𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 ; 𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐑

4. | 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫

   Across from the bed, you wake up to a clatter of dishes falling to the floor of the cabin. You sit up, quickly, looking around. Maybe it was Onceler making breakfast- - you turn your gaze to your left, and see him deep in sleep, snoring.

You furrow a brow, letting out a heavy sigh to get the sleepiness away, and take a quick glance around the room. Nothing too out of the ordinary— except there was a bear in the kitchen. That was normal, right?

  It was small; innocently enough, looking at the mess it had made on the floor. Spatulas and bowls scattered all over the place.
You let out a soft chuckle, thanking the stars it wasn't an intruder, or something much bigger. It looked like it could have been just a baby. Big eyes, paws together, as it stared at you with nervousness in his features.

"Oh my god, a Barbaloot?" You whisper aloud to nobody in particular. You've seen a couple on your drive in to the forest, but you hadn't been this up close to one yet. He was adorable!

"Hi little guy," you sit up, drawing part of the blankets that covered you, off, and lean forward with an arm stretched out. There was nothing in your hand to coax it up to you with, but you were hoping that the friendliness of your gestures would allow him to realize you were anything but a threat.

And surprisingly, that worked. His nose sniffed around, and slowly but surely, he came crawling up to you. A curiosity in his face, his nose bumped your hand. Then, two arms stretched out for you to pick him up. Your eyes widen a bit through the tiredness, and you grab him with gentle hands, pulling him right up to the bed. Patting his head, and stroking your fingers through his fur, he smiles, cooing for your attention.

Your arm nudges Onceler in his sleep, elbow bumping into his side. "Once, wake up," you whisper, and bump him again. Onceler's snoring stops, and he jumbled a few "huh's" out, as he slowly came to consciousness. "What—What's going on?"

"Look!" You squeal at him, showing off the barbaloot in your lap, who was very happy to be there. His smiles innocently up at your lanky friend, who only gives a look of confusion in turn.

"Pipsqueak? How'd you get in?" He asks.

Then, his eyes travel around the rest of the room, and soon grow dull with a resting expression of annoyance on his face. "Seriously? Again? I thought I told you guys not to sleep in here."

Your eyes met where Onceler's were looking, and you wondered how you didn't notice before. There were tons of them! All up high on shelves, inside of bowls and glasses, sleeping, cuddling, and scratching.
"Oh my god, they're everywhere!" You beam out with excitement. Onceler chuckles dryly, looking to you. "Pipsqueak can stay, but I've told them not to co—"

You lean towards his face, puffed out cheeks, and a goofy smile, as you playfully tease him. "You named him~?"

Onceler pushes your face away from his, and rolls his eyes with a smile. "Nooo, I didn't. The Lorax did."

"Uhuh, sure." You side him, a smirk resting on your lips. He catches this, raising a brow with a little smile of his own.
"They visit you often then, I guess?" You ask curiously. "Pretty much." Onceler stretches out his limbs, cracking his wrists, and letting out a yawn. As he sat up, his hand ran through the front of his bangs, brushing them out and away from his eyes. You tried not to stare too long, but sometimes it got really hard not to.

"They follow me everywhere. I guess they're really curious." He gives you a lazy smile as he decides to get up from the bed. Dragging the bedsheets off of himself, he scoots to the end of the bed, and crawls over your feet to get to the other side. You bend your knees and allow him the room to reach the floor, standing and turning to look at you.