I Blame @flowerbloom-arts For This /joking)

I blame @flowerbloom-arts for this /joking)

But I’m making a moomins au that is a bit of a butterfly affect one, what if muddler died? Now first thing you might be asking is “how and why would muddler die??” Simple answer led poisoning from the can of paint he fell into! Paint back in the day had a lot of led in it! Such amounts that could be lethal if swallowed and so on.

now hear me out people, if he died a lot would have changed! what would have happened with fuzzy? If he never met her and married her then that would be a bit of story changed, it would also mean no sniff ever came into existence, how would hodgkins act if he lost his nephew? Would he shut himself out from the rest of the remaining crew? Hes already a pretty quiet fellow, How would joxter react to this? It seems he cared about muddler and in my headcannon along with flower blooms they where childhood friends/each other’s love interests for a while! Would moomin papa care about the loss? All these things will be answered soon- in a short and sort of shitty fanfic I’m making! Yay! Hopefully this interests some one- though it probably won’t- lol

OK I JUST HAD TO RE-blog this because GOSH ITS SO DARN WHOLESOME AND JUST- BLOOM your outstanding with punching me in the heaRt (in a good way-)

Day 16; Muddler and Hodgkins

"Guess what day it is," Hodgkins said and closed the door to his study.

The small Muddler took a moment to think of the answer "... Tuesday?"

"What-? No, it's Friday-" Hodgkins corrected in a confused tone "Erm- digression aside, it's the 16th of November, your birthday."

Muddler gasped loudly and cried "OH MY GOSH REALLY??" and proceeded to hop excitedly.

"Yep, I've prepared ahead;" Hodgkins took out a wad of paper money from his pocket "Since your parents aren't... Here, I saved money to make today still special, so-" he explained and got interrupted by Muddler aggressively hugging his leg.

"YOU ARE THE MOST AMAZING UNCLE EVER THANK YOU!" Muddler yelled.

"I haven't even..." Hodgkins mumbled, confused, then he sighed and picked up Muddler by the shirt, Muddler was wiggling intensely from all the tail wagging "We're going to town for the occasion. Any plans?"

Muddler's tail slowed down to a stop at the question and tried to think very seriously about it, holding his chin and humming thoughtfully as he thought extremely hard on what he wanted for his 9th birthday.

*

"... Buttons," Hodgkins echoed and looked through the window of the fabric store.

"MHM MHM MHM!!" Muddler confirmed, he was hopping repeatedly over the wall under the window, he then looked up at Hodgkins and slapped the glass over and over to further cement his decision.

"Okay okay just don't slap windows," Hodgkins said and picked up Muddler for the poor window's sake. The two entered the store and Hodgkins greeted the owner.

"Buttons, please!" Muddler requested politely.

The store owner asked what sort, Hodgkins said a small bag of random buttons would suffice well enough.

*

The Muddler was sorting through his new buttons on the outdoors table of the café, simply getting a feel for all the buttons he'll be adding to his collection. Hodgkins couldn't help but stare in utter bewilderment at his nephew. Buttons, as a birthday gift. What? Why? Did he normally celebrate this way with his parents...?

...

Oh sweet goodness, Hodgkins hasn't even considered asking how Muddler usually celebrates his birthdays beyond what he sees during his birthday visits. He's such a fool, an idiot, a nincompoop even! Is it acceptable to ask right now? On his very birthday? What would he think of his socially inept uncle? Maybe he isn't cut out to be his caretaker afterall, what was he thinking taking on this tremendous task of raising another creature-

"Look at this one!" Muddler stood up on his chair and showed his uncle a round square-shaped button with a pattern resembling a tiger's eye gemstone "Excuse me! Doesn't it look neat??"

"Yes," Hodgkins replied, his eyes shifted downward at the collection as he was deciding if he should ask.

Muddler noticed the look on his face, he sat back down and fidgeted with the button "You're not sad because mom and daddy aren't here, are you?" he asked worriedly "I think it's nice that it's just the two of us this year! You're really nice and good and I like you! We don't get to hang out that much on my birthday! And they're going to come back someday, right?" he added, trying to cheer his uncle up.

Hodgkins inhaled deeply as everything Muddler said stung very badly, it's always been just the two of them since spring, his parents are gone... Would Muddler consider him all those nice things if he knew? He was trying very hard to hold back any sign of grief or guilt "Y-yeah, yes. Just... Don't know how you celebrate your birthday, normally."

"Excuse me, but I don't think that matters!" Muddler said reassuringly "This year is different afterall! I wanna see what an uncle Hodgkins birthday looks like!"

Hodgkins' face lit up and his ears lifted "... Opinion on boats?"

"I don't like big water very much.. too big. I get sick alot..." Muddler replied.

Hodgkins slumped down on his chair and seemed annoyed with himself. He tapped a finger on the table and another idea popped up "Stars, night sky, what about them?"

"They're very pretty!" Muddler answered happily.

"Perfect."

*

The day went from drowsy to nighttime, a fall night is always very cold so the two made sure to get cozy before going out. Muddler still held onto his birthday buttons as they crept up the hill not too far from Hodgkins' house in the forest, he was curious as to what any of this could mean.

Hodgkins lay down a blanket and lantern on the ground and sat on it, he patted his side and the Muddler followed, sitting right next to him.

"Excuse me, but.... Why are we here?" Muddler asked, looking up at his uncle but then getting distracted by his visible breath in the cold air.

"Your grandmother did this every year for mine and your father's birthdays. Look at the stars, the moon, and tell stories until either of us fell asleep,"

Muddler gasped "Dad told me stories for my birthday! Are YOU gonna tell me a story??"

"She made them up on the spot I think- can't do that myself. Horrible storyteller."

"Oh come on! I'll like it! Even if it's bad!" Muddler insisted.

Hodgkins stared at Muddler from the sheer bluntness of that what he said, Hodgkins shook his head and tried to think "If you insist..." he leaned forward and thought deeply. Muddler waited very patiently.

Hodgkins suddenly started mumbling; "A story starts with once upon a time, I suppose..." he leaned back and thought some more, finally, he had something, and started to speak;

Once upon a time, there were... Two brothers. Princes. They lived with their mother and father the king and queen.

They two were opposites but inseparable and cared for eachother very much, the younger was very artistic and loved the natural beauty of the world around him, the older was objective and sought to create new things from the already existing. They lived a boring but functional family life, the queen being a complicated woman of foreign origins, and the king being a distinguished gentleman with secrets he daren't tell. Things went on as you'd expect with such a family, until one day the father was killed by a horrid snake and the castle fell to ruin and the kidgdom fell apart. Despite all this; the brothers stayed together for as long as they could, but then the younger fell in love and had gotten married, leaving his elder brother behind. The elder felt happy, as the younger had always wanted this to happen, but he couldn't help but feel let down deep in the back of his head. The younger brother had a child and he wanted to become a real artist and make his name known in the world beyond his relation to royalty, but time and time again that chance was denied and he had to settle for a lesser job that made him deeply, DEEPLY unhappy. And then one spring....

Hodgkins stopped as he felt something gently hit his paw on the ground, he looked down and saw that Muddler had already fallen asleep. Hodgkins sighed and picked up his nephew.

"Knew the story was terrible..." he whispered to himself "Wasn't even being original."

I would be the new one who just moved in this year and would try to socialize but always ends up just watching the rest of the village and kinda freaking them out so then I just end up hanging around the hermit because I don’t know how to communicate with others besides a simple “gur gur I want to listen to your info dumping information-“

Please I just want some other moomin enjoying mutuals who want to talk and play minecraFt with me-

Being in the Moomin fandom is like living in a village

Chapter three of the DM!memoirs AU

Slight trigger warning emotional stuff and talk of funeral/burial.

Moomin and Hodgkins went back to the boat as fast as they could, it was a silent speed walk all the way back til they finally got on the boat.

“I’m going to go check and see if Joxter is back on the boat yet-“ said the Moomin, breaking the silence.

“Mhm.” Said hodgkins before going back to the pilot house opening the door and seeing joxter there

“hes over here.” said hodgkins from the pilot house across the boat to moomin, moomin gave a nod and went over to the two over in the pilot house joxter rubbed his eyes just waking up from his nap.

“Oh, you two are back. So did you get the answer we needed?”

Hodgkins nodded yes.

“Fancy that, I found a place that would be nice for the burial...” said the Joxter.

The Moomin then asked “So are we going to do the burial now or tomorrow?”

“First thing in the morning.” said Hodgkins “The longer we wait the worse it’ll be...” he added, he didn't elaborate but it was pretty obvious he meant the body was going to turn rotten eventually and start stinking up the boat, a very vivid and gross smell he didn’t wish to smell ever again, nor did he want to see the decomposition of the corpse of his nephew aswell.

“Makes enough sense...” said Moomin “And who should dig the hole?”

Joxter put his paws in his pockets and replied “I could do it. After all, I was the one who found the spot.”

“We dig it out now. And I'm coming with. I want to make sure it’s as nice a spot as you say.” Said Hodgkins before going into the chest in the pilot house to dig around for a lantern or two since it was getting dark out by now.

The Joxter's brow furrowed in an irritated fashion when Hodgkins said 'to make sure it’s as nice a spot as you say', he felt particularly hurt by his choice of words. Does he not trust my judgment or what?! thought the Joxter.

“Why now?” Asked the Moomin.

“So we don’t waste time doing it in the morning.” said Hodgkins before pulling out two lanterns and passing one to the Joxter.

“Oh, alright- what about shovels? Do we have shovels on board?”

Hodgkins thought for a moment before sighing disappointedly and shaking his head.

Moomin then lifted his finger as he had an idea “Perhaps we can have dinner first and then afterwards walk back to the hut that young mymble is living in, maybe we can ask her if she has a shovel...? And possibly apologize for your outburst earlier-“

“Outburst...?” Asked Joxter.

“Nevermind that-“ replied the Moomin, wanting to get to the point “Good idea or not?”

“Not hungry. But we can wait until people start returning home from the king's party.”

“Alright, then it’s settled!” said the Moomin trying to be cheerful about the fact that they had most of this sorted out.

They soon after borrowed the shovels they needed and started digging in Joxter's spot, Moomin had the idea of finding a big rock they could use as a headstone for the burial, he wandered off half way through digging to find said rock, leaving Joxter and Hodgkins to silently dig together.

“Hodgkins?” asked Joxter to break the silence.

“What?” answered Hodgkins.

“... can I take a break?”

“Of course you ask to take a break. You can’t just finish a task without bothering someone or taking a break in the process, now can you?” Hodgkins said with animosity in his voice.

“No, I guess I can’t.” replied the Joxter as he stabbed his shovel into the ground and then sat down next to the hole.

Moomin somehow managed to role a big boulder to the burial sight and place it at one end of the hole, “We can paint his name and information on it-“

“Anything but paint.” Hodgkins cut him off coldly.

Moomin thought for a moment before realizing “Oh- oh goodness I’m so sorry!“

“Yes, how awfully ironic it would be.” commented the Joxter

The next morning was bright. Joxter, Hodgkins and Moomin brought Muddler's body to the grave they dug, Muddler was carried with care by Hodgkins and it was obvious Hodgkins and Joxter were both holding in tears they best they could. Joxter had a few handfuls of Muddler's buttons in his pockets because he planned on scattering them over his resting place after the burial, when they got to the grave and Hodgkins gently placed muddler in, the waterworks started to flow.

Hodgkins stepped back and so did Joxter, there was a moment of silence before Moomin unfolded a piece of paper he had in the palm of his paw, he looked it over before he started speaking:

“I have a few words to share... I may not have known the Muddler for that long but he was an interesting fellow. I wish I had the time to get to know him more and even though he’s gone, he will live on in the memories of those who cared about him.” There was a moment of silence before Joxter took off his hat out of respect and began to add on his own word of rememberance.

“Thank you Moomin. I of course have some words to say aswell, I didn’t write any of it down but... speaking from the heart... Muddler, I don’t know what death entails... where you or your soul may be right now, but you were... everything to me... and you still are. Even if you're 'gone', I’ll keep my promise to protect your things that were so important to you, and I’ll always cherish the memories you made with me, from the day you convinced Hodgkins to take me in to now, you’ll never be out of my mind, I swear by it...” he then scattered some of the buttons he had in his pockets down into Muddler's grave before taking a step back and covering his face with his hat to try and hide his ugly crying.

“... as everyone here knows, I’m not good with words... I’m not good with sappy things of any sort... But Muddler, my dear nephew, I hope you've been reunited with your parents... I hope this is a good enough resting place for you... and I hope... I hope you can forgive me for not being a better parent...” Hodgkins said and cleared his throat and choked back tears, and with those last words the funeral was done. Muddler's grave was burried and life for the rest of the crew went on.

Some time went by, Joxter ended up meeting and interacting with a large and jolly Mymble a few times and they quickly got along, perhaps romantically even, but Joxter didn’t push that part of there relationship too much. A few flings here and there with her sure but he was still stuck on losing Muddler. He wasn’t one to move on so quickly. He occupied his time with the Mymble's company and when he wasn't with her he was taking care of Muddler's can. He had taken it to a spot in the forest that was secure, a spot that became his sort of 'home' when he wasn’t wandering or getting along with Mymble.

Hodgkins shut himself out from both Moomin and Joxter shortly after Muddler's funeral. He kept to himself and applied to be the king's royal inventor and naturally he got the job for his great skill, he kept himself always busy to occupy his thoughts, hoping to push away all the negativity of grief and all desires of being close to anyone ever again, for his own sake.

Moomin ended up living on the Oshun Oxtra trying to think of what to do now that the crew was no longer together, he pondered the idea of going on adventures by himself, but what is the joy of adventure with no one to share it with? "Or should I get straight to writing my memoirs? But what sort of sad short memoir would it be if he never truly went on a great rounded adventure? Some thing feels missing..." he pondered the posibilities for days and weeks as he tried to write something or come up with what he should do until he met a lady moomin, a Miss Moomin to be exact, who he saved in an awful storm and they promptly fell in love. They lived on the ship together as they discussed their plans for there future together, they decided to get jobs in the kingdom to earn enough to travel together and perhaps go to London.

Things were going well for Moomin.

Things were going adequately for Hodgkins.

... And the Joxter felt out of place.

Little did he know that things were about to take a great turn for him.

(End of chapter three!- sorry if this chapter sucks i sort of rushed it, I was trying to end the super sad bits. but I promise after this chapter there will be bits of sad and angst but not as much as the past chapters, the next ones will mostly focus on the after affects such as how the butterfly affect of muddler passing changes how things would have originally been.) (special thanks to @flowerbloom-arts for helping me edit this thing properly

(Illustrations and non-triggering re-cap coming soon.)

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 ✨

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.