Chapter Text
“Techno! Come back, you’re too far away!” The young piglin brute hybrid heard his mother call from the house.
He muttered something and kept going, swinging a stick like a sword in front of him. A rustle in the forest to his left put him on alert.
“Who’s there?!” He demanded, holding the stick out in front of him.
A bush a few meters into the forest shook, and a rabbit poked its head out. It pawed at the ground, clearly stuck and trying to get free. The young hybrid lowered his stick and immediately went into the forest, slow and quiet so as not to spook the rabbit.
Placing the stick down at his side and kneeling down, he slowly reached over, moving the branches to the side to get a look at the small rabbit trapped beneath. Its foot was in a wire trap, the rabbit was pressing itself into the ground as far from Techno as possible, its nose twitching and sniffing the air. He slowly reached towards it, holding the rabbit down while he freed it’s foot. The second he had freed it’s foot and raised his hand, it sprinted away.
He shrugged and stood up. A few meters deeper into the forest, a red rose caught his eye.
“Mother would like that…” He mumbled, going over to it. He leaned down and picked it carefully to avoid the thorns. He smiled a little as he brought it up to his face, turning it over in his hands.
Snap!
A twig cracked behind him. He was about to turn around when something blocked his vision and grabbed him from behind.
“Hey! Let me go!” He squealed, kicking his legs out and dropping his stick and flower in the process.
His assailant grunted when Techno’s foot nailed him in the gut.
“He’s a fighter.” A gruff man’s voice said, as the little piglin desperately squirmed.
“Yeah. Bet he’ll fetch a pretty penny.” Said another, as his captor started moving.
Techno grunted, being thrown against wood. Struggling to rip the rough bag from his face and torso, he was thrown and jostled as the floor started moving, shaking, trembling like an earthquake. His small body was thrown into a wall. He pulled his arm free of the sack. He reached through a gap, squealing.
“Mother!” He cried, his panic stricken squeals and shrieks catching the attention of his kidnappers. He was able to wriggle out of the sack, peeling it away from his face. Through the gaps in the wall he saw the trees blur past, a sick, almost choking feeling washed over him. “No, no, no, no, no.” He started to cry, fat tears gathering in his eyes.
“Shut up back there!” One of the men yelled from in front of him.
Techno snapped his jaws shut, breathing in deeply like his mother had taught him. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he knew there’d be trouble if he didn’t calm down. Finally he was able to focus on his surroundings.
Techno was able to hear… more talking, this time between the two men. And horses. They were galloping. The cage he was in jerked suddenly when it hit a pothole. He grunted, being knocked around within the cage, splinters poking into him, and his head hurt. He curled into a corner, quietly sobbing until his mind clouded into unconsciousness.
. . .
When Techno woke up, the sky was a murky darkness, the last rays of sunlight fading below the horizon. His eyes stung from crying, and his stomach was aching; he hadn’t eaten besides breakfast that morning.
Voices. Voices beside him. Loud. They were loud. He lifted his head, rubbing his eyes before looking around. Crimson eyes darting around to figure out who was speaking. Two men and a woman were standing at the side of the wooden cage he was trapped in. One man leaned against the side of it, leisurely twirling a cigarette between his fingers. The other, who Techno recognised as the man who captured him, had a deep scar running across his cheek and was gesturing towards Techno. Seemingly bargaining with the woman, who was dressed in nicer clothes, a hat pulled low over her eyes. After exchanging some more words with Techno’s kidnapper, the fancy-looking lady stepped forward, leaning down to peer at Techno. Technoblade glared back, red eyes burning into brown ones.
“A piglin brute hybrid, huh?” The woman said in a strange, thick accent Techno didn't recognize.
“Aye, already pretty feisty. Gave me some good bruises.” Scar admitted. Scar. That’s what Techno would call him, for the scar that ran across his cheek.
“Huh.” The lady reached through Techno’s wooden prison, Techno rushed forward and lashed at her with his claws.
The woman sucked in a sharp breath, quickly jerking her hand back. Small droplets of blood forming along the scratches. Techno felt a small bit of satisfaction at that. The three people continued talking, while Techno went back into the corner, shutting his eyes tight. His mother would’ve been looking for him. Had she made sure to eat? Or had she overlooked it to try and find him? Had she even- no. No, she would’ve looked for him. She was his mom.
He was bumped and knocked against the walls of his cage as it was roughly picked up and not so gently thrown into a big fancy carriage. He looked around frantically and saw the lady whose hand he had attacked. She was darkly grinning at the little piglin hybrid, so Techno stood his ground and snarled at him. The woman left, idly tossing Scar and Techno’s other kidnapper a thick wad of cash.
The way the kidnapper’s eyes bulged would’ve been comedic if it were any other situation. They hurried off quickly out of Techno’s view, unfortunately they came back just as fast, much to Techno’s displeasure. The duo wore matching grins as they climbed into their carriage, out of Techno’s view yet again. The cage jerked as the lady’s carriage surged forwards, knocking the hybrid against the floor painfully. He hissed and pushed himself up, rubbing his surely bruising arm.
Techno was thrown to the floor again when he realized that with every bump that the carriage hit, led him farther and farther away from his mother.