Covens and Proxies

41

Reader's POV

You wake to Toby sharpening his axes at your feet. You sit up, drawing his gaze and a smile. He doesn't have any of his gear on, which seems a little strange to you, but you're not complaining.

"Mo-rning sleepy head." He's quiet, setting his tools down and moving to sit next to you. "Feeling alright?" He hand brushes over your forehead and back through your hair.

You nod, hugging him, already fighting tears. "Is Slenderman okay?" You whimper into his shoulder.

He chuckles, rubbing your back. "Yeah. He's fi-ine."

You breath relief, letting yourself relax. "How long this time?"

"Only a few hours, ac-tually." He tells you, "It's one in-in the morning right now."

Your stomach clenches. "Would it be too early for a snack?" You ask, looking up at him with your best puppy-dog eyes.

He chuckles, kissing your forehead. "No. Come on. Ther-there's some others that want to meet you-you anyways."

You raise an eyebrow. "Really?" He grins, helping you up with him.

"They-they're pretty chill." He explains, his arm taking it's usual perch around your waist.

He guides you through the silent halls downstairs, opening the lounge door. Inside, most of the proxies are playing cards; a kid sits at the bar with a half-empty glass of beer; a trio playing pool towards the back. They all snap to attention when the door swings shut.

Toby guides you over to the bare next to the boy, the trio playing pool meeting you there. "(Y/n), this is Angel, Zachary, Hel-elen and Cody. Cody's a proxy of Slend-erman, Zachary belongs to Puppeteer." Toby introduces while he digs some drinks and snacks from behind the counter.

You shake Zachary and Angel's hands, though the others look unsure. "It's nice to meet you." Helen makes a nervous noise like a laugh.

"That's new." He mutters.

Zachary glares at him. "Be nice." He grumbles. "It's nice to meet you too."

Toby offers glasses to everyone, all taking the offer, before you kick him out. "Wh-what?" He demands as you push him out of the way.

"I've tasted your drinks, and frankly they aren't very good." You tell him, kissing his cheek to take the glasses from him.

He glares playfully at you while you work the drinks. "You're not going to poison us, right?" Cody's voice is soft, but you hear it perfectly fine.

You laugh. "No. I deal with plagues and horrible viruses. Poisons aren't my forte." You mix the drinks thoroughly before passing them out and watching their reactions. Angel almost spits it out, Zachary takes a sip before downing the rest of the glass, Helen and Cody barely touch there's. You grin. "Mine tend to have a real kick. The rest goes down easy, though."

Angel tries it again before downing the rest. "What is it?"

You hesitate, your crying mother and dead father appearing behind your eyes. "A family recipe." You tell them.

Helen takes a good drink, pushing it away. "I don't have a high tolerance and you don't want me drunk. That's too good to stop drinking on my own."

You laugh, taking the rest yourself and putting the glass near the sink. "Is it safe to say you don't want to meat me just because of my cooking and drinks?"

Zacharay nods. "First, can I get another one of those. And second, what was it you did to Slenderman?"

On that, everyone, even the proxies playing cards, shuts up and looks over. You shift uncomfortably, trying to make your body make the drink while you think of an answer.