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...

Comments

[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."