The Calm and the Storm

It was a chilly night at the beach, just like yesterday and the day before yesterday. It has been getting colder the past month and the winds stronger, creating bigger waves after waves in the sea and the water too cold to be in lest you'd risk getting sick. Just the tell-tale signs of the seasons changing. Soon Burrowgatory will be engulfed in white. The beach was filled to the brim with visitors back in summer but after the season has passed, many prefer to huddle to the warmth in the city. Many except for a few, including a certain teal bun.

Ros is strolling through the shore, picking up litter here and there, occasionally he finds valuables misplaced by visitors. He keeps them in his home, acting as a lost and found place, his living room is occupied by many boxes where he stores these lost items, but for now he stores his findings in a bucket, where his own treasure lays amongst them in a sealed plastic bag. He has patrolled most of the beach, just a small area left heading to his home.

As he nears the shack, he hears a soft thumping on sand and spots a pink harpup. Ros stops in his tracks, letting the harpup galumph it's way towards him.

"Hi dear, you having a great night?" Ros bends down to pet the pink harpup, giving it a good rub and looks around for the other. The pink harpup makes a pleased noise, bumps it's nose on Ros before taking off, back to where it came from and where the other harpup is laying with it's belly up on the porch.

"Ah there you are, having a good time are you?" He says as he climbs on the porch, plopping down to sit next to the harpup. He places his bucket next to him as he gives the harpup, Pearl, a good belly rub. Pearl purrs in response. The pink harpup comes up next to Ros' other side and starts rubbing it's head on the bun.

Ros chuckles. "There there, there's plenty where that come from." He continues giving Pearl and Pink Pearl more pets until they're both completely flattened, drowned from the bliss of good pets. Ros smiles, what carefree lives they're living, not a worry in the world. He looks up at the sky where he can see faint lights of luminous things behind the clouds slowly dimming as night time goes on. Ros closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and bask in the breeze of the sea.

Ros and the harpups stay like that for awhile, waiting. Waiting for Petrichor, another bun that lives with them. Ros wonders what's taking his housemate long to come home, the bun's shift at The Egg Store should be over by now. He recalls his roommate, Petri, pouncing on him this morning and saying something about missing cases and don't stay out for too long, but the other bun was talking too fast for Ros to catch and before Ros could ask for clarification, Petri was already out of the house, running to work with a baseball bat too big for them slung over their back. When did they even have a baseball bat? Was it something Ros found on the beach?

He sighs, slowly getting up and reached over the bucket to fish out the sealed plastic bag and takes out his most valuable item, a conch shell adorned with jewelries. He might as well enjoy the night and play some tunes while he waits. Ros puts his lip over the narrow end of the instrument and starts playing a tune, the bubbles around him move and vibrate to the rhythm as if they're dancing to the music. The tune is calm and mellow, reflecting the sense of peace and tranquility the bun is feeling. The two harpups rouse from their sleep and joins Ros, howling to the tune with their snouts facing up. The music slowly comes to an end and Ros takes a big sigh, feeling his worries released to sea, swept away by the waves as if consumed and sundered. He smiles in the bliss of it.

That's when he hears the sound of running footsteps on sand, he looks towards the direction of the source to see his roommate coming towards him flailing a baseball bat around with a baby impup running alongside them.

"ROSSSS!!!" Petri shouts in excitement. When they reach the house they clumsily drop the baseball bat on the patio making it clatter on the floorboards, disturbing the harpups' rest and gives Ros a biiiig hug. "Sorry, I'm late! Earlier this afternoon a customer told me there was a sudden shortage of blood at the blood bank so I dropped by the hospital after work. Hope you didn't wait long! They gave me some cake to eat, so that took me awhile- speaking of which have you eaten? and oh- AHHH!!! I forgot to buy dinner!" Petri exclaims, holding their head in their hands followed by an exasperated nnooooo!

Ros who hasn't had the chance to respond after being greeted by this bumble of energy simply smiles and gives Petri a gentle pat on their shoulder. "Don't worry, I've had something to eat earlier. Amy over baked again and dropped by this morning to give us some baked goods. Your favourites included." The other bun gasps and perks up. "Pineapple tarts?" They start jumping on the patio excitedly, making the floorboards creak and the harpups whine in annoyance, having quite enough of the ruckus.

"Ah! So sorry, I didn't see you all there." Petri says apologetically, they give the harpups pets and that seems to satisfy them enough to forgive the noisy bun as they flop back to sleep. Petri's impup, Rain, yips and joins the harpups in their rest.

Ros watches them amusingly. "Yes, pineapple tarts. I stored them in the fridge."

Petri hums in thought. "Buuut, as much as I love pineapple tarts, I don't think it's a good idea to eat sweets at night, it'll keep me up all night and I have a morning shift tomorrow." They frown, saddened that they have to wait a little longer before they can feast upon Amy's delicious pineapple tarts. The thought of it makes their stomach growl.

Ros giggles at that and shakes his head. "I think we have some pasta and pasta sauce left, but not enough for a two bun meal though."

"Ohh!!! I brought home some garlic bread! We could have them together along with some mushroom soup. I believe we have a can left?" suggested Petri.

Ros nods. "Sounds like a plan." He gets up to open the door for everyone.

"Gosh, I work at a market store and I keep forgetting to restock our own pantry!" Petri exclaims as they enter with the imps following behind, grabbing the baseball bat along the way.

"You work hard and I bet you're tired after work to think of such things. Besides, it's a long walk from home and it'll tire you to carry groceries all that way. I'll fetch you tomorrow at The Egg Store then we can carry them back together."

"Hmm alright, thank you Ros, you're very kind and thoughtful!" Petri bumps shoulders with Ros.

Ros smiles. "Hey, you are kind and thoughtful as well and also sweet and adorable!" He playfully pinches Petri's cheeks and that got them giggling. Ros eyes the baseball bat Petri is holding and points at it. "By the way where did you get that? I don't think I've ever seen one at home."

"Oh, this?" Petri brandishes the baseball bat, it looks new like as if recently bought from store. "Eggsy got this for me. Since there's many missing people cases and deaths, they don't want me going around without a weapon to protect myself."

"That's nice of them."

"Yeah!!!"

The two bun goes to make pasta in a lovely chilly night under the beautiful dim luminescent lights of the night, safe and sound in the confines of their home, spared from the horrors that has befell other parts of Burrowgatory.