I won't leave you out in the cold alone

[gobetween]

This was not exactly one of his best life experiences.

There were many great advantages to being a small little Fraggle. One of them was not dealing with blizzard conditions. His size of under two feet made it extremely difficult to make his way through the deep snow, and he had to keep a hand on his hat the whole time just so he didn't lose it. Though he was furry and dressed in multiple layers, including a turtleneck that nearly obscured what of his head his hat wasn't pulled over, he felt chilled to the BONE. Gotta find shelter somewhere soon...

That shelter turned out to be a partially enclosed porch in the neighborhood he'd been struggling his way through. The light filtering in through the windows was a beacon, and he struggled and slipped his way over until he could limp up the stairs, his tail dragging behind him. Though his hands were numb, he knew he had to brush the snow off himself best he could; he was out of the driving wind, but still was absolutely freezing. He crouched down near the door where he could feel at least a little warmth coming out, and wrapped his arms around himself.

If he could just rest out of the wind and the sheeting ice, if he could just get warm, he could find a way back home somehow. Even with the way the snow had piled up everywhere, and the way that, so worn out from his efforts, his eyelids started to bob. Maybe a quick nap, it's alright if you're not truly hypothermic, right? A quick nap, and then afterward he'll be clear-headed enough to figure out what to do...

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[holdthemtogether]

Thud.

The sound at his door gave Hunk a start, distracting him from the stew he was preparing the ingredients for. Every winter, once the weather started getting really bad, he liked to have a lot of food ready, especially since a lot of his friends weren't always prepared for the heavy snowfall. Lance, for example, was reluctant to admit he needed to prepare at all, and Pidge would often get so lost in science and tech that she lost track of the days.

But for now, the meals would have to wait. Who on earth was at his door in this weather - who was out in this weather? When he pulled the door open, he got his answer.

"Aww, it's a Fraggle... Oh. Oh, man, it's a Fraggle - why is he up here in this cold?! Okay, Hunk, don't panic. Just... Just take care of him. Yeah, you've got this."

As he reassured himself, he scooped up the Fraggle and - shutting the door behind him - headed back inside. Alright, warming him up gently would be key. He set the Fraggle down on the couch, carefully removing his vest and other extra layers, including the hat. Then he tossed the throw that had been folded on the arm of the couch over the little guy.

He crouched down and watched him for a little while, but that was just making him more nervous when the Fraggle didn't start to wake up right away. He took a deep breath, and decided it would be best to return to his cooking. He'd keep an ear out for his guest.

[gobetween]

He was completely unaware of all of this, so deeply had he fallen asleep that not even slumping against the door had woken him up. His dreams were mostly whorls of darkness, though bit by bit something else started creeping in. A growing warmth, and little wisps of sweet smells. It was hard to tell which had pulled him around, but only a few minutes after Hunk had returned to his cooking, Gobo sat up and shook his head gently. Ooh, that hurt, why did that hurt?

Realizing he was somewhere decidedly not Snowy and Windy, he looked up and around him with a questioning noise. "Where... am I?"

[holdthemtogether]

Hearing the little voice, Hunk turned down the heat on the vegetable broth he'd started to heat up, and stepped back out into the living room.

"Good, you're up," he said, voice soft but cheerful. He didn't want to frighten the little guy, after all. "I guess you fell asleep at my door. This is my house - and I'm Hunk. How are you feeling?"

[gobetween]

The voice did indeed startle him, but all it caused was a little jump. Maybe it was his recent experiences, but he wasn't as afraid of other people anymore, at least not when they spoke like that- and, he realized, somebody had to've brought him inside and made him warm. That wasn't so bad, right?

"I guess I did. I was looking for shelter from the storm, and- and I guess it was your porch, then." He turned a little so he could see him better, looking up. "I'm Gobo, and..." He paused, assessing just that. "Well, my head hurts a little, and I'm still kinda chilly, oh but nowhere near where I was before, eh? I would've been one frosty Fraggle, otherwise!"

[holdthemtogether]

Hunk took a seat on the other side of the couch - careful not to jostle it too much in doing so. "Nice to meet you, Gobo. And yeah! We wouldn't want that. I think you'll be okay once you get a bit warmer," he hoped so, at least... "but is there anything else I can get you?"

[gobetween]

He watched him, more curiously than warily, tilting his head a little. "Nice to meet you, too. And I think I'm alright now, thank you, although," he paused, turning to lift his snout in the air, sniffing. "What is that-?"

[holdthemtogether]

Hunk chuckled. "That? I'm making a vegetable soup. It's not ready yet, but once it is, you're welcome to have some."

[gobetween]

"I'd love some" He smiled warmly, looking back. "You're being really nice to me, might've even saved my life. Thank you."

[holdthemtogether]

Hunk looked slightly flustered, though his smile stayed in place. "Well, you're welcome, but I just did what I think - I hope - anyone would do."

[gobetween]

Gobo chuckled softly. "I hope so, too." He fell silent then, though it was only to settle back, pulling the blanket up around his shoulders. He set to looking around the house, taking everything in.

[holdthemtogether]

When Hunk noticed Gobo's focus shift, he stood from the couch. "I'm going to go finish up my cooking, okay? Give a shout if you need anything."

[gobetween]

"I will, thanks again Hunk." He gave him a smile, then returned to his looking around. After a little while he stepped down off the couch, blanket dragging around and behind him, taking a closer look at some of the assorted objects around. What really caught his eye was a bookshelf though, and he walked up to it and stared up at its many titles.

By the time Hunk comes to check on him again, he'll find Gobo sitting on the floor with all kinds of books stacked around him, including some from the higher shelves don't ask me how. He looks almost like a mysterious little monk figure, with the blanket up like a "hood" and draped around his shoulders, currently paging through a mindfulness book; though just about everything else is piled around him, some of them still open to wherever he'd looked last.

[holdthemtogether]

Hunk had to smile at the sight of it. It was just too cute, and he chuckled a bit - making his presence known. "Did you find anything you like?" he asked, leaning down a bit to get a better look.

[gobetween]

"I sure did!" He lowered the "hood" as Hunk came over to him. "I was just reading this book here, and you know, you Silly Creatures have a lot of the same methods of getting over bad feelings the way we Fraggles do."

[holdthemtogether]

There was some surprise in Hunk's expression, then. "Do we really? That's pretty cool..."

He took a seat just beyond the circle of books. "I was given that book by a friend of mine. It's been really helpful - I tend to stress a lot."

[gobetween]

"I know what that feels like." He nodded sagely, looking up to Hunk from the book. "Especially sometimes, it was my own doing that put me in a low situation." His expression drifted a little, then he shook himself a bit and smiled. "But I'd always turn it around, either by going out and doing what makes me me, like exploring, or I'd hang out with my friends! Maybe sing a little song, or play a game to get my mind off it. All stuff I've seen in this book." Gobo idly flipped a page, though he wasn't really reading it. "I'm glad it's been able to help you out, especially since a friend gave it to you in the first place. That makes it extra important."

[holdthemtogether]

Hunk nodded with an understanding expression. "Yeah, sounds like humans and Fraggles have some stuff in common, then," he pointed out, before smiling warmly at Gobo's last comment, there.

"Thanks, Gobo. You're absolutely right."

[gobetween]

"I used to think we were exceptionally different." He smiled at Hunk, then continued his slow flipping through the book. "Especially the postcards my uncle Travelling Matt would send back from exploring out here. Everything sounded so strange and unbelievable! But then I met a Silly Creature, a human, who'd come to mean a lot to me. And I started exploring myself, and I learned that for all the differences, there's a lot of ways we're the same." Gobo closed the book, though he rested a reverent hand on the cover. "Sure, you're a lot bigger than we are, and have different holidays, and customs, and you all work too hard. But you also make wonderful music, just like Fraggles do! And- and make pretty clothing, and paintings, and you have games and festivals of your own, and it's great! We Fraggles, well, we don't have much occasion to come out of the ground very often, but I'm glad I did. I've made some wonderful friends I wouldn't have met otherwise, and I've learned so many things."

[holdthemtogether]

Hunk smiled, unable to help thinking that "silly creature" was a fair enough term for humans. But he didn't comment as much, as Gobo was still speaking, and making a lovely point, at that.

"Hey, thanks. I mean..." Was that weird? To thank someone for a general compliment to one's own species? Ah... "Well, you know what I mean. I'm glad you're having fun up here, Gobo - and I'm glad you came to my porch."

[gobetween]

"I'm glad for that, too. Your porch, well it was like when I'm coming home after a long exploration, and the tunnel was dark and maybe I'm a little beaten up, but there's light at the end, the glow of the lamps my friends lit, and I know it'll be alright there.

"That's kinda what seeing those," and he pointed at a lamp, "through the snow felt like. I knew someone was here. Maybe at the time I didn't have any plans for getting inside, but 'someone here' means warmth. And that's why I came up."