Chapter Text
Tommy tried his best to act inconspicuous, he really did, but something about him just never seemed to be able to blend in with everyone else. This usually worked to his advantage, since he had always basked in the attention of others and practically demanded it whenever it seemed like he was being ignored. He loved having eyes on him, loved seeing when people were impressed by something or other that he did. Sure, it didn’t really happen all that often, but that was all the more reason for him to try and grab people’s attention. They were more likely to see how awesome he was if they were looking at him, after all.
Now, however, he wished that he had a bit more practice in the opposite field. God, how he wished that people just wouldn’t notice him as he crept up behind them, crouching down so he wouldn’t stick out so much. If only they wouldn’t notice him when he reached out to steal their purses, bags, or really any other remotely valuable thing that he could reasonably get his hands on. He hated having to resort to theft, but there weren’t many other options. Steal, or starve. It seemed simple enough when he thought about it like that.
Cautiously, he extended a hand towards the back pocket of the man in front of him, pinching careful fingers over the rough, old fabric bag bulging enticingly before him. It was a perfect target, sticking out and loosely inserted enough for him to slide it out without being noticed. Hopefully.
Frankly, Tommy’s track record when it came to pickpocketing was horrendous. In all the months that he’d been on his own, he’d only managed to successfully get away with it twice, and only just. He felt truly pathetic. He was desperate enough to resort to theft, and yet he couldn’t even do it properly. He was barely achieving anything, being left behind by the rest of the careless crowd around him, doomed to scrape the very bottom of the barrel just to get by. He was tired of begging, tired of eating out of the trash or running for his life whenever someone caught him trying to grab something, anything, to make life at least a little bit easier.
But he didn’t have much of a choice, did he?
He didn’t put much more thought into it, as a bit of experience had taught him that overthinking and hesitation only lowered his chances of success. He smoothly slid the bag out of the man’s pocket and into the back of his own torn trousers as he took an exaggerated step forward, then yelped as he pitched himself forward to fall. He grabbed the man’s shoulder to steady himself, then quickly stumbled back as he was met with an irritated, then disgusted gaze, as expected.
“S-sorry…” Tommy stuttered, eyes focused firmly on the dirt as he shuffled out of the way of the people walking by him, each of them far too busy to pay a homeless kid like him any mind. “Tripped,” he explained. The man simply scoffed and mumbled something about useless scum, then turned around and very pointedly continued on as if Tommy had never existed. And that was that.
Shit. Shit, that was smooth! Tommy tried to smother his grin as he headed straight for an isolated crevice between two small buildings. Once he was alone, though, the grin died as he suddenly found himself hopelessly craving someone, anyone to brag to, to turn to with a smug grin and show off his accomplishment. He was proud, dammit, and he thought he deserved some recognition for how professionally and seamlessly that whole thing had gone. That guy hadn’t suspected a thing! Nevermind how his great accomplishment was still petty theft. That didn’t matter because he had actually succeeded! But… no one would ever know. Except for that guy, later, when he realized that his emeralds were gone. At least Tommy would be long gone before that happened. He knew better than to stick around for too long, now.
He sighed as he entertained the idea of having a friend with him for just a bit longer, then dropped it as he always did. Anyone who lived in this kingdom knew that it was useless to hope. Instead, Tommy turned his attention to the bag that was still tucked away in the back of his tattered pants. He reached back and dug it out, and allowed himself a sly grin at long last as he unfolded it and flipped through the contents. He could eat decent food for weeks if he made this last! But maybe he should buy new clothes instead? Or a room at an inn, where he could take an actual bath? Decisions, decisions.
“That doesn’t belong to you, does it?”
Tommy released a very manly shriek as he whipped around to find someone staring down at him from above. They were wearing a hood, so he couldn’t see their face, and that only scared him more. Were they a guard? Or had someone finally decided to start sending bounty hunters after him?
His mouth opened and closed soundlessly as his panic kept all of his words pinned in his throat. He shifted ever so slightly, tense as a drawn bowstring, and prepared to make a run for it. He was sure that the person above him was smirking under the shadows cast by their hood. Maybe he could get away like before, if he just ran fast enough.
Just as Tommy was about to spring into motion, the person spoke again.
“Jumpy, aren’t ya? Don’t worry, kid, I’m not gonna turn ya in. It’d be a tad hypocritical of me, y’know?” They drawled in an unfamiliar accent.
Tommy furrowed his brows in confusion. He slightly relaxed his stance as he squinted up at the stranger once more, trying to see under their hood to no avail. He immediately tensed again as they started gracefully maneuvering down the side of the building, closer to him. Beneath the growing terror, a part of Tommy felt a sudden longing to be able to move like that. Escaping would be so much easier!
Before long, the person’s feet were planted firmly on the ground, just over a meter ahead of him. They didn’t attempt to move any closer, and their posture seemed relaxed and entirely unconcerned with running after Tommy if he decided to bolt. That was the only reason Tommy decided not to run. Maybe this person really wasn’t out to get him?
“You don’t look too hot, kiddo. How long ya been out here for?” They asked, tugging down their hood without warning to reveal a young woman with a long, light brown braid.
Tommy’s body immediately locked up. A woman! Shit, okay, what did he say? His name was Tommy and he was sixteen and homeless? Wait, she had asked a question!
“Uh, f-four months, now. I’m… trying to hide,” he explained, keeping it vague in case there really was a bounty on his head now. Even if this person was a criminal like him, she probably wouldn’t pass up the chance to turn him in if he was worth the right amount of money.
“Ah, did the nobles decide ya did somethin’ unforgivable, then? You wouldn’t be the first that I’ve seen. Definitely the youngest, though. Can’t believe they’d hunt down a kid like you. What’d you do?” She asked, casually shifting her weight to her right leg and sliding her hands in her pockets.
Tommy pressed his lips together. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t been vague enough. She knew exactly what had happened to him! She still didn’t seem like she had anything against him, though, so Tommy allowed himself to consider that maybe she really wouldn’t betray him, even if he told her exactly what had happened.
Nah, I’m not risking that, he decided. “Something stupid,” he admitted, and that was all he would be telling her.
“Hm, alright. Well, I don’t consider myself particularly kindhearted, but even I can’t just look away from a starvin’ kid on the streets. Whattaya say we go get a bite to eat? My treat,” she proposed, sliding a single gloved hand out of her pocket and extending it to Tommy.
Ah. A decision, then. Trust her, or run away. He doubted she would chase him. He could get away easily, and then he could spend his new money on food for himself, and maybe even get some new shoes. He didn’t need her charity.
But… Well, Tommy was a social person at heart. He didn’t like being alone. He knew that it wasn’t the smartest or the safest decision, but he was honestly so deprived of non-aggressive human interaction that he was willing to risk it for a decent conversation.
Pathetic, he knew, but he couldn’t really find it within himself to care as he reached out and clasped her hand in his own. She smiled at him warmly.
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Tommy promptly found himself shoveling down a plethora of foods that he didn’t care enough to identify. His stomach had become a painful, gnawing pit in the time that he had been running, so he had learned not to be picky about what he fed it. Anything to make the pain stop.
The woman stared down at him amusedly, taking respectable bites of her own sandwich. Tommy definitely felt like he was being judged, but, as for many of the things in his life as of late, he didn’t particularly care. She could judge all she wanted, but she would still be the one paying for this meal. Tommy wouldn’t be losing anything.
“Hungry?” She asked, lips quirked up as she swept her eyes over the two plates that Tommy had nearly cleared.
He returned her question by leveling her with an unimpressed stare. Duh.
“Alright, alright! I get it, not much to eat out here without money. No wonder you’re a wanted criminal, then, if ya looked at the nobles like that,” she laughed, setting down the crust of her sandwich. She was well off, then, if she was willing to waste food.
It might sound absurd, but it’s true that you could become a wanted criminal for looking the wrong way at the nobles. Anything that they decided was offensive, or even just not respectful enough, they could pin a bounty on you for. The guards got paid well enough that many of them didn’t care about who they captured or killed anymore as long as they got their paycheck, so the nobles had gradually built up more power than they ever should have had.
Still, Tommy had done much worse than just looking at them wrong. It was actually painfully optimistic of him to think that there might not be a bounty yet.
Once Tommy finally scarfed down the last morsel of food that was available to him, the woman tried for a conversation once again.
“Where do ya think you’ll go once you leave here?” She asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“Just… farther away from the capital. That’s all I’ve been doing, running away,” he admitted. It kind of concerned him how willingly he was telling her these things, but he chalked it down to just being too open now that he finally had someone to talk to.
“Any farther an’ you’ll be walkin’ through the forest. Sure ya wanna head out that way?”
Tommy paused. Had he really made it that far already? That wasn’t good.
“I know somewhere safe that you could hide, if ya trusted me enough to go there. There’re plenty of people like you there, people who’re being hunted for nothin’. You’ll be safe there,” she offered, meeting his eyes. Tommy didn’t think she looked like she was lying, but he was also shit at figuring those things out. He couldn’t trust his own judgement, especially not when it came to following a stranger to who-knows-where when they know that you’re a wanted criminal. No, Tommy didn’t think that sounded like a good idea at all.
He let his suspicion show on his face. “I’ll pass.”
The woman sighed. “Well, at least I tried. If ya ever need some help from people like you, just ask around about the bluebird. The first person who tells ya ‘bout somethin’ that’s not actually a bird can take you there,” she explained. Then, without another word, she dropped a few emeralds on their table and walked away. Tommy was alone again.
He sat there considering his next move for a few minutes, but he had to leave the restaurant before long, as people were starting to stare. Right, he still looked just as dirty as he felt. He left without any further fanfare.
Guess I’m going to the forest, then.
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Tommy really wished that he had taken that woman up on her offer. His breath came in gasps as he pushed his weak, malnourished body to run just a bit faster, just a bit longer. He heard the vegetation being trampled behind him, bones rattling as another arrow was nocked and ready to fire. He quickly spun and ran to the left, hearing the projectile fwoosh as it sliced through the air where his head had just been.
His legs were weak and trembling, and he barely felt like he could even stand at this point, but he had to keep going. He couldn’t fight, and now, it was starting to seem like running wouldn’t even be enough anymore. He was fucked.
His first day in the forest hadn’t been that bad. Neither had the first night. He had bought enough food to last him at least a week, and he planned to buy some new clothes whenever he decided to head back to the outskirts of the city. Wherever there’s a city or town, there are many light sources scattered through the surrounding wilderness, specifically to prevent monsters like this from wandering too close. His first night was spent surrounded by clumsily hung lanterns, which he now understood were a truly necessary safety net. Now, he didn’t have that.
He had spent the entirety of the last day roaming deeper into the forest, farther away from the densely populated capital and the smaller towns surrounding it. Farther away from safety. He was an idiot, and he was too busy kicking around the autumn leaves to worry about bringing a light source, which would be imperative if he was planning on doing any kind of adventuring at night.
His eyes darted over his surroundings, searching for anything that he could use to get out of this mess. All he saw were trees, trees, and oh, would you look at that, trees.
Wait. Trees! Tommy was truly disappointed in his own stupidity. He looked around just a bit more, spotted a tree with a low hanging branch that he could reach, and dashed straight for it. He heard another arrow fly by, felt a line of fire light up on his left leg, but he ignored it. He paused for just a moment at the base of the tree, then jumped and grabbed the branch, scrambling up with what remained of his strength. Then, he worked to haul himself higher and higher, until there were enough branches beneath him to serve as suitable cover. The skeleton would have a hell of a time trying to hit him now!
It was only after he heard an arrow get lodged in the branches beneath him that he realized his predicament: he was stuck. Sure, the skeleton wasn’t very likely to hit him, since their aim was already subpar at best and there was a net of branches between them, but when all he could do was sit and wait for it to run out of arrows, he became painfully aware of how each shot fired could be the death of him. He could barely move through the dense branches, and he’d just get shot and die if he tried to go back down, so he was well and truly trapped. Now he felt even more stupid.
He screamed and flinched away from an arrow that sliced through the branches to embed itself in the wood right beside his head. Tommy whispered many swear words that would’ve once earned him a stern lecture from his mom, but he didn’t care anymore. He shuffled around in the tiny amount of space available to him, suddenly unable to hold still as his body was overcome with nerves. He couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t go anywhere!
Holy fuck, I’m gonna die, Tommy thought as he peered through the branches to find the skeleton aiming towards him, drawing the bowstring back and pointing it right at him–
His would-be executioner suddenly clattered to the ground as whatever strange force usually held skeletons together gave out alongside the back of its skull. The man, who had literally come out of nowhere, as far as Tommy could tell, stood up straight after the force of the blow he had used to kill the skeleton had pitched him forward. His lantern cast a pale, orange glow over the dull stone axe that he wielded, but even the blunt edge was apparently more than enough to deal with a skeleton if you were strong enough.
Tommy let out a relieved gasp, only just realizing that he had started hyperventilating in what he assumed would be his final moments. The man on the ground looked up at the noise, and Tommy immediately seized up as he remembered that he was still a wanted criminal, and there was undoubtedly a bounty on him at this point. He wasn’t naive enough to try and convince himself that there wasn’t one, not anymore.
“Hey!” The man called, causing Tommy to flinch violently enough that he heard the leaves rustle on the end of the branch that he was perched on. “You okay? I heard a scream! Did it get you? I can help you down, if you need it!”
Tommy pressed his lips together and quickly shook his head, then remembered that the man probably couldn’t see him because it was still night time. Even with the glow of the lantern, Tommy doubted that the man could see him well enough to make out small motions like that. He had to speak.
“Uh, I’m fine!” He called. “I’ll just… stay up here, until the sun comes up and it’s safe again. Thank you!” He added. Surely that would be enough to let the man know that Tommy had no desire for company.
“You sure?” The man asked, shifting his lantern forward and giving Tommy a perfect view of his concerned face. “I can’t stick around all night, and if another skeleton comes by, you might end up in a sticky situation. I don’t mind letting you stay the night at my house, just to be safe.”
Against his better judgement, Tommy actually considered it. This guy lived in the middle of the forest, surely he had no way of knowing who Tommy was. If he didn’t know about the criminal thing or the bounty, then Tommy would just seem like a kid. As much as he hated to hope, he thought that this might actually turn out well.
After a few beats of silence, Tommy decided, fuck it, and started climbing down the tree. The cut that he hadn’t really noticed on his leg sent stabs of pain on his way down, but he ignored it. Soon enough, his feet were back on the ground, right in front of the man and the remains of the skeleton. Tommy waited anxiously as the man seemed to give him a once-over. Don’t recognize me, don’t recognize me, he mentally pleaded.
Tommy wasn’t sure if he should’ve felt relieved or afraid when the man didn’t say anything. He didn’t seem to recognize Tommy, but he also didn’t even comment on his disheveled appearance. There was no going back now, as Tommy was practically dead on his feet and he now had a wound on his leg. He couldn’t climb back up, and he couldn’t just stay out here, so now he had no choice but to go with the man.
The walk to his house was fairly brief, and they made enough awkward smalltalk for Tommy to learn a few things about the stranger. For one, his name was Derek and he was married and had two kids. His wife was in the capital and wasn’t expected to return for a few days at least, which served as a great relief to Tommy. If she had been to the capital, she had definitely heard of him. He wondered if his wanted posters actually looked like him.
Tommy didn’t tell the man much about himself. He told him that his name was George, the first name that popped into his mind, and he had gotten lost on the way to his friend’s house in the forest. Not exactly the greatest excuse, he knew, but Derek didn’t ask any questions so Tommy wasn’t too concerned.
Derek also noticed Tommy limping and offered to help patch up his leg, which Tommy immediately accepted. He would not be able to go on with a limp for very long, after all. This was an easy way to take care of that problem with no issues.
Tommy’s mood darkened when he saw the man’s house. It was a fine house, fit to house a family and equipped with a barn and a garden in the back. It just… reminded him of his old house.
He shook his head to clear those thoughts before he got emotional, then turned to Derek when he started speaking again.
“All of our rooms are taken, but I can just have my son sleep with his sister tonight, and you can have his room. You know how kids are, they’ll sleep anywhere,” he rambled.
Tommy absently nodded along, then zoned out, thinking about his old home and his family and what he had lost. Shaking his head apparently hadn’t actually been enough to banish his thoughts, shockingly.
Derek brought out some supplies to patch up Tommy’s wound once they were inside, which definitely stung since he also disinfected it. Tommy was a bit occupied, so it didn’t actually bother him that much. His mind was elsewhere, reliving his happiest memories and then… the worst one.
“Your parents should’ve taught you to watch that mouth of yours, boy.”
Tommy bolted away the moment that Derek cut the final bandage and completed the job. He muttered quiet thanks as he dashed to the hallway, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be alone. He opened the first door on his left, saw two confused children staring up at him from where they were sitting on the bed, then promptly slammed the door and turned around to go to the other room. This one was blessedly empty, though the walls were smothered with cringey kids’ drawings.
Tommy laid himself out on the bed and allowed himself a moment to really think. It was all his fault that he was in this situation, that he was homeless and alone, that his parents were…
Tommy sniffled, and though he would never admit it, there was no one present so he decided to just let it out, for once. He let the tears fall, felt them trailing down his face and dripping into the pillow below him, but there was no one he could blame these feelings on but himself. Just like always, he was nothing better than what everyone thought he was: stupid, loud, reckless Tommy. He could practically see them, everyone that used to be his neighbors staring and watching silently as Tommy was forced to flee or die, his old friends laughing and jeering as he went. His feet slammed on the ground with each terror-fueled step that he took, but he knew that he could only run for so long before–
“Aw man, I don’t want to watch this!” Someone cried, and Tommy immediately snapped his eyes open and bolted up to look at them. He saw a boy, maybe his age, with brown hair. His hands were covering his eyes and he had turned to face the wall adjacent to Tommy. “Why am I even here?!”
“Good question, who the fuck are you?!” Tommy responded, letting his anger be heard in his voice. He didn’t get a good look at Derek’s children before, since he was kind of in a hurry, but he could only assume that this was the usual inhabitant of this room, the son whose name Tommy didn’t care enough to remember. “Aren’t you supposed to be with your sister?”
The boy startled violently, flinching hard enough that Tommy actually saw his feet leave the ground. He nervously shifted the fingers over his right eye and peered out at Tommy through the gaps, and Tommy could clearly see the brown iris of his eye in full when it widened as it met his own. The boy gasped, leaving Tommy feeling even more confused.
“You can see me?!”