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

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

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.

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He kicked his legs, and it sounded like he was objecting heavily in his language. Still, a Fraggle only weighed so much and despite his struggling, he would be simple enough to get set up in the passenger seat. He looked around quickly, his breathing short. This was not going to be fun-!

All while setting him into the car, Lexi was saying, "Dude, it's okay! I'm a good driver! Stop kicking!"

She was a good driver, too. It had even surprised Uncle Donald and her brothers, how well she'd taken to it. Once she'd buckled Gobo's lap belt, she placed a very hesitant hand on his shoulder. "Just breathe. You'll be okay."

And then she removed her hand from his shoulder to start up the car, pulling out into the street.

Ohhh and now it was moving! He pulled his legs up into the seat, and tried to remember what she said about breathing. Just breathe, it'll be alright, breathe...

The next time she checked on him, he'd be curled into a little huddled ball, as much as he could manage, his tail tucked around him and the poof flared out completely.

Man, she hated being reminded that she had a heart- What could she do that might make him less freaked? She didn't really know much about Fraggles; just that they liked to steal vegetables and that apparently their idea of something valuable was- Oh!

Without a word, she reached over briefly to turn on the car's stereo, starting up a song.

He didn't seem to react much at first, then his tail jolted up. After a moment or two, it started thumping on the seat to the beat of the song. Progress...?

After about an hour of music-fueled picking up and dropping off meals, Lexi pulled over into a nearly-vacant fast food joint parking lot.

She turned the car off and turned to look down at Gobo. "See, it wasn't so bad, right? I saw your tail going with the music."

Gobo had at least enjoyed the music, though the rest of the car ride, notsomuch. This was evident by the look on his face when they stopped, which seemed woozy and uncertain. When Lexi leaned over and opened the door, he all but slumped out of the car, managing a couple steps before falling over into a furry, motion sick heap.

Lexi got out of the car after him, and when she walked around to Gobo's side of the car and saw that pile of fur, she paused for a moment, just watching him.

"...Hey, Gobo?"

He held a hand up, making the "OK" symbol with his fingers. Then that same arm fell limply back down to the asphalt. He'll be okay, just give him a minute to breathe clear air and be on non-moving ground.

Lexi crouched down beside him, looking thoughtful. She knew what she was going to do, and she hated it; she had an opportunity here! This just wasn't fair, and she blamed Unca Scrooge - rough though he was - and his family here. They really had been making her softer and softer over the years.

"Look, you're not going to come back to garden at the Manor, right?"

Taking in a deep breath, he pushed himself up from the ground and held his head a moment. He hiccuped, inhaled again and held it for a few moments, then let it out slowly. Glancing up at her, he nodded. Right, he won't come back. Promise.

"Then we're good," she said with a sigh. "I'll tell Unca Scrooge the garden's safe, and you're free to go."

He sat up a bit straighter, looking at her in surprise. Getting to his feet, he looked off across the parking lot, then back. He can go? Really?

Lexi nodded, her smile growing. "Yeah, yeah, you're free from your debt. Just... Try not to get caught at whatever place you rob next time."

He smiled brightly, tail curling up and waving some. He said something, and the words weren't understandable but the gratitude on his face made it perfectly clear: Thank you!

Turning tail, he dashed off across the parking lot, to where a small woodsy area lined the edge. He dove forward into a shadowy spot between two trees- had that mound with a hole always been there? -and disappeared from sight, poofball tail and all.

After he'd vanished down the hole, Lexi had to chuckle. Maybe she'd missed out on a chance for... Something, but she hadn't really been sure what she could have got out of Gobo - he was so unfamiliar with so much.

And hey, it had been kind of a fun afternoon, even if this place just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Once inside the hole, he leaned against the dirt wall just out of sight and rested his hand on his chest, spending a few moments just breathing in the scent of the earth and rock around him. That alone went a long way toward clearing his head, and he drank in the familiar smell even if the surroundings were unfamiliar.

Then he glanced around, looking toward the daylight filtering in from outside. Silly Creatures and Outer Space were way more than he thought they were, even from the previous encounters he'd had. Still...

He poked his nose out of the hole, watching Lexi's car drive off. He'd said he wouldn't go back to the garden, but he didn't say anything about the manor itself. Decision made, he turned and headed down the tunnel behind him. He'd have to be quick, if he was gonna beat that metal contraption back!

While Lexi certainly had an advantage, being in the car, the traffic at this hour would slow her down some...

Once she got back to the Manor, and had informed Scrooge that the Fraggle shouldn't be a problem again, she headed for her room. Oh, sure, it had been a fun time, in its own way, but there had been more effort involved than she cared to expend.

He had indeed beat her back to the Manor, where he found a spot to sit and wait where he could see the front pathways and not be seen by the meaner Creature inside. Easily recognizing her car, he sat up some and watched until she went inside. So, she DID live there in that weird building... Nodding to himself, he turned and retreated back into the brush that concealed him.

Over the next two days, it seemed to Lexi that Gobo was good on his word... Or at least waiting for things to blow over some before he returned. She didn't give it much thought, really, after that first meeting. She had other things on her mind...

Including the strange, on-and-off feeling of someone's eyes on her when she was home. That was pretty unnerving, and after a couple of days, it was getting really hard to relax. But she figured since she was only having this problem at the Manor, maybe spending a day out would help.

As she tossed some necessities in her shoulder bag, she considered her options for a day in town. Having a plan always felt better to her than the alternative, even if she didn't end up sticking to it. What she ultimately decided on was taking a walk down to the diner near the center of town - she'd rather drive, but gas funds were precious with her delivery work, so down the street she headed.

Unlike the past days, Lexi may notice the sensation of being followed seemed to stick with her down the road, but without any sign of anyone suspicious around her. There was hardly anyone around her at all, and yet the feeling persisted. It wouldn't until she passed a thicket of trees by the sidewalk that she'd get her first indication that there really was someone back there, with glimpses of a shadow going through the underbrush.

Those shadows did catch her eye - you paid attention to shadows when you lived with someone who could move them; you were never sure when shadows held a message for you... But this looked natural. The situation still had her feeling uneasy, though.

Still, from what she was seeing, it didn't look like a person was following her - maybe a smallish animal, instead? But that didn't explain why she felt so watched... Lexi rubbed one hand over the opposite arm, stopping in her tracks.

"It's probably a cat," she told herself aloud, "that just wants to mooch food or something." That kind of behavior was exactly why she was a fan of cats, but anyway... She turned toward the underbrush and leaned down, holding out one hand and clicking her tongue so the cat would come out. Once it did, she could give it a pat and be on her way.

Oh please he's got more dignity than THAT.

Judging by the rustle in the brush, the shadowy form stopped near her and settled down. Didn't come out to play, though Lexi may see two spots of light; eyeshine, only briefly, blue and set closer together than a cat's.

She breathed in sharply at that quick sight - that didn't quite seem to be some animal. Plus, it hadn't come out like someone's pet would, or run away like a wild critter might.

Oh, she didn't like this. She shuffled back without correcting her posture, watching the spot where she'd seen the eyes - were the eyes? She knew well not to make any sudden movement, here.

She seemed nervous. He hadn't quite intended that. He'd just wanted to watch her for a while, try to learn something about her, and now he'd frightened her. He thought for a moment, unsure himself about just walking out, then- Aha! Idea!

A bit of the bush rustled again (if only because his elbow hit it) and then Lexi will hear a few singing notes of a harmonica sift their way out through the leaves.

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