Chapter Text
On a cool windy night, with the moon gleaming brightly in the sky, one would typically expect there to be little to no sign of movement or activity- inside or out. In Fable, however, they would be in for a surprise.
Most nights, one person or another would be too wired or too worried to sleep, but would have no one nearby to help calm them. A rather common occurrence involved discovering a certain scientist passed out on a messy desk with a weakly burning lantern nearby. This particular occurrence had ceased to happen recently.
There were still others who either chose not to sleep or could not bring themselves to fall into a slumber. A hard-working prince, a potions expert, a cave-exploring olm hybrid. Mostly those who had a concern they deemed more important than sleep. At one point or another, everyone on the server had experienced difficulties with sleeping.
This night was different from all the rest. A rare night where everyone, everyone, lay asleep. Two teenagers curled around each other in a blanket nest, a white-haired map-maker exhausted by a recent exploration, two partners cuddled together under a starry cape, missing their third.
Well. Almost everyone.
In the house tucked into a hill, friends and family safe within, a few creatures were stirring, and none called humankind kin.
Atlas slipped through the cracked-open door of her owners’ upper bedroom, pausing for a moment to make sure she hadn't woken them before quietly making her way down to the living area. Her paws padded dully against the wood, her tail swished behind her, and her ears twitched with the soft sounds of the other pets coming to join her.
She hopped up onto the pebble couch and lay down, Hope quickly joining her. A steady stream of cats surrounded them, the axolotls peeked out of the rippling water of the living room pond, and the brightly colored parrots gave quiet chirps. All the pets of the lovingly named Banner Fam, converging for a long-overdue discussion.
Atlas huffed softly. Time to figure out how to help. First things first…
“How's Athena?”
With that simple question, many pairs of vertical-slit pupils turned to the bigger wolf-dog. All of Athena’s cats blinked simultaneously, a rather impressive and unnerving feat. One that Atlas would have been mildly concerned about, if she hadn't seen them do it multiple times already.
“They've been away for quite a while, we haven't seen them recently,” A brown tabby cat responded, seemingly on behalf of all of the felines.
“Yeah, I think they've been at the Archives. It's honestly a little worrying. Should I go get Jellie?”This time, it was a small tan cat who spoke, their tail flicking behind them as they gave their opinion.
Atlas tilted her head, considering the proposal. On one hand, it would be helpful to talk to Jellie, but the Archives were a little too far for the time of night... “That won't be necessary. Someone can go fill them in later and get their input, just as we do for Picasso and the others who can't be here.”
The cats collectively nodded, shifting to create a half-moon shape around the couch and pond. As the moon slowly traveled its path in the sky, the animals continued their conversation, discussing the state of the server, and more importantly, the members.
They talked about anything and everything, from Rae's hurried leaving and his boyfriends’ sadness to Momboo’s mysterious disappearance. Each pet had something to share, some little fact or opinion, mostly from small snippets of conversations they had overheard. There was a small benefit to the people (minus Jamie) not understanding them, and it was because of that they could gather so much information so easily.
Finally, as the conversation wound down and it seemed as though no one had more new information, Atlas asked the main question of the night. “How can we help them?”
Most agreed that cuddle piles would be very effective, and some of Athena’s cats suggested leaving small comfort items for the humans. The idea of setting up some kind of watch system to make sure people took care of themselves was brought up, and many seemed on board with it. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the main issues for most people would not be easily fixed.
It would take a lot of time, patience, and more than a few therapy sessions. Still, all the server’s pets were up to the challenge of making their humans’ days just a little bit better.
After all, just like the humans themselves, they would do anything for the people who cared about them. Despite some being unwilling to show it daily, the pets of the Fable Smp were nothing if not loyal.