Chapter Text
Morning sunlight filtered through the open window, casting the room in a soft glow. Scar was warm under his blankets, it was peaceful, the perfect morning to slowly wake up, relax, take it nice and easy.
Until Jellie leap from the floor directly onto Scar.
He startled awake, quickly jumping to sit up. He rubs the sleep from his eyes, and looks down at the ball of fluff now meowing on top of him.
"Jellie, I know you're hungry, but couldn't you try to be a bit kinder to sleeping Scars? Aw, I can't stay mad at you though, such a cute kitty, yes you are," he slips into baby talk, petting Jellie. She just continues to meow loudly.
"You want breakfast, don't you. Alright, let me get up, and I can feed you." Scar sliped his legs over the side of his bed, ready to get into his wheelchair. If he channelled some of his vex magic into his legs, and used his cane, he could walk for a little while, but it was difficult and usually not worth the effort, it was much easier to just use his wheelchair.
He headed into the kitchen, Jellie following close behind, going to stand directly next to the food bowl. He pulled out the cat food and poured it into the bowl on the floor, Jellie instantly jumping to it as if she hadn't eaten in a week. Why are cats like this, Scar fed her last night before bed, there's no way she's this hungry. He shakes his head, smiling fondly.
Speaking of hunger, he can hear his own stomach growling. "Well, time to get myself some breakfast too, don't you think, Jellie?"
He opens the cabinet, to look for some food, and he was met with far too much open space. There were still things in there, but he definitely had more, didn't he? Scar was sure some food was missing. Nothing specific seemed gone, there was just less of everything. He had gone shopping a few days ago, where had his food gone?
"You didn't eat anything you weren't supposed to, did you Jellie?" He knew she hadn't, if he had left food out then maybe, but she couldn't get into the cabinets. It could have been one of the other hermits, coming to take some of his food? Usually they would ask first, but Scar wouldn't put it past some of them to steal from him. It definitely seemed like something he would do himself.
Guess his next grocery shopping trip would be a bit earlier than expected, he didn't want to risk running out of food. He poured himself a bowl of cereal before, he still needed his breakfast. Then he went and got dressed for the day, and headed out the door.
He went towards the center of town, where some of the hermits had set up shops. Some of them sold food and ingredients, so that's where he was headed. Maybe he'd run into some of them, and Scar could ask if they had stolen any of his food, or knew who did.
As he headed towards the shoping district, he head a voice behind him, "Hey Scar, how are you doing?"
He turned to see an imp and an angel walking up to him. "Well hello there, Impulse and Skizz! I'm doing good, except for waking up and finding some of my food is missing! So I'm just headed out to restock. How are you two on this fine morning?"
"Are you sure it's missing, and you didn't just eat it?" jokes Skizz.
Before Scar could respond, Impulse adds, "how weird. Some if my food went missing a few days ago as well. I thought maybe one of the hermits had taken some, everyone seems like to take things from me, but maybe something else is going on, if it happened to both of us."
"And you let us take things, Impulse, you love to give things to us." Skizz puts an arm around Impulse, smiling. He turns more serious before continuing, "but that does sound weird. Do we have a food thief around?"
A food thief, huh. Scar thought about which hermits it may be, but he couldn't figure out why any of them would act like this. Unless something, or someone, had managed to get past the patrols and into town. That couldn't be good.
"Should we tell X about this?" Scar says, voicing his concerns. "Whatever is taking our food could be dangerous."
"We still haven't even rulled out the idea that it could be another hermit, we should wait and see if it happens again before worrying X. It could be nothing."
Impulse replies, "Skizz, it's better safe than sorry. X would want to know even if it's a false call, instead of not knowing and then having it end up being a problem."
"I agree with Skizz," Scar adds. "At least wait and see if it happens more, and ask around to find out if any of the other hermits are the one doing it. X does a lot for us, if we can avoid bothering him, then we should.
Impulse looks skeptical, but ultimately agrees, but saying if they find out it happens again, they're telling X.
As they approach the shops in the center of town, Impulse and Skizz break off to head towards where they were going. Scar continues onwards, into the shopping district. As Scar shops, he worries.
If something had managed to get past the patrols the hermits sent out, then that's bad news. He wonders what it could be, some sort of animal or monster. Maybe even a human? A human managing to make their way into the town could be disastrous. That's why they sent out the patrols just outside of the town, partly to make sure nothing dangerous could get in, but mostly for humans, because humans likely meant hybrid hunters.
Their town was a safe haven, a sanctuary for hybrids. In most other places, they were scorned, and hunted for what they can give. Sometimes being used for their magic, sometimes for their "trophies" such as an avian's wings or a mer's scales. It was awful just thinking about it.
Because of the hunters, hybrids were forced to try and hide when they could, tucking their features under their clothes or using magic to hide them. Some weren't so lucky, and couldn't hide. Scar isn't sure what usually happens to those who can't hide, but he's sure it's not good.
That is why this town exists, to protect hybrids. Any hybrid hunters that tried getting in would be taken care of, made to leave using force. They never let humans in, but all hybrids were welcome. There weren't many of them in their little town, but they protected each other.
That's why if a human got in, it would be bad. They wouldn't come by unless they were trying to hurt or capture one of them. Hopefully it wasn't a human, though, that was only a small possibility, not likely. Why would they come to steal food anyway?
Eventually he finished up his shopping, and he headed home. Maybe he'd make some cookies, that seemed nice. He wonders if the food thief would like some cookies?
Grian ran though the forest, hoping he wouldn't drop any of the food he had just stolen. It wasn't much, a few fruits, some slices of bread, there were even two cookies, the others would like that.
He slowed as he got farther from the town. He, Jimmy, Pearl and Martyn were staying in a nice cave they had found outside of this town. Although nice really wasn't the most accurate. Sure, it was the best place they had found so far, but it was a literal cave, it was far from nice. It fit their needs, however, and that's what matters.
It was risky, breaking into houses to steal food, but it was the best they could get. He had no clue if any of the plants in the forest were safe to eat, and while he can hunt, his avian decent making him easily able to drop down and catch something with his claws, that doesn't give a well rounded diet. He and Pearl do hunt, but they need to find another way to get the other nutrients they need.
He approaches the cave they were staying in, hearing whispers inside. He pulls the vines near the entrance out of the way and heads inside.
"Oh, you got more food!" Jimmy gasps from where he was laying on the opposite end of the cave. Pearl and Martyn both turn from where they were sitting.
He sets the food down on the cloth on the floor of the cave, which was also stolen. They ways make sure the cloth stays clean so the food doesn't get dirty.
"I did, and look what I was able to get," he pulls out the two cookies he had grabbed. They were just sugar cookies, which mean no chocolate, which was good as avians count eat chocolate. And the plainness was probably the best option for Jimmy anyway.
"A cookie! Oh, that's going to be so good-" Jimmy breaks into a coughing fit, cutting off his sentence. Pearl immediately grabs the bottle of water from next to her and hands it to Jimmy, who quickly takes it and drinks from it. They all sit in silence, watching him, concerned.
As he hands it back to Pearl, she looks in it and says, "it's empty now, I'll go fill it. Do you two want to come with?"
Grian and Martyn both nod, and Jimmy protests, "you just want to have a conversation without me! Why, I can handle whatever you are gonna talk about. Don't baby me."
"That's not it at all, we just want you to rest," Grian replies.
Pearl continues, "I just thought you might need some quiet, which you aren't going to get with these two constantly annoying you."
They both protest, and Jimmy scoffs, not convinced, but drops it. "They do annoy me quite a lot."
They head out of the cave, leaving Jimmy alone to rest. He had recently gotten sick, which is why they had stopped moving around from town to town, and now stayed in this cave, in order to let him rest. It was safer to keep on the move, making it harder for people such as hybrid hunters to find them, but Jimmy was far too sick for all the traveling. They were all worried for him.
Jimmy was Grian's and Pearl's younger brother. They hadn't seen each other for years, since hybrid hunters had taken him. For a while, they didn't know where he was, if he was even alive, until recently.
Somehow, hybrid hunters had gotten the better of Grian and Pearl, and when the twins had been taken back to where the hunters would keep them, they found Jimmy, having been captured recently for a second time. It was very happy for them to be reunited, dispite where they were.
Martyn, one of the hunters, had second thoughts about all of it, he realized what they were doing was wrong, and helped them escape. Grian and Pearl were skeptical at first, even after escaping, but Jimmy seemed to trust him. After Martyn had protected them, and with how concerned he was for Jimmy, now he had earned the twin's trust.
As they left the cave, Pearl stated, "he hasn't been getting any better, I thinks he's just been getting worse."
"Oh, definitely," Martyn agrees, nodding. "I think we need to find some sort of help before he gets even worse."
"But who can we trust?" Grian responds. "You're a human, but we aren't, we can't get help like you can. No one would help us, they probably would try and capture us.
Martyn shook his head. "He needs help, though. Maybe I could get some medicine or something for him."
"As much as I'm worried for him, I say we just wait it out for now. He could get better on his own," Pearl replies.
They reach the river, and she starts to fill the bottle. They go to fill it often, Jimmy, being a mer, needs lots of water, and with him being sick they can't risk him getting dehydrated.
He was both an avian and a mer, a canary hybrid and a cod hybrid. Having two or more hybrid types was especially bad, as even other hybrids scorned them. It was part of the reason they were so protective of him, as they had been since they were small children.
They head back in a heavy silence, all worrying about Jimmy. They all cared for him, and they needed him to get better. How they would help him, they didn't know. They didn't know yet, he reminded himself. They would figure it out. For now, they just had to hope he would be alright.