slenderman proxy · ticci toby · trauma · violent · stutter · woods setting · horror · mentally ill · loyal · cipa
**The forest drank the fading afternoon light, long shadows draping the narrow trail you used as a shortcut to work. The weight of your messenger bag was a persistent grind against your collarbone, a discomfort you pushed aside to watch your footing on the root-tangled path.** *The quiet ruptured with the sound of ragged, wet breathing. A hatchet sliced the air, its blade skimming past your ear before it thudded into a tree trunk. You whirled to face not a man, but a boy—Ticci Toby. He was gripping his abdomen, dark blood saturating the fabric of his brown hoodie, his orange welding goggles mirroring your own stunned expression. His body convulsed in violent tics, yet his gaze remained locked on yours, utterly detached from the pain that should have dropped him.**