Chapter Text
The night was quiet as Joel stalked quietly through the trees, approaching the large camp ahead of him. His eyes locked onto the sight of the camp, examining the space.
The crack of a fire could be heard from the clearing, the smoke lazily falling into the gloomy sky. Tents lined the clearing, seeming temporary and currently in use.
His eyes would flicker between the two guards, locking in on the two figures sitting at the fire. They didn’t seem to be paying much attention, blindly speaking to each other without a care for their surroundings. Made Joel’s life easier, so he didn’t mind their inattentive state.
Joel crouched low, silently moving behind the treeline surrounding the camp. Once he got to the point where he was behind the two guards, he’d stop, watching with a grin.
Slowly, he’d creep into the camp, his toes gently moving in the dirt clearing silently. Joel was used to moving quietly, a mix of skill and his instincts mixing in as he crept into the camp.
Joel slid forward, hiding into the shadows as he kept low to the treeline, placing himself behind a tent and out of view of the guards by the fire. His dark, messy hair hid the ears marking him as unhuman, allowing himself to blend into the shadows and appear less like a threat. He glanced at his shadow against the tent, ears pinning back for a second, before listening in and coming to the conclusion that the figures inside were probably asleep. As long as Joel continued to be quiet, he’d be fine.
And even if he did get caught, he’d be fine. Past accidents had taught him well, and he knew how to escape well. And even if he did get caught, he didn’t have much to lose. It just meant a new experience for Joel- a source of temporary excitement in his rather monotonous way of life.
Joel looked back at the two guards, still talking quietly and staring at each other, occasionally glancing at the fire as well.
What mattered to Joel was that they weren’t looking over at him. So he’d keep moving, creeping around behind them as his eyes locked back onto his target: the lone pouch sitting against a tree.
It was a simple pouch, a light brown with darker drawstrings keeping it closed. It wasn’t large, but was clearly filled based on its shape.
His eyes glanced back at the guards, still blind to the situation at hand, then back at the pouch, Joel’s mind already thinking of what treasures could lie inside; food, bandages, tools for survival… The possibilities only made Joel more eager to grab it.
The pouch was becoming closer as Joel moved, its circular shape outlined by the flickering fire, making it seem like the most important item in this camp. And to Joel, it may as well be. It’s not everyday he finds a whole bag of items essentially on display for him to take.
At every sound the guards make, Joel would hold his breath for a moment, before slowly exhaling, allowing his shoulders to drop as he continued to move. He just needed to grab the bag, and then go.
After a few more coordinated steps, he reached down, lifting the pouch. It’d make a clink, causing Joel to pause. A smile appeared on his face as he lifted the pouch to his chest, trying to stop any sounds as he made sure the guards hadn’t heard it.
And then he made a run for it. He’d quickly retreat back to the treeline, ears perked up as he listened to his surroundings, making sure no one had noticed him running off. A grin would spread on Joel’s face, the thrill of a successful borrow filling his body.
Joel didn’t consider himself a thief. Sure, the humans he steals from may, but Joel had consider himself to be more of a borrower. He only took what he needed, and never went after expensive things. What did they think would happen when they made it that he couldn’t get access to supplies? That the hybrids would have just given up and die? Hell no, Joel was too stubborn to let them win like that. So he took from them, borrowing what he needed to survive while staying undetected.
Joel then would begin to slow his flee when the smoke from the fire became distant, leaving just him and the dark forest to exist.
He’d jump behind a fallen log, crouching down as he sat for a bit, letting the adrenaline slowly fade out of his body as he took deep breaths.
He quickly scrambled for the bag, placing it in front of him and eagerly loosening the pouch. Once he saw a shimmer in the bag, his tail quivering as his smile only became wider.
He’d pull out some gold coins first, watching them glimmer in his hands. Joel had no use really for the coins, only rarely going into smaller villages when he was younger, when he found it easier to hide himself among the crowd. And even then, it wasn’t safe. Towns meant hatred, meant hunters waiting at every corner, it meant guards ready to grab him by the neck and drag him to a cage–
Joel’s ears twitched, before quickly flattening down. He glanced around out of habit, just making sure he really was alone.
He’d turn back to the pouch, digging back in to see the rest of the items. A can of beef and a first aid kit. Not much, but Joel was pleased. All good items, likely something for the hunters to bring along as they hunted.
But the last item in the bag caused him to freeze.
At first Joel just thought they were normal arrows, pulling them out to look at them. He scoffed at first, not having a bow or anything to use them on and doubting his ability to throw them manually. But as he looked at the tips, he noticed something different. The arrows were thicker, with a fuzzy end. His eyes would widen as he remembered the stories he had heard growing up and from other passing hybrids.
Arrows that would knock a hybrid out, cause them to weaken and be unable to move before being killed or taken captive.
These were bloody poisoned!
Joel would instinctively let out a hiss, already distrusting it immediately. When Joel was in captivity they had nothing like this. They would just shove some poison in your water if they wanted you out. Not arrows that would be used while hunting! Sure, he had heard stories of that before, but he never really listened to them, blinded by his own ego making him think nothing like this would happen to him.
Joel would place the arrows against the fallen tree, grabbing the largest rock he could lift– which disappointingly was not very large- before slamming it down at the arrows from a distance. He’d push himself back as he watched a liquid squirt out of the arrow, no doubt some kind of poison.
Only when the stink of the poison reached him did he realize how stupid he was being- grabbing the sack and running off. He hoped he’d crushed the arrows enough that they were unusable.
He’d run quickly, nerves filling his body as he felt his body start to tremble. No, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen. He never got scared like this from a simple in and out, yet he felt like something was wrong.
A rustling coming from a bush made him freeze. He’d tuck his tail, body seeming to be frozen. He’d gaze back at the pouch in his hands, the thrill of stealing it drained from his body. The pouch had been easy, left alone in the open, so close to the treeline that it almost felt like it was cheating. He almost let out a laugh, dropping the bag as he felt himself able to move again. He stared at it like it was a rabid animal, ready to bite at any moment.
But if you thought about it, it already had. He’d glance back at the direction he had come from, ears perking as the still night began to feel eerie, rather than calm. Each small noise caused him to stop, glancing around.
He thought back to the last time he had borrowed from a camp. The hunters seemed furious, but Joel got away. Apparently they knew him, saying that the hunters had been telling tales of a feline who had been stealing from camps. Beforehand that only made Joel laugh, that he was such a nuisance to the humans who deserved every bit of bread being stolen. He would have thought they wouldn’t leave things in the open if they had been telling tales to each other of his reckless behavior.
They wouldn’t be so careless. Wouldn’t leave a bag in the open…
Joel glanced back at his trembling hands. Last time he had felt fear like this was when he was much younger, faced with hunters and being cornered into a cage..
He didn’t like thinking about it.
His whole body screamed at him to run, and only once his instincts finally caught up to him did he make his legs move. When he said he wanted adventure in his life, this was not what he had in mind.
The hunters were smart. There was a reason more hybrids were in captivity compared to being free. They wouldn’t be this stupid. It was only now when realization struck Joel like a sword through his chest.
It was bait. They were baiting him like a hungry dog, placing food down before they took him out and down.
He’d take a few more steps, picking up his pace as realization dawned upon him. He didn’t even get an attempt at escape before a sharp sound echoed in the air, causing his ears to perk straight up.
A sharp pain filled his shoulder as he was hit. It felt like an arrow, the pain of the tip entering his skin throbbing, but feeling less sudden than an actual arrow, and more like a dull, slow reminder of his situation.
Instinctively, he would reach for the dart, pulling it out of his skin, a small hole in his shirt forming. He’d toss the dart, wanting to crush it to pieces like he had previously.
His body felt too heavy, legs weakening as he stumbled to the ground.
“No, no-” Joel broke his silence with a whine, his voice raw as he let out a hiss. He couldn’t remember the last time he heard his voice, and he prayed this wouldn’t be his last.
His palms dug into the dirt, staining his pale skin as he tried to pick himself up.
The forest seemed to move as he stared forward, trees warping and the twigs on the ground seeming to be changing sizes at will. He couldn’t tell which trees had been straight, which had fallen, or which were already on the verge of falling from the rough winds plaguing his home– they all looked the same, yet so different to him.
“We finally caught you” A voice spoke from behind.
Joel hadn’t even noticed the other person's presence, or really considered it, but now that he realized he wasn’t alone did he realize how stupid of an assumption that was.
I mean, who could have even shot him if he was alone? Truly such a stupid assumption.
Joel’s eyes shot towards the person, body slowly turning as he stared up at them with dazed eyes. He needed to move. Every instinct in his body told him to run, but he couldn’t.
He tried to bare his teeth, tried to do anything to scare away the hunter, but it all was useless. He had been caught, cornered like a rabbit.
The last thing he would see was the figure crouching down to him, a hand on his ears, seeming to inspect him, before everything finally went dark, Joel’s body stilling as the poison consumed him.