"Sammy!"
Henry slammed open the apartment door, walking into a disgruntled Sammy who looked just about done with life. He was holding Linda far away from himself, his blonde hair messed up with some sticky stuff in it. Slowly, he turned towards Henry with a face that televised disgust and insanity all at the same time.
"And where have you been all night, Henry?"
"Oh...um…," Henry scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Sammy! I guess I lost track of time?"
"Lost track of time? Oh, yes, Henry. I suppose that explains why you were gone for four entire hours and left me here with your child."
"Yeah...I kind of had to take a…," Henry stole a quick glance at his apartment door across the hall, which rattled just the tiniest bit. "Detour!"
"Fine. Just take her, okay?" Sammy shoved the baby into his friend's chest with a sour expression on his face but Henry could've sworn he saw Sammy wave 'bye-bye' to Linda while he trooped back to his own apartment.
Quickly, Henry slammed the door behind him and slid down it. That had been close, so very close. Henry held his tiny child close to his heart, looking up from her only when he heard tiny footsteps approach.
"Why'd you rattle the door?," Henry questioned the little demon who just shrugged as he watched Henry get up to place his little girl into her crib. "So do demons like you enjoy ham sandwiches, eggs or-?"
The ink creature limped his way to the crib while the man trudged into his kitchen. He was curious. What was that small, pink thing that cooed so softly? It didn't look like any Toon or human he could remember…
"That's Linda, by the way. She's my daughter."
Linda?
What was a daughter, exactly? Why was it in a box? Did you need one?
"C'mon, Little Guy. Food."
The little demon hobbled over to the table, dragging itself towards the food with a certain bit of joy. Henry watched it in concern while it struggled just to walk, let alone get on a chair. He needed to fix this, quickly. He also needed to give this creature a name.
He watched as the demon dropped it's sandwich, but caught it back up before it hit the ground with its tail. It then proceeded to dump the entire thing down its throat. It reminded him of those old Felix the Cat cartoons, the way that the Toon threw back it's head and laughed. It was quite...bendable it seemed.
"Bendy…"
The Toon perked it's head up, tilting it at Henry. Henry leaned back with a smile, was this the name of this Toon?
"Bendy? Is that your name?"
Bendy shrugged, watching as Henry wandered over to his drawing desk. It was broken, relying heavily on a duct taped leg to stand up.
"Think you can hop onto here, buddy?"
Bendy wandered over, watching as Henry pulled paper out from its hiding box. The demon remembered this type of thing vaguely, from back when that factory he was found in was full and laughing. He remembered the laughter most, when he had been new and less faded. He would just zip onto the page, then the Magic would happen.
"Okay, I'll need you to-"
ZIP!
"Or...you could definitely know what to do."
Bendy sat on the page, watching Henry from the paper. Were all humans this nice? He could remember flashes of the men that helped him become 'real' but none of them looked quite like Henry.
The man sat down, wiping his brow on the back of his hand. His right hand, which shook with arthritis, grasped the pen that sat snug in the inkwell. He flourished it elegantly. He leaned over the paper, making a Henry sky in Henry's point of view. Thrice, the man knocked on the wall in front of him.
"WHAT?!" The voice of Sammy shouted through the thin walls, making Bendy jump.
"Sorry for interrupting you in your closet, Sammy! But I need some musical accompaniment for this particular project I'm working on."Henry called, whispering to Bendy. "He hides in the broom closet next to me when he's stressed."
"Fine," the voice sighed. "What will it be for Mr. Stein?"
"Fur Elise, if you please, Mr. Lawrence." Henry called, getting his pen ready.
"Always with the generic…" Sammy grumbled, starting to play an way as Bendy felt a pen gently rearranging him.
He shivered as a odd feeling rushed over him, bubbling up from his chest before coming out as a sort of laugh. He could feel the felt tip of the pen as it went over him. The piano from next door rang in his ears and he closed his eyes against the light that shined down on the page. Henry hummed along with the music, the soft cooing of his daughter becoming pleasant background noise as he worked. A pair of boots, a bit of a chubby body, fox the eye a little. Maybe refine the tail? Henry sat there for at least two hours, he knew, but Sammy didn't stop playing and Bendy didn't move so why should he stop?
"I'm pleasantly surprised, Henry," Sammy's words drifted through the wall. "This is the first time you've been a good audience to me. Usually you blab all the way through. What has you so focused?"
Henry leaned back, giving a satisfied sigh, "A new start."
Joey was gonna love this.
