The Broken Toy

08/14/2017

Fire. A torch, burning bright against the night. A crowd of people, their faces blurred, their words a jumble of noise. He turned away. He couldn't move. Hands behind his back. A stake. A rope. A pile of logs, now ablaze with awful green fire.

Panic. He struggled against the ropes. The crowd was laughing. The crowd was glitching. The fire had reached his feet. Why, then, was it his face that burned? A cloudless, starless sky. Pure black. Green against the backs of his eyelids.

Sharp nails, digging into his skin. Blood dripping from his hands, held up in front of him. A fire blazing around him. A familiar house glowing red orange from the blaze. Heat. Searing pain. Laughter. Anti's laughter.

Kitten shuddered on the floor. The nightmares still flashing before him. He opened his eyes slowly. Everything hurt. He didn't feel like moving from his spot. The right side of his face was pressed against the floor and, although it hurt slightly, the cold had been seeping in all night. Numbing the burning sensation that crawled over his blistering skin.

The nights sleep had been unrewarding. Kitten was constantly jolting awake. Images of flames dancing across his tired eyes once more before scurrying away. Even unconsciousness couldn't dull the pain from the previous day.

So he lay still. Breathing slowly and carefully. Eyes closed to prevent the soft sting that came with every blink. The warmth in his chest was returning. He was simply waiting for it to take effect. Praying that it would be able to fix the damage Anti had caused.

Time crawled doggedly forward. Kitten could feel the power beginning to work. He couldn't see whether or not it was making a difference to the wound itself, but the amount of pain he was in had drastically lowered. Things were looking up.

And then Anti walked in.

Kitten winced as the glitch entered his room, but he pushed himself up. Standing shakily. Leaning on the wall for support. It was rather unusual for Anti to visit his room two days in a row, but he was hardly glitching at all. It seemed to be safe.

"Hello, pet," Anti murmured the standard greeting. Acting as though yesterday hadn't happened. And, despite his misgivings, Kitten knew better than to avoid answering.

"Hello Anti." He tensed slightly. Good lord, it hurt to talk. He prepared himself for yet another talk about his uselessness. But Anti had other plans. Out of seemingly nowhere he pulled a pure white object. Holding it out to Kitten.

"Here, Kitten. I got you something."

Kitten took the gift. It was a mask. Shaped like the head of a cat, complete with ears and a bump for the nose. It had a small amount of weight to it and was made of a material that he didn't recognize. Two thick black ribbons hung from the sides.

The inside of the mask was cool on his fingertips. There was a symbol carved on the inside of the forehead. Surrounded by other, smaller, symbols. He turned it slowly in his hands. He had never been given anything before.

"Here." Anti said. He sounded almost kind. "I'll help you put it on."

He plucked the mask from Kittens grasp. Positioning it on his face with ease. Kitten felt the warmth in his chest recoiling, but made no move to stop Anti as he knotted the ribbon tightly.

As soon as Anti had finished Kitten felt a change. As though a part of his soul had simply disappeared. He gasped softly before clamping his mouth shut again. Hopefully Anti hadn't heard. If he had, he didn't react. The cool hard mask pressed into his burns. It hurt, but it could have been worse. Kitten didn't know what to do.

"Aren't you going to say thank you?" Anti's voiced had a cold edge. He was leaning against the door again. Watching Kittens movements closely.

"Thank- thank you Anti." He nodded. Seeming satisfied with his answer, Anti opened the door. As he stepped into the doorway he turned and looked Kitten dead in the eyes.

"Promise me you'll never take it off."

"I- I promise."

"Good."

The door clicked shut and Kitten was left alone. He slumped to the floor again. Still shaking slightly from the effort of standing. The mask was biting into delicate skin and the warmth was nowhere to be found. Kitten reached up and ran a finger over the smooth surface of the mask.

It hurt, but it was his.

It hurt, but it was a gift from Anti.

It hurt, but he wouldn't take it off for anything in the world.

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Marvin has his mask! Yay! In case it was unclear, the symbols inside the mask are sigils that suppress Marvin's magic. And yep. That's about it. Have an incredible rest of your day!

- Silver