#mentioned vore

“Come on,” Ex called as they jumped off of the edge of the end island, using the elytra strapped to their back to glide down to a ledge on an adjacent island. Hels gritted her teeth, taking one last swipe at the attacking endermen, the resulting screams filling his ears as he jumped after Ex.

Hels’ jump was clumsy, and she reached out to grab the ledge, but her fingers barely brushed the endstone of the ledge Ex was standing on. They jumped to grab his hand, pulling her up onto the ledge with them, and they both collapsed to the ground. The enraged and agonized screams of the endermen still echoed through the Void behind them.

“You’re alright? You didn’t get hurt, right?” Ex asked, glancing over Hels as they drew him further from the edge.

“Yeah, fine,” the knight mumbled, her eyes never straying from the endermen gathering at the edge of the other island, staring after them both. He moved closer to the wall of stone that made up the main island, pulling Ex into a two-meter tall space that they nearly had to duck under to fit into.

“Hels, I’m serious,” Ex pressed, pulling her to the ground. She looked over at them as they ran their hands over her armor, checking for blood or any other sign that something had gotten under his armor. Their hands ended up on his face, red eyes meeting brown.

Ex took in a long breath, their hands falling to their lap. Hels took in their appearance; the bags underneath their eyes, the lightly glowing freckles splashed across their face. Their dirty white hair framed their face, while the same hair had fallen over their eyes just minutes before, something they had been irritated with.

They looked so much more tired than they had when they started their journey. The hands that Hels gathered into his own were stained black by the Void - something that Ex insisted was fine, but Hels was almost certain it was not.

“We should rest,” Hels broke the silence. Ex hesitated for a moment before they nodded.

“Yeah, we should. You okay with doing it here?” They asked.

“As long as you won’t fall off,” she answered, prompting a chuckle from Ex.

“I think I’ll be alright,” Ex replied, leaning back against the endstone wall. Hels moved to sit next to them, pulling them to her body. A while ago, Ex would’ve tried to murder him for that, but now they leaned into him, resting against her shoulder. Despite them being taller than her, their body felt small next to him.

Their body shook slightly in a way that it hadn’t before, a gentle tremor running through them every once in a while as they relaxed. Hels took their hands once again, ones that she remembered bending the Void to their will; the same Void that now stained them black and crept up their arms. Hels saw it every time Ex thought he wasn’t looking, every time they pulled down their tattered sleeve to run their fingers over the inky blackness.

“Do you think we’re in a server’s end?” Ex asked softly, pulling Hels out of his thoughts.

“One that we can stay in? Doubtful,” she muttered, her stomach twisting slightly as he glanced down at them again. “What if we tried anyway?” Hels could ask. Even if there wasn’t a server that would keep them long-term - two outcasts, exiled from their homes, one of them from Hell, of all places - Ex needed to get out of the Void.

Not like they would ever admit that, though. The Void was supposed to be their home, but this Void differed vastly from the Void they had grown up in. Cold, unforgiving, and something that you would never come back from unless you were within the range of a server. In that case, the only thing that they would be subjected to was a painful respawn.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Ex murmured, letting out a long sigh. “Only thing I need is right here, anyway. G’night, Hels.”

Their head ended up on his shoulder, and her grip tightened around them as she stared out into the Void, his mind running through everything that could go wrong.

He didn’t let himself sleep at first, but as Ex’s breath evened out, her head began to droop as well, and she was eventually dragged into sleep.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Hels was drawn back to consciousness by Ex shaking him awake, and she blinked up at them, exhaustion clouding his mind.

“About time. I’ve got breakfast,” Ex said, placing a chorus fruit into her hands as they took a bite of a half-eaten one they still had in their hand. Hels sat up, frowning as he looked from Ex, who had just teleported further away from her, then back to the chorus fruit.

“You went out by yourself?” He asked, and Ex frowned.

“And? You do it too,” they replied pointedly, taking another bite of the fruit.

“Yes, but-!” Hels cut herself off, narrowing her eyes at Ex. They knew why Hels was unhappy, but they wouldn't be the one to bring it up. “Fine. Sure. Go risking your life.”

“A little dramatic, but okay,” Ex responded dryly.

Hels directed his glare towards the fruit in his hands. His stomach twisted slightly at the sight of it. Chorus fruit had been all they had eaten for so long, Hels wasn’t sure if she could stand it anymore. But she took slow, painstaking bites of it, withstanding each sudden tug of teleportation as the chorus fruit pulled him around.

Ex was waiting when she finished, bouncing on the balls of their feet and pulling him up.

“Let’s get going,” they urged, heading towards the edge once again, and they climbed up the side of the island, on a precarious, natural path. Hels followed them with little hesitation, watching their every step, all of her instincts on high alert. They both made it to the top of the island safely, however, and Hels readjusted the wings attached to his armor, stretching in a way that he couldn’t in the slightly cramped space they had taken refuge in.

Ex set off quickly, with Hels following them closely. She kept one hand on the hilt of her sword at her side at all times, keeping her eyes downcast.

Each jump to a different island was nerve-wracking, every moment over the Void a second that their scavenged elytra might fail, or the jump might be slightly too far. However, they quickly fell into a routine, each motion repetitive.

They were once again climbing up the side of an island after making a jump, when Hels came face-to-face with an enderman, the sight freezing him in place for just a moment, its glowing, bright purple eyes hypnotizing.

It was a moment too long, and the second that Hels got a grip on herself and reached for her sword, the enderman let out a shrill, enraged screech and swiped at him with its claws. Ex pulled Hels out of the way, making her stumble backwards, and before he could regain his footing, the enderman had swiped at Ex next.

They had attempted to dodge, but the blow connected with their shoulder, making them stumble. Hels jumped in, taking a swipe at the enderman, which opened up a deep gash across its back. Sickly green blood began to seep out of the wound, and the enderman let out a final screech before it collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Hels was just turning around to check for any more threats when she heard a cry from behind her and whipped around.

Another enderman had teleported to Ex, and this time the blow connected with their head. Two screams wrought the air this time; Hels’ and the enderman’s, both enraged yells.

Hels’ heart was pounding in his chest as he stabbed the enderman directly through the middle, letting go of the hilt as soon as it sank into the creature’s body. Instead, she dove towards Ex - who had fallen over the edge of the island when they were hit.

She watched them fall into empty Void, with nothing underneath to catch them to save them from an agonizing death. No.Damnit, this was his fault, he couldn’t just watch them fall away from her like this when there were two options; Ex either woke up alone or never woke up again.

So Hels pushed himself over the edge as well, closing her eyes against the darkness. The further he fell into it, the more he could feel it eating away at his very being, tearing her apart piece by piece.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

When Hels opened his eyes, he was blinded by the sun glaring down at him, and she closed them again. There was hard stone underneath her head, and it made him wince.

He pushed himself up quickly once the reality clicked in her brain, looking around frantically for Ex while he shaded his eyes so that he could at least somewhat see, pushing the dull ache still lingering from the respawn aside. But she couldn’t see them anywhere, which brought a frown to her face. They should be here, unless they had set a spawn or-

Or unless the admin had messed with them.

Hels’ hand went to the empty sheath at his side, and then balled in frustration. She would have to nab a sword from somewhere.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that there were buildings fairly close to the place that she was. He bristled slightly, but then forced himself to relax. People to look out for, but also people to raid.

She took quick and silent steps to move to the nearest place, slipping inside as stealthily as possible. Ignoring everything else, he made his way through it until he found rows of chests, which he dove into, digging until he found a diamond sword. It didn’t look well enchanted, but that didn’t matter.

Hels left as quickly as he had come, this time a sword held tightly in his grip. She darted into the trees, making her way towards where she could see more buildings - a larger establishment.

It didn’t take him long to run into a person. They had white hair, like Ex, which was swept over their face. Hels took in their mask and thick jacket as they turned around to face her.

“Where’s your admin?” Hels asked lowly as she raised the sword to their face.

“Whoa, okay, buddy. I don’t want a fight,” the person said, raising their hands in surrender. Hels gritted his teeth at the answer. “What’s yo-”

“I said, where’s your admin,” Hels growled, taking another step closer to them, and pushing the tip of the sword to their neck.

“Hey, look. I’m not sure,” came the answer, and he continued hurriedly once Hels pressed the blade of the sword further against his neck. “But I can call him! If you’d like.”

“No pulling shit. You’re not calling for help. Just your admin,” Hels instructed.

“No funny business,” the person confirmed, pulling out his communicator slowly. Hels watched him carefully, catching sight of part of the message. The communicator was slowly put away again, and the two stood in silence. Every time the person would move, the more tense Hels got, his grip getting tighter on the hilt of the sword.

It didn’t take them long to gain a crowd, which only made Hels more desperate. He grabbed the person from behind, the blade for the sword pressed against his neck, which would get closer anytime one of the curious and anxious faces got closer.

One face stood out to her, though, and when she caught sight of it, she pulled the sword so close against the person’s neck that they finally made a noise.

Wels’ hand drifted to the sword at his hip, though he never quite touched it. His gaze locked onto Hels’, and it was filled with a mix of anger and protectiveness. He was here, meaning this was Hermitcraft, and the admin would be Xisuma.

That fact only made Hels want to tear his head off even more.

Hels recognized the figure from Ex’s descriptions immediately, when he landed. Dressed completely in green armor, mirroring Ex’s own in all but color, with purple visor that Hels couldn’t see through.

“What’s going on here?” He asked calmly, his voice distorted slightly by the helmet.

“Where are they?” Hels spat, glaring at the armored figure.

“Where is who?” Xisuma returned.

“Ex, you fucking-!” She bit her tongue, taking a moment to hold back the words before continuing, his voice icy and forcibly level. “They weren’t at spawn. They only died a minute before me, you did something to them. What did you do to them.”

“Look, um, Hels?” He seemed to glance at Wels, taking in his reaction before continuing. “Hels. I’ll explain everything, if you come with me. Let Etho go.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Hels shot back.

“Look, I’m- you can have my sword,” Xisuma offered, pulling the sword out of its sheath and offering it to Hels. Wels automatically took a step towards Xisuma, but he was waved away. “You can have a sword to my back the entire time. Just let go of Etho, come with me.” His voice was reassuring, like he was trying to soothe a wild animal. And maybe he was.

Hels moved slowly at first, then all at once, snatching the sword from Xisuma and pressing it against his armored frame. The other sword fell to the ground, discarded.

“Walk,” she muttered, and Xisuma obeyed. He walked slowly, heading through the maze of buildings to a Nether portal. The portal opened into a hub, which the admin navigated with ease. He approached one portal in particular, and when they stepped through it, Hels realized that it must’ve been Xisuma’s base.

“Explain,” she demanded, never once moving the sword.

“Can I ask something first?” Xisuma requested, but continued before Hels replied. “Did you two possibly die in the Void?”

“Yes, we’ve been there ever since-” Hels bit back the words, letting them die on his tongue. The moon.

“Right, well,” Xisuma started, not trying to turn to look at Hels. “Sometimes, when players die in the Void, it kind of- well. There’s a chance they end up in me. I’ve been trying to figure out who this is for a little while, but now…”

Hels went through a variety of emotions in a split second, finally settling back on anger. “Then let them out,” she spat.

Xisuma hesitated. “I’m… not sure that’s the best idea. We don’t know what state they’re in, and moving them could do more harm than good.”

“Oh, fucking wonderful,” Hels growled. “So I’m just supposed to leave them with you?! You can check on them, so do it,” he demanded.

“I, hm. I don’t like messing around in player’s code,” Xisuma tried.

“And I’m just supposed to leave them with you,” she repeated, her voice laced with thick disdain.

“You can stay and watch me,” Xisuma offered. “I don’t wanna fight,” he attempted to reassure Hels.

Hels hatedit, but how the hell could he fight Xisuma? He had the power right now, he had Ex, and Hels might as well be there to make sure that Xisuma did nothing wrong.

“…very well,” he muttered, sheathing Xisuma’s sword, watching him closely as he turned around. “I’m watching you.”

So that was how Hels ended up curled against one of the people that she wanted dead the most, every nerve in her body screaming at her, itching to reach for the knife that she had grabbed from his kitchen.

He was asleep now, his breathing slow. He had taken his armor off hours ago, mostly under instruction from Hels. He could kill Xisuma right here and now, and only the thought of Ex held him back.

Hels couldn’t bring herself to look at Xisuma’s face, though half of it was obscured by a mask. He looked too much like Ex for Hels’ liking.

 What the f***. He knew his boss was terrible but he never thought he would go this far. He was actually trying to sell Tommy to be…to be eaten.

 His breathing picked up but Tommy clenched his fists tightly together, trying to take deep breaths. No, no, everything was fine. Wilbur wasn’t like that, he wouldn’t accept this, he’d be angry and get him out of here. Tommy had nothing to really worry about, but still, the thought of his boss even trying something like this was terrifying.

 “Wait, I’m sorry, it was-” Wilbur tried to explain himself but was cut off.

 “No need to apologize. I understand, in certain circumstances, it’s hard to ignore your instincts. I’m not one to judge, in fact, in this instance, well I encourage it.” His boss said. Tommy grit his teeth. There was that talk about instincts again.

 “Does this have to do with…your proposal?” Wilbur asked and Tommy felt his hopes rise a little. Yes, please Wilbur, realize he was here and get him out!

 “Wil-!” Tommy tried to yell out but was once again cut off by the much louder voice of his boss.

 “Yes. You see, little Thomas is in this container right now.” He cried out as his prison was shaken, sending him into the wall before tumbling back towards the center. He groaned, lying there as his boss continued to speak. “For the right price, I’ll give him to you and you can indulge in that dessert I’m sure you’ve been wanting for so long. I won’t tell anyone and no one will even miss little Thomas here. He has no family and friends, you see. Really, you couldn’t have chosen a better human.”

 Tommy paused at his boss’ words, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. How did his boss even know all that? He never told the man. Was he just making up some excuse and accidentally hit the nose on the head? Or…was his loneliness really that obvious? Because his boss was right. Who would miss him if he suddenly disappeared? He had no one at home, no friends, and he didn’t even go to school for some teachers to even notice his absence. He was alone.

 …But, no. That wasn’t true. Tommy…Tommy had Wilbur, didn’t he? He might have not known Wilbur for long but he was Tommy’s friend. Wilbur would miss him if he disappeared, right? And Wilbur was going to be the reason he didn’t disappear in the first place. Wilbur was going to save him.

 “Wil-!” He tried again but he was cut off again. But not by his boss this time.

 “Really? Honestly, I’ve been trying to figure out if that was the case for a while now.” Wilbur spoke up, his voice all too casual for such a situation.

 What?

 “Oh yeah. Kid tries to hide it but, well…” His boss trailed off but Tommy could care less what he had to say. He was too focused on Wilbur’s next words.

 “Oh, don’t I know it. But if that is the case, then I’d love to take you up on that offer of yours.”

 Tommy felt his heart drop into his stomach and suddenly, he couldn’t breathe again. Wilbur…accepted his boss’ offer? No, no why would Wilbur do that? He wouldn’t.

 But he had. And his voice sounded so casual, so…excited. Like, like he had been waiting for this. And then Tommy really thought about it and realized something that made his heart stop altogether. He…didn’t actually know Wilbur all that well. Yeah, they’ve been talking for a month but only ever at the restaurant. Only for maybe an hour every night. How did he know Wilbur wasn’t lying? How did he know that Wilbur wasn’t just biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to take Tommy?

 He didn’t.

 And now that opportunity had shown itself in the form of his boss wanting more money and being very willing to sell Tommy away to be eaten by a giant. An opportunity Wilbur seemed eager to accept.

 Tears formed at the corners of his eyes. He felt like yelling and screaming for them to stop and let him out, let him go. But his fear made the words catch in his throat and he suddenly felt like he couldn’t breath. His cries were silent as he focused on breathing, not wanting to pass out, all while the two giants continued their conversation above him. Unaware and uncaring.

 “Well, I appreciate that.” He heard Wilbur say as he tuned back in. He wished he hadn’t, he wished he could just hide away and pretend none of this was happening but the giants’ loud voices were hard to ignore. “So, how much?”

 “Let’s say…well 15,000 dollars out to be enough.”

 “Hmm…Alright, I think that’s fair.”

 15,000 dollars. 

 That’s how much Tommy’s life was worth, apparently. It was such a small number in the grand scheme of things.

 It became silent for a brief instance and Tommy could only imagine that Wilbur was handing over the payment. And then, his prison jerked, causing him to fall over again and he realized with an ever rising panic that he had been handed over to Wilbur.

 “Perfect, it was such a pleasure doing business with you.” He heard his boss say, not as loud now that he was no longer in the man’s hands. 

  “And you as well. I think I’ll be heading home for the night in order to enjoy this…tasty treat.” Tommy let out a silent gasp, more tears running down his face. He missed the last words his boss said, too into his own panic to listen or care at this point. All he could focus on was how he was going to be eaten. He was going to die.

 He never should have trusted Wilbur, or any giant for that matter. It was clear he had been tricked, the giant apparently playing the long game with him. But why? Why would Wilbur go through all this trouble to act like he was actually Tommy’s friend?

 Maybe he just liked playing with his food.

 Tommy really did have the worst luck. It was very rare for giants to eat humans nowadays. And of course, he just so happened to fall into the clutches of one of those rare few. Tommy almost wanted to laugh. He had really thought Wilbur was going to get him out of this. Well, he supposed this was what he got for going against his own rules. To not trust anyone but himself. It always did end up backfiring on him.

 He heard a door close and felt his stomach drop as he was placed down. A moment later, the ground started to rumble. It was obvious he had been placed inside Wilbur’s car.

 He wanted to scream and cry out, beg Wilbur not to eat him, for someone to save him, but he just…couldn’t. He couldn’t find the words, couldn’t find the voice. So instead, he curled up in one of the corners of the take-out container and let his tears fall.

***

 Wilbur pulled into his driveway and took a deep breath as he looked down at the take-out container containing his friend. He had been silent the entire ride here and that alone left a bad feeling in Wilbur’s gut. Had he passed out? Was he hurt? Or…was he just too scared to try and say anything?

 Despite himself, Wilbur wished it was the first. At least if Tommy had passed out, there was a chance he hadn’t heard everything Wilbur had said. But he knew that was probably not the case. Tommy was scared and Wilbur was the one who put that fear there, something he had sworn to try and avoid after scaring Tommy that first night. 

 But if he hadn’t done what he had, Tommy could be even worse off. Tommy may be scared out of his mind but he was safe. And Wilbur was going to show him just how safe he was.

 He was careful in picking up the take-out box and exiting out of his car. He held it steady as he walked to his door and unlocked it. He opened it to an empty house, just as always. He didn’t regret moving out of his dad’s house but it was a bit lonely. That was one of the reasons he went out every night to see Tommy.

 Right, Tommy. Stay focused.

 Wilbur brought the take-out container into the kitchen then paused and thought better of that idea. Probably not a good thing for Tommy to see he had been placed in a kitchen, the place where most people ate their food. So instead, Wilbur changed course to go into the living room. He had a fairly big coffee table at the center of it all and decided to place the box on that.

 Wilbur lowered himself to his knees and took a deep breath before opening the box. 

***

 The car ride and journey into the house hadn’t been very long but it was enough time for Tommy to realize that he didn’t want to die.

 Well, no, he knew that already, of course, but he realized that he couldn’t just lie there and let…and let himself be eaten. He needed a plan, a way to get away from Wilbur before it was too late.

 It would be difficult, this was a giant he was dealing with after all, but it was possible.

 It had to be possible.

 He didn’t have much time to come up with an idea, he could already feel the box being lowered again, probably onto some sort of table. So, it would have to be a simple one. The thing Tommy did best.

 He would yell, curse, and distract his way out of this. If he could keep Wilbur occupied long enough, he might just be able to escape.

 So, as the box opened above him, Tommy took a deep breath and let his anger outmatch his fear. 

 “Hey, Tommy, it’s-” Wilbur tried speaking but Tommy wasn’t about to let him get a word in. Especially not when those words would probably be something along the lines of how Wilbur had waited so long for this moment. To eat Tommy.

 He couldn’t handle hearing that right now.

 “F*** you! You f****** giant dickhead!” Tommy shouted and the look of surprise on Wilbur’s face alone was worth it.

 “Wait, Tommy-”

 Oh no, Tommy was not letting himself lose so easily.

 “F*** you, f*** you, f*** you!” Tommy continued to shout. “Eat s*** and die you motherf*****!” He saw Wilbur groan and place his head in his hands and Tommy realized that this was his chance. He stood up and looked at his surroundings before hoisting himself over the box and managing to make it onto the giant table.

 He ran a bit away from the box, seeing if there was anywhere for him to go, anyway he could get down from the table, but Wilbur’s voice cut through his thoughts. He had turned his attention back to Tommy already.

 “Tommy, please just-”

 “Get the f*** away from me! I won’t-I won’t let you eat me!” Tommy backed away, keeping his eyes on Wilbur as he did so. He had to get out of here, he had to get away or else-

 “Tommy, stop!” Wilbur shouted just as Tommy stumbled as his next step backwards was filled with open air.

 He hadn’t realized he had been that close to the edge.

 Tommy screamed as he fell and shut his eyes tight, expecting to hit the hard surface of the floor. But instead, his fall was cut short, and he landed on something a lot softer.

 Tommy’s eyes snapped open with sudden realization and he was met with Wilbur’s giant face as soon as he did so. Tommy whimpered pathetically as he realized he was in Wilbur’s hand. 

 All at once, the illusion that Tommy might be able to get away was shattered. He was never getting away from this. Wilbur was a giant, after all. He was too big, too strong, too fast. And Tommy was helpless, too small and weak to even budge one of Wilbur’s fingers.

 His anger vanished and the freezing cold feeling of utter fear consumed his thoughts. With nothing else to do, Tommy curled up in on himself, making himself even smaller, and started to cry again. “Please, please don’t eat me.” Tommy pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper.

 He heard a sigh above him and then the hand was moving. Tommy panicked, thinking this was it, before realizing that the hand wasn’t moving upwards but down. Tommy opened his eyes in time to see Wilbur’s hand settle down on the coffee table and tilt just enough to slide Tommy off of his hand.

 As soon as he was back on solid ground, Tommy stood. Or, tried to anyway. His legs were so shaky and weak that the second he tried to put his weight on them, they gave out and he crumbled back down onto the table. He couldn’t even run anymore. He truly was helpless.

 “Tommy.” Tommy looked up automatically at the sound of Wilbur’s voice and regretted it immediately. He didn’t want to see the face of someone he thought of as a friend twist into something cruel. But he found that once he was looking, he couldn't turn away. Wilbur seemed to use this to his advantage because he started speaking again. “Please, I know how this looks but I promise you. I’m not going to eat you and I never planned on eating you.”

 Tommy stared for a moment, letting Wilbur’s words finally soak in. Once they did, more tears started to form and fall. “Please, no…no more lies.” He couldn’t stand that Wilbur was prolonging this. If he was going to do it, he just wanted it to be over already. 

 “I’m not lying.” Wilbur’s voice sounded so desperate that for a moment, Tommy visibly startled. “I’ve never lied to you. The only person I’ve lied to is your s*** boss.”

 Tommy grit his teeth. “Then why did you take his deal, huh?! I thought you were going to save me from him not-not buy me!”

 Tommy watched as Wilbur winced and looked away. Tommy almost took that as an admission of guilt until Wilbur met his eyes again, a determined glint in them. The look made Tommy flinch.

 “Tommy, if I wanted to eat you, I would have done it already.” Tommy’s breath hitched. “There’s no reason for me not to, right? You’re already here and I wouldn’t get caught, right?” Tommy didn’t know if Wilbur actually wanted an answer or not but he was scared of not giving him one, so he nodded in agreement, scooting further back from the giant as he did so.

 Wilbur’s face turned sad and his gaze softened. “I didn’t say those things to scare you.” His voice was a lot more gentle now than it had been a moment ago. “I just…I need you to believe me. I didn’t want to buy you. I didn’t want to say those things. I only did all of this so I could get you away from him. If I turned him down, then I was afraid he would keep you and try to sell you to someone else. Or-Or eat you himself, I don’t know. But I couldn’t risk it. So… I went along with it.”

 Tommy thought for a moment. Wilbur…did have a point. Unless, of course, Wilbur was still lying to him and just wanted to torture Tommy longer. Tommy didn’t know what to trust anymore. “Why didn’t you tell me right away?” He decided to ask, voice low.

 Wilbur winced. “I…well, I just figured it would be best to do it here, at my place. Since, either way, I thought you would be too scared to listen to me at first.”

 Tommy, despite himself, knew Wilbur was right on that at least.

 He looked into Wilbur’s eyes for a long moment. Nothing had changed in them, from what he knew. There was no cruelty, no maliciousness. They remained friendly, if sad and guilty.

 Was Wilbur…really telling the truth?

 “What about instincts?” Tommy suddenly remembered.

 Wilbur blinked in unexpected shock. “Wh-What?”

 “Both of you mentioned something about instincts. What…What was that about?”  

 Wilbur was silent for a moment, a look of… something crossing his face but Tommy couldn’t tell what it was. And then he shrugged, which, honestly, was not what Tommy had been expecting. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s code or something? I just went along with it to try and sell my part better.”

 That made sense, Tommy supposed, if it was some underground thing considering Tommy had never heard of it before. And If he really thought about it, he couldn’t remember Wilbur ever saying anything specific about instincts. He really was just going along with what his boss said.

 Tommy bit his lip, looking down. He could feel hope rising in his chest, but at the same time… “It’s just…you sounded so…excited.” Tommy shivered in fear as he spat out the word. Remembering the way Wilbur’s tone lifted when he realized what Tommy’s boss was actually offering. When he realized he finally had his chance to eat Tommy. 

 “I’m so sorry, Toms.” Wilbur said and Tommy looked back up to meet Wilbur’s gaze. “I…well, I’ve always been told I’m a pretty good actor but that’s all it was, an act. I didn’t mean any of it. I swear on my life, I didn’t mean a single thing I said to your boss.” 

 And then Wilbur’s voice dropped down, so soft that even Tommy had to strain a bit to hear it. “I would never eat a human. Especially not you, Toms. I know we haven’t known each other for that long but…you’re my best friend.”

 And just like that, Tommy dared to believe. He blinked back tears. “So…you aren’t going to eat me?” He just needed to hear that last confirmation. No flowery language, just a straight answer.

 And answer he did, with a small shake of his head. “No.”

 “Oh.” If Tommy wasn’t already on the ground, he would have crumbled with the amount of relief he felt. “That’s…that’s really great news, actually.” A part of Tommy, the part that was still terrified, still doubted Wilbur’s words. But at the same time…why would Wilbur go through so much trouble in trying to convince him he wasn’t going to eat him, only to eat him anyway? It didn’t make sense so Wilbur had to be telling the truth, right?

 Tommy wanted to believe Wilbur. So he did.

 “How are you doing?” Wilbur asked after sitting in silence for a minute, letting Tommy catch his breath. Tommy turned the question over in his mind for a while but Wilbur was patient.

 “Not…Not great, honestly.” Tommy decided on, before pausing. “Better, now that I know you aren’t going to eat me. But I just…” Tommy groaned and put his hands on his face. “I…I can’t believe my boss actually tried to sell me.”

 Wilbur winced. “Yeah, I mean, I knew he was bad but not that bad.” Wilbur sighed. “At least you don’t have to deal with him anymore.”

 “Yeah...” Tommy agreed before pausing. “Wait.” Realization dawned on him. “I-I can’t go back there but-but literally all my stuff is still at the restaurant! Not to mention the fact that I no longer even have a job! What am I going to do?” He had been so worried about Wilbur eating him that he hadn’t thought about what any of this meant in the long run.

 His keys, his ID, and the money he had was all still in his locker back at the restaurant. Even if his scummy landlord was willing to give him another key, Tommy no longer had a job to pay for his apartment. And once his landlord found out he was out of work, it wouldn’t be long before he was kicked out and back on the streets.

 “F***, what am I going to do?” He repeated, running a hand through his hair roughly. 

 “Well…” Wilbur started and Tommy looked up at him. Despite his decision to believe Wilbur though, he still felt a spike of fear when he met the giant’s eyes. “I mean…I thought it would be best if you stayed with me?”

 Tommy blinked. “Wh-What?”

 “It’s just…” Wilbur sighed. “What your boss said about your living situation. It’s true, right?”

 Tommy tensed. Great, he had forgotten about that. His secret was out and now Wilbur knew. “I don’t need your pity.”

 “It’s not pity, Toms. I genuinely care about you and I just want you to be safe. And being out on the streets, or being anywhere where your old s***head of a boss can find you, isn’t safe.”

 Tommy looked down. “I can take care of myself.”

 “I know you can.” Wilbur said gently but no less sincere. “But friends help each other out and I can’t in good conscience let you go out on the street. You don’t have to stay forever! Just until you can find a new job and another place to live.”

 Tommy couldn’t help but feel warm at the way Wilbur called him his friend again. And if Tommy was honest, he really didn’t want to go back on the streets. He could, he was a big man after all, but he didn’t want to. 

 “Fine. But as your friend, I’m paying you back when I can.”

 “Deal.” Wilbur said and then he was reaching out his hand towards Tommy. Tommy flinched and scrambled backwards as the larger than life hand seemed to come right for him. Wilbur froze at his reaction and realized what he was doing, quickly taking his hand back and putting it out of sight. “Sorry, I was uh, gonna have us shake on it but…yeah.”

 Tommy calmed himself down and chuckled a bit when he realized Wilbur had never intended on grabbing him. Honestly, Tommy probably would have done the same thing.

 “Thank you, Wilbur. For letting me stay here. And for…ya know, saving me and s***.” Tommy said after a brief moment of silence, face a bit red.

Moon was hungry. He had eaten the day before they were captured. Then they were in transit for a few days. The day after arrival, the humans gave him a cold dead rabbit. The naga only ate it after Sun continually shoved it in his face. The rabbit was tiny compared to him, definitely not a meal. In terms of weight, the rabbit was less than what Sun ate in a day. Sun usually ate daily unlike Moon who only ate once or twice a week depending on the size of his meal. If he was only given rabbits, he would probably be eating twice if not three times a day at least.

If Sun didn’t know Moon couldn’t digest fruit well, he would have shared his meals in a heartbeat. He made sure to bring Moon water when needed. The harpy made sure to ‘patrol’ the enclosure despite that normally being Moon’s duty. However he made sure to spend most of his time in the cave keeping Moon warm so he could conserve energy.

-

“I can’t believe the harpy is still alive.”

“I know, it’s been five days already.”

“There is no way the rabbits can be enough. The naga is huge!”

Sun looked at the window where the pair of humans were watching. He was scratching pictures into the dirt while Moon sunned himself on the rocks by the little lake. Did the humans think Moon was going to eat Sun? Was that why they tried to bribe Sun out? It seemed silly to Sun at first. Then he thought about it a bit longer, most predators would have made a meal out of Sun.

Actually, thinking back, he was supposed to be a meal. Moon’s older brother, Eclipse had taken him to be Moon’s practice prey when they were hatchlings. Moon’s vision had been weak so he couldn’t track prey easily. Sun was a brightly colored target with a broken wing; should have been easy prey.

At the time, Sun had thought it was a game. Moon chased him around while Sun tried to get away. Moon would catch him and Sun would praise him; telling him he was cunning, showing excitement when Moon could catch him faster, laughing at the ‘tickles’ from Moon’s tongue. The only other person that had shown Moon affection was his brother, so the little harpy immediately won Moon’s favor. Reluctantly Eclipse let Sun live, but grew fond of him shortly after.

Sun shook his head, focusing on what the humans were talking about again.

“He doesn’t move around a lot, so that helps conserve energy?”

“Even so, wouldn’t it make more sense to have eaten the bigger prey by now? The harpy is only like half his size, it wouldn’t be hard to swallow.”

“The harpy has sharp teeth and talons, it could do quite a bit of damage. As far as we know, he isn’t venomous so he probably decided it wasn’t worth the risk when the rabbits are so much easier.”

Sun flew over to Moon, blocking out the light on the naga’s face. “Snuggle me!” the harpy demanded.

Moon blinked a few times before he scowled. “What?”

“They think you are dangerous to me!”

Moon sat up tiredly, still processing what Sun could be talking about. “I am dangerous, Sun.”

“Yes,” Sun agreed. “But not to me.” He flapped up onto Moon’s stack of coils to get them closer to being face to face. “They think you will eat me, so if we show you won’t; maybe they will get you more food.”

“It’s been days, why wouldn’t I have already eaten you?” Moon asked, shifting them so he could curl himself around Sun.

“I’m bigger and stronger than rabbits, so I’m a more difficult meal,” Sun said as he cuddled closer to the naga. “Well you could ‘eat’ me now, take a nap, and then let me out in a bit?” he suggested after a moment.

“Maybe later, I’m tired,” Moon mumbled, eyes already closed.

“Moon-”

“Later!”

“Okay...” Sun pouted. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”