The rain rain rain came down down down...

[talkyourwayout]

It was a good day to be inside, that was for sure.

"Sorry about your trip, Unca Scrooge..."

Although Louie was very glad it at least wasn't a thunderstorm. The rain was coming down hard, but without thunder and lightning, they were okay to stand by the kitchen window and watch - it was kind of cool-looking, in a way, everything blurred by the rainfall. Even inside the manor, though, the cold of the day's weather could be felt, which was less than cool. Louie pulled his hood up over his head - it still kind of smelled like the soap Boober had washed it with, and that got a nostalgic smile out of him. Sure, that day had been stressful, but all's well that ends well, right? He pulled the hood further down his face, until it was nearly covering his eyes, and inhaled deeply.

Comments

[moneymatters]

Another Fraggle-?? He doubled down and squared his stance, one hand remaining on Gobo's and the other grasping the front of his shirt.

"Alright Louie, with me! One, two, three, PULL!" He dug in and heaved backwards, slipping only momentarily before he found his footing again. "One, two, three, PULL!" Another yank backwards, and the mud gave a little. "One- two- three- PULL!"

Every time back freed them a little bit more, and as Gobo was freed entirely he went to help Louie haul Mokey up the rest of the way. With two soaked, coughing Fraggles on the lawn, he gave them a moment to recover and then bent by them.

"Come on, we'll get inside faster if you let us carry you." Without a pause for argument, he nodded to Louie and then, gingerly, scooped Mokey up into his arms, waiting for Louie to get situated before rushing inside back to the kitchen as quickly as he dared.

1/2

[talkyourwayout]

As he was tugging and pulling to get the two free, Louie felt awful for Mokey - she'd just left Fraggle Rock not long ago at all. What a welcome to the rest of the world...

Once Gobo and then Mokey were safe, Louie nodded in response to Scrooge, and hoisted Gobo onto his back - man, he would not do that for just anyone. Dumb Fraggle, he thought with a smile, despite everything.

2/2

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey had nearly passed out, back there, but regained full consciousness while being carried inside. She opened her eyes and glanced up - it was a little bleary, but she could make out enough of Scrooge's face to recognize him as a Louie-like Silly Creature who wasn't Louie. She'd heard of Scrooge, of course, although it wasn't until they were in the kitchen that her mind was quite awake enough to make the connection. She coughed a few times when she tried to speak, before finally getting out, "You must be Scrooge... Thank you..."

[moneymatters]

"Aye, I'm Scrooge." He and Louie set them on the floor beside each other, and he stepped back a bit before kneeling to look them over. "Are you hurt?" When Gobo, still coughing, shook his head, Scrooge sighed a bit in relief.

"Good. Louie, get them some water to clear their throats. I'll be right back with some towels." He paused, looking down at them both. "Your clothes, and you, are goin' to need a wash... When you're ready, o'course. Right now, just rest. I'll be back in a flash."

[talkyourwayout]

Mokey managed a quiet 'no', but neither that nor Gobo's gesture made Louie feel much better.

Louie had seen the Fraggles drinking from pools of water, so when he instinctively went to grab two glasses, he corrected himself and filled a bowl with cold water instead, placing it between Gobo and Mokey. He tried to give them their space to drink, but it was hard; he was worried. He found himself hovering right nearby, practically on top of the Fraggles.

[gobetween]

Gobo drank gratefully, though he left plenty for Mokey once he was done. Sighing, he attempted to push his hair back out of his eyes, but with so much mud covering him it didn't make that much of a difference. Noting the close presence, he glanced up at Louie with an attempted smile.

"We'll be alright. Just got surprised by the sudden rain. All that lush dirt in the garden makes a whole lotta mud really quickly."

[thewisdomwithin]

As Louie nodded and backed off a bit with a hesitant smile of his own, Mokey drank up from the bowl. After clearing her throat, she smiled over at Louie, as well, then turned to Gobo, and the smile faded a bit.

"It's not always quite like this, is it?"

[gobetween]

"No, no! Of course not. You guys would hear about it if it were. It was just a freak storm that caught us by surprise."

Still, all the same he was quite relieved when Scrooge returned with towels, not the least of which because he was starting to shiver. He didn't even try to clean off any mud yet, just wrapped the towel around himself and buried his snout in it.

1/2

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey nodded, her smile returning. If Gobo said this wasn't the norm, she trusted him. The fluffy towel also boosted her mood, and she took a moment just to rub it against her cheek, then her snout.

"So soft..."

2/2

[talkyourwayout]

Finally feeling completely sure that his friends would be okay - Scrooge being back in the kitchen helped a lot with that - Louie spoke up, because now that he wasn't worried to the point of feeling literally sick to his stomach, he realized that Gobo had just been on his back, all muddy.

"Uh, I'm going to go wash off my hoodie," he said. He knew there was too much going on for Scrooge to draw attention to the fact that he was actually doing... Laundry? But he still got out of there quickly, a little embarrassed.

He wasn't about to let Boober's work the other day be for nothing, though.

1/2

[moneymatters]

"Wait out there just a moment, Louie." He glanced back at the Fraggles, leaning down. "We'll put the clothes you're wearin' in the wash, and then I'll draw the bath. Alright?"

2/2

[gobetween]

He nodded, and it was with some reluctance that he moved the towel enough that he could slip off his vest, then everything else. He handed it all up to Scrooge- "Careful, there's.. stuff in the pockets..." -and then returned to his towel wrap, even chillier now.

[thewisdomwithin]

Louie stopped and politely looked away - although did it really matter? Huh... - as Gobo undressed and Mokey shed her sweater and wrap, then curled herself up in the blanket, seeming a lot less phased by it than Gobo.

"That's very kind, thank you."

[moneymatters]

Scrooge dipped his head, smiling. "Of course. Sit tight, and I'll be right back."

With clothes bundled up in his arms, he walked over to join Louie. "Come on, we'll throw it all in together. With all that the children get up to, a little mud won't faze the washer at all."

[thewisdomwithin]

In her little towel cocoon, Mokey scooched over closer to Gobo.

"Well, it was an adventure - not the kind I'd like to repeat, of course," she said softly, "but an adventure."

[gobetween]

Gobo laughed weakly, leaning against her as she came closer. He lowered the towel to his shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess." A pause, then, "I'm glad you're okay, Mokey."

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey leaned against Gobo in return, genuine confusion on her face at what he'd said.

"Of course I'm okay, I was with you."

[gobetween]

"Sure." He closed his eyes, resting on her. At another shiver, he tucked the towel up more. "I won't let anything happen to you..."

[thewisdomwithin]

She nuzzled against his towel. "Mmm, I know, Gobo."

She'd always felt so - just so safe with him, even when he made a mess so often. The world could be big and confusing, especially - but not only - beyond Fraggle Rock. Gobo... Gobo was a tether, in some ways.

1/2

[gobetween]

He nodded faintly, nuzzling up a bit into her.

There he stayed until he heard footsteps, and he glanced up to see Scrooge returning, now in a different coat he noted.

2/2

[moneymatters]

Scrooge glanced at them curiously as he came up, but only tucked that away for now, in favor of the actual matter at hand.

"Come along, then. There's warm soap and water ready for you both." Once they'd both stood up, he led them to the master bath, where he'd prepared the tub for them. "I'm no' sure what constitutes a deep clean for a Fraggle, but this'll get every bit of mud out of your fur, I can promise you that. You can drain it here," he indicated, "and then refill it here if you need more water, and there's a couple of towels for you both on the hamper there once you're finished. Louie and I will leave you alone for it, but we won't be far if you need anything; just call."

[thewisdomwithin]

"Thank you, Scrooge," Mokey said, leaning up towards the edge of the tub. "It smells good in there, Gobo!"

[gobetween]

Gobo leaned over himself, momentarily cheered by realizing the same. "It does. Thanks, Scrooge." As the old duck nodded and stepped out, Gobo slipped the towel off and carefully stepped into the water, sucking in a breath at first. Ooh that was warm, wasn't it? There was a definite grateful sigh though, as he sank into it up to his eyes, tail bobbing up weightlessly behind him.

[thewisdomwithin]

Mokey slid in shortly after, sighing with relief to be truly warmed. Idly, she splashed her hands and tail against the water's sudsy surface.

"Red would like this place," she giggled.

[gobetween]

"Yeah, though I don't think Scrooge would appreciate having to mop water off the ceiling." He snickered softly, then took in a breath to dip completely below the water, starting to scrub himself all over.