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[watcher-with-burned-wings]

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Wake Me Up, Let This Be A Dream

(A twist on session 7 of Secret Life)

Years have passed since the beginning of the end. It had all started with mythical creatures appearing out of thin air.  Manticores and griffins appeared in the forests. Selkies, sirens, and sea monsters ruled the seas. Unicorns appeared along with other mythical animals, but these myths were not the downfall of humanity.  Among these creatures, giants resided, ruling above every other creature.

The monstrous humanoids started decimating the human population. At first, few people were killed, as not many giants existed. As giants multiplied, whole communities seemed to disappear after a few giants had passed through the area. Anyone's guess was whether they were eaten, crushed, or disappeared. Countries were falling quickly as the populations were decimated. Granted, giants were still few compared to humans by the time the human population was nearly extinct.

The governments of the world had tried to destroy them with military power, but the most powerful creatures were immune to the bullets and bombs. Any attempt failed, only making the mythical beasts more aggressive. Soon all the remaining governments fell into the hands of giants. They were the rulers of the world now.

When the world first ended, many giants were feral, consuming whole cities of people and destroying everything in their path. But this was short-lived, many gained sense and started communicating and talking with humans. Only a few retained the feral mindset. Some even tried to compromise with the world's governments before resorting to destroying them after the attacks. Many giants decided to settle in small groups and built large houses to live with one another. Many of these groups were secluded to only their members but used trained griffins to send messages to other groups. Soon small societies popped up as giants began bartering and trading for essentials with other groups.

With the new species appearing, the natural world changed around as well. All trees now stood as tall as the great redwoods and continued to grow taller. Besides trees, plants became larger as well. Cites were quickly being overgrown by these new exotic plants. New magical rocks also appear to spring up in canyons and bluffs. Fresh water became scarce and hard to come by with the new creatures. Weather patterns have changed as well. Summer has heated up to exceptional levels. Winter temperatures have plummeted deep into the negatives. Fall and Spring can change instantly from warm sunny days to bone-chilling, frostbiting days. With all the odds stacked against them, nearly all humans have gone extinct, with a few exceptions…

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              A blue-haired human male dashed through the large colorful leaves and bushes, hopping over log-sized twigs that fell from the large tree around him. His blue jacket wrapped tightly around his waist, leaving him in a once-white tee shirt with a blue heart. His jeans were dirty and ripped in several places. In his arms, he carried large bird feathers. An aggravated screech sounded from behind closed him. A creature with an eagle’s head and a lion's body bound through the foliage. Large, feathered wings propelled the creature forward, but the monster was missing several feathers, making it hard to fly.  The guy didn’t even look back as he bolted towards his goal.

Anger chirps and caws continued to chase down the human. The human continued dodging and ducking swipes the massive paws of the exotic beast delivered.  Leading the creature down towards a seemingly dead end, trapped between a couple of saplings and a large, towering boulder. The human spun around to face the angered lionbird. Slowly, it prowled forward, claws flexing as it backed the blue-haired guy into the rock. Just as the creature pounced, the human dived into a small hole dug between the roots of one of the saplings. The guy shouted as he dove, “Now Grian!”

A red sweater-wearing sandy-blond haired man sprang from the top of the rock, holding a crossbow loaded with purple stone-tipped arrows. Firing the arrow, he hit the beast mid-air in the back leg. The fabled icon cried out in fury and pain as electric poison sunk into its body, causing it to bite at the arrow and favor its back leg.

The new human called out, “Cleo it’s poisoned! You can go for the kill!” He shouted.

A red-haired, green-skinned woman with a black stone sword dropped out of the branches of one of the trees, landing square on the creature's back. She used the momentum of the fall to stab the sword deep into the neck of the griffin. The creature screamed as she pulled the sword through its neck and she slid off the side, pulling the blade down with her. She pulled the sword out of the griffin as the wound bubbled and spread. The griffin fell dead a few seconds later due to the poison and wither coursing through its body and the neck wound.

Cleo sheathed her blade and called out, “Scott! You good?”

Said person pulled himself from the hole, brushing himself off, grumbling, “Next time I’m shooting the shot with my bow and Grian is baiting.” He shoved his feathers he grabbed into his backpack and then pulled out a knife. He started removing the feathers of the griffin’s wing.  

Having just slid down from the boulder, Grian squawked in offense. “Hey! I hit it, didn’t I? You should have said something sooner!” He put his hands on his hips. “And you need to be bait Scott, you’re the only one fast enough to outrun those things.” Scott rolled his eyes and grumpily plucked the griffin.

Cleo chimed in as she knelt to assist Scott. “I kinda agree with Scott, Grian.” A smirk played on her lips. “He is a better quick shot than you.” Grian made an offended noise. “But you are right, you are the only one who can outrun them, Scott.” Cleo pointed out.

Scott sighed, “I know but I’m tired of fighting to survive every day.” He gathers up the feathers and turns to his friends' worried expressions. He quickly amends. “I want to live, not just survive. For the last few years, it has been a struggle to stay warm during winter and find food. We were lucky to discover that the new stones made killing these things easy.” He gestures to the dead griffin. He slips on his hoodie and picks up his full pack. Then he began walking towards their home.

Cleo mimicked his actions, throwing on her pack filled with feathers and falling in step with him. “I know we aren’t living a glamorous life like you are used to, but we are alive.” The women comforted him. “After those berries that turned me green, we were glad to be alive. So, let’s be grateful for what we have.” She suggested.

Scott sighed defeated, “You’re right Cleo. Thank you.” He said with a smile.

“Hey! You guys left me!” Grian squawked as he ran up to them, carrying a bunch of fur. The duo looked over at their short friend and giggled a bit.

“Sorry, G. Didn’t mean to, it just got in my head.” Scott apologized as they headed towards their current base.

Together, they walked in relative silence. Occasionally, they will discuss what other preparations they need to get or set up before winter sets in. Taking care to avoid predators, they arrived at their setup at sunset. Even though it would have been an hour’s walk, Scott and Cleo were not taking any chances to be caught by surprise. Whenever they saw something out of place, they hid beneath roots, behind rocks, or under large leaves.  

Their camp was built beneath the roots of one of the many large trees. The roots were tightly woven together making a great defense to keep out predators. There were gaps between the roots allowing entrance from all angles. This was perfect whenever they were chased down by something that could kill them. The gaps allowed sunlight to seep in during the days which was a bonus.

Scott slipped into the knitted roots, followed closely by Grian and Cleo. Inside, a fire pit was dug out in the center, and embers glowed faintly from an early morning fire. A cooking pot rested beside them; remains of breakfast were evident in the pot. Encircling the fire pit were their three sleeping bags and a miscellaneous survival bag. Preserved food, water bottles, and first aid supplies filled the bag in case of an emergency.  A pile of twigs, the size of logs to them, were gathered in the corner of the heaven. Overall, a safe place to live. But life in an apocalyptical world is never that simple.  

After he set his pack down, Scott walked over to the embers, stoking them with a stick, and blew on them to reignite the flames. Mimicking Scott, Cleo sets her bag down and grabs two branches. She brought them over to the fire pit as Scott got a small flame going. While the other two were working with the fire, Grian gathered the material they collected from the griffin and got to work on crafting gear to withstand the winter chill.

The blond started by using the fur he collected. He had enough fur to craft mittens and boots. He used fabled spider thread to stitch it together, and as treads, he used exotic mushroom bits that were comfortable and similar to rubber, so it was waterproof. Next, he moved to creating cloaks. He retrieved the feathers out of Cleo’s and Scott’s bag and laid them out into three groups. Each group is going to be turned into a cloak. He grabbed more spider strings and began stitching them together. Griffin feathers were perfect for cloaks because they were insulating and waterproof.

Once the fire was going, Scott grabbed some ingredients from their food rations and began cooking dinner. He decided to grab some dried boar meat, strange purple peas, green carrots, and light blue leaves that felt frosty to the touch. He grabbed a water bottle after a last-minute thought. He grabbed the pot and poured some of the water in, rubbing the remains of their breakfast into the water to clean it somewhat, and then poured it out. He set the, now clean, pot in the fire, then placed the rest of the water in the pot and tossed in the other ingredients.

While Scott cooked dinner and Grian made the winter gear, Cleo brought up some important topics while taking inventory of their weapons and sharpening them.

She was wiping off her sword with a leaf when she inquired, “We all agree we can’t stay here for the winter, correct?”

Scott hummed as he stirred the stew he was making. “Agreed. The ground will soon freeze here, leaving us vulnerable to hypothermia even with our sleeping bags and gear. It would be better if we could find a tree hole like last year.” Grian piped in.

“Nah, I nearly slipped off the icy bark multiple times.” Pulling his makeshift wooden needle through another stitch, he added, “Though I agree we need to leave. We’re gonna get snowed in here. Plus, there isn’t water for a good two hours from here. We can’t be making that trip constantly.”

Cleo nodded, now sharpening the clean sword. “So what direction are we heading? We can’t go North again. It’s much too dangerous with all the yeti that come from hibernation.” She remembered, causing a shiver to go down the two guys' spines. Both will never forget the near-death encounter with one of their first year.

Grian frowned as he looked up. “We can’t head west either.” The blue-haired male and redhead looked at the blond confused. He explains, “On the news, I remember them saying tar pits have appeared in that direction. I know it’s been ages, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

Scott nodded in agreement. “So southeast it is.” He stated the others agreed with him. “We’ll head out in the morning. We don’t have much time before winter.” He took the soup off the fire, filled three bowls, and passed them out.

They ate in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company. They were quite a rag-tag group of people. An architect, rockstar, and teacher. All very different, but all survivors. After dinner, Scott cleaned up and packed while Cleo prepared their weapons. Grian added the finishing touches to the cloaks. Then all of them settled into their sleeping bags to sleep.

The trio headed southeast early the next morning as the sun rose above the horizon. Scott shouldered his pack, the pot tied onto it as well. His new cloak was tightly wrapped around his shoulders, the morning chill nipping at the bare skin of his face.  Grian trailed beside him, heaving along his pack and the emergency bag. His face was half hidden in the collar of his sweater, holding his cloak tightly to his chest to keep it closed. Cleo took charge, leading the way. On her person, she carried her pack along with extra weapons.

They traveled for nearly two days before they found something interesting. As they headed in their chosen direction, the large forestry began to thin out. What was even odder was that more hostile creatures seemed to thin out as well. Realizing this, the group exchanged glances before continuing onwards. With every step they took, everything began to paint a picture. A large imprint in the dirt, crushed bushes, and tree stumps without a tree present. Flattened bushes and grass seemed to become normal the farther south they when.

Scott was getting bad vibes from the area. He admitted his reluctance to continue going forward with the group. Both Grian and Cleo agreed, but Grian pointed out they didn’t have much of a choice. Winter was coming too fast, and they couldn’t backtrack. They were running low on water and food. Going back would only spell trouble for them. Scott agreed with Grian’s assessment of the issue, so they all continued, but with caution.

The feeling didn’t leave Scott if only increased as they traveled.

It was one of the coldest days of the year when the trio stumbled upon a large wooden wall. They all cautiously advanced towards the structure, not sure what to make of it. On closer inspection, the wall was made of large planks, identical to the wooden fence humans had in their backyards. There was a human-sized hole in one of the nearby planks.

Cleo turned to them, “I’m going in.” Grian quickly grabbed her arm.

“Like you are! We don’t even know what's behind there!” He viciously argued. “It blocked off for a reason.” Cleo spit back.

“But what choice do we have? We can’t go back! If only one of us goes in, the other two can escape.” While Cleo and Grian had a heated discussion, Scott snuck over to the hole.

Crouching down, Scott peeked into the crack, not prepared for what he saw. A house. A ginormous house stood looming over him. He stumbled back in awe and shock, falling onto his butt. Finally, Cleo and Grian took notice and rushed over to him.

“Scott! Are you okay!? What happened? What did you see?” Cleo fretted over him, double-checking him for injuries, as he was the youngest of the group. The red sweater-wearing mischief maker nodded in agreement.

“I-I-” Scott stuttered for a moment as he collected himself, “It was a house. A…a very large house…” Cleo raised an eyebrow with confusion.

“A house? What do you mean Scott? Explain.” She demanded him, picking him up from the floor. Grian stood back, giving the younger boy a stern look.

Swallowing hard, Scott tried to explain. “I think could be a giant den, but it looks just like a normal human house!” Scott grabbed both of his companions’ hands and dragged him over to the niche in the fence. “It’s easier to show than explain.”

They all crouched, the blue-haired boy doing it first, his friends mimicking him quickly. Grian gasped and laughed in disbelief. Cleo muttered a quiet, “No way…”

The house itself was more of a cottage. It was quite small, and the siding was wooden but had some technological advances. The roof was constructed out of stone and wood with a chimney coming out of it. The whole house was painted dark, almost black, purple, and grey, giving a sharp contrast to the bright pink and red of the garden that sat nestled in the space between the fence and the house.

 A bright pink brick path cut through the garden, with red bricks outlining it. Garden beds were sectioned out, the path acting as a barrier. Many plants had blackened and withered; colored leaves scattered around their bases, branches barren. There were a few exemptions,  a still-green pine-like bush, and a few stubborn flowers.   

Standing up, Scott crawled through the gap, tossing his bag through first. Cleo and Grian grabbed him by the ankles. “What do you think you're doing!? Are you nuts!?” Cleo shrieked.

“You can’t possibly be thinking of us going in there, do you?” Grian added, a bit frantic.

Scott kicked away their hands and asked, “What choice do we have? We either go through here to continue our journey,” Scott looks back over his shoulder with a grin, “Or we are set for winter, living off the giants.” Cleo and Grian shared a nervous look before letting the younger boy go.

Scott finished climbing through a brushed himself off, glancing back to see Cleo making the trip next. Grian commented, “I hope you are sure about this Scott.” He quickly army crawled through once Cleo got out.

Scott nodded. “I am sure. We can check it out, if we think it's too dangerous, we can grab some food and water then leave.” He explained his logic.

Cleo slowly nodded, “I see. That makes sense. Giants need mountains of food to survive so it’s only inevitable for them to have food lying around.”

Grian added, “And gallons of water somewhere. Which we need desperately.”

Scott grinned, “Plus, think of how warm it will be?” He pulled his cloak tighter around his body. “The giants will have fires or something to keep their house warm, in turn, we will be warm.”

Cleo sighs, defeated. “Fine. We’ll check it out,” She stressed, “But! If there is any sign of danger, we are leaving.”

Both guys silently celebrated, then picked up their packs, heading into the looming shriveled-up dead plants of the flower bed. Cleo sighed and shook her head, following the two numbskulls to prevent them from causing any trouble.

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              Traveling through the garden was uneventful except for a close call with a sphinx. The trio hid underneath a few loose leaves and waited for it to pass before continuing onto the house. When they reached the side of the house, they quickly discovered a hole in the siding, leading underneath the house. From there, they managed to shimmy up a pipe, cross a support beam, and avoid live red stone wires using some skilled parkour and teamwork to get into the wall of the house.

Cleo and Scott gave one last tug, helping Grian up through the clean-cut hole where the wires lead into and spread throughout the house. The three of them glance around, pausing momentarily to get their bearings. Before they could leave, the vibration of giant footsteps shook the wall they inhabited. Cleo instinctually crouched down, seeming to be getting ready to spring into action at the drop of a hat. Grian froze like a deer in headlights, looking like he was about to leap back down the hole they just arrived through.  Scott felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest, trying to leap out of his chest. He held his breath, stiff as a board till the footsteps faded away. The group collectively breathed a sigh of relief. They quickly gathered their stuff and scurried in the opposite direction of the footsteps.

After traversing the walls, they finally settled into a corridor that seemed to have a lesser giant presence. Grian heavily flopped onto the floor next to his pack, going limp against the board acting as the floor, grumbling, “I hope this was worth it. I’m exhausted and sore.”

Scott looked up at him from digging around in his pack and tried to reassure him. “It’ll get better from here on out. It was just a pain to get in here.” He pulled out his sleeping bag and laid it out on the floor. “We won’t have to move anymore so we can make a proper bed at some point. And once we get a layout of the house, we can find a better space to call home.”

Cleo viciously shushed them, whisper-shouting. “Keep your voice down you two, we don’t want to alert the giants to our position.” She warily eyed the walls around them, like a giant would burst through any second. Scott rolled his eyes but lowered his voice.

“Tomorrow we will explore deeper into the interior of the house, find a water source, and get more food rations. Those are our top priorities.” He pulled out the meager food rations they had left and passed them around to the two. Grian sat up from his sprawled-out position, accepting the food and plan without any comments.

Cleo took the food before hesitantly questioning, “What if one of us gets caught by a giant? Then what?”

The question honestly catches Scott off guard. He always knew it was a possibility in the back of his mind, but he never planned for it to happen to any of them. The blue-haired male pressed his lips together as he contemplated the answer.  Logically, it would be best for the others to escape while they had the chance. But Scott knew deep down neither of them would abandon each other.

He sighs heavily, “Look Cleo, we both know the logical answer, but we also know that we won’t follow through with it.” He gives her a tired smile, feeling Grian observing the conversation silently. “It’s been a long day. Let’s sleep on it and we can discuss it in the morning.”

The redhead huffed but gave an equally tired smile. “Fine, okay yeah. We’ll figure this out when were aren’t dead on our feet and our brains are mush.” The rest of the night they spent in heavy silence.

The small red-sweater fiend fell asleep first, snuggled deep into his sleeping bag, snoring softly. Cleo was quick to follow, her arms tucked under her chin as she lay on her stomach, passed out cold, drool dripping down her chin. The only one still awake was Scott. He tossed and turned for hours, Cleo’s question echoing through his mind. With a frustrated sigh, he got up from his sleeping bag.

The ex-rockstar went to his pack, changing his shirt and slipping on his favorite jean jacket. Then he grabbed his bow and quiver, glancing over to the other two frequently in case they get woken up. As he was about to stand up, he decided to grab his knife as a precaution. He stood up, making a silent promise that he was just going to go on a quick walk and then be right back.

              With a light bounce in his step, Scott set off down the corridor toward where most of the noise seemed to be coming from. Going on walks or runs always cleared his head if he had trouble sleeping. This would be no different.

              The beginning of the corridor was normal, dark, empty, and chilly. He still was alert in case, but it didn’t seem like anything was there.  As he went deeper, he noticed there was a soft glow emitting from farther down the hallway, as well as warmth coming from the source. He bit the inside of his cheek, debating if he should check it out or not. Knowing it was stupid, he continued onward.

              As he approached the light, the wall warmed up, making Scott melt slightly. The heat felt good against his icy skin. Along with the heat, he could hear faint murmurs getting louder, causing him to slow his pace down and be more careful. The murmurs soon turned into voices, that turned into loud booming voices. Soon he recognized that he was heading toward where the inhabitants of the house were. The closer he got, the lighter his footsteps got.  He turned the corner to where the heat and light were the brightest. He was relieved that the way was empty, but he did find a crack in the wall.

Now that he was close enough, he could understand what the giants were saying. Mindful not to make a sound, the blue-haired boy crept closer to the hole in the wall. He crouched down, kneeling beside the opening, preparing himself. He peered out and made an audible gasp at what he saw.

From his position, Scott could tell it was a living room area. A large yellow couch sat in the center of the room in front of the cobblestone fireplace, which had a nice large blazing fire in it, heating the surroundings. The walls were decorated with shelves of pants and paintings. On each end of the couch, lamps powered by red stone sat. A bookshelf filled with books was pressed into one corner of the room. But none of those things caught Scott’s attention.

It was the giants themselves. Two giants sat on the couch, chatting to one another. One seemed to be female and the other male.

The female sat facing towards the wall where Scott was hiding. She had reddish-orange braided hair, with mismatching-colored eyes. One a dark green, the other a bright red. A pair of deer ears and antlers sprung from her head as well. He was wearing a red T-shirt and black overalls. The man sitting beside her laughed at something she said, allowing Scott to see his face.

The guy had a yellow mark, like a scar around one of his reddish-brown eyes. In his brown hair, two yellow demon horns poked out as he moved his head. Glancing at him more, the small human notices a demon tail lazily swaying near the floor. Black spiked bracelets were on both his wrists, as well as a black sleeveless leather jacket resting on him, and a shirt with a yellow “i” underneath it.

Scrambling back, Scott couldn’t believe his eyes. His back hit the other wall harshly, but he couldn’t care less as he tried to get his breathing under control. Tears threatened his eyes as he closed his eyes, his heartbeat deafening in his ears. He grabbed his pants to ground himself. ‘No, no.’ He thinks to himself. ‘Those can’t be them. Gem and Impulse died the day the outbreak happened.’

Covering his mouth, Scott opened his eyes, trying to muffle his sobs, eyes locked to the grainy wooden broad. His body trembled as he remembered it. He wished he could have been there for his bandmates. Movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. His eyes widened in terror as he noticed Gem look-alike moved slightly to the left…and was certainly looking directly at him.

The teal-haired human scrambled backward, away from the hole, away from the imposters. He clambered to his legs and booked it down the dark corridor. Hot fat tears dripped down his chin as ran, calling himself a coward for not protecting his old friends, practically family. The survivor bumped into several walls; his vision blurred from the water in his eyes. He hardly noticed the chill growing as he ran.  

              He finally slowed down when the tears slowed down, and his cheeks were icy from the cold in the air. Wiping his eyes and then closing them, he took a very deep breath, to calm his racing heart. Once his heart was beating normally, Scott opened his eyes and headed back to Cleo and Grian, convincing himself that he was just tired and imagining his friends.

              When he reached the small camp they had, Scott put his bow gear away then his knife. After putting his gear away, he climbed into his sleeping bag. He glanced at his current friends. Both Grian and Cleo were knocked out cold. Grian was still snoring away, and Cleo had rolled onto her side. He watched his friends sleeping peacefully before relaxing, deciding that he should just focus on the present instead of the past.

With that, Scott got comfortable and drifted off into a deep sleep.

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              During a temporary intermission, Scott stepped out from backstage onto the street for a quick breather. Brushing his hand through his hair, stressing over the night’s events. Gem collapsed suddenly during their last song. Impulse had caught her before her head could hit the floor. They called an intermission even though Gem had woken up a few moments after she passed out, claiming she was fine.

Due to Impulse’s and Scott’s insistence, they got a venue nurse to check her out. Impulse noticed Scott was stressing out by pacing around, so he told the guitar player to go take a breather to calm down. Reluctantly, he listened to the drummer but had him promise to tell him what the doctor said. Said drummer grinned, nodded then shoved him out the door, telling him that everything would be alright.

So here he was now, standing outside a backstage door on the unusually warm September night. Sighing, he headed down the street, pulling up the hood of his blue zip-up hoodie to avoid attention. Drunk concertgoers stumbled out of the bar, laughing, and giggling around him as headed down the street. His original plan was to walk around the block and return backstage to check on Gem.

His walk was doing its job as he slowly started to calm down after turning the first corner. He started to think more rationally now that he was calmer and could face the diagnosis. Turning the corner to the street that would lead him back to the concert, he was met by a gaggle of girls, who recognized him. Resigning himself to his fate, he pulled out a pen and started signing autographs.

Once the girls were taken care of, he made his way back to the alleyway. As he was about to enter backstage, the guitar player was startled by the sounds cracking around him. He spotted cracks growing up the side of the monstrous building. He couldn’t get a clear view from where he stood, but a noticeable dent in the domed roof had started to bugle out. He backpedaled away, knowing he was in a dangerous position, Scott ran for the alley exit.

With a loud crash, debris came raining down from the once-pristine concert hall. The cyanette made it out of the alley just in time as the concert hall's walls collapsed. Dust and screams filled the surrounding area. He spun around, trying to see what was happening, shielding his eyes from the cloud of debris threatening to blind him.  

Coughing harshly, Scott stumbled out of the dust cloud, using his shirt as a mask as he guided other blinded spectators. Once on a clear street, he glanced back towards the concert hall. A sudden terror stuck through him as he spotted something out of a fairy tale. A monstrous giant was standing in the middle of the venue where he and his friends were just playing minutes ago.

The back was facing Scott, a wave of messy hair trailed down the back and it had something growing from its head.  He couldn’t get a good look at the giant before more chaos broke out. The survivors of the building collapse sprinted out of the rubble, covered in dust and dirt.   

Realization struck Scott like a lightning bolt. Gem and Impulse. They were still in there. They could be trapped under the rubble. The first instinct he had was to run back to get Gem and Impulse. He started running towards the venue as people ran away from the giant. Before he had a chance to go farther, a female police officer snagged his shoulder dragging him away as he kicked and fought.

Just as Scott was getting desperate, another giant grew from the rubble. This one grew into a sitting position. Taking advantage of the rock star’s momentary shock, the officer dragged him farther away, pulling him toward the subway tunnels. From there, she ushered him towards a group large group of people who were all survivors of the incident.

She then explained that they would be evacuated when the next train came, this being the fastest and safest way to get them all out without issues. The guitar player tuned her out, staring at the stairs, hoping that any minute his friends would be carried or come walking down them. Many people whispered and murmured, clearly anxious about the situation.

Suddenly the whole station shook, and the fluorescent lights swayed from where they were hung. The officer quickly grabbed her radio, pressing it up to her mouth. The station shook again, some dust falling from the ceiling, making the crowd cry out in fear. The cyanette flinched as a thunderous thump came from above them. She informed the crowd that the giants were on the move.

She looked grim and panicked as she shouted over another footstep that the two were heading towards the station. The cries of the terrified people echoed off the walls of the subway station. Scott’s blood felt like ice in his veins as he felt the ground shake harder, all the oxygen was stuck out of his lungs as panic consumed him.

A cheer and the screeching of wheels knocked him out of the all-consuming panic that overcame him. The subway train pulled into the station, opening all its doors. The crowd quickly swarmed into the small tram. The officer tried to do crowd control, but everyone was in a panic. Scott kept looking over to the stairs, and then to the train. Biting the bullet and praying to Aeor, the teal-haired boy slipped up the stairwell, ignoring the call of the officer, leading to the ground level. The ground around him shook with the weight of the giant as it came closer.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he was met with a startling sight. Buildings were toppled and cars were wrecked. In front of him, the giants were walking together, taking off building tops, seeming looking for something. One of the giants spotted him, making him step backward. His foot slipped on a step, making him fall down the stairs partly.

He groaned, pain echoing through his body. Thunderous hurried footsteps pounded toward him, causing him to force himself up. A loud creaking sound caught Scott’s attention as he glanced up. A part of the office building above him broke off and hurled towards him. He covered his head with his arms and then blacked out. But before, he swore he heard Gem call out his name…

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Scott jolted up in his sleeping bag with a gasp, looking around frantically before realizing where he was. He grabbed his chest, doing quiet breathing exercises before he relaxed fully. Once calmed down, he noted that Cleo and Grian were already up. They both were looking at him with concern from where they stood.

Cleo was the first to speak, “Scott bud, you good?” Her voice echoed the worry in her body language. All he could do was nod as he stood up stiffly. He moved around robotically. She paused in stuffing her pack.

Grian huffed, “Scott, we all know you are not okay. So what’s wrong?” Scott scowled, hating that Grian could see through him. He packed in silence for a few more minutes while his friends patiently waited for him to respond.

He finally sighed, “It was just a memory.” he said softly. “The day the apocalypse started; my bandmates were in the concert hall when it started.” He viewed Cleo’s and Grian's reactions. Cleo looked sympathetic told him and murmured, “Oh Scott…”

Grian had a similar expression. The ex-rockstar simply shook his head. “It’s in the past, no need for sympathy. We all lost someone so it's water under the bridge.” He hefted the pack onto his shoulder. Grian and Cleo shared a concerned look before looking back at him.

Cleo spoke up, “We are here if you ever need to talk Scott, death isn’t something that can be taken lightly.” She walked over and gently patted his shoulder. “We got your back bud.”

Grian came up onto his other side and nodded. “Yeah, if you wanna talk, we're here to listen.” Scott scoffed at them but smiled slightly at their comfort.

“Thank guys, I appreciate it.” He gives each of them a quick hug before stepping back. “Now let's get going, we need to find water and food.” He turns around before they can respond, heading down the path from the night before.

The others quickly caught up to him. The three of them chatted quietly as they walked through the wooden corridors. The farther they traveled, the quieter they became till they were silent. The sound of creatures moving became clearer as they headed towards the giant's living quarters. As Scott examined the walls around them, he realized that they were closing in on where he was spotted last night.

A pit of dread grew in the cyanette’s stomach as the hole from last night seemed bigger last night. Grian slowly approached and grimaced as he stepped in something sticky. He pulled his foot out easily, making Scott breathe a sigh of relief. The dirty blond walked across the sticky spot without trouble. Cloe followed next, then Scott. He glanced out of the hole but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Traveling deeper into the house, they soon smelled something delicious. They all perked up as they knew they were getting closer to the kitchen. Grian blushed as his stomach rumbled loudly, making Scott and Cleo silently chuckle. With a pep in their step, they sped up, knowing they were close to their goal.

The voices of the giants became clear and loud, letting them know they were in the right place. The trio slowed their pace. Grian looked nervous and anxious. Cleo looked determined, pressing her lips into a thin line. Scott’s blood rushed through his ears, but he felt an odd calm flood his system. He pressed his ear against the wall, curious what the giants were talking about.

“Are you even sure this is gonna work?” A feminine voice asked, skepticism in her voice. A masculine voice replied, “Of course! I made it, didn’t I?” A smug voice answered. “You say that now.” The female voice countered as she seemingly left the room as her voice got farther away.

Scott felt the tension leave his shoulders as the male voice gets farther away as well. He turns to his found family and whispers, “They left, we’re in the clear.” Cloe nodded but said, “Still we need to find a way in and out quickly because we don’t know how long.” Scott nodded in agreement. Grian frowned a bit but nodded as well.

They explored more of the wall, getting increasingly nervous when they thought they found a loose board, but it was glued over or something was blocking the entrance. It was later in the day when they finally found a perfectly round hole in the wall, looking like it was drilled. Cleo was hesitant to use it, but when Scott’s and Grian’s stomachs groaned, along with her own, she relented.

 Grian peeked out first, not seeing anything unusual, he ushered for Cleo and Scott. When Scott stepped out, the breath was knocked out of him. The kitchen around them was so large but beautiful. Flowers were painted along the cabinets; pink trim gave life to the bland wooden counters. A black and white checker floor covered the area below them. But what caught his attention was the paintings hung on the walls. They were landscape paintings, of a beach, a meadow, and a forest. He shook his head, to stop getting distracted.

Looking over, Cleo and Grian seemed to be in awe as well, except they were looking at something else. The guitar player’s jaw dropped as they spotted what they were staring at. On the counter, a large cake sat. Drool pooled in Scott’s mouth as it was decorated with berries and white and pink frosting. Swallowing, Scott also noticed a fruit bowl next to the cake.

Grian took a step towards the cake before Cleo grabbed his shoulder. She whispered to him furiously, “We can’t. It’ll be too noticeable.” Grian whispered back, “Come on, one berry.” He begged. Cleo brazenly shook her head. “No. Too dangerous.” Scott couldn’t help but agree with Cloe’s sentiment.

“The fruit bowl could be good.” He points it out. Cleo looked over to Scott and nodded. “Yeah, that seems more reasonable.” Grian crossed his arms but reluctantly agreed. Scott headed towards the fruit bowl, having to walk around the edge of the cake. Cleo and Grian followed behind him.

They all froze as a quiet click was heard. Scott glanced around trying to find the sort of noise. It was only when he looked down, he realized he had stepped on a mechanical button. He felt the blood drain from his face as he hopped off in a panic, turning to his friends.

“Run! It’s a-“He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as his feet are suddenly pulled out from under him, making him yelp. Two more cries follow as well. He felt himself get pulled unwillingly to a metal circle, his friends joining him shortly after. He looked down at his shoes, his eyes widening in panic. They were coated in metal flakes, making them magnetized.

Realization hit Scott, the sticky stuff. It was glue. And they walked through it. And it was filled with these metal flakes. Cloe was trying to pull herself off the magnet, while Grian struggled violently.  Scott began trying to get his shoes off to escape but giant footsteps made his blood go cold.

Scott’s breathing picked up as the Impulse-looking one entered the kitchen and cheered loudly, making all the humans flinch harshly. “Gem! I caught him! And two others.” Scott covered his ears with the loud voice, tears threatening to escape his eyes. It’s not them. It can’t be.

His breathing picked up as the giant came closer to them. His struggles got more desperate to get his shoes off. A scream rang through his ears, and it took him a moment to realize that it came from him as Impulse-look alike reached for him. The horned giant seemed taken aback by his sudden cry, pausing in his advances. His friends were shouting and yelling at the giant to leave him alone.

The Gem-look-alike came into the room. She walked over and frowned then scolded the horned giant. “You idiot, you’re scaring him. Don’t just try to grab him.” She crouched down and in a very soft voice, “Hey there Scott, can you count to five for me?” The ex-guitarist couldn’t help but close his eyes and picture Gem holding his hand, rubbing circles on his back as he calmed down from a panic attack. He quietly counted to five, taking deep breaths as he did.

Opening his eyes again, he was considerably calmer, but his heart rate spiked as he saw the giant smiling down at him. “There you go. It’s okay, we’re not going to hurt you.” She reassured them. Cleo spit. “Yeah right! And how do you know Scott? Let him alone!” Cloe struggled hard.

Scott croaked, “You can’t be them. They died the day of the outbreak.” Tears rolled down his cheeks as he lay on his back, trapped. Both his friends and giants looked at him. The deer giant frowned, “Oh Scott, no. I am Gem and that still is Impulse. We just look a little different and bigger.”  Gem tried soothing Scott by touching him.

He flinched away from the large hand, sobbing, “Let us go then, please.” He begged, adrenaline and fear blocking out the hunger and thirst he felt. “Please Gem.” Both Gem and Impulse shared an uneasy look before Gem sadly shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t in good conscious.” She said softly, making Scott’s throat close with terror. “You three look like you are about to drop dead in a day. You are all so skinny and it’s scary.”  She explained, as Impulse carried in a fish tank-looking thing but built for a human.

Scott didn’t have it in him to shout or yell as she gently pried him off the magnet and placed him into the tank. She did this with Grian and Cleo as well. Grian shrieked and tried to bite her as she picked him up. Cleo glared but didn’t do much, not wanting to cause them to get angry.

Gem looked at them sadly. “This will be only temporary.” She comforted. “We just need to humanify the house and get you guys healthy.” Scott glared at her through tear-filled eyes, through gritted teeth he mutters, “I hate you. I hate both of you. You are not them.” Shock then hurt filled Gem’s eye but she replied, “You know you don’t, you just need to get used to us like this.”

Impulse looked hurt as well as he added, “I’m sorry for scaring you all. But it’s true, this is only temporary. I hope you’ll trust us soon as well.” He carried the enclosure over to a table and placed it down gently. The walking made the humans flinch harshly. Impulse apologized softly then turned away. Impulse and Gem left the room after that, saying that they were giving them space to adjust.

Scott bushed his hand through the plush carpet bottom of the tank, glaring at it like it had wronged him. He immediately took off his shoes and chucked them at the glass around them with a frustrated cry. He watched them bounce off the glass onto the floor. He wiped his eyes and examined their temporary home.

There was a little kitchen area in one corner, it had a fridge, sink, and oven. Another was a walled-off room with a door labeled ‘bathroom’. The room the three of them seemed to be in was a living room of some sort, it had a couch, coffee table, and loveseat. Looking over to the last side of the tank, it was also walled off but with two doors. Both were labeled ‘Bedrooms’ in fancy bold letters.

Grian shrieked, “How did they know that we were here!? We were so careful.” He threw up his arms in frustration as he flopped onto the loveseat. Scott’s stomach churned with guilt because he caused this. Cloe scowled at him. “Get off there, we are not entertaining them with thinking we’re comfortable.” Grian huffed, “What’s the point? We might as well take advantage of this situation.”

Scott walked to the miniature kitchen and looked through the cupboards, to get away from the arguing of the other two and through curiosity. He was pleasantly surprised to find that they were filled with grains and dried fruit. He looked in another and found plates, cups, and silverware. He took three cups hesitantly and walked over to the faucet, filling them will water.

Once all three cups were filled, he walked back to the other two, who had stopped arguing when he turned on the water. He handed each of them a cup and said, “Here, we need it. I don’t care if it’s dosed or poisoned, we will die of dehydration if we don’t.” Grian eagerly down his cup, while Cleo cautiously sniffed it before sipping it. Scott slowly drained his cup. The water felt nice on his dry throat.

Cleo finished her cup and sighed. “That helped clear my head.” She looked at Grian. “I’m sorry, I suppose you’re right. We can rest up and regain our energy for a while then we can escape in due time.” She walked to the kitchen, placed her cup in the sink, and grabbed dried fruit for each of them, passing them to Scott and Grian.

Scott nodded and whispered, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault we’re in this mess.” He took a small bite of his fruit. Grian shook his head, swallowing as he did. “Don’t blame yourself, it was bound to happen eventually. We’re just lucky it was your old friends.” Grian happily munched on his dried fruit. Cloe gently hugged him.

“Don’t blame yourself kiddo, we all agreed to go into the house,” Cleo reassured. “So don’t blame this completely on yourself.” Scott sighed and replied, “Okay…” He still felt guilty for not telling them he was seen last night but decided to change the conversation.

Scott walked to one of the rooms and looked back at them. “I’m gonna take a nap. I’m exhausted. Wake me up if they come back.” He said before opening the door and closing the door behind him. The bedroom was simple, a bed and a wardrobe were the only two thing decorating the room.

The cyan-haired boy climbed into the bed and curled up in the sheets. Tears pooled in his eyes as he buried his face into the pillows, hiccupping softly as he thought of how Gem and Impulse could do this to him. Sobs escaped him as he dragged Cleo and Grian into this mess as well. It was all his fault. He soon cried himself to exhaustion, his unconscious consuming him. His last thoughts before he fell unconscious were “I’m sorry everyone.”

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Chromia smajor made by a discord friend :D

Likes < Reblogs :) please reblog if you like the art

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Navigation

(A continuation of my Among us Scott au)

When Scott woke up the next cycle, he was surrounded by warm bodies. He glanced around him. Ranboo was sprawled across his lap with his head on Tubbo’s stomach. Tubbo leaning against his right side. Tommy was curled up on his left side, tucked under his arm.

Scott’s heart melted at the sight, his tentacles appearing behind him as he held Tommy closer. One pulled Tubbo closer to him and the other tentacle petted Ranboo’s hair. Scott swallowed down the purr that threatened to escape him as he sat contently in the middle of the nest of hatchlings. He silently wished that this moment could last forever.

But sadly, all good things had to come to an end.

Ranboo started to stir, and Scott quickly hid his tentacle again. Ranboo opened his eyes and blinked slowly. Scott smiled at him. “Good morning Ranboo, Sleep well?”

Ranboo sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. You are very comfy.” He yawns and stretches. Scott chuckled.

“I’m glad,” Tommy grumbled as he snuggled closer to Scott.

“Shut up, fuckers. I’m trying to sleep.” Tommy muttered.

Tubbo cracked open his eyes and sat up. “Good morning, Scott!” He said cheerfully and loudly.

Tommy groaned and glared at Tubbo.

Both Scott and Ranboo laughed at Tommy's expense, much to the confusion of Tubbo.

“What?”

“Nothing Tubbo.” Ranboo snickered.

“Come on Tommy, it’s time to get up.” Scott gently encouraged. Tommy whined but eventually did comply.   

Scott got up as well and stretched out. “Come on, I bet Niki has made muffins for breakfast.”

If Tommy hadn’t looked awake before, now he was practically shaking, “Oh hell yeah!” He ran off towards the cafeteria.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Tubbo called as he dashed after him. Ranboo looked at Scott with a shrug and followed. Scott shook his head and walked with Ranboo.

Scott and Ranboo idly chatted as they walked to the cafeteria.

When they arrive, Tommy and Tubbo angrily eat their breakfast while Phil looks amused.  Scott tilted his head questioningly towards the two while looking at Phil.

Phil continued to look bemused as he explained, “They are both angry because they are trash duty after trying to steal all of Niki’s muffins.”

Tommy grumbled as he munched on a chocolate chip muffin. “We weren’t stealing! We were saving them from everyone else!” Phil shook his head exasperated while Ranboo chuckled at their misfortune. Scott grinned slightly in understanding and mirth.

He and Ranboo grabbed breakfast before sitting down with the group, seemingly to be the last ones. Ranboo grabbed a poppy seed muffin with a bowl of fruit. The duel-eyed human had a glass of milk as well. Scott grabbed a blueberry muffin, opting for something light this morning. He also had a glass of apple juice to go with it.

Once everyone was settled, Phil started to speak. “Ranboo, you’ll go meet up with Techno. He’s in Med Bay with Wilbur. You’ll be learning about Imposters.” Scott froze mid-bite when he heard that. Said teen fist pumped.

“Yes!” Ranboo quickly inhaled the rest of his food before hopping out of his seat. The other two protested. “Can’t we go with him? Come on Phil, please?” They begged, both giving puppy eyes.

Phil eyed the two before he sighed fondly. “Fine, you little shits,” The three teens began to move towards the door, but Phil stopped them with his voice. “But Tubbo and Tommy when it’s over, you two still need to clean out the trash shoots.” Both boys groaned but nodded as they left.

Scott snapped out of his stupor as Phil turned to him. “You will be with me in Navigation today, Scott,” Phil said with a smile. “I hope you don’t mind but I could use an extra set of eyes reading me coordinates.”

“No, of course not. I’ll happily be with you today.” Scott said with a kind smile, though it was slightly strained. Thankfully, Phil didn’t seem to notice as he smiled back. “Great, but before we go to navigation, let's clean this up.”

Together they stood up, gathering all the plates from the teens and themselves, and brought them to the kitchen. There was a silence between them, neither speaking as Scott washed the dishes while Phil dried and put them away. The imposter’s mind was buzzing with activity, wandering with intrusive thoughts. Part of him whispers that Phil knows what he is, another part is confident that this is just another day. A tiny part of him is happy to spend time with another member of his pod. Scott shook off that thought as he focused on the mind-numbing task in front of him.

It was far too soon when all the dishes were gone from the sink. Phil and Scott began the trek to navigation, their footsteps echoing around the metallic hallways. They passed weapons, where Niki was working on fixing a blaster that an asteroid damaged. Then they passed O2 where Jack was seemingly going over the oxygen systems. Finally, they reached Navigation with Phil humming a tune as Scott followed anxiously.

Phil turned to him and clapped his hands together. “Usually, I would have Techno help me, but he needed to educate Ranboo as his apprentice. I apologize that this was suddenly pushed on you.” The captain said sheepishly. “It’s simple. You just need to read off the logs and I’ll record them and organize them.”

 The cyan-haired imposter nodded and replied, “Yeah, I can do that. And it is completely fine.”

Phil grinned, “Great. We can get started right away.”

The green crewmate pulled up a time sheet of automated logs and pulled another document up. He instructed Scott to read them off to him, which Scott did without question. But Scott couldn’t get his mind off the earlier conversation. So after doing logs for an hour, there was a pause as Phil pulled up more time sheets.

Scott piped up, “You mentioned Imposters earlier, what are your options on them?” The cyan-haired man watched as his captain froze for a second before, he turned to him. Phil had this hard expression on, making Scott gulp silently. He wondered if he’d regret asking this.

Phil continued to have this stony expression on as they remained tense and silent as he contemplated his answer. Finally, Phil spoke, “Scott, I am going to be honest with you. An imposter killed my wife when the boys were young.” The tone he said it in was emotionless.

Scott felt as if he was just punched in the gut. If Phil ever found out, he would be tossed out of the airlock for sure. All he could utter was, “I’m sorry for your loss.” He bowed his head in respect.

Phil nodded, “Thank you,” He had this distant look on his face, “But there is more. You see, my boys and I wouldn’t be here either if it wasn’t for an imposter as well.” Scott glanced up, with a distinct head tilt. Phil was staring out into the stars. “The imposter fought the one that killed my wife. He allowed time for my boys and me to escape the ship we were on. We would have died on that ship if he didn’t.” Phil confessed.

Scott frowns a bit. “Phil, I’m sorry for bringing it up, you don’t have to continue.” The cyan-suited imposter reassured him. In truth, Scott was interested in finding out Phil’s answer but didn’t want him to suffer bad memories. With a sudden blink and then a sigh, Phil answered, “I think if I ever met an imposter again, it would be too soon. But if I did, I truly hope they will be like the one that saved the rest of my family.”   

Scott nodded silently, wondering if he fell into that category. Would he fight Owen if it came down to it? He didn’t have much time to contemplate it as a scream rang out from O2.

Instantly, both Scott and Phil began to rush to the room. The moment they turned the corner, they saw Niki, holding Jack in her arms as she desperately held a wound in his stomach shut. Blood decorated the ground and splattered against the walls. Phil rushed to Nikk’s side, Scott following right behind. Jack was semi-conscious but was out of it.

“We need to get him to the med bay,” Phil instructed. “Niki, you hold the wound shut, me and Scott will carry him carefully.” Nikki nodded, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Scott, grab his shoulders, I’ll grab his legs.” Nodding, he grabbed Jack’s shoulders.

“On three, lift,” Phil commanded.

“One, Two, Three.”

Scott raised Jack as Phil instructed. Nikki kept a tight hold on his stomach, her gloved hands covered in Jack’s blood. Scott carried the blue crewmate as fast as Nikki and Phil allowed, his stomach churning with guilt as blood droplets fell to the floor of the cafeteria. He looked away, catching Phil’s concerned glance out of the corner of his eye.

He didn’t deserve his concern, he was supposed to do this, but Owen had to do it. He swallowed the lump in his throat. God, Owen. How is he going to explain this to him. He couldn’t hurt these humans. Maybe he could convince him that they could kill another crew instead. Possibilities ran through his head as he continued to hurry Jack to the med bay.

When they entered, he was surprised to find everyone else, including Owen in the med bay. Everyone turned to look at them when they walked in. A flash of annoyance crossed Owen’s face before it was gone, a look only Scott could catch as he and Phil laid Jack down in the bed.

“Wilbur!”

“On it!” Wilbur responded to Phil as he began to rush around. “Everyone out! I need to work.”

With that, everyone except Nikki, Phil and Wilbur were ushered out of the room, with Phil’s parting words being, “Everyone go back to your rooms. As of right now, we are all going to be in pairs until we know the cause of this.” Phil stared down Scott as he spoke, and it took everything in his power not to squirm.  Owen led him back to their shared room, protecting him from the gaze of Phil.

Once the door of their room was shut, Owen grinned. “I got one, Scott!” He said happily. Scott stared at his hands then up at him in disbelief at his joy.

“I know! How could you do that!?” Scott exclaimed, confusing Owen. “They are a tight-knit crew, they are going to know!” He said it as an excuse. Owen rolled his eyes as he climbed onto his bunk and sat there.

“They won’t figure it out until it’s too late. If we kill pink and green tomorrow, then it’ll be easy pickings.” Owen lay down with his hands under his head.

Scott felt himself pale as he realized that Owen had everything planned out already. When Owen had a goal set, there was not changing it. He swallowed and when to speak when the door opened behind them. Both looked over to see a shocked looking Tommy.

He had heard everything.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Darkside (Pt. 2)

(Part 2 to If you love me, let me go, or the Wasteland Au)

The crest of the sun had just begun to peek over the edge of the wall of Life City. Only a few citizens were wandering the streets of the sleepy city, setting up shops and stalls for the customers. Town hall lay dormant, peaceful for now. But soon, it will be filled with hostile and aggressive arguments, insults, and annoyed hybrids.

As per Mayor Scar’s integration plan, all outsiders had to attend classes to learn how to be model citizens.

That’s how every day, for eight hours, Scott had spent the last two weeks. Scott tolerates the quote “lessons” only because it allows him to see Ren and Grian. Pearl was there as well, formally known as Blood Moon. But her owner had somehow managed to calm the wolf centaur down to someone nearly unrecognizable.  Most of the time it is just them ignoring or arguing with Scar.

Jimmy, Martyn, Tango, and Cleo tend to come back to the hall to find the crimson having done something to Scar and were found chilling in Grian’s room, much to their dismay. They never hurt Scar, he’s usually locked in a closet or locked out of the hall, they even had him stuck in a chair due to super glue the quad had made from flour, water, mud, and sap.

They weren’t allowed flour unsupervised after that.

Waking up to someone licking his face, Scott groaned out, “Owen…please. I’m trying to sleep.” The llama huffed and nudged him a bit more aggressively, bleating into his ear. The cyan-haired llama hybrid sat up, rubbing his ear. “Fine, fine. I’m up.”

The llama huffed again and then began to eat the hay that Scott had been using as a bed. Shaking his head, Scott chuckled and got up, stretching out, and looking around the stall he called a “room”. Jimmy reluctantly agrees to allow Scott to live in the barn because both Tango and Jimmy can see the effects of Scott being locked and chained up in the house.

He had fallen into a deep depression, barely eating, not speaking, and refusing to come out from under the bed. The llama hybrid was sleep-deprived as well, so it was only so long before Tango set up a room-like cell next to Owen’s stall. It was a stall with a padlock on the door and had hay for bedding instead of a mattress, much to Scar’s disapproval. The first night showed much improvement, much to the Ranchers’ delight.

A few compromises were made for him to stay in the barn. First, he had to have meals in the house, unless he was sick.  Second, he needed to shower every day, at least once, due to smelling like a llama, which Scott honestly didn’t mind smelling like. And last, he had to attend the “lessons” without fuss, unless, again, he was ill. Scott readily agreed because he got the chain off and had somewhere comfortable to rest with a fellow llama by his side.

Owen worked as a personal alarm clock as well.

The llama would lick him or annoy him until he got up for the day. Which was a blessing and a curse because he didn’t have a snooze button or off button. Scott walked over to the stall window, looking through the bars as Jimmy opened the barn door. Jimmy smiled as he strolled over to the door, pulling a key out of his pocket.e

“Good morning, Scott! How are you? Sleep well?” He asked as he unlocked the stall door, opening it for the perky llama man. Said llama man nodding with an eye rub.  

“Yes. Now food.” Scott replied simply. Jimmy shook his head.

“Nope, you shower and get dressed first. You smell like the barn.”

Scott grumbled under his breath but dipped his head in acknowledgment because he didn’t want his little bit of freedom taken away. Jimmy’s gaze softened as he walked with him, guiding him towards the house.

“Tango is making your favorite, strawberries and waffles.” Jimmy tried to cheer him up. “So, the faster you shower, the faster you get strawberries.”

Scott visibly perked up at the mention of the red berry, his tail wagging. He had never tasted something so sweet and juicy before, being one of the only good things in the Life City. “Okay. I’ll accept this.” He laments. Jimmy giggles and opens the door for him.

Scott didn’t even try to get away from them anymore. He learned that trying to escape alone goes nowhere. Granted, even if he did have a chance, he wouldn’t want to leave his friends behind again. Even Pearl had become somewhat of a friend to all of them, easily relating to the sucky situation they all were put in. So, they all agreed to play nicely with the Lifers.

Bolting to the guest room, he grabbed a clean uniform for the class that Scar had issued all of them, tailored to their specific needs. Scotts was normal, minus the tail hole in the trousers. The uniform consisted of gray pants, a black blazer with red, green, and yellow accents, and a white long-sleeve undershirt. The llama hybrid ran back to the bathroom to begin getting ready.

After the quick shower, Scott got dressed. He looked at himself in the mirror and tamed his wild hair. Once he deemed himself presentable, he left the bathroom. He throws his night clothes into the laundry room as he passes before heading to the kitchen.

Jimmy and Tango were chatting in the kitchen when he entered. They both turned to him when they noticed him.

“Good morning, Scott. You can sit down. I’m just finishing the last batch of waffles.” Tango invited with a kind smile. “The strawberries are already on the table for you.” He tacked on after a second.

“Okay, thanks,” Scott replied as he sat down at the dining table.

Scott grabbed a strawberry happily from the large bowl in the center of the table. Unable to contain his llama side, he popped the whole thing into his mouth. Juice dripped down his chin as he savored the delectable fruit as he chewed. He didn’t realize he had closed his eyes until he opened them once he was finished with his mouth full, wiping away the juice with his sleeve.

Jimmy gave a disappointed frown. “Scott, small bites and please use a napkin instead of your sleeve.” Scott just rolled his eyes at him but did what he was told with his next few strawberries.

The Crimson llama was still quite hurt about the Ranchers' betrayal of him. He would be civil to them but would give them the cold shoulder if they asked him to join them in a bonding activity or try to explain their reasoning. However, he didn’t hate them.

He could never.

Jimmy, the kind and caring guy that he is, does everything in his power to try to make Scott comfortable. He has been the one to try to cheer Scott up using flowers, trips, or food to show him that being a lifer isn’t so bad. Tango, in his way, shows his affection by allowing Scott to help around the farm when he is stir-crazy. He shows him how to cook and work complex Redstone mechanics, which goes over Scott’s head most of the time.

But it’s in those times that it hurts Scott the most. Neither understands that they are showing Scott a life they could have had if they had kept their word. But now doubt and broken trust have fractured their relationship in an immeasurably way. Tango and Jimmy have been trying desperately to fix it, but it’ll take time. Something they don’t have before they lose Scott forever.

Shaking away his thoughts, he noticed the waffle on the plate in front of him. Scott glanced up to see Jimmy looking at him worriedly with Tango glancing at him through bites.

“Sorry, just lost in thought.” He apologized before he started eating. Both seem to lose some tension in their shoulders. Jimmy begins to eat his waffle now that he has confirmed Scott’s comfort.

Honestly, Scott felt a little bad about the two farmers. They love him, which before the incident, perhaps he could have reciprocated the feelings. But not anymore. Neither understands that the hybrid feelings. He does like some of the perks of the city, but he feels confined. He is meant to wander, and be nomadic. The lessons feel too domestic. He is part animal, and animals like to be free.

Scott's eyes drifted to the door window, looking out towards the gate as he chewed the waffle slowly, holding it with his bare hands, no syrup.

Tomorrow night they would escape.

They all had been planning this for the last two weeks whenever they managed to get away from Scar. They would quickly hide the evidence of anything being suspicious if they heard any footsteps heading towards them and pretend to be playing cards or just talking. Today they were going to go over last-minute details then they were out of here.

Finally, they all finished their breakfasts. Scott got up and grabbed his required bag and slipped it over his shoulder. Jimmy cleaned off the table as Tango when saddling the horses. As much as the llama wanted to help, he was called over to Jimmy to help wash dishes. He did so begrudgingly, knowing this was a tactic to keep him clean.

Once the dishes were cleared and cleaned, both made their way outside where Tango was waiting. Scott ran up to his horse, he called Bubbles, petting her affectionally. She nuzzled into his hands, snorting happily. He hoisted himself over the sweet horse and settled him into the saddle. Tango had already mounted his horse and trotted over to him. Jimmy followed suit quickly, mumbling something about being late.

The trio began to make their way towards the town hall at a quick pace. They rode through the narrow streets that led to the interior city.  Scott couldn’t help admiring the small shops and morning people that milled around them. Flowers and colors were everywhere compared to the scarlet sands of the wastelands. It only grew more colorful as they went deeper into the city.

Soon the hall appeared ahead of them. Scott dismounted Bubbles, giving her a loving pat on her flank. Tango and Jimmy both stay on their horses.

“Have a good day in class Scott,” Tango called with a smile as he grabbed Bubbles’s harness.

“And please don’t glue Scar down again,” Jimmy added. “It was a pain to get him off that wooden chain.” Scott couldn’t help but feel proud.

“No promises~” Scott called back, laughing at Jimmy’s pale face. Tango shook his head.

“Just get in there, you’re late as it is. I don’t want Scar giving me an earful for you being late.” Tango shouted with an amused and slightly serious tone.

The llama stuck out his tongue at Tango before bounding up the steps and entering the city hall. He took a sharp left down a hallway, following it down to the very end of the hall. He pushed open the door to find Scar in the middle of some boring manner talk.

Scar looked up and grinned, clasping his hands together, “Ah, Scott. Nice of you to join us  !” He gestured towards his seat. “Please sit, I was just explaining the concept of good table manners.”

Huffing, Scott sat heavily in his seat, feeling a smug satisfaction every time, he saw the scar that had appeared where his saliva had burned Scar. Grain gave him a lazy wave of his hand, head down on the table, clearly bored out of his mind, wings partly tucked. Ren wasn’t much better; he looked like he was trying to give Scar his attention but was cleanly falling asleep behind his sunglasses. Pearl sat with her wolf body lying down, being too big for a chair. She had her head in her hand, blinking slowly as she too felt compelled to nap.

Scott sighed as he settled in for the long, boring morning.

============================================================

Grian was startled as the bell rang for lunch. He looked around frantically as his wings puffed in fright. He relaxed when he realized where he was, catching his breath before he relaxed. Scott seemed to notice and gave him a small reassuring smile. Ren and Pearl were still knocked out cold due to being nocturnal most of the time.  

Glancing around, Grian didn’t spot Scar anywhere.

“Where’s Scar?” He questioned Scott.

Scott hums as he stands up, stretching. “He went to grab the lunches.” He sighs as his back audibly cracks, making Grian cringe. “Also, you have drool on your face.” The llama pointed out.

Grian wipes his face and stands up as well. “So how are we going to keep him this time?” Grian asked, looking at the llama expectantly. Scott looked around the room before smirking to himself. The llama hybrid went over to a cabinet and grabbed a gray roll of something. “What is that?”

“No idea, but I’ve seen Tango use it in the barn to hold a pitchfork together so it’s strong,” Scott explained.

“Huh,” Grian replied. “So, pin him down and use it to attach him to the floor?” Grian suggests. Scott gave him an odd look.

“Well, I wasn’t thinking to use it like that,” Scott admitted. “But I think your idea sounds funny so let’s do it.” The llama grins devilishly.

Grian mirrors his expression.

================================

Of all the things Pearl was expecting to wake up was not Scar yelling as Grain and Scott attempted to get him to the floor. Pearl flickered her ears in amusement as she watched the bird man struggle to hold down the human while the llama boy tried to put something gray on his limps. Pearl got up and trotted over and sat down her great wolf body onto the man’s chest.

Said the man letting out an “oof” as he lost his breath. Seeing his opportunity, Scott swiftly placed gray stuff all over his limbs, all attracted to the floor. Ren, who seemingly had just woken up as well, looked at the sight with amusement. Pearl got off him and moved to stand by the llama hybrid.

Getting his breath back, Scar exclaimed, “Where did you get duct tape!? And where did you learn to use it!?” The human struggled futilely on the floor in the tape. Scott simply shrugged.

“Found it and Tango fixed a pitchfork with it so I thought I could use it on you. And it worked.” He gave a snide smirk. “Thanks for lunch by the way!”

Scott grabbed a box labeled with his name and began to head to Grian’s room. Grian followed, hopping on Scar’s stomach before grabbing his lunch box.

“That was for the boring lesson, now we’ll be in my room, socializing.” Grian chirped as he left. Ren got up and followed him, but stepped around him and grabbed his lunch.

“Later dude. Have fun laying on the hard wooden floor.” He said as he left as well.

Scar looked up at Pearl. “Can you please let me up?” Pearl snorted at the absurdity.

“Nah, mate. This is your well-deserved karma.” She stepped around him, grabbing her lunch as well but used her tail to smack him in the face before she left. She exited the room and bounded down the hall towards Grian’s room.

When she got there, she found her allies eating their box lunches. Scotts ate nearly all fruits and vegetables due to meat being hard on his digestive system. Grain had a mix of nuts and seeds, some meat scarps for him as he was an omnivore. Ren had a burger of some sort, biting into it happily. Pearl settled beside Ren and opened her box, wagging her tail as she had a nearly raw steak in her box. She grabbed it and started tearing into it eagerly.

Everyone was quiet as they enjoyed their food. It wasn’t until everyone was done completely did Grian pulled out the escape plan.

“Now let’s get down to business. We’ll go over the plan once more.” Grian looked at Ren. “When Martyn heads to bed, you’ll creep down the stairs get the key from under his bedside lamp, and leave through the front door after grabbing your things.” Grian looked down at the map he was holding, tapping on a marked house where Ren lived. “From there, you’ll go head to Scott’s place and grab the sharp clippers and free Scott and the horses.”

Grian turned to Scott. “When Ren frees you, you’ll supply the horses with everything we need and grab your gear. Then you head to me with the metal snappers. I should have grabbed my stuff by the time you have arrived, then you just need to free me.” Grian looks at Ren and points at the map. “You’ll go break Pearl out from Cleo’s with your claws to pick the lock.” Grinning, Grian finishes up, “Then we can get out of here. We just need to wait for the guard switch.”

Pearl gives a wolfish grin, “Sounds great to me. We can blow this popsicle stand.”

Scott looked at Grain and nodded, “I think that covers everything.” He speaks. Ren frowns.

“Wait, when is the shift change?” The werewolf inquires. Grian bites his lips.

“That’s the problem. It happens right before sunrise, so we need to be quick. And that’s why we need the horses.” He explains, glancing at the Pearl. “You can run faster, right?”

Pearl crosses her arms, insulted. “Of course, I can. You insult me Grian.” The parrot snickers and smiles.

“Great. So, we’re sorted.” He clasps his hands. “Now what?”

Scott pulls out a deck of cards, “Go Fish?”

=======================

Jimmy pulled his horse to a stop in front of the town hall. Tossing over towards Tango, he asked, “So where do you think Scar is today?” He asked as he dismounted his horse.

Tango looked over and snorted, “I don’t honestly know. It’s honestly impressive what they can do.” The other rancher followed Jimmy’s actions.

Jimmy tied his steed up to the fence before heading up the stairs. He shook his head slightly before sighing, “I can’t even disagree with you. The glue was incredible.” The dirty blond turned back to the other. “We probably should hurry, I bet Scar is waiting for us to free him.” Tango quickly followed his partner up the steps and headed inside.

The pair glanced around the hall before heading towards the classroom.

“Yo Scar, you here?” Tango called out, before opening the classroom door.

“I’m here!” Came the reply. “Help me, please!

Jimmy looked around confused before he saw the poor mayor. He was practically wrapped in a layer of duct tape to the floor. It took everything in Jimmy’s power not to burst out laughing. Tango excused himself before he erupted into laughter in the hallway. Scar gave him a pleating look.

Holding his laughter back, Jimmy managed to ask, “I see they did it again. How this time?” The farmer knelt, pulled a knife out of his back pocket, and began cutting away the tape, being extra careful not to nick Scar.

“I went to grab the lunch, then Grian ambushed me when I set them down on the desk.” The green-eyed man complained. “Scott then appeared with the duct tape I had on the cabinet and started taping me down. When I was almost free, Pearl sat on me!” Scar sat up, most of the tape off him.

Tango came in looking a bit sheepish, “That may have been my fault. I showed him how to use the stuff.” Scar brushed himself off.

“So, I have you to blame for this.” Scar threw up his hands as he scowled. “Thank you so much, Tango.” He said sarcastically.

Tango huffed. “We’ll reprimand Scott. Jeez, don’t get your panties in a twist.” Tango tacked on, “Plus it was Grian who tackled you.”

Scar sighed, “I know. It seems like he is getting more mischievous and chaotic recently.” Jimmy frowned slightly.

“Do you know why?” Jimmy questioned. Scar shrugged.

“Nope, but I am hoping it’s because he is settling in.”

The group of humans moved towards Grian’s room. They walked back through the main hall before going down a hallway on the opposite side of the classroom. They walked past the door leading to Scar's office, where the prison is still full of other hybrids waiting to be essentially adopted. Soon they reached the door and opened it.

What awaited made all of them fawn over the sight. All the hybrids were curled up in a pile on the bed, asleep. Pearl was curled around all of them, under the pile. Ren was lying across her wolf body, snoring slightly with his sunglasses askew on his face. Grian was in the center of the pile, wings draped across everyone, making sleepy chirps. Scott was on the other side of Grian, pressed tightly between Pearl and Grian curled into a small ball with a small smile on his face.

As much as they wanted to let the mutants sleep, they were supposed to be trouble. Tango was the one who shook Scott’s shoulder. The llama whined as he sluggishly woke up, sitting up carefully to not disturb the others. When he realized who woke him up, he gave them a sleepy sheepish smile.

“Hey…”  

Tango picked him up and said, “Don’t ‘hey’ me mister.” He said, “You know exactly what you did.” The blue-haired man just whined as he was slung over Tango’s shoulder. Scott waved to the other awakened hybrids as they left the room.

Jimmy followed Tango out as he carried Scott out. “You said you were going to be good.” Jimmy chastised him. “But instead, you duct tape Scar to the floor.”

Scott grumbled, “Scar is boring. All he did was talk about manners.” Tango shakes his head.

 “I know it’s boring, but you need to still be respectful of Scar.” Sighing, he shared a look with Jimmy as they left city hall. Tango sets Scott on Jimmy’s horse, much to the llamas' confusion.  “That’s why something is going to change.”

Jimmy sits next to him. “This is going to sound bad, but the other day, we agreed that you need some sort of punishment for these shanghaies. And that is why we are going to move you back into the house.” The visible panic that crossed Scott’s face made Jimmy’s heart hurt. Grabbing his hands, the farmer continued, “It’ll only be for a week, darling. It won’t be so bad.”

Scott began pleading, “No, please. Don’t put me back in the house. I’ll behave better please.” The llama’s eyes watered with unsheathed tears, causing Jimmy’s resolve to fracture. “You can do anything else, but please. I can’t sleep or feel comfortable in the house. Take away my water or food but please, let me stay in the stall.” Scott begged.

Jimmy looked over to Tango, wearing a conflicted expression. Tango seemed to share a similar reaction.  Neither of them predicted this strong of a reaction when they were planning this. They were expecting angry words and fighting, but not pure desperation. Scott seemed terrified of going back to the house.  Jimmy bit his lip.

“We’ll talk more when we get home.” Jimmy decided.

                                ===========================================

The trip was silent they made the trek back to the ranch. Scott's mind was buzzing with thoughts. He didn’t want to go to the house. It would ruin any plans of escaping they have been planning for the last two weeks. His ears were pinned to his head at the thought of going back to the house. The other two would occasionally glance back at him with guilty expressions as Scott hugged himself tightly.

When the llama hybrid said he would give up anything, he wasn’t kidding. He hated being locked in that room. Only himself in that small tight space. A shiver ran down his spine. He would rather be under a tree in the crimson than be back in that room unable to leave as his only will. The stall is bearable because Owen is with him. The llama is an emotional support animal.

The sudden stop of the horse realized that they were back at the house.

The blue-haired man leaped off the horse’s back and ran towards the barn, not bothering to stop as his name was called by the other two. Running into the shed, he ran to his stall and slammed the door, flopping into the hay and curling up, tears pooling in his eyes.

The llama man didn’t even look up as footsteps approached his door. Owen had leaned over the stall and was nuzzling Scott’s cheek, never liking to see the man sad. The llama snorted at whoever opened the door and bleated out at them.

“Scott…” The blue-haired hybrid didn’t even look up at Tango’s voice.

Scott mumbled, “Go away,” He pressed himself deeper into the straw, “I refuse to leave this barn.” Owen stamped his hooves with an agitated blet as the footstep closed in on him.

“Scott please, we just want to talk.” Jimmy’s voice responded.

Scott sat up and snapped at them. “Leave me be! I just want to be alone!” Tears freely ran down his face as he glared at the startled and shocked faces of Tango and Jimmy. Owen, sensing Scott’s anger and hurt, began spitting at the two. Both left the stall but Jimmy paused outside of the closed door.

“We’ll talk tomorrow morning when you have time to process this.” Jimmy sounded apologetic. “I’ll be back later with food. We are sorry we upset you darling.” He left after that, leaving Scott to wallow in his misery.

After a while, Scott stood up from his bed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, a new fire in his heart. Owen blets in concern for him, nudging his side. Sniffing, “I’m fine. I promise.” He patted the head of the animal before beginning to gather up his belongings into his original scarlet to prepare for the night.

The hybrid was tired of people pulling him this way and that. Gritting his teeth, he shoved away some ration he had been staving and filled his canteen full of water out of the water trough. He changed out of his uniform and into his colorful coat and homemade patchwork pants. His fedora was hanging on a nail on the stall wall. He snatched it off the hook and placed it on his head.

He looked at his reflection and felt more like himself than he did in a month of being there. He felt the bitterness from the betrayal rising in his chest, mixing with the new outrage. Who do they think they are to cage him like a misbehaving dog? Scott clenched his fist tightly, leaving crescents in his palms. When they are gone, they’ll see. They will all see you can’t tame the untamable. Spite coursed through his veins, after all, if he’s anything, he is petty.

A low giggle soon grew into a laugh that turned into manic insane laughter. After all, they put them through. Being petty would be merciful, but no. Scott wanted revenge. Owen gave a pleasing baa to him to see him laughing, not understanding. The chains and trying to force them into submission, treating them with fake respect but still expecting them to fall in line? Yeah, no.

Scott turned to Owen and stroked his wool as he came up with a plan for revenge, while he waited for Ren to come for him.

=========================

It was well into the night before Scott heard a rustling outside his cell. Scott perked up as Ren unlocked the door for him. He gave Ren a grin. “Took you long enough.” The llama teased the wolf. Ren rolled his eyes.

“Sorry dude, Martyn was being extra clingy tonight.” The wolf apologized. Scott brushed it off.

“It’s fine. Now I’ll get the horses out, you grab the saddles.” Scott grabbed the keys from Ren and unlocked Owen’s stall then moved onto the horses. The llama pushed open his stall and followed Scott, leaving Ren confused, but the guy didn’t question it.

Scott grabbed the three horses from the stalls as quickly as he could. He even took precautions by tying rags over the hooves while Ren saddled them.

Next, Scott went to the far side of the barn where all the tools hung. He looked at all the tools before he found the bolt cutters. He grabbed it when something else caught his eye, a lighter. He debated to himself before he snatched it as well and shoved it into his pocket. He headed back over to Ren and Owen.

“Got it, take Blossom and head over to free Pearl. I’ll bring Bubbles, Buttercup, and Owen to free Grian. We’ll meet you in the center of town.” Scott related as he mounted his horse easily. Ren saluted, doing the same to his horse.

“Got it, my dude. I’ll be back faster than a fart.” Ren announced before he took off. Scott sighed, amused by Ren’s antics. Scott led the horse and llama pair out of the barn, leaving it empty.

Pausing, Scott looked at the barn before pulling the lighter out of his pocket. He ran his thumb over the little ignition as he stared at it, before looking at the barn again. Spite shot through his mind as he opened it and tossed the lighter into a hay pile on the side of the barn. Scott ran away before he could watch it set a flame.

The blue-haired man managed to get to the town hall in record time, especially with the two animals in tow. He hopped off the horse and climbed over the fence to Grian’s window with a little difficulty but managed when Owen bucked him over the last foot. He used the chain cutters to snap off the lock then rapped on the window, letting Grian know he was there.

The avian burst out of the window, startling a surprised laugh out of Scott. Grian picked him up by the shoulders with swiftness and flapped over the fence, dropping him onto his horse and landing on Buttercup, his feather ruffled.

Grian looked a bit panicked, “We got to go! I may have done something quite stupid.” Grain urged his mount into a near sprint. Scott followed swiftly, Owen keeping up relatively well for a llama.

“What did you do!?” Scott called to him as he kept pace.

Grian bit his lip, “I may have... uh… accidentally alerted Scar when I was…” He mumbled the last part.

“What?” Scott asked as he didn’t hear him.

“I tried to steal his shiny pendant…from around his neck…when he was asleep.” Grian finished looking sheepish. “And he may have woken up.” Scott groaned as he facepalmed but knew he couldn’t say anything after the stunt he pulled, smoke was already starting to waft through the air.

“Let’s hurry, I bet the others are waiting,” Scott replied instead as he pushed his horse to a full sprint, Grian following suit.

As the blue-haired llama guy suspected, Ren and Pearl were waiting for them. Both looked bewildered as they flew down the street towards them on horseback. Scott called out to them as he and Grian dashed past, “Go! Go!” Neither needed to be told twice before they were with them.

The group charged toward the gate, no one faltering as horns sounded around them. If anything, it made them go faster. The closer the gate became, the more smoke filled the air, and a large plomb bellowed up from the air in the direction of the ranch.

Pearl called out, “Scott! What the heck did you do!?” A laugh in her voice of astonishment.

“A heat of the moment of decision you could call it,” Scott admitted as pressed close to his horse’s back.

Grian gave a startled laugh as well. “You can say that again. Did you set the barn on fire?” He questioned.

“Yep.”

The trio blinked at the straight answer they got but didn’t question it any further. After all, who are they to judge a bit of revenge?

The buildings thinned out as when they came up to the gate. The open was clear of guards, much to their surprise. But a glance to the left was the answer. The lighter had done its job, it lit the hay up which had spread to the barn. The frame was engulfed in flames, sending black into the near-dawn sky.  The whole guard was firing the fire along with Jimmy and Tango.

Scott called over to the others, “Get going, I’ll catch up with you, take Owen with you.” The other three shared a look as they slowed down, just barely before seeing the look in Scott’s eyes and decided to continue. Scott watched as the others left the city until he made sure they were well and far away.

The llama hybrid turned back to the fire. A strange scent of calm washed over him as he watched the flames eat away at the old wood. He must have stood there for a good five minutes before he caught Jimmy staring at him. The blond-haired human was covered with soot and grime, tears in his eyes. They stared each other down for what felt like an eternity.

Jimmy was the one to break it. “Scott! Get back here!” The human screams in anguish.  

Scott simply bowed his head to him, sad that it had to come to this. He turned and urged his horse into a trot, a free man once again, now with plenty of friends. Scott glanced back when he reached the place where he first saw the city. In his heart, he hoped that they never have to deal with another Lifer again, but in his mind, he knew his actions had consequences. He sighed and caught up to his friends who were waiting for him, who all rode into the rising sun.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Bad Thoughts Give Me Bad Dreams

(Dragon Scott au with flower ranchers)

Many years ago, dragons, humans, and hybrids lived in peace. The humans had land and farms, and the dragons had mountains and skies. The hybrids were free to pass through either domain. That was until dragons discovered magic. When the humans found out, they got increasingly jealous. Soon the humans convinced the hybrids that the dragons were too powerful. The hybrids and humans attacked the unsuspecting dragons, wiping out many of them. The remaining dragons refused to fight and turned to hide. The dragons disappeared without a trace. No one knew where they fled as they did not return to the mountains. Even after all these years, many humans were still set on hunting them down.

Somewhere in the sea on the coast, is a cave. Deep within this underwater cave, leads to a hidden civilization. Once a lush cave had grown into a sanctuary for the remaining of the fallen race. The walls shifted from stone alto diorite to calcite. Glow from berries glimmered in the amethyst clusters dotted around the cave.  Vines hung from ledge to ledge, from stalactite to stalagmites, and decorated nests. Moss and azaleas were used as bedding and padding, magic growing the azaleas into trees. Using the same magic, crops were grown. Fresh spring water flowed down one side of the cave. Dragons walked around and glided through the air as they chatted and lived peacefully. A market was in the middle of the refuge. Many sold fish, or the more darning ones sold game from the surface.

A pair of dragons watched the bustle of their kind from a small ledge. On the ledge was their nest. Two eggs were resting in the center. A crack appeared on the shell of the larger egg. Both parents turned eagerly and watched as two tiny legs pushed out of the shell, cracking the egg fully. A purple-haired hatching sat in the middle of the eggshell, its black wings were visibly strong, and its horns shone proudly. The parents only admired their hatchling momentarily before the other egg cracked.

Unlike the first hatchling, a small hole was formed, and a small face poked out. The hatchling pushed hard against the shell and popped his head out as the top of the egg cracked. A startled squeak came as he rolled out of the egg. This hatching had cyan hair, small horns, and weak wings, but his claw-like hands were webbed with a fin-like tail. The parents were ecstatic that they had a sky-borne and a sea-borne hatchling.  They dubbed them Xornoth and Scott.

As the years passed, the siblings soon grew from hatchlings to fledglings. Xornoth was the first to learn how to fly. Scott struggled to fly due to his features but could glide for long periods. When it came to learning how to swim, Scott flew through the depths, while Xornoth struggled to stay afloat. The cyan-fledging soon learned he had gills on the side of his neck, allowing him to breathe underwater.

While being different, both brothers were extremely close. They played, fought, and shared everything. But one thing they both loved was the days of homecoming. Every six months, they would race to the cave Gate and wait for the exploration team to return. The Gate was the water passage that led to the cavern. It was protected by a strong magic to only allow dragons through.   When the older dragon appeared from the water, everyone cheered as they brought new technologies or food for the colony. Scott would watch with stars in his eyes as he admired the team. He made himself a promise they when he was old enough, he would be on that team.

===========

A purple and black blur shot through the cavern air space, a blue flash following beneath. Wedded claws gripped at store roofs, springing across gaps and streets.  A fin-like tail flashed behind as he glided from roof to roof.  Calling out apologizes as he dodges around clotheslines or startled elders. His sibling’s laughs echo above him as they grips their stomach at their brother’s dilemma. A smirk graces his face as they slam back first into a stalactite. They fell onto a nearby roof.

“You deserved that!” Scott snickered as he stepped around Xornoth’s fallen form. They groaned in response to Scott’s jab. Scott fondly rolled his eyes. “Come on, we’re going to be late for homecoming.” Grabbing his sibling’s arm, he pulled them up. They wobbled before shaking themselves off.

Scott leaped off the building with a laugh as he heard an agitated ‘Hey!’ come from his nestmate. He descended into the middle of the street and took off running towards the Gate. Dragon folks of all ages started to converge on the plaza. Scott slipped into the front of the crowd, tail swaying eagerly as he watched the Gate. Xornoth dropped beside him and pushed his shoulder.

“Jerk! I could have missed it,” They complained, crossing their arms over their chest. “And here you would have been.”

“Oh shush! You were fine.” He responded as he rubbed his shoulder with a cheeky grin. “I’ve seen you take worse falls than that. You’re just being dramatic.” Xornoth pouted at him before a gurgling caught both of their attention.

The water in the Gate began to swirl in a vortex and changed in color as the magic reacted. From the vortex, a sea-borne dragon shot up into the air, followed by two sky-borne dragons and then a nature-born dragon. The group landed in front of the crowd of dragons, their arms full of supplies and new shiny objects. But something was off.

A solemn air surrounded the group of newly returned dragons. A wave of confused whispers and murmurs passed through the crowd. Everyone watched the pool, waiting for the other two members to appear. Like everyone else, Scott and Xornoth were concerned by the absence of two of their kind. The sea-borne stepped up with a solemn air to him, hushing every dragon in the process.

“To my dismay, I must inform you Tilly and Dan have sadly perished during our adventure.” The leader informed. A stunned shock settled on the shoulders of the community. “They sacrificed themselves to allow the rest of us to escape from the humans. So let us not waste their sacrifice and forever remember them and celebrate the supplies they allowed us to forge.” The leader tried to lighten the mood.

The crowd agreed, dispersing around the market. A band had begun to play songs of remembrance to grieve their loss, then switched to a more upbeat one. Couples dance in the square, while game stalls begin to shout for players. Soon laughter lifted the solemn mood. Scott watched from a shadowed corner, sitting on a barrel, Xornoth finding him after spending some time enjoying the festivities.

Approaching cautiously, Xornoth asked, “Scott? What are you doing here? You should be out there, having fun.” They sat down on a crate next to him.

“Just thinking.” He replied, watching a bat fly around. Xornoth gave an unimpressed look.

“Scott.”

He didn’t answer for a moment, fidgeting with his tail. His sibling rested a hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “I promise, you can tell me anything.”

Scott looked at them finally, taking a deep breath. “I am thinking of joining the group to the outside world.” He admitted, not looking them in the eyes. “I know how dangerous it is, but I want to do something good for the colony.” He closes his eyes, expecting a backlash. Instead, he got a gentle hug.

“I know,” Xornoth whispered. “I will never stop you from pursuing your dream. Just come back to me safe, that's all I ask.” Scott hugged him back tightly, burying his face into his sibling's shoulder.

“I will promise.”

Xornoth cradled his younger brother close to his chest. “You better or I’m hunting you down myself and turning you into a rug.” Scott laughed wetly as he pulled away. Xornoth grinned and grabbed his hand. “Now let’s go play some games, I’m going to beat you so bad!”

Scott smiled as he walked with them, “No you’re not, I’ll win easily.”

===============

It was the third anniversary of the passing of two of the members of the adventure group. It was also the day when Scott joined the team. All the group was reluctant to let the fledging join their ranks but agreed. The first year was spent learning and observing, and Joel made sure of that. Joel was the leader of the group and a sea-borne like Scott. He was a natural-born leader as he gave instructions flawlessly and proficiently.  Scott learned many skills from him. Hunting, fighting, and stealing are the main ones.

His partner was Lizzie, one of the two sky-borne dragons. She oversaw planning missions and was a rather good fighter. Many of the plans the group chose were approved by Lizzie. When not prepping for a mission, she was rather protective of their newest member. She would cook great meals and sing songs when they were resting. Scott enjoyed her company late at night when she would point out constellations. Her scales were a shimmering sea green.

Next, Grian. He was the other sky-borne dragon of the group. He was a master of disguise and deception. He loves causing confusion and distraction to humans as much as possible. The red-scaled dragon loved any explosive he could get his hands on. Anything shimmery or a button to be pressed, he pushes or takes. When not on a mission, he plays pranks on them. No matter what, Grian is there to make Scott smile. Learning how to set traps had to be Scott’s favorite memory with him.

Last, but not least, was Scar. The nature-borne dragon was Grian’s significant other. While clumsy, he was a master at magic. All dragons knew of some magic, but Scar could outdo them any day. His skill with a bow was incredible and well-practiced. Scar had taught him how to use magic and recite important spells as well as potion making. Scott’s favorite memory is when he accidentally turned the emerald, green dragon into a vivid lavender purple. Everyone had a great laugh.

The second year he mostly allowed Scott to branch out. Engaging the skills, he had studied into practice. The fledging of seventeen rotations soon expanded his reach. He battled in missions with Joel, stole alongside Grian, cast and prepped spells with Scar, and cooked with Lizzie. Scott couldn’t have been happier.

By the spring of the third season, Scott had nearly surpassed all his teachers. He won a duel against Joel. He created a spell all on his own. He even picked up strategizing from Lizzie, helping her to come up with backup plans and escape routes. Everyone was proud of him. Xornoth and their parents were over the moon every time he came home with stories to tell when he visited.

Homecoming had just wrapped up. The team, minus Scott, was planning where they would go next.  Scott walked beside Xornoth, who had grown as well. They were the captain of the guardian force. He was proud of his sibling for making such momentous progress. The two were making idly chit-chat as they headed towards the building where they were residing for the night before heading out the next morning.

Xornoth spoke up suddenly, “Scott… maybe you should hang back this time.”

“What?”

“Just for this year, you know mom is sick so I was just thinking you should be here in case something happens.” They explained, his gaze turned away.

“Xornoth, she has a cold,” Scott deadpanned. “She’s already nearly fully recovered. If something bothers you, just let me know. Don’t dance around it.” He stated bluntly, stopping in his tracks to look at his sibling.

Laughing, “You know me too well. Okay, I guess…” They relent. “I just… have been having horrible dreams about you. In the nightmares, you would be locked in a cage, humans surrounding you. They just seemed so real…” They grabbed his hands, staring him dead in the eyes. “I don’t want to lose you, Scott.”

He pulled his sibling close and engulfed them in a hug. “I vow that I will return to you no matter what. I’ll be careful, I swear.” He pulled away. “Besides, if I’m gone, who’s going to be your annoying little brother?” He gave in a cheeky grin.

Despite looking reassured, Xornoth still seemed troubled. Sighing, Scott compromised, “How about every few weeks I send a letter through flame mail? Will that help?”

“Yeah, just to hear from you.” They agreed.

“Great, now I need to head to the grand hall to meet and plan with the others.” Scott hugged his older sibling once more before letting go.

“Stay safe,” Xornoth called as he walked off. Scott rolled his eyes and called back, “Okay mother hen!” Xornoth squawked in outrage as Scott ran off laughing.

Slipping inside the grand hall, Scott found his companions discussing a map.  

“But Lizzie, we can’t go back to Crystal Cliffs, we were just there,” Joel explained. “It would be best if we went to the Southlands.” Lizzie shook her head.

“It’s too far of a journey this time of year. The tides aren’t in our favor.” She pointed to another place; a city built at the mouth of a river. “Midnight Valley is relatively close.”

Grian piped up. “Oh, heck no! We nearly got caught because of that bottlenecked trap!” Using feather-light steps, Scott crept over and gazed at the map. Lizzie huffed in frustration. “Then where do you suggest we head too?”

Grian studied the map and then pointed to a small group of islands. “What about the Coral Isles? They have good resources.”

Scar frowns. “Don’t they have a pufferfish infestation they are taking care of?”

“Ah, I forgot that part…” He slumped in his seat.

“What if we were to head to Ranch Town?” Scott suggested, alarming everyone.

Scar clutched his chest and panted, “Don’t do that! You nearly gave me a stroke!” Scott had the decency to look ashamed. “Sorry Scar.”

Joel looked at the map, considering Scott’s suggestion. “Why would you say that place?” Scott looked up at him and then at the map. “Well, if we were to travel there, we could camp on the small uninhabited shores near the bottom of the edge of civilization without having to cast huge spells. And Joel and I will always have seawater.” Lizzie nodded slowly.

“I see your point, there are plenty of escape routes if we choose to swim upstream.” She traces the river divides, then taps the docks. “They also have the largest world trade port, allowing us to steal some rare necessities.” Joel nodded.

“I agree. We haven’t been there for ages. Looks like we’re heading to Ranch Town.” The leader declared, “We leave in the morning, so prepare accordingly.  Ranch Town is a week’s worth of travel.”

Everything was settled, so the adventurers headed off to bed, unknowing of the strife ahead.

==============

Weaving through the crowds, Joel and Scott dashed through the dock. Shouts followed them as knights gave chase. Tucked in Scott’s claws was an book, he had stolen from a royal merchant ship. Twin cloaks flailed behind them as they fled the scene. The chase had been going on for around a good twenty minutes by now.

Scott was starting to tire as Joel gave a nod, signaling to split up.

Scott turned down a small side street, trying to lose the guards. As he ran, he wondered how this had happened. It was supposed to be a simple operation. Get in and out. But everything went wrong right away. The ship that was supposed to be there was a simple merchant ship, not a royal one. Then the guards swamped the boat. Everyone scattered, guards tailing them. This brings us to where he is currently.

Four guards sprinted after him. He glanced at the book and wondered why they wanted it so obsessively. Shotting out of the alley, he ran into the road, sliding under a cart that nearly trapped him. He snickered as he heard a few cusses, dashing swiftly around a corner, only to nearly run into a horse.

He stumbles into the dirt on his butt. He looked up to yell, only to pale, seeing the head of the royal guard. The head of the royal guard was the prince’s fiancé, Tango. He was a hot head blaze hybrid, fiercely protective of the kingdom. Nearly no one had escaped him before, minus his group. But he was about to clean his record. Scott tried to scramble away, but his boots couldn’t get a grip on the sediment.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tango hopped down and placed his knee into Scott’s spine, nearly on his hidden wings. The book, long forgotten, fell into the dirt as Scott struggled against Tango, trying to escape. Tango manages to wrangle him into chains as the other knights rounded the corner. Falling limp, Scott realized he was outmatched and outnumbered.

He yelped as his hood was grabbed and he tossed over the horse's back. Tango patted him down, confiscating his small, enchanted dagger and a few regenerating potions. Then the royal knight reached for his cloak clasp. Scott stiffened in fear as he was powerless to prevent the inevitable. He curled slightly as his wings and dragon heritage were revealed. Tango seemed to short-circuit for a moment before recovering, placing the cloak down he turned to his men.

In a commanding voice, “Find the other thieves I need to bring this one to the castle.” Tango orders. “Do not kill. Especially if they are anything like him.” The knights saluted before spreading out to search for his friends.

Scott’s stomach dropped when he heard castle. He couldn’t be serious. But as Tango saddled up, and pushed his horse into a trot, he knew he was in big trouble.

==============

 Scott cursed as he was thrown roughly into the cell. He hisses at the guard as the wooden door slams and locks, causing the tower to rumble around him. He glares as he brushes himself off, checking himself over. The cyan-scale Dragonborn had been stripped of nearly everything he owned, left with only the clothes on his back. Sadly, his cloak was confiscated, leaving him only in his trousers.

Glancing around, Scott grimaced.

The cell was circular with a barred lancet window situated above his head, allowing fresh air and sea breeze to filter in. Moonlight cased long shadows but provided enough light to see. The tropical summer humidity caused the cobbled stone to gleam with condensation, making the cell damp. A small wooden bench hung, posing as a poor substitute for a bed, under the window. A tiny wooden bucket filled with murky questionable water was placed beside it—the whole cell smelt of mildew.

Trudging over to the bench, Scott sat down heavily. He closed his eyes as he rested his head against the wall, feeling so stupid about getting caught. Opening his eyes, he stared up at the cone-like ceiling with despair. He should have listened to Xornoth.  He could have spent six months with him. It wouldn’t have killed him to spend time with his family. Now he might not ever see them again.

Ignoring the burning in his eyes, Scott looked at his hands. He looked at his scaly hands and sharp nails. He cupped them together and mumbled under his breath a spell. A ball of light formed and drifted from his hands. A sudden thought came to him, causing him to spring up for the worn old bench. The light drifted above his head as he approached the door.

He nearly laughed at his idiocy. He crouched down and pressed a hand to the cell door. He smirked as he pronounced the lock-pick spell. A click echoed around the small room as the door unlocked. Relief washes over Scott as he pulls open the cell door. He stepped out of the cell, and a narrow staircase leading downward met him. Eager to leave, the dragon leaped down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Scott couldn’t help but feel victorious as he dashed down the stairs.

However, the feeling didn’t last long.

Halfway down the stairs, Scott turns one of the many curves of the staircase. He was in such a rush, that he didn’t realize until it was too late, hitting the prince directly in the chest. They both tumbled, pushing the second person, Tango, down the stairs as well. The trio rolled down in a jumble of limbs and curses. Finally, they stopped near the bottom of the stairs, very bruised and sore.

Scott groaned as he pulled himself out of the pile, groaning as he held his chin where he hit it. He rubbed it, checking for blood, which thankfully there didn’t seem to be. Another groan caught his attention, and he turned to see Tango rubbing his head a bit. The prince just lay on the stairs, looking dazed. He and Tango locked eyes.

Scott bolted. He heard a curse before another pair of footsteps followed him.

Scrambling down the rest of the stairs, Scott practically fell out of the stairway, Tango hot on his heels. Picking a direction, he fled. Much to his dismay, he met two guards right away. Tango called from behind him, causing the knights to notice him. He dodged out of their reach, before continuing down the hallway.

He turned another corner, only to run into a dead end. Come on, Scott thought. I can’t catch a break. He spun around to meet his pursuers, pressing himself back into the wall of the hallway, wings twitching. Tango stepped in front of the two other guards.

“No one needs to get hurt. The prince and I only wanted to ask you some questions and offer you a deal.” He had his hands in a passive position in front of him.

Getting defensive, Scott snarled, “Let me go. Like I would ever help you.” He barred his teeth, at the blaze hybrid. Tango's face fell in a scowl.

“You were caught stealing. Normally, thieves would be sent to work in the mines for a few years. But you’re a special case.” Tango explained.

“And why’s that?” He snapped, his tail whipping aggressively. Footsteps came from behind the group. The guards moved, revealing a disheveled looking prince. A low growl rumbled from Scott’s throat.

“Because we need your magic knowledge.” The prince stated as he fixed his crown. Scott’s eyes scanned him as he towered over him. The canary hybrid stood nearly head over him. Golden feathers ruffled on his head wings. He had sandy blond hair with muddy tried brown eyes. He was clearly near Scott’s age but his eyes mirrored an elders.

“Why?” The dragon asked suspiciously.

“Please. Humans have begun to invade our land. Many hybrids are dying, like many of your kind did.” To Scott’s surprise, the prince knelt and bowed to him. “Please. We’re desperate. I sincerely apologies for the treatment you had this far. I promise, as Jimmy Solitary, so to be king of Ranch Town, that you and your kind will have protection here for as long as I live.” Jimmy had his forehead practically touching the floor. All the knights copied his movements.

To say Scott was lost was an understatement. First, they imprisoned him, then they asked him for help. He shook his head a bit, feeling overwhelmed. “How do I know this isn’t a sick trick?” Scott deflected.

“Please, if it was trick, do you think we would be bowing and not just torturing you?” Tango said with a bit of an eye roll, but something felt off as Jimmy shot him a glare. Scott gulped at that. It was a good point.

“Fine,” Scott admitted, “But what would you need me to do?” Scott questioned.

Relieved, Jimmy stood up from the floor. “If possible, we need more of those potions you had on you. Plus, if you could perhaps make our weapons enchanted as well.” Jimmy thought for a moment. “We’ll provide everything you need to create them as well.”

Scott couldn’t believe he was hearing. It was like something from a dream. Those simple everyday things dragons could do, but the problem was supplies to create them. So having access to everything was a blessing. Biting his lip, his ear fins flicking with thought.

Scott sighed, “My group and I will help you out as a trial run, until we can trust you.” He spoke. “But know, we will never show you where we hide.” He promised.

“Deal!” Jimmy exclaimed excitedly as he took Scott’s claw and shook it. “Thank you, thank you so much.” Scott awkwardly patted his shoulder, feeling as though he made a deal with the devil.

“Yeah, well as long as we remain behind the scenes, I don’t mind helping.” He added on. “And free meals and comfortable rooms.”

Jimmy laughed, his personality doing a one-eighty. “Of course! In the morning, you can go out to find your friends. But please, allow me to show you to your proper room.” Jimmy grabbed his hand and guided him down a corridor. A staircase later and another hallway later, they reached a door.

Tango opened it, revealing a small bedroom. To be honest, it wasn’t much bigger than the cell had been, but it was furnished with a bed and a dresser. A rug covered the stone floor, but there was no window, only touches for light. Scott reluctantly stepped through the doorway.

“Oh, by the way. Tomorrow we will also discuss your punishment, after all, you still stole royal property.” Jimmy added slyly. “Don’t worry about it too much, Cutie. We can add it into the contract that we’ll create we all your friends are here.” Jimmy gave a Cheshire grin. “Sleep well, little dragon.”

With that the door was slammed closed and locked. Scott could hear something being put in front of the push door, locking him in with no way out. Standing in the dark of the room with only torchlight as company, Scott had a feeling he had just sold his soul.

Scott crawled into the bed and cried himself to sleep that night.

=============

It was four years later; Scott found himself sitting on the arm of King Jimmy’s throne, dressed in the finest clothes, sitting beside the king himself. The war had finally ended. With the dragons’ help enslavement, the hybrids were able to conquer over the humans, restoring balance. During the war, many dragons had moved from the cave to Ranch Town, having decided to be forced to help.  After dragons were able to begin normal lives in Ranch Town and live happily above ground, free to fly or swim wherever they please. But as per the agreement, Scott must serve an extra two years for his crime.

Jimmy and Tango had married before the war was announced, officially making Jimmy king. Scott was worked to the bone through the first year in captivity. Many potions and weapons nonstop, his hands would blister from how much nether wart he had to touch. His scales would be dry and flaky by the end of the day due to the heat of the brewing stands. Tango had taken notice one day and had him moved.

From then on, he was Jimmy’s personal servant and guard, much to his friends’ protests. Scott simply told them not to worry and continued with his job. Jimmy soon took a liking to Scott, becoming friendly with him rather quickly while Tango was on the front lines. When Tango was sent back due to an injury, he also had taken to a liking to Scott, but much more slowly. Scott, oblivious to royals’ affection, was focused on protecting everyone he endangered. Even when the war ended, Tango and Jimmy agreed that Scott was theirs.

The royals decided to host a ball celebrating the victory, which is where they are now.

Jimmy leaned over and murmured into Scott’s ear, “Come on Scott, don’t look so glum. I know you want to go be with your family and sibling but we’re your family now as well.” A shiver when down his spin at the hot breath on his ear.

A choked off squeak escaped the cyan dragon as Tango petted his wing. “Yeah, we could have lock you in your room for the night, but we graciously allowed you to be here with us.” Tango gave him a small kiss on the forehead. “So don’t be so ungrateful.” Tango chastised lightly.

Scott early on had learned how to get under their skins. “Yes sirs.” He replied sadly. Both frowned instantly.  Neither of them wanted to cause their little dragon to be mad or upset. But they both agreed that sometimes it was needed. But this wasn’t one of those times.

Jimmy tried to recover, “Maybe later you can hang out with Xornoth, they are staying the weekend. But we haven’t seen much of you all week.” He whined, holding Scott’s hand.

“Yeah, and I was only teasing about you room.” Tango added. “We just missed you, cutie.”

Scott smirked internally, having admittedly, started to gain feels of his own towards his to captors. He nodded a bit on the outside, “Okay…” He yawns as he rubs his eyes, having decorated and planned most of the ball himself.

Both Jimmy and Tango melted. Pulling the sleepy dragon into his lap, Jimmy rested him against his chest. Said dragon barely noticed, having done this millions of times, snuggled into Jimmy’s chest. He closed his eyes, falling asleep to the lull of the conversation in the ballroom.

“Sleep well, little dragon.” Both whispered with soft possessive eyes.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Changing Fate

(Double life AU in honor of the new season)

Many centuries ago, a small village lived in peace with one another. Everyone who lived in that village had a partner, except one. This one, a child in red, strolled to the local temple and prayed to the higher deities to have a destined partner. One God among the deities took pity on the girl in red, knowing the pain of loneliness. He reached down to the village, blessing each of them with a soul bound. A person who would be tethered to your very soul, never to be apart. The god reached down and kissed her forehead, a small star, and moon rested where the god kissed her.

The girl left the temple feeling ecstatic, eager to find her destined to be. What she hadn’t realized was what her prayer had done.  The god had made soul bound in the village, yes. But she was ripping lovers apart with her selfishness. As the girl ran through the town, she looked around her eagerly, seeing all sorts of marks on people, many already married couples matching. Other couples had different marks.  An agonizing cry catches her attention.

She rushes over to the market where it comes from. When she turned the corner, she saw one of her best friends on his knees, crying in his hands. His partner was walking away hand and hand with another person. She rushed and knelt beside him, asking him what happened. The boy in blue just shook his head, not understanding what happened either, looking at her with the same mark on his forehead.

The girl suddenly became enthusiastic, helping her friend up. She took his hands and explained what she did at the temple. And how the god heard her prayer and granted it. She then explained how they were meant to be together. She grinned proudly, thinking she finally had a partner.

The boy stunned for a moment, pulled away from her. With tears in his eyes, he scowled at her. He told her that they would never be together. He told her that his one true love had left him because of her. He turned away from her and stormed off. The girl was left shocked and heartbroken.

The deity watched the scene from up above. Feeling bad for the girl once again, and angry at the boy in blue who hurt her, he once again used his magic to influence the village. He decided to place a curse on those who rejected their soul bounds. Both marks blacked on the boy and girl. If one was to be alone, they both were. Everyone in the village suddenly feared the boy and girl.

The next night, both were chased out of the village.  The girl tried to apologize, desperate for her friend back, not even interested in a partner anymore. The boy ignored her as they ran deeper into the forest. The boy in blue was in the lead and not paying attention to where he was going. The forest quickly gave way to a cliff.

The boy caught up in his grief of losing his home, didn’t notice. The girl tried to warn him but was too late. The boy fell with a startled scream. The girl watched as the boy disappeared over the cliff. She fell to her knees as she felt her soul thread snap as the boy died. The girl gripped her chest as the pain overtook her and she soon died.  

Having witnessed the event, the watcher who granted the girl’s prayer declared the tale of the girl and boy as a warning to all soul bounds. Accept your soul bound with open arms, but be wary, for a broken heart will snap a bound, causing nothing but pain for both.

As the centuries passed, the village grew, people changed, and the soul bounds spread. The people had changed into hybrids due to other deity hijinks, but the soul-bound marks stayed considerably consistent. The only difference was their soul mates shared the same hybrid.  Soon the village was a kingdom where citizens gained their soul marks at the age of fifteen along with their hybrid features. Soul mates soon figured out that they could be friends or lovers if they chose.

The kingdoms of the world agreed that only soul bounds of royalty could be married to them. Soon each kingdom invited kingdoms from all over the world to join in festivals, known as the Connection Festival, as many soul bonds are made through the festivals. Much of the time a royal is soul-bound to a royal, but on rare occasions there are exceptions. This is where we will begin with our main character.

==============

As a royal knight of the Zombie Kingdom, Scott stood alongside Princess Cleo, who was one of his best friends. Scott had known her since he was three years old. He grew up in the castle, starting as a servant boy. His father was a guard before he was killed in battle. His mother had passed during his birth so as repayment, the king personally took Scott under his wing and raised him. When he was old enough, he joined the knights. So, it was only natural that he would be her guard when he graduated from the guard academy.

 Unlike most of the kingdom, Cleo was human, through and through. Scott, on the other hand, was a rare hybrid. A mix of a wolf and siren hybrid. His wolf features were more prominent than his siren part. He only had the voice of a siren. Both he and Cleo were still without meeting their soul bounds. Scott had accepted he may never know his bond and it was okay. Cleo had as well, but the king insisted that they continue to search for them.

Citizens have begun to resent the king due to his insistence. The king has begun to use tax money and lose focus on the good of his citizens. He was obsessed with finding Cleo’s soul bond. Scott had heard whispers of a rebellion. The tension in the air grew each year. Many suggested that Cleo should be brothel already due to her age. But the king wouldn’t have it.

Due to the king’s insistence, the Connection Festival was held even in turmoil.

Currently, they both were in the mists of the crowd, Cleo on her horse, wearing a dress while he stood beside her. He wore iron pants decorated with green and blue stripes. His chest plate was made from dark diamonds with the crest of the kingdom in the center, with diamond boots to match. An enchanted sword hung on his hip with an enchanted bow on his back. Ears perked for danger.

People around them were cheering as they won games, couples were smiling at each other, and new soul bonds were united. Scott couldn’t help but smile, even knowing the tension. He did love the cheer that it brought the new couples. He was harshly reminded of his soul mark that was hidden behind his bangs.

A pair of wolves howling at a moon was painted on his forehead.

Scott knew he couldn’t let his troubles distract him from his job. Glancing at Cleo, she looked bored as another far-off prince talked to her.  He snickered to himself as the human gave him a pleading expression. He gave her a little shrug then mouthed good luck. His ears twitched, and something caught his attention.

Glancing around, his eye caught a glimpse of a red cloak. A shiver went down his spine as his eyes snapped back to the spot in the crowd, but it was gone. His lips twitch as he increasingly gets a bad feeling, and his tail fur rises. The tension within him grew as people left the festival with a purpose. It wasn’t even midday yet. Cleo could immediately tell something was off once the prince left as well. He handed the reins to Cleo.

The wolf hybrid turned to her, “Go back to the castle, something isn’t right.”

 Cleo laughed in relief. “So glad it wasn’t just me.” She suddenly went quiet. “Scott…”

Turning around, he immediately noticed that they were surrounded. A group of men and women block them in, some having weapons to maim, but not kill. A girl in a red cloak stepped up towards them, clearly the leader of the group, her face obscured by her hood. A blond male approached next to her and grinned with a rope in his hands. Scott put his hand on his sword and pressed against the horse. He rumbled a warning to the people.

The leader simply giggled and said simply. “Surrender, or we’ll have to use force. And I’m not afraid of spilling a guard’s blood if needed.” She lifts her head, red eyes locked on Scott's blue.

Cleo mumbled, “You’re the Scarlet Assassin, aren’t you?” The red-eyed girl giggled and grinned.

“We have a winner! My, they weren’t wrong about how smart you are.” She gave a mocking bow. “Sorry, Princess but the rebellion here quested my assistant in kidnapping you. Hope you don’t mind, puppy?” She said, smirking at Scott.

Snarling back, pulling out his sword, “Like heck you will, you’ll have to kill me first…” Scott glanced backward at the horse and then smirked, “Actually, have to catch her first.”

Cleo caught on to what Scott was planning and hung on as he smacked the horse's ass, causing the horse to whiny and book it forward. The horse leaped over the people blocking the path.

“Martyn, you start after her. I’ll join you in a moment.” Snapped the assassin. The golden-haired guy gave a firm nod before calling to the others and heading towards an alleyway. Soon it was just Scott and the girl. “Drop the sword and kneel.” She commanded magic in her voice.

The magic washed over Scott then dripped away as he barred his teeth at her cruelly. She seemed surprised when he didn’t follow her command. “I said, drop the sword and kneel!” She demanded more forcefully. The snarl on his face didn’t leave as he approached her with a sword in hand.

She threw down her hood and pulled out a sword of her own. Two wolf ears sat in her brunette hair as well. “How did you...” She asked as they started circling each other. Scott responds, “Singing doesn’t affect me, due to my heritage.”

She seemed stumped before catching sight of his mark. She gasped, straightening up, sword lowering. Scott took this chance to lunge at her. She managed to dodge but she sputtered, “Hang on now, let’s pause for a moment.”

Scott snarled, “Why would I do that? You just threatened to kill me a few minutes ago.” She removed her bangs, revealing an identical mark on her forehead to his. He stepped back in shock, but it made sense when she used a siren’s voice.  He glared at her, shaking his head.

“Look, I don’t have time for this,” He snapped. “Call me Scott, nice to meet you. But I must save Cleo.” He turns to leave.

He yelped as he was thrown off balance and someone grabbed onto his back. He tried to get her off him, but she hung on to his neck. “I can’t let you do that, Scott. And call me Pearl. We need her for the rebellion. Plus, you think I’m going to get away either?” She pulled him down as he struggled to breathe. “You’re going to come with me~!” She crazily laughed as he started to see black stars.

He ran backward and slammed into a wall as hard as he could. She gasps as she is crushed, loosening her grip on him. He managed to get a breath in and bit her arm. She yowled in pain, letting go fully. He threw her off him and shifted into his wolf form, ditching his armor for speed as he dashed into the alley after the others.

============

The large snow-white wolf ran down streets and alleyways, paws pounding on the cobblestone as he followed the scent of Cleo. His ears perk at the distinct sound of shouting. Snarling, Scott put on more speed. His hackle raised as he jumped onto several create and over a fence of an alleyway. He landed in front of Cleo, who was backed against the fence with the rebels surrounding her, holding her emergency knife. Her horse was nowhere to be seen.

His appearance scared most of them away from her, as he paced in front of them. Cleo immediately ran to him and got onto his back. It was an emergency plan they had prepared if something like this were to ever happen. The blond second in command, Martyn, stood in front of them. Determination in his eyes.

“I don’t think you’ll be leaving so soon,” Martyn said causally as he approached.

“And why is that? You gonna stop us?” She challenged him with a sharp glare. The human male revealed his soul-bound mark. It was an exact copy of Cleo’s, a human with wings. Scott was fed up with discovering soulmates, so he leaped forward before any of them could say a thing.

He bounded onto another pile of creates then jumped to the rooftop. Cleo held on firmly to his fur as he looked down at the alleyway, noticing the appearance of a brownish-red wolf, knowing it to be Pearl instantly.

Cleo glared down at Martyn from her perch on the wolf’s back. “You had ages to tell me! And only now you come forward, as a rebel to the kingdom, no less.” She yelled at him. “You couldn’t have approached me like a normal person!?”

The guy had the nerve to look sheepish. “Hey! I only noticed it now because of the wind moving your hair, it wasn’t my fault.” He yelled up.

Cleo rolled her eyes, “Scott, let’s go.” He couldn’t agree more with her. He gave one last woof to Pearl before running across the roof towards the castles. Scott glanced backward, relaxing a bit once he confirmed no one was chancing them, and continued home.

Once at the castle, neither of them explained the whole story. Only saying that a riot broke out during the festival. Both were dismissed once the King had heard the story. Cleo went to her bedroom, requesting to be alone for a while, needing to process the fact that her soul bond is a rebel leader. Scott let her go, needing some time to himself as well.

=============

Two days have passed since the disaster of the Connection’s Festival. Cleo was called down to the throne room early that morning. Scott was told to wait in the barracks till he was called. Scott frowned, his ears drooping when the messenger told him that. Cleo looked confused as well, Scott usually goes everywhere with her. But Scott stayed as he was ordered.

Some time passed before two guards came in, asking him to take off his armor. He complied, feeling off as he did so. Once all the armor was off, he was escorted to the throne room. The king looked at him as he entered with a neutral expression. Cleo gave him a hard expression. Then the blue-haired wolf noticed the two in chains on the floor.

Martyn and Pearl were knelt on the floor in front of the king. Both soul marks are on display. He knelt directly in front of both royals.

“Scott,” The king asked, “Did you know about your soulmate?” The royal leaned towards him.

Scott answered honestly. “I discovered who my soul mate was two days ago. I didn’t have a chance to arrest her due to protecting Cleo. I didn’t tell you due to the stress caused by the event.” He bowed down, his ears down. “I’m sorry, my liege.”

Pearl scoffed behind him as the king leaned back in his seat. “Thank you for your honesty, Scott.” He smiled down at him as Cleo looked relieved. “You may stand, my loyal knight.”

Scott stood up and moved to the side as the king looked down on Martyn. “As for you two…” He hummed thoughtfully. “You, golden hair. You’ll be married to my daughter within three months, two of those months will be spent under house arrest and teaching you proper royal education.” The king continued, ignoring Cleo’s protests, gazing at Pearl.

“I won’t be as lenient with you as I was with my daughter’s soul mate. You have caused several murders across the continent. You would be dead where you stand if I didn’t feel my godson was my own. You’ll be sentenced to the dungeons for an undetermined amount of time. Now, take her away, take the boy to the royal guest room.” The king commanded.

The knights bowed to his majesty and dragged Pearl and Martyn away.

The King turned to Cleo. “Please wait out in the hallway, I need to talk to Scott for a moment.” She nodded.

“Yes, Father.” She left. The king turned to Scott as the door closed behind Cleo.

“Yes, sire?” He asked.

The king sighed. “I want you to go down to the dungeon and talk to her for an hour each day.” Scott's hackles raised as he snapped, “What!?”

With a calm gaze, the king continued, “She is your soulmate, Scott, whether you like it or not. I want you to have a connection with her just for your health.”

Scott glared, “She isn’t my soulmate. She will never be.” He gasped as he felt the magic vibrate through him as the string leading to his chest visibly snapped, his mark blackening out.

A cry reached both of their ears and came from the hallway where Pearl came from. The king looked at him worriedly. “Are you feeling, okay?” The king inquired. Scott nodded.

“Fine. May I go?” He practically snapped at him. The king looked over his odd behavior before nodding.

Scott joined Cleo and stood beside her silently.

As the day dragged on, Scott felt himself changing. Getting more aggressive, barring his teeth more and growling. He knew this had to do with something with losing his soul bond. He had heard legends of people losing it when they denounce their partners. It was dinner time when he truly lost it.

It started as a normal dinner. He, Cleo, and the king in the dining room are all eating together. He was struggling to concentrate as this blood lust tried to overcome him. His hand twitched for his sword as he gazed into his soup. It was quiet for a while before a servant came out of the kitchen with a pitcher of water and tripped. The water spilled all over and soaked the wolf hybrid.

The last thing Scott remembered was red and Cleo’s startled yell.

=============

When Scott came to, someone was playing with his hair and his body ached, especially his back. He groaned as something shifted under him, a warm presence. He nearly fell back into the warmth. Forcing his eyes partly open, he was met with cold floors and the damp walls of a cell. The warmth under him shifted slightly. He jolted up and hissed, a headache flared up suddenly.

He looked down on whose lap he rested on and was surprised to find Pearl gazing up at him. She gave him a lazy grin. “Hey, sleeping beauty. Rest well?” She giggled.

“What happened?” He grumbled, feeling the need to touch her. Reluctantly pressing himself to her side, he relaxed immediately. Pearl gave him a surprised look and then said, “You fell into soul-broken madness and nearly stabbed a servant before you were detained and shoved in here till you regained your senses.”

“And how long was that?” he asked, looking at his clothes, noting that they were not the same as before. Guilt swelled in his heart. Pearl looked slightly guilty as she fidgeted. “Nearly a year. You were in a feral state unless you were near me. You missed a lot…”

Scott was stunned. A year? He missed a year due to soulmate madness. Are Cleo and Martyn married? Did he miss the wedding? Who protected Cleo while he was out of commission? Swallowing, “How… How…am I cured?” he asked softly.

Pearl touched her forehead to his own. “I reinstated our soul bound. It was the only way for you to get back.” He relaxed as the pulse of the soul magic shot through him. The headache soothed as well.

He gazed into Pearl’s eyes. “I’m sorry for being so careless with my words. I was upset when I broke our bond.” He informed her, “But I am gay so we can just be friends if you still want that?” He gave a sheepish smile.

Pearl smiled back. “I think I can handle that.” Scott smiled back, grateful for a second chance.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Hiding in the Blue (Safe Between the Clouds)

(Yo! Rats x Pirates SMP content here folks! Get your fresh crossover here! Starting at Martyn's Finale for Rats)

Every rat had just disappeared into the snow-covered bush to start looking for a new home to settle in. Scott had been behind everyone else, walking beside Martyn. Scott was about to follow but paused, his ear twitching as he turned his head, frowning as he watched Martyn sprinting in the opposite direction. Finding it odd, he glanced back at the bushes. He promised himself he would get Martyn then he would regroup. He set down the food he had and scampered after the snow tracks that Martyn made.

Scott followed the tracks until they led him to a shore of some sort. Scott’s ears twitched as he wondered why Martyn would come here. He spotted Martyn on the ice, looking around it seemed. He was about to call out, but his voice caught in his throat as Martyn seemingly disappeared down a hole in the ice. His tail flicked in annoyance as he hugged his shoulders, shivering slightly, he scurried over to where he disappeared.

He looked into the icy water and took a deep breath before plunging in after the wayward rat. Immediately, his senses heightened as cold filled his body. Squinting his eyes, he could just see the outline of Martyn disappearing down a crack in the seabed. Scott swam after him, diving down the crevice as well. He was startled as he fell into a small cave. Shivering, he could hear Martyn talking to himself as he stepped deeper. He called out, “Martyn! What are you doing?” His eyes widened as reached a larger part of the cave. Covering his mouth with his paws, he stared at the purple portal. A shiver went down his spine as something shifted within him. Martyn stared at him wide-eyed, clearly not expecting to be followed, standing directly in front of the portal.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Martyn said, clearly baffled. “Why did you follow me!? You were supposed to be with everyone else.” He exclaimed.

Rubbing his paws together, Scott replied, “I saw you turn away from the group, so I followed you to ask where you were going.” He stared at the portal. “Martyn… What is this?” he asked hesitantly.

Martyn bit his lip, looking conflicted before his gaze hardened. “Scott, go back. I’ll be okay. I know what I am doing.” He turned away from him. “I need to keep going. Goodbye, Scott.” With that, Martyn stepped through the portal, becoming lost in the swirls.

Squeaking with alarm, Scott rushed forward. He scampered to the edge of the now flickering portal. He glanced back towards the entrance, thinking of the other rats. Owen is a great leader, capable and strong. Eloise will help him; she always is willing to do so. Acho will be there if needed, he was always a reasonable rat.  They don’t need him; they will be fine. He looked forward to the portal once again.

He didn’t know what Martyn had gotten himself into, but he was alone. Martyn could be killed or trapped without someone there to help him. He needs to have at least one person looking out for him. He glanced back once more, saying a silent goodbye, before deciding to step through the portal.

A shutter ran through him as the warmth of the portal encased him. He felt himself relaxing in this strange purple existence. The warmth reminded Scott of the human fireplaces within the mansion. He felt his eyelids getting heavy the farther he floated. He thought he could hear whispers and flashes of purple wings and eyes cross his vision, but the call of the void was too strong. He passed out feeling as if someone grabbed him with celestial hands.

=====================

Cold water covered him, shocking him from slumber. Scott flailed for a moment before his head breached the surface of the water. Sputtering and coughing, Scott paddled his way to the dirt shore. He pulled himself out and coughed up the rest of the water that was in his lungs. He sat there, panting for a moment, catching his breath. He peeked backward to find what he had fallen into.

 It was small a pond with a possible stage built into it. His breath caught in his throat in awe as he spotted the cliff and waterfall behind it, along with human-sized pillars leading to the cliff. There was light coming from the shade of the cliff as well. He stood up on shaky legs as he turned a slow circle.

There was so much around him. A large orange tent, a cave with seemingly a kitchen, and a large mess hall area. There was always a path leading to a dock and two more leading in different directions. One heading towards the forest, the other heading towards the cliffs. He spotted a large field of an array of different vegetables, a cow sounded in the distance, so he guessed there was a farm somewhere near there as well. 

He also noted that the weather is different as well. No snow in sight. He felt a warm summer breeze brush through his fur as he stepped away from the pond. His cold body quickly warmed in the tropical weather. His ears twitched a bit, wondering why Martyn didn’t bring everyone here. This is a paradise compared to the snowy wonderland at home. He sighed. He could get answers went he found him again.

He rubbed the extra water off his face before deciding on the kitchen. Knowing Martyn, he might be getting food. The blue-haired rat scurried across the grass; ears perked for any sign of humans. Pausing at the entrance, Scott's ears shot up in excitement. Unlike the cook at home, pots were unsupervised, and ingredients were everywhere. His eyes sparkled at all the possibilities, rubbing his paws together. He hopped up onto the counter and peered into the pot. Dumplings floated lazily in the boiling water. His shoulders slumped as he realized he couldn’t do anything to help.

Suddenly feeling very dumb, he grabbed his face and smacked his cheeks a bit. “Scott. Focus. Cooking later, find Martyn first.” He again looked around, frowning not seeing any signs of another rat going through here. He ran across the counter and was about to scurry down when he heard footsteps approaching.

Scrambling, the blue rat leaped into a backpack that was leaning against the counter. Thinking quickly, he buried himself as deep in as he could, hearing a male human humming a strange song. His heartbeat was loud in his ears as he waited with bated breath. The human moved around, boots clicking against the floor. Scott nearly squeaked as light flooded the backpack but was quickly buried underneath a ton of dumplings. As quickly as the avalanche of dumplings started, it stopped, and darkness consumed the inside of the backpack once again. He let out a relieved breath, thinking it was over.

He squeaked as the pack started to move. He was thrown to the side as the human put the pack on his back. Soon the movement evened out into rhythmic steps of walking. Cautiously, Scott peeked out of the backpack. He looked around him, watching as the forest passed. He was grateful he didn’t choose the forest as he spotted skeletons with bows, eyeing the person he was with up. Gulping, he mentally urged the human to start moving, and miraculously, the guy did, probably having seen the monsters as well. He ducked down and let the human carry him to the unknown.

It was far too short of a ride in Scott’s opinion as the movement around him stopped. He immediately moved to hop out past the human but was dumped into a barrel. He was disoriented from the suddenness of falling. He let out a startled squeal as he was scuffed and lifted. The cyan-furred rat’s mouth went dry when he locked eyes with a gingered-haired human scowling at him.

Magpies around suddenly started cawing and chatting excitedly. They cawed, “Rat Scott! Rat Scott! Why is Rat Scott here? Cute! I miss rats.” The human shooed the crazed birds away, looking rather confused, but didn’t let it bother him. The ginger turned back to him, studying him curiously. Scott shrunk away from the scrutinizing gaze, balling himself up.

“Hmph. Never seen a blue rat before nor one wearing clothes. Perhaps Martyn will know where you came from. Rats seem to gravitate towards him.” Blue eyes bore into Scott, making him tremble, not registering anything he was saying, his blood rushing in his ears was too loud to hear over. “Or if he doesn’t, I could always add you as a discovery. You are rather cute.”

The human placed the rat on his palm and then used both hands to cup him close to his chest. Using a pinky finger, the ginger stroked the trembling figure’s fur, humming a soft tune to soothe the rat. The cyan-haired rat was surprised to find himself relaxing in the gentle grasp of his odd human. For some reason, he could tell this human had no intention of hurting him, feeling as if he was connected to him. Scott shook off the feeling, finally having his breathing under control.

The man smiled down at the rat once he noticed the shaking stop. “There. See? I won’t hurt you, little rat.” He held him a little tighter, not enough to hurt, but just to be snug. “Now, off to find that Kestrel.” The human started walking, making the farmer rat tense ever so slightly.

The destination that the ginger had in mind was a relatively short walk, with the human occasionally petting Scott’s back, keeping him calm. The whole time Scott could only think of where they were going. Sure, the guy said that he wasn’t going to hurt him, but that doesn't mean someone else won’t. He worried his lip, tail in his paws as he thought how he should have just stayed with the group. He bet Owen and the others were worried sick about Martyn and him. He just wanted his family to be together.

Scott’s depressive thoughts were interrupted by the shout of the human. “Martyn! You here?” The ginger called.

The rat’s ears perked up at the mention of the name. Martyn!? He’s here? And he’s friends with this human? Scott looked around the fancy tavern area. He didn’t see the Martyn he knew anywhere. The human walked to the bar and called out again.

There was a loud crash heard through the building. Both rat and human looked alarmed before a blond-haired male human rounded the corner, looking frazzled. Following him was a mischief of rats, squealing and squeaking to each other pleasantly. When the blond saw the ginger human, he perked up a bit. “Oh hey, Mr. Denholm. Sorry, I was taking a nap when you called.” The guy smiled at the ginger with a slight blush.

To say Scott was shocked was an understatement. The human sounded and acted just like his Martyn, but he wasn’t! He was not a rat. This was a complete human being. He looked almost the same, the only difference was the small scar under his eye. He had his headband and everything.

“That’s fine, Martyn. And please, just Scott. That’s my father,” The ginger replied with a smile. The rat looked up at the human holding him in disbelief. They share the same name!  I mean Scott isn’t a rare name but it’s odd when there is a human that looks just like your friend and the human holding you looks like you but with ginger hair. “But anyway, have you lost any of your rats recently?”

Martyn looks confused for a moment, “No? I don’t think so anyway. Why?” He questioned.

Scott jolted as he was presented to the human version of his friend. He looked up at the blond in distress as he gripped his tail. He watched as Martyn’s eyes grew wider at the sight of him, stumbling back a little bit.

The rats below started to squeak, “Rat Scott? Didn’t we leave him with the others? Lore? Crossover?” Martyn, in a similar fashion to what human Scott did to his magpies, chased them off.

“Scott, where did you find this rat?” Martyn asked slowly as he approached cautiously. Scott’s ears drooped at the hesitance of his friend.

“I found him in my dumpling barrel,” The ginger gently stroked his spine with a finger making him relax again. “I think he was in my backpack, and I buried him by accident. I was hoping you would recognize him, or if you didn’t, I would make a little encloser for him, as I had never seen a pure blue rat.” Human Scott looked at Martyn sheepishly.

Martyn looked at him and then back to the ginger, clearly conflicted about something. He sighed, rubbing his face then mumbled, “Yes, I recognize this little rat. The thing is, he shouldn’t be here.” Martyn glared at him sharply. Scott shrank under the gaze, avoiding eye contact. He knew Martyn could be intimidating, but at his current size, it was downright horrifying. “Here, I’ll take him.” He extended his hands toward him.

The ginger deflated a little bit. “Oh. Well okay. Take good care of him. He seems like a nice little rat.” Scott scampered out of Human Scott’s hands into Martyn’s awaiting ones. Martyn pressed him close to his chest once he was settled in his hands. “Maybe I can see him again soon?”

Martyn nodded absently, “Yeah, sure.” Martyn was looking Scott over in his hands, checking around him and his body. He seemed relieved once he was done, looking back at human Scott. “Thank you for bringing him to me, Scott. I’ll see you later. I need to take care of him.”

“Alright. Bye-bye, little blue rat. Hope to see you soon!” He smiled at the cyan-haired rat before heading off. Martyn waited for a beat before being him and setting him on the counter.

“Alright now that he’s gone, how are you here?!” Martyn raised his voice at him, gripping his hair. “I told you that I would be okay! And how did you get through the portal anyway!? You were supposed to stay in that world! I don’t understand how an NPC could escape its world.” He mumbled the last part to himself as he paced in front of Scott.

“I just was worried about you. You gave me a scare seeing you running away from everyone else! I didn’t want you hurt!” Scott cried. Martyn turned to him, staring at him in complete confusion.

“Well damn. I can’t understand you now. You are just making squeaks for me,” He rubbed his temple. “Well, I guess you being here doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t think I can even get you home if I want to.”

Scott's eyes widened and he squeaked in distress. He began pacing, tugging his ears. What would become of every rat? How would they survive winter without him? They didn’t know anything about being a wild rat. Many were house or city rats. His breathing was picking up as he continued to panic. A sudden large hand on his back made him jump.

Martyn winced, “Sorry about that but you looked like you were about to go into a panic attack.” Martyn gave him a sad expression. “I’m sorry about our friends but I can’t do anything to get back to them.”

Tears gathered in Scott’s eyes as he started to cry. Martyn scooped him up and pressed him into his shirt, soothing him gently with a back rub. He buried his face into the fine cotton of Martyn’s shirt as he clung to him.

Martyn smiled weakly and said, “If it's any consolation, you will like being here. I’ll take care of you and the herons have a lovely field of vegetables.” He rambles on. “And Scott, the guy you just met, loves to cook. You can spend time around there. Heck, maybe you’ll be classified as a discovery by Scott.” The blond scrunched up his face. “That’s going to get confusing. Two Scott’s around here now.” He laughed slightly.

The blue rat sniffled a bit but nodded along with Martyn’s ramble. He wiped his eyes and gave Martyn a watery smile. He’s glad he at least has someone from home, and who knows, maybe he’ll meet more friendly people. Martyn petted his head gently with a kind smile and wiped away the last of his tears.

“There’s the farmer rat I know.” Martyn grinned. “Again, I’m sorry for getting you mixed up in this, Scott. But I will always protect you.” He promised.

And Scott believed him. He will always believe that Martyn will protect him. Scott will do the same for him. He’ll face anything this new world threatens to throw at him to help Martyn. Scott snuggled closer and hugged Martyn tightly. Martyn covered him with his hand protectively, lovingly.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Rabbit Hole

(To celebrate Spooky Month, I decided to make killer Scott and cop Jimmy Au)

Scott grinned as he skipped down the sidewalk. Streetlights flickered above him as he passed, his fake black bunny ears flopped as he hopped. The city street was dead. No sight of life made itself known. It was a shame. No one to play with. Everyone has been so cautious due to his little games. Even his mask starred on the news. He felt so popular. He giggles a bit to himself.

Sporting a grey hoodie and back pants with combat boots, made his way through the city. He hadn’t done this in a while due to his sudden popularity. A curfew had been in place for the last few weeks, much to Scott’s dismay. Now it was over as the city had decided that he had given up. His roommate and best friend had encouraged him to go out tonight, even though they could tell he was itching for a kill.

He started humming as he crossed over to another street to look for a possible friend. Heading towards a convenience store, Scott decided to take off his rabbit mask. After all, it would ruin the fun to be recognized too quickly. He stuffed it into his bag full of his toys. He pulled up his hood and brushed his temporary, white-dyed hair out of his face. He looked at his reflection in a store window before he nodded at his appearance, deeming himself presentable.

As he rounded a corner, he spotted a cop car parked in the store’s parking lot. A smirk crept up on his face. Oh, this was going to be so much fun. He began to walk normally towards the store.

A bell sounded above him as he pushed open the door. A teenage raccoon hybrid cashier greeted him as he walked him. He greeted him back with a cheerful tone, glancing around the store. Ah ha. A uniformed officer was standing next to the donut display with a coffee in hand, looking conflicted as his gaze switched between the donuts. He had locked eyes with Scott for a moment before going back to the donuts. Scott’s heartbeat quickens.

Those cocoa-brown eyes made his blood lust soar, paired with dazzling golden hair in the greenish light of the run-down convenience store. He looked around Scott’s age, young face with clearly defined biceps.  Scott slowly approached him. The sheriff had no idea as he innocently hummed a small melody.  He passed behind him, keeping his head down, face hidden. Once he was sure that the raccoon was out of view Scott grabbed the cop in a chokehold.

Surprised, the cop dropped his coffee and made a choking moan. He paused as his heart fluttered in his chest. Scott pressed harder on the cop's windpipe making him choke more and struggle weakened. Scott wanted - No, needed to hear it more. His eyes caught the cop's wallet in his pocket. He shoved the cop down and snatched the wallet. While the cop was recovering, he booked it out of the store. He quickly opened the wallet and glanced down at the name.

Jimmy Solitary.

 He tossed the wallet onto the hood of the police car, grinning. Looks like when he got home, he had to stalk someone’s social media. He quickly ran back the way he came.

                                                            _______________

Scott walked into the darkened townhouse, covered in blood. On his way home, a poor drunk fella decided to try to be a tough guy. Killing him helped relieve some of his pent-up bloodlust, but his mind couldn’t get off the cop. He even used this victim's blood to write Jimmy’s name on the alley wall with a heart next to it.

Scott felt as if he was on cloud nine. His heart flutters every time he pictures him. His cheeks turn red as he remembers the sound of his choking groan, and it’s not just because of the blood spattered on them. He hugged his backpack to his chest as he sighed dreamily as he closed the door. He headed towards the bathroom to change and shower.

He grabbed fresh clothes from his bedroom and then went into the bathroom. He undid the bandages that held his demon wings down and shook the appendages out. Then he turned to the mirror and removed the green contacts, revealing scarlet red. He stepped into the warm water; thankful his wings were waterproof.

 As he showered, he imagined everything he could do to Jimmy. Kissing, bondage, toys, cuts. He shivered as he felt himself getting hard. All the dates they could go on, the wedding and even adopting kids. But first, he needs to do some digging.

Scott quickly scrubbed off the water red and white as it went down the drain. His hair revealed its original cyan color and two red demon horns. He stepped out of the shower and dried off. He grabbed the soiled clothes and fake bunny ear. He brought them down to the basement and threw them into the washer with some heavy-duty bleach. He started the washer and then headed back upstairs to his room.

 Scott headed straight to his computer. He logged on to MCCblock right away. He searched Jimmy’s name and was pleased to find him right away.  He clicked on his profile, expecting to find some pets or job photos but what he found made his blood boil.

He had dozens of pictures with his fiancé.

Scott sneered, his devil tail flicking aggressively. Scott scrolled through hundreds of pictures on his feed, getting more agitated with every picture of the other man.  Scott clicked off the feed before he broke his computer, moving on to Jimmy’s bio. He grabbed a piece of paper as he recorded the address when something else caught his attention.

 They both were polyamorous.

Hm... Well, that’s okay.  He could work with this.

The fiancé wasn’t bad-looking either. He had scarlet red eyes with flaming hot hair. He was a nether-born hybrid. Scott rubbed his chin, leaning back in his chair. He might be a bit harder to kidnap but it wasn’t impossible. The fiancé’s name was Tango Tek and apparently, he was the police chief. He continues to read Jimmy’s bio to find any other useful information.

He was interested to find that Jimmy was a canary hybrid. A smirk crawls up his face. He would have to cage this little birdie. After all, he couldn’t have him taking off on him. He browsed the page for a few more minutes finding nothing of interest. However, he stared at a picture of Tango and Jimmy shirtless for over two minutes. He shook his head.

Scott huffed to himself but smiled as he came up with a plan to get them both. He’s usually not much of a kidnapper, that Owen’s forte. But for these two, he’ll be more than happy too. Perhaps he can even ask Pearl for help. She’s always up for some fun.

Scott pulled up the shirtless picture again and blushed, grabbing his face as he stared at it with processive eyes. A dreamy smile made its way onto his face as he gushed, “Soon… You two will be mine~” Scott giggles, biting his lip.

----------------

A week later, once again Scott was out prowling around the streets, but this time he had a target. He followed the address from Jimmy’s profile to the building where he worked. He leaned against the alley wall as he watched the police station. He pressed a com in his ear.

“Moon? Orange? You hear me?”

A slightly deranged giggle echoed back. “Moon here. Copy you, Bunny Boy.” Pearl responded on the roof across from the police station. On her, she had a sniper rifle and a pair of twin Glocks, locked and loaded.

A laugh responded after Pearl’s response. “Bunny boy!  I think I like Bunny Boy better than Black Rabbit.” Owen cackled from his place behind the police station in a van.

Scott rolled his eyes. “Are you two in position? I want to start the fun.”

“Oh, you bet! This will be as easy as shooting fish in a barrel!” Pearl responds, aiming her gun down at the window.

“Ready whenever you are,” Owen responded bored. “My fun doesn’t start until after you two cause mayhem.”

“Great. Pearl, remember, you can kill everyone else, except those who are mine.” Then Scott growled. “And don’t shoot me again.”

Pearl snorted. “Yeah, Yeah. It was an accident the first time. The second wasn’t.” Scott could hear the grin in her voice.

“Whatever. I’m going in.”

He slid down his mask and skipped up the door of the police building. He paused as he pulled out his handgun, crouching down at the door before pushing it open. He immediately shot the receptionist, not caring if he killed her or not. He moved fast and the officers who were working at the desks stood up, grabbing their guns.

As he was about to be shot, the glass window shattered as Pearl began picking off officers from her sniper nest. Scott used the distraction to slip into the back hallway. He shot two officers who came down the hallway, having heard the commotion. Scott stepped over the bodies, continuing towards the office of the police chief.

Scott walked past the holding cell room, spotting a door to a staircase with a sign directing him to the chief’s office. A victorious smirk spread across his face as he headed toward it. He opened the stairway door and crept up them silently.

Once he reached the top, he peeked around the corner, sniper shots were still echoing from outside. The small hallway was clear, so he stepped out into the open. A metal door was opened slightly down the hallway. Scott could hear movement and a voice coming from inside. He moved closer, his shoes tapping quietly on the white tile. As he crept closer, the label on the open door made Scott mentally curse. ‘Armory’ was painted in bold red words. He peered through the crack and his eyes widened.

Tango was standing in the middle of the room, encased in full riot gear with a radio, talking to Jimmy obviously with the tone he spoke with.

“No. I repeat, do not come back. We can handle the situation.  Jimmy! This is an order!” Tango said sternly into the walkie-talkie. “We can handle it. I’ll call if we need more backup, but I don’t want anyone else in danger.”

Scott grinned then paused as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Scowling, Scott shot the stair doorway, announcing his presence to Tango. Scott watched with glee as the wall of the stairway was splattered red. He turned back to the armory, only to be faced with Tango looking at him angrily. He giggled as a gun was leveled at his forehead.

“Drop the gun.” Tango hissed, his hair smoldering with anger. Scott obeyed.

“What? You don’t like the new paint job?” Scott jeered. “You’ll get used to it soon though.”

Tango glared at him. “Hands up behind your head.”

“Kinky, at least buy me dinner first.” He replied.

Only for a moment, Tango was confused by his words, his grip loosened. At that moment, Scott ripped away the gun and valued over the riot shield, using his momentum to kick him in the ribs. Tango tumbled to the floor as Scott ripped off the helmet and slammed his head into the floor. Tango grabbed at Scott in his disoriented state, trying to get him off. Scott slammed his head down until Tango passed out. He stood up and brushed himself off. He smirked as he realized that Pearl stopped shooting.

Scott pressed the com button. “Moon? You got them all?”

“Yeah, they weren’t the most smart. Now I’m just picking off reinforcements” Pearl hummed.

“You didn’t shoot a blond, did you?” Scott hissed.

Pearl rolled her eyes. “I didn’t kill your precious. I’m only shooting when they get out of the cars.” Scott relaxed,

“Good, keep it that way,” Scott responded then he heard Tango’s radio crackle.

“Tango? Tango! Tango, do you copy?” A frantic voice cut through the static.

Scott chuckled and picked up the radio. “Hello, I am afraid that Tango is unable to come to the phone right now. This Black Rabbit speaking.” He slyly spoke.

“You! You better have not killed him! Otherwise, I will hunt you to the end of the earth.” Jimmy threatened through the radio.

“Don’t worry, he’s fine. For now.” Scott said, looking at his nails. “He’ll be hurt if you’re not hurt within fifteen minutes, alone. See you soon…Jimmy.” He giggled before throwing down and stepping on the radio.

He relished the sound as the radio snapped in half. He then stripped Tango of his riot gear and hoisted him over his shoulder. Before he left, he grabbed and hoisted his gun before communicating to Owen.

“Owen, Bring the van around. I got one. And Pearl, when the next lone officer comes, shoot the tranquilizer.” Scott didn’t wait for a response as he lugged Tango down the stairs and out the backdoor of the facility. Owen was waiting, leaning against the van, arms crossed with a smirk on his face.

“You’re a natural. I should bring you on my jobs sometime.” Owen commented as he watched Scott tie and load up Tango.

“Sure, this is kind of fun.” Scott admitted as he brushed off his gloved hands, pausing as a shot echoed around the area and both their coms crackled to life. Scott slammed the van door quickly.

“He’s out like a light. I’m coming down.” Pearl reported.

“Thanks. We’ll pull around and pick you and him up.” Scott responded and got into the driver's seat with Owen getting the passage. Scott floored it and drifted out of the back alley. He turned into the main parking lot and stopped beside Jimmy’s downed body with Pearl holdingher rifle by her side, looking him over.

“Nice score.” She commented as Scott stepped out.

“Thanks. Was going to murder him but he had such a cute moan.” Scott grabbed Jimmy’s body and tied it up before tucking him in the back with Tango. He got in and shut the door as Pearl floored it out of the parking lot. Scott couldn’t wait to get home and show his lovers their new home.

=====================

Scott had just finished tucking in Jimmy when a groan caught his attention. Looking over, Tango was starting to wake up. He watched as Tango groaned and rubbed his head. He then sat straight up in the bed, eyes wide. His gaze immediately fell on Scott then Jimmy. Tango tried to leap out of bed but the handcuff on his wrist prevented that.

“Don’t you touch him! Where are we!? How did you bring us here!? Why is he here?” Tango demanded. Scott still had his bloodied soiled clothes and his mask on as he responded.

“I’ll tell you both when Jimmy wakes up. Now lay back down and I’ll get you some painkillers for your head.” Tango scowled at him.

“Yeah, right murder. You’ll probably poison me.” Tango hissed, his hair flickering.

 Scott rolled his eyes as he left the room, grabbed a bottle of painkillers, and headed back to the room. As he suspected, Tango was holding his head in pain, sitting on the bed. Scott tossed the medicine to him. Tango caught it with a little fumble.

“Here. There are unopened water bottles under your bed.” Scott sat down on the couch across from the two beds and relaxed.

Tango looked at him skeptically but was visibly surprised as he found the mini fridge filled with water. He grabbed a water bottle and drank some to get two pills down, eyes never leaving Scott. Amused, Scott watched him back.

Once Tango was finished, he asked again, “So why did you bring us here? I know me because I’m in charge of the police, but why my fiancé?” Tango looked fearful as he expected the answer.

Scott gestured around the room. “Does this look like a torture room?”

The walls were a soft blue with white trim. The beds were a plush cream color and cared for with dark wooden headboards where the cuffs were snapped to.  Even the couch where Scott lay, had decorative pillows on it. The floor was a light grey carpet. A doorway had a master bathroom leading to it as well.

Tango grumbled. “Well…no.” He growled, “But why else would you take us?”

Scott chuckled and got up, swaying up to Tango’s bedside. Tango tensed and closed his eyes as Scott approached. Scott grabbed his face and caressed his cheek.

“I was jealous. I wanted to make both of you mine, so I kidnapped you.” He whispers into his ear. “You’ll learn to love me as much as I love you…” He pulls away with a small kiss on his cheek.

Tango sat in shock as Scott pulled away. Scott grinned. “Perhaps once I learn to trust you, you’ll even see my turn self but for now, I hope you enjoy your stay.”

Scott went to the door, giving a smile and wave before shutting and locking the door.

Scott skipped down the hallway up the stairs where Owen and Pearl were eating pizza on the couch watching the news. The news was covering the police station, other police stations had showed up to cover the damage.

Pearl asked, “So how are they?” She questioned around the bite of pizza in her mouth.

Scott grimaced but replied, “Tango is awake if you didn’t hear. And please don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Pearl rolled her eyes at him, “Whatever lover boy.”

“Shut up guys! I’m trying to listen to the verdict!” Owen complained as he leaned closer to the TV, his llama ears flicking in annoyance. The news lady was chattering about the casualties. Jimmy and Tango’s faces were flashed across the screen, stating that they were believed to be dead.

Scott smirked and grabbed himself a pizza slice. “Great! We can write the narrative of how we escaped. And we can even go to the cabin to get away till it calms down.” He bites into his pizza happily.

“Scott, you may want to realize they may not love you ever.” Owen chimed in as he switched the channel to a movie.

“They will! The Stockholm syndrome will kick in eventually. Plus, I have a plan…” Scott chirped back pleasantly. “Now I need to shower and change.” He left down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Owen and Pearl shared a look behind Scott’s head. Pearl shook her head, her moth antenna twitching, as Owen sighed and leaned back to enjoy the movie.

Scott washed out the dye and washed the blood away. When he got out of the shower, he changed into his favorite unicorn onesie and curled up on his bed, excited to show his true self to his lovers.  

The next day, Scott went down to check on his two lovely guests. Two hot plates of food balanced in his arms, as he approached the door, he could hear quiet voices. He grinned as he finally could reveal his true self. Scott chuckled as he looked at himself.

He was wearing one of his older T-shirts, having cut and torn it up to appear more ragged. He planned to appear as a prisoner by Black Rabbit as well. After all, no one trusts demon hybrids so why not look scared and helpless as well? His skin was already marked up by bruises from last night and scars from previous adventures, so he was sold on that. The final touch was messing up his hair and placing a real shock collar around his neck. His wings were torn and bound as well.

Scott knew this could backfire on him but if it meant getting closer to what is his, he’d take it. He had explained his plan to Owen and Pearl. Although hesitant, they agreed to follow his lead. After all, these were his captives, and he went along with Owen’s plans when he had some fun. He took a deep breath and quietly knocked on the door.

Both voices stopped. Scott placed the key in the lock and turned. The door opened with a quiet click as the lock gave. He pushed it open timidly with his shoulder, peeking inside. He was shocked to find no one attached to the beds anymore. He stepped fully into the room.

Scott had no time to react as something hit him over the head with something wooden. He blacked out before he hit the floor.

-------------------------

Tango had been working all night to get the cuff free. He had channeled his fire in the wood, slowly smoldering the bedpost off the bed. He knew melting the cuff would take far too long. The wood was an easier target. Plus, he needed to wait for Jimmy to wake up from the drug he was under.

Just before Scott arrived, he had the post in his hands like a bat, hoping it could be used as a weapon. He got off the bed and began looking around the room. He first checked the wardrobes on each side of the room. Opening the doors, Tango was disturbed to find nearly identical sets of clothes from his wardrobe at his house. He shook his head and opened a drawer in the dresser.

He was pleased to find two small handcuff keys. He uncuffed himself from the wooden bedpost. Next, he went over to Jimmy, uncuffing him as well. He shook his shoulder gently to wake him up.

“Jimmy, love. You need to get up.” Tango whispered in a hushed urgent voice. Jimmy whined and forced his eyes open sluggishly.

“Tango…?” he asks in a normal voice. “What… What happened?” He questioned as he sat up.

Tango helped him up from the bed. “We need to get out of here, Black Rabbit took us somewhere.” Jimmy wobbled a little before he stood up on his own.

“What!? How?” Jimmy whispered back urgently. He leaned against Tango, frightened.

“I don’t know how he got you, but he did some sort of acrobatic and knocked me out,” Tango said as he put his arms around Jimmy's middle protectively. “But we're getting out of here.” He vowed to him.

They both paused at a quiet knock at the door. Tango quickly pulled Jimmy behind the door as a key clicked in the lock and the door pushed open. Tango held his breath as someone stepped into the room, holding something. Tango saw red immediately. He lunged from behind the door and brought the wooden post down on the person’s head. The person went down hard, glass shattered as the plates the person was holding crashed to the floor. Food was scattered across the floor.

Tango's vision cleared and he took a good look at the person. They looked nothing like Black Rabbit. The most striking thing was his cyan fluffy hair. Small red horns peek from the blue strands. His pale arms were littered with scars and bruises. But what caught his attention was the collar that sat snugly around his neck.

Tango sat stunned for a moment. A demon hybrid? How in the world did that psycho kidnap a demon hybrid!? Jimmy stepped from beside him and checked on the downed hybrid. Jimmy looked up at Tango.

“He’s good, just knocked out cold.” Tango only had a moment of relief before footsteps made their way down the stairs.

“Hey! What’s all the noise!?” A female voice shouted.

Tango turned and was once again shocked to see Blood Moon standing there in all her glory, knife in hand, teeth bared. Behind her, standing on the steps, was Orange. He was leaning against the wall, his vampire fangs peeking from his mouth. He was holding a gun in his gloved hands.

Tango shielded Jimmy from them as Orange spoke in a cold tone. “I suggest you get back in there before I must shoot you. And drop the wood.” Tango complied as Blood Moon grabbed the wood and held it.

“Now, give him back,” Orange said, nodding to the demon hybrid. Jimmy piped up.

“Like hell, we will! He’s being mistreated here!” Jimmy’s feathers fluffed up.

Orange and Blood Moon shared an amused look. One that confused Tango.

“Oh really now?” Blood Moon crackled. “He’s just as sick as the rest of us.” She snipped.

“Why do you say that?” Tango asked, frowning.

“Because you’re looking at Black Rabbit.” Orange snickered. Both Jimmy and Tango felt like cold water got dumped on them as a shiver went down their spines.

“He can’t be! Black Rabbit is a rabbit hybrid!” Jimmy blurred out. Orange and Blood Moon shared a little amused look again before Orange pulled out his vampire fangs.

“Realistic-looking hybrid trait, made by yours truly,” Orange smirked and took a mock bow. Tango couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Everything they knew was false from the very beginning. “Now, before we do anything rash, we need to clear some things up.” Orange continued.

Jimmy and Tango shared a wary look. “Okay…” Jimmy said.

Orange looked at his gun, bored. “Black Rabbit is horrible at asking people out. So basically, he wanted to ask both of you out but figured he’d go the way we have been taught.”

“You got that right, he figured he’d play prisoner until he could tell you two who he was.” Blood Moon chimed in. Tango blanked.

“So he killed so many people because he has a crush on us?” Jimmy interrupted. Blood Moon shrugged.

“That’s how it was taught to us in the Maze.” Both Jimmy and Tango flinched hard.

The Maze was a notorious underground group that kidnapped orphan children and raised them to be assassins and killers.  They were spread throughout the world. Most people believed it to be only a rumor to scare new police cadets. But higher-ups, like Tango and Jimmy, knew every rumor was true. But Tango had questions.

“Then why are you here, instead of with them?” Blood Moon’s expression darkened fast.

“They tried to off him,” Blood Moon nodded to Black Rabbit. “For not following instructions probably because didn’t kill a child. So we left, but our blood drives were too strong as we grew up with killing.” She explained as she played with her knife.

“We couldn’t contain ourselves for long, so we kill, as we are meant to,” Orange said. Jimmy frowned deeply. These people. They weren’t just murderers, they were victims too. Jimmy looked at Tango.

“I have a solution, but you are going to have to listen to me,” Tango said. Both Orange and Blood Moon shared a look before a groan came from behind them. They all looked at Black Rabbit as he sat up, Jimmy helping him up.

“Perfect timing, Bunny Boy,” Orange called over. “The gig is up. They know.” The demon hybrid looks at Orange and then at Jimmy and Tango. He frowns as Jimmy backs away from him. He crosses his arms and sits down by Blood Moon. “The police chief was just going to offer us a solution.” The black rabbit looked at them curiously.

“As I was about to explain, I was going to say you all should turn yourselves in.” A dangerous tension filled the air as the three murderers glared at him. Tango quickly put his hands up. “I know, not what you want to hear, but then you all can get proper help and start living normal lives. You will all get counseling and therapy. I will vouch for you to get the minimum jail time.” Tango shared a look with Jimmy, then looked at Black Rabbit. “We can begin a proper healthy relationship.”

Black Rabbit looked surprised then looked at Orange and Blood Moon. Both seemed unsure and then hesitant to nod. Both shed their disguises, revealing a llama hybrid and a lunar moth hybrid. Black Rabbit walked over to him and held out his hand.

“Scott Smajor.” He introduced, ducking his head. Tango took his hand.

“Pleasure to get to know you, Scott,” Tango said with a small smile. “Can’t wait to start working with you.

=============================

Four years later and a year in a mental hospital, Scott was finally stepping down the steps into the outside. His mind was no longer jumbled and messed up. He was still deeply traumatized and was given some medication for psychosis. He still had to attend court-ordered therapy every Wednesday, but it was something.

Pearl had a year in the mental hospital due to her crimes. She was diagnosed with several mental health problems and was dubbed clinically insane. She is getting better every day but she’s not ready for the outside world.

Owen on the other hand had gotten released a year prior. He mostly kidnapped people, Pearl killed them. So he got a lesser sentence. He was currently working as a bartender and a bouncer in a local tavern. Jimmy and Tango regularly check in with him. He still goes to group therapy but otherwise, he is doing well.

Scott was startled out of his thoughts as he heard a car honk, he looked over and saw Jimmy and Tango waving at him. Both helped greatly in his recovery. They watched him break away from his past into a good person. The road was rough and long but they both supported him. They even began dating at some point during the sentence.

Scott smiled and headed over to the car. He got in the back, his tail swaying lightly.

“Hey…” He greeted them with a soft blush. Jimmy smiled at him through the mirror as Tango turned around fully in the passage seat.

“You ready to begin your new life?” Tango asked excitedly.

“With you two? I’m ready for anything.” Scott replied.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

If you love me, let me go.

Once there was a nuclear war that decimated much of the planet. Only the rich who escaped into protected cities lived, with very few lucky ones on the outside, surviving the bombs. Those who survived in the city set up a government and established order. Oasis in the cruel environment.

The outsiders begged and pleaded to be allowed in, but the city's citizens refused entry due to the radiation on the outsiders. Getting desperate, outsiders began fighting against themselves for the scarce resources that the destroyed land offered. The radiation changed and manipulated the DNA of the outsider as years passed. This marked the creation of two known groups: The Citizens of Life and The Crimson Outsiders.

A hundred years have passed since the war. The City of Life’s government opened the gate of their city. The message has spread across the wasteland. Many outsiders were curious, and others cautioned. After all, everything comes with a price in the wasteland….

The hot sun shone across the desolate red wasteland. Dead burned skeletal remains of trees cast long eerie shadows, an illusion of a once lush forest. The night was descending upon the stricken dry land. Once darkness consumed the earth, a figure appeared from underneath the roots of the remains of a tree.

He stood up, brushing the soil from his pants, stitched together with practiced hands, and picked up his satchel, made with some sort of purplish leather. He slipped on his patcher work coat over his once white, now rusty red t-shirt. His cyan hair is chopped short, revealing small goat horns beginning to grow.

Scott, better known as Poison Poppy, glances around, his llama-like ears swiveled alert, searching for any life near him. Red and yellow eyes searched the dark wasteland, seeing clearly in the dark. Once deeming it clear, he pulled his dark green bandanna with a red poppy symbol stitched over his nose. He pulled out a fedora and placed it on his head along with the bandanna. His llama ears drooped with the weight of his beloved hat.

Double-checking once more, Scott began to sprint across the bare land. His steps nearly mimicked an elk in gracefulness and a cheetah in swiftness. As impressive as he was, he knew he was at the bottom of the food chain. He was weak compared to Red King and Scarlet Macaw.

He was currently being hunted by both as of this moment. Scott didn’t do anything to anger them. No. It was the opposite. He had them worried and pissed.

It was a tough life in the wasteland. You needed allies to watch your back. To depend on you and depend on them in return. Everyone tended to be loners in the red desert. Scarlet Macaw and Red King were the only two that Scott trusted. So, when Scott sent them a mimic bird that he was heading to Life City, he didn’t expect this type of reaction.

Both had sent mimic birds back, threatening, pleading, begging for him not to go.  Scott had admitted he was curious about non-radiated people. He knew vaguely what his ancestors looked like before the radiation had affected them. Plus, his thirst for adventure was never quite quenched. They met up with him and refused to let him enter the city, saying it was too dangerous. When Scott refused to listen to them, they resorted to trying to take him back to the sandcastle, the base they shared, but Scott is known for being slippery. Once he had gotten away, he immediately started to head north, toward Life City.

Scott kept sprinting, heading north as fast as he could. He could tell he was getting farther north as real grass patches had begun to spring up around him. Scott soon slowed down his pace as the moon had reached the middle of the night sky. Taking a moment to pause, he studied the plants around him. Sure, he had seen and used them in his everyday life, but something about plant life made him pleased. He slowed his pace, only slightly to admire the grass and the sacred flowers.

After hours of more running and walking, just as dawn had begun to rise, Scott had just found a large rock to settle under to sleep the day away, something in the distance had caught Scott's eye. Barely visible, a small black dot sparkled in the distance. Scott’s ears perked up happily. He had found it!

He had just enough time to celebrate his discovery before something else caught his attention. A long mournful howl filled the air, shaking Scott to his core, his ears swiveling and head whipping around, trying to find out where the sound came from. Scott looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowing on two figures in the distance, closing in fast. A screech echoed the howl.

Scott cursed under his breath and snatched up his satchel. Damn it, they found him.  

He took off sprinting in the direction of the city, heart beating out of his chest. If they caught him now, he would be in the cell for a week for sneaking off, and then be guarded like a fragile piece of glass for another month.  He grumbled at the prospect.

He wasn’t helpless. He stole from Blood Moon and got off scot-free. He can survive just fine by himself. But Red King and Scarlet Macaw think that because he doesn’t have powerful adaptations, he is defenseless. But he’s not!

Scott huffed to himself as he ran, periodically looking behind him and above him, looking for Scarlet Macaw in the air. Glancing behind him, he was pleased to see his allies had stopped under the boulder under which he was going to sleep. He could see Red King’s wolf ear twitch under his crown along with Scarlet’s wings ruffled with discontent.  

King shouted, “You won’t get far Poison! We’ll get you. You’ll never make it in the day!”

Scarlet added, “You’ll sooner pass out from the heat than make it all that way to the city! Come on Poison, you’re being irrational!”

Scott could feel his ears twitch in irritation. “I can handle myself!” Scott yelled back. “If you two are so worried, why not join me?” He didn’t bother to stop for a response as he was determined to get to the city.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the city, another figure had just woken up with the sun. He lay in bed for a moment, admiring his partner's face. He pecked his lover’s forehead before getting up and ready for the day. He got dressed and headed out of the house.

Jimmy, known as the Rancher of the city, along with his partner, Tango, live on the only sustainable farm in the city. Everyone in the city depends on the farm animals and crops that the Ranchers produce. The farm has been in Jimmy’s family since the fall of the bombs. Many others have tried to start farms but do not have enough resources to reasonably produce food. It was one of the many reasons that Mayor Scar chose to open the walls. Another was to see if letting citizens establish homes outside of the city was safe as it has gotten overpopulated over the last hundred years.

Stepping out of the house, Jimmy cased his gaze toward the huge metal gate where guards were positioned. One thing that surprised everyone was the Crimson Outsiders. It had been a normal exploring expedition when the group stumbled across a house made of red sand. The group had explored it and as they were leaving a woman with a red cloak, wolf body, and moth wings attacked them.

Soon another group came across a guy with a mustache who had the body of a panther, sharp fangs, and red eyes. The vampire guy was quite friendly with the Life group. He explained the systems of the wasteland and who the lady was. The group brought him into the city, and he had an audience with the mayor. The day after the mayor declared that people were able to go outside of the wall for short periods. People were enthusiastic about the chance to explore and expand.

Now, the gate was open all the time, and many groups headed out to explore and study the wasteland. Every hour, a group was sent out. Sometimes bringing a wastelander with them. Every new creature that walked through the gates seemed to vanish as suddenly as they were seen. They never left the city; Jimmy knew that for sure. Once a Crimson entered, they were never set free again due to their being dangerous. Blood Moon had proven that.

Jimmy shook his head, sighing to himself. It wasn’t his business. He headed towards the barn to begin work for the day. But little did he know that it would be soon.

_____________________________________________________________

Scott panted harder as the sun rose higher into the sky, each step feeling harder by the minute. He was drenched in sweat. His ears were droopy. He was exhausted from running for nearly five full days. Water was an issue, but he was hoping that he was close enough to the city that he wouldn’t have to think about it. Multiply time he thought about stopping and curling up to sleep, but every time he thought about his allies catching him, he powered on through spite.

Scott stumbled around midafternoon. He landed on his front and groaned, getting a mouth full of sand. He spits and coughs, glaring at the sand that wronged him. He forces himself to push his sore tired body up onto his elbows. He hangs his head down, staring at the sand as sweat drips down his face. It’s got to be close, Scott thought to himself. I have gone this far; I’m not giving up now.

Scott got to his knees and stood up, looking up and gasping. There, in front of him, the city loomed over him. The giant obsidian walls cast a long shadow on the red sand below. He wasn’t close enough to make any details out, but he could see a group of specks, he assumes people, exiting the walls. Scott perked up happily. He was here!

Scott began to head towards the entrance then paused. Does he want to enter straight in? A smirk crossed his lips. Nah, sneaking around is his forte, plus Life citizens probably have some cool stuff to take. He doesn’t want to deal with all the rules he’ll probably be told.

Nodding to himself, Scott headed a bit closer but stopped once he could see the gate more easily. He settled behind a small hill to scout out the front, his llama tail wagging in excitement from underneath his coat. A yawn forced its way out of his mouth as he lay there in the warm sun. His exhaustion swiftly catches up to him, reminding him that he needs sleep. Scott tried to stay awake, but it was in vain. Scott fell asleep within minutes.

A commotion causes Scott to jolt awake. He sits up, his head whipping back and forth. The first thing that Scott noticed was that it was night, second the noise was coming from behind him. Twisting around, he saw Scarlet and King had caught up. The shocking thing was that they were fighting against the city guards. Scarlet had a bent wing and was hopping around aggressively, talons meeting swords. King wasn’t fairing much better, he was bloody, his sunglasses cracked, and his maw bared in a snarl as he clawed at the guards, his tail fluffed up in a show of aggressiveness.

Scott sprung up from his hiding spot, his ears shot up in alarm. Why were they fighting!? Life City was supposed to welcome outsiders. Scott was about to rush into the fray to help but froze when more guards showed up. These guards had more weapons and nets. Both of his allies were too distracted to notice the new guards creeping up behind them. All Scott could do was watch as his friends were taken down, both being knocked out easily once they were in the nets. Their bodies were drug into the city, all the guards following.

Scott gritted his teeth as his dual eyes glowed in the starlight. He caused this; he was going to recuse them. Scott sprinted towards the city, a new determination in his heart.

Once he reached the towering gate, Scott sucked in a quick breath and slammed himself against the wall as two guards stood near the entrance. They were deep in conversation thankfully and didn’t notice him. Scott frowned and bit his lip, trying to figure out how to get past them when he locked eyes with one of the most awesome animals he had ever seen. He had only heard of it but it was a llama! A real-life llama! A thought came to him, and he grinned.

“You are going to be my ticket in here,” Scott whispered to the llama. The llama tilted his head at Scott and baed. Scott bleated back softly and kicked the fence down, scaring the llama in the process, causing it to charge towards the guards. The guards cried out in surprise as Scott ran into the llama pen, heading towards the barn to hide for the time as lights began turning on around them.

He quickly looked around before settling on hiding behind some hay. Scott sighed as he settled down to wait.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a night for Jimmy and Tango. A llama had escaped in the night and was terrorizing the guards. It took nearly an hour before Tango managed to lasso it and bring it to the pen, only to discover that the fence had broken. Tango brought it to the other pen while Jimmy grabbed some wood from the barn.

As Jimmy entered the barn, Jimmy had sworn he had seen something in the hay, but brushed it off, thinking it was a rat. He grabbed the wood and fixed the fence. Once he was finished, he apologized profusely to the guards for the llama. The guards brushed it off and said it was okay, accidents happened. He and Tango immediately went to bed, completely exhausted.

The next morning when Jimmy went into the barn, he knew something was wrong. The door leading to the llama pen was wide open, which he knew neither he nor Tango opened.

Said llama was lying in the hay, eating happily. But the llama wasn’t alone. A figure was fast asleep cuddled into the llama’s side, his llama ears were drooped as he slept, a troubled expression on his face. His matching llama tail twitched with every muttered phase.

Jimmy wasn’t sure what to do. He had a cute mutant in his barn, cuddling with his llama. Jimmy simply turned around and headed back to the house. It was too early to deal with this without coffee.

Jimmy walked into the house, startling Tango who was making breakfast.

“Done already? That was fast.” Tango commented.

Jimmy stared at the coffee pot as the brown holy water filled his cup. “Haven’t even started. An outlander is sleeping in the hay.” Jimmy replied.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Tango nodded happily before the words registered. “Wait What!?” Tango said.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to do,” Jimmy said as he pulled out his coffee and chugged it down in one go.

“Call Scar, of course!” Tango exclaimed. “All Crimson need to be brought to town hall before they can be free to roam around!”

Jimmy frowned as he looked at his empty cup, then looked at Tango. “You go take a look at him; he's so cute compared to all the outsiders I have seen.”

“Fine! I will.” Tango leaves and comes back a few minutes later.

“See what I mean?” Jimmy said as he raised an eyebrow towards his partner.

“He is cute,” Tango said, red dusting his cheeks, “Especially his ears, that still doesn't change the fact that we still need to call Scar.”

Jimmy protested. “I doubt that he’s dangerous! At most, he could probably stab someone like every other person in the city can!”

“Exactly! He could stab someone! He is from the Crimson! He’s going to be violent!”

“He just seemed scared!” Jimmy argued. “Why don’t we wake him up and have a conversation before he judges him!” Tango seemed taken aback by the idea but relented.

“Okay. But I am bringing the phone and pitchfork in case.” 

____________________________-------------------------------

Scott whined as he woke up to something licking his face. He pushed it away, assuming it was one of the creatures of the Crimson. When it persisted, Scott opened his eyes to glare, only to be assaulted by more licks. He stutters and laughs as he remembers falling asleep next to his llama friend. He pats the nose of the llama, and his ears perk as he hears voices coming closer to the barn.

He quickly gets up from the hay and climbs up the ladder to the loft. He hunched down as he watched the barn door. Two people walked in. One had sunshine blond hair, and eyes like the rare cocoa bean he found. At least to say, he was gorgeous.  The other was a little taller, he had brown eyes that nearly looked red and had blond hair as well.  It looked like flames in the light of the doorway. They both were undeniably handsome.

The two looked toward where he was, then looked at each other, then back at the spot.

“Dammit. Where did he go!?” The flame head said. Frantically glancing around, like he was going to get attacked.

“Tango, relax. He’s around here somewhere. We would have seen him leave. “The other reassured and called out, “Excuse me, Mister llama man? Can you come out, please? We just wanted to talk.”

“Jimmy!” Tango hissed, “He could be dangerous, he is a crimson. We don’t want to invite him out!” Scott's expression soured and his ears flicked. He wasn’t that dangerous.

“Tango! Be nice. You are judging someone before you properly meet him.” Jimmy chided him. Scott tilted his head, curiously.

Before Scott or the others could do anything, the llama bleated upwards at Scott. Jimmy and Tango looked at the llama before following the llama’s gaze. Scott locked eyes with Tango, his ears pinning backward and tensed. Tango opened his mouth to shout but Jimmy stepped on his foot, causing him to yelp. Jimmy steps forward.

“Hey there,” Jimmy smiled at him. “Sorry for scaring you. I’m Jimmy and this is my partner, Tango. You are from the Crimson, right?”

Scott sneered. “I think you know damn well that I am. I heard your conversation.” Tango's cheek flushed and Jimmy winced. “And for your information, I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I find out where your people took my allies.”  

“Wait, what do you mean?” Tango asked.

Scott rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know,” Scott glared. “Guards are grabbing any Crimson that dares to get near the gate. My friends assumed that I was grabbed, and they were caught.” Tango shared a lost look with Jimmy, who looked somewhat guilty.

“I didn’t know that Mayor Scar was kidnapping people, I thought they willingly chose to stay in the city. Scott barked out a cold laugh.

“Of course not, we would rather be out in the desert.”

“But you just said your allies were captured because of you wanting to come here.” Tango had pointed out.

Scott snapped, “I was curious to see if the rumor was true,” Scott slid down the ladder. “I didn’t think it was true.” Tango looked stunned for a moment, Jimmy sharing a similar expression with a blush dusting his cheeks. “What?” Scott asked, crossing his arms around his chest.

“You’re adorable.” Jimmy sputtered. Scott scowled and bared his teeth.

“I am not! I am called Poison Poppy for a reason.” Jimmy looked concerned.

“Is that your real name?” Jimmy questioned. Scott shook his head.

“No, but all Crimsons have nicknames as names have power in the red sand.” Scott flicked his ears as he looked away from them with a huff, blushing slightly. “I suppose since we’re in the city I can give you my real name, only because you gave me yours. You can call me Scott.”

Tango and Jimmy were silently awed at the reaction. Scott turned to them again.

“Do you know where my friends could be kept?” Scott asked. Tango thought for a minute.

“Hey, Jimmy. Do you remember when Scar asked us to bring straw to town hall?” Tango pointed out.

“Oh yeah, they are probably still being held there since we were supposed to bring any creatures we found.” Jimmy winced and added, “No offense.” Scott shrugs.

“None taken. Thanks for the help. Just tell me the way to the town hall and I’ll be off.” Scott said.

“Hold on, you’re just going to go alone?” Jimmy said concerned.

“Well yeah.”

Tango facepalmed. “That sounds like a stupid idea. We could come with you and help.” Scott stared at him in surprise.

 “Really?”

Jimmy nodded. “Yeah! We know our way around. We can help you get your friends out as well.” Scott narrowed his eyes, staring them down before reluctantly agreeing.

“Okay. Only because I need help. So, what’s the plan?” Tango and Jimmy shared a grin.

-----------------------

Scott's nose itched as straw tickled it. He lays still as the wagon rolls up the ramp of the town hall. He had vaguely heard Tango and Jimmy talking to someone earlier when the wagon stopped once. His heart pounded in his chest. He was nervous and excited. He would free the others then they would be gone.

He tensed as the wagon stopped again.

“Pst, Scott, it is safe,” Jimmy whispered. Scott popped his head out of the straw and grinned at Jimmy before hopping out. Scott realized that they were in an office of some sort. Tango’s voice could be heard down the hallway along with an unknown one.

“Let’s go!” Scott whispered-shouted before he started to look around. Jimmy followed suit. Jimmy watched Scott carefully.

Scott got excited as he found a hidden lever and pulled it. He took a step back as a hidden door opened, revealing a staircase leading down. “I found it!” Scott called to Jimmy before he dashed down the stairs, not waiting for Jimmy to follow him.

Scott dashed down the staircase and when he came out to the bottom, he was in a cell block of some sort. Mutants filled each cell. Blood Moon was pacing around in one, another was the Fairy Queen with her iconic fairy wings and black headband. There were many more in the other cells.

Scott felt a chill go down his spine that something was wrong, but he shook it off. He started calling out.

“Macaw? King? Where are you?”

“Poison? Is that you?” The response came from the other side of the prison. Scott took off at the other end of the hall to find Scarlet King.

“King! You’re okay!” Scott said relieved. “Where is Macaw?” He asked as he looked around for a key or something to pick the lock.

King walked up to the bars. “Please call me Ren and you have to run Poison.” King- Ren pleaded, looking worse for wear.

Scott was taken aback. He had never seen King this scared and he had revealed his name. Crimson only revealed their names to each other if they felt like they were going to die or never see the other again.

“King? I mean Ren? What do you mean?” Scott said concerned, pressing against the bars. “And where is Scarlet?” Ren just shook his head.

“Go, quickly. For he returns and gets you too.” Ren begged. “Grian was taken yesterday by him and I don’t know where.” Ren took his hand and squeezed it.

Scott teared up. “No! I caused this. I need to let you out.” He held Ren’s hand tightly. “I’ll fix this.”

Ren looked saddened at him. “Go Poison.”

Scott wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and mumbled, “Scott. Call me Scott.” Ren smiled.

“It was a pleasure, Scott.” Ren said, “I will always consider you my brother.” Ren's gaze snapped behind Scott and he started growling.

Scott stepped away from the cell and turned around. Jimmy and Tango were standing there, and who he assumed was Scar was there as well. Scott tensed.

“Tango...? Jimmy…?” Scott asked as Jimmy gave him a weak smile and Tango looked guilty.

“We didn’t want you to leave,” Jimmy said softly. “So we told Scar…” Betrayal struck Scott to the core as the guy in purple stepped up.

“Hey there! I am Mayor Scar. I know this may seem bad but this is all a part of my rehabilitation plan for Crimsons.” The guy introduced. “You sir seem civil and ready to be a part of my lovely city. Jimmy and Tango even offered to house you with them.”

Scott hardened and glared at Scar. “No. I’m leaving.” Scott tried to push past him but Scar grabbed his arm.

“Sorry, but we can’t have you wandering out there. You could hurt one of the citizens.” Scar stared at him. “So you won’t be leaving here at all.” A dark tone crept into Scar's voice. Jimmy and Tango stepped up to grab Scott.

Panic gripped Scott's lungs. He did something he only saved for emergencies. He spit.

Scar cried out in pain as acidic saliva hit his hand, making him let go of Scott for a moment, giving Scott a second to run. Jimmy and Tango both lunged at him but he dodged. Taking the stairs three at a time, he bursts out of the hidden door. He ran out of the office and down one of the hallways. His ears twitched as he heard footsteps echo behind him as he turned a corner.

He realized it was a dead end but he couldn’t turn around. He saw a room at the end of the hall and tried the door. Locked. Scott kicked it as hard as he could. He heard the door creak. The voices were getting closer. He kicked harder causing it to splinter. He stumbled into the room and slammed the broken door closed. He shoved a dresser in front of it before backing up.

“Poison?” Someone asked behind him. Scott jumped and was met with Grian on the bed in a nest of blankets.

“Grian!” Scott said and hugged him. Grian looked shocked as Scott called him that.

“How did you know?” Grian asked as he hugged back. A rattle caught Scott’s attention.

“Ren told me. And call me Scott.” Scott responded before he looked down at Grian’s ankle, spotting a chain. “Oh… Grian..” Scott said then jumped as the door was pounded on, Brian's eyes wideing.

“Out the window.” Grian directed. “That’s you’re the best chance.”

Scott nodded and jumped off the bed. He opened the window and looked back at Grian. “Thank you. I promise, if I get away, I will live the best life.” Grian smiled a bit then tensed as the door cracked even more.

“I know you will. Now go!” Scott leaped out the window into the bushes. He climbed over the large iron fence and leaped from the top, wincing in pain as he felt his ankle twist as he landed. He stood up and began running down the street, startling many citizens. Guards who noticed began giving chase through the crowded streets.

As Scott ran, the houses thinned out and he could see the farm and the gate. His ankle screamed in agony as he pushed himself more, having more guards on his heels. The gate guards were oblivious to what was happening as he approached. His eyes lit up with hope as he drew near. He was so close. Just a little more.

Blinding pain flashed through him as an arrow embedded itself into his leg. He screamed as he crashed to the ground. He rolled, hitting his head hard on the stone. Blood dripped down his forehead as he reached towards the entrance before he passed out from hitting his head too hard.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scott leaned against the wall of the room he was in. His leg and head were wrapped in bandages and his ankle propped up. An ankle chain was put on his good ankle when he tried to climb out of the second-story window. His eyes blank as Tango tried to encourage him to eat.

“Come on Scott…” Tango begged. “You haven’t eaten in two days... I know you’re upset, but please.”  Scott weakly glared at Tango and turned his head away. Tango sighed.

Jimmy entered the room with a soft knock. “He still refusing to eat?” He asked, carrying a bowl of broth.

“Yes. And he’s refusing to speak again.” Tango reported to Jimmy.

Jimmy walked over, setting the broth down on a table, and hugged Scott. “I know you hate us right now, but I hope you and the other Crimson will see that this is better.”

Scott didn’t respond verbally but a tear rolled down his cheek. Tango sees and hugs Scott's other side. Soon, Scott was a sobbing mess. He mourned his freedom, his friends, and his home. Scott soon fell asleep, exhausting himself from crying with the ones who loved him too much to let him go.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Storage

(Chapter 2 to 5xScott cared)

 After about a week of passing cycles, Owen gave Scott a second chance to complete a kill. This week he was assigned to Jack Manifold to help sort out storage. Scott kills off Jack and Owen grabs the body. Owen would then bring the body to the garbage disposal through the vent and expel it into space. Nothing could go wrong.

When Scott arrived at storage, he was upset to discover a sheepish Ranboo there instead of Jack.

“Ranboo. Where’s Jack?” Scott inquired, struggling to keep a level voice. “I thought I was assigned with him.”

“Well…Jack isn’t feeling well. So, I swapped with him today. I hope you don’t mind?” Ranboo fidgeted the whole time as he explained the circumstances. 

Forcing a soft grin, Scott replied. “Not at all. I was just curious.”

Scott nearly screamed in frustration. Stupid human sickness. Of course, something as small as a germ had to ruin his plan. It was supposed to be an easy kill.  Now he must deal with a fledging. 

Though, on the bright side, Scott could tell immediately that his response relaxed the nerves of the fledging in front of him. Scott was always fond of fledglings. So how was he going to kill him?

“So shall we start organizing the boxes?” He asked Ranboo. Ranboo nodded happily, clearly relieved to get out of the increasingly awkward conversation.

While Ranboo started going through boxes, Scott frowned to himself.

He could feel his instincts getting to him. Urging for a fresh kill. Feeling the sensation of warm blood dripping down his front. Watching the light leaves the eyes of his prey.

Scott quickly shook his head. No. He couldn’t do that to Ranboo. He was only a kid. He grunts to himself as he throws down a box full of metal parts. He glanced over to Ranboo, making sure he wasn’t paying attention before leaning against a wall, rubbing his face.

Oh stars, what am I going to do? Scott thought to himself. How was he going to stop Owen? Will he even listen to me properly? Scott closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No, it’s fine. Everything will be fine. Scott told himself even though he didn’t believe it.

Scott swiftly got back to work, looking through random boxes. He and Ranboo spent the entire time figuring out what was in the boxes and labeling them. A few times Ranboo sneezed due to how dusty a box was. Time passed quickly for Scott. Soon it was time for lunch for the crew.

Ranboo stood up from where he was crouched down. Scott had just finished going through the last unsorted box just as the alarm for lunch rang out. Ranboo grinned and ran out the doors, excited to go hang out with Tubbo and Tommy. Scott didn’t move for a second, grimacing to himself.

Jack’s disappearance was staged for after lunch, so no one would question it till the next cycle.

After grabbing his food, Scott casually strolled over to Owen to not raise suspicion. He sat next to him as Owen talked animatedly to Niki about the engines, something about supercharging them. Scott tuned out as he absentmindedly chewed on his food.

He needed to find a way to tell Owen the kill was off. Jack was the target, not Ranboo. He swallowed down his food grimacing. The food tasted like ash on his tongue. He stared down at his plate.

“Something wrong, Scott?”

Scott was startled as Phil voiced his concern. Scott turned to him.

“No, just not that hungry,” Scott excused. “I’m going to be in the bathroom if you need me.”

He hurried to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Leaning against the door, he takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes for a moment before he pushes himself over the sink and washes his face. He looked up into the mirror, startling himself.

Scott took a step back as he stared at his true form. Red eyes met blue. Once cyan fluffy hair transformed into ridged red, horn peeking out. Fang gleamed menacingly as his reflection smirked at him, pale scaly skin bulged with hidden muscles. A clawed hand rested on his reflection’s cheek.  Black tentacles swayed behind him lazily.

“They’ll hate you,” His reflection said. “They’ll never accept you. You’ll be thrown out.”

Scott shook his head. “They wouldn’t do that. They care about me.”

“Ah! Do you think humans would care about an impostor?” He sneered. “You better off killing them now to spare us the pain.”

“No! I won’t kill them!” Scott cried.

“Suit yourself. When you’re put in the airlock, I’m taking control,” His reflection hissed. “Then you won’t be able to stop me…”

Scott slammed his fist into the mirror with a feral screech, shattering the mirror instantly. He breathed heavily before someone piped up behind him.

“Scott? You okay?”

Scott clutched his fist protectively to his chest as he faced Owen. A worried look spread across his face, glancing between Scott’s fist and mirror.

“Scott, what’s going on? I heard you talking to someone then glass shattering.”

Scott felt fluid buildup in his eyes and roll down his cheeks. Owen looked as surprised as he felt before he hurried over to him. An odd sound came out of his mouth before he could properly form any words.

“I don’t know what’s going on Owen,” Scott admitted. “I don’t think I can kill them.”

Another sound came out of his human mouth and Owen ran over to comfort him.

“Scott, mate, what do you mean?” Owen asked, confused. “You never had a problem before, so what changed?”

Scott shook his head, liquid dripping rapidly down his face.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” he said distraught. “Am I broken?” Scott looked at Owen desperately.

“Absolutely not! You’re just having a rough day. We can try again another time. We have till we get near the next planet which is months away.” Owen reassured him.

Scott sniffed and nodded.

“Yeah… A rough day…”

 Scott felt a bit better by Owens's words. He soon stopped the odd salted water coming from his eyes as he leaned into Owen. Maybe he could kill them with the encouragement of Owen.

“Now let go patched that cut up,” Owen says soothingly. “Then you can go to our room. I’ll let Phil you weren’t feeling well.”

All Scott could do was nod along and let himself be led to the med bay. He let Owen bandage his hand up. Scott gave him a forced smile before he headed back to their shared room.

He trudged through the metal walls before bumping into Tommy.

“Hey, Scott! You want to hang out?” Tommy asked.

Scott smiled at him softly. “Sorry Toms, I’m not feeling the greatest.”

Tommy pouted and grabbed his good hand. “Don’t care! You’re coming with me!”

Scott makes a surprised sound as he is drug down the hallway and pulled into Tommy’s, Ranboo’s, and Tubbo’s shared room. Inside a large blanket pile was set up on the floor in front of the TV. Tubbo was lying in the middle of it, with Ranboo next to him. Scott looked at Ranboo in confusion.

“Ranboo what are you doing here? I thought you were cleaning the storage.” Scott said.

“Phil let everyone off for the day due to everyone falling ill,” Ranboo replied.

Tommy dragged Scott into the room and to the blanket pile.

“Cuddle Pod!” Tommy said happily. “Even though you're sick, you shouldn’t have to be alone.”

“Yeah! I hate being alone when I am sick. I get clingy.” Tubbo interjected.

Scott was astonished at their willingness to invite him into their cuddle pod. He settled himself into a more comfortable position as the trio bickered about the movie before Tommy seemingly won. The movie started to play but Scott was more content with just being with the hatchlings.

Guilt dug deep into him as he thought of Owen but he decided to let his worry melt away as he enjoyed listening to his the children fight over the best movie.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

MLP Au of Acho and Scott Growing up.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

“S-Scott…? B-Brother? Please, fight it! Please.” Acho cried out.

“Oh silly little human, he’s gone. Only corruption remains.”

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Five times Scott tried not to care and one time he does

Chapter 1

(Hey all! I decided to make a Scott imposter au! Check it out on Ao3)

Scott had been assigned to help Yellow with test samples in the medical bay for the day. Carrying a box full of test tubes and beakers, Scott could feel his tentacles twitch beneath his suit with anticipation. This would be his first kill.

He and Owen had planned this perfectly. Owen would kill the lights, causing mass confusion throughout the ship. Scott would strike down Yellow before the lights were fixed, then morph and vent to the cafeteria to have an alibi, saying he was getting food ready for him and Yellow as after they were finished, they were scheduled to have lunch.

Scott set the heavy box on the counter and started pulling out the glass tubes. Yellow began doing the same, humming a small tune. Yellow filled six tubes with test samples. Scott began preparing and mentally counting down the seconds when he was startled by Yellow talking.

“So Cyan, how are you settling in?” Yellow questioned.

“Uh…I think I’m good.” He replied, a bit confused.

Yellow shrugged a bit as he turned his back towards Scott, placing the tubes in one by one.

“It just seems like you and Orange are a bit standoffish. Which is fine, but you seem to be keeping your distance.”

Scott could feel his tentacles prepare to strike as he responded, “I’m just not used to such a tight-knit group. I feel like it isn’t my place to try to force myself in.”

Yellow paused in his movements, “Oh. Sorry, we made you feel that way. We would happily have you with us.” Yellow turned around excitedly. “Here, you can call me Wilbur! That’s my real name. I know we are not supposed to share it. But Yellow is too informal.”

Scott froze in shock and sputtered, “What?”

Yellow- no Wilbur- nodded. “Yeah, you guys are part of the family now, so it’s only fair that you can call us by our real names. Besides we trust you two now that it has been a few weeks.”

Right at that moment, the room went dark. Wilbur cursed and began fumbling around. Scott knew he should lunge, but his feet were planted on the floor. His tentacles melted back into his back as he internally panicked. Never had a human revealed their name to Scott. They always were just colors. Of course, Scott knew that humans had names, but names made everything more personal.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to get an easy quick kill. Plus, family? Wilbur called him part of the family. Imposters didn’t have families. Heck, they barely had friends. Once a hatchling left the nursery, they were moved to the facility to start imposter training. Then they were sent across the galaxies to kill off humans. That was Scott’s childhood.

He had heard that humans easily pack bonded, but they barely even knew each other. Did the other humans feel the same? Has every human he ever killed felt this way towards him?

By the time Scott snapped out of his moral crisis, Wilbur had found a flashlight in one of the drawers of the lab, granted, Scott could see just fine but he wasn’t about to say so.

“Come on, let’s go check electrical, Cyan.” Wilbur smiled and grabbed his hand, dragging him along. Scott let himself be pulled around the hallways.

By the time they reached Electrical, Pink had just fixed the lights.

“Hey, Techno! Do you know what happened?” Wilbur questioned.

Techno looked over his shoulder. “Someone flipped the switches. Nothing was damaged though. You were in the medical bay with Cyan, right Wil?”

Scott was once again shocked by the casual usage of their names. This was so foreign to him.

“Yeah, neither of us left the med bay,” Wilbur confirmed. “Cyan was by my side the whole day.”

Techno squinted and frowned. “Odd…hm. I’ll mention it at dinner tonight.”

Wilbur nodded. “Yeah, let Phil know. It was probably Tommy playing a prank again.” Wilbur laughed quietly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Techno agreed. “Well, I should get back to navigation. See you two later.”

Techno soon left and Wilbur guided Scott back to the medical bay. Scott spent the rest of the day taking and sorting samples for testing. His mind raced with thoughts as he worked. How was he going to explain this to Owen? He groaned and sighed internally.

Later that evening at dinner, Owen had a look of shock and disbelief when Wilbur walked in behind Scott. Scott couldn’t bring himself to face Owen out of fear of what he would think. Scott sat down in between Owen and Green. Dinner was filled with idle chatter. Scott picked at his food, staring down at the table until Green cleared his throat. Everyone quickly fell silent.

“Thank you. I think it is time to make our two newest crew members a part of the family. I think we should introduce ourselves.” Green explained.

A murmur of agreement followed his statement. Scott briefly glanced at Owen. A mix of confusion and surprise painted his face, matching Scott's earlier feelings.

“I’ll start first. I am Captain Philza, or Phil.” Green- no Phil- introduced and smiled.

“I’ll go next,” Light Blue stood and nodded. “You can call me Niki! I mainly do the engineering on the ship.”

“Cyan already knows my name, but I am Wilbur. I’m the doctor on board and Phil’s song.” Wilbur offered a hand to Owen, who shook it politely. Wilbur pointed over to Pink–Techno. “That’s Technoblade, my twin. Or just Techno or Tech for short. He keeps us safe and is the primary fighter.” Techno gave a wave.

Glancing over to Owen, he could see the cogs turning in his head as he narrowed his eyes at Techno. Red suddenly sprang up and stood on the table.

“I’m Tommy Karen Innit! The biggest man ever and wife have! Those losers are my older brothers. I’m training to be the next captain. So, bow down to me!” He shouted, pointing down at Scott.

Lime jumped and pushed Tommy off the table. “Ignore him, I’m Tubbo. I’m in charge of Admin, working with Jack Manifold.” Tubbo said pointing to Blue. Blue huffed and crossed his arms.

“I’m Ranboo, I am interning under Techno to learn under him.” They said meekly and sunk back into his chair. Everyone looked toward them to introduce themselves.

“You may call me Owen,” Owen answered begrudgingly, then pointed at him. “That’s Scott.”

Phil smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you properly. Owen, you’ll probably be assigned to Niki most days due to your knowledge of mechanics. Scott… You’ll float for a bit to find a good place for you.” Green explained. “You are all dismissed. Have a great night.”

Once everyone had dispersed, Owen dragged Scott to their shared room and threw him onto the bunk. He slammed the door shut before spinning on him.

“What was that, Scott!? You could have killed Yellow! Or Wilbur, whatever his name was! What happened? You’re usually good at stealth kills.” Owen crossed his arms and leaned against the closed door.

“I’m sorry Owen. He just surprised me. He told me his name so casually and caught me off guard. It won’t happen again.” Scott promised.

Owen sighed and sat by Scott. “It’s okay, we all have our rough days. We’ll get them tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, sorry again. I don’t know what came over me.” Scott says. Lying through his teeth.

Owen smiled and hugged him. He then got up and went to his bunk. “Night Scott. Love you like a brother.” He says before laying down.

Scott swallowed guiltily. “Night Owen…”

Scott lay down and stared at the ceiling, a lump in his throat as his thoughts ran wild.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

I Believed That I Was Safe. (Pt. 2)

(The second part of Ship in a Bottle, hope you enjoy :3)

Acho wasn’t stupid. He knew something was up.

It started about a month ago. In the market, he noticed that one of the Kestrel’s had something new around his neck. A group of pirates from every faction surrounded was looking at it curiously. He was hidden in the walls of Hook’s shack so he couldn’t get a good look through the boards. He tried to perk his mouse like ears to hear the conversation but was unable to understand any words so he brushed it off and continued with his routine. Next, he started noticing that all the pirates were more observant. He had nearly been catch by the fur of his tail multiple times by one of the Herons, Owen he thinks. Even the kites have been getting more dangerous then they already were. A browned hair boy had ransacked all the crates and boxes around the town, clearly frustrated when he couldn’t find what he was looking for. Luckily for Acho, he had been safely watching from the walls of the tavern.

The bad feeling increased when he was in the Nightingale base, resting in the walls were his room was after a long journey back from the town. He had stepped out onto the roof to talk to the stars when one of his fellow Nightingales, Apo he believed, walked out holding something tiny in his hands. It wasn’t until Apo spoke that Acho’s bad feeling made sense.

“I hope Sausage’s tiny will loves this wardrobe! The poor guy had only this coat for so long.” The human hums to himself.

Acho’s eyes widen as he spots the coat in Apo’s hands.

It was Scott’s.

Fear filled Acho’s heart and mind. Scott had gotten caught? How? When? Acho slapped his cheeks to dispel his panicked thoughts. Now is not the time. He told himself firmly. So Scott was with the human Sausage. And Sausage was with the Kestrel. Looks like he had a trip to plan. Acho apologized to the stars for cutting the talk short before he left. He had a brother to save and a journey to prepare for.

——————————————————————————————————

Scott didn’t know how long he was in captivity.

By day, he was in his glorified cage, hanging from Sausages neck. By night, he was thankful taken out of the small jar, but was tosses and locked into a small chest. Sausage had furnished the box with cotton and fabric for his bed and placed food and water in every night. Scott had tries to escape multiple times but every attempt failed and ended up with a punishment of some sort. His ribs were still sore from the last attempt.

He was recently given a few new clothes that Sausage had commissioned for him, which he’s not sure how to feel about. It means he cares somewhat. But Scott’s not sure if Sausage cares about him personally or if he just cares about his image. His new clothes are golden and sparkly. Clearly made to make him stand out.

Currently Scott is in his box, sitting on his bed with his knees pressed up to his chest. He had learned to cry silently after two weeks. Once Sausage heard him crying one night, so in an attempt to comfort him, he held him close through the night. After that, Scott was too scared to make a loud sob. His ears drooped and his tail curled around his boots as he thinks about it.

He wished he had at least got to tell Acho how sorry he was. That he stood up to their parents more. He regretted not being a better big brother. He wanted to tell Acho that he wished he could back in time and fix his mistakes.

Tears gathered in his eyes as he flinched as Sausage’s snored ratted the wooden container. Getting up from his bed, Scott made his way to the water bowl and sat down next to it as it was the farthest away from Sausage. Leaning against it, he sniffles and hiccups into his arms. Scott continued to cry till his eyes had dried out.

Lifting his head up, Scott catch a glimpse of his reflection. Red shot eyes stared back at him. His once fluffy ginger hair was a tangled greasy matted mess. He had tried to keep it up for the first week but after Sausage had kept ruffling it he had given up. He idly wondered if he would be better just accepting his fate as a pet. He dips his fingers in the water, watching the ripples distribute his reflection.

His thoughts were broken by the sound of something clanking on the nightstand outside the chest. Scrambling up, Scott hurriedly to one of the cracks of the chest. Peeking through, Scott spotted a hook caught on the edge of the dresser. Shock filled him as his little brother pulled himself over the edge and clambered fully onto the dresser.

“Acho!” Relieve plausible in Scott’s voice.

Acho’s head snapped over to him and he hurried over to the crack.

“Scott! Thank goodness you’re okay!” He gives him a weak smile. “I thought I would be too late. Hold on, I’ll get you out of there.”

Digging around in his bag, Acho pulled out a large paper clip and climbed up to the lock on the chest.

“Please be careful. He’s a light sleeper.” Scott warned quietly.

Acho nodded distracted as he concentrated on pressing the paper clips on the mechanism release. He grin triumphantly as a quiet click was heard. Careful, he lowered the lock onto the desk. Then he pushes open the top of the box.

Scott quickly leaped up, with the help of Acho, he was able to climb out of the box chest with little trouble. Both brothers shimmied down the rope of the hook and quickly got out of the Kestrel base in the dead of the night.

Once they both agreed it was safe, Scott hugged Acho tightly.

“I’m so sorry, brother. I should have been there more.” He whispered as he tears up again.

Acho held him in his arms. “It’s okay Scott, I never blamed you. I understand you were just a kid as well. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Scott smiled at his brother, happy to be reunited at last.

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Ship in a Bottle Pt.1

(We doing something different this time! A borrower au with Private Scosage because I like cute smol things, plus this is a birthday gift for my online older brother, Auto!)

(Warnings: Fearplay Possessive behavior)

It had been a normal night for Scott. He had made the two day trip to the town of the Faction Isles to gather some essential resources for a borrower such as himself, something that the Herons had sorely lacked. Don’t get him wrong, his fellow herons, as he affectionately calls them, are great. They have plenty of food and fresh water that he’ll never go hungry or thirsty. But snagging a spare fish hood or thread was impossible when they only bought what they needed, rarely having extra.

Scott had just finished raiding Missy’s storage for some string, tying it to the new hook he had borrowed from Hook’s supplies the previous night. Deciding to test the new hook, Scott threw the hook onto a crate, the hook catching on the wooden ledge. Tugging the rope a little bit to test if it was anchored down, began climbing up the rope. Scott was pleased to find the string was thick and strong like he had hope, easily supporting his weight. Once Scott reached the top of the crate, Scott admired the view.

The crate he stood upon was on the side of the tavern. From here, Scott could see the whole town square and the pier beyond in the early evening. The sight took his breath away, his tail flicking in wonder. Idly he thought if humans saw this every night. Scott was knocked out of his head by the sound of glass shattered inside the tavern and loud drunken laughter.

Oh right. He still had to be careful.

The downside of living on the Isle is that pirates don’t have proper sleep schedules, making it difficult to borrow at any time. But luckily for Scott he was born and raised on this island so he quite used to it.

What he wasn’t quite used to was drunk sailors stumbling around.

Scott made a surprised squeak as two Kestrels exited the tavern singing drunken sea shanties, one of them knocking into the crate he was standing on. Scott stumbled as the crate started to tip, making Scott go with it.

Scott didn’t have time to scream as he fell and hit the stone ground, just barely missed being crushed by the fallen crate. Wincing, Scott stood up, checking himself over. He was relieved to find a few bruises but nothing serious. Scott scooped up his satchel and secured it safely to his body before momentarily relaxing.

“I think I might have drank too much Sausage because I’m seeing a little humanoid rat.”

Scott froze at the human voice, glazing up, only to lock eyes with two very drunk humans staring down at him. Scott felt as though his legs had turned to stone. His instincts screamed at him to move! But he remained firmly planted.

“How dare you call that fine little fellow a rat Oli! He’s too cute to be a mere rat.” The other human, Sausage, replied. “He’s cute enough to be a gem!”

Scott snapped out of his frozen state by the comment, a blush crawling up his face and turning his ear tips red. Shaking his head, Scott booked it into the grass, pointedly ignoring the drunken shouting. Once far away enough and knowing the human had stopped following, Scott leaned against the wall of stone, catching his breath.

That had been way too close for comfort, Scott thought.

Luckily they were probably drunk enough to forget about him, he decided. Scott sighed and began the long journey back toward Heron base. As he walked he couldn’t help but think about how handsome the human, Sausage had been. —————————————————————————————————

The next time Scott had an encounter with Sausage, it was at the Kestrel’s base.

While Scott preferred to avoid the Kestrel’s base like the plague due to how meticulously they handled their treasures, it had to be done. Scott was a simple borrower but after finding out that is long lost brother, Acho, had returned and was residing at the Nightingales, Scott knew he had to give him something special.

Currently Scott was in the kitchen of the faction base, browsing the selection of fine imported foods that seemed to be littered around carelessly around the counters. He glanced over at the odd orange and pink fuzzy fruit that smell sweeter then anything Scott had a pleasure of eating but decided that it was definitely way too big. Moving on, he examined a bunch of small red berries with green leaf tops with seeds outside of them. He sniffed them as was pleased to find they were also sweet, his tail swaying as he picked one up but then paused as he was about to put it in his satchel.

It was well passed midnight, so it surprised Scott as the glow of a touch appeared on the wall. He quickly dropped the unusual berry and quickly hid in an overturned wooden mug. The mug shook slightly as human footsteps approached his hiding place. Scott held his breath as he coward, silently pleading to the universe that he wouldn’t be found.

Unfortunately for Scott, his pleads when unanswered as the mug was grabbed. Scott tumbled out onto the counter in plain view of the human. The human made a horrible screech that had Scott’s ears ringing before he was rudely hit over the head with the wooden mug. The last thought Scott had before everything went black was ‘Shit.”

——————————————————————————————————

When Sausage when to get a midnight drink, he had not expected a little mouse man to fall out of his mug. Out of instinct more than fear, he had smacked the poor guy over the head with said mug. Which leads to his current problem; a motionless body of a little mouse man.

Biting his lip, Sausage carefully picked up the little guy, who hung limply in his hands. Sausage pales and hoped to ever god he believed in that he had not just killed this innocent soul. Pressing his ear to the mouse-like persons chest, he released a small relieved breath as he heard a little heartbeat. Sausage also ran a finger through the guys ginger hair, checking the guys head. Relaxing fully when he realized he just gave him a little bump, nothing too bad.

Now reassured that the little guy would live, Sausage examined his find in the touch light. The small humanoid creature had two small ginger mouse like ears with a long furry ginger tail to match. Ginger hair fell into his cute human-like face, with the exception of small whiskers on his cheeks. On his torso, a little blue jacket with gold thread’s for the cuffs and a white shirt underneath it. His hands, more human than not, with the slightest hint of claws and was more furrier. His legs once again reminded Sausage that this wasn’t just a tiny human, as they appeared to be animal like. Small paws were visible at the ends of the mouse-rabbit like legs. Ginger fur covered them coarsely as Sausage petted one of the appendage, causing it to twitch but the creature remained knocked out.

Sausage blinked a little bit as he realized how long he had just been sitting there staring at the little guy. The small man was quite pretty, prettier than most humans he had met. He would make a wonderful treasure, Sausage thought.

Cradling him to his chest, Sausage decided to abandon the idea of getting a drink as he carried his new treasure back to his room. As he walked through the halls back to his room, Sausage thought of decorating his new pet in gold. Just imagining it made Sausage grin like a mad man. Humming a tune, Sausage quickly when into his room and then paused, realizing that he didn’t have a good place to keep his new treasure.

Grimacing, he scanned his room for a good container he could keep his pet in. Sausage started to frown as he scanned through most his room until his eyes fell on a miniature glass jar with a cork top that he used to have fireflies in. His eyes lilt with excitement as he walked over to it, setting his treasure carefully on the sheets of his bed as he passed, taking care not to disturbing him from his slumber.

Sausage grabbed the tiny jar and brought it over to his desk. Lighting the candle next to him, he began to work on the perfect display for his new mouse friend. Pulling off the cork top, he cut a few small holes into the cork to allow oxygen into the jar. Next, Sausage found a metal ring and embedded it into the cork with hot wax. Once cooled, he grabbed a golden chain and threaded it through the partially open ring. Grinning, Sausage held up the new necklace he had just crafted.

Moving on, Sausage grabbed a few soft fabrics from his collection and placed them in the bottom of the jar. He also threw in a few cotton balls he had laying around. Deeming the enclosure done, Sausage focused his attention on a certain little fellow.

Giddy with glee, Sausage got up and went over his jewelry box. He sorted through and gather golden rings and small golden bracelets. His hand hovered over a silver band with a blue gemstone. Deciding to grab it, Sausage then stroll over to his bed. Placing the jewelry next to the sleeping form, Sausage compared each golden band and chain before deciding on simple gold bracelet that drapes nicely over his companion’s body and a gold earring that sat loosely around his neck. Something in Sausage purred as he looked at his new friend with the gold on him. The silver ring rested on snugly on the mouse man’s brow, making him look like a little prince. Sausage giggles at the thought and picked up the boy, placing him in his new home.

Fatigue suddenly hit Sausage as he realized just how late it was. Yawning, Sausage placed the cork back onto the jar and blew out the candle before crawling into bed. Rolling over, Sausage stared at his new treasure’s sleeping form with something borderline possessiveness. The mouse man had moved slightly and had curled up into a ball in the fabric. Grinning once more, Sausage sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep.

The next morning when Sausage got up, he got dressed and was about to leave when the small jar caught his eyes. Smirking, he carefully lifted the necklace over his head. Smiling down, Sausage headed out proudly with his catch.

——————————————————————————————————

Scott groaned a little bit as he began to wake up. His head was pounding as he forced his eyes open. His vision was fuzzy for a moment before he blinked again. His eyes widen as he was met with an ocean view. It was only then Scott realized he was swaying slightly.

Sitting up quickly, Scott pressed against the back wall. Sleep melting from his mind as he quickly realized that he was in a jar. Looking up, he practically froze when he spotted the human from last night. His heart was in his throat as he leapt away from the body, only to hit the other side of the jar.

In his panic, Scott realized he had been decorated with human trinkets. Scott took the ring off of his head and threw it away from himself. The ring clinked against the glass as it bounced off and landed on the fabric. He gripped the odd golden collar but couldn’t manage to get it off.

“Hm? Oh! You’re awake! I was beginning to worry!”

Scott squeaked in surprise as his prison was hoisted up to eye level with the human. His blood rushed in his ears as he pressed away as far back as he could get from the human. Against his control, his body started shaking. Wide terrified blue eyes met giant brown ones.

“Hey, hey. It’s gonna be okay.” The human attempted to soothe. “I’m not gonna hurt you little fella. At least I think you’re a fella, are a fella?”

Scott stayed frozen as he shook, not wanting to let him know he was sentient but nods slightly.

The human grinned, “Nice you met you little fella! I’m Captain Sausage! What’s your name?”

His loud voice boomed his is sensitive ears, making him pin his ears down as he quivered.

“S-Scott….” He whispered, curling in on himself.

“That’s a cute name for a cutie such as yourself!” Sausage sang. “I’m curious what you are actually but that can be a later topic. Are you hunger by chance?”

Scott, despite being scare, blushed at the words. He shook his head as he wasn’t hungry and still had plenty of crumbs to eat from the herons in his satchel.

“Aw, okay. Well I hope you enjoy your carrier as you’ll be with me most of the time, my little treasure! Just let me know if you want to change it or make it comfortable! Ooh! I can’t wait to show you to my friends! They’ll be so jealous!”

Sausage’s rambling faded into the background as Scott paled and panic over took his senses. He was gonna be a pet. Just another treasure to be treated as an object. Plus he was gonna reveal his whole species and his baby brother. Tears gathering in his eyes as he hugged his knees to his chest, tail curling up on his feet.

A tiny sob broke Sausage out of his rambling, glancing to the jar, he see his sweet little gemstone curled in to a ball, shoulder trembling with sobs.

“Oh no, It’s okay! I promise. I bet I’m scary but I promise you that I’ll treat you right.” Sausage comforted. “You just need time to adjust. You’ll see, within a few weeks, you’ll see that this is the best for you.”

Sausage lowered the necklace back to his chest and rubs the outer glass lovely before he goes back to sailing. Scott hiccups in fright at the words and begs for his brother to find him.

(Part 2 coming soon, hopefully. :3)

[watcher-with-burned-wings]

Captain’s Call

(A Pirates Smp au where Scott secretly siren hybrid but Sausage catches him. Inspired by Scott’s stream)

Scott thrashed and hissed as the damned net wrapped tightly around his body. He didn’t know what what happening until it was too late. A ship had snuck up on as he was hunting near the Faction Isles. A harpoon net was shot and engulfed him before he had time to react.

He felt himself being hoisted toward the surface as he clawed uselessly at the net, the rope too damn thick to cut through. Panic seized Scott’s chest as he was pulled out of the water and hulled over the edge to the deck of the ship. A Kestrel flag catches Scott’s eye through the net as the crew gathered around him. He hisses and snapped at the crew as they tried to touch his royal blue and golden scales, his ear fins pressed against his head, knowing he had to escape before his tail returned to his human legs.

Scott’s mouth when dry as the crew parted to reveal Captain Sausage, a large gleaming smile on his face. Sausage knelt down to the net and grabbed his chin through the net, jerking his head left and right.

“Well aren’t you the most beautiful siren I have ever seen!” Sausage giggled. “Just a perfect treasure to add to my collection!”

Scott’s cheeks flushed against his will, even if the words made a shiver crawl up his spine. Sausage was a handsome devil but everyone knew how possessive he was of his treasures. Don’t get Scott wrong, he would loved to be worshiped by Sausage but not like this.

Taking a deep breath, Scott opened his mouth to sing his song but was rudely cut off by Sausage picking him from the net and shoving a rope in between his jaws. He clicks and hisses around the rope in displeasure, struggling in his hold.

“Ah ah ah! No singing allowed! As much as I would like to hear your lovely voice, I would rather not drown today, thank you very much!” Sausage explained as he bridal carried Scott to his captain quarters, a tight grip on him preventing him from escaping.

Scott freaked out as he was placed on the bed, moving quickly, he tried to lunge at Sausage but was quickly subdued again. This time a metal collar around his neck, preventing him from moving from the bed. Sausage once finished, took a step back. His eyes scanned over Scott’s form, a smirk playing on his lips.

“You know, you remind me of a certain Heron captian.”

Scott’s blood turned to icy as he looked at Sausage with wide terrified eyes. No, Scott thought. He couldn’t possibly know. He was so careful! How the heck could he know! Scott’s breathing picked up a little fast once he felt a tingle go down his spine.

Oh no.

He was changing back. Sausage’s eyes seemed to gleam with excitement as his tail glowed, slowly parting into humans legs. His webbed claws turning to normal. His teeth shrinking down to barely noticeable fangs instead of his needle-like teeth. His ear fins shrink but still are fins, just less noticeable now. Thankfully his legs were clothed with pants.

Once his transformation was complete, Sausage strolled over and cupped Scott’s cheek, making him look him in the eyes.

“Well looks like I catch myself a real treasure.” Sausage purred as thumbed Scott’s cheek bone. “I wasn’t expecting to add a Heron to my collection but I can always make an exception for someone as special as you, Scott.”

Gay panic filled Scott as he blushed, frozen under the touch. Sausage continued.

“I mean, look at you. You’re just begging to be claimed as my treasure.” A possessive edge leaked into his voice. “So I’m gonna claim you here and now. Then you will be all mine and no one else can have you. Let’s hear you sing my name.” Sausage climbed next to Scott.

Scott gulped, having a feeling he was in for a long night.

~~~~~~~~~

Scott grumbled as he limped through the town of the Faction Isles, shirt missing, showing a mass of marks on his chest and neck. Sausage following behind him with a cheeky expression on his face, clearly proud of his work. If anyone questioned the two, Scott would glare at Sausage and the other would just giggle, saying nothing.