(WC: 1018 )


Beheading things was always fun.

It was one of the easier jobs when it came to mutilating and restitching creatures back up together. The mutilating was easy, the stitching took concentration and effort (especially when she didn't want to p***k her finger with the very long, very sharp needles she tended to use). Sewing scissors were never far when she shuffled into her room with bags of clearance animals from the local toystore of the occasional gem she'd locate in the bins of the Goodwill or Salvation Army store. Lately, she'd been going to thrift stores to find her wares... well, when she had the time to get wares.

Having a new job made for crummy attempts at trying to squeeze in personal time. Sure, she only worked three or four part time shifts a week but still - she had to mentally prepare herself for the EXHAUSTING, GRUELING six hour shifts she worked at the movie theater a few blocks from her house.

That being said... she'd found the time, she'd found the critters and it was time to get down to beheading.

Firstly, she pulled out the giraffe she'd located at one of the bottom of the bins. He was a sad looking fellow with one missing eye but she'd found a much larger, much brighter colored one from her "Spare Parts" bin and made quick work of stitching it onto his poor little face.

After all, she wanted him to be able to see what he was about to endure.

Sewing scissors first took to the base of his neck, where the seams rested. Whatever company had created the little giraffe had at least been kind enough to leave enough thickness in the material that he didn't start to unravel too badly when she started snipping away.

White cotton appeared nearly immediately from the hole, fluffy fluff poking free from the hole that continued to grow wider at the neckline of the stuffed animal. Snip, snip, snip - it took all of thirty seconds or so but the giraffe was quickly beheaded, his body set aside, fluffy fluff and all, to be used for a different adventure at a later point in time.

Maybe she'd cut his legs off and stick them on a horse.

Or maybe a pig.

Yeah, a Pigaraffe sounded pretty neat, right?

Next to be pulled from her bag of goodies came a very round, very happy looking hippopotamus. Almost so happy, in fact, that Bea felt a twinge of guilt when it came time to start beheading such a happy looking animal.

The cheerful purpleish grey smile didn't waver as the scissors found their way to its neck, stabbing within the material to get a nice anchor in before sliding up to slice through the fabric skin. Snip, snip, snip -- the throat of the hippo was much wider than that of a giraffe's so it took Bea just a little while longer to cut her way around it, smiling as she noticed the similar looking fluff appear at the neck hole of the larger, aquatic animal as she'd seen on its continental companion. Empty, beady black eyes watched as she removed the head from the torso, dropping the hippo's noggin' into her "Spare Parts" bin, no doubt to be put to use later when she was in need of a head. Or neck. Or tiny little wiggly ears.

Stitching was the harder part.

It wasn't that she didn't like to stitch -- no, she enjoyed it. It was almost therapeutic, when she wasn't getting frustrated over not being able to thread the eye of the needle or whatever.

Brown thread was the thread of choice, matching the large spots on the giraffe's very long throat. As she took her time working the needle from neck to neck, she thought she recalled reading once about giraffes being able to take down a lion that was trying to hunt them. Something about their long, lanky legs being powerful enough to knock one out -- whether or not that was true, this particular giraffe wouldn't be knocking anyone out with these new legs it was soon about to get!

Only two soft Ow!s made their way from the carpet of Bea's bedroom, fingers finding their way in the wrong direction and ending up on the receiving end of the sharp needle's point. Thimbles were nice and all but she kept forgetting to use hers until it was too late -- thankfully, no blood was shed, so none of her essence would be carried off in this mutation.

Short, precise little lines soon dotted their way around the neck as she fastened one animal part to the other. She had to add extra stuffing at the last minute to make sure the neck stood up and didn't droop; the last thing she wanted was to have to rip out the stitching she just almost bled over doing just to smush extra cotton into the animal's empty brain hole.

Once finished, she looked at it for a moment before frowning.

Hmmm.... it was missing something.

Two hippo ear transplants later and a lion tail added for good measure and she was satisfied with her creation. It wasn't until she was finished, sitting back and staring at her beautiful, finished project that realization dawned across Beatrice Kellye's face.

She...she didn't have anyone to give this particular monstrosity to.

It wasn't very often that she made animals anymore without at least someone in mind but today's choice of creations was based off of what she found, not who she wanted to make something for. Sure, she'd made some generic creatures for the convention that sold all of NO animals (Marnie didn't count, she was a supportive BFF at the time so it was obligation that had her buying a critter) but this time had been done... well.

She wasn't sure why she'd done it.

Frowning, she set the ugly thing to her night stand before moving to clean up her mess and stick extra limbs and parts in their appropriate containers.

Maybe she needed to retire the hobby, finally.

Hm.

Maybe.