PIGS IN A BLANKET
by perletwo
There's an awful lot of noise in the Big World With Walls tonight. There hasn't been this many people wandering around outside my world since the time right after my girl came home the first time, when there was a lot of big loud sounds and scary people.
I hope my girl is all right this time. She got awfully upset, last time.
The Yellow One opens the door to my world and looks around. I can see people milling arorund the hallway behind him. There's my girl's friend Rusty and her friend, the Quiet One. They stay here all the time now. Although it's been awhile since I've seen the Quiet One around, come to think of it.
I wonder who else is here?
Yellow spies a fuzzy blanket and snatches it off the foot of my girl's bed, and starts for the door. I hope he's not going to make it all smoky like the blanket he brings over here sometimes. He looks around my world once when he goes back to the door, smiles and says "Aha."
Oh. He's looking at me! Hi there, Yellow!
He comes back, picks me up and kisses me on the snout. Then he tucks me into the crook of his arm, and we go out into the Big World With Walls.
Goodness there's a lot of people down here! There's the shaggy-furred dark boy and his gold-furred friend, talking with a new boy. I can't exactly tell what color his fur is. It's not dark, and not light, and not long, and not short. It's just kinda dull. He reminds me of the second dark boy that way.
The new brown-furred girl is sitting and playing some kind of a game with a Big Long Scary-looking Machine. She's playing the game with a new man with very very loose skin and floppy ears, almost like my bunny friend upstairs in my world. He looks kind of sad, but friendly. But then, maybe he just looks like he's frowning because his mouth sags from all the wrinkles.
Brown Fur looks happy, talking to Mr. Wrinkles, so I gues he must be nice.
There's a new girl too. She's curled up on the couch, and she keeps yawning and snuggling down into the pillows. She's pretty. I think. She has curly black fur.
This isn't anything like the last time there were a whole lot of people in the Big World With Walls. There were a lot more people then. And everybody here tonight looks too tired to make a big loud noise.
Yellow takes me over to the couch, sets me down and spreads the fuzzy blanket over the new dark girl. He smiles and pats her on the shoulder, and she stirs long enough to open her eyes and smiles. "Hey. Thanks," she murmurs sleepily.
"Not a bit of it," Yellow says quietly. Then he picks me up and holds me in front of her. "Sophy, this is Mr. Gordo. He's a very old dear friend of Buffy's." Why is he telling the sofa who I am? I've sat on the sofa lots of times.
"Mr. Gordo, this is Sophy. She's a new dear friend of Buffy's." The dark girl takes my hoof with two fingers and shakes firmly.
"Pleased t'meetcha, Mr. Gordo," she says. Oh. Her *name* is Sofa! I get it now. Hi Sofa.
Yellow tucks me into the arms Sofa's got folded up under her chin. "Gordo, you look after Sophy while she takes a li'l nap, okay? An' Sophy, you hang onto the pig so he'll have a chance to wish Buffy a happy birthday."
She giggles and cuddles me while Yellow stalks off to lounge in a corner and watch everyone else. Cuddling is nice. I think I'm going to like this game.
For a happy berth day, nobody seems very happy except Brown Fur.
It's very strange. People usually go home to their own worlds after this much time. Everybody feels kind of....heavy. I don't understand it.
Then again, I'm getting lots of hugs and cuddles, and Sofa's warm and soft, even if she doesn't smell as nice as my girl. Come to think of it, she's got the same funny smell my girl's had on her lately. I wonder why?
"Excuse me." Mr. Wrinkles nudges Sofa gently. "I'm sorry to wake you, but you're lying on my vest, and I'd like to put it back on now if I might."
"Oh. Sorry." Sofa props up on one arm and pulls a piece of rough brown fabric out from under her. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Mr. Wrinkles shakes it out and puts it on. It's very funny. It's got almost as many wrinkles as he does.
"I'm Clem, by the by. I came with Spike there." He nods in the direction of Yellow's corner. He's a clam? I'm pretty sure clams don't look like you, Mr. Wrinkles.
"Hi. I'm Sophy." I can feel Sofa's cheek stretch as she smiles. It's nice. "I work with Buffy, at, at, umm..."
Mr. Wrinkles smiles softly. "I know. You look very nice without that hat covering up your hair."
Sofa moans and hides her face behind me. "Ohh no...you've *seen* me there?!"
"Just once. I went in with Spike. He wanted to check up on Buffy." His head leans over sidewise.
"Who's this fine fella?"
"Mr. Gordo. Spike says he's an old dear friend of Buffy's." Sofa sits me up on the edge of the cushion, and Mr. Wrinkles pats me on my head. That tickles! "I'm so embarrassed. I hate that uniform."
"I'm pretty sure I don't have much room to criticize other people's appearances," he says. He's got a sweet smile. Sofa seems to think so too, because I can feel her smiling back and she's all warm.
"What's, ahh - "
"Skin condition. Incurable." Mr. Wrinkles shrugs. "I've learned to live with it."
"And you've got some good friends who don't seem to notice much," she says. "What's up with that guy Spike, anyway? Is he with Buffy? She says not and she didn't seem to want to talk to him much, but I thought I saw...ummm...."
"Sparkage? Oh yeah." He nods, jowls and ears swinging. "They've known each other for years. Hated each other, the first few. Respected each other for most of it. Spike fell hard for her, oh, about two years ago. Took him several months to realize it, and a bunch more before he got the nerve to tell her."
"Ohh...So he's a stalker then?" A quick smile this time. Yellow does *not* have a stalk, Sofa. That's just silly, now.
"Well, she's seemed a lot friendlier to him lately. I think maybe they tried being a couple for a little while, and it didn't work out so good," Mr. Wrinkles says. "He won't tell me, and believe me he's a talker, so if he won't talk about it it *must* be big."
Sofa nods. "That'd explain Buffy's mood swings, I guess. She covers good, but one morning she's down, she goes off on break, she comes back and she's like floating."
What are they saying? Are my girl and the yellow one friends now? That'd be nice. My girl needs lots of hugs and cuddles. And they're both so good at hugs and cuddles. I hope they're being friendly.
"Yeah, here too. I hope they're getting to the good stuff. My boy Spike's been on his own for way too long. He's gone all bachelor-like. It's not a pretty sight." Sofa giggles.
Sofa and Mr. Wrinkles talk quietly for a little while longer. I think they like each other. I hope so. Sofa cuddles good. Mr. Wrinkles looks like he could use a cuddle or two.
"Maybe...you could come back by the DMP sometime? Like, like when I'm working, and, like, say hi?"
Yessss! Say yes, Mr. Wrinkles! Please? Sofa wants you to say yes! I can tell!
"Or, or I could do better," he says. "I could take you out to a restaurant where you get to sit down, and nobody wears Muppet hats. That is, if, if you'd like."
Yessss! Is this what my girl calls sparkage?
Now Sofa's very warm, and she's smiling all over. "I'd definitely like, Clem."
Aww. This is nice.
Maybe it is a Happy Berth Day after all.