EMPTY BUTTON EYES
Title: Empty Button Eyes
Author: tikistitch
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Toki is having nightmares
Warnings: Swearing, scary stuff
Notes: What happens when I try to write to prompts. Pfffft.
Cross-posted from capslokdethklok.
Toki wasn’t alone. Toki was never alone.
Not when his friends were here.
Deddy bear had the seat of honor at the head of the little card table. But there were other friends, like Mr. Bunny and Owl and Jumbo Machinder and Totoro, and brand new friends like Mr. Wriggly Octopus. And they all had their tea cups and their slices of lemon cake.
Toki sat himself down at a chair too. His legs didn’t quite reach down to the floor yet, so he kicked them. His father would have scolded him harshly for fidgeting, but his father wasn’t here right now. No, it was just Toki and his friends. There was a light coming through the window, so it was sunny and warm and bright here.
He was having a very polite and proper conversation with Mr. Owl, who was very proper, when he heard the rattle. The sun had lowered in the sky, and there was now a shadow in the corner of the room.
“Uh, hello?” said Toki.
The rattle came again.
And then a scuffling.
And movement.
Toki grabbed across the table, upsetting teacups. He dragged Deddy across the table, and hugged his friend to his chest.
“Dood, yoo wanna play Ninja Ghost Bomb?”
Toki blinked sleepily at Pickles. “What ams you sayings, Pickle?”
“Ain’t it past your bedtime, dood?” the drummer teased.
“I ams not have bedtimes no more,” Toki grumbled, rising and stalking off.
“What’s wit’ him?” Pickles asked, pausing his video game.
“Pffft. Hims ams ladies on his period,” Skwisgaar sniffed, lazily fingering a riff on his Gibson.
There hadn’t been a tea party this afternoon.
Toki sat on his bed, pushed over in the corner of the room, his friends hugged around him.
Well, except for one: he hadn’t been able to find Mr. Wriggly Octopus. He had searched everywhere. Maybe they had him now?
The shadows were growing longer. It was time. He heard rattling. And scuffling.
There were more of them this time.
Toki crushed Deddy in his arms.
“Pickle,” Toki asked softly.
“Yeh?” Pickles asked, rousing.
“You ams gots da cocaines?”
“Toki!" Pickles sat up on his bed, rubbing his eyes. "What da fuck did yoo want wit’ coke?”
“What ams it matters?” Toki snapped.
Pickles yawned and stretched and stood up, hooking an arm around the guitarist’s neck.
“An’ I ask again, what da fuck?” Pickles repeated, grabbing a half full beer from the nightstand and giving it a guzzle. He choked. Some dildo had tossed their cigarette butt into the bottle. He flicked away the butt and took another swallow.
“I ams having da troubles sleepings,” Toki finally whispered.
“Well, how about dis?" Pickles asked, gesturing with the beer bottle. "Yoo jist go t’ sleep, an’ let me take care of it.”
“How ams you do dat, Pickle?”
“Yoo jist let me take care of it, OK?” Pickles grinned. “I got my ways, dood.”
It was the time when the shadows lengthened. And Toki could not breathe.
They had taken Deddy.
He had looked everywhere. He had torn his room apart.
Toki was all alone.
He sat huddled in the corner of his room. He didn’t want to cry. Crying was for babies.
They would be here soon.
“Toki!”
The voice was soft, and familiar. Toki looked over to a forgotten corner of his room.
Mr. Wriggly Octopus was there, beckoning him with a soft, curled tentacle.
The darkness had come. It was time again.
The Ancient scuttled into the room, looking for the boy. His fear was most delicious. And it was time to feed. They licked their lips, filling up the boy’s dream space with their darkness.
But there was no succulent terror to be had in the room. No fear. No boy.
Just a cursed thing.
Deddy bear was sitting there at the little card table, picking his bear teeth, staring at them with his empty bear eyes.
“Sooooo, do we have an issue here?” Deddy asked them, seeming to consider his toothpick with his lifeless button eyes.
The raptors were confused. They came from an ancient time. A time before words.
An issue? What is an issue? We are The Ancient.
“Uh-huh. Whatever the fuck you are. Toki was having a party. And you weren’t on the Evite.” Deddy’s little pointed tail flicked.
Where is the boy? We have come for Toki. We have come for his fear. We are The Ancient.
“Sorry, Ancient, no fear here today.” Moonlight glinted off the empty black bear eyes.
We are The Ancient. We will not be denied.
“Well, here’s the deal, Ancient: you fuck with Toki, you fuck with Deddy. Understood?”
The raptors loomed, dark and threatening. They rattled their wings. And scuffled their claws.
We are The Ancient. You are a mere child’s toy.
Deddy’s bear mouth grinned. His grin was full of pointed teeth.
“Try me,” he said, pulling out a sword.
“Christ!” said Charles, sitting up and shaking his head.
“Dat’s a pretty cool spirit animal, dood!” Pickles said approvingly, still lying back on his bed. He cheerfully proffered a hand rolled cigarette to his manager.
“Pickles, what is, ah, in that stuff anyway?” Charles said, waving him off.
“Oh! Dis is my special blend….”
“Just, ah, just don’t tell me, OK? And for, uh, future reference, it probably isn’t the best idea to, ah, go for a spirit walk in someone else’s dreams.” He rose somewhat unsteadily to his feet. “Especially your, uh, band mates’ dreams. Whoa.” The floor didn’t seem to want to stay put.
“But, dood, dose Ancient douche bags were scarin’ da fuck outta Toki!”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway. I think we’ve dealt with the issue.” Charles peered over his glasses and then through them. It didn’t seem to make a difference. He picked his fencing saber off Pickles’s bed and, frowning, tried to rub off a large red stain with the sleeve of his bathrobe.
“Sure you don’t wanna stay, dood?”
“I've got a meeting in a couple hours. I need to find some Scotch. Or aspirin. Or a cigarette. Or coke. Or…. I dunno, some fucking thing. Damn.” And he left, fencing saber tucked under one arm, rubbing his forehead.
Pickles grinned after him. He glanced up to the headboard of his bed, to the little red octopus and Deddy bear. He reached up over his head and brought them both down. He wondered if he should get them back to Toki. Well. Maybe it could wait. Just one night. He set them back up, being careful to twine a little red tentacle into one of Deddy’s paws.
Author: tikistitch
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Toki is having nightmares
Warnings: Swearing, scary stuff
Notes: What happens when I try to write to prompts. Pfffft.
Cross-posted from capslokdethklok.
Toki wasn’t alone. Toki was never alone.
Not when his friends were here.
Deddy bear had the seat of honor at the head of the little card table. But there were other friends, like Mr. Bunny and Owl and Jumbo Machinder and Totoro, and brand new friends like Mr. Wriggly Octopus. And they all had their tea cups and their slices of lemon cake.
Toki sat himself down at a chair too. His legs didn’t quite reach down to the floor yet, so he kicked them. His father would have scolded him harshly for fidgeting, but his father wasn’t here right now. No, it was just Toki and his friends. There was a light coming through the window, so it was sunny and warm and bright here.
He was having a very polite and proper conversation with Mr. Owl, who was very proper, when he heard the rattle. The sun had lowered in the sky, and there was now a shadow in the corner of the room.
“Uh, hello?” said Toki.
The rattle came again.
And then a scuffling.
And movement.
Toki grabbed across the table, upsetting teacups. He dragged Deddy across the table, and hugged his friend to his chest.
“Dood, yoo wanna play Ninja Ghost Bomb?”
Toki blinked sleepily at Pickles. “What ams you sayings, Pickle?”
“Ain’t it past your bedtime, dood?” the drummer teased.
“I ams not have bedtimes no more,” Toki grumbled, rising and stalking off.
“What’s wit’ him?” Pickles asked, pausing his video game.
“Pffft. Hims ams ladies on his period,” Skwisgaar sniffed, lazily fingering a riff on his Gibson.
There hadn’t been a tea party this afternoon.
Toki sat on his bed, pushed over in the corner of the room, his friends hugged around him.
Well, except for one: he hadn’t been able to find Mr. Wriggly Octopus. He had searched everywhere. Maybe they had him now?
The shadows were growing longer. It was time. He heard rattling. And scuffling.
There were more of them this time.
Toki crushed Deddy in his arms.
“Pickle,” Toki asked softly.
“Yeh?” Pickles asked, rousing.
“You ams gots da cocaines?”
“Toki!" Pickles sat up on his bed, rubbing his eyes. "What da fuck did yoo want wit’ coke?”
“What ams it matters?” Toki snapped.
Pickles yawned and stretched and stood up, hooking an arm around the guitarist’s neck.
“An’ I ask again, what da fuck?” Pickles repeated, grabbing a half full beer from the nightstand and giving it a guzzle. He choked. Some dildo had tossed their cigarette butt into the bottle. He flicked away the butt and took another swallow.
“I ams having da troubles sleepings,” Toki finally whispered.
“Well, how about dis?" Pickles asked, gesturing with the beer bottle. "Yoo jist go t’ sleep, an’ let me take care of it.”
“How ams you do dat, Pickle?”
“Yoo jist let me take care of it, OK?” Pickles grinned. “I got my ways, dood.”
It was the time when the shadows lengthened. And Toki could not breathe.
They had taken Deddy.
He had looked everywhere. He had torn his room apart.
Toki was all alone.
He sat huddled in the corner of his room. He didn’t want to cry. Crying was for babies.
They would be here soon.
“Toki!”
The voice was soft, and familiar. Toki looked over to a forgotten corner of his room.
Mr. Wriggly Octopus was there, beckoning him with a soft, curled tentacle.
The darkness had come. It was time again.
The Ancient scuttled into the room, looking for the boy. His fear was most delicious. And it was time to feed. They licked their lips, filling up the boy’s dream space with their darkness.
But there was no succulent terror to be had in the room. No fear. No boy.
Just a cursed thing.
Deddy bear was sitting there at the little card table, picking his bear teeth, staring at them with his empty bear eyes.
“Sooooo, do we have an issue here?” Deddy asked them, seeming to consider his toothpick with his lifeless button eyes.
The raptors were confused. They came from an ancient time. A time before words.
An issue? What is an issue? We are The Ancient.
“Uh-huh. Whatever the fuck you are. Toki was having a party. And you weren’t on the Evite.” Deddy’s little pointed tail flicked.
Where is the boy? We have come for Toki. We have come for his fear. We are The Ancient.
“Sorry, Ancient, no fear here today.” Moonlight glinted off the empty black bear eyes.
We are The Ancient. We will not be denied.
“Well, here’s the deal, Ancient: you fuck with Toki, you fuck with Deddy. Understood?”
The raptors loomed, dark and threatening. They rattled their wings. And scuffled their claws.
We are The Ancient. You are a mere child’s toy.
Deddy’s bear mouth grinned. His grin was full of pointed teeth.
“Try me,” he said, pulling out a sword.
“Christ!” said Charles, sitting up and shaking his head.
“Dat’s a pretty cool spirit animal, dood!” Pickles said approvingly, still lying back on his bed. He cheerfully proffered a hand rolled cigarette to his manager.
“Pickles, what is, ah, in that stuff anyway?” Charles said, waving him off.
“Oh! Dis is my special blend….”
“Just, ah, just don’t tell me, OK? And for, uh, future reference, it probably isn’t the best idea to, ah, go for a spirit walk in someone else’s dreams.” He rose somewhat unsteadily to his feet. “Especially your, uh, band mates’ dreams. Whoa.” The floor didn’t seem to want to stay put.
“But, dood, dose Ancient douche bags were scarin’ da fuck outta Toki!”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway. I think we’ve dealt with the issue.” Charles peered over his glasses and then through them. It didn’t seem to make a difference. He picked his fencing saber off Pickles’s bed and, frowning, tried to rub off a large red stain with the sleeve of his bathrobe.
“Sure you don’t wanna stay, dood?”
“I've got a meeting in a couple hours. I need to find some Scotch. Or aspirin. Or a cigarette. Or coke. Or…. I dunno, some fucking thing. Damn.” And he left, fencing saber tucked under one arm, rubbing his forehead.
Pickles grinned after him. He glanced up to the headboard of his bed, to the little red octopus and Deddy bear. He reached up over his head and brought them both down. He wondered if he should get them back to Toki. Well. Maybe it could wait. Just one night. He set them back up, being careful to twine a little red tentacle into one of Deddy’s paws.