poliel

[poliel]

Bugsnas 'Drabbles': Xmas Gramble

[poliel]

Oh, wow. I'm honored to be such an inspiration! Happy Halloween to y'all too! 🎃👻🎃

HAPPY HALLOWEEN POST

Hi I'm very excited for Halloween!!! I was suppose to be doing homework but... MY FAVORITE WRITER POSTED!!!! They made an halloween post and i was very excited. They are the reason that I love writing. And that I've written so many stories and I really hope they see this post because they're a huge inspiration to me. So go check out @poliel . Happy Halloween from Samantha the writer and Angelyn the amazing artists :P ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[poliel]

Bugsnax Drabbles: Buddy/Filbo & Beffica - You Scared?

Summary: Buddy had invited Filbo and Beffica to go ghost hunting with them.

[A/N] Special Halloween drabble, yay!

~

Why had Filbo agreed to this? He was in the running to be mayor, there’s was lots to do for his campaign. Or he could be at home knitting while watching TV. Even just lying around being unproductive might be more appealing than this.

Yeah, it had sounded fun at the time he’d agreed to it. Walk around an abandoned hospital with Buddy looking for ghosts, why not? He liked spending time with them and after Snaxburg, ghosts shouldn��t be scary. But standing in front and facing the building put the idea into a different context.

Run down and visibly weathered, the windows were missing, leaving black voids where they’d once been. They felt like eyes staring back at him, pinning him to the spot. The sun starting to dip down towards the horizon behind it made its shadow look almost like it was reaching out towards him, ready to grasp at his ankles and yank him into its maw.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the building. Holding its gaze lest it make a move as soon as he glanced away.

“Define ‘good idea’,” Buddy replied from somewhere behind him.

“Like it’s not dangerous?”

“Why? You scared?” Beffica had come too. Three grumps was apparently the ideal number for a ghost hunt. Two to roam around the building trying to get the ghosts’ attention. And another to watch from base camp and keep an eye on all the cameras set up around the place.

“Yes, actually. I’m a little scared, okay? What if this is another bugsnax situation and the ghosts just seem harmless at first but are actually planning to possess us or something, huh?”

“If they can,” Buddy replied, “it’s difficult for them to do or a very rare talent. I’ve been in contact with plenty of ghosts before and come out mostly fine.”

“Mostly?” Beffica asked. She still didn’t sound scared but maybe she was at least a little bit.

“Got a few scraps here and there. But anyway, let’s go set up the cameras while there’s still daylight to do it with.” Buddy patted Filbo on the shoulder as they went past, leading the way towards the building.

With a sigh, Filbo finally tore his gaze off the building’s face and followed. Beffica fell into step with him. “If you’d like, I’ll trade spots with you. You can watch from base camp instead where it’ll be safer, probably anyway, who knows how far out the ghosts go.”

“Uh… I appreciate the offer. It’s very kind of you. But I think I’ll be okay.” He’d agreed to be Buddy’s ghost hunting partner, he intended to at least try to follow through.

“Can’t pass up the opportunity for some alone time with Buddy, huh?”

“It’s hardly alone time. They’ll be using their camera the whole time which you’ll be watching. Besides we live together and are literally dating, alone time isn’t exactly hard to come by. Also, uh… if it gets to scary I might um, change my mind and take you up on that offer. Assuming that uh, you’re still okay with it by then anyway.”

“If I wanted to be mean, I’d say it’s only a one time offer. But I’m nice now, we’re cool. So sure, if it gets too scary, we’ll trade. Also, next ghost hunt, I’m gonna insist we do trade because I wanna see the ghosts in person too. Assuming they’re real anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan.” And apparently Filbo was already down to go on another ghost hunt with these two. That was fine though. Ghosts were scary but he could handle them. After Snaxburg, he could handle basically anything.

[poliel]

what are your thoughts about FlooftyXFilboX buddy ?

Buddy's got two paws! One for Filbo and one for Floofty! Also, poly ships are fun.

[poliel]

do you think that's the reason that they're is no doors on the hut's is because of the same reason that the beds were made of cardboard at the Olympics?

I'm assuming you're referring to the rumor that the beds are made of cardboard to prevent the athletes from having sex? Because I'm not sure how not having doors would relate to being recyclable. (I had to google this because I don't follow the Olympics beyond the big headlines or the clips that make it to my Tumblr dashboard.)

Obviously the actual reason the huts don't have doors is entirely to make traversing through the town easier. I guess preventing people from getting frisky might be an in-universe reason for that choice but it's not one I personally subscribe to. Like, they're all adults, two of whom are a married couple, and another two are basically dating, running off to an uninhabited island for their various reasons, I don't think they're gonna be that weird about that kind of stuff.

I feel like a better explanation might be that they lost the stuff they'd brought for door hinges or something like that? And they haven't figured out how to make their own yet. Or they do know how but can't find any metal on the island to make them. I'm not really sure though. I can't think of many good in-universe reasons for it, honestly.

[poliel]

I love your writing ❤️ :3

Thank you! 💖

[poliel]

Bugsnax Drabbles: Beffica - Alone

Summary: if you can PLEASSE.... write a fic where beffica is the focus?

~

Beffica was just fine in her little cave. Better in fact. No more fighting or passive aggressive nonsense. Liz was gone and so everyone had scattered to fend for themselves. She was better off like this. Totally fine. … Except for the fact that she was bored.

She could doodle more in her notebook or on the walls. Fun but she had to be careful with her writing and art supplies. It’s not like she could go to the store for more when she ran out. She’d have to figure out how to make more. Might as well get started on that sooner rather than later. … Except she didn’t even know where to begin.

Paper, she knew was made of wood pulp, the barrel of a pencil from more wood. What about the graphite though? Where did one find graphite in general let alone on an island strange as Snaktooth? So… she was putting that idea on hold for a little bit, give her subconscious some time to recall if she’d ever learned anything about that kind of stuff. Which left her back where she’d started.

Never before had she spent so much time alone. Growing up, there’d almost always been someone around. After moving out on her own, she’d lived alone but her neighbors had been good at making their presence known at all hours of the days. and when going into the office for work, there’d always been several of her colleagues about. She’d come to the island in part to get away from all that and to this cave in particular to get away from her fellow islanders. Being alone was what she wanted. She could relax now.

She stood up and did a little lap of it. It wasn’t as comfortable as her cabin had been but it was only slightly smaller. And it wasn’t in the middle of town where she could easily hear a decent amount of the goings on around town. Not that anyone was even there anymore to overhear other than Filbo and she certainly didn’t care about anything he might have going on. So she was better off out here in her cave alone.

Out here she was closer to her favorite Bugsnax too. She could go catch some. … Later, she wasn’t hungry right now.

With a sigh, she returned to the bed… sleeping bag – maybe her cave had a couple downsides. She could take a nap. That’s part of why she’d come out to the island after all, right? So she could rest as much and for as long as she pleased, no work deadlines or bills that needed paying, pushing her to always be doing something. … And it’s not like she had anything else to do right now. Maybe an idea for how to make pencil graphite would come to her in her dreams.

[poliel]

In the AU where Gramble chews on bones in his sleep. If you look in Sheldon's hut, she has a couple of grumpus bones on the floor.

(I'm including the image I presume you shared like this because I assume since your main ask is on anon, you'd prefer to stay that way.)

I don't think I ever noticed that before. Interesting. Maybe she's been doing some bone munching too.

[poliel]

Bugsnax Drabbles: Filbo/Buddy & Beffica - Trust Me

Summary: Hey, could you write Filbo asking buddy out (or the other way around)

~

How was one meant to ask their housemate out on a date? Normally living together was a step taken sometime after a romantic relationship became serious. What was one meant to do when they’d moved in with a friend before later realizing there were more than solely friendly feelings there? If they didn’t live together, the fear of making things awkward would’ve been less intense… probably anyway. But as it was, if their friendship grew awkward as a result of Buddy’s confession so would their living situation.

Buddy could just let it go and was tempted to. Romance was nice but not strictly needed. They were happy to just be friends. But… what if Filbo reciprocated? Then Buddy would just be sitting on their feelings for no reason the way Snorpy had been. Which would be lame and so…Buddy eventually found themself talking to Beffica about it over text.

‘Don’t be weird about it and just tell him you like him.’ she sent in reply to their long thought out paragraph explaining their problem.

‘Duh.’ That’s the exact thing they were trying to avoid. ‘How do I not make it weird?’

‘Say you like him romantically and/or ask him out on a date. Make extra super sure he knows it a date though. Don’t wanna pull another Snorpy.’

‘If he doesn’t feel the same, it’ll awkward living with him after.’

This time her reply took a while before coming in. ‘Maybe, idk. I think he likes you though. So don’t worry about it.’

‘Why do you think he likes me?’

‘;)’

‘What does that mean?’

‘Just talk to him, tell him how you feel. Trust me.’

Buddy would trust her with their life so it should be easy to trust her here too but… what if she was wrong? She was smart sure and good at figuring out people’s secrets. But she could easily be misreading whatever it was that had made her think Filbo might reciprocate Buddy’s feelings. Or maybe she was just trying to mess with them by pretending she knew something when she didn’t. Perhaps a method to get them to just confess as that was likely the smartest thing to do. And so they probably should just confess, huh?

***

At the same time, elsewhere in the house

Filbo’s hope that his crush on Buddy would fade grew more and more fragile every day they lived together. It was supposed to have been just a stress thing from Snaxtooth but they lived together now and Filbo was basically in love.

Maybe ‘love’ was a bit of a strong word. But the evenings spent hanging out casually with Buddy, sometimes doing something together, other times just existing in the same space doing their own things, were warm and comfy in a way Filbo had never experience before. It was different than hanging out with the rest of the group. Not necessarily more special or fun just different in a way that he couldn’t explain to save his life. He wanted to do it more and he wanted to touch Buddy, cuddle, maybe even kiss or maybe, in his dreams, a bit more than just kissing.

They were housemates though. Meaning if Flibo confessed any of these thoughts of feelings and Buddy didn’t return them, their friendship and living situation would be awkward. The absolute last thing Filbo wanted. But he wanted more so bad.

Normally his go to person for advice was Buddy, who obviously couldn’t be consulted on this, leaving him bereft of ideas. He couldn’t just continue to ignore it though… could he? Ultimately he ended up pulling out his personal phone and scrolling through his contacts. … Beffica naturally was at the top of the list. They got along much better these days – even if she still wasn’t Filbo’s favorite of the friend group – and she was good with people, right? She wrote about them all the time. Thus she’d at least have some idea what he should do, right?

‘i think im in love with buddy what do i do?’ he sent.

The reply took long enough to make him almost regret this decision. ‘OMG! Really?’

‘yes please help your good with people right?’

‘Have you tried talking?’

‘no should i?’

‘Yeah, dumdum. Don’t be like Snorpy and Chandlo. Or do be like them. It would be funny if it happened twice in the same friend group.’

‘what if they don’t like me back though?’

‘Don’t worry about that. Talk to them.’

‘how can i not worry?’ Worrying was like Filbo’s thing.

‘Trust me. Just talk to them.’

Well the other option was to continue to ignore it, right? So maybe Filbo should take the risk. Especially since he did indeed not want to potentially end up like Snorpy and Chandlo, dancing around feelings and not quite dating for who even knows how long. ‘ok i guess thanks’

‘No prob. Let me know how it goes. :)’

`

[A/N] The idea here is that Beffica is texting with both of them at the same time. I don't know how well that comes off since it's not written from her POV, hence this note to make it more clear.

[poliel]

Bugsnax 'Drabbles' Snorpy/Chandlo

'Summary': some classic snorpy and chandlo

[A/N] Just a sketch because I'm trying to catch up on my request across my various request fics.

[poliel]

Do You Think You Could...

Summary: Filbo is worried his friend aren't enjoying the Xmas Eve party. He asks Buddy to ask them.

~

The Xmas Eve party was lively and loud. Everyone had come and they all seemed to be having a good time. As far as Filbo could tell anyway, he admittedly wasn’t always the best at reading people. But as the host it was his duty to go around and mingle with everyone and try to make sure that they were. All he could do was do his best and hope it was enough. Though there was more thing he could do too.

“Hey, Buddy,” he said with a smile as he sidled up next to where they were at the bar. Cromdo was currently on drinks duty but he was at the other end of it, chatting with Gramble. Leaving Filbo to talk freely with Buddy. “Do you think you could go around and make sure everyone’s having a good time? Don’t like ask them outright or anything but… you know?”

Buddy took a sip of their drink before replying. “I could but I don’t think it’s necessary.” Them declining was unusual but he had been telling them for a while now that they had the right to decline requests even from him. He couldn’t exactly be annoyed with them for finally listening to him. Couldn’t they listen to their people pleasing instincts for just one more day though? They were far better at reading people than Filbo could ever hope to be.

“What if they’re not having fun?” Such had been the case during most of the parties Filbo had thrown back on Snaktooth. Yeah, that was two years ago and no one had complained during or about last year’s Xmas Eve or most of his other parties but the fear was still there. What if, viewing him as a friend now, they felt too bad to say anything to him about it now? “I need to know so I can fix it if they’re not.”

“I’m sure everyone’s having a good time. So you can sit down and relax with me.” They gestured to the stool next to them.

“I wanna make sure though. I’m the host so it’s my duty to make this party as good a time as possible.” As the official mayor, it wasn’t his most important duty but it still mattered. “But I can’t just ask them because then they’d feel obligated to say ‘yes’. Everyone likes to share stuff with you though so if you subtlety brought it up or something, they’d be honest. And then if something is wrong you can report it to me and I can fix it.”

“Or more like you’ll ask me to help you fix it which often ends in me just fixing it for you.”

“Oh, uh, I guess so, huh?” Despite Filbo encouraging Buddy to not let anyone, including himself, push Buddy around like that, he did still do it sometimes. Like he was trying to right now. Which was wrong of him to do but… when it came to dealing with problems within the friend group Buddy was so much better at handling it. That didn’t make it right though. “Sorry.”

“How about this, in a bit you’ll come with me and we’ll go around and talk to everyone again and get a general vibe on how everyone’s doing? For now though, sit, relax, and have a drink. You deserve a break.”

Filbo took a breath to protest – as the host he didn’t have time for a break – but bit back on it. How many times had he had to tell Buddy that they deserved a break? A lot for sure and Buddy often protested much to Filbo’s exasperation. So him claiming he didn’t deserve a break would be hypocritical.

With a sigh he sat down. “Are you having a good time?” Buddy was the only one he dare ask outright.

“Yep. Especially now that you’re here.”

Somehow, despite dating them for almost a year now, Buddy saying such things to him still made him feel warm and fuzzy. “I’m having a good time ‘cause you’re here too. And everyone else too of course, I love my friends and uh… yeah, you know.”

“I love you too.”

Maybe it was okay if Filbo did just sit, relax, and stop stressing so much about the party. The reason he threw parties is because he liked them after all.

[poliel]

A request from lordtalesman100 on DeviantArt for their Journalist OC.

[poliel]

Prompt: Do you think you could right some Filbo angst? Maybe he gets overwhelmed because of everybody fighting then explodes and sort of tells them all to shut it or something? I feel like he’d snap at one point or another.

[poliel]

Bugsnax 'Drabbles': Filbo/Buddy - Airship

Prompt: I have another Filbo/Buddy request. I love the idea of Filbo flying the airship and you did a pretty good job with him in your "Surprise Egg" story, my idea has it take place after the events on Snaktooth and Filbo finally gets to fly the airship, this time for fun instead of desperately trying to escape murderous parasites. As they're flying, Buddy's hugging Filbo from behind, snuggling up to him and making him purr as he's at the wheel, commenting about how cute he looks flying their airship, as they look upon the beautiful night sky together. There's fluff and plenty of affection for Filbo.

[poliel]

Bugsnax 'Drabbles': Snopry & Eggabell - Checkup

Request from Ao3: ooh could you write a story abt snorpy getting a checkup from eggabell :o ???

[A/N] I have caught up on all the requests that accumulated in my inbox over the holiday season! Like half of them I did as art to make catching up go a bit faster.

~

[poliel]

Xmas Eve Party at the Karaoke Bar

Summary: Cromdo's not big on Xmas.

~

Cromdo groaned out loud even before he’d finished reading the invitation. Of course Filbo would throw an Xmas Eve party. It wasn’t even the first party he’d thrown since they’d all gotten off the island – he was just a party kind of guy. So really this shouldn’t have come as a surprise at all.

Not going was an option of course. But then, most of them being nosy bastards, they would no doubt ask him why he hadn’t come and he’d either have to lie or try to struggle through explaining the truth. Which he wasn’t sure he could do since it didn’t even really make sense to him why he didn’t want to go.

In theory, Xmas was great and parties were great too, especially since there’d likely be alcohol. But… something about this time of year and seeing everyone else being happy and cheery made Cromdo feel tired. Not angry or hateful or anything like that, just tired. Like he wanted to just lie around in bed all day. Giving into that desire only ever strengthened it though and thus he always had to fight it, making him feel even more tired. Having to put up with everyone having a good time around him would no doubt be even worse. So…

With a sigh, he folded the letter back up and put it back in its envelope. He then carried it to the kitchen where he lit the stove to set its corner on fire before dropping it into crock-pot where it could safely burn down to nothing but ash. When asked, he’d feign ignorance of the party and disappointment over his invitation getting lost the in mail or stolen or whatever. Point was, he wasn’t going. They’d all have more fun without him there, being a party-pooper, anyway.

~

“So about the Xmas Eve party,” Filbo said over the phone before Cromdo could even finish his business phone greeting. “I know the invite said we were going to have it at Buddy’s place but then Wiggle called and gave me a great idea. We could have it at your karaoke bar. If, uh, you’re okay with that anyway.”

Welp, there went Cromdo’s plan to pretend he didn’t know it was happening. And having it at his place would probably be even worse, right? “Why?”

“Because there’s more room and we could load up the karaoke machine with a bunch of Xmas songs and have our own little private karaoke party. We’d pay for it too of course since it’s your business and it’d be rude not to. I don’t know how much yet because I’m not sure how much renting out that kind of place would typically be worth. So we’d have to talk about that but… would you be willing to do it? I’d help out with the work related stuff too of course since I’m still in charge of it and Buddy said they’d be willing to help also.”

Cromdo took a breath to say ‘no’ but… he shifted his attention to look out over the bar. His business had been doing well enough to stay afloat but that didn’t mean he was doing well financially. One major expensive to solve problem would likely be enough to sink the place or get close enough to it for it to become an inevitability. And thus, he could use the business if Filbo was willing to pay an appropriate price for booking such a party. Which he probably would be, right? He was like that in general and as the mayor now, he couldn’t afford to tarnish his reputation by being a cheapskate. So… “Fine,” he said, holding backing a groan.

“Awesome! Thank you! Is now a good time to negotiate a price?”

“No. I’m working.” And needed to make sure he asked for a price that would be worth the trouble while still being close enough to being reasonable that Filbo would agree to it. It being a holiday meant he could probably get away with charging a little bit more, right? Or not because they were his friends. The friend discount would probably at least partially cancel out the holiday extra expense. “I’ll call you back later after I close.”

“Got it! Talk to you then. Bye-bye.”

“Bye.” Cromdo sighed as he placed the phone back in its cradle. It being good for business didn’t mean he had to like it. Oh well, his fate was sealed. All he could do was do his best to pretend that everything was normal and okay. He could do that for one evening, right?

~

The party was lively; without hesitation everyone else had set to having a good time. Buddy by some miracle volunteered to tend the bar first, needing only a quick tour of where everything was. Leaving Cromdo free to sit off to the side and nurse a beer. He didn’t dare drink too much as alcohol always enhanced his mood and this wasn’t a mood he wanted to enhance. Besides after a while, Filbo would take over as bartender and then after him it would be Cromdo’s turn as they’d agreed upon yesterday. He needed to at least be sober enough to be awake for that.

Absorbed in each other and their conversations, no one paid him much mind beyond exchanging greetings with him. As predicted watching them have fun and merry as if it were the easiest thing in the world made him a bit jealous. Why couldn’t he be happy and merry too? After surviving Snaktooth, getting his dream job – even if it was stressful, he still loved this place – and having friends here to celebrate with, there was no reason for him not to be. And yet… here was sitting at a table by himself watching them all have fun instead.

“Hey.”

He turned his head to see that Gramble had sat next to him for some reason. “Hey,” he grunted in reply before taking another sip from his beer. It was starting to get warm, ugh.

“You feeling okay?”

No. “Yeah. Why?”

Gramble shrugged. “Just, you know, you’re setting over here all by yourself so I figured I should come check on you. Especially since, um, I get it. This time of year is hard and seeing everyone else being happy when you’re not is… not fun.”

“Wait you think this time of year is hard?” Cromdo almost couldn’t believe it. Gramble, the guy who’d gone out of his way to knit everyone an Xmas gift and had seemed quite enthusiastic about the idea found Xmas difficult?

Gramble chuckled nervously as he looked down at the table. “Yeah. This year has been better than most but… still not easy. I’m not really sure why either. That’s just how it’s been for a while now. So, you know, you’re not alone or… not that you even said anything was wrong. I was just assuming and wanted to check in on you.”

Pre-Snaktooth Cromdo would’ve told him to buzz off but… “Thanks. I appreciate it.” It was nice knowing he wasn’t alone even if logically he’d always known that others had to feel this way too. This was just the first time someone he knew admitted it to him. Somehow it made him feel better even if that also didn’t make much sense. But when had emotions ever always made sense?

“Now, um, I could leave you alone if you want. I get it if you wanna…”

“No, you can stay,” Cromdo interrupted. “If you want to anyway. I don’t care.” A lie; he did care. He wanted Gramble to stay. Having someone to talk to and hang out with who understood and thus wasn’t likely to dismiss the way he felt with a ‘just try harder to be happy and you’ll succeed’ or get annoyed with him for being a downer during the ‘happiest time of the year’ was a welcome change. Perhaps it even made him feel a little bit better.

“Okay. Thanks. I’ll stay then.”

[poliel]

Bugsnax Drabbles: Painted Fence

Can you do a drabble about Filbo x Gramble? I kinda have an idea on how it would go, Filbo would try to catch some bugsnax for Gramble, always trying to help him with fixing the barn fence or help find any missing bugsnax of his, and even offer to watch over the snax at night while Gramble finally gets sleeps, maybe Filbo would try to stop eating bugsnax as well. Then Filbo finally confesses his feelings for Gramble, Gramble returns his feelings and they kiss.

~

Rolling out of bed in the morning was always the hardest part of the day; rare were the days Gramble felt as if he’d had a full night’s sleep. He had no choice but to get up as early as he could though, no matter how much he’d rather sleep in, lest someone try to steal his snax. He also had to fix the fence today, the tarp he’d put over the gap in it last night after the Picantes had broken out again – sadly allowing a handful of other little ones out as well – probably couldn’t even stand up to a determined kweeble for long let alone anything bigger that wanted to try.

So with a groan, Gramble pushed himself off the bed. He grabbed his hat off the nightstand, plopped it onto his head and started downstairs. First he would check on the little ones and then he’d gather up the material to repair the fence. Luckily he’d had the foresight to make plenty of extra fencing constructs when first making the fence. Though that was getting close to running out now so he’d have to talk to Chandlo about helping him make some more sometime soon. But for now he should have enough to…

He paused as he stepped out of the barn’s side door. The hole in the fence had been right across from the door. It was no longer there though. In fact, it and the rest of the fence had a fresh coat of pink paint, so fresh, Gramble could still smell it. Huh?

“Hey, Gramble!”

He looked over to see Filbo approaching. He held something in his paws, close to his body. He paused on the other side of the fence and with obvious care not to touch it, bent over and released a strabby into the pen.

“I caught one of your escaped strabbies,” he continued. “Or uh, at least I think it’s one of yours. I can’t really tell, they all kind of look the same to me. But it was running around town and I… well with some help from Buddy caught it for you. We couldn’t find any of the other snax that escaped last night though, sorry.”

“Well, thanks. I suppose having one back is better than nothing.” Especially if it had been running around town where it was in great danger of getting eaten by someone. Hopefully the others had made it back out in the wild. “I’m guessing the fence was your doing as well?” Gramble couldn’t think of anyone else who would’ve done it and then gone to the trouble of painting it.

“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep last night and I noticed the tarp so I figured I’d help out a little if I could.”

“You’re being awful nice to me.” And on one hand he appreciated that but could he trust Filbo? What if he was just trying to get snax off him?

Filbo fidgeted with his paws. Nervous because Gramble had a right to be suspicious of him or just his usual awkwardness? “Yep. I’m the mayor after all. It’s kinda my duty to help out around town and stuff. And well, you know,” he looked away, lifting a paw up to rub the back of his head, “our relationship has been kinda rocky since I babysat your snax for you and then, uh, messed up so badly they all escaped. And I know you still don’t believe me that they ran away and think I ate them. But I would like to try to make up for that if I can and huh… maybe convince you that I was telling the truth about that.”

Was he telling the truth though? How could Gramble possibly know for sure? He couldn’t. And that meant it was better to remain suspicious. Last time he’s relaxed his guard, Wambus had ultimately ended up raiding his barn for snax in the middle of the night after all. So…

“Thanks for helping out with the fence and bringing one of my little ones back.”

Filbo stood silent on the other side of the fence, seemingly waiting for something more. An acknowledgment that Gramble believed him now that he’d done a few nice things for him, no doubt. When it became clear that wasn’t happening, his face fell. “Um, you’re welcome. I guess I’ll be seeing you and… stuff.” He turned and left, his shoulders slumped.

A guilty pit formed in Gramble’s stomach as he watched him go. Since the start Filbo had been one of his few friends, taking his side when he’d declared the barn wasn’t going to be a place to store bugsnax for food purposes. Even Wiggle had suggested he was being a bit silly in insisting on that point even if she hadn’t pressed as hard as some of the others had on the issue. Before the big town fallout Gramble never would suspected Filbo of anything intentionally malicious. But then after it, when Gramble had run out of space for snax at the beach, Filbo had volunteered to watch some only for Gramble to never see those particular snax again. Filbo hadn’t been snakified when he’d returned with news that they’d ‘run away’ but he could’ve easily hidden them somewhere to eat later as Cromdo had tried to do with kidnapped snax not long before.

But then again… what if he had been telling the truth? Then Gramble was turning him away for no reason other than being overly suspicious. He had every justification to be that way of course after everything but… maybe being so distrustful of Filbo, probably the nicest grump here, was more than a little unfair to him. … It was too late now though. Gramble had already turned him away again. There was likely only so many times even Filbo would put up with that. So with a sigh, Gramble shook off those guilty feeling as best he could, really only pushing them to the back of his mind for now, and got to work checking on his little ones, starting with the freshly returned strabby.

~

Filbo kept being nice to him. Never once bringing it up again or even how brusque Gramble could be to him sometimes. Surely if he had any ill intentions he’d have given up on them by now as not worth the effort when Buddy was here now feeding him and everyone else fairly regularly. Meaning he was likely telling the truth and Gramble had been wrong to doubt him.

Admitting to being wrong was difficult and Gramble had always had a stubborn side that made it even harder but he had to. He cared about Filbo too much not to. Upon reaching this conclusion, he didn’t even have sit with it for long before Filbo came by again. Doing his rounds around town, saying hi, making sure everyone was doing okay and seeing if there was anything he could help with, because he was a good mayor no matter what some of the others in town liked to say.

“We need to talk,” he said before Filbo could do anything more than lift his paw in greeting. “Come on into the barn where it’s a bit more private.”

Filbo’s eyes widened. “Okay.” He skipped around to the barn’s main entrance.

Gramble met him there and gestured for him to come all the way inside and up the stairs to his room. He’d have loved to put out a pitcher of sweet tea and maybe some cookies but sadly he’d run out of such supplies months ago. So instead he got straight to business. “I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind to me and I’ve been rather rude for a while now. I don’t think you were lying when you said the snax you was babysitting ran away. I should’ve believed you from the start.”

“Oh… um, that’s what you wanted to talk about. Okay. That actually makes more sense than what I was thinking. Uh, anyway, it’s fine. You’ve been under a lot of stress lately. And I’m kind of… yeah, you know, clumsy and a huge mess, so I get it and I forgive you.”

Maybe Gramble didn’t deserve to be forgiven quite so easily but he was going to strive to earn that forgiveness anyway. “Thanks. So… we’re friends again?”

“Yep!” Smiling wide, Filbo extended a paw. Gramble shook it, sealing the deal.

“What did you think I was calling you in here to talk about though?”

“Oh, um…” Filbo glanced away. “It’s not important right now. Maybe I’ll… talk to you about it later.”

Odd but Gramble wasn’t going to press right now. He was just glad he was still on Filbo’s good side somehow.