Chapter Text
Frans barking woke the hybrid, the Dog herself having propped herself up on the bed, licking her owner’s face. Sam reached over, petting the tamed wolf’s light grey fur lightly, his mind was still groggy from the events the day before. Memories were blurry, he remembers Puffy and Tommy busting him out of the cage he had gotten trapped in and helping him home. The hybrid could recall much after reaching his home with the tow other than flopping down on his head. Sam pushed himself up, glancing around his room, spying Puffy’s pirate hat sitting on the dresser to the side, so they’re still here? Sam got to his feet, Fran following at his heels carefully. Sam wobbled a bit, but was able to rebalance himself before he could fall over, The hybrid raises a hand to his head, rubbing his temples. He could still hear the egg talking to him but they had faded into faint, non-audible whispers. “Sam!” The loudness of Tommy’s voice shook Sam’s head, causing the hybrid to flinch slightly as the Teen ran up to him from where he was seated with Puffy, the sheep-hybrid following quickly behind him. “Hey Tommy…” Sam trails off, giving the two a tired smile. The blonde opened his mouth to speak, but Puffy cut him off with her own words, speaking in a lower tone “Are you okay, Sam?” The whitette questions, holding both her hands up to her chest, a familiar green object clenched in her fists. “Better than I was yesterday,” Sam says, reaching out to take his mask from the woman. Puffy nods, passing the mask to Sam who immediately re-equips it. “I made you some food.” Tommy says, Puffy glaring at him slightly from the corner of her eyes “I think you mean, Puffy made you food While I watched?” Tommy rolls his eyes, glancing away from the hybrid and back at Sam, The woman reaching up an arm, but quickly put it back down with a sigh. Puffy carefully took Sam’s arm, leading him to a seat as Tommy and Fran followed, the dog sticking close to her still ailing owner. “Tommy, Can you change his bandages?” Puffy questions, preparing a plate of something for Sam to eat. At the mention of his arm, Sam feels a dull pain shoot through, Memories of ripping his own flesh out with his teeth filling his mind, nearly causing the man to gag at the thought, the Irony taste of blood still remaining in his mouth. A plate is settled in his view, snapping him from his thoughts as Tommy takes a seat next to him with a roll of bandages in his hands.
Puffy sat down across from the blonde, her pink-eyes carefully watching as Tommy grabs Sam’s arm and slowly unwraps the bandages, a wince leaving the teen’s mouth at the sight of the wound. Sam refused to look himself, keeping his eyes anywhere but his arm. “Pour some of the water on it,” Puffy instructs calmly, the boy shakily doing as told. The cold water hit the wound with a sting causing Sam to clench his fists quickly, nearly ripping his arm away from Tommy, but he held his restraint, he’d been hurt worse. “Put the towel back first,” Puffy instructs again, her eyes soft, ears tilted downwards. “Why do I have to do this?” Tommy’s voice finally spoke after a long silence, sounding very strained. “You told me you have no idea how to use first aid, this is it.” Puffy said, crossing her arms “the worst bits over already Tommy.” Puffy spoke again, laying her hands on the table. Tommy doesn’t say anything back and Sam feels a warm fabric wrap around the injury before being tightened by the bandages. “Good job.” Sam praises, finally glancing over at the boy before looking down at the now clear wrapping. “You’ll be a pro in no time.” the hybrid says again, smiling down at the boy despite the fact the blonde couldn’t see the lower half of his face. Tommy nods his head enthusiastically, a bright smile forming on his face. “Of course I’m good at this, I’m good at everything.” Puffy chuckles at the teen’s words, a small grin of her own forming at the interaction. Sam glanced down, Fran settles by his side with a doggy smile of her own. This felt...Normal. “Are you well enough to continue construction-?” “Tommy,” Puffy says, her tone authoritative but calm. “No no, It’s fine. I think we can continue.” Sam reassures the both of them, watching Puffy’s expression twist to concern “Are you sure?” the sheep-hybrid questions once more, her eyes gazing over him with uncertainty flooding them. “Yeah-” “I’ll wait for you by the Hotel then!” Tommy exclaims, excitement and Relief in his tone. Sam chuckles as the teen runs out of the house, disappearing as the front door closes behind him. “Sam…” Puffy trails off, a frown taking her features. “I’m fine now, Puffy.” Sam says, getting to his feet “I still don’t think you’re ready to keep building.” The whitette argues, pushing herself up from the table, “I was worried you were lost…” Puffy trails off, eyes turning dark and glossy. Sam places a hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder. “I won’t let that happen,” Sam reassures, rubbing her shoulder before stepping away, quickly grabbing the woman’s hat and placing it back on her head. “You should go see Tubbo, He’s probably wondering where you are,” Sam suggests, watching the woman’s expression of sorrow change to worry. “Right, Just...Be careful, alright.” Puffy says, grabbing her weapons and equipping them before exiting Sam’s base with a wave. Sam grabs his items, along with a few building items and his communicator in case Tommy wishes to speak with ‘Sam Nook’ before patting Fran on the head and leaving himself.
__________
Puffy stumbles a bit through the soul sand towards Snowchester, She hadn’t been back to the little community in at least two days and she was worried for her ducklings residing in the area. Foolish was usually fine, he stayed to himself and hadn’t made any enemy’s but Tubbo was a different story. Tubbo didn’t appear to have any enemies, but Puffy had an increasing Suspison towards Jack Manifold, the man had come very close to the boy and Puffy suspects it’s for malevolent reasons. It was just Jack’s mannerisms around them and the Way the man glares at Tommy when the blonde visits the community. Something was up, so Puffy made a promise to herself to visit every day and make sure everything was okay, she was also quite worried about him when she heard he had also been exposed to the egg, but He seemed fine after being soaked in holy water for a few minutes. The sun had just set over the sky when she finally arrived in the town, wrapping her red coat tighter around herself as she shuffled over to Tubbo’s home, knocking lightly on the spruce door. A small smile grows on the sheep-hybrids face at the sound of muffled footsteps rushing towards the door, a head of dark brown hair peeking out the door with Wide eyes “Puffy!” the brunette exclaimed, Puffy bringing a finger to her lips to quiet the teen down. Tubbo opens the door wider, allowing the woman to slip in, the whitette ruffling his hair in the process, making sure to mind his horns. “I was worried you wouldn’t be back,” Tubbo admits, shutting the door quickly behind him as Puffy pulls off her hat, setting it to the side. “I’ll always come back for you.” The woman says, Voice soft as she pats the teen’s head. Tubbo grabs her arm a small sniffled leaving him before wrapping the slightly shorter woman in a hug. “Aw, it’s alright sweetie…” Puffy says, holding the boy close as he cried into her shoulder. “D-Did something happen?” Puffy decides to ask, confused by the boy’s switch in emotions, he’d never acted like this around her before. “I-I...T-Tommy almost died…” The brunette manages to get out, words barely understandable “What?” Puffy says quickly, pulling Tubbo back by his shoulders. “I didn’t really think about it till now...they were so close to the blast zone.” Tubbo takes a deep breath before letting out another cry “I almost lost him again.” Puffy wraps the teen in a hug again, walking him towards the bed in his house and setting him down.
It was quiet for a while, Puffy sitting by Tubbo as he cried, attempting to comfort the teen and get some kind of answer. “What happened, Tubbo? You can trust me.” Puffy reassures, running a hand through his hair gently, the teen’s cries falling into small sniffles. “W-we were testing...the nukes..” Tubbo said quietly, unsure to continue as Puffy’s face twists to concern “Nukes? Tubbo wha-” the boy shakes his head, not speaking. Puffy sighs, patting the brunettes back. She’ll ask later, at a better time. “It’s okay, tell me what happened?” Puffy urged the boy to continue speaking. It’s silent for a few moments, only the sounds of the snow falling outside filling the silence. “Niki a-and Tommy were nearby...they almost got-” Tubbo cuts himself off with a strained noise and Puffy pulls him into another hug, Her eyes narrowing at the mention of her fiancee. Niki...when was the last time Puffy saw her? When the blonde burned down the L’mantree, the despair and sorrow in her brown eyes as the tree burned, the country she so loved, reduced to nothing but a hole in the ground. Puffy pressed her face into Tubbo’s hair, mind drifting to his previous words. Hbomb had spoken with Niki, retelling what she had told him to Puffy. How she had seemed more...deranged than before and Puffy saw it for herself when the entire server went to Save Tommy and Tubbo. Her blonde hair was gone, cut short and dyed a neon pink color, face dirty and wearing the ripped remains of Wilbur’s old coat, a coat Tommy had worn during his exile, How Niki had gotten a hold of it escaped Puffy’s mind but the look on her face when she saw the two was nothing but hatred, and that scared the hybrid. Puffy felt tears sting the corner of her eyes before a thought rings through her head that made her blood run cold, Did Niki lead Tommy out there to kill him? No, Niki would never- she...she…
Puffy clutched the boy to her chest tighter, tears dripping down her face. “P-Puffy?” Tubbo’s voice broke her from her thoughts, “Y-you’re squeezing me a lot.” the brunette says, Puffy’s eyes widening as she released the teen “Oh, I’m sorry honey-” “It’s fine, are you okay?” Puffy wiped her face a bit, before turning to face the boy, a warm smile gracing her features. “I’m alright.” she says, ruffling the boy's hair again before getting to her feet. “A-are you leaving?” Tubbo asks quickly, attempting the get up himself only to be pushed back down by the hybrid “No, no. I was just gonna grab some food. Are you hungry?” Tubbo shakes his head, bringing his knees up to his chest. “Alright, you should get some rest then.” Puffy says, giving the teen a smile “O-okay.”
Puffy shuffles over to the chest in the house, feeling Tubbo’s eyes on her back as she does, before she hears the brunette shifting a bit as silence overcomes the house. Puffy digs in the chest for a minute, finding a little box filled with her own cookies she had given to the boy as a gift when she moved into Snowchester, the box half empty. A small grin forms on the woman's face as she sets the box back into the chest, digging around a bit more before finding some baked potatoes. Puffy grabbed two and stood by the front door, taking a bite out of the cold food item, eyes gazing out the holes in the windows as the sound of soft snores reached her ears along with the mobs moving around the forest nearby. The woman frowns, her thought drifting back to Niki and the egg, should she have searched for Niki sooner? Maybe she could have helped her, but the egg is taking over the entire SMP, it isn’t just something she can ignore. Puffy wasn’t dumb, neither was Sam, they both knew Tommy had a price over his head and they were adamant on keeping him safe from the people out to get him, which seemed to be much closer to home than she had expected. The hybrid allows her eyes to close, leaning her head against the wood of the house with a small sigh, stress building in her chest as her mind continues to wander. Puffy’s eyes snap open at the sound of branches breaking behind the home. The noise didn’t seem to bother the sleeping teen but Puffy’s nerves sky rocketed. The woman grabs her sword, readying it in front of her as she carefully exits the home, turning herself towards the forest where the sounds had come from. The woman glanced around for any mobs, the sudden lack of any causing her mind to panic, she had just heard them though, Where did they go? The sheep tightens her hold on her sword as the trees shuffle loudly in the distance, a faint cry of some kind reaching her ears, someone is out here. Puffy keeps her sword ready as she carefully traverses the dark area, as the sounds get louder, Puffy decides to speak “who's there?!” the woman called out, her voice hinted with aggression, she has no Idea if this person is a threat of not. As her voice rings out through the dark trees, the sounds of movement stop, the forest falling eerily silent. “Hello? I know you there!” The woman calls again, hoping to pinpoint exactly where the person is. “D-Do you need help?” Puffy tries a softer approach, hoping to coax the person from the trees. “If you aren’t gonna hurt me, I won’t hurt you.” Puffy speaks, her voice falling softer as she speaks. Another rustle in the trees above reaches her ears before the sound of something heavy hitting the snow muffled echoes. Puffy narrows her eyes as a figure appears from behind a tree, their hand appearing first, followed by a head. Puffy’s eyes soften. Their features become more profound as the light from the moon peeks through the trees. Messy h/c hair and glossy e/c eyes stared back at her, s/c skin contrasting against the wood their hand was laid on, The person- no, the child, who couldn’t be any older than Tommy, was dressed in a dark blue sweater, black pants and boots. Clearly nod dressed for the weather, “Oh…” Puffy trailed off, putting away her sword and taking a step towards the child. Their eyes widen as the woman approaches and Puffy hears a loud swishing noise before she is greeted by a large white wing coming from behind the kid, the h/c child curling it around themselves as to protect them. It was much larger than their body, reaching the edge of the spruce trees. “Oh.” Puffy says again, this time with surprise lacing her tone. “Hey, I won’t hurt you.” Puffy speaks quickly and softly, hoping to calm the clearly terrified winged teenager. “Are you hurt?” Puffy asks again, remembering the cries she heard on her walk over. The kids face falls, before the sidestep out from behind the tree, revealing their other wing, that looks to have been mangled. The white feathers stained a red color, an arrow sticking out near the top of the wing, the bottom half looked like someone had tried to rip it in half. Puffy raises a hand to her mouth, eyes wide at the sight. “God…” Puffy trailed off, a sick feeling growing in her stomach at the thought of what could have caused the injuries, before deciding it would be better to ask questions later. “I can help you, follow me.” Puffy promises, watching as the child's e/c eyes looked her up and down before nodding their head.
__________
Puffy took the kid to Foolish’s house, knowing her duckling had lots of healing items in his base that he wouldn’t mind her using. The woman's heart wrenched as the child sat down in the light, their clothes were in much more disrepair than she thought, scratches and bruises lacing their arms and, most sickening of all, the black and blue hand marks around their neck. Puffy grabbed some supplies from the chest in the house, quickly moving the tend to the gravest wound the child has, the tear in their wing. Puffy wasn’t 100% sure how to stitch up a wing, but that wasn’t about to stop her. The child had scrunched the wings close to their body, and Puffy reached over, grabbing the ends and carefully pulling it out to look closer at the damage, the h/c teen wincing as she did so, but not flinching away. “What happened to you?” Puffy questions, making sure her voice is clear of any emotion except for sympathy. The kid doesn’t speak, keeping their eyes on Puffy’s hands as the woman pours a bit of warm water over the wound, the teens face scrunching up in pain as the water sinks into the wound. “Poor baby…” Puffy mutters, wiping the area clean with a towel, frowning as tears drip down the teens face. Puffy huffs, grabbing the needle a thread to stitch up the injury. “This is gonna hurt, but you need to try and stay awake, alright?” Puffy says, watching as the h/c teen nods. Puffy makes the first incision, carefully slipping the needle through the wound and closing it together, ignoring the whimpers coming from the owner of the wing. After a minute, even though it felt like hours, Puffy cut the thread, a small frown forming on her features as the feathers hid the black thread from her vision. The teen had placed their head in their hands, sniffling here and there. Puffy turned her attention towards the arrow still lodged in the thicker part of the wing, the woman having to stand to reach the area. Puffy sighs, glaring at the arrow as she noticed the familiar shimmer of enchantment lacing the wood. Without a warning, the woman rips the arrow out of the wing, a small scream leaving the teens lips at the action, “Jesus, I’m sorry baby.” Puffy reassures, quickly grabbing the water and disinfecting the wound before stitching it as well.
The room falls silent after that, Puffy gently tending to the less serious wounds on the kids body with her eyes narrowed in anger, clearly another person did all this, and Puffy could figure out why. “What’s your name?” Puffy questions, wiping a towel soaked in warm water over the teen’s bruised neck, the h/c child wincing slightly. “...Y/n” The teen whispered, their voice strained and raspy, as if it hadn’t been used for a while, but Puffy knew it was more because of the wound around their throat. “My name's Puffy, it’s nice to meet you, Y/n.” Puffy responds with a soft smile, the grin growing as Y/n returns it. “Are you tired?” Puffy asks, motioning to Foolish’s bed behind her, Y/n shakes their head, messing with their hands in their lap. “...I can’t stay here…” The h/c teen trails off, glaring towards the door “...They’ll find me…” the child trails off again, shaking their head. “Who?” Puffy asks, frowning as the child's eyes fill with fear “...the red.” Puffy raises a brow, unsure of what the Y/n is speaking of until a familiar egg flashes through her mind, could it be that this thing has spread elsewhere as well? Puffy kneels down next to the teen, a determined look in her eyes, “The egg, the blood vines, your talking about those, right?” The teen nods, their e/c eyes becoming glossy once again. “They...they wanna infect you?” “They can’t…” Y/n says, swishing their well wing a bit before looking at Puffy. “So they want to kill you, like Tommy…” Puffy says, her mind running wild with thoughts and theories as to what this could mean for both the kids. “Then you're right, you can’t stay here. But I know where you can.”
______________
Sam narrowed his eyes at everyone who walked by the build site that day, his brain filled with thoughts that he wouldn’t normally think as the day rolled by. Sam gave Tommy several tasks to do, keeping the boy away from himself as the egg's influence continued to bite at the back of his mind. When Tommy had failed to return with more dye, the creeper hybrid got nervous and went searching for him, finding the blonde asleep against a tree, it was quite clear that neither He nor Puffy had slept the night before so Sam wasn’t too surprised. Instead of waking him, Sam gathered the dye and then picked up the boy, carrying him back to his base as the sun had started to set anyway, there was no more work to be done. Sam left the boy in his bed, sitting with Fran outside his home, taking the unnatural rage in his brain on the mobs spawning around the area, the bloodlust only seeming to grow with every thump of mobs hitting the ground. Sam gripped his sword tightly, striking down another skeleton with ease, his head hammering as he continued to kill monsters, the whispers getting louder and much more profound. The man stood silent for a moment after slicing the head off of a zombie, staring down as it’s body turned to ash, leaving only it’s rotting flesh behind. A small, unenthusiastic chuckle left the green-haired man's mouth as his dark eyes gazed over the SMP. No, he won’t break to that stupid egg. Sam shakes his head, dropping his sword and bringing his hand up to clutch his head, beating his fist against the side of his head in an attempt to silence the voice. “S-Sam?” the man's head spins quickly towards the voice, Yellow eyes connecting with Puffy’s peachy Pink ones. The hybrid stood with her sword drawn, eyes wide as she gazed over him. Sam’s mind blanks for a moment, the voices increasing before vanishing completely, along with the pounding as he connects eyes with the figure standing behind Puffy, wings scrunched near their body as they stare at him, fear along with relief in their E/c eyes. “P-Puffy?” Puffy drops her sword, rushing over to Sam who slid down the wall of the target behind him, suddenly feeling drained. “Sam?! Fuck, you’re gonna be alright. Y/n! Help me!” Sam’s vision turns dark, only the voices and sound of movement fill his ears. Someone was speaking to him, Puffy’s voice filling his ears followed by Fran’s distant barking and Tommy’s yelling before his back hits a soft surface. “Christ Sam, I told you to take it easy…” “I-is he dying? Puffy?” Tommy’s voice rings through his ear before everything fades out.