toontown | Call Me Out Post, 2023

Boober's snout scrunches up as well, as he sighs.

"Yeah, I think the worst part is being that big. A lot of the other people are even taller, and I don't know how they stand it. I rather be able to slip into a nice nook and hide if I need to."

"I can imagine. I already think Riz is too tall as it is." Riz is not outlandishly tall for a Goblin. In fact, she is pretty sure (but not positive anymore, why is it so difficult to grasp onto every memory she wants to keep) he's still a little shorter than Pok was. But he's grown taller than her, and far, far taller than the little child she used to be able to wrap up in her arms and keep safe from everything. He's becoming an adult, a very capable one at that, and it is all she ever wanted, but with everything he gets up to, it scares her too.

Boober hums thoughtfully, not entirely sure how to respond at first. Maybe some would say he's overthinking it - people tell him he does that a lot -but he feels like he'd understand where she was coming from better if "parents and children" weren't still a bit of a new structure for him.

But then, in a way, Sklonda and Pok - through Riz's talk of them, anyway - are the main foundation he has for the idea. So, maybe he understands enough. Not Sklonda's side of this, but all the same...

"He misses you." He shrugs a little as he says it, not out of uncaring but of an awareness that it's a bittersweet thing to say. Some might try to add a more purely sweet note to the statement, but Boober? He's not one to sugarcoat.

Edited (hi yes I know how jamjar rps work) 2023-09-04 23:07 (UTC)

"I can imagine. I'd feel the same way."

And it makes her feel bad to know that he is here and she hadn't even known. That is not a helpful thing to feel, she knows. Based on what Riz had said, there was no way she could've known. But feelings rarely listen to logic.

Still, she won't dump that on Boober. This is only their first meeting. She doesn't want to burden him with her feelings and make this entire thing even more awkward than it already is.

"I'm just glad he's managed to find such good friends in this place. You and this... Mando's his name, right? I hope I can meet him too before I'm forced to leave again." If only to impress her unending gratitude to this unknown adult who had somewhat taken the role of guardian on himself while Riz was here. It's a tough role to have. "Riz can... Riz can be a lot at times, so I'm glad you've been patient with him."

That's all her boy ever needed, just someone patient enough to give him a chance. Sklonda doesn't think of herself as badly biased, but she knows Riz has plenty of good traits and such a big heart once you get past the often awkward first impression. She's glad these people have been able to, like Riz's party has in their own world.

Boober hesitates, a hand in the air as he goes to speak but stops. This is... well, it's embarrassing to say to someone who isn't Riz, but he does think Sklonda should know, probably.

"Well, it's not hard to do. I mean, don't get me wrong, Riz can really, really try my patience. But I don't think I've ever known anyone who hasn't, and--"

Okay, here goes.

"--I love him very much. That's why he tries my patience, because I care about him and I worry. And I know that sometimes it can be a bit much for him, but well, that's when he's patient with me in return... It's-- It's a big deal, you know. To me. Um..."

With a soft sigh, Boober looks down at his hands and shrugs again. "I just felt like it was important to tell you that."

Oh. Oh, that's--

Sklonda has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too wide, and actually just going awww. There is nothing quite like teenage love, is it -- the intensity of it, the awkward fumbling purity. Sklonda has no illusions about the other, less pure interests that often accompany it, but feelings-wise, it's something special.

"Thanks for telling me, kiddo. That's really nice to hear." Gods, what a sweet and polite boy. How had Riz managed to find one of these? "I hope he's been treating you well. You let me know if he hasn't. He isn't too old for me to grab him by the ear and give him a lecture."

Boober laughs a little at the very idea of Riz getting grabbed by his pointy, green ear, but shakes his head.

"Oh, no, Riz is very good to me. He looks out for me; I-I wish he took that good care of himself." He slumps a little. "I do my best, you know? I can help make sure he eats well, at least. But you try to get him to sleep, and it's like trying to shake the skitter stone, I--"

He cuts himself off with a scoff as he realizes he's going on a bit of a tangent. "Um, but the point is, he makes me feel very safe, and very cared for."

"Oh, believe me, I know. It was a battle and a half to get him to agree to the four-hour minimum. Which is nowhere near enough, but it's something."

Boober doesn't have to cut himself off on her account. If nothing else, it's very nice to have someone to share her complaints with, someone who also loves Riz and wishes he could just slow down for five godsdamn minutes.

"He's always been that way, you know. He's always fought going to bed even as a little kid. It felt like he thought everything interesting was going to happen the moment he closed his eyes."

Boober chuckles, his smile brightening. "I can believe it! He's so curious, and goodness, you'd think the world was going to end if he takes a break when he's on a case. I understand working hard, I love to do that too! But he is just... So stubborn about it."

He shakes his head, smile still strong.

She hums in agreement. "Before I let him get an office downtown, his clue boards were slowly starting to take over our apartment."

Of course, Riz had barely gotten to enjoy his office before he had gotten kidnapped and dragged on their spring break quest.

"Oh, he still makes those here, too. Mando helps him put things higher up on it."

Boober shrugs. The boards... He doesn't totally get them, but he likes the idea of being prepared and looking at situations carefully!

"That's not much my thing, though. Don't get me wrong, Riz is a great investigator, and I'm glad he enjoys it. But cooking and laundry, those are the kind of things I like to do."

"Cooking and... I'm sorry, did you say laundry?"

Cooking, okay, Sklonda gets that. Lots of people enjoy that as a hobby. Gorthalax likes to cook (even if he cannot really eat). Pok had enjoyed cooking whenever he was home between missions. It's not something Sklonda has ever really come to understand --cooking is just a task to her, same as cleaning the bathroom or dusting the shelves-- but it's a common enough hobby.

Laundry though...

Boober smiles and sits up as tall as he can, proud. Oh, he can hear confusion in her voice, but that's not new to him. It's never mattered before - not with his closest friends back home, or even Riz. He knows what he likes, and others don't have to truly understand.

"Yes, back home my job is to do the laundry for all fraggles. It's wonderful work, very satisfying and calm... And important too! Do you know how badly clothes can come to smell in a damp underground area?" He shudders. "I hate to think of how disgusting everyone's poor clothes would get if I wasn't there."

Sklonda doesn't really get it, but it's very clear Boober is proud of his work. It seems like he is, in his own way, contributing to his society back home. And that is something Sklonda can always appreciate. It's all work to help make everybody's lives just a bit better. It isn't very glamorous, but that makes it no less important.

"I can only imagine. I've only ever had to do laundry for me and Riz -- Pok too when he was still with us. It was plenty of work for just the three of us."

"I'm sure it was! At least, I know Riz dresses nicely but he doesn't take the best care when it comes to stains and things." A soft chuckle. "But he does know it means a lot to me, clothing stuff. He introduced me to laundromats! We don't have our own means to doing laundry here in the apartment, but he'll come with me when I do the wash. He brings his notebook or something else to read, and it's really nice just to spend that time together quietly."

Again, Sklonda has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from awww-ing out loud. Teenagers can be very sensitive to that sort of thing, and she doesn't want to make Riz's little boyfriend embarrassed, but ancestors, this is all so damn adorable. She kinda hopes she can speak to this Mando later, and perhaps gush to him before she just bursts.

"Do the two of you do a lot of things together like that?"

"We do. For both of us, I think, it's really easy to spend time together. I usually like a lot of calm time alone, and I do still need that. But time with Riz... Even when it's not calm, it just feels... Normal. Like I can be me, if that makes sense?"

Boober is almost surprised his tail isn't glowing just thinking about how comfortable he is with Riz. How himself he feels in those times. But of course, it is a little different than the real thing.

"Not too long ago, we started watching some shows together-- A lot of crime dramas that aren't so good to me, but it's fun when Riz gets critical about the plots, or tries to guess the mystery. But we also started watching a baking competition, and I love that one. It's given me so many ideas, and..."

He pauses, and while his tail isn't glowing it does start to flick a little in his happiness as he says, almost conspiratorially, "Riz started enjoying it, too."

Sklonda laughs softly. "Oh, Riz and I always do that together too -- watch crime shows and point out all the ways how it doesn't work like that, I mean. We don't-- I work a lot, and Riz is very busy with school now, so we don't get a lot of time to do that sort of thing anymore, but I'm glad he was able to share it with you."

At the mention of watching baking shows with Riz though, she shakes her head ruefully. "I think you're very brave to watch cooking shows with Riz. His appetite does not need more stimulation."

It's funny. Riz can go so long without eating when he is preoccupied with a mystery. But when he is there in the moment, he eats like any teenaged Goblin -- which is to say, far too much for her meager grocery budget.

Boober blushes a bit, which mostly just has the apparent effect of darkening the fur on his cheeks a bit. Being able to share something with Riz that was an important thing within his family, that makes him actually appreciate watching those crime shows.

But then she mentioned Riz's appetite, and Boober's touched, flustered feelings take a backseat as he grins, nodding eagerly. He has absolutely come alive, here. "No, no, it's actually great! I love to cook, and this place gives me the chance to try all kind of new recipes and ingredients and-- and, oh there's just so much! And like Riz says, not being picky is something a goblin is proud of. So, even though it means I can't always tell if an experiment is good, nothing goes to waste!

"Besides, I like... I like taking care of the people I love, and food is one of the best ways I know how, so.... It works out."

"I did think Riz felt a little less skinny when I hugged him. So I guess I have you to thank for that."

Not, admittedly, a lot less skinny. Sklonda is very certain at this point that at her son's core there exists a black hole where both food and sense go to die. Pok had told her he and his brother had been much the same growing up, so she can only hope that he'll age out of it eventually.

Call Me Out Post, 2023

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