Chapter 10 Close calls and comfort
Sorry there’s not really any g/t in this chapter I don’t think the next one will have any either. But rest assured it’ll be there eventually! I just have to do plot things first, I need to break my little guy onto little tiny pieces so I can put him back together!
First, previous, next
Tw: pain, hunger
Alex woke up stiff and tired the next morning. He had tossed and turned all night, half from sleeping on the floor, and half from nightmares.
He sat up slowly, wincing when he felt pain in his chest. He looked down and touched his chest lightly. There was no blood leaking though the bandages and it didn’t hurt bad enough to be infected, so he guessed he would be fine for another day. Though he’d have to get new bandages tomorrow.
But today he had a different goal.
Blankets.
There was no way he was spending another night sleeping on the floor. It wasn’t gonna happen. One, it was bad for his injury, and two, his instincts were telling him he needed a nest.
But first he needed water. He was pretty sure he was severely dehydrated, and since he didn’t have any way of getting food he needed as much water as he could get. So he forced himself to get up and drag himself though the walls.
He found the water relatively quickly, having made sure to pay attention to where he was going the previous day.
He drank some, and then washed as much of his body as he could. He felt so much better after that. He hadn’t been clean in a while.
Now he just had to find a way out of the walls. He’d gotten pretty lost last night. He walked through the walls making note of every turn he took so he wouldn’t get lost again.
Somehow he made it back to Candy’s room. He peeked out of the wall, looking for any humans. He didn’t want to get caught again.
Luckily the room was empty, so Alex carefully crawled out of the wall. Surprisingly the compact he had used to get into the wall was still there. Or maybe it wasn’t surprising considering the state of Candy’s room. The mess was certainly gonna make borrowing easier.
Alex looked around himself. What could he use to make a nest. He spotted a small washcloth. It was more than enough fabric to make a suitable nest. Unfortunately it was on top of Candy’s bed. Which was on the other side of the room.
Alex sighed, why couldnt the things he needed be in easy to reach places? He walked toward the bed dodging around clothes and art supplies.
When he got to the bed, he found that there was really only one way to get up there. He’d have to climb the blankets.
Shouldn't be too hard. After all he had climbed down the whole nightstand just the other day. He could do this.
He grabbed onto the fabric. He didn't expect it to be so soft. He almost started purring. He put a hand over his mouth trying to stay quiet. He had a mission, he couldn't get distracted by soft fabric.
Alex breathed slowly for a second trying to control himself. Instincts could be so annoying sometimes.
He grabbed the blanket again and, ignoring how soft it was, began to climb. His fingers were so small that they could fit between the threads of the blanket. It would've made climbing easier if he didn't have so much trouble getting a foothold. As it was of took him quite a while to get all the way up to the top of the bed.
He laid down when he finally made it up, taking a few minutes to catch his breath. In those few minutes he realized that the bed was really comfy. He could fall asleep here if it wasn't in plain sight.
Alex groaned as he got up, stumbling on the uneven surface of the bed. He looked around for the washcloth, spotting it only a few paces away. He started toward it before falling flat on his face. He swore as he got up. Deciding to walk more carefully from now on.
After a lot of stumbling and falling down a couple times he finally made it to the washcloth. He gripped it with one hand before marveling at how soft it was. Not as soft as the blanket, but pretty soft nonetheless. Perfect for a nest.
He gathered up the washcloth and, walking to the side of the bed, dropped it to the floor.
He pondered how to get down himself before deciding it would be easiest to just slide down.
He situated himself on the edge of the bed, took a deep breath, and fell.
Air rushed past him as him, tousling his hair as he slid down the blanket. He came to a slow stop at the bottom. He giggled as he got up. That was fun!
Alex looked around for his new washcloth, and after spotting it decided it’d be easier to carry if it was folded.
He grabbed a corner and tugged at it, managing to get it laid out mostly flat. It wasn’t too hard to fold -It was kinda like a really big blanket- but it still took a lot more time than he would’ve liked.
Once the washcloth was nice and folded, Alex picked it up and started for the walls. He was only halfway across the room when he heard it. The jingle of keys in a lock, the opening and closing of a door, the footsteps on the stairs.
He ran.
It felt like he couldn’t go fast enough.
He reached the walls in record time. He climbed up on the compact and pushed the washcloth into the wall just as the door to Candy’s room opened. Alex froze. He knew he should probably get into the walls, but he couldn’t move. The person who had come into the room might see the movement.
Alex studied the human for a second. She was carrying a laundry basket filled with clothes. She was probably Candy’s mother. But she didn’t look the same at all? In fact she couldn’t look more different. Alex had seen that the roots of Candy’s hair were blonde. This woman had the darkest brown hair. Candy’s skin had been very light, unlike this woman’s dark brown skin. Even her eyes were different. Candy’s eyes were a greyish green, while this woman had brown eyes. Maybe Candy looked more like her dad?
Alex shook his head. Why was he thinking about this anyway. He should just leave. It was better to not meddle in things that did not involve him. So he did. He climbed into the wall, grabbed his new washcloth, and started for home.
When he got home Alex dropped his washcloth on the floor and sat down on top of it.
He figured the best way to make it into a nest was to cut it into strips. That way he’d be able to use it as bandages as well. Problem was, he didn’t have anything particularly sharp. Unless you counted his nail which was only really good for stabbing things.
He’d have to find something. Maybe a extra sharp rock would work? Well he still had the whole day to look for something. He couldn’t go back out of the walls though. One close call was quite enough for him. But he was sure he could find something in the walls.
Alex sighed and got up from the washcloth. He might as well get busy. It’s not like he had anything else to do.
Alex moved the folded washcloth to the corner, and then started down the hall in the opposite way of the water. He walked for a while scanning the floor. It took a while but eventually he noticed a little glimmer. Like metal.
He walked over to it and found that it came from a rusty razor blade. The kind that comes from pencil sharpeners.
Carefully he picked it up. He didn’t want to cut himself, and he knew from listening to humans conversations that you could get sick if you got cut by rusty metal.
He peered at it for a second , it was pretty sharp. And if he wrapped something around it he wouldn’t have to worry about the rust.
He held it carefully at his side as he made his way back through the walls to his room.
When he got back he walked over to the washcloth and unfolded it laying it out flat on the floor. Then he took the razor and, very carefully, cut a little piece to wrap around the end of the razor. Is soon as he had a semi safe handle he got to work on cutting the washcloth into strips.
It took a while but eventually he was done. He looked over his decent pile of cloth. This would probably last him a while. And he could use it for all sorts of things. His nest, bandages, clothes. He could probably figure out how to make another shirt. He felt kind of cold without one.
But his priority was a nest. He carefully inspected all the strips separating them into two piles. One soft, and one rough.
He used the rough ones to create a sort of base, after that he laid the soft ones down on top that way he wouldn’t have to sleep on rough blankets. Not that he minded. This cloth was a lot softer then what he got at the Academy.
When he was finished he stood up and studied his work proudly. Pretty good for only going off instincts.
Alex’s stomach grumbled, startling him. He wondered how long it had been since he last ate. It had to have been at least two days. He had been so preoccupied that he hadn’t noticed. Alex groaned and crawled into his nest as his stomach growled again but this time a cramp accompanied it. He curled into his blankets as he whined in pain. He needed to find food tomorrow. He wasn’t sure how long he’d last without it.
He had never been starving before. Hungry, sure. But someone had always given him something. He never had to provide for himself. But he would do that tomorrow. Today he’d sleep to stave off the pain.
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