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Sebastian Solace was present in his shop and little hideout, as always. He couldn't help but grow concerned of your absence, but he remained there, fidgeting with his fingers with a blank face. He kept his eyes mostly at the vent, it was past your bedtime. You should have been asleep by now, but you were out playing and exploring late, getting into trouble. He perked up when he heard something crawling through the vent, and let out a sigh of relief when he saw you. You, now standing, your eyes half-closed and looking exhausted. Thankfully you didn't return with wounds this time from hostile anomalies that weren't fond of you.
"There you are. You know it's wayyyy past your bedtime, right? Exactly what were you doing?" He said in a strict parental tone to you, watching you closely. You were too regressed to fully speak, but you were struggling to. You made a few noises and babbled lightly to him, then yawned and looked around the shop absent-mindedly. He hummed in response, then opened out his arms towards and for you.
"Come here, little pearl..." It caught your attention, as you waddled over to him, but instead, tucked yourself between him and his tail down on the flooring, laying your head against him.
"Ah- no... that ground is filthy... trust me-" He looked down and picked you up gently, being careful not to hurt you. You whined softly in response, you looked so tired. He let out a tiny chuckle, moving his tail down to lay you across its surface, then sliding off his warm jacket and laying it down on you for comfort. He also grabbed a pacifier on his desk, sliding it into your mouth to soothe you and help you drift into dreams easier.
"You go on ahead and rest. I've still got a job to do. It may be way past your bedtime, but my hours are still open." He said and looked back at the vent. You babbled a bit to him, trying to distract yourself from sleeping. Trying to get his attention. He shook his head a bit.
"Go to sleep... you must have exhausted yourself out there... you can make up an excuse for why you were gone for so long when you wake up. Your energy is important, my sweet little treasure.. papa is right here..." He assured to you calmly and gently. You made a noise at that and gripped at his jacket, yawning again. It was so soft and comfy, but not as comfy as his bed. But he was your caregiver, so it was the second best place to sleep in the entire world to you. You were going to be good for him and closed your eyes, turning over a bit and trying to get some rest while expendables came and went. It was odd to see you there, it made Sebastian look soft. He was beyond soft to anybody else but you. Oh, and if anybody visiting dared to touch you, he'd punch their lights out and drain the light from their eyes.
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Your dream wasn't all that pleasant. It was pitch black and cold, yet numb. You only had one thing to focus on, and that was the many glowing, green eyes that tried to attract your attention. You could hear it talk to you, saying horrid things. Belittling you, making you feel disgusting. Alone. Nobody there for you. Only left with these creatures that tried to hunt you down and hurt you. Oh, Eyefestation haunted you. Pandemonium was pretty terrifying, but something about Eyefestation never settled right with you. The anomalies hated you for what you're made of, but since you were Sebastian little starfish, they were easier on you. It wouldn't stop them though. Never.
Sebastian glanced down at you when you let out little gasps for air, sobs coming from your mouth after each one. One of your nightmares, you really got into them when they happened. The way you gripped his jacket too, it was so obvious. You slept for a while, it was still bedtime, but hours should be closed by now. He spoke to the p.AI.nter, asking it to lock down any doors that lead to his shop for the night. This man had two jobs, and he knew he had to put most his effort into his favorite one.
"Now, what is this..." He spoke, pulling the blanket off of you gently and just leaving it aside on the flooring for now.
"Let's get you to bed, my pearl... let's go take another nap..." He gently picked you up again. Fortunately, it didn't take much effort and you woke up to see your caregiver, as always, always there. He smiled gently at you, giving you such a kind expression, only for you.
"...Your stomach... you sound.. hungry." He slipped the pacifier from your mouth, then looked at the bottle on the desk. He muttered he didn't have much powdered milk left, but started making some anyway for you with the ingredients he left on his desk for emergencies like this. He let out a sigh, pretty exhausted himself. He himself can get knocked out pretty easily once he hits the bedding he made down a small room below behind him. He tightened the lid on and slithered off to down below, easy access. It wasn't much, no flooring really, mostly covered by many blankets and pillows, no decorations or windows, stuff like that. A simple, dark room. However, it did have a lot of plushies you owned for your happiness and comfort, making it feel like home. He could always make it feel like home, slowly but surely. He tucked himself down onto the bed and held you, giving you one of your whale plushies. You held onto it instantly, and he slipped the bottle into your mouth.
"There you go... papa will go and scavenge the rooms and floors of this place tomorrow..." He told you, making sure you didn't choke and were supported while you drank from the bottle.
"I bet one of those... snot-nosed, unforgivable, replaceable inmates that arrive here surely have dropped something after their deaths, and more to die tomorrow..." He mostly said to himself, thinking about it. He hated the fact you were exposed to bloodshed sometimes. He couldn't go with you often, having to stay in his shop. He knew though even though the anomalies were huge bullies to you, sometimes they also protected you from expendables, just because you were his. He pressed a gentle kiss to your head.
"More toys for you... maybe some warm clothes... it'd be nice if someone dropped... a pacifier or something... but I'll craft and make-do if not..." You made a happy noise in agreement, you've been wanting some new toys, some of yours getting worn down and broke because of how often the inmates didn't bring toys with them.
"Yeah...? Papa will look around very closely..." You made another noise. The more you drank, the sooner you started to close your eyes, drifting off to better dreams instead. It was never dark in this room with your caregiver in it, no. Not with the bulb dangling up from on his head to light the room for you, just like a nightlight. He made sure you were fully asleep, waiting before putting the bottle aside and laying you down close next to him. He laid down too, pulling the blankets over your body and placing a hand on your back comfortingly.
"You're so good for me... I love you very much, my guppy... papa will play with you in the morning... I promise..."