#elf patton

((So, uh, Magnus Chase au? If you haven't read Magnus Chase, this is basically like a modern day Norse mythology au with the sides all being enherjar at Valhalla))

Roman ran down the halls to the elevator, he couldn't believe he was about to miss battle practice! He was going to be the laughing stock of the einherjar if he missed it again! He'd been late to it for the past week, his hall-mates teasing him for being too scared to die an honorable death like everyone else during practice. He honestly could care less about training for Ragnarock, it wasn't his fault a Valkyrie counted him getting shot by protecting some lady and her flowers as a warrior's death. Either way, he was stuck in Hotel Valhalla now, and he had to train. So, to the battle field he ran.

Luckily he made it with seconds to spare. Unluckily it was Thursday, or, Lindworms day. Roman, just like any enherjar, hated fighting these dragons. There was not an enherjar in the entire history of Valhalla that had survived them so far. They were the absolute worst.

"So, you finally decided to join us your majesty?" Logan-one of his hall-mates-greeted him with an unamused eyebrow raise. Roman noted that the giant had let up his glamor some, seeing as he was a few feet taller than a normal human.

"Oh shut it Nerdy Wolverine, I need my beauty sleep." Roman retorted as he got into a running stance, waiting for the battle to begin. "Where's Patton?" He asked, finally noticing the elf was missing.

"Here!" Patton called as he approached. "Sorry, got caught up in some nimph gossip." He shrugged. "But supposedly there's a new enherjar fighting today."

"Yes, I heard about him." Logan said with a sneer on his face. "A son of Loki." Roman reeled at this information.

"Wait wait wait wait wait!" Roman rushed out. "Loki can have kids? His kids can actually get in Valhalla!?" Roman was very confused, for one, Loki was tied up with metal organs deep underground in Midgard. Secondly, how would a son of Loki die an honorable enough death to be considered worthy?

"Well kiddo, Loki does... get around..." Patton figitted his hands and focused on a spot on the floor.

"Yes, Loki has enough power to project his presence in any of the nine realms enough to-" Logan was about to finish but cut himself off with a cough as he noticed a pointed look from Patton.

"Well, if that slimey half blood crosses me he'll regret having ever died!" Roman exclaimed as he held out his sword to make a point. Logan just rolled his eyes as Patton prepared to scold him against it-probly talking about how violent all the enherjar were-but didn't get the chance to as the yak horn blew signifying the beginning of the battle. "Ah-HA!" Roman yelled with vigor. "It's time to slay some beats!" And with that Roman took off, not noticing how he lost his hall-mates git lost behind him.

That was, until a Lindworm descended in front of him.

"Alright you fowl beast! Taste my blade!" Roman held out his training sword as the dragon roared at him, it's acid saliva being flung out. Roman only laughed as his skin began to sting from the liquid. He charged forward shouting out a battle cry as he prepared to stab the beast. However, he didn't get very far as the Lindworm pushed his down with it's foot, Roman barely surviving from being between the claws. "You cheating bastard!" Roman exclaimed as he wriggled, trying to free himself. It was no use, as the Lindworm hissed acid down into his face. The beast lifted it's head as if in slow motion as it prepared to strike. For a moment, Roman's instinctual fear of death took over making him squeeze his eyes shut and tense up, preparing to be bit in half.

Except it never happened.

Instead, the Lindworm roared, as the weight holding Roman down was suddenly gone. "What are you doing you idiot!?" A voice called out. "Get up!!" Roman's eyes shot open to find someone with black hair dyed purple at the tips, straddling the Lindworm and fighting it with dual wielding bastard daggers. It was the hottest thing Roman had ever seen. "Hey! A little help would be appreciated!"

"R-right!" Roman stuttered out as he grabbed his sword and charged back into battle. With the Lindworm distracted by the enherjar on it's back Roman had a clean shot of it's chest. He wasted no time in rushing forward and digging his sword as deep as possible into the dragon's gut. The Lindworm reared knocking the enherjar off it's back as it screeched in pain, Roman didn't release his blade though as he twisted it killing the beast.

"Roman!!!" A voice that he recognized as Patton called from behind him as he turned around to meet the elf worriedly rushing forward, Logan behind him. "Are you okay!?" He fretted as he looked over his human friend.

"I'm fine Patt." Roman shrugged.

"Impressive, how did you kill a Lindworm on your own?" The giant questioned.

"I didn't." Roman smiled. "I just met the coolest person! You have got to meet them!" Roman exclaimed as he lead his hall-mates over to where the mysterious enherjar had fallen. As they approached they could see the enherjar hissing in pain as they tried to sit up with their leg cutt clean off.

"Oh..." Patton said worriedly as he rushed forward. "Are you okay?" The enherjar startled at Patton but quickly calmed down.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." They looked at their leg bleeding out but ignored it as they focused on Roman and his hall-mates. "Who are you?"

"Fo you have already met me! I am Roman Princely! Skilled warrior!" Roman exclaimed proudly making Patton chuckle and the other two roll their eyes.

"I'm Patton, nice to meet you kiddo!" Patton waved.

"Logan." The last of the trio sneered making the enherjar flinch.

"Hm, you got pretty hurt kiddo, you might have to just revive after the battle..." Patton looked down at the bloody mess that used to be the enherjar's leg. "We can at least make it quick and painless, if you'll let us that is?" Patton asked hopefully.

"Sure, beats bleeding out for another hour. " The enherjar shrugged.

“Before you kill them, I wanna ask them where they got their jacket.” Roman picked up a discarded black and purple patchy jacket, that was honestly quite stylish.

“Guys’ll be fine! I only died once before!” The enherjar replied, the blood loss seeming to have finally caught up to them.

"Exactly." Was all Logan said before chopping their head clean off.

"Aw, c'mon! We could've at least asked what hall they're in!" Roman whined.

"They're in ours." Logan looked down at his bloodied weapon with disgust. "They're the Loki-son."

Summary: He runs. He runs and runs and runs in a desperate attempt to escape his parents. He runs and runs and runs until he smacks into a tree. And that is when everything changes. Written for Inktober Day 11: Forest.

Notes:  So… my Internet crashed last night, so I’m posting this a day late. Also, I keep making characters witches… Oh well, I find it entertaining. Plus, it’s Halloween time, so why not make it a bit spoopy? Anyway, enjoy guys! 

He doesn’t know what eventually causes him to run. Maybe they were just a bit rougher than normal, maybe they finally started to go through with their plan to kill him; either way, he runs and this time, he runs for good. He just needs to get away, and the forest seems to be the best option. So, he does what he does best. He runs. He runs and runs and runs in a desperate attempt to escape his parents. He runs and runs and runs until he smacks into a tree. And that is when everything changes.

“Whoa, kid, are you okay?!” a sweet tenor yelps from somewhere in front of him. Thomas stumbles backwards and bites his lip as he feels his ankle twist. He can’t show pain, he can’t show weakness, he has to be perfect. Forcing back his tears, he glances up at the voice, and his eyes widen in surprise.  

A tall person with dark brown skin, pine green eyes, and spiky black hair stares down at him, a worried look in their large eyes. A hood covers most of their hair and shadows their face, but even Thomas can tell that their hair is an absolute mess. Tall boots come up to almost their knees, and striped tights cover the rest of the legs along with a pair of jean shorts. A T-shirt covers their torso, and a hoodie completes the ensemble. Overall, though, they look friendly. Certainly friendlier than his parents.

“Who are you?” Thomas asks instead of answering the stranger person’s question. The person cocks their head to the side and sticks out their hand for a handshake.

“I’m Virgil. He/him. Who are you, kid, and are you okay?”

“I’m Thomas! Also he/him. And why do you look so funny?” Thomas asks instead, beaming as he introduces himself. Virgil just sighs and crouches down to Thomas’s level, his eyes at once both grim and twinkling with mirth.

“You want some food? My friends are really nice, and they can give you some food before we get you home, okay?” Thomas nods, and Virgil grins before standing up straight so that he towers over Thomas. Granted, almost everyone towers over Thomas. Thomas doesn’t feel threatened by Virgil’s height, though; he knows, even then, that Virgil will never hurt him.

Virgil leads Thomas to a small cave that opens into a clearing surrounded by tall trees with a small river running into a little pond in the centre of it. Thomas’s eyes widen as he takes in the scenery, a feeling of peace and security filling his chest. He never wants to leave. Here, he will be safe. Here, he believes in that moment, he is home.

“Virgil? Why have you arrived home earlier than expected?” a new voice, a soft alto this time, inquires. Thomas tenses and turns around to find a tall person with a horse’s body and a human head and torso staring down at the two of them. Well, staring down at Thomas– they are only about an inch or two shorter than Virgil. Their horse coat is a soft black with dapples of white, while their human torso is clothed with a nice black shirt, a blue argyle sweater vest, and a blue tie. Glasses perch on their nose, and their dark hair is neater than most adults’s Thomas had ever seen.

“I found a kid, Logan. He seemed… lost,” Virgil explains, shrugging. Thomas misses the look Virgil shoots to this new person, Logan (a centaur, Thomas, just call them a centaur), as he wanders around to explore his new surroundings. Logan trots up to him, long white tail swishing behind them, and they extend a hand in greeting.

“Salutations. My name is Logan, and I use he/him pronouns. For future reference, everyone in our little family uses masculine terms of address. What is your name? I surmise that you use he/him pronouns as well,” Logan offers, attempting to look reassuring with a smile on his face. Thomas beams and files away the information from Logan’s little explanation for future use.

“I’m Thomas! It’s nice to meet you, Logan,” he choruses, shaking Logan’s hand with more enthusiasm than a child could normally muster. Sparks of magic start to fly from his hands, and Thomas quickly pulls back, terrified that Logan would yell at him or hit him or kick him out because of his out-of-control magic. Logan’s face falls a bit, and Thomas braces for the worst.

“Oh, Thomas, do you really think I’d harm you for something out of your control?” Logan whispers, his voice shaking with some emotion that Thomas can’t identify. He never learned how to identify any emotion other than anger and not-anger. This was definitely not-anger, but beyond that, Thomas is lost.  

“Sorry,” he mumbles, casting his gaze down towards the ground. Oh, look at that pretty rock! Such a pretty rock. That pretty rock wouldn’t hurt him, not like humans did.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Thomas,” Logan responds, his voice even and leaving no trace of negative emotion. Thomas opens his mouth, maybe to apologize further, maybe to contest Logan’s point, when he feels himself being lifted up into the air by a tight hug.

“Aw, hello, kiddo!” a gleeful voice squeals in his ear. Thomas is quickly spun around to face a man with pointy ears, messy blonde curls, and a tanned face clouded with freckles. “I’m Patton!” the person holding him chirps, grinning so widely that Thomas wonders how the smile even stays on his face. “I heard your name is Thomas?”

“Y-yeah. I’m Thomas,” Thomas manages to stammer out. Patton giggles and gently lowers him to the ground, still smiling with bright, shining eyes. Thomas has just gotten used to his feet being on the ground when he is suddenly accosted by a new presence, this one a tall red-head with large butterfly wings who charges him from the side.

“Hello, my young knight! It is I, Roman, your new caretaker!” he cries dramatically, sweeping Thomas off of his feet and settling him gently on his shoulder. “Now come, let us vanquish the foul dragon who has taken you captive!”

“Oh no, I must flee! The combined might of the prince and the knight is too much for my evil heart!” Patton wails, dramatically clasping a hand to his chest. Thomas breaks out giggling, thoroughly amused at the antics of his new caretakers. Roman sets him down and ruffles his hair, still grinning.

“Now, kiddo, do you need help getting home?” Patton asks, crouching down so that he is eye to eye with Thomas. Thomas’s mood instantly sours. He had no home. He thought that maybe here could be home, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“No… I don’t really think I have a home anymore,” he whispers, tears starting to pool in the corner of his eyes. He distantly registers Virgil and Logan coming closer, but all he focuses on is the grass right in front of Patton’s feet. It’s a pretty green, bright and crisp and alive, so unlike him. He wishes he could live here and stare at this grass all day, but he can’t because these nice people are trying to send him away.

“Oh, kiddo…” Patton whispers. Thomas refuses to look up. He feels someone crouch by his shoulder, and someone else gently grasps his jaw with their hand. He feels his head being tilted up, and he registers Roman’s kind, worry-filled expression in front of him.