The Anthropologist

by Weavers of Dreams

-44- Good Touch

Bon Bon would have laughed at Henry's silly reaction to the appearance of Twist, if she didn't think it would do more harm than good at the moment. The poor colt tried to hide under blanket, but he wasn't used to hooves just yet, and wound up tangling himself up in a cocoon. This left him immobile while Twist came galloping to her mother's call.

"In here, Twister."

The redhead filly skidded to halt as she turned the corner, staring wide-eyed at Henry. She burst out laughing.

"You look like a burrito," she said once she was done. Then, upon closer examination, she gasped. "Hey! You're that new human, aren't you? I thaw you at town hall."

Henry cringed, afraid. A bead of sweat formed on his brow as he awaited the scathing anger.

She gasped again. "Wait a minute. You're here in our houthe. Doeth that mean you're thtaying with uth?"

"Indeed it does," Bon Bon chuckled, patting the surprised colt on the head. "Twist, meet Henry. Our houseguest for time being."

"Yeth, yeth, yeth," Twist began to dance in place. "Itth been tho long thince we had a human here. Which ith thtrange, becauthe Auntie Lyra loveth humanth. A lot."

"She has her reasons," Bon Bon told her, standing up on all fours. "Now, why don't you two get to know each other while I go make more hot chocolate and crackers."

"Thankth mommy," Twist beamed as she set about untangling the colt just so she could snuggle up in the blanket beside him. "Thith ith going to be tho great." She beamed him a big smile.

Henry, feeling both very uncomfortable and dumbfounded by her friendliness, tried to do something about the one-sided awkwardness he was feeling, "um... hi... Twist, right?"

She giggled at his nervousness, and the sugary mustache he sported on his lip. "That'th me. But mommy thometimeth callth me Twithter."

"Oh, okay," Henry said, at a loss for what else to say.

Twist gave him an odd look, but then smiled again. "You don't talk much, do you? I like you already."

"Because I don't talk?"

Twist shook her head and stuck out her tongue. "No, thilly. That'd be boring. I like you becauthe you're cute."

Henry quickly became indignant.

"I am not cute," he scowled with a bright blush upon his cheeks. He let out a terrified squeak when the filly hugged his neck and laughed.

"Yeth you are, yeth you are," she teased, much to the colt's discontent.

"Twist, behave yourself young mare," Bon Bon scolded as she stepped back into the room, a cup of hot chocolate balanced upon her head, and a plate of crackers on her back. "He's had a trying day, and doesn't need anymore stress."

"Thorry," the filly quickly apologize, releasing him and offering an apologetic smile.

"It's okay," Henry sighed as he turned back to his drink, the blush still evident on his face.

The good mare dropped her head so that her daughter could take the cup, and slid the plate off her back as she curled up around the two foals. She quickly noticed this action made Henry a little uneasy. "Is something wrong?"

"Um, no," he mumbled looking aside. "It's just...uh, why are you doing that?"

Bon Bon was confused. "Doing what?"

He gestured to the way she was curled up around him and the filly. "That. Why are you... um, wrapping around us like that?"

Both mother and daughter gave him odd looks, making him a little uneasy. After a few moments of awkward silence, Twist broke the silence.

"You're weird."

Bon Bon gave the filly's snout a light warning tap. "I'm not quite sure what you mean, Henry. I'm just snuggling you two. Am I doing it wrong? Do humans have different ways of going about it."

He nodded. "Yes. We don't."

"Don't what?"

"We just don't... snuggle," he explained as best he could.

Twist's jaw dropped. "Whaaaat? You don't thnuggle? But... Jeththi would thnuggle all the time. Tho doeth Timmy. Are you thure you're human?"

"Well, some people have called me a monster," Henry mused thoughtfully, he didn't notice the sharp gasp from Bon Bon, "but, I think I'm human. Not that I really look like one right now. I miss my hands by the way."

"Even Mith Alice snuggleth," Twist said, seeming to have heard him at all.

"I-I don't get why it's a big deal," he said, taking to a sip of his hot chocolate to try and calm himself a bit. "It's just not somethin' we do."

"Not a big deal?" Twist gasped, her jaw dropping again. "If I couldn't cuddle with my mommy, daddy, Auntie Lyra, Pinkie, or Rumble, or Thcootaloo or... or... anypony, I would go inthane."

"What my daughter is trying to say," Bon Bon spoke up, placing a hoof on Twist's mouth to stop her from talking anymore, "is that touch is a very important part of our lives. Anyone's life. Surely you've at least been hugged, right?"

Henry nodded and made a face. "Sometimes too much. It's even worse when they pinch my cheeks."

"Well, suppose you were never hugged?" she suggested. "Suppose, after you were born, that no one ever so much as brushed up against you. How would that make you feel?"

He thought about that for a moment, then his eyes widened, and he looked a bit sad. "Th-that would be awful."

"Exactly," Bon Bon nodded as his simple, yet spot-on answer. "Ponies are very social creatures. We seek out each other's warmth and companionship. Touch is amongst the highest forms of affection anyone could express to another. Even more so as you get older, but, I'll leave that discussion for your parents."

"But, I'm not a pony," Henry stated.

"Do you not want to snuggle?" Bon Bon sighed, shifting a bit, ready to comply with his decision. She noted his look of indecision with some amusement.

"I-it's not unpleasant," he said, turning a bit red from embarrassment. "N-not that it's amazing or anything bu-gaghk!"

Twist hugged his neck again, giggling. "Oh, don't be tho thilly. Mommy giveth the betht thnuggleth. And I can tell you like it, too, becauthe your fathe goeth all red when you deny it."

"Fine... fine...," Henry managed to wheeze out as he attempted to pry her legs from about his throat. "I didn't mean to... make it weird. Let go... please."

Twist complied, but gave him a shove so that he fell against her mother's side, and then she quickly snuggled against his other side, pulling the blanket tight, so that he was trapped between her and her mother. Bon Bon giggled as she watched the silly display that made the colt's face glow even redder than ever before.

"Just relax, Henry," she said as she moved the refreshments to within his reach. "It's winter, and you'll be warm and safe by my side."

She closed her eyes and laid her head down, relaxing herself as she felt the two foals shift about until they got comfortable. This stopped after a few minutes, followed shortly by the crunch of crackers and the sipping of sweet drinks. A few minutes later she heard the sound of a comic book's pages turn alongside hushed whispers from the two who must have thought she had fallen asleep.

It was all so peaceful that she almost did.

Then the front door flew open and slammed shut.

"Bonny, there are riots and protests in the streets of Equestria." The sound of hooves quickly approaching prompted a disgruntled confectioner to raise her head and glare at the mint monster that rounded the bend. "There you are, Bonny. We need to start preparing for... is that one of my comics?"

Oh well. She needed to make dinner anyway.