a half-kneel sitting position on the floor. The door is a cold slab of wood at his back, which hurts in spots, but is a solid anchor for his overheating skin.
"Breathe, Sticks- you're safe," Tikki keeps talking, not sure how much of her words are getting through, but trying anyway. "They're not going to find you. You're safe in my house. Our house. We signed an agreement, remember?"
Well- she signed it, but in his name.
"Deep breaths. In. Out... In. Out."
He can barely register as she kneels to sit across from him, her own knees tucked on the floor under her.
"I know your voice is kinda fucked right now, but I need you to try to repeat after me if you can, okay? I'm safe. They're NOT going to find me. I'm going to be okay."
Spooky
Being on the ground seemed to help a little- he could focus less on trying not to collapse and more on Tikki's voice. The sting in his back felt distant, barely noticeable, but Tikki's hands on his shoulders coupled with the feeling of the door frame behind him and floor below kept him grounded in reality.
It was a gradual process, but he did his best to try and slow his breathing as she guided him through it. Black smoke with occasional little flecks of embers when he coughed slowly lessened into thinner, lighter smoke. This room was going to smell strongly like a campfire well after this, wasn't it...?
He still wasn't out of the woods yet, but he seemed less immediately in danger of catching himself or something else on fire, at least...
"M...mnsafe..." He started, in a hoarse whisper. "I- th... they..." He swallowed, slouching forward a bit and sliding his hands over the back of his head and neck. "They're..."
Something kinda hot and wet started to roll down his face, welling up in his eyes until he had no choice but to blink...
Mystic
…
“…oh, Sticks,” he can distantly hear Tikki say, something cracking in her quiet words. He wasn’t as sure if he was meant to hear those. “You’ve been holding this in for a long time, haven’t you…?”
The liquid building up in his eyes falls from his cheeks to the floor, producing a faint hiss on impact and evaporating immediately. The heavy orange drops leave behind faint glittering speckles like golden dust on the floor.
There’s a pause as Tikki struggles to find the right thing to say. He can hear as she shifts her sitting position to be a bit more to his side. The strong hands on his shoulders loosen; one of them moves to rest on his upper back, thankfully avoiding the part that’s scabbed with rock, and the other reaches over to take one of his own hands off of his neck, holding it tight in reassurance.
“Sticks- I probably should have asked in the first place before laying hands and moving you, but- what can I do to help you? Is it ok if I give you a hug?”
Spooky
Holding what in...? His face was leaking, though he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this happening. It was still a rare thing to occur, but usually it happened when he was scared. And while that was the case here, there was... something else too, that he didn't have words for.
He tensed initially as he felt a hand slide onto his back, but that was only a temporary reaction, since it didn't cause him any pain. His hands felt numb and shaky, and they didn't carry the same heat that his face and chest did at the moment. He didn't fight her as she lifted it away and... Held it. It was a firm hold, but it wasn't uncomfortable or restricting his movement in any way like the shackles would've. His palm and fingerpads were a bit rough, but the rest of the skin on his hand felt surprisingly smooth in comparison, and... damp?
He blinked at her, sending more teardrops rolling down his face to fall and sizzle against the floor. He looked completely lost, as far as he could recall his training never covered body malfunctions like this, and more than that...
"Hh- ...hug?"
He didn't know what that was.
Mystic
When he finally looks up at her- really looks at her through whatever was happening with his eyes- Tikki's tense and worried expression breaks. There was a hint of moisture welling in her eyes, too, though it was hard to see past the molten liquid spilling from his own. Whatever emotion she was wearing now, it was one he didn't recognize, one he'd never seen before on the faces of any scientist or person in town.
That emotion gets shoved aside, and is replaced with determination.
Then- suddenly she's moving forward, letting go of his hand and pulling him into a strong hold around the torso with both of her arms.
He can't help the fear that comes, at first. Instinctual reaction for self-defense nearly kicked in.
Had she been lying, and she was going to choke him out?
Did something in that 'cider' drink poison him, and she was going to finish him off?
Silver monster form or not, this was incredibly dangerous. All he had to do was bring his own arms down, and he could crush her. Easily. He knew he could.
But... she doesn't move. Despite being smaller than him by a good foot or so and stronger than she looked, those arms don't move to strangle him. She just... holds him, sitting there on the floor. It didn't make any sense. Tikki wasn't doing anything besides wrapping him up. But at the same time, it felt like his body had been tearing apart down the middle of his chest, and now he was being held together.
Tikki tries to hide her flinch every time a molten tear lands on her back. It hurt, but she didn't care. It wasn't important right now. And she had dealt with far worse.
"I'm sorry," Tikki says, her voice muffled by cloth. "For whatever those awful people did that hurt you and made you so scared, I'm so sorry. You're not going back to that. I promise."
Spooky
He'd lifted his hands almost automatically when she wrapped him up in a hold, though he'd come to his senses enough not to attack. Instead, he'd just gone completely still, his arms hovering awkwardly at either side of her. Even if it had been a reflex, a defense mechanism, whatever, he'd stopped just seconds from trying to hurt her, and that was so fucked up, for real!! Why was he like this?!
Tikki's words cut through his self-deprecating thoughts like a knife, though, and his arms fell loosely back down to his sides.
He didn't know he'd stopped breathing until a hiccup forced air back into his lungs. Holy shit... He knew what this was, now. This hold, it wasn't to restrain him. This was the same kind of hold he'd felt in that strange dream. He might not've been small enough to be picked up, but the feeling was the same...!
He choked. Then a sob forced its way out of his damaged throat, and he slumped forward to bury his face against the back of her shirt.
Mystic
More tears are now pouring down Tikki's back, but she doesn't let the pain show or force the hug to stop. He needed this right now, and she could handle a few hot scales.
"It's ok to let it out, Sticks." She squints her eyes closed, keeping her voice steady. "You'll feel a lot better."
They sit in the relative silence of the house for a while, broken only by the hiccuped sobs and the pop of the logs in the fireplace. The whole time, Tikki didn't let him go, holding him tight enough to stop the whirling thoughts in his mind that the world was ending.
It wasn't until his legs felt a little numb and tingly from sitting in this position that she finally backed off from the 'hug', which he could only assume was what the gesture was called. She moves her arms so that they're bracing against his shoulders again, looking at him with tear tracks on her face. Hers didn't glow, but he could see the reflection of the firelight in them as she swiftly wiped her cheeks.
"...How's your heart, Sticks? You had a panic attack, and almost passed out- I want to make sure you're going to be fine. If you can, nod or shake your head for me. Okay? Remember, deep breaths."
Spooky
By this point his heart no longer felt like it was trying to hammer its way out of his ribcage or escape out of his throat, so he gave a weak nod. Lifting his arm, he wiped at his face.
'Panic attack'... He definitely felt like he'd been attacked by some kind of invisible something... Like he'd been slugged really hard in the chest and had the wind knocked out of him, and was left feeling achy, shaken, and exhausted. His breathing was still uneven, catching at times when he tried to breathe in or getting interrupted by a quick gasp or two when he tried to breathe out... But he did his best to breathe deeply despite that, not wanting to experience that fuzzy, cottony feeling in his head again.
He clumsily started to slide his legs out from under him, trying to change position so they wouldn't keep feeling numb. He grimaced a little as the tingling intensified for a few moments, sensation returning to them.
Water had been coming out if Tikki's eyes too... Was she also attacked?
Mystic
"You're doing great, Sticks," Tikki says, giving him a weak smile. She was coming out of whatever just afflicted the both of them, too.
Tikki scoots so her back is to the wall, sitting down with her butt on the floor next to him. No longer so directly in his personal space, but nearby.
A shaky breath of her own, that she exhales long and heavy.
"...I know it's a lot," she says, not making eye contact and instead gazing up at the slow rotation of the ceiling fan. "You haven't had much time to process anything at all. There's no shame in crying it out. It's how we work through our sadness, our anger. Grief for what we lost, or could have had. God knows I went through a lot of that on my own when I had to leave the sea. I'm sadly an old hand at this."
Tikki sighs, running one of her webbed hands through her hair and letting it rest on her forehead.
"...man... can't believe I'm sitting on my floor, comforting a homeless teenager I caught eating birdseed a few months ago," she says with a low, breathless chuckle. "This definitely isn't how I saw my Christmas season going. I imagine you were expecting to spend the winter holed up in that den, surrounded by garbage for warmth."
Spooky
He nodded a little, at least in agreement to the part he could understand. He didn't know where he'd expected to be. Maybe in his den with the blanket she'd given him instead of the trash he'd accumulated. Maybe he would've had to move on eventually if Aria managed to catch on to where he'd been hiding. Either way, definitely not here, sitting on the floor of a house of someone nice, having just been attacked by a panic.
Was grief what he was feeling? He didn't know. This wasn't the fear or anger he was used to when it came to bad feelings. And most of all, he could barely remember any of what he'd lost. That thought right there, though, sent another pang through his chest, and he had to stop thinking about it if he wanted to continue trying to pull himself back together...
Instead, he tried to figure out another thing Tikki had brought up. "Christmas... season?" He asked. Was that what they called it when there was snow on the ground? If he thought back hard enough, he may have heard some scientists mention it. Usually a little while after, there would be less scientists in the lab for a short period of time. Too bad Rainer stuck around, even during those times.
Mystic
Tikki pauses. Her eyebrows furrow as she lowers her hand from her forehead, turning her head to regard him.
"Right... you wouldn't know what that is. It's December, which is the month of the Christmas holiday. It snows a lot, and in a couple weeks, Christmas Day's gonna happen. On Christmas, it's custom to get presents for someone you care about. I uh... usually just celebrate by myself."
...Tikki brightens a little, her eyebrows raising again as she looks off in the distance.
"Huh. Guess this'll be your first Christmas. Maybe it'll give me a reason to do more than just make some cookies, this year? We could make a lot of treats, and maybe a honey ham. Hm. I might get a tree, for once. What do you think, sound fun?"
Spooky
Despite his current state, he perked up a little and a small smile found its way onto his tear stained face as he nodded. It did sound interesting, and like there would be a lot of nice food involved.
Getting a tree confused him a little, since they already had the one outside. Was that one broken? Oh, maybe that was why it wasn't making any food right now...
Mystic
Tikki quirks up a smile of her own, watching him take shaky breaths as he tried to recover from his breakdown.
She shuffles, sliding her feet underneath her body so she can stand.
"...do you think you can get up? I'll pull you up if you need it."
Tikki offers a hand.
Spooky
He takes her hand, and while he still feels a little weak, he's able to get up without further incident. Seems his legs were working again. Good...
The sound of the TV slowly fades back into focus for him, though by now they had moved on to a different subject.
...At least the news didn't say exactly where he was. Maybe if he just stayed inside...
Mystic
Tikki helps him back into the living room space- and noticeably sticks closer, in case he needed support. She leads him back to the couch, grabbing the remote and switching the input back to the game feed. Mario was still paused on the screen.
"Here- you can get back to your game, and I'll start on dinner. I'll be ten feet away if you need anything, okay?"
Spooky
He nodded, sitting down on the couch and positioning himself... kind of oddly, in a way that wouldn't put much pressure on his back. Seemed kind of awkward for his spine- was that how he'd been sitting all day?
Didn't seem to bother him too much, as he picked up the controller. It took him a bit to get back into it, but it was a welcome distraction from his worries, at least for now.
Mystic
Tikki makes quiet note of it, but doesn't say anything. Now was not the time.
She double-checks the curtains are fully closed before getting to cooking dinner.
...
An hour or so later, his stomach had started to protest being empty yet again.
And just in time, too. He could smell something cooking in the kitchen. It smelled very rich, like the patties he swiped during his first week on the streets.
Spooky
That was a very compelling aroma, and he paused the game as he looked towards the kitchen. Tikki hadn't said it was time for dinner yet, but he was too curious not to go have a look.
Sliding off the couch, he took a moment to stretch before wandering over to the kitchen to see what Tikki was making.
Mystic
She was standing at the stove again, this time with some sort of dark red slab on a skillet. Tikki was handling it with a pair of tongs, wincing as popping noises from the slab occasionally threw hot oil in her direction.
At his approach, she glances up, before returning her attention to the stove.
"Hey, Sticks. I'm trying my hand at steaks- figured you might need some more calories and protein, since you're a teenager. I think I'm getting the hang of this..."
Tikki pinched the slab with tongs and flipped it over, revealing the underside was a coffee-brown color. The red side making contact with the pan caused even louder popping to sound, and she hissed in pain as some oil popped onto the side of her arm. She withdrew the arm and shook it, clenching her jaw.
"Fuck that hurts. Hot oil sucks. Okay. Almost done."
She pulls up a plate, where an already-prepared steak waits.
"Go ahead and get something to drink, I'll be right over."
Spooky
He could feel the drool starting to well up in his mouth as he watched it cook. He snapped out of it when Tikki flinched back from the oil. Wha? It hurt?
She seemed okay, though, so he grabbed a cup and got some juice out of the fridge. He did pause a little, seeing some more drinks in there than before, including a jug of white stuff. What was that, some other kind of juice? Oh well, whatevs.
He poured himself some orange juice and put the carton back in the fridge.
Mystic
Tikki took a bit longer to make sure the steak cooked, flinching and twitching back from the stove whenever oil popped, as though anticipating more pain. Once it was done, she removed it from the pan and turned off the fire, the popping sound finally dying down as the oil stopped heating.
The steaks arrive at the table, along with a bowl full of some kind of white fluffy stuff. It smells heavy and buttery. Tikki plops a big serving spoon into the mass of white stuff.
"I made some quick box mashed potatoes, too- that was kind of impulsive, I'll admit. I think you need it, though," she explains, sheepish. One steak for him, and another for herself, along with a helping of buttery white 'potatoes' on each plate. Tikki picks up her serrated steak knife and starts cutting her steak into bite-sized chunks, taking a test bite.
"Mm- I think I got it," she says around a mouthful while chewing. "I didn't have time to marinade it, so I just did a salt and pepper rub, but I think it turned out okay."
Spooky
His orange pupils grew so big with anticipation that they almost drowned out the whites of his eyes as he watched her put the food on his plate. It smelled so good he could barely hold still!
The moment he had it, he stabbed the steak viciously with his fork and picked the whole thing up to gnaw on it, tearing into it with his fangs. Yesss this was it! It was like those patties but even better!!
Mystic
It was quite impressive, actually, how effectively he was able to make short work of the steak. Those teeth were sharper than they looked!
And the steak itself- words could hardly describe. It was rich, and very satisfying to chew through. He had to take longer to eat it than the easier, softer foods, like sandwiches or 'mac cheese'. Even when he bit into the meat and could feel parts start to crisp in his mouth, the flavor didn't deteriorate one bit. If anything, the crispy parts heightened the taste!
Tikki was a lot slower, but she chowed through her steak shortly after. A happy sigh, and she began digging into her potatoes.
"How are you feeling now?" she asked between bites. "Better?"
Spooky
He nodded vigorously, a big grin on his face. If playing games for a bit helped him feel a little better, the delicious food had completely revitalized him, apparently. Ducking his head, he shoveled the potatoes into his mouth. All that work to make a hearty dinner, and it was gone in a minute... That said, he did thoroughly enjoy it.
He finished up the potatoes and licked the plate, kinda wishing there was more...
Mystic
There's a faint sliding sound as the bowl- consequently, with the remaining potatoes- is pushed across the table towards him.
"Here, you can just finish them," Tikki chuckles, tired, but amused. "I'm going to have to get used to not having leftovers, haha. In return, I get the validation that my cooking is apparently really good."
Spooky
There's more!! Pulling it towards him, in his excitement he just sort of ended up dunking his face directly into the bowl with a thunk! Funny enough, given the shape of his head, it was a perfect fit.
Thankfully he calmed down enough after dinner to help with dishes. He had to wash his hands and face off a little too, but it was worth it. He finished scrubbing off the last plate and put it on the rack, turning the hot water off in the sink and stepping back, shaking the water from his hands.
Mystic
Tikki, even though she had been showing signs of her own exhaustion after work and the ordeal, couldn't help but guffaw with laughter at the sight of him stuffing his entire face into the mashed potatoes. It was worth the minor cleanup to see him practically wearing the bowl like a hat!
She stood by while he finished with the dishes, drying off her own hands with a towel. She offers the towel to him next.
"Thanks for the help, Sticks," she says, her ear fins drooping noticeably now after the long day. "Ready to brush your teeth and turn in for the night? We can get to Christmas prepping tomorrow, after I get back from work."
Spooky
He nodded, wiping his hands with the towel. He still didn't know all of what Christmas prepping entailed, but was still looking forward to it anyway. He wasn't looking forward to Tikki being gone again, but understood she had to. The thought of being alone was just a little more... unsettling, after knowing about the TV telling everyone about him.
Before he could psyche himself out again, though, he busied himself with brushing his teeth- once again as fast as he could- and spitting molten toothpaste into the sink.
He would just... stay inside, and away from windows. There was no way anyone else knew he was here in this house, except for Tikki. And he could call her if something happened. I'm safe, he repeated in his head, staring back at himself in the mirror. I'm safe.
Mystic
Aria didn't know he was here. Sure, they might have figured he was in this town at some moment in time. But he'd been hiding out with Tikki for days, now, and she insisted that the video footage from that store camera was weeks old. Without him actively on the street disturbing trash cans and breaking into stores, it would look like he moved on from the area.
The face that stared back at him in the mirror was a worried one, trying to hide that worry behind stern determination.
He was safe.
...god, he hoped he was safe.
---
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