CALL OF THE SHADOW [Freedom AU Book Eight]{FNAF/UT}

T̸͖̗͖̣͉̄̈͗Ḧ̵̪̠́́̓͠͝Ŗ̸̩̐͋͆́̐E̸̡̱̘̾E̶̠͇̫͇͈͐̌

  It was like any other day. Chica arrived first to the café--her cupcake companion, Carl, perched on her shoulder. By the time she was ready to open the café, Toy had arrived for her shift that day. And not long after the sign on the door was flipped to "We're Open!", did the small handful of regulars begin arriving.

By the time mid-afternoon rolled around, everything going just fine. Chica had just pulled some baked goods out of the oven to cool before being put on display, all the while Toy took orders from customers coming to the front counter. Coming out of the kitchen, Chica offered to take over the front counter for a bit, to which Toy agreed with a nod. Then, she went to see what else needed to be done.

After serving a monster's to-go order, and placing his cash payment in the register, Chica was greeted by Bonbell walking up to the counter. "Oh, hi Bon. You're here early." Chica commented in greeting, giving the bunny her usual friendly smile. Bon half-smirked and shrugged, a distracted look in his emerald eyes. "Yeah... well, short shift... I guess."

"Well then, what can I get you?" Chica watched as Bon looked up to the menu board. He skimmed it for a moment or two, before his gaze shifted to a spot behind her--as if something suddenly had his attention.

~~~

Bonbell had been trying to decide what to order--he didn't want much more than a small bit of food and a beverage--when something caught his eye. He looked back down to Chica, and saw it standing behind her. It's tall and shadowy figure towered over her smaller form, making it appear as some sort of giant. But, there was something concerning about it's sudden appearance.

The way it looked at Chica.

It almost looked as if it were sizing her up. Like a predator watching it's prey. Bonbell didn't know what to make of it's concerning demeanor. It said nothing to him, as it was more interested in the anthro it was standing over. Bon could practically feel what this shadow was feeling, and what he was feeling genuinely scared him.

"Bon?" He blinked a couple times, before looking back to Chica.

~~~

It looked like the bunny had spaced or for a minute. A flash of confusion came over her expression. "Hey, 'you okay?" Bonbell simply stared at her for a beat, before answering with, "Y-Yeah... I'm fine." He quickly looked back up to the menu board again. "I'll just take a, um," The bunny coughed nervously. "A coffee and a blueberry muffin, please."

"... Sure, of course." Chica answered, jotting down his order in a slower manner than usual. After writing it down, she turned towards the spot they kept the pot of coffee and white ceramic mugs, to pour the bunny a cup. She caught Toy standing in the kitchen doorway, giving her brother a curious look. A curiously concerned look. Almost as if she could sense something off with him.

Toy's turquoise eyes suddenly met Chica's violet ones. The look on her face turned apologetic. Chica shot her a casual look in response, before nodding over to Bonbell--as if silently giving her permission to briefly speak with him. Toy nodded, and walked out from behind the counter to say 'hi'.

  Though, for the rest of the day, something felt... off. Chica couldn't place the feeling, but ended up forgetting it by the time evening rolled around.

~~~

'u'

A.N. Also, lemme know if ya'll want the next chapter tomorrow or not--it is also finished ;)