[TOY] Plaything

[skinstealer]

POLKA DOT: …there was another dream, too.
TIMOTHY: Yeah?
POLKA DOT: I…
POLKA DOT: I think…it may have been a premonition. About the adventure.
 

The look Tim gives you is dead serious, his eyes focused on yours.

TIMOTHY: …how bad was it?
POLKA DOT: Bad. Really bad.
POLKA DOT: I…I don’t know all the details, but you were there, and Devo, and Willow.
POLKA DOT: No Roulette, but…I don’t think that means anything in particular, not when it was so iffy that it’d be coming anyway.
POLKA DOT: There was this…thing.
POLKA DOT: …you said it was hunting.
TIMOTHY: Hunting us, you mean?
 

You manage a nod, and he sighs- not out of irritation, but a different emotion you can’t place.

TIMOTHY: Great…
TIMOTHY: I mean, we knew there’d be monsters…sounds like there’s just…an extra nasty one.
TIMOTHY: Not really a “just” situation, though.
TIMOTHY: Did we, uh…live?

The look on your face tells him more than your words could.

TIMOTHY: Mmgh. Awesome.
TIMOTHY: Anything we should know about this thing?
POLKA DOT: It…had something to do with tar. I couldn’t make any details out, but…
POLKA DOT: Tar, and weird voices.
TIMOTHY: Not much we can do with that, but…
TIMOTHY: Something to look out for, I guess.
 

No one speaks for a few moments, your eyes on the stars.

TIMOTHY: …I’ll help take that thing down. I will.
POLKA DOT: You can’t do that on your own-
TIMOTHY: We don’t know that yet.
TIMOTHY: I’m planning on going to these…training grounds deeper in the city when I can. I figure we could get the whole party together and get some practice sessions in before we go…
POLKA DOT: Yeah, Willow mentioned something like that…
TIMOTHY: Then that’s our next step.
POLKA DOT: That, and talking to that old toy I met about gear- Wanderer, I think her name was.
TIMOTHY: Easy enough…should probably do weapons first. Make sure we’ve got things down.
TIMOTHY: …winter clothes, too.
POLKA DOT: Huh?
TIMOTHY: Might be snowy out in the wilds, too!
TIMOTHY: Don’t want to freeze to death out there…
POLKA DOT: …I didn’t even think about that.
POLKA DOT: Are…Willow and Roulette going to be able to handle that?
TIMOTHY: Hell if I know! I don’t know how electronic toys work even a little bit.
TIMOTHY: But…that’s why we should get some warm clothes, and supplies for warming up.
POLKA DOT: What a fucking mess…
 

You rub your wing against your beak, your anxiety clearly shining through.

TIMOTHY: …yeah.
TIMOTHY: I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried, too…
TIMOTHY: The more I think about it, the more antsy I get.
TIMOTHY: But…
TIMOTHY: This means a lot to Willow.
POLKA DOT: More than I can even wrap my head around, if I’m being honest…
POLKA DOT: She just…she seems so happy thinking about this.
POLKA DOT: And, like, when I think about stuff like her being a big ass monster and doing gay shit with that, that seems great!
POLKA DOT: And the way she’s so enthusiastic about it, that seems great too!
POLKA DOT: But…
POLKA DOT: …
POLKA DOT: I…hope she realizes how serious this shit is.
TIMOTHY: …you gonna try to talk her out of it?
POLKA DOT: No chance in hell. She’s obsessed with this stuff, and with how good it makes her feel, I can’t blame her.
POLKA DOT: I’m not jealous, but…I can’t help but wish I had something like that to shoot for.
POLKA DOT: Some kind of goal, you know?
TIMOTHY: …yeah.
TIMOTHY: I get that too.
 

You can hear him shuffling around beside you, and when you glance over, you can see your canine companion holding a pillow to his chest, giving it a squeeze.

TIMOTHY: S-sorry, uh-
TIMOTHY: Force of habit.
POLKA DOT: Stress thing?
TIMOTHY: …yeah.
POLKA DOT: I get it, man…I get it.
POLKA DOT: And…
POLKA DOT: I appreciate you being here for me, okay?
POLKA DOT: Feels like you always got my back.
 

He sits upright at that, giving you a determined look.

TIMOTHY: O-of course I do!
TIMOTHY: I…don’t try to half ass things, and that includes friend stuff.
TIMOTHY: …besides, I know you’d do the same.
TIMOTHY: You’re good like that.
 

After you give him a grateful nod, he flops back over, getting back to squeezing and squishing the pillow.

TIMOTHY: …you think Devo and Roulette are doing okay right now?
POLKA DOT: Hope so…but I guess we’ll find out about it either way.
TIMOTHY: Hell of a night…
 

You don’t talk much after that, just…watching up above.

It’s comfortable, more than you could have expected.

When you get home, you crash into bed and almost immediately pass out, not even bothering to kick off your shoes.

When you dream this time, it’s good. For fucking once.

What do you see?