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Fat Nuggets woke up from a midday nap, half-buried in fluffy pink and white blankets. Poking his head out to explore the noise that had awoken him, his eyes landed on his owner standing by the mirror. There was agitation in the man's voice, strained from the stress of trying to maintain a level volume.
The piglet let out a soft snuffle in response, and the man walked over to the bed to sit down beside him. A gloved hand began rubbing the top of his head - letting out a happy noise, he leaned into the feel of satin against his ears. The man looked at Nuggets and smiled, bringing his face down until their noses touched. As the pig poked out a tiny tongue to lick the man's cheek, a loud crash rang out from his other hand.
Diving back into the fuzzy shelter, the piglet shivered as a loud voice followed the crash. He heard tears in the tall man's voice as it wavered, then silence. The blanket was removed from him gently and he was scooped into long slender arms.
An apologetic voice comforted Nuggets, its owner hugging him tight before setting him on the floor next to his food dish. The creak of a dresser drawer caused his toes to tap involuntarily – that meant treats! The piglet nudged the tall man gently with his snout, waiting for the delicious honeyed oat pieces. A long arm lowered within his reach, and his little feet tapped faster. He ate greedily, doing his best to not leave even a crumb behind, and the man dusted off his gloves.
With one last pat to the piglet's head, the man turned and walked out the door. Nuggets waited to hear the click. The sound that assured him he was safe in the little room until his owner returned. No click came. The tiny pig trotted to the door, only to be startled as it opened toward him slightly.
He hadn't been outside of this room since being brought here from that loud studio. The thought of not being in the room frightened him a bit – he remembered it being so big out there. It was loud, too, but not in the same way as the studio had been. The noises seemed... happy.
Nuggets slowly nudged the door open a bit further and cautiously took his first steps out into the hotel.
***
It took him a while, his tiny trotters not really meant for stairs, but the piglet eventually made it to the ground floor. The happy noises were louder here, coming from creatures he had only seen briefly from his carrier when the tall one first came to live here.
Nuggets looked toward the sitting room, drawn to the happiest of the noises – a girl sat on the floor, legged tucked beneath her, teasing a small fluffy critter with a piece of twine. The small ball of fur swished its tail before pouncing at the string, catching it between dainty paws.
The piglet squealed excitedly, and trotted over to join the fun. The happy girl paused in her motions, and her fluffy companion blinked in surprise and let out a curious sound. He paused, too, unsure of whether or not he really belonged here. The girl raised her arm slowly, offering her palm for Nuggets to sniff.
Satisfied the girl didn't mean him any harm, he sniffed the twine next. It didn't smell very enticing, but the fluffy creature seemed to be having fun with it? He tried to mimic its motions, wiggling his curly tail and lifting his front feet to bring them down on the cord. The girl let out a somehow even happier noise, turning to the other girl seated behind her – this one looked kind of mean.
The piglet started to shy away from the extra attention when the mean-looking one smiled and patted the spot next to her. There was a another critter, this one woolly, on her lap. It looked... unhappy. Nuggets walked over to them, and sniffed the downy creature, who looked up at him with sad eyes. He licked its muzzle tentatively, then looked up at the mean-looking girl.
She smiled and patted him gently on the head before rubbing his ear between her fingers. He let out a contented snuffle and settled in near her leg. The woolly creature got up from the girl's lap and stretched slightly. It walked over to him, giving a curious sniff, and curled up beside him so they were laying tail to tail.
***
Fat Nuggets was awoken again by the sound of skittering and tapping against the floor. The two girls and their critters were gone, but someone had bundled him in a soft blanket. Peeking over the couch cushion, the piglet saw a small creature with one eye frantically stabbing at bugs. He carefully made his way to the edge of the seat, and tried to find the safest way down. As he jumped to the floor, the tiny thing made a sound he wasn't sure about. She looked at him with a wide grin filled with sharp teeth, and he ducked under the sofa to get away.
The toothy girl peered under the couch and made noises that were almost soothing. Nuggets didn't think this one knew how to be soothing. When he didn't come out, she went back to scurrying around and poking at the floor with thin sharp metal. While the piglet didn't trust the jumpy thing at all, he didn't want to stay under the sofa forever. What if the tall one couldn't find him there?
He poked his snout out from under the furniture, watching nervously as the one with the teeth killed every bug she could see. Spotting one of the bugs crawling up to him, the little pig came out from his hiding place and stomped it with his hoof. The one-eyed maniac turned her gaze and ran over to him. Too startled to flee, he froze as the tiny thing wrapped thin arms around his neck. Almost like a hug. It pulled away and touched the tips of his horns, testing their sharpness. After testing the tip of her metal poking stick and finding it sharper, she turned away disappointed.
Nuggets wasn't quite sure what any of that meant, but he didn't want to stay long enough to find out. He galloped toward the next room, in the direction of bright lights and yummy smells. In his haste to get away, he tumbled face-first into a short wooden wall.
He shook his head and looked up, seeing the tall cat creature looking at him from the other side. This one he knew a bit better. Sometimes he would come into the tall one's room at night and curl up next to him in bed. Those were the times the piglet had to sleep on a soft cushion in the closet. He wasn't sure how he felt about the cat because of that.
The creature let out a short, indifferent laugh before disappearing behind the wall. Nuggets heard rustling and the opening of a jar, then smelled something good, so he tottered to the edge of the wall and peeked around the corner. The cat seemed to have something in his paw – the good smell! The piglet moved cautiously in his direction, trying not to seem too interested in the potential snack. When he was close enough, the cat held out the paw to offer him... Nuggets wasn't sure. It was a whitish oval, and it smelled tangy.
The piglet took a small nibble of the food. He hoped it was food, it kind of smelled like food. It was, and it tasted good! He took the rest of the morsel in one bite, then licked the cat's paw for any traces of the tangy liquid the food was covered in. Looking around for more and being disappointed, Nuggets spotted a pile of dirty rags in the corner, next to the shelves with all the bottles on them.
He trotted over to the rags and grabbed one of them in his mouth. He tugged it, separating it from the rest, before stepping into the middle of the pile. He turned twice, the rag trailing behind him, and settled in. The rag from his mouth fell over him like a blanket, and he fell asleep surrounded by the smell of fruit juice and the clinking of glasses.
***
The room was mostly dark when Fat Nuggets was awoken yet again by a familiar voice. His owner sat perched on one of the tall seats on the other side of the wall. He and the cat were talking in hushed tones and giving each other happy looks as they each enjoyed a drink. A curious snort alerted the cat, who turned around to pick him up from the floor. The tall man's eyes widened in surprise as he scooped the piglet into a hug. Nuggets knew he shouldn't be here, but no one seemed angry with him.
The tall man called the cheerful girl over and they talked for a while, occasionally making shapes in the air with their hands – both ended the conversation looking happy. His owner patted him between the ears and carried him upstairs, much faster than this morning. After the door closed, he was placed on the comfy bed. It wasn't long before the piglet fell asleep again.
In the morning, Nuggets was surprised to find the tall man placing a flap over a hole at the bottom of the door. When he jumped off the bed to investigate, he was shown just what the new opening was for. He crawled into his owner's lap and let out a soft oink before licking his hand in appreciation.