Chapter Text
~~~Simpler Times~~~
If Schlatt knew anything, he knew that Jambo the cat could protect him from anything. Which is why he was holding onto him so tightly in the dark and quiet of his room. He could hear the sounds Momma was making in her room, the pattern of thumping kept him awake, but he knew he had to wait here, Momma was working. She had brought that man back with her from the city, one of her clients, she called them.
He knew his job, then; pretend he and his baby sister weren't there. Through the darkness, he could see her, sleeping in her crib. He wondered if the sound was keeping her up just like it was keeping him up. It didn't seem to, but Momma said that babies like her tend to sleep more and better. Schlatt pulled Jambo closer to him, hugging onto him tightly, wondering just how long the thumping would go on for. He knew that's where his dad and Puffy's dad had gone. They were the strange men that Momma brought home to give her money. He remembered Puffy's dad, he was like Momma, but Momma said he was a sheep, not a ram. Schlatt's own dad wasn't as interesting, just a human, but Schlatt at least had met him.
Eventually, this thumping would wake Puffy up, which Schlatt didn't want. She deserved the sleep she needed, even if he couldn't have it. He needed to keep an eye on her, that's what Momma had told him. He wasn't exactly sure how he could pop out his eye and leave it on Puffy, but he figured just watching her with his eyes still in his head was good enough for Momma.
He was right, almost as if he could predict the future. Puffy started whining, cooing over in her crib, and Schlatt slid off of his bed quickly. She was in those moments right before she would actually cry, she was looking around, and Schlatt knew what she needed now. He hurried over, finding where she had thrown her own plushie, a dog plushie that she couldn't yet name. He pushed it through the bars of the crib, and she held onto it with her little hands, but it wasn't enough.
She still looked, threatening to accidentally let the stranger know that she was there. So, Schlatt had to do something quick. He reached through the bars, his small arm and hand easily passing through until he was able to reach her hand. She held onto him, like he was going to leave her behind, but now she at least knew for sure that her big brother was there for her. He always would be, Momma said he had to be.
It didn’t bother him, anyway. She was probably the most important thing to him in this house. So, if he had to stay awake and let Puffy hold his hand, then he was okay with that. It was his responsibility as the big brother. He leaned his head against the crib, watching her as her fluffy ears twitched in her sleep, and her hooved feet kick a bit. His own ears twitched too, though his ears weren't as fluffy as hers. Momma said that it was because he was a goat, like she was, and Puffy was a sheep, like her dad, and Schlatt didn't have the hooves, like Puffy's. He had feet like his dad.
He had nearly fallen asleep when he heard the front door open and close, and he knew what that meant. Slowly, he took his hand back from Puffy, making sure she wasn't going to wake up because he moved his hand away. When he was sure that she was still asleep, he walked to the door, opening it just a crack so he wouldn’t let in too much light. He tightened his grasp on Jambo, and he found Momma in the main room, standing at the table. She was wearing one of her big shirts, but Schlatt could see her tail flicking around.
Her big horns on her head were always so pretty to Schlatt, and they made Momma look so powerful. She tapped her hoof on the hardwood floor as she hummed quietly, counting out coins on the table. He had short, curly hair, and she was so much taller than he was. She hadn’t noticed Schlatt yet.
“Momma?” Schlatt said. His voice was small. Momma turned around quickly, clearly shocked to see Schlatt standing there,
“JJ, honey, what are you doing out of bed?” she asked, walking over to him.
Schlatt shrugged as he cuddled Jambo closer to him. “I couldn’t sleep, but Puffy can.”
Momma ruffled Schlatt’s hair as she stood back up. “Go sit down at the table, honey, do you want some warm milk?” Schlatt smiled, and he hurried over to the table. He climbed up onto his favorite chair, and he watched as Momma started to heat up some water over the stove. “So, you couldn’t sleep?”
Schlatt shook his head. “I don’t think I’m tired,” he said with a yawn.
Momma laughed as she got a cup of milk ready too, though she still had to wait for the water to get warm enough. “You certainly look tired. Why couldn’t you go to sleep?”
“I didn’t want Puffy to wake up,” Schlatt said. Momma poured the hot water into a bowl and set the cup in it, now waiting for it to warm up. Momma stayed quiet. “She did a little bit, but I helped her fall back asleep, just like you said, Momma.”
“I’m proud of you, honey. You’ve done a great job.”
“I kept her quiet while you worked,” Schlatt said as Momma placed the warm milk in front of him. He took it into his hands and took a sip from it.
“Thank you,” Momma said. She pulled out the chair next to Schlatt and sat next to him so she could finish moving the coins around. “You’re a good kid, you know that?”
Schlatt thought about it for a moment, before he nodded his head confidently. “Yes, I do know that, thank you Momma,” Schlatt said. Momma laughed as she started to place the coins into her coin purse. “I’ve been working extra hard too, you know.”
“Have you now?”
“Yes! Lots of people have been coming around at night, meaning that I have to work, Momma.”
“That’s true, and you’re such a big help,” Momma said. She sat up. “Hey, since you’ve been working so much, maybe you should get paid.” Schlatt perked up. “And since I’ve been doing so well, I can maybe buy you and your sister something nice. Do you want to go into town, let’s say, tomorrow?”
Schlatt nodded his head, all but squealing in excitement at the idea of going into town. He could barely remember the last time that he had gone. “Really? Can we really go?”
“Of course, honey, I think it would be fun. You, me, and your sister, all just having a fun day, and you both can pick out a new toy, I think it would be really fun.”
“Can Jambo come with?”
“We’ll see, maybe Jambo wouldn’t want to come, it might be a little too much for him, what do you think?”
Schlatt looked deeply into Jambo’s eyes before he nodded at him. “Yeah, Momma, you’re right.” He took another, long drink from his milk, but before he could set it back down, both he and Momma were startled by a hard knocking at the door. Schlatt dropped the milk, and it spilled all over the table. “Momma, I’m sorry,” he said quickly.
Momma quickly turned to the door. “Just go to your room, JJ. Stay there until I come get you, we’ll clean up later.”
Schlatt didn’t want to move. He knew someone dangerous was outside the door, the knocking was so loud, so angry. He didn’t want Momma to be alone. He grabbed Jambo from the table and he found a hiding place where he and Jambo could watch and listen.
Momma opened the door, and he recognized the voice that immediately spoken the moment the door was open. “You stole my money,” he said, his voice was deep, and scary, but Jambo would keep Schlatt safe as long as he was holding onto him.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. You paid me exactly the amount that we agreed on in the city,” Momma said. Schlatt could see her standing tall, and her tail was completely still. The only time that he had seen her tail so still was when she was being completely serious--like she was now--like when Schlatt was in trouble or something.
“Don’t lie to me, bitch,” the man said. He was moving closer and closer to Momma, and Momma was stepping back carefully, not wanting to trip over anything, but she wasn’t giving in. “It was here, and now it’s gone!” the man’s voice was raising.
“Look, I don’t know where you put your damn coin purse!” Momma was raising her voice too.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” the man’s voice was so loud, so commanding, yet Momma wasn’t giving in. Momma opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as soon as she heard crying from the other room. Schlatt looked to the door, seeing that it was still slightly open, just like he had left it. He tried to figure out a way to get in there and calm Puffy down, but he also knew that he couldn’t make it without being noticed. “You have a child?”
“Get out of my house. It’s not my fault you lost your coin purse, but you will not stand here and yell at me in my own home,” Momma said. She was trying to get in his face now. It was surprising that the man wasn’t scared of Momma’s horns, a lot of people had a tendency to be scared of big horns like hers.
“Don’t tell me what to do, bitch,” the man said. His voice was almost like a growl, and Schlatt knew that he had to so something. He looked around for anything that could help, a stick--which didn’t make sense to find in the house, but it was the first thing that came to mind--or maybe something he could throw or...a coin purse that he didn’t recognize as Momma’s. He could hear Momma and the man still yelling back and forth at each other, but Schlatt knew that this was the missing coin purse.
He set Jambo down, and he held tightly onto the missing coin purse, and he ran forward, charging the man with his head. The fact that he hadn’t yet grown in any horns hadn’t changed the fact that it was his instinct to headbutt the man. It worked, the man turned to Schlatt. “Who the fuck are you?”
“I told you to go to your room,” Momma said quickly.
“Momma said get out,” Schlatt said. He held up the coin purse to the man. The man turned away from Momma, now walking towards Schlatt, and Schlatt couldn’t help but feel like he had messed up. The man approached, raising a hand. Quickly, Momma stepped between Schlatt and the man, just in time to prevent him from hitting her son, but only by taking the hit herself. She stumbled to the floor, and Schlatt bent down, gently shaking Momma.
“Momma?” Schlatt asked. Momma lifted her head, pain clearly in her eyes, but she nodded at Schlatt, taking the coin purse from Schlatt. She stood back up, keeping herself in front of Schlatt.
She shoved the coin purse into the man’s chest. “Get the fuck out of my house,” Momma said, lowly. It was enough to be terrifying, and it made Schlatt shudder in his skin. The man gave one more look at Momma, and tried to looked passed her to Schlatt, but she kept herself in front of him, not letting him see him at all. The man huffed, but he left, slamming the door behind him. Momma quickly locked the door behind him and then turned around.
“Momma? Are you okay?” Schlatt asked as he quickly grabbed Jambo then followed Momma into his room, where he could still hear Puffy crying. Momma picked Puffy up, cradling her in her arms and trying to calm her down. “Momma?”
“I’m alright, honey,” she said. She sat down in the rocking chair, adjusting Puffy so she could hold her in one arm. “You should have listened to me.” She said. Her voice was so soft now, so much more different than the way she was speaking just a little bit ago.
“I’m sorry, Momma,” Schlatt said. He had tears in his eyes. Momma let out a breath as she held out her arm to Schlatt.
“Come here, JJ, it’s okay,” she said. Schlatt quickly climbed up on her lap, resting his face into her shoulder. She rocked back and forth slowly, never stopping until she knew that Puffy had gone to sleep, but Schlatt still wasn’t asleep, despite how much he wanted to be asleep. The lull of sleep wasn’t very far from him while Momma was right there, holding him until he finally stopped stirring. He could feel her stand up slowly, and then carry him to the bed. He was much too tired to stay up any longer.