#t!schlatt | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

borrowing-at-midnight · 3 months

Text

You Look Like Hell

You knew better than to leave the walls and go outside in the winter. Despite being hotter than balls the rest of the year, Texas managed to get surprisingly freezing during the couple months it takes a break from acting like one giant oven. When you’d felt how cold it was, you should've turned back. But no, of course not. You just had to get what you wanted. It could've waited, the repairs you wanted to work on weren't urgent, but you're stubborn so of course you didn't wait. Now, you were paying the price.

Over the past five days, it's been getting harder and harder to breathe. It’s not your chest that hurts, thankfully, but your throat and head are killing you. You can't stop coughing. You wish you could, but every time you inhale, your throat dries up and forces you into another coughing fit. The few lozenges that were stashed away for this occasion had been used up the first day and a half of this torture.

You don't know what to do anymore. You can't get to sleep, everything hurts, there's no more supplies for this.

You need Schlatt.

Usually, you avoid asking Schlatt for help. It's not that you don't get along with him, quite the opposite. He leaves things out on the counter for you, you take them, and both of you pretend it doesn't happen. He'll never say it, but he enjoys having you around. If he didn't, you doubt he would’ve offered to bring you with him when he moved south. You'd gotten too accustomed to his extra help back in New York to decline that proposition.

When you eventually force yourself to get out of your bed and make the journey to the kitchen, you try to use the old memories of you and Schlatt to distract you on the way.

You hug your blanket around yourself tightly, too miserable to care about it dragging behind you. Twenty grueling minutes later, you can see the light pouring into the wall’s tunnel. You sigh, sending yourself into another coughing fit, before dredging along the last short distance left. Hobbling out onto the counter, you hear the fridge close and Schlatt scoff, clearly catching sight of you.

“Fuck’s wrong with you?”

You would've laughed if it wouldn't induce more coughing. “Snow.” Apparently speaking hurts as well.

“Snow, huh? That clearly worked out well for you. Nice going.”

As your eyes adjust to the light, you see him looming over you. His hands are planted a foot away on either side, arms leading up, up, up to his face which is nearly straight above you. To save the energy, you carefully slump onto your back and wrap your blanket around you. “Are you gonna help or not?” You croak.

Schlatt’s lips curl into a sly grin. “Not with that attitude. Can't a man get some appreciation around here?” Despite his words, he's already moving away from you and begun digging through the medicine cabinet.

Gratefully, you accept a freshly shattered lozenge, immediately popping a piece into your mouth for a little bit of sweet relief.

“You look like hell, have you had any DayQuil today?”

You flop your head side to side. “Ran out yesterday. Didn't have any NyQuil to begin with.”

Schlatt sighs as he leans down to carefully measure a miniscule amount of medicine into a thimble. “You know, you should use my help more often. I don't like the thought of you going without essentials.” He places the thimble down next to you, then turns to the fridge and pulls out some orange juice.

“Aw, does Schlatt care for the itsy bitsy-” Your sentence is interrupted by a coughing fit due to your attempt at sitting up.

“Get fucked.” Schlatt chuckles as he pours a shot glass of juice and sets it beside the thimble, which he nudges closer to you. He leans on the counter, arms crossed. “I'm just saying. I don't get why you insist on taking care of yourself. It's gotta be dangerous, right?”

You take the thimble and take a big gulp of it, setting it aside quickly so you can chase it with the OJ. “Of course it's dangerous, but I've been doing this my whole life. I just… I know how busy you are. You don't gotta worry about me, big man.”

“I'd worry about you less if you weren't on your own.” He mumbles.

“I'll tell you what. I'll stay out here until I'm better, and then we'll see about me hanging out out here more often.”

Schlatt tries to suppress his smile from taking over his face, but the way his eyes light up betrays his cool demeanor. “Alright, it's a deal. C'mon, I'll get you set up in my room.”

He stands up to his full height, a movement that you doubt you'll ever get used to, as it sends shivers down your spine. His massive hand settles next to you. Not wanting to keep him waiting, you drape your blanket over you like a cape, push yourself to your feet, and waddle your way over to his open palm. You don't have to look up to know there's a smirk plastered on Schlatt’s face as you sit cross legged in the center of his hand.

“Ready?”

“Never am.”

Schlatt chuckles and curls his thumb into his palm to give you a bit more security, then lifts his hand up to his chest and starts walking. “You know I'd never drop you.” This close to his chest, his words rumble around you. It's… surprisingly comforting.

“First time we met you covered me with a red solo cup.” You joke, a smile growing on your face. “I don't know jack shit when it comes to you.”

“Hey, that was years ago. I didn't know what you were.”

“You could've at least used an empty cup.”

“It wasn't even that much! I wasted my Kool-aid on you, and I had to clean it up after. I feel like I’m definitely the one who’s been wronged here.” He snickers as he enters his bedroom and reaches into his closet to pull out a long empty shoe box.

“So sorry for making you dump your drink on me, I'll do better next time.” You roll your eyes.

Schlatt drops the box onto his bed, then suddenly pinches you between his thumb and index finger in order to lift you and place you on his pillow. Your heart drops to your feet and you gasp. You don't usually mind, as it makes things quicker, but he enjoys catching you off guard with it as much as he can. As expected, he's trying to suppress a grin.

“Douchebag.”

As if on cue, he’s already pulled a box cutter from his bedside drawer and clicks it open, pointing it at you first. “Watch your mouth, bitch.” He grins and grabs the shoebox, sinking the blade into the side of it. You watch curiously as he works.

It doesn't take more than a few seconds before he turns the box to show you what seems to be a you-sized doorway carved into the side. He looks proud. “So that the cats can't get to you.”

You smile sleepily. “Good thinking… thank you.”

“Alright, let's get you some rest, huh?” Schlatt takes a moment to look around the room for something to use as bedding, and spots a clean washcloth. He grabs it, folds it in half twice, and opens the shoebox to place it in the corner before turning to scoop you up from his pillow. “I swear I'll work on a better setup, but it'll do for now, eh?” He allows you to scoot off of his hand on your own this time.

When you lay down on the cloth, you can't help but notice how this is already far better than your matchbox setup inside the walls, padded with tissue that you did your best to replace once a month. It must be evident on your face, because Schlatt chuckles and places the lid back on the box.

“I'll take that as a yes.” His voice may be muffled by the box, but it's still all enveloping. “If you want the lid off during the night I can keep the cats out of the room, but only because you're sick. Don't start thinkin’ you're above Jambo, pipsqueak.”

“I would never.” You're already drifting off, sprawled out across the soft, plush cloth.

You can hear him smiling as he speaks, walking out of the room. “Sweet dreams, idiot.”

22 notes · View notes

beansthough · 1 year

Text

Ch.5 {The Things you Hide can Come Out and Bite.}

Cw/Tw: vore, safe vore, fearplay, violence, alcohol mention, fear of death, angst.

The cool wind whipped Wilbur’s face as he ran. His breathing was harsh and rapid. He felt the ground shake behind him but that only gave him motivation to run faster.

He could only hope that the forest’s underbrush hid him well enough. He needed all the cover he could get.

His lungs ached . His legs started to tire. He couldn’t do this. He needed to breath.

He came to a stop under a large toadstool. He panted with his hands on his knees.

His ears perked up at the forest around him suddenly grew quiet. It was as if even the wind was afraid to blow.

Wilbur held his breath as time seemed to stop around him.

“Wilbur...”A sinister voice called out. Taunting.

It took all the mouse’s will to not run. He scanned the area. There.

A small opening under a tree. It looked to be an abandoned den of a rabbit. It could work.

“I can smell you.” The beast hissed with a delighted tone.

He had to time it just right. He could make it. He just had to wait.

Hot breath washed over his back.

Now.

Wilbur sprung into action speeding away. A large gust of air and the sound of claws clapping together behind him helped his legs move faster.

At the very last second he slid into the den, quickly scrambling to the very back. Wilbur held his breath as he listened to the complaints of the beast outside.

“That’s not fair Wilbur! I found you fair and square!” Wilbur looked once more at the surroundings in the den. It appears he miss judged how deep it went, he could only hope that the opening was to slim for the predator outside to reach in.

Wilbur let out a startled squeak as long claws began to dig their way in. Wilbur pressed himself into the dirt wall behind him as far as he could. The hand pushed through the dirt and roots, but still struggled to reach him.

Wilbur felt like his heart was going the explode at the feeling of a clawed finger barley grazing his chest.

To Wilbur’s relief the hand retracted with a frustrated groan and the mouse could breath once more.

It was short lived and Wilbur panicked at the sight of the end of a long red tail poking through the entrance. How could he forget to take that into account?

The tail shot right towards him, wrapping around and holding him tight. Wilbur struggled in the coils, but he could do nothing but except his fate. The beast had won and Wilbur was nothing but—

“OW! Tommy too tight!” The tail immediately loosened and the was brought to his naga’s sheepish and apologetic face.

“Sorry Wilbur, I didn’t want you to get away.” The snake was instantly checking him over for any injuries. “Trust me Tommy, I doubt you would’ve lost me for long if I did get away. But you need to get more carful with your strength.” Wilbur lectured the boy.

“I know Will. I’m trying.” Tommy whined and rubbed his charmer on his scaled cheek. Wilbur let out a laugh and swatted at Tommy’s face.

Wilbur had decided the best way for Tommy to practice his hunting skills and to relieve some of his hybrid instincts was to basically play an advanced game of hide and seek with tag mixed in. Wilbur was of course playing the role of the poor prey that Tommy would hunt down.

Wilbur’s hybrid instincts didn’t really enjoy the idea of being hunted, but Wilbur actually kinda did. It gave him a rush of adrenaline he never knew he needed. It also made him happy to be able to help Tommy in a way that the young naga thought was fun.

Not to mention it helped him with his own survival skills. He had gotten pretty good at his running, but there is definitely more room for improvement.

Tommy set him back on the ground and slithered down on his belly. Wilbur took a deep breath and took in his surroundings. This was an unknown area to him, but he trusted Tommy to be able to get them back.

They had traveled far from the village and the surrounding woods to do this certain activity. It let Wilbur have peace of mind that he and Tommy wouldn’t be seen by anyone at the village and cause a mass panic. He also really didn’t want to run into one of the guard’s scouting teams. That would be really bad.

They couldn’t be too far out. He also wasn’t feeling too tired out.

“Toms, you wanna go for one more round?” Wilbur suggested.

Tommy’s eyes lit up with glee. “Of course Wilbur! I’ll count! Go hide!” Tommy’s clawed hands covered his eyes and he started to count to 100. Wilbur took off in a sprint, a laugh bubbling out of his lips as he ran.

He couldn’t outrun Tommy. He had learned that on many occasions of their game. No, he had to find a good place to hide that was easy for him to make a quick escape if needed.

A great bush laid ahead of Wilbur. That would be a great starting point to hide.

Wilbur stumbled through the small thicket. He paused to examine his surroundings. He appeared to be standing on the closed opening to an old mine shaft.

Wilbur took a step back to get off of the rickety door. A great creak came from the rotted wood, Wilbur turned to run but the floor beneath gave way.

He let out a scream as he fell into the darkness below. He shouldn’t of been so reckless. Wilbur teansed as he waited for his body to slam into the rocky cave floor.

Wilbur gasped as his fall came to an end, and he bounced up and down until the surface was calm again.

Wilbur paled as he realized what caught him. He was in a web. A big one at that, and by the looks of it, the web was still fresh.

Wilbur dared not to move a muscle. A sick feeling got caught in his throat while he pictured the horrifying 8 legged abomination that was hidden in the darkness.

He had to get out of here. He was already fighting his instincts to not struggle in the web. Tommy had to find him. It couldn’t be long. He knew Tommy followed his scent.

Suddenly, there was a small twitch in the web. That wasn’t him. That wasn’t him.

“TOMMY!” Wilbur shouted at the top of his lungs. He could only hope that the naga could hear him.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” A guff voice spoke from the darkness. The heavy accented voice reverberated around Wilbur’s small form still hanging in the web.

A giant hairy clawed leg extended from the void before Wilbur and lifted up the mouse’s chin.

“I haven’t seen one of you little guys in a while.” Wilbur’s breath caught in his throat as the leg traveled down his chest, it’s fur catching in this yellow sweater.

“And you know what? I don’t think I’ve smelled something so delicious in a long time.” The gruff voice turned into a crazed malicious laugh. Wilbur began frantically struggling in the web.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there Mousy.” Eight giant red eyes emerged from the dark, along with a wicked smile. “I’ll help you out.”

The legs plucked him with ease out of the web and carried him to be dangled over his captor’s face.

A Drider. It’s a Drider. How does he keep ending up in these situations?!

“LET ME GO!” Wilbur shouted with all his might, clawing at the hooks of the leg that were holding him.

The wicked creature laughed and looked at Wilbur with delight.

“You can’t go just yet! The fun’s just started puny.” The strong smell of alcohol hit Wilbur’s nose as the Drider’s humid breath covered him.

Wilbur screamed as he gazed down at horror below. A large gaping maw await Wilbur’s form below, the spider’s leg swung him back and forth over the deadly cavern.

Wilbur shouted every inslut and curse he new at the monster before him as the Spider slowly started to lower him down laughing all the way.

Suddenly, with a loud crash, light poured into the cave. The spider hissed and shielded his eyes from the sun’s harsh beams. The Drider scurried back into the dark and hissed.

A deadly growl came from the entrance of the mine, and there in all his terrifying glory was Tommy.

“TOMMY! I’M HERE!” Wilbur screamed holding his hands out towards his little brother.

“Give him to me.” The beast raged. “Now.”

The Drider hissed in anger at the naga before him.

“Listen here Kid, You can’t just bust into my house and break my door! And over What?”

Wilbur was suddly jerked forward to be displayed before Tommy.

“This?” The Drider let out a harsh laugh. “This isn’t even a snack.”

Tommy growled with rage and rushed forward, his claws ready to strike. The Drider had enough sense to look a little alarmed.

“Woah kid... I don’t want any trouble.” The spider dodged, climbing to the roof of the mine.

Tommy only growled more, clawing up at the air above. “He’s mine.”

Wilbur heart dropped in his chest. He’d never seen Tommy like this before. He was different.

“Look, the name’s Schlatt. I just think we all need to calm—” Tommy shot from the ground like a spring. It didn’t take a fool to see he was striking.

He latched onto one of schlatt’s legs, sinking his sharp teeth in, and not letting go. The spider fell from the ceiling with the added weight screaming in pain.

They landed in a pile on the floor. Wilbur being held safely over head. The Drider wacked the feral naga with his free legs until he let go.

“ALRIGHT ALREADY! TAKE HIM!” Schlatt flung Wilbur into Tommy’s grasp.

Wilbur’s body shook with relief when suddenly he was raised upwards. “Tommy thank the gods you found me! I thought I was done for, I—” The only warning he got was the deadly sharp teeth that filled his vision.

———————————————————————

Wilbur had never felt fear like this before. He laid frozen, unable to move or fight against his world ending around him.

And wasn’t his world ending?

It was as if he was stuck in slow motion. Watching Tommy.... no watching the Naga before him part his jaws open wide.

Yes... His world is ending.

It’s betrayal that stings the most. Not the icy cold fear of death that freezes you still. It’s the bonding, the caring, the trust. It’s the little brother he created. It’s all of those things being ripped away that makes Wilbur’s world end.

———————————————————————

The mouse hit the snake’s tongue, and Wilbur snapped back to reality.

“TOMMY PLEASE!”

It was a cry so desperate.

The Naga sealed it’s lips. Wilbur screamed.

The long forked tongue traveled over Wilbur’s small form. The mouse fought against the slimy muscle with all his might, doing everything in his power to prevent his fate.

This couldn’t be happening. He thought... he thought that Tommy actually cared... Cared about him?

The tongue beneath him lifted, and he felt his world began to tilt back.

Oh no...

Wilbur could only sob as he slid back into the beast throat. He couldn’t believe this.

Was every moment he spent with Tommy an act? Was it nothing more than a cruel joke?

Yes, he supposed... It was just a child playing with it’s food.

He desperately called for his Tommy to come back to him, to spit him out, but it was all in vain.

With once solid gulp Wilbur began to slide down to his doom. He gasped for air as the walls around him pressed tight.

After what felt like eternity, the poor mouse plopped down into a warm fleshy cavern.

Of course he wouldn’t have the mercy of a quick death. Instead he would burn away slowly in the belly of the beast.

But it wasn’t really a beast. It was his Tommy. Tommy who he had come and stayed with everyday, who he shared his most top secret songs with, who he shared his troubles with, and who he spent many fun filled days with.

Tommy, who he had started to see as family.

A little brother.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see the being around him as a monster. It was his Tommy.

He was suddenly thrown back into a side of the stomach and then forwards again. Wilbur pulled his ears down flat at the sound of a near deafening growl. He could barely hear the sound of someone yelling outside. Possibly the Drider upset over losing an easy target. He was tossed around a few more seconds before he could finally get his bearings.

Wilbur fell to the soft pink ground with a broken sob. Defeated and exhausted, he curled up into a ball and lay in wait of his doom.

He closed his eyes tight and thought of what a fool he had been. What would his father and brother think happened to them? Would they face a similar fate? What of his friends? Wilbur could only hope for their safety and wellbeing.

It seemed that Wilbur has been stuck waiting in the stomach forever. It was as if he was cursed to an eternal limbo were time just seemed to drag on and on. Then the cavern started to shake.

Wilbur squeaked as the fleshy walls suddenly vibrated around him. His heart threatened to stop altogether when he realized it was from a sound he was all to familiar with.

Tommy was purring.

White hot rage burned in Wilbur like a match to dry plains. Of course the snake was enjoying himself.

Wilbur leapt to his feet and took a running start. He raised his leg back and slammed it forward into the was in front of him.

The world doubled over.

“Wilbur?!” A pained voice cried out.

———————————————————————

Tommy had never felt fear like this before. There have been times that have come close to this, but right now Tommy is more than terrified. Tommy is enraged.

That’s his brother.

He had felt fear of his caretaker’s judgement when he didn’t preform the best in fights. He had felt fear when the older hybrids made a plan to escape XD. He had felt fear when the poachers came.

But that was mostly fear for his own well being. Tommy knows he’s Selfish, he use to be told everyday.

This fear was stronger. This fear was for Wilbur. For his charmer. Watching him dangle in the grasp of a Drider.

Tommy’s instincts over took him in a blind rage. He would make this Drider pay. Wilbur was his.

The next few moments were a blur. He knew the Drider was angry at him for breaking into it’s territory, but Tommy could only focus on the terrified form of his brother in the spider’s hand.

Tommy’s mind could only supply him to protect his brother. To keep him in the safest place Tommy had. He just had to get him back first.

The Drider shoved Wilbur before him, cackling at some sick joke.

Tommy couldn’t take it anymore. He lunged forward. He did his best to claw at the spindly creature, but it evaded his grasp.

It was on the ceiling now. Babbling away in a nervous drunken daze. It appeared that it was trying to keep the peace, but it was far to late for that.

Tommy coiled up and struck into the air. His fangs sunk deep into the flesh of a leg. He felt himself dangle in the air for a few moments before gravity took over.

They hit the floor and Tommy didn’t let go. He wrapped his tail around the Drider as best he could, stray legs smacking into him. Wilbur was held high out of his reach. It was at this moment he realized that the Drider was more the size of an average human. Tommy was actually a little bit bigger.

The Drider screamed surrender and Tommy’s reflexes went into action. A small weight was in his hand.

It was Wilbur. His charmer. His big brother.

He would protect him. He would keep him safe. He would tuck him away and hold him close.

Wilbur would be safest within him.

In a split second his small mouse was tucked away. Now he could focus on the bigger problem in front of him.

The alcoholic arachnid.

———————————————————————

Schlatt currently has his hurt leg curled up protectively under his abdomen.

“Y-you seriously just did that?” The he coughed out. “I was just joking around!”

The naga let out a protective growl, obviously far to lost in his instincts to respond or to even comprehend what he was saying.

Schlatt looked down to his hurt leg, the bite was obviously not venomous, but even if it was he’d probably be immune to it anyways. It would heal in time.

He let out a long sigh. This is what he gets for trying to have a little fun. He should’ve known from experience he shouldn’t mess around with the smaller hybrids.

After all, his Pumpkin Spice was nothing more than a bitter memory now.

“Listen kid, just get outta here. I get it. I crossed a line.” Schlatt looked down to the kid’s middle.

The kid might’ve just crossed a line too.

The naga child hissed and slithered out of his cave. Schlatt let out a frustrated groan at the sunlight that still poured from the entrance.

He really didn’t have good luck when it came to interacting with literally anyone.

Gods, he needed a drink.

———————————————————————

Tommy started to come back to himself sitting under a tree. He was back in the clearing were he and Wilbur regularly meet.

The naga still was a little dazed from his instincts taking over full force, but as the young boy came back to himself he couldn’t help but feel like he was forgetting something.

He new one thing was for sure though. He had never been more content than in this moment. It was as if something that was missing from himself had finally made its way home. He couldn’t help let out a happy purr.

A sharp pain suddenly spiked his middle,causing him to double over in pain.

Horror flashed across his face and Tommy suddenly remembered that little thing he was forgetting. The past events of the day flashed through his mind in a blurry mess. Dread filled his heart as he felt his world coming to an end.

“Wilbur?!”

It was strained with pain, both physically and emotionally.

Tommy instantly became hyper aware of the small weight inside his storage. Shame filled his whole being as he had to fight down his purring even more as he realized just where Wilbur was.

“Tommy how could you?! I trusted you! I thought you said you wouldn’t hurt me!” The mouse sobbed pitiful and full of woe.

Tommy’s heat shattered into millions of little pieces. “No Wilbur I-!” He tried to explain.

“Was it all just some cruel joke?! Was I nothing more than a game for you?!” Wilbur weeped. “I thought... I thought you cared about me Tommy...”

“I cared about you...”

It was so full of hurt. So desperate. It was betrayal. If shards remained of Tommy’s heart they were nothing but dust now.

“I even began to think of you as my little brother.” Wilbur laughed something broken and wet. “Can you believe that?”

Tommy couldn’t take it anymore. It felt as if his very soul was ripped from his chest.

“I do care about you Wilbur! You’re my big brother!” Tommy cried tears poring down his face, he pressed a hand on his middle where Wilbur resided.

Wilbur remained silent for a moment, then he returned with the rage of the strongest storm.

“THEN WHY DID YOU EAT ME?!”

Wilbur broke into another fit of sobbed and Tommy desperately tried to explain.

“Wilbur I promise you safe! Please! I’ll let you out and you can go! You never have to see me again!” Tommy cried ugly and desperate for his brother.

His middle grew quiet again as Wilbur processed the words he was just told. Tommy felt himself starting to grow sick with grief.

“What do you mean I’m safe?” It was a quiet question and said as if Wilbur already knew the answer. Tommy replied anyways sobbing all the way.

“It’s my- It’s called my storage Wil... I promise you’re safe in there....” The Naga whimpered. “I- My instincts took over and I-...”

“I didn’t mean to, Wilby...”

It was now Tommy’s turn to cry. He ruined everything. He had hurt his brother. And now he’d never see Wilbur again, all because he couldn’t control himself.

“I- Can you let me out Tommy?” It was gentle and calm, but Tommy could still pick up on the desperation around the edges of Wilbur’s voice.

Tommy realized that he really didn’t want to let Wilbur out. Because then it would solidify the fact that Wilbur would leave and never come back. Tommy was so selfish.

Then he heard Wilbur let out a short little cry again, and Tommy knew he couldn’t hurt his brother anymore.

Tommy focused hard on the small form in his middle and sucked his stomach in. Then he followed Wil’s small frame up up up in his mind.

The next thing he knew the mouse hybrid was back in his mouth. He tried not to linger on the taste. He parted this teeth and gently deposited Wilbur in his cupped hands.

He looked down in his hands to see the soaked hybrid. His hair was going this way and that and his clothes all in disarray.

Tommy then met Wilbur’s eyes and couldn’t help but break down all over again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to!Please don’t go Wil, please...” Tommy wept.

Wilbur’s eyes didn’t hold any hate or anger, only exhaustion and sadness. This was still his Tommy.

“I’m not gonna leave you Tommy...” Wilbur patted the palm he was in. “You just scared me. Really, really, badly at that, but I promise I’m not gonna leave you.”

Tommy whimpered and sat Wilbur on the soft ground. It seemed as though the boy was stuck in his own head. “Please don’t go, please. I can’t lose you. I would never hurt you.”

Wilbur sighed. He was mentally drained. He couldn’t even begin to try to process what he just went through. What Tommy went through. But he knew when someone needed comfort, even if they scared him half to death. Wilbur would definitely have nightmares.

“Come here Toms.” It was quiet and soft spoken in the twilight of the forest. His father and twin are probably wondering were he is, but right now he needs to be here for Tommy. Wilbur knew a panic attack when he saw one.

Tommy brought his head down to Wilbur on the forest floor. “I’m sorry Wilbur.” It was a desperate cry. Snot and tears ran down the naga’s face. “Oh Toms...”

Wilbur did his best to wipe the giant child’s cheeks. “I’m right here. I promise I’m not going.” Tommy nodded into him. “I forgive you Tommy. You did what you had to do.” Tommy sniffled and held Wilbur close.

Tommy had probably saved his life. He should have known Tommy to have protective instincts like this, but he grew blind in a mix of fear and betrayal. He should have known Tommy would try to hide instincts from Wilbur that might scare him.

“I don’t forgive me.” The naga mumbled into the dirt. Wilbur frowned at that. “Well you should. Instincts are no joke to deal with and I know you’ve been suppressing them around me.” Tommy shrunk into himself and Wilbur let out a long sigh.

Wilbur would make sure there were no more secrets between them. He wanted Tommy to be comfortable enough to tell him about anything, not just instincts. He wanted Tommy to be comfortable with himself.

“It’s gonna be hard. It will be for both of us, but Tommy I want to help you the best way I can. I don’t want you to be ashamed of who you are.” Wilbur pet Tommy’s golden hair.

“It’s gonna take some work and honestly some exposure therapy,” Wilbur laughed, his own instincts always protesting against anything predatory. “but I’m gonna help you satisfy your instincts and help you to learn how to control them when you need to.” Wilbur leaned into Tommy’s face.

“Okay?” Wilbur asked.

“Alright...” Tommy replied.

They basked in each other’s silence a moment more. The night had over taken the forest. Stars shined brightly overhead.

“And Tommy?” Wilbur added. “I’m sorry about all those mean things I said.” Tommy sniffled once more. “I was just very afraid. I wasn’t thinking right.”

“It’s alright Wilbur...”

Wilbur would be sleeping here Tonight. His father and brother would worry, but he couldn’t find it in his will to leave Tommy alone. He was hurting and honestly so was Wilbur. Tommy needed him, and Wilbur needed Tommy.

“Let’s go to bed Toms. Come on.” Tommy shook his head and gently held Wilbur in his grip as he started to climb up into the trees. He found a sturdy branch and wrapped himself around it. Tommy laid Wilbur on his chest and rested his back on the trunk of the tree. They closed their tired eyes and fell into a gentle dreamless sleep.

———————————————————————

176 notes · View notes

mysterious-gizem · 2 days

Text

𝐎𝐝𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐭

Warning/s: ???

Taglist: @da3dm, @gt-mcyt, @coolest-moon

Chapters: Ch1 | Ch2

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

"Puffy get out here!"

Schlatt...

The sheep hybrid tumbled down the stairs as she raced towards her front door, she flung her front door open as she was met with her very serious, and rather furious, older brother. The ram hybrid sighed as he stared her down.

"Hey JJ- what brings you here, shouldn't you be with Dream at the docks?" She chuckled trepidatiously, her brother pursed his lips before he began to speak. "The elders are scolding him...he may have crushed some of the wood we were going to use."

The ram let out an exasperated sigh, "Look Puffy, I love my nephew, but..." His words trailed off as he stared at her sister's wide, soft eyes. "I can't keep defending him...Everyone's getting pretty..." Another sigh escaped his lips, "Well- everyone is getting pretty scared; I've heard that he almost stepped on some old lady!" Schlatt was about to continue but Puffy spoke first.

"What am I supposed to do Schlatt? He can't control what's happening to him- and it wasn't my decision for him to be going around doing chores! He's a kid, he should be out playing in the fields, not working in them..." Puffy was tired, she was tired of seeing her son come home exhausted; not exhausted from playing, but rather tired from working.

It hurt her as she watched her child lay on his bedroom floor, having to get rid of his bed and furniture for the sake that he would still fit in his room. She remembered the nights her son would cry relentlessly, begging to be held; yet all she could do was gently hug his leg as fat tears rolled down his face.

Now her brother—one of the few people who caused this to happen to her son—stood in front of her criticizing his mistakes once more, how dare her brother have the audacity to take away his childhood and still complain!?

Schlatt let out another sigh, it snapped the sheep hybrid out of her daze. Both stood in awkward silence as the ram hybrid stared down at her with gentle eyes, while she was resistant to meet his own. The two were having a silent war; that they barely noticed another presence arrive, until they were startled by a shadow looming over them.

"Uhm- Uncle Schlatt? We're—we're done with the docks and they told me to go on break..." Dream sheepishly announced as he avoided eye contact, Puffy's heart broke, her boy, despite the fact he towered over everyone in the flock; looked so, so small. The ram hybrid's lips pursed as Puffy began to speak. "Hey duckling, you hungry?" The blond gave a shy nod, still unwilling to meet her eyes.

"There's food in the dining room, I made it all for you so don't worry duckling." She reassured, Dream muttered a grateful 'thank you' as he ushered himself inside the house; needing to bend down to walk around the house. The sheep hybrid turned around to face her brother again, "Look Schlatt- if you have nothing else to say I have stuff I need to do..." He sighed and shook his head.

"Goodbye JJ."

•~☆~•

"Dream can you get the tools over there?" A disheveled middle-aged man gently commanded the blond which he complied too, "Yes sir..." The child simply responded as he took a few strides and bent down to pick up a box full of tools.

It was another day for Dream, he was helping rebuild the town fountain at the core of their little village; which got damaged after some rogue hybrid went into their village and started throwing bombs, luckily another group of hunters came and escorted the hybrid away before anyone got hurt—the blond was especially lucky he wasn't there to be spotted by the said hunters—he stood at his full height and stared at his surroundings, taking in how much damage the bombs did.

A few patches of the streets were affected due to the obvious holes in the ground, and he expected to fix them sooner or later, it was sadly turning into his new normal, barely anything about this was normal. Another abrupt command made his head snap back toward the ram hybrid, "Go get the bricks over there, it's like laying on a wooden platform so get it all." Dream nodded and spotted the bricks atop a wooden pallet, he quickly rushed over and picked up the crates with his two hands.

He was slowly walking back to the fountain, being extremely cautious with the bricks; he was halfway there when he heard a loud feminine voice let out a commanding yell, "Jack! Elliott! Come back here!" Suddenly two children came running his way he lost his footing as the two children were seemingly playing tag, he yelped as one of them ran in front of him and he almost stepped on them.

He panicked as he tripped backward dropping the bricks in the process, shrill shrieks were heard coming from all over the place as bricks flew in every direction. Dust encompassed the area, in all of the chaos he prayed no one got hurt; a cough escaped his lips, as the dust settled down, the two other kids; who were probably around his age were huddled up together, covered in dust and debris themselves.

He watched as numerous amounts of rams and sheep hybrids ran to the duo's aid, a familiar stinging sensation made itself known; yet in the midst of all the chaos he couldn't even focus on anything, everything felt hazy as he sat there with his head limp and arms shaking. And the weird feeling spreading all over his body.

He felt something protruding in his gums and as the chaos began to settle down he grew.

He cried alongside the townsfolk as they all scrambled to get away from him, at that moment he silently thanked his mom and Bad that they put a spell on his clothing to adjust to his size, no matter how tall he was. Pain shot throughout his body, he could barely comprehend whatever the people were yelling.

Suddenly he ceased his movements and dropped to the ground.

•~☆~•

"Captain Puffy!"

Puffy was having a light conversation with Bad that day, they were simply talking about events of the week, trying to have a good time; keyword: trying.

"Oh Samuel? Why are you in such a rush." The sheep hybrid asked as Bad stood beside her respectfully waiting for them to finish. The panicked ram hybrid who was apparently named Samuel was catching his breath, Puffy patiently waited for the other to speak.

"Your son-" He heaved and took a big gulp of air, "He grew right before our eyes! And—and he fainted, Mayor Schlatt told me to get you." As he finished his sentence Puffy bolted from her spot not even saying a proper farewell to the demon hybrid. She almost tripped a few times as she took one step after another.

Other members of the herd who were oblivious of the situation happening at the core of the town gave her weird looks; some even attempted to follow her. More and more people began gathering to see what all the commotion was about. Puffy's thoughts were scattered everywhere as she yelled at people to move to the side.

All of a sudden she crashed against another figure which she quickly realized was her brother, "Schlatt let me go! I need to see him!" Tears began to form at the corner of her eyes as Schlatt held her back. "Please JJ..." Her voice began to grow quiet as Schlatt quietly huffed. "Puffy...I don't—I don't think you should see him right now."

The sheep hybrid was now letting on soft sobs whilst weakly grasping her brother's arm, she could only register the fact more people kept rushing behind them; she so desperately wanted to see what they were up to, what were they doing to her baby?

•~☆~•

Puffy sat at the foot of her bed, she sobbed so much she started to choke; she began to cough and gag as fat tears kept rolling down her face, earlier that day she waved her son goodbye as he left with a bright smile on his face. Now the day turned gloomy and dreadful.

"M-Mom?"

Her son's broken worried voice forced her to lift her head, for a moment she was scared startled to see a luminous emerald green eye stare at her through her window, she quickly pushed down her fear sorrow and walked over to the window, Dream backed up so she could see his face more clearly as she pushed the window open. It was obvious the poor boy had been crying; his eye's were puffy and red, and he was seemingly trembling.

"Oh baby- what's wrong?" She tried reaching out her hand to touch his face, however he stayed put; unmoving and silent. Puffy had no idea what to do at this moment, she could barely see his face as the sun took cover behind the horizons. The last remaining streaks of light highlighting the saddened features of the blond's face.

His mouth opened hesitantly as he stumbled over his words, "Are you okay mama? I-I'm sorry..." Puffy quickly gestured for him to come closer, "You did nothing wrong duckling, it's okay." Tears came back at full force as the now giant leaned against their house, the sheep hybrid could only reach the strands of his hair as she softly touched it—the blond probably didn't even feel it.

Puffy watched as stars began to twinkle in the sky, both simply fell into the haze of comfort and calm as they simply basked in the feeling of each other's comfort; the sheep hybrid gently felt the blond's soft breaths. She quietly went back to her bed and let the child sleep in peace.

With that thought she laid down and slowly drifted off to sleep aswell.

•~☆~•

"Woah dude! I'm sorry- but you look so cool right now!" Sapnap was gawking at the blond boy's new height, they finally got another chance to hang out and they were more than grateful. Dream sheepishly grinned at Sapnap's antics, he felt elated that the other treated him no differently than he did before, no matter what happened.

"I'm guessing you'll only wear one pair of clothes for now?" The blond nodded along as he tapped his fingers against the grass below him, "Y-Yea Mom said until she and your dad figure something out this is my clothes for now." The hybrid simply shrugged and an idea quickly popped up in his head.

"How about hide and seek?" He grinned widely, "We can even go in the forest so it's fair!" The taller hastily nodded and mustered up the courage to stand at his full height; vertigo smacked him as he stared at the difference of the size of his house to himself. Sapnap quickly snapped him out of his thought with the prompt of a race. The blond happily obliged and carefully sprinted towards the ravenette; albeit the blond being as careful as possible Sapnap could still feel the ground softly shake yet he shook his head and thought nothing of it.

As the two now stood in the midst of the forest, Dream was more fixated on the few small scrapes around his legs caused by the branches, it just gave him another reminder on how tall he was at the moment. Sapnap was the first to break the oddly awkward tension, "How about you hide and I seek?", He chuckled at his suggestion yet meekly nodded along.

In the blink of an eye Sapnap was now propped against a tree with his arm covering his two eyes and began to count down, for a moment the green eyed giant stood completely and utterly still, why? He couldn't exactly say, maybe it was the fact he couldn't exactly think of a place to hide or was it the strange noises her could hear, it heard like other people chatting?

Oh he was definitely losing it now.

He suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing and sprinted deeper into the forest to the direction of the mountains, he knew he should watch on how far he was going but surely the small caves and taverns he would spot on the way would be a better hiding spot.

The blond quickly halted as he spotted an opening to a cave on the forest floor, somehow he could hear Sapnap's counts getting closer to zero and he bolted inside the cage; he crawled his way in and situated himself—the cramped space gave him a familiar feeling, instead of uncomfort and uneasiness he felt...safe and warm(he couldn't exactly pinpoint why, his thoughts were pretty jumbled up right now)

Dream felt tranquil, his eyes slid shut and purely embraced the feeling. A heavy sigh escaped his lips, his body fell slack as he leaned in closer to the cavern walls.

It was like he felt truly at peace.

An ear-splitting cry broke his valuable silence, in his groggy state of mind he could barely comprehend where the scream came from; until another wail erupted once more. His eyes shot open and his body jumped at the sound as everything became slightly clearer.

Sapnap?

A rush of memories and emotions overwhelmed him, he was torn between remembering the moment a similar instance happened or rush to see the ravenette; it was like his body was on auto-pilot, none of the movements were his, like a foggy cloud sheilding away his sight.

As his hulking figure reached the sound of Sapnap's screams, he watched as a group of hunters were trying to chain the nether-born as he emerged from the forest all the hunters heads snapped towards him, seemingly just spotting their new prey.

"Stop it you shits those are my horns!"

As if history was repeating itself, his movements were dazed, downright feral.

That day blood coated the forest floors and a giant left the forest with a slightly traumatized hybrid.

•~☆~•

"Dream, you okay?" Sapnap asked as he stood before the giant in the drizzling rain, the blond slowly lifted his head, tears mixed with the rain, the only reason the nether-born was sure the giant was crying was the constant hiccups and sobs he would stutter out as he tried to suppress them. Even with the thunderous claps and heavy winds accompanied with the earth's very tears; it felt so, so silent. Sapnap began walking closer, he was greatly startled when the other scrambled away.

"No—no I don't wanna 'urt you..." The giant was shaking his head side to side while mumbling incoherent sentences with pain and panic laced with every word, his lips trembled as he spoke, "Uncle Schlatt a-and the elders said I should stay away from the flock for a while till—till they solve stuff." Without any thought Sapnap walked closer and held his hand out to touch the other.

"Good thing I'm not part of the flock then." He grinned with pride, Dream thought for a moment. He's right, Bad and Sapnap were never welcomed to the flock nor did they try and be part of it; or atleast that's what he thinks.

Even if his body wasn't as tense as before Sapnap sighed and sat beside blond. "For what it's worth I'll always be by your side bud."

"Pandas..."

The ravenette took a moment to cringe at his own words but kept his attention on the other, "Maybe it's best if I leave you know?" He muttered, "Ever since- well this happened to me, everything just...sucks." the nether-born was slightly taken a back with the sudden mature aura the giant gave, maybe he was spending to much time with the elders...

Sapnap was expecting this, he knew Dream was never truly at peace with the town, he thought long and hard before speaking again.

"Well if you do, I'll—I'll join you."

Was he serious? A soft grin made it's way on the taller's face.

"Thanks Sap."

#g/t #giant/tiny #gt #mcyt gt #giant!dream #tiny!sapnap #tiny!puffy #tiny!schlatt #tiny!bad #minigiant!dream #mcyt g/t #writing #I spent sm time on this ngl #i hope yall like it #ty to blue btw for proofreading

7 notes · View notes

alastrrz · 4 months

Text

welcome to my blog !!

hey there, i'm ashe, and ill be writing for TGC boys, hazbin hotel, and SOME MCYTs! below, you'll find a list of people i'll write for.

my general rules are as follows:

1. all my works will be x reader! that's what i'm most comfortable writing. i write for mostly ALL topics! very tame nsfw is allowed, and because of that, this is a 16+ blog.

2. my specialty is hurt/comfort, if you'd like to know that. i write for any gender reader, female, male, nonbinary, and all in between!

3. please don't send hate, as it's really just really unnecessary. it'll ruin my day, and you won't gain anything from hurting someone you literally don't know.

TGC:

nick

isaac

tanner

blake

larry (no nsfw)

MCYT:

jschlatt

slimecicle/charlie (no nsfw)

ted nivison

quackity (NO NSFW)

HAZBIN HOTEL:

alastor

lucifer

angel dust

husk

vox

18 notes · View notes

cyncerity · 2 months

Note

I am becoming a utter bitch for Jackmanifold so I was curious if he is in your Epic au and if so tell me about him

Hi hi hi!! I know this ask was sent like a year ago but uh in case you’re still curious, he’s basically Tommy’s nanny! Phil got tired of Tommy running off so he’s been hiring people to try and keep an eye on him (keyword: try)

Anyway Jack is my comfort streamer so I always want to include him in stuff, so I wanted to write a short little thing to show his dynamic with Tommy and Niki. This “short little thing” turned into a full story and character designs because I have no self control! Hope you enjoy!!

(btw anyone who can pick out the song quote in here and tell me what it’s from gets a cookie)

“Hold on, get back here!” Jack yelled running after the young prince, who stopped his sprint down a hallway to turn and look back at Jack with a disapproving stare. Jack stopped and took a few deep breaths from exhaustion before continuing through pants. “I promised his majesty that I wouldn’t let you out of my sight, and I intend to keep that promise. The last thing I want is the fuckin king mad at me…again.” Tommy simply rolled his eyes, hands on his hips as he took a few steps towards the older leafmen. “Ooo King Philza this, King Philza that,” Tommy said in a mocking tone. “Let’s be honest with ourselves here Jack, if Phil hasn’t fired you yet he’s not gonna. The last guy got kicked after losing me like 4 times and you’re already way past that. The only reason you still have a job is cause you’ve got connections in high places.” “Is not!” “Is too!”

“God you’re so immature,” Jack said, having finally fully caught his breath. “Maybe if you could actually be responsible and not fuckin disappear every day then the king wouldn’t need to assign you a-“ “Babysitter. You’re a babysitter.” Tommy cut him off, only angering Jack further. “You’re such a fucking child! Why can’t we have one normal conversation about you disappearing under my watch, it’s like you want me to get exiled or something!” “Oh my dad’s not gonna exile you,” Tommy responds nonchalantly, “Niki likes you too much for that.” “There are only so many times you can lose the crown prince before his dad will get fed up. Niki isn’t more powerful than the fucking king, Tommy.” “No, but she’s one of his best soldiers, which means her and her happiness is important to him, and for some unexplainable reason you’re part of that happiness. Phil isn’t gonna risk losing his General cause he dismissed her best friend like he dismissed the rest of the fucks he hired to watch me.”

That made Jack pause. He knows Phil; they’ve had plenty of talks personally (well, personally with Schlatt in the room too, as if Jack would ever pull something with the ruler of the whole goddamn forest). In all the talks he’s had with Phil, he’d never guess that anyone’s personal happiness was important to him. The kingdom’s happiness? Sure, of course, that was his fucking job, after all. But, personally? Jack just always assumed that Phil was kind of a cold guy. To hear that he valued Niki’s happiness personally, even for his own gain, was…an odd thought. “Phil cares about Niki?” Jack asked, though he wasn’t quite sure why. Tommy seemed just as confused, before shrugging it off. “Yeah, ‘course he does. She and Schlatt are, yknow, his friends.” That genuinely shocked Jack. “There’s something in that guy to befriend??” He questioned, though as soon as the words came out of his mouth he regretted it. Tommy’s face wore absolute shock, and Jack quickly slapped a hand over his mouth as they both stared at each other in silence.

“I- I’m so-“ Jack’s poor attempt at an apology was cut off by roaring laughter from Tommy, the teen bent over to his knees wheezing as Jack stood terrified. He’d almost forgot that he was in the presence of the second most powerful person in the forest, magically and politically. That the boy in front of him was just as capable of exiling him to The Bogs as King Philza was. And, just as a bonus, Tommy never let Jack doubt the fact that he didn’t fucking like him. And now he’s just gone and insulted the king and gave his son a free pass to get rid of him for good. Oh fuck.

But, to his shock, when Tommy righted himself his face was absolutely beaming. He wiped a tear from his eye as he slapped a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Ok, I take it back, maybe I can see why Niki likes you, just a little bit though.” “S-so you’re not…gonna tell Phil..?” Jack asked, his fear only slightly relieved. When Tommy’s face morphed from humored to smug, though, that fear was immediately back. “Well, I think that can be arranged…for a price.” “Price?” “Yeah, let’s put it like this; you let me go right now and don’t make me tell you where i’m fuckin going, and I don’t report you for lèse-majesté.” Tommy stuck out a hand, and Jack shook it before he could even fully fathom what he was agreeing to. “Deal, a hundred times deal, your dad would fucking kill me.” Tommy just laughed. “Good man. Well, i’ll see you later then, Jack! Good luck with Schlatt when he comes to ask where I am!!” Tommy chuckled as he began to walk away.

“Wait, your majesty!” Jack shouted, and Tommy turned, seemingly slightly annoyed that Jack was still trying to talk to him when he so clearly wanted to fuck off to wherever he went to when he disappeared for hours. Jack knew he had to be careful with this; he’d just made Tommy like him a little bit, he couldn’t lose that yet. “Just…when you get back, can we talk about this? A bit? I don’t care where you go, for fucks sake you can do magic, I know you can protect yourself, but can we like…work out when you leave or don’t? So your dad doesn’t absolutely fucking hate me? He may be a bitch but he’s still my boss.” Jack hoped that insulting Phil again (as horrified as it made him feel) would open Tommy’s mind to the idea since it had seemingly worked before, and given that Tommy seemed less annoyed, it apparently worked. “You mean…you’d cover for me? Without even knowing where I’m headed off to? You would lie to the king for me?” “I mean, sure, man, why the hell not. Right now I don’t know where you are and I get in trouble, I’d much rather not know where you are and not get in trouble. Plus, who’s gonna turn me in for lying, you? You’d be turning yourself in.”

Tommy stood in shock, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and that scared Jack. Shit, had he overstepped a boundary somewhere? Was Tommy angry that he would advocate a scheme against his dad? Did he just fuck himself over?? But Tommy, ever so full of surprises, just smiled at Jack. “We’ll see, let me think about it. I’ll let you know when I get back.” He said, and held a fist in front of him. Jack smiled unsurely and fistbumed him, making Tommy chuckle as he turned and continued down the hallway.

Oh Prime, what has he got himself into?

~~~

“So, Jack, where is my son?” King Philza said, sat at his desk in his chambers, and Jack could barely utter a word. Schlatt stood behind Phil on his right, face as stone cold and intimidating as ever. Niki, bless her heart for arguing to be in the room with him for this, stood behind Phil on his left, eyes pleading with Jack for him to think of something. But, truly, in the dozen or so times he’s had to do this because Tommy fucking sucked, he’s never had an excuse. He’d always just apologized and Phil had disappointedly sent him home for the night with the command that he’d better be able to do his job tomorrow. That he’d better know where Tommy was the next night. It never happened, he never did, and this “i’m not mad i’m just disappointed” routine with the fucking king had become a nightly routine. Jack was getting kind of sick of it.

“Jack?” Philza repeated, and Jack sighed. “Your majesty, I-“ The door was kicked in suddenly, scaring the shit out of Jack and no one else in the room (fuck the royals and the guards and their unnatural lack of fight or flight), the prince in question proudly standing in the doorway, panting and exhausted but excited looking. “Holy shit!” he shouted. “You were right Jack! This was a tough book to find!” Tommy chuckled only mildly unbelievably before chucking a book at Jack, who quickly caught on. “Ah, yes! I was just about to tell his highness your father that you were down in the library grabbing a book on…uh, gardening…yeah! Yeah, we…we gardened today.” Jack lied through his teeth. “Yeah, we were looking into where the best place for crops would be so the bugfolk have a good harvest this spring! Y’know, doin some charity work, spreading peace and kindness and all the shit you preach, yeah?” Tommy continued, waltzing up to the king’s desk and leaning on it. Jack had to keep himself from gasping, reminding himself that Tommy was the prince and therefore wouldn’t be harshly punished for showing such disrespect in a royal’s presence. He himself was a royal, after all, though that didn’t make his lax behavior any less unexpected in an area that Jack had come to know as strict and horrifyingly stressful.

“So you were…out gardening.” Philza repeated, seemingly not buying a word, and Jack felt his heart stop. Tommy, however, was unfazed. “Yeah!” Tommy exclaimed, ignoring his father’s skepticism in favor of pulling a map out of the book in Jack’s hand. The map was a hand-drawn top view of the forest, with doodles, circles, arrows, and written notes scribbled all around it. He proudly came around to Phil’s side and excitedly began rambling about every little thing on the map. If Jack didn’t know that Tommy was his son, he’d assume that Phil was on the verge of exiling him based on his face alone. He seemed…more than annoyed, he seemed straight up miserable sitting and listening to Tommy talk. Yeesh, maybe this was why he had to hire someone to be around him. It seemed like an overreaction to listening to his kids talk about plants, he looked like he wanted to die right then and there.

“-so I think the best place for the sugar cane would be this spot where there aren’t any trees so it gets super hot, and it’s close to the lake but not too close so the soil doesn’t get waterlogged, which means the dirt will be ideal fo-“ “Stop!!” Philza shouted, slamming his hands on his desk and startling everyone in the room, even his guards. He dropped his head into his hands and sighed, fully missing the reaction of everyone in the room. Schlatt’s eyes were wide and Niki looked panic. Tommy looked…scared. Well, scared for all of .2 seconds before his expression shifted to something smug. Phil looked up at him with pity and Tommy’s reaction quickly changed into innocent confusion, slipping a mask back on to continue his act.

“Just…just stop. Listen, Tommy, I’m glad you think you’re helping. I am. But we can’t involve ourselves in the bugfolk’s problems. Their crops provide absolutely nothing to us, it’s a waste to fix what they need to be fixing amongst themselves.” Jack saw Tommy’s mask crack a bit. “But they’re like us, dad, they’re our people! This winter has been rough for them and they need all the help they can ge-“ “No, Tommy.” Phil interrupted, eyes turning hard, any and all pity gone. “They may be our people, but they’re not like us. They will never be like us. They’re in our land, and we allow them to be, with all of the benefits that come from living here. That’s all we owe them, nothing more, nothing less. End of conversation.” Tommy’s facial expression was blank, though if looks could kill, Jack was sure that Tommy would have needed a coronation by the next morning. He was pissed at Phil. A bubbling, festering anger that was sure to explode and cause permanent damage at some point in the near future.

However, it wouldn’t today.

Tommy, ever the actor, breathed out deeply to compose himself before rolling up his map. “‘Course, dad. Whatever is best for our p-…for the forest. You know best.” “You’ll learn, Tommy.” Philza said, reaching out to hold Tommy’s fists that curled around his map. “You’ll be a great king someday. A wise man once said: ‘the line between naivety and hopefulness is almost invisible.’ You just haven’t found the line yet, and I don’t expect you too at your age. In time you’ll learn just as I did exactly what needs to be done to keep the people you care about safe.” Tommy just stood, pointedly not answering. Philza sighed. “You are dismissed, Tommy. And Jack, good work today, keep this up. You are dismissed as well.” Tommy, deadpan as ever, walked back towards the entrance as Jack bowed in response. Well, tried to. Tommy yanked him by the shoulder and dragged him out of the room midway down, almost making him drop the gardening book.

As soon as they were far enough away from the chamber, Tommy dropped jacks arm and started screaming with clenched teeth, yanking on the petals on his head and kicking the nearest wall to him. Jack figured it was best to just…let him have his moment. “UUGGHHH, just, who does he think he is?! ‘oH Tommy they’re not liKe uS, they’re our people but they’re woRsE cause they’re not LeAveS’ it’s fucking ridiculous!! He barely knows anything about them, who is he to just decide that we just shouldn’t help with their crops?!” Tommy yelled, kicking another wall. “I- i don’t know, man.” Jack whispered, unsure if any of what Tommy said was rhetorical. Tommy looked over at him and just sighed.

“Sorry, it just drives me up a fucking wall. He thinks he’s the prime example of a fucking king and meanwhile he hates like half his citizens, and 3/4 of the forest as a whole, it’s fucking ridiculous.” Jack stood for a minute, eyes wide. What did he say? 3/4 would imply that he was upset that Phil hated…the enemy? “Well…he, uh, at the very least protects us from the boggins, but yeah…all that stuff about bugfolk, that wasn’t, uh, that wasn’t cool, man.” Now it was Tommy’s turn to be shocked, before he quickly tried and this time failed to put a mask back on. “Oh, yeah, ha! Whoops, sorry, I, uh, yeah, no fuck the boggins. Totally, yeah they suck. They’re, ha, yeah they’re horrifying, i’d hate to ever have to face one of them, thank god Phil keeps ‘em out!” Tommy rambled awkwardly, which led to a far more awkward moment of silence between Jack and Tommy after he finished.

“Look, man,” Jack finally broke the silence, “I appreciate you helping me out of that. I think Phil was really done with me that time.” “Well, I figured it was a good enough idea. Would benefit both of us, anyway. You wouldn’t get in trouble, my dad gets to think i’m doin’ shit, it’s foolproof.” “So, it’s official?” Jack said, offering a fist. Tommy laughed and fist bumped him back, a genuine smile on his face. “It’s official. We’ll work out the details tomorrow, though, I’m tired as shit. See ya, man.” Tommy said as he turned away, waving with one hand and holding a map in the other…

He was still holding a gardening book.

“Wait, Tom!” He didn’t know when he decided that it was ok to call the crown prince by a nickname, but given that Tommy didn’t correct him when he turned in response, he supposed the nickname was accepted. “You forgot your book.” He said, holding it out to a very relieved looking Tommy. “Shit, right, thank you! Can’t believe I almost forgot this.” He said, unrolling his map and placing it back in his book. “I gotta say, man, that’s a lot of effort to put into a map for a bit.” Jack said. “Where did you even get this gardening book? I’ve never seen it in the library.” “Oh, it’s not from the library, it was a gift from a friend. And the map wasn’t for the bit.” Tommy said gleefully, ignoring Jack’s shock for probably the fiftieth time that evening. “I wasn’t lying this time, that’s genuinely what I was out doing all day. I didn’t have time to think of a fake out story. But don’t expect me to tell you everything from now on, that’s just a thank you for helping me out. Night Jack!” Tommy said, waving and running down the hall towards his room, leaving Jack in confused shock. Jack huffed and shook his head as he started in the opposite direction towards the castle’s exit.

“Jack, wait up!” he heard a familiar voice call as his best friend caught up with him. “Hey Niki, don’t you have important General shit to do?” “C’mon, you’ve been a personal hand to the royal family for almost a month now, i’d say it’s important to make sure you’re escorted home safely.” She snickered, and Jack rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, as if the king would care if I got home safe.” “Well, he might start to if you make a habit of keeping track of the prince! It’s been a while since he’s even told us how his day was.” “Has it also been a while since his highness had a freak out like that or is that a regular thing?” Jack whispered. A pause, before Niki sighed and whispered back. “He’s stressed. I…I haven’t seen him get like that in a long while. Phil is my friend, I know him, I know how he is, and that isn’t him.”

Ok, so getting the confirmation that Phil and Niki’s relationship wasn’t strictly professional and was an actual friendship was unexpected, but that wasn’t the topic right now. “Was it Tommy? Does he really hate the idea of gardening that much? Does he just…not like being with Tommy? Is that why he needs me?” “No, not that, definitely not that.” Niki responded urgently. “He loves Tommy, I know he doesn’t show it well, but he does. I…I think it was more the topic. Not the gardening, more the idea of who it was for.” “The bugfolk? Why?” “Beats me, but Phil doesn’t ever really like to talk about them. If we’re trying to be more specific, though, something happened recently. More territory shit, some leafmen got hurt, we’ve been dealing with it so it doesn’t turn into an uprising. It’s been getting handled, but I think it was just bad timing, we haven’t told Tommy about that incident because it’s contained, so he wouldn’t have known that talking about helping the bugfolk would set Phil off.” “Prime, man, that’s…that’s rough. Not like it’s Tommy’s fault, though, felt kinda wrong for King Philza to snap at him of all people. Plus, some of that other shit he was saying was…how do I put this…..distasteful.”

Niki looked…uncomfortable, to say the least. “I know, and I agree with you,” she sighed, “but he’s my king. He’s my friend. He has his reasons to be like this and frankly? Our kingdom is thriving, so what’s the harm?” The harm is that he might hurt bugfolk like he’s hurt others, Jack thought. The harm is that he could exile an entire species out of the forest to a place of rot and death and savage beastly occupants and the worst part is that it wouldn’t even be the first time he did that. The harm is that he’s destroying his relationship with his kid and making said kid standoffish to anyone who attempts to befriend them. And oh, didn’t that just make so much sense? Maybe it wasn’t that Tommy was just brash and rude, could it…could it be self defense? Was he pushing people away on purpose? Now that he thought about it, he’d never actually seen Tommy talk to…anyone. Prime, did this kid have friends? He doubted it, if his general approach is the same one he used with Jack. He would have given up with the prince a long time ago if it weren’t for Niki and the fact that a royal job pays well.

“Jack?” Niki said, snapping him out of this thoughts. “Sorry, sorry Niki, I’m just…I’m just tired.” “I can only imagine,” Niki laughed, elbowing Jack in the arm, “you’ve got to be exhausted if you were out gardening with Tommy all day.” And oh, Jack hadn’t thought of this part: he’d have to continually lie to his best friend for this plan to work. Fuck his life. “Yeah, yeah, ha..takes a lot outta ya.” He laughed uncomfortably, though Niki didn’t seem to notice. “Well, you’re almost home and I’ve got to get reports in from the soldiers in my unit. I’ll talk to you later Jack! Good night!” She gave him a quick side hug before turning back towards the castle, leaving Jack alone in his thoughts.

Ok, so new notes for the day: the prince is…tolerant of him. Dare he say kind of likes him. He’s kind of still reeling from the realization that Tommy may just be acting out due to daddy issues and loneliness. The king likely knows they’re full of shit and just doesn’t care, Niki trusts him and he’s going to have to break that trust and lie to her because the prince is a secretive prick, and, oh yeah, the king might be a fucking bigot. Great.

Fuck.

10 notes · View notes