Work Text:
If you asked most people, they’d tell you there were two kinds of hybrids. Predator, and prey.
The hunter and the hunted.
If you asked Branzy, he’d tell you there were three. Predator, prey… and week predators.
“Branzy Craft, on the crimes of second degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, assistance of a known criminal, and tax fraud…”
Of course, the notion of a week predator implies the existence of strong prey, but they didn’t really exist. Obviously there were strong individuals who also happen to have their DNA split with prey, but that was despite, not because.
Most hybrids who had their DNA split with what people might consider ‘strong prey’ like buffalo, or a moose, tragically had most of their advantages stripped away from their human half.
“I sentience you…”
If you were to ask what a ‘week predator’ was, well, Branzy was the bright shining example.
Not only was he week in hybrid species… but he was week in skill and strength to.
“To the mortem venatam habitat.”
The judge slammed the gavel down. That was it, it was done.
There was no gasps, no fanfare- no cheering that a ‘dangerous criminal’ was now off the streets. Just business as usual.
The only one who seemed to care in the slightest was his poor public defender, who gave him a sympathetic look as he was dragged off.
A single sympathetic look was the only thing spared for the pathetic criminal who had just been handed a death sentence.
Branzy’s tail swished between his legs as he walked- he knew this was coming. He knew this was coming the second he was arrested.
He’d accepted it was coming- he’d accepted it the second he shot that stupid gun.
He was led out to the parking lot, he saw the jail bus parked, engine running to keep the prisoners still awaiting trial warm in the cold winter evening.
He thought he’d be loaded back in- at least get a couple more days before he was met with his demise… he was wrong.
He was led away from the bus, and saw a dusty white van, with mortem venatam habitat marked in plain black lettering on the side. So he was going immediately then.
No last meal, no final words, no anything then. Not that he really had anything to request.
His feet dragged a little more with every step towards the van, the guards escorting him allowed him to do so.
Branzy stepped inside the van and sat down without a fight- didn’t flinch as he was bound to the seat.
“Do- do you want us to turn the heating on?” One of the guards asked hesitantly. The privilege earned from being compliant.
The inside of the van was around the same temperature outside.
“No. I don’t mind the cold.” His body was built for it after all.
The doors soon slammed shut in front of him- he wondered if he’d be the only one receiving this sentence today.
His question was answered in a few hours when the van started moving without the doors opening again.
He felt his ears flatten against his head, his tail curling around himself.
He stared down at his hands- bound together with little mittens preventing his claws from being used.
Not that the tiny things would be very effective.
Honestly- sending him into the death pit seemed a little dramatic of a fate for a little arctic fox.
But alas- he was deemed a predator.
The mortem venatam habitat was where all predators given the death sentence were set.
Basically it was a giant wooded area walled off that they threw predators into for them to figure themselves out. Aka, hunt each other.
Why did predators hunt each other? Because predators had the instinct to hunt- this burning uncontrollable desire, of course different people had different levels of urges, but most who got sentenced had extremely high ones, and those who didn’t were the ones killed first.
Out in the real world, normal society, predators were given patches that they’d change every month to stifle those urges.
Those were obviously taken away when sent into the habitat.
Branzy felt some tears flow down his face- grieving his pathetic life.
He’d really had accomplished nothing huh?
Not that he’s particularly surprised.
He actually was given a final request- he was able to request clothing to wear before he was sent in. Huh, didn’t know that was a possibility.
Branzy requested a simple purple button up shirt, with a gray pin lined vest and pants. Not the most practical outfit- especially for winter but he was an arctic fox. He was built for the winter and wasn’t living long.
Then he was tossed in.
There was some light snow on the ground, oh great- that was going to leave foot prints.
He hoped that he’d at least be granted a quick death, that whatever predator found him first didn’t feel like playing with him before hand.
Arctic foxes were low on the food chain as far as predators went.
The only thing they naturally hunted was little critters- like mice, or rabbits. They were hunted by essentially everything else, including red foxes.
Branzy wondered through the woods- trying to find some mountains, were maybe, just maybe he could find a little cave to burrow himself in.
Suddenly he heard a twig snap. His ears immediately turned towards the sound- that was definitely a predator.
He broke into an immediate sprint, he heard someone curse behind him before they started to give chase.
So he didn’t even manage to get twenty four hours huh? Fitting.
Still, he ran, ran as fast as he could.
It sounded like two hybrids chasing him, getting closer and closer and then- he tripped.
He tripped over a random tree root.
Because of course he did- that was just his luck wasn’t it?
His horrible- horrible, stupid luck.
He held his arms in front of his face- some messily attempt at protecting himself. He heard the two hybrids getting closer.
“Please- please! I’m- I’m not a-”
“Branzy?” He heard a familiar voice say, a familiar voice he hadn’t heard on over two years.
He peaked through his arms to see a confused, yet smiling grey wolf hybrid.
“Rek! Your alive- I- I can’t believe you’re alive!” Branzy exclaimed pulling himself off the ground and hugging his friend.
Rek hugged him back and Branzy was able to see over his shoulder that he was wagging his tail excitedly. Rek was raised around dogs, so he picked up some of their behaviors- mainly his tail aggressively swishing back and forth whenever he was in a good mood.
“You know this guy?” Branzy heard someone ask behind Rek. Oh right- two predators chasing him.
Branzy pulled back to see the other guy, it was another grey wolf hybrid- or at least a wolf hybrid. It was slightly hard to tell since wolf hybrid’s had a lot of variation in their coats-
Even though Rek was a gray wolf- his hair, his visual coat, was a chocolate brown color. His human genes over powering the wolf ones.
This hybrid had a mix of gray and black hair with very similar ears to Rek. Probably a grey wolf.
The only other notable addition to his appearance- was a shattered glass like scar across his face.
“Yeah! This is Branzy- the guy I told you about, he’s the one who used to help me his bodies-” Rek paused for a minute- looking like he was calculating something in his head. “why are you here??” He asked shaking Branzy slightly by the shoulders.
“I imagine it has something to do with helping you hide bodies.” The other hybrid mumbled.
“You can’t actually get the death penalty for that- and they still haven’t figured out I helped with that particular crime. They figured out Rek was living with me before his capture- I shot someone.” Branzy explained.
“You shot someone- who?” Rek asked bewildered.
“My dad.” Branzy mumbled- he hadn’t planned on doing it, but- the guy was just so infuriating. He didn’t even know why he brought the gun.
“So- you shot the mayor?” Rek asked unimpressed.
“Governor actually- he somehow won.”
“Gov- who voted for him??? He literally wares his dead wife’s tail as a scar…” Rek trailed off when he saw Branzy beginning to clutch his own fluffy white tail.
He and his dad never got along well, when he won the election his dad called him for the first time in years asking for a meeting and well- tensions got high.
He was arrested almost immediately.
“So- do I need to worry about this guy?” The other wolf asked Rek.
“What? No, Branzy’s harml- uh- don’t give him anything to build stuff with without supervision and you’ll be fine.”
Branzy side eyed his friend- was he incredibly good at building things? Yes. Did he know about fifty separate ways to make a bomb? Yes. Was all of that completely useless here because he didn’t have the right materials for tools? Yes.
Well- maybe if he could somehow manage to get some redstone… but he was not digging that far down into stone. He doubted his claws were even sharp enough to do so.
Then he noticed- Rek and the other wolf hybrid had swords.
He literally jumped back when he saw them.
“Branzy- you good?” Rek asked startled.
“Why and how do you have swords???” Branzy asked beyond startled- inching away from the weapons.
“They shoved us in a giant forest with mountains and stuff- do you really think we’d stay primitive forever?” The wolf hybrid asked.
After that interaction Rek and the wolf hybrid- who’s name was apparently Ash, they took Branzy to their base.
Where he met a coyote hybrid- who was ironically named Squiddo. She was apparently Ash’s mate.
The base had a fully functional mine- that led deep into the ground- they also had a forge to make weapons, and they had access to redstone.
Branzy had studied redstone since he was a child- and knew how to make some really complex stuff with it.
Rek had held onto quite a bit knowing that you could make stuff- but struggling immensely to figure out how.
Maybe- maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
Though- he’d be lying if he said being around two gray wolves and a coyote without stifling patches didn’t scare him.
Grey wolves were one of the direct predators that hunted arctic foxes- and it could be fairly obvious at times.
Ash had to go hunting regularly to avoid attacking Branzy- Rek had a far lower hunting instinct and luckily already saw Branzy as a friend and not prey, but occasionally he’d walk into an area Branzy was in and turn completely around to go hunt something.
Coyotes luckily didn’t see foxes as food, though they would attack them if in their territory. That was far less of an issue in hybrids- so Squiddo was usually safe.
Rek had actually asked him if it’d be possible to create a stifling patch with redstone- unfortunately the answer was no.
Those things required nano bots to make-
If there was any feasible way to make a patch Branzy would, Rek and Ash not having any… It put him on edge- to the point he’d dugout a small little burrow that none of them knew the location of to sleep in.
Which had its upsides and its downsides- mainly having to go a decent ways away from base, alone.
At least it was in the day time.
His fox instincts would take over his sleeping schedule- during the day in winter- during the night in summer.
He honestly didn’t know the advantages of that but whatever- his general sleeping habits were actually fairly useful.
Most hybrids were active during dawn and dusk meaning he could get more stuff done in the extended period of time where he had a lot of energy.
He- he didn’t envy Rek and Ash’s struggle with trying to sleep.
Their human halves would start screaming at them to get up and do stuff in the middle of the day- and there wolf halves wouldn’t appreciate it.
Branzy’s two sides were mostly content with his sleeping schedule.
Rek also would warn Branzy about particularly dangerous hybrids around- apparently there was a polar bear hybrid.
Another direct predator of Branzy, great…
There was a certain hierarchy of predators- beyond just obvious predators that were also prey like Branzy.
This hierarchy was determined by a number of things, one of which being hight.
Usually hybrids took on size traits from their animal, for example, Branzy was 5 feet tall on the dot- meanwhile Rek was practically a giant at 6’1.
Of course there were outliers- but that’s how things usually worked.
Branzy wouldn’t be shocked if he was the smallest one in the entire ‘habitat.’
Grey wolves were near the top of the hierarchy, they were big, fast, but had one main thing holding them back.
They were social animals. Hence why Rek and Ash tamed up in the first place, hence why Ash, despite his incredibly strong hunting instinct, managed to hold himself back around Branzy.
They needed people to interact with or they would go insane.
Branzy- had less of that issue, as long as it was winter.
In the spring and summer, he’d become more social- he was dreading the spring, aka mating season.
Aka, when hybrid instincts were highest.
As far as most hybrids go, arctic foxes had more, convenient mating structure then some.
They mated for life meaning you didn’t have to fight your instincts to stay with a partner, they lived together in the same den, raised kids together- not that Branzy had to worry about any of that for the time being.
No, what Branzy had to worry about- is his instincts screaming at him to find a mate- during the season where all hybrids were going to be the most animalistic.
Not fun, and he was going to have to suffer through it without a stifling patch- whatever. It was currently mid winter. He’d worry about it when the snow started thawing.
“Hey Branzy- whatcha working on?” Rek asked looking down into the redstone that Branzy was fidgeting with.
“It’s like, a super smelter, it should let us melt and cook stuff faster once it’s done.” Branzy explained looking up at his friend.
“Ok- uh it’s almost past dawn just so you know, if you wanna go to your burrow.”
“Oh, thanks, I can’t get away with not sleeping anymore.” Branzy chuckled dragging himself up from the machinery.
“I envy your sleep schedule so bad.” Rek grumbled as Branzy dusted himself off.
“You sure you wanna go out- it’s like a blizzard out there.” Ash asked- looking out the makeshift window of their base.
“When was the last time y’all hunted?” Branzy asked skeptically.
Ash cringed and Rek averted his eyes in shame. Squiddo just shook her head scooting closer to the fire. “You might want to avoid coming back until the snow storm is over- when they can hunt.” She commented.
“Yeah- was planning on it.” Branzy said stretching, getting ready to run out into the cold.
“Sorry…” Rek mumbled.
“It’s not your fault.” Branzy replied starting out the door with a sprint.
The cold wasn’t to bothersome, it wasn’t anywhere close to the temperatures Branzys body was made for, though the snow was thick.
It was a good foot and a half deep- that was luckily not an issue either.
Branzy had paws on his legs, they weren’t very noticeable but were very useful for times like this.
His toe pads were basically completely covered in white fur, allowing him have a wider spread acting as essentially built in snow shoes.
They didn’t work as effectively as actual arctic foxes, but they got the job done.
Soon he reached his burrow, it was covered in snow- he expected that though.
Unfortunately his hands didn’t have any fur- so he was going to get wet and cold digging through this- oh well.
Eventually he got into his little burrow, and made sure to cover the entrance back up with snow- it was still coming down fairly consistently so that should cover it back up well enough.
He was soaked.
Cold water dripping from his finger tips and claws, he luckily kept towels in the burrow.
The burrow was small, just about three feet tall, meaning Branzy had to literally roll around on the towels to dry himself off- and shaking out the parts of his body with fur.
His fox side was quite happy with that, and Branzy was quite happy with how fluffy his pillow- his tail, had gotten.
Hmmmm… nice and fluffy and warm, perfect for curling up for the day to sleep.
It was also nice that it was snowing, meaning it was relatively dark outside, which made his human half happy.
So- everything was perfect for a nice long relaxing day of sleep.
He probably should’ve been suspicious of everything going so well- his luck was not that good.
Sure enough, he was just waking up after a nice dream- when something grabbed his tail.
Branzy let out a shriek because- something just grabbed his tail!!! And was still holding on to it!!!
He was trying to squirm out of whatever was holding him’s grasp, but he was very unsuccessful.
Especially when a cool piece of metal was shoved against his throat- right when he was starting to enjoy life again, of course that’s when it’s forcefully snatched away.
His eyes were screwed shut, waiting for the blow- it didn’t come, instead came a laugh.
Oh, so it was one of these hybrids hmmm?
Branzy forced his eyes open to glare at the idiot who’s decided instead of hunting he was just going to play with his food.
He was immediately frozen in fear.
There, staring at him with sick amusement, was Clownpierce.
Of course- Clown very well could be looking at him in any way, he had a mask on after all. A horrifying, slightly blood stained, jesters mask.
He was wearing an entire jester theme outfit acutely- complete with the funny looking hat.
He had a scythe, the dull side was currently shoved against his throat.
Branzy wasn’t sure what he was expecting when Rek described the deadliest hybrid in the habitat as a jester- but it wasn’t this.
Yet, this was probably going to give him nightmares for the rest of his life- assuming he’d ever dream again- which actually, he definitely wasn’t.
He was definitely dying right here and right now.
“Well, well, well, looks like I’ve caught me the pretty little fox I’ve been after for a couple weeks.” Clownpierce laughed, still tightly gripping Branzys tail.
Well- if he was going to die here anyway…
“Oh come on man! Why the tail???” Branzy groaned trying one flimsy kick at Clowns hand.
To his shock- he was actually dropped- face first into the snow.
Before he even had time to recover he felt a hand grab his hair and pulling him out, back face to mask with the killer Clown.
He still felt the blade of the scythe- this time the sharp side, against the back of his neck.
“This better Branzy Craft?” Clown taunted.
Ok- how did this guy know his name??? Had he been stalking him??? Well- obviously but why?
“So I hear you have a little skill for redstone.” Clown said, brushing some snow off Branzy’s nose- much to his dismay.
That’s what this was about- of course that’s what this was about.
Branzy cursed underneath his breath- this was going to be exhausting and end with him on a dinner plate wasn’t it?
“Oh good, so you understand the assignment. Come with me then.” Clown laughed dragging Branzy by the collar of his shirt- oh come on! It was still snowing to, so none of his friends were going to think it was weird he was gone.
Not that they could do anything about Clown…
No one knew what kind of hybrid Clown was- he kept it hidden underneath his costume, but… it had to be a wildcat.
Most wildcats- excluding loins, were solitary creatures and some of the best hunters on the planet, and that fit Clown to a T.
He’s obviously one of the big ones- not a bobcat, Branzy didn’t think it was possible for someone to be that tall without assistance from an animal half.
Clown was at least 6’4.
So, leopard, jaguar, tiger, he wouldn’t rule out cheetah, but tiger was the most obvious- with how big they were and the absolute way they dominate everything.
Clown was also giving Branzy Lynx vibes- though that might be just because they’re a direct hunter of arctic foxes- and Clownpierce was a direct hunter of Branzy.
That also might be from how well Clown was blasting through the snow- he’d noticed, the few times he’d been hunting with Rek and Ash, that even they, as wolves, were struggling immensely to get through the snow.
Meanwhile Branzy- and Clown, were blasting and walking over it without much issue.
Yeah, Branzy was betting on Siberian Tiger- or Lynx.
Eventually a base came into view- it was hardly hidden, made to look like a circus tent.
“I see why you need some traps…” Branzy mumbled as Clown continued to drag him through the snow.
Suddenly Clown dropped him face first into the snow again.
When Branzy pulled himself up Clown was looming over him.
“Ok, let’s make something clear Branzy Craft, I don’t need traps. I want traps. They’re a convenience, a luxury, that I am more then willing to go without. I’m not, because I can afford it.” Clown whispered into into the wind. It was sharp like a blade.
“Right, right got it! Not a need- never a need- uh… what do you mean you can afford it- I was under the impression this was a ‘I build what you want- you don’t eat me situation?’”
“Correct. I can afford it, because I’m more powerful then you, and can make you do what I want.”
“By that logic I’m pretty sure everyone who lives in this miserable forest can afford it.” Branzy grumbled dragging himself out from the snow.
“Are you really that pathetic?” Clown asked, striding towards his tent- beckoning for Branzy to fallow.
“I- well… not in the winter I guess…” Branzy admitted, thinking about his teams run in with a hyena hybrid- and how easily he avoided them by running- no more like walking through the snow.
However, that advantage would disappear fairly quickly.
Also, his own horrible coordination skills were determined to remove it early, evident from how the second he tried to step into the tent- he was caught off guard by the terrain height change, and promptly, fell on his face.
Lovely.
Clown was laughing as Branzy dragged himself up, again.
Branzy shook out the snow and water from his paws, hair, and tail- prompting Clown to laugh harder- likely because of how fluffy Branzy became afterwards.
He rolled his eyes.
“Ok so first, I want a pit fall trap at the entrance.” Clown declared.
“How do you want it triggered?” Branzy groaned- first implied there was a second, and a third, and maybe a fourth- ugh, just be glad the first thing is just a pit fall trap- he could get that done in an afternoon- evening- why weren’t there names for different times of night like the day??
“A button on the floor preferably, you think you can get that done?”
“Yeah- yeah, so what’s second?”
“Hmmm… just build the pit and I’ll give you some else after.”
Branzy’s eyes narrowed at the man, he could practically feel a smirk growing behind that mask.
“You can also build a new burrow here, since I had to dug out your last one.” Clown added- ok, so this was a kidnapping situation to.
“The point of my den was to hide from other hybrids who might lose control- and eat me. No one’s supposed to know where it is.” Branzy half growled.
“You’re welcome to sleep anywhere in the tent then, but trust me- I hunt more then enough to control myself.” Clown chuckled, twisting the scythe in his hand- a warning.
“Ugh- fine.” Branzy grumbled.
The tent was relatively open- and had what looked like a primitive yet fully working kitchen, a forge, a mine, and a bed, along with a couch which seemed to be made out of a crocheted bag of sorts- stretched over grass.
“You can also wait to start building until after it stops snowing if you’d prefer.” Clown mentioned, taking a seat on his bed.
Just watching Branzy.
“Ok, where’s your redstone?” Branzy asked.
You know what- being, employed, owned, whatever- by Clown wasn’t so bad-
At least not as bad as he was imagining.
After Branzy made that first pitfall trap- Clown mainly just wanted some mundane quality of life upgrades- which, far enough.
Mainly he wanted running water- which was easy enough since he built the tent over an underground river- Branzy even managed to figure out how to automatically heat it! Branzy was also allowed to access anything he built for Clown so…
Honestly, it was a bit of an upgrade- as much as Branzy hated to admit that. Because, Clown did in fact, hunt enough to keep himself in check.
He never once tried to attack Branzy- he only made threats which was… unfortunately better then his team.
Ash attacked him once- because of a snow storm he couldn’t go hunting.
That’s when Branzy decided a far away burrow was a necessity.
Branzy’s friends did try and save him- that was interesting- he had to literally shove Rek and Clown apart, he didn’t know he was physically capable of that.
It also required begging Clown not to kill Rek- and begging Rek to leave Clown alone.
He did get a little bit of freedom out of the situation though, with Clown now allowing Branzy to leave every now and again. He still had to ask for permission- but uh, it was better then what he had before hand.
He also did end up digging that burrow- mainly because he didn’t like Clown watching him while he slept- and the burrow gave him a little privacy.
A little. Clown did like to stare at him even though the burrow though. Sometimes he’d wake up to Clowns mask peeking over the edge of the entrance. That was horrifying.
“Hey Branzy, I got a question.” Clown asked one day as Branzy was eating a cooked rabbit Clown caught him.
“Hmmm?”
“I’ve noticed when hybrids sleep, they either sleep like a human, or there animal counterpart, and whichever one they choose- usually depends on the amount of hunting instinct they have.”
Clown was polishing his scythe… which always made Branzy skittish.
“Yeah..?” Branzy prompted.
“You’re hunting instincts are clearly low… in fact, I’m not even sure you have any! Your brain my have booted it out to make room for all that redstone knowledge!” Clown began to joke, Branzy felt his silky glove poke his forehead, before slowly guiding down to his chin…
Suddenly Clown grabbed his chin, maneuvering Branzys head every which way, studying it.
“But you… sleep almost exactly like a fox. Why?” Clown asked releasing Branzy.
Branzy had to take a minute to catch his breath after the sudden heart rate spike, after he did he let out a small chuckle.
Clown tilted his head curiously.
“Take your glove off and feel my tail and you’ll find your answer.” Branzy laughed, swishing the thing in front of him.
Branzy heard Clown laughing, just slightly, before gently removing his glove and reaching out his hand.
The laughter stopped, as Clown gently stroked Branzys tail.
“Oh, this is soft…” Clown said after a while.
Branzy continued his soft laughter content to let Clown enjoy his tail.
“I might have to take this from you hmmm? So comfortable-”
He immediately snatched his tail away from Clown, clutching it against his body. He felt his ears flatten across his head and his pupils dilate. His breathing, once calm and lazy just a second ago, was now fast, scared.
Branzy pushed himself into the makeshift couch he was sitting on- he was shaking slightly. Eyes fixed on Clown, who’s arm was still stretched out.
Pure terror was rushing through his body.
“Hey- I was- I was joking. Branzy?” Clown tried, retracting his hand away.
Branzy stayed frozen in place- there was a ringing in his ears, a screaming fight or flight instinct.
“Branzy- Branzy I’m sorry, I- I didn’t mean to scare you that bad… say something- please?” Clown pleaded- he kept hesitantly extending his hand before drawing it back.
They continued like this for quite a few minutes until Branzy managed to calm himself down enough to register that it was in fact, a joke.
A bad joke ment to spook him a bit, but a joke nonetheless.
“S-sorry… I’m- I’m sensitive about my tail…” Branzy mumbled.
“Clearly- may I ask why?”
“Um… my mom died when I was little- she was where I got my hybrid side from… a-after she passed my dad started- he- he started using her tail as a scarf.”
“Oh… that’s- that’s sick in the head. Even for me.”
Branzy nodded, cuddling his tail, he felt his ears relax a bit.
Still a bit on edge but- rational.
Clown never touched his tail again after that- unless he had explicit permission.
However, he would run his hands along Branzys ears, once he learned they had the same fluffy texture.
It was the only time Branzy would see Clown without his gloves on- then again, it was still winter.
Eventually though, the snow had to subside. Spring was drawing ever closer and it started warming up, and the snow started to slowly thaw.
Branzy’s sleep schedule started to alter, his body shifting to becoming more active during the day. He wasn’t particularly happy about that.
It meant spring- and the instinctual high that came with it, was approaching fast.
Eventually, as Branzy was trying to figure out the most efficient way to make sure the snow melt didn’t cause any issues with his redstone, he heard it.
A voice- and foot steps drew closer, calling Clown.
When Branzy turned his head around, he was met with not one- but two hybrids.
The one in front had black hair slightly fluffy ears, one of which had a chunk taken out of it, and a black swishing tail- a black jaguar.
The other behind him had white hair similar ears, but had yellow looking stripes that varied in lightness- a white tiger.
Oh- oh no no no… that, that wasn’t good.
Branzy started backing away as the two approached him.
“Huh- looks like Clown caught some lunch. Wonder if he’d care if we took a bite?” The jaguar laughed.
Suddenly, a metal blade came crashing down in front of him, before whipping around towards the two.
Forcing the tiger to jump back, sticking his arms up in a surrendered pose- and knocking the jaguar onto the ground.
“Hey what the- oh hiiii Clown…” the man said- attempting, and failing, to inch away from Clowns scythe pushed against his throat.
“That, is Branzy. He’s my engineer. If you get anywhere near his general vicinity like that again, I will kill you. Understood Minute?” Clown growled.
“Yup- got it- please move your scythe.” Minute choked out.
“Leo?” Clown added, giving Minute about a centimeter of added breathing room.
“So- he’s like your pet or something?” Leo asked looking Branzy up and down.
“Yes.” Branzy responded- grumpily returning to his plans, ignoring the two new cats studying him- Clown was there, he was fine.
He heard Clown chuckle lightly.
“Can I get up now?” Minute groaned- then let out a wheeze that indicated that, no, no he could not.
“Why are you two here?” Clown asked, obviously a little annoyed.
“Well, excuse us for wanting to check up on our friend after one of the coolest winters ever!” Leo declared kicking the ground. “Unsocial little…” he mumbled afterwards.
Hmmm… weird for cat hybrids to crave socialization- but humans are social creatures so whatever.
Clown, Leo, and Minute started chatting- it was something about hunting, the conversation started to grow lighter as time went on.
Branzy wasn’t paying much attention, just working on projects around the base- testing out some new traps.
Occasionally he’d hear a startled sound from one of the guests when a trap went off. He couldn’t help but chuckle. He also may have been setting up some… personal entertainment.
Serves them right for threatening to eat him earlier.
He saw Clown glancing at him a couple times- but he never said anything.
Eventually the two left.
“Hmmm… did you get all the tricks out of your system Branzy Craft?” Clown asked after they were firmly out of ear shot.
“Eh- who knows?” Branzy replied, not bothering to hide the grin on his face.
“Huh, I didn’t know foxes wagged their tails.” Clown commented leaning back on the couch.
Huh? Branzy looked down at his tail and- yeah, it was wagging. Ugh.
Looks like Clown was getting a kick out of though.
“Stupid spring- approaching- higher instinct levels…” Branzy muttered- his tail still stubbornly wagging away, probably influenced by Clowns laughter.
It wasn’t spring yet- but it was close.
Branzy, luckily, hadn’t been feeling hybrid mating pulls yet. He knew he would though, eventually.
“Hey Branzy?” Clown asked, his tone of voice calmer.
“Hmm?” Branzy replied, a bit absentmindedly- he was trying to figure out how to stop his tail from wagging without looking like an idiot.
“What’s your opinion on the ‘hierarchy of hybrids?’”
Branzy froze for a minute- processing the question.
“Why..?” He asked turning to face Clown.
“Well, you usually seem to obey that hierarchy fairly well, until you get access to redstone. Then you sit there and quietly torment two wildcats.”
Now, it was rare for Branzy to be able to figure out what Clown was thinking- but right now his brain was coming up especially blank.
“Well, uh- we’re all part human aren’t we? The single most dangerous and destructive animal on the planet. I only really default to the ‘hierarchy’ when I can’t use my human skills- aka redstone. Which has been quite a lot recently.”
Branzy was glancing between Clown and one of the redstone pranks he did… he- he better clean that up.
He started to focus on cleaning the prank- some quiet tension was growing in the tent every second.
Branzy’s ears weren’t quite flat on his head- but they weren’t perking up as much as they usually were.
He suddenly felt something wrap around his waist- lifting him off the ground.
He screamed- because of course he screamed.
Triggering his captor, the killer Clown behind him, to laugh.
“Good answer Branzy Craft.” Clown whispered, before shifting his arms to a more dance like position, and started leading Branzy around the room- it took Branzy a minute to figure out that Clown was trying to dance with him, and he should at least try and get his feet to cooperate.
Dancing was surprisingly fun- even if kept stepping on Clown’s feet.
Clown didn’t seem to mind- confidently spinning Branzy around, and dipping him.
Pretty soon Branzy was laughing and his tail was wagging back and forth.
It wasn’t until Branzy was curled up in his burrow- that he realized the implications of Clowns question and response to his answer.
Was he- was he lower on the hybrid hierarchy then Branzy thought he was? Huh-
Clown didn’t seem to have many noticeable hybrid instincts other than the need to hunt- yes, yes, he kept his cool around Branzy but-
Clown would hunt every single day, not just because he needed food, not because his hybrid instincts were screaming at him that he needed to hunt to survive, he seemed to be doing it just for the thrill- for the enjoyment.
Branzy had only been hunting with Clown a handful of times- in fact he could count the number on his fingers, he only went when he himself needed to get it out of his system, but every time they went, if a hybrid crossed their path, or so much as let Clown catch their scent- he’d hunt them instead.
He was honestly surprised by how successful Clown was at killing hybrids-
But… that didn’t seem to be based on instinct- more like just Clown being well- Clown?
He definitely got thrown in here for murder- Branzy wouldn’t be shocked if he was a serial killer.
Clown didn’t seem to struggle when choosing when to sleep- he just seemed to take a quick nap whenever Branzy woke up- he did sleep standing, or well leaning- but again, that didn’t seem like an instinct.
Also- Branzy didn’t know of any predators that slept standing up- or regular animals actually, he was sure there were- he’s getting side tracked.
Part of him wondered if Clown would tell him if he asked- yeah, he hasn’t tried that yet! He could just ask once he got up… not that he really thought Clown would tell him.
The next day when Branzy scurried out of his burrow, he was met with Clown leaning over on his counter face down.
“Clown? You good?” Branzy asked inching closer to Clown.
“Ugh- fine. Just don’t touch me. Instinct high just kicked in.” Clown grumbled.
Some hybrids slowly got inched into their high, instincts gradually increasing over time- and others got their high thrown at them like a truck.
Which was evidently, Clowns predicament.
“Uh- you ain’t going to try and attack me are you?” Branzy asked slowly backing away.
“No, my hunting instinct doesn’t increase much.” Clown grumbled.
“Oh ok- is this a bad time to ask what kind of hybrid you are?”
Clown slowly turned his head to look at Branzy, straightening up a bit.
“Branzy- no one knows what hybrid I am.” Clown answered bluntly.
“Yeah, figured you wouldn’t tell me but I realized I never asked so…” Branzy shrugged.
“Oh, well, I’m not telling you- … it’s not something that naturally hunts arctic foxes.”
Branzy noticed that naturally in Clowns sentence- but was relieved he wasn’t first instinct prey- now what on earth is as comfortable as Clown in the cold but doesn’t naturally hunt arctic foxes?
Hmmm… Snow leopards maybe?
That’d fit… mostly because he’d ruled out- no no, Siberian tiger also still fit- but Clown kinda implied- whatever.
It was probably better if Branzy just stopped thinking about it. It didn’t really matter until Clown tried to eat him.
Branzy went over to begin working on yet another redstone project, when he realized something…
It was currently the line between winter and spring- usually his instinctual high was starting to hit by now…
But he hadn’t really felt anything yet- other then becoming more social, talking to Clown easier.
Maybe it was just being extremely gradual this time round- or maybe he was going to get hit by a truck. Who knows?
He was midway through creating another pitfall trap when Clown called down to him, ‘hey Branzy, wanna come with me to gather some materials?”
Oh- material run? Yeah- a break from wiring could be nice, and spending some extra time around Clown…
Branzy sat up a little straighter, what was that?
“Yeah- yeah I’ll come!” Branzy called up, smacking his forehead lightly. Like that was going to do anything before scampering up to meet Clown.
“So, what we looking for?” Branzy asked once they left.
Clown had his scythe and gear properly equipped- Branzy had gear but no weapon.
It was honestly more of a hindrance to him then a benefit.
Rek, Ash, and Clown had all tried to teach him how to use a sword- it didn’t work.
Even though Branzys claws weren’t the most effective- he was better with them then a sword.
“Hmmm… tall grass mostly, maybe a sheep if we can find one for the wool.” Clown replied.
Huh- not a lot of stuff. Usually they were after wood- oh well, if Clown needed wool he needed wool.
Grass though? Maybe his bed needed more stuffing.
Branzy was in a fairly good mood, half skipping around Clown. The snow was melting, leaving mud everywhere- Branzy was going to have to thoroughly wash his paws once he got back.
Oh well.
Clown seemed unbothered by Branzys attitude- he was apparently looking for a field that wasn’t completely soaked through from the snow.
Eventually they found a small one, and Clown quickly harvested the grass with his scythe, Branzy stuffed the material into a bag while Clown worked.
It didn’t take particularly long.
“Hmmmm… were probably not going to find much more today, let’s head back.” Clown mentioned, reaching out for the bag to check how much grass they’d gotten.
Right once Branzy handed over the bag- he heard something.
He immediately turned his head to look at the sound- and was met with a rabbit- staring right back at him.
The chase was on- somewhere vaguely in the back of his mind he heard someone calling his name, but he couldn’t be bothered to concern himself with it.
It was just him, the rabbit, and the thrill of the hunt.
Chasing it down over tree logs, and through bushes- it was running fast… but not fast enough.
Eventually Branzy pounced.
He heard a snap in his mouth- and then the distinct taste of blood in his mouth, snapping him out of his trance.
He spit the fussy thing out of his mouth and stared down at it in his hands-
“Since when could you run that fast?” Branzy heard Clown mumble from behind him.
He cringed as he realized he’d just run away from Clown instinctively hunting a rabbit.
“Did you catch it?” Clown asked getting closer to Branzy.
Branzy turned around and held up the dead rabbit in his hand- he’d snapped his neck when he pounced on it.
He heard Clown whistle from behind the mask.
“Wow, you killed it with your mouth?”
“How’d you-”
“You have blood dripping down your chin.”
Branzy felt slightly embarrassed pulling himself up from the ground.
“Oh- it’s a big one to, nice job!” Clown commented, scratching Branzys head. He annoyingly leaned into the touch.
“Th-thanks. S-sorry for running off.”
“Don’t worry about it! You’ve seen my hunting instinct. I’m a little surprised yours suddenly became so strong though.”
“Oh well- it was a rabbit. Rabbits are easy to hunt.” Branzy chuckled, handing over the fluffy prey to Clown.
“Are they now?” Clown asked, leading Branzy back to the tent.
Branzy chuckled. “Yeah- rabbits are like, the only animal I’ve ever felt an instinct to hunt. Pretty tasty too.”
“They are delicious.” Clown laughed, studying the dead animal. “It’ll make some good dinner tonight.”
Branzy couldn’t help feeling good about his catch, it wasn’t particularly difficult with all the praise Clown was giving him.
He was getting pretty excited for dinner tonight.
Then the tent came into view.
The pit fall trap- along with a handful of other ones were triggered.
Oh no.
“I swear- if they messed with the running water…” Clown grumbled, setting the bag of grass and the rabbit down on the ground, replacing them with his scythe.
Branzy cautiously followed Clown… he didn’t smell anyone near by, so they probably just ransacked the place.
He was wrong- he was so wrong.
About five separate people jumped out at them the second they approached.
Branzy was suddenly made very aware of just how short he was compared to most people- and how easy he was to grab, mostly from getting grabbed- and shoved into the ground.
Ah great- now there was mud on his nose.
He tried to force himself up but there was someone on top of him forcing him back down, and a sword against his neck.
The he realized something- he was above a new trap he made just a couple days ago… if he could just get to the trigger…
“Zam! Are you physically incapable of minding your own business??” Clown growled. Swinging his blade towards a jaguar hybrid.
“Who knows? Maybe I am. Like you seem physically incapable of not slaughtering everything you see!” Zam replied- blocking the weapon with his sword.
There were four people attacking Clown at once- he was holding his ground really well but…
There’s only so long you can keep fighting against that many people, and Clowns hits weren’t landing.
Eventually one of them managed to grab Clowns scythe- twisting it at an awkward angle. Forcing him to let go of it.
Pretty quickly after that Clown was on the ground- pinned by three people. The fourth, Zam was looming over him- well, attempting to anyway.
Clown was still well, Clown- aka a giant, so Zam really didn’t have a lot of space to loom.
Everyone in the fight was out of breath- but Clowns huffs quickly turned into a dark, sharp laugh.
“Ok Zam, congratulations! You got me! You got Clownpierce! Now finish the job!” Clown laughed-
Far enough- there wasn’t really anything else he could do in this situation.
“Oh, oh you think I’m letting you go that easy?” Zam huffed… he really should. Every second he left Clown alive was a second Clown could potentially get his scythe, which was lying on the ground just out of reach.
They should also really get that farther away from Clown.
“Let’s see what the great Clownpierce looks like hmm?” Zam practically cackled.
Branzy was slowly trying to lessen the grip of his captor- if he could he could potentially free himself and hit the trigger switch.
He was also keeping his eyes on Clown- especially once Zam ripped off his mask and hat. He let out a small gasp when he saw Clowns face.
Clown had what looked like almost black eyes- a slightly crooked nose thin lips that were currently pulled into a snarl- showing off- flat teeth.
His hair was a white grayish color- with black streaks running through it, with two long fluffy- slightly floppy ears coming out of it.
Zam almost stumbled back before breaking out in hysterical laughter, doubling over clutching his chest.
“No- no- you can’t be serious! You’re telling me, the great Clownpierce- is a little bunny???” Zam wheezed, all the people pinning Clown seemed to have a similar reaction.
The snarl on Clowns face slowly shifted into a smirk. Probably because he was feeling the same thing in his own captors that Branzy was feeling in his- their grip loosening.
“I’m a hare actually.” Clown laughed- before practically throwing one of the guys pinning him completely off- grabbing his scythe.
Mistakes had been made.
Including from the idiot holding him down- allowing Branzy to just barely scurry away- bolting for the hidden trigger.
His captor began to chase him- but he was a little too slow, the ground feel beneath his feet as Branzy triggered the spare pit fall.
Looking back- the hybrid was stuck clinging to the edge of the trap.
Branzy walked over to him, and pushed him off the ledge.
He wasn’t making the mistake of leaving his enemy alive for an extended period of time.
Looking back at Clown- his fight was basically over. The only one left standing was Zam- who wasn’t going to last long.
“Oh, and I’m not little.” Clown laughed before making the final strike on Zam.
Blood splattered all across his face and ears as Zam’s limp body collapsed across the ground.
Branzy wondered over- unsure what to do with himself.
Clown had a smirk on his face as he watched Branzy with a carful eye. He had various different scars painting his face.
“Not what you were expecting hmm?” Clown laughed when he saw Branzy staring.
“You’re a… a hare..?” was all Branzy managed to mumble.
“Of the arctic verity specifically.” Clown explained, gently brushing his hand against Branzys ears.
Branzy froze- Clown was…
“Your direct prey Branzy Craft~” Clown whispered.
His nose involuntarily started to twitch- taking in Clowns sent, before he shook himself out of it and reminded himself- just who exactly was in front of him.
“Um- pretty sure that’s just the animals… pretty sure I’m still the prey in this situation…” Branzy mumbled. His tail slowly wagging low.
Clown laughed- before suddenly grabbing Branzy and shoving him against the ground- pinning him down.
His breath quickened as Clown leaned down closer to him.
“Do I trigger your instincts Branzy Craft?” Clown whispered- just inches away from Branzy’s face.
“Uh- yeah… but quite a few aren’t fox related…” Branzy mumbled, his eyes drifting to Clowns lips.
“Good.” Clown replied before his lips crashed into Branzys.
It was aggressive and intoxicating… and felt so, so good.
Branzy’s arms came up to rummaging through Clowns hair- it was almost as soft as his tail, and for the second time today the rest of the world faded away.
It was just him, and Clown.
Just Clown…
Just Clown pushing and dragging him and loving him- and everything was bliss.
Eventually Branzy made himself aware of his surroundings- he was know in the tent, lying next to Clown in his bed, notably- both of them were missing everything other then the bottom most layers of their clothing.
Clown had his arms comfortably wrapped around Branzy- pulling him in close.
“Hmmm… something wrong?” Clown asked- he sounded fairly sleepy.
“No- just didn’t realize the term ‘drunk on love’ could be literal.” Branzy mumbled- nuzzling into Clowns chest.
Clown hummed in response.
Branzy looked over Clowns chest and arms- he’d never seen him without the costume before. They were covered in various different scars.
As he was tracing one of these scars something dawned on him.
“Clown… how are you here?” Branzy asked.
“Snuck in a few years ago so I could kill without consequences.” He mumbled in response, nuzzling into Branzys hair.
“I should be more surprised by that then I am.” Branzy grumbled.