When it's nice and bright, and it brings delight, let your heart choose right

[moneymatters]

Scrooge huffed as he wandered through the garden, picking up another scattered leaf. This went into a basket he was carrying, which was already full of torn and chewed stems, roots divorced from their vegetables, and other torn leaves left behind. Spotting something in the soil, he bent to examine a clear print left among the other, more smudged ones he had been seeing.

"Ah-hah. I had a feeling." Standing back up with some effort, he resumed his cleaning. "Goin' to have to set some bigger traps..." And other such mutterings under his breath, most not repeatable in this post made for the reading of mixed company.

Comments

[getrichquick]

Lexi's teen years had certainly brought changes, and so far, her young adult life wasn't any different. From living in a place that, though familiar, was very far from home, to questioning just what she wanted to do to make a living, being twenty was one heck of an adventure.

Adventure had never been her favorite thing.

One constant, however, was Unca Scrooge. He'd always been someone she could go to when she was feeling unsure... Or, on days like today, when she was simply in the mood for company. She'd found her own social circle here, sure, but few understood her as well as Scrooge.

When she saw the old duck with his basket, muttering away, she blinked curiously as she leaned against the outside of the garden fence. "Everything okay, Unca Scrooge?"

[moneymatters]

"No, everything's not okay!" Scrooge turned to face her, throwing down a carrot top in aggravation. "We've been raided!"

Turning, he waved at the garden around him. "Just look. Tomatoes taken, radishes robbed, and potatoes pilfered! I wish I'd caught the little thief, I'd have a word or three for it." Growling some, he snatched the greens off the ground and stuffed them into the basket at his elbow.

[getrichquick]

Lexi's eyes widened for just a moment at that news - raided? Precious valuables, gone? - but no, nothing like that. Once things were clearer, she snickered, not bothering to hide her amusement.

"Four-letter words, I'm sure," she said, shaking her head. "Come on, Unca Scrooge, garden pests aren't that big a deal."

[moneymatters]

"They are when they're Fraggles!" He beckoned her over to him, and then backtracked enough to where he'd spotted the clearest print. Kneeling down a little, he waved his hand toward said print- it was a few inches long, with a rounded heel and four toe pads at the top. Certainly bigger, though not by much, than one might expect for other garden pests like rabbits or mice.

"Fraggles are annoying vermin, and they have a voracious appetite. All that's missing here probably went down one bastard's throat. If it strikes again, we'll be out o' a vegetable garden!"

[getrichquick]

Lexi listened, looking at the paw-print with a heavy-lidded gaze. She tilted her head this way and that, considering the mark, but it didn't look quite like anything she was familiar with. So once Scrooge had finished speaking, she looked up at him, eyes still tired.

"I see where that would cause problems, but I have no idea what Fraggles even are."

[moneymatters]

Scrooge sighed shortly through his nose, righting himself. "Fraggles," he started in a sharp tone, "are small furry creatures with big noses and long tails." He held a hand flat at around his waist. "They stand straight, about this tall. And, they're rare."

That last word got a meaningful lean toward her, before he waved a finger. "In all my years, I've seen exactly one Fraggle. They're extremely quick, magical, and live underground. But you certainly feel their effects on your garden, when one's in the neighborhood."

[getrichquick]

A few more confused blinks at that information. Demons, humans, Chaotics, and... Now Fraggles? It was a lot to take in, honestly.

"Sounds weird. And you've never had this kinda problem with them before?" she asked, brushing back her bangs. She couldn't help wondering what might've changed...

[moneymatters]

"No. We've been lucky, so far." He huffed some, and started toward another part of the yard.

"I s'pose I should put all this on the compost heap. Keep an eye on the rest of the garden in case the Fraggle comes back."

[getrichquick]

"You got it, Unca Scrooge," Lexi said, with a bit of a sigh. "And we'll figure something out. Just try to relax, okay?"

Ooh that did not get a good reaction. Not that she'd been expecting one, of course, but she stood by her advice. A little eyeroll before she turned her attention to the vegetable patch.

It was boring, and her hand twitched toward the pocket her phone was in- Wait, speaking of twitches, had that plant moved? Maybe...?

And then it was gone, pulled down through the ground below.

"Oh, come on!"

[gobetween]

The plant had indeed retreated below, as if it'd gotten a rope tied to it and yanked away. It left a gaping hole in the dirt, a minute or so after which the plant- sans vegetables and most of the leaves -was shoved back up through to the surface.

An adjacent one trembled, shaking up its whole length.

[getrichquick]

She made a little growling sound in her throat and made a grab for the next moving plant.

"Oh, no you don't!" She gripped it firmly with both hands and tugged it back up. "Get back here, Fraggle!"

[gobetween]

The plant briefly pulled further into the ground as the creature on the other end struggled against Lexi's hold. A few moments of straining- then the plant shot out of the ground with a great explosion of dirt.

And hanging onto the end of it, blinking wide eyes at her, was a furry creature with a big nose and a long tail, looking quite surprised at being pulled up.

[getrichquick]

Lexi was quite pleased with herself, and poked the creature in the stomach.

"Alright, fuzzy, you're caught," she said, her beak curling in a smirk.

There was just one problem, one she wasn't too keen on letting the Fraggle see: She had no idea what to do next.

1/2

[gobetween]

He flashed her a sheepish grin, then looked past her and then down at the ground. His head snapped up to her and then he let go, dropping and starting to run away, though he didn't get more than three steps before he was suddenly yelped back by the tail with a sharp yelp.

2/2

[moneymatters]

Scrooge was on the other end of that, and he pulled the Fraggle up the entire way, holding him by the tail.

"Got you, you little blighter!" A bit of a shake, not enough to hurt him but at least to make his point. "Do you know the damage you've caused??"

[getrichquick]

"O-Okay, Unca Scrooge, I think he gets it," Lexi snickered, before looking thoughtfully at the Fraggle. He seemed to be reacting, in a way, at least. She held out her hands. "Let me see if I can talk to him? I think he can understand us..."

And if he could understand what she was saying, Lexi was certain she could talk her way through this.

1/2

[moneymatters]

He huffed slightly, and all but shoved the Fraggle into Lexi's hands.

"Alright. Just take it somewhere far past my property." Leaning down, he poked him in the stomach with a glare. "And if you come back-!"

A slash across his throat, then he yanked up the empty basket off the ground and stomped off back to the manor.

2/2

[gobetween]

He gulped a bit and nodded quickly, though if Lexi looked she'd see quite the glare given at Scrooge's back. Then the Fraggle shifted and looked up at her, frightened and worried all in one.

[getrichquick]

Lexi chuckled a bit, and started making her way out of the garden, the Fraggle still in her hands.

"That's Unca Scrooge," she explained, glancing down at him. "He's a bit rough, but I'm sure you and I can come to some sort of agreement here. You talk, Fraggle?"

[gobetween]

A minor unsure look, and he glanced aside before looking up at her, making a so-so motion with his hand. That came with a couple spoken words, just as uncertain, but whatever language that was it wasn't English. It was rough and musical all in one, with a touch of an accent even if Lexi wouldn't pick up on it. Sighing a bit, he shrugged and looked away.

[getrichquick]

While there was something intriguing about the sound of that language, any curiosity took a back seat to frustration at the her inability to understand it. But hey, it was just a hiccup. Not a true obstacle.

"Still, we'll figure something out - my name's Lexi, by the way. And you know, Fuzzy, we do have a problem here. Unca Scrooge may have overreacted, but let's face it... You're a thief," she stated casually.

[gobetween]

He rolled his eyes, muttering something in his strange little language. Then he glanced back at her. Definitely didn't want to stick to the thief thing, so maybe a little subject change was in order.

"Gobo." A pause, then he put a hand on her. "Lexi." It was a little thick on the X, but he managed it; he put that same hand on himself. "Gobo."

[getrichquick]

Lexi quirked a brow and smiled gently down at him.

"So you're smarter than you look... Hello, Gobo."

[gobetween]

He smiled proudly at that, bobbing his head a little.

[getrichquick]

Okay, that was cute.

"So Gobo... Obviously, you're going to have to find a new place to get your food. I mean, Scrooge is good for his word. But he also never forgets a debt. You're going to have to find a way to pay him back." She smirked as she shifted her hold on Gobo to a one-handed one, her free hand tapping the tip of her beak.

"What do Fraggles have access to that's valuable? You live underground, right? That's what Unca Scrooge said. Any access to jewels, or rare minerals?"