Brothers and Sisters

[The Count]

Wait... Is that the one Gosling attended that got interrupted by Molearty's slug-fest? I did say I've read your DW fics right?

 

[Slackbot]

I didn't know you'd read my DWD fics, and I'm flattered you have! No, I think the story you're thinking of is a text fic called Here a Slug, There a Slug. The working title was "Slugfest", BTW. This is one that I've never posted on the 'net, and it's a comic.

 

[Twisted Tails]

Your members and I am right, Slackbot. You cannot make a greenish-muppet angry such as Kermit, Nigel, Or Boober even though his skin and fur are dark turquoise green. They throw a fit or kind of scream if you get them mad. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Slackbot]

Brothers and Sisters
Part 7: Nightfall
by Kim McFarland​

*****

It was getting late. Fraggles didn't bother with clocks; for them evening came when the Ditzies' light began to dim. When the caves got dark, Fraggles naturally wound down for the day.

It had been a long day for Scooter and Skeeter. They had made an unplanned trip into Fraggle Rock and spent the day among Fraggles. Janken had been showing Scooter around, and Red and Skeeter had gravitated to each other. Red had even gotten Skeeter to try a hammock-thwack. Now, their energy spent, everyone in the rock was getting ready to bed down for the night. Many were simply lying down in their pajamas and sleepshirts in the Great Hall. Skeeter wondered if they were homeless, then chided herself. Maybe not all Fraggles needed their own caves. After all, as Carlin said, a home was a container for your stuff, and Fraggles didn't accumulate possessions.

They ended up at Boober's cave. He and Sage were already in their sleepwear. Janken pushed aside the curtain and said, "Papa Boober, can we borrow some pajamas? We didn't pack for an overnight trip."

Boober had been expecting that. "Yes. There are spares in my hidey-hole. If you all want to sleep there, you can."

"Thanks!" Janken said. He'd planned to make that request, and then to overcome Boober's uneasiness with gentle persuasion. Boober must have mellowed more than Janken realized while he had been living in the surface world.

Sage said, "I have your pajamas, Jan. I washed them for you today." She offered him a bundle of neatly-folded, cream-colored cloth.

He took it and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Thanks, sis."

"Stay with me tonight," she said.

He smiled. "Sorry, Sage, but I'm playing Native Guide now. My friends aren't used to being underground, and I can't go off and leave them."

"But you always stay with me," she protested.

"Next time, okay?" he told her gently.

She looked away. "Yeah."

He kissed the top of her head—she did not respond—and then said to Scooter and Skeeter, who were waiting on the other side of the curtain, "Come with me."

Scooter and Skeeter both crossed the cave, thanking Boober along the way, to what looked like a cranny in the back. After one twist, it opened into a large room. The air was fresh and pleasant smelling. There were shelflike rock benches along most of the walls. They were stacked with bundles of cloth. A net stretched within a bamboo frame hung at the back to dry herbs.

Janken picked up a bale of cloth and moved it off a shelf. He told them, "Boober keeps his home remedies—medicines—and spare stuff here. Like these old clothes. If the fabric's any good he'll save them to sew into patchwork blankets when he runs out of laundry to do."

*

Sage got into her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Boober paused, looking at her. Her tail was lashing under the covers.

He sat on the side of her bed and said, "Sage."

After a pause, she said, "What?" Her voice was muffled by the blanket.

"You're upset."

She pulled the cover back a little, revealing her eyes. "Yeah," she admitted.

"With Janken?"

She looked away. "Yeah."

He stroked her hair. Usually when Janken came back he spent a lot of time with her. She must be feeling left out. He said, "Want to talk about it?"

"Why'd he have to bring those Silly Creatures here?" she griped. "Now he just wants to be with them. That's not fair. He has them all the time when he's in outer space!"

He continued stroking her hair as he thought. It was a simple problem, easily enough solved if she just dealt with it head-on, he thought. He said, "Tomorrow, tell him you miss him."

She looked away. That wasn't what she wanted to hear.

He said, "If you're lonely, I'm always here."

Halfheartedly she said, "Yeah, Papa."

He kissed her cheek, then got up and went to his own bed. It wasn't likely that she'd come to him tonight, he knew. She was old enough to assert her independence, and when a Fraggle got to that stage, it was time to let her cope with her own problems in her own way. He missed the days when he could hold her, eat cookies with her, until she felt better again.

*

After Scooter, Skeeter, and Janken cleared enough space they made typical Fraggle beds: thick cushiony blankets on top of the rock, another blanket over that as a bedspread, and a pillow. To Skeeter they looked like futons, although she'd never seen a futon made out of shirts and socks.

Scooter and Janken only had one bed. Rather, Janken had made one big enough for them both using overlapping blankets. If Scooter vetoed the arrangement he'd separate it into two. Scooter didn't say anything about it, though. He remarked, "I didn't think a cave could be so, well, clean."

Skeeter was mildly surprised by the observation. The cave contained a lot of stuff, but now that she looked at it, it was remarkably clean, as if the rock itself had been washed.

Janken said, "This probably is the cleanest place in the Rock. But that's not surprising when you think about it. This is Boober's storeroom, after all, and Boober likes everything tidy." He did not tell them that this was also the hospital. That was another reason Boober kept it nice and clean, to keep germs away from sick or injured Fraggles, but it might spook them. "Sometimes other people stay here too, hence the blankets and pillows and things."

Scooter thought, the guest room was part of Boober's quarters? Janken had always described Boober as a loner, preferring the company of his close family and his washtubs to that of other Fraggles. But Boober was in the next room, so this wasn't the best time to ask.

Janken looked through the available pajamas. They were all clean and fresh, of course, if not new. Skeeter would fit into an average-sized Fraggle's clothes; her shape wasn't different enough in ways that would matter. Scooter too, except he had more in the way of shoulders than Fraggles did, so Janken found a pair of pajamas with a top that wrapped around. He handed these to the twins. "These have tail holes. Sorry."

"I'll cope," Skeeter said. "Turn away a moment, okay?"

"Sure. I'll change too," Scooter replied.

Skeeter went to the back of the cave—she had learned her lesson about changing near a cave entrance—and quickly took off her outerwear and got into the pajamas. They had the same nice smell as Mokey's robe did. She said, "I'm done."

"Just a bit," Scooter replied. He was buttoning the top. If he hadn't seen Wembley's shirt, with its two buttons side-by-side rather than vertically, he would have been puzzled. With this, he just found what was most comfortable and buttoned it that way. "Okay."

Janken was amused by the ritual. Silly Creatures were so modest. But then, as Scooter had pointed out, they didn't have fur coats like Fraggles did. But they were shy about the things they did, too. Sooner or later he and Scooter would have to face that issue. He hoped, anyway.

By now it was getting hard to see. Janken yawned. "I'm gonna turn in. Stay up and talk if you want."

"Nah, I'm ready to sack out too," Skeeter said.

They all started getting into the futonlike beds. After a long pause Skeeter looked over and said, "Um, one thing. I don't care what you two do—you're consenting adults and all—but if you're going to get frisky, warn me so I can take a walk, okay?"

That startled Scooter and Janken. It was dark enough now that she couldn't see their expressions clearly. Embarrassed, she said, "Um, I just don't need to be a witness, that's all I mean."

Janken laughed. "Skeeter, when it gets dark, Fraggles sleep. We frisk when we're alert and have the energy to do it right."

Scooter said, "Believe it, Skeeter. Once the lights go out, he's gone."

"That's not very flattering."

"Well, he makes it up to me..."

Janken yawned again, then said, "Among Fraggles sleeping together just means being together when you sleep, just like eating together means being together when you eat. People sleep together all the time just because it's friendly and, in winter, because it's warm." When he came back to Fraggle Rock Sage always claimed him as her teddy bear. It felt a little odd to be with Scooter while he was here, even though they were comfortable with each other. "Good night."

"G'night," Skeeter replied.

"Night," Scooter concurred.

The light was gone. Skeeter heard a little affectionate rustling from the other bed, but only for a minute or so, as they settled in. Then it was quiet again. After a few minutes Skeeter fell asleep too.

*****

Scooter and Skeeter are copyright © The Muppets Studio, LLC. All Fraggles except Janken and Sage are © The Jim Henson Company, LLC. All copyrighted characters are used without permission but with much respect and affection. Janken and Sage Fraggle and the overall story are copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9@aol.com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.

 

[The Count]

Thanks for posting a new chapter. Interesting as always to see how you portray Fraggle/silly creature interactions and habits.

 

[charlietheowl]

The Count stole all my comments, this was another nice chapter. Looking forward to the next part.

 

[Twisted Tails]

Count, how dare you steal all of charlietheowl's comments. However, keep it up, Slackbot. You may sometimes fool around but there are days where you love to keep your story going. Thanks!

 

[Slackbot]

Thanks, guys. Heh, there's not a lot to say about this chapter, is there? It gets dark and people go beddy-bye. Next one'll have some action, I promise. Maybe even frisking.

You may sometimes fool around but there are days where you love to keep your story going.

I must admit to being puzzled by this. I can't quite parse it.

 

[Twisted Tails]

Sorry I puzzled you, Slackbot. I was just saying that last chapter was cute and brilliant. More please! Just don't leave us hanging right now pleaseeee.

 

[Slackbot]

Oh, OK. More is to come, I promise!