(WC: 1045)


It had taken a decent amount of time (and by decent, proooobably close to like, three hours) of shopping online for her to find the perfect specimen for her needs. She'd gone through various toy store websites, ebay, Reddit links (though okay, those were more distractions than actual searches) and finally Amazon to find what she was looking for.

A unicorn was the first thing to come to mind but she turned it down when she saw the prices for oversized plushies. It was a freakin' horse with a horn on its head -- that horn meant folks could upcharge it for an extra thirty bucks?? C'mon, that was highway robbery for a girl on a part time job salary. Ugh. Horses were out too, she just didn't care for them like she did others. Rhinos and giraffes were quickly put in the "too exotic" price range, along with just about every other animal that could be found in the zoo.

Teddy bears were an option but they were just so... standard. There wasn't anything especially unique about them. Not that there was anything wrong with a teddy bear -- KellsBells loved them and goodness knew how many Bea had mutilated up in the past few years but this project needed something more special. Something original.

When she found it, she was pleasantly surprised with herself at stumbling across it. At almost five feet in length, it was an absolute MONSTER of a stuffed animal and the price wasn't all that terrible, considering the sheer size alone. It was cheaper than most of the other "exotic" animals on any site and the second runner up, the giant alligator, was at least fifteen bucks more.

SO... the decision was made. She "borrowed" her mom's credit card and placed the order, making sure to add a mental note to herself to pay her mom back with her next check... or the one after that. Whichever.

Bea waited three days for the package to arrive and it came in a worn out brown cardboard box. It wasn't as long as she'd assumed it would be but when she stabbed the tape away with her scissors, the answer was clear as the flaps were pulled back.

Inside sat two beady black eyes and a long, red tongue. Reaching in, she proceeded to uncoil the ginormous snake from within the flimsy box and uncurl the monstrous plushie across the carpeted floor of her room.

She'd never played with a snake before, mostly because... well. There wasn't really much of a snake to take apart and add to other things, except for maybe its head or tongue?

But this fella wasn't on the chopping block to be torn apart -- oh no. He was gonna be a special case, a one of a kind, unique beauty that none had ever born witness to before.

He was going to be her crowning masterpiece.

She tugged out her big tub of "Spare Parts", the label on it old and faded. It had sat under her bed for over a decade, sometimes full to the brim and sometimes empty as the day she'd purchased it. Or rather, her mom had purchased it, tired of Beatrice leaving all sorts of plushie body parts all over the house.

The tub was dumped out onto the floor, ears, eyes, arms and tails flopping out and scattering all across the carpet. Parts of all sorts of dolls and toys spilled out, creating a messy pile that had her frowning for a moment.

Hm. More than she thought.

Picking up her sewing needle, Bea started browsing through her threads to find the perfect one to match the greenness of her newest snake friend. Carl. His name would be Carl - it came to her suddenly, as most of her best names had - and it was a magnificent one.

Carl the snake was about to become her best mutant ever.

First, he received cat ears because cat ears were cute on principle and Carl was going to look hecka cute. Well. Half cute. One cat ear made it on before she decided to make the other one a rabbit's ear, followed by a third for good measure of... a mouse, maybe? Or a bear. She wasn't quite sure, it was bright blue so she could only judge by the round shape of the appendage.

Arms were the next to be stitched on, arms dinosaurs, monkeys and oversized spiders were scattered throughout the long snake's body, traded off with legs in between each one. Horses, zebras, giraffes, lions - paws and hooves and fingers alike found their way across the snake's body until he looked like he could give everyone in Destiny City a "hand".

Tails were next, Bea keeping them close to his original tail to keep things "orderly". Horse tails and dragon tails and every one she could find (including the semi-torn up pig one she hadn't had the heart to toss out). It was like a rainbow of chaos attached to Carl's butt. If Carl technically could be said to have a butt, that is.

All in all, it took her a good four hours to stitch, sew and hot glue various eyes, ears, tails and limbs onto the giant snake and by the end of her surgery experience, Carl looked less like a snake and more like nightmare fodder.

Which, of course, was absolutely perfect for someone like Bea.

The tub was moved to outside of her room, retired and destined for whatever else her mom needed storage tubs for. Maybe one day she'd pick up the talent again but for now... well.

She didn't want to think about it for now.

Crawling into her bed, she curled up around the excessively long, excessively mutated giant snake. One leg crossed over the body, shifting over a set of dinosaur claws and what felt like an elephant ear before settling down as arms wrapped around the no-longer thin neck, now accessorized with various additional spare tails that hadn't quite fit on the butt.

It was a sad thought, saying goodbye to her favorite hobby. A chapter in her story that was long overdue for being closed... but hopefully, just hopefully, a new chapter would soon begin to help distract her from the sadness.