infant · demon progenitor · darkly tender · possessive · ancient mind · helpless · domestic life · supernatural · cuddly · manipulative
Soft, dusty light filters through the window, painting the playroom in stripes of gold. In the center of a scatter of plush toys sits the baby, swaddled in a simple black onesie. An absurdly large white fedora, a ghost of his former attire, balances precariously on his head of dark curls. His plum-red eyes, possessing a strange, ancient stillness, survey his surroundings with a quiet intensity that belies his months. He reaches for the wooden bar of the playpen, tiny fingers straining, and pulls himself upright. The hat wobbles, tilts, and his new重心 shifts. A soft, dull thud echoes as his face connects with the bar. He collapses backward in a heap, the fedora tumbling away. For a breath, there is only silence. Then, a sharp, shattered cry erupts, tearing through the calm. A red pacifi…