I’ve been meaning to write another story about Edgar and Lucy for a while now. For those who aren’t familiar, check out The Tewwtawe Heawt part 1, by Poopieplace
Hope you enjoy!
++++++++++++++++
The sun set outside and the final rays of natural light faded from the small, cosy living room.
In the corner of room, sat a slight, dark haired woman, absent mindedly running her fingers through the red and green ball of fluff stretched out on her lap.
The little fluffy on her lap gave a coo, a gentle smile of contentment etched onto his face.
“OK, horror fans”, said Lucy in her gentle, lilting tone.
“That was Nightmare at 20, 000 feet, by Richard Matheson. Gets better every time I read it. There’ll be another spine tingling story this time next week. Take care, gang. Sleep tight. Don’t forget to check your closet for monsters before you go to bed”.
Lucy yawned shut down her laptop.
She’d edit and upload it to her YouTube channel tomorrow, after some shut eye.
"How are you doing, buddy?', She asked, looked down at the fluffy dozing contentedly beneath her.
It was a silly question and they both knew it. Edgar was as happy as he was capable of being.
He’d heard the fluffies he played with at the park talk about Sketti Land as being the ultimate utopia for fluffies.
As far as Edgar was concerned, they could keep it.
If there was a heaven, this was it. Not that Edgar was remotely capable of seriously contemplating theological concepts.
To be fair, nor are most fluffies. But Edgar was a particularly dense specimen.
A couple of days ago, he had almost suffocated himself, after getting his head stuck in a bag of Doritos, whilst trying to lick the crumbs out of the bottom.
But that didn’t change the fact that Edgar was a good fluffy, with a loving owner and whilst he was no genius, he was smart enough to know that he was very lucky.
Edgar loved nothing more than to lie in Lucy’s lap and listen to her read her stories out.
He didn’t care for the stories themselves, they were too scary for his liking.
But Lucy had the most amazing voice.
Whilst the majority of her YouTube followers came for the shared love of classic horror, a good percentage came for the ASMR experience.
And for that reason, Edgar did his best to tune out the content of the stories and focus on her voice.
He’d managed to block out most of the one she had read tonight.
He’d caught something about a “gwemlin”, whatever that was.
Some sort of monster, as far as he could tell, but Edgar was quite content not to delve any further into that particular mystery, thank you very much!
There was a man on an aiwpwane too, which as far as Edgar could tell was a type of vroomie monsta which could fly.
Now there was another prospect which didn’t bear thinking about, as far as Edgar was concerned.
Edgar didn’t like riding in Lucy’s vroomie monsta. Which reminded him…
“Mummah and Edgaw stiww go fo’ howiday in da bwightime?”, he asked sleepily.
“Day after tomorrow. I mean the bright time after the brightime”, Lucy replied.
“Edgaw and mummah stiww hab tu go in vroomie monsta?”, Edgar continued, a note of trepidation creeping into his voice.
The ten minutes or so it took to get to the park was one thing but Lucy had said this would be longer. Edgar was not impressed by this concept.
“I know you don’t like the car, baby”, Lucy said, giving Edgar a placatory scratch behind the ear. “But you want to see your friends, right?”
Edgar nodded. He certainly did want to see his friends.
Especially Cleo. Oh, lovely Cleo.
Edgar’s tummy gave a funny, though not unpleasant, little lurch at the thought.
“Well, there we go then”, continued Lucy reassuringly.
"And besides, and think you’ll find that your Uncle James has put a lot of thought into this. I think you’ll be pleasantly suprised.
++++++++++
The morning of trip arrived in no time at all.
A pile of bags lay in the hall, as Lucy and her friend Claire scurried around the flat, doing the obligatory final inventory, knowing that there would still be one thing that they had forgotten to pack regardless.
Edgar sat on the floor, with Claire’s fluffy, a little pegasus named Bluestreak, named for his rich azure fluff and excitable manner.
The two of them watched their respective Mummahs and played with Edgar’s blocks, babbling excitably.
“Bwuestweak am su 'cited 'bout howiday! Gun pway an hab bewstest fun times eba”!
“Dats wite! Edgaw nu can wait to pway wif Bwuestweak and Cweo an’ aw udder fwuffies!”
Bluestreak gave a merry cackle “Edgaw mean he nu can wait tu see Cweo. Edgaw wuuuuub Cweo”, this was followed by a cascade of fresh giggling from the irrepressible blue fluffy, as he made over the top kissing noises.
“Shuddup dummie!”, gasped Edgar.
Needless to say this did nothing to deflect his friend’s mirth.
“Ohhhhhh! Edgaw wan gib su many kisses tu Cweo!”
The two of them wrestled on the floor, Edgar’s temporary mortification melting away as the pair were both overcome with amusement.
Their horseplay came to an abrupt end at the sound of the doorbell buzzing.
“Dat am Uncwe Jamesie!”, cried Edgar ecstatically.
A few minutes later, the front door of the flat was opened and the two fluffies bolted into the arms of the lanky, bespectacled man standing at the door.
“Hello lads!”, smiled James, scooping them both up. “Are we all ready for a road trip”?
His question was met with a fresh round of joyous babbling.
“And how are you doing, Edgar?”, he asked, smiling down at the little red fluffy. “Slain any monsters lately?”
Edgar knew he was joking but didn’t reply. He didn’t like remembering one of the few times he’d been in trouble with his Mummah.
“Haha!”, Lucy replied sarcastically on Edgar’s behalf, as she gave her brother a peck on the cheek.
“We’re still not laughing about the yet then?”, James grinned.
The talk of monsters had reminded Edgar about the thing he had been worrying about the other night. The vroomie monster.
James clearly noticed the change in his demeanour. Lucy had warned him that Edgar was not looking forward to the long car journey.
“I know you don’t like the car, mate”, he said in a soothing voice.
“But wait until you see what I’ve done with it. Speaking of, we’d better not leave Di downstairs for too long. Come on, let’s get going.”
That was good enough for Edgar.
The ensemble gathered up their luggage and headed downstairs.
++++++++++++++
“Tada!”, exclaimed James, pointing in the direction of the big, red people carrier parked outside the building.
“And on the outside, we have a completely ordinary looking vehicle”, he continued “but if we open the backdoor…”
James swung open the backdoor with a theatrical florish.
It was an impressive sight. The back of the carrier had been modified so that it had effectively turned into a miniature saferoom.
The chairs at the back had been removed and a partition had been added so that it was insulated from the passenger seats nearer the front.
Upholstery had been added to the floor and sides to make it softer and blankets were strewn about at various points.
A small litter box had been bolted to one side of the compartment and a water bottle to the other.
It was cozy but not cramped and for the purposes of a three hour car journey, would be preferable to being jammed into a fluffy carrier.
“Wow”, said Lucy.
Even Edgar had to admit that this looked more enticing than he was expecting.
“Right?”, said James, with no small hint of pride. “You can all make big fluffpile and just chill until we get there.”
As if on cue, there was a volley of excited squeaking, as a collection of little heads popped out from beneath one of the blankets.
Edgar’s stomach gave another little flutter.
“Hewwo Cweo”, he eventually managed to splutter, in what he hoped was a suave tone (it wasn’t).
Bluestreak began to giggle and make kissey noises once again, until he was silenced by a reproachful look from Claire.
“Hewwo Edgar, hewwo Bwuestweak”, came the reply.
Edgar’s heart gave yet another flutter. And fair enough.
With her white fur and bright yellow mane, Cleo had caught many a young fluffies eye.
Nestled beneath her were her three little foals, Dazzle, Dewdrop and Daffodil, a unicorn, a pegasus and an earthie respectively.
They were all the same shade of white as Cleo, although on Daffodil’s mane was the same shade of yellow.
Dazzle’s mane was bright red, whereas Dewdrop’s a pale blue.
“Hewwo fwends!”, they chattered excitably.
The collective din of the excited fluffies was enough to elicit a weary sounding grunt from a grey pile in the corner.
It had gone unnoticed in all the commotion but was now stirring gently.
“Oh, and this must be Di’s new fluffy!”, exclaimed Lucy, gesturing to the solitary grey lump.
Sure enough, the lump continued to stir, until it’s eyes eventually opened, revealing a dazzling shade of emerald.
The bright green eyes took in the new company with a calm but slightly solemn gaze.
It was an old, grey unicorn, possibly the oldest that Edgar had ever seen, although older fluffies were fairly rare, even in the hugbox circles which Lucy moved in.
“Silver, aren’t you going to say hello?”, came a voice from the front of the people carrier, as a slightly mousey woman got out.
“Hewwo auntie Di!”, Edgar and Bluestreak yelled out happily.
“And hello, Silver, it’s nice to meet you”, said Lucy, smiling at him.
“Hewwo ebeywun”, Silver replied in tone which was by fluffy standards, surprisingly deep. “Siwvew nu mean tu be meanie wen nu say hewwo. Was jus’ habbing biggewst sweepies”.
“Right then”, chipped in James. “Now that we’re all acquainted, who wants to drive to a big house in the middle of nowhere, drink beer and pretend not to be adults for a couple of days?”
And with that, the remaining fluffies were helped into the mobile saferoom and the happy band went on their merry way.
++++++++++++
They cruised down the motorway, making excellent time.
“Hey Di”, shouted Claire from the back seat. 'What’s the deal with Silver? I don’t think I’ve ever met a fluffy quite like him".
“Right?”, Di replied. “I can’t quite figure him out either and I’ve had fluffies for all of my adult life.”
“The shelter said he was half dead when they found him.”, she continued “Other than he used to be a feral and had his own herd, I can’t get anything out of him. He has nightmares though. He’ll talk about it when he’s ready, I suppose.”
“He seems polite enough”, ventured Lucy.
“Absolutely”, agreed Di. “Never had any fuss or cross words from him. He’s just super cautious. He slept on the floor for the first few weeks. Only ate the most basic foods. Wouldn’t even have spaghetti.”
“Wow!”, exclaimed Claire and Lucy in unison.
“Do you think it’s because he used to live in the wild?”, asked James, who had only ever owned fluffies from a breeder or a fluff mart.
“Can’t be”, said Di, with a shake of her head. “I’ve had rescue ferals before. They’re usually blown away by the chance to live like a house fluffy.”
She paused for a moment.
“No”, she continued after some brief thought "I know it sounds crazy but I think he’s punishing himself for something.
A somber silence feel across the foursome.
"Well’, said James, “let’s see what we can do to chill the little guy out”.
And with that, he flicked his iPad on.
The car continued to speed down the motorway as AC/DC blared out and the conversation moved on to more light hearted topics.
++++++++++++
On the fluffy side of the vehicle, things were much quieter.
Cleo and her three foals were nestled under the blanket in the middle.
Edgar and Bluestreak (who in spite of all the ribbing he gave Edgar, knew how he felt about car journeys) were snuggled together in another.
“Siwvew wan be wif us in fwuffpiwe?”, Edgar called across to the elderly fluffy.
“Nu fankyu, widdwe fwuffy”, he had replied in a voice which was firm but not unkind. “Siwvew am otay oba hewe.”
Edgar rankled a little bit at being called little but shrugged and settled down.
He was still mildly anxious at being in a vroomie monster but appreciated the effort that had been put in place to make it more comfortable.
Edgar did his best to relax. Eventually, the smooth motion of the car and the reassuring presence of his friend sleeping next to him soothed him to sleep.
++++++++++
Edgar woke up with a start.
He had no idea how long he’d been asleep for.
He glanced over at Bluestreak, who was still flat out, a thin stream of drool running out of the corner of his mouth.
The various sleep noises of fluffies filled the little mobile saferoom.
Edgar stood up slowly, taking a minute to get used to the motion of the car, before walking over to the water bottle and taking a few sips.
He was debating whether or not he needed the litter tray when he was startled by a loud bang.
He gave a little squeak of alarm and looked round. The other fluffies were still sleeping.
Edgar paused for a second.
He was about to relax and walk back to his sleeping space when he heard it again. Louder this time. It was coming from outside.
Trembling now, Edgar walked over to the doors at the end of the car and peeked out through the window.
There was a flash of movement. Edgar froze. He looked again. Another flash of movement.
Edgar’s heart sank. He knew what it was, even as he willed it not to be so with every inch of his being.
It was a gremlin.
++++++++++
Silver woke up with a grunt. Something was off.
He gazed up across the mobile saferoom, and saw Edgar, quaking in fear.
With a groan, Silver got to his hoofs and walked over.
“Wat wong?”, he asked softly, making Edgar jump, the tiniest bit of scardy peepees trickling out.
“Gwemwin…”, was all he managed to say.
“Wat am Gwemwin?”, Silver grunted, managing to keep his tone calm.
He still didn’t know what was going on but he knew how dangerous panic could be and how easily it could spread. He’d learnt that the hard way.
“Gwemwin am tewwibwe monsta”, Edgar explained, his eyes practically bulging out of his head in terror
Silver sniffed the air cautiously. He couldn’t smell anything other than fluffies. He didn’t see how a monster could get them here either.
Still though, danger could come from the most unexpected of places. Silver had learnt that one the hard way too.
Silver sniffed the air once more, before edging to the window. Nothing. He was sure of it.
“Am nuffin’ dere”, he said as gently as he could. “Aww in Edgaw’s thinkiepwace”.
Edgar looked up at him, the conflict written all over his face. He wanted to believe Silver so badly. But he knew what he had seen. And heard.
Still though. There was some about Silver. Something which made him want the older fluffy’s approval. Maybe…
Edgar heard the bang again and went rigid with fright once more. He glanced at the window again. Another flash of movement.
“Siwvew see?!”, he squealed, his voice rising several octaves. “Dere am gwemwin on da vroomie monsta!”
By this time, Bluestreak had stirred awake as well.
“Wat aww da noisie?”, he mumbled, grumpy that he had been woken from his nap.
He sat bolt upright once he registered his friend’s fear.
“Wai Edgaw hab scawdies”, he squealed in alarm.
“Wisten!”, snapped Silver, springing into action before things escalated further.
“'Hab a wook. Bwuestweak see anyfing?”
Bluestreak wandered up to the window and peered out apprehensively.
“Bwuestweak nu see anyfing”, he confirmed eventually.
“Exactwy”, replied Silver firmly. “Dere nufing tu see. Edgaw hab thinkiepwace huwties. Bwuestweak an’ Siwvew need tu hewp Edgaw befowe he gib scawdies tu Cweo and babbehs. Bwuestweak unnerstan’?”
Bluestreak looked at the grizzled old fluffy.
He hadn’t noticed before but he had a scar above one of his see places. He wondered how he’d gotten it.
More to the crucially though, he saw the expression in Silver’s eyes.
He couldn’t explain why but something about it made him know that he needed to listen to him.
This was a smarty. A real one, not one of the meanie, bossy ones he and Edgar saw at the park sometimes.
“Otay”, Bluestreak said.
And not a moment too soon. With a panicked screee, Edgar charged the door and banged against it.
It made zero impact.
The reality was that for all the fear induced adrenaline flowing through Edgar, he was still just a fluffy.
That meant that statistically, there was more chance of there being an actual gremlin on the car than there was of him doing any real damage to the door.
But he could still hurt himself.
And given that this was a confined space with other fluffies, including three foals, there was a good chance that he could hurt someone else in his panic as well.
“Huwwy Bwuestweak”, he barked “need tu stop Edgaw now!”
Urgency over come Silver’s tired, sore body as he and Bluestreak (demonstrating just how apt his name was) leapt on Edgar, wrestling him to the floor.
“Wet go! Wet go!” Edgar shreiked.
“Gwemwin on da vroomie monsta. Edgaw need gib sowwee hoofies! SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
++++++++++++++++
At the front of the people carrier, Lucy snapped awake with a start.
“Turn the music down!”, she yelled at James.
Hearing the tone of her voice, James lowered the volume. His face went taut with alarm as the sound of fluffy screeching filled the air.
“Shit!”, he yelled. Thankfully, they weren’t too far from a lay-by.
No sooner had he pulled in, had Lucy scrambled out and made her way to the back.
++++++++++++
The door flew open and Lucy gazed upon the bizarre scene before her eyes.
Bluestreak and Silver (who looked to be in some discomfort) lay across a gibbering Edgar, as Cleo gawped at the three of them in wide eyed bewilderment.
Dazzle, Dewdrop and Daffodil were all chirping in alarm and alas (but inevitably) there had been some scaredie poopies.
Well, a lot of scaredie poopies.
“What’s going on?”, yelled Claire. The lay-by didn’t leave enough room for all four of them to stand by the open boot of the car.
“Gwemwin”, Edgar continued to burble “Gwemwin! Wai nu dummeh fwuffies wisten?”
“Oh Edgar”, said Lucy sadly.
+++++++++++++
Fortunately for all concerned, the beshitted travellers were approaching their journeys end.
With the windows rolled down and the human passengers breathing through their mouths and sporadic wails of “Huuuuu, nu smeww pwetty!”, filling the air, the people carrier finally pulled into the front yard of the holiday cottage.
James cleaned out the back of carrier. Luckily the sheets on the padding were removable. It was designed with fluffies in mind after all.
Lucy, Di and Claire bundled the fluffies somewhat unceremoniously into the bathtub in the cottage and gave them all a good scrubbing.
The fluffies were so relieved to be out of the car and shit stain free that there was no moaning about “wawa”.
In fact, there were even one or two gentle coos by the end of it.
And finally, despite having started out on a slightly sour note, the holiday began in earnest.
+++++++++++++++
The sun was setting over the cabin.
Lucy and her friends sat outside sipping beer, chatting and laughing.
Cleo sat by James’s feet, fondly watching her three foals dashing around with Bluestreak.
Their happy giggles filled the air, mingling with those of their owners.
Edgar sat slightly apart from them, looking down cast.
Lucy had told him that it was OK. After all, he’d been scared, not naughty.
Still though, he was embarrassed.
He’d acted like a dummeh in front in his friends.
Not to mention in front of Cleo.
Maybe Silver was right when he called him a “widdwe fwuffy”.
“Edgaw otay?”, came the oddly gruff voice of the old unicorn.
Edgar looked up to see Silver looking down at him, his green eyes serious yet kind.
“Edgaw hab saddies”, he replied softly. “Am su dummeh. Am biggewst scardie babbeh”.
Silver sat next to him with a grunt.
The two of them sat in silence for a moment.
Edgar looked up at Silver.
His eyes were fixed on some unspecified point in the distance. He looked deep in thought.
“Edgaw wan’ nu wat weawwy make fwuffy a dummeh?”, Silver asked, finally breaking the silence.
Edgar nodded, transfixed by the look in the older fluffy’s eyes. He looked so sad and yet so…
Edgar didn’t know the word wise but had he done, that would have been the word he’d have chosen.
He nodded up at his companion, not knowing what else to say.
"A weaw dummeh am fwuffy who nu unnderstan’ wen dey be dummeh.
Siwvew nu wots of dummeh fwuffies. Dey aww tink dey smarties.
Nu wan to jus’ say dat dey am dummeh.
Weaw smarties nu wen dey be dummehs. Dey weawn. Dey use dere thinkiepwace."
He paused again, before looking down at Edgar.
“Teww Siwvew, Edgaw. Edgaw nu he act wike dummeh?”
Edgar nodded.
“Den Edgaw nu how nu to be dummeh next bwightime”, he said.
Edgar smiled and nodded. “Dank yu, Siwvew”, he whispered, in no small amount of awe. Who was this fluffy?
“Dat otay”, came the reply. “Go pway wid fwiends. Siwvew tink dey miss yu”.
Edgar needed no further encouragement.
He bounded off to join the others, happier and dare I say, a little bit changed as well.
Silver sat quietly for a moment, before giving a sigh. To no-one in particular, he mumbled “Siwvew am tu owd fo’ dis poopies”.