It was some of the best sleep of your life. Heavy, dreamless sleep. You fell asleep the second your head hit the pillow and you awoke somewhat dehydrated and confused, but rested. Glancing out your window you could see the setting sun behind the trucks that arrived with Cash. You changed your clothes, combed your hair, looked yourself over in the mirror. One nap didn’t do much for you, you had large bags under your eyes and generally looked like death warmed over. You did feel better. A bit more spring in your step, and dealing with your fluffy herd seemed so much more manageable.
Your living room had been cleaned, blankets folded neatly on the couch. It smelled nice as well, the general stink of so many fluffies in an enclosed space gone. Cash had been busy, it seemed. You could softly hear music, and looking out your back window you saw your herd playing in the grass of the pasture. A pink haired woman ran slowly with a good chunk of your herd close behind her, laughing. Lilac was pointing at various plants and talking to an older man, who nodded along. Breezy and Sunshine sat on the grass with Cash, pushing a ball around. Parsnip sat in the lap of a buff man wearing a leather jacket, Strawberry curled on the grass near them.
“Daddeh!” Lilac cheered as you opened the back door.
“Hey Sam!” Cash stood, brushing off his pants. “You feeling any better?”
“Way better. Thanks so much.” You surveyed your herd playing happily in the grass with the people Cash brought.
“Ah, it’s nothing! C’mon, I’ll show you what we have put together.” He put an arm around your shoulder and began to lead you to the pasture.
In the place the barn once stood was a short building with a tin roof slanting to one side. It was clearly made of plywood and scrap, but was painted a bright blue with a white trim. Cash unlatched the split barn door, leading you inside. “It’s not much, but they seem pretty excited about it.”
Strands of Christmas lights hung from the ceiling, creating a warm glow that filled the new barn and illuminating the scenery painted onto the walls. The floor was made of cheap linoleum tiles, not the most stylish but waterproof and easy to clean. The walls were lined with nesting boxes with fluffy sized ramps leading up to them. You turned slowly taking it all in. Before you just had them sleeping in a pile in a horse stall, now they would each have beds of their own if they wanted!
“Cash, this is…” you trailed off, unsure how to describe it. Amazing? Overkill? More than you could repay them for?
He slapped your shoulder. “I know, they did a great job didn’t they? These are some good folk, I didn’t expect so much for someone they didn’t know!”
“Who… who are all these people?”
“The Hugboxer’s league. Basically fluffy rights activists, we want fluffies treated better.” He sat down on a bench built into the wall, you joined him on it. “These creatures are so undervalued, I’m sure you’re aware.”
You nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen what people do to them.” The things Dave did to them, mostly, but you had also seen the brightly colored roadkill on the side of the highway, the injured fluffies of the town shrinking back behind the dumpsters to avoid your gaze.
“We could use your help.” Cash continued. “I want you to know this barn was given freely, you aren’t expected to pay us back or anything like that. But if you could find space for a few fluffies here and there, we always have ones that need a place to stay. Could help get your business back on track as well.”
“Hang on, are you asking me to be… some kind of shelter?”
“Like I said, no pressure, but yeah, kind of.” He leaned back on the bench. “Fluffies need places to stay, even temporarily while we find more permanent arrangements for them. We’ll supply food and vet care, toys, even pay for the water and power they use.”
“I don’t know…”
“Hey, you don’t have to answer today.” Cash stood, stretching his back. “Lots has happened, you’ve got a ton on your plate. If you decide its something you want to do, shoot me a text and I’ll talk you through the details. Otherwise, if I never hear from you again we’ll be just fine.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know.” You didn’t like the idea of being a shelter, but as Lilac had so plainly put it, you were a pushover. You sighed to yourself as you stood, fluffies were clearly your weak spot. You knew you’d be sending him a text before the end of the week.
Cash took you through all the features of your new barn, which was heated, air conditioned, and featured a large red button that would send an alert to your phone when it was pressed. He refused all of your thanks, as did the rest of his group, saying it was the least they could do.
You spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with the Hugboxers League, getting to know them and their cause. They were a diverse group, young women who went to the local college, older retirees, even a few buff biker-looking types. You decided to go join Parsnip and Strawberry with the guy in the leather jacket. Parsnip waved as you walked over, Strawberry stayed curled in the grass, but you could see her smiling and singing quietly.
“How’d you cheer her up?” you plopped down into the grass next to them.
“Mistah Dan hab a babbeh!” Parsnip replied.
“A baby?”
“Yeah,” the man, Dan, replied. “Strawberry, can you let us see Tempest?”
She glanced over to you, and slowly uncurled around a small grey foal. It slid from her grasp, peeping sofly and flapping its little wings.
“Oh, how cute!” you held out your hand to pet him, but Strawberry held her hoof up against it.
“Tempesht vewwy widdwe, Mistah Sam be gentle.” she spoke softly. You nodded in agreement, and she let you lift the tiny foal.
“Hello little guy!” You stroked his head with a finger, and he stared at you with fear filled blue eyes. Your petting didn’t seem to calm him, so you handed him back to Strawberry. He seemed to immediately relax in her hooves, closing his eyes and snuggling into her fluff.
“She’s good with foals, isn’t she?” Dan leaned back in the grass, supporting himself with one tattoo-covered arm.
“She is, she just lost hers to the barn fire…” you watched her dote over little Tempest, showering him with the love she gave every one of her foals.
Dan nodded solemnly. “A real shame. I hope the guys who did this get what’s coming to them.” He reached over and scratched Parsnip behind the ears, who leaned into his hand. “Can’t imagine being the kind of person to do something like this.”
You looked over to the pasture, to where the new barn stood. The ground around it was still scorched, the blackened soil the only indication of the tragedy that happened there. “I know. What… awful people.”
“I actually had something I wanted to ask you, by the way.”
“I’m all ears.”
Dan sat up nervously. “I got Tempest after my last fluffy, Duke, needed to be… put down. I thought I would be ready for a foal, I have all day to spend with him, bottle rearing and all that, but clearly he’s better with fluffy companions. I know it’s a lot to handle but… would you be willing to take him?”
Before you could reply, “Babbeh get to stay?!” Parsnip shouted, causing Tempest to peep in distress. Strawberry shot him a dirty look before beginning to calm the foal.
“Now Parsnip, babies are lots of work, even if Strawberry is caring for him it might be more than Mister Sam wants to take on right now.” Dan chided, ruffling Parsnips mane.
“Yeah, I think that’s a bit much for me.” Parsnip deflated, looking ashamed to have even asked. “But, would you like to take these two? I don’t know if I could physically get the foal away from Strawberry at this point, and I think they deserve retirement.”
“Are you sure?” Dan asked. “You don’t even know me.”
“You came all the way out here to build a barn for some fluffies you didn’t know. I don’t think an abuser would join the Hugboxer’s league.”
“Eh… we had a problem a few years ago with a couple getting in but not since. But if you’re sure, yeah, I’d be happy to take them!”
“Mistah Sam… nu want Pawsnip?” Parsnip asked, tears begging to form at the corners of his eyes.
“Oh, no buddy!” You held out your arms for a hug and he ran over to accept it. “I love you very much. Sometimes, when we love something, we have to let it go.” You pet him gently, running your fingers through his fluff. “I want you to be as happy as you can be, and you deserve to be where you’ll have a saferoom and toys and a daddy!”
Parsnip looked up at you, sniffling. “… Daddeh?”
“Yep,” said Dan, “I’m your new daddy!”
Parsnip quickly untangled himself from you to leap into Dan’s arms, the pair hugging tightly while Parsnip blabbered joyfully. You watched a new family get formed, leaning back in the grass and basking in their joy. Maybe you could be a shelter, find forever homes for your fluffies. You were going to miss them for sure, but knowing they were going to a good home made it feel better. Good, even. A bittersweet sort of joy you’d be happy to feel again.
After a very teary goodbye from your herd, Parsnip and Strawberry left with their new daddy who promised they would be back to visit. Your fluffies were quite happy to settle down in the new barn as the sun set, picking their nest boxes and settling down. With Bluebell still recovering you deputized Sunshine, telling him if anything went wrong you needed him to push the big red button. He seemed to take it seriously enough, so you decided to spend the evening with just your pets for the first time in a while. Discussing the details of a cartoon coyote’s latest scheme with them felt… almost normal. You couldn’t stop checking out the window, as if the barn would suddenly be engulfed in flames once again. Clover seemed to feel the same, checking the window every time you did.
“Its safe buddy, I promise.” you patted his head, trying to smile confidently.
“Nu feew safe…” he said, frowning.
As you opened your mouth to reply there was a knock at your door. “Hang on guys, I think someone forgot something.”
Standing on your doorstep, a case of cheap beer in hand, was Dave. “Hey man, I heard about the barn.”
You stepped aside to usher him in. “Hey, yeah, it was awful.”
He set the case of beer down on your kitchen counter. “How many you lose?”
“Almost half the herd.”
Dave sucked air through his teeth. “That’s a shame. Let me know if you need help replacing them, I’m sure I can find you something.”
You remembered why you didn’t talk to Dave often anymore. He couldn’t grasp that you cared about fluffies as individuals. As beings, not as punching bags or tools or vermin. “Thanks, but I’ll manage. Hopefully the cops find who did this soon, I’d sure feel safer knowing they aren’t just running around, waiting to do it again.”
“That’s… actually what I’m here to talk about.” he shuffled his feet. “Those boys are good kids, we shouldnt ruin their lives over this.”
“You…. you know them…?”
“Yeah, they’re-… well, I’m not telling you exactly who they are until you call off this stupid investigation, but I’m sure I could get them to come do some farm chores or something-”
“I’m not calling off the investigation! My fluffies died! In a horrible, painful way!” Clover and Lilac flinched as you raised your voice, just barely peeking over the top of the couch.
“And I’m real sorry about that, but they’re kids. They make mistakes, they don’t deserve to go to jail over a prank-”
“This was not a fucking prank! This was arson, Dave. Could have killed all of them!”
“Oh calm the fuck down. They’re shitrats, I could go round up replacements tonight. They’re not worth anything, and that old barn was a fire hazard anyway.”
“Get the fuck out.”
Dave chuckled. “Alright, I’m sorry. They’re important to you for whatever reason, I get that. Let’s have a beer, talk this out, I’ll get them to come apologize-”
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!” you roared.
Dave stared for a moment, then set his jaw. “Fine. Call me when you’ve calmed down.” He began to leave, pausing on your doorstep. “Just think about what I said, those kids don’t deserve their lives ruined over a couple of-”
You slammed the door shut, cutting him off. Fists clenched, breathing heavily, you watched him drive away through the peephole just to be sure he left. Who did he think he was? You hadn’t talked in months, and he thinks he can just drop a case of shit beer off as if that made it all okay. That you would just chalk this up to boys being boys, have them mow your lawn once and call it fair. Your fluffies were dead. Reduced to smoke and ash and screams of pain. Nothing could replace them, you only hoped for justice. And you would not let him get in the way of it.
“Wiwac nu wike Mistah Dave.” Lilac startled you from your thoughts.
“I don’t like him much either. I don’t think he’ll be back.” Lilac nodded sternly, and went back to watching cartoons. Clover gave one more long look at the front door, brow furrowed, before joining her.