Work Text:
"Grab anything you can find. Fill your pockets as well", Margot ordered her brother as they entered the abandoned grocery store.
He nodded as a reply, before parting ways with her to go to the opposite side of the store. Staying together would take twice as much time to find edible food. They didn't have that kind of time. They had to grab what they needed and get out of there, before another mute showed up.
They didn't want to get into any trouble.
Margot was checking out the aisle with canned foods, figuring that they should try a bit of everything. Saying no to food could get them killed, after all. After filling her arms and pockets with food, she joined Rupert again to let him know that they had to leave.
"I'm just trying to reach this one thing", Rupert said, his tongue out in concentration as he tried to reach something high up on a shelf.
Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time for that. Voices could be heard nearing then somewhere in the distance.
"Hide!" Margot hissed, grabbing Rupert to hide with him behind a bunch of rocks that had collapsed from the roof.
They hoped that the voices would pass them by, but they weren't so lucky. Two Mod frogs entered the grocery store. It was the famous frogs Harris and Kwat - two of the human hunters in Las Vistas. They didn't often go out of their way to hurt other mutes, as they weren't a threat, but neither Margot or Rupert wanted to take that risk.
They observed as the frogs searched through the store, probably trying ro find food or humans who might have gone there to hide.
Luckily, they didn't get too close to Margot and Rupert's hiding spot. They see med to be discussing something and Margot go curious. She couldn't move, though. When they were just an aisle away, Margot managed to hear the conversation that was going on.
"We need to catch that kid. She's been beating the shit out of us everytime we see her", Harris grumbled.
Margot was confused. A kid? What kid? A human kid?
"Yeah. I thought you said she was as good as dead when she entered Deathstalker Territory?" Kwat said.
Nobody ever got out of Deathstalker Territory alive. The fact that this kid had managed to do just that, as well as beat their asses right afterwards, was a miracle!
"She should have been dead. She's what, five years old? No human child should be able to do what she does! And the wolfskin she's wearing... All I know is that the Humming Bombers have seen her going back there multiple times. She seems to live there now."
"If they know that she lives there, why can't they ambush her? I mean, they can fly, can't they? And last time I checked, deathstalkers live on the ground!"
"They're a bunch of cowards, that's why. Either way, we've got to keep an eye around that place. We might be able to catch her if we stay around long enough - make sure to let her know that we know where she's living", Harris said with a grin on his face.
He wanted to be the one to catch her. Words had been going around in the Mod Frog community that she was 'uncatchable'. He was going to prove them otherwise.
"Well, we might as well head back to the HQ. There's nothing here, anyways", Kwat said, grabbing a can of spicy soup before following Harris out of the store.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Margot and Rupert dared to get out of their hiding spot. Margot's eyes looked slightly dazed, and her face expression had turned stoic.
"Margot?" Rupert put a paw on her shoulder.
She shook her head quickly and looked back at him with a smile, although she still seemed a bit out of it.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her in a worried tone.
It wasn't doften that Margot would make that face. Unless she was thinking about their old pack before they were... Separated.
"Do you think they were talking about... Her?" she said, almost in a whisper.
It took Rupert a while to understand what her meant, but when he did, his face expression changed to match his sister's.
"... Yes."
Margot took a shaky breath. She always got slightly upset about being reminded of their former sister. Rupert knew that she felt bad about what happened. But they were kids! They had just done what they had been told to do by their parents. It didn't matter how much Rupert tried to convince his sister otherwise, because she would never let herself believe that it wasn't her fault.
"Let's just get away from here", Rupert said, wanting to get out of the grocery store before another mute ould want to check it out.
He held his sister's hand as they exited the store, pockets filled with food to last them at least a couple of days. Margot sighed, looking at her brother with a serious expression.
"At least now we know another place we should avoid."