Chapter Text
It was just past lunch when Ranboo finally went to brush his teeth. Collecting his toothbrush and a piece of mint, he began walking down the hallway towards the kitchen. He ducked under the just slightly too short doorway, placing the toothbrush upright on the counter. He tried to avoid the bristles touching the dirty surface, not that it would make much of a difference - the poor toothbrush had been through quite the beating over the years, and was now quite rough and uncomfortable. He knew dental hygiene was necessary though!
Ripping half the mint leaf off with his teeth, he chewed it up in his mouth and stored the other half into his pocket. The taste of mint was certainly a unique one. It almost felt like it burned his tongue with cold, still, it was refreshing.
Giving the wooden lever a hefty push, water began to trickle out of the faucet. He quickly moved the toothbrush underneath the water, being careful to avoid his hand, before bringing it up to his mouth and rubbing it gently against his teeth. The mint pulp was a nice way to keep his breath fresh, plus, it acted as a shield between the rough brush and his sensitive gums.
Though, this was his last mint leaf. And although mint isn’t the most expensive thing on the market, it still costs something , and money was tight. A single copper coin lost may cost them tomorrow’s dinner. Though, his mother was insistent, so he enjoyed this luxury. It did leave him with some guilt, but it also left him with fresh breath.
Once he was sure every tooth was as clean as he could get it, he washed the brush off with another push of the lever. Ducking back under the doorway, he retreated back into him and his mother’s shared living space. It was small, but it was home. They were even lucky enough to have a small kitchen! His mother had worked very hard to get that.
He put his toothbrush and what remained of the mint leaf on the kitchen counter, planning to clean it later. Plucking a couple of copper coins from their savings jar, he began his way to the store. They needed more burn ointment anyways; he could get that while getting the mint! Plus he got to see Niki if he went to the store. Niki was kind to him; he appreciated that.
It was sunny outside, that was lucky - the weather brightened his mood quite a bit. He was also lucky that the walk was so short! Today seemed like a lucky day for him. Letting a little skip slide into his step, he made his way to the medicine shop, once again ducking beneath the doorway.
The shop was cream-white with pale blue accents, a stone path surrounding the sides as if to mark the land they owned. There were larger plants outside, some on display to buy, and others simply for decoration. It was two stories tall; the first floor was the store itself, the second floor was where Niki and her brother lived.
The both of them worked at the castle, making the land the shop was on free. They had to get a special permit to sell things there though. Unfortunately, as Ranboo and his mother were hybrids, they did not get the luxury of free land. That’s why they lived in the servants’ quarters, that was free.
A little bell rang as he entered and Niki looked towards him from the counter. She was a shorter woman, with a kind smile and soft blond hair that she often wore in a messy bun. She was wearing a green dress with small white flowers printed over it, along with an apron over her lower half. White cuffs stuck out from her sleeves, slightly covering her hands. The cuff fell back as she raised her hand to wave at him.
The interior of the shop was small but cozy. Entering the store you’re greeted with soft warm lights, and shelves embedded in the walls that are filled with potions. The potion shelf was in the left corner of the store, and right beside it was the counter. Since the potions had the most effects, they were closest to Niki, just in case someone tried to steal them.
Looking to the right, you would see an opening in the corner opposite the potion shelf. Entering the opening you would be greeted by wooden shelves full of different herbs, different kinds stored in different styled jars. There were many other random objects and decorations filling the store, giving it a very cluttered feeling. Though many would find that comforting. One of those many, was Ranboo.
After all, it would be a dream come true to have enough belongings to fill a space so well.
“Ranboo! Oh, how lovely to see you!” she grinned brightly, “what brings you here today?” Her voice was high-pitched but not shrill, more gentle - almost welcoming? It felt safe, that’s for sure.
He returned her smile gently. “We need some more burn ointment, and some mint leaves.” Entering the store further, he looked over the wooden shelves to find the jar that held what he was searching for. Niki leaned across the counter watching him, giving him an open invitation to continue speaking.
“I
could
go pick some in the forest, but yours are always so perfect!” Usually, he would be too shy to speak with such a playful tone, but never around Niki. Not unless he was having a particularly rough day.
Their conversation was interrupted by a familiar ring, an off-duty(?) guard entering the shop. He still had a shiny silver sword hanging off his hip, and light chainmail armor over his body.
Ranboo quickly looked away, not wishing to draw attention to himself. Guards were a common thing to see - he did live on castle grounds after all. Though they had command over him, and he didn’t know if this particular guard was in a bad mood. Niki gave her usual smiley greeting towards the guard, though Ranboo could tell it lacked a certain glee she carried towards friends. It almost sounded cold, though you wouldn’t notice unless you heard her talk regularly.
The guard was browsing through the cooking herbs stored in slightly different jars when Ranboo finally found the mint. Now, all that was left was the burn ointment! Though, Niki made his specifically for his enderman traits. A burn from water was different than a burn from fire after all! That meant he was stuck in the store until the guard left. He pretended to be browsing through medicinal herbs to avoid drawing suspicion.
Another bell ring. Oh great, now he had to wait even longer. He turned to see who entered the store this time. The man had near shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, with a green and white bucket hat over it. He wore forest green robes, with a slit in the back for his wings.
Hold on.
His -
WINGS!?
All thoughts stopped short when the winged-hybrid pulled out a sword, and more hybrids followed in behind him. “THIS IS A HEIST!” A hybrid with curly brown hair spoke. He had somewhat grey skin, though no other obvious hybrid traits. Maybe he was human? A woman with long, curly, white hair ran further into the store. She had thick well-cared-for ram horns growing from above her ears, which looked very threatening. She took out her sword, and pointed it towards the guard.
A seemingly human... teenager? Ran in behind them. Oh. The guy was running right towards him - he moved to the side, shrinking away from the group. The teen had blonde hair that looked like some odd mix of curls and fluff. He was shoving jars of herbs into a leather bag, the grey-skinned man doing the same on the other side of the shop.
He heard a shriek, turning just in time to see the ram-hybrid fall to the floor, the guard running out of the shop. She swore before getting up to chase after him, the winged man stopped her before she could get far. Ranboo turned towards the counter, seeing Niki sitting down, hiding behind it. Once she saw him looking towards her, she quickly waved her hand for him to join her. Niki didn’t seem that scared. She was brave, but this was a stressful situation.
Ranboo tried to stand up, though the teen quickly shut down this idea, giving him a pointed glare as if warning him to stay still. It was almost comedic this time as the soft silver bell rang, a small patrol of guards rushing in. This time, it was the winged man who swore.
A fight broke out in front of him - five guards versus the four robbers, though the teen was still behind him, grabbing jars of herbs. It looked like the robbers were losing - though they were holding their own remarkably well. One guard got slashed on the arm, shrieking as blood quickly soaked into his shirt. Sucks he didn’t have chainmail there.
He was watching the fight with a mixture of interest and fear, so he nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand gripped his arm. Looking behind him, he saw the teen. “Stand up!” The blonde hissed, he quickly obliged, honestly too scared to do much else. He looked towards Niki, who looked more... angry? Then scared. He gasped when he got pulled against the somewhat shorter figure, a knife being positioned at his throat. Maybe his day wasn’t so lucky after all. Gosh darn it, he jinxed it!
“OI! GUARD FUCKS!” The fight briefly paused, though everyone remained in tense fighting positions, prepared for this to be a distraction. “If you shits don’t let us walk out this minute, the kid gets it!” Ranboo could tell the guy was trying to sound intimidating, but he sounded more goofy than anything else. Though, when somebody has a knife to your throat, it’s pretty easy to be intimidated.
One guard growled towards his captor, “You really think we’re gonna let you leave just for some hybrid kid!?” Yeah, they really chose the wrong guy to use as a hostage. Though, he was the only one in the shop, besides Niki. Thank god they didn’t use Niki-
It looked like the fight was going to continue, and Ranboo prepared to get either thrown to the side, or stabbed, who knew what would be done with him now that they knew he had no use here. One guard spoke before his eyes fully closed, with a guarded tone. Heh. “No matter if it’s a hybrid or not, killing a kid like this isn’t gonna go well with the public-” The guard speaking had red hair with some white patches, but he looked quite young. The white was definitely not from old age. Genetics were just kinda funky sometimes, he supposed.
The hair reminded him of a red-velvet cupcake, with that delicious cream cheese frosting. He blames his hunger for thinking of tasty treats when being held at knife-point. The red-velvet guard seemed to be the one in charge, because though none of the guards seemed to agree, they followed suit in letting the group leave. The teen still holding the knife near his throat as they walked him out.
The winged man took the leather bags, and flew off into the sky. Ranboo couldn’t help but be amazed, even though the man was part of the group who was currently threatening his life. They paused outside of the shop, watching the guards leave, anger in their eyes. Besides the red-head, he seemed more apathetic. It was hard to tell if that was a good thing or not.
The ram-hybrid left the shop soon after, carrying another bag of loot. They snuck around the side of the castle wall before they reached a hole in the ground that seemed to lead beneath the wall, that’s probably how they got in, and apparently how they’d get out. He couldn’t help but notice the ram-hybrid’s agitation as she went through the hole first, having just left a conversation he was far too distracted to hear. It was mostly with the brown-haired man, they had hung behind for the most part.
He felt the hand on his arm leave, and watched as the knife was taken away as well. The blonde put it in his pocket - was that safe? - and gave him a slight push towards the hole. Even though his life wasn’t in as much danger anymore, he didn’t want to risk it, so he hopped in. It was much smaller than he expected. He awkwardly shuffled through the tunnel, seeing a hand reaching down as he made it to the other side.
The ram-hybrid helped him out of the tunnel, and smiled at him far too kindly for a kidnapper. Was he kidnapped? It was oddly hard to tell- “You alright?” Well, how was he supposed to answer that? The hybrid in front of him was much shorter, probably around 5’ while he stands at a whopping 6’6 and growing. Her hair was down to the small of her back, fluffing over her pirate-esque outfit. He awkwardly stuttered out a response. It’s good to be polite to someone who may kill you, right?
“Yeah- yeah I’m... alright?” It sounded more like a question than a statement, but what would you expect in this situation!? She seemed content enough with his answer at least. Thank god.
The other teen soon came out of the tunnel, much smoother than Ranboo had. Though the brunette seemed to simply... Faze through the castle wall? He’d have to note that down later. What the hell. Hybrid traits sure got interesting sometimes. The winged-hybrid landed in front of the group not long after, giving everyone a leather bag to hold. Ranboo felt quite useless here. Was he supposed to leave? Was he
allowed
to go back??
The ram-hybrid sighed and started speaking, surprisingly gentle. “Alright, I’ll say it since these guys are too damn awkward!” There was a playful glint to her tone, though it sounded annoyed as well, and the group visibly winced. This only confused Ranboo more - they seemed so casual? “Sorry for uh... Holding you hostage, really-” She waved her hands around as she spoke, trying to articulate what she wanted to say correctly.
“We were in a tough situation with the guards there and didn’t wanna kill anyone, and-” she looked towards the blonde teen, “our friend Tommy here is somewhat stupid and very impulsive.” The te- Tommy? Whined in protest, motioning dramatically with his arms, and looking towards the others for backup that they did not give. The ghostly brunette spoke up next. “You’re a hybrid yourself, eh? Don’t think there’s too much danger with you knowing Tommy’s name, but you better keep that secret, alright?” There was an unhidden threat in his voice. Ok, noted down, don’t tell anyone about this.
Could he go yet?? He just wanted to go home, man.
The winged man laughed. There was no threat in his laugh though, it was kind, like Niki but more… large? Hm, hard to describe. “Don’t worry mate, you’re all good. Listen - the castle is a shitty place for hybrids,” yeah, “so if you ever get into some proper trouble, follow the triangle rocks through the forest.” The man pointed towards the entrance of the forest that was maybe a thirty-minute walk from where they stood. “If you enter from around there, and go straight, you can notice them. If you follow them far enough, you’ll come to a small clearing, you’ll know it’s the right one if there's a large boulder beneath one of the trees on the side. Covered in moss.” Ranboo nodded along. So many things to remember, god.
“One of us is usually hanging around there. We don’t hesitate to help a hybrid in need.” He glanced towards the brunette, seeing his untrusting gaze, he gave a quick and huffy laugh. “But yeah, say any of this to anyone? And all this trust we’re giving you is gone.” He raised his eyebrows in a half-joking way, though it was clear he was being serious here. The group waved, the ram-hybrid giving a vocal goodbye, before they ran off towards the forest. Huh. His life sure just got a lot more interesting.