Chapter Text
Laughing and chattering. The comforting crackle of a fire. The sounds of backyard camping filled the night air, the moon shining down on three objects telling each other stories. Fan and Test Tube had come out from the city to take a break from research, so Lightbulb had insisted they do something together. She didn't see them very often, after all.
"Have you heard of the flesher?" The mood seemed to shift a little with the question. A few stressed bubbles fizzed inside of Test Tube. Lightbulb simply blinked at him. "They say there's a monster object out there that traps and eats others.."
"You think they're really out there?" Lightbulb seemed way too excited for the question she was asking.
"Well, logically.. maybe, actually! There's been so many missing person reports and many of them were last seen walking out into the forest." Test Tube pushed up her glasses and tried to make herself look calm, but her liquid was bubbling more at the notion of the flesher possibly being real.
"Don't talk like that! It.. surely, it's fake. Just a cool story! Definitely! It's gotta be fake!"
"Oh, golly.. Fan, don't be so worried! We aren't going out in the woods." Test Tube reached over to put a hand atop one of Fan's in his lap. He seemed immensely comforted by it, if the way he relaxed and his tail wagged was anything to go by.
"..Well, what if we did!?"
"WHAT!?" They both exclaimed at the same time, and stared at Lightbulb as if she had killed their family.
"Come on, just hear me out! You guys are researchers.. so you could research the flesher! If they're real, it sounds like they're hardly even sentient! You could probably study them! You'd be famous for your research!"
"Lightbulb, we have a child! We can't risk our lives!"
"Fan is right. We won't be going out there."
"Alright! I'll go alone, then!" Before either of them could stop her, Lightbulb was jumping the fence of her backyard and running off into the woods.
And that was how Lightbulb had ended up ensnared in a net trap. How did someone even make one this big!? It turned out that having big stompy paws and running full speed in the forest around made you incredibly susceptible to a snare trap.
As soon as she started trying to cut the net with her claws (it wouldn't budge), something heavy dropped down onto the forest floor with a heavy thump behind her.
"Omga! Are you here to help me!? Please get me out!" All she got in response was a loud huff. Not a good sign, but not a bad sign either. Maybe they just didnt like to talk? Oh, they were taking the net down! "Thank you so much!"
It wasn't until she was being thrown over their shoulder, still in the net, that she got a decent look at her supposed saviour. A body made of wood, a round hole towards the end.. maybe a hairbrush?
"Sooooo.. What's your name, stranger?" All she got this time was a sharp hiss. Okay, probably a cat object of some sort. From their size, she figured maybe some sort of big cat like a jaguar. They didn't have the rosettes, in fact they had faint stripes on their tail, so maybe a tiger. Didn't tell her much about who they were, though. "Come on, don't be like that!"
"Shut up."
"Huh?"
"I said, shut up."
"Why?"
"Just shut the fuck up already." They snarled, their tail lashing in Lightbulb's line of view.
"Where are you taking me?"
"DO YOU EVER SHUT YOUR MOUTH?" She thought she could smell very faint smoke. Maybe someone was camping.
"Nope!"
This back and forth continued for a while, until Lightbulb found herself being thrown through the door to a small wooden cabin. It hurt, and she nearly shattered from the force, but she finally got a good look at the stranger. Some sort of fluffy mane.. Oh, they were a paintbrush! Her guess was close enough. Their sharp yellow eyes bore into her, causing her to shiver.
They stomped across the room, and retrieved a knife from a rack on their wall. They were freeing her! So that was why they carried her to what she assumed was their home.
"Oh, thank you so much!"
"Quiet."
Lightbulb immediately sprang to her feet when she was cut free from the net, her tail wagging. She turned to the stranger and grabbed their paws in her own once their knife was safely returned to it's place on the rack. Positively beaming, actually almost lighting herself up, she squeezed the hands she held in her own.
"Thank you, thank you! I thought I was going to die in there! What could I do to pay you back."
"For one, you could be quiet like I have repeatedly asked of you. Secondly, come sit." The brush gestured to a small round table with two chairs. Lightbulb did as they asked and sat down, placing her paws on the wood. It was unpolished, as if it had been built from scratch with nothing but what was out here in the woods. Despite this, it was quite well-built.
"So.. are you going to tell me your name?" Lightbulb retried the question, much calmer and quieter than her earlier attempt back out in the woods. She watched them curiously; they appeared to be making tea. For someone who seemingly hated her noisiness and was cold to her beforehand, they were being quite hospitable. "Or should I just assume? Is your name Paintbrush? Maybe?"
"..Maybe." They relented as they came to the table with tea, but decided not to actually confirm her question.
"Alrighty.. Thank you for freeing me from that trap, Painty!"
"Don't call me that." They huffed, eyes narrowing and pointy ears tilting back.
"Why?"
"I don't know you. And I don't like nicknames."
"Right, you don't know me.. yet!"
"No. I will never know you."
"You make tea for people you don't know?"
"I am being polite."
"If you insist.. Painty." Lightbulb giggled before she picked up her mug and took a sip of the tea; pretty good, for something made by someone who lived in the middle of the forest.
"I told you not to call me that."
As soon as she set her mug down to speak, Lightbulb's vision went black and her face hit the table.
When Lightbulb woke up hours later, she found herself in an unfamiliar bed.. surprisingly fine? Clutching her head, she slowly sat up in the bed. Paintbrush was across the room, cutting something up on their counter, paws suspiciously covered in blood. Clearly not her own, considering she was unharmed, but she couldn't figure out if that was comforting or terrifying.
"Paintbrush..?" She groaned, looking at them with slightly fuzzy eyes. They immediately jerked their head up, and snarled at her. Their teeth were scarily sharp.
"Go. Get out of my house."
"W-what!? You were so nice to me before?"
"That was before."
Slowly, Lightbulb lifted herself up out of the bed and started for the door. She paused for a second behind them. "You were going to eat me, weren't you!? You're cutting a.." She didn't even want to finish that sentence.
"Your meat would be far too tough."
"Thanks for not eating me, I guess?"
"Just get out of here. Tell no one or I will find you."
They didn't need to say anything else; Lightbulb was already out the door and running.
When she made it back home, she immediately texted her friends.
> gusy
> guys
> Oh thank goodness you're okay
> why did you even do that :(
> dusnt mattr
> i found it
> You what
> WHAT
> the fleshr
> theyr real
> im not jokinf
> How are we supposed to believe that the Flesher really exists when you're alive and well without us recovering you
> tee is right
> how would you survive
> they said my meat wud b 2 tender or sumthing
> YOU TALKED TO THEM??
> yea
> they were kind of nice
> Lightbulb please don't do what I think you're planning
> hehe