Work Text:
Clockwork was a lot to take in.
An intimidating killer who worked for Zalgo, made to be a perfect chess piece in his empire. She was strong, and quick too. Who wouldn’t be afraid of a woman that could pick a grown man up by his neck, with one hand as well?
When it came to her crimes, most of them were clean. A quick slash of the throat, or a puncture to the skull and brains. She really seemed to love making a show of the body though, carving out the stomach or sewing the lips and eyes of her victim shut. It sent the message well to others.
A perfect proxy.
Unlike Toby.
Toby was messy. Unorganized. His brain was a clutter of thoughts that came and went before he knew what he was doing. Totally impulsive was his nature, especially when it came to killing someone for his master.
Every single one of his crimes were remembered for how messy they were. Chopped up parts strewed along and splats of blood everywhere. Some scenes even took a while to clean because fingers would be missing or there were places where it should have been impossible to get messy, but there was the occasional drop of blood.
Despite this, Toby was known for being capable of carrying out orders. Although Slender Man preferred the experience of Hoody or the horrifying strength of Masky. So Toby was mostly kept on the back burner of things.
Which meant he was confined to the forests, left to watch the perimeter of Slender’s territory. Nothing ever happened, and he didn’t mind it all that much. The voices, whispers in the back of his brain occupied his time. They told stories of a boy who lost his mind. A boy who experienced tragedy his whole life.
Toby liked listening to these stories. Almost believed they were him but when things got too clear the static came back and helped him forget about the ache deep in his chest. The one he couldn’t understand, and wasn’t allowed to either.
So there he stayed. In the forest, lost in his thoughts until Slender Man would clear them for him.
Then Clockwork appeared.