Chapter Text
Theo sprinted, Robin laughing behind him. Robin’s father yelled at them to stay out of the forest, and he yelled back for a moment, saying something about how he would.
Robin finally caught him, throwing himself onto him and knocking Theo to the ground with an ‘oof!’
“Theseus Simon Clementine! You give me back that bag of cashews, you-”
“Okay, okay, relax!” He handed the bag to Robin, who flared at him before taking a large bite of the cashew pieces to show Theseus.
“Fine, fine, you can have some .” Robin gave up after seeing Theseus sulking by a tree, rummaging in the pockets of his overalls for some snacks.
He dropped a handful into Theo’s extended hand, and he happily munched on the nuts.
“Hey, Robin?” A hun came from the boy in question. “D’you remember your mom at all?”
Robin’s shoulders hunched, and he gripped the cashews tightly.
“Not much. I remember she was nice and warm, but… That’s about it. My dad says she was very nice, though.”
Theseus hummed.
“I don’ remember my parents either. Catt says I was on the side ‘f the road when he found me.”
Corpse Catt had found him when he was young. The cat hybrid (everyone knew hybrids existed. Not everyone had the pleasure of meeting them, though. Theseus was a hybrid though, an avian,) had seen his wounds and felt sorry for him, taking him in. While he hated being pitied, he was glad. If Corpse didn’t take him in, he didn’t know what would have happened. He would’ve never met Robin.
Corpse and Robin’s dad had met at a bar, and grown closer. Corpse ended up moving to the same village, and Theseus was overjoyed to be able to spend more time with Robin.
The ginger had happily shown him around the surrounding forest, Krow (that was Robin’s dad. They’d stuck with the bird theme for names,) giving them stone swords to battle off any mobs they might find and a loaf of bread to split.
Robin had managed to barter a week’s worth of cleaning for Helga in exchange for a large bag of cashews, as well as some oranges. They’d happily bit into them, and Theo’s eyes had widened when he tasted the sweet and bitter flavor.
“We should get going back, Bird.” Theo brushed any crumbs off his overall pants, and Robin stood up nodding. He licked his fingers, and they began to trample through the woods together.
“Welcome back.” Corpse nodded at the boys. “Krow went hunting and found a cow, so we’re having steaks tonight.”
Robin and Theo let out excited shrieks, whooping as they ran at each other. The pre-teens hugged each other tightly, smiling. They’d been living off of mushroom stew recently, which he disliked greatly.
Steak was a luxury.
Robin and Theo laughed at the dinner table, Corpse and Krow having their own conversation regarding the mayor’s clearly adulterous wife, and how he just ignored it rather than dealing with it.
Theseus and Robin didn’t understand what that meant, so they happily talked about a squirrel that had come near them.
“Yep, I’m namin’ it Clementine!” Robin said, and Theo shook his head.
“Clementine isn’t a good name for a squirrel, Robin!”
“Shut up, it definitely is!” Robin protested, and Theo growled at him.
“Bird, the second we’re done eating, I’m gonna’ hunt you!” Theseus protested, and Robin stared for a second before smiling.
“If you can!” Theo slammed his palms into the table, growling.
“Why you little-” He was ready to jump up and strangle him. Krow and Corpse both glared at him, and he sat back down. He’d already sat up, apparently.
“Just admit your jealous of my naming skills.”
“Am not!”
Krow gave them a glare, and they both began to shovel steak into their mouth, as well as some boiled potatoes.
When they finished, Krow had let Corpse stay over for the night, as well as Theseus. It was dark, and mobs were everywhere, according to them. It wasn’t safe to go, since Corpse had left his sword at home. Theseus settled down on a blanket over the floor, Corpse half a meter away from him. ( Three feet , his mind whispered. They didn’t measure in meters here.)
“Theo!” Someone whisper-shouted. Theo groggily pushed them off with a groan, rolling over to sleep again. “Theseus!” The voice called again, and he huffed.
“Wa’s h’pp’n?”
“Theo, c’mon. We can’t wake Corpse!” Robin shook him a bit, freezing when Corpse shifted in his sleep.
He resumed disturbing the great Theseus from his wonderful sleep to do…
“What are we doin’, exactly?” Theo asked, sitting up. Robin smiled, and pulled out the stone sword.
“Mob hunting.”
“But- Robin, there’s too many in the forest and none in the village! We can’t!”
“What, you chicken?”
“No, I- I’m not chicken, I just don’t wanna’ get hurt!”
“Sureee, chicken.” Robin folded his arms and looked away, and Theseus felt his heart drop.
“Wait! I’m not chicken, I- I’ll go!” Theo jumped up as quietly as he found, rushing to put his mended jacket over himself.
“I knew you weren’t! Well, let’s go!”
They found a moth, hiding it in a jar and Robin had felt particularly attached to a beehive they found, though they were forced to leave it as they grew tired.
Robin had promised the bees he’d be back (he’d made a pun . Unforgivable, if you asked Theo.) and they raced to get back to sleep. Robin was in his bed, and Theo in his bedroll of a blanket with a few mothballs at the end.
Morning came all too soon, in Theo’s opinion. He grumbled when Corpse had told him that breakfast was reading, serving a small bowl of mushroom stew.
Yuck.
He ate it though, swallowing it before it could stay on his tastebuds for too long and took a huge gulp of water from the glass bottle.
“Slow down there, Theseus.” Krow’s voice called from the hall, and he sent an apologetic smile before continuing to scarf down the stew as fast as he could.
The water helped with the aftertaste. He realized how much he loved water, and Robin and him went to milk the goat out back.
“Hey, Theo? Wanna go to the forest again t’night?”
“‘Course!” Theo just smiled at him, carrying the bucket of milk back to the house with Robin’s help.
They didn’t go. Krow had been drafted, and he had solemnly left the boys in Corpse’s care.
Corpse had begun to teach Robin pharmaceuticals, leaving Theseus to do all the grunt work, which included harvesting some of the plants once Robin had learned them well enough that he had known all the spots to find them.
Apparently Theo was strong enough to defend himself whereas Robin wasn’t.
He thought it was stupid, and as he bent down to grab some yarrow, he yelped in pain as an arrow pierced his back.
He screamed in pain, momentarily frozen in fear as the skeleton advanced. Bones rattled and scraped against each other, and odd rumbles came from it. The bow was drawn back again, and Theo scrambled back.
The tree he was up against left nowhere else to go, and Theo screwed his eyes shut as he heard an arrow fire.
Thunk.
It lodged in the tree. Theo opened his eyes only to see another arrow.
This one didn’t miss.
Theo was shot by a skeleton.
But…
Theseus didn’t die to an arrow. Theseus was thrown off a cliff, into uncaring waters.
While a hero may never have a happy ending, there is Elysium. And with that, a choice.
“ Respawn.”
