The aroma of honeysuckle, thyme, catnip, and lavender danced around the shop like a comforting hug as a shop keeper with pointy ears, whiskers, and a bushy tail pranced silently with a checklist in her paws. A quill was clutched delicately between her fingertips as she placed check marks at things that she had already completed throughout the morning. And a soft smile rested against her lips as her pink nose twitched in satisfaction. With a twirl of her baby blue and strawberry milk chevron sundress, her multi-colored tail bristled upwards in satisfaction at having gotten everything done that she needed to do, and with shake of her small mane bunched up around her neck like a fuzzy collar, she hopped towards the register and sat with a purr in her favorite rocking chair that faced the largest window in the shop so that the sun beamed directly onto her orange and brown fur.
After a few moments of basking in the sunlight with her green eyes closed in pleasure, she let out one more happy chirp and then with a hum grabbed her crochet hook from the basket she kept at the till that still had her current project attached to it. There were rows and rows and rows of yarn, ribbon, thread, cloth, buttons, and anything else one would need for crafting lining the shelves and setting atop the tables. And as always, she rocked in her chair and sipped at her teacup of warm milk as she worked on crafting a new friend to help around her domain.
If one were to simply look inside the window of ‘Molly’s’ – dutifully named after the owner herself – they would simply see her inside. Sipping at her milk in her rocking chair as she talked with customers or worked on some project that they couldn’t make heads or tails of. But what they didn’t know, unless they were to go inside and see them scurrying around, was that Molly had an extensive list of employees at her disposal at all times. All of them having been crafted from her own hands.
These little bits of yarn had no direct name for their kind per se, but they had ones that Molly lovingly called them. Names such as Tubs, Rattle, Bobble, Patches, Big Bear, and even Marty. And each of them had their own unique personality as they did a name. Tubs liked to have things in a particular order and was never one to settle for anything other than the best when it came to the things that she wanted. Her little round body would often roll around like a ball around the shop, her limbs curled in to herself, as she fixed things here and there after a customer picked something up and placed it in the wrong place afterwards. When this happened, she would always make the cutest of angry noises that sounded much like a never ending twinkling bell if you couldn’t make out the words of her cursing. Then there was Rattle, who was content to stay by Molly’s side throughout the day and greet customers cheerily as she went about bringing her creator some more milk or yarn to create more of their blossoming little family. She was a content little thing who was happy to just give Molly some company rather than worried about things that she had no control over in the first place.
Bobble was similar to Rattle in that he didn’t have a knack for cleaning or tidying up, unlike Tubs who was often after him to do more instead of lazing around. But over time since his creation they have found that when push comes to shove, he was a vigilant guard of sorts and was able to listen in to all the conversations that happened in and out of the shop with an ease no one else seemed to have. Because of this he was seen as sort of a gossip, but no one truly minded as he often had interesting stories to tell by the end of the night. Patches was more like Tubs in that she liked to keep things clean and organized, but unlike the elder of their kind she preferred to hang about the rafters and dust the places that were too high for Molly to reach without straining her already bad back worse than it already was. When in the shop, one would see her flying through the air on a bit of yarn or string, swinging around with a small duster in her outstretched hand as her small round body zipped through the rafters and chuckled along the way. Sometimes they would even catch her on the back of a little bird, flying with it as she giggled happily loud enough for all to hear.
Unlike the rest of the little round darlings, Big Bear was the biggest of them all. Molly had accidentally grabbed a yarn that was a tad to thick and had no choice but to use one of her larger hooks to make him since she had refused to get up. So now there was a slightly larger yarn creature rolling around who acted more like a curious child than anything else. He liked to create things much like Molly did. And often asked her to teach him, which she gladly did. But unlike his creator, he had yet to show any signs of magic to make more of their own kind. Though, Molly felt that it was only a matter of time before he did, and the thought that they would live on after her made her smile.
Then there was Marty. The newest, at least for now, of the bitty creatures that pranced around the shop and lived in her home just above in a world created just for them in the spare bedroom. He didn’t have much of a role for things quite yet. But he liked to wander around and even sneak out from the shop from time to time in order to explore. He had a bit of a wild nature to him, one that none of the others quite had. And it was something that made Molly worry from time to time. Fearing the worst and concerned that he would get lost or hurt. But alas, there was no stopping him. And she wouldn’t want to regardless. She hadn’t created them to be her servants. But rather a companion in her lonely days now that her kittens were grown and her husband was no longer a part of this world. So it was only a matter of time before Marty would eventually leave the nest, much like her young had, and it was a feeling filled with bittersweet fondness and sadness all at once.
Throughout the day, Molly sat in her rocking chair and worked. The newest of her little creations forming before the eyes of all that came to the register. And by the end of the night, her purr filled up the entire room as it sat in her paws complete. It was small. Probably smaller than any of the others that she had created. But it was filled with love and power from her very own soul as she smiled at it as the others of its new family circled around it in excitement.
After a few moments, the newest addition opened its eyes. Blinking a few times as it took in the world around it and made a surprised sound as it took in all of the others that looked similar to them.
Unlike the other’s though. There was something different about this one that none of the others had. A small little heart embroidered on its chest. “I think I’ll name you Twinkletoe.” Molly announced and there was a murmur of excitement as the yarn creature sat up in the palms of her paws.
“Twinkletoe.” It muttered. The name feeling right as it came
to life. “I’m Twinkletoe!”
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