((Jeez, typing this up on mobile has been quite the pain in the ass, but at least I made it before the deadline of the deadline...))
For Lily
"He's green..."
"Why on earth is his body so lumpy? And am I wrong or is his left ear slightly longer than the right one?"
"He is not even fluffy. Have you ever heard of a plushy that isn't fluffy?"
Häsi was really glad that he had such big ears, even if one was slightly longer than the other because right now they made for quite an excellent hiding place.
For over two weeks he had been longing for this day and now that it had finally come, when he had finally arrived at his new home, had met the little girl whose friend he was going to be, he wished nothing more than to be back in the plastic back with the balls of yarn.
He carefully peeked from under his ears, hoping against hope that through some miracle the others had vanished or at least had moved their attention elsewhere. But no, behind the comforting wall of green yarn he was still greeted by the reproachful glances of the cat and the panda bear, standing firmly between him and Lily, who thankfully slept in peace even though none of her guradians stood at her side at the moment. But who knew how long this would last.
Häsi pulled his ears aside and faced the two stuffed animals opposing him. Unsure where to start he thought it might be best to address their questions. "I'm handmade," he said with no little pride. "Apparently the woman who made me has trouble counting to five. This is why one of my ears is longer. Also crocheting with fluffy wool is..," he thought for a moment before he cited, "a fucking pain in the ass." He stopped, quite satisfied which what appeared to be exactly the right explanation for his taste.
The cat and the panda obviously didn't think so, for their eyes had grown wide at the use of the swear words. Häsi quickly continued his speech, afraid they might find even more things to criticize him for. "I'm not sure about the lumpiness, but green is an awesome color and besides I'm not entirely green." He indicated several parts all over his body where the green was spackled with red, blue yellow and pink. "I'm multicolored!"
The white cat made a dismissive hissing sound and the panda just shook his head. Häsi waited.
When it was clear that this was the only reaction he would get from the two of them, he decided that maybe it would be best if he just ignored them. He started towards the little girl.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked the cat, her voice dripping with distaste.
Despite himself, Häsi took a step back again, before answering. "I'm going to watch over Lily. That's why I'm here." With a smaller voice, more speaking to himself than the cat, he added, "That's why I was made..."
The cat laughed in his face. "We won't let the likes of you watch over her! Just look at you, you don't even have a label. You are literally worthless." She pointed at a cabinet in the corner. "Do yourself and the rest of us a favour and just burry yourself in the deepest drawer right away. It's where you'll end up sooner or later anyway."
Häsi wanted to open his mouth in protest, but finally crumbled under the stern glances of the two plushies. Maybe they where right after all. He had no idea what a lable was, but maybe it really was something you needed to properly watch over little girls sleeping. He looked at the cabinet. It didn't look inviting at all. It must be dark in there. Häsi didn't like it in the darkness. He had spent his first days cramped into a small suitcase, not even finished yet. He didn't want to go back to that.
He turned to the cat one last time. "Maybe I can get a label too. If you tell me where you got yours, I..."
The cat did't even let him finish, she just burst out into loud laughter. "You can't
get a label. You either have it or you don't, and you obviously don't, so go to that drawer and..."
Häsi never learned what he was to do in that drawer, for before the white cat could finish her sentence, the room had suddenly grown colder. Behind the toys Lily started stirring in her sleep. A dark cloudy form was taking form above her, growing bigger and bigger. The little girl started whimpering almost inaudibly, but to Häsi it sounded like an earpiercing scream.
"A nightmare!" The panda exclaimed, his voice laden with terror. The cat turned away from Häsi looking at the dark form. "That's a powerful one. I don't think we can take it. Oh no! This is going to be another sleepless night."
Häsi watched in pure astonishment as both the cat and the panda turned away from the little girl, allowing the dark shadow to almost completely engulf her.
"What are you doing!" Without a second thought he jumped forward, past the two, onto the little girl's chest. He faced the shadow and spread his big uneven ears, shielding Lily from its dark influence. "Go away! You have no place here! If you want to hurt that little girl, you have to take it up with me first!" He puffed up his lumpy and multicolored chest, and in each of his words lay the power that had been put into every single one of his stitches. Hundreds of good wishes and warm thoughts. And without so much as a fight, the dark shadow vanished and immediately the little girl went silent again.
The cat and the panda stared at Häsi with silent admiration, but he didn't pay them any attention. He settled next to the little girl's head, covering her face softly with his big ears, whispering something only she could hear.
((I would've totally included a picture of Häsi but he is not quite finished yet
And I'm sure that even fancy Hello Kitty plushies wouldn't be able to notice whether or not I skipped a row while doing his ears.))
