Chapter Text
♡ ♥ On a peaceful sunny day, most people take the time to soak in the sun while scanning the crowded stalls littered with goods from the faraway trades and hard work of people. Gold jewelry glinted and caught the attention of rich ladies, their lovers close while constantly checking the endless stalls for something else that may catch their fancy. Weapons that attracted young hunters that couldn't tell coin from product. Foods that lulled those with a mid-day taste of sweets to the smiling faces of all the market traders.
People would also be expecting the desperate to be there. The beggars that glanced at the rich people who didn't clutch their purses hard enough, those who let their pockets linger open. Those people are the targets of a thief, the vulnerable who fall into your trap.
It was a good particular day, for you anyways. Coins would go undetected in peoples pockets until it was too late, a nimble hand easily finding its goal and making a clean getaway. You didn't make yourself obvious to your deeds. Your findings being quietly handed over to your assistant Ranboo, whom was also a very close friend.
The small boy was driven out of his rich home after showing difficulty in taking over the family heritage due to his memory loss, so instead his brother took his place, leaving him to become a forgotten part of his old name.
Thankfully, when you found him, you could see how broken he was. Without a person to rely on, and you being lonely, you found each other. You kept him away from the actual stealing party however, and made him come and take the coins from you in the crowd and hide them away in your designated safe zone. He was just a boy, and you were going to make sure he kept that innocence for as long as you could. The day would last until the sun cast the sky in a golden glow, the warmth of the sun fading into the restful state of night.
With the stalls closing, you chose your last target for the night without a care. A man from another world whom seemed to be late to the crowd, pockets bustling with gold coins. A wise man would never carry that much gold on one place of his body, not unless he was begging to be stolen from, or drunk.
And Piglin never normally came to the overworld to drink the over-worlds cheap ale.
You should have seen the signs. The golden crown, the tall stature of a fighter he carried. You should have known it wasn't that easy. With a second glance too late, hands already nimbly buried into his pocket, did your eyes catch the golden blade skillfully unsheathed and placed at your wrist. Your heart lurched as the skin of your wrist was nicked, drawing just a drop of blood. No one seemed to bat an eye at the thief that had been caught red-handed, and you could feel Ranboo's eyes in the shadows, watching as your fate changed.
"Give me one good reason you shouldn't lose your hand here on this dirty street." The Piglin spoke, voice easily demanding your attention. His breath was hot, uncomfortably so, but what else did you expect from a man from the deadlands of the Nether. With lakes of lava did they build their castles, high and mighty like their fighters. Despite this, he kept it low as to not attract any of the market traders that were packing up, nor the guards that lingered around occasionally.
Your eyes scanned him carefully, pink hair carefully slipping past the band of his skull mask that hid his face from the eyes of all. The features of the Piglin stood out to your eyes, the twitch of his ears and the red eyes you could see from the bone looking at you like a pest, he was from the hard environment of the Nether, and there was no mercy there. His sharp jawline accompanied by his two fangs poking out from his bottom lip that were curled into a frown.
You could feel your will wish to tremble, but any of your remaining pride stood stronger than the fear that grasped you. You would not die here, not when you still had Ranboo to protect.
"I'm trying to provide for my family." You spoke honestly, for you couldn't afford to lie. You kept your eyes trained on the Piglin's red ones, unwavering as you tried not to seek for the one you spoke of. He could probably smell your fear as his eyes looked around, searching the shadows for anyone else that could be close. You prayed that Ranboo would remain hidden, and not make himself known.
Your prayers went unanswered.
As nimble as he was, Ranboo wasn't stealthy, and being half Enderman meant that he was easy to pick from the crowd. He ended up knocking over an empty pail the maids nearby would take to the well. The metal clanged on the worn stone path of the city, attracting the Piglin's attention. You sucked in a breath as Ranboo peaked over the crate he was hiding behind, red and green eyes glowing with concern. His monochrome look catching anyone's attention.
The man from the Nether looked down to you, then to Ranboo, noting the worried looks the two of you gave each other.
With a sigh, he withdrew his sword, allowing you to retract as the sword remained in his hand. The other dug into his pocket and clasped a few coins, not caring for the amount he had. He tossed them on the ground towards you, causing you to look up in confusion. He just let out a grunt and went on his way, sparing one last glance at the two of you before continuing.
This was new.
Looking towards Ranboo, who was currently running to you and engulfing you in a hug. You could feel his little frame shaking as you held him close, gold coins from the Piglin in your hand. Your eyes were wide as reality sunk into you, only realizing the kindness the man had shown you.
You hoped you didn't have to repay him later on.
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When returning to your 'humble abode', the first thing you did was collapse on the floor, dust flying up in your senses. It was a simple attic in an abandoned church that was left to rot on the outskirts of the city, a zombie attack from many years ago to cause panic and superstitions about the place.
The adrenaline from the past hour had finally drained, and the heat of the sun had left a hefty burn on her arms and nose. the bag of earnings were placed on a table as you empties the contents, eyes quickly counting out the silver coins stolen, and the few gold coins given to you by the Piglin. You held a coin on the tips of your fingers, absorbing the heat from the coin. There was no doubt the gold was taken from the Nether, the warmth permanently absorbed into the coin.
You didn't ponder on it too long, quickly pulling the coins back and pulling the drawstring. It would last you a little bit longer in the winter to come, but you still worried you didn't have enough for the both of you.
Ranboo was undoing his boots as you went to prep the stove, throwing a few chunks of wood into the pit before lighting it up and closing the door. The metal surface began to heat as you began to prep some porkchops you managed to swipe from a stall earlier. It was a treat compared to the dried foods you would normally have, for you needed to store as much as you could before the winter came.
That reminded you, you both needed fur coats for the winter, or you would surely freeze. You added it to your mental list that just seemed to keep growing, it worried you.
"(Y/N), are we going to make it this year?" You heard the soft voice of Ranboo, whom was now standing behind you. It didn't matter that he was years younger than you, for he was already taller than you by a little bit. Although he didn't say anything, you knew he was proud of his height.
But as you repeated the question in your head to yourself, you realized you couldn't answer it yourself.
"Ranboo, if we stretch things out this year, we'll make it just fine." You tried to convince him, and it worked. The momochrome boy nodded before taking your place in cooking, allowing you to relax for just a moment.
You took a breath to try and run any stress out of you, undoing your boots and feeling the pain release as you sat down, if only for a moment. The sizzling of meat on a grill and the warmth of the stove seeped around the room, the gas lamps casting a warm light. You went to grab a nearby box on the table you sat at, a couple of new and used rolls of gauze inside. You wrapped up any small wounds, taking an extra look at the one on the back of your wrist that the Piglin had given you.
Your mind wandered back to the moment when you thought your hand was a goner. Pondering why he spared your life, you leaned back into the chair and closed your eyes.
You felt almost relaxed, until you heard the wolves howl.
You were quick to your feet as you retrieved your boots, hooking thee straps on and throwing a nearby crossbow on your back. Ranboo flinched at the sound, placing the porkchops with vegetables he collected from the woods. He had learned many things when he lived with the nobles, but only remembered what he was truly interested in. He also loved to write down his events into books, hence the scattering of leather and lose paper he would stitch into homemade books.
He was truly a talented boy.
"I don't think this is a good idea (y/n)." He admitted, ears folded back along his head. You would never allow him to follow you into the woods when tracking wolves, for you didn't want him to get picked off. His tail swayed nervously, and he looked like he wanted to come with you, but you shook your head to dismiss the idea.
If anything, it seemed you were more likely to get picked off.
"If we get these coats, we don't have to trade for them. We'll have enough money for us to get past winter. It's worth the shot." You said, tucking the carving knife on your thigh holster above your pants. The wolves howled once more, and shooting Ramboo a smile, you left through one of the holes in the ceiling.
The air was crisp with the threat of winter on your tongue, but it was still unable to snow thankfully. You had to find these wolves fast, before they moved on from their spot and you missed your opportunity.
You were thankful they were bring vocal tonight, their howls leading you right to their positions. Pulling on your cloak, you breathed out a chill as you came across a camp that had been left just a little bit ago. Whoever was here, had obviously left to follow the howls of the mighty wolves. You grunted as you continued your search, nearing a bloodies trail that lead to whatever they were hunting.
You weren't expecting them to become the hunted.
The Piglin from before was slaughtering any wolf that came too close to him, diamond axe glimmering in the halfmoon as it sliced through another wolf that tried to bite at his ankle. The creature whimpered and backed away, another wolf taking its place. He was easily outnumbered, and for a moment, your mind pondered to come back to his corpse and collect the remaining gold he had in his pocket.
A wolf had broken his line of sight and made it behind him, stealthily opening it's jaws and getting ready to attack his neck. You looked at the Piglin fighting, his breath labored as his eyes darted to the many wolves surrounding him. Seeing his red eyes flash behind his mask, you could tell he was holding back in hurting these wolves. He hit them with the blunt of his axe, his fists, anything to avoid blood.
He didn't want to kill them.
That was your moment you made your decision.
Appearing from the edge of the forest, you stretched out your hand as you closed your eyes, focusing on the auras of the living things around you. You could sense the fearful anger in both the wolves and the Piglin, clenching your hand, you let the ancient words slip past your lips and through the ears of those around you.
"ᛏᚺᛁᛋ ᛗᚨᚾ ᚺᚨᛋ ᛋᛈᚨᚱᛖᛞ ᛗᛖ ᚠᚱᛟᛗ ᚺᛁᛋ ᛒᛚᚨᛞᛖ, ᛋᛟ ᛁ ᚨᛋᚴ ᚤᛟᚢ ᛋᛈᚨᚱᛖ ᚺᛁᛗ ᚠᚱᛟᛗ ᚤᛟᚢᚱ ᚠᚨᚾᚷᛋ."
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