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As the three of them, newly acquainted, walked down the streets of Reclaim, dodging between various people going about their business during the day, Runt looked around, adjusting one of the straps on her braces. She felt a dull ache in her knees, even with the braces to help stabilize her, and she realized how much walking and climbing she had been doing today. Somehow more than normal, which was a lot on her body, especially with all the stress of the last few hours.
When Runt looked up from adjusting her knee braces, she noticed that Blink and Troy were much further ahead of her than they were before. Their long, tall people's legs carried them efficiently and much faster than Runt could run after them.
She was starting to feel the ache in her legs, a dull throbbing pain in her knees that made it difficult for her to keep up with them, and every step she took jostled her ankles painfully. It didn’t help that her shoes were so old and ratted that there was barely any support for her feet, which made it even harder to walk without pain.
It had been a long day. She was tired, and the pain was gonna start making her cranky if they kept up with this. And a part of her had a feeling that the blonde one wouldn’t be too kind if she asked them to take a break for a little bit. But there was no way that she would be able to keep up like this, and she didn’t want them to think that she couldn’t help (because she could. She knew that they needed her. Runt had just been on her feet all day, and she really missed her crutches).
Yeah. As much as she cared for these two people that she just met (which wasn’t a lot, but they needed her more than she needed them), she wasn’t going to sacrifice herself and risk putting herself in more pain because they wanted to keep going. She was going to make a stop and they were either going to have to go on without her expert guidance, or just have to suck it up.
Her lungs wheezed with each breath that she huffed out of her throat, and she could feel the tingling of a cough coming on, her throat already squeezing in protest. Runt brought her elbow to her face and coughed into her shirt, forcing one foot in front of the other, nearly losing her balance with the lessened support.
Runt stumbled a little bit, pushing herself forward as much as she could to catch back up with the others. She reached out to smack Blink on the back and tug on his shirt since he and Troy were walking so much faster than her. The owl stumbled backward and gave a choked squawk, his feathers ruffling with surprise. His talons scraped the pavement and he looked back for a moment, not realizing that they were beginning to leave Runt behind.
“Hold up, beansprouts,” Runt bounded forward, forcing her body to move painfully with each step, the braces on her legs clicking as her ratted shoes thudded on the cracked pavement. “If we’re gonna be doing a lot of walkin’ still, I gotta make a stop first. And I ain’t gonna hear any crap about it.”
“Oh, uh, okay,” Blink tilted his head to the side a little confused at first, his feathers ruffled and he shifted away from her touch when she reached out to grab his shirt again. He clicked his beak thoughtfully, “It’ll be quick though?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Runt waved her hand dismissively, her goggles falling down in front of her face as she nodded forward. She huffed and shoved them back up to the top of her head, the dusty cracked lenses leaving a residue on her fingers as she moved. She rolled her eyes at the two of them, not lingering on the expressions that they were giving her.
They couldn’t possibly know why she wanted to stop, and she didn’t really care if they did know. Because she knew a lot of people that would give them a lot of crap if they decided to say something to upset her.
“Is it really necessary ? Don’t we have other places to be?” Troy asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot and looking around impatiently as if he were looking for something that wasn’t there. Every time Runt looked at him, his bright red outfit was glaringly obvious, even underneath the cloak that Blink had apparently thrown over him. It was obnoxious. He was going to get them all killed somehow, she was sure.
“Yes,” Runt hissed, stomping her foot, “Cuz if I don’t got it, I ain’t going with you.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, we can make an extra stop, it’s not too far from here, is it?” Blink clicked his beak again and held his hands up in a placating gesture . The rags that made up his clothes blew with a breeze of steam from a piece of machinery nearby.
“Not too far,” Runt looked around, shifting her weight from foot to foot to ease the pain in her legs a little bit .
She knew where they were pretty well and could probably easily get to Uncle Threestring’s place and back without much of a delay. It was getting the other two there, which may have been the issue. And it was the issue of getting there normally because Runt’s legs were really starting to hurt. She figured that if she tried too many dangerous climbs, she might not be able to make it even with the crutches.
“Just gotta trust me and follow,” Runt used the wall next to her as support, pushing past Blink to take the lead of their makeshift group. She didn’t stop to hear any of Troy’s complaints or any of Blinks' idle remarks to the human. She just powered forward, slipping through crowded winding streets that she knew like the back of her hand.
She had lived here her entire life and she knew the way around Reclaim better than some people could even hold a pencil. Surely Runt could figure out the shortest possible route without taking too many dangerous shortcuts and completely throwing them all off track.
Runt barely looked over her shoulder to watch and make sure the other two were following. They could get lost in the crowd for all she cared, she knew that she would be able to find them again. Or, well, they wouldn’t be able to get away from her for too long, she had been following them this entire time, even with all the twists and turns and weird roundabout routes that they decided to take. A little detour to her uncle’s wouldn’t throw her off too much.
“Where are we going?” Troy asked for probably the umpteenth time since they had started walking. His thick accent drowned out some of his words , and the loud chatter of people and hissing of steam around them made it extra hard for Runt to really understand what he was saying, not that she had any problem hearing.
“It doesn’t matter if I tell you, it won’t mean anything to you anyway,” Runt insisted, rolling her eyes and waving her hand dismissively.
“Just trying to get the feel of this place, since it’s so crowded and dirty. How do you people know where anything is down here?” Troy followed behind Blink, his feathered hand hooked tightly around the human’s hand.
“I bet up there is just as filthy,” Runt huffed, but even so the faint glimpse of the world above them was still engrained in her memory. Whatever that massive orb was in the sky, the many lights that they hung from the ceiling of their world, the beautiful steam and mechanisms that filled what had to be the entire city. She wanted to get her hands on some of the technology. It could do wonders down here.
Troy spluttered a bit at that and said some more insulting human words that Runt was beginning to get really good at tuning out. She ignored him and slipped down a smaller alleyway, the ground suddenly falling into a steep slope.
Runt crouched and easily followed the curve of the ground, the cracked pavement and rocks along the ground providing easy foot holds when going back up this way. She held onto the wall for support, her ear twitching at the sudden sound of Troy exclaiming something she probably should’ve been paying attention to, and then the sensation of wind whipping by her.
She watched the garishly red blur of color whizz by her, blonde hair and golden sled hitting bumps and sharp turns. Runt nearly stumbled in surprise as he passed her and nearly took her out with him, her balance already a little thrown off by the incline. Blink was shouting after him, taking a few steps that made it seem like he was going to try and stop him, but Troy was already gone.
It was hard to see what happened from there, but soon enough Runt heard a loud crash and the sound of a lot of things falling.
Blink groaned loudly and brought his hands to his face, pulling at the feathers near his beak. Runt hissed through her teeth and swore at him down the hill, not even sure how far he even got before he crashed into something. Were all humans this stupid?
Carefully, Blink and Runt made their way down the slope, on guard to make sure that no one heard the commotion and came to check on them. Thankfully, it seemed that anyone who heard either didn’t care, or no one heard at all. Which was good for them.
The steep slope didn’t do any wonders to Runt’s legs, but she managed to get down with only a few near falls and they managed to find what Troy had crashed into as well .
A stack of wooden crates and barrels that were full of who knows what kind of spices or liquids. What may have been a relatively neat stack was now laid in shambles, barrels knocked over, liquid and powders strewn across the ground, and various items spread about the area. There were pieces of broken wood and frayed ropes that had originally held the bundle together but had incidentally snapped from the collision.
Runt was shocked that no one came to investigate. Especially when it was stuff like this.
Not that Runt cared, but at least Troy hadn’t kicked the bucket from the crash.
He was a few feet away from the wreckage sitting on his sled looking a little dazed. A little bit of blood trickled from a wound on his forehead and he seemed a little more battered than before, but he wasn’t sprawled out on the ground in a pool of his own blood or anything. He’d be fine, he could walk it off.
When he saw them, he flashed a stupid smile and slowly began to pick himself up from the ground. His legs trembled a little bit and he had to use the wall of a nearby building just to get himself up to his feet. He swayed noticeably, and for a few blissful seconds, said nothing.
Then Blink started scolding him, his panicked voice not that far off from a squawk, “What are you thinking? Are you crazy? Scratch that, I know you are, but have you lost it?” Blink shook his head and actually did squawk , his feathers ruffling with annoyance.
“You can’t just show me a hill and expect me to take the loser way down,” Troy insisted, spreading his hands in a placating gesture . He still swayed a little bit and when he looked at them, there was something off about his expression, but he quickly blinked it away and shook his head.
Blink walked over and grabbed Troy’s arm again, fussing with the way the human looked, throwing the cloak back over his head and wiping the blood from his face with the already dirtied fabric. Somehow Blink was still trying to keep the fact that Troy was a human on the down low, even though it was glaringly obvious by the way he dressed and how he acted that he wasn’t from around here.
Runt rolled her eyes and limped over to them, “Keep moving before someone does come investigate.”
At least the two of them seemed to be listening to her, Blink nodded in agreement and Troy was forced to agree because Runt was pretty sure that Blink would never let him out of his sight again.
It was a lot different than any time she tried to get through to the Street Rats. Maybe Runt could get used to a group like this. They were stupid, so of course they needed someone like her, but they were the kind of stupid that for once they actually listened when she tried to boss them around. It was kinda nice.
Though the pain in her legs when she walked was less nice… Maybe she should’ve just asked to take a break somewhere instead of taking this whole other route just to get her crutches from Uncle Threestrings.
It was too late now though.
Runt kept walking, leading the two boys behind her with confidence. She didn’t want them to see that she was stumbling, although she figured it was probably obvious by the way she leaned against any building that was close enough. Her throat squeezed and she felt a few more coughs building up in the back of her throat which she only partially tried to muffle . She could feel eyes boring into the back of her skull and she couldn’t tell if it was Troy or Blink.
They took a few more sudden turns down back alleys and over a few locked fences that Runt barely managed to scramble up and over (hating to admit that Troy helped her with a boost for a few of them), they were on their way to the soggy palace that was Uncle Threestrings abode.
Thankfully there were no more downward slopes, and thankfully Troy seemed to behave himself for the time being , although there were a few disgusted complaints and awkward stumbling when they got onto the platforms over the water and the boards immediately began to sink. Runt just continued on , excited about seeing her Uncle even if it was just a short visit. She didn’t know how he would react to the two people that she brought with her, but there wasn’t a lot of time for that.
Troy and Blink hesitated just outside the house as Runt burst inside with very little restraint.
“Uncle Threestrings, I’m back, but only for a bit, I gotta grab something and go,” Runt called into the house, forcing her legs to move as she ran over to her corner of the room, her shoes scuffing against the soggy wood and causing the house to dip dangerously into the water.
“Back so soon, thought you just left? I’m not gettin’ that old, am I?” Uncle Threestrings called from the other side of the room, beginning to stand from where he had been sitting down. His face contorted into an old look of joy upon seeing her, and Runt smiled back, a little bit of warmth soaking into her aching joints from seeing a familiar face.
“Yeah, I just left, but I’m just grabbin’ some stuff really quick,” Runt said, rifling through her pile of stuff and picking up her crutches from the pile where she left them. It probably wouldn’t help much at this point, but it was better than nothing, and she hoped that at least they might get far enough to find a good spot to rest for a bit.
“Oh,” Uncle Threestrings croaked softly and made a noise that from anyone else would’ve sounded like pity. But he just sounded concerned. “I told you to be careful you know.”
“I am, I am,” Runt insisted, holding onto the handles of her crutches, slipping her arms into the cuffs, “This is me being careful, I promise. I’ll be back soon hopefully.”
Her uncle’s attention was suddenly caught by the two figures outside, he seemed to notice them through the cracked window in the door.
“You didn’t tell me that you brought some friends over,” Uncle Threestrings exclaimed, hobbling back over to where he was sitting to pick up his banjo as if he wanted to greet them. His eyes lit up a little bit and Runt almost felt bad about running away so soon. Not a lot of people came to visit Uncle Threestrings lately, he had to be lonely when Runt wasn’t there.
“Wouldn’t call them friends, and we’re just passin’ through,” Runt said, already swinging herself forward towards the door with her crutches. It took some of the weight off her legs, easing the strain and hopefully allowing herself to go on a little longer.
“Hm, alright, you be safe now, y’hear?” Uncle Threestrings warned wagging his feathered fingers at her as she went to the door.
“I will, I promise,” Runt smiled, shoving the door back open from where she entered. She used the crutches to help her balance, the wood wobbling dangerously in the water as she jostled the entire structure with her erratic movements.
Blink and Troy were waiting just outside where she left them, and they both looked horrified at the movement of the building, holding onto one of the rotted railings that had been built however long ago.
“Let’s go,” Runt insisted, nodding at Blink to lead the way. She smiled and settled a bit easier now that not all the weight and stress of walking was on her legs.
Blink said nothing, giving her a single once over, and then nodded. Thankfully with no questions, he began to cautiously hobble out onto the path that leg back to the main part of town.
It was Troy that the stares came from . Unsurprisingly. Runt clenched her jaw and prepared to fight back at whatever stupid insult he had to say.
His green eyes seemed to bore into her very being, slightly narrowed as he stared down at the braces on her legs and then the crutches. Runt was used to being stared at, that part didn’t bother her, she was just waiting for him to say something stupid and for her to be able to give him a piece of her mind. She was practically baiting him into a corner, because if she didn’t, then she felt that the embarrassment and shame might catch up to her first.
“What are you lookin’ at Mozzarella stick?” Runt bit out, trying to distract him from his honestly uncomfortable staring.
To her surprise, when Troy spoke, it was with almost dumbfounded confusion. “What are those things for?”
“What? You never seen a pair of crutches before?” Runt knocked the base of one of the crutches into the wooden floorboards beneath her, “Ain’t nothin’ to worry about, let’s go.”
“Well, yeah, but you only need those if you’ve broken your leg or something,” Troy insisted , although his voice lacked the usual irritating inflection to it . He almost sounded concerned. “You shouldn’t have been walking like that if you’ve got a broken leg.”
Runt rolled her eyes, she didn’t want any more pity from anyone else, especially not from some stuck-up pain in the butt uplander like him. As she looked to the side she noticed that Blink had stopped walking upon noticing that they weren’t following him. He narrowed his eyes at them and clicked his beak, tilting his head to the side.
“I ain’t got a broken leg, sometimes people are just born with that,” Runt said, gritting her teeth once again, “I don’t gotta explain nothing to you. It helps me walk without as much pain. Otherwise, it would hurt too much to stand.”
“What do you mean?” Troy asked, and Runt could not believe this.
“Are you trying to be stupid?”
“I just don’t get why you need something like that,” Troy started, and Runt felt her blood start to boil. She was gonna knock his teeth out if he didn’t keep spewing stuff like that. But Troy kept talking, and when he did, Runt had to do a double take. “I mean like everyone is in pain all the time, it’s literally just a normal part of life and I don’t see anyone else up there walking around with that kind of stuff. People just learn to live with it, it’s normal!”
Runt stared at him. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did the crash earlier break his brain or something?
“What are you talking about?” Runt asked, not knowing if he had somehow picked the most roundabout, stupid way to be a dick to her, or if he was just plain stupid . “That ain’t how the world works.”
“I mean that’s how it’s always been for me,” Troy shrugged his shoulders and huffed softly, “Like I walk and my legs feel like they’re gonna give out sometimes, or like I can’t get out of bed because my back hurts so bad I can’t move. That’s just part of life y’know? And I’m here walking fine and all that, I’ve never used something like that.”
Runt continued to stare at him, disbelief and almost horror written all over her face.
“Do you even hear yourself right now? That’s not how life is! Like, sometimes pain is normal but bein’ in pain all the time definitely isn’t,” She could barely believe that she had to explain this to someone so much older than her, “Everyone is not always in pain.”
“Don’t lie to me , that’s just not true,” Troy turned, shifting his weight a little bit so that he was leaning more against the railing, “Blink your back hurts?”
Blink looked at them with confusion, he clearly had been listening in on the conversation but it was hard to read his expression. “No?”
“Legs? Shoulders? Hips?” Troy tried, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Not really no,” Blink dragged his talons across the wood idly, “Like I mean if I’ve been out walking all day my feet’ll hurt but that’s just because I’ve been on my feet all day.”
“Man, something’s gotta hurt? Right? You guys down here just don’t ever have pain?” Troy’s expression faltered a little bit, but he still didn’t seem to realize how absolutely insane the things he was saying were. Out of all the insane comments Runt had heard before, Troy somehow managed to come up with the craziest thing he could’ve possibly told her.
“No, I don’t think I’m normally in pain, only when I’ve been working a lot or I got into a fight,” Blink reached up and scratched his face.
“Nah, I don’t believe this, you guys gotta be lying to me,” Troy shook his head, “People just don’t say anything because it’s so normalized like that’s why no one up there makes such a big deal about it. It’s because something’s gotta hurt for everyone.”
“You know, whatever, we don’t have time to unpack whatever the hell you’ve just unknowingly admitted to, I’ll make you something later,” Runt shook her head and stomped the tip of her crutch on the ground again. She almost felt bad for him, but he was too stupid for her to really feel any sort of pity or concern.
“Sure, sure, I’m still not buying it but you can believe whatever you want to believe,” Troy said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and sticking his chin in the air like a pouting child. Runt rolled her eyes and elected to ignore him.
Runt began to follow Blink down the length of the bridge, Troy trailing behind slowly as if he was really thinking hard about something. That must’ve been an impressive feat for him. She could hear him muttering to himself but didn’t care to listen too closely. Let him think whatever he wanted, she didn’t have the time or energy to try and get it through his thick skull. He wasn’t her problem, he could probably figure it out on his own .
They had things to do and people to find.