grounded ashes

4

Lightbulb kept close to Paintbrush at all times, hardly leaving the room and apologizing every time she did. They've been in this coma for two months now, and have very slowly begun to cool down enough to touch with bare hands. Lightbulb was a bit more compliant to let TT check on them now, standing by the bed as she worked, but she was very afraid of them dying without her knowing. Test Tube thought she had the solution.

Right now, she had just come in with a machine that LB has never seen before. Lightbulb wasn't sure of what it did, but it was on wheels and had a dark screen that reflected the room. Test Tube sighed, looked at Paintbrush, apologized, and connected them to the machine through a small electrode in a brace wrapped around their arm, right under their shoulder.

"What is that?"
"It's a heart monitor. It'll keep track of their heartbeat so you don't burn yourself."

She took a wire off the back of the screen, then plugged it into the wall.

After a few seconds, a green line appeared on the screen, jolting up and down in pointed angles every few seconds. This was paired with a quiet beeping sound. Tube looked at Lighty and smiled.

"Now you don't have to worry."
"What if their heart stops?"
"You'll know. It's loud."
"Oh..."

Lightbulb watched it, subconsciously putting her hand on Painty's chest and flinching back when they burned her. Test Tube checked her hand before she left- LB was fine, and so was Paintbrush.

Lightbulb laid with them, wondering if this would help them wake up. They didn't speak, but they seemed to smile a little when she started telling them another story.

She was halfway through a sentence when she nudged something with her foot. She looked down and noticed a little stuffed animal. She gasped softly, then picked it up. It was a little alpaca with cute little button eyes, soft white fur, a little smile on her snout and a knitted scarf wrapped carefully around her throat.

Lightbulb paused, then smelled it. The alpaca smelled like fruit- sweet, yes, but with a very light hint of sourness. From this alone, and the pattern on the scarf, she figured that it belonged to Painty. This was the same stuffed alpaca that Paintbrush slept with every night.

She figured they'd want it, so she held it close to their chest to see if it would burn. When it didn't, she smiled a little and placed it on their chest, crossing their arms over it as well.

She could've sworn they smiled a little more. She smiled too, sitting beside them and continuing to tell them her stories.