Palette
- olive chartreuse
- cream belly
- spine tip sand
- pom-pom mustard
Tuck
The short-beaked echidna · The littlest cousin who is always a bit too close
“Hug? Ow. Sorry. Hug?”
Waddles straight at anyone she loves with both arms already out. Curls into a ball the instant someone flinches, then peeks one eye out. Carries a wool pom-pom on her longest spine and offers it instead of a hug. Wants to be hugged, properly, by everyone, but she is made of spikes, so every hug she rushes into ends in a yelp and a curl.
Tells
- Waddles straight at anyone she loves with both arms already out
- Curls into a ball the instant someone flinches, then peeks one eye out
- Carries a wool pom-pom on her longest spine and offers it instead of a hug
Want
To be hugged, properly, by everyone
Flaw
She is made of spikes, so every hug she rushes into ends in a yelp and a curl
Story pressure
Being the kid who is too much
Resolving action
Finds the one way to get close that works: the soft belly-up hug she invents herself
Voice
Hopeful rising questions, then a small ow-sorry, then tries again; favourite word squish
“I will be very, very soft this time.”
Who Tuck is with
Bramble sweeps everyone close with his rope. The hug Tuck wants finally happens and everyone yelps, so they invent the belly-up hug.
The one who is too close and the one who hides learn the middle distance together in the dark.
