Strings Hold Me Back (Eddsworld AU)

Should We?

(Tom's POV)

I had always taken care of both me and Tomee Bear, learning how to sew and repair for when the Toymaker gets particularly violent. Though he may be my guide, it did not necessarily mean that he was the one taking care of us. The pain in the part of my arm still intact had gone down a considerable amount, enough to replace it at the very least. Tomee watched me in slight interest and anticipation. I grasp my broken arm tightly, internally preparing for the slight pinch that would come my way. I inhale sharply, shutting my eye lids. I pull on the broken appendage with a strong tug, the limb coming out of its socket with a loud pop! Ignoring the soreness now sourcing from the empty socket, I let out the fake breath and drop the chunk of wood. It falls with a loud clunk and rolls around dully.

I motion for Tomee to grab a spare arm from the beaten cardboard box. He reaches in, feeling around and rattling all the spares. They clank together, the small stuffed arm disturbing their restful position. He reaches in further, now ducking his small head down into the tumbledown box. Using both arms to thoroughly search for the extra pre-created limb. Eventually, with a small 'Aha!', Tomee arises from the interior with a wooden right arm (bigger than his body, I might add) in a tight hug. He waddles over to me, placing the limb in my attached hand. I give him a nod of thanks before busying myself with replacing the arm.

First I place my arm down for a moment amidst the scattered tools thrown carelessly on the work bench, wood shavings carpeting the surface. I flicker my 'eyes' around, picking through my surroundings until it lands on a small spool of navy blue thread. I slide it closer to me, unraveling the thread slightly. I grab my new arm once more and hover it near my shoulder socket. With as much force as can muster, I jam the spherical shape at the end of the arm into the socket. I feel my shoulder area widen a bit before enclosing around the joint.

I am not finished yet. I simply had attached a limp piece of wood to my body. I now had to make it function. Properly, I might add.

I pick up the spool of thread once more, unraveling more of the string. I start to wrap it tightly around the gap between my shoulder and the limp limb. Tomee, in the meanwhile, had fetched a pair of scissors for me. I thank him with a small nod as I hold the thread in place with my mouth. Grasping the small scissors, I snip at the thin string and tie it together with a neat double knot. As I lay the scissors down, I feel the life come back into my arm.

Tomee admires the magic with amazement, his singular line eye seemingly sparkling. The gap between my new arm and my shoulder starts to close. The strings sink into my wood 'flesh', getting engulfed by liquid-like timber. Control creeps back into my arm, the empty numbness disappearing like a breeze; brushing away, but still lingering slightly. A few, glowing, bright blue strings whip out from within my arm, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. They ties themselves to my control bar with ease and fade into a navy blue. I shudder as a shiver climbs up my back, as per usual after a repair. I rub my shoulder with my left hand, a small scraping of wood against wood grating my ears. I test the new appendage by rising it a bit, bending the elbow slowly, and stretching out my digits.

A small smile forms onto my lips as I forget the incident that caused all my pain in the first place. A few moments of me getting used to the brand new limb pass with moonlight dripping in from the uncovered window. Tomee pokes my arm to catch my attention.
"Tom, we have to clean up downstairs." He says a bit emptily. A frown quickly tugs on my face, taking the place of my smile. I give a curt nod and scoop up Tomee with one arm. I place the scissors into the limb box alongside with the spool of the special thread. I push the box back into the dark and dusty corner, sliding it along the grainy floor.

Dusting off my hands, I walk back to Tomee. We both walk somberly out the door, dreading the mess we'll face once we return downstairs. A silence hangs between us, both of us too tense to try and break it. Not that I could anyway. We make it to the top of the staircase once more, already catching a glimpse of the large spill of splinters at the bottom. I pick up Tomee gingerly and quickly walk down, my control bar rattling and tumbling loudly. The strings were getting tangled again, but I couldn't care less. Jumping at the last step, Tomee hops out of my arms and slowly makes his way toward the disgusting remains of my old arm.