Chapter Text
Grunts of frustration escaped your mouth as you tried to wipe away the sweat forming at your temples, pearl drops of moisture shining in the lanterns light. Dulce meowing up at you from the bottom of the tree you are climbing. You sigh in irritation as sticky webs wrap themselves around your hand, eye twitching.
Dulce’s motivation stops you from reviving the already dead spider to choke them back to Death’s hands. You finally manage to brush away all the webs that stubbornly clinged onto the tree’s extending arms. Sighing, you fall back onto the branch that you straddled in your struggle. Your arms swaying below you as you look up at the endless sky.
Wispy whites and grays painting the blue canvas above the mountains in curving strokes. The sun blinding in her radiance, peeking through the curtain of clouds obscuring her face. Soft humming swirls through the air, your eyes lazily tracing the cloud’s curves and lines.
You look to your side, smiling at the sight of wide azure eyes staring back at you. You scope up Dulce into your hands, her body pliant as you pull her onto your chest. Your forms breathing together slowly, lulled into tranquility by the warm light and cool breeze against your skin.
Quiet clicking makes your eyes trail down the tree, an unnoticeable smile gracing your lips upon seeing who it is. The creature’s soft fur ruffling in the wind’s dance. You never managed to find out what their name is, or if they could even talk in the first place. You’ve heard them try to mimic your words, never really legible in the end though.
“hii!” Your eyes crinkle in amusement, their greeting excited and a bit jumbled. “Hi there, what you doing?” You ask as you look at their hands similarly made messy with webs like yours. They excitedly hiss at you, the sound mixed with a purr as they spread their hands to reveal a web. You confusedly squint at the web, trying to figure out if they're just showing that.
Your eyes widen in surprise as you see that the thicker strands form into letters. The letters are crudely shaped but visible with how much of the web flows through them. Your body jolts up from the laying position you were in. Your gaze traces over the word over and over again, not paying attention to the hisses coming from Dulce.
“Lenny…? Is that your name?” Their happy clicks combined with their little jumps confirming your words. An unguarded smile fully blooms on your face, feeling like the sight of water from a dying man with how rare it is for them to see it. “That’s a nice name.” Warmth rounding the usually ragged way that words leave your lips.
“yooeh naemm?”
“My name?” You say as you point towards yourself. A smaller smile lifting the corners of your lips as they rapidly nod yes. The words spill out of you, not being said in what could be years or months. It feels nice to have the normality of introducing yourself to someone else after all this time of isolation, even if it is a giant man-eating spider.
Lenny repeats your name over and over, the joy their feeling pouring out of them in waves. A huff of mirth escapes from you, a poor imitation of your bright laugh that fills the air when you're alone. Lenny feels a bit disappointed that you're still not comfortable to be your usual self around him but still feels glad that you're opening up slowly.
A long meow breaks the both of you out of the small moment, small claws scratching at your shoulder. You pet Dulce, her purrs showing her enjoyment as she slowly blinks. Lenny deflates, looking like a melting void of disappointment. Wide teary pearl eyes stumble across squinted blue eyes full of triumph for redirecting your attention away from him.
Lenny’s eyes widen in betrayal, shock showing on his face as his mind processes the backstabbing he just experienced. You obliviously continue petting Dulce, unaware of the treachery that just occurred.
After letting Dulce get the affection she wanted, you climb down the tree with her in one of your arms. Lenny warbles in distress, fluttering around the area you’re going down like a particularly agitated dark butterfly. You allow for a small smile to slip towards them as your feet finally touch the ground.
Lenny melts, relieved that you didn’t get harmed and the small beam of sunlight that you allowed him to see with your smile. You pat their shoulder as you pass them, leaving him to gravitate towards you like the seas to the moon. Mostly one-sided talking occupies the air as you walk towards your home, and he trails after you.
Flowers trail along the pathway’s edge, coming out of their shells as the Spring Sun shines down. Grass and the blooming buds fighting for space to embrace the warmth to grow with each ray and drop of rain. The Forest’s trees are creating spots of shade with their fresh leaves.
As your small group approaches the house, Lenny’s expression gradually falls. You turn around and face him when you reach the door. Lenny looks up at you, appearing like a poor imitation of a kicked puppy. You sighed as you saw him try and appear smaller under your stare, but only making themselves appear more uncanny. Pure white eyes looking up at you from a void of a face and long limbs resting wrongly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Lenny.” You say, a grimace twisting the smile you try to give them. Lenny dejectedly nods before slowly walking away. You feel a bit bad, but you still don’t trust them enough to actually let them in with your permission. Your thoughts wonder as you enter your house. I know they aren't trying to hurt me, but… I can’t help but feel cautious… I don’t know if they’re going to change their mind suddenly.
You sigh as you shut the door behind you, tension and anxiety leaving your body as Lenny is out of sight. You had started to feel more comfortable around them after the conversation at the tree, but you got starkly reminded that they aren't like you or anything that you know of. There was always a sense of wrongness. As if they were an anomaly that slipped through the Universe's fingers.
Shuddering, you look down at Dulce who apparently doesn’t share your concerns with how relaxed she seems with them. A headache starts to bloom behind your eyes, sharp needles making themselves known in your head. You message your temple with shaking fingers as Dulce jumps out of your grasp.
You tiredly go to your kitchen, throwing open the medicine drawer and rummaging for the pills that would make the needles dissipate. You grab the bottle desperately, swallowing the pain relief pills as soon as they fall onto your palm. You feel them going down your throat as you just beg for them to start working in your mind.
You shut your eyes, enveloping yourself in darkness that eerily reminds you of the crea- Lenny… that reminds you of Lenny. You correct yourself mentally as your eyes fly open, desperate for them to just leave your mind. Even if they freak you out, they’ve been perfectly nice… nice enough for whatever they are…
You will yourself to stop thinking of this and just try to get your mind off everything. Your hand drags itself down your face, groaning with a bone deep tiredness resonating through your actions. You rummage around the cabinets, trying to find the ingredients to make anything.
When you find the stuff to make brownies, you quickly get to work. The reparative movements of measuring and mixing easing your mind. Flour and batter stray themselves from the bowl onto your skin, creating a messy constellation of your efforts against the skin visible to the air.
You play with Dulce as a way to pass time as the brownies bake in the oven, waving feathers over her swinging paws. Her furry belly is exposed to the sky as she squirms trying to catch the feathers barely escaping her grasp. You feel like you're being stared at, but the feeling has been a constant in the back of your mind. You don’t know if you’re truly being watched or if you're just imagining the feeling due to the nervousness of being around your new companion.
The sharp ring of the timer cuts through the peaceful air of the two of you playing. You get up and put on the oven mitts near you as she lets out a long meow in dismay. Your hands wrapped in wool carefully grabbing the metal as you pull them out.
The mouthwatering scent that escapes the furnace makes you content, the activity of baking has always been a comfort and joy for you. It was easy to just follow the recipe exactly and not having to think about what else is needed or if it’s coming out right like cooking. People used to tell you that they’re basically the same thing, but for you baking just has always been easier for you to understand and get results.
The pan is rested on top of a rack, kept away from all the wood. You had learned your lesson after the second time a bun mark had disfigured the wood of your counters. A rich chocolate scent curls through the air; the source kept away from small curious paws. You gather all the dishes dirtied in the whirlwind of movements that was happening during the process.
Dread gathers in your gut, heavy with the daunting task that is washing the stack of dishes that were put in the sink. You bravely ignore the heaviness in your stomach that gathered to begin tackling the task. Your back is turned to the window in the kitchen, the Sun’s bright rays turned into a gentle spilling of light.
It had been a while since you had entered your house as you had been caught up in the movements of baking, enough time for the sun to start tucking in for the night. The mindless scrubbing that occupied your hands distracted you enough that you didn't notice the eyes tracking your every movement.