Chapter Text
Leo
The pink human kept a protective hand in front of the feral wolf-girl. Whether it was to protect her from him or him from her, he had no idea. He eyed the staff. I want it. It would surely make a great defense against Scarlemagne and his nobles. The staff’s owner didn’t even reach his shoulders. He doubted she could do much harm. What a waste of potential. The pink girl took a step forward, hands held by her head in submission.
“W—We don’t want any trouble, we promise!” she stuttered, voice wavering. “Right, Wolf?”
The smaller girl, Wolf, only gritted her teeth in response. Leo repeated the action and her stance stiffened. He looked between the two of them, ready to grip an arrow if needed.
“What are you doing in my territory?”
“Your territory?” Wolf snarled. “I live he—”
“What she means to say is,” the pink girl interrupted, “is that we had no idea that this was your territory. We’ll get out of your hair.”
Leo held a hand up to stop the girl as she took a step forward to pass him. “Not so fast.”
She gulped.
Leo continued. “Did you really think I was just gonna let you leave? Why are you here? Did he send you?”
The girls frowned at the intonation in his tone.
“What? I don't know what you're—”
“Don't lie to me,” Leo warned through gritted teeth. He pulled an arrow and lifted his bow as if to shoot them. The pink girl visibly panicked.
“We're not lying!” she assured. “We just need to get through your… territory, in order to get to this other place. Please, we don't have much time! You need to let us leave!”
Leo scoffed. “What if I don't?”
Despite her shaky stance, the smaller girl pointed her weapon at him, steadied by the pink girl. “Then I'll knock your eyes out with Stalky here.”
She looked smug — cocky. Leo was unsure what he felt about being challenged by a child who could barely stand by herself. He'd had enough of Scarlemagne and his nobles. He didn't have the time to deal with some kids who'd escaped daycare.
“Look, kid,” he said. “You can try if you want, but you’re gonna lose.” The damned scorpions had given him more than enough training to successfully beat a child — a drugged one, at that.
Wolf steadied herself and shrugged Kipo’s arms off her shoulders until she stood on her own on shaky feet. She snarled and pointed her staff at his head. “We’ll see about that.”
At a surprisingly fast pace, she leaped into the air and swung her staff at him, merely missing by a few inches. Leo raised his bow and pulled an arrow from his quiver. Wolf’s eyes widened momentarily at the sight of his weapon, but she covered her features with anger as she went for another hit.
This time, he was ready.
“Wolf!” the pink girl cried in protest.
Wolf realized too late what he was planning to do. As the point of the tip surged through the air towards his unprotected skull, he grabbed the tail and swung it into the ground. It shattered like porcelain as the red pieces spread around his feet, along with a green liquid that reeked of expiring poison. Wolf froze in her tracks as she zeroed in on her destroyed weapon. Leo tossed the metal staff aside with a clank that echoed throughout the parking garage.
“S—Stalky—” she croaked out.
Leo almost thought he could make out tears in her eyes, but she closed them before he could be sure. When she opened them, they burned with hatred and Leo would’ve been afraid hadn’t he had the upper hand.
“You—” Wolf began, taking a deep breath. “You monster!”
She raised a trembling fist into the air and Leo held up his arrow. He wasn’t afraid of killing children to survive, despite the voices of his sisters telling him how wrong that was.
The pink girl grabbed her friend and pulled her back. “Wolf, I know you’re mad, but we can’t stay here. They’re coming!”
As if on cue, a Deathstalker shrieked nearby. How could a human hear that before me? Leo wondered. He glanced at her through the dark and a gasp escaped his throat. Were those mute ears sticking out through her hair? He blinked and they were gone, replaced by regular human ears without an ounce of muteness to them.
“Let’s go,” she urged, pulling the smaller girl toward the opening of the garage.
Leo didn’t move to stop them. In fact, he didn’t do anything at all as they rushed past him and disappeared. He also didn’t move when the Deathstalker crawled into the garage to settle above its companion's dead body. Instead, Leo stared into the pieces of Wolf’s Deathstalker staff, watching the ground swallow the poison until it was no longer visible.
Leo recalled all the late nights he spent with his father as a child, perched on his lap. Why am I different? Why does my body change? Am I the only one? Those were questions that he repeatedly asked as a child. Every night, the same ones. And every night, his father would respond with the same answer.
“I don’t know,” Leo repeated aloud, unafraid of the Deathstalkers whose deafness wasn't bothered by his speech.
He’d seen it. He’d seen her ears change. He’d seen the black spots covering the pink fur. There was no way that he’d imagined it. There was no way that he was so desperate to not be alone that he made up something like that. There was no way that—
Leo turned around to face the opening. He let her go. He let the only hybrid he’d ever met go. He balled his hands into fists, one holding the arrow. He only relaxed when he was sure that it would break otherwise. He had to find her again. He had to make sure that he wasn’t crazy. His gaze returned to what was left of the staff and a smile teased his lips. They would be back. He was sure of it. And until then, he would make sure to prepare everything he needed. A tinge of hope tickled somewhere deep inside.
Was he truly not alone?