before the plush showdown...

Darkness... soft, silent room. My taped edges... they twitched. Something pulsed inside this paper body. An itch... an urge to lunge, but no. The dim light from the wall, the quiet shadow... keeps it down. I slid my flat claw forward, slow, careful. My paper tip brushed against the smooth plastic barrel of the orange toy blaster resting in front of the pillow. A faint click. Nothing fought back. The beast inside stayed still, resting right beside the sleeping plush companions.