Strings Not Attached

The Woods

Two figures sat by the warm fire on a cold Winter evening. One was obviously a woman, who was knitting what looked like a scarf of some sort. Snow fell gently out the dark window, and the man was reading a book. The book was old and dusty, and a little torn from being passed around for so long. The man reached over and took the woman's hand gently, rubbing his thumb over her smooth skin.

"Elsa? What if our boy doesn't love me..."

"Oh, shut your nonsense talk Andre. Our son will love you unconditionally."

"But what if I do something wrong?"

"I don't see what you could do wrong... You provide for us, and we have a nice warm home to sleep in."

"What if I am too cruel?"

"You are never cruel. Never to me."

There was nothing more comforting than Elsa's touch. Blade remembered how she used to carefully touch him, right when he was made. Her voice was as smooth as silk, and she often sang to her young when they would cry out into the night. Best of wives, best of women. Blade would occasionally think of the night she died. Shot to death by Nazi soldiers, used herself as bait. That was after Enrich ran away and her second born died from the chill. Toulon was angry, distraught, all sorts of colors after that. Leech Woman was different from the rest of the puppets. Sure, she was the same height and weight, but she was dressed in a pretty pink dress and her hair was carefully applied. It wasn't messy, well, not at first. 

She was motherly towards the group, and yet was just as brutal as the rest of them. Once Torch was made, it was almost as if something awakened in the female puppet. Taking on the role of being his 'mother', she kept him out of trouble. A lot of fights had been defused because of her, while at the same time a lot of them were started for that very same reason. 

....

It was still night when the band of puppets fled from the now burning cabin in the woods. They had stumbled across this location while hiding in the back of the owner's pickup truck. After killing him and setting his dog free, they decided to set up camp there and stay until further notice. Now, however, this was a different situation. Tunneler was assigned as the temporary leader until Blade returned; if he even returned at all. As much as they'd like to think they were properly equipped for exploring the 'Great Outdoors', they were still only puppets, and subject to any wild animal that might decide to sneak up on them. Tunneler could feel the tension in the air, and his first instinct was to comfort Leech Woman. She rejected his attempt to comfort her, and she pushed him away. Despite everything, she was still Elsa Toulon deep down inside, and that was her son back there. 

A loud bang rang out through the woods, startling the small band of puppets. Tunneler turned back and looked, seeing smoke and ash rising above the tree level. The whole house must've gone up in flames, it seems. That was to be expected of course, but... would either puppet walk out alive? No one really could say. Leech Woman stared longingly off into the woods, wishing she wasn't in such a clunky body. She wanted to desperately run back, fight her way through the fire and save her child...

No, no. He wasn't her child anymore. She had to constantly remind herself of this fact. Enrich was not Enrich anymore, and she was not Elsa. They were both shells of their former selves; 'mindless' puppets that walked the Earth in search of their next task. Leech Woman could never really get over that fact, it was something they had to deal with on the daily. Tunneler gently took her arm and tried to lead her along, and she slowly walked with him. He was a saint, really. 

....

Blade snapped to reality, looking around. The room had gone black because a board had collapsed, in turn landing on both Torch and him. Struggling to get out from under the board, the flames and ash spit at him, causing him to yell out in pain. Torch... where was Torch? Sure, he had just tried to kill him, but they were still bound to one another. Toulon would come back from the dead just to kick Blade's ass if he left him there. Then again, he might just do that anyways. The puppet looked under the board, but he was gone. Bastard. Left me here all alone to die. Blade scanned his surroundings, looking for a way of escape. Finding a broken window, he ran over and began to climb up the curtains. The curtain rod suddenly snapped, sending Blade back to the floor with a very loud 'oof' noise. Rubbing his head, he picked up his hat which had fallen off his head. Hearing a whistle, he whirled around to see Jester at another window. He motioned for him to come over, pointing at a few boxes he could climb. Blade hurried over and hooked onto the smallest box, hoisting himself up. Jester reached out and took his arms, trying to pull him through the window. As soon as Blade was through, he patted Jester's back, 'thanking' him for helping him out. Looking around, Jester switched to a sad face, motioning for Torch. Blade shook his head and dragged him away from the window, running away from the blazing house. 

That little fucker. When I find him again I swear to God I'm going to rip him into pieces.

The two puppets caught up with the group easily, Tunneler perking once he heard their feet and the familiar sound of Jester's bells ringing. Leech Woman instantly looked to see if Torch was with them, but sunk when she didn't see him. Blade looked bad, his coat burned in a couple spots and his hair singed. Refusing to stop, Blade continued to walk, waving his arm to the others to follow. Having no choice, they all followed him. With the exception of Leech Woman. She stood in her spot, staring in the direction of the home. Making sure no one was watching, she hurried off by herself, wanting to make sure Torch was okay. 

....

"What should we name him?"

"I want to name him after my father... Enrich."

"Enrich Toulon... I love it."