Work Text:
“Pop’s? Are you sure this is safe? mama wouldn’t like you taking me out so far…”
“Bah! Humbug! You’ll be fine, sonny, I won’t let ya get hurt.”
Kevly stared up at their grandfather as uncertainty was buried deep inside of the kid’s eyes. They trusted their grandpa, of course they did, but their mom didn’t like her son being out so far into the forest, especially since they lived farther out in the country. That means that big wild animals that were violent and aggressive could hurt them both.
The dark haired child watched as their grandpa stepped forward in order to get around a bush, and they felt as if they had no choice but to follow. They didn’t wanna disappoint their grandpa, after all. Plus, being home alone was scary! There were so many creaky noises, and so many mice. Sure, Kevly taught themself how to catch them with bare hands, it was annoying having to keep putting them outside JUST for them to sneak in again!
They brought themself back to reality as they were walking after their grandfather. He was already kneeling down in front of something with his gun in position. He was carefully kneeled in front of a river.
Huh. Seems like he already found something to shoot.
Kevly carefully crept behind him and stopped, trying to see what their grandpa was shooting at. They didn’t see anything, but that happened sometimes. Pop-pop would see something that Kevly couldn’t. It always baffled the child, but they figured they’d be able to do that when they got older! They would continue thinking this, but they got snapped out of it again when hearing an earth shattering gun shot.
“Grandpa! What did you hi-”
They looked and saw their grandfather's gun drop.
“Pop-Pop? What’s wrong, you always told me to never drop my gun–”
“...Kevly.”
“Yeah, what is it? Do you need me to go see what you shot?”
“...Yes. Yes I do, Kev.”
“Okay!”
Kevly smiled and ran up ahead, kicking and splashing through the water of the clear river. They noticed a shiny, red-ish brown fish stuck behind a rock and grinned widely. The child looked back towards their grandpa and put their hands by their mouth to make themself louder.
“Hey Pops! I found a salmon stuck behind a rock, want me to get it?”
They listened for a response.
They didn’t get one, weird.
Kevly shrugged and grabbed the salmon anyways. They cut their hands on the scales a bit, but that’s normal.
What were they doing again?
Oh, Oh yeah! Seeing what Pop-Pop shot.
They continued their mission and kicked passed some bushes, trying to find what their grandpa had shot in the first place. The smell of fresh blood hit their nose, so they knew he shot something.
“I smell blood, so you did shoot something, grandpa!”
They called back and smiled, and got no response in return. He was just… kneeling there. But now he seemed to be frantically writing something.
Weird. It was getting a little freaky at this point…
But Kevly decided to focus back on the task at hand.
They pushed a tree branch out of the way and peaked behind it. The blood smell was definitely coming from here, so why didn’t they see anything significant?
Oh.
Oh that’s why.
There was a blood trail running along a pathway.
“GRANDPA, WHATEVER YOU SHOT RAN AWAY!”
They called out, but they got a hand placed on their shoulder. They looked up behind them and saw their Grandpa’s face.
“Oh! You got up! But yeah, whatever you shot-”
“Kevly, I need you to run home. Now.”
“W- Why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, but something is coming and I can’t have it harming ya. Go home, now, and tell yer pops what happened. Give him this letter.”
Kevly got handed a folded piece of paper and they nodded. While they were about to take off, their grandpa ruffled their hair kindly.
“I love you, youngin. Always remember that.”
“Of course I will, Pop-Pop, I love you too!”
“Now run along, and stay safe. Pop-Pop has to deal with something…”
“On it, Pop-Pop!”
And with that, Kevly ran all the way home.
–
“Annnddd that was the last time I saw my grandpa!”
“That is… so sad.”
“It’s not so bad, Vampy. After all, I figured out what happened to him in the end.”
“Oh yeah? What was it, sweets?”
…
“A tad bit of a personal thing, I can’t tell you that bit.”