Keychain was a simple man living a simple life. Until the day he saw a small little girl toddle up to his house. His life is about to change...
Keychain lives a simple life alone in his house, pays his bills and taxes, and has a quiet, peaceful rhythm he finds contention with. Nothing really seems special about it at first, but all that is about to change with the arrival of one small little visitor...
A cold morning on the streets of a forest town, with trees reaching high into the sky like monoliths. Leaves were dangling low from the branches, before being plucked daintily by the winds, leaving them to dance in the air in a miniature cyclone of movement, spinning like discs as they twirled to the ground, marking the pathways and giving the grey some colour. Said path strung out, linking itself to a number of houses adjacent to the road, with gardens and porches accompanying the route to the front doors.
In one particularly ordinary bungalow, a man named Keychain was going about his morning routines. Keychain was a man with a simple body. Chunky, but not plump enough to be deemed as fat. Arms and legs with just enough meat on them and a face with blue eyes and curtained brown hair. He wore a simple white shirt and some sweatpants, with nothing yet to be seen on his feet. He pulled himself from his bed and strode towards the nearby bathroom, wherein he grabbed his toothbrush and some paste.
Squirting a multi-coloured blob of the cleaning product out onto his brush, he planted it into his mouth and proceeded to vigorously brush away. Quartering his mouth so that every thirty seconds, he went onto the next part of his mouth. Bottom front, top front, bottom back and top back. A tradition that he did every single morning and night without fail. After spitting out the remnants of sludge, he washed it out with some water from a cup, spitting it into the sink and wiping whatever was left with the back of his hand.
"Nothing ever changes, does it?" Keychain asked himself as he slid some slices of toast into the toaster and pushed down on the handle, letting the heat do its' work as he trudged towards the living room. "Same old day, same old night. I should be bored senseless of it by now, but I know that life has its' ways of working some wonders whenever needs be." He stared around for a brief instance, letting out a sign as nobody listened to his words. "I'm talking to myself again. As usual."
Keychain had lived alone ever since leaving his parents' house. He had never really dabbled in the art of love, mostly due to his commitments to his job and to that of his own household. It was a ruthless game of juggling what was important and what wasn't at the right times. And, sadly, love was completely overshadowed by all others. Had he been given more time, he would have pursued someone into a happy relationship, but his hours said otherwise.
His work was a simple job. He worked for a logging company, taking what remained of the trees that had reached the end of their lives and using them to create new objects like tables and chairs. Keychain would often mourn the loss of the trees that he had to brutally murder, but it was all in the course of his job. That, and the fact that trees never really had any feelings so he never had the chance to hear their side of the story or any complaints that could have come with it.
"Still, though. Gotta think on the bright side. Somewhere, someday, something, it's all gonna come together." Keychain put a smile on his face as he went back to the toaster, watching as the metallic cube spat out the now cooked slices of bread. Quickly pinching both pieces and laying them out on a small plate nearby, he headed on over to the fridge to grab some butter and jam, as well as a knife to spread them on. "One of these days, the world's gonna wake up, see me, and give me something to break the chain. Something that I didn't even know I was missing. I just know it." He was so distracted by his spreading that he inadvertently broke a slice of toast. "Yeah. That'll be the day..."
With his splintered toast and the one piece he had avoided butchering, Keychain took a seat on a green armchair in his living room and turned on the TV, laying his plate down on the glass coffee table in front of him. Once his hands were free, he reached over for the remote and started flipping through channels. He went through a number of different categories on his channel surfing. From news, documentaries, re-runs of old shows, even the odd music channel. All with the same schedules, yet different content for each day.
Eventually, the tedium became too much, so the TV was turned off by a rapid jab on the power button from Keychain. He simply went to his slices of toast, lifting the first one close to his mouth. Crumbs scattered towards the ground, weaving themselves into the carpet. Nothing a little vacuuming wouldn't fix, he thought. Driving his sharp teeth into the crust of the toast, Keychain shredded a huge chunk of it into his mouth and proceeded to chew.
The morning seemed to drag on and on as the first piece of toast eventually met a grizzled end at the hands and teeth of Keychain. As he was about to take a bite out of what remained of the second piece, he heard a knock at his door. That's odd. The news shouldn't have come for another few minutes. And I'm not expecting any mail today either... Keychain lifted a brow at the door, yet he still put down the toast and walked over. An unsightly mess of crumbs shifted as he stood up, most of them hitting the ground with the rest careening towards the plate that he had hastily grabbed so as to catch the others. With the toast avalanche over, Keychain returned the plate to the coffee table and planted his hand on the door.
Keychain opened the door and looked out. There wasn't anyone that he could see that was around his height level. Only the road, trees, other houses, and pathway. But as he was about to turn back, he looked down at the foot of his door to notice someone was standing there. A small, butter-yellow girl with long pink hair. Tied up by butterfly-shaped accessories into the shape of a large heart. She was wearing a bright pink coat with white fur across her neck, elbows, and waistline along with two small pink shoes with little buckles. Her eyes were a bright shade of teal and were wide as saucers. When she locked eyes with him, all that she could do was smile.
"Huh? A little girl?" Keychain parroted as he knelt down to her. "Well, what are you doing here? Are you lost?"
The girl didn't give any words. She just put her teeny hands onto Keychain's face and cooed softly, her hair flowing gently in the cold breeze.
"Well, do you know where your mommy and daddy are, little girl?" Keychain asked, trying to pry her hands off of his face as gently as he could. The prolonged squat was going to get to him soon and do a number on his legs. "You should probably go back and find them before you catch a cold."
The girl's coos stopped as her hands fell from Keychain's face. As the words swam in her mind, she just stood there, looking down at the ground with trembling palms. She was only young, carefree and adventurous to the world around her. It got to the point where her own travels and her own mindset had played around with her more than that of her parents. Despite her having some semblance of memory of them, she had no clue where they were. As she thought more and more about it, she sniffled slightly, before letting out a tiny sneeze that sounded much like something a baby panda would have done.
"Oh..." Keychain could immediately tell that talking about the girl's parents wasn't going to bring them back any time soon. He plucked her from the ground and carried her into the house, shutting the door behind him and locking it up tight with a key on the hook by him. "Well, it's fine if you can't remember. But I can't let you keep running around outside in this weather. It's frightful this time of the year."
The tiny girl pulled herself out of her little trip and looked up at Keychain, the smile only faintly returning as she noticed a small piece of tissue paper being wiped against her nose.
"In the meantime, you can stay with me until we do find your parents. It's the least that I can do to a kid like this in weather this bad." Keychain carried her through the corridors of his bungalow into another room; one with a large desk and some bookcases lined by the walls. A small stack of paper could be seen on the nearby desk, accompanied by a small pen. He plucked the pen and a sheet of paper before making his trip back into the living room, where he put his things down with the toast, before putting the girl down at the edge. "Do you have a name, at least? Something that I can call you by? I can't just keep calling you little girl or kid while you're here."
Looking up at the titanic Keychain once again, the girl was hesitant to do anything. She just sat there for what seemed like forever, before eventually, she summed up some courage and turned to the table. She grabbed the pen and placed the tip of it onto the paper, beginning to scribble away. At first, she drew some pictures of butterflies around the edges of the paper, humming to herself as she created life in the form of doodling them into existence. Once that was over, only the center of the page remained, where she let the pen do all of the speaking for her. An F, then an L. U. T. T. E. R. S. H. Y. She dotted the end of the paper and handed it to Keychain.
"Fluttershy? Is that your name?" He asked the girl. As soon as he finished talking, she nodded on the spot, clasping her hands together. "And these butterflies... Do you like them?" He got another nod from Fluttershy. "I see. Well, feel free to make yourself at home, Fluttershy. There's some fresh food in the fridge if you need it and the TV's got the full package if you wanna watch some kids shows."
Again, Fluttershy didn't say a single word as Keychain just handed her back the paper and the pen. Instead, she just continued to scribble away on the paper, making even more butterflies around her name. She drew so much that it became autonomous, robotic in nature. The only thing making her seem human was the unabridged smile on her face and the gentle, rhythmless tune that she was humming to herself.
"You don't really talk a whole lot, do you?" Keychain asked, but got no response for the umpteenth time that morning. "Well, I'm sure that you'll be fine. And if you need anything, just let me know."
As Fluttershy went on with her drawing spree, Keychain took away the toast from the table and brought it over to the kitchen table, where he sat down on a stool and watched over Fluttershy from the other room. He spent the rest of his breakfast half-eating the toast and half-watching Fluttershy continue to draw away on that single piece of paper, letting her mind run away to all sorts of places as more and more cartoonish characters appeared on the paper around her name.
So strange... Some kid wanders away from her parents and finds her way here. How in the world did that happen? Keychain pondered to himself as he let another piece of toast fall victim to his maw. Poor Fluttershy. I bet her parents are probably worried sick trying to find her. Still, she's so brave, being able to find some happiness in this kind of situation. Let's just hope that she can keep it.
As he finished off the last slice of toast, he took another look at Fluttershy again to see that someone else had entered his house. A small cat, marmalade in colour with a white belly. Its' paws were de-clawed and it had a very slender, arched body as it strode across the living room towards Fluttershy and the table that she was working at.
"It's that stray again," Key muttered to himself as he slipped the plate into the sink and sprayed it with a concentrated arrow of water, before tumbling into the drain at the base of the sink. "I swear, someone needs to find that cat pretty soon. The thing's been strolling this part of the country for weeks now; always popping into people's houses and interfering with their lives. Whoever owns that cat is either just as worried as Fluttershy's parents or is gonna be pretty angry when that cat does eventually come back."
As he walked back into the living room to try and make the cat leave, he saw a rather unusual sight. Fluttershy had turned from the paper that she had been so fixated on and saw the cat staring at her. She blinked for a few seconds, then tipped her head to the side again, prompting the cat to do so in response. Fluttershy straightened her head up, causing the cat to mirror her movements. She took one small step forward. Then another. Her balance was very good for someone of her age and stature, but there were times when it wobbled. To compensate for this, Fluttershy stuck her arms out to maintain her posture.
She arrived at the cat and fell to her knees, throwing her arms over the cat and letting out a high-pitched giggle, pulling the cat into a tight hug, petting its' fur tenderly as the cat's legs shook like frail sticks towards Keychain. The cat cuddling went on for a while, with Fluttershy's head eventually falling into the fluffy body that she had wrested from the ground. At last, the cat could bear it no more and shook around so much that it broke free out of Fluttershy's hands. She lurched forward to collect it again, but it leapt out of the way and leapt towards the open window, scampering out down the path in a blur.
Fluttershy once again looked crestfallen at the cat's departure. She was about to lower her head again when Keychain came over and laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and the frown was averted.
"It's alright, Fluttershy. That's just a stray cat. It wanders in and out from time to time. I must've left that window open." Keychain went over to the open window and closed it up, lifting the handles over to engage the locks. "Anyways, you've been rather busy with that paper, haven't you?" He noticed that the paper with Fluttershy's name on it had been noticeably much more filled with content than the last time he saw it. Now, it was a whole menagerie of animals lining the paper, from dogs and cats, to fish, even a few birds scattered around. "So... I'm guessing that it's not just butterflies you love, is it? It's all creatures great and small." To validate his claim, Fluttershy gave Keychain another nod.
So. She's young, she's lost her parents, she's shy by name and nature and she loves all the animals this planet has to offer... Keychain watched as Fluttershy simply cuddled his leg. You know, had it been another life, I could've really loved having a kid like her in my life. So sweet, so innocent, so pure and uncorrupted. He tousled Fluttershy's hair, causing her to let go of him and explore the living room. Now, Keychain stood still as he watched a tiny, timid toddler tenant traversing the tranquil living room, letting out tiny little noises as she took each step.
I don't exactly know what's happened, but I think the world might have heard me when I said that there was gonna be something interesting happening sooner or later... He saw Fluttershy arrive at the armchair that he had been sitting on. She tried to reach for the remote, but her little arms couldn't reach it. So, she resorted to climbing the chair by clutching onto the cushion, wriggling her legs as she hoisted herself up. She stood on the chair and plucked the remote, rubbing her hands over it. "Hey, Fluttershy? Have ya ever heard of a TV before?" Keychain asked, walking back over to his chair. He looked down at her, causing her to crane her neck skyward once more. "Here. Let me show you something amazing." Keychain took the remote out of Fluttershy's hands and turned the TV back on.
The black box immediately sprung to life with noise and colour, causing Fluttershy to jump at the sudden developments. After which, she brought her hands up to her ears, plugging them up from the amount of noise the device was making. Keychain took that as a physical indicator that his TV was too loud, so he pushed a button to turn the volume down. Small boxes with numbers and a symbol of a speaker appeared to show exactly how loud his TV was as he turned the volume down from his usual "30" setting to the "20" setting. After that, Fluttershy removed her hands from her ears.
"Sorry about the noise, Fluttershy. Didn't know how you were gonna react." Keychain gently patted Fluttershy on the head, causing her to let out a sigh and drop her arms entirely. "Now, normally, I'd let you go out into the garden to play around for a bit, but the weather's colder than the last time my uncle tried his hand at ice sculpting. That, and I wasn't expecting to care for any kids today, so I think some TV's a good option for now." He quickly opened a menu and flipped towards the kids' tv channels. He had no other reason to use them except now. As he highlighted each channel, a compact box in the top-right corner of his screen showed the show highlighted on the screen. "What looks good, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy took a look at the box, leaning forward as she watched Keychain flip through a series of different shows. Some about animated cartoons and others about live-action people interacting with the world around them. Eventually, the screen showed animated animals, prompting Fluttershy to point to the screen in seconds.
"This one, eh? Well, why not?" Keychain pushed the large central button at the heart of his remote, which made the small box encompass the whole screen, showing the program to Fluttershy in its' full size and scale. The lights and colours immediately filled the room, standing out in seconds from the rest of the walls and decorum. As Fluttershy began to watch the show, the beam on her face grew from cheek to cheek as she watched the escapades of the animals on the TV.
Keychain just stood there and watched Fluttershy watching the show. He had no interest in what was going on and stood by just to make sure that she was alright. She was, after all, a lost girl who had trudged through a frigid morning wind. The very least that she could have had at this point in time was some fun, games, and laughter. And so far, he had given her just that. Whether the search for Fluttershy's parents lasted for days, weeks, even months or years, he'd do his best to keep her from crying her eyes out over the situation. And if the TV was the first step, then it was a step that he was glad to take with her.
As time went on and the shows eventually came to an end, Fluttershy clambered off of the chair and waddled around the living room, looking high and low at all of the bric-a-brac and awards. First was a towering glass cabinet where Keychain housed all of his finest glasses, pictures, and even the occasional trophy or two. There were some words engraved into the gold base of the statues, but she couldn’t see them, let alone read what they had to say. She didn’t stay around it for too long as the height was making her feel even smaller than she already was, to the point where her hands and knees trembled at the size difference between her and the cabinet.
Fluttershy’s next room on her personal tour was the kitchen, where Keychain was washing up the plate he had been using for his toast as well as a bunch of other crockery and cutlery from the night before. All of it was drowned in a foamy sea of white, bubbly water, with some small droplets finding their way onto Fluttershy’s nose. Her pupils shrank at the sudden spritzing of water, so she shook her head like that of a dog to try and get it off. When some of it refused to obey her and stay adamant on her nose, she walked over to the tea towel hanging on the railing of the oven and buried her face in it, rubbing her nose from the other side. As she pulled herself out of the cloth veil, Keychain pulled it up off of the rail it hung from, took the objects from the sink with his free hand, then dried them off with the tea towel before leaving them to sit in the plastic draining board beside him.
As Keychain washed and dried away, buzzing noise and a tune came from his pocket. He pulled out a phone and pushed a green button before bringing it to his ear. “Talk to me,” he said.
“Hey, Keychain? Ya still down for a round on the lanes?” A laid-back female voice came from the other side. “They’ve got that special deal on for nachos if you’re in a group.”
“Sure thing, Lemon. I’ve just got some washing up to do then I’ll be there,” he said. “Cyber and Bench are gonna be there too, right?”
“Oh, for sure. They wouldn’t miss a round of bowling with us,” Lemon replied. “I mean, what else is there to do in this kinda town if you don’t get on out there and have some fun?”
“Not a whole lot, really.” As Keychain turned from the sink, he noticed Fluttershy at his feet. “Actually, Lemon. Change of plans. Ya think we can book the lane for five people instead of four?”
“Huh? What’s up, Key?” Lemon asked with a hint of confusion in her voice. “You sure you’re thinking straight today? There’s only four of us in our usual group.”
“I know, I know. It’s just that...” he tried to think of a way that he could explain Fluttershy’s inclusion to the group while she reached over for the cloth again; a corner now dangling over the counter. “Look, I know it sounds sudden, but I promise that I’ll explain everything when we get there. I’ll even pay you back for some of the extra dough you’ll be spending.”
“Hey, hey. It’s cool, man. I totally owe you after that tree course we did.” Lemon’s voice had a hint of care in it. “Didn’t exactly know how scared you were of it.”
“It wasn’t the heights that got to me, alright? It was how rickety and wobbly the thing was. I kept worrying that sooner or later, the thing was gonna snap.” Keychain’s brows lowered as his voice raised ever so slightly. “But in any case, I know you meant well, so I can’t really be too mad about it...”
“Yeah... Guess I should’ve known you weren’t a fan of those kinds of things. But hey, at least the zipline at the end was pretty sick, right?” Lemon replied.
“Yeah. If by sick you mean throwing up instead of good.” Keychain rolled his eyes.
“Ah, you’re only saying that because it was your first time. Trust me, Key. Ziplining’s not that bad when you really just let yourself go and enjoy yourself.” Lemon’s perky tone came back.
“If you say so...” Keychain just took another object out of the watery sink and dried it up, resting the phone on his shoulder. “Alright, Lemon. I really have to get this stuff done. I’ll see you at the alley once I’m done, okay?”
“Yep. See ya there, kid.” Lemon hung up, leaving a dial tone on Key’s phone. He slipped the thing back into his pocket before turning towards the cloth and a Fluttershy who finally managed to jump up and pull it off, only to land on her keister with the towel tumbling over her face. “You alright, Fluttershy?” He took the towel off, revealing her face once more. She just looked back up at him and gave another smile.
Once all of the washing up had been done, Keychain walked out of the house with Fluttershy scurrying behind him. What seemed like a walk to him was more like a stride to her. She ran as fast as her tiny little legs could carry just to keep up with Keychain as he arrived at his car. A simple, sedan with a rounded design, brown body, and hatchback. Keychain walked Fluttershy around to the right-hand side and opened the door, then proceeded to lift her onto the chair and strap her in, with only the bottom half snugly around her body.
Note to self: if this thing lasts a long time, remember to buy Fluttershy a booster seat... Keychain stared at seatbelt for a good few moments, fearing what would happen if the worst were to occur and Fluttershy wasn’t properly secured by the belt. Eventually, he shut the door, walked back over to the driver’s seat and clambered in. “Now, I’m gonna drive pretty slowly, since you’re not really in the safest of conditions. Let’s just hope Lemon’s still getting herself and the others ready.”
Keychain put his car key in and turned it to spring the engines to life. A quick purr filled the car as he planted his feet by the accelerator and brake. He moved the gear lever to a letter named “R”. He was thankful for having bought the automatic since having to juggle multiple gear switches at once would have been too much hassle; especially in a tense situation where Fluttershy wasn’t properly seated. He pushed the accelerator and reversed the car out of his drive, before changing the lever to the letter “D” to drive forward towards the bowling alley.
As Keychain drove forward, Fluttershy tried to look out of the windows to see where they were going, but due to her height, all that she could really see were the faint edges of the rooftops and the orange and golden-leaved trees that surrounded them. Beyond that, she had a rather clear view of the sky; a large, endless slab of blue with small, fluffy spots of cloud, white as snow and idyllic as they drifted through the air without any resistance.
The silence between Fluttershy and Keychain was broken when he reached for a knob on the dashboard of his car. When he twisted it, the box filled with classical music. Wind, brass, drums, and a hefty amount of string music filled the air and gave some life to the drive, rather than it be a slow, silent journey. Keychain felt a sense of comfort as the music flooded his ears, while Fluttershy just looked up at him with a tilted head as if questioning what was going on.
“Oh? What’s the matter, Fluttershy?” Keychain took notice of her through the overhead mirror. “Is this not your kind of music?”
Fluttershy didn’t not her head and she didn’t shake it either. Instead, she slowly lifted a finger to her chin and continued to stare at him. This was the first time she had ever heard anything like this. Or at least, to her memory. She hadn’t grown old enough to appreciate Keychain’s style of music.
“Oh. Well, if it’s a bit too much, I suppose I can leave it until later...” Keychain turned the music off, with an awkward tone in his voice. “It isn’t really a long drive to the lanes anyway. It’s just the speed we’re going at that makes the trip longer.”
With the song silenced, Fluttershy returned her attention to the view outside, captivated by the sights of trees and clouds. Along the way, she saw some birds flitting on past them. This gave her another smile as she watched the birds swoop and roll across the sky in a group, before turning off into the woods.
Eventually, the car approached a building with a neon sign. It wasn’t lit, but it depicted a bowling ball hurtling towards some pins before sending them flying into the air. The car park was moderately sized with only a handful of cars parked between the lines, not including the one Keychain drove and set down in a spot by the front door.
“Well. We’re here.” Keychain climbed out of the car, went over to Fluttershy’s side, opened the door again, unbuckled her, and picked her out of the vehicle. “Welcome to Cedar Grove’s very own bowling alley, Fluttershy. Twenty-eight lanes of people launching balls down lanes in an attempt to knock as many things over as they can. I imagine you’d find it quite fun, actually, given how young you are.” He tousled her hair, causing her to shake on the spot.
Keychain held Fluttershy’s hand and walked her toward the building. When he got to the steps, Fluttershy let go and put both of her hands on the step, hoisting her up onto the next one. She did the same with the next step. And the next. And the next. Until she climbed all the way to the top, with Keychain effortlessly walking up them normally afterwards. As he waltzed towards the door, she ran over to Keychain and grabbed ahold of his hand again as the electric doors slid open for the two of them.
The smells of the bowling alley immediately hit Fluttershy and Keychain upon entry. A mixture of shoe odours, hot food, freshly waxed wooden lanes and air conditioners. To their left stood the aforementioned lanes, where some people were already throwing balls down them and taking down the pins that stood at the end. With benches to sit on, computers to track their scores, rails that held their balls and balls unrelated to their bunches in place, and a red carpet with different coloured shapes separating the wood from the rest of the building. To the right of the two was a desk, where three familiar faces to Keychain stood.
One was Lemon, dressed in a pink shirt with a logo of some lemon slices, as well as a black vest on the top of it. She wore yellow shorts with a belt hanging lopsided above it. Her sneakers were black, with light blue laces and pink soles. Again, they bore the same logo she wore on her shirt. She wore two wrist warmers; a light blue one on her left arm and a pink one on her right. Her hair was jagged and its’ usual shades of green and yellow, with her pink headphones with a pie slice emblem on each speaker plain as day for all to see.
Lemon stood with two others. One was Cyber, with a neon blue shirt and plain black trousers. He wore some bracers on his wrists, which were blue in colour and read “Digicon 2018” on the left and “On the Grid” on the right. His shoes were bright red with velcro straps locking in his feet. His hairstyle was purple and mostly combed, with a few strands pointed backwards from the center of his head.
The other was Bench, who wore a red tank top and a blue headband, pushing his brown hair up into the shape of a shaving brush. He too wore shorts, but they were tied up and almost at his navel with how high they were lifted. His shoes were sports trainers, white in colour and tied up tightly. He carried a small blue leather bag with him, with a decal of a bench press machine on it.
“Hey! There he is!” Lemon called loudly from the desk as she watched Keychain and Fluttershy walk over to the group. When he arrived, she pulled him in tight patted his back tenderly. “How’s it hanging, Key?”
“Good, good. Same old stuff, really.” Key blushed slightly as Lemon kept on patting him. “Been paying the bills, had my breakfast, came over here for a round with you guys just like old times, eh?”
“Ya know the bet’s still on, right, Key? First of us to break two-hundred has to pay the other.” Bench grinned as he showed off his new shoes. “And this time, I came prepared to crush you and get that dough.”
“Hopefully, you don’t mean literally. Right, Bench? It’s not going to be like that time you and Key had that makeshift wrestling match after you took him on that road trip to see your favourite wrestler?” Cyber just lifted a brow at Bench as he brought his shoes back.
“Hey. It was close to the town and he rarely even tours anymore. What was I supposed to do? Not go and see him?” Bench just turned to Cyber and chuckled at him. “You’d totally do the same if there was some hi-tech computer coming out that you wanted to see.”
“I suppose you’re right there.” Cyber just rolled his eyes and turned back to Key. “By the way, Keychain, Lemon said that there was going to be five of us bowling today. Did you make a new friend since last time, or have you found another of our old school friends?”
“Well, it’s kind of hard to explain but, I kinda found this friend on my doorstep.” He put his hand down to his side, in an attempt to touch Fluttershy’s head again. But instead, he ended up touching nothing but thin air. He twisted his head down and shot his eyes open when he saw she was gone. Keychain frenetically looked around for Fluttershy, thinking that she had wandered off to see the lanes for herself. When he turned around to the door, he found Fluttershy huddled behind his legs, hidden from everyone else’s eyes. “Oh. There she is.” He stood aside, revealing her to the group.
“A kid? Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see someone like her at a place like this.” Lemon walked up to Fluttershy and squatted down to her height. “Hey there, squirt. Ya doin’ good?” She waited for a response but got no such words out of Fluttershy’s mouth. “You don’t really talk much, do ya? It’s cool. It’s cool. Ya don’t really need words to play this game.”
“How old is she, might I ask?” Cyber pointed to Fluttershy. “She certainly doesn’t seem old enough to use the proper techniques in bowling.”
“Her age? I barely even know the girl apart from her name, her shy nature, and that she loves animals!” Keychain threw his arms downward, palms facing upward. “She just showed up at my house one day with no rhyme or reason. As for where her parents are, I’ve no idea. I thought that maybe a game of bowling with you all would have made her just a bit happier.”
"Well, I mean, there's nothing against us having any kids. Just..." Lemon fidgeted on the spot as she took one look at the lanes, then another look at Fluttershy. Comparing her tiny body to those of the pros, a creeping sensation climbed her body. "I kinda feel bad that we're gonna beat her."
"I mean, you could always just give her one of those ramps and give her the rails. Sure it wouldn't be much of a hassle..." Bench pointed over towards a metallic frame. "We need to give her at least some form of a fair shot, right?"
"I mean, she's not guaranteed to be able to score higher than any of us, but we should at least make it so she's not handicapped..." Cyber scratched his chin. "I must admit, this is the first time I've ever gone bowling with such a little kid like her."
"Same here." Bench raised his hand.
"Eh, it ain't my first. I remember when I used to do stuff like this with my cousin. Though... I'm gonna be totally honest here, I kinda forgot for a bit there." Lemon gave off a lame chuckle. After the brief silence, she snapped out of it and regained the smile. "Anyways, let's get our shoes. Can't exactly bowl with these things on. Even though personally, I wouldn't mind it..."
After the conversation ended, the group got their bowling shoes from the counter. The usual pairs were doled out. A size 12, an 11, and two size 13 shoes. Then, when it came to Fluttershy and the lady at the counter asked her for her size, instead of giving her a verbal response, Fluttershy bent down and took her shoes off, before reaching up and jumping on the spot to try and put them onto the counter. Keychain reluctantly took the shoes and put them down before the woman compared them and gave Fluttershy some size 1 shoes.
With their new footwear in hand, the group of five went over to a lane marked with the number "16". While Cyber typed away the names and specifications for each player, Bench went over to collect the nearby metal frame and lay it by the hatch where the balls were being dispensed out for the group. All while that was happening, Lemon and Keychain were putting on their shoes before Keychain helped Fluttershy with hers. One singular velcro strap on each shoe, tightened up so that Fluttershy's teeny feet were comfortable but didn't pop out as she moved.
"Hey, Keychain? Do you think you could take over for me? Seeing as how you know this child and all?" Cyber asked and, in no time at all, stood aside to let him sit down.
Keychain typed in Fluttershy's name clearly on the monitor, before pushing a button that caused a pair of lines to show up at the edge of her initials. Once that was done and all of the names had been put in, Keychain scrolled down on the screen and hit a button that said "Random Order." As he did, the screen above the lane showed off five different scoring boards, with the initials of each player descending vertically from LS, CS, BP, K, and F. Underneath the grid, the name "Lemon Zest" was clear for all to see.
"Guess I'm starting us off." Lemon Zest wandered towards the rack, picking up a lime-green ball using her thumb, middle, and ring finger. The others took their seats as they watched Lemon take some deep breaths, lifting the ball up. She cracked a grin as she lined up her shot, then ran towards the lane, swinging her arm as she approached the foul line, launching the ball down with her toes mere inches away from the edge. "Now, come on! Lemon needs a new pair of strikes!" The ball careened down the lane in a perfect line before crashing straight into the arrangement of pins, launching them out in all directions. With Lemon's hit, she took down seven, leaving two on the left-hand side and one on the other. "Darn! A four-seven-ten. That's not the way I wanted to start this off..." She muttered as she returned to the group and her score was recorded.
"Hey. It could be worse. You could've started with a seven-ten. Then you'd really be getting mad." Cyber patted Lemon on the back as she waited for her ball to be returned to her via the mechanism.
"Oh, thanks!" Lemon gave him a small slap on the chest. "Not that I needed the extra pressure or anything."
"You totally got this, Lemon. Now c'mon. Give us a good pick-up." Keychain gave Lemon a pat on the back as the ball returned at last. As she took the ball back, Key lifted Fluttershy onto his shoulders, allowing her a clear vantage of Lemon taking her next shot.
Fluttershy watched with interest as Lemon aimed her ball at the two pins on the left, licking her lips and adjusting her arm. Using her free hand, Lemon twisted a piece of her headphones in a circular motion. Then, she took the shot again. Only this time, the ball skimmed the edge, sending the two pins straight into the one on the right, knocking them all over. Fluttershy couldn't help but clap her hands as Lemon fist-pumped and returned to the group.
"Booyah! Not a bad start after all!" Bench exclaimed, giving Lemon a thumbs up as his elbow bore into his leg.
Lemon blew a small raspberry at Cyber, who took a different ball from the rack and headed towards the lane. The words "Cyber Shock" were shown on the TV now, with the second row highlighted in a shade of red.
"So. I've gotta ask you something, Keychain." Bench turned to Key as Cyber took his shot. "What more do you plan on doing with your life? I mean, you've got a nice enough one as it is, but... I dunno, doesn't it seem like you're just restraining yourself?"
"What do you mean, Bench? I've been living my life to the fullest? Isn't that what we're supposed to do with our lives? Use them or lose them?" Keychain lifted his hands. "I mean, that's what we always said in school whenever we had to do something big or scary."
"I know I said that, but it still applies regardless. Y'know we're not kids anymore, Key. And life sure as heck ain't gonna get served to you on a silver platter." Bench kicked up his legs, putting his hands behind his head. "You've gotta get a bit out of your shell some more, Key."
"Uh, hello? That's why I made friends with all of you, right?" Keychain put Fluttershy down and saw Cyber retrieve his ball. "Cyber's got all of the smartest aspects of us, you've got me in a contest for who's the strongest and toughest, and we've also got Lemon." He wrapped a hand around her shoulders. "She might be a bit of a handful, but my goodness, does she know how to have fun."
"Yeah, the whole balance of attributes stuff is nice and all, but that's not what I mean, Key. As well as being able to have all of these good things, you have to think of some kind of main goal. Something that you'll want to get, be happy with when you get it and still feel satisfied when the journey's over." Bench pulled out his phone and opened an app, showcasing a bunch of charts and numbers. "Right now, I'm training to be one of the top athletes here in Cedar Grove. We need someone to be able to represent us for that big strongman contest coming up in a couple of months. Right now, that someone's looking a heck of a lot like me if you catch my drift."
"An end goal?" Keychain just stood there, eyes wide open as he buried himself in thought. "I never really thought about anything like that..."
"Hey, that's what you've got us for, Keychain. Whatever you wanna achieve, we'll be there to help you get it." Bench threw his arm around Keychain's shoulders. "Is there any kind of promotion or dream job you want? Or some kind of place or thing you wanna get or go to?"
"Well..." Keychain thought back to everything that the group had done together; all of the times that they had been friends through and through. The night when Lemon Zest wanted to go to a scary amusement park maze but only if the others joined her, or the time when Keychain and Bench challenged each other to a decathlon at their local gym, even the days when Cyber tried to get them introduced to virtual reality. All good memories, but nothing contributing to the situation at hand. "I don't know, Bench. There's just so much to do and so little time to do it in."
"But that's exactly why you're with us. We use our lives instead of losing 'em." Bench gave him a wink as he stood up and went for his preferred bowling ball size. "Anyways. Be right back. There's a strike on that lane with my name on it."
"And a TV monitor too." Lemon pointed it out, showing the name 'Bench Press' brightly for all to see.
"End goal... What could I be after?" Keychain looked back more on himself this time. His life since he left his parents' home. The memories that he had made in Cedar Grove. All of the times that he had ever been interested in things but never found the time to commit to them. "Thing is, that's the problem with having something like this. You need to be able to focus solely on it if you want it. And when you're juggling life, the bills and suddenly Fluttershy, your end goal gets harder and harder to reach."
"Well, yes. But that's why there's such a thing as multitasking. I do it all of the time whenever I'm downloading something very important. I do some other errands while I wait." Cyber Shock took a seat next to Keychain this time, barely even noticing Fluttershy rubbing her arms on his legs. "Honestly, Key. That was always one of your weaknesses when you were growing up; overthinking things. I might be the genius of the group, but even I know that wasting too much time on something leads to nothing."
"But how can you make such big decisions like that so easily, Cyber? I mean, this end goal business is pretty big!" Keychain threw his arms out. "I'd need to do exactly what Bench said. Find something that I want or somewhere I want to go to, feel satisfied with the thing when I do it and know that it'll keep me happy for years to come. If any of those three aren't there, then what was the point of doing it?"
"Decisive decisions are hard, Keychain. But it's only hard if you decide to think too much about it; to make worse of a bad situation." Cyber Shock laid a hand on Keychain's. "Don't think about the outcome. Think about the benefits. Then, the rest should click into place. If you don't figure that out, then what hope do you have of an end goal?"
"None..." Keychain looked down at his feet.
"Exactly. But that's just why you need to be a bit more outgoing, more gung-ho, as it were. Don't drag yourself down, Key. Instead, use yourself and what you like to build yourself up; make the most out of what you have and commit to what you really like most of all. That's what you should shoot for." Cyber gave Keychain a pat on the back. "Now, I think it's time you get on up there and live." He gave him a grin. "Bench just scored a killer strike. Think you can match him?"
Keychain looked out onto the lanes and saw Bench giving him a smirk. With renewed vigour, Keychain gave Cyber a nod and grabbed ahold of a bowling ball. Despite how heavy it was, he was still able to lift it to some degree. He could feel the muscles in his body working overtime as he carried the ball over, swung it with a run a hurled it down the lane, straight at the balls. Unfortunately, it rolled off in a curve and so only scraped the edges of the pins, but it was still enough to cause a massive cascade that collapsed all of the bowling pins.
"Heh. Game on, Bench." Keychain got a devilish smile on his face as he strode back to the team. "That two hundred dollars is gonna be mine today."
"That's what you'd like to think, kid. It's still only the first frame. There's plenty of bowling left to be had." Bench got his own sinister look in return to Keychain's. "May the better bowler win."
"Hey. Not that I like to bust up your little playful rivalry and all, but there's still one more player we've yet to account for." Lemon pointed over to Fluttershy, who looked up at the screen and saw her name on the board. As soon as she saw it, her miniature body waddled over towards the rack of bowling balls. "Hey... ya think there's any lightweight balls there? I don't wanna be responsible if she ends up getting flattened by something she can't handle."
Fluttershy was already fiddling with each of the different balls on the rack. She was just big enough so that her head was level with the spherical weapons of mass pin knocking-over. Her hands were a different story, as she found that she could fit at least two or three of them into one hole. Regardless, she tried in vain to pluck one of the balls from the collection, only to find herself straining and struggling to do so.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Fluttershy. You're gonna get nowhere doing it like that." Keychain came over to her side quickly and found a ball with much smaller holes and the number '4' on it. "Here. You might wanna try this one out. It's just right for someone like you."
Fluttershy noticed that the holes were indeed smaller than the ones that she had been trying to work with. She tried putting her fingers into it, but quickly popped them back out, as she had tried using her index and middle finger, rather than her middle and ring. Another attempt used her middle and ring finger, with similarly unsuccessful results. It wasn't until Keychain showed her how to properly hold the ball that she gave it a few practice swings on the spot, before pitifully letting it slip and hit the edge of the platform, where it just bounced back to her.
"I... think she's gonna need that ramp now." Keychain went over and set it up while the others helped Fluttershy retrieve that ball and lift her up to the lane's edge. Once it was all set into place, Fluttershy stood by the edge of the ramp, with the ball resting against a metallic arch that prevented it from falling back onto her.
"Here, why don't you play around with it a little?" Lemon Zest tweaked the angle of the ramp, pointing it in different directions down the lane. "Once you're ready, just give it a push, uh..." She leaned back and took notice of the name. "Flutter...shy. Not the name I would've chosen, but I suppose it's fine enough."
Fluttershy put her hands on the ball and only noticed that something was different. There were two fences around the edges of the lanes that hadn't been there when Keychain and the others had bowled. Lifting a brow at the fences, she pushed the ball down the lane towards them. And, in doing so, they ended up bouncing the ball back and forth as it travelled up towards the pins; the metallic edges wobbling with each hit, but still holding in place. Eventually, the ball slowed down and the bounces got less and less frequent as her ball hit the pins. It took out half of the pins, leaving a clear line at the back and one sticking out on the left side.
Fluttershy wobbled back over to the unit that held all of the balls, jumped down off of the platform and grabbed the ball she had just used. Toddling back over to the ramp, she lifted the ball up over her head and put it down, taking hold of the edges of the ramp as she aimed her next shot. She pointed it at the large cluster of pins and pushed. This time, as the ball rolled down, it only hit the wall once and bounced back towards the pins. This hit was able to knock three down while taking a fourth with it. That fourth and final pin was able to clip the end of the last pin, making it sway on the spot, yet still stand in place.
Fluttershy looked at the last pin still standing and stood there as the resetting mechanism knocked it over for her, before putting another ten pins down in its' place. A small pout formed on her face as she pulled the ramp aside and tried to walk down the lane and undo what the machine had done, only for Lemon Zest to pick her back up as her foot touched down on the black line.
"Hold your horses there, Flutters." Lemon turned her around and was greeted by folded arms and a grumpy face made from Fluttershy. "I know you're disappointed that you didn't exactly get 'em all down that time, but that's why bowling games last ten frames. There's still plenty of time." She put Fluttershy down at the side and pushed the ramp away. "Y'know, why don't you watch me and see how I do it?"
Lemon Zest jumped down and picked up a bowling ball, faced the lane yet again, swung her arm out and shot the ball down the lane with so much speed that it caused every pin at once to fall over. "Ha! See that, kiddo? All ya need is speed." Lemon Zest reached down and tousled Fluttershy's hair, causing her to reach up and push it back to the way she liked it. "Next time you're up there, give it a try for yourself. You might be surprised."
Fluttershy just stood there wide-eyed as she saw the next few shots being taken by Cyber Shock, Bench Press, and then Keychain. Every single one of them threw the ball fast, causing it to go fast down the path towards the pins. In comparison to her measly throws, theirs were strong enough to cause most, if not all of the pins to fall down in a single roll. As every shot went, her sulk seemed to shrink slowly into a smile once again.
When her turn came again and the ramp with its' ball was set up for her, she took her position and giddily put her hands on the ball. Then, laughing to herself, she squatted down, then threw herself up and pushed the ball with so much force that it lifted from the ramp briefly before falling back down onto the rail and speeding towards the pins. When the ball hit, it took every single pin down in a single strike, causing Fluttershy to jump up and down for joy, giggling over her first strike of the day.
"Nice. The kid's coming on quite well. Second frame in and she's already scoring strikes." Lemon watched as Fluttershy came back down to Keychain and the group. Then, Lemon saw Fluttershy come over and hug her legs. The sudden show of affection caused Lemon's face to flush a shade of red. "O-okay there, kid. That's enough." Lemon tried to push Fluttershy away, but the hug just got tighter. Lemon found her legs truly tied up by two teeny hands.
"Hey. I think she likes you, Lemon." Bench gave her a playful nudge on the elbow. "Perhaps maybe you could help Keychain out with raising her."
"Yeah, right. Because I was ever qualified to handle kids." Lemon broke out of Fluttershy's hold at long last. It didn't take her a few steps for the hug to resume, tripping Lemon up and causing her to suddenly prop herself up on the platform. "And if that's anything to go by..." She muttered as Fluttershy moved on from the legs to giving her a hug on her back.
The others couldn't help but laugh as Fluttershy curled herself up on Lemon's body, to the point where she was still clinging on even when Lemon Zest went back onto her feet to take her next bowling shots.
With the bowling game in the books, Keychain, Lemon Zest, Cyber Shock, Bench Press, and Fluttershy all entered the town's local mini-mall. It wasn't anything too special, given how compact it was and how faded the colours were. But there was still plenty of variety in the shops and what they sold. A food court could be seen by one of the edges of the place, with most of its' food being fast food on trays. Regardless, there were still people sitting idly at the tables and eating their fill.
"Y'know, I've still gotta hand it to ya, Key. You always know how to make the games come close." Lemon Zest idly patted Keychain's back as the group of five waltzed through the building. "Every time. Every time, man. Bench always sets the bar and you always manage to meet it."
"Eh. It's all just a game of luck. How he managed to get all those strikes and spares back to back is beyond me." Bench just rolled his eyes as his fingers buried themselves into his pockets. "I mean, c'mon, Key. You've gotta tell me your secret on how the heck you were able to come back from that."
"To be honest, I'm still trying to figure it out myself. It's like you said. I just got really lucky back there." Keychain chuckled weakly. Bowling had never much been his forte, even though he always found it a fun time whenever he did it. "What I wanna know more is exactly how Fluttershy was able to pull that off in the last frame. I mean, there is no feasible way on this planet that a tiny little girl like her with those bumpers AND a ramp was able to get a turkey on the last frame."
"It can only mean one thing, really." Lemon Zest scratched her chin as she looked down at the tiny Fluttershy semi-sprinting to try and keep up with the others. "This girl's gonna be a fantastic sports-player when she grows up!" Lemon squatted down and pinched Fluttershy's cheeks, causing her to chuckle in response.
"I don't think she's gonna be exactly like that, Lemon." Keychain winced, trying to envision someone like Fluttershy in sports. The thought of her in one of Lemon's sports like the roller derby alone was enough for him to end his mental voyage with his head trembling from side to side.
"Oh, you worry too much. The kid's gonna have tons of fun in the world of sport when she grows up." Lemon Zest jabbed Keychain playfully in the belly with her elbow.
"I have to disagree with you on that front, Lemon. If anything, I think she'd be more into something... less stressful, like painting or calligraphy." Cyber Shock scratched his chin as he watched Fluttershy run towards the escalator, with the group following suit. "Though, at this stage, it's kind of hard to tell, really. She's still in her toddler years. Somewhere between three and four, I'd imagine. I'm not even sure if she knows how to talk properly. Or, if she can, how big her vocabulary is."
"Y'know, I'm still not so sure if shopping's really a good idea for Fluttershy here. I mean, the kid's still just a kid. If she gets lost, all sorts of mayhem's gonna break loose and I'm not gonna be drinking from that cup. No sirree bob!" Bench Press twisted his hand.
"If she gets lost. If. Seriously, Bench Press. It's not like you to get all defensive like that. You're usually so outspoken these days." Lemon Zest's eyes drifted towards Bench's.
"Well, I can't help it when Fluttershy's so tiny. Seriously, look at her!" He stretched his hands out towards Fluttershy. "The wind could blow her over in this state with how bad it is this time of the year."
Fluttershy didn't even take notice of the conversation as she waddled off around the upper level of the store with the others close by her. She just wanted to get a better grip on the area around her, see what there was to see and do what could be done. Quite a few of the shops caught her eye briefly for how bright and appealing that they were from the outside, but when she looked inside, a lot of the stuff was alien to her in both shape and concept. Often at times, she would tug at Keychain or Lemon's legs to try and get them to tell her what things were, but they were always talking whenever she wanted answers. A small pout formed on her face every single time she was turned down.
The shops that everyone went in and out of were the same as they had always been. Sports shop for Bench Press to see if he could get a deal on some new shoes lest he drench the others he had with sweat. Computer shop for Cyber Shock to see if there were any parts for his own contraptions; mostly either sold out, pending restock or an arm and a leg. Lemon Zest's was the music shop, to see if any of her favourite bands had put anything out recently. Most of the stuff that she had been hearing on the radio was far too reserved in her own words, didn't let itself go like the stuff she was into.
Keychain didn't have a personal preference of stores. He never was one to follow trends. And especially in the case of Fluttershy, where he had to constantly hold her hand or let her ride on his back whenever his friends went to peruse the items, in case she broke free and unintentionally caused some trouble. With everything that had been said and done in the morning alone, he'd had some time to think about the whole situation. Namely, about Fluttershy's parents. How long would it be before they eventually found her in Cedar Grove? How long would he have to make sure that she was safe and happy? And what if her parents never found her? How would he cope with being a father to a girl like Fluttershy in his town? Would she even handle herself in pre-school given her timid personality? Every question bubbled around in the cauldron of his mind, stirred finely like a witch's brew until it was finally broken by Fluttershy reaching over his head to tug playfully at his nostrils while Lemon Zest bought a new vinyl.
"H-hey! Fluttershy!" Keychain jumped from the ground in surprise with the sudden yanking of his nasal cavity, nearly throwing Fluttershy off in the process. She held on tight to him while he bucked, laughing as he finally stood upright and he felt her miniature fingers leaving his nose. "Y'know, for someone so small and innocent, you can be a bit of a handful at times. And I've barely even spent a day with you!"
Fluttershy again just ended up chuckling to herself as she held on tight to Keychain again as Lemon finally came out of the shop with her vinyl in a plastic bag. With everyone's stuff accounted for, the group walked off down to the food court, as their rumbling bellies spewed out a short symphony of growls.
"You know, Key. There's something else that I've been meaning to talk to you about recently. Not just that whole stuff about finding an end goal like we discussed at the bowling alley." Cyber Shock broke the silence between the two of them as they made their way towards the escalator.
"Look, if it's about the money I still owe you for accidentally blowing out your PC the other day, I'm still working on it. Come on, Cyber. You know that I'm still good for the rest." Keychain's brows lowered as he was reminded of his debts. "And in hindsight, I didn't realise that your computer would do that; even with all your firewalls."
"No, no. It's not about that at all. Though, I am still gonna have to ask for the money that you owe me, Keychain. It was a nightmare to try and salvage whatever was left of it." Cyber Shock rolled his eyes. "It's about Fluttershy. Namely, about how much you've connected with her since you found her. How much does she trust you? How much do you appreciate her?"
"Well, I barely even know her. She just waddled up to my house this morning out of nowhere, with the biggest grin on her face as if nothing was wrong." Keychain tipped his hand. "That, and when I asked her about her parents, she got real upset about the whole thing. Add to the fact that she didn't really say much to me as I showed her around and just left her with a show running, I guess you could say that we're only starting the whole adult/little kid relationship deal."
"Ah. Well, what about you, Fluttershy? What are your thoughts on Keychain here?" Cyber Shock craned his neck up to Fluttershy, hoping to pry an answer out of her. Instead, he just watched as she coiled up, her hair drooping in front of her face as if trying to hide it. "Nothing, huh? Yet she reacted to Lemon Zest after she tried to walk out onto the lane. I'm pretty sure that she's like this; this whole shy by name, shy by nature because she's scared. Not screaming and crying about things, mind you, but rather that she feels uncomfortable talking to strangers despite finding care in their presence."
"Uh, english, Cyber? You have that language, so use it." Keychain deadpanned and lifted one of his brows.
"Oh, harrumph! It's only those that choose to have it dumbed down that never see the finer details of things." Cyber Shock just tipped his hand. "Fine, then. The point is that maybe after we're done with this whole trip in the shops; when you get home, perhaps it would be nice to give Fluttershy some fun; make her feel happy with you, rather than with a show that she just happened to watch on television. Some toys you buy at the shop here or some games that you make up for her to play should be a nice starting point."
"But Cyber, I've still got a debt that I need to pay you. I can't just afford toys for Fluttershy. She might have found her parents some other day!" Keychain's arms burst out to the sides. With everything stacked up as it was and now the idea of him spending more, it was starting to look bleaker and bleaker for him as a caretaker. "Plus, have you SEEN me with kids? I can't even entertain my niece, let alone Fluttershy here!"
"And have you ever told Whitewater and Suntan that? Or given yourself a chance?" Cyber Shock got onto the escalator and rode it down with Keychain. "Key. How can you say that you're bad at something when you don't even want to try it? The evidence comes from experience, not from thoughts and doubts."
"Because I know I'm bad at it. I've tried it once, it wasn't for me, but now I've gotta do it again with Fluttershy. A kid I barely even know because she came up to me out of the blue. I'm completely sunk here, Cyber. Give me SOMETHING to work with." Keychain swung his arms downward.
"Kid. Kid. Kid. You're killing yourself here. Don't take it from me, but I think you really need to stop saying no to things and just say yes every once in a while to new things." Lemon Zest walked back over to Key's side. "I used to have a gig with kids once. Yeah, even though I wasn't very good at it, I tried to make some kind of effort I didn't just decide that I was terrible at it after one session or something like that. I was committed to keep on going. Then, when the day came that I got fired, at least I came out of it with some kind of experience." She looked up at Fluttershy and gently booped her on the nose, with the reward of a giggle from the girl for her efforts. "And besides. Fluttershy's pretty sweet when she opens up to people."
"Lemon... I'm not—"
"Yes. You are. Like it or not, Key, you're not doing yourself any favours here by trying to save some dough. Y'know, Fluttershy's gonna need some happiness when we're not around to support her. What're you gonna do when she finds out that your house is boring once the TV gets turned off and she goes exploring?"
"Lemon..." Keychain tried to keep the conversation going, but instead got a finger pressed to his lips by Lemon.
"Just try. Okay? Just try for her sake, not for yours. In fact, I think after this lunch break, we should take a stop to the local toy store and see if there's anything in particular that she wants to play with. Then, the rest is simple."
Feeling completely overwhelmed by both Lemon Zest and Cyber Shock's words, Keychain conceded defeat and shuffled his hands into his pockets. "Alright. Guess you've got me there. Cyber, you might just have to wait a bit longer for that payment I owe you."
"It's fine, Keychain. At least you have a proper excuse this time, instead of something silly like you lost the money at the races or that you misplaced it somewhere." Cyber Shock gave him a simple wave before getting in line at one of the stands. "Now come along. Our howling bellies need to be sated."
The four grown-ups all got into separate lines with their own wallets at the ready. Each of them ordered something different. Burgers, milkshakes, sides, even the occasional chicken meal were spent. Once each of their transactions had been made, everyone came together at a single table and laid out their food. A veritable banquet laid before them, yet they still ate their food and solely their food.
An extra seat had been saved for Fluttershy, but even as she sat down, she could only see the top of the table. She tried to stand up and get a better look at the situation, but her legs were still hanging high above the ground. She used her hands to try and pull herself up, but the way that she was seated made the task easier said than done. She just looked down at the ground and twiddled with her hands, knowing that she had been denied the food that the others were so enthralled by.
Then, Keychain gave Fluttershy a handful of the fries that he had been eating. Long, slender, slightly coated with salt and still hot from the fryer oil that they had been cooked in, to the point where they resembled rectangular, golden fingers more than anything. Eyes widening, Fluttershy took one of the warm fries and brought it close to her mouth, sniffing it briefly. Then, she brought it into her mouth and bit down, letting the salty exterior and potato interior combine, flavours dancing a tango on her taste buds as she continued to chew, shredding whatever remained of the fry. For a few moments, she stayed silent with her taste session before her eyes lit up and she quickly plucked the remaining chips from Keychain's hand and ate them all in a swift strike.
At least she likes the food. That's a good start... Keychain watched as Fluttershy ate the rest of the chips he had given her. He was still trying to figure out what to do with her and how he could keep her happy until he found her parents or they found her. To be totally honest with you, Fluttershy, I might just know exactly what you like. But how much it costs is the real issue. Still, whatever makes you happy I suppose...
Fluttershy decided to try to stand on the chair again. This time, she was more successful, using the wall by her side as extra support to push herself up. With her boots firmly on the chair she leaned over and got a good view of what remained. She noticed that Keychain still had a portion of his burger left over, so decided to point to it as a way of asking without speaking that she wanted to try it out.
"You want the burger, Fluttershy?" Keychain asked. "I'm not so sure if that's a good idea. I've got... a rather unique set here."
Fluttershy, undeterred by Keychain's warnings snatched the burger and brought it to her mouth. Holding it properly like a sandwich, she opened her jaws and slammed them down on the stack, obliterating whatever held the part that she had bitten into together. Many different flavours came to her this time. The meat of the patty; the urban textures of the lettuce and tomato; the sting of the onion; finally, the fire of the sauce. That was what sent her over the edge. Fluttershy ended up coughing, spitting out the remains onto the table as she did so. She brushed her tongue down with her hands before looking at the abomination that she had tried to eat, before putting her hands to her hips, leaning forward, lowering her brows and violently blowing a raspberry at it.
"And that's exactly why I said it wasn't a good idea." Keychain just took the mass from the table and dropped it in the trash bin beside him. "The rest of it seems fine enough, but it's that sriracha sauce that really gets you. I didn't think that someone of your age would like it."
Fluttershy looked up at Keychain with a frown on her face. She put her hands together and just watched as he looked back at her. He in response just reached over and patted her on the back while he gave her hair another tousle. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I didn't mean for you to get upset by that, but you have to know that eating someone else's food isn't really a good idea. You have no idea exactly what they like or what they dislike."
Fluttershy still frowned, but waddled over to Keychain over the gap in the chairs and gave him a hug, burrowing her body into his hip, wrapping her arms around his front and back, rubbing them tenderly as she felt the aftertaste of the sriracha sauce begin to wither away.
"Hey. I'll make it up to you. What's say that we go to the toy store? We'll find you something real nice and we can move on from this little shock that you had. Sound good?" He asked her, then watched as she pulled her head back out and gave him a nod.
With their meals finished, the group headed off to the local toy store. A far cry from the shops that they had already been to. A kaleidoscope of colours could accurately have described the place, with giant statues of cartoon animals standing by the doors, displays of toys and how they worked by the front, and every single packaging box and bag that the toys came in as bright as could be.
A few toys sprang to Keychain's mind when he saw how much Fluttershy fit in. He didn't even need to see her verbal cadences and facial expressions to tell how much she wanted things. He plucked out whatever he thought would make her happy, including some blocks, plush animals, a small box of crayons, and a few outfits that tailored to Fluttershy's size after a quick check. His basket was quite plump by the time he made it to the line. But as he did, he saw Fluttershy squeal in delight at something.
There, sitting in the plushy section of the shop stood a small bunny, fabric as fluffy as it looked, with a little black snout and long floppy ears. It wasn't as big as some of the others that stood by it, but it was enough for Fluttershy to run away from Keychain's side and drive herself into it, giving it a big hug and cooing to herself contently as she brought the bunny close to her chest. She gave a look back at Keychain and the others with the largest smile that she could ever muster, pointing to the doll vigorously.
"One more toy?" Keychain asked, looking at what was already in his basket. He returned his gaze to Fluttershy, watching her hum a rhythmless tune as she continued to cuddle with the bunny plushie, brushing its' fuzzy body and ears. "Well, if you're happy with it, I suppose it's alright. Come on over, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy came back over to Keychain, still holding the bunny in her arms as the two of them made their way towards the till. Keychain opened it up and pulled out his debit card. Then, he took every single toy that he and Fluttershy had, putting them on the counter. A buzzing noise came with every single can of the barcodes on each item, each one like a dagger to Key's mind as he thought about the money he had been saving vanish, lighting on fire and disintegrating each time. He scanned his card with another buzz, signalling the end of his money's time in his stead. With the purchase made and his card back in his wallet, Keychain left the shop with the toys in his basket. Fluttershy still held onto the bunny, skipping with renewed energy with it as the smile never left her face.
"You're off to a great start, Key." Lemon gave him a pat on the back and a smile of her own. "This is really gonna help when Fluttershy wants to be happy.
"I know, I know. Now the hard part is trying to make her happy with all the stuff I've got." Keychain took another look at the toys he had accrued from his little detour. "Let's just hope that we got our money's worth in there..."
Keychain arrived back home at his house at long last, with Fluttershy still so small that the seatbelt could only barely hold her in place. Still, she had managed the whole ride home, which was all that mattered on that front. Before he let Fluttershy out, Keychain went to the back of the car and opened up the boot, pulling out the bags of toys that he had bought for Fluttershy. Everything was in there apart from the bunny, which was still nestled in Fluttershy's dinky hands.
With the bags in hand, Keychain went over to Fluttershy's door and put the bags down, then opened it and lifted Fluttershy out of the seat, letting her feet touch terra firma once again. As soon as she was on the ground and the door shut, Keychain made his way towards the front door of his house, with Fluttershy chasing after him. They made it back inside just as the wind started to pick up, collecting the leaves and throwing them towards Key and Fluttershy before they made it through the door. Once the two of them were inside, Keychain took the bags of toys and carried them through the house to an empty room with nothing but a dresser and a bed.
"Now, I'm not entirely sure how to properly set this up. But... in your case, I think it'd be fine if we just put them out randomly." Keychain plucked things out of the bag one at a time. Plushies, blocks, squeaky things, even the occasional kids' outfit for Fluttershy, filling the once barren space into a small playroom for Fluttershy to marvel at. "Now, I know that it isn't really designed for kids in mind, but I'm sure that you'll be able to make do with what we have. Right?" Keychain picked out the last toy, letting the squeak noise that came out of it play before he dropped it.
With everything all set up, Fluttershy's brows lifted. Her own bunny still in her hand, she toddled towards the new toys slowly. Her other hand was trying to choose something while her eyes scanned each and every one of them. In the end, she gravitated more towards the other stuffed animals in the room. She took one, then carried it over to another one, then repeated the same process for all of the other animals in the room, until at last, she had an entire group of plushies sitting in one large pile, with the only exception being her bunny. Gurgling with a grin on her face, she sat down with the toys and gave them all a hug, burying herself in soft, furry fabrics.
It had been a while since Fluttershy had been able to have some fun like this. Though she had some faint, fuzzy memories with her parents, her young mind was still learning how to hold on to big chunks of information. As it stood, she could remember something for only a few days unless it was a really good memory of something, namely being with the new bunny plush that she had recently picked up from the mini-mall. Still, this was a memory that she was happy to have. each of the animals that she held onto gave off a positive and comforting vibe, effectively nullifying any bad thoughts that she might have had.
Where are her parents? That much I need answers on... That was the thought running through Keychain's mind as he watched Fluttershy entertaining herself with the animals. He watched her as she whispered in their ears, sharing her secrets with them, even moving their arms and legs to give herself the illusion that they were alive. It seems just wrong for someone like her to get lost like that. Wherever Mr and Mrs. Shy are, I just hope they're looking hard for her...
Keychain was about to go over to Fluttershy and try to play with her when he heard his phone buzzing once again. Fishing it out of his pocket, he pushed the green button to collect the call, putting the phone to his ears. "Hello?"
"Keychain? How are you doing, my little schnookums?" A feminine voice came from the other end of the phone. "Don't tell me that you're too busy to speak with your mom now, are ya?"
"Hey, mom. How's it going?" Keychain asked, though his mind was even more distraught with the thought of speaking to his mother when Fluttershy was in the room.
"Oh, you know. Same old, same old. Me and Suntan are just in the middle of sorting out our next little trip to the coast of Spain for a week or so." Whitewater chuckled to herself. "Anyways, more to the point, how are you doing, Key? It's been a while since you moved into Cedar Grove with all your friends."
"Yeah, yeah. I feel that I had to do it. The last place I was in was starting to get rather... I dunno, samey?" He twisted his wrist in a circular motion. "Here in Cedar Grove, I feel that there's always something to do, whether it's in the small city nearby or with the forests all around us. That's one of the beautiful things about it. Never a dull moment."
"Glad to hear it. Y'know, it's always the best idea to move to somewhere like that, rather than some stuffy, foggy, polluted old city. Good for you, son."
“Yeah. But... there’s some issues that I’ve got at the moment. Now before, you get really panicked, I’m not behind on my payments, my job is going fine, all the things you’re worrying about are for nothing. It’s just....” He took another look at Fluttershy, who had finally taken herself away from the other stuffed animals and wandered towards the blocks. “There’s this girl. And not the kind of girl where you think she’s gonna turn into a girlfriend after a few dates and good time. This girl is young. REALLY young. She’s like, three years old or something.”
“Have you taken up a babysitting job since you left for Cedar Grove, Key?” Whitewater asked. “I’ll be totally honest, you and children don’t seem to mix these days. The last time Snowdrift came round, you just froze up when it came to playing around with her.”
“Gee. Thanks for adding insult to injury, mom. No really, thanks.” Keychain grumbled. “And besides, this girl’s not my niece. Far from it, in fact. Her name’s Fluttershy and she’s lost. I had to take her in while trying to find out where her parents are. But so far, I’ve had pretty much no time to look since Lemon and the guys roped me into bowling and shopping today.”
“Fluttershy? Oh dear. How well are you treating her?” Whitewater’s tone quickly turned with the fact that Keychain was caring for a lost toddler. “Are you sure she’s eating well? Making sure she’s using the bathroom right? Most importantly, are you making sure that she’s happy? So that she doesn’t end up crying day in and out for her mom and dad?”
“I’ve been... trying, at least. Trying being the keyword here.” Keychain grimaced. He had been a terrible father figure so far. All he had done was leave her with the TV in the morning, take her out when her parents could have come to the city and watched her try a food she didn’t even like. “Now, Cyber’s been telling me that I should try to make her open up. My friends all made me buy some toys for her in the hope that she’ll be happier. But... what else do I do?”
“It’s simple. Until her parents come to collect her, you’ll need to play with her, keep her out of danger, feed her properly, and just treat her like a normal kid. Nothing too special or anything like that,” she said. “In the meantime, whenever you get the chance, try looking for anyone related to her by either the phone books or city hall. I’m sure that if she found her way to your house, then her parents can’t be too far off now, can they?”
“I suppose not. But still... I bet they must be heartbroken right now, to know that their daughter’s lost like this...” Keychain watched as Fluttershy stacked the blocks up. There weren’t just cubes, but also arches, rounded shapes, cones, and the occasional rectangular one as well. “I’ll try my best, mom. But... if my best isn’t good enough then, god help me.”
“Oh, you worry too much. I’m sure you’ll be fine, Key. In fact, I think I’ll help your search out. I’ll call you again when I get some details on Fluttershy’s parents. And maybe even some contact details if I get really lucky. But who knows just how long the search could take?” Whitewater’s jovial tone came back.
“Don’t say that. Just don’t. If this gets jinxed because of you, it’s on your head, mom.” Keychain’s brows fell as he pushed the button to hang up. After which, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and focused his attention to Fluttershy, who was still deep in her little building project. His muscles were still tightened at the idea of the search for Fluttershy’s parents being prolonged, but when he saw her playing, he couldn’t help but loosen up a little.
At the same time, as he tried to walk forward to play with her, memories of the last time he tried this with his niece Snowdrift were a different story. He still remembered the times when all of his attempts at jokes never hit their mark and instead made her groan in response, as did all of the times he tried to treat her like she should have been treated; as the eight-year old that she was. However, in Fluttershy’s case, she was much younger. Less than half of Snowdrift’s age. And she seemed much more malleable than Snowdrift could have ever been. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Then again, was he ready to do this again? To try and play around with children after his first attempts went so pear-shaped?
He had no time to think it through, as Fluttershy took one look at him, tilted her head to the side, then made a gesture with her hand, inviting Keychain to come over and play with him, flicking her fingers towards her face. The grin on her face never dropped once as she kept on doing it, waiting for Key to take her up on the offer. He couldn’t deny her in the end as a sigh fell from his lips and he walked over to her, then dropped to his knees so as to match her height.
“So, what’s... up, Fluttershy?” Keychain asked, scoffing to himself internally. That’s it, man? That’s your best move? How is she ever going to like you when you’re hesitating like this?! His mental outcry ended when Fluttershy put one of the blocks—one resembling a miniature bridge painted red all over—into his hands. “You... want me to do something with this?” He watched Fluttershy nod, then tap her finger at the top of the structure that she had made. She touched two different blocks on separate towers. “Here? Is this where you want it?” Keychain did as he was told and put the block down, connecting the two towers into one. His reward from that was Fluttershy clapping her hands together.
Fluttershy went on with the construction of her little structure, taking more and more blocks of varying shapes and sizes, laying them out one by one on top of each other. From the outside, it looked like a bright, mess of colours conglomerating into one, misshapen mess of mass. But to her, it was a calculated and thought out plan made up entirely of building blocks, with her as the instrument bringing them all together. During her little job, she handed out more pieces to Key, telling him where to put them down with little taps on the rapidly-growing tower from her fingers. To which he responded promptly. He didn’t have as big of a smile on his face as he did the work, but she didn’t mind that so long as her little game went on.
Keychain, as time passed still couldn’t get into the apparent craze of building with kids’ blocks. He had long since grown out of the concept, so to come back to it now at his age was almost unheard of until today. With every piece that went on and how large and complex Fluttershy’s creation became, however, it was clear that he could see why she found the appeal to it, and just how much fun that she was having purely from making something out of lots of other, smaller things. By the time she was running out of blocks to stack, the tower was almost as tall as Fluttershy; meticulously put together by her and his hands.
At the end, Fluttershy had four triangular blocks left. She stood on her tip-toes and wobbled around trying to balance herself and put them on top, to the point where she started to lose her balance ever so slightly. Keychain hurriedly reached over in response, holding Fluttershy by each of her hips, stabilising her. She gave him another big, beaming grin before she put down half of the blocks on one side, before dropping back to her heels and giving the rest to Keychain. She once again told him exactly where to put it and he did so, following the symmetry that she had laid out for him. With his last contribution, Fluttershy and Keychain’s blocky creation had been finalised.
Fluttershy squealed and threw her arms up, bringing them down for another round of applause as she let out another series of giggles. She held up her bunny plushie and cooed at it, as if to show it the fruits of her labour. In her fit of ecstasy, she jumped up and accidentally landed unsteadily, causing her to lurch forward and bop the front of the tower with her head, causing the whole thing to collapse, with the screeching noise of the blocks clacking among themselves as they tumbled to the ground.
Fluttershy rubbed her head from the impact, then opened her eyes to what she had done. The remains of her tower laid before her, plastic rubble with many different colours. Everything that she and Key had worked so hard on had come crashing down around her. A series of things ran through her mind. She wanted to cry because of the tower’s destruction, but instead, she just held the bunny tighter and slowly walked over to the felled building blocks. She patted each of them tenderly, feeling sorry for all of them, before she ended her condolence-giving session and looked up at Key.
“Again.” She spoke, her voice squeaky and soft as herself. Then, she reached down for one of the blocks and went back to the base of the tower with it in her hands. One by one, she took the mess away from Key’s legs and put it back with the other blocks.
“Wait a second. Hold up. Did you just... talk?” Keychain asked Fluttershy, but got no other words out of her.
“Again.” She repeated, taking the blocks and reorganising them before her eyes. Fluttershy’s runs back and forth between Key’s body and her shamble of a tower didn’t stop, regardless of the rest of the mess on the floor or the stunned look on Key’s face. Fluttershy brought the smile back and said, “Again,” for the third time that day.
Could her talking be a sign that she’s starting to feel more comfortable? Keychain thought to himself as he assisted Fluttershy in cleaning up the ruins of the last tower. “Uh... sure. Alright then. If that’s what you want.” He was still trying to figure everything out himself, but the sheer fact that she was talking must have meant something.
Keychain and Fluttershy went back to repairing the tower. For the most part, the building was exactly the same as the first time, but the only difference was that the colours were lined up in a different pattern. Fluttershy hadn’t noticed it, but Keychain did, as the lower area was a shade of orange that time, when the last time, it was blue. This time, though, he didn’t need Fluttershy’s verbal prompts and just put the blocks down wherever he thought that it would look good, still baffled with the thought that a man of his age, with a job and bills to pay was playing with blocks; toys designed for babies and toddlers. But every time he saw Fluttershy’s face and heard her humming again, any complaints he had were invalid.
The tower was finally reconstructed at last, with Fluttershy once again showing it off to her little bunny plushie. This time, she made sure not to jump. Instead, she played around with the bunny’s arms and moved them as if to make it seem like it was touching the tower instead of her. She chuckled again when she let the paw touch the blocks.
“Well. This has certainly been... interesting.” Keychain came around the tower to take a look at Fluttershy and the bunny once again. “I hope you’re happy with what you’ve made, Fluttershy. And I hope your little friend there is just as pleased with it as you.”
“Angel.” Fluttershy squeaked lifting the bunny to his face. “Angel.”
“Angel?” Keychain asked. His pupils shrank a bit. “There aren’t any angels here...”
Fluttershy shook her head, then lifted the bunny to his face again, patting its’ belly with her fingertips. “Bunny. Angel. His name.”
“His name?” Keychain facepalmed at how much of a dunce he was for falling for that. “His name’s Angel. I see. Well, fair play to you. You got me there.”
Fluttershy just grinned some more and threw herself into Keychain’s leg, hugging it tenderly. “Key...” She cooed softly, running her little hands against his trousers. “Keychain. Friend.”
Well what do you know? She is opening up to me after all... Keychain could only put his hand on Fluttershy’s back and pat it, making her hug tighter on his leg as she pressed her cheek against him. “That’s right, Fluttershy. I’m your friend. And I’ll be your best friend until we fix this and get you home.”
“Best... friend?” Fluttershy parroted, looking up at him with wide eyes.
“It’s like this. Your bunny, Angel. You love him a lot, don’t you?” He pointed Angel out to Fluttershy, causing her to nod on the spot. “Well, I can do the same, make you just as happy. All you have to do is let me in, be happy with me. In return, we can play all the time and do whatever you want. Sound good?”
“Best... friend. Best friend!” Fluttershy cheered out more as she swung her arms into the air and laughed for the umpteenth time that day.
“Eat your heart out, Snowdrift. Who says I’m bad with kids now, huh?” Keychain said to himself as Fluttershy hurriedly ran off to the next toy in the room, with him following after her.
After a long day, Keychain and Fluttershy were finally starting to wind down for the evening. The sun was just about to set on Cedar Grove, turning the whole town into an orange and golden wonderland. The people who weren’t already at their houses were just starting to arrive home, with animals also making their way home for the evening.
Keychain had left Fluttershy on her own in the spare room so that he could properly prepare the bath. He had never really used the bath feature, as he was more of a shower man at heart. He made sure that the plug was in and started to fill the bathtub with warm water. As it started to collect, Keychain looked around his toiletries for anything that would make the bath clean Fluttershy up. After digging around for a while, he eventually came across a bottle of the stuff and poured the contents in, making the bath foam up with bubbles.
He waited until the bath was full enough, then stopped the tap and went back over to the spare room, where Fluttershy had just finished playing around with a small, pink ball with a pattern of butterflies running across it. “Fluttershy? It’s time for your bath,” he said.
“Bath?” Fluttershy tilted her head when she looked at Keychain. “What bath?”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ve had them before. Come on.” Keychain walked over to Fluttershy, reached down, and picked her up by her hips, carrying her from the room. “I even made it a bubble bath for you.”
Fluttershy, still clinging onto Angel, said “What... is bath?”
“Would’ve expected her to remember what a bath is at least...” Keychain muttered to himself. “Well, Fluttershy, a bath is something little kids like you have whenever they get dirty, or before they have to go to bed. Big people like me put you in the bath, you get wet from head to toe, and we clean you up with bubbly water and shampoo.”
When Fluttershy looked at the bath, she noticed the water immediately, and the bubbles that emanated from it. She could hardly make out the surface of the water with how much suds were in it. When she was put down, Fluttershy put her fingertips over the edge of the bath, looking at the water as close as she could. While that happened, the two butterfly hair clips that held up her pigtails were unclipped and pulled off, causing her hair to flop down around her shoulders and arms. Fluttershy jumped at the sudden change in hair, then noticed that Angel had been taken from her hands. She turned to Key with tears in her eyes then saw him holding all of her belongings in her hands.
“Mine...” She cooed, waddling over to Keychain, reaching up for her hair clips and Angel. “Give back...”
“Sorry, Fluttershy. But Angel doesn’t like bathtime. And we can’t exactly clean you up if your hair clips are holding your hair up out of the water.” Keychain put the objects on top on the cabinet above his sink, then went for Fluttershy’s clothes. He took off the coat, then her pants, until Fluttershy was bare naked. She instinctively used her hands to cover up her shame while Keychain put the clothes to one side. “I know. It’s just as embarrassing for me as it is for you. But you can’t get clean if clothes are stopping you.” Keychain blushed, uncomfortable by the sight of a naked Fluttershy. He rapidly plucked her from the ground and placed her in the water, the bubbles and water immediately concealing her body until only her head was visible, with the tips of her elongated hair drifting idly in the water.
Fluttershy was frozen on the spot from the water running up her body. She shivered from the warmth, losing the energy in her arms and legs as they also took in the cleansing liquids. All the while, her vision was locked onto Angel and her hair clips. As her lips trembled, she finally found the effort to move, sloshing through the water to try and reach the edge, only to be pushed back by Keychain.
“Mine.” She pointed out her items again, lifting her hand out of the water. “Give back.”
“I will. Once you’re all cleaned up, Fluttershy.” Keychain reached over her body and retrieved the shampoo from one of the metal shelves above her head. He squirted a large amount into his hands and put the mass on Fluttershy’s hair. “Now hold still. Key’s just gonna lather you up for a bit, okay?”
Fluttershy said nothing as Keychain ran his fingers through her hair, massaging her head with every stroke of his hands. With every single motion, the shampoo broke from its’ gooey form into a foam, white as the rest of the bath and coated through Fluttershy’s hair. No strand was untouched, as after he finished with her scalp, he plucked out the rest of her hair and lathered that, making sure that it too was just as white and soapy as the rest of her hair. She didn’t show her hands, but they were folded, with a pout on her face. By the end of it all, Fluttershy’s hair was a hybrid combination of pink and white, as if she had a bag of flour dumped on top of it.
“Angel... special.” Fluttershy piped up as Keychain started lifting water with his hands and dumping it on top of her head. “Butter...flies. Special. Clothes special.” Her finger drifted once again to the items Keychain had removed from her. “Need special.”
“I know you do. And I get what you’re saying, Fluttershy. I’m not a horrible person.” Keychain patted her back after he let another load of water down onto her hair, wiping out the white shampoo, making her hair predominantly pink once again. “When bathtime is over, you can have all your things back.” He held out his little finger. “Pinky promise.”
“Pinky... promise?” Fluttershy parroted as her eyes locked onto the stray finger held out for her.
“A promise that you never, ever, ever break for anything or anyone.” Keychain grinned as he reached into the water and pulled out Fluttershy’s hand again. “You just wrap your little fingers together, like this.” He took her little finger and coiled it around his own. “See? Pinky promise.”
“Pinky... promise.” Fluttershy looked at the hand gesture she and Key had made together, the worries of her items soon fading as she kept her little finger firmly in place. “Pinky promise.”
“Yeah. Pinky promise. Now, let’s clean you up some more...” Keychain resumed his work of washing Fluttershy’s hair with his free hand.
With the pinky promise made and her concerns gone, Fluttershy finally took her hands out of the water. She reached for the bubbly mounds in an attempt to pop them. Her hands went through them like normal, but no loud popping sounds were made. Instead, she tried to pop more and more, only to slap the surface of the water with her hand. The sensation of her hand against the water gave her another goofy grin. Giggling for the first time that bathtime, she continued to strike the water, laughing with each hit that she made.
You know, I still have to give props to this girl. Even when her things have been taken away from her, she’s still got some way of having some fun with her situation. Keychain let one last spritzing of water down on Fluttershy’s hair before he let her play around by herself, lifting towers of bubbles onto her head, dunking her head in the water, even splashing it around her as erratically as possible, with some of it landing on Key’s body. I know that she doesn’t know much, but I suppose I could teach her a few things along the way. It’s the least I can do for this kind of care I’m giving her.
Eventually, when the fun was over, Keychain lifted Fluttershy out of the bath and pulled the plug. As she dripped all over the floor towel, Keychain went and pulled a body towel off of the nearby rail and used it to cover Fluttershy up. He then rubbed her all over with the towel, using the fibres to catch any excess water that she might have taken with her from the bath. Her body was the first thing to be dried off, with her long hair afterwards.
Actually... does she even have any pyjamas? Keychain asked as he looked back at Fluttershy’s clothes. Ugh! The one thing I should have bought for her if I’d have known her parents were gonna take a while... He watched as Fluttershy took the clothes away and put them back on before he could say anything. Immediately, his train of thought was shattered into pieces.
“Now, special.” Fluttershy pointed to her hair clips and Angel.
“Huh? Oh! O-of course, Fluttershy. No problem.” Keychain reached up for Angel and her hair clips once again, giving them back to Fluttershy. He watched as she snatched Angel up and hugged her again, moaning happily as she pushed his hody against his.
“Do hair! Do hair!” Fluttershy’s voice immediately turned giddy as she pointed to her hair. “Heart!”
“O-okay then. I’ll try. But there’s no saying that it’ll be perfect...” Keychain was really in trouble. He had never been a stylist for as long as he had lived. That role was more for the rest of his family and friends. Still, he started taking lots of Fluttershy’s hair into a long tail-like shape. As he pulled the hair up, Fluttershy pointed to the root of the pillar of hair.
“Butterfly! Butterfly! There!” She squealed, tapping one of the two butterfly hair clips. Keychain used the prompt and clipped it on, holding her hair up. “Again!” She cooed, tapping the other side of her hair.
Keychain tried to bear a smile as he went and picked up more of Fluttershy’s hair, making another tail. The clip went in and, as his hands went away, Fluttershy’s two pigtails made their heart shape once again. She gurgled with a smile as she gave her hair a feel, pleased with the work that had been done.
“Thank you, Key.” Fluttershy threw herself into another hug, wrapping herself around Key’s legs again.
“You’re welcome, Fluttershy.” Keychain hugged her back, then picked her up and carried her back into the spare room. “Now, come on. It’s time for bed. Little kids like you need ‘em if you’re gonna stay happy tomorrow.”
Keychain haphazardly stepped over the toys that lined the floor of the spare room, taking care as to not trip over anything or stand on them; especially in the case of the building blocks. It might not have seemed like it, but with someone like Fluttershy in his hands, everything was much more like a hazard than usual. If not to his health, than to Fluttershy’s.
“Now, you might hear some noise when you go to sleep, but that’s just me. Big people can stay up longer than little kids because they don’t need as much sleep.” Keychain took Fluttershy’s shoes off and put them by the side of the bed. Then, he lifted her into the bed and tucked her in tightly, head resting atop the pillows. “Now, before I send you off to the world of dreams, is there anything else you’d like?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No. Angel.” She showed him Angel once again and gave him another cuddle under the bedsheets. “Special. Good.”
“Alright then.” Keychain came over and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Now, are you sure that you’ll be able to handle yourself in the dark? I’ve heard that a lot of kids your age get petrified about it...”
Fluttershy nodded her head. “Special. Safe.” She shook her pigtails around with Angel clutched tighter. “Special. Good. Make me safe.”
“Well... alright then, if you’re sure that’s what you want.” Keychain started making his way back towards the door, but his mind still stayed with Fluttershy. She was only young and didn’t know better. If anything went wrong during her sleep, it would be on his head for not looking after her better. “Just give me a shout if you need anything. Though, hopefully, you won’t need it.” He opened the door and flicked off the lights in the spare room, plunging it in darkness with the only form of light coming from the corridor outside. “Goodnight, Fluttershy.”
“Night-night, Key.” She smoothly semi-serenaded, then closed her eyes and started snoring, giving Keychain the opportunity to close the door and casket her in complete darkness.
As Fluttershy drifted off at last and her breathing got slower, she started to dream. She dreamt herself in a forest-like meadow with Angel in her hands, toddling through the expansive, luscious, green-coated pathways. Sheltered from the sun by the grassy umbrella-like trees, she eventually found a field full of bunnies. Real bunnies, not like the stuffed one that she was holding. A grin from ear to ear shot across her face as she ran towards the bunnies and sat down with them, as they circled her in and surrounded her.
Later that evening, Keychain sat down with a cup of coffee as he looked at the news on his TV. The usual fare for him at this point. Someone with a talent they had plucked off the streets, someone telling a sad story, news about politics and the environment, not much that he cared for really. His thoughts weren’t even on the TV as he watched the weather forecast. But they soon were when he saw the weather.
It was scheduled to be stormy that evening; especially around Cedar Grove. Torrents of rain were announced, with thunder and lightning to accommodate them. Keychain’s brows lifted as he scrambled towards the television. It wasn’t the idea of the storm that had him on edge; it was how Fluttershy would react to it all; to be shaken from her dreams due to horrible weather.
“Fluttershy... let’s just hope you’re a heavy sleeper...” Keychain looked back into the corridor leading to the spare room.
He was just about to go and check on her and let her know when he heard his phone ringing. He shot up from his chair so fast that he landed on the side of his foot and fell to the ground. Groaning to himself, he pulled his phone out from his pocket and held it to his ears. “Hello?”
“Key! What’s up, kid?” Lemon’s voice came from the other end of the phone. “How’s it hanging? Ya doing well with Fluttershy over there?”
“Y-yeah, Lemon.” Ignoring his own pained response and how bad it sounded, Keychain stood back up. “I’m fine. So far, the house hasn’t burnt down and Fluttershy likes me a heck of a lot more than Snowdrift. But... when you really think about it, it’s the least.”
“That’s right. But at least the best is all you can do, right? Better than just doing nothing and looking like a terrible guy with kids,” she said. “Anyways. Ya heard about that storm that’s coming down tonight? It’s gonna be totally killer! I’m gonna be watching the whole thing while jamming out to Thundershock. This, my man, is prime Thundershock raving time.”
“That’s... kinda what I’m afraid of. Fluttershy’s gonna be traumatised by this whole lightning affair if she wakes up. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to let Fluttershy start crying like that without someone to keep her safe!” Keychain’s voice sharpened. Then, he let out a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry, Lemon, but I thought it was gonna be something really important, like maybe my mom and dad had found something out about Fluttershy or something. But knowing them, they’re still too busy on going to Spain...”
“Hey. No prob. I can handle some harshness, Key,” Lemon responded. “So... anyway. How is Fluttershy doing? Ya keeping her happy over there apart from that least is best stuff?”
“Well... yes, actually. She invited me over to play some things with her and she actually talked to me. She spoke physical words at my face, Lemon.” Keychain’s smile returned. “Ya think that’s good enough for opening up?”
“Oh, for sure. When shy little kids start talking to ya, they trust ya more, see ya as more of a guardian and a friend at the same time. Trust me, it works. And I know this from that work experience I had as a kindergarten assistant.” Lemon’s voice remained optimistic the whole way through. “Take this opportunity and run with it tomorrow, kid. Take her out for a day of fun. Whatever she wants. Petting zoo, playground, maybe even an amusement park if you’ve still got some money left.”
“Yeah, and leave myself in a bigger debt than what I already owe? You know, Cyber was generous enough for me to get all those toys, but I can’t just keep splashing the cash for her sake; even if she is a lost toddler in my house.” Keychain twisted his other hand in a circular motion. “Even computer geeks have limits, as you probably would’ve said.”
“Yeah, yeah. Cyber’s got his own problems. Lost in computer land; doesn’t even bother to look outside of the grid. Guy’s probably not gonna handle himself in a real relationship, let’s be honest. But we’re getting a little bit off topic here,” Lemon tried to conceptualise Cyber Shock with a girlfriend, but her mind was static on that front. “Back to Fluttershy. You need to connect more with her, make her feel like she wants to be with you for as long as possible. Sure, the reunion’s gonna be a sad thing when she has to say goodbye to ya, but at least you had fun together, right?”
“Yeah. At least we had fun...” Keychain’s body felt heavy. After all of the stuff that Fluttershy had done and just how much he had seen her grow from reclusive and shy to talkative and curious in the day alone, Key was already thinking about the end. About the day when the parents would finally arrive and wrest her from his care. Some tears would be shed in his mind; either his own or hers. “I’m sorry, Lemon. I’ve really gotta get going. But enjoy your little rave tonight.”
“A’ight. We still on for that lake trip tomorrow, right?” She asked
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine. Bye now.” Keychain hung up quickly putting his phone back into the pocket. His mind went back to the storm, as he could already see the clouds filling up the night sky out of his window.
Later that evening, the rain started to fall. Small droplets at first, then smatterings, then a full on downpour as if a vat of water was being tipped on Cedar Grove. Windows became blurred and distorted with the tumbling droplets, puddles with blotted reflections spawned on the roads making trails to the nearby storm drains, leaves were being violently plucked from trees and hurled around in the air with the wind picking up, and the occasional bolt of lightning shot into view; the delayed noise of thunder sounding shortly afterwards.
Fluttershy was still in bed. Dreaming about her little dreams that had gone from simple bunnies to every animal that she could think of; which, in her mind, was really just butterflies and more bunnies. On the outside, she still held Angel tightly as she wriggled around in the bed, sucking on the thumb that had been in her mouth for the past hour. Warm body from both her clothes and the blanket, it seemed like nothing would pry her from her rest.
Except for one singular crash of thunder.
So loud was the noise that Fluttershy’s body lurched. She shivered in her spot, clinging on tightly to her dreams as she tried her hardest to stay asleep. For the most part, she did so well, thinking more about her animal friends. But another bolt of lightning hastily undid that, destroying her dreams in the blink of an eye and causing her to shoot up from her sleep. Eyes wide open, she looked around the room full of toys. Drowned in black, with only the window by her to give her any form of light, her room was much more ominous than the last time she had seen it.
“Key?” She whispered, sitting up on the bed with Angel still in her hands. Nobody came to heed her calls. Nothing reacted to her whispers. Not a single thing. Then, another mighty bolt of lightning struck down. She couldn’t see it for herself, but the bright flash of light spawning shadows all around her was all that she needed to see. Stretched and gnarled in a number of directions, dark images filled her room and caused her to shake even more. “S-s-s-special... good. Special. Protect. Me.” Fluttershy held Angel up against her face, trying to use him to blot out the nightmarish landscape that her room had become.
The noise of thunder came after this. A growling rumble that sounded like the belly of a hideous monster, waiting for its’ next meal. This was enough to cause Fluttershy to yelp, dropping Angel onto the bed. She scrambled to pick him up, but as she did, another lightning bolt illuminated the room. Shadows of hands and teeth appeared right beside her, causing her to leap backwards with a light scream. She grabbed Angel as fast as she could and tried to stay brave with him, but the next thunder noise was what did it.
Fluttershy sat there, alone in a room, with malicious visions dancing around her. With the idea in her head that a beast was indeed here, ready to eat her up and leave nothing left. The very next lightning and thunder combo solidified it in her mind, causing tears to form in her eyes. She sniffled her nose, then whimpered on the spot. Fluttershy then turned it into a soft cry, then a full blown wail. Crying, she ran towards the door of the bedroom, jumped up for the handle, opened the door and ran out in a desperate attempt to find Keychain. Her search was soon over, as Keychain came running for her, swiftly scooping her up into another hug.
“Fluttershy... What happened? Did you have a bad dream?” Keychain could tell from the amount of tears filling his clothes as Fluttershy’s sobbing eyes brushed against them that something had gone wrong.
“Monster! Scary!” She replied, still in a frenzied and sorrowful state. “Scary hand! Big teeth! Loud noise! Monster!”
“There, there. Let it all out, girl.” Keychain patted Fluttershy’s back over and over as he tried to diffuse the situation and get her to stop crying. He had known it all along, despite her beliefs. The lightning had indeed done its’ work, and now she was a blubbering wreck because of it. “It’s just a thunderstorm. They’re super scary for little kids your age. But that’s exactly why I’m here. Whatever big, bad monster you were thinking of won’t be able to hurt you; not while I’ve got something to say about it.”
Fluttershy, still crying, hugged Keychain again. The monster that she believed in would still be out to get her and she was still upset about it, but she now had someone to share the suffering with. Her crying started to wear down in Keychain’s presence, until she was back down to little whimpers at last. Fluttershy broke off of the hug and rubbed her eyes.
“You want to sleep with me tonight? I was just about to clock out anyway.” Keychain asked, giving her another back pat.
“Yes.” She chirped. “You special. You. Make me safe.” Fluttershy still had a frown on her face, but held her arms up to him as a gesture to lift her.
Keychain picked Fluttershy from the ground once again and walked over to his own room, with the thunder and lightning resuming as normal. With every single flash of light and deafening thunder noise that sounded, Fluttershy flinched on the spot, coiling herself up so as to avoid a fateful encounter with her “monster”. He could feel her grip tightening and loosening intermittently as he made his way to his room.
At long last, Keychain arrived in his room. It was too dark for either of them to make out at the moment, but Keychain knew it by heart and walked over to the bed’s left side, putting Fluttershy in it and tucking her in again. After which, he we t to the windows and closed the curtains, preventing the lightning from brightening the room.
“There. Now, it won’t stop the monster from trying to find you, but he won’t be able to see you now,” he said, trying his best to make a light-hearted spin on the situation. “It’s just a game of hide-and-seek. If you hide, the monster won’t seek anymore and he’ll go away. Are ya good at hide-and-seek, Fluttershy?”
She just nodded with a little coo as Keychain climbed into the bed at last and pulled the covers over himself.
“Goodnight, Fluttershy. For real this time, alright?” he said before drifting off.
“Night-night, Key.” Fluttershy mimicked her first bedtime send-off before crawling over to Key’s side and curling up by him.
As the thunder and lightning raged on outside, both Keychain and Fluttershy slept soundly together, bundled up together to beat the cold climates. The noise still resonated in both of their ears, but neither one took notice. Keychain, because he was older and knew that the weather could do him no harm; and Fluttershy, because she was beating the monster at his own game. She smiled as she went back to her little dreamworld, returning to the realm of playful critters, flitting butterflies, and one very content little Fluttershy at the center of it all.
The next morning, when the storm had passed and the birds began to chirp, Keychain was the first one to rise from the bed. He limply swung the covers off of himself and walked over to the window, opening the curtains up to let the light back in. He stretched his arms and let out a yawn.
Fluttershy was still tucked away safely in bed. Angel in one hand and with a finger from her other hand back in her mouth, she suckled tenderly as she remained in her little dreamworld, unaware that it was morning and time for someone of her age to wake up and smell the playtime. Some small coos left her, but she remained completely unmoving, peacefully slumbering in Keychain's bed.
Keychain had debated on waking her up before he got started, but when he saw her face and how peaceful she was with the shock of last night's thunderstorm scare, he decided against it and went off to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, had a shave, then capped it off with a run in the shower. Then, after he came back to his room, he started to get himself dressed for the day ahead.
He slipped on a black t-shirt with an image of a key-shaped sword in the middle of an explosive background. During his little dress-up chore, he saw Fluttershy finally begin to stir and wake up from her slumber, rubbing her eyes as she pushed herself up onto all fours on his bed. She let out a yawn of her own, dropping Angel as her arms rose out of the covers, knocking them away effortlessly.
"Morning, Fluttershy. Have a nice sleep?" Keychain asked as he watched Fluttershy pick up Angel, then throw the covers off of herself.
Fluttershy nodded at Key, then climbed down off of the bed. She noticed that he was wearing something different, then rubbed her own clothes to make sure that they were still on. When her hands brushed over the white, furry parts of her pink coat, she put on a smile with a stifled giggle.
"Glad to know you did." Keychain grew his own smile. After how upset she was with the idea of a monster trying to eat her after last night's scare, he needed something to make it up to her. "Hey, Fluttershy. Have you ever been to a lake before?" He asked.
"Lake?" Fluttershy tilted her head. "What... is lake?" She asked.
"A lake's kinda like a bath, but it's much bigger and full of water animals like fish," he explained by stretching his arms out wide. "Me and my friends are gonna go on down there for a little fishing trip. And now that you're here, you can fish for yourself as well."
"Fish?" She asked.
"Since you love animals great and small, I figured that maybe the fish in the lake would be perfect for you. Just swimming around and doing their little fishy things." He walked her over to the living room. "Now, I'm not saying that you should actually go and swim with the fish because; A, I don't know how good you are at swimming; B, fish are very hard to catch by hand; and C, I don't want you to be put in danger, Fluttershy."
Keychain went to the kitchen with Fluttershy and went for a cupboard. Inside it were cereal boxes. All different sizes, all different colours, all packed with cereals with varying and questionable levels of nutritional value. Keychain took two white ceramic bowls from the neighbouring cupboard, laid one out for him and the other out for Fluttershy. It was then he noticed how small she was in relation to the chair, so he picked her up and set her down on the seat, with her neck barely reaching over the tabletop.
"Now, do you have any preference of cereal, Fluttershy?" Keychain asked as he pulled out a selection of boxes and set them down before her eyes. "We've got Frostwings, Choco Rocks, Crunchy Pillows, Scatterballs, and lots more. You just pick out whatever you think looks good, alright?"
Fluttershy's eyes widened as she looked at each individual box. Every single colour jumped out at her; every single design commanded her attention and wouldn't let go. She leaned over and reached out for a bunch of different boxes, swaying her arm back and forth between them. Eventually, she caved in for the Frostwings box, giving it a push with her hand. She unintentionally knocked it over, only for Keychain to catch it before its' contents went everywhere.
Keychain poured Fluttershy some of the Frostwings, watching as the golden pellets with hints of white frosting landed in the bowl. As soon as it was finished, he went for his own cereal, the Crunchy Pillows. What came out of his box was rather different. Pillow-shaped chunks landed in his bowl one after the other, with some carrying tiny clumps of frosting. With his pouring done, Keychain started to eat away at the cereal in his own bowl.
Fluttershy looked over at the bowl of Frostwings, lifting her finger up shortly to reach out for one. Plucking a piece from the pile, she brought it to her mouth and put it in, crunching it up with her teeth to get the taste down. She couldn't taste much from the cereal, so she pushed it away, only for her belly to groan more. She looked around and found fruit in the bowl. Fluttershy made small moans and reached out for it.
"What is it, Fluttershy?" Keychain looked across and saw Fluttershy's begs for breakfast clearly. He took one look at the bowl he had made for her and facepalmed. Oh yeah... I forgot that Fluttershy's still growing up. Even the sugary cereals wouldn't be able to satisfy her... "You want some fruit? Well, I'm sure that I can get that for you." Feeling ashamed for his mistake, Keychain stood up, leaving his breakfast behind as he plucked a banana from the bowl and handed it to Fluttershy. "There you are. I'm sure you know how to peel a banana, right?"
Fluttershy took the banana out of Keychain's hands. Instinctively, the first thing she went for was the top, the core that held the peel together. Using her whole hand to grab the banana, she ripped off one line of the peel, before doing the same with the others. It took some time with her physique and size, but she was able to reveal the banana's innards at long last. Fluttershy took a bite out of the banana, immediately getting a reaction on her taste buds over the cereal. The gooey mush of the banana swirling around in her mouth with each chew gave her smile back, and within no time at all, she was finished, with trace amounts of the fruit left on her mouth. Her thumb make quick work of what was left.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to make you happy with the cereal, Fluttershy. But I'm glad that you found something good to eat." Keychain patted her on the head as she climbed off of the chair and looked up at him. "Truth be told, I should have fed you with that from the get-go and I'm a terrible guy for not thinking of it sooner..." He slapped himself, then went to salvage whatever was left of Fluttershy's cereal. He took it from the bowl and re-boxed it, then put it and the other cereal away. "Now, let me just get finished with my cereal, then we can get going.
Fluttershy watched Keychain eating for a few moments, then shrugged and went off back to her own room to play with her things. She once again stood on her tip-toes and launched herself at the handle in order to open the door, then waddled inside to her little playroom. There was light in the room once again with the storm's passing and all of the shadows that were made were less monstrous and stuck more to the objects themselves. With Angel still by her side, she went and had a little talk to her plushies. And by talk, she could only say a few words, with the rest of it being gurgles.
Keychain eventually finished breakfast, then put his bowl in with Fluttershy's. He gave the both of them a good wash and left them on the draining rack to soak. After which, he went off to retrieve Fluttershy. He saw that she was deep in a little conversation of her own with her plushies, laughing inbetween sentences. But it wasn't until he went over and carried her up from the floor that she truly squealed with delight.
"Okay, Fluttershy. I'm glad that you were able to have your little talk with your friends, but I think it's time that we go now. But don't worry, we'll be back later," he said to her. "Now, give them a wave goodbye, now, will ya?"
"Bye-bye!" Fluttershy waved back to her plushies, still laughing as she was spirited away from the room and down the corridors.
It was another cloudy morning in Cedar Grove. The temperature and overall weather wasn't bad, but the ground was still soaked and leaf-ridden from the storm. There wasn't any house damage whatsoever and no trees had been knocked over. The same could be said for Keychain's car, as it was still in pristine condition, minus the apparent droplets that it had managed to catch and keep. Regardless, Keychain went to the car and sat Fluttershy down in the other seat, then climbed into his own again.
He was about to drive off, when he thought about something. Keychain went to the boot of his car and plucked some cushions from the last time that he had been camping. He always kept them on hand in the event that driving became too uncomfortable or if he was going to be going out for another long trip and needed something to rest his head. Keychain plucked a few pillows, then came over to Fluttershy's side of the car. He put the pillows down by the car floor, then unbuckled Fluttershy and lifted her out for a second.
"I've got a great idea, Fluttershy. Now, you just stand there for a second." He went and put the pillows down where he had been sitting, making a makeshift booster. "It might look unstable from here, but when you sit down, it'll hold together pretty good. I promise you that."
Fluttershy took one look up at the tower of pillows. While she did find it pleasing for her eyes, the way that they were put was what caused her to get defensive. Her body curled in as she took a step back, before being carried up onto the seat once again. Her rear end collided with the top of the tower, pushing the cushions down into a compressed stack. The upholstery hugged her bottom, giving her a light grin as she tried rocking around on the spot to test it out. Sure enough, she didn't move much from her position. And Keychain took the opportunity to belt her in while she was playing around with her new seat.
"There. That should keep her stable until I can afford a booster for her." Keychain slapped his hands together, as if dusting them off. After which, he went back to the driver's seat, strapped himself in, then drove out of the driveway.
With the car able to reach its' optimal speeds thanks to Fluttershy's security and safety being accounted for with the pillow stack, Keychain pushed down on the accelerator, reaching fifty miles an hour fairly easily. He drove through the town, passing by a few districts and houses along the way. This went on until he got to the edge of the suburbs and drove off into a forest-like area.
Fluttershy looked out of the windows with a high-pitched coo, watching the world fly by. Now, she could see the trees standing tall. Brown monoliths of bark, holding their golden leaves high in the air, swaying gently in the winds. At their feet, she could see the roots bursting out, with more leaves sprinkles around it. The sight was enough to hypnotise her, latching onto her eyes seamlessly. Not even the passing of the birds or other animals in the area such as squirrels or deer were able to distract her from the majesty of the trees of Cedar Grove.
You know, another thing that's just come to mind. It's a Sunday today. She's gotta have school tomorrow. Or... pre-school from the look of her. Keychain took a look at Fluttershy from the overhead mirror, watching as she watched nature passing by her eyes. And I don't even know which school she goes to, let alone how she'll cope with it. Heck, she might even get real upset about the idea of leaving me for even a moment and think the whole thing's terrible. Either way, I'll have to take her to the local pre-school tomorrow and see if she's there. No doubt someone there will tell her parents as well.
After a long drive, Keychain and Fluttershy arrived at a small parking area with half-logs dictating where cars should be parked. There were three other cars in the area; most likely Lemon, Cyber, and Bench's cars in Key's mind. With a fourth slot open, Keychain took it and parked gently. Once inside the lines, he climbed out and picked Fluttershy off of the seat, snapping her out of her little trance.
"Trees..." She muttered, like a zombie risen from the dead as she looked around. The area was just as forest-like as the path that they had been driving down, with a small pathway leading through an open neck of the woods; one that had been completely coated in fog and mist. Some small steps could be seen on the path downwards, with handrails for those who wanted to support themselves going down. They were big enough for Key, but not enough for Fluttershy. "Key? Trees big." She tugged on his leg.
"Huh?" Keychain looked up at the trees himself. He never paid much attention to the smaller things in life, but when Fluttershy pointed it out for him—both literally and figuratively, he could see just how titanic they were, and how much more so they were from her point of view. "Oh yeah. These trees are pretty big. But that just goes to show you that they've lived healthy lives. We don't exactly know how big they'll be before a logger like me has to chop them down, but trees are as much of a risk as they are a reward sometimes."
"Trees... Good." Fluttershy nodded as she tried to run over to one of the trees, rushing through the parking area to the nearest one that she could find, only for Key to pick her up, causing her to whimper and stretch her arms out. "I wanna tree!" She moaned, trying to break free of Key's hold.
"You want... a tree?" Keychain's eyes widened, but he still shook his head and carried her to the path, sticking onto the topic. "Fluttershy, I know that these trees are pretty nice, but at the same time, the floor was uneven. You could've tripped and hurt yourself, then you'd be crying your eyes out. And there's not exactly some good first aid with me, so if you got any cuts, they'd be there for a pretty long time..."
Fluttershy crossed her arms and pouted, gaining a big frown as her brows lowered. "Trees special." She huffed. "Hug trees. Tree hug special."
"Oh... you wanted to hug the trees; not own a tree." Keychain did another face slap as he picked her back up and carried her off to the tree. "Well then, why didn't you just say so? You know, for a little kid like yourself, you're not that well spoken yet."
"Only... talk to special," she said. "You special. So I talk to you. Angel special. So I talk to Angel." Fluttershy toddled up to the tree once she had been put down by it. Then, she reached out and gave it a hug. "Tree special. Special get hugged." She brushed her face against the tree's wood and whispered to it softly. She dropped Angel during her hug, then picked him up once she had finished. "Uppies. Me want uppies!" She reached her arms up to Keychain.
"Well, if you want uppies, I guess I can give you some" —he picked her up as he spoke— "uppies!"
"Yay!" Fluttershy cheered and threw her arms up as she was sat down on Keychain's shoulders. "Uppies good!" She laughed gleefully.
With Fluttershy riding on Keychain's shoulders, he went over to the car and opened it up wide. Inside was a white and blue cooler and a fishing rod. He picked both of those out of the car, then closed the boot before making his way down the path with his little passenger. Keychain held onto the handrails to keep his balance on the walk down, while Fluttershy held onto Keychain's body for balance so as not to fall off of him. When both of them reached the end of the rails, Key walked along the path normally.
The misty fog around them was very thick, creating an illusion of an endless expanse of ethereal white energy around them, as if they had been taken away to a magical realm that neither of them had seen before; even though Keychain knew this place well. A few woodland critters passed them by, but none of them disrupted their little walk. Fluttershy took the time to wave to each individual animal before she went back to holding onto Keychain.
As their hike went on, the air around them suddenly grew a lot colder, as if turned down manually by a switch. Keychain, without a coat, started to shiver slightly, while Fluttershy with her coat just hummed to herself, nice and toasty as she felt the fibres cuddling with her body. When she noticed Keychain struggling with the temperatures, she asked, "Key? Why noise?"
He noticed what she was on about straight away. "O-oh, that? Well, that's what I get for not packing a coat..." He tried to force a smile, but the cold prevented him from doing so. "I-I-I'll be fine. It's just an early morning fog. It'll clear up and get nicer later on. Trust me on that."
Fluttershy took his word for it and went back to her little self-playtime, singing to herself in her little world as Keychain struggled through the wicked climates.
If only she knew. Keychain took one look at Fluttershy's little coat and felt jealous. But then again, it was his own fault for forgetting his own. For being the only clothes that she has, and because it's one of her little "Specials", she gets an awful lot of use out of it. Inside clothes, outside clothes, it's a pretty good piece of apparel for her. Only makes me wonder what she would look like in other clothes, though. Then again, would she even like other clothes, or would she want to stick to her "Specials" and nothing else? It's been keeping her happy and in high spirits so far, so why would she want to change it, especially when her parents aren't around?
"Key? Where going?" Fluttershy eventually asked when they saw another set of arrows pointing to a break in the trees.
"We're going to the lake. At least, I think that's where we're going. Stupid fog today's really been playing around with my sense of direction." Keychain gritted his teeth and trudged onwards. "Don't worry. We'll be there shortly. And then you can meet Lemon, Cyber, and Bench again. Just hang on for just a bit longer, alright?"
Fluttershy just let out a tinny laugh as Keychain went on through the thickness of the fog. "Key silly. Special, but silly."
Keychain and Fluttershy finally broke through the forest, arriving by the lake. A tranquil, titanic spot of water rippling gently as the wind brushed the surface. The way that the ground seemingly blended in with the water, coupled with the rolling fog in the distance made Key think that the place was something out of a fairytale; partially believing that out of nowhere, some woman was going to rise up from the lake and walk on it.
On the edge of the lake to their right, a small fishing site had been set up with a campfire, multiple lounging chairs, a trio of fishing poles, a couple of coolers, and Keychain's friends. Lemon Zest, Cyber Shock, and Bench Press were all there talking to each other or using the poles to fish. As soon as Lemon Zest noticed them, she waved from the distance, prompting Key to come over with Fluttershy still on his shoulders.
"Well. There they are. Ya excited for this, Fluttershy?" Keychain asked as he made his way. He didn't get any words out of Fluttershy's mouth, but instead, he felt his head get hugged by the tiny, timid toddler with small, high-pitched coos accompanying it. "Cat got your tongue? You can say it to me if you want."
Fluttershy leaned over, pointed to Bench Press and Cyber Shock. As she pointed, she whispered into Key's ears, "Not special. Her, special," she said as she pointed over to Lemon Zest afterwards. "Only talk to special."
"They're not special? Well, that's harsh..." Keychain picked Fluttershy off of his head and let her feet touch the ground. "Well, don't tell them that. I mean, not that you'd want to tell them, since you don't think they're special. But just... let's just move on, okay? Okay." Keychain pushed his arms out, trying to stumble his way out of the already awkward chat he had been having with her. "Hey, guys! How are ya?" He asked, forcing a smile that looked crooked by his cheeks.
"Key! Ya made it!" Lemon Zest bounded over from her spot at the lake's edge, slid up to Keychain and Fluttershy, then knelt down and tousled Fluttershy's hair. "How ya doing, you two? Have a good night's sleep?"
Fluttershy giggled as Lemon's fingers brushed her pink, well-styled hair. She reached up and clapped both of her hands against Lemon's head, smiling as she rubbed her nose against Lemon's. "Special!"
"Aww, thanks, kid." Lemon chuckled as she spoke, giving Fluttershy another pat on the head. "You're pretty special yourself, ya know that?"
"That storm last night really was something, huh?" Cyber Shock strolled up to Keychain as Fluttershy played with Lemon Zest. "I heard that the wind speed was enough to have severely damaged these trees. It's a sheer miracle that they're still standing, otherwise this place would've been a mess of bark and leaves."
"Yeah, I'm not really one to talk about the connotations of a storm and how powerful it is, Cyber. Didn't help that it really scared the living daylights out of Fluttershy last night..." He rubbed the back of his head and watched as Fluttershy climbed up Lemon's back, sat on her shoulders and pointed forward for an adventure, prompting Lemon to jog slowly off with her riding her. "Poor girl. She tried to be brave. And for the most part, she was with all of her special things as she called them, but even the storm got to her. She came running out of the room with tears in her eyes, wanting me to save her from the monster that she thought was stalking her."
"Well, I do have to admit that she's brave for all of this, but... that's something that's not gonna last." Cyber Shock scratched his chin. "Remember the issue of how she's not got her parents with her?"
"Oh... right. That." Keychain looked down to the ground, feeling his hands begin to stiffen up a little and grow cold. The wind blew across them as he stooped himself in his own little thoughts. "I've got my mom and dad working on finding out who and where Fluttershy's parents are. Then as soon as we establish some kind of contact, we'll be able to send her home happy and free."
"Yeah. But at the same time, I think she's really going to miss you once she goes home. Along with Lemon, looks like it." Cyber Shock watched as Fluttershy giggled the whole while as Lemon came back around, then picked her off of her head. "See, the thing about little kids, they don't ever want to forget good things and friends that they make along the way. She's gonna feel really upset that she's leaving you, but it's for the best in the end. Her mother and father are the most important part of her life."
"I know, I know. Still... is it wrong of me to think that, I dunno, maybe in some other universe or something, that I was actually Fluttershy's dad?" Keychain let out a heavy sigh as he laid his hand down on Cyber's shoulder. "I mean, it's a crazy and bizarre concept to even comprehend, but... I feel that I've actually started to connect with her since we first met each other. I dunno, I can't help but feel a tad guilty that I'm giving her up so soon without her getting to know me as a friend."
"Hey, hey. Key. You're not in the wrong about any of this." Cyber Shock just ended up patting Key's back. "Fluttershy found you and you're raising her until her parents come back. In my eyes, you're morally correct on a lot of aspects. Don't try to put yourself down about all of this. I'm sure that you'll be able to bond with her a bit more before her parents do eventually come along and take her back with them." He grinned at the sight of Lemon Zest letting Fluttershy down and watching her scurry off to the lake. "Besides, it looks like she's having fun with the situation."
"As long as she keeps that smile up, she doesn't even feel like she needs her parents to be happy. She just thinks that her 'special things' are all that she needs. It's cute but... at the same time it's a little bit worrying, all things considered." Keychain rubbed the back of her neck as Fluttershy leaned over at the water's edge, watching something skittering across it, just underneath the surface. Both he and she could see the little trails that the creature inside left as it darted along. "She's three, maybe even four years old, yet she thinks that anything she dubs special can make her happy, without her parents even being there. That can be a dangerous lifestyle for someone so young."
"Then you just need to rein her in. Let her know that family is just as important as special things. If Fluttershy can learn the importance of family, then she'll be much more complacent with going home with her mom and dad instead of wanting to stay with you forever instead."
"True. But how do I even do that when I'm not even part of her family? How can I tell her to love something else when she sees me as someone special to her?" Keychain cocked a brow. "She's just gonna think that I'm the only family she'll ever want!"
"Key, Key. You're overthinking things here. Fluttershy isn't stupid. She's going to figure out that her mom and dad are just as important to her. And if you can't teach her, then she'll see with her own eyes when they come and collect her in the end." Cyber Shock took Keychain by both shoulders and pushed down with minimal force. "Just remember to breathe, be patient, and make sure that you teach her right."
Keychain took a deep sigh, looked down to his hands, felt the sweat begin to mount on his forehead, then walked a few steps forward. "You know, I'm gonna be totally honest with you, Cyber. I've never had children before. Never once had an interest in having one either. And not just because of the idea that my love life is a mess. But you see... the thing with Fluttershy... she's actually not bad for a kid. She knows what's right or wrong, she's curious but not too much of a troublemaker, and she's not overly dependent on others pushing and pulling her in the right directions. She's shy by name, but not by nature."
"And your point is?" Cyber Shock tilted his hand outward.
"I think... I think if I ever did want to have kids, I'd want them like her. I'd want my kids to be like Fluttershy." Keychain watched as Fluttershy dropped to her tummy and poked the water, trying to see if she could attract the attention of the fish within. With one last poke, she saw a fish leap out of the water, causing Fluttershy to laugh and clap her hands in delight.
"Ah, such is the burden of good children. It pains you to let them go off into the world when there's so much that they do for you and your life." Cyber Shock pushed his glasses closer to his face. "Well, whatever path you wish to take involving Fluttershy, I'll always be there to support you. Me, Bench, and Lemon."
"Thanks, Cyber. Really. I mean it." Keychain gave him a partial grin as he walked over towards Fluttershy. He reached down, scooped her up, then felt a full grin come back. "Hey, kiddo. How've you been? Enjoying your time with Lemon?"
Fluttershy nodded with a coo and brushed her hands all over Keychain's face, trying to reach over him and grab onto his back. As soon as her body language translated in Keychain's mind, her request was granted, and she beamed even more when she once more mounted him. "Key! Special!"
The words rang again in Key's mind as he carried Fluttershy back over to the site where everyone else's equipment laid on the natural earth. For as little time as he had known her, she had already made her bond to him very clear. An oath unspoken by words, put upon by a girl with a mind not yet fully developed. A fragile bond that could sever at any minute if it were to see strain or difficulty. He couldn't treat her wrong or try to lead her off of loving him with what she had done with him, but at the same time, he thought that she made her stance perfectly clear that she wanted to be with him forever. He found himself stuck between a toddler's love and the morals he and Cyber had been discussing.
With everyone all set up and properly introduced, Bench Press gathered everyone with the fishing rods by the water's edge. One by one, he and the others swung their rods back and forth, trying to build up momentum on their lines. The speed that the hooks danced through the air at concealed them from view, completely invisible if not for the rod that they were attached to. With one final swing, the four grown-ups cast their lines into the water, striking out as far as they could, with their hooks and bait pummeling the water one after another.
Fluttershy watched from the side, eyeing up Keychain and the rod that he was using. The rod was nothing special; a bland black strip of painted wood, garnished with small rings that straightened up the line, which seemed non-existent to her with how thin it was. Waddling up, she tugged at Keychain's legs, then pointed towards the line stretching out into the aquatic mass beyond.
"Hm?" Keychain pulled himself away from the fishing to notice Fluttershy looking up at him. "What is it, Fluttershy?" He asked with a lifted brow.
She pointed at the rod, then out towards the lake.
"What am I doing? Well, I'm fishing, of course." He said, patting her on the head. "Fishing's a grown-up thing that we do where we take these lines and throw them in the lake. We use them to catch fish, bring them back to the surface, then leave them in the cooler right there." His finger jabbed towards it.
"Fish can be used for a bunch of different things, Fluttershy. You can have 'em as pets, eat them, put them on the wall, the list goes on." Lemon put her hand to her mouth when she saw Fluttershy curl up. Perhaps the thought of fish brutality had been struck on her. "Oh... Oh, that's right. You're an animal lover. Forgot about that. Well... just forget I said anything."
"Too late for that now, Lemon." Bench Press rolled his eyes. "Now, Fluttershy's gonna think that we're heartless fish murderers. The poor girl's gonna look at the fish, feel sorry for them, then try and put them back in the water."
"Fluttershy. I wanna make something perfectly clear about what Lemon said..." Keychain quickly pulled Fluttershy in close, seeing some tears beginning to form in her eyes. He cuddled her sideways as his grip on the rod loosened. "There, there, girl. Don't cry. Please... for me." But it was too late. A few small sniffles came from Fluttershy as muffled sobs could be heard. With Fluttershy wallowing, Keychain shot a small glare into Lemon's eyes. "Thanks a lot, Lemon. Insensitive, much?"
"It was a slip of the tongue! I didn't mean it like that!" Lemon threw her arm downward.
"Well, howewer you did mean it, Fluttershy's crying because of what you said..." Keychain completely ignored the rod, sticking it down into the ground as he pulled Fluttershy in even closer. "Come on, girl. Your special is here. You feel better, right?"
Fluttershy pulled herself out of the hug for a second, still sniffing with some slight tears left in her eyes. The initial shock had finally dissipated, but the scar remained fresh in her mind. The fact that fish; an animal in the world that she had come to know and love purely for its' many animals would be so easily eaten by Keychain and his friends was enough to have broken her. Throughout her little scare, she still reached up for Keychain, getting her lift instantly. "Special... eat fishie?"
"No. No, no, no, no, no. You've got it all wrong, Fluttershy. I don't usually eat fish like that to scare little ones like you. In fact, I won't eat fish in general if it puts you off of this whole thing. It was just something STUPID that Lemon just happened to say in the heat of the moment." Keychain put a hand on Fluttershy's chest as he sat her down on his laps. "And even if I wanted to eat the fish, I can't because eating it straight out of the lake could be bad for my health."
"Special... not eat?" Fluttershy tilted her head slightly, the sadness starting to fade. "Then... why fish?" She asked.
"We fish for fun. Not sport." Bench Press took a hold of the situation as he started to pull back the reel, retracting his line with something splashing on the other end. "Every month, we always come fishing as a little game, catching the biggest fish that we can, taking a picture of it, then comparing to the other fish that we've caught. We always dub the best one out of us the Kingfisher each time."
"So far, Keychain has won this event five different times, with Bench Press closely behind him at four. Lemon has won it twice and I... have yet to do so." Cyber Shock noticed that his rod was wiggling, so he too decided to reel in the fish at the end of it. "But to be fair, this hasn't even lasted for a year, so there's plenty of time for me to land a big catch and win the little game each time."
Keychain and Lemon's rods started to wiggle with activity as well, so both of them went for the rods. Fluttershy clambered off and looked at the rods with a raised eyebrow and her hand by her mouth. Moments later, fish adorned the rods and Lemon whipped out the camera. She snapped a quick photo of each of the rods and the fish on them before the group all dropped the fish into the cooler, letting them swim around as normal. After which, Fluttershy waddled over towards the cooler and looked inside.
As Keychain and the others took some time to load their rods up with new bait, Keychain stalled and looked over at Fluttershy, who had been seemingly hypnotised by the fish inside the cooler. Once his rod was baited up, he came over to her side and snapped the girl out of her trance.
"Fishie..." Fluttershy pointed into the cooler. "Fishie... sad."
"I know that it's a sad sight, Fluttershy. But it's not going to be there forever." Keychain looked into the cooler and felt a sense of familiarity with the fish inside. They had been separated from their home in the lake, and stuck in a place that was unfamiliar to them, wherein their movements and actions were restricted, and the people watching over them had no real attachment to them. "It's strange... The more I look at these fish, the more they remind me of... myself. And this whole situation with you, Fluttershy. Do you... even remember your mom and dad?"
Those words caused Fluttershy to curl up slightly, hanging her head as some of the hair on top concealed her face again. "Mommy... Daddy... Lost." She muttered. "They... Lost."
"Yes, I know that they lost you. But you'll soon be able to find them again. There's tons of people that are gonna be helping me to find them for you." Keychain reached down to Fluttershy, knelt to her height, then put a hand on her shoulders. "Mommy and daddy are gonna come and find you soon. And when they do, I guarantee you'll be happy."
"No." Fluttershy shook her head. "Me... not lost. Mommy and daddy... They lost. They lost. Not me."
"They're... lost?" Keychain cocked his own brow.
Fluttershy nodded, then toddled up to him. "Mommy and daddy... go somewhere. Leave me."
"Calm down, Fluttershy. Just try and breathe for a second." Keychain brought her in close. "Can you remember anything else that might give me a clue as to where mommy and daddy are?"
Fluttershy tried to say something else, but the memory of her mom and dad leaving her like that didn't do her any favours. Her body started to contort as the tears came back. "Mommy... daddy... special." She sniffled again until she started to wail again, throwing herself into Keychain's body once more so that he could sponge up her tears.
"You poor, poor thing." Keychain gave her another big cuddle, closing the cooler as he did so. Once the lid was shut, he patted Fluttershy on the back and let her cry away even more. The long-shown bravery that she had always exerted was finally gone, showing her true colours. She was a little kid lost in a world she didn't have any clue on and didn't know where her mommy and daddy were. "It's okay. Special is here. And special is going to make you feel happy until we can find them again..."
During the hug, Keychain's pocket started to vibrate. He pulled the phone out as he was cuddling Fluttershy, waited until she started to calm down a tad, then answered the caller on the other side. "Talk to me." He said.
"Keychain? I was looking into Fluttershy's heritage through some kind of online website, and I managed to find something," Whitewater came through on the other end. "I managed to find Fluttershy's parents. And according to some further digging and a bit of looking into the news, they're still alive and worried sick about her."
"That's good. At least we know that they didn't meet some kind of horrible, grizzled end." Keychain breathed with relief as he gave Fluttershy some more pats on the back. "Did you find out anything more? Have they started putting up posters or left the public with something that they could use to contact them if they found her?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid. There's a few complications that I wanna bring up, but they've not got the energy to search the entire continent and the news is only just starting to break out. I don't think it'd be possible that they'd leave their phone numbers out there just yet when the story's just starting to be told," said Whitewater. "But don't worry. I'll keep you updated as soon as I have a line of access that we can use to call them. Then, it shouldn't be long after before she finally gets to go home."
"Yeah. Home..." Keychain grinned. "Thanks for that, mom. You're a lifesaver." He hung up, slid the phone away, then just returned to his hug, hearing Fluttershy's cries melt like butter once again. "Don't worry, Fluttershy. It'll all be over soon. Mommy and daddy are worried about you too and they're gonna find you soon enough. I'll make sure of it..."
Keychain spent the rest of that fishing trip sitting down with Fluttershy, watching as the others once more cast their fishing poles into the circular disc of water beyond. After the way that Fluttershy had done nothing but cry about her lost parents, he couldn't think of anything more to do but just sit down and let her cuddle into his body in an attempt to once more let the bad vibes disappear.
And, to some extent, it was working. No more tears were coming out of Fluttershy's eyes, but she did let some small, muffled groans come out as she hugged the body of her new "special" as tight as she could. Until she found her parents again, he was the only thing that she could count on and rely as a caretaker, as well as something to keep her happy in this cold, scary world.
Fluttershy... I'm so sorry that you've had to go through that. Key let himself pat Fluttershy's back once again as he thought about all of the pain and suffering that her parents had been going through. The poor girl. It must have been at least a day since she got separated from her mom and dad. They must be in shambles trying to look for her.
"Special..." Fluttershy shivered as she pulled her face finally from Key's stomach. "Where... mommy and daddy?" She asked, blinking into his eyes. Her mouth was blank, but her eyes big as saucers did all of the talking for her.
"I... don't know, Fluttershy. I really don't know." Keychain said as he picked her up. "Truth be told, I'm still trying to find them right now, but I doubt that we'll be able to get in touch with them for a while, let alone let them know that you're still alive and well." As he spoke, he could see her mouth remain stationary. It was like he was talking to a stationary doll; one with thoughts and feelings. "But I promise you. We're going to bring them back." He pulled her in for another hug, which she returned the favor this time with her own hands locking around his belly.
Eventually, time went on and the fishers all decided to stow away their rods and pack away their catches; their abductees from the lake. They all came over to Keychain, who was still just sitting with Fluttershy in his grip and him in hers. They all felt the same pain that she had been feeling. Her crying had left quite an impact, given how innocent and carefree she had been thus far.
"You alright, Flutters?" Lemon asked, leaning down so that her head was level with that of Fluttershy's. "Anything ya wanna say? I'm all ears, ya know."
"Lemon..." Fluttershy turned her head away from Keychain's belly and cast her nullifying gaze into Lemon Zest's eyes now. "Mommy. Daddy. Special. Need special. To stay happy." She finally got her words out.
"I know, kid. I know. But that's why Key's working tooth and nail to get 'em back for ya." Lemon reached down once more and tousled Fluttershy's hair, which caused some strands of it to stand up until Key pushed them back into place. "It hurts to be so far away from something that you love so much, but you've gotta remember the other stuff that does make you happy when you don't have mom and dad."
"Indeed. It might not seem like a suitable replacement to tide you over until they arrive, but as long as what you have makes you happy, then—"
"In English—" Bench pushed Cyber away slightly "—Things suck at the moment. But you've got Key, right? He makes you happy. So, as long as you put your faith in him, then he's gonna do a great job as your babysitter."
"Technically, the proper term is 'caretaker'." Cyber Shock pushed his glasses back to his face. "A babysitter is a job title in which someone looks after someone for a set period of time by the clients, then leaves after their contract elapses and they receive payment. A caretaker is someone who is not entirely a birth parent, but still has all of their responsibilities when looking after children."
"Whatever, dude. It's still the same kind of job." Bench just rolled his eyes at Cyber. "Either way, Fluttershy's happy with Keychain. Her special, as she puts it."
"I-I'm special too, ya know." Lemon just twiddled her fingers in response to that.
"Oh, of course! You too, Lemon. Either way, you both make Fluttershy happy again, even when her mom and dad are far away." Bench looked into Fluttershy's eyes. "Fluttershy. Never, ever, ever lose sight of Key or Lemon. They're always gonna be there for you when you need it the most until your mom and dad finally find you again." He gently poked her belly. "As long as you love your specials, they'll always make you feel better."
"Mmhmm." Fluttershy nodded as she finally found her smile again, grabbing Key with one hand and Lemon Zest with the other. "Me love Specials."
"See? There's that smile we all know and love!" Bench reached for Fluttershy and tickled her under her armpits, which caused the girl to laugh and let go of both of the adults in question before erupting into fits of laughter and joy. This went on for a while until Bench finally stopped and Fluttershy's laughter began to dwindle.
"You funny!" Fluttershy exclaimed before she waddled over to Bench and wrapped her arms around his legs. "You special too!"
"Looks like Fluttershy's made another imprint." Cyber Shock remarked at the sweetening sight, before leaning down to Fluttershy's height. "One more special to keep you happy, isn't that right?"
"Mmhmm!" Fluttershy nodded as she looked up into Cyber's eyes now.
"So, what do you wanna do now, Fluttershy?" Keychain asked, quickly grabbing her attention again. And as he did, a splashing noise came from the lake which also fought for her attention.
"Fishy!" Fluttershy called out as she stared at the fish. She wandered towards the water and watched as it leapt out over and over again, practically asking her to come and play with it. She scurried closer and closer to the water's edge, with the grown-ups tailing her to make sure that she didn't end up going for an unintentional swim. "Fishy!" Fluttershy called, clapping her hands for the fish as she stood on the edge of the water. By now, she didn't even notice Key, Lemon, Cyber, and Bench standing over her from behind as the fish mesmerised her, bounding out of the water and slinging droplets of water around with each and every jump it made.
What is she doing? Keychain asked as she just watched the fish jumping again and again. With the way that she was intently staring at it, he could tell that it had some kind of relevance to her.
Then, it happened. When the fish refused to come to Fluttershy, she ran towards it, feet touching the water at long last as she made her dash for the fish. Naturally, the adults all lurched out for her and fell in a heap behind her, splashing a small wave of water that barely missed her as she got deeper and deeper into the water trying to get at the fish, only for her to stop when the water was up to her knees. With the sudden cold shock, she couldn't help but start to sob again, then wailed as she turned back to Key and the others and threw herself around them.
"Special!" Fluttershy bawled. "Fishy won't come and play!"
"Maybe because fish don't like to come out of the water much..." Key just deadpanned as he picked Fluttershy out of the water and watched her trickling water down the tips of her shoes and the rim of her coat.
"Fishy! I wanna play with you!" Fluttershy cried as she reached out for the fish as the others finally stood back up out of the water, their chests ridden with water.
"Fluttershy... I'm sure that fish don't like to play with humans, whether they're little tykes or not." Lemon just deadpanned as she looked at the teary-eyed Fluttershy. "Look, I'm sure that you meant well, but you did a bad thing by jumping into that water and look at you now." Lemon tipped her hand out at Fluttershy, namely at her now drowned shoes and the wet part of her coat.
"Bad?" Fluttershy blinked at Lemon. "What... is bad?"
"Bad things are things that we absolutely, one-million and thirty-nine percent do not do under any circumstance." Lemon Zest lifted her finger, almost looking like a legimitate teacher in a cartoon show with her posture. "And you did a bad thing by running into the water, Fluttershy."
"Uh-oh..." Fluttershy curled herself up and looked into Key's eyes. "Me... bad? Do I get spankies?"
"Spankies?" Keychain's eyes shot open, nearly dropping Fluttershy back into the water with the fact that she knew about the idea of punishment. "N-no. Not at all, Fluttershy. You just made a mistake. That's all. Spankies only happen when you want to do bad things that you know are bad."
"But, special. I did a bad. Bad means spankies." She stared into his eyes. "Why no spankies?"
"Because, Fluttershy. We can make it so that you don't ever do bad things ever again." Keychain looked into her eyes just as strong as her. "Little kids do bad things because they don't know how to behave. But with help from their mom and dad, or rather, your specials, you can learn to be a good little kid, rather than a bad little kid."
"No... spankies?" Fluttershy repeated, her eyes still as bulbous as ever.
"No spankies. What you did was a bad, but it was all just a mistake. You didn't mean to do it." Keychain pulled her close to his chest. It was already wet as it is, so he didn't mind adding more wetness to that wetness. "If you did mean to cause trouble, this would be another story."
"Th-th-thank you, special." Fluttershy's smile came back again as she looked back one more time at the fish. "But... me want fishy. No... fishy?"
"No fishy, Fluttershy." Keychain shook his head and carried her out of the water at last. "But hey, when you get home, you can play with all of your toys as much as you want."
"Speaking of which, I think it's about time that we wrap this up. Fishing's good and all, but we've all gotta get back home sometime." Lemon Zest climbed out of the water's surface and let her feet touch dry land once aagin. "Think I'll see ya later tonight for that meal at the bar, Key?"
"Sure. Bench, Cyber, you coming along too?" Key asked as he started to wring the edges of Fluttershy's coat. "It's our monthly meet, after all. The one where we get together with all of our other friends from school?"
"Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Bench gave Key a thumb's up.
"Same here. I've always enjoyed meeting up with our old friends from school." Cyber Shock gave a gentle nod. "I'm sure that we've got quite a few tales to tell. Especially you, Key, with the fact that you're raising Fluttershy until her parents come and collect her."
"Heh. You could say that." Key just snickered to himself idly. "In any case, I'd better be getting back. Fluttershy does need a bath after that little dip she took in the lake. See you tonight, everyone."
Lemon, Bench, and Cyber waved Key off as he took his belongings and made his way back to the car, with Fluttershy in tow. It took some time for her to walk, given the fact that her now-squelching shoes were still completely filled to the brim with water, so eventually, Keychain had to pull her shoes off and let her ride on his back, while he poured the water out onto the nearest tree he could find.
On the ride home, Keychain's mind was still a whir. Having to not only deal with the idea that Fluttershy was a lost kid and that she had just let loose a storm of tears over how far away she was to her, added to the fact that she had just out of nowhere tried to go swimming with the fishes in some attempt to play with them, but also the fact that he was looking after said girl in times where he didn't even know who her parents were or where they were, it all seemed to weigh heavily on his mind to the point where thinking about it seemed to be enough to drive him mad.
Fluttershy, on the other hand, was still letting her mind run around and play on the ride home. Especially with how she looked up out the window and saw the trees once more slicing through the sky and leaving multi-coloured patterns in the car's motion blur. She was also still thinking about her mommy and daddy, as well as the idea that Key had decided not to punish her when she knew that she had done a bad thing by going to play with that fish in the water. As she tried to think about it some more, she just gripped Angel in her hands. That was enough to completely derail that train of thought and bring her back to the safety of her "special" things. Smiling, she cooed to herself as she just hugged the bunny plushie.
When Keychain and Fluttershy finally arrived back at the house and got inside, the first thing that Keychain did was start running the bath. He waited until the water was the right temperature, then stripped Fluttershy naked, including her clothes and hairpin. He could see the sadness on her face creep in when she saw her clothes being taken off. Even more so when, after she was put in the bath, Key started to leave the room with them.
"K-key! Need specials!" Fluttershy called out reaching out of the bathtub in a vain attempt to get her clothes back.
"Fluttershy, they've been in the waters of a lake. I'm pretty sure that they're filthy," Keychain said back to her. "I'm going to give these a wash, and then when I put them in and set the washing machine to go, I'll come back and do you."
Fluttershy moaned and tried to climb out of the bath to get her clothes back, only for her to slip and slide back into the bathtub, swinging the water around as her body slid back down. She started to cry again, her tears adding to the bathwater. Alone, with her special clothes gone, she had every right to feel sad. Without those clothes, she was nothing. She had nothing to make her happy. Not even Angel Bunny, her plush rabbit, was there to soothe the pain. Nor were her hairclips. All that she was was a yellow girl with pink hair. Nothing else to make her who she was.
In the end, Keychain came back, without her clothes or hairclips. She didn't stop crying, even as she laid her eyes on him again. And, as a result, didn't see his hand laying itself down on her shoulders. "Special... No special, then me nothing!" She sniffled, before wailing again.
"Fluttershy, I know it's painful. But your specials would have been ruined if I hadn't cleaned them up. Then you would have been even worse," said Keychain as he looked into her waterlogged eyes. "I know how sensitive you are. Especially since you're only a little kid who cares very much about her specials, but if your specials aren't taken care of, then you lose them forever, and you'd be crying like this for a lot longer."
"But me no have specials, so me nobody. Me nothing!" Fluttershy despaired. "Me need specials to stay happy. No specials, me sad forever!" She just cried some more.
"Fluttershy... Please stop crying." Keychain pushed his hands out at her. When nothing else happened he ran off to look for something, leaving her in the tub.
Still festering in the water, Fluttershy's tears finally started to subside, mostly because she had worn herself out with all of the bawling and moaning that she had been doing. At last, she stopped and looked around, only to see Key again. And something else in his hands. He gave it a squeak and handed off what looked like a yellow, rubber fish.
"You said you wanted to play with a fishy, right? Well, here. I've got a fishy for you. Something I had to dig through some of my oldest family stuff in order to get," he said, watching as she took the fish out of his hands. When she gave it a squeak, she grinned and gave an inaudible chuckle. Another squeak and her laugh got louder. Then another one and she could finally smile again.
"Fishy!" Fluttershy beamed as she let herself play with the toy, lost in squeaking it, dunking it into the water, and indulging herself in her watery playtime. All the while, she never even noticed that Keychain was there, or that her hair was being shampooed, then soaked from tip to root. After having been denied the chance to play with the fishes in the lake, this was a sutiable replacement.
"Thank the lord for that..." Keychain muttered to himself as he tended to Fluttershy's hair. That girl must really love her clothes. But I wonder why that is. Why are Fluttershy's clothes so special to her? And why does she like to wear them so much? Maybe her parents gave them to her? Or she likes the colour pink? Or that she enjoys being warm? One of those answers, I'm sure. One more pouring of water and Fluttershy's hair was properly washed. He let it all fall down into the water once again, sat back, and watched her playing with the rubber fish.
At the end of it all, Keychain carried Fluttershy back out of the water and wrapped her up with a towel, before drying off the rest of her body. After which, he left the room once again and came back to the washing machine just as it finished washing up her clothes. He plucked them all out and carried them back to the bathroom, which caused Fluttershy to cheer as she looked at her cleaned clothes.
"See? They're back. All they needed was a good washing." Keychain said as he started to dress Fluttershy back up in the spotless, and also warm clothing once again. She hugged herself as she felt the clothes back on her body once again. Her signature style draped once more over her shell of a body. All that was missing were her hairclips, which Key put back into her hair once again.
"Yay! Now, me special again!" Fluttershy cheered, before launching herself in for another hug on Key's legs. "Thank you, special."
"You're welcome, Fluttershy." Key just returned the favor by wrapping his arm around her body. Then, afterwards, he led her back to her room and let her wander off to play with her toys, with Angel sitting daintily on the bed if she ever needed his presence.
Fluttershy. Wherever your parents are right now, I'm praying for them. And I hope that we're able to find them soon. I know that you put a lot of faith in me, but I can't deny that I'm not your real dad. All I am is a special that's doing their job of keeping you happy until they arrive. Key spoke in his mind as he watched her flop on her belly and take a hold of the crayons, doodling away on the paper. When I do have to give you back to them, I know you'll forget me when you grow up. But hey. At least I've done my part. I've managed to make sure you've kept that smile, so I'll take that as a consolation. So you go right ahead. Play all you want. Make yourself as happy as you want. Heaven only knows you'll want to play as much as possible to tide you over until mom and dad come around...
The sun had set over the horizon and the world outside of Key's house started to get dark. The winds got a cold evening chill as the leaves continued to fall, dancing on the gusts before landing delicately on the pavements and grass around Cedar Grove.
Inside the house, however, it was still bright. The light in the room where Fluttershy was playing was still beaming down onto the floor, hitting her, Key, and the toys around them. Fluttershy was just quietly drawing something on the ground with the set of crayons she had been given. She still had Angel tight in her free hand as she let her mind wander. She was still finding pleasure in the activities, even if her laughter and smile wasn't as frequent as before. She had, after all, realised that she was a lost girl under the care of someone who wasn't even her mom or dad. The only things that were keeping her from crying more was the presence of Keychain, and the toys around her.
Keychain had still been lamenting Fluttershy's parents plight. Even if he had no clue who they were or what they looked like, he could still feel their pain from so far away. Their little girl was lost in this big, wide world that they all lived in, and only he knew where she was. He had people in high places looking for her as well, like his own parents. But how well they were in finding a little girl's parents was up in the air, especially when they didn't even see what the girl looked like and could only go off of his descriptions. Who else knew about her? There could have been thousands of girls in the world with butter yellow skin and pink hair tied up into two ponytails, making the shape of a heart. Held together by two butterfly hairclips. All he could do until the day came where there was a breakthrough, was keep Fluttershy happy and healthy.
Keychain looked over at the nearby clock. It read 6:45 PM. "It's getting late," he said to himself, then returned his gaze to Fluttershy. She was still busy with the picture, completely unaware of the time. He was half-tempted to put her to bed, but at the same time, Fluttershy was still creating her little masterpiece. Crayons of different colours lifted from the ground, put down when not needed, and scribbled vigorously on the paper. Eventually, she put the finishing touches, put the crayons back in the box, and stood up on her tiny little feet.
"Key. For you," Fluttershy said as she handed Keychain the paper. She put her hands behind her back and waited for his feedback on the paper.
"For me?" Keychain replied as he took one look at the picture. It was incredibly sloppy, given that it was written by a toddler, but he could still make out some semblance of an image. It showed Fluttershy standing on a grassy hill with two larger figures. He could only assume that these two were her parents, but the colours and details weren't clear enough for him to identify any credentials about them. "Well, it looks good, Fluttershy. Who are these two?" He pointed to the two figures standing next to her.
"Mom and dad," she said, tapping them both. "I miss them. I want them back," Fluttershy sighed as she hung her head. "When will they be back?"
"Soon, Fluttershy. Soon." Keychain put the picture down by a lamp and flicked the switch, turning it on. After which, he turned off the main light, thrusting the room into semi-darkness, with a dim orange glow from the lamp illuminating the rest. "But for now, it is getting late and I think you need some rest. It's been a long day, you know." He went over to Fluttershy, wrapped his arms around her, and picked her up into the air. She made some coos as she was wrested from the floor.
Fluttershy was planted underneath the covers. She was tucked in nice and tight, then given Angel Bunny. She cuddled up with the plushie underneath her blanket, happily muttering to herself as she rubbed the fabric of the toy bunny against her. She looked at Keychain, whose face was turned golden thanks to the light by her side. Already, she could feel cosy. As she felt herself sinking into the bed cocoon, she let out a little yawn. Lightly smacking her lips together, her eyes started to droop.
"Key. My special," Fluttershy replied. "You make me so happy. You can find mom and dad, can you?"
"Of course I can." Keychain reached over and tousled Fluttershy's hair. "As sure as the hair on your head is pink, and that angel is your absolute favourite little thing in the world, your mom and dad will find you soon, Fluttershy."
She let out a very muted giggle as the bed started to influence her. "Thank you," she said as another yawn burst out of her lips after that.
"You're welcome. In the meantime, you just close your eyes and dream of happy things," Keychain gave her a light kiss on the forehead and watched as she finally closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she was snoring at such a high, tinny pitch, that it made her sound even younger than she already was. Key, seeing her in that tranquil state, was about to turn off the lamp, but then decided against it. After all, Fluttershy could take a while to get to sleep. And after last night's little scare, he didn't want her to wake up without him being there for her. He went for the blinds and closed them, making sure that there weren't any shadows to creep in from the outside to scare her. "Goodnight, Fluttershy. See you tomorrow." Keychain then tiptoed out of the room and closed the door as slowly as he could, letting Fluttershy truly sink into a state of pure slumber.
Once he had let sleeping kids lie, Keychain reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened a text chat and saw that Lemon and all of his other friends had been messaging. They were all saying that tonight was the big night, and he just responded with "See you there." Before turning the screen off and making his way to the front door. Keychain plucked his coat off of the hook, unlocked the front door, went outside into the ever-approaching evening, locked the door, and entered his car.
Keychain fired up the engine of the car, buckled himself in, and turned on the radio. Immediately, his ears were blasted by a rock ballad and he felt his head bopping to the beats of the song for a few seconds before he drove it out of the house and away down the streets. This was a special night for Keychain and his friends. Despite his commitment to finding out where Fluttershy's parents were, he still needed some time to himself.
The sky began to grow darker and darker, prompting the neon signs and streetlights of Cedar Grove to light up, filling in what would otherwise be a completely black neighbourhood. Keychain drove his car to a a large building with a sign that read "Withered Knife Bar." The logo was brightly illuminated and the building itself—for what he could make out of it—had a firm rustic, yet contemporary appearance, with wood and concrete walls blending together. There was a wooden balustrade around the outdoors area, where some people were already chatting to themselves, swigging down drinks, or enjoying the meals that they had bought.
Keychain swung his car into the parking area. There weren't a lot of free spaces, but he managed to squeeze into one nestled between two other cars. He made surgically precise movements to make sure that he had enough room to exit the vehicle without scraping the paint of the other two by his side. With his little parking proceedure complete, Keychain turned off the music, got out of the car, and locked it with the push of a button on his car keys. Two clicking noises could be heard as he stuffed the keys back into his pocket and made his way inside.
The inside of the bar was a far cry from what was outside. There were wooden beams poking out of the ground in places that held the framework up, with a slightly-raised upper level to seat more guests. Many of the tables were filled by people from all walks of life, all of different sizes, shapes, and colours. Each table also had an array of condiments, and menus for drinks and food. The actual bar itself was wide and had three separate sides; where bartenders were busy serving each of the patrons on each side. Drinks were doled out and handed to the men, while some servers came out at times to deliver any food that they had ordered. Behind the uniformed men and women was a treasure trove of alcohol and soft drinks, each to tantalise the taste buds of the thirsty people who walked into the establishment.
"Oh, Withered Knife, it's been too long." Keychain smirked to himself as he wandered around the establishment, trying to find his friends.
"Hey! There he is!" Lemon Zest was the first one to notice Keychain, got up from her seat and wave out her position. "Whassup, Key?" She called, immediately snagging his attention."
"Heeeeeey! There you all are!" Keychain threw his arms out and approached Lemon's table. She, as well as everyone on the table, and the one next to it all turned their attention to see him. They all had different hairstyles, clothing, and some of them even had their drinks already at the table. "How ya doing? Good?" He asked, with a whole barrage of mashed voices talking together. "Alright." He cockily sat down and folded his legs at the table. "One day a month is too long, let me tell you that."
"You're telling me." A girl with black and purple hair, held up into spikes at each side by hairclips replied. She had blue and purple earrings that hung down like icicles. She was wearing a black leather shirt, with some studded boots underneath the table. "All the downtime that we have between these meets is enough to drive me wild," she cracked a grin at him. "So, how've you been, ya little devil?"
"I've been doing fine, Rave." Keychain took one look at Rave. He met her one night during a mosh pit session for one of his favourite bands when he was younger and they became friends since. It felt like years since that first night when he had bumped into her. After that, when they started sharing their passions, what they liked to watch, even the stuff they liked to eat, their friendship had grown into something more than just an accidental encounter. To him, Rave Chill had turned out to be more than just a random face in that crowd.
"Sounds 'bout it." Rave brushed the tip of her finger around the rim of her glass. "Hey, tell ya what, there's a special tonight on wings. How's about it? You up for one of our good ol' fashioned battles?"
"Our wing-offs? God, has it really been that long already?" Keychain asked. His wing-off battles with Rave had always been the stuff of legend in his inner circle. "Guess it is time that I dust off that gut of mine." He slapped his hand against his belly.
"We all know who's a clear winner here." A boy spoke next, with hair jagged straight up to look like a spiked mountain. He had a bright green shirt with a pair of bracelets on his arms and a little lip ring. It was Sharp Eyed. One of the more observational people in Key's inner circle. When it came to finding things, Sharp was always straight on the case and could find the answer in seconds. "Ain't that right, Sandy?" He reached over and patted a girl.
"Key does have the title, but Rave has been training hard for these wing-offs each time," Sandy Beaches, the girl next to the boy replied. She had cool pink hair and a shirt with ripped sleeves, making it resemble a tanktop. "Plus, there's a special tonight, Sharp. Key and Rave are gonna order all the wings they could eat." Sandy had gotten her name from the fact that her family owned a beachhouse rather than a street house. And because of all the days she had at the beach, she had grown to adore it and all of its' commodities.
"Not to mention there's the hot sauce that these two always get for the occasion," A third boy replied. This one had silver hair, wore a fedora, and bore a pair of glasses. It was Smooth Talk, one of Key's more... charismatic friends from school. One of the boys who had always been able to use his words to get out of any bad situation. From avoiding detention, to encounters with bullies, he even managed to talk his way into getting more pocket money when he was young. "Key and Rave always get the hottest sauce they can find. If it wasn't for the fact that there's hotter sauces out there, it's almost torture for them with how spicy the scovilles are.
"At the same time, though, Rave and Key have been so used to the scoville by this point that they're hardly fazed by any of it," Cyber Shock spoke up, leaning over the table. "They've both handled some pretty hot heats. Maybe it's time that we up the ante a little..."
"Up the ante? Ya don't mean..." Bench Press's eyes widened as he threw himself backwards slightly.
"Yep. Methinks it's time that we break out the big guns." Cyberr Shock had a devillish grin on his face as a glint slid across his glasses.
"The big guns?" Keychain lurched when he heard that. "You don't mean the..."
"We're gonna bring out the Inferno?!" A girl erupted from the table next to them. She had pink and black hair in a special cross-weave pattern. Her clothes were a bright pink skirt and pitch-black leggings. This was Sheep Wolf. She was a combination between super-peppy girl and brooding goth girl. Unlike Rave Chill, who seemed to be all into her own little world and had been fleshed out, it was hard to tell which side Sheep was on. The colours were heavily mismatched and her voice still seemed to weigh one way to the other at times. "NOW it's a party!" She pumped her fist downward.
"Hear hear!" Another boy spoke up. With blue hair that curled like a wave of water, with an open shirt depicting camo and a white vest underneath it, coupled with the jeans he was wearing, he was none other than Soak Bone. He had constantly been top of the class when Keychain did swimming as a young boy, but he had managed to train Key into being somewhat decent at the sport when they were both young. Though, given how little they had been together, he could never tell just how good Key had gotten since. "Time we take these two into six-figure territory..."
"Well, when you two are ready, we'll get the wings ordered." Lemon Zest pat the table with her hand. "And with that special going on, you could get more bang for your buck.
"Ya ready to lose, Key?" Rave smirked devillishly at him.
"Only if you can handle it." Key got his own little smirk as he tightened his hand into a fist.
"Oh, it's ON!" Rave, with a smile as wide as her face would allow, made her own fist and collided her arm with Key's.
Keychain and all of his friends were gathered around a single table as they saw the waitress deliver the sets of wings to both Keychain and Rave Chill. Two separate stacks of twenty, tenderly cooked wings. on two different plates. One for Keychain and the other for Rave Chill. Some chanting noises could be heard as the plates were laid down, followed by some rowdy cheers.
"Alright then, boys and girls. You know what this is." Lemon Zest gave a nod as she announced the event. Without a microphone, she could still get her words out to everyone. "This is the monthly wing off between our reigning champion Keychain!" She threw an arm out to Key, which garnished some cheers from the crowd. "And the challenger who wants to take his title away, if she can, our very own Rave Chill!" The other hand was thrown towards Rave, who got a similar wave of cheers from the crowd.
"This is gonna be fun." Bench Press's eyes were focused more on the wings rather than the challenges.
"As you know, the rules for our Wing-off are very simple. Both our contestants have to get through these twenty wings as fast as they can. Whoever does it the quickest is the winner," Lemon started to explain. "But it's not gonna be as easy as you think. The bones have to be completely picked clean for them to count as being finished and on top of all that, we've got a spicy new sauce for the both of them to contend with. If I could have the sauce, Sandy?" Lemon reached over for Sandy Beaches, who, with an innocent smile, handed Lemon the sauce. "This is the Inferno. It weighs in at a whopping 80,000 scovilles. That's super-science talk to say that this thing is HOT. So to balance it out, I also ordered a couple of pitchers of milk." Lemon watched the waitresses arrive with the drinks for Key and Rave. "If any of you feel the burn, have a drink of this then get right back into it, K?"
"If any of you decide that enough's enough, you simply have to raise your hand and push the plate away," Cyber Shock added in for Lemon Zest. "Do it if you're full or you simply cannot handle the heat any longer. Not that the two of you can't handle your food, that is."
"Nah. To me, this is just another day in the life." Rave Chill twisted her neck, causing some creaks to come out of it. She inhaled and exhaled as she watched Lemon slathering the sauce all over the wings, drenching them in the reddish-brown liquid.
"Gotta say, though. The Inferno's a new flavour. It's uncharted territory. So you'd better watch yourself, Rave," remarked Key as his own stack of wings were drowned in the sauce. "If you have to drink and back out, then that's fine. Just means I keep the crown longer."
"Keep on tellin' yourself that, kid. I'm about to rip that crown off of your head." Rave smashed her hands together, then rubbed vigorously as she poised her fingers ready for the first wing of the night.
"Sounds like they're ready to go, so we shouldn't keep them waiting any longer." Lemon grinned as she brought the others together. "Let's count em' down together, shall we?"
"THREE!" The friends all caleld out together as Keychain raised his fingers for the first wing of the night. "TWO!" they added, giving the challengers one last moment to look at their opposition before their eyes were locked on the sauce-ridden wings. "ONE!" Everyone else watched with baited breaths as Key and Rave's fingers itched, ready to go. "GO!"
And with that, Keychain and Rave Chill drove their hands into the first wings of the night, before driving them into their mouths, letting their teeth do all of the rest. The flavours of the chicken were intermixed with the fires of the Inferno hot sauce, creating a tantalising, yet also incredibly spicy combination of meat and sauce that danced on their taste buds. The both of them could already feel the heat beginning to coil around their mouths with each and every bite that they took, but it was still just the first wing. They both managed to pick it bare, albeit Rave slightly faster than Keychain. But she didn't even look as he took the next wing and de-skinned it in the blink of an eye. Now, he was on his third wing while she was halfway through her second.
The friends all watched as Keychain and Rave Chill continued their little Wing-off. All of them had been introduced to Rave in one way or another, but the two of them could really see how much she and Key were putting their passion into this Wing-off. They saw as wing after wing was shredded of its' meat, leaving only the bare bones left. The piles on their plates were beginning to dwindle, as bones were tossed to the middle of the table at a steady pace.
"Looks like they're both pretty equal at the moment," Lemon Zest commentated on the ongoing rush. "But as we're moving into the sixth wings, it looks like Rave's already going for the milk! And Key's still going milkless! Pretty ballsy, but that's what you expect from our champion! To take risks!" As soon as she said that, she watched as Rave slammed the pitcher back down. "But it looks like Rave's cooled herself down a tad. Now, let's see if she can keep up with Key after that sudden drink!"
Keychain made it to the eighth wing when he felt a sudden rush running through his throat. The spicy sauce was starting to take its' toll on him. In a flash, he went for the pitcher and glugged a portion of milk, before wiping his face and going back for the wings.
The battlefield was a blurr of fingers, destroyed chicken meat, and bones being scattered to the wooden boards of the table. Both Keychain and Rave Chill were past the halfway mark, but Keychain was on his fifteenth wing while Rave was still on her fourteenth. Seeing no other option, Rave took two wings; one in each hand, and scarfed them both down together.
"And it looks like Rave's going for the Akimbo approach! It's a unique tactic, for sure, but will her mouth even be able to fit those wings at once?" Lemon asked the crowd, who all kept on chanting the names of both of the challengers as much as they could. Rave was moved by the cheers and stripped one wing clean, then the other one, before tossing the bones away. By now, her belly was beginning to fill, as was Keychain's.
"Think you can double up on me? Hah!" Keychain boasted as he too took up a pair of wings and thrust them both into his mouth. But that was where he reached an awkward situation and his teeth couldn't exactly pick both of the bones at once, so he had to make do with tearing off one side, then the other. His mouth was just loaded with chicken at that point. He kept on chewing, however; not determined to lose his crown.
"And it looks like both challengers are beginning to slow down a bit, but they're both almost done!" Lemon called out as there were only three wings left on Keychain and Rave Chill's plates. She had caught up and the game was exhilarating. The sudden noises from the others accented the tension. "But who's to say that these last three wings are easy?" Lemon added. "These two have been spending the whole night battling full stomachs and the Inferno. Surely, one of them's gotta pack it in sooner or later, right?"
Undeterred by Lemon's words, Keychain and Rave Chill set their sights on the wings. Both of them were so close and they couldn't afford to give it all up now. The next wings went into their mouths and, true to Lemon's words, they had slowed down a bit. Maybe it was the fact that they had eaten seventeen other wings before these ones. Maybe it was the fact that they had been battling with a hot sauce that was 80,000 scovilles hot. Or maybe it was the fact that they didn't want to lose to the other. Either way, they pressed on. They wanted to see this through to the end.
Two wings left, and Rave Chill started to feel dizzy from the immense amount of heat. At this point, she had just stomached a phenomenal 1,440,000 scovilles. Admittedly, the wings were all the same temperature, but at the same time, the power of the sauce was beginning to overpower her. She took another drink before tucking into the next wing on her plate.
Keychain had just finished his eighteenth wing and was also moving onto the nineteenth of twenty. He was the holder of the crown for a reason. But at the same time, he had to make sure that he kept that title. It might have seemed meaningless, but this was to prove that he was worthy of standing proudly in his little inner circle as the king of wings. The sauces were also starting to get to him and he could barely even breathe as he ripped the meat off of the next wing.
"One wing left for both sides! This is gonna be a close one!" Lemon caled out, causing both Keychain and Rave Chill to share one more glance with each other. They both twiddled their hands, almost as if they were in a high noon battle in the old west. The fastest hand would win it.
"DRAW!" Rave cried out as she and Key both went for the wing and lodged it in their mouths. They were both perfectly matched now and it all came down to skill.
Chewing from Rave Chill's side. Chewing from Keychain's side. They were both on the same page and just about to finish the job and become the winner. It all came down to how fast they could swallow the meaty mass. They both chewed the meat down as much as they could, leaving no part of the bone with meat. Key and Rave took their wings out. They seemed to move in sync with the other, but Keychain's wing came out faster by a fraction of a second that nobody else could have seen in real time.
"DONE!" They both called out together, then could only cough and hack as they swigged down the rest of the pitcher while Lemon and the others tallied the results. When the pitchers were drained and the crowd hushed, the two of them could only watch as the group calculated how fast the both of them had finished the wings.
"Okay. I think we can all agree that that was a wild time," Sheep Wolf spoke up to both Key and Rave. "Now, which of you two managed it faster, I wonder?"
"It was obviously me. I mean, did you see the way that he struggled near the end of it?" Rave Chill pointed Key out for his weakness.
"Says the girl who had to drink before me," Keychain shot back. "I think I've got this in the bag, Rave. But you did put up one hell of a fight there."
"Same. Whatever happens, there's always next time." Rave held out her hand, which Key took and shook. Good sportsmanship from a pair of wing-eating lunatics.
"Alright, boys and girls. We have a result." Lemon Zest took ahold of a phone that was being used by Cyber Shock to document the occasion. "This super slo-mo cam from Cyber is gonna determine who finished that wing faster."
Everyone watched the slow motion with bated breath, waiting for the moment when the two of them took the wings out of their mouths. The slow seconds seem to feel like an eternity the more that they watched it. Eventually, the wing bones fell, and Keychain's came out slightly faster than Rave Chill's, if by a hair's breadth.
"And it's our undefeated champion, Keychain!" Lemon announced, which caused the others to cheer and chant his name like a bunch of rowdy animals as they gathered around him.
"Damn! Well, fair play to you, Key." Rave just slipped her hands behind her head and let Keychain have his moment as the crowd of people called his name over and over again. "But next time... next time's gonna be a different story, let me tell you that."
"You weren't so bad yourself, Rave. You should be commended as well for your bravery," Keychain remarked, turning his sight to his defeated opponent. "You've had the guts to rip through all those wings with that fiery sauce. I think that deserves some credit."
Rave just scoffed with a smile. "Yeah. Same time next month?"
"Same time next month." Keychain gave Rave Chill a fist bump.
Tonight was one of those nights for Keychain. The one night of the month where he could be with his friends at a place that they all loved, with food that they all adored, with a tradition that they had been doing for a while now with new people willing to put themselves on the line to take his little title. The ultimate escapism from the harshness of his real life and the commitments that he had to live up to. Little did they all know that, outside of this, Keychain really had to deal with Fluttershy and find her parents fast. He couldn't keep her with him forever and he knew it. At least, here, with this brief respite, he could enjoy the time that he had before he had to go home and face the responsibilities of safeguarding a small little girl.
Keychain was shaken from his dreams by the sound of his alarm cutting through him. Rather than a regular, blaring siren alarm, the new alarm was actually a soothing, melodic tune, yet still loud enough to wrest him from his slumber. Once he clambered out—and made a mess—of the bedsheets, he turned off his alarm and opened the curtains up to a new day in Cedar Grove.
He went to do all of his rituals in the bathroom, having a shower, brushing his teeth, applying deodorant, putting on clothes, all the same day in day out. Not that he minded the monotony of it all. He was used to it by now. If anything, it became automatic with the way that he handled it. Efficiently, he cleaned himself up ready for the day ahead of him; another day trying to find Fluttershy's parents.
He went over to Fluttershy's room and cracked the door open slightly. He looked inside and saw that Fluttershy was still asleep. Hair still tied up in pigtails so that it looked like a giant, fluffy pink heart, Angel Bunny being cuddled gently by her and a thumb in her mouth that she was silently suckling on. But as the sunlight began to trickle into the house, Fluttershy made some high-pitched coos, almost sounding baby-like in a way as she stirred from her sleep and gently opened her eyes to a new day.
Fluttershy looked down at Angel Bunny and smiled as she climbed out of bed, taking the toy bunny with her to start the day. Straight away, her eyes were fixated on a large, plushie snake. She walked wobbly over towards it and sat down with the giant toy. She wrapped her arms around the stuffed snake, giving it the biggest hug that she could as she brought it to her chest.
"Good morning, Lucy," Fluttershy finally spoke. "Who's the best snakey-wakey in the whole world? It's you! Yes you are..." She chuckled to herself as she manhandled Lucy. A real snake wouldn't have taken kindly to being forcibly cuddled by a little toddler, but Lucy wasn't a real snake. She was just a fabrication of one. So Fluttershy was entirely safe in playing with her. "Wakey-wakey, snakey-wakey!" She giggled to herself as she wriggled the head of the snake around. "Mommy and daddy will find me soon, and then we can all play together."
Keychain found it all rather adorable. As much as he wanted to get Fluttershy back home as quickly as possible, he was still always taken in by her antics. She was the purest of pure children; even with the fact that her mommy and daddy were missing. In another world, he would have been happy with Fluttershy being his own daughter. But this wasn't another world. This was the real world, and Fluttershy wasn't his daughter, so all that he could do was live this fantasy out until it came to an end. But whether or not that ending came sooner rather than later was all down to how quickly everyone could find Fluttershy's parents.
Suddenly, Fluttershy looked at the door and toddled over to it, leaving Lucy and Angel Bunny behind. She pulled it open and saw Keychain standing on the other side of it. "Oh! Good morning, Key."
"Morning, Fluttershy." Keychain, having been exposed to Fluttershy finally walked into the room. He tousled her hair and sat down by Lucy and Angel Bunny. "And what were you and your two little animal friends talking about here? Something wonderful, I'll bet."
"Just stuff about mommy and daddy," said Fluttershy, scurrying back over to the group of three. "It's scary that they're not here, but they'll come. They'll find me. And then, we can all play together again."
"Yeah. But for now, I'm happy to fill in the gaps between those two. Along with all of your other little friends you have here," said Keychain as he picked up both Lucy and Angel and gave them back to Fluttershy, who eagerly took them back. "By the way, you've been talking a lot more recently."
"Mmhmm." Fluttershy nodded. "You, Lucy, and Angel are my special specials. Mommy said that there are three kinds of people in the world. Strangers, specials, and super specials. She said don't talk to strangers, but talk to specials and super specials. And that the super specials won't ever think of hurting you like strangers do. You're a super special, Key, so I can talk to you lots and lots now!"
"A super special, eh?" Keychain had to admit, it was an odd title to be called. But coming from Fluttershy, he could hardly fault her for it. And because she was still just a little girl, he couldn't really say anything against the way that she talked. "So tell me. What does a super special do?"
"A super special person brings love and happiness to everyone they see!" Fluttershy blurted out.
"Well, I don't exactly call myself super special, but if you think that I'm super special, then I guess I'm a super special." Keychain just shrugged and went along with it. Anything to make Fluttershy happy was enough to brighten up his day. "Now, come on, Fluttershy. It's time that you were cleaned. After a long day, you must be feeling pretty smelly right about now.
"Smelly?" Fluttershy sniffed herself to see if she could find an odour. Immediately, she could smell the musk of the day before on her and she groaned in horror; her nose twitching at the smell. "Ew! You're right! I need to be cleaned up!"
Keychain just chuckled and picked Fluttershy up. He let her sit on his shoulders and grab onto his neck. Like an upright pony, he ferried her out of the room and off towards the bathroom. Just like before, he started to run a bath for Fluttershy, complete with some bubble bath spray. As the bath was filling up, Keychain once more undressed Fluttershy. Because she was now his super special, she didn't mind that he was stripping her down until she was naked, or the fact that she was taking away her clothes. She knew that he would do his best to make sure that she was safe and happy.
Keychain put the now naked Fluttershy down in the bath and washed her again. This time, because she wasn't moping about her missing clothes or toys, she let him apply the shampoo and lather it into her flowing pink hair. Then she allowed him to dunk her into the water and rinse out the shampoo, which made the water even more sudsy.
"The biggest stink came from your armpits, didn't it?" Keychain jokingly remarked as he put some shampoo onto his hands. "That's the worst kinda place. You know why?"
"Why?" Fluttershy tilted her head.
"Because it's exceptionally... Ticklish!" And rapidly, Keychain lathered the shampoo into Fluttershy's arms, which made her start laughing uncontrollably as he forcibly applied the shampoo to her pits, creating a foamy cloud of bubbly suds that got bigger and bigger the more he rubbed it in.
"S-stop it!" Fluttershy remarked in the middle of her giggles as Keychain mercilessly lathered her armpits up with the shampoo. On her command, he actually did stop, but she was still laughing and smiling all the way as the gooey shampoo clouds now lingered in her pits.
"Alright. I'll stop." Keychain lifted Fluttershy's arms up and splashed the water into the armpits, washing out the suds and revealing her flesh once again. "See? Isn't that so much better?"
"Yes." Fluttershy nodded. "I feel much cleaner now, Key. Thank you very much."
"You're welcome." Keychain began to wash Fluttershy down with more of the warm water. "Just gonna clean up your clothes, and then we can get started on a brand new day." Keychain picked up Fluttershy's clothes and walked towards the door with them. "In the meantime, entertain yourself, Fluttershy."
As Keychain went off to put the clothes in the washing machine, Fluttershy looked down at the water. The first thing that she saw in the middle of her bubbly water was her own reflection, albeit very rippled because of how the water had been flowing. "Oh... Hello there." She waved at the reflection, which mirrored everything that she did and said. "Are you named Fluttershy? That's wonderful! I'm Fluttershy too!" She smiled as she got into a deep conversation with herself.
Keychain, on the other hand stuffed Fluttershy's pink clothes into the washing machine and set the machine onto a simple wash. One that would keep the colour and make the fabric even more comfortable to wear. He watched and waited as the machine spun up. Then, as it started to wash, Keychain went over to the kitchen to start setting up the things that he and Fluttershy would need for breakfast. Fruit, cereals, and bowls. The toast could wait until the both of them got there.
He was just about to go back to the bathroom when he heard his phone buzz with an alert. Today was a Monday. And that meant that it was one of the days when he had to go to work. And that was when the realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. He had to leave the house. Leave Fluttershy. And she was exceptionally attatched to him. It would break her heart to see him leave for work like that without someone to look after her. Key simply couldn't abandon her. But he also knew that children weren't allowed on the premises of a logging company. Especially with how curious and playful they were. He wasn't going to be responsible for her getting mangled up by machines or causing any accidents on the floor with her antics.
Keychain decided to take the initiative. He went into his contacts and immediately found Lemon Zest's number. He just had to hope that she wasn't busy today. Keychain pushed the "Call" option on the contact and put the phone to his ears. He could hear the phone beginning to ring Lemon Zest already. A few dial tones later and a connection finally came through. "Sup, Lemon?" He finally spoke. "I've got a bit of a favour to ask you. And... it's kinda embarrasing."
"Embarassing? What do you mean? I'm down for anything you throw at me," said Lemon. "Besides. My schedule's free today. So I'm sure that I could kill some time for you."
"Glad to hear that. Do you think you could come to my house and take care of Fluttershy for a while?" Keychain asked. "See, I've gotta go to work, and I can't just leave her at some playgroup or pre-school. She's awfully nervous, and she might try to run away and find me. I don't want her to get even more lost than she already is."
"Chillax, bud. I've got this." Lemon Zest cut through. "Besides, that little kid's awfully sweet. I reckon that I could spend some time chilling out with her. How long do you think it'll last?"
"Well, usually, my shift takes a little while. Between nine and four, I think. So, that's about seven hours of work, then I should get back home," he said. "And, please, PLEASE don't have a repeat of what happened back in school when we did that childcare class. I swear to god, if it wasn't for our friends, those kids would have been in real trouble with their teacher."
"Don't worry, Key. As long as you've not got any ominous sock puppets scheming some master plan to overthrow the classroom, I think we're good. Besides, that Fluttershy's more into stuffed animal toys more, right?" Lemon replied. "Either way, I'm coming over. Oh, by the way, I'm helping myself to some of your food while I'm there. Hope that's not an issue. I'm housesitting and babysitting at the same time. And people say that it's not a good job."
Keychain could only smirk. Lemon's humour always had a way of making everyone happy. "Alright. That's great, Lemon. See you soon." After which, he hung up on Lemon Zest and went back to the washing machine. Sure enough, the clothes had finished their wash cycle and were now nice and warm. He took the clothes straight back to the bathroom and saw that Fluttershy was still in a conversation with her watery reflection. "Hey, Fluttershy? How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling good, Key. I'm having a wonderful time talking to myself." Fluttershy turned away from her watery doppelganger and faced Key again. "She likes everything that I like and we think the same! It's like we're sisters! Isn't that right, Fluttershy? Yes, Fluttershy. It is." She said back to the water again.
Keychain could only chuckle. "Well, as fun as it all is, I think it's time the two of you got out of the bath now. Your friend needs to be dressed for the day ahead too, Fluttershy." Keychain carried Fluttershy back out of the bath and sat her down on the floor towel. Once she was sat down, he rubbed her from head to toe with a large towel, drying off the residual droplets of water that had plagued her body.
"What are we going to do today, Key?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "Are we gonna go out to see the fishies again? Or explore the town for the day? Or maybe get me some new toys to play with?"
"No, no, and sadly, no. Though I do wish that I could," said Keychain hamming it up to keep her amused. "Actually, I'm going to be pretty busy today, so I have a special friend coming over to help out with you."
"A special friend?" Fluttershy blinked. "Who is it?"
"You might know her pretty well, Fluttershy. It's Lemon Zest." Key added. "The green-hair girl who has those pink headphones. She's the fun one."
"Oh! I know her! She's the really pretty one who likes music!" Fluttershy's eyes gleamed with light. "Yes, I know her. She's not a super-special, but she's a special. That means I can talk to her, but not as much as I do to you, Angel, and Lucy, Key."
"Well, as long as you tell her exactly what you want, she'll give it to you. Food, games, TV, whatever you want, Lemon's gonna make sure that you get it." Keychain ruffled Fluttershy's hair, then dressed her back up in her pink, furry coat. Then, he got to work on her hair again, re-adding the butterfly hairclips and reforming her hair back into its' usual pink-heart style. "Trust me, Fluttershy. Lemon Zest to me is a super-special, and I'm sure that, if you let her in, she can be a super-special to you as well."
"Okay. I'll try, Key." Fluttershy gave a grin as she walked with Keychain out of the bathroom and towards the living room. Once the both of them made it there, Keychain lifted Fluttershy up towards the chairs by the table and sat her down so that she could get a clear view of what Keychain was doing. He filled up a couple of bowls with cereal and laid out some fruit. Then, afterwards, he went to make himself some toast by sticking some slices of bread into a chrome toaster. "Uh... you're not gonna pour me some icky food, are you?"
"No, no. I promise you, this food is good." Keychain reached into the cupboard and pulled out some cereal. He poured it over Fluttershy's bowl, where gold and chocolate-coloured flakes trickled down into the bowl. Already, the food was looking delicious. "Alright, I admit, that it might be a little bit... interesting, but I guarantee that if you eat it, you'll feel ready to tackle the day." Keychain even poured himself a bowl of the cereal just to prove it. "In fact, I'll eat it with you if you want, so we can both go on this taste adventure together."
Fluttershy chuckled. "I'd like that."
Keychain left the toast to cook as he sat down and scooped up his first spoonful of the breakfast that he had made for himself and Fluttershy. Once he had his spoon raised into the air, Fluttershy did her best to try and mimic his actions. But she was only small, and the spoon and bowl were much larger than she was. In an attempt to try and copy Key, she only just spilt the food everywhere. Pouting in denial, she eventually climbed onto the chair and lifted herself onto the table, which caused the chair to topple over and fall to the ground. Pleased with her new elevation, she sat down on the edge of the table and then copied Key's actions with the spoon and bowl. This time, she was much more successful and lifted her spoon high with food on it. She looked to Key and gave him a giggle, which he just grinned at. Then, the both of them took a bite of the cereal.
The taste was one that Keychain had known for a long time, but one that Fluttershy was just experiencing for the first time. The cereal was crunchy, but they could still taste the flavour from the first bite. A combination of chocolate from the darker flakes, and the nutrients from the golden flakes. It didn't seem like it would have worked, but it did. Keychain found nothing especially extraordinary about the flavour, but Fluttershy let out a coo of approval as she munched up the pieces of cereal and let the mixture run down her gullet. Excitedly, she readied another spoon and ate that much faster than the first one.
"Whoa, there, Fluttershy. Don't eat it too fast. Be sure to chew it as much as you can," said Keychain like a father would his daughter. "Munch those flakes down until their nothing but mushy goo, then swallow. It's much better for you if you do it that way. And it prevents your throat from getting blocked."
"Okie-dokie, Key!" Fluttershy obediently followed his words and slowed down her pace, making sure to eat the food slower, savouring each and every bite, rather than guzzling without the time to appreciate what she was eating. "See? I'm eating it slowly now!"
"Yes you are, kid." Keychain gave her a pat on the head as he let her continue his food. Keychain took a banana off of the bunch, peeled it entirely, and then took his first bite as he was disposing of the peel. His hand was starting to collect banana pieces, but he didn't mind that. It was only a banana. It wasn't like it was seen as immoral. He took some more and more bites as his gaze returned to the table, seeing Fluttershy continue to eat her food.
In the middle of all of the munching, the doorbell rang. "Ah! That'll be Lemon right now," said Keychain as he finished off the banana. With his hands free, Keychain opened up the door and there on the other side was Lemon Zest. "I'm glad you're here, Lemon. And just in time too. Boss is awfully persnickety about timekeeping."
"Hey, hey. It's totally fine, Key. I do owe you one. I'm glad to look after Flutters until her mommy and daddy come and find her." Lemon Zest strolled into the house and saw Fluttershy eating the food. "Speak of the devil, there she is!" She watched as Fluttershy turned her gaze to Lemon and her eyes widened. "Hey! How's it goin', squirt? Ya miss me? I know you did. C'mere!" She lifted Fluttershy up and blew a raspberry into her belly, which caused Fluttershy to squeal in delight, leaving her in a laughing fit.
"Hi!" Fluttershy said in the middle of her laughter.
"So, Fluttershy. I wanna explain something to you." Keychain watched as Lemon Zest calmed down and held Fluttershy as still as she could. "See, I have something important called a job. And if I don't do my job, then I can't live in this house, and you won't be able to have your toys or bed anymore. So I have to go out and do his job and make my boss happy. But I can't take you with me, because my work is very dangerous. So, I'm appointing Lemon Zest here, your special and my super-special, as a babysitter."
"Babysitter? What's that?" Fluttershy asked with wide eyes.
"A babysitter is someone who looks after someone's kids while they're out. By the way, it's not like your grandma, grandad, sister, brother, or anything like that. A babysitter is someone who isn't in your family at all," Keychain explained. "Lemon Zest isn't part of your family, but she is gonna look after you, so she's a babysitter."
"But... I'm not a baby," said Fluttershy in response. "I'm four. One, two, three, four." She used her hand to count upwards, revealing her age. "Mommy said to use my fingers to say how old I am."
"Well, babysitters don't primarily look after babies. It's just a word. They look after all kids of all ages, Fluttershy. And you're still a kid, aren't you?" He asked, which caused her to nod. "See? So you're a prime candidate for a babysitter to look after."
"Don't worry too much about it, kid. Whatever you want, I'm game," Lemon finally cut into the conversation. "So while Key's away doing his work and making his keep, I'm gonna be here with you and we can play all that you want. Whatever you wanna watch on the TV, we'll watch it. Wanna draw something, I'll draw with you. Heck, ya even wanna try and make it seem like stuffed toys are real? I'll help you with that."
"Really?" Fluttershy asked, her saucer-eyes looking into Lemon's soul.
"Yep." Lemon nodded.
"Sounds like you two are gonna go along together greatly." He walked backwards to the door and slunk out of it. "Well, in the meantime, I've gotta bounce. See you soon, Fluttershy. You be good to Lemon, alright? And Lemon, PLEASE, for the love of ALL THAT IS HOLY, do not re-enact what happened back at high-school."
"Key. I promise. That jerkwad sock puppet's long gone. You're totally fine. Go and do your work. Shoo." Lemon brushed the air with her hand; a gesture telling Key to get out and go away. Sure enough, as she did it, she shut the door, leaving her and Lemon alone in the house together. She turned Fluttershy around and lifted her up. "Well, kid? The floor's all yours. So, what do you wanna do first?"
"Lemon?" Flutters was the first to break up the silence once Key left the house. She waddled over and lightly tugged on Lemon's trouser legs while looking up to her face. Then, once Fluttershy and Lemon made eye contact, she idly tilted her head to the side.
"Yeah, Fluttershy?" Lemon asked, looking down on Fluttershy.
Fluttershy didn't know what to say. Seeing the titan of a human that was Lemon Zest standing before her made her feel very small. And very disconcerted. She had not made as big of a bond with Lemon as she had done with Keychain, so she had to adopt her defensive personality. Twiddling her fingers together, she looked around to see if there was anything that she could do to try and entertain herself, but nothing seemed to come to mind.
"I'm... small. Too small." Fluttershy finally came out and said it, pushing her hands together. "Can you make me not small?"
"Not small? Ya mean, you wanna get bigger?" Lemon tried to piece together Fluttershy's toddler talk the best that she could have. "Well, I don't think I can make you any bigger, but I can at least do this."
Lemon Zest wrapped her arms around Fluttershy's hips and lifted her into the air. When she was wrested from the floor, Fluttershy made a small yelp of shock. But when she was lifted high enough to see just Lemon's face, that shock disappeared. She was now as big as Lemon, or so she had perceived. Fluttershy's smile came back and she nuzzled herself against Lemon's neck.
"Yay! I'm big!" Fluttershy cheered to herself as she looked down at how tiny the rest of the room now looked to her. "Thankies, Lemon..."
"No problem, kid." Lemon just tousled Fluttershy's hair, which caused the little girl to raise her hands into her hair defensively.
"No touchy! My hair's special." Fluttershy's happiness turned into a pout as she looked grumpily at Lemon. "Messy hair is not special. I don't want messy hair."
"Alright, alright. I get it, kid. Geez..." Lemon rolled her eyes. "No need to bite the hand that's feeding ya."
Fluttershy's smile came back as she thought of another idea. Her feet weren't touching the ground and her eyes were focused on the window outside. She watched as a bird spread its' wings on one of the branches outside and took off, flying into the air majestically. Her eyes widened and her smile grew as she watched the pretty creature fly off. And when she did, she looked back to Lemon's eyes.
"That! That! I wanna do that!" Fluttershy pointed to the window where the bird was soaring, which caused Lemon to carry her over.
"Ya wanna do what, Flutters?" Lemon asked, looking out the window. "So far, all that I really see is a bunch of trees, twigs, leaves, and grass."
"No. That!" Fluttershy pointed towards the bird which flitted its' wings by the window. "I wanna fly like a birdie! Can you help me fly like a birdie?" She asked, turning her head back towards Lemon Zest.
"Ya wanna fly?" Lemon lifted a brow. Then, when she saw Fluttershy nodding politely, she thought to herself, Well, I can't exactly give her a pair of wings, but the least I can do is this... "Well, if you say so, kid. Just make sure to hang on."
Lemon Zest changed the way that she was holding Fluttershy around. She tipped her forward so that her belly was securely locked in with her hands. It looked like she was cocooning Fluttershy in a hand-shaped cylinder. Once Fluttershy was securely held, Lemon Zest heard Fluttershy making an excited noise as her smile grew and she spread her arms out like a pair of wings.
"Ready, girl?" Lemon asked, then watched Fluttershy nod again. "Okay then. Three... Two... One! Let's go!" Lemon did a slow jog around the room, making swooping motions to make Fluttershy seem like she was actually flying. All the while, her moves were accompanied by the energetic and highly euphoric laughter of one Fluttershy.
Fluttershy had never really flown around before. But she had seen the birdies of the world doing it many times; even before she had even met Keychain or any of his friends. So when Lemon Zest flew her around the room, she felt like a bird. Even to the point where, during her laughter, her laughter wasn't even to simulate a bird's wings. It was all because she was having the time of her life playing around with Lemon Zest and swooping around the living room, flying around like the birds that she loved to watch. Now she actually was a bird, or at least, she felt like one. And it gave her the most joy out of anything she had ever done or experienced in this whole ordeal.
Lemon Zest had never really been the best with kids. If her high school experiences had taught her anything, it was that kids tended to usually be very energetic; to the point where she couldn't keep up even if she tried. Lemon might have been hyper, but even she had her limits. And if she burned herself out, then what good was any of it? At least, in the case of Fluttershy, she was easy to manage. She wasn't as hyper as the kids that she had worked with before. And she didn't have any kind of super-young-kid trends to follow. No. She was an honest-to-goodness pure soul who lived in the moment and enjoyed playing the way that she wanted to play. And if she wanted to fly, then fly she would. That was the kind of kid that Lemon could handle. And the kind that she felt jealous at Key for taking care of; even if she was a missing kid.
"Whoa! Where are we going?" Lemon asked playfully as she flew Fluttershy out of the living room and back towards the bedroom. She made Fluttershy do a spiral when she made it to the doors and finally barrelled through them. "Look at that! We've got a landing spot! Coming in for a landing!" Lemon announced as she made one last swoop and was about to land Fluttershy when she tripped on one of the plushie animals that Fluttershy liked to play with and landed face-first into the rest of the plush creatures. She was still able to land Fluttershy safely, with her bouncing on the surface of the bed.
Fluttershy was still laughing at a pitch so high that it would've been a long time before she calmed down from all of the excitement. Even as Lemon Zest was picking herself up from the fall that she had taken. She had, after all, loved her playtime as a bird and still felt the magic of flying even when she had landed.
"Ya like that, huh?" Lemon asked, even though she sounded like all of the breath had been knocked out of her with that fall. Still, she got back up and looked down at the giddily giggling girl once more. "Glad ya had fun, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy's laughter went on for a few moments until at long last, she finally started to calm down. And as she calmed down, Lemon Zest picked her back up and put her down on the ground again with all of her toys. It wasn't until her hands and her knees met the ground that she finally took a breath and stopped laughing. She turned back to Lemon Zest, stood back up, and gave her a big hug; coiling her arms around Lemon's legs.
"Lemon? Can you play with me more?" Fluttershy asked. "I wanna turn you from a special into a super-special so I can be happier with you."
"A super-special?" Lemon asked, before squatting down towards Fluttershy's height. "What's a super-special?"
"Super-specials are people that I really, realy, REALLY LIKE." Fluttershy put her hands together as her smile came back. "Mommy and daddy are super-specials. And Keychain's a super-special as well! They're super-nice and I like them because of how super-nice they are. I want you to be super-nice too. Then you'll be a super-special!" She threw her arms out to the side.
"Well... I'm pretty nice right now, aren't I?" Lemon shrugged.
"No." Fluttershy shook her head. "You're just nice-nice. Not super-nice like Key, mommy, and daddy are." Fluttershy waddled her way over towards the drawing table where some crayons and some already-completed drawings laid. She picked up one and scurried back to Lemon, holding the picture up. "See? This is a picture of all the super-nice people. There's mommy, daddy, and Key. Look, look!"
Lemon examined Fluttershy's drawing. Sure enough, it was very sloppy, but she could at least make out Keychain out of the three people. There were two others; one with hair that looked like a soft serve ice cream and the other with red hair that curled at the sides. She could only assume that those other two people were Fluttershy's mom and dad. And there, tucked right by their feet was a tiny sketch of Fluttershy.
"See? They're all my super-specials." Fluttershy nodded. "Mommy's a super special because she's my mommy. And because she likes to cuddle with me and tell me stories. Daddy's a super special because he's my daddy. And because he likes to make me giggle." Her fingers drifted towards Key at last. "And Key's a super-special because I like him very, very much. And he gave me all these wonderful things." She stretched her arms out towards the toys and games around the room. "Because of this, and because I like him, Key's a super-special too."
"So, all I gotta do is get you a bunch of things and I'll be a super-special as well?" Lemon asked, very confused by the specifications that Fluttershy had for a super-special. So far, Lemon fit none of those things. "Well, I don't really know how I can be a super-special, then. I can't buy you all that stuff like Key did because money and me have a love/hate relationship. And I can't exactly be like your mom and dad because... well, I've got no clue how your mom and dad care for you."
"Hmm..." Fluttershy looked down and brought her hand to her chin, rubbing it tenderly as a sign that she was thinking about things. Lemon was right. She was just a special and didn't really know how to be a super-special like Fluttershy said. But, she had at least made her happy for the time being. "Actually, can we play some more?" Fluttershy finally said as she clasped both of her hands. "Super-specials love to play with me, like Key does. So if you play with me, then maybe you can become a super-special too."
"Well, I can definitely play with you, kid. But what do you wanna play?" Lemon asked.
Fluttershy looked around for something that she could play with. Eventually, her eyes locked onto a large, all-pink rubber ball. She scampered over towards it, grabbed the ball with both hands and lumbered her way back towards Fluttershy; head entirely dwarfed by the toy. "This! This!" Fluttershy said, poking her head out from the side. "A ball is super-fun! Super-specials love to play ball with me. And they love to make it even mroe fun than super-fun!"
"Super-fun, eh? Well, I think I've got something planned for that." Lemon smirked as she closed the door and sealed the window using the flap. Once the room was locked down, she sat on the floor and crossed her legs as Fluttershy gave her the ball. "Kids your age like a lot of things. Cartoons, playtime, being with your moms and dads. But something else that they really like is bouncy stuff." Lemon threw the ball to the ground and watched as it bounced over Fluttershy's head. "See that? Ball's very bouncy. Perfect for a kid like you."
"Whoa..." Fluttershy watched as the ball bounced towards the wall and bounced off of it. The ball lost momentum, but eventually landed back at Fluttershy's feet. She just picked it up and made a tiny chuckle, before looking back at Fluttershy. "Can you do it again? Pretty-please?" Fluttershy asked with her knees pressed together and a polite grin.
"Sure, kid." Lemon scooped the ball back up again and bounced it again. This time, with some more force behind it. The ball bounced much farther and went much higher this time. And when it went against the wall, it had enough momentum to bounce over Fluttershy's head again. It came back to Lemon's chest and she caught it effortlessly. "How's that for ya?"
"It's bouncy." Fluttershy's eyes were fixated on the ball in Lemon's hands. "I wanna try! I wanna try! Can I try bouncing the ball?"
"Heh, sure, Flutters." Lemon held the ball down to Fluttershy, who took it in the blink of an eye.
Despite the size of the ball in her hands, Fluttershy didn't feel any weight behind it. But she knew just how bouncy that it could be, as evidence by Lemon's throws. Fluttershy turned towards the walls and mustered up all of her strength. Then, with a high-pitched grunt, she threw the ball towards the wall as hard as she could. It wasn't as strong as Lemon could throw it, but it still squished against the wall and bounced back. It flew over Fluttershy's head by an inch, hit Lemon square in the legs, then ricocheted back towards Fluttershy. The ball hit her in the tummy, knocking her onto her butt.
"Oh my god! Fluttershy!" Lemon looked shocked at the sudden impact of the ball hitting Fluttershy and knocking her over. Arching her body over Fluttershy's, she put her hand against Fluttershy's cheek. "Are you alright? Oh... Key's gonna KILL ME if you're hurt."
Fluttershy didn't say a word, which only added to Lemon's growing fears and concerns. But then, she ended up making another muted laugh, which soon grew louder and louder until she finally got back onto her feet, laughing happily.
"Oh, thank god." Lemon let out a massive sigh of relief as she picked Fluttershy back up. "Don't scare me like that, girl. Really had me worried for your health."
"I'm fine, Lemon. It was a super-squishy ball too. Doesn't hurt." Fluttershy patted her tummy to show that she hadn't really taken any major damage. Her eyes drifted back towards the ball after she finished patting. "But that ball's very bouncy. Lots of fun too."
"Y-yeah." Lemon didn't exactly feel comfortable with the fact that it had almost taken Fluttershy out. She had definitely taken that little game a step too far. "But y'know, it's not just balls that bounce around the place. Do you know anything else that bounces?"
"Ummm..." Fluttershy went back into her thinking pose again as she looked around the room for something that had the same kind of bounciness as the ball they had just been playing with. However, nothing came to mind for her. "Nuh-uh. Nothing."
"Well, actually, Fluttershy. There's something in here that definitely bounces around." Lemon stood Fluttershy back on the ground and put herself by the door. She watched as Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. "It's looking right at you, girl."
"Looking at me?" Fluttershy got concerned as she looked around. She didn't like the idea that something else other than Lemon Zest was looking at her. Were her toys alive? Or was something else in the room. "Can they stop looking at me? It's scary."
"Flutters, there's nothing in here but you and me," said Lemon Zest. "It's me. It's you. It's us! We're all bouncy like that ball we were just playing with." Lemon was already bouncing on the spot to prove her point. "See this? I'm bouncing up and down like that ball!"
Fluttershy's eyes just bounced up and down as she watched Lemon jumping on the spot. It didn't look as pretty as the ball did, but it did make Lemon look like she was bouncy. When Lemon finally stopped, Fluttershy grabbed both of Lemon's legs and grunted, groaning with all of her might as she made an upward motion with her hands.
"Uh, kid? What are you doing?" Lemon lifted a brow.
"I'm trying to throw you, like the bouncy ball. You're a super-bouncy, and super-bouncy things bounce all around the place when they're thrown."
"Don't... think it works like that, Flutters." Lemon effortlessly pried Fluttershy from her legs and lifted her up into the air. "But if it's throwing that you want, then I can do this at least." And like that, Lemon Zest suddenly tossed Fluttershy into the air lightly.
For that brief instance, Fluttershy felt weightless as she was launched from Lemon's hands into the air. She felt more shock then delight as she looked down at the ground before her. Fluttershy knew that a fall from that high would have really hurt her. With nothing to say, she felt the weight finally return as she started to plunge to the ground, only for Lemon to catch her again.
"See? How was that?" Lemon asked, but instead of joy, Fluttershy's eyes were filled with tears. The way that the girl was snuffling immediately made Lemon regret her own decision. And when Fluttershy finally started bawling her eyes out in sadness, it solidified that regret. "Okay... Don't throw Fluttershy around. She doesn't like that." Lemon said to herself as she sat the crying Fluttershy back down on the ground. "Hey, Flutters? I'm real sorry about that." She reached out for Fluttershy, but Fluttershy slapped at it.
"No!" Fluttershy shouted in denial. "Super-specials don't throw me. Specials don't throw me." Fluttershy sniffled as she looked back at her own trembling hands. She had never done anything like this before when addressing a big person like Lemon Zest. "Only meanies throw me. Mommy and daddy say that meanies are mean people who like to cause me pain."
"Well, like I said, I'm sorry. What more do you want me to say?" Lemon asked, trying to reason with the now-distraught Fluttershy. "Look, I get it now. You don't wanna be thrown. But I wanna promise you that I'm not a meanie. The real meanies wouldn't have the guts to realise that they've screwed up and made a mistake."
"But meanies are still meanies. Because they liked to throw me." Fluttershy clasped her hands together. "I don't wanna play with you anymore." She reclusively scampered towards the bed and hid underneath it, trying to avoid looking at Lemon after what she had done. "I want Key back. Or mommy and daddy..."
Lemon could only watch as Fluttershy burrowed herself under the bed. This was the first time that Fluttershy had ever experienced something like this before and she felt terrible for instigating that sudden shock to the system. Now, Fluttershy was exceptionally upset and didn't want to play with her anymore. She had royally failed as a babysitter.
"Flutters... If there's anything I can do to—"
"No." Fluttershy quietly replied. She didn't move her body or look out from underneath the bed. She just said the word and nothing more. "Go away, meanie. I don't want to play with a meanie."
"I'm not mean, Fluttershy. I've just made a big mistake. Or... as you'd call it, a big oopsie moment." Lemon pushed her hands together. "If you don't wanna forgive me for what I've done, then that's fine. You can keep thinking that I'm a meanie all you want. I won't force you to play with me after what I've done. Just know that I'm really, REALLY sorry, girl." Those were the last words that Lemon Zest said before she left the room. Her heart sank and she dejectedly dragged herself across the room as she opened the door, went out, and closed it behind her, leaving Fluttershy alone with her toys and the other games.
Fluttershy, finally alone, climbed out of the bed again. But instead of going back to playing with all of her toys like any kid would, she started to think. And now that she was calmer, she could tell that Lemon really did mean to say sorry to her, but she had still been so scared by the thought of taking a big fall to the ground like that thatshe had denied her apologies. Fluttershy was only a very little kid; a toddler. They didn't really have the best kind of mindsets when it came to situations like that. She did know what sorry meant, but she didn't want to believe it in the heat of the moment. And now, she had throw away the one person who was willing to look after her while Keychain was out at work, and mommy and daddy were still trying to look for her. Fluttershy felt all alone again. In her loneliness, she crawled over to Angel and gave the bunny toy a cuddle, crying very softly into his fabric.
"Angel... I'm all alone again." Fluttershy whimper-whispered to the bunny toy. "Mommy and daddy are missing, Keychain's gone, and now I've lost her. Nobody's going to play with me and nobody's here to look after me. What should I do?" She got no response from the toy and just continue to softly sniffle into the toy's fluffy skin.
Lemon Zest felt horrible as she slumped back into the living room, throwing herself on the couch. Fluttershy had really been cross with her and it was all her fault for bringing that pain on her in the first place. She just wanted to show the girl a good time and keep her happy in these trying times where her parents were missing and Keychain had to work. And even then, she had completely messed that up as well. And it was all because of her stupid amounts of energy. Something that made her who she was and it had caused others pain. She really did feel sorry for Fluttershy, because she was the only person that could look after her and now Fluttershy didn't want that kind of protection and playtime from her anymore. It felt like she had been abandoned once again.
"Fluttershy... I'm really sorry about what I've done. But I don't know how in the stars I'm gonna try and make it up to you." As she tried to think of apology to Fluttershy, it was then that she remembered something. Looking back towards the drawings that laid dormant on the coffee table, she tried to think of something that she could draw. "Well, I guess it's worth a shot."
Lemon Zest found the energy to stand back up and drag herself off of the couch. Kneeling down on the ground, she took some of the crayons and started to scrawl on a new piece of paper, trying to make something that Fluttershy would enjoy and accept as an apology. She just had to hope that it would be something that she would like.
Eventually, as time passed, Lemon Zest went back to Fluttershy's room with a now-complete drawing. She was about to knock on the door when the words ran through her head again. "I don't wanna play with you anymore." Lemon paused as it all bounced around in her mind. Would Fluttershy even want to see her again after that? Or was she stoic in her words and labelling of Lemon as a meanie?
On the other side of the door, Fluttershy was still cuddling with Angel Bunny, as well as a few of the other plushies. A snake, a manatee, a kitty cat, a teddy bear, and many more were locked in her arms. But for however many stuffed animals she held, it wasn't going to replace Keychain or her mommy and daddy. She still felt very, very alone inside. She looked out of the door and worried where someone was, as Keychain hadn't come home and Lemon Zest hadn't come back.
"Oh, to heck with it!" Lemon muttered to herself as she pushed the door open and looked at Fluttershy, recoiling shyly as she looked into Fluttershy's eyes. Fluttershy didn't react to Lemon's sudden body jerk with words or with body movement of her own. Instead, she just stared at her. "Hey, uh... Fluttershy? I'm sorry. Again. For what I did." Lemon took one step forward, then paused.
"Lonely." Fluttershy muttered to herself. It was her reclusive, shy nature that came into play whenever she didn't feel safe. And the last time she had seen Lemon Zest, she had been thrown into the air without consent. "Lonely. Without you." She pointed at Lemon Zest.
"Lonely? But you've got all those toys there, girl. Surely, you've gotta have some kinda happiness from that, right?" Lemon asked, pointing out all of the stuffed animals that Fluttershy was bundled up with.
"Toys are special. But toys are not mommy, daddy, or Key. Fluttershy shook her head as she started to loosen her grip on the toys a little. "I'm sad. Very sad. I NEED a big person. It's bad for me to be alone."
"I know you do. But you said that I was a meanie, so I can't exactly look after you, can I?" Lemon asked as she took another step, her grip on the drawing she had made quivering. "But... I am sorry, girl. I'm not entirely sure if your mommy and daddy taught you about the word sorry, but when someone says that they're sorry, it means they admit that they've made a mistake and they wanna make it up to you."
"What's that?" Fluttershy tilted her head and pointed towards the drawing.
"Oh, this? It's just something I made to try and make up with you." Lemon took one last look at the drawing before she handed it over to Fluttershy. "Here. It's nothing special, but I made it for you."
Fluttershy stood up and toddled towards the drawing. She plucked it from Lemon's hands and took a look at it. It was very, very crude, even for being drawn by a big girl like Lemon. But Fluttershy could still make out the contents. It showed her and Fluttershy; albeit very sloppily drawn, standing together on a hill. It was very similar to the picture that she had made with her other three favourite people, except without any of them and just her and Lemon Zest. Fluttershy took the picture to the other picture with her specials. The way that they both looked similar made her feel a fuzziness in her heart.
"You... really aren't a meanie?" Fluttershy asked for confirmation.
"No. I'm not a meanie." Lemon Zest walked forward and gave Fluttershy a pat on the head. "I'm really, really, really sorry for throwing you, Fluttershy. And I promise that it'll never, ever happen again." She held Fluttershy's hands and looked her in the eyes. A special connection was fostered between the two of them as they stared into each other's eyes. "Can we be friends?"
Fluttershy took a moment, but finally said, "Yes. We can be friends." She nodded as she said those words and laid the picture Lemon had made down with the one that she had made.
"Thanks, Fluttershy." Lemon Zest pulled her into a very gentle hug. One that Fluttershy was happy to return. The little rift that had been made between the two of them had finally been plugged up and now, they were ready to take on the rest of the day as friends.
"So. Can I fly again?" Fluttershy asked. "I really like flying like a birdie. Birdies have so much fun when they fly."
"Well... Alright. But I'm gonna have to make sure that you're extra-tightly held onto." Lemon Zest picked Fluttershy back up and made the hand position that she had made the first time she had taken Fluttershy flying. Then she stood back up and opened the door. "Ready for take-off, Fluttershy?"
"Mmhmm." Fluttershy nodded. "Can I count down this time?"
"Sure thing, girl," Lemon remarked.
"Okie-dokie. Three! Two! One! Let's go!" She exclaimed, and as she finished, Lemon started to jog off, carrying Fluttershy around the house again. Once again, Fluttershy felt like she really was flying and her unmatched happiness came back. With every swoop, turn, curl, and even a few loop-de-loops, Fluttershy really did feel like she was flying through the air like a bird. It completely made up for any of the sadness that she had been feeling earlier.
Lemon Zest could only laugh herself as she took Fluttershy for another flight around the skies of Keychain's house. Where she once felt like she had failed at her job, now she felt jovial. As long as both she and Fluttershy were having fun, it didn't matter how she got there in the end. Now, she could proudly call herself a successful babysitter now that Fluttershy was having fun. With pride, she flew Fluttershy around and let her energetic laughter fill every corner of the house. Now, Lemon really knew what it was like to have a little kid that loved her very much; even if it wasn't her own.
Hours after hours passed by, and Keychain still hadn't returned from his job. Lemon Zest took one glance at the time and saw that it was 1:00 PM. She and Fluttershy were just finishing up a lunch of sandwiches, squash, and fruit. Lemon Zest thought that it wasn't something special, but Fluttershy loved the food very much, possibly because she was still very young and couldn't assess the food properly, but she still loved how the fruit squished into her mouth and sprayed juices, the chewy texture of the sandwiches and the ingredients inside them—she was a big fan of the cheese most of all—and the squash that washed it all down afterwards was a treat for the tastebuds.
As soon as both girls were finished with their food, Lemon Zest took both plates and the cups and put them in the sink to wash, while Fluttershy casually hopped off of the chair that she was sitting on and toddled her way back over to the coffee table. Some scraps of paper and some crayons laid there in waiting. Ones that Fluttershy picked up and started drawing with while humming a rhythmless, wordless tune to herself.
To Fluttershy, doodling had become one of her favourite pastimes, as well as a good coping mechanism until she found her mommy and daddy. To let her imagination run free, to play with what she saw and put it all down on paper was truly liberating for someone so young as her. And with the colours she had been provided, there was nothing that Fluttershy would be unable to sketch, from the prettiest of animals, the wildest of imaginary creatures, or even the figures of the big boys and big girls who were looking after her. Even if they were crude and jagged, she didn't care, because she was enjoying it and the pictures made her feel good about herself, which was all that she could ask for. Besides, they knew what she was drawing and they would appreciate the work that she had put into what she had made.
As Lemon Zest watched Fluttershy scribbling away at her next masterpiece, she couldn't help but feel like they were both lonely. It was nothing but her, Fluttershy, and the toys in the house. And while for Fluttershy, it was something that kept her occupied, for Lemon Zest, it wasn't exactly right. She felt like she was a slave to the house. However much she wanted to leave, however, Key had given her an important job and she couldn't let him down; not like this.
"Lemon?" Fluttershy spoke up at last, "When will Key be back?"
Lemon Zest walked over to Fluttershy, sat down on the couch, and watched as the girl turned her whole body to face her. "Well, Fluttershy. Key's got a very special job. And because that very special job is so big, he can't exactly come back until it gets pretty late," she explained as best as she could. "That's why I'm here, to make sure that you're nice and safe while he's out there doing his job."
"Special job?" Fluttershy parroted. "He has a special job?"
"Mmhmm." Lemon Zest nodded. "He's part of this logging company, so when these trees grow too big, he and his crew chop them down and use them to make things." Lemon had resorted to making gestures with her hands to show the tree and logging equipment used to cut those trees down. "His company make chairs, doors, even those crayons you're using right now," she pointed to the set of crayons. "So, in other words, Key made this for you, Fluttershy."
"Key did that?" Fluttershy's eyes went wide with wonder as she laid her hands on the crayons. She could feel the wooden textures straight away. As she rubbed a crayon between two fingertips, she thought about Key making the crayon through whatever wacky, wonderful, and imaginary way that she knew. "Whoa..."
"Yeah. Whoa." Lemon smirked and folded her arms.
"I wanna make some, I wanna make some!" Fluttershy was bounding up and down, giddy with the thought of wanting to make some pencils from scratch. She had never done anything like it before.
"Well, first. We need to get some sticks," Lemon replied. And immediately, she got up from the couch. "C'mon, Fluttershy. Let's head out to the garden and see if there are any on the ground."
"Mmm! Okay." Fluttershy nodded and shuffled her way towards the door with Lemon Zest by her side. The two girls went through to the kitchen and came to the backdoor. It had a mesh on the bottom but the top was a clear glass that anyone could look through.
Lemon Zest looked for a key that was left on the side and slotted it into the door, twisting it. A clicking noise was heard, and Lemon pulled down the handle, opening the door wide. Fluttershy scampered out, making excited noises with each step that she took. Lemon Zest just strolled out casually, as the cold air met her body.
Fluttershy was already looking at the ground for some sticks. And to her luck, some had indeed fallen to the ground. She waddled over and clutched one in her hands, then scampered off to find some more, giggling to herself. She would have her hand-made crayons in no time. Fluttershy didn't even bother to check the size of each stick, and because of that, she got some that were big enough for her hands, and some that were tiny enough so she could pinch them in between two fingers.
"Slow down, Fluttershy." Lemon Zest called from afar, pushing a hand out as she watched the little girl carelessly collecting the sticks that she thought would make her some pencils. "You're gonna run out of hand to put those sticks in, ya know."
Fluttershy didn't even notice, but she was collecting a lot of sticks, some that were so huge that they crushed the smaller ones. Tilting her head at the dilemma, she stood in place, rapped the ground with her feet, thinking to herself. Then, an idea came to her and she rushed over to Lemon with the sticks she had.
"Here! Hold these sticks!" Fluttershy said, dumping all of them into Lemon Zest's hands. Now that her hands were clear again, she ran away from Lemon and went back to her stick scavenging.
Lemon Zest just took the sticks that Fluttershy had and laid them down on the step leading back into the house. Her hands freed up, Lemon just cracked a grin and joined Fluttershy in the great hunt for sticks. Their search was long and hard, even though they were in one place.
Eventually, both Lemon Zest and Fluttershy picked up so many sticks that it constituted for them cleaning up Keychain's backyard. Nothing but leaves and grass remained after they were done. Both of the girls put their final sticks on the pile—which was now a rather large pile given the number of sticks they had collected. It was a sight that made Fluttershy's heart swell with glee. Now, she could make her crayons, just like Key did.
The only question now, on both of their minds was: how? How would they turn these sticks into crayons for Fluttershy to doodle with?
Fluttershy hummed to herself, putting her fingers against her chin as she stared at the tips of the twigs. Something was missing. Something that would give these sticks the finishing touches. And then, the thought struck her. She let out a gasp and blurted out, "Paint! We need some paint!"
"Paint?" Lemon wasn't following Fluttershy's beat until she saw the ends of the tips. Then, it came to her. "Oh, you wanna paint the ends of the sticks?"
"Mmhmm." Fluttershy grinned and bobbed her head up and down in understanding. "Where's the paint, Lemon?"
"I could look around, but I doubt that Key has any paint on hand. And if he does, it's probably for if his house's walls start to peel..." Lemon Zest remarked, looking back inside the house. "And the nearest DIY place is a bit of a drive away."
Fluttershy let out a moan and stared into Fluttershy's soul with her large, bulbous eyes that looked straight out of a cartoon. Lemon Zest was trying to skirt around the issue and justify why it would be hard to find paint, but Fluttershy wanted those new hand-made crayons.
Lemon Zest looked into Fluttershy's staring eyes and felt guilty about trying to fight back against Fluttershy's want for paint. It didn't take long for her to concede and she let out a sigh. She tousled Fluttershy's hair and gave her a pat on the back. "Alright then. DIY shop, here we come."
"YAY!" Fluttershy threw her arms into the air and scurried around the back of the house to the front door. Lemon chased after her, to make sure that she wasn't taking the whole trip on foot.
The two girls wound up at Lemon Zest's car, which was much sleeker than what Keychain was used to. It didn't look like much now, but there were some grey, tubes around the edges of the car, which could only mean that it lit up at night. The interior of the car looked like it was made for the person who enjoyed the city life, with ergonomically plush leather, lots of space to put things whether you were in the front or back, and fans planted into the walls. Lemon Zest opened the back door up, lifted Lemon Zest onto the seat, and strapped her in with the seatbelt. Once she was tightly belted up, Lemon slid across the hood of her car and swung the door to the driver's seat open.
"Okay, Fluttershy. Now, riding with me's gonna be a little bit different than riding with Key," Lemon said as she slotted the car key into the slot and twisted it. Immediately, the car roared to life as Lemon planted her foot on the pedals. "Prepare yourself. Because it's about to get wild!"
As soon as the car started moving, music blasted out from the speakers. It was a sound that made Lemon Zest excited, but Fluttershy wasn't so sure. The noise was painful, and it made her curl up in fright. Was Lemon Zest always a fan of this kind of scary stuff? Or was there something else behind it? Either way, it was too surprising for Fluttershy to feel comfortable, so she started to sniffle and shed some tears.
Lemon Zest was about to drive on when she saw Fluttershy looking uncomfortable. Immediately, Lemon Zest turned the radio off and plunged the car into silence. "Oh... Fluttershy, I'm sorry. I forgot about that. Yeah... Little kids and loud car music don't mix."
"Scary..." Fluttershy remarked simply. "No scary, please."
"Right, right. Sorry." Lemon felt more guilty for having the music scream out at Fluttershy like that. It just wasn't her time for this kind of stuff, if at all. Music-less, Lemon Zest drove down the road and made her way to the shop.
Even though the nasty noise had stopped, that still didn't mean that Fluttershy was entirely comfortable. It took her a while to feel comfortable again as the trees, sky, and clouds went past out the windows. At least that was a soothing sight. The clear, unstopped view of nature. Fluttershy was pacified instantly by the sight of it all. It was one of the prettier sights for a girl her age. To make her trip even better, she saw a flock of birds flapping by, like a majestic group of gliding arrows. The sight made her giggle delightedly, and she tried to scramble from her chair to try and get closer to the birds, only for the seatbelt to keep her restrained. At least she could still see the birds going by. But someday, she wanted to join the birds in their many airborne adventures. Just another one of her many childhood fantasies.
"I just hope Key isn't mad for the fact that he's about to have some new paint." Lemon Zest muttered to herself. For all that she knew, Key didn't even need this paint. It was all for Fluttershy's benefit. But that wouldn't stop her from living up to what Key had put upon her: Being a good babysitter and friend to Fluttershy.
In the shopping district of Cedar Grove, there was a large building akin to a warehouse. It was a special store that sold DIY tools, furnishings, plants, room fittings, and most importantly for the situation on hand; paint. Despite the immense size of the structure, around half of the spaces in the parking lot had cars in them.
Lemon Zest's car was parked in one of the spots close to the shop itself. Once Lemon was inside the lines, she got out of the car, opened Fluttershy's door, unbuckled her, and put her down on the ground. With both her feet and Fluttershy's feet back on terra firma, both girls crossed the lot and made it to the door of the building.
But their entrance hadn't gone unnoticed. For someone in a police car nearby had noticed Fluttershy and had their suspicious raised. It was a female officer with lavender skin and golden hair. She did have sunglasses on, but she had to take them off quickly to examine Fluttershy.
"Hey, chief? I think I've got something," she said, pushing a button on the walkie-talkie on her chest.
"What is it?" the man on the other end of the call asked.
"Small girl, around 3-4 years old. Pink hair tied up in two ponytails. Pink coat and shoes. She's entering the Cedar Grove Make It Great store. Travelling with a woman, by the looks of it." the policewoman replied. "What's your call?"
"The details match Fluttershy; the girl who recently went missing. Keep an eye on her. And don't let her escape," said the police chief. "As for the woman, you can question her once the report's confirmed. For now, tail both of those girls."
"On it, chief." The woman cut the communication and left the car, walking towards the shop. She had her targets in her sights, and if this was indeed the same Fluttershy who had gone missing, then it would make the search for her all the easier.
The inside of the building looked as much of a warehouse as the outside did. People could still see the pipes and building materials that had been used to erect the shop in the first place. The aisles were packed high and wide like warehouse shelves, with some items too high up for anyone to reach without any kind of machine to give them a helping hand. But that wasn't what Lemon or Fluttershy had come for. Instead, their gaze was turned to the walls at the other end of the room, where there were pots and cans of paint stacked against it.
"C'mon, girl." Lemon Zest lead Fluttershy to a large trolley and pulled it out from the rack. It was then that she noticed something. "Hmm... No seats for Fluttershy. Well, let's hope she likes walking." She watched Fluttershy waddle up to her legs, out of the way of the massive trolley. "Let's go."
Fluttershy and Lemon Zest went through the aisles, their eyes trying hard not to pay attention to the items on the shelves. But for both of them, they were both stacked like titanic monoliths from some kind of fantasy adventure novel. Some of them were so high that there was no telling what they were, save for the directories on the frames of each shelving unit. But while their eyes were focused on the paint, they were unaware that the policewoman had been tailing them from afar.
To everyone else, it looked like she was just shopping normally, but even police officers knew how to be discreet; to blend in with the crowd even when they were fully kitted out in their uniforms. She couldn't get a close enough view of the girl to confirm whether or not it was Fluttershy, but she didn't need to. Her best play was to wait until the girl mentioned Fluttershy's name to confirm the report. Then, she could move in.
"Ooh! I want this one! This one!" Fluttershy rushed over to the first paint pot that caught her eye. Though it looked like an ordinary paint pot, the colour that it was displaying said otherwise. There was a single shade of pink on the label of the paint pot to show what colour was inside. Fluttershy bashed her tiny palms against the paint pot. "Lemon! Lemon!"
"Okay, okay. I heard ya the first time." Lemon chuckled lightly as she procured the paint pot and stuffed it into the trolley. "Any other colours you want?"
"Hmm..." Fluttershy examined the colours. It didn't take her long to figure out the other colours that she needed for her hand-made pencils. "Red and yellow and pink and green... orange and purple and blue. I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too." Fluttershy sang to herself as she tapped each of the colours in the song in the order that she called out, often zipping from one to the other.
"Well, it doesn't take her long, does it?" Lemon stuck every colour save for the pink into the trolley. And now, the two girls had all of the colours of the rainbow in their trolley, ready to check out.
Fluttershy only chose a couple more colours; brown, white, and black. "All done!" She called once the last colour was planted into the trolley. "Let's go!"
Fluttershy and Lemon Zest wandered back through the same aisle that the policewoman was standing in. They didn't pay her any mind, but it gave the woman a closer look at Fluttershy. She could more clearly see Fluttershy's teal eyes as well as how small she was. All that she was waiting for was the name drop, so she walked after the girls without drawing any attention from them.
Fluttershy and Lemon Zest went to the nearest cashier that didn't have a line and placed their items on the conveyor belt. Fluttershy watched as the items were seamlessly carried along without any resistance or issue. It looked like a lot of fun and she wanted in on it. "Can I play on it, Lemon? Please?" She tugged Lemon's hand as gently as she could.
"Afraid not, Fluttershy. I can't exactly buy a human being. Especially not a little girl." Lemon Zest joked. She gave Fluttershy's hair another tousle.
"Fluttershy?!" The policewoman gasped and went for her walkie-talkie again. "Chief. We have an update. The woman travelling with the girl I'm tracking just named her Fluttershy. The same Fluttershy who went missing recently. What're your orders?"
"Move in and question the woman. Don't be too forceful and overbearing," said the chief. "See what other information you can extract from this woman and if she's the only one who knows about the missing girl. Report back to me with confirmation, then we can notify her parents."
"Copy that." The woman ended the call once again and took her place behind Fluttershy and Lemon as if she were waiting in line to pay for her non-existent goods as well.
"Please?" Fluttershy asked again as the next paint pots went along the belt.
"No, Fluttershy. I don't want to pay for you, plus, you aren't exactly a pot of paint, are you?" Lemon Zest tried her best to explain to Fluttershy why she couldn't play on the conveyor belt. "Plus, you gotta have one of these things," Lemon Zest plucked one of the remaining pots and showed off the barcode to Fluttershy. "See all those black and white lines? Unless you've got one of those, you can't be scanned by the machine," she said.
"Aww..." Fluttershy rubbed the ground with the tip of her foot, dejected that she couldn't have a fun ride on the moving belt with all of the other paint pots that got to have all of the fun. As she watched Lemon putting the last of the paint pots onto the conveyor belt, she saw the policewoman standing behind her. "Will you let me play on the belt?" Fluttershy asked her.
"Huh? M-me?" The policewoman tried to make it seem like she had just been involved in the exchange and lurched backwards slightly.
"Fluttershy! No!" Lemon Zest dragged her back, then lifted her from the floor. "I am SO SORRY, miss. I don't know what's gotten into her. We were just buying some paint and then she decided that she wanted to play on the conveyor belt."
"That's alright," said the policewoman, who watched as Lemon set Fluttershy back on the ground again. "But, uh, if you don't mind, did you just call that girl Fluttershy?"
"Y-yeah?" Lemon Zest seemed a bit apprehensive towards the fact that this woman was asking about Fluttershy.
"Ma'am, I'm not going to arrest you or anything. I'm just going to ask whether or not this girl is indeed the Fluttershy that went missing recently," the policewoman remarked. "That's all that I'll ask. Poor girl's parents have been worried sick. If there's anything you can say that can confirm that this is Fluttershy, then that would be wonderful."
"W-well..." Lemon Zest felt the whole world stop for a few minutes. Was this the moment where Fluttershy was finally going to find her parents again? And where would that leave Keychain? Coming home to know that Fluttershy wasn't there, and without even getting the chance to say goodbye. Still, this was what Fluttershy wanted; to be with her mommy and daddy again. Summoning up courage, Lemon swallowed the lump in her throat and said, "Y-yes. This is the Fluttershy you're looking for."
"Wonderful," the policewoman said. "Is there anything else you can add? Like, how long she was in your care? What condition was she in when you found her, and if there are any other individuals in the area that know about the existence of Fluttershy and the fact that she's under your care?"
"Well, actually, I'm just looking after her for a friend. My buddy Keychain's the one who found her." Lemon Zest started to lay out everything before the policewoman's eyes. She knew that this was going to come as a shock to Keychain, but at least now they had something to work with when it came to getting Fluttershy back to where she belonged. "Keychain said that he just found her wandering around in the cold like she is now and that she just knocked on his door. She's been with us for about three days now."
"Mmhmm." Fluttershy nodded. "Lemon's being a big-girl best-friend while Key's out at his super-special job!" she blurted out.
"Right, right." Lemon patted Fluttershy on the head. "Keychain's working at a logging business in the area and he can't exactly take time off to look after a little kid like Fluttershy here, so he called me up and told me to take care of her while he's out. And that's about where we are now, officer."
"And where does Keychain live? Just so we can guide Fluttershy's parents back to Fluttershy?" The policewoman proposed the final question.
"He lives on 634 Peregrine Road. I should know, since I just came from there," Lemon remarked.
"Alright, alright." The woman was writing everything down onto a notebook. "Well, alright then. I won't take up much more of your time, ma'am. I'll just inform my chief, and then we'll make the arrangements to notify Fluttershy's parents. Tell your friend that Fluttershy needs to stay by your side as much as possible once he gets home."
"Sounds good to me." Lemon Zest grinned. "Nice to meet you." She watched as the policewoman left the building just as Lemon and Fluttershy's paint pots finished scanning. "Didja year that, Fluttershy? Mommy and daddy are gonna know where you are. You won't have long to wait before you go back home now."
"Mommy and daddy?" Fluttershy's eyes went wide and her smile grew much larger than it had been in a while. The thought of going back home with her parents was the surprise that she needed to feel happy again. Bouncing up and down on the spot, she threw her arms out and giddily chanted "Mommy and Daddy! Mommy and Daddy! Mommy and Daddy!"
Fluttershy thought that the sight looked adorable. One of the cuter sights she had ever seen come out of Fluttershy. She was so mesmerised by Fluttershy's elation that she completely forgot about the paint pots. That was until the woman at the checkout desk gave her a verbal reminder: "Uh, miss? Are you gonna pay for those?"
"O-oh yeah!" Lemon snapped out of her trance straight away and fished in her pocket for her wallet. It didn't take her long before she found her credit card and stuck it into the reader. She then punched in her 4-digit PIN and watched the transaction complete itself. "Thanks for that."
"Anytime," the checkout lady said. "Have a wonderful day, miss. You and your little friend over there." She pointed to Fluttershy, who was still giggling like a maniac with how happy she was.
"Yeah..." Lemon sighed again as she watched Fluttershyfinally calm down and come back to her feet, brushing tenderly like an animal would its' mother. She still couldn't believe that their time together had been so short like this. Now that it was coming to an end, Lemon felt more upset for how this was about to end. If only she could have introduced Fluttershy to some more fun things for a kid her age. "Anyways, we got what we came for. Let's bounce." Lemon Zest motioned to the door.
Fluttershy chuckled to herself and bounced to the door. Lemon Zest flashed a smile at Fluttershy's fun and games. At least she'd still be able to enjoy whatever time she and the others had left with her before her parents came back.
The policewoman returned to the car, sat back down in the driver's seat, then made another call with the walkie-talkie. "Chief. I've got confirmation. That IS the Fluttershy that went missing. We found her."
"That's good to hear. I'll inform Fluttershy's parents right away. Give me the rest of the details about Fluttershy, who's caring for her, as well as any other important details," the chief replied.
"Will do." The policewoman drove away from the scene slowly, telling her chief everything that Lemon Zest and Fluttershy had told her. Now that the gears were spinning, it was only a matter of time before Fluttershy's parents would be reunited with their child.
Both Fluttershy and Lemon Zest returned to Keychain's house fairly quickly. As Fluttershy hopped out and scampered towards the door, Lemon Zest went back towards the rear of the car, opened the hood wide, picked up a pair of paint cans and made her way to the door. Once she set them down, she went back to the car to get some other ones.
Fluttershy eyed up the cans with a raised brow. Why would Lemon Zest just leave them there like that? Surely, she would've taken them inside and brought them to a place where she and her could both paint their twigs. But no. She just watched as Lemon Zest got the other cans. Turning her gaze away, she looked at the door; more specifically, the handle by it. She limbered up for a jump and leapt as high as her tiny little legs could launch her. Which, for someone of her size, wasn't very high at all. Still, she tried and tried to reach out for the handle that hung ever-so-delicately from the door above, in the hopes that she could be able to open it up.
"Hang on, girl. I'm coming." Lemon Zest noticed Fluttershy's attempts at jumping for the door and sped her pace up. Planting the last cans down, she effortlessly took the handle and opened the door wide. "There we go." She watched Fluttershy dash inside like a cat through a flap.
As she watched Fluttershy race over to the back door with a pep in her step and a giggle, Lemon Zest couldn’t help but keep thinking about the police officer she talked with, and how Key would react to it all. She had thought that Key and Fluttershy had made somewhat of a bond in the time they had spent together. Would they ever see each other again? Would Fluttershy even remember him once she grew up? And most importantly, how long would it be before Fluttershy’s parents eventually came and collected her? Those were the questions she asked herself as she followed Fluttershy with the paint cans.
“C’mon, Lemon!” Fluttershy called as she reached up for the back door again, bouncing on the spot for the handle; which was still just out of her reach.
“I’m comin’, I’m comin’.” Lemon casually sauntered over and pulled down on the handle, opening the back door wide for Fluttershy to run out. There, both of them saw the twigs that Fluttershy had gathered; neatly organised into rows.
Fluttershy wasted no time in picking up the twigs in bunches, bending over sweetly every time with her two ponytails draping over her shoulders. One handful was gathered up, then another, then another, until finally, Fluttershy’s hands were holding a plethora of twigs of various shapes and sizes, thicknesses and lengths.
“I’m gonna make the prettiest pictures ever with these!” Fluttershy beamed at Lemon Zest as she held the twigs up to her. “Bunnies, kitties, doggies, birdies, all the cutest animals!”
“You sure do like animals, don’t ya?” Lemon Zest tousled Fluttershy’s hair, causing her to let out a giggle.
“Yep! Animals are the cutest, bestest, most wonderful things in the world!” Fluttershy explained as she and Lemon Zest walked back inside the house. “So fuzzy, fluffy, tiny, cuddly, and cute. That’s why I love my stuffies so much! Because that way, I can keep them forever. I can play with animals all day long!”
“So, ya got a future as a vet in mind?” Lemon Zest asked, as she helped Fluttershy up to the chairs by the breakfast bar. She stood her up delicately on the seat and let her lay down her twigs.
“Mmhmm. I’m gonna be a vet when I grow up!” Fluttershy nodded. “Vets need to make sure that those fuzzy, fluffy, tiny, cuddly, and cute animals are all happy and healthy. And just like you and Key take care of me while Mommy and Daddy are gone, I’ll do my very best to make the animals feel happy.”
"Lemon? Has anyone ever told you that you're precious? Because you are, girl. You really are." Lemon Zest gave Fluttershy a small hug, one that made Fluttershy hug her back. "You're so young, so happy, so completely in love with it all. Wish I could have the innocence that you do."
Fluttershy giggled. "Mommy says that being happy is the bestest feeling in the world. And I love my mommy very, very much."
"Being happy is the best feeling in the world. I know that much is true." Lemon Zest nodded as she opened the cans of paint and let Fluttershy look over them. The gooey vats of colour were a far cry from the white containers that they had been put inside. "So, what do you wanna colour your twigs with first?"
"Pink! Pink!" Fluttershy saw the pink paint and went for a twig. Cooing, she dunked the twig into the paint and pulled it back out again, revealing the once grey piece of wood was now coated in the pink paint, with some droplets dribbling down the side. Fluttershy cooed as she watched the newly baptised stick run with colours, some of it landing on the piece of paper below her. Sure enough, as Fluttershy drew a little line on the sheet of paper, she watched as the pink paint stuck from the twig to the paper. "Yay!" She threw her arms into the air, then went on painting on the paper.
"Fluttershy. Never change, ya hear?" Lemon Zest said to Fluttershy, watching as she became engrossed in her painting. For as young as she was, and how she was just painting with one colour, the sight was still enough to melt Lemon's heart into butter. Now, she had to wonder how long it would take her real parents to show up and bring her home.
Before long, Fluttershy had painted with the single twig that she ran out of paint. Tilting her head at the lack of dripping paint at the end of her twig, she dunked it back into the paint pot, unaware that she had put her hand into the pot as well. As Fluttershy pulled her hand out of the pot, she noticed that it had also turned pink as well. The now pink twig was about to touch the paper when Fluttershy noticed her hand.
"Huh?" Fluttershy dropped the twig onto the ground and looked at her hand. No longer was it the bright, buttery pink that it once was, but a more bright shade of pink. The paint dripped down from her hand and landed on the ground. And as she put her hand on the grass, she noticed that the grass had turned pink as well. Blinking at what she had done, she put her hands together, putting paint on her other hand. Fluttershy gasped at how both of her hands were pink now. A big smile popping onto her face, she put both of her hands into the paint pot and sloshed them around, giggling idyllically as she swirled the paint around with her fingers, bringing them back out a few seconds later. "Lemon! Look! I'm pink!" Fluttershy held her little hands into the air and waved them around, unknowingly tossing droplets of paint around her.
Lemon Zest couldn't help but chuckle at Fluttershy's pink hands. She had completely forgotten just how innocent and pure toddlers like Fluttershy could be. Then, before Lemon could say anything, Fluttershy started to paint with her hands, lathering the paper with pink paint and rubbing it all over the paper. In a flash, the white sheet was now a gooey, dripping mess of pink paint. A pink that made Fluttershy coo even more in delight.
"Lemon! Do you wanna be pink too?" Fluttershy asked, looking up at the big girl with bulbous eyes, and hands still dripping with pink paint. "It's super fun..."
"Man, how could I ever say no when you're involved, Fluttershy?" Lemon Zest tousled Fluttershy's hair, then got down onto her knees and took some sheets of paper. Lemon rolled up her sleeve and dunked her hand into the paint, letting it soak in the pink pool. Quickly, she took her hand out of the paint and slapped it against the paper, leaving a large, pink handprint all over it. After which, Lemon took the paper with her dry hand and showed it off to Fluttershy. "Ya like it?" Lemon asked, showing off the handprint to Fluttershy.
"Ooh..." Fluttershy looked at the handprint with blinking eyes. She reached out for the handprint and laid her own pink hand in the middle of it. Because her hands were tiny in comparison to Lemon's, the paint she put on didn't change the image whatsoever. Giggling at the handprint on handprint contact, Fluttershy clapped her hands together, splattering paint all down the leaves by her knees.
And so, both Lemon Zest and Fluttershy found them painting, well, whatever they could find with the pink paint. It was clustered, unorganised, and very, very messy. But both of the girls loved it. Lemon enjoyed it because she was cutting loose for a moment and having fun with Fluttershy, and Fluttershy loved it because of her childish innocence and pure mind. As they painted the back garden pink, the two of them had all kinds of silly thoughts pop in and out of their heads; thoughts that the two of them loved to share with one another as they kept on painting the morning away.
Eventually, the two of them decided to go inside to wash off the paint. Lemon Zest carried the can inside while Fluttershy raced off inside; both of them dripping with tiny droplets of pink paint. It wouldn't be hard to find either of them as they left a pink trail of splodges behind them as they walked. Lemon Zest put the paint down by the door then walked over to the kitchen sink with Fluttershy. Lemon plugged up the drain and filled the sink with water, adding a squirt of washing-up liquid. Quickly, bubbles started to form in the warm, clean water.
"Alright, Flutters. Up ya come." Lemon Zest picked Fluttershy up with her still-painted hands, sitting her down near the sink. Not that the paint much difference as it was the same colour as Fluttershy's clothes. "Now, we gotta wash up." Lemon lifted a finger. "As fun as painting can be, it can also be very, very messy." And without another word, Lemon stuck her hands into the soap water and started to scrub them as much as she could; with Fluttershy bearing witness to the whole thing. "See what I'm doing? Scrubbing as hard as I can. Gettin' all the paint off."
"Aww... but why do you wanna get rid of paint?" Fluttershy asked as she saw the pink paint become thinned by the water and washed off of Lemon's hands. "I like having pink hands..."
"Me too, Fluttershy, but I don't think Key would appreciate it if there were pink paint splats all over his house. No matter whether or not you made 'em." Lemon just grinned as she finished scrubbing her hands clean, then dried them and patted Fluttershy on the head.
"Why not?" Fluttershy asked, cooing softly as she looked at Fluttershy's clean, if not slightly damp hands.
"Well, let's just say, 'A', Key's not really a fan of all pink like the rest of us. And 'B', he can't really afford someone to clean up his house right now; not when he's got you to look after at the same time." She snickered, then brought Fluttershy to the sink. "Now, c'mon, girl. It's time that you scrub up and clean up those messy hands of yours."
"But... I like my pink hands." Fluttershy looked down at her pink, paint-soaked hands and looked into Lemon's eyes with hers as big as saucers. "Can I have pink hands a bit longer? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?" She gave Lemon Zest a stare that could have melted even the frostiest of ice.
"Aw, geez..." Lemon rubbed the back of her head, watching as Fluttershy's childish stare pierced into her soul. She couldn't bring herself to wash the paint off of Fluttershy's hands now; not with her so adorably looking at her like that. "I guess... you can have pink hands for a little longer..." Lemon Zest picked Fluttershy up and lifted her back to the ground.
"Yay!" Fluttershy threw her tiny hands into the air, wiggling her little fingers around. After which, she ended up giggling and cuddled Lemon Zest's legs. "Thankies, Lemon!"
"You're welcome, Fluttershy." Lemon Zest patted Fluttershy on the head again and let her cuddle her legs for a few more moments. She had to admit, having Fluttershy around made life a whole lot brighter; and there were now lots more cuddly, adorable, loveable moments like this. But for how long?
Then, the two girls heard a knocking on the door. Lemon Zest turned to the door and cocked a brow, and Fluttershy also looked towards it with a raised brow. Letting go of Lemon's legs, Fluttershy waddled to the door and tried to open it up, but the handle was too high up for her to reach. She jumped and jumped, making high-pitched grunts as she jumped, only to miss the handle every single time.
"I'll get it, Flutters." Lemon Zest walked over to the door and pulled down on the handle effortlessly. When she opened the door, there stood the policewoman from earlier; the one who had noticed Lemon and Fluttershy together. "Oh, hey, officer. What's up?"
"Good morning, miss. I'm just here to check something." She said, looking down at her feet. "This girl, I don't know if you've noticed, but recently, there has been a missing person report involving her. Pink hair, yellow skin, fluffy pink and white coat. The girl in question is called 'Fluttershy' and she was last seen in your care. Is this the same girl?"
Lemon looked down at Fluttershy and watched as she waddled forward, staring up at the policewoman with her big, bulgy eyes. She brought her hand to her mouth, cooing as she tried to make sense of this new woman.
"Yeah, she is. It's the same girl." Lemon Zest told her. "You found her alright, officer."
"Thank goodness." She let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sure that her parents would be happy to see her. But, if you don't mind me asking, isn't this the house of another resident, miss?"
"Mmhmm. The owner's currently out at work. He asked me if I could look after Fluttershy until he gets back," said Lemon, stretching a hand out at Fluttershy. "His name's Keychain, if you wanna know."
"Thank you, miss. Your information is quite invaluable." The officer walked into the house and looked down at Fluttershy, picking her up. "I'll inform her parents. In the meantime, can I trust you to contact this 'Keychain' person and have him come straight home?"
"Right." Lemon Zest nodded. She had just been talking about how long this would last, and now that Fluttershy had been found, she was going to be reunited with her parents. There goes that thought. Still, no time dwelling on it, as Lemon pulled out her phone and punched in Keychain's number, bringing the phone to her ears.
There were a few dial tones before the connection was made. And on the other side of the phone call, Keychain said, "Hello?"
"Hey, Key? We've got something that's just come up at home," said Lemon Zest.
"Oh boy... what happened? Did Fluttershy and you make a huge mess and are cleaning it up as we speak?" Keychain asked, a small sigh coming out of his mouth.
"No, no. Nothing like that. Well, nothing... too messy at least. Unless you count your backyard being neat and tidy..." Lemon Zest chuckled. "Anyways, one of the cops just came to my house and found Fluttershy in our care. She's asked me to call you straight away so you can come home."
"The cops? So Fluttershy's finally going to see her parents again?" Keychain gasped.
"Yep. You'd better get down here straight away," said Lemon.
"Right. I'll speak to my boss right now and be right back." Keychain was about to end the call, when something else came out of his mouth. "And, hey, uh, Lemon? You and the policewoman take care of Fluttershy until I get back, alright?"
"Don't you worry about that part." Lemon Zest cracked a smirk. "Now, you just get on back here, tiger." Then, she hung up and put the phone away. "Alright. I've just given him the call. He's on his way home now."
"Thank you." The policewoman said as she knelt down to see Fluttershy's face clearer. Tousling Fluttershy's hair, she watched as the little girl backed up a little, shaking her hair; a gesture which made the woman in question stop and retract her hand. "Her parents, they're... really worried about her."
"How did she even get lost in the first place?" Lemon asked, blinking a few times. "Like, for reals. Or are you not allowed to tell me about that?"
"No, no. You deserve to know. Seeing as how you're the ones who found her in the first place." The policewoman said, standing back upright as she walked over to Lemon Zest. "A few weeks ago, Fluttershy's parents went to a theme park not too far from here and lost Fluttershy. There are some buses than run to and from the park. The most logical course of action was that Fluttershy jumped onto one of the buses and got a free ride all the way to this town. After which, she must have wandered around and found this place. Of course, that's just what the station seems to believe. I don't know the truth for myself, but that's the most commonly-believed method of how she got here."
"The theme park? Ya mean Wild World? I've heard that's a great place for animal-lovers. It's like a theme-park and a zoo mixed together." Lemon slapped her legs, and Fluttershy came toddling over to them, cuddling them gently. "Fluttershy's told me and Keychain that she loved animals so much, so maybe her parents took her there because she likes 'em so much."
"My favourite toy's a little bunny called Angel." Fluttershy said out randomly, as Lemon Zest picked her up and held her gently in both hands. "Key and Lemon bought her for me because I love bunnies." She smiled and clapped her hands together. "Bunnies just go bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bounce through the forest with a big smile on their face!"
"Sounds to me like you've been taking really good care of her." The policewoman cracked a smile. "That's good to hear. Whenever people go missing, their relatives and friends fear for their safety. To know that you've been caring for Fluttershy the way that you both have, it takes a whole lot of the stress and worry off of me. And I'm sure it'll do the same for her parents."
"Speakin' of which, you gonna call 'em? Or is someone from the office gonna do it instead?" Lemon asked, blinking at the woman.
"I was just about to relay the information to my station right now. Once they get the validation that it's Fluttershy, they'll inform her parents. After which, I'd advise that the two of you stay here until they arrive." The woman went for a walkie-talkie and pushed the button. "Chief. I've found Fluttershy. I've gotten confirmation from someone named Lemon Zest, who's friends with the owner of the house, Keychain. Can you call Fluttershy's parents and tell them to meet me at 35 Conifer Place?"
"35 Conifer Place. Heard." The police chief told the woman. "I'll inform Fluttershy's parents right now. In the meantime, stay where you are and make sure that nothing happens to Fluttershy. The last thing that her parents need after just having heard she's alright is that she's in a bad state. Give her some food and drink if she needs it, and make sure that the two people who've been looking after her are present."
"Will do. We're just waiting for Keychain to return from his work right now. I'll radio you once they're both present and Fluttershy's parents arrive." The woman said. "Over and out." Then she ended the conversation by letting go of the walkie-talkie button.
"Ya hear that, Fluttershy? Mommy and daddy are gonna be here soon." Lemon Zest looked Fluttershy in the eyes. "You can go back home with them and back to all of your other toys, games, and fun things. Won't that be wonderful?"
"Mommy? Daddy?" Fluttershy gasped, thinking about her parents. Now, after so long away from them, she was about to be reunited with them and go home. But what would that mean for Lemon and Key; two of the people who had grown the closest to her throughout this whole ordeal. How would they feel about her saying goodbye to them. "You won't cry when I go bye-bye?"
"I'll be sad, yeah, but I won't be too torn up about it, Flutters." Lemon Zest patted Fluttershy on the back. "Big people learn how to cope with bad and hurtful things when they grow up. We'll both be fine about it. Will... you be fine leaving us?"
"I don't know... You two are my specials, but... mommy and daddy are mommy and daddy." Fluttershy twiddled her fingers together. For all of the fun that she had been having with Keychain and Lemon Zest, they would never be able to replace her real parents deep down. And as she thought about all of the love and warmth her real parents had given her in comparison, she was having a hard time choosing between them and Keychain and Lemon Zest. "What do I do, Lemon?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, alright?" Lemon Zest cuddled Fluttershy close to her chest. "For now, you just wait until Key gets back, okay?"
"Okay..." Fluttershy sounded like she was happy, but deep down, inside, she was torn between both her parents and her two best friends. Would she really be happy leaving two very important people like this? And would her parents give her the same kind of warmth and fuzzy feelings of fun, joy, and merriment that Keychain and Lemon Zest had given her? She was only a toddler deep down, she didn't have the mindset to comprehend or make such important decisions in moments like this. All that she could do as she waited was look out the window. Watching the birds fly by as she waited for Keychain to come home; for her parents to arrive; and for the bridge to be crossed, as Lemon so put it.
