Chapter Text
Far off in the forest, too far for any sane toon to venture, things unexplained happen, live there. It wouldn't take a scientist to know about the magic of the forest surrounding the small village Garden view and the folk tales from it. The wandering wolf, the moonlight magician to name a few.
Astro spent his days in his cottage, his daily routine the same for centuries, cast a spell, check the crystal ball, make a potion, check the ball, tarot reading, the damn ball. It was boring, it was basic, and he loved it. It was exactly what he was used to, the only hard part was when— "Am I seriously out of sage AGAIN? I'VE HAD TO GO OUT THREE TIMES THIS WEEK!" They exclaimed in annoyance, before huffing and accepting, he'd have to do that stupid fucking spell. Again. He muttered a few words under his breath in tounges, and just like that, his second pair of arms and wings disappeared, the heart on the other side of his face was a normal star shape, his horns got smaller, almost nubs on his head, their spiky tail with a heart at the end turned into a small, fluffy black one, and was wearing a loose T-shirt sweatpants. A toon disguise.
Astro stepped out of his cottage, hoping that stupid dog didn't— "Oooo... Where's he goin' noow?" Eclipse called out teasingly, her brother Ace right behind her, quiet as usual. "Just need more sage." Astro said, walking in the direction of the village, Eclipse running behind.
"Without meee?" "You don't have a disguise." Eclipse giggled at the reminder "Oh yeah! Have fun!" She called out as she scampered off.
Astro arrived into town, vendors selling, the local brewery open with a few toons. Perfect. Astro reached the shop he needed and got the sage they needed before noticing the small toon in the brewery. 'What a funny sounding fella' Astro thought as he wandered back to the forest, making sure no one saw him. He transformed back into his regular form, went back to his cottage to put the herbs onto his shelves. He quickly went back to the spell he was originally casting and went to bed.
Later that night Astro woke up in a cold sweat, having the craving he'd been dreading for years. Blood. He only needed fresh toon blood every hundred years or-so, so, he'd been expecting it. They sighed as they got out of bed, putting on a cloak quickly as he slipped out of his home, quietly sneaking into the forest to hunt any toon who was hopefully out this late at night. As he hid between a log to hide, he saw a toon. Perfect. He was right about to lunge when he realized something.
That toon... was the one in the bar earlier. Oh well. Astro swiftly lunged at the shrimp, successfully pinning them to the ground. "FUCK!" They shrieked. Astro recoiled, that voice was way higher than he expected. "Shh... let it happen..." Astro whispered, leaning down to bite his neck. "G-Get off..." They... whimpered? Astro paused. "...Your voice is so... high, what the fuck." He stated, pulling back as he remembered they had blood in his freezer from a few centuries ago, it wouldn't make a difference, fresh blood just tasted better. Astro sat up from on top of the toon realizing he was in his normal form, meaning the toon saw him differently. He quickly turned into his disguise, stunning the shrimp below him. "W-What the fuck-" "It's... complicated..." The toon below him was breathing fast, probably from being knocked down. "You... look... familiar..." The shrimp panted. "Yeah... You saw me in town today, huh?" Astro replied, hastily getting off the toon. "I... should go..." They mumbled. "Yeah." The shrimp agreed, watching Astro return to the forest.
Late in the night, Astro laid in his bed. He couldn't get his mind off that stupid girl-guy? Fuck what WERE they? It didn't matter. All Astro knew was he hated them for keeping him up all night. He finally went to sleep but overslept. He missed TWO tarot readings and a soulmate test between Vee and Scraps. Great. He never missed his clients; everyone was probably worried sick! Astro quickly got out of bed, putting something on. He figured now he'd just have to wait for Connie to arrive for her tarot reading. He waited about an hour, making a cup of tea and set his deck up. Connie finally arrived, late as usual, and got the reading done. About 30 minutes later, a knock at the door. Astro went to go open the door, on the other side. Vee. "Are... You okay?" She asked "You didn't answer earlier this morning." Just... overslept..." They responded. Vee gave him a skeptical look before turning around and leaving. Astro sighed, closing the door, still thinking about that stupid toon. And he remembered, he had recently run out of rosemary! They almost excitedly transformed again and rushed back into the forest to go to the merchants he went for all his herbs and stuff. Cosmo and Sprout. The undercover mad scientist and beast who he'd known for decades. Astro walked up, got his stuff, and saw the same toon in the brewery. Again. He thought about them the whole way home. And at night while trying to sleep. He ended up caving and sneaking out to the village in his disguise in hopes they'd be out by the pond again. And too his luck. He was. The toon managed to spot him this time "What do you want this time?" They asked, their voice filled with something not quite hate but not quite kind. "I was just comin' to see my best friend." Astro said sarcastically, sitting down next to the shrimp. "I don't think I ever got your name..?" "It's Shrimpo." Shrimpo told him. "I'm Astro..." He responded back. Shrimpo hummed in acknowledgement, staring at their reflection in the water. And Astro asked the question he'd been dreading; "A-Are you a guy or...—" "Yeah." Shrimpo said, almost defensively. Astro giggled at the response. "Alright..! I should probably go..." He admitted. "Good choice" Shrimpo called out as Astro let.