Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kristin, being alone for a whole week without her family, decided to go to the nearest town from where she was. Then on a foggy night, she decided that it would be the perfect time to fly to the town, and as the fog was denser than normal. She could not be seen so easily and even more being transformed into the famous «beast of the mountains».

After a short flight, upon reaching the village, she decided to spend the first night inside the forest, so that in the afternoon she could simply enter the village with ease.

Though to her annoyance, she had to leave a large portion of her pure gold jewelry along with her comfortable silk clothes at home. As she knew it would bring unwanted attention from unwanted people seeing a simple woman carrying such things in such a small town.

So she simply put on old clothes she had stored away along with the dust and spiders and a long cloak to hide most of her feminine features, so as not to show that she was not from around there.

But she knew that if for some reason someone approached her in a morbid or unwanted way, she could easily knock them out or kill them. But she decided it would be best to take it easy on that visit, as she didn't want to burn down a whole town again like the last time.

As it was already another day, she walked around the outskirts of the town to continue without being discovered, until she reached the entrance of the town. Noticing how several people were beginning to enter and leave, then she decided that it would be best to start moving along with the people to avoid being discovered.

Noticing how it was almost noon and how people already had many stalls set up and how people began to stroll calmly, each time filling the narrow streets.

So he decided it would be a good idea to start seeing what was among the stalls, starting to buy small things so he wouldn't have to carry so much coming to the cave. Being a pair of brooches that were somewhat old, but looked too dazzling for his dragon eye.

In it, he also bought some meat skewers in order to satisfy his hunger. Along with that, she also noticed numerous candy stalls, deciding to buy some for her youngest son, as she knew how much he loved human sweets.

But as she observed a sword store, she saw how there were more crowds at a fixed point in the town that she could recognize as the center of town. As she approached, she saw how there was a theater set up, where a juggler was performing, enchanting the spectators.

So she also decided to distract herself for a while, watching how the man began to place the handle of a small sword on his nose. While also juggling with bags filled with something, being flattered by several people and exclaimed by the children at such a trick.

At the end of his act, he simply gave a slight bow, receiving applause from the audience and from Kristin, who was simply having fun because of the human witticisms to forget her sad existence in this huge world.

But as soon as she was about to get up, she noticed how a kind of smoke now filled the theater, calling her attention, not only to her, but to all the audience and more distant villagers. Noting how another man was now standing in the middle of the theater, bowing, receiving applause and shouts from the people.

“Good afternoon to one and all! And come, come, I have a great story to tell you,” now hearing murmurs from where the people were standing, wondering what it was all about. “This story was told to me by an old friend, who traveled over sea and land to tell it to me, and pass it on to you, my dear audience.”

“Well, this story is about nothing more and nothing less than, The Cave of the Mountain Beasts!” He expressed with enthusiasm as he passed it on to the audience and simply received a raised eyebrow from Kristin, as he knew it would be another stupid tale of someone trying to kill her and her family.

But the crowd was full of elation, because not many people came to say anything about the dragons in the mountains, due to the fact that they were terrifying and no one, not even the king, could handle them.

“That's right, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. But first, I have to warn you: this story will not be for all audiences, so if you are weak or fearful, I suggest you leave the theater this instant.” Receiving laughter and exclamation from the crowd and more from the children.

Causing this to bring a small smile to Kristin's face, as she loved the children's enthusiasm and missed how her little one always hid in her big wings to avoid the storms. And in how her twins always sought her out for flying tips or being able to do magic without needing to recite the long tedious spells.

“By the protective dragon, how I miss taking care of a little one again,” Kristin thought as she reminisced about the good times with her children, until she came back to the present when she heard a drum, apparently coming from part of the stage and the speaker.

“So, let's begin. A long, long time ago, well, two weeks actually,” drawing light laughter from the audience, “haha, my good friend, the adventurer told me how he ended up among the great, snowy mountains, in the highlands, beyond the village.”

As he pointed towards the mountains behind the large pine forest, being followed by everyone else, including Kristin so as not to notice her indifference, to the story.

“First mistake, my house is inside the highest mountain, not between them.”

“Where, among the first hills, one could observe, the cave!”. Again hearing the bong of a drum, hinting at the drama between those words, causing some to jump slightly from their seats.

“At that he told me how he could observe how the entrance was as big as the pine trees and even wider as the village itself, as soon as he told me; I guessed it might be because the beasts need space to put in their great treasures, and he manages to get the poor thing they abduct in.”

“Second mistake: the cave is not that wide, and we don't kidnap people either, only that my sweet twins love to burn whole kingdoms and villages, making many assumed that they kidnap people and that's why we do such actions.”

Kristin justified herself even if no one could hear her thoughts, though she did remember that poor girl, Sally, if she didn't misremember, being freed from being sold along with other slaves, some younger than Tommy was.

That's why they burned that kingdom, and freed those poor people, though she knew nothing about them now, nor did she care, as more than two decades had passed since that affair.

And she, along with her family, went on with her life as if nothing had happened.

“He told me then that he managed to get into the cave of the beasts and saw it, it petrified him. Yes, there were mountains and mountains of gold everywhere of such sizes and shapes that he even thought he would go blind, but further down there they were, the beasts!”

The people at first were amazed at what he kept saying, for the dragons' booty was most tempting among the people and more so among the thieves, many tried to get in. But they were never heard from again, giving them to understand that they had been killed and eaten by the beasts.

Then, as soon as he mentioned the beasts and the drum beat, everyone was startled and even some children sitting in the front who went running to their moms in search of safety.

“As big as pine trees, with their scales and claws fully sharpened, but underneath them, was something that almost made him faint, they were bones. Bones that were being used as a bed for those hellish beasts.”

Sounds of horror were what could be heard now, as half the town, along with several merchants, had been caught up in such a story told by that speaker.

“Third mistake: We don't use bones as beds, those things give horrible back pain,” Kristin thought with slight ghostly pangs as she remembered her early years of independence, before she had even met Philza where she actually did sleep on beds made of bones. But that was many centuries ago. “Now we sleep in a nest filled with the most comfortable fabrics, that even the king himself would be envious of us.”

Thought proudly, Kristin ignoring the rest, of the story, since nothing more the speaker told, how her friend had even managed to steal a treasure from among all the mountains. Very hardly, because the beasts had woken up and almost eaten them alive.

And just as Kristin was about to get up, she saw it. Rather, they all saw it, it was a feather, but not just any inky feather that you could grab from a bird or even buy at the market, no. This one appeared to be made of gold.

“That's right, my dear listeners, what you see in my hands, is a one of a kind, feather made of pure gold!” and the audience went wild, as everyone wanted to get close and admire such an object.

But Kristin knew a thing, or two. One was that, thanks to her dragon's eye, she knew when something was truly valuable or not, so as she saw that feather gleaming dazzlingly, she knew that, while it wasn't gold, it was unique.

So, for a moment, his instincts were telling him to get the feather, kill everyone and ask the speaker where he actually got it from.

But those thoughts went away when he heard the next sentence.

“Be calm, my audience. For today, and today only, I will be auctioning this feather, for the mere price of 10 bronze doubloons!” Then many locals started bidding their coins like there was no tomorrow.

“10 coins!”

“11 coins!”

“I bid 15!”

And so it kept going up, until…

“Sold! For 100 gold coins from the gentleman with the hat”, while from the place appeared a fat gentleman who seemed to be someone important. Who, when he got the feather in his hands, simply laughed, drawing saliva and showing it to everyone with pride. Sounding simple weariness on the part of the people, they began to get up from their places.

And only a few stayed to leave some coin for the speaker, who gladly accepted it.

Kristin was the last person left on the stairs, continuing to stare into nothingness. Until she finally came to her senses and looked around.

The feather, where, where.

Her inner dragon was desperate to look for it, until she saw the same gentleman who bought it go behind the stage, then Kristin quickly applied an invisibility spell and began to follow the gentleman, staying behind him.

“Very good show, sir,” the gentleman applauded as his belly bounced from his exaggerated laughter, which simply made Kristin cringe.

“Well thank you sir, I hope the pen is to your liking.”

“Yes, yes, yes. What I come to, I actually want to know, where did you get the feather?” as he played with it and sniffed it, much to the woman's displeasure.

“I already told you, as I told all the spectators, my good friend, the adventurer.”

“Bullshit.” He was interrupted by the guy as he looked at him seriously. “And I'll tell you why, because I've already sent out over 100 men this year and not one of them has made it even halfway across the forest, as they always come to me without an arm, a leg, with burns or any kind of sign of struggle, even some never made it to me.”

“So this is the jerk who keeps sending people into the forest,” Kristin thought serenely as she looked at the guy's sweaty face, which reminded her of a pig, but even they didn't deserve to be compared to this scum.

“Haha, you sure know, well how about this, give me another 10 gold coins and meet me tonight at the main tavern in town.”

“… Hm, deal!” as the two gave each other a squeeze and the sweaty-faced guy left, one way, and the speaker left the other, leaving Kristin curious, but also wondering if it was completely worth it.

Oh, of course it was fucking worth it!

After both men left, he decided to wait and see what came out of the speaker's mouth, then in the evening. Kristin arrived first at the tavern and waited, while also ordering some dinner so as not to leave so much suspicion as to why she was there.

Then the two men arrived, but went to the deepest part of the tavern, then ordered two drinks and started whispering while the sweaty guy passed her the bag. All this being seen by Kristin, while also sharpening her ears to pay better attention to the conversation.

So where did the feather come from?

An avian…

An av…!

ShSh! Yes, a week ago, I met an avian, and it gives me a feather a day, in exchange for 'protection'.

B-but how do you get an avian to give you a feather? No, how do I get an avian, those things are almost extinct.

As they calmly and discreetly sipped their drinks.

But Kristin, Kristin was fascinated, an avian, it was an almost extinct species, some were considered trophies and were constantly married off, so they started disappearing into the crowd. Some even cut their wings off their backs and ears to sell them, and their bodies would be found a week later.

Since everyone knew that if you pulled off the wings of those kinds of hybrids, they would die from an intense depression that prompted them to commit suicide.

And where is the avian?

The guy asked as the speaker signaled for him to follow, and they both dropped the money and left the tavern, being silently followed by Kristin. The three of them walked several houses away from the tavern, to enter an alley full of trash and garbage, which was being eaten by rats and insects.

“Agh, gross, what are we doing here?” Asked the guy, as the speaker kept walking, until he signaled the guy to shut up.

“Oh~, Quackity, where are you?” the speaker spoke gently as Kristin and the fat guy were surprised at what they saw.

For they began to hear footsteps inside the alley, and as soon as they got a better look, they noticed that it was a boy. As soon as Kristin saw him, she covered her mouth, because he didn't even seem to be that big.

“Se-Mr. Oracle, is that you?” the boy asked shakily as he started walking towards the exit of the alley with both hands raised, until he felt someone grab them.

“Yes, Quackity. It's me, and I want you to meet someone,” he said in a sickeningly sweet voice as he dragged the young boy towards the guy Kristin saw for a moment licking his lips. “This is Mr.…”

“Nice to meet you, I'm Mr. Hedorte.” As he grabbed the guy's hand and, he moved it up and down as a greeting.

“A-a pleasure, Mr. Hedorte.” Greeted with a bowed head, the boy as he noticed himself nervous in the presence of another person.

“Quackity, Mr. Hedorte came here, as he wants to help you.” As he grabbed a shoulder of the boy, who was trying to follow the speaker's voice.

“Yes, yes. But in order to help you, I will only need a small favor.”

As he smiled in disgust.

“B-but I don't have any money.”

“Oh~, don't worry, all I want is to see your wings.”

At that, Quackity tried to take a step back upon hearing that, but Oracle wouldn't let him, as she was still holding him by the shoulder.

“My, my wings.

But, is that me.”

“I understand, I'm sorry.

I thought you wanted help, but you don't seem to want it, so I-.”

“No, please, I will,” only to then no longer feel Oracle's arm and be able to stretch her wings, which completely surprised both adults.

“Awesome, just awesome.” It was all the pig said, to then watch as the other nodded, and he smiled again, “Quackity your wings are beautiful, and I'd be happy to help you with pleasure.”

Kristin wanted to intervene, what to intervene, she wanted to murder both men and completely burn this town to ashes. For even seeing the boy had fascinated her, but she was very curious why the boy had his eyes closed all the time.

But he also wanted to hold him, bathe him, take him to the nest and give him all the love that this non-human baby deserved.

But even if he looked older than his youngest son, looking at his wings, he knew he was still a developing avian baby. For she had lived, long enough, with two or three avians to know what his development was like.

“Really?” the boy asked innocently as the guy named Hedorte stroked his head, and Kristin wanted to cut off his hand right then and there.

“Really, but that will have to be until tomorrow.” Making the three present curious about such a decision, until the guy signaled him that it was time to leave that rotten alley, which the speaker picked up on immediately.

“Yes, Mr. Hedorte is right, we must prepare everything until he can help you.” I declare, with the same cynicism as the sweaty guy, “be a good boy and wait here until tomorrow, okay?”

“Y-yeah, okay.”

Both exiting the alley, Kristin hesitated whether to follow him or go get the baby bird, but she knew she had to get some things done first. So she grimly walked out of that alley and followed the two men back to the bar, but this time they ordered food and two more jars of beer.

“Haha, take it away, you don't think I'll let you run off so easily with my source of income, do you?”

Hello, good evening. Excuse me, how much for a room for two?

Kristin asked the waitress who was cleaning the jars, but she still answered.

It's ten bronze coins for two nights.

Well, I'll give you a gold coin if you draw me a bath with hot water in an hour, and another one just for you if you let me pass the other person with no questions asked.

Kristin declared as she held out the two gold coins to the waitress, whose eyes lit up at the sight of them, but as she tried to take them, Kristin quickly pulled her hand away and shook her finger.

I'll give you one for now, but as soon as I bring the other person I'll give you the second one, understood?

As she watched the waitress nod with a slight frown, she reluctantly accepted the first coin.

“Easy, this will be the plan, I give you the wings, and you give me the boy plus two bags of with 100 gold coins each. That will give you for 2 lives at least.”

“Yes, you are a pig, but I will say no more. Tonight we'll stay here and early tomorrow we'll go get the boy, hahaha.”

They both laughed loudly, being seen by all the customers and employees, who simply decided to ignore the conversation.

“And that's just what I need.” Kristin thought contentedly as she walked out of the tavern to head towards that alley.

“… Hello! Is anyone here!” the woman shouted low so as not to give suspicion to the few people outside. To start walking through the garbage, while slightly raising her dress so as not to stain it too much.

Until she heard the trash in the background move, out again, came the young boy, who, now that she could see him better. It was all scrawny, and his black hair looked like it was made of oil because of how greasy it looked.

“Ho-hello,” the boy slowly approached as he held onto the wall, still with his eyes closed. “Who's there?”

“Hi, it's Kristin. No, don't be afraid,” she said quickly as she watched the boy start to take steps back, wary as she knew it wasn't Mr. Oracle.

“It's okay, I won't hurt you, I promise,” she tried to sound as convincing as possible, the woman as she ignored the strong stench of garbage to kneel down to get a better look at the young man in front of her, “What's your name?”

“...” She hesitated for a while whether to answer, but Kristin had a whole human lifetime to wait for the boy's response, “Quackity...”

“Quackity~.” She named the woman fondly again, as she formed a delicate smile at the knowledge of the baby bird's name, and she knew she had already made a very good step by noticing the boy's slight blush. “Tell me, Quackity, what are you doing in this alley?”

“W-well, Mr. Oracle, he-he told me that I would have to stay in the shadows so as not to scare people away because of my ugly hybrid parts.” Now sounding sad about what he was saying.

“Hybrid parts?” the woman asked ‘innocently’ as she watched the boy nod carefully as he began to blow his nose. “Oh honey, no. Don't cry.”

As she carefully stood up so as not to startle the boy, who seemed to wipe himself with his forearms, to already be close to him and carefully touch his shoulder, startling the baby bird.

Who tried to back away, but Kristin quickly hurried and pulled out her handkerchief as a way that she wouldn't hurt him, being accepted by the boy.

Then they were both silent for a moment as Quackity calmed her sobs, while Kristin sat on her knees completely as she calmly watched the boy in front of her.

“… Better?” She asked him quietly, as the blue-haired boy nodded slightly and blew his nose once more.

“Yes, I'm sorry,” as he tightened his grip on the handkerchief, out of fear of what the good sign might do to him. For maybe he couldn't see her, but her voice might tell him that she really was looking out for what was best for him.

“Hay, no, don't worry, I've got plenty at home,” chuckling lightly, passing the laughter on to Quackity who also smiled lightly. “So, are you a hybrid?” the woman asked him, bedeviled as she leaned her back against the wall of one of the houses.

“Well, it's just that I-I…”

“Hey, hey, it's okay, breathe. Inhale,” as she rubbed his back in circles and felt the boy inhale with slight whimpers, “that's it, now, exhale. Fuuu.”

To them, both jump in the air and return to a slight silence.

“You know, I'm a hybrid too,” the woman spoke sincerely as she turned upwards to see the stars starting to get brighter and brighter, then to see the baby bird, who watched her with impression.

“Really, what kind of hybrid are you?” as he turned his attention, back to her with excitement at the knowledge that there was another hybrid besides him. “And-and, what kind of hybrid are you?” as he tried not to sound invasive at such a question.

“Well, I am… A bat hybrid,” he thought quickly as he tried to remember some animal that had the same winged resemblance as her, until he remembered those pests that inhabited his cave from time to time.

“So you have wings too?” sounding more excited about the thought that there was someone else like him.

“Yes, but I'll let you touch them if you answer two questions, deal?” as he waited for some confirmation or denial from the boy, but didn't wait long when he saw how the aforementioned had raised his hand as part of closing the deal. “Okay, first question, why are your eyes closed, were you born blind?” he asked in a light voice in an attempt to see how much information he managed to get out of the boy.

“No, it was something that happened two years ago.”

Quackity began to relate in a lower voice than before.

«I had two parents two years ago, both of them were loving and gentle, they cared about low income people, so they would try to help you with food on certain days, as well as resources. The three of us lived in a town somewhat far from the kingdom of Pogtopia, so the hybrid rules weren't as strict as they are now everywhere.

So everyone in town knew that my parents were aviators, but they still lied to everyone that I was born pitifully without wings. I didn't know that was to protect me.

My Dad worked as a mailman, as he could easily deliver all the letters in a day without difficulty and my mom was a seamstress, so many people went with her to repair their clothes.

But one day, he arrived. A cardinal who had claimed to be sent by a supposed god, to guide them to the right path, but for my family that, marked their tragedy.

The cardinal began to say horrible things about my parents, declaring that their wings were not gifts, but rather condemnations for their past lives, where they did something terrible to obtain such defects.

Then the town began to fear them, firing my dad from his job, as they didn't trust a person who supposedly carried their sins, and then despising my mom because they thought her stitching would bring them bad luck. And so it went for a whole year. Until it happened…

“Come out, come out you disgusting beasts!” began to shout the cardinal who was at the front of the avian family's house along with an angry mob holding pitchforks and torches.

“Mommy, mommy, what's going on, why are there people yelling outside?” went a little Quackity to take shelter while his mother tried to protect him from all the insults being hurled at them.

“Calm down, baby, it's going to be okay, mom, he's here,” the woman tried to comfort him while also watching her husband who was looking out the window carefully, noticing how people were getting closer and closer to their house.

“We have to go, now!”, as he lifted his wife by her elbows, as she was carrying Quackity who was trying to ignore all the noise outside his mom's wings.

But as they tried to go down the stairs, they heard something break, turning around and noticing how a glass bottle with a rag with fire was starting to burn the second floor where they were. Ge. Going down faster from that place, to try to get to the back door, but it was already too late.

The mob was already surrounding the house and smoke was beginning to descend to the second floor. But at that, the people also completely raided the house, separating the small family that was trying to reach each other as much as possible.

Quackity being the most affected, as he found himself in a square barred cell, being exposed before the people shouting obscenities he didn't understand. All he could see was his parents yelling at their son as they had something placed around their necks.

“O god Prime, purify the souls of these sinners and make them come into your hands and be judged justly.” The cardinal began to pray as he was placed in the middle of the couple. “Now.”

It was the last thing he said and then silence ruled throughout the village, except for the screams of a little ten-year-old boy, who watched in horror as his parents writhed, until they could no longer move.

“And for the god Prime to forgive us, we have to give them a gift and accept our apologies” as she signaled to the villagers guarding the cell, to bring her up to the gallows, where all the villagers began to boo again at the little ten-year-old who did not understand what was happening.

Until they took him out of the cell, and he tried to go to the feet of his mother's inert body, being stopped by the cardinal, who looked at him with pity and contempt.

“Oh god Prime, even if this son of yours does not have the parts of a sinner he was created on the basis of a night full of lust on the part of both beasts” began to recite the man while they handed him a short sharp tool and covered his mouth with a cloth to Quackity who tried to resist.

To finally hear cries of praise from the people and of horror and suffering from the boy who was bleeding to death on that gallows while everyone was leaving as the night went by.

Finally, Quackity was able to get up with all his strength, while he was shaking and trying to open his eyes at the same time. He failed completely, only to crawl to his mother's side and cry as much as he could all night long.

Until the next morning, he woke up with dread when he heard the town rooster again, knowing that very soon people would be up, so with all his might he tried to get off that place. Only to fall off the orca, but that didn't matter to him, so he started running to wherever he could remember. Until he managed to reach the forest, then among the screams of the people he managed to hide in the top of the trees. So that the next night he could keep running without stopping. »

He took a Quackity break as it was now just the two of them sitting on the wall.

“Oh honey.”

“My mom and dad died because of that cardinal, and they ripped my eyes out just for being different, it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair!” To finally shout the last as he turned to where Kristin was supposed to be, who couldn't contain her sadness at the sight of that totally broken baby. "Why us! We didn't do anything. Sniff, we, they, they, they hurt us and my dad’s, my dad’s. Sniff, waaa!"

To finally cry into Kristin's arm, who easily picked him up and placed him in her lap as the little boy continued to cry into her chest. Screaming and kicking as he kept screaming that it wasn't fair, but that didn't matter to Kristin, she kept comforting the poor little bird, wiggling up and down and rubbing his back to make him feel safe.

Luckily, he had also put up a noise bubble, and no one outside could hear the heart-wrenching screams coming out of Quackity. And he also didn't care if anyone heard how a child who had lost everything for simply being different felt. In that, he also decided to take out his wings and cover the baby bird in them.

Managing to calm the little one's crying a bit by once again feeling a comforting darkness without it being cold or scary. Now having slight hiccups from all the crying, Kristin, seeing that Quackity had fallen asleep, she just smiled sadly as the jet seemed to finally be able to rest for the first time.

Then she got up from the dirty and ragged floor, took off the cloak she was wearing and placed it on Quackity to cover him from the people.

Where she also made the bubble disappear, to start walking towards the tavern, where now there were not so many people, and the boisterous alcoholics were turning from snoring to silent talks.

But he also noticed the two men now, one asleep at the table and the other drinking his (apparently) fifth jar.

But that didn't matter to her at all, to simply approach the maid she had spoken to earlier. And she directed her to her room to finally hand her the key and show her what appeared to be a wooden box. And the girl explained to her that it was a wooden bucket and that she wouldn't spill water, but not to make such a mess, as it was difficult to dry the wood on the floor.

Which Kristin agreed to and handed the girl the other gold coin, which she gladly accepted without asking her any more questions.

“Quack... Quackity,” Quackity heard in his sleep as he tried to figure out where it came from, but in that he felt something under him, starting to touch him, feeling how soft and plush. At that, he quickly sat up at the thought that he was no longer in that alley.

"Hey, hey. It's okay, relax, you're in a room." He smiled gently at Kristin (even if he couldn't see her), while holding the boy's shoulders so he wouldn't get so upset when he realized he was no longer in the trash.

“W-what am I doing here? I'm not, I shouldn't be here,” the boy spoke quickly as the nerves showed in his voice.

“I brought you here, I couldn't let you stay in that alley,” he explained, while still keeping his hands on the boy's shoulders so he wouldn't hurt himself.

“B-but I-.”

“No buts, I brought you here for pleasure and not for you to give me excuses or for anything in return, is that clear?” as his hands now traveled to Quackity's who felt the warmth of a person again after two years, causing him to nod carefully.

“Good, now it's well after dark, and you should rest, but first, how about a bath.”

“A bath?” the boy asked, confused as he felt Kristin hold his hands a little tighter without hurting him to start guiding him, across what felt like hardwood floors.

"Yes, a bath. Since it doesn't look like the rainwater is helping you much." Laughed a little, Kristin watching Quackity blush at the comment.

At that, Kristin followed him leading him towards the wooden box then with one of her hands still held she made him touch the water carefully, being quickly pushed away by him. But Kristin didn't stop and made Quackity touch the water again, and Quackity's touching the water again calmed him down a bit, as it was warm.

“It's warm,” the jet muttered with fascination and then let out a light, but somewhat coarse peep as he managed to feel his whole hand up to his wrist getting completely wet in the warm water.

“Yes, but if you like, we can wait for it to get cooler,” he told her calmly as he knelt down completely and looked calmly at Quackity who simply denied.

"No, no. It's okay, but it's okay for me to mess with this," as he tightened his clothes all tattered that even looked more like rags than anything else.

“Well, if you want, you can mess with the pants, but yes, we have to take off your shirt to also wash your beautiful feathers.”

Quackity then nodded and, carefully and with Kristin's help, he removed his shirt and stepped gingerly into the box, getting a shiver from how hot the water was as it touched his bare feet. But she still didn't stop to finally sit down completely in the wooden tub (I got tired of calling it a box). Releasing a few drops out of it.

Kristin then admired Quackity's feathers more, yes they were small, but they also looked sloppy and full of dirt and mud, surely to try to disguise them as much as possible to the human eye.

“Tell me Quackity” began the conversation as with a smaller bucket he began to thoroughly soak the boy who cringed as he felt the shock of water on his head, but still responded.

“Yes?”

"What kind of avian are you? I've never seen this kind of wings before."

“I don't know, I think my parents were ducks because of their green wings with brown and black, but I was told I had yellow wings because my maternal grandmother had wings of the same color.” As he hunched slightly to better feel the warmth of the steam through the water.

But Kristin was uncurling it to also better wash her chest and little face, that no longer held any dirt and tears on it. However, she was also listening attentively to the conversation.

“And tell me, how did you manage to hide your wings until now?”, while with a soap she was given she started to carve the boy's greased hair, who relaxed as he felt the massage on his head.

“With bandages.”

“With bandages?”

“Mhm, before they ripped my eyes out, my parents covered my wings with bandages and that's how I was during my escape, sometimes I wanted to take them off, but I remembered what happened to mom and dad and I left them on.”

“And the ones in your ears?” as he watched in fascination as a small cluster of feathers formed behind Quackity's ears.

"My hair, growing long, covered them, and I was like that, until a week ago when I met Mr. Oracle. Hehehehe," he chuckled as he felt Kristin's hands behind his ears to clean the feathers out of them.

“Hmhm, who's Mr. Oracle?” as she poured another bucket of water into his hair, pushing back his head. “I'm going to clean your wings, okay?”

He asked gently as he received a slight nod from the boy.

“Okay, oh, Mr. Oracle was the one who found me a week ago, gave me bread and water and told me he was a speaker, told you stories of an adventurous friend of his.”

“So the guy does exist,” Kristin thought with slight bewilderment as she checked the boy's wings for water, so they wouldn't be so strained. Luckily, in all his years of knowing those avians, he knew how to handle wing preening.

“But he told me that his friend hadn't shown up anymore, and he was running out of stories, I then told him to wait for me, and I hid, and then plucked a feather, ouch!” he moaned for a moment to get closer to his wings.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was trying to accommodate your feathers," Kristin quickly apologized as she poured warm water on her wings again, causing Quackity to relax again as she also began to feel massages on them.

"Okay, so I gave it to Mr. Oracle, and he got excited, and asked me where I got it from, so I told him it was an avian. As soon as I told him, he asked me if I wanted to join him on his adventure, that I would see new places and a lot of people would love me." To then let out a light purr, as Kristin more carefully arranged the feathers, noticing how they began to light up as they left all that dirt and mud behind.

Kristin, hearing that sound, also let out a purr to reciprocate, being gladly accepted by Quackity flapping her wings slightly.

“But after three days, he told me that I had to hide from people, that I was dangerous and that I would be in the same danger as my parents if I showed my wings.”

“So I hide you in the alleys.” As I frowned as I listened to how that jerk took advantage of a baby duckling, nothing more because of his arrogance and foolishness.

“He said it was necessary and if I disobeyed him then he would abandon me, which scared me, since I didn't know where I was, so he agreed and yesterday we came to this town and I hide in that alley.”

“Yesterday, and me yesterday wandering around in the woods like a stupid girl while, this poor creature was falling asleep among the pestilence.”

Unconsciously, pulling out his wings along with his claws for all the anger he was holding in. But he couldn't take it anymore, he wanted to murder that guy and the filthy pig he had for company, no, that's all he wanted. I wanted to burn the whole damn town to ashes along with the damn town that ripped his sure beautiful eyes out of this baby duckling.

“Kristin? Are you okay?” asked Quackity worriedly as he was now the one wiping himself from the waist down, but still having those loose clothes on.

“Yes, I'm fine.” She tried to answer as calmly as possible, breathing lightly to hide her claws and wings.

After calming down, she decided it was time for bed, so she pulled a cleaner and completely wet Quackity out of the tub and covered him with a towel that had been left for him. And then began to dry him from the waist up and the boy from the waist down.

Later, they both sat down on one of the beds and Kristin began to carefully dry his wings while also creating a heat spell that she placed on the towel to dry him better.

As soon as she was done, Quackity had gone back to sleep, but more calmly now, while Kristin made slight sounds that were dragon-like, but luckily they pleasantly matched the avian ones.

So she decided to stay awake for the rest of the night, until it was already daylight, and she heard footsteps down the hallway, causing her to place her ear to the door. Earning mumbling, but luckily she was able to recognize the voices.

Quick, best to grab the boy as soon as he was asleep, so people wouldn't see him.

Kristin then gave Quackity a quick glance, smiling at him, and then made herself invisible as she left the room to follow the two men into the alley.

“Quackity, oh Quackity, where are you?”, Oracle began to call out to him as he began to approach the deepest part of the alley, being followed by the other. Who looked around, until they both reached the end of the alley, finding no one.

“Escape!” declared Hedorte angrily as he clenched his fists angrily.

“No, it's impossible, I put fear into him for a reason, he couldn't have escaped so easily.”

“If you put so much fear into him, then why isn't he here!!!?”

“Well, I…”

“Ahem!” someone spoke, startling both gentlemen who quickly turned towards the exit of that alley, noticing a woman with black hair and old clothes.

“Madam, what are you doing out here in this simple alley?” Oracle politely asked her as she pushed aside Hedorte, who simply watched the woman with resignation and anger.

“Well, gentlemen, that was the very question I was going to ask you two, since not many people make a hobby of going into smelly alleys.”

“Listen, lady, you better not stick your nose where it doesn't-” but he was quickly interrupted by Oracle forcibly chuckling as she denied looking at Hedorte.

“As a matter of fact, this does concern me, and the little one to whom this feather belongs,” as he pulled from his dress pocket a feather just as golden, but a bit brighter than the one the other lord had.

“I demand of you this very instant that you tell me where you have the creature,” cried Hedorte to him as he now placed himself in front of Oracle, who did not know what to say.

"Because I should, for you to abuse a child, and you rip its wings off, ha! I don't think so," was all the woman said, only to then pull out her wings, and both gentlemen were petrified as they looked into the woman's eyes. “Now the little boy is sleeping, and I would feel very bad if he woke up with no one by his side.”

To then simply hear piercing screams and drowning along with what seemed to be tearing, in that alley, but who would know the truth, since the alley was covered by an anti-noise bubble. Making it so that no one would know that something as horrific as grotesque happened in that alley, where only a woman came out who had a slightly wet face and hands.

“Well, the kids and my husband arrive early tomorrow morning, so it would be best to get out of here with my little baby,” the woman declared quietly as she walked along watching all the stalls begin to set up once again. At that, she noticed a tailor store and decided it would be best to buy comfortable clothes for her new son.

“Pshh, Quackity, honey, wake up.” Kristin whispered to him as she moved him slightly. Managing to wake the little hybrid, who simply gave a squawk along with a yawn.

“Good morning, Kristin, you slept well,” as he directed his hands to where Kristin lay, being reciprocated by her.

“You could say that, but I have more news for you, honey,” sounding worried now, causing Quackity to worry as well. “Mr. Oracle is already gone.”

"Wh-what, he left, oh no. I-I have to go, I don't." He started to hyperventilate in the jet as he tried to pull off the covers and jump out of bed, but Kristin stopped him in a hug. "Kri-Kristin, what are you doing? Let go of me, I have to go. He-Mr. Oracle."

"It's gone, duckling, I'm sorry" as she felt Quackity begin to grip her clothes tightly and sob once more. Until he let out squawks and chirps incessantly, for everything that had happened to him in less than a week.

Already after an hour, Quackity calmed down again and simply let out light peeps along with several tears that were wiped away by Kristin affectionately.

"And now, what will I do? I don't have anyone." The little duckling spoke dejectedly as its wings tilted downwards.

"Well, how about you, if you live with me!" He gave her the choice, though she clearly wasn't, and Kristin would take that child no matter what.

"With you? But, don't you have a family? Now he asked Quackity confused and nervous even if he couldn't see her.

"If you have a nice family, why do you want me to go with you?"

"Because just like you, all of us are hybrids too, in a way," Kristin began to explain as she grabbed both her hands and rubbed her with her thumbs. "And I know that my children and husband will love you as I do."

"Me, I... Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience to you and your family."

"Oh darling, that's the last thing you'd be, we'll treat you with love, no more unfair treatment, no more wing-pulling, it'll just be the 6 of us, yes?" As he passed from his hands to his face, where he caressed Quackity's closed eyes, he gladly accepted them.

"Snif, really?"

"Really."

For both of them to scorch hard, Quackity shed a few tears.

As soon as they were both done, Kristin told Quackity that she had bought him new clothes, making the jet excited and more so because the tops she had bought him had a specialized seam for their wings.

It was a poet's long-sleeved blouse, which was made of cotton, so as not to irritate her wings, along with pants of comfortable fabric but still a little tight and black shoes.

Although Quackity couldn't see them, he felt as in such clothes and shoes, but he still had to wear the cloak Kristin gave him to hide his wings for the time being, before leaving. He accepted with a big smile and they both left for breakfast to better explore the town before leaving completely that place in ruins and full of ashes.

Kristin would buy Quackity a lot of little things, such as candy or objects that fit in her hair perfectly, and even if the jet wouldn't be able to see them, he was fascinated by all the attention he was getting from the woman.

But for some reason he also felt like they were walking in circles, although he didn't understand why, he didn't question Kristin. Even if he could hear the murmurs of the people that they found two people in an alley far from where they were.

As night fell, Quackity took off his cloak and stretched his wings like never before, being watched by Kristin who was thrilled to be able to teach a baby to fly again, as it had been a century since Tommy left on his first trip away from the cave.

They both washed their faces and Quackity settled into his bed, being tucked in by Kristin to finally kiss her goodnight.

Kristin, seeing that Quackity had finally fallen asleep, cast a light spell of deep sleep, because what was about to happen was never supposed to come to light. As soon as he finished with the spell, he carried Quackity and put his cloak on him so that they both had the invisibility spell, to finally raise their wings and enter the forest, to later carefully leave Quackity who was still sleeping soundly and she knew that she would do it more after burning all this town.

Chapter Text

It was another quiet night, where the stars and the moon lit their way home, and Philza, as always, admired the view from the heavens as every part of the earth was darkened by the dark touch of night.

And as he admired how the darkness also worked in his favor, he felt a sudden wave of heat, turning forward to see his children throwing flashes of breath at each other, almost giving them some of his youngest son's fire.

He still needed practice. Since what occasionally lost his balance with his wings and fell a little, if it weren't for his other two brothers who lifted him up again. But even so, he couldn't help but smile when he saw them interacting with such enthusiasm after the long journey in search of new treasures.

He was also excited, as he would once again sleep in the warm arms of his wife. But as he thought about his wife's warmth, his sense of smell began to detect the smell of smoke, causing him to stop suddenly, and his children quickly stopped flying as well. They saw that their father was looking at a specific point.

“Dad, what's going on?” asked the eldest as he transformed out of his dragon form, leaving only his wings to see his father.

“Hmm, there are traces of a fire,” Philza also transformed back to point to the large cloud of smoke that disappeared as soon as it touched the dark sky.

“There was a village at that spot,” said the second son, looking bored at the old village that now seemed to be nothing more than rubble.

Philza wondered what had happened, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of it, since that village was very noisy due to the idiot explorers or all the climbing they did on certain days. So he decided to simply ignore it and transformed back, signaling his twins to transform back and continue on.

His youngest son signaled to his father that something was happening, but Philza simply dismissed it and signaled him to continue as well. The fire also seemed to be dying down and showed no risk of spreading through the forest.

So they all continued their flight, now a little more calmly, but his youngest son didn't want to continue like this, so he started teasing the twins, and they played along. Until his youngest son started grunting as a sign of a race, which they both accepted and began to raise their wings to give themselves momentum, leaving the youngest behind.

So, when the youngest flew a little faster, overtaking his father, the latter decided to give him a push and also raised his wings and gave his son a big push, who happily overtook his brothers.

But one of the older ones didn't give up and began to take flight, overtaking his little brother and arriving in first place and transforming himself to give a self-centered smile to the other two. They complained about the injustice, and he replied to the youngest, saying that receiving support from his father was also an injustice.

But Philza didn't care, as he loved how his children competed with each other in an encouraging way. So Philza also transformed and stopped the little fight to start walking towards the cave entrance, but as soon as he took the first step, something happened.

Strange smell. Danger. Someone else. Strange.

His instincts kicked in, and not only his, but also his children's, who quickly went on guard and did not hesitate to spread their wings as a means of defense for their home.

Then Philza signaled them with his hand to stop, but it was he who was furious. Someone had entered his cave, his home, his nest. So he quickly activated his powers, creating a golden halo that quickly turned into a sphere that caught fire.

Philza carefully began to walk, entering the dark and degraded cave, but it was only a simple illusion. After several steps, he entered a kind of mirage, where he could see mountains and mountains of gold and objects that would change his life for millennia, as well as that of a simple person and the rest of his generation.

His children also entered the mirage, where everyone was on guard for anything that was missing or for any sound other than the jingle of coins falling from the stability of where they were. But that didn't matter to them, because as soon as they took three steps into the real cave, they heard footsteps approaching them.

So Philza quickly threw the flaming sphere at the golden mount that covered L Strange, knocking him down with one blow, but that didn't matter to him, as he regenerated the sphere of fire, seeing who it was.

But instead of seeing a stranger or hunter, they noticed that it was his wife and mother, who was coming out with some fabrics in her hands. But she didn't seem at all happy about the sudden attack.

“Who was that?” she asked, releasing a dark aura as she looked at the four responsible parties, who quickly disappeared their hybrid parts or spell and looked away.

“Kristin, honey. I'm sorry,” the man apologized quickly as he approached his wife, who had lowered her aura.

“By the great dragon, Philza, you almost buried me among the treasures!” she scolded him as she touched her chest, trying to remain calm. But then she felt someone grab her waist. It was her husband, who gave her a sorry smile and kissed her on the cheek as an apology.

“Mom!” someone shouted in the background, catching the couple's attention. They saw that it was their youngest son running into his mother's arms. She first pushed her husband toward the fallen tower and opened her arms, waiting for her son to hit her.

“My baby dragon!” the woman said excitedly, receiving the not-so-heavy hug from her youngest son. It didn't matter to her whether her husband was hurt or not.

“Mom… why do you stink like a human?” Theseus asked, his face contorted with disgust as he moved his face away from his mother's clothes.

“Do I still stink?” she asked, sniffing her shoulder and realizing that the smell was not human.

“It's true,” said one of her older sons, Techno, who could smell the faint scent of the supposed human. “Even though the smell is fading, it's still human.”

“Did you go to the village?” asked her other older son, Wilbur, also approaching her.

“Oh yes, it was before they arrived, but let's just say there were some disagreements and the village simply had to perish,” she said as she moved away from her son's arms and went back to dusting off the fabrics she had in her hand, calmly talking about how she had to commit multiple murders.

“By the way, Mom. Why do you have these?” Techno was about to ask her about the fabrics his mother had in her hands, as they were his old clothes along with some of Will's.

But he couldn't finish his sentence, as suddenly there was a chirping sound, like a bird. Kristin, hearing that sound, quickly went to run, but it was her husband and children who got there first, and she was worried. She knew that the four of them usually kept their questions to themselves after attacking first.

Then it was Techno who opened the pair of heavy doors first, discovering that there was a stranger in the large family nest, a damned human who had managed to sneak in and was sleeping in the nest.

Philza, seeing that human sitting as if nothing had happened in the nest, quickly went to cast an explosion spell, not caring if it stained the nest or not, as it could still be cleaned. But just as she was about to cast the spell, Kristin stepped between her family and the human.

“I want everyone to calm down,” Kristin whispered, her voice heard by all, and the human stumbled to his feet.

“Kristin? Is that you?” asked the human, but there was something strange about him, as his eyes were closed and he was reaching forward with both arms as if searching for something in the dark.

The human also appeared to be young, seeming to be close to the age of her youngest son, Theseus, who was ten years old.

“Quackity, calm down, I'm here,” Kristin said, taking large steps toward the human until she was next to him, grabbing his hands and making him kneel down. Then the woman touched his forehead with two fingers, and a small glow came out of them, causing the human to yawn. “Calm down, rest.”

The woman spoke calmly as she laid him down, and Philza saw something that seemed very strange in the human, but he couldn't do anything about it, as his wife wrapped the now supposed human in a blanket and gave him a look that indicated only one thing.

“All of you, go to the kitchen now.” That was all that came out of her beloved's lips, and the four quickly got up and entered the kitchen at the back of the main room.

Once everyone was in the kitchen, Kristin was the last to enter and closed the doors behind her. But she kept her head down, not looking at anyone until she reached the front of the four.

“Mom, why is there a human in the nest?” Wilbur was the first to speak, showing his anger at the being in the nest.

“That's because he's not human,” Kristin said amusedly, taking out a small pot to fill it with water and place it in her oven, then casting a small spell and turning it on.

“What?” said the three young ones, confused by how their mother was handling the situation.

“It's a hybrid, am I right?” Philza asked, thinking more calmly, remembering the thing on the boy's back.

Suddenly, Kristin reached into the pocket of her black dress and took something out, and as soon as she did, her three children's instincts were the first to kick in.

“Brilliant,” they murmured as they watched their mother show them a yellow feather that glowed brighter in the fire behind her, creating the illusion of being almost gold.

Theseus was the first to lunge for the feather, but Kristin had already anticipated this move, spreading her wings and taking off into the air.

Then Wilbur lunged toward her, but Kristin quickly flew forward and scolded her children for not thinking rationally over a mere feather.

Unexpectedly, Techno was behind her and almost managed to get the feather if it weren't for Kristin quickly creating a shield that Techno couldn't easily break. Then Kristin quickly descended and was about to mock how her children's emotions were still not very controlled.

Until Philza appeared behind her, kissed her on the cheek, and took the pen from her hand as if it were nothing.

“Hey, hehe. That's cheating,” Kristin laughed, looking at her husband, who simply gave her a mocking smile, then examined the pen now in his hand.

At that moment, their three children approached their father and admired the feather.

“…It's from an aviar,” Philza said in surprise, looking at his wife, who returned to the pot and quickly poured the hot water into a teapot, then added tea leaves.

“What's an avian?” Theseus asked, approaching his mother to receive a cup of hot tea.

“An avian is a kind of hybrid that has limbs that are like wings. But I thought they were extinct or hidden,” explained Techno, approaching his brother to get a cup too, looking at his mother with confusion.

“That's right. When your mother and I were young, we came across a flock of sparrow avians. We stayed with them for a couple of months until we had to continue on our own.”

He stood on the right side of his wife, accepting the cup and hugging her waist, remembering the flock with whom they got along very well, learning about their race, their customs, and, most importantly, their wings.

“Those were good times, really,” said the woman happily, handing the last cup to her second son and pouring herself a cup as well.

“But back to the subject, how?” It was Will who brought up the subject again.

“Well, let's just say I felt a little bored among all that gold and decided to spend some time in the nearby village.”

“The one in ruins?” Theseus asked, taking small sips of tea as it was hot.

“Well, let's just say that on the last day we had our differences, and the village simply had to perish,” the woman said calmly, shrugging her shoulders at what she had to do. “Then I found him; the poor thing was trembling and afraid.”

“Her wings…”

“They're clean and shiny, as they should be,” Kristin replied quickly so that her husband wouldn't worry and decide to burn down the whole village or the entire kingdom.

“And why don't I open its eyes?” Theseus asked, confused, noticing that the others were looking at him curiously. “Didn't you notice? Its eyes were closed when it got up from the nest. Does it have sleep in its eyes or something?”

“He's blind…” the woman said a little more quietly, and Theseus felt bad for bringing up the subject.

“How old is he?” Philza put her cup aside, knowing there was something behind it.

“He's twelve.”

[…]

Everyone had finished their tea, and Kristin had decided to change the subject and ask them how their trip had gone, but they weren't as excited as before. But she told them not to worry about it.

As soon as everyone left the kitchen, Kristin went to the nest and began to carefully lift Quackity under the gaze of the others.

“Duckling, wake up.”

“Kristin, what's going on?” asked the boy, rubbing his eyes and searching for the woman's hands. She brought them closer and began to lift the boy.

There they saw them, two pairs of beautiful, shiny, golden wings. They weren't very big, but they did look a little thin, perhaps due to malnutrition.

“I want to introduce you to some people,” she said, holding Quackity by the forearms to lift him up carefully.

“They're here,” the boy whispered nervously, his wings beginning to flutter with excitement.

“Yes, and they want to meet you.” He began to carefully guide him between the blankets, which almost caused the poor boy to stumble. “All right, guys, be careful.” Now he spoke to the four boys.

“H-hello,” the boy greeted them nervously, until he felt someone grab his hand and shake it a little too hard.

“Hi! I'm Theseus, but sometimes they call me Tommy or Toms. Nice to meet you!” The youngest greeted him excitedly, continuing to shake Quackity's hand.

“Y-yes, the pleasure is mine. My name is Quackity,” he said, until he felt the greeting stop.

“That's enough, Theseus, you're shaking him,” Philza stopped him, scolding his son a little, who simply apologized. “Nice to meet you. I'm Kristin's husband; I'm Philza.”

“It's a pleasure,” he said, feeling the blankets beneath him sink under Philza's weight as he seemed to be rolling around, causing him to try to hide his wings.

“Don't be afraid, dear. Philza won't hurt you,” Kristin said calmly as she stood next to the young man, who tried to follow her voice as he was still focused on Philza's movements.

“Sorry, I'm still nervous,” he muttered softly as he grimaced at all the new smells he was perceiving from the people around him.

“Nice to meet you,” Quackity heard another voice in front of him, so he tried to sharpen his hearing as he looked up. “I'm Technoblade…”

“And I'm Wilbur,” came a fifth voice that seemed to come from where Technoblade was standing.

“The pleasure is mine, I—”

“Tell me, Quackity,” Philza spoke again, who seemed to be next to him from the way he heard the voice. “Kristin told us you were a hybrid.”

“Um, yes. I—I'm an avian hybrid.”

He tried to speak calmly as he raised his head, but he still had slight chills, feeling a desire to run away or hide as far away as possible without anyone ever finding him.

“Well!” Kristin raised her voice, clapping loudly, scaring the duck, who raised its wings slightly for protection, but upon realizing it was Kristin's Oz, lowered them. “Today has been a very eventful day for everyone, so… let's go to sleep.”

declared the woman as she used her magic to lower the flames of the candles that were in certain areas of the cave.

“Aww, I wanted to keep talking to Quackity,” Theseus said dejectedly as he walked between the nest and Quackity, sitting on the weight of more people and her as the sheets stretched.

He almost tripped over his own feet, if it weren't for something that quickly caught him, and Quackity, from the width of the hands she felt, could tell it was someone big.

“Be careful,” Quackity heard. She tried to connect the voice with the Techno boy or the other Wilbur, as their voices seemed almost identical, like twins.

But while he was trying to think, he didn't realize that Techno had led him to a part of the nest, specifically in the middle. He realized it was too late when he felt people settling in on either side of him.

“Um, Kristin. Are you sure this is okay?” murmured the duck on his right, as he could distinguish the woman's weapon, which was slightly lighter than the others.

“Don't worry, little duck, we'll talk about this later. Get some rest,” Kristin whispered as she approached the black-haired man and kissed him on the forehead before tucking him in and falling asleep herself.

After a moment, Quackity felt her body telling her to rest, so she carefully settled down among the dragon bats. Finally, she fell asleep.

[…]

After that first night, everything began to flow calmly and without disturbance. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and finally into years.

Quackity was 16 years old when he left the forest with his brothers to cut down some trees not far from the cave.

Everyone was calm, and Techno and Wilbur said they would explore the surroundings a little, as they had seen something a couple of weeks ago. Theseus and Q agreed and continued on their way.

Less than three years ago, Philza gave Quackity a birthday present: a potion that would allow him to better sense his surroundings, as well as have a cleaner and wider path, since he was always barefoot at home.

So Kristin used another spell to build him several wooden paths so that he wouldn't get lost easily, and these paths would never get dirty or damaged over the years, which was perfect for him.

“Hey, Big Q!” Theseus shouted a little loudly, and from the intonation, Quackity knew that he was already a little further away from him. “I'm going to the lake down below! Will you be okay without me?”

“Yes! Don't worry, I'll just cut down two trees and come back to our parents,” he shouted back, and he heard an “okay” and footsteps moving away from where he was.

Quackity simply laughed under his breath and resumed walking, feeling a slightly cold breeze slip through his light sweater. It made him realize that the cold was approaching, discouraging him a little, since he knew that even if the road wasn't destroyed, he couldn't leave in case he got sick.

So he kept walking a little faster until he heard a quack to his right, smiling and looking up at no specific point.

“Hello!” Quackity called out loudly, as he knew who they were.

It was the flock of crows that came in the cold seasons. He had met them when he turned 14 and went out with his dad, Philza, to explore as far as the roads would take them, and he heard a caw, turning his head in all directions. He heard Philza laugh and explain that the cawing came from a flock of crows that had a kind of protection pact.

“A long time ago, Kristin and I found a small flock of crows on one of our trips. We helped them, healed them, and protected them. In return, they also helped us, especially during certain seasons. Perhaps to the world they are considered a bad omen, but to us, they are our support, as both sides take care of each other.”

She remembered the jet-black crows as they cawed a little at them, receiving a greeting in return, making her laugh a little, and then she went back on her way.

*crack*

He heard the duck not far away, and then he felt a crow land on his shoulder and peck his head twice.

It meant danger.

Something was approaching through the trees of the forest, and even though he had the axe in his hand, he felt defenseless.

“Go find Mom or Dad,” Quackity whispered to the crow, receiving three pecks on the head before flapping his wings and flying away.

Bang!

The boy heard a loud noise too close for comfort, quickly ducking down and crawling toward the nearest tree trunk, trembling either from fear or from the sudden bang he heard, which was still ringing in his ears.

“Calm down, calm down. Don't panic,” he whispered to himself as he held the axe aloft, trying to remain as calm as possible in this situation.

“Bah, you missed!” he heard a male voice begin to approach him.

“Of course not!” he heard a second voice, and from the footsteps he could hear, there seemed to be more than just the two of them. “The damn light distracted me. Do you think you could block the light?”

“That's all nonsense; that's what I hear from you. Wait.”

The first person stopped, and no more footsteps could be heard. This terrified Quackity, as he hadn't lived with anyone other than his family for years. He didn't know how they would react to him.

“Are they going to attack me with whatever they have in their hands? Will I be able to defend myself? How long is that crow taking to warn Mom or Dad?” He began to shake more and more, feeling a new, strong urge to cry for those eyes that hadn't opened in years.

“There's a wooden path over there,” said the man, sounding a little more confused, as he heard the footsteps getting closer and closer to him. Until he couldn't hear them anymore, and then for a moment he felt an enormous calm.

But when he felt something pulling on his forearm, he began to squawk loudly at the person holding him.

“Ha, ha! Look, Octavio, it's a bird!” said the man excitedly as he continued to hold Quackity by the forearm, putting more force into it when he noticed the boy's wings beginning to flap harder.

“Holy shit, this is gold!” said Octavio excitedly as he grabbed Quackity's forearm, causing him to descend abruptly, until he felt a hand grab one of his wings tightly and stretch it out, causing him to squawk louder in pain.

“Haha! I told you that coming to the dragon forest would bring us something good after all…” But something stopped him, making Quackity more defensive, and he quickly felt himself being thrown to the ground.

“A-ahh!” the other guy shouted, and Quackity didn't know what was going on. “NO, no, stop, no, me-me, nooooo," he heard the voice getting further and further away, but Quackity didn't care about that, as he tried to get away from whatever was nearby.

“Quackity, Quackity, honey, it's me, it's Mom,” said a very calm voice, but Quackity simply couldn't understand it because all he could think about was getting away.

Until he felt hands, now gently and lovingly, hold his forearms, which had previously been held roughly, leaving him no escape.

“Wh-what?” he asked between breaths, trying to understand where he was again, so he carefully moved his hands and brought them closer to the face of the woman in front of him.

She didn't move and let her son's hands gently feel her face so he wouldn't be afraid.

“Quackity!” He heard more voices in the background, scaring him again, but it wasn't Kristin, and the voices stopped immediately, allowing him to breathe again, and in that moment, he fell asleep once more.

Kristin couldn't believe it. One of her babies had almost fallen into the hands of those damn humans. If she hadn't arrived in time with her husband, who knows what they would have done to one of her little ones.

She was in the kitchen, calmly making food for everyone while also talking to her husband about the village down the mountain.

It was being rebuilt, but she didn't care anymore. As long as they kept their disgusting smells away from her family and her, she couldn't care less if the village burned down once again.

But her calm did not last long, as a crow quickly flew in and began to caw loudly, and even if Kristin and Philza did not understand it, they knew one thing: one of their children was in danger.

So quickly, they abandoned everything and spread their wings to begin to leave the place. As they did so, they both saw their two older children in the air, and Philza could see her youngest child taking flight as well. Seeing them all in the air, she approached them.

“Hey, what's going on?” Theseus asked as he looked at everyone. Like him, the twins were also confused, but the two older ones looked at each other, and Kristin quickly shook her head and took flight once more.

Then Kristin looked down in search of her yard, and she heard it, a squawk. A loud one, full of pain, and then the woman looked down at the wooden path and saw him there.

Her little one was being held by two stupid humans, but what angered her most was that one of them grabbed one of her precious wings, which took longer than expected to heal.

So she quickly drew her claws and, like a breeze, slashed his throat, silencing him immediately and making him let go of her son's forearm. The other man, seeing her, was frightened and began to back away, releasing Quackity's forearm.

But as soon as he moved a few inches away, Philza, in her dragon form, grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him so high that no one could hear him. Kristin only noticed a quick burst of fire moving away.

Kristin saw her husband and children quickly approaching them, but she didn't care, because right now she had her little boy in her hands, and even though he was covered in blood, she didn't care.

Her son was injured again, and she would not forgive anyone for that. So she simply glanced at her husband and children, signaling them to move to the cave, which they all understood and began to fly toward.

“Where were you three!?” Kristin said angrily as she looked at her three children kneeling on the kitchen floor, while Philza was treating Quackity, who was asleep in the nest. “How could you leave Quackity alone! Do you know the risk he could have been in? What if one of the crows hadn't warned us, or you hadn't arrived in time, or something had happened to Quackity!”

“Mom, we didn't,” Wilbur tried to say, but Kristin quickly interrupted him.

“No, you didn't! I know that Techno and you wanted to explore the new town as soon as possible, but your father and I had already told you that if you wanted to see it, you should do so at night and not at midday.” The woman sighed in frustration at the attempt at justification by one of her older children.

“And Theseus, I know that this is the season when deer come out more often and you wanted to start hunting them, but you have to understand that you also have to be more careful. What if there were other hunters in the area and not only Quackity got hurt, but you could have been hurt too, and your powers aren't fully developed yet."

Kristin spoke a little more calmly now, but she was still disappointed by Theseus' idea of wanting to go practice his hunting powers.

She made him feel bad, and he hung his head in shame at his plans.

“Honey,” Philza said calmly as she entered the kitchen. “Quackity is awake now.”

declared the blond boy, but before any of the children could get up, their mother gave them another look that made them return to their places, sighing at the situation.

“Stay here for a couple more minutes, then you can come in and apologize.” The woman walked to the door and left, trying to remain calm so as not to scare Quackity.

The black-haired boy was sitting with the blankets over him, but he was still trembling slightly from what had happened to him. But it wasn't until he felt the nest straighten up that he began to tremble more.

“Hello, Quackity,” Kristin said in a calm voice as she knelt down next to the boy, who trembled a little less but still felt insecure.

“M-Mom? Is that you?” Quackity asked as he raised his hand in the air, nervous at first when he felt nothing, but then jumping slightly when he felt his mother's touch.

“Yes, sweetie, it's me. How are you feeling?” she asked as she brought her son's hand closer to his face to make him feel more confident.

“Like I've been hit again,” he murmured, distressed by the situation he was experiencing again, bringing back bad memories.

“There, there, sweetheart, you're safe now.”

“Wait, what about Theseus? He was at the lake when we got separated, and the hunters found me!” he asked, now worried, as he pulled his hand away from his mother's face and then grabbed her hand with both of his.

“Hey, hey. Calm down, Theseus and the twins are fine,” Kristin confirmed, just as the kitchen door opened gently and three heads poked out of the crack.

Kristin sighed resignedly and motioned for her children to come closer. As they came out, her husband also came out carefully, and they all stood outside the nest.

“Are you sure? And where are they?” he asked, still worried about what might happen to his brothers.

“Hi, Big Q,” said a shy Theseus as he flew over and landed on his brother's left side. His brother quickly reached out with one hand, and Theseus moved closer so that the black-haired boy could comb his hair.

“Theseus!” Quackity said a little happier as he felt his brother's unruly hair. “Where are Will and Techno?”

“Here,” Techno entered the nest with his brother and father behind him. “We're sorry we left you alone.”

Techno said guiltily as he sat down in the nest and crossed his legs, but Quackity didn't care.

“It's okay, don't worry.”

“No, Big Q, Mom's right, the three of us were very reckless to leave you alone,” Wilbur said when he saw that Quackity didn't care that they had abandoned him.

“I hope this helps you all to be more careful,” Philza said calmly as he sat down next to his wife and smiled at how his children had matured.

“Yes, Dad,” the three said at the same time as Quackity turned his head toward where he heard the sound.

“All right, since we all agree, why don't we go eat? We're having roast venison today,” Kristin said more calmly as she began to get up with her husband's help.

The others also smiled and began to get up carefully, but they also needed the twins' help.

Then they all went to the kitchen and sat down to eat a little more calmly. They left behind the bodies of the two hunters in the forest, which would be food for the crows as a thank you for warning them and helping them once again.