Part One To My Moomins Au

Part one to my moomins au

(not sure what to call this au yet but if any one has any ideas please leave a comment)

Chapter one. The last light (TRIGGER WARNING MENTION OF POISONING AND DEATH!) If any ones interested in this au but doesn’t want to hear the extra detailed bits just leave a comment and I can give you a brief summary without all the “gore” and I promise after this chapter there will be no more mention of detailed death at least)

Muddler had been lying in bed, sickly for the third day in a row, sick why you may ask?

Well you see, it first started when he was hoisted out of the coffee can and back on board the Oshun Oxtra, when he was first brought back up he flopped onto the floor of the deck and sat there, hunched over, coughing up all the paint he could. His coughing was moist like it was filled with phlegm, the type of cough you would get with a severe case of pneumonia, he was tossed around in that can like a bouncy ball let loose after all.

After he practically coughed his lungs out he layed there on his side curled up. Looking horrified and tired, his uncle bent down to his side;

“You alright muddler?” said Hodgkins in a deep worried tone.

“I-I’m... ok...” said the Muddler as he curled into a fetal position. “I’m sorry I made... such a fuss for every one...” he said through a congested voice before beginning to cough again. Moomin stood there. Unsure how to react or how to help he stood off to the side lines and Joxter looked at Muddler worriedly. Joxter then looked over to Moomin and said

“... towels?” Replied the Moomin

“Well, yes-! A few of them should be good-“

“Oh, of course...! Uhm, I’ll be right back-“ said the Moomin before going to the lower deck to grab some for the Muddler.

Hodgkins looked over at Moomin walking away then to Joxter, who approached Muddler a little.

“You’ll be alright Muds, we should get you cleaned up though-“ said the Joxter, trying to lighten the load of the current mood. Hodgkins gave a nod in agreement. “Mhm.”

Before picking up his paint covered nephew and bringing him to the make shift bathtub on the lower deck, Moomin was already boiling as much water as he could so muddler could have some warm water to wash off the paint with, he also set some towels down on the floor around the tub and left two folded towels to the side so Muddler could use them to dry off after. After Muddler washed off as much as he could he was still tinted pink, but that was the least of his worries. He luckily got the rest of the day off to rest up as he deserved, his joints and stomach hurt but every one including him thought it was just from being shaken around, things went on as usual, Joxter took a nap not too far from Muddler's can to keep him company and Hodgkins went back to steering his boat.

Things only got worse from then on; Muddler felt even more nauseous than the day before, spending half of his day near the edge railing of the boat to vomit over, he could hardly keep any food down, though it wasn’t like he had much of an appetite, Joxter tried to make sure he ate some thing though, Hodgkins soon became aware that things were only getting worse while Moomin was sure it was just something minor like a stomach bug or maybe just sea sickness. When Muddler wasn't throwing up he was laying down trying to sleep, Joxter tried to stay by his side to keep him company and more importantly keep him awake. Muddler became a bit irritable that day as well, I mean, who wouldn’t with his symptoms? And the pounding headache was worse than the day prior.

“Muds, please eat something- you haven’t kept any thing down all day!” said the Joxter

“Stop trying to give me food! I can’t keep it down and you're just wasting it on me right now!”said the muddler in a very unlike him snappy tone

Joxter went silent for a moment, very surprised at his tone “Okay... okay, I get it-“

“I’m sorry Joxter, I’m just... not feeling my self... I need some rest so please leave me alone, okay?” Said the Muddler before turning the other way and pulling his blanket over his head.

As the day went by and it got darker, Hodgkins went to check on Muddler and so did Moomin, who is now starting to worry about him.

“Muddler...? Are you feeling any better?” Asked Moomin as he went to Muddler's bed side.

“Not doing better at all... I was trying to get some sleep but I can’t even rest! All I can think about is that paint!”

“We can only wait it out.” said Hodgkins as he put a paw on Muddler's forhead to feel for a temperature.

Joxter stood in the door way, not going to Muddler's side just yet, he wanted to give him space because of that outburst from before but he still listened in.

“Moomin can you get Joxaren for me...?” Asked the Muddler rather tiredly.

“Joxaren...? Don’t you mean Joxter?”

“Yes, Joxter, sorry- you know what I mean... I’m just so tired...”

Hodgkins pulled over a chair and sat by his nephew in silence worriedly. Having a pondering look on his face, the Moomin nodded and turned to the door way and waved joxter over, he left as Joxter entered.

“Hey Muddler... you wanted to see me..?”

The Muddler looked as though he was about to cry and nodded 'yes'.

Hodgkins then got up and said “Gotta do something. I’ll be back.” then left the room.

Joxter sat where Hodgkins was sitting before and scooted the chair closer to Muddler.

“I’m sorry about earlier, I’m so sorry...” said the Muddler, about to break down sobbing.

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it! If anything, I’m surprised you’ve never snapped at me til now, after all I am pretty annoying-“ he said before putting a paw on Muddler's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Jox, I feel like I’m dying...”

“Muds don’t say that-“

“I really mean it... everything... hurts... I’m not even able to eat properly... if... if I do die... I want you to take care of my tin- please-“

“Muds, don’t talk like this, please-“ said the Joxter in a more serious tone.

“Jox... if I die... please promise me... you’ll take care of my stuff... or at least put it to good use one way or another...”

“Oh Muds, you act like your old junk could help someone-“

“Maybe it can for all I know-! Well, I sure wish it could- who knows... maybe one day you’ll want to settle down...“

“Doubt that.“ chuckled the Joxter trying to keep this light “Not without you...“ he mumbled the last part, such a quiet mumble it was more of a thought.

“I want you to be happy even if I die.“

“Muddler for the Groke's sake, stop it! I get it! But you won’t die! Not on my watch! I won’t let you, but if it were to happen I promise I’ll keep your stuff safe, alright?”

The Muddler smiled weakly before moving his paws over Joxter's for a moment and fell asleep. Joxter smiled and was relieved Muddler was able to finally get some sleep, little did he know that sleep would last for eternity, the kind of sleep Muddler wouldn’t wake up from, the sleep that would contain his last breath at the break of the next sunrise. No one seemed to notice for a few hours, they wanted to let muddler rest since he had such a hard time sleeping, and Hodgkins was so close to landing the boat, he stayed up all night checking every map he had and using his telescope to look far across the ocean as much as he could since he had the goal of landing somewhere safe where he could hopefully get help for Muddler. Alas, by the time they landed and tried to get Muddler to wake... it was to late. Hodgkins was devastated, his eyes streamed with tears but no words came out, Joxter yelled at Muddler to wake up but to no avail, and Moomin... he tried to calm Joxter down as Hodgkins went back to his room to process what happened, to mourn a little before deciding where they should land and bury his now dead nephew.

SIDE NOTE THANK @flowerbloom-arts FOR HELPING ME OH LORD I had so many spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes until she swooped in and helped ✨

Flower bloom this is your fault- I had to draw him in the

Kinky boots

Mr. Hemulen is the least straight character in the moomin franchise, change my mind

Art of the Fun Gang (aka susie, ralsei, and kris from deltarune!) can’t wait for more chapters to come out! Chapter one and two where amazing!!

Chapter five of the DM!Memoirs au, sorry it took so long to post! Trigger free!

Once again special thanks to @flowerbloom-arts for helping me properly edit all this ✨

Fuzzy had woken up bright and early from the hollow tree she spent the night in. It was rather uncomfortable naturally, so she stretched and took a few moments to really wake up. She brushed herself off to make sure no leaves or bugs were crawling on her dress, then she opened her basket and took out a comb brushing out her fur a bit. She put it back in the basket before trying to hype herself up for the day.

She was starting to feel the regret of leaving home sink in and she REALLY didn’t want it to sink in “Alright Fuzzy! You got this! All you have to do is get a job! That can’t be that hard...” she tried to reassure herself.

She walked into the outskirts of the kingdom far away from where her family lived and looked around for job opening signs, she sadly didn’t have any luck, and she was too embarrassed and nervous to go into shops herself and ask if they were hiring or would be willing to hire her. After a while she leaned against a stone wall and sighed trying to come up with a better game plan but came up with nothing.

Meanwhile, Joxter did what he normally did every day; he slept in. But when he did wake up his stomach growled and decided it would be a good idea to visit Mymble, hoping she would have leftovers from breakfast to give him. Ussually he would just stick to picking his own fruit and catching his own fish to eat but he was beginning to get sick of having that everyday.

Joxter made it to Mymble's home, he managed to knock on the door once before an avalanche of kids opened the door and trampled him. It was like a wave crashed over him and he was drowning, the kids were shouting and laughing and eventually Mymble came over asking loudly:

“What’s with all the commotion, children?” it wasn't an angry sort of loud, more of a normal sort of loud just so the kids could hear her.

The smallest child of the bunch spoke up “Mamma, your boyfriend Joxter is here!”

Joxter managed to reach a hand out from the pile of kids as though he was waving for a life preserver and Mymble was that life preserver in this case. She easily picked him up from the pile with her strong arms and chuckled.

“Are you alright, dear?” Mymble asked, Joxter was naturally gasping for air before he managed to say. “You should really get a leash for your kids-“ half jokingly, Mymble then laughed

“As if I haven’t tried! They chew through them to quickly.” She (hopefully) joked, she then put Joxter down and the kids went back to playing somewhere else “So what brings you over this time, Joxter? Do you want food or do you want to spend time with me?”

“A bit of both, of course...” replied Joxter

“I'm so sorry Jox, I did save you a plate of leftovers but I ended up eating them since you took so long to get here!”

“Darn.” replied Joxter disappointedly with a shrug, he wasn’t too disappointed about it but he was still hungry.

“Oh wait Joxter! While you're here, there's something important I wanted to tell you-”

“Just in a bit Mymble, you know how I am on an empty stomach, I can’t remember anything. I’m going to go get myself something to eat then I’ll come back later.“

“Oh! Alright then, if you say so, see you later darling.” said the Mymble as Joxter snuck off quickly so that the kids didn’t notice him leaving and try to trample him again.

Joxter walked around town trying to think of what to do to get something tasty around here until he caught a whiff of something sweet and delicious, he looked around and saw a pie sitting on a windowsill, most likely to cool down. Joxter thought to himself

'It's just a pie it won’t be missed to much...'

He casually walked closer to the windowsill, it seemed as though no one was there to witness him so he took his gloves out of his pocket, put them on and grabbed the pie (he put the gloves on just so he wouldn’t burn his hands if the pie was still to hot), and lastly he casually moseyed off with it so he wouldn’t seem suspicious- that is until the person who baked the pie came running out of his house with a rolling pin in hand shouting

“GIVE THAT PIE BACK RIGHT NOW YOU FILTHY JAY!”

Joxter's eyes widened and his casual walk turned into a fast sprint, he went faster than the guy chasing him but he still knew he had to get away somehow, he turned a corner and ended up running into a dead end of a stone wall. He could either run left or right along the wall until getting somewhere but he decided that both solutions were stupid, he'll just climb it! No one would expect him to climb over! He carefully put the pie on top of the wall and tried to climb it- the Fuzzy happened to be there, she was surprised and said “Mr. Joxter?”

Joxter turned his head “You're the fuzzy from yesterday, aren't you?”

“I am! But why are you climbing over the wall?”

“There's no time to explain! If you see an angry man with rolling pin tell him I went somewhere else!” he then said and climbed over the wall, taking the pie with him. Fuzzy was very confused for a moment but then the man with the rolling pin saw Fuzzy standing there at what seemed like a dead end, he looked at her and said

“Did you see where that scoundrel went with my pie!?”

“S-scoundrel?” She replied

“YES! THE BUM WHO WENT BY THIS WAY! THERE'S NO WAY YOU DIDN'T SEE HIM!” Shouted the man. This startled Fuzzy and she pointed at the opposite direction.

“He- he ran along that way!” she lied in a shy voice.

The man fell for it and that’s what mattered but of course it dawned on Fuzzy that Joxter was stealing that pie.

“How hypocritical... That Joxter got mad at me for trying to take a few buttons from a tin but here he is stealing a pie!” She was curious as to why joxter was stealing a pie so she tossed her basket of belongings over the stone wall, climbed over aswell and went ahead to where she thought he might be, she made her way to the forest to the Muddler's old tin and looked around.

“Joxter sir? Are you around here?” She said as she cautiously walked around the tin looking for him, she didn’t think to look up until he replied.

“Up here.“ the familial voice said, she then looked up and spotted the Joxter sitting in a tree branch with the pie tin in hand and a fork.

“Oh-! Pardon me but be careful! You might fall!”

“I never fall! And if I do It’s on purpose. So it shouldn't be a problem.” He said casually before jumping down with cat like reflex, not dropping a single crumb of the pie. Fuzzy was startled by his sudden jump down and she stepped back a little.

“What brings you back here? Trying to steal more buttons?” asked the Joxter in a menacing tone.

“Oh! No no pardon me! Sorry! I just uhm... wanted to say I told the man you went the other way to get him off your track, l-like you told me to.”

“So you did?” replied the Joxter raising an eyebrow before walking over to the tin can and sitting with his back to the wall of it before taking another bite of pie “Thank you. But that still doesn’t answer why you're here. There must be some other reason.” Joxter said in a rather foreboding manner.

“I’m sorry but- I just... I wanted to ask...” the Fuzzy stammered “You stole that pie, didn't you...? I’m sorry but I only want to ask why...”

“I was hungry, that’s why! Why else would someone steal a pie?” the Joxter asked rhetorically and laughed.

“Oh-! I mean of course! I just- well-“

“What? Did you want to share the pie with me because you helped me not get caught? You can go ahead, I’ve had my fill.” He offered her the other half of the pie.

“Oh no thank you Joxter sir-“ she said as her stomach growled a bit on account of her not having dinner last night, or even breakfast for that matter.

“You sure, miss?” replied the Joxter.

"... Maybe just a nibble if that's ok with you...” she sat down a few steps away across from Joxter as he passed her the pie tin.

The Fuzzy took a bite before continuing to talk.

“What I really meant when I asked you why you stole the pie was... well... you got angry with me for trying to take a few buttons from your friend's tin but here you are stealing from someone aswell...” she said sheepishly before taking a few bites of the pie.

“I stole a pie from someone who is alive and well, someone who could easily bake another pie. Some one who has a roof over their heads and most likely enough money to go out and get more ingredients. It was dumb of him to leave a pie on a windowsill anyway, I’m pretty sure anyone would know the chances of a pie getting stolen if left on a windowsill like that, and lastly food is a necessity for most living things. YOU on the other hand? You tried to steal from a dead man- then again you didn’t know the details but you where stealing things that were far from necessary for living. Things that are more or less frivolous in its own way.”

“... Hm... I suppose that does make sense... and I'm sorry, again, for the trouble I caused you yesterday Joxter sir.”

“Alright hold on, so two things I need to say real quick; one, stop saying sorry, it’s fine, if anything it’s rather nice that I met you-“

“Really?”

Joxter nodded “Gives me someone new to talk to. And you remind me of someone close to me- but besides the point the second thing is if we are going to keep talking you need to stop calling me 'SIR', just call me Joxter! Or Jox! Or anything that isn't so formal!” he said sir dramatically in a funny mocking way.

Fuzzy smiled a bit “what ever you say jox-sir.“ she giggled and Joxter laughed a little too.

“Oh ha ha, a play on words on my name, real cute.“ he rolled his eyes in a lighthearted way.

“Sorry, sorry, was it to much?” asked the Fuzzy, a bit worried.

“Too much? Not at all, I can get used to that nickname I think, just until you can get used to calling me Jox or Joxter.”

The two ended up chatting and getting to know eachother a bit while Fuzzy finished the rest of the pie, after that they took a walk around the forest and Joxter told her all his happy and funny stories from when he was younger, his stories of pulling pranks on Hodgkins and digging through dumps to find things Muddler would like, and so on, the Fuzzy liked to listen to the stories, she wasn’t much of a talkative lady herself but she was enjoying the company and time with Joxter. After a while Joxter wanted to hear some more about Fuzzy.

“So, what about you?” asked the Joxter after finishing up one of his tales.

“Me?” asked the Fuzzy in slight surprise that someone would ask about her.

“Yeah, you must have atleast some interesting stories to tell, don't you? Or at the very least tell me a bit more about your childhood, you’ve been so quiet.”

“Oh, well... my childhood wasn’t to interesting like yours seems to be. I just did a lot of errands for my parents and worked a lot with them, they never even took the time to name me properly like they did with my other siblings...“

Joxter looked over to her a bit saddened by what she said “I’m sorry then, but look on the bright side! You have the rest of your life ahead of you to make your own path in life and find things or people who make you happy!”

“But that seems to be such a difficult thing to do! I don’t even know what I want in life! I just want to be stable, I suppose... live somewhere peaceful where people won’t take my things. I never got to keep many things to myself and all, and when I did get things of my own it was usually junk I stole or found- I hate to admit it since it’s so... un-lady like of me to steal.”

“Is that what the basket is for, then? Holding your little collection of things?” He said as he pointed at her basket.

“Yes it is! I carry it with me everywhere for that reason.”

“Even when you sleep...?”

“Especially then! Someone could take it from me otherwise!”

“Why don’t you find a hiding spot for it?”

“There are no good hiding spots..."

“I could watch over it for you if you’d like.” suggested the Joxter “Don’t worry, I don’t want more junk added to the tin pile so I won’t take anything from your basket.”

“That’s very kind but no thank you. I believe I’ll figure something out eventually.”

The Joxter shrugged “So... since you don’t have a lot of happy stories you want to share, how about you think about what you want to do with your life going forward and tell me about that, like a dream home and such?”

“Hm... I have thought of that plenty of times before... I want to get married someday to the perfect man, someone who will hold my paw and not get mad at me when I make mistakes... I want to live somewhere calm where I can have a garden and we’ll probably have a mostly self sustainable life but a comfortable one for sure. Maybe have a kid or two as well...”

“That sounds nice, so how would you want that how would you want that 'perfect man' to propose to you? I know most people want some sort of fancy elaborate proposal.“

“Oh I’m not one for anything too fancy, someone could give me a button on a twist tie for a ring and I would be happy.” She joked “But in all seriousness I think I would just want something thought out but not too extravagant. I wouldn’t want to think of the 'perfect proposal' because as long as it’s well thought out it would be perfect to me.”

There was a quiet but nice moment between them as they walked back to Muddler's can where they saw that the sun was starting to set.

“Oh goodness, it’s so late already...!“ mumbled the Fuzzy

“Would you... like me to walk you home? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, it’s a bit scary to be walking alone at night, or so I've heard.” he said kindly

“Oh, but I wouldn’t want to bother you!” replied the Fuzzy

“It really wouldn’t be a bother, it’s not like I have anything better to do and spending time with you was rather... 'refreshing', I suppose. I haven’t talked to someone for an entire day like this for a while.”

“Oh well... that’s sweet of you but may I be honest...? I don’t have anywhere to go... I left my family during the flying ship ceremony thing- last night I sort of spent the night in a hollow tree and today I was supposed to find a job but I couldn’t find anything until I ran into you-“

“Wait, you're living in a hollow tree-?“

“It’s not that bad! I’ll get on my feet eventually, I’m just lucky it hasn’t rained at all yet.” said the Fuzzy trying not to seem worried about the situation.

Joxter was thinking to himself for a moment and in his head it was like he heard Muddler talking as though he was being part of his conscience 'you can’t just leave her to sleep in a tree! Thats rather sad! Just because you're okay with sleeping in places like that doesn’t mean a lady like her should have to sleep in a tree!' Joxter furrowed his brow a bit before saying “Do you know how to pick berries or forage?”

“Well... no...“ answered the Fuzzy, slightly embarrassed

“Do you atleast know how to fish?”

“No, not that either...”

“I’ll have to teach you some time then, just so you can survive in the forest you know. And... if you want I suppose you can stay in the tin until you find a place of your own.”

“Oh goodness Joxter, I can’t just invade your privacy like that! That's just... Impolite!”

“I insist it’s better than you sleeping in a tree or getting rained on, you would catch a cold and I would feel guilty!”

“Can I really stay with you...?” Asked the Fuzzy

“Sure- as long as you don’t steal anything, I’m fine with it.”

The Fuzzy then started to tear up and hugged Joxter, that took him by surprise so he froze up.

“Oh thank you Joxter! This is the nicest thing anyone's done for me!”

After that, they moved some of the clutter in the can around so one half of the can was designated for Fuzzy. They made a makeshift mattress for her out of soft fabrics and blankets that were in the can and she slept the most comfortable she had ever slept in a while and Joxter was... surprisingly thrilled to have someone around again, when Fuzzy slept he sat outside the can and whispered to the calm noises of the night as though Muddler was there with him “I know I said before I shouldn’t be wrapped up about her but... I feel like you sent her my way a second time as a sign... so... thank you, Muddler.“

“Goodness, please tell me you're not talking to yourself again!“ said the Moomin catching Joxter by suprise.

“Can you not sneak up on me like that?! You damn near gave me a heart attack!”

“Well pardon me, no need to be so defensive! Just wanted to tell you that you missed a lot by not coming to the launching ceremony yesterday.”

“Missed a lot? Well to you, sure. But I had other plans yesterday and I had a lovely day today so I would rather you leave me be as to not ruin my mood.”

“Yes you missed a lot! Hodgkins actually asked if you were coming- I have a feeling he was bummed out when you didn’t come. And what were you doing yesterday, anyway? Going out with Mymble or something?”

“I wasn’t out with Mymble but that’s none of your business, anyhow!”

Fuzzy heard the racket outside the can so she poked her head out with tired eyes and saw the two talking “Pardon me, but what’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“Oh sorry Fuzzy- just a friend of mine coming to say hello. But I think he’ll be taking his leave right about now.”

“It’s alright, I’m going back to sleep now... good night..” She said tiredly before going back to lay down in the can.

Moomin was a bit surprised by the random fuzzy he had never met before

“Oooohh... a lady friend? But what about Mymble?”

“Just a friend. She has nowhere else to go.” said Joxter dragging Moomin away from the can by the arm to not bother Fuzzy's sleep even more.

“Just a friend?! Joxter just a friend wouldn’t be sleeping in the same tin you sleep in! Mymble actually loves you I thought you were actually going to start setting up a life with her based on what she had told me!”

“I never made a 'relationship' with Mymble. So stop looking so deeply into it! Fuzzy's just my friend and Mymble is just... a person I care deeply about."

“Deeply enough to have flings with her but not to actually date her?”

“Shut up, Moomin! Just because you were ready to date some lady who washed up on shore doesn’t mean I should be ready to date Mymble just because she loves me! I don’t know how to feel, alright?! So leave it be-!“

Moomin sighed “Whatever you say Joxter, the reason I really came over was to tell you that I plan on moving away to London soon.”

“London? Really?”

“Yes! Turns out I have family over there! I have an aunt and she heard of me when hearing about Hodgkins' ship and she sent a telegram saying she was going to come out this way to bring me to London with her!”

Joxter looked down a bit not sure of what to make this 'oh look another person leaving you- first Muddler died then Hodgkins cut contact- oh wait then you had the chance you had at fixing your relationship with him and you ruined it and now Moomin's leaving too, you have no one now.' he thought to himself

“Great for you. Go home, pack your bags, do what you need. You leaving us won’t affect me in the slightest.“

“Well you don’t need to be rude about it, Joxter! Good luck having a sad little life in a can! GOOD DAY!” He started to leave dramatically

“Good day?! You mean good night mr. I’m so perfeCt wiTh my writing aNd readIng aNd whaTeVer-!” He stuck out his tounge at Moomin in a mocking way before going up in a tree to reflect on things until he fell asleep.

NON TRIGGERING (much shorter) RE-cap of chapter one of the DM memoirs au,

Chapter one Muddler is lifted out of the can of red paint once the oshun oxtra sailed off.

but after ingesting some of the paint and being covered in it he became awfully ill.

(Version of the art without the red paint)

the rest of the crew was worried about him, Joxter stayed by his side the entire time, Hodgkins was desperately trying to find some where to land to get Muddler help, and Moomin(papa) was convinced that Muddler just had the flu and that he would be ok, Muddler made Joxter promise that if any thing where to happen to him he would take care of his precious can and Joxter promised to do so but told Muddler not to think like that because he will be ok at the end of this.

Muddler got some rest and Hodgkins luckily found a place for them to land the boat, (they landed in the autocrat kings island of course) but by the time they landed it was to late for Muddler, Hodgkins was devastated and shut himself out to the rest of the crew to mourn.

Joxter was torn up by it and tried to wake muddler up, moomin stayed behind to calm joxter down the best he could but to no avail, (end of re-cap)

Chapter 6 of the DM!memoirs au, (trigger free) and edited with the help of @flowerbloom-arts !

Fuzzy was the first to wake up in the morning, as she was used to waking up rather early. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, she opened the lid of the can you get some light in and she noticed Joxter wasn’t in there so she got out of the can to see if he was anywhere around. She left her basket behind in the can because she felt as though it was safe there, which was a first for her. When she went to look for Joxter she made sure to look up at the trees and lo and behold she spotted him sleeping in one.

“How hasn’t he fallen down at all...?” She wondered “Joxter? Are you alright up there?” she squeaked.

Joxter woke up and started rubbing his eyes “Ughhh five more minutes...“ he mumbled.

“How do you manage to sleep up there so easily?”

“I just do.“ yawned the Joxter, he then started to climb down the tree because once someone has waken him up in the morning it was hard for him to fall back asleep so easily.

“I’m so sorry that I disturbed your sleep! I just wanted to make sure you were okay up there-!”

“Just fine. What about you? How did you sleep?”

“Rather cozy, actually! Best sleep I’ve had in a while.” said the Fuzzy contently.

“Good, because we both have a long day ahead.”

“We do? Sorry, pardon me- I mean, you do too? Besides me trying to find a job, what do you have in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking instead of you trying to find a job today I could show you how to forage and other things properly. If I’m being honest that’s how I survive out here most days, so it’ll be good for you to learn it.”

“I suppose you're right, so... where should we start?”

“First let's get something we can hold our findings in. I tend to use my hat for that. But you might need a second basket since your current basket is filled with your collection already, you can go grab something from the tin that might work.”

“Ok then!” said the Fuzzy sort of excited for this little 'adventure', she went back into the tin to look for something that could be of use, then she saw a beat up pot on Joxter's side of the can and she thought it would be perfect. She got out of the can with the pot in paw “Is this alright? I found it on your side-“

Joxter went wide-eyed and yanked it from Fuzzy unexpectedly “Don't you dare touch this ever again!”

Fuzzy was surprised and startled, she looks as though she shrank a little “S-sorry- did I do something wrong...?”

Joxter realized he scared her and sighed, holding the pot to his chest “I’m... I'm sorry it’s just... this pot is off limits. I should have said that nicer...” he said as he felt guilt rush over him.

“It’s okay... it’s just... what's so special about the pot anyhow...?”

“It was my friend's... he used to wear it on his head like a hat all the time, he was a total dork but I think it suited him well... I promise this is one of the only things that are off limits.“

“Ah, I think I understand now- I’m still very sorry.” replied the Fuzzy with her ears going down guiltily.

“I know, I know, I really should stop having such an attachment to such... trivial things... I should start letting go some time...”

“Joxter it’s only understandable that you're... upset about this in particular- I’ll go find something else, alright?”

“... Fuzzy- wait-!“ said the Joxter suddenly in a serious tone.

“Yes...?” replied the Fuzzy sheepishly

“YOU JUST CALLED ME JOXTER!” He said excitedly “YOU FINALLY CALLED ME JOXTER INSTEAD OF JOXSIR OR SIR! THIS IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!” He was joking around and twirled twice acting a bit silly.

Fuzzy was startled at first but it turned into a giggle, she was happy to see his mood change to a happy one “You startled me for a moment! I thought you were being cross, but it’s good to see you so happy about this!“

Joxter went back over to the tin to put the old pot back in and took out a big bowl that could work for Fuzzy's findings.

“Here, this should work for carrying what we'll forage instead!“

“Oh perfect! Now what’s the next step?”

“Well the next step is helping you differentiate certain plants and foods,” he answered as they walked along the forest until they made it to an area with some berry bushes.

“Now look closely at these two plants; what differences do you see?” Joxter said to the Fuzzy as he pointed her to the berries.

Fuzzy took a close look and said “I’m not quite sure...? They both look very similar with the color and all...”

Joxter then pointed out “This one has serrated leaves and this one has smooth edges, the one with the serrated leaves are poisonous but the smooth leafed ones are good, but if you can’t tell by the leaves there’s also another way to tell;” he picked one berry off of each plant.

“What’s the second way?” asked the Fuzzy curiously.

“This!” Joxter then squeezed the berries in each paw.

"Poisonous ones will stain your paws even after you wash them but the good ones will clean right off!“

“Oh I see! But... how are you going to wash your paws now? There’s no stream near by-“

Joxter looked down at his paws “oh- you're right.“ he said light-heartedly.

Fuzzy smiled a bit and took a handkerchief out of her pocket “Here, you can use this to wipe your paws off as best you can!”

“Why thank you!“ replied the Joxter.

He tipped his hat before taking the handkerchief and wiping his paws, he then passed it back to her, took off his hat and started to pick some berries.

“So... what are these berries called?” Fuzzy asked.

Joxter shrugged “I have no clue.”

“Who taught you these things, then?”

“I taught myself naturally through trial and error, I suppose.”

“Oh dear, that sounds awful! You must have gotten sick so many times!“

“Just a couple of times but I’m fine,” he picked the good berries and Fuzzy did the same. After a while, they've collected a good amount of berries and Joxter stopped “I think that’s good for now, got to leave some for other creatures of course, and there’s a crab apple tree not too far from here.”

“A crab apple tree?” echoed the Fuzzy.

“Crab apples are like small apples that are more sour but edible nonetheless, I like them and in the early spring they're so tiny you can just chew on them and spit out the core once the flavor is gone.“

“Oh how interesting- except for the spitting part... that sounds sort of... well, icky.“

“My bad, that was a bit gross to mention,“ Joxter replied. Fuzzy started to eat some of the berries she picked earlier as they walked together, enjoying the nature around them.

They eventually found the crab apple tree, it wasn’t too tall of a tree, it was rather small and so were the apples hanging on it, Joxter picked one of the apples and tossed it to Fuzzy “Here, try one.” he said, and so she did

She tasted it for a moment before sticking her tounge out because of how tart it was compared to the sweet berries she had few minutes prior, Joxter chuckled a bit “Well, it isn’t for everyone, I guess!“

“It’s so sour...!“ she mumbled.

“Hahah! Oh, also the last thing I can teach you about today is probably fishing.“

“Fishing?” replied the Fuzzy “Do you have a fishing rod at all?”

“I don’t like to use fishing rods, I prefer to use my claws. Or a net too, but I don’t have the net with me, so I’ll be teaching you how to fish with your paws!”

Fuzzy looked surprised and worried “Oh but I’ll be awful at it, I know it!”

“Not unless you try it!“ replied the Joxter giving her a little pat on the back “How about this: you sit by the stream and watch how I do it, and if you feel like you want to try it say the word and I’ll help you, alright?”

Fuzzy smiled and nodded. Joxter put the rest of the berries that were in her bowl into his hat because he was planning on using the bowl she had to put the fish in before going to the nearest river.

Frankly, it seemed like he wanted to impress her, he rolled up his pant legs and his jacket sleeves as well as he glared to see into the water. Fuzzy sat there watching and eating more berries. Joxter attempted to catch a fish, he messed up on the first few tries until he finally caught one! The one he caught was quite a fighter so it flipped around trying to get away from him, Fuzzy smiled and cheered him on “Great job Joxter! It’s a big one too!”

Joxter was going to try and break the fish's neck with his paws to get it to stop moving but it was too slippery to break so he bit into it instead to stop it, Joxter held it in his mouth and gave Fuzzy a thumbs up as the fish stopped its motion slowly. Fuzzy was grossed out and terrified by seeing the poor fish die in front of her like that, Joxter went over to her and saw the fear on her face.

“What’s wrong?” muffled the Joxter with the fish still in his mouth.

“I-I’ve never seen someone kill a fish with their teeth like that-“

“Oh.“ mumbled the Joxter before taking the fish out of his mouth “Guessing it’s a bad thing then? I really should have brought a pocket knife with me or something- a lady shouldn’t have had to see that.“ he proceeded to put the fish in the bowl.

Fuzzy fidgeted with her paws “Oh no it’s alright, you did what you had to! It was rather impressive how you caught it like that, though.”

“Do you want to catch one too? I promise you won’t have to kill it like I did, I’ll do that part if you like.”

“Hmmm... Well... no, not yet. I think I need to watch a bit longer.”

"Alright, suit yourself.“ replied the Joxter.

“Oh but since you're catching fish I promise I’ll make dinner for us later! It’ll be nice!”

“Really? Well then! Is that your way of asking me out on a dinner date then?” he joked as he got back into the water.

Fuzzy stammered and her face went red “N-no! Excuse me, sorry, It’s just to show my gratitude, is all.”

Joxter chuckled light-heartedly “I’m kidding! I know that! Trust me, you can get much better than me.“ he then tried to grab another fish but this time it bounced out of his paws and smacked him in the face causing him to stumble backwards.

“J-Joxter?!” Said the fuzzy worriedly, she quickly went into the water trying to hold her skirt as she helped the wet Joxter up “Oh goodness I’m so sorry, I distracted you! Are you okay?” she asked.

“I must be fine since an angel just helped me up-“ said the Joxter in a smartass teasing tone, Fuzzy's face went bright red and she let go of his paw.

“I’m just happy you're okay! But... do you really think I look like an Angel...?” she asked sheepishly, flustered.

“Well- I-“ stammered Joxter not thinking she would take it seriously, he was suddenly cut off when Fuzzy accidently stepped on a fish that swam by causing her to stumble and fall into the water aswell and Joxter quickly helped her up.

“Are you okay, Fuzzy?”

“I-I’m ok I think... Oh goodness my only dress is all wet and gross now- what am I to do?” She said worriedly, holding up her dress.

“Well, we could simply sit here try to catch fish and have fun for once. Just dumb fun splashing eachother!” he said as he splashed her a tiny bit with his foot.

The Fuzzy didn't reply. She seemed a bit upset thinking about this little slip up of her's. Rather embarassed aswell, Joxter felt bad and went closer to her “Hey, I’m sorry- it’s alright! I’m sure we can figure something out and I’ll set up a fire back near the tin so you can dry off-“ he tried to reassure her then a little smirk started to cross her face and before joxter knew it she splashed him.

“Fuzzy!” He said rather surprised at the turn of events and the two playfully splashed eachother and laughed on about it. After they stopped, Joxter tried to teach Fuzzy how to fish. At first, she was scared to touch the slimy creatures but eventually she got the hang of it, though she kept dropping them every time she picked one up, Joxter helped her catch them again before they got away and they managed to catch about 3 more fish on top of the first one Joxter caught. Joxter got out of the water and gave Fuzzy a paw to help her out aswell, she was still smiling even if she was shivering from her wet clothes.

“Well today was fun, wouldn't you say?” said the joxter trying to squeeze out the extra water from the ends of his wet clothing. He was rather happy, he was the happiest he’s ever been, in fact.

“T-Today was amazing!” stuttered the Fuzzy through chattering teeth.

“Here, let’s get back to the tin so I can set up a fire for you, I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“T-thank you- I really wish I brought an extra dress or two with me when I left home...“

Joxter helped her out of the water and just... felt warm, strangely, despite the slight wind hitting his wet clothes and skin he felt warm and light like freshly baked bread, or rather on the inside like he had butterfly’s in his stomach.

“You don’t have anything dry to wear?” asked the Joxter.

“N-no... but I’ll be fine!” said the Fuzzy, trying not to cause a fuss.

“Once I get the fire started you can just rest and try to warm up, there's something I have to do first- I’ll be back soon after.”

The Fuzzy raised an eyebrow but agreed to it nonetheless, they got back to there area in the woods and Joxter helped fuzzy set up a fire before leaving to run the errand.

Joxter decided it would be best to ask Mymble if she had any extra dresses or something that Fuzzy could wear for the time being, he decided that along the way he should maybe see if anyone was careless enough to leave any clothes hanging out in the open that he could 'borrow'.

He walked to Mymble's house and knocked on the door, taking a few cautious steps back from it this time since he didn’t want to be trampled by the stampede of kids again. This time mymble just opened the door looking rather tired.

Joxter was surprised none of her kids followed her out “Hey Mymble, where're the kiddos?”

“Taking a nap for once.“ she said rather happily in a shushed tone “Why are you wet? Did you try taking a bath with your clothes on?”

“I fell into a stream while fishing, I was wondering if you had any extra dry dresses you would be willing to let me borrow.”

“Never took you as the cross-dressing type but sure!” joked the Mymble.

“No no, it’s for a friend of mine who fell into the river with me-“

“A friend?” asked the Mymble, surprised.

“I know what you're thinking-“

“Oh how wonderful! Listen Joxter, I don’t care if you have more than one partner, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t let you, you should bring her- or him... them? Anyways, do bring them over some time!”

“Now hold on, more than one partner? Mymble we aren’t partners, and I just said Fuzzy's just a friend! She isn’t my partner-!“

“Oh so her name is Fuzzy? How nice! And you're right, we aren’t dating, we’re parents!” said the Mymble cheerfully as she stepped outside the house.

“Wait, what?!” replied the Joxter, going wide eyed.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, dear! I’m pregnant and I know it’s yours since you're the only man I’ve seen in months now, and I’m thrilled! I feel like... you’ve been the only one to stay around this long and we have a connection... I think this is the last kid I plan on having, atleast for a while.“

“Mymble, please stop for a moment- if this is a joke you have to stop-“

“Joxter, it’s not a joke... you're not happy..?”

“N-no! Yes? I don’t know! This is so sudden! I didn’t even consider us dating!”

“You didn’t? But we spent so much time together!”

“I know and now I feel awful!”

“... Jox...” sighed the Mymble.

“Mymble, I’m sorry I just... I’ll be here for you and the kid of course! It’s just... gosh this is a lot...so this is why Moomin thought you and I where settling down, eh...?“

“Joxter, I love you, you know that right...?”

“I know and that’s why I feel awful about all of this! I... I love you to it’s just... I’m not ready to love or be loved, not right now atleast... I don’t think... At least I didn’t think so until recently- and I’m just... just barely starting to consider dating again! And I’m certainly I’m not prepared to be a father! I’ll be awful at it!”

“I’ve seen how you are with my kids, you're wonderful with them! They absolutely adore you! I know it’ll be hard but you’ll be a good father-“

“But Mymble the kids are just... so smothering it’s so much for me! I like my space!”

“I know you do! You won’t have to stay here everyday you know! I’m not expecting to keep you tied down, especially since you have your other girlfriend-!”

“MYmBle she's NOT MY GIRLFRIEND-“ he said defensively.

“If she wasn’t you wouldn't be throwing a fit like this-“ she tried to say lightheartedly as she hugged him close for a moment despite him being damp with river water “It’s alright to be like this you know.“

“Confused, worried, in love, with more than one person at once, it’s just polyamory- and I’m fine with it and as long as the girl you like is ok with it then there’s no problem, you’ll be able to split your time with me and her if you’d like you know, we could come up with something!” she said positively.

“IM nOt-...” Joxter then quickly went quiet and had a look on his face, the sort of look of pure thought and confliction “I... I'm still in denial about all of this...” he mumbled.

“Understandable.“ replied the mymble “You have time to think about all of this, alright darling? For now let me lend you those dresses for the lady friend of yours. Fuzzy, was it?”

“Yeah, it’s Fuzzy.” Joxter continued mumbling.

"Well, if you ever decide to bring Fuzzy over and explain what you want to her, make sure she knows I'd welcome her with open arms and share you with her!“ she said joyfully before going inside and retrieving a few dresses.

Joxter was still in disbelief and thought to himself “I’m going to be a father... I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER! SHIT, I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER? For heaven's sake this is all too much! I love mymble but- I think I have a thing for Fuzzy to- you think? No you know you do! You haven’t felt this way for a long time! You felt that weird flutter in your stomach all over again earlier! Just like... how you used to be with Muddler... she makes you feel just like he used to- you're already attached to her! Is it only because she reminds you of Muddler or is it because you do sincerely like her company? Why are you debating this! Of course you like her company! Even if she reminded you of Muddler in the very beginning that’s not the only reason you like her now! She’s kind and thoughtful and gentle and she’s such great company once she’s gotten out of her shell a bit! What if she’s not ok with this whole polyamory thing...? Does this mean Mymble and I are official? God I wish I had at least made it 'official' in a more romantic way- what was I thinking!” His thought was cut off by Mymble putting a paw on his shoulder.

“Here Jox, some dry dresses! Just take your time to process this all, the baby won’t be born for another 7 or 6 months anyway so you have time to think about what You want to do. Just keep me in the loop, alright?” Mymble said gently.

Joxter gulped for a moment and gave a nod “Thank you Mymble...”

“Anytime dear.“ she gave him a kiss on the forhead and Joxter gently hugged her and stood on the tips of his toes to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll... think about it...“

Joxter then slowly walked home with the dresses in hand... muddled and baffled by it all, he then saw some dry clothes hanging on a wire outside of someone's home, the clothes in question were a dark blue jacket and some brown pants. He took them and booked it out of there back to the can, when he got there Fuzzy was humming a gentle tune while she cooked some fish over the fire in a frying pan.

Joxter looked at her and his cheeks went red with the thought of his feelings towards her being apparent coming to mind.

“Hey Fuzzy, I’m back.“

“Oh wonderful! Dinner almost ready!“ her dress was still damp but not drenched like before.

“I got a dress for you to wear while yours dries.“

“Oh! Thank you Joxter! But where did you get it?”

“Uhm... a friend of mine let me borrow them once she heard the situation- they might be a bit big on you, though.”

“And by 'borrow' you mean steal...?”

“Oh no no! But the jacket and pants for myself here I did steal-“

“Oh goodness-“ said fuzzy as she thought of the idea of stealing though she didn’t say much more about it since who was she to judge? Then she took one of the red dresses. “Well I’m going into the tin to get changed, thank you again for this!“

"You're welcome.“ replied Joxter with a faint smile. The Fuzzy then went to do what she said she would and joxter sat there by the fire to warm up a bit.

Meanwhile, Fuzzy slipped off her damp dress and put on the dry one, in the privacy of the tin can she was starting to gush to herself over Joxter and how silly and layed back he is, by how sweet he is! To her he was perfect- though his smell and the way he dressed could be improved, it wasn’t to bad and she didn’t mind those flaws! she was certain she had found true love and was hyped, but she was worried her feelings would make things weird so she decided to wait it out the best she could.

She got out of the can in the red dress that was a few sizes too big on her but it was cozy at least. She retrieved two plates and some silverware from the can before bringing it back to the fire so she could serve herself and Joxter the dinner of fish she had had been roasting, she noticed Joxter was lost in thought and interrupted him.

“Sorry, but uhm... would you like me to make you a plate...?”

“Hm-“ said Joxter suddenly snapping out of thought “Oh sure! Thank you! Did you really cook all this yourself?”

“Indeed I did! And I made some fresh berry juice as well with some sugar, water and honey.”

Joxter smiled “how resourceful. Hold on a moment as I go get changed too.“ he took the dry clothes he had for himself and went to the can to change.

“A bit uncomfortable, but it’ll have to do until my clothes dry.“ he said as he came back to the fire and sat down.

Fuzzy looked over to him and smiled “You look rather dashing in that shade of blue...”

“You really think so...?” replied the Joxter.

“Indeed.” answered the Fuzzy before starting to eat.

And things where going wonderful.

Just wonderful...

But wonderful things don’t always stay wonderful.