A Surprising Present

     The spotted Pteri gaped as she entered the room to find her family in front of her, holding out various presents.

     “Aww, thank you!” Gimmer smiled. “You didn’t have to do that; I told you even I don’t know what I want!”

     “Hey, we have some idea of what you like,” Daydream the Faerie Bori smirked. “We’ve lived together all our lives and we’re only a week apart!”

     “Yeah, I honestly figured you’d combine our parties if you were going to have them,” Gimmer commented.

     “It’s not like we have much else going on,” Indal the Darigan Lupe shrugged. “We may as well make it special. Besides, it’s your birthday. Of course, we’ll celebrate it.”

     The remaining family member, Flower the Faerie Ixi, said nothing as expected. Instead, she merely walked forward and handed her a present wrapped in a velvet bag.

     “Alright, yours first!” Gimmer slowly undid the ribbon string with her beak, and when the bag opened…

     “Oh!” Gimmer pulled out the gift for all to see: a shadow Cybunny plushie. A hush fell over the room.

     “I thought maybe you could use it,” Flower said quietly.

     Indal nodded. “It looks like a nice memory of what we had.”

     Gimmer nodded slowly and petted the plushie. “Yeah… If nothing else, it’s a cute plush. Thank you, Flower!”

     Daydream said nothing at all. She merely waited for the excitement over the plushie to end before walking forward and handing over her present.

     They went through all the presents. Daydream’s gift of a scarf, and Indal’s gift of spider liquorice. (What Gimmer saw in food like that, the family would never know.) They celebrated for a time as Gimmer donned the scarf and just barely held herself back from eating all the spiders in one sitting. However, she had a clear favourite, as she kept holding the shadow Cybunny plushie close to her.

     “Heh, it kind of looks like it’s staring at you back,” Indal commented.

     “Heh, aww,” Gimmer commented, her eyes closed.

     Flower stared. “Um… did it just blink?”

     Gimmer’s eyes shot open as she stared at the plushie, but her concern soon abated.

     “Why would it blink?” Daydream asked. “It’s just a plush. A normal one. You would know, you bought it. You didn’t get it from one of your Weird Places, did you?”

     “No, it should be normal…” Flower trailed off. “It’s not like it was expensive...”

     “It’s not the first time plushies came to life, but it’s unlikely,” Indal said. “You sure you weren’t seeing things?”

     Flower paused, quiet for a long time. Then slowly: “...No, I guess I’m not.”

     “Well, it happens. Anyway, cake soon! But first, I’m gonna go put this in the gallery. Give it some spotlight when I’m not cuddling with it, right?” Gimmer got up and walked to the gallery on the side of the house. “If any of you want to cuddle it too, it’ll be there.”

     “...Yeah, whatever.” Daydream waved a very dismissive paw. The others simply nodded. Flower couldn’t help but stare as Gimmer left.

     Some time passed, and the other family members had long finished setting the table. They thought that Gimmer was taking a long time, but they figured she was just waxing sentiment before returning. In light of this, Flower excused herself to the bathroom. Indal and Daydream spent time talking casually among themselves when:

     “KYAAAAAAH!!” Came a scream from the gallery.

     “What, what is it?!” Indal rushed in towards the gallery with Daydream. Inside, they saw quite the scene…

     The plushies were knocked slightly askew as Gimmer had backed herself up to the back wall of the room, as far away as possible from that which frightened her… The shadow Cybunny plushie, sitting haphazardly on the floor against the wall of the front counter.

     Indal looked around. “What is it? Do we have an intruder?”

     “What, no!” Gimmer declared. “...Maybe? I don’t know?”

     “What does that mean??”

     “I mean, it’s just-- it’s the plush!”

     “The plush?”

     “I-it moved! And I think I heard it talk!”

     “Talk?!” Indal shook his head. “Wait, okay, hold on, let’s both slow down. Start from the beginning.”

     Gimmer took a breath and nodded. “I-I was cuddling it, talking to myself about various things. Just my brain being mean again, and I…” She looked bashful for a moment. “I thought talking to a plushie might help?”

     “I understand,” Indal said softly. “Go on.”

     “So I was just talking, getting the plushies stand ready. I said something about how nice the party was, but how lost I am. I didn’t even know what present I want! The company helps, but I’m always just... thinking.”

     “I understand,” Indal assured her again. “I know what you mean.”

     Gimmer sighed. “So, I said that while hugging the plushie. I thought I felt it hug back, but I thought it was just my imagination. Then I thought I heard it say, ‘Sounds like you’ve got a lot; do you wanna talk?’. A-and I looked down and I swear it was looking at me. A-and then I freaked out and threw it against the wall and backed up, and then you found me.”

     Indal and Daydream blinked, turning their attention to the plush, which was normal and still. “So it… moved and hugged you and talked?” Daydream queried.

     “It did! I swear it! ...I think. I mean, unless I imagined it unless I was just that lost in my thoughts...”

     “You didn’t imagine it.” It was Flower’s voice as she stepped out from behind a hidden door behind a cabinet.

     Gimmer jolted back. “Flower! What- were you spying?!”

     “I don’t think I imagined what I saw. So I went to watch it.”

     “You didn’t have to spy on me, I said some really personal stuff! There’s a reason I didn’t give much detail!”

     “I’m not judging you, you know. I wanted to catch the plushie in the act, and that was a good way to do it.”

     “Opening my heart is not meant to serve some purpose for spying!” Gimmer snapped.

     Flower blinked, then recovered and sighed. “Fine, I’m sorry. It’s just… habit at this point. I know you’re not trying to hide anything big from me, I just… I got caught up.”

     Gimmer sighed. “It’s fine. Just… remember it?”

     “I’ll try.” Flower approached. “Anyway, the plush really did do and say those things, and-- it just now moved.”

     The trio turned their attention to where the plush was to find that it was no longer near the front counter, but several feet away and halfway underneath a trolley cart.

     “Okay, so, I did throw it against the wall and no one moved it while we were talking, right?” Gimmer confirmed. “Did Daydream hide it?”

     “Why would I hide it? I’m not that petty,” Daydream commented.

     The others shook their head in unnecessary confirmation of their innocence.

     “I wasn’t saying you were,” Gimmer said. “Actually, you haven’t spoken much since I got it. Are you still mad-”

     “It doesn’t matter, it’s not like it’s my present.” Daydream looked away in a huff. “Just because we don’t agree about what changed doesn’t mean I’ll stop you.”

     “...Still mad,” Flower muttered.

     “I-I-I-” Gimmer stuttered. “It doesn’t have to be about them. It can just be a nice and soft Cybunny plush which doesn’t at all have to do them! Look, I’ll grab it- Aaaand it’s gone.”

     “It’s gone? Okay, Flower, are you pulling a prank?” Daydream asked.

     “I wouldn’t prank with this,” Flower said evenly. “And Indal hasn’t moved either. It’s moving on its own, and I’ll find out why.”

     They looked around for some time until Indal called: “There.”

     Indal pointed to a stand where a cloud Acara plushie stood. The shadow Cybunny plushie was leaning next to it.

     “Hey, was it always smiling?” Daydream asked.

     “I mean, I think so,” Gimmer pondered.

     “But does its eyes seem partly closed to you?” Indal asked. “Almost as if it’s… relaxed?”

     “I didn’t think they sewed eyelids onto plushies,” Daydream said. “...Did they?”

     “No, it’s just a touch of my magic,” came a voice.

     “Ah, right, magic would explain itDIDYOUJUSTSPEAK??” cried Daydream.

     “Indeeeeeed!” came the voice again. The Cybunny plushie rolled forward until it fell off of the stand and lay at the family’s feet, belly exposed and their paws wiggling upward.

     “GYAAAAAH!” Daydream screamed.

     “AAAAAAAAAHITOLDYOU!” Gimmer screamed.

     Indal and Flower, meanwhile, had drawn back in surprise.

     “I didn’t quite catch it; did it use its mouth to talk or is it telepathy?” Flower asked aloud.

     “Wow, rude, did you greet the rescued Boris with a ‘what are you’ too?” came the voice again. “Also, ‘it’? I may be a magic Cybunny plushie made of fabric and stuffing, but I have an identity you know! Try: ‘What are they?’.”

     “Ah… sorry, I didn’t mean to objectify you,” Flower apologized.

     “It’s fine, I am technically an object! And I kind of snuck my sentience onto you.” the Cybunny tilted its head. “If you must know, I can do both mouth movements and magic voice projection. Because magic!”

     “...If you’re a magical Cybunny plushie, how is Gimmer not a Cybunny now? I don’t think magical shadow Cybunny plushies are a thing,” Indal mused.

     “No, I’m not that kind of Cybunny plushie! I’m a sentient Cybunny plushie! And I talked to you and rolled over to you to wrap up the mystery and say hi. So… hi!”

     “Uh…” Gimmer said. “Hi?”

     “Hi!” the Cybunny plushie waved, then hopped back onto the counter with the cloud Acara stand. “That’s the spirit. I’m not scary at all. Well, I guess I can be if I want to be, but I don’t. I just wanted to be with you and talk to you, is all!”

     The squad looked at each other. “Why all the hiding and sneaking away, then?”

     “Well, I wasn’t sure how you’d take me at first. So I was gonna take it slow and one day introduce myself properly. I just made a mistake with that blink. But then I heard Gimmer venting and I just felt so sorry for her. It’s hard to be listless and have a brain that doesn’t like you! I couldn’t help it; I wanted to comfort her. And as soon as I realized that that would probably freak her out, Gimmer properly freaked out and threw me across the room!”

     “Ah...” Gimmer suddenly looked self-conscious. “Sorry...”

     “Nah, I’m fine. And like I said, you properly freaked out. I kinda spied on your vent session without telling you I’m sentient, and then just tried to step in like nothing was different. I’d freak too! So really, I’m sorry.”

     “Well… It’s alright. I’d say tell me next time, but...”

     “Yeah, I get you, I will,” the plushie said. “Anyway, after that, I got afraid of you catching onto me again and doing something sudden. Or maybe I got self-conscious about my rudeness. So I tried to sneak away. Except my disappearing just freaked you out more. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what to do, except disappear further! Maybe appear at the bottom of your drawer after a few months. ...Or not, that’d take too long. I don’t think very well sometimes when I’m on the spot!”

     The squad tactfully declined to comment with queries on the plushie’s ability to think.

     “...Why nuzzle next to the Acara plushie, then?” Flower asked.

     “Oh, well, plushies are neat and the design was pretty! I was just gonna inspect it before moving on, but I got distracted and then it was really soft… Kinda calmed me down! Though by the time I realized it wasn’t a great place to hide, you’d found me, so here we are.”

     “So… you like Acara plushies?” Indal asked.

     “No, I like clouds. The Acara’s just okay.” The plushie rolled over onto their stomach and looked up at the squad. “Anyway, here I am, ready to be here for you!”

     “Be here… for us?” Gimmer asked.

     “Yeah! I saw you living your lonely lives, and I decided to give you some company! Give you some more excitement beyond yearly birthday parties,” the plushie said, resting their face on one paw. “So here I am.”

     “You just… showed up?” Daydream asked.

     “And decided?” Indal added.

     “Yeah! I mean, it’s been a long while, hasn’t it?”

     “Wh- a long while?” Gimmer asked. “Long while for what?”

     “Since I…” the plushie paused, then wiggled their tail. “Since you’ve had excitement! So I want to make up for the lost time, and help you out while I’m at it!”

     “Make up…?” Flower grew quiet.

     “Help us out with what? We’re good as we are,” Daydream said.

     “Yeah, I see that, and you’re doing good,” the plushie said. “But you’ve lost time by being alone, and I figure I can fill that void! I’m not useless, you know, I’m a sentient Cybunny plushie! And I know I can add to your lives with company and opportunities!”

     Indal tilted their head. “I mean, I guess there’s the company, but we really don’t know anything about you. We can’t really know much after a short conversation.”

     “Hang on,” Gimmer said. “Maybe, but I’m not getting a bad feeling from them. Maybe they could offer us something.”

     “I’d still like to know more about them,” Flower suddenly piped up. “Can I ask you some things?”

     “You just did, but sure!” The plushie moved up into a sitting position.

     “Do you have a name?” Flower asked.

     “Yes and no.”

     “...I don’t understand?”

     “Yes, I have a name, no, not one I like, so I just don’t have one right now. You can give me a nickname if you want! If I like it.”

     “Hmm.” Flower looked to the others. “I don’t want to just call them ‘Plushie.’ What do you think?”

     “’Shade’?” Daydream suggested.

     “’Beatrice?’” Gimmer suggested.

     “I don’t know if they’d like that one,” Daydream said. “How about Somnia?”

     “Do plushies even sleep?” Indal pointed out. “Hoppy?”

     “Hoppy?” Daydream chided.

     “I don’t know, I usually take time to think of these!”

     “Look, we don’t have to be permanent about it,” Flower said.

     The squad took some time debating names between each other before looking back to the plushie. Flower spoke. “Okay, we’re terrible with names. Is ‘Hoppy’ okay?”

     The plushie stood still, unblinking, their silence filling the room.

     “...’Hoppy’? ...Shadow Cybunny Plushie?”

     Still nothing. The squad waited for quite a long time.

     “...Now I’m starting to wonder if we dreamed the whole thing,” Daydream sighed.

     “Quite the collective dream,” Indal commented.

     “So, what do we do now?” Gimmer asked.

     “Do we just… put it on its stand?” Daydream asked.

     “I guess so...” Gimmer picked up the plushie. Just as she did…

     “Woah! Sorry, you were taking a while so I hopped out for a bit. What were you all talking about?”

     Gimmer jolted back, but managed to suppress the urge to drop the plushie. “Ah! Uh… a lot of things. Did you… not hear any of it?”

     “How could I? I told you, I hopped out. Oh, ‘hopped out’ is a metaphor, I just mean I went off and did other things for a while. I was back when you mentioned ‘Hoppy’ as a name for me. No, by the way.”

     “’Went off and did other things?’ But you were still the whole time,” Daydream commented.

     “Well, not in this form! Think of me as a possessed toy. This is just the form I chose to take when interacting with you!” the plushie responded.

     Flower tilted her head. “’Chose to take?’”

     “Well yeah, I didn’t want to choose just any plushie! I chose this one because I like shadow Cybunnies, and you happened to buy that one!”

     The squad paused. Gimmer set down the plushie on the standing table.

     “...So. You didn’t enter that plushie and become sentient until we brought you home?” Flower asked slowly.

     “Yup!” the plushie nodded. “I wanted to get involved for a while, I just didn’t know how. Then I saw you take the plushie home and decided that would be my vessel!”

     “Your vessel?” Indal asked. “Do you not have a form? Are you a mote?”

     “Nono, I have a form. I just don’t like it, so I’m a shadow Cybunny plushie for now. Wibbly wobbly magic wadjet stuff. Don’t overthink it.”

     “How can we not overthink it…?” Daydream asked. “You just show up with a little introduction and decide to just… include yourself in our lives?! At least tell us who you really are!”

     At this, the plushie paused. At first uncertain. Then its features looked still…

     “Don’t hop out now!” Daydream insisted.

     “Daydream, please,” Gimmer pleaded. “Maybe they have their secrets, but I still don’t think they’re bad. If they were, they would never have blown their cover just to try to comfort me.”

     “That could be part of a plan to warm up to you,” Flower said. “But I agree, they seem more impulsive than malicious. They probably felt put on the spot.”

     “If they didn’t want to feel put on the spot, then they should’ve been more upfront with us,” Daydream said.

     “...I mean, I agree, Daydream,” the plushie finally responded. “But Flower’s right, I’m just not great at confrontation. I made the right choice in picking a Cybunny! Ha ha...”

     “...Are you going to answer?” Daydream asked.

     “Well… yes and no. Look, I really am here to help you and enrich your lives. Another voice to the family, a shoulder to cry on! Or just the chance to spin the wheels some more and engage in the worlds around you. Get you some more money while you’re at it; I’m pretty good at that! But who I am… Just think of me as a friend. I’ll tell you more about me one day, when I think we’re all ready for it.”

     They all paused, staring at each other.

     “So… a roommate situation?” Indal asked.

     “Yeah, you can see it like that! An involved roommate.” The plushie nodded.

     “I would really prefer it if you were more upfront with us. No sneaking around like that,” Daydream said.

     “No yeah, I’ll behave from now on. Well, I can be sneaky when I don’t mean to, but I’ll be upfront when I’m around. No surprises! I’ll just, I dunno, wave.”

     While the family seemed content with the answer, Daydream and Flower just kept staring. While they were sure that the plushie was honest about their benign nature, they weren’t sure about having a sudden roommate.

     The plushie noticed this and let out a sigh as they began to pace in a slow circle. “Look, I know, you’re independent, and it should be your decision. I just want a chance, y’know? I don’t have much else going for me where I am, and I like this family. Give me a chance. I can prove my worth to you. And if I fall short, or you don’t like me, you can throw me away, or I can hop out forever. I will if you ask, promise.”

     They stared. Then Daydream sighed. “Look, I don’t get you, but I guess I don’t have to yet. We’ve got Flower to keep an eye on you, after all.”

     Flower waved a lazy hand. “Yup.”

     “And Indal can beat you up if you turn out to be evil,” Daydream continued.

     “I really don’t think they are,” Indal said slowly.

     “And really, who can’t beat up a plushie?” Flower muttered.

     “You say that, but one of the most challenging fighters in the Battledome is a plushie,” Indal commented. “Come to think, the plushies of this land have long names. The Malevolent Sentient Poogle Plushie. The Discarded Magical Blue Grundo Plushie of Prosperity. And you, you’re a… Sentient Sleepy Shadow Cybunny Plushie.”

     The plushie stopped and tilted their head. “SSSCP… A few more S’s than I would like, but I guess that’ll work as a name for now. Alright, I’m SSSCP! Or ‘Seep!’ And if I don’t like that later, we can workshop it.”

     Seep hopped in place. “But first! I said I would prove myself. Why don’t you have your birthday cake? I’m too uninvolved to invite myself, so I can stay in this gallery when I’m dozed out so you can still show off this plush. But when you’re ready, take me on an outing! I can show you my company and what I can bring!”

     “...No, it’s okay, you can come along,” Gimmer said, picking up Seep. “Thank you for trying to comfort me. Maybe we can talk a bit more later, okay?”

     Seep let out a genuine smile. “Okay. But for now, this is your day! We may be chronic overthinkers, but for this party, let’s live in the moment and just have some fun! We can get our answers to our life problems in due time, but that’s no reason to ignore the fun of today!”

     Gimmer let out a rare smile. “Heh… yeah… Alright. Are we all good?”

     The others nodded at varied frequencies.

     “It’s still your party and comfort,” Daydream said with a shrug.

     “Besides, Seep is right, let’s just have some fun,” Indal said.

     So they returned to the room and all but Seep enjoyed the cake, for Seep was still a plushie without a functioning stomach. Still, Seep made comments on the cake’s craftsmanship and how the decorations livened up the room’s atmosphere. Still, Seep went still for most of the eating and follow-up chatter. But after a while of rest and when Seep returned, they began to play games with some of the toys around the house. Seep added a few new antics to the routine, and was quick to respond to and elevate others’ additions to the activities. Some minor missteps aside, the family had fun playing with Seep.

     By the time they were done celebrating, the sun had gone down, and…

     “I guess it’s too late for an outing today,” Seep commented as they examined the other resting family members. “No worries. Maybe another time I can prove myself.”

     “...You don’t need to worry about that with me,” Gimmer said. “It’s not all about what you can do for us, it’s what you bring to us. I had fun hanging out with you.”

     Indal nodded as they curled on the couch. “Yeah, I think we all did. You were good company.”

     Seep tilted their head. “R-really? Aw, I’m flattered. But I really didn’t prove myself besides that.”

     “Yeah, you did,” Flower said idly. “From how you hung out and play, that tells me more about you. Not all of it, but it’s a good start.”

     Seep turned their head towards Daydream, who was busy resting on a different couch.

     “...I do still want to hear more about you,” Daydream said. “But I’m already convinced you aren’t secretly working for Sloth or something.”

     “Aww, I’m touched,” Seep cheered sarcastically.

     “But really… we’re fine for now,” Daydream said.

     Seep smiled. “Thanks.” They looked to all the others. “It’s been fun! But you all seem tired. So we can have that outing and maybe more fun later. I can zone out so you can rest? Unless Gimmer needs me…”

     “...No, I’m feeling good right now,” Gimmer said. “Focus on the fun of today and live in the moment, right? I’ll let you know.”

     Seep nodded happily. “Sure. But most of all: Happy birthday, Gimmer.”

     Gimmer smiled. “Yeah. It was a good day.”

     The End.