Author's Notes:

So this world is a mix of the novels, the 90's anime, and the new Moomin Valley series (which admittedly I've only seen the first three episodes of.) I have strong feelings regarding Moominmamma. Moominmamma is a goddess.

I'm also working on the idea that the inhabitants we see in the Moomin world are all the little spirits, sprites, trolls, and other beings that inhabit folklore and they both live in the world with humans and apart from them. Sometimes the worlds collide and the result isn't always a good thing.

Moominmamma woke fitfully from her hibernation. It was earlier than usual and not the graceful rise of consciousness a few days long. Something had roused her.

She sat up in bed and looked over at Moominpappa still peacefully sleeping. With quiet care she slipped from bed and first went to check on Moomintroll, then she silently went down the stairs.

A lamp was lit in the parlor and the stove had been stoked up warmer than Moominpappa had left it.

Someone was lying wrapped up in several blankets on the sofa. Lying so very, very still.

As her eyes re-adjusted the light she saw tufts of reddish brown hair and very black eye in a bruised familiar face.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "Snufkin!"

And she hurried to kneel at his side, and froze when she heard a quiet rumble from behind her.

"MMGGGRRRRRMMMGGGRRRR"

Moominmamma slowly turned her head and saw two blue eyes glowing in the darkness that still veiled a sitting chair. A heartbeat later she recognized the owner of those eyes was not fully awake, so she stayed still until she saw the spark of conscious full form.

"You know I would never hurt him, Joxter," she said quietly but firmly, "and you know I consider him part of my family."

The Joxter flowed out from the shadows and joined Moominmamma in kneeling by the couch.

"That's why I brought him here," Joxter said quietly, "Safety, and you," and he gave Moominmamma a rare open-mouthed grin. Not a pleasant sight.

What Moominmamma knew, something that continued to elude her husband and his other dear friends, was that their friend Joxter wasn't just a lazy layabout, he was the second most dangerous predator to ever enter Moomin Valley. After all a being whose fondest wish was laze about all day in a fruit tree or on a soft mattress couldn't be dangerous they thought, so they missed the fangs and tips of claws peeking out of dark furred paws. But Moominmamma saw, Moominmamma knew, and Moominmamma understood better than most that the Joxter was not to be trifled with.

Especially not in regards to his child. Joxters were laidback as a rule, but also extremely protective of their offspring. Moominmamma still remembered just before she and Moominpappa had moved to the valley when one of Snufkin's elder siblings had put the sleeping child in the river as a prank, never dreaming the basket would get away from them. It had taken all of Joxter's willpower not to harm the child, and his and Mymble's relationship had crumbled afterward. It wasn't that Mymble didn't care. She loved all her children. She just believe everything would turn out right in the end.

The Joxter didn't see that way.

Moominmamma understood the desire to protect one's children. And there was a deep mutual respect between the Joxter and her because of it.

"What happened?" Moominmamma asked, as she rose up intending to go to the kitchen to make a healing tonic for Snufkin.

Joxter shrugged.

"Humans."

"Ah."

"I took care of them," for a second his fangs gleamed again and his claws swiped through the air.

"Good," if there was a touch of venom in Moominmamma's otherwise gentle voice, she could be forgiven.

Joxter gently ruffled his sleeping son's hair.

"He can pass for one," he said wryly, "right up until he can't, and then they get curious, although," his face darkened, "I don't think these humans were simply curious, or that he ran into them by accident."

Moominmamma tilted an ear towards him, curious.

"That Witch in the woods," Joxter started slowly, "she doesn't like the influence Moomin and Snufkin and their friends are having on her granddaughter. But she can't interfere any more, not directly."

"You think she incited them?"

Joxter shrugged again, and laid his head beside his son's, foreheads touching. Snufkin murmured in his sleep and tension left his bruised body.

"The humans, they had old gold on them, not the slips of paper humans usually have," Joxter said crossly, "Witches don't take paper as payment, so they don't have it to give as payment."

"Hmmm, her granddaughter is very sweet though," Moominmamma considered.

"Yes, and I have no proof other than the gold," Joxter sighed heavily, "but in the end, witches or no, those two are human, and humans are dangerous no matter how sweet they are. And humans bring more humans with them. It's their nature."

"I know," Moominmamma nodded sadly, but her mind was made up, "very well, nothing harmful," she stressed, "but we will do something about them."

Joxter smiled again, this time a more pleasant sight.

"We will."

Post Notes:

Okay so i never particularly cared for Alicia and her Grandmother in the 90's anime, but Moominmamma would never let anything awful (an angry Joxter) to Alicia and her Grandmother. So I don't know what they're plotting.

Also Snufkin is beat up on the way to returning to Moomin Valley earlier than usual, but Joxter arrived before anything too horrible happened.