The warmth had returned

Not quite the same as her mother's warmness, but rather more artificial. A replacement for what had been

It was at least an effort.

Perhaps this was a sign of a new beginning?

Maybe she'd be alright...

Maybe...

~~~

Fries held the tiny puffling close to his chest, wrapping the creature in a blanket to try and calm its shivering.

Poor thing was in worse shape than he first thought.

The little critter was absolutely filthy, covered in blood and other grime, its fur matted down and torn from being abandoned overnight. Fleas crawled in the dull pink fur, causing tiny beads of blood to form on its skin from their bite wounds.

It was so tiny- feeling nearly weightless in Fries' arms, barely even shivering anymore, completely consumed by exhaustion. He was almost certain it wouldn't even last the night.

"I'm so sorry, little guy..." The potato treat cradled the tiny puffling, trying desperately to keep it warm and comfortable...especially as this may very well be its final moments. Its breathing was slow and shallow, barely wriggling and squeaking.

But not all hope was lost.

The little creature began to weakly suckle at the blanket, its stomach throbbing with hunger, as it had been well over a day since its last meal. Poor thing was withering away from hunger, desperate for even the tiniest shred of sustenance.

Fries took quick notice of this, perking up, as he saw it as a sign that just possibly, this puffling could pull through. "One second, little guy- I got ya..." He gently placed the ball of fluff down on the couch, sure to wrap it up in the blanket as he heated up some milk, sucking up the liquid into an eyedropper, and carrying the makeshift bottle over to the bundle of blankets.

"Ok- ok, hold still for me..." Picking up the tiny puffling, Fries gently placed the tip of the eyedropper into its mouth, gently squeezing the bulb to help some milk flow from the tube. At first the creature didn't react, simply allowing a dribble of milk to trail down its chin, soaking into the blanket below. "Come on, buddy, you can do it...hang in there, please..." Fries held the puffling closer, squeezing a bit more of the life-giving fluid into its mouth.

That's when a miracle happened.

The tiny pink puffling that was just barely breathing...

Began to suckle.

Fries was overjoyed. He felt tears drip down his cheeks as he squeezed the tiny puff, encouraging it to continue to suckle, and nourish itself. Tiny squeaks began to emanate from the little ball of fur, as it continued to nurse, slowly gaining its strength back with each sip. Fries felt as though he was witnessing a miracle, tears pouring from his eyes as he continued to feed the puffling, refilling the eyedropper with warm milk whenever it got low, gently stroking its fur and softly cooing to the little critter.

It was going to survive.

He was sure of it.

After nearly 3 full eyedroppers, the little puffball had finally drank its fill, weakly licking around its face with a tiny pink tongue, cleaning the excess milk from its fur. "All done, little guy? You did a good job..." Fries placed the eyedropper back on the table, cradling the puffling close to his body, letting it absorb his body heat.

Although it was eating, it was still severely malnourished, and all those fleas sucking its veins dry certainly weren't helping. And given the filthy state it was in, Fries was sure they weren't the only parasites leeching off the tiny puffling.

...He should probably take care of that filth...

Slowly, Fries walked the little puff over to his kitchen sink, putting in the drain plug and adding a shallow volume of lukewarm water, making sure the temperature was warm enough to keep the little guy comfortable, without potentially scalding the poor thing.

"Alright, buddy, time for a little bath...it's gonna be nice, and warm..." He gently unwrapped the puffling, gently dipping it into the shallow water and allowing it to sit on the sink's smooth bottom. The poor puff seemed quite nervous, squealing out softly and shifting uncomfortably in the water, as the wetness was an unwelcome sensation for such a young creature. "I know, buddy, it'll be ok...I just need to clean you off!" Fries picked up a small cup, using it to dampen the puffling's fur as he began to lather up some dish soap, hoping to clean some of the nasty grime off of its coat.

Why was there so much blood?

Fries nervously scrubbed the blood from the tiny creature, when another thought popped into his head

Where was its mother?

~~~Author's Notes~~~

See? Told you she'd be alright.

I hope to get some illustrations in here soon, perhaps next chapter?

Dunno, I'm kinda lazy with art.

But yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with this fic, it's honestly a really nice story to work on.

See ya next part!

-Fire