Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time in a far away land, there was a kingdom. It was a place of beauty, a place of freedom, and a place of hope. The children ran along the cobblestone streets. The women who hung up their clothes out to dry simply giggled with them. Even the critters that roamed the woods in the kingdom's outskirts were peaceful. King Pop was a kind ruler who tried his best to serve his people, and his closest knights were his most loyal friends.

Then, one day, everything changed.

What felt like a great curse fell upon the land. Great famine affected every single citizen, an illness took hold of the wisest, and there was a decline in happiness. The curse came unexpectedly and without a known reason. The only thing the people could think of being the cause was the dragon, who was living in a large cave miles away from the kingdom.

An anxious red porcupine came into town one day. They lived up in the mountains alone and never ever dreamed of coming down into the kingdom. That is, until they got a great vision.

"I saw him, as if it was a distant memory" The porcupine began, playing with their quills nervously as a crowd of peasants surrounded them in the town square. "The hero with two hearts."

The porcupine went on to tell of a prophecy: The Hero with Two Hearts lived in this very kingdom. He was a warrior, who had both a golden heart—which would bring the kingdom great wealth, and a heart of fire— which burnt anybody that dared touch it.

The Hero with Two Hearts was destined to show himself, and to slay the infamous dragon once and for all.

As of now, there hasn't been a sign of said hero, but The Seer insists that he will come soon.

Where is he now?

Chapter Text

"Come on, FlipsaLot! We're going to be late again!" A french mouse squeaked out as he shook his green friend from a deep sleep.
The green bear soon arose sluggishly, as if he hadn't gotten a blink of rest in ages. Letting out a loud yawn, he got out of bed and followed his fellow men out onto the fields.

"This is the 3rd time this week" spoke another, a tall and slender lizard creature from another world unknown to most. "Is there something we need to know about, friend?"
"I'm fine, really." Flipsalot insisted as he let yet another drowsy yawn escape. "Perhaps the bedding is a bit rougher than usual."

As the 3 men approached the entrance to the practice field, the mouse couldn't help but notice a new mark on FlipsaLot's arm. A long scratch, down from his elbow to his wrist. It wasn't a deep cut, and it seemed to have healed itself well, yet it was still a troubling sight to see. Flipsalot was scratchless last night. At least, as far as he knew.

"Hey, Flippy. Whats that?" The mouse asked, pointing directly at the scratch.
Flippy was pulling out his sword from the weapons storage stationed just outside of the field entrance. However, the french mouse 's concern caught him by surprise.

"...Huh, I don't know. Again, must be from the bedding."
"I've slept in haystacks before and never got beaten up like that."

"Maybe I'm just more fragile than you are, Mouse." Flippy snapped back, drawing his weapon.

"Woah, Flippy. We're just worried, that's all" The lizard spoke calmly.
"You don't simply wake up in such a condition. Unless…"

The lizard and mouse exchanged glances before slowly turning back towards Flipsalot.
"Unless, what?" Flippy replied as he straightened a sparring dummy for him to practice his sword on.
"You haven't been sneaking out without us, have you Flippy?" Mouse smirked

Flippy felt his blood run cold at such an accusation. Of course he wasn't sneaking out! Why would he be? Then again, that would explain his recent spell of drowsiness despite receiving the same amount of rest as everybody else. Or at least, he had assumed so.

"No, that's ridiculous! Besides, even if I did, you guys would have heard me. I'll admit, I'm not exactly the most graceful."
The two exchanged glances again, this time nodding in unison.
"Pf, yeah you're right. If your sword skills are anything to go by." The mouse chuckled as he watched the bear stumbling around, missing the dummy over and over again.

"I can't exactly concentrate when you guys are snickering behind me! Shouldn't you two be doing something?'

"He's right, I should really practice my archery. Do you want to be my target?" The lizard looked down at the mouse with a light hearted grin.
"After last time? You better be using blunt arrows, Sneaky."

Flippy rolled his eyes as he listened to the two bicker behind him. Ever since they were Pages, the two had always been like this. It was pretty cute, actually. Although he was sure Mouse would put him in a chokehold if he were to comment on how they argued like a married couple. After a few hours of training, the group was about to head back to their bunks. That is, until they were stopped halfway towards the squire houses. A white horse trotted right in front of the trio, standing directly in their path. The horse was wearing a caparison with the royal colors and emblem sewed into its fabric. The three looked up slowly, and sure enough, King Popper (or simply "Pop") was on the steed.

"Gentlemen, I require your assistance." The King spoke boldly, yet with a strange air of kindness. He was still a ruthless ruler, mind you, but Pop had always been rather nice when it came to interactions with people below him. Almost fatherly, in a way.

The three men immediately got onto one knee, awaiting their king's request.
"Yes, m'lord."

The King cleared his throat.
"I have been watching you three closely for quite some time now, and because of this I have deemed you three worthy of your first ever quest."

Flippy blinked. A quest? Did he mean a quest as in 'fighting a dangerous beast's or a quest as in 'getting milk from the market'? Honestly, Flippy secretly wished it was the latter.

"Anything for you, m'lord. What is your request?" Sneaky said.
"I need you three to find the seer and bring them to me."

"The seer? You mean that crazy wench who thinks she can see the fu- OW!" Mouse began before he felt Sneaky jab his side with his elbow.

Flippy's ear twitched. It tended to happen whenever his "guide" would speak to him. You see, Flippy has had multiple guides throughout his life, figures that had helped him survive dangerous situations and make tough decisions. Although, they weren't always reasonable.

"Oh, the seer? I know where they live!" Flippy then blurted out, causing all three (including the king) to stare at him.

"...You do?" The King raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess." Flippy shrugged. It was more like his guide somehow knew, yet he himself has not spoken to them before.

The King paused before a smile arose on his face. Reaching into his coat, the king pulled out a folded map and handed it to Flippy. "In that case, I believe you should lead your group to him. I require his divine eyes to help me."

Flippy nodded.
"Yes, m'lord. I will travel miles and miles on foot just for you."
"Well, I don't know about miles…" Mouse mumbled to himself.

"Ah, no need. I shall lend you my steed, Flipsalot." The King booked before jumping off of it.
"You're letting Flippy ride a horse. YOUR horse, m'lord. Are you sure-" Sneaky began before being cut off.
"Positive. Now go! I do not wish to keep you out too late after sunset, as the beasts feed on weary travelers."
"We will not let you down, m'lord." Flippy arose from the ground, soon mounting himself upon the king's stead.

Soon, they all rode off into the distance. The time was now a few moments shy of sunset. The sky was glowing with a firey orange hue and the clouds sealed the gate to heaven.

Mouse, who had invited himself onto the horse, was already fast asleep and resting against Flippy's back. Meanwhile, Sneaky was in front of the group, helping clear away any obstacles in their path. Flippy had been leading them on a rather strange route. They began by walking through the town before taking a drastic turn into the woods, where they would wander around in seemingly random directions. However, they didn't get lost, as that soon lead to a cliff side dirt road, which was not visible to most of the kingdom.

"So, this seer lady...man...person. What are they like?" Sneaky asked Flippy.

"I wish I knew, I never met them in my life, actually. Something in my heart just told me this is where they are."

Before Sneaky could question that statement, the heroes found themselves in front of a narrow cave entrance with a ragged cloth acting as a makeshift door.

Mouse flinched awake as he felt the horse come to a sudden stop. He looked around, soon realizing they were far from home.

"I...guess this is the place." Flippy said before dismounting the horse.

"We'll uh, stay outside for a bit. To guard the horse." Sneaky gave the horse a small pat.
"Yeah, what he said." Mouse yawned.

Flippy glanced at them with a puzzled expression. Were they afraid? It seemed silly to be so. From what he heard from his guide, the seer is quite paranoid actually.

The Seer could see events from the far future, either mere moments or years before they occur. However, the seer does not know why or how these events happen. They just simply do, and they believe there is no way to change fate. That is also why the seer is responsible for sharing so many prophecies that have yet to come true. She wasn't a witch or someone with a heart of evil, however. Only it didn't sound that way to Flippy.
The green bear slowly entered the narrow entryway. The inside of the hallowed out cliff was dimly lit by torches on the walls. There sat a red porcupine wearing what seemed to be typical peasant clothing. They had a birthmark directly on their forehead and between the eyes.

"That's them" The guide whispered.

"Seer?" Flippy muttered, not wanting to startle them.

The Seer flinched, quickly turning towards the figure. They blinked slowly, as if trying to recognize the unknown yet somewhat familiar figure.

"Oh, Sir FlipsaLot! I have been expecting you!"

"...Sir? I'm just a simple squire still." Flippy let out a small laugh, flattered by the assumption nonetheless.

"Oh right, of course. Please do come in. And invite your men inside as well...if you want to."

Flippy glanced behind him. "I think they rather stay outside."

They both sat down at a makeshift table as the seer took a kettle from the fireplace and poured tea into two cups. It smelled of roses and cherries.

Flippy took a cautious sip of the hot drink.
"Since you foresaw me coming, I assume you know why I'm here?"

"Besides all the other times you've visited, no."

Flippy paused. "Other times?"

"Mostly at night. You always ask me to help tend to your wounds."

Flippy had no clue what they were talking about. "Perhaps you may be thinking of somebody else?"

"Your arm, I took care of that last night." The seer pointed at the very same scratch Mouse did earlier that day.

Now Flippy was even more confused. Nothing this seer has said so far made any sense whatsoever.

"I...I suppose that isn't important right now. We need to escort you to the king, you see. He hasn't told us what was wrong yet, but he needed your divine eyes." Flippy explained between sips of tea.

"Me? The King? Divine eyes? I am sorry, but I cannot control when my visions happen, nor what I can see. I would be no use to him."

"Don't be silly! You have a gift, my dear. I'm sure you'll still help in some way. Besides, you might be given a place to stay in the palace. The King is very kind, after all."

The Seer let out a little giggle. "So I heard. You like him a lot, don't you Sir FlipsaLot?"

Flippy's face went hot. While, yes he considered himself very loyal to the king, the seer's wording was more than troubling.

"I-I have no idea what you're implying. Plus, we should finish up this conversation and make haste. I made an explicit promise to my Lord and I would hate to return empty handed."

The Seer looked down at their cup before letting out a sigh. "I suppose it is only fate, I shall not fuss anymore. May we continue our meetings afterwards?"

Flippy stared blankly for a moment. "Sure thing…"

The Seer soon became overjoyed. "Yes! In that case, I shall join you on the journey back."

With that said and done, the two exited the cliff side. The heroes and the escorted Seer made their way back to the kingdom.

Chapter Text

By the time they exited the cliff side, it was already nightfall.

The path they took before was now obscured by a sea of shadows. The forest they had entered from was no longer recognizable. The trees were no longer there, as they had been replaced by crooked shapes— resembling claws of beasts than that of branches. The once gentle breeze was now a harsh wind, which brought with it a cold foreboding whisper.

"Oh dear, did anybody bring a torch or lantern?" Flipsalot piped up.
"No, our "generous king" didn't think to send us off with one." Mouse groaned, carefully stepping around so that his foot would not get caught by rogue tree roots.
"Perhaps he was expecting us to come back sooner?" Sneaky walked bedside Mouse, occasionally chuckling as he watched the smaller man stumble about.

"Well, hopefully we're close. I can't tell where we are right now, if I'm honest." Flippy sighed.

The Seer, who had been silent since they left the cliff side, was holding onto Flippy's shoulders as they rode upon the horse with him. If it weren't for their grip, Flippy wouldn't have been able to tell the seer was still with them.
"Stop!" The Seer suddenly spoke out, loud enough for the three to hear without making too much of a disturbance.

Flippy flinched, quickly making the horse stop dead in it's tracks. "What's the matter, Seer?"
The three stood in the middle of a large opening in the woods. The pale moonlight was just barely visible, but it did provide them enough light to make out their current surroundings a bit better.

"Draw your weapons" The Seer squeaked out anxiously, as if they were expecting something bad to happen.
"Hey sweetheart, what's wrong? You aren't fearful of the trees, are you?" Mouse teased playfully, not understanding the weight of the situation.

There was silence. And then, laughter.
"Mouse, that wasn't funny. The Seer is worried about something!" Flippy glared down.
"...That was not me." Mouse glared back.
"Not me, either." Sneaky said as well.

More laughter came from behind them. It was awfully familiar. Two very distinct laughs, sounding rough and rather high pitched.
Sneaky let out a gasp. "Thieves…"

All three men drew their swords, attempting to locate the source of the laughter. It only got louder without any sign of it's makers. It didn't help that it was very annoying to listen to after a while.

"Bah! Come out already, lâche!" Mouse growled, growing impatient.

Before he knew it, Mouse felt himself being picked up and then quickly back down. His face against the forest floor as hands attempt to find any valuables on him.
"Hey!" Sneaky snapped, shoving the hands away from Mouse.

Flippy was too focused on his friends to noticed another figure had been nearby. The figure suddenly latched onto the horse's side, startling it. The horse stood up on his hind legs as it attempted to buck the figure off of it. The seer rolled off, landing harshly on the ground. Meanwhile, Flippy held on for dear life, even as the figure got on.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Flippy huffed, trying to push off the figure behind him.

"Heh, wow. I was worried we were dealing with REAL knights! Good thing it's just a bunch of squires playing pretend." The figure laughed again, grabbing Flippy by the back of the neck. A dagger was held up against his throat.
"Now, you got any gold on you, royal ass?"

"I-I assure you! We don't have anything you would want. We were simply trying to go home!" Flippy croaked out.
"Bullshit! You royal types always got something on you." The figured snickered.

"Hey Shifty, why don't we just take the horse?" The other figure spoke up.
"LIFTY, what did I say about mentioning our names during heists?" The figure hissed back.

Shifty and Lifty. Two...kinda infamous thieves? They were certainly bad as in unkind, but they were also bad as in...bad. Whenever they were on the bounty list posted in the center of town, they were worth very little. They were more of an annoyance than an actual threat, so going after them was low hanging fruit.

"Oh, it's just you two. Of course." Mouse rolled his eyes at them.
"Just us two? You don't even care that I have a knife against your friend's throat?"
"Who said we were friends?"

Flippy shot a glare at Mouse.
"Look, we don't want any trouble, ok? If you let me and my friends go, we won't tell the king you tried to rob us."

"Would telling the king give us a higher bounty?" Lifty snickered.
"Hey yeah, you're right! How much extra gold do you think we can get for slitting his throat?" Shifty chuckled.

"Please leave if you both want to live! I saw this in a vision, and it will not be long before The Black Knight has your head!" The Seer spoke up once more.

The raccoon twins paused, turning their attention towards them.
"Whatcha doing out of your little cave, lass?" Shifty smirked.
"Wait, what did she say about The Black Knight?" Lifty looked between the two.

Shifty shook his head. "The Black Knight is only a myth. Everybody claims to be him, but nobody has ever actually seen him. Almost everybody that's taken a bounty has used his name."

"Oh, he is very real" The Seer stood up slowly "He's my closest friend."

"You're not friends with The Black Knight, and you aren't a real seer. Just admit you're some lonely peasant girl."

Shifty pressed the dagger against Flippy's throat, only a hair away from slitting it. All of a sudden, Flippy gripped Shifty's wrist. With what seemed to be the strength of 10 bulls, he yanked the hand away from him. He threw the thief off of the horse. Shifty crashed against the trunk of a tree with his back stabbed by a branch. Thankfully it wasn't far enough to had completely impale him, but it still hurt.
Mouse and Sneaky turned to look at Flippy.

Flippy swooped The Seer into his arm before setting them back down on the horse. Without making eye contact with the two other men, he raced the horse into a straight line.

"Wh- Hey! Wait for us, Flipsalot!" Mouse squeaked as he chased after the bear. Sneaky followed, leaving the two thieves behind.

Chapter Text

Before Flippy knew it, it was morning. He quickly arose from his slumber, just a tick before sunrise. Was that a dream? How didn't he remember the rest of that night?

He glanced over at the other beds and saw that his friends were still sound asleep. Hm. Well, Flippy didn't feel like going back to sleep right now. He had too much on his mind after that. Flippy decided to roll out of bed and perhaps go for a walk around the courtyard. He snuck his way out of the sleeping quarters, as to not wake the others up.

The sun was now peaking out from the distant hills. They brought a warm energy that eased Flippy's anxiety from the previous night, or dream, or whatever that was. The gardeners had recently planted some poppies around the edges of the walls, which made the place just a little prettier than it was before. Flippy took a deep breath. This was nice.

Suddenly, Flippy heard a booming voice from behind him. "Flipsalot!"

He flinched and quickly turned around. It was King Pop. Instinctively, Flippy got himself down on one knee with his head hung low.
"Y-yes, my Lord?"

"Get up please" King Pop sighed "and look upon thee too"

Flippy hesitantly got up from his position. King Pop was standing in front of him, arms behind his back. There was also another figure standing next to him, who seemed nervous before noticing Flippy.
"FlipsaLot!" The Seer smiled "It's nice to see you again. I was telling King Pop about your display of bravery last night!"

Flippy blinked. "My what?"

"No need to be humble about it, Flipsalot" Pop chuckled "I apologize for making you have to deal with those awful thieves, but from what I heard you put up quite the fight."

Oh, so that wasn't a dream. Perhaps he blacked out because he was in a fight, which made sense now that he thought about it. The last thing he remembered was having a knife against his throat. The cold blade pressing against his voice box, almost choking him. Even trying to remember a single detail after the fact was an impossible task and only led to a feeling of utter dread.
"Please-" Pop continued "Let me make it up to you three. Join the seer and I for a nice warm breakfast before you go out to train again."

Flippy blinked. Was he hearing his highness correctly? All three of them were being invited for a morning feast, all because of something he apparently did but had no memory of? Hm. Maybe his quarter mates could refresh his memory with more specific details.

"I-I shall go get them, your highness." Flippy bowed slightly.

"Excellent." Pop smiled kindly.

—

"We're going to WHAT?" The french mouse stared up at Flippy wide eyed as his friend told them the news.
"Yes! It's the king's way of thanking us for bringing the seer back safely!" Flippy explained cheerfully.

"Hm. You certainly seem to be in a better mood this morning. I suppose a nice breakfast is the least he could do after an awful night." Sneaky yawned before slowly rising from his bed.

The three made their way to the royal dining room. They could already smell the scent of food drifting throughout the castle halls. The savory meats, the sweetened bread rolls, and not to mention the fresh fruit from distant lands! Oh, they weren't even there yet, and it was already clear that it was going to be a luxurious morning.

The guards let the three men inside of the dining room. There sat the king, his heir to the throne Cub, and The Seer. The caterers were just about done setting up the table before the three arrived. The scent was even stronger than before, and there was more food than Flippy has seen in his entire life. He was surprised the table was strong enough to withstand the weight of it all.

"Please, sit down Flipsalot." The King smiled warmly, pulling out a chair right next to him.

Flippy's breathing stopped for a moment. He was chosen to sit directly next to the king? Goodness, what an honor!
"Of course, your highness!" Flippy squealed, hopping into the seat with a look of absolute glee.

Mouse rolled his eyes, taking the seat next to Flippy. Sneaky did the same, folding his hands politely on the table. Once everybody was seated, they all began to dig into the mountain of food in front of them.

One of the maids was helping Cub eat, which was a pretty cute sight to see. Cub was only two years old, and the king seemed to love him more than anything else in the world. Pop didn't mind reaching over to clean up Cub's face before the maid could. In fact, he laugh and smiled when his son did. Flippy had no doubt in his mind that Cub will grow up to be a great ruler like his father someday.

"This sure is a lot of food, your highness…" Sneaky stared down at the slice of ham on his plate suspiciously.
"Yeah, where did you get all of it?" Mouse shot a glare at Pop while slowly shoving a bread roll into his mouth.

"Oh you know. Fruit from the trees, wheat from the dirt. Everything comes from somewhere." Pop simply responded.

"Uhm, your highness. I'd hate to interrupt but-" Flippy turned to glance at his two friends "I'm sure we could talk about our trip to The Seer's home."

He had a feeling as to why his friends brought up the amount of food, but he'd prefer to not talk about politics. Especially since the king was being so nice to them! It would be rude to question his decisions.

"Right! Of course!" Pop didn't seem to have an issue with changing the subject in the slightest.

Mouse sighed "Well, I don't know what the seer lady told you, but I was very brave!"

"You screamed like a girl when Lifty jumped you." Sneaky chuckled

"Did NOT-"

"What about what I did? Not to stroke my ego I mean. I just…" Flippy paused as he thought of the best words to use. "...I actually don't remember. I don't remember anything after the thieves came."
The table went silent. Not even the sound of swallowing food could be heard.

"Oh, you were a complete asshole," Mouse continued. "You threw Shifty against the tree and pierced him with it's branch. Then you abandoned us in the middle of the woods while you carried the seer to safety."

Both Sneaky and The Seer nodded, confirming that is exactly what happened. Flippy was, without a doubt, horrified.

"I-I didn't kill him, did I?"

"Nah, I don't think so. He was still talking up a storm. It didn't seem like the branch hit anything too important." Mouse sipped loudly out of a cup.

Flippy was relieved to hear that. Still, he felt bad for hurting someone, even if they weren't a good person.

"You also had quite the temper when you dropped the seer off" Pop added on "Although hearing her side of the story, I could understand why."

"I-I didn't say anything disrespectful to you, did I?"

Pop only laughed, "Oh no, of course not."
Flippy let out a sigh of relief.

"I was brought here safely, thanks to you, and that is all that matters." The Seer smiled shyly.

Flippy looked down at his plate. He only ate about half of what he originally threw on there. He debated on eating any more, but started to feel bad about this entire arrangement. Even if the story was true, Flippy didn't feel like he truly earned it.

["Hey pal, keep your chin up"] His guide soon said, his voice echoing in Flippy's mind. ["Just finish what you got. Maybe stuff some bread rolls inside your clothes for the peasants."]

Flippy gulped. As loyal as he was to his king, his guide had yet to convince him of doing something completely immoral. After thinking about it, giving food (that was technically stolen) to the poorer residents felt like something he should do.

It wasn't long before the feast was over, and that the three were dismissed in order to continue their usual business. Not after Flippy stuffed the bread rolls down his shirt of course. The King didn't see that, right? He hoped not.

The three made their way out of the dining room, where Pop, Cub, and the Seer were left alone.

"...You say he's the one? From your prophecy?" Pop muttered, leaning over the table towards the Seer.

"Without a doubt, your highness." The Seer nodded.

Chapter Text

One shot- nutty x sniffles

It was still early morning in the nearby peasant village.

Most of the folks were already out in the field, harvesting what little they could this season. The fields were rather barren, barely enough food to feed a single horse. The peasants continued to gather as much food as they could, even if the effort seemed rather fruitless. It was at this point that hope was slowly trickling out of the minds of these poor, starving souls.

A green squirrel, dressed in patchy brown rags with a crudely sewed on hood, walked through the barren marketplace. Although stands were still stationed on both sides of the narrow cobblestone walkway, there was still very little to offer in each of them. The prices were also much higher than usual. That didn’t matter too much to the squirrel, as he often stole food no matter the price anyhow. He wasn’t a high threat thief or anything. He more so did it out of necessity. At this point, what was the purpose in trying to make a profit out of anything if everybody was struggling with the same issue?

Or well, mostly everybody anyway. He turned behind him, giving the sight of the castle in the distance a nasty glare. Everybody always talked about how “kind” and “generous” the king was, yet the squirrel had yet to see a single bit of truth in those claims. He was so sick of everybody praising that bloody king. Why, if he were as strong as 10 knights, he would be more than happy to behead him himself.

It wasn’t long until the green squirrel, who was not paying attention as to where he was walking, bumped right into a passerby. That was a normal occurrence in the market, especially with how little room there was in between the little shopping booths. However, the stranger didn’t continue walking as if nothing happened. Instead, they stood there. They were wearing a black cloak that was covering most of their face, yet the outline of an eye mask could be just barely seen.

“Hey, you” the stranger whispered, his voice sounding smooth and deep. “I know you.”

“Yeah?? I don’t know you, though!” The squirrel responded.

The stranger only chuckled in response.
“Thats a good thing. You’re that little peasant man who steals the apples out of the wicker baskets everyday, aren't you? Nutty?”

Nutty’s eyes widened “You aren’t a bounty hunter, are you?”

He doubted he would have had a bounty over such a small, petty crime. Still, the statement frightened him. What did this stranger want?

“The look on your face tells me everything. I am not a bounty hunter, and you are not on any list. I actually need you to do me a favor.” The stranger responded.

Before Nutty could reply, the stranger grabbed Nutty by the hood and dragged him over to a more secluded part of the village. A dark alleyway with damp moss coating each side of the stone brick walls. There was a faint scent, as if it had recently rained.

The stranger pulled out a map from his dark cloak. For a brief moment, Nutty could see a glance of what appeared to be...bard clothing? High quality fabric that was only reserved for the wealthiest, although it doesn’t seem like its been washed for quite some time.

“Do you know The Alchemist?” The stranger asked
“The Alchemist? Isn’t he that weird guy who lives in the middle of the woods?”

The stranger nodded. “I need something from him but, well, let's just say we aren’t exactly on speaking terms right now.”

Nutty considered for a moment. Meeting the Alchemist sounded cool, like REALLY cool in fact! However, he knew the Alchemist lived in isolation for a good reason. With the kind of knowledge he held, being able to make materials out of nothing and speaking in the strange way he does, the Alchemist was often a target to not so great people. Perhaps that is what the stranger meant by “not being on speaking terms”.

“What's in it for me?” Nutty shot the stranger a glare.

The stranger appeared hesitant for a moment before pulling something else out of his cloak. A medium sized bag full of gold coins. Now the source of those coins were questionable at best, yet there was only one thing on the squirrels mind;
“You got a deal, pal!” Without waiting another second, the squirrel snatched the bag out of the stranger’s hands. He was about to run off before quickly stopping. “Wait, what do you need again?”

The stranger laughed “I just need this special powder from him. It makes people fall asleep for a short period of time. It should be purple.”

“Right, right! Ok. I’ll be back” With that, Nutty ran off into the woods.

~~~

The woods were quite peaceful in the mornings. The sun would shyly peak from the branches above, leaving spotlights scattered throughout. This was especially helpful for the deeper part of the woods, where it felt as if the trees were consuming any traveler that wandered too far. There was a dirt road that the green squirrel followed, yet even that slowly became covered in twigs and mud. The Alchemist couldn’t have picked a more remote part of this forest, huh? Now Nutty wished he could afford shoes, as he felt like he may have stepped in a thorn bush a few miles back.

“Ow, ow, ow…” Nutty flinched with each step. He definitely stepped in one, ouch.

Eventually, the squirrel managed to find a small hut in the center of the woods. There was strange colored smoke pouring out of a crudely built chimney. Purple, that's right! This had to be the place. Before Nutty stepped forward, he noticed an abundance of strange fruit around the place. He didn’t eat before he left and was now regretting it. Hm, perhaps the Alchemist wouldn’t mind if he had one small fruit.

Nutty approached one of the mysterious trees, staring up at a reddish purple fruit. Even from here, it smelled intoxicatingly sweet and juicy. He began to reach up, yet soon realized he was far too short to even reach the lowest hanging one.

“Oh come on!” Nutty shouted, a bit too loudly.

The door of the hut slammed open. The squirrel flinched, falling onto his stomach. There stood a strange creature in a midnight teal mage cloak. His long snout with a mouth at the end of it was something Nutty had never seen before. That wasn’t a bad thing, in fact Nutty found the stranger quite cute. Wait, was he saying something?

“-Are you even listening to me?? I said LEAVE!” The Alchemist shouted at the squirrel.

“...Hi! I’m Nutty!” He responded cheerfully.

The Alchemist simply stared down at him with a puzzled expression. Looking down, the Alchemist noticed the intruder’s foot was bleeding a lot. He let out a tired sigh.
“Come on. Let me tend to your foot at least, and THEN you may leave me be.” The Alchemist rolled his eyes at the squirrel, helping him up as they both walked into the hut.

Soon enough, the squirrel was inside with all the thorns carefully pulled out of him. The Alchemist had out a strange liquid on his wounds, which burned like hellfire. It was only a brief sensation, however.

“Ah- the hell was that?” Nutty calmed down as soon as the pain settled.
“Hydrogen peroxide” The Alchemist said blankly.

Oh, those were the funny words Nutty heard so much about! Fascinating!
“Can you tell me more about it?”

The Alchemist simply blinked. This squirrel wanted to know? Really? He was simply used to people dismissing it as magic or witchcraft, or whatever fancy new word they newly invented to explain the unexplainable.

“I would but, I’m not sure you would understand any of what I had to say.”
“Maybe not, but I’d still listen anyway. It sounds cool! You sound cool.”

That caused another pause.
“...You must want something from me, correct? People only bother coming all this way if they need something.”

Nutty stopped to think. Oh yeah, he did come here for something!
“I got paid to get something for a friend. A purple sleepy powder?”

The Alchemist raised an eyebrow.
“What did they look like?”

“Uh, black cloak. Bard clothes underneath.”
“Figured much.” The Alchemist scoffed.

“Who is that guy anyway? He said he knew me, but I’ve never seen him in my life.”
“He’s just a creep who can’t mind his own business. He steals from the rich a lot, so thats the only ounce of respect I hold for him.”

Oh, that must be where he got all of that gold from.
“I don’t know, that sounds pretty cool. I wish I had the guts to steal from those rich bastards!”
“Despite being so high on the social ladder, they aren’t too smart.”

The Alchemist soon walked over to a large pot with a lid on it. He carefully scooped some purple powder into a cloth bag, then handed it to Nutty.
“Normally I would refuse The Silent Sparrow’s request, yet you did come all this way. It would be rude to send you off empty handed.”

“Oh geez, thanks- ...uh, one last thing.”
“What is it.”
“Can...can I have your name? Your real one.”

The Alchemist gave Nutty a baffled look. It wasn’t out of hostility, he was shocked that this squirrel cared so much about him after a brief conversation. Perhaps he was thinking too much of it. It simply wasn’t something he was used to with these kinds of interactions.

“...Sniffles.”
“It was nice meeting you, Sniffles! It would be nice to hang out again sometime! Maybe you can teach me how to make your potions or whatever!”

Sniffles let out a snort.
“Maybe. You should go now, while you still have plenty of sunlight.”

Soon, Nutty left the hut with the bag of sleeping powder he came there for. Sniffles also sent him off with the basket of strange fruit, as a parting gift.
“Farewell, Nutty…”

Sniffles watched the squirrel leave. He let out a soft sigh. He wasn’t sure what came over him just then, but something about Nutty opened up a part of himself he thought he sealed away years ago.

He looked forward to Nutty’s next visit.