Found Family

Telling of a story (Tinman)

I imagine Tinman opening up about his story to his friends on the way to the Emerald city for the first time. Mostly to Scarecrow.

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It had been a few days since Dorothy and the Scarecrow found the Tinman and Lion. The Tinman had told the least about his past. Night was approaching and the group went to the side of the road. The Tinman made a campfire for the ones that needed it while Dorothy, Toto, and Lion ate their dinner and the Scarecrow was collecting some berries. Dorothy seemed sad while eating.

"Are you ok Dorothy?" Tinman asked the girl.

"Yes, I am just missing my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry" Dorothy replied.

"Need a hug?" He asked.

Dorothy nodded and went to the Tinman. He picked her up. Dorothy soon fell asleep and Tinman walked over to the already sleeping Lion. Tinman put Dorothy next to Lion and Toto came to lay down next to Dorothy. Scarecrow walked to them, sat down the basket and put a make-shift blanket of leaves over Dorothy to keep her warm.

Scarecrow got the basket and went to collect berries again. Tinman went by the fire again where his oil can was to oil his joints while he waited for Scarecrow. When Scarecrow was done, he walked back to the clearing to see Tinman standing holding his axe. Since Tinman was a comfortable distances from the fire, Scarecrow walked next to him and put a hand on a shoulder.

"Are you ok, friend?" Scarecrow asked Tinman in a quiet tone. "You seem sad"

"I am" Tinman quietly said with tears in his eyes.

"What about, my friend?" Scarecrow asked while wiping his tears.

"Oh, Dorothy just brought up a memory, it's nothing that important" Tinman whispered.

"Well it must be when you're crying about it" Scarecrow whispered back.

Tinman sighed and looked back down at his axe.

"I'm just missing my mom and dad" Tinman whispered with more tears coming out.

Scarecrow looked confused but continued to comfort Tinman. Scarecrow put the basket down and guided Tinman to place his axe down. Scarecrow hugged Tinman to help comfort him.

"You have a mom and dad?" Scarecrow quietly asked.

"I had, they've passed on now" Tinman quietly cried.

"What does that mean?"

"They're asleep, forever"

"Oh"

After a few minutes, Tinman was sitting on a log near the campfire with his back facing it. Scarecrow was sitting on the grass right in front of the Tinman. Scarecrow was looking up at Tinman with curiosity. Tinman picked up on that.

"Go ahead Scarecrow, ask away" Tinman sadly whispered.

"How do people made out tin have a mom or dad?" Scarecrow quietly asked.

"As I'm aware, I'm not all that sure. I can only speak for myself, we have a mom and dad if we were made out of flesh and blood before hand"

Scarecrow nodded and seemed to be lost in thought. Then it seemed he realized something.

"Were you made out of flesh and blood?" Scarecrow asked.

Tinman just nodded sadly and looked back down at his axe. Scarecrow looked confused and tilted his head to the side.

"How were you flesh and blood before this?" Scarecrow asked.

"I was a Munchkin that got a curse by the Wicked Witch of the East. The curse slowly turned me into this and lost my heart in the process" Tinman sadly said.

"What did you do to make her curse you?" Scarecrow asked.

Tinman put his hand over where his heart should be and let out a sigh.

"I guess it has to do with Nimmie" Tinman sighed.

"Who's that?" Scarecrow asked.

"A Munchkin I fell in love with before I became... this" Tinman sighed quietly.

Tinman looked over to the sleeping friends with Scarecrow following his gaze.

"I will try my best to protect you from being cursed from the Wicked Witch of the West" Tinman whispered mostly to himself.

"Try your best with Dorothy, Tinman. She's the one we should protect till we find a way to get her home" Scarecrow whispered to Tinman. "And did you have a name before coming a Tinman?"

"Yes, it was Nick" Tinman replied.

"Do you have a second name that follows?" Scarecrow asked. "Like Gale for Dorothy"

"It's Chopper" Tinman chuckled a bit.

"Nick Chopper" Scarecrow mumbled to himself. "I like it" Scarecrow happily but quietly said.

"Thank you friend" Tinman thanked the Scarecrow.

Scarecrow smiled in response, happy to see his friend happy.

"Wait, why are you telling me this now that you had a mom and dad?" Scarecrow asked.

"It's a bit of a touchy subject for me, I tend not to think about it with little brains I have" Tinman sighed.

"I won't push since I don't want you crying again at the moment even though I'm still curious" Scarecrow quietly said as he stood up.

Scarecrow went to get some sticks. He walked close to the man made out of tin and reached out his arm to give him the sticks. Tinman grabbed the sticks and turned some to add them to the fire.

"What are you still curious about from my past?" Tinman asked as Scarecrow sat down in his spot.

"Where did you get the axe, how does a mom and dad feel like, and can you tell me more about this Nimmie" Scarecrow shot the questions.

Tinman just smiled at his friend trying to go the happy route.

"Well the axe was passed down from my dad and I planned to pass it down to my kids if I had any" Tinman started.

Scarecrow nodded.

"Like Dorothy" Scarecrow stated.

"Exactly" Tinman replied. "And I guess how parents feel like is comforting. You go up to them when you're scared of something stupid and silly and them comforting you. Especially my mom, she would tell me bedtime stories to help me go back to sleep when I was scared" Tinman happily said as he was thinking of the happy memories.

Scarecrow sat there with interest.

"So moms tell stories and dads pass down axes" Scarecrow said.

"Parents do so much more. My dad was a woodman. He used this axe to cut wood and sell it off for money for food and other things we needed. My mom stayed home to help raise me. She taught me how to read and write and so many other things" Tinman fondly said.

Tinman stopped to let Scarecrow think for a second.

"Can you tell about Nimmie in the morning?" Scarecrow asked. "I want to hear more about this parent thing and I want Dorothy, Toto and Lion know about Nimmie at the same time as me" Scarecrow continued. "If you don't mind"

"I will and I don't mind at all" Tinman happily said.

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I hope you enjoy this chapter. Yes I did make my own childhood backstory thing for Tinman.