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“…lo?…”
…it hurts…
“…llo??…”
He was so cold and drenched…
“…alive or…”
…his arms and legs felt numb…
“…am I even doin…”
…someone was shaking his shoulders.
“Hello?”
…who-
He shot up with a gasp, ears ringing, nearly crashing into the person who was staring at him with wide eyes. Where…
-engine exploded, fire consuming the plane-
-plane was going down at such an extreme speed-
-crashing into the ocean, swimming because his life depended on it-
-grabbing onto a floating piece of debris with current pulling him who knows where-
“-hey, hey, breathe for me, ‘kay? One… two…” The person was grabbing his shoulders, in a grounding presence, while the other hand was on their chest, taking exaggerated breaths, encouraging him to imitate.
One, two, three, four…
He took in a breath, desperately trying to calm his racing heart, tail trying to break free, swishing a million miles a minute. Breath, breath, breath-
“WE’RE GONNA CRASH! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!”
He whimpered, one hand reaching to clutch and pull his hair, as memories of the crash flooded through his brain. He was suddenly all too aware of the multiple injuries that he had, bruises hidden under his clothes, blood dripping slowly down his face, staining the sand below him.
One, two, three, four…
The person’s hand left their chest, reaching out to gently untangle his hand from his hair and place it on their chest, so that he could feel the exaggerated breathing that they had still been making the entire time, alongside the counting.
Breath, breath, breath, brea-
Screams echoed through the plane, and it was going down down down down-
The person was rubbing soothing circles on his back, hand having left his shoulder, their voice a calm monotone keeping him grounded.
One, two, three, four…
His breathing was slowly getting under control and it was at that moment he felt a weight on his lap. He looked down, and saw a mass of fur on his lap, the shape resembling that of a dog. At that very moment, the ball of fur looked up, the dog barking happily.
“One, two- wait, Ren! I thought you were wandering the beach?” The person exclaimed, pausing the counting. They reached out to grab the dog, who was still barking excitedly. “Sorry ‘bout that. Hope you’re fine now. Probably are, actually, since you aren’t really panicking anymore. He’s a little excited. We don’t often get new people here. Anyways, the name’s False Symmetry, call me False, she/her, nice to meet you.”
The person, as Fruit got a closer look at her, seemed to have long blonde, almost yellow hair, goggles resting on her head. She wore a green jacket, a roughed up white and red striped top beneath it. She wore short brown pants and black boots, legs decorated with minor bruises. And at her back- he did a double take, were those wings?! He could not hide his surprise. After all, living with your hybrid features out in the open was practically an invitation to getting persecuted and killed. He would know, for his friends were not so lucky.
He blinked, before sighing and deciding to bite the bullet and ask about them.
Not before introducing himself, of course. He’s not rude.
“Hi. Sorry you had to see that. I‘m Fruit, he/him. Thanks for helping me, by the way. And uh… what’s up with the wings, by the way? Not to be rude or anything! Just… curious, You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, of course!”
False tilted her head to the side, curiosity visible in her eyes, but smiled nonetheless and responded, “I would have thought that you would know, judging from your…” Her eyes drifted up to the top of Fruit’s head, and realising that he was missing anything to cover his head, he instantly flushed, instinctively reaching up to cover the wood stem with a leaf that sat atop his head. His eyes drooped downward as soon as he realised that trying to hide his hybrid features would be rather offensive to another hybrid, muttering an apology under his breath, embarrassment flooding through him.
False instantly waved her hands in front of her, a placating smile on her face. “You don’t need to apologise mate, it’s fine. I suppose that reaction happened because you were living amongst humans for a long period of time?” Fruit nodded in response. “Huh. I’ve lived on this island for most of my life, because my wings are hard to hide and because this island is one of many hybrid safe havens.”
Fruit perked up at that, tail thumping against his back. “Wait, really? So I… I wouldn’t have to hide my hybrid features?”
False nodded, replying, “Yeah, not at all. Practically everyone here is a hybrid.”
A warmth bloomed in Fruit’s chest as he heard that. For so long, he always had to hide his features. He had seen what the news broadcasted, and never took off his hat, but now… now he could finally let his tail move about freely without risk of Void-knows-what happening to him, on the island, that he was… stranded on…
His face fell, and that panic slowly started to rise again. “I-I’m stranded here, aren’t I?” Oh gosh, what about TapL? All his friends, even if they hate hybrids, what about them? His parents? They were getting old, who would care for them? He was an only child, what will happen to them? What-
“Fruit! Hey, hey, calm down before you have another panic attack, alright?” False was grabbing his wrist, which had unconsciously moved up to pull at his hair again. Ren was nudging his other hand, soft noises coming from him. “You alright now?” He did not deign that with a response, head merely drooping down, tears forming in his eyes.
“My- my parents, and TapL, will I- will I ever get to see them again?” He choked out, tears dropping and staining the ground.
False responded after a moment, seemingly taking a moment to consider, “It’s your choice, really. I’d say just go for it if you really want to.” Fruit raised his head up to look at her, a sob getting stuck in his throat.
“O-oh, thank you.”
“No problem. Let’s not focus on that for now. And I doubt you want to continue sitting on the ground, so come on. I’ll bring you to my cottage. It’s dangerous to go alone in the forest to get to the cottage, especially if it’s your first time.” False used one hand to pretty much just haul him up with no visible effort, dragging him to his feet. He stumbled a bit, legs numb from sitting down, hurting from a few scarps and bruises, and other stuff that happened in the ocean. “Stay close to me and don’t step on any suspicious patches of grass. They are rigged with bear traps.”
What. The. Fuck.
Despite that, Fruit nodded, trailing behind False like a lost duckling. He used the time to take in where he washed up. It was a beautiful beach, palm trees here and there, random items and mounds that hinted at signs of life. The ocean glistened a bright blue, unmarred from human pollution, waves gently lapping at the sand, fishes visible and swimming in the water. A dense forest surrounded the beach, darkness almost beckoning for an adventure. It was alluring yet comforting.
As they entered the forest, the change was immediate. Darkness hung over them, clinging to every surface it could find. Trees loomed over them like buildings, almost threatening. The type of adventure a nature lover would enjoy. Flies buzzed around them, Fruit swatting them away with one hand, the other desperately clinging onto False’s jacket for some semblance of direction. A dirt path was vaguely visible, one that you would not have noticed had you not been looking for it specifically.
As they moved through the forest, a terrifying thought popped in Fruit’s head. What if they got lost in the forest? It was scary to think about. Lost in the thick forest, rummaging through the forest to find food to eat, the potential loss of fresh water, it was disturbing to think about. He shivered. Nope, let’s not think about that.
After wandering for what he presumed to be about 20 minutes, the path below them slowly changed. At first there were a few stones here and there to stand on, but it evolved into a stony path that soon gave way to a clearing. In the midst of the clearing stood a cottage, all kinds of crops and plants and trees growing around the cottage. There were other builds in the area, like a half-finished tower, and a pond with a weird concrete hexagon on it.
The cottage was a quaint little thing, made of some sort of wood. A stone chimney lay on the roof, smoke pluming out of it. The cottage was clearly well loved, for as they got closer to the door, past all the shrubs and flowers, there were pictures of False and what Fruit presumes are her friends on it. Post-it notes were pinned up alongside the photos, with some notes like “so fun!” or “GOODTIMESWITHSCAR YOU ARE DEAD TO ME - The G.O.A.T.”. A lot of them seemed to be photos taken in the midst of an action, with how blurry some of them are, but there were a few that looked as if they were taken with purpose.
False took out a key and unlocked the door, pushing it open and gesturing for Fruit to enter. “After you,” she smiled. He entered the house, and there was a cluttered yet quaint interior inside. Ren immediately darted in, barking happily at the two people inside, both brown haired men with beards, although one had sunglasses and dog features with a long ponytail, while the other had cat ears and tails and striking blue eyes. The dog hybrid was carrying some logs to a fireplace, while the cat hybrid was carrying a tray of food to the table in front of the fireplace.
“Falsie!” the dog hybrid waved, quickly putting away the logs. The dog hybrid tilted their head at Fruit, while the cat hybrid smiled at False and stared curiously at him. “You brought home another stray, False?”
“Yep, this is Fruit, he/him. He was in that plane crash that occurred recently, I think, and washed up on our island. I was taking Ren on a walk when I spotted him. He’s also a hybrid, but I think it’s something related to plants. A fae, maybe?” False questioned.
Fruit turned to look at her and shrugged. “I’m not sure, my parents didn’t really tell me.”
The dog hybrid nodded in understanding replying, “Yeah dude, I get that, not knowing what type of hybrid you are. Anyways, the name’s Ren, he/him!”
Fruit blinked.
“…huh?”
False and the cat hybrid broke into giggles as Ren tilted his head to the other side innocently. False, probably deciding to take pity on him, responded, “Our dog is called Ren because we thought ‘Since Ren is a dog hybrid, and we have a dog, why not name the dog Ren?’. And here we are now. The hybrid is Ren Diggity TheDog, while the dog is Ren the dog.”
“…Ren the dog and Ren TheDog.”
“Yep!” Ren exclaimed happily, tail wagging.
“…Ok?”
“False, I think he’s done with our bullshit.”
“I would be too, H. Also, language.”
“Sorry,” H (?) winced, then smiled at Fruit, introducing themself, “My name’s HBomb Ninety-Four, just call me H, he/him as well. Nice to meet you! You can join us for our meal if you want, we made extra anyway.” Fruit considered the offer, turning it over in his head, before nodding in agreement. It was not like he could go home, and he was not keen on scavenging for food on the island.
“Hold up,” False said, eliciting a pause from the three of them, “Shouldn’t Fruit change? And wash? Half his face is literally covered in blood, and the rest of him is soaked, caked in dirt, and multiple other lacerations and bruises probably unaccounted for under his clothes.” The three of them collectively winced, Ren muttering a “Yes Ma’am” under his breath, False letting out a long-suffering sigh, mumbling, “Men and their impulsiveness, I swear.” The three of them chuckled nervously at that.
H volunteered to bring Fruit to the shower and help him wash and clean all the bruises, announcing he would also give an impromptu tour at the same time. False and Ren nodded, talking about preparing even more food, as if they did not already have five steaming hot plates of food on the table.
As H brought him, he asked, “How are you feeling so far? If they’re giving you a hard time or being noisy, just let them know. They’ll lower their trap, I’m sure.”
Fruit pondered the question, replying, “I… it’s going fine, I suppose. Just a bit too… eccentric for my tastes. But I’m perfectly fine with that! And uh, thanks I suppose. For helping me and all that, going out of your way for a stranger, it’s really nice.”
“Don’t worry about it my boy, that’s what we’d do, especially for a hybrid.” H patted his shoulder, giving such a blinding smile it made Fruit feel he was looking at the sun.
They soon reached what Fruit presumed to be the bathroom, which he was correct about as H opened the door. Fruit removed his clothes while H locked the door, and they stepped into the bathtub. Fruit sat as H grimaced, likely seeing all the wounds, a few of which seemed to still be bleeding rather sluggishly, like having been reopened while walking. How Fruit had not blacked out from the blood loss was rather surprising, but he was not going to complain.
As H cleaned Fruit’s wounds, a smile graced his lips as he thought about the kindness he was shown. He was a stranger to them, yet they still treated him like one of their own, caring for him, helping him clean; it made warmth bloomed in his chest, spreading throughout his body. “Thanks…” he murmured, eyelids drooping slightly as the events of the day caught up to him.
H looked surprised, pausing, but grinned nonetheless, exclaiming, “It’s no problem! Afterall, what are friends for?”