Date with Mothball

Frostwillow leaned back, holding in a groan of frustration. She had been doing a fair bit of foraging lately, enjoying the new growth of berries in the spring but had managed to find herself burneded with a lot of new friends. The amount of Fluffmites and Dandilions that she’d found of late was getting to feel astronomical. But they were so hungry and sweet, how could she not care for them?! It wasn’t reasonable to be able to keep and care for every one of them, but Frostwillow was determined to provide them with a good foster home while she tried to find perfect forever homes for each one and figure out who wanted to stay with her the most. 

However, it had been a bit of a struggle. The Fluffmites were constantly getting burs in their fur because they loved to roll in bramblebushes and the Bunnaboo was ready to absolutely tear out all of her hair and fur. It was getting ridiculous. She’d picked out dozens from their fur only this morning, and now they were covered all over again! With resignation, she gathered the creatures up in a large basket and placed a soft fluffy blanket over them to both ensure they all remained inside and also remained warm in the chilly spring air. 

Frostwillow had tried to do this on her own but she was simply too overwhelmed. It was time to call in the expert. With determined steps, she made her way all the way to Mothball’s Creature Emporium. The first thing she noticed upon stepping inside was that there were a lot of Fluffmites. No, not a lot. A hoard. They were covering nearly every surface of the place, cuddling together in little rainbow piles of fluff. In fact, due to the sheer number of them, Frostwillow had a hard time locating Mothball at first since she blended in with the creatures, since she was fluffy as well. 

“Good afternoon. Are you looking to purchase a Fluffmite?” Mothball asked with a hesitant smile. 

“Um… not exactly. I see you’re having the same issue as me,” Frostwillow admitted with a little chuckle, setting her bag on the counter after gently pushing aside a couple of the creatures. With a careful paw, she lifted the corner of the soft blanket to reveal her own batch of Fluffmites hiding within. 

“Awww, what precious little ones!” Mothball cooed, reaching in a finger and petting one on the head. 

“They are precious, but I’ve actually been having some trouble and was wondering if you’d be up for giving some advice?” Frostwillow tugged a little at her skirt to relieve some of her nerves.

“Sure thing! How can I help?” 

“These little guys keep rolling in the brambles near my house and getting the burs stuck in their fur.” As she spoke, Frostwillow lifted the blanket a little higher to reveal the bur-filled Fluffmites. Some of the burs were now even attaching a couple of the little fluffles together, though they didn’t seem terribly bothered about being stuck together as they chittered away. 

Mothball laughed as she saw it, wiping a little tear of mirth from her eye. “Ooh, yeah. They do tend to get into a lot of mischief, don’t they?” 

“Talk about an understatement,” Frostwillow said under her breath. “The thing is, I’m nervous about pulling too much on their fluff when I’m removing them. Not to mention, they get them stuck multiple times a day. I just don’t have time to sit down and constantly be pulling these things out!” 

“No problem. I’m pretty sure they’re rolling in the brambles because they like the feeling,” Mothball explained. “Fluffmites adore being brushed and groomed. If you haven’t been grooming them enough, then they’re going to use the burs to make it feel like they’re being groomed.” 

Frostwillow blinked in surprise. “Really? But wouldn’t a brush tug too much at their fluff?” 

“Not at all. They adore it, and Fluffmites need to be brushed or they’ll actually develop matts of hair and those can hurt to be brushed out. I carry all the products you’d need,” Mothball assured as she began bustling about to gather the materials. In a matter of minutes, Frostwillow was presented with special shampoos, conditioners, combs, brushes and even a few optional accessories. “Here we are! My advice would be to bathe and brush their fluff when it’s wet the first time. After that, some dry brushing is alright, but wet and conditioned fluff is always going to tug less and brush more easily.” 

“Thank you so much! You are a lifesaver.” Frostwillow paid for the purchases and tucked them into her basket along with the Fluffmites that began rubbing themselves immediately on the brush. Looks like Mothball really knew what she was talking about! 

“Anytime! And enjoy your new fluffy friends!!” With one last pet, Frostwillow made her way out of the shop, determined to return home and care for her new fluffy friends as best as she could, thanks to the delightful pet expert of Booterra.