Part Six
[Not going to be drawing a picture today, overdid it yesterday and need to rest my arm.]
“Snowbaww…” Buddy’s voice was tentative. “Buddy am sowwy.”
“Wai am Buddy sowwy?”
“Buddy wewe mean tu Snowbaww, sai nu wan be speciaw-fwiend or wan famiwy. Buddy am sowwy fow gib heawt-huwties.”
“It am otay. Snowbaww undastan’. Buddy hab biggest saddies fow wosin’ famiwy. Snowbaww am sowwy fow makin’ saddies wowse.”
“Buddy am sowwy, bu’ Buddy nu wan be Snowbaww’s speciaw-fwiend. Wowd nu am gud pwace for fwuffies, nu am faiw. Nu wan babbehs tu gu forebah-sweepies wike owd famiwy!”
Snowball flinched at this, but she understood. “It am otay. Snowbaww nu min’ wait untiw Buddy nu am scawed fow babbehs.”
“Tank 'ou, Snowbaww.”
The pair hugged for a moment, then resumed their normal activities. The day went on, the both of them a little happier.
…
“GET OUT!”
“Bu’ Gwape nee’ housie! Nee’ wawm pwace an’ nesties an’ nummies fow tummeh-babbehs!”
“I don’t care. I told you not to get pregnant, and the first day you manage to get out you get knocked up! Leave!”
“Huu huu huu! Gwape nu mean tu git tummeh-babbehs! Onwy wan’ tu habe speciaw-fwiend! Wai daddeh nu wub babbehs? Wai daddeh nu wub Gwape nu mowe?”
“This is your fuck-up, not mine.”
“Daddeh am dummeh! Gwape hatchu!”
Grape gasped in pain and shock as she was viciously kicked and sent rolling out of the door, which slammed behind her. Fortunately, the impact had mostly been absorbed by her leg, which throbbed horribly, so she didn’t suffer an immediate miscarriage. However, she could barely stand on the leg, and could only move slowly while dragging it behind her.
She knocked on the door for a while, as best she could, but got no response. "Huu huu huu… she sobbed softly, and left the only home she’d ever known.
…
“Babbehs am comin’!”
Grape lay in her little nest, in a fortunately abandoned burrow of some animal. She gasped and strained, and one by one the foals emerged. “Nu taste pwetty…” she muttered as she cleaned them, but she made sure they were all clean.
All four of the foals, three females and one male, were earthies, like her. The male was bright green, while the females were white, pink, and purple. Grape hugged them tight, rejoicing in their chirps. In this moment, it was all worth it. She lowered her head in exhaustion, and in a moment dozed off.
…
“Speciaw-fwiend! Waek up! Nee’ wun!”
Grape was startled awake, and the foals began to chirp and cheep. A few days had passed since the birth, and she was beginning to regain her strength, but watching over the foals still left her sleeping odd hours. “Wut happen?”
“Bawkie-munstahs am comin’! Wots of bawkie-munstahs!”
Grape shook in fear. She knew what that meant. Hunters, out looking for feral fluffies to torment and kill. She’d seen what they left of the fluffies they caught, and had heard from the half-dead survivors what they’d done. In her nightmares, the hunters caught her, and now they were after her in the waking world!
“Nu wan owwies! Nu wan be bawkie-munstah nummies!”
“Nee’ gu! Gwab babbehs!”
Grape gently ushered the foals onto her back. As quickly as they could, the pair climbed out of the burrow, the barking of dogs closer now. They quivered with dread, expecting at any moment for a dog to burst from the bushes, but all they could do was run.
Suddenly, they came to a road. They both knew that it was dangerous to cross, so they followed the road’s edge for what seemed like eternity, the dogs sounding almost on top of them the whole while. Tired beyond measure, they ran, for their lives depended on it.
They froze in their tracks as a large, mean-looking dog dashed in front of them, having remained silent to ambush them. Its long teeth flashed in the light as it barked and snarled, and the fluffies cowered away. They were trapped, and they both knew what that meant.
“Nuuuuu! Nu wan huwties ow forebah-sweepies!”
“…babbehs.”
Grape was confused by the half-whispered word, until her special-friend launched himself towards the dog, roaring “SABE DA BABBEHS!” The dog effortlessly caught him, lifting him with its powerful jaws and shaking him back and forth, spraying blood and other fluids. The fluffy cried out in pain, and Grape dashed away, terror giving her new strength.
She never saw her special-friend die.
Soon, her gasping breathing gave way to ragged wheezes, and she slowed to a walk, then collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Her special-friend was dead, and now she and the foals were going to die too. But she couldn’t go on any longer.
"Mummah am sowwy… she murmured to her foals, and stood again, walking slowly along the road, waiting for the dogs to catch up and tear her apart.
…
The dogs never caught her. They gave up as the evening turned to night. Grape didn’t stop walking, almost in a trance of exhaustion and grief, not knowing it was finally safe to rest. She continued walking, her body crying out for her to stop, to lie down.
She followed the road all the way into town, wandering aimlessly down streets and towards buildings. Miwkies…babbehs nee’ miwkies… she thought, but she was too afraid to rest and feed them. She needed a safe place. So she wandered on.
“Heeheehee! Snowbaww gon’ catchu!”
Grape heard a voice, a fluffy-sounding, friendly voice, coming from an open window. Approaching, she found the door and began to knock. Tears welled up as she remembered knocking at the door to her old home. She knew she wouldn’t get an answer.
…
Buddy was the first to notice the soft knocking, and so fetched his mummah to see what it was. When the door was open, they saw a purple fluffy, covered in dust and dirt, standing there. She gasped for breath and swayed from side to side, clearly barely on her feet.
“Babbeh nee’ miwkies…” she croaked. “Gwape nee’ wawa…”
She shambled into the saferoom, and guzzled greedily at the water bowl for a while, before slumping to the ground. “Am babbehs safe?”
“Yes, you’re safe here.”
“Buddy nu wiww wet nuffin happen tu babbehs.”
“Dat am gud. Gwape jus’ nee’ a wittwe west, an’ a wittwe mowe wawa. Jus’ a wittwe west…”
Her eyes closed, and after a moment her labored breathing ceased. Finally, she could rest.
Part Eight
17 Likes
Given the tags I was very afraid of something happening to Snowball.
But this turn makes more sense, the world sucks for Fluffies but at least Buddy has a second chance with his surrogate family. Plus the dramatic tension of the foals growing up and finding out about their “real” mummah is now in the back pocket
2 Likes
A convenient way for them to get babies to care for, though I wonder how old they were, seemingly they were old enough to be able to climb onto her fluff, so they must’ve been close to opening their eyes, if not having had them already open, so the transferal to the new parents likely won’t be so easy.