Another Way

Chapter 22: Curse

For a while, Sue could only stare at the despairing heap.

Much of her rational decision making kept urging her to get out of here and ask someone less crippled for help with... whatever this being was. As acutely as she could feel their sorrow, there was still the possibility of all this being a trap of some sort, of this creature attempting to lure her in closer.

And right beside it, the equally likely possibility of them being genuinely sad because of their costume breaking.

Why would they disguise themselves as Comet; Sue didn't know. But what she did know, with utter certainty, was that her heart was firmly in favor of comforting them.

Step aside, brain.

With a nervous shake, the Forest Guardian sat down on the rough sand of the playground, the obscured stranger within arm's reach. Whatever they were, they seemed to have sensed her joining them, growing still in anticipation. It didn't help her nerves any, but by then, she was too set in her path to pay any attention to them.

"Hey... you."

The tinge of confusion joining the sloshing despair beneath the off-white rag at least let her know they had heard her. Her words weren't doing her any more favors here than with anyone else in Moonview, but by that point, Sue knew full well that it wasn't the important part.

All that mattered was that she was here.

Her hand shook as she lowered it onto the small mound, doubts growing by the moment. Even beside the absurdity of it being a possible trap, them reacting badly to an unexpected touch could end similarly badly, and with no underlying ill intent. Maybe they hated being touched; maybe they were poisonous; maybe they'd run away the instant she made contact.

Many awful possibilities, none of which mattered.

She wanted to help them, help someone, and that's what she'd try to do.

Sue felt the hidden creature freeze as she laid her hand on top of their disguised body; the immediate sensations... oddly pleasant. They were warm, like a living being, and very soft, downright squishy, underneath the rugged canvas.

Regardless of how they looked or didn't look, in just a few moments, her touch began to have a marked effect on them. The once-human felt their sadness ease out with her every breath, every little movement of her petting hand working away at their anxious bind. The shift was gradual, but once Sue had noticed it, she only redoubled her affection. Shakes turned to gentle pets and one hand was joined by another, anything to help calm them down more.

"There, there, I'm here. I'm he-"

As unexpectedly pleasant as their interaction was turning out so far, the sight off to the side threatened to ruin it all in an instant. A pitch-black tentacle was gradually creeping out from under the rag, tipped with three claw-like extensions. Her heart hammered as her mind screamed for her to do what she should've done in the first place and run; the sudden situation left her paralyzed-

And then, the blackness wrapped itself around one of her hands.

It felt... really nice.

It was similarly warm to the rest of their hidden body, and just as soft. To the best of Sue's ability to make out, it was much more amorphous than it looked, the black tissue striking her as more of a gel than an actual well-defined limb.

They may have anxiously frozen once Sue had lifted her other hand, but relaxed even further once she gently grabbed their limb directly, fingers brushing along its surface.