#sif writes

It wasn’t that Michael didn’t love Chicken, he did! Really! His caretaker had sewn the plush bird for him by hand. The needle alone had taken ages for his caretaker to carve out of wood from their dresser, and the thread had been carefully picked out of the sheets. Putting the two together with some scraps of cloth from clothing had taken his caretaker hours. Chicken had been born as a result though, and Michael adored the plush.

Chicken was the one who kept him company in the bathtub when the Warden came to visit. Chicken was the one who his caretaker promisedcould always go with him. Even when the Warden came to take him away to go to the nether, Chicken was allowed to go too. Michael hadn’t gotten many gifts in his life, but Chicken was the best one.

But Michael was tired, and he was mad.The Warden had come by, and Michael was left in the bathtub. When his caretaker had come to get him, he was hurt again.His caretaker was limping, and Michael could smell blood.

“It’s fine.” His caretaker had said, nudging the bread the Warden had left towards Michael. But the bread roll was still whole, and even though Michael was hungry, his caretaker hadn’t eaten yesterday. Michael had to tear the bread himself and make his caretaker take it. Even then, his caretaker only ate after Michael made it clear he wouldn’t take a bite unless they were both eating.

Then his caretaker had limped over to the bed and fallen asleep, and that was okay! Michael knew his caretaker needed rest, but the smell of blood was still in the air, and Michael knew his caretaker should’ve been eating more, and Michael hated the Warden and-

Michael blinked, a tear at the corner of his eye. Chicken wasn’t in his hand anymore. Chicken was-

Oh no.

He hadn’t meant to, but he’d been so angry-

Michael stumbled across the floor to where Chicken’s body was. It’s head was laying mere feet away, with the scraps of fabric used for stuffing laying about the ground.

Scrambling, Michael tried to put to back together, tried to do somethingbut the pieces wouldn’t stick and he didn’t know what to do!

Overwhelmed and heartbroken at what he’d done, Michael curled up in the corner to cry.

Michael stayed in his corner for longer than he could keep track of. He stayed until he heard a worried voice calling out for him, still half asleep.

“Michael? Where are you buddy?”

Quickly, Michael let out a whine in reply, one that made his caretaker scramble to his feet and stumble over. Ignoring his leg, which must still be hurting and making Michael feel even worse.

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

Michael shook his head, lifting his hands up to sign as best he could in the dark of the room.

‘Hurt-Chicken-Sorry’

His caretaker tilted his head, first taking in Michael’s signing, and then looking at the floor. Gentle hands reached out to scoop up Chicken’s body with a relived sigh.

“It’s okay buddy, it happens. I can fix 'em up tomorrow. Why don’t we sleep for right now though?”

Michael glanced at the wreckage in his caretaker’s hands. Could that much damage really be fixed? Maybe his caretaker would make a book? Like he did to make Michael better?

'Book-make-better?’

His caretaker took a moment before laughing softly.

“Nah, we won’t need a book for this. Just thread and a bit of time. It’s not bad enough to drag XD into this.”

'Really? Thread-make-chicken-better?’

“Yep, promise. Now come 'ere. Let’s get to bed.”

Rubbing at his face to clear away the dried tears, Michael got to his feet and toddled after his caretaker who lead him to the bed and helped him up. Usually, this was when he would get Chicken, but for tonight, his caretaker tucked Chicken into the frame of the bed.

Instead of Chicken, his caretaker moved so Michael could hold onto his shirt, like he used to before Chicken. One of his caretaker’s hands came up to stroke his head in a soft soothing motion. Michael found his breathing was still stuttery. His heart still beating hard.

“It’s okay buddy, I can fix it, I promise. I can make it better- I’ll make all of this better. Just trust me, okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Michael let it out and nodded. That was right. Michael might’ve done something bad, he might’ve broken Chicken, but his caretaker was here. Next time, Michael would do better. He wouldn’t let his anger get the best him again.

But if he did, if he messed up again, it would be okay. His caretaker was here, and he’d make everything better. Just like he always did.