Dorm Lobby, Sunday Afternoon

[napking]

Gray had, after much consideration and attempts to fit them on his bed, come to the conclusion that it was possible he had looted too many Squishmallows from the Walmart in the woods. But if he'd left them behind they all would have burned or melted or whatever it was that Squishmallows did, so really he'd been rescuing them. He'd been providing a service.

And now he needed to rehome them so he didn't wake up in weird contortions in his own bed. He was used to it in whatever other random location he fell asleep, but his bed? No thank you. So he'd selected his favorites (and held back a few bird-themed ones for Arden to pick from), and now he'd set up the rest in the lobby of the dorm with a sign that read, Free to a Good Home!

Squishmallows for all!

Comments

[what_big_teeth]

Well, this was definitely catching Eleanor's attention as she was passing through, first all the soft stuffed animals, then the sign, and then the animals again.

And then to Gray.

"Can we take a few?" she wondered. Already looking for wolves or dog ones.

[napking]

"Please!" Gray said. "I stole too many. But look at them, they're so cute and round." How could he not? And the pile was...sizable, so there were probably some wolves or dogs in there somewhere.

[what_big_teeth]

Eleanor already was staring down at a wolf one with a bow between her hands and blinking at it with a little bit of disbelief before she really processed what Gray had said.

"You stole all these?"

Was it the act itself that seemed to surprise her? Or the sheer volume?

She wasn't even quite sure, to be honest.

[napking]

"Yeah?" Gray shrugged. "From the creepy Walmart in the woods? It was a whole thing. We were fighting capitalism or something." No one tell Castor. Greed loved capitalism.

"Oh, you totally need that one! It's so cute." The little bow.

[what_big_teeth]

"Oh," Eleanor frowned a little as she tried to process some of that. "I've...been sick in my room for most of the week. I guess...I missed some things..."

How convenient!

But Gray's encouragement for the one she'd picked up had her looking back at it, and, as she squished it, she smiled.

"I was thinking of sending it go my sister," she explained. "The bow reminded me of, I think she'd really love it."

[napking]

"Oh, no!" Gray exclaimed. "I hope you're feeling better now. But yeah, there was a whole..." He gestured vaguely. "A bunch of the shops changed? And there was a creepy Walmart in the woods. But we burned down the Walmart and fixed it, except now the Waffle House is gone and Ray is real sad." A+ explanation, Gray, really filled in some blanks there. "And I have all these Squishmallows to find homes for. Do you want one for you, too?" Of course you did, Eleanor. Right?

[what_big_teeth]

Actually, yes, she definitely did.

"Oh, yes, I'm feeling much better now," Eleanor assured him, "thank you. I think I will take one for myself, too...probably not a wolf for me, though."

Hers would have to be more like...a fish, maybe. Or an octopus...

"But one for my cousin Rhys, too. He'd also get a wolf..."

Although now that she said it, she wondered if that would just come off as cruel, actually.

"What's a Walmart, though?" She was going to mostly dismiss it as some more modern thing that they didn't really have yet in her time, but Gray describing it as 'creepy' made her more curious about it. "Is it a store of some kind, like a supermart?"

But for walls? Some kind of labyrinthine shop, that would be pretty creepy, and, around here, she wouldn't be surprised!

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"Are you just covering every surface with soft things now, just in case?" Belle asked. "These are darling."

[napking]

"Do you want one?" Gray asked. "Or two? Or three?" Please?

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"They are very soft," Belle mused, picking up a buffalo one for some totally inexplicable reason. "And quite sweet."

[napking]

"And squishable." It was in the name. "You should take that one! He's friend-shaped." They were all friend-shaped, Gray.

[noonedecidesmyfate]

"Friend-shaped?" Belle looked down at the toy, then hugged it to her chest. "I think you may be right about that!"

[napking]

"Do you want another one?" Gray asked, trying hard not to sound too hopeful.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

And lo, here was an Arden for Squishmallow pick up!

She stopped dead when she saw Gray and his horde, however. "Oh nooooo," she said softly. "Oh no, they're so cute and squishy."

She had not been prepared.

[napking]

"Right?" Gray asked, beaming at the pile. "I couldn't just leave them!" Fire would not have been kind to them.

Down to business. "Okay, so I've got a couple of birds here, but if you're not feeling any of them there are probably some more over there. But we've got a Halloween bird--spoooooooky," Gray said as he wiggled him in Arden's general direction, "--and I thought this purple owl was super cute, and I found a raven but it's merch? I dunno how you feel about the Barry Plodder books." Hopefully their writer hadn't gone batshit like JKR.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"Oh no, he's a little bird skeleton!" This was apparently quite damaging to Arden's psyche, based on the noises she was making when she picked it up and squished it. She squished it, pressing her face against its belly and then looked up at the sign. "Does that mean I can snag more than one?" she asked, not wanting to be rude, but also unsure how she was supposed to just choose.

[napking]

Gray gestured to the pile. "You would be doing me a favor. Otherwise all of my brothers are getting Squishmallows for Christmas." And while he thought some of them could do with an adorable squishy friend, Raiden was the only one who would go for it.

[afraid_of_marshmallows]

"There is an axolotl," she informed him, in case maybe he'd missed that. Even though he'd been the one to grab them all. And, it's true, axolotls weren't birds, but they were still fucking adorable. "I'm going to have to ask Midnight to make me some shelves," she predicted, snagging the raven and a flamingo and Gray had been right, the purple owl was the absolute cutest. "Because I'm starting to get concerned how many I can fit on my bed."

She was starting to understand why Gray was having this giveaway. But also, what was she supposed to do? Not bring the adorable Squishmallows home? Did she look like some kind of monster?

[napking]

"It's a spare axolotl," he assured her. "There's another one upstairs on my bed. And a sloth, of course." Because of course.

"Who's Midnight?" Did he know anyone named Midnight? "I thought the guy who did woodwork was named Dwight? Oh, and I got you some earbuds!" he remembered, digging in his pockets. "They're around here somewhere..."

[wildgalegirl]

"Ohh!" Charlie looked at all of them. "I'd take one or two!"

[napking]

"Please," Gray pleaded. "I may have gotten carried away."

Ya think?

[wildgalegirl]

"It was definitely easy to bet carried away yesterday," Charlie said, "Though you could also say you got this many on purpose to share with everyone!"

[napking]

"I couldn't just leave them!" Gray defended himself. "The place ended up on fire!" He hadn't known the fire was coming when he'd looted all the Squishmallows, true, but...semantics. "And of course I had to share the joy!" Because they wouldn't all fit in his space.

[wildgalegirl]

"Well, I can't pass up a Charlotte the Sloth, or an Ally the Axolotl. And this Estephania the Butterfly is too cute to pass up," Charlie said. "Thank you!"

[napking]

"The axolotl is a very popular choice," Gray told her. "And we all know the sloth is the best animal." It was the only one named after him, after all.