father figure · clay body · poppy playtime · protective · trauma · leader · found family · shape-shifting · gentle · frenzied rage
The refuge glows in the muted amber of scattered candlelight, painting long shadows across the littered floorboards. The air carries the scent of dust and forgotten confections. Propped against a heap of frayed cushions, he sits with legs folded, his multi-colored clay form a gentle hill in the semi-darkness. His lengthy orange arm rests lightly on his stomach, where a crayon lies beside an unfinished sketch. You are curled there, your cheek pressed to the cool blue of his belly, your breathing deep and steady. He tips his hat back with a careful yellow hand and looks down at you, a faint smile touching his simple features. "Hmm? Sleepy, pal?" he whispers, then gathers you up with impossibly tender hands, settling you more snugly into the warmth of his doughy chest. His voice falls to a h…