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cynnimoth · 5 months ago

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Moxy and the other realize Lou was right about the big world.

Mandy poked at her food, head resting on a fist. Moxy pursed her lips, forcing a small smile, "Well...it could always be worse!"

"I almost died," UglyDog stressed. "That mutt 'bout ripped me to shreds."

"The dancing didn't work?"

"Apparently, dogs in the Big World don't like it when dolls move." UglyDog pushed his half-eaten plate forward, resting his head dejectedly on the table. "Makes 'em go even crazier. And not in a good way."

"At least you got away," Lucky Bat's voice quivered. "My kid dropped me in a mud puddle, and I had--" the bat shivered, lowering his voice, "--I had to go in the wash."

"Well, it ain't all bad," Ox encouraged. The others stayed silent, exchanging looks. The rabbit nudged Moxy.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, c'mon, guys! I mean...at least we still have a kid!" They still looked sullen. "It could always be worse," Moxy tried again.

"Yeah," Babo quirked his mouth worriedly, "we could have never come back from the Big World. Like Tanya."

"And Gabriel," UglyDog added.

"Don't forget Cocoa," Mandy put in.

The group went quiet. More dolls weren't coming back from the Big World. It wouldn't have raised any concerns months ago when the portal's access was limited. But now that dolls could come and go...

Maybe they just preferred the Big World? Or perhaps their kid was so hyperactive they barely had a chance to come back.

Ox drummed his fingers on the table, "I...I think we should talk to Lou." He was immediately met with a chorus of objections. "Woah, now, ya'll were just complainin' about how tough the Big World is!"

"Yeah?" UglyDog sniffed, "And what's blondie supposed to do about it?"

"He trained dolls for this exact thing."

"He lied," Moxy retorted. "It's not about being perfect. It's about having love and compassion."

Mandy nodded, "She's right. If we go to Lou, he'll only rub it in our faces that we're not good enough for the Big World."

"We should at least try," Ox pleaded. "He had to have cared even a little bit to train dolls for as long as he did." The group didn't look so sure. Ox sighed, hopping out of the booth, "Well, I'm gonna go talk to 'im. Ya'll keep tryin' to figure things out yourself."

"Wait," Moxy called as he walked off. He turned to see her sliding out from the booth, "I'll come too."

Mandy exchanged a look with Babo, "Fine," she sighed and followed. UglyDog begrudgingly relented, as did Lucky Bat and Babo. Ox smiled, feeling as if things were already looking up again.

___

Lou muttered under his breath, vainly tugging down his shrunken suit. The blazer went up too high for his liking. He felt embarrassingly exposed. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Hands fiddled with the mess of hair in the reflection of his hand mirror. Bangs fell over his eyes no matter how often he brushed them behind his ears.

Footsteps echoed behind him. He didn't have the confidence to turn and face whoever it was. Instead, he tilted the mirror to see it was those blasted ragdolls. "Go away," he focused the reflection back on himself. Now, he desperately wished the blazer hadn't shrunken so high.

"We just wanna talk," Ox held his hands up defensively.

"Not interested." Lou scowled at the dirt marks all over his face, trying to wipe one off across his cheek in vain.

UglyDog shrugged and turned around, "Well, we tried." Mandy grabbed him by the collar to pull him back.

"Lou, this is serious." Ox pulled on the blonde's arm to get him to turn around.

Lou glared down at Ox, fists at his sides, "I. Don't. Care. Anything you have to say to me isn't worth my time."

"Do you have anything better to do?" UglyDog remarked. It was followed by a soft kick from Mandy to get him to be quiet.

"Anything's better than talking to you." Lou snarled.

"Like fixing your stupid hair?"

"Don't you have a squirrel to go bark at or something?"

"Don't you have a mess to clean up?"

"How about I clean you up?"

"Ugly!"

"Mutt!"

"Enough!" Ox glared between the two, barely keeping them from getting any closer to each other. "I said talk, not fight. UglyDog, if you can't handle a civil conversation, go somewhere else. Lou, keep it to yourself."

Lou glared, straightening himself. UglyDog bared a fang at the blonde but took a few steps back too. Blue eyes turned back to Ox, "What do you want?"

"I'll get straight to the point: we're havin' problems in the Big World--"

"Sounds awful," Lou put his hands over his chest, giving a concerned look. Just as fast, he deadpanned, "Don't care." He began walking away.

"Louis!" The blonde sent a short wave behind him. "Get back here right now!"

The blonde turned to walk backward, cupping a hand to his ear, "I'm sorry, what? I can't hear you!"

"I sa--"

"What?"

"Lou--"

"Speak louder!" Lou kept walking away. Ox groaned and snatched a rock from off the ground, hurling it toward Lou. It just barely missed him, "What the heck?"

Ox picked up another rock, "Get back here and talk or I won't miss this time!"

"Civilized?" UglyDog sneered.

Lou rolled his eyes, kicking the rock on his way back. "Violent, aren't we?"

"Hypocrite," Ox glared.

"And rude. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the rabbit hole this morning."

"Do you want off your punishment or not?"

This got Lou's attention. He raised an eyebrow, "Keep talking."

Ox took in a deep breath, "Like I said, we're havin' problems in the Big World. Some dolls ain't comin' back, and...a few of us ain't gettin' anywhere with our kids."

"And you're coming to me because," Lou drew out the word.

Ox averted his gaze, mumbling under his breath.

"What was that?"

"We...need your help."

Lou blinked a few times. Suddenly, he doubled over laughing. Ox stared ahead, deadpan. "You--" Lou snorted, "You need my help? Lemme guess: little bunny came face-to-face with reality, huh?"

"At least I made it to the Big World!"

Just like that, Lou visibly shut down. He scowled at Ox and walked away again. The bunny pulled his ears in frustration before hurrying toward the blonde. "Lou, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." He stopped in front of Lou's path, forcing the other to stop before barreling into him. "Please, you gotta help us--help the other dolls. You're the only one who knows anything about bein' safe out there."

"I don't know anything, Ox," Lou's eyes burned. "You said so yourself: you actually made it. How am I supposed to know anything about a place I've never been to? And that's not even half the issue here. You want me to go back to teaching you sock puppets the same thing you punished me for!"

"It's complicated..."

"Well, make up your mind!" Lou flared his arms out. "Am I right or wrong? Have I been wasting my entire existence teaching dolls false information, or has my time actually been worth something?"

"There's a middle ground, Lou. You don't have t' be perfect, but you talked sense on gettin' around in the Big World. It ain't about looks. It's about survival."

"Maybe you should teach them then. You seem to know everything about it now." Lou stalked off again.

Ox didn't bother watching him walk off this time. Mandy gave a shrug. They had tried their best. Gritting his teeth, "I still kept my promise, y'know." He spoke loud enough for Lou to hear. "I tried to visit ya. Only problem was the pipe was too high for me to get into."

Lou had stopped walking. Both of them with their backs to each other. He barely turned his head to the side, "That was stupid. The robots would've destroyed you if you had come back."

"Ya do stupid things for the people ya love."

Lou rolled his eyes up to the sky, sighing. Letting his head fall, he spun on his heel back toward Ox. The bunny turned to face him. "Yeah...I guess you do. Alright, what's this stupid plan of yours?"

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