I Don't Own Fnaf
It was a bit weird having everyone just around at a place that wasn't the Cove, at least it was in Mari's opinion. It had been a while since they had all more or less just grouped up like this for something outside of work. He... He wasn't sure he missed it if he was being totally honest.
It wasn't because of any one of them! Of course not, it was wholly on the puppet that he was uncomfortable, no matter how best he did to hide it as everyone moved around to look about the warehouse for anything from a shipping label left on a box with an address they didn't recognize to anything about the workshop's listing being left on one of the documents in the file cabinets, he was still... Uncertain.
Thankfully because everyone had split up to look around, it meant that the puppet could just stick to Mike's side and not have to think too hard about it. They were currently searching through a section of shelves themselves, making use of Mari not needing to deal with gravity to search through the ones up top while Mike did the ones on his eye level and below.
From what he heard of the others, the animatronics of the group were doing mostly the same, while Fritz being the most used to the files, were going through those to see if they could find anything, with Janet and Scott helping out look through them. Jeremy had taken to spending his time mostly keeping Plushtrap from making a mess of all the papers that were being left around and to let the mini-tronic know what all was happening and that he might be taking the little one to his home for the long term soon.
Mari wasn't sure how he felt about that, or, well, rather he wasn't sure how he felt about all of this. The idea that his father... The Stitch Wraith, was still haunting them all with his actions, that what the man had done and had possibly left behind could still be used to hurt him. It was uncomfortable in the most understating of ways. It made him think about everything that had happened in a way that made his chest feel tight and almost past the point of being painful.
It made him scared in a way he didn't want to admit to, but at the same time he was glad there was at least something to do, something to distract himself from the thoughts, as he moved over, doing his best to keep his balance in the air as he looked over some of the boxes at the very top of the shelves, boxes that hadn't been looked at since at least the very start of The Cove.
It was harder to balance like this, being higher in the air took more effort, not enough to really be noticeable as a strain on his energy, but more like it was the difference of standing on solid ground and balancing on a thin board, if he went up to much higher it would probably be something like balancing on a rope instead. He didn't mention that though, it wasn't really a big deal, and having to be more aware of himself in the air also meant that he wasn't having to think as hard about just why he was doing this in the first place.
Still, it was only after about an half hour of searching and coming up with nothing, that the two had to give up on finding anything, at least in their section, as Mari, a little wobbly, floated down and more or less draped himself over Mike who, while looking a little surprised about it, shrugged it off and let the puppet lean on him. Okay, maybe it was a bit more tiring than he made it seem to actually 'fly', instead of just hovering barely an inch or two off the ground.
"You doing alright Net?" The puppet let out a low chime before quickly nodding.
"Y-yeah, just a bit tired" The man's face twisted in a frown that Mari hated to see, because he knew that Mike had already seen through whatever it was the puppet was trying to convince him of.
"Are you sure? I mean, this is kind of a lot" Mari just waved the man off, pushing away a bit to be able to float up on his own, ignoring the faint disappointment in himself at his own action to put some kind of distance between the two.
"I'm alright. It's... I mean, it's not great or anything, but we'll sort it out. We should keep looking around" He knew Mike didn't really believe him, he wasn't sure when the last time it was that Mike actually believed him when he said it was alright. It was worse to know he wasn't sure what the last time he had said it honestly was either. But for his own sake, Mike just slowly nodded.
"Right... Not here though we've already picked this area clean, come on, let's get back to the others, might as well report our disappointment and see if anyone else came up with anything" Mari hesitated for just a moment, but of course Mike caught onto that as well, pausing in his heel turn to head back to the center area of the warehouse where everyone else would be meeting back up to soon, if they weren't already there. Mari quickly just floated past him trying to act like it was nothing. It didn't really work, as Mike seemed to decide that if talking about Mari's dad and the situation itself was too much at the moment then he could at least ask about this. Mari would have preferred if he hadn't.
"You know, you haven't really talked to any of the others in a while" He said it like he was just only now thinking about it. It wasn't, there was no way it was.
Mari sometimes wished his boyfriend wasn't so unnervingly perceptive... No he didn't, he'd never want Mike to be anything less than he was, sharp eyes and sharper mind definitely included. Even if maybe being able to keep to himself sometimes would have been a bit nice, it was always more like Mike just... letting him not talk about the things they both were aware of. It made him feel more like he was hiding from something already out in the open even if they never really talked about it.
"I talk to Goldie and Foxy whenever I come here, and I always talk to Charlie" Mike pressed a little more when the puppet wished he didn't. He wasn't sure why Mike was suddenly deciding this was the moment for this conversation, but he didn't want to admit to himself that he didn't want to have it. That felt too much like being the coward he never wanted himself to be, so he waited for Mike to say back.
"They weren't the ones I was thinking about" Mari didn't like the way his body let out an awkward little uncomfortable sound without his input, as he fidgeted a little bit, looking away as he said the first thing his mind had been able to come up with.
"Just been a bit too busy for that I guess" His words felt awkward, Mike just hummed, holding out a hand to lightly intertwining his fingers into Mari's, in that way that they had learned how to deal with the difference with their hands. It made the puppet stop, just long enough to turn back around to look at the open concern on Mike's normally much more passively neutral face.
"You're not too busy now" Mari managed to give the man a look who at the very least looked a bit awkward himself for a moment, a small self-deprecating smile pulling on his lips for a second as he said, "Well, not too busy to not be able to talk to them... Or even see them. When's the last time you talked to Fritz?" Mari answered a bit defensively.
"Last Saturday" Mike didn't give him the win, as he said softly back.
"You told him that one of the coin hoppers wasn't working right, and then you kept yourself in your box the entire time he was in there fixing it" Mari did his best to not let the embarrassed chime escape him at being called out on it, all it ended up doing was making it come out a bit squeaky which was a bit mortifying even if it did make Mike's expression soften a bit into a more adoring look that just made the puppet feel a bit flustered.
"I- I mean that still..." The puppet found himself deflating half way through his words, as he looked away, feeling the way the hand still intertwined with his squeezed a little bit in reassurance, as after a long moment, Mari finally said, "It makes the nightmares worse"
"The hallway?" Mari shuddered at the thought of that one, it had been a while since the last time he had that one in particular, but that didn't mean remembering it wasn't awful in its own right.
"That and... Others" Mike didn't say anything for a moment, either gathering his own thoughts or waiting for the puppet to continue to speak, but if it was the latter, then he wasn't going to be getting anything. It was harder to admit or talk about the nightmares when it wasn't in the moments just after having one. So after a time just long enough to feel anxious, Mike said.
"Alright... I think you should still talk to them, they're worried about you as well you know?"
"They shouldn't be"
"They're your friends, Net. Of course they care, they just don't want to push anything after... I don't..." The man trailed off, the words leaving him for a second, before continuing, "I'm going to go back to the house and look through the files we have there in the office. Do you mind sticking around for a bit?" Mari knew what the man was asking, maybe not go and actually strike up a conversation, no matter how nice that felt to actually talk to the people Mari knew really were his friends, but just be around them... It still felt intimidating.
It was probably just how embarrassing it felt that he felt it was intimidating to even be in view of them, to people he had known for nearly two years now. That he truly did consider himself friends with, that made the puppet feel himself nod before he realized what he was doing, and he couldn't take it back because Mike was giving him that smile made made his chest go all fluttering and suddenly he was pulled into a quick hug and goodbye as they made it back to the center and suddenly he was left alone as Mike headed out to do exactly what he said he was going to do.
It wasn't that he was afraid of them, it wasn't even that he was afraid of himself, it was just... A reminder of everything that he wasn't able to block out as easily with them around, and that wasn't fair to them, and it probably wasn't even fair to him. He needed to learn to get over it, but knowing that it wasn't going to be easy or instant had made him hold back from it when there hadn't been a moment before now that actually put him and the two in question in a situation where they actually could talk outside of a group setting had just been a convenient excuse.
He didn't have that this time, Mike had conveniently left before explaining what they had, or rather hadn't found, leaving it up to him to explain it. Of course he didn't have to, he wasn't required or anything, Mike hadn't even asked him to do so, but... It felt a bit too much like giving up to just turn around and vanish now. Before he could play it off as just the situation, but here he didn't have that, and he didn't want to actively run from his problems.
That felt a bit too much.
So with what equated a deep breath for an animatronic puppet, he steeled his nerves, made sure his music pick on his music box was firmly under his control, just in case, and floated off in the direction of the others.
Jeremy wasn't back yet it seemed from trying to get Plushtrap caught up in what was happening in a way that a kid could understand. But Fritz, Janet, and Scott were around, standing by the file cabinets with a long list of files, papers, and folders spread out on the nearby tables. None of the other animatronics were back yet either, probably because no one else would have as easy a time as Mari himself had with getting to the boxes held up high.
Did they have a ladder here? Probably, not that Mari had ever needed a ladder for anything, but if they didn't have one or enough, then maybe he should go help them look through those boxes? ...No, he was just trying to find an excuse to go over to the three standing around and looking at the things on the table. It didn't really help that Scott was there, but maybe if the puppet was lucky the man would leave when he saw him coming over.
Was that mean? It felt a bit mean, Scott had played an important part in saving his life, and he knew Goldie and Foxy hadn't exactly decided to make any move from actively disliking the man either, in spite of that and the fact that he hadn't actually had a conversation with the man in ever, none of the animatronics had to his knowledge beyond Ennard... Oh, great, now he was talking himself into doing things.
Talking wasn't... difficult, it also wasn't easy. At least with certain people, it had always been easy with Mike, if it hadn't then he wasn't sure he'd be speaking now, or at all really.
With Goldie and Foxy, it had been harder at first, he forced himself through it because of how long they had known each other, it had meant something and he used that to get himself through it until it didn't feel like his chest was going to be squeezed into crushed metal. That had made it easier, somewhat, to talk to Jeremy and Fritz, even if it had taken months and he had been so anxious in the moment, it had happened and it had worked out, because he had already known them for so long, that adding words to it hadn't be quite as big a leap as he had thought it was going to be.
Bonnie was... Frankly he had been so unbelievably guilty at the time, he hadn't even realized he was supposed to have a hard time talking to people.
Janet had been a mistake, he hadn't spoken at all to her in those first few weeks, but then she was just around when he did need to speak, and it was to important of a situation to go without saying his thoughts, so he just dealt with speaking around her, and at some point she talked to him, and he didn't realize he had gotten used to her company enough that he had just replied back without thinking, and that was the end of that.
So, if you think about it, it has only gotten easier over time to talk to new people...
He was too busy thinking about how hard it was to speak to people that he hadn't noticed he had already made up the distance between him and the three and was now basically floating next to them. He wasn't sure if the conversation had petered out when he had gotten close or they had stopped and looked at him for what he needed and now it was awkward. Either way it felt awkward to him, as he just barely managed to repress a chime from his chest as Fritz asked first.
"Find anything?" Mari just shook his head, feeling like an idiot as he did so. Feeling his speaker crackle for a second as he tried to say something only for nothing to come out instead as Fritz just sighed, not looking at all surprised, "Yeah, same here... Where'd Mike?"
His eyes had lifted up and looked to the puppet's side, like he was just realizing there was something missing from the picture, as Mari took a second to gather himself, doing his best to ignore Scott who was staring unabashedly at him with wide eyes and an uncomfortable look on his face. This wasn't something he could nod or shake his head for as an answer, speak... Do it... Come on and just-
"House!" Okay... that was a bit loud, as the puppet let out a flustered sound before he could mean to, as he quickly continued, "Err, I mean, he went back to the house. We have some files from his dad in there from the days when the Cove was still the Diner. He's going to see if any of it has anything with Henry's name on it" That seemed to make more sense as Fritz just nodded, while Janet just hummed, asking after a second.
"And he went off on his own?" Mari didn't like the embarrassment he felt about how apparently that was so strange for the two of them to split up. It wasn't that rare, it was just usually after work hours when one of them was at the warehouse while the other wasn't. Fritz shot his girlfriend a look, but that didn't do anything to dim the glim of interest in her eyes, while Scott just glanced between the two, shortly and quickly before his eyes returned to the puppet, clearly confused about the comment... Oh, he didn't know, did he? Well, that made sense, if no one told him. Mari didn't like the idea of telling him either if he was being honest.
"Uh, yeah, I'm going to go see if I can help Jeremy out in calming down Plushtrap, but if you need anything I can stick around here" Scott let out a faint sound of something before muttering something about needing a break as he turned and walked off. Fritz just grimaced, his eyes following the path the man took before shooting an apologetic look to Mari, who just waved him off. Honestly, with how the man had reacted to him in the past, it was honestly a bit surprising the man lasted as long as he did this time around. Maybe Ennard was building his tolerance?
"Sorry about him, he's still... Not great about all of this. Maybe I should ask him to go back home as well? He might have some information laying around about what we're looking for" Fritz said that last part is more of a mutter to himself, but the puppet had heard it anyways. Janet just hummed, watching as Scott walked off as well before shrugging. She didn't get it, Mari was glad for that, she was the only one who didn't really know just why he and the others were feared at one point. She hadn't seen it, hadn't lived it. And if he had an option on it, he'd like to make sure it stayed that way.
The thought made the wire coils in his shoulders ache with something he didn't want to think about.
"It's alright, I know I can be a bit distressing" He meant it more as a joke, but the tone of it made the words feel and fall flat in a way that made him feel awkward. Fritz didn't seem to notice, just shrugging while Janet shot him a look, her eyes squinting for a moment like she was trying to see something, but his mask was in it's default expression, so in the end, she just shrugged and said.
"I don't see it. You're spindly but that's not really scary. I guess the floating might add to it" Fritz added on, seemingly speaking more as an after thought than actually engaged with the conversation.
"It's the music, or, well, was. I never want to hear that damn song for the rest of my life... Er, no offense" He looked back with something of an apologetic look on his face, as Mari just waved him off, saying simply.
"No, it's alright, I'd rather not hear it either if I'm being honest" Just the memory of it was bad enough. He hadn't thought it would be the same issue for others. That music had always been... just a part of a music box. An annoyance at one time, a way to sleep at another, and then nothing until recently. It had just been another part of him until it was a part he couldn't stand but couldn't do anything about, just avoid to the best of his ability. Still, it was... interesting in a weird way to hear that Fritz thought that was the 'scary' part of the puppet.
He wasn't sure he took pride per say in being scary, but he did like to think at the very least he was pretty good at it, and while he knew music was a part of that, he hadn't thought it was the part that he didn't get to control. As such, Mari couldn't help but ask.
"So, uh, why was it scary? I mean, that song just meant you were safe. I'd get it if it was my, uh, other one, but I don't think I ever played it with you on shift" He knew he hadn't, Fritz wouldn't still be here if he had. Fritz himself just shrugged, looking vaguely uncomfortable but not enough to not answer apparently, as after another moment of thought, or perhaps remembering something, he spoke up as he continued to look through the papers in front of him one last time.
"Because I only knew if it was playing if I was on the right camera feed, and there was this... delay. Nothing I could do about it, the equipment just couldn't show what was happening any faster. But it meant every time I turned to the camera in the prize corner there was this moment of nothing where I had no idea if I had messed up and the Mar- Er, well, you were out or not until the music played. It was never really... relieving to hear it but the silence was worse and at some point I think I just started to hate both for working me up over nothing I guess"
Fritz looked a little bit uncertain, like the words weren't quite coming out the way he wanted them to, and Mari couldn't help but wonder if this was the first time the man had ever talked about those feelings. The puppet had learned all to well just how it wasn't good to hold in those kinds of things, but then again, from the sounds of it Fritz probably hadn't even thought about it in years. It had been years ago now, and Mari suddenly felt bad for bringing it up, but soon after the man's face cleared up and moved on, without any apparent issue.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter now, and there's nothing here. I'm going to go to the Cove and get those cameras wiped. Maybe look through the files there, I know there's not going to be anything, but it can't hurt. This has been a bust" Mari let out a short sound at that, sad but not surprised, even as he asked.
"Nothing even from the employee records?" Fritz just shook his head.
"The address listed for Henry Johnson isn't even a real place. That's the first thing I looked into, most of the information there I think was fake" Mari... couldn't say he was surprised, so he just didn't say anything at all, instead just nodding, and preparing to move on, to actually help out Jeremy like he said he was going to. Only to be stopped one last time as Fritz spoke up one last time, his voice edging more cautiously, "Hey, by the way..."
Mari just turned around, as the man paused, seemingly losing the nerve for a moment, as he shared a brief moment meeting Janet's gaze, who only just nodded, as the man swallowed on nothing before speaking again.
"Are you doing alright? I mean, obviously not, but, like... If you need anything? Just, you know, ask" Mari felt something shift and slide in his chest as he found himself caught silent as he just stared. It-... He knew of course that Fritz cared, well... Mostly. Fritz wasn't the one he spent much time with, unlike all the others who needed maintenance on some level at some point that required them to spend a large amount of time with the man, where they became friends, Mari and Fritz never really had that.
He was still a friend, a good one, honestly a great one for all the things that basically only worked because Fritz was so dedicated to making sure they worked smoothly, sentient animatronics included, but the two of them weren't really close, and he didn't think either side would actually try and claim as such. It wasn't on either of them, they just didn't ever have a reason to talk with each other beyond basic job things, and they had never really had a moment like he had with all the other animatronics to bond over time, or short emotional ones like the ones Mari has had with Jeremy.
If he was being honest he wasn't even sure if Janet was a friend or just more a person he knew. It was hard to tell sometimes where or just what that line was supposed to look like. He had so few people that he could interact with at all in a way that had meaning for his own life that it was hard to tell where it was. Like with Scott, the man was not Mari's friend, and he wasn't sure they'd ever really get along to that point, but he knew he got along well enough with Janet. But was that enough? They had gone through something together but they didn't really know each other much either... It was confusing.
Mari didn't really have time to think about that though, instead just panicked as he realized he had been just staring at Fritz, who over the last minute had begun to look more and more uncertain and awkward, as a distressingly loud note cracked from his chest as the puppet realized that fact and sputtered out.
"I- uh, yes, of course, thank you for the offer! I'm... I'm alright as I can be though, you don't need to worry" Mari didn't like the idea of other people worrying about him, or rather he didn't like that they had to worry at all. Though... Though he couldn't lie and say it was solely unpleasant either surprisingly enough that the man cared enough to worry. It was a confusing mixed bag of thoughts and feelings that he'd have to address at some point, but for right now he just gave them a nod and wave and quickly moved on before he did something to make the situation even more awkward.
Scott was not comfortable, one would think that living with an animatronic that seemed to do everything in their power to show off just how inhuman they were it would mean he would, if anything, be more comfortable around animatronics that acted like anyone else. Sadly, anyone who thought that, including himself, was very, very wrong. Eggs didn't know him before he had first shown up to meet them.
But the rest?
He could barely stand to be in the same room as Golden Freddy, even if the bear did barely more than glower at him when he first showed up and then proceeded to act like he wasn't even there, it was still somehow worse than the way the fox glared at him every chance the animatronic had, though it was by no means to say Foxy wasn't terrifying in his own right.
And then there was the puppet, they... He spoke... A lot. He knew that of course, had heard him talk before, more than once, and had technically even talked to the marionette before, sort of, but... It still wasn't easy.
He wasn't sure why out of all of them the marionette was the one that made him the most uncomfortable, knowing that the puppet was somewhere, possibly watching. It could have been anything, but it didn't really matter what it was, because it didn't change the inherent and very visibly uncomfortable air around him for most of the time that everyone had moved around and looked for clues.
And then the puppet showed up and made casual conversation in front of him and he just... He couldn't handle that.
He wished he could just say he knew where this supposed workshop was, but he had never heard of it. He was honestly surprised about that, but it didn't change anything either, Henry had always been quite the private person, and unlike William, apparently had been willing to keep something for himself instead of dumping everything he owned into the umbrella that was Fazbear Entertainment.
Scott couldn't exactly blame him for that, but it did make the current situation at hand a lot more tense. He technically didn't have any stakes in this, Eggs was completely unrelated to anything Freddy's, no one even knew they existed outside of a very small circle of people. They were about as safe as they could get given the circumstances, and yet the idea of it...
The very idea that someone could learn about them and decide to try and do something about it without knowing all the facts, about what their actions could do to these animatronics... That, that was one of his biggest recurring nightmares in recent months, especially after it had already almost happened once.
He couldn't... Or, well, if he was being honest, didn't want to imagine what it was like for the animatronics themselves, all of them, not just Eggs, mostly because he didn't really know any of them. If he was being honest, he barely knew most of the people here. Fritz was his friend, and he and Jeremy talked occasionally, but that was about it. Mike was... well, they only talked when something was going wrong, not that he could say he minded.
He was the only one here who knew the man when he was a kid while not being a kid himself. Michael had been a child the first time Scott, in his early twenties and foolish enough to get a staffing position at a children's restaurant, had met him. Not to say the two had talked or knew each other, not in the slightest, but he had seen the man as a kid back then.
He had seen most of them...
Evan Afton, who was now in the bear, Samuel Emily now in the marionette, and-
"Oh... Hey, did you need something?" Oh. Scott barley just held back from jumping as his eyes went wide and shot up to look at the black bear staring over at him from where she had been digging through a box in her hand, the thing seemingly filled with blank envelopes.
Well... Think of the... ghost? Animatronic? Something, and they shall appear.
He was still caught in his silence however as he looked over the bear, over... Charlie. He didn't know her well, or at all really, just like the rest, but she wasn't like the others, she was... recent. He didn't get the full story, he didn't think anyone had the full story outside of her, the puppet, and Mike. He wasn't sure he wanted to know it either if he was being honest.
Still, he did remember her, in vague flashes of memory of seeing a kid with a weight behind her eyes that no one her age should have, sitting in the back office waiting for her father to be done for the day. That had been before Henry had...
Now though, there was nothing about the animatronic in front of him that reminded the man of that child, nor the adult that had died. But she was still here. He didn't know Lefty either from his time at Freddy's, and even if the body looked like Carnie, there was no feeling of unease from it either. It made it slightly easier to speak up, as he coughed a bit and said.
"A-ah, no, nothing, just... Needed a break from everything. I didn't know you were over here, sorry" He still averted his eyes, something about that singular golden eye unnerved him a bit, maybe because it was in a bear's face.
"Oh. I get that, it's been a pretty heavy day huh? I hope Mister Burke wasn't too mean or anything, he's... I don't think he's a bad guy" Scott could only shrug, he had never been a fan of the police in their town, well... He was sure he liked the idea of them before, but that was before Freddys. Before more than once being dragged into an interrogation room and yelled out and demanded answers from those he didn't know.
Maybe if he had, in those first few years, maybe he would have said something, but then the knowing of just how it would ruin him, how they would charge him as an accessory to it all at this point, if not being charged for a whole list of things by himself, after the many things he had covered in the name of keeping himself safe... He wasn't ever sure at what point he started to resent the police for not being able to stop not only William but them all as well. It never actually stopped the relief of never being arrested either, but it did make it all harder to sleep with as an awkwardly bubbling mess of guilt.
"He was... Well, I, uh, I think the intense part was knowing Eg-nnard was not even ten feet away from us" He didn't know why he chose to call the three Ennard occasionally, at least around other people. He said Eggs before, he knew he had, but just... He didn't know. Thankfully Charlie didn't seem to notice it, instead just nodding a bit.
"Y-yeah. I never actually met them, what are they like? I heard they were three animatronics in one but I don't really get how that works" He supposed she hadn't huh? She was probably the only one in their group. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, she had heard things, he was sure of it, about Eggs and how they were. How they had been. Scott never really saw that, but he had seen the impacts on the others. Had heard about Mike and what the man went through, was still going through.
He didn't like that was all she had heard about them.
"They're a lot, if I'm being honest I don't really get it myself, I don't think anyone can, unless they're in that situation" Charlie just let out a strange kind of sound, like a low static hum, which... Maybe it was just supposed to be a hum, as she turned away for a moment before finally saying.
"I thought the same thing about being an animatronic, I mean, before I... you know" Scott just nodded, he knew exactly what she meant, he had thought the same thing himself after all... It made him curious enough to ask.
"Is it? I mean, do you understand now or?" She just shrugged.
"I don't know, I- To be honest... I don't really know what I'm supposed to get. Everything's the same just as much as everything is different. It's like... No... It's not like anything, I- I guess even on this side I still can't really describe it. Everything makes sense, but... But when you try to put words to it, or look deeper or think to hard about it, it all just loses meaning"
"Eggs mentioned that before, or, well, something like that. They said they didn't know what words were supposed to be used, but I, uh, well, I try to not ask them too much if I'm being honest. It's just... I'm not sure it's my place" he wasn't sure why he said that, he really didn't. Maybe because he didn't really know Charlie, when he tried to think about her, all he got was a visage of a kid that hadn't existed in nearly a decade now.
She was practically a stranger. A stranger who knew everything that he did about how insane the world really was. Maybe that's why he didn't bother thinking too much more on it, as instead Charlie was quick to notice and then point it out.
"Eggs? I haven't heard that before?" Scott just shrugged, giving an awkward huff as he said back.
"Err, it's what I call them, or, well, what they want to be called. I don't really get it, but it's better than Ennard" He still didn't like that name. Charlie just nodded.
"I guess that makes sense. Sort of... Do you know why Eggs?" Scott just shrugged but answered quicker than he expected to.
"I think it's some old joke. They seemed to have a bit of a laugh about it at first, but I think they really like it. Plus it makes all their individual names make at least some bit of sense" Charlie seemed a bit surprised about that for some reason.
"Oh? I, uh, well I guess I assumed you'd call them by their model name. But, I guess that would be a bit awkward with technically three foxys around now... Do they know their names or...?" Scott just shook his head.
"No, but that just means they got to pick their own. I don't think they liked the names they were given, anyways, and I honestly don't think I can call anyone Freddy at this point so... But, uh, yeah, Funtime Foxy is actually Poach now, or Po, sometimes. Bellora is Fritta and Freddy is Ben"
"As in... Eggs Benedict?"
"Yeah"
"Huh... At least they're sticking to the theme?"
"Heh, I think I thought the same thing actually. I think that's what they were going for, kind of like another joke I think? But they seem to actually like it so that's what they're all going by. It, uh, well it helps to be able to have something to be able to actually call them all that's separate from... You know" Charlie just nodded, looking away for a moment, making Scott realize at some point he had stopped avoiding her gaze completely, and leaving him unsure just what to do now, as suddenly he had no idea where to put his eyes.
"I get it. My brother... Not just him, but the rest as well, going by the names of their suits instead of the names they know they have... I don't get it, I really don't, it's just... It feels like it would be an anchor holding them down, not something to make an identity out of... If it had been me, I think I would have done everything I could have to avoid that, but... I guess I got the choice to keep my name. They didn't remember theirs for a long time but... I don't know. I don't think I really get it or can, it's not like I'll ever want to go by... Lefty"
"Sounds... Difficult? Or, at least, confusing I guess"
"It is... I can't... I can't really talk to my brother about it, he's... I don't want to raise questions that will make him uncomfortable, especially not with himself, that's the last thing I want, and I can't really talk to Michael about it either because he'd tell Sam, and I don't think he'd really get it either" Scott just nodded, slowly.
"Er, what about... Goldie?" Charlie just shrugged.
"I could, I mean, we have, kind of, talked about this stuff, he was a big help in helping me figure out just how to, you know, move around and not stumble over myself, my center of gravity is kind of... awkward now. But for this... It feels... I don't know. Awkward in it's own way" She didn't seem to know how to say it, but Scott did get it, as he said carefully.
"It's sometimes easier to just talk to someone who you aren't close to" Charlie just gave a nod, as Scott let out another awkward sounding laugh as he continued on, "I get it, I mean, I can't really talk about the kids to just anyone, but the people I can talk to about it all... Don't really see Eggs the same way I do. I can't blame them, but it means I kind of just feel sometimes like I'm stumbling through the dark without anyone to discuss all this with"
"Not even Jeremy? He has a kid he's looking after as well"
"Er, yeah, I guess, but... If I'm being honest, I think he would have done a better job of helping Eggs out than I've managed to do, and I'm... I'm kind of scared of that feeling getting confirmed if I talk to him and he just happens to have all the answers to my problems. Answers I won't be able to do anything with... It's kind of cowardly isn't it?" Charlie, surprisingly, just shook her head.
"I don't think so. I mean, just because something would work for Jeremy doesn't mean it would work for you right? And it's you who those three trust, it's obvious you must be doing something right. I can't say anything about, like, parenting, but if it isn't a little terrifying, then I'm not really sure you're doing it right" That got a small real laugh from Scott, as he said.
"What's it mean when you're beyond terrified of messing something up" Charlie just sort of smiled back, clearly thinking of the joke for a moment, before slowly shifting into something more serious as she glanced away, off... somewhere, before saying quietly but seriously.
"Not sure... But, it's probably a whole lot better than being any kind of terrified of them... I-... It hurts when you realize someone you care for greatly is scared of you. The fact that you don't, in spite of everything, I think that's about as brave as you can possibly be no matter how scary the rest is" Scott... Scott was rendered speechless for a moment, at the faint notes of grief in her voice, before being steamrolled by just how the words impacted him.
"I-... Thank you" Charlie just turned back and smiled again, saying softly.
"No problem" Scott wanted to ask something, he wasn't really sure what, but it felt wrong to just ignore what clearly seemed to bug the bear in that moment, but before he could, Charlie was already moving, quietly, way to silently for a hulking black bear should be capable of, past him, saying as she went, "Come on, I need to tell the others I didn't find anything"
Scott felt the words he was going to say fade off into a faint sputtering stutter as he just nodded in the end and followed after.
Fun chapter focused on both the twins and Scotty on the idea of past fears and being on the other side of the fence of terror.
Mari's situation is complicated and messy, he's also insanely guilty, basically in the exact opposite way that Scott is. He's not guilty because of his inactions, but his past actions, every single one of them that makes him only to aware of just what he had done and what that meant to the people around him. It's basically made him terrified of messing up anymore in a way that would ruin something, and as such has basically put a pause of interacting with the human cast out of fear of making a mistake.
While Scott is terrified still of said animatronic cast expect for one, or, well, three... Four? Apparently it seems that he and Charlie get on surprisingly well, which might be interesting in the future to see how a friendship might develop between the two of them. The oldest freddy's employee and the newest animatronic. Anyways, Scott is still scared of all the ones he's dealt with, no matter how no leathel they are anymore, but that's not really the point of it, no, it's the fact that he's scared for a completely different reason when it comes to Eggs, in messing something up for them. I think that's... potent, or something like that.
While on the other side of things, Charlie is just kind of suffering but unsure if she can or would want to speak about what she's thinking and feeling about it all with the people close to her, for a whole list of reasons, the main one being that she's a lot like all the other Emilys and Aftons in this story, both families of which have a habit of holding on to things they really should talk about with other people, but don't for some reason. Last story we had Mike and Mari both finding a person to be able to speak to in each other, same with Mike and Goldie and Goldie and Foxy, but Charlie doesn't have that, and she never really did, nor is looking for that in the people she knows so well because she just doesn't know how to go about it, she's been on her own in the grand scheme of things for a long time. I think she doesn't really know how to open up like that, especially over big things. So instead she kind of trauma dumped on Scott without realizing it or meaning to, even the man himself probably didn't catch it all...
I'm blabbering, it's just, I'm happy to be back into character growth and development time. The last, like, twenty chapters of Welcome had the main cast mostly set, especially the main stars, so it's nice to be able to work in some now. It's the whole point of this fist Act of this story, building bonds and learning to move on from what happened at the end of the last one. Of which they have their work cut out for them, but will still happen, so that's cool. Anyways, See ya!