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Chapter Text

"Sit straight, Chan and put your ears up."

"Yes, mother." Chan said quickly and straightened his back while he forced his long, blonde fluffy bunny ears upwards.

The dining room was huge with a large decorated table. Chan sat there, eating dinner with his parents opposite of him and the rest of the table was simply empty. A few guards stood around, completely still and Chan let out a sigh. He hated it.

He hated how quiet and empty the palace was and how everything in here was worth a fortune while outside in the streets the people were starving and fighting for survival. The civilians got more and more restless, with less food and a growing hatred towards the royal family and the whole country.

Chan knew his parents were not good people, never thinking of others and only for themselves and their money. They were harsh and held no empathy for others, not even their own son. Their son who was born as a prey hybrid, instead of a predator like his father. Chan had to fight the urge to pull his ears back down, which had always been more comfortable for him, to just let them hang loosely on his shoulders, but his mother always told him that making them face upwards made him look more in control, more like royalty. 

Chan had finished his food and waited for the servants to take everything off the table and then his parents left for a meeting and Chan was finally able to go up to his room again. He spend most of his days either there or outside in the gardens. 
Back when his uncle was still alive, he often took Chan with him to the stables, to ride on the horses, or even out at sea, to show Chan how to sail a big ship. Chan smiled at those memories, but his uncle had died in combat a year ago. A battle that had left scars across the whole kingdom and financially everyone took a big hit. Even the royal family, which was why they demanded more from the civilians and why they didn't spend anymore for the people's wellbeing and Chan hated it. He hated seeing other people suffer while he still had the comfort of his own, big room that was decorated in gold and light pastel colors. A pretty room, fitting for a prey hybrid like him, with lots of fluffy pillows on his bed to make it easier for him to nest whenever he desired.

But the thing was that Chan was lonely. There were only his parents, the servants and the guards around, as well as some politicians who Chan couldn't care less about. With 20 years old, he was old enough to marry someone by now, but his parents didn't have the best relationship with other countries and so finding a suitable partner wasn't as easy as one might have thought.

Chan let out a tired sigh and headed over to his balcony and leaned against the ornamented railing, letting his ears fall back down onto his shoulders and he rested his head into his arms as he looked down at the city. He saw people in the streets, screaming and protesting at the gate that led to the palace, while the guards at the gate tried to keep the people at bay. It had been like this for days now and Chan stared to fear what would happen soon.

Chan took off his crown, fighting a bit to get the golden rim over his ears, before he took off his expensive outfit. A white long coat, decorated with diamonds in a floral design and instead Chan took some comfortable pants and a loose light blue shirt and he headed to bed, nesting with the pillows and blankets to feel some sort of security, but the screaming from the outside kept him awake for many hours, before his eyes finally closed and he drifted off to sleep...

❀♡❀

Chan woke up with a gasp, hearing screaming and even gunshots nearby. The bunny hybrid shot up and scrambled to his feet, taking a light blue coat and pulling it over his shoulders as the night was cold in the late summer. Chan's ears twitched up and to the side when he heard more loud noises from the outside and then some screaming from inside the palace and Chan ran to his door, but as he opened it, a guard fall dead to the ground right in front of him. Chan looked up with horrified eyes and saw a cloaked figure killing another, before he turned to the prince's direction and Chan quickly shut the door and locked it from the inside. 

He then ran with panic towards the balcony and looked down in shock.
The gates were destroyed, the palace was on fire, the guards and servants were dead and the civilians stormed the place. Chan heard the door breaking down and the cloaked figure spotted Chan by the balcony and so the prince quickly jumped over the railing and landed on the roof below. He scrambled to his feet and ran.

Thankfully Chan was always active. He was a fast runner and a high jumper and so he quickly made his way over the rooftops until he jumped over the wall that led away from the palace, away from his home...
He quickly ran ahead, past an alley, but then, after a few meters, he turned around again and quickly hid inside, cowering behind some barrels in the darkness of the buildings shadows and then it was quiet. Chan tried not to breathe too loudly, as he cowered by the wall, trying to make himself as small as possible and then he heard someone running past the alley. 
The cloaked figure stopped for a second, but then he ran further ahead and Chan waited a beat before he ran out of the alley and back to the palace again. He climbed the wall and tried to make it to the stables or the harbor, but the yelling of the people caught his sensitive ears, making them stand up with attention.

"THE KING AND QUEEN WILL DIE!" A man screamed with joy and the crowd started to cheer loudly. 

"PLEASE DON'T!" That was Chan's mother, the queen and Chan's eyes widened in fear as he spotted his parents by the palace's entrance, with men holding them down and forcing them onto their knees.

"No...." Chan whispered to himself as he stood there, frozen in place, watching from afar how two men with pistols walked behind the royal couple.

"THEY HAVE MADE OUR LIFE MISERABLE!" Yelled the man once more and the people celebrated and cheered. "NOW THEIR REIGN WILL COME TO AN END!" 

"NO!" Chan yelled, but his voice got lost in the echo of the gunshots and his parents fell to the ground, coloring the stones beneath them crimson red.
Chan took some deep breath, his teary eyes roamed around to hope and see anyone that he knew, any guard, any servant, but they were all dead on the ground. Everyone was gone. Chan took a step back as the people started to run inside the palace again, probably to retrieve all the valuable things that were in it. Scared that someone might see him, Chan quickly jumped down the wall again, only to come face to face with the cloaked figure from before.

Chan's eyes widened but before he could react, the figure jumped on top of him and pinned him to the ground. "Argh.... let me go!" Chan yelled with tears in his eyes, but the other was stronger than him. Most likely a predator.

"Hehehe what a cute bunny... you are mine now." Laughed the man on top of the prince.

"Please don't..." Chan whimpered and tried to get out of the predator's hold.

"Stop squirming!" The other growled.

"Stop attacking me!" Chan shot back and the man on top of him let out a chuckle.

"Tsk, you don't give me a choice...." And then Chan felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and the next second Chan's world turned pitch black...

❀♡❀

"Ugh..." Chan groaned as he came back to consciousness. His head hurt with a throbbing pain and his vision was slightly blurry and felt a cold ground beneath him and as he tried to sit up, he realized that his wrist were bound with heavy metal shackles. "What the fuck..." Chan grumbled with furrowed brows and tried to rip them apart, but it was no use. He could barely move his hands as the chain between them was really short but to Chan's luck his legs were still free, so he at least managed to get up on shaking legs. 

He looked around in the dark room and realized that it must be a basement, with no windows and a wooden staircase that led upstairs to a door. Chan walked up the stairs and took the handle of the door, trying to open it but the door didn't budge. 

"Don't try it." Said a male voice from the other side.

"Let me out!" Chan yelled angrily. 

"Nope." Came the simple reply and Chan rattled once more at the door. 

"Come on man! I didn't do anything!" 

"You're the prince. Of course you're not innocent." Said the guy and Chan could imagine him rolling his eyes.

"You killed them!" Chan screamed now as tears slowly started to form in the corners of his eyes again. "You killed my parents!"

"We didn't do anything. We only need you." 

"M- me...? Why?" Asked Chan confused.

"Don't worry about it. Your life belongs to us now." The guy said and then it was quiet. Chan let out a tired sigh, before he slumped to the floor and leaned his back against the wooden door and then he had no other choice put to wait.

The former prince sat there for hours, until finally the door was opened and Chan almost fell backwards and he looked up with surprise as he saw three predator hybrids. All cat hybirds. Big cats. One had orange and black striped ears as well as smiliar markings at his neck and the side of his face, as well as a matching long striped tail. He was clearly a tiger hybrid. Another had black and dark grey spots on his exposed forearms as well as on his neck, forehead and shoulders and small black ears and a very fluffy tail, so Chan guessed a snow leopard. 

The last one had pitch black ears that almost got lost in the black messy hair and a long black tail that moved almost nervously back and forth. A black panther. 
"Follow us." Said the black panther hybrid, who stood in the middle and Chan recognized the cloak that hang off his shoulderd. It was the guy who had chased and abducted him. 

"Come on, get up." Said the snow leopard hybrid, who was a bit shorter and Chan recognized the voice as the one guy who had guarded the door. 

Chan got up onto his feet and then he followed the black panther, while the other two walked behind Chan. The bunny hybrid took in their appearances and realized that they wore cheap, ragged clothes and as they passed multiple rooms, Chan saw messy, wild chaos. The whole building was narrow and old, with some stones and beams looking like they were close to giving in. 

"Where am I?" Asked Chan, but he got no answer. He let out a tired sigh and kept following the predators, until they reached a slightly bigger room and Chan's eyes widened as he looked at four more big cat hybrids.

One boy had round cheeks and short light colored hair with small round ears on top and some black round spots on his forehead and under his eyes, as well as a fine black line running at the corner of his eyes. A cheetah hybrid.
Next to him sat a lion hybrid, one who had long blond hair with fluffy ears at the top and a thinner tail with some hair at the end of it. 
Behind them were the last two, one was a jaguar and one a clouded leopard hybrid. The jaguar hybrid had small black and white ears and many small spots everywhere across his face, while the clouded leopard hybrid had bigger spots at the sides and longer, pitch black ears. 

They all looked at Chan with curiosity and Chan unconsciously started to pick at his long bunny ears nervously.

"That's him?" Asked the cheetah hybrid and got a bit closer, sniffing around the prey hybrid. 

"Yes." Answered the black panther shortly.

"He is so cute!" Smiled the lion and Chan started to furrow his brows in confusion. 

"So we have him. What now, Minho?" Asked the jaguar hybrid and the black panther took a step forward. 

"I will meet up with the client and lead him here. After that-"

"Client?!" Chan interrupted with a shocked exclaim. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hehehe, you are being sold, bunny." Grinned the snow leopard. 

"S- sold...?" Chan whispered in fear, taking a step back, only to bump into the tiger hybrid who looked down at him with a smirk.

"You'll bring us a lot of money."

"Haha yeah! We'll be rich!" Grinned the cheetah hybrid.

"But-"

"You have no say in this." Said Minho, glaring at him. "You lost all power you once had."

"I'm still a human being!" Chan snapped at him. "How can you just sell someone?! That is horrible!"

"We have no other choice..." Muttered the clouded leopard and the lion nodded.

"Yeah, look at us. We have nothing." The blond said and gestured at the run down building and their old, ragged clothes.

"This kingdom never gave us a chance in life. We have no choice but go a-... a less pleasant way." Added the snow leopard with a frown and now all seven predators looked a bit down.

"But don't I deserve my freedom?" Chan asked quietly, looking at his shackled hands. "I'd rather have nothing, but therefore my freedom as a person."

"You had enough freedom all your life." Replied Minho and Chan looked up at the black panther hybrid. "Being a prince is the biggest privilege one can have."

"I never asked for it." Chan muttered, pressing his ears further down, but Minho simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Doesn't matter. The client is on his way already anyway. We will get our money."

"Wait, how much money do you want?" Chan asked suddenly, having an idea and all seven predators looked at him.

"Why do you-"

"We have secret chambers in the palace!" Chan said quickly. "There is a lot of treasure hidden in some rooms."

"The people took everything after the king and queen were-" the tiger hybrid stopped himself, looking at the young bunny hybrid with sympathy. "There is nothing left. probably not even furniture." He finished.

"Yeah and now the hound gang took a hold of the palace. They got most of it and try to make it their base or something." Explained the jaguar.

"Besides, nothing from in there would be as valuable as you, the prince." Added the clouded leopard. 

"But I-"

"Don't try to talk your way out of it." Snapped Minho, slightly annoyed now and he ran a hand over his face, before he turned to the others. "Keep an eye on him and give him some food and water. I'll go and meet up with the client." The black panther said and then he headed out, leaving Chan standing in the middle of the room with the other six cat hybrids looking at him.

"So... I'm Han (cheetah), these are Changbin (snow leopard), Hyunjin (tiger), Felix (lion), Seunmgin (jaguar) and Jeongin (clouded leopard). And our fearless leader is Minho (black panther). Anyways, what do you wanna eat?" Asked Han with a smile and Chan blinked at him confused after Han had introduced them all.

"You know, you all do not seem like bad guys at all..." Chan muttered with a tired sigh.

"Because we aren't." Shrugged Jeongin. "But we have to survive."

"Then why not clean up the palace like the rest did and take some valuables form there?" Asked Chan a bit annoyed. "Surely it would have been enough to keep you guys alive for a while instead of kidnapping someone."

"Not enough to buy us a ship though." Muttered Hyunjin and that got Chan's attention.

"A ship? You guys want a ship?"

"Yeah, the sea is the best place for strays like us." Explained Changbin, while Felix and Seungmin headed to the next room where Chan saw a small kitchen.

"Are you guys... pirates?" The bunny asked, tilting his head to the side confused.

"Well... not yet... we're more like thieves." Shrugged Hyunjin. "We need a ship first. But at sea no rules apply. We would be truly free."

"Do you even know how to sail?" Chan asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"We will learn by doing." Han grinned.

"Great... I got kidnapped by some morons..." Chan mumbled, tucking at the iron shackles once more. 

"Oi! Don't call us that!" Growled Changbin, but Chan wasn't fazed by the snow leopard.

"Cat hybrids don't even like water." 

"And bunnies do?" Asked Hyunijn, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yes!" Chan said loudly. "Bunnies like to swim!"

"It's mostly small cats who don't like water." Jeongin pointed out. "Bigger cat hybrids don't mind it. Well... except Minho hyung maybe."

"Haha yeah, he is actually scared of water." Giggled Han.

"Here." Said Felix suddenly as he and Seungmin came back from the kitchen and they handed Chan a bowl of soup.

"Th- thanks..." Chan mumbled, looking down into the bowl with an uncertain look on his face.

"Don't worry, it tastes better than it looks." Hyunjin told him and the bunny hybrid took a spoon full, surprised that it was actually not bad and for a while they sat there in silence. The predator cat hybrids chatted a bit, while Chan sat there quietly, waiting for something to happen, until several minutes later, Minho ran into the house with wide eyes, closing the door behind himself quickly and he leaned back against it, taking deep breaths. The other predator hybrids looked at him with worry and confusion, immediately running up to him.

"Minho?!" Asked Han. "What-"

"The client is dead." Minho growled annoyed and everyone's eyes widened. 

"What?!" Yelled Hyunjin. "How? Why?!"

"That idiot told someone that we have the prince. The hound gang killed him and they are looking for us right now."

"Fuck!" Growled Changbin and Chan flinched slightly as all seven predators were clearly angry and upset, creating tension in the whole room.

"What now?" Asked Jeongin and Minho took a deep breath. 

"Let me think..." He grumbled and walked up to Chan, looking down at the bunny hybrid who looked down in fear, his ears pressed down against his head. 

"Do they know we are here?" Asked Hyunjin with a frown.

"Not yet." Sighed Minho. "I led them away, but they are dog hybrids. They will sniff us out soon."

"Fuck! We have to leave." Growled Changbin woth fristration.

"Where to?" Asked Jeongin.

"The palace." Said Chan in a quiet voice and suddenly all eyes were on him.

"The palace?" Asked Felix confused.

"The hound gang took over that place." Reminded Seungmin.

"Exactly." Nodded Chan. "They- they wouldn't expect you would go there, right?"

"Right..." Muttered Minho and thought for a moment, biting his lower lip. "Damn it..." He cursed and then he took out a key and removed Chan's shackles and he walked to the side and took a black coat and threw it at the bunny hybrid who flinched slightly. "Put this on, keep the hood up and stay close to us." Chan hesitated, but then he put the coat on.

"Are you sure, Minho?" Asked Han and the black panther nodded.

"We have no other choice. This place is no good anyway."

"What will we do with him?" Asked Changbin and they all eyed the bunny hybrid as he fumbled with the long coat.

"Yeah, can those guys not buy him?" Asked Hyunjin. "If they are interested in him anyways, then-"

"They wouldn't spend money on him." Minho interrupted. "They wouldn't have it either. They would simply kill us and then take the bunny."

"I have a name..." Chan mumbled as he pulled up the hood.

"Listen." Minho said and stepped in front of the bunny hybrid. "Compared to them, we are the nice ones here. They are ruthless and will do who knows what to you, so we are your best chance right now."

"You only want to sell me though..." Chan mumbled with a slight pout.

"Yes, but right now we have to get of here or we will all die." Minho told him. "And not all of us have the luxury to just throw around with gold coins and get everything they want."

"Whatever." Chan mumbled. "I know a way into the palace. One where no one will see us."

"So you will help us?" Asked Hyunjin confused. "Or is this a trick of yours?"

"I- I have no where to go. My family is dead." Chan said with frustration and sad round eyes. "You guys are not nice, but at least-... at least you are not killers. I think so at least..." Chan mumbled and the cat hybrids nodded slowly anf Minho gave the commando to head out and the eight of them quickly left the house and walked through the dark streets of the city towards the palace.

There was still chaos with people screaming and yelling, while others were celebrating the death of the king and queen in the streets by burning oil portraits of the royal family. 

The stray cats moved quickly and quietly from shadow to shadow and Chan's steps became more and more hesitant the closer he got to his home and soon he completely stopped in his tracks as the wall was in front of them and the predator hybrids helped each other up.

"Come on, bunny." Said the panther hybrid and Chan glared at Minho. 

"Again, I have a name."

"I don't want to get attached to things I will sell later." Minho teased and Chan rolled his eyes and he walked over to Hyunjin and Changbin who helped him up and soon they all jumped onto the rooftops on the other side of the wall. 

"Tsk, damn it..." Mumbled Seungmin and pointed to the entrance. "It's the hounds."

"Who even are they?" Asked Chan confused.

"They're a gang. One of the biggest ones here in Miroh." Explained Felix. "We don't really get along with them. It's a cat and dog kinda thing."

"Is there another way to get inside?" Asked Jeongin as they looked at the entrance, where the hound gang was patrolling.

"My room. This way." Chan led the way to a tower in the back and it was pretty easily to climb up there. Minho was the first to enter through the window, but to their luck, the room was empty, with no one around.

"Woah... you grew up here?" Asked Han with wide eyes as they looked around the room. Most things like Chan's jewelry had been taken, same as some clothes, mirrors, lamps and other smaller things. But Chan's big bed and his pillows and blankets were still there and the bunny hybrid walked over to it, running a hand over some of the soft and fluffy pillows. 

"Yeah... it always felt empty though..."

"Empty? You had everything one could ask for!" Changbin exclaimed and Chan frowned at him.

"Except friends."

"Oh..." The predators looked at the bunny hybrid who was looking down at one of the pastel blue pillow he held in his hands.

"Okay, so you said there is some money hidden in here." Minho said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Where?"

"This way." Chan said and dropped the pillow before he headed out of the room. It was completely quiet and empty as they carefully walked down the big hallways,  though then Chan's ears caught footsteps int he distance.

"Hide!" He hissed in a whisper and the eight boys quickly got into another room and they heard voices walking past the room.

"The prince?"

"Yeah, apparently he is hiding somewhere in the city."

"Tsk, he has to die, just like his parents."

"I heard he is a prey anyway. He won't survive a day out there."

"Hahaha he doesn't deserve any better anyway. Arrogant bastards, that's what the royal family was." The hounds laughed and walked by without checking the room and the boys let out some sighs of relief, though Chan looked down with a grim expression and the cat hybrids looked at him with a bit of sympathy.

"Come on. Let's go." Minho said and they let the room again and headed further out. Chan led them to the back of along corridor in the very back and as he opened another door, the boys looked at him confused.

"This is just a storage room..." Said Hyunjin confused.

"Yeah, what are we doing here?" Asked Changbin but Chan simply rolled his eyes. He walked over to one of the shelves and pulled on a wooden lever and suddenly there was a loud CLICK and Chan was able to pull the whole shelf away, revealing a door and a staircase that led downstairs.

"Woah! You have a secret tunnel?!" Said Han amazed and Chan couldn't help but grin. 

"Yup. You have some fire?" Chan asked and Seungmin took out a fire lighter made out of flint stone and he quickly created a small flame that they held against a torch at the side of the door. Minho took it and they all headed down the stairs, until they reached the bottom of the basement, where the boys eyes widened.

"WOAH!" 

"This is-..." 

The boys looked at piles of gold and treasures, with jewelry and diamonds. "We are rich.... we are rich!" Yelled Changbin happily as the boys started to collect as much as they can, while Chan and Minho stood there, watching them.

"We can get out of here..." Minho mumbled with a slight smile and Chan looked up to him. 

"I can help you out even more." He said and the black panther raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"First promise me that you will take me with you."

"Huh?" Minho looked at Chan confused. "Why would you-"

"I have nothing left here. The people of this city want me dead, I have no family, no friends, no-... no nothing... please... please take me with you..." Chan said and looked up at Minho, who started to nod slowly.

"Fine. If you don't cause any trouble, then you could stay with us I guess."

"Really?!" Chan asked with excitement.

"But don't expect me to fight or risk my life for yours. You are not part of this pack."

"Of course!" Chan smiled and nodded and then he ran over to the side of the basement where another wooden door was and as he opened it, the boy's eyes widened once more.

"Is that...?" Asked Felix with wide eyes as the boys stepped outside into the night.

"The Golden Prime." Chan said as the other side of the door revealed the backside of the palace, right by the ocean, where the royal harbor was located and a giant ship with gold accents was parked in the bay.

"It's the fastest ship in the kingdom!" Grinned Han.

"It's too big for us..." Mumbled Jeongin and looked at Minho. "Right?"

"Agreed. We have no experience, so we wouldn't be able to steer such a big ship."

"Don't worry, we have another option." Chan said and headed further out and the boys followed him. Behind the Golden Prime stood a much smaller, wooden ship with blue sails and some darker wooden details. 
"This is the Blueprint." Chan grinned. "I learned how to sail with this one from my uncle. It's much smaller, and more than enough for you guys."

"This is so cool!" Grinned Han and the boys headed out to have a look. 

"Be careful. The hounds or other gangs could be nearby." Minho said and then he turned to Changbin, Seungmin and Hyunjin. "You three can start to load up the ship. We'll get out of here."

"Aye aye captain!" Grinned Changbin and the boys went to work. 

Meanwhile the others followed Chan onto he Blueprint and the boys carefully had a look around. It was still dark outside, but the sun would soon rise on the horizon and by then the boys should try to be out of here.

"You can steer it?" Asked Minho and Chan started to grin. 

"Of course. She is my ship after all."

"Really?" Asked Felix amazed and Chan nodded. 

"She was a gift and my uncle showed me how to sail, before he- before he died..."

"I'm sorry..." Mumbled Han sadly and Chan let out a sigh.

"Doesn't matter now. This is our best chance to get out of here."

"And you really want to come with us?" Asked Minho again with a frown. "We kidnapped you."

"There is nothing left here for me. I will help you sail away, if you promise to not try to sell me again." Chan said and held out his hand and after a moment of hesitation, Minho let out a sigh and he shook hands with the prey hybrid.

"Fine. You have a deal, bunny."

"Yah! It's Chan!" Chan exclaimed, but Minho ignored him and instead had a look around. 

"Let's prepare everything to leave."

"Yes, let's get out of here!" Grinned Han and Chan nodded.

"Someone has to get the ropes loose at the docks. And two others have to help me with the sails."

The boys nodded and they went to work, while Hyunjin, Changbin and Seungmin started to load as much treasure onto the ship as possible but then suddenly the hound gang had found them.

"There they are!"

"Shoot them!"

"Oh fuck..." Mumbled Changbin. "Minho! We have to get out of here!" The snow leopard yelled as he, Hyunjin and Seungmin grabbed a bit of the treasure and then started to sprint back to the ship and Minho ran over to Chan who was already at the helm of the Blueprint, holding onto the steering wheel.

"Set the main sail to starboard!" Chan yelled and Han and Felix looked at him confused.

"Uh... what side is that?"

"The right side!" Chan yelled with a groan.

"Got it!" Han and Felix moved the sail and the Blueprint slowly started to move out of the harbor just as the other three had reach the deck.

The hounds came closer to the docks and suddenly Chan flinched as a bullet shot right past him. He was about to duck and cower away, but suddenly Minho stood in front of him, with his own pistol drawn, shielding Chan with his own body.

"You keep steering us out of here. I'll cover your back." The black panther said and Chan nodded and Minho kept shooting at the hounds that got further and further away as the Blueprint got closer to the open sea.

"Hahahaha! We made it!" Yelled Changbin happily as the hounds were angrily shouting after them but they got smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Wohooo!" Han grinned and high-fived Felix and the boys cheered as Chan let out a sigh of relief.

"Nice work." Smiled Minho as he clapped the bunny hybrid on the shoulder. 

"You too."

"So what now, captain?" Asked Hyunjin as the boys all looked at Minho, who took out a map.

"Well, we have several options. There are many islands and countries that we can check out and we could save some money, right?"

"Should be enough for a couple of weeks." Nodded Seungmin as the boys looked at the bit of treasure that they were able to get on board.

"Sad... there was so much more in there..." Whined Changbin.

"We'll get some more." Felix said and clapped him on the back.

"Alright," Minho nodded and turned to Chan. "You still wanna join?"

"If- if I can...?" Chan asked and looked at the predator hybrids who all smiled and grinned at him.

"Of course!" Smiled Han.

"Yeah, we would love to have you!" Added Jeongin.

"Agreed, we never had a prey in our pack." Said Felix. 

"Anything we need to know?" Asked Seungmin curiously and Chan thought for a moment.

"Uhm... not really... I just have to be able to nest from time to time."

"Then we'll try to get lots of pillows and blankets for you!" Grinned Han and Chan giggled slightly.

"But no one can know you were the prince." Reminded Changbin. "Otherwise we could get in trouble."

"I won't say a word." Smiled Chan and Minho nodded.

"Alright, welcome to our pack, Chan." And so the eight sailed on the Blueprint out towards the open sea, where freedom and adventure awaited them...

Chapter Text

"Ngh..." Chan slowly woke up, feeling the waves underneath him as the ship was softly gliding over the sea. The bunny hybrid blinked a couple of times and looked around. The nest was empty. At the back of the ship, the Blueprint, there was one larger room that the eight boys used for their sleeping quarter. There wasn't a lot of space and so the boys had simply put lots of blankets and pillows onto the ground that they had bought in a small fisher town after they had gotten away from Miroh. 

It has been a week and so far the stray cats and the bunny had traveled to a few smaller islands to buy food and anything that would be useful for their lives out at sea. 

Chan had kept a bit of a distance, not fully trusting them yet. In the sleeping quarter, he had claimed a spot in the back corner, often watching as the other seven cats were snuggling and cuddling into each other and the bunny realized how close the boys were. They fully trusted each other and it was clear that they would die for each other if it came down to it.
But another thing that Chan has come to notice was that they were idiots. 

They had no idea about steering a ship, nor about navigation. Minho, Seungmin and Jeongin had some understanding and they were curious to learn more, but the others... were lost causes. Chan chuckled at the thought of them and soon he got up and put some more clothes on, before he headed out, where the bright sun was blinding him as he stepped onto the deck. 

The sky was bright blue with only a few white clouds passing by peacefully and some seagulls circling the ship and landing on the mast of the Blueprint. The waves softly rocked the ship back and forth and the wind was gently pushing the Blueprint through the water and Chan looked at the cats. 

Changbin, Hyunjin and Han were sitting on the railing with each a fishing rod in their hands, waiting for the fish to bite the bait. Meanwhile Felix and Seungmin sat in the middle of the deck, going through all the coins and jewels that they had, to count them and Chan looked up at the crow's nest to see Jeongin looking around, trying to find land. 

At last the bunny's eyes traveled over to Minho. The black panther hybrid stood at the helm of the ship, looking over the horizon with his sharp eyes. His black round ears twitched back and forth a bit, but his tail hang relaxed downwards and so the bunny hybrid walked up to the captain.

"Everything is quiet." Mumbled Minho without looking at Chan who stopped right next to him, also looking over the horizon. 

"The ship is working well?" Asked Chan and Minho nodded. 

"You helped us a lot. We are-... getting better at sailing." Minho smiled slightly, looking down as the Blueprint softly sailed over the water. The wind pushed them further north, so right now the boys could relax and didn't have to actually steer her.

"Not that you guys will get rid of me after you don't need me anymore." Chan grinned and Minho smiled back at him, letting out a chuckle.

"Hey now, I promised you that you could stay with us." He reminded him, slightly offended and Chan grinned back.

"Well, two days ago you guys failed to dock her correctly at the port anyways and I think it'll take you guys years to be able to do it properly without damaging the ship. So I'm not too worried." The bunny said and the two laughed a bit, before Minho became slightly more serious.

"We have been heading further north for a while now, away from the main lands, but we need food..." He muttered and right then Changbin let out a loud groan.

"Oh come on! How difficult can it be to catch some stupid fish!"

"If you're yelling you will scare them away!" Shouted Han and Hyunjin who sat between them rolled his eyes.

"You are both too impatient."

"Shut up, Hyunjin!" Both the snow leopard and the cheetah hybrids yelled at the tiger hybrid who simply tried to fish in peace.

"You guys are always hungry..." Muttered Felix with a smile while Seungmin shook his head at their arguing. 

"If you hadn't eaten everything in the last three days, then we would still have some food you idiots!" The jaguar hybrid told them.

"But we were hungry~" Whined Changbin and even Huynjin held onto his growling stomach. 

"Do we even have enough money to buy food?" He asked and Felix and Seungmin looked a bit unsure.

"We still have some... but the clothes, the water, the blankets and food and books and maps and-... well everything is expensive." The lion hybrid explained.

"Great, so we will have to steal again?" Han asked and the Seungmin nodded. 

"Not yet, but... probably soon."

"We should look for a treasure map!" Suggested Changbin with excitement.

"Where would we even find one though?" Asked Hyunjin and the snow leopard shrugged.

"I don't know, but there are enough pirates out there who surely have some hidden treasures."

"As long as you don't eat the treasure, I'm on board." Han muttered.

"Oi! It wasn't just me! Innie also ate a lot!" Changbin said and pointed up to the clouded leopard hybrid who was still up in the crow's nest, not hearing any of the bickering that was happening on deck and by the helm of the ship, Minho shook his head with a sigh.

"Don't worry." Chan told Minho as they watched the others with fond smiles. "We will reach land soon."

"How do you know?" Asked Minho and raised an eyebrow curiously and Chan simply pointed up where Minho spotted some of the seagulls still flying above the ship. 

"They are only close to land, so-"

"Guys! I see land!" Jeongin yelled right then happily down from the crow's nest and the boys lit up and the bunny grinned at the black panther. 

"Told you so."

"Alright." Minho grinned back and then he turned to the others. "Guys, prepare for docking! We will have a look at this place and get everything that is important!"

"Aye aye captain!" The cats cheered and they prepared to anchor as the piece of land came closer and closer. 

❀♡❀

The blue water hit against the wooden pier where Chan had managed to dock the Blueprint at the side of the harbor. The cats had helped and especially Jeongin was eager to learn and so Chan let the clouded leopard steer the ship, helping from time to time, to not let the Blueprint get damaged. It was still his ship after all, even though Minho was concidered the captain.

"Alright, two guys will stay here and keep an eye on the ship, in case we run into trouble... again." Minho explained and the boys got ready, raising their hands, before they started their intense game of rock paper scissors.

"Nooooo!" Han whined as he pouted and Changbin also let out a groan as the cheetah and the snow leopard had lost the game.

"Is it smart to leave these two knuckleheads here alone?" Asked Seungmin.

"Probably not..." Muttered Minho tiredly. "But it doesn't matter." He said and turned to the two boys. "Keep an eye on her."

"Yeah yeah..." The two groaned while the others prepared to leave the ship as they put on some cloaks and both Minho and Seungmin each took a pistol, while the others had knives on them in case they had to defend themselves. Chan put up his hood, trying to hide his face a bit better. They were still relatively close to Miroh after all and he had no idea if the people here knew the face of the former prince or not.

"Alright, you guys can split up if you want, but be back at the ship in one hour." Minho ordered and the others nodded though then the black panther turned to the bunny. "You will stay close to me."

"You don't trust me yet?" Chan asked confused and Minho shook his head. 

"I don't trust the people here. You are a prey after all." He explained and Chan nodded. There were still many parts in the world where prey were seen as lesser beings than predators and in some areas, prey are even considered slaves and Chan was once again glad that Minho and the others were not like that at all.

Felix observed as Minho watched Chan who was heading down the ship and Minho felt the eyes of the lion hybrid on him and he turned to Felix who gave him a sheepish grin and he started to wiggle with his eyebrows at the black panther but Minho shot him a deadly glare before he shook his head and walked after the bunny.

The six boys all headed down the ship and walked over the pier and soon they found themselves in the crowded center of the town. There were wooden and stone houses, some a bit taller, others small and build close to each other. The people there all wore a mix of colorful or brown ragged clothes, some were begging in the streets while others, mostly predators, walked around with guards and several jewelries on them. 

Some bear hybrids were walking through the streets, wearing armor and finer crafted weapons with the coat of arms of a province of another kingdom and Chan pulled the hood a bit more above his head to not get recognized by anyone and Minho kept an eye out at anyone who looked like they could make a move towards any of them. It was clear that they were travelers after all with not many feline hybrids around in this town.

The market was right next to the harbor though and so the boys quickly found some stuff to look at. Hyunjin and Jeongin were looking at some fish and meat stands, while Felix and Seungmin looked for more clothes for them all to wear and Minho and Chan headed over to some other food and water stands to fill up their provisions.

"I don't eat a lot of meat..." Chan mumbled as they looked at the things for sale and Minho grabbed some vegetables to buy and the bunny lit up immediately. "Thanks Minho!"

"Yah yah...." The two kept looking around the market when Minho bumped into another man, a coyote hybrid.

"Hey!" Chan and Minho turned and the guy growled at them. There were two coyote hybrids, with sharp ears and roughly Minho's height. "That is mine." He growled and glared at them.

"No it's not." Said Chan with a frown and held the bag of food closer to his chest, but the coyote simply growled again.

"Very funny you freaks. If you don't-" 

"Freaks?" Interrupted Minho and growled slightly as he raised an eyebrow at them, before he shared a glance with Chan and the bunny gave the slightest of nods.

"You- Uff!" The coyote let out a howl as Minho had kicked the man in the balls and he and Chan turned and ran away.

"Hey!" The other coyote ran after them, while the other fell to the ground pathetically. 

"Go go go!" Minho yelled as he dragged Chan along and soon the two were running through the crowd of people in the market.

Meanwhile Seungmin and Felix were standing at the side, seeing both Minho and Chan running away with the coyote chasing after them. "Shouldn't we help?" Felix asked with worry but Seungmin shook his head.

"Let's just head back to the ship... We can not enjoy a normal stroll trough town once, can we?" He muttered and Felix let out a chuckle.

"I guess we are just too-"

"Aaahhh!" Felix and Seungmin turned just in time to see Hyunjin and Jeongin running towards them, followed by a bunch of bear hybrid guards.

"What the fuck...?" Seungmin asked as his eyes widened comically.

"Guys! Run!" Yelled Hyunjin and grabbed Felix arm tugging him along and the bear hybrids were chasing after all four of them now.

"They must be pirates! After them!" One of the bear hybrids yelled and the four cats had to run through the crowd of people that stared after them.

"You idiots!" Yelled Seungmin. "They didn't know we are with you guys! Why do you drag us into your mess?!"

"Ah... right... hehehe sorry!" Hyunjin grinned.

"What did you even do?" Asked Felix as they sprinted towards the harbor, seeing the blue sails of the Blueprint as they got more distance between them and the bears.

"There was some meat!" Jeongin explained, out of breath. "But it was too expensive and so Hyunjin just ate it!"

"It was simply too delicious!" The tiger grinned.

"You are idiot!" Seungmin yelled. Meanwhile Minho and Chan ran parallel to them through the crowd a bit further away. But they were now also followed by not one, but three coyote hybrids.

"Tsk, damn it..." Minho cursed as he saw more hybrids ahead of them, trying to cut off their way. "What now?"

"Up!" Chan yelled.

"Up?" Minho asked and watched as Chan easily jumped onto a wooden box, still holding onto the bag of food and then he jumped up and reached for the window, pulling himself up and he was soon on the roof. 

"Come on!" He yelled down and Minho smirked up at him.

"Not bad for a bunny." He laughed and followed, jumping up the building just as the coyotes were about to surround him. And so the black panther and the bunny were jumping from building to building, though they couldn't get straight to the harbor. Instead they started to jump further ahead, trying to lose the coyotes who had started to climb onto the roofs as well.

"BINNIIIIEEE! HAAAAAN!" Hyunjin yelled and the two hybrids on the ship looked over to them with confusion and wide eyes as they realized that their friends were being chased.

"Oh my god...." Han mumbled.

"YAH! WHO ARE THE IDIOTS NOW?!" Changbin yelled, while Han started to untie the ship's ropes at the dock and Changbin ran to the sails, setting them so they can escape quicker.

"Go go go!" Han yelled as Seungmin, Felix, Hyunjin and Jeongin jumped onto the ship and helped to set the sails and the Blueprint slowly started to drift away from the docks.

"Where are Minho and Chan?!?" Asked Han as the six of them tried to get out of there.

"There they are!" Yelled Felix and pointed to the edge of the town, where the black panther and the bunny hybrid were jumping over the roofs, still chased by the coyotes. The roofs would soon come to an end though as the last few houses were directly standing by a cliff.

"Steer her to the cliff!" Hyunjin yelled at Jeongin who took the ship's wheel and steered the Blueprint towards it and the boys waved and shouted to Minho and Chan who spotted them.

"Shit... will we make it?" Minho wondered as they jumped onto the roof that was close to the cliff, watching as the Blueprint got closer and closer.

"We have to! Come on!" Chan yelled as the coyotes slowly caught up and the two sprinted to the end of the roof of the building that stood right by the edge of the cliff and the two jumped and leaped into the air and thankfully they landed right onto the ship.

"Argh!" The two groaned as they sat on the wooden floor.

"Go go go!" Han yelled at Jeongin who steered the ship away again. The coyotes jumped after them, but the distance to the land got already too wide and two of the coyotes fell into the ocean while the others cursed them out as they could only watch as the Blueprint headed towards the open sea.

"Ahahahah! We made it!" Grinned Chan happily while Minho was still groaning.

"Never again..."

"Why were you chased?" Asked Changbin as he helped the black panther up.

"They wanted our food. Assholes." Chan told them and placed the bag onto the ground but Minho shook his head. 

"They weren't after the food."

"Huh?" Chan looked at him confused. "What do you mean? What else did we have that they wanted?"

"This." Minho said with a smirk and he took out what looked like a map.

"What the-..." All the seven boys looked at it as Minho spread it out and the parchment paper revealed a map with several islands drawn on it, as well as a red cross at the side.

"I saw one of the coyotes looking at it and I overheard them. Apparently it really is a lost treasure."

"Nice Minho!" Han grinned.

"Yeah, a real treasure! We'll be rich!" Grinned Seungmin. 

"And I thought they were after the vegetables." Chan mumbled. "I was so confused..."

"Well, with the treasure, we will be able to buy lots of food!" Changbin grinned. 

"Stop thinking with your stomach." Jeongin mumbled.

"Oi!" And the boys started to bicker again and Minho let out a soft chuckle. 

"Well, I wouldn't come back here again."

"Yeah, especially with the bears..." Felix mumbled. "They looked strong."

"This is part of the Gom province. Lord Cho owns several islands in this region. He-... he is known for coming after pirates and killing them, so we should try not to get in trouble with them." Chan explained.

"You're telling me that now?" Hyunjin asked and Seungmin rolled his eyes.

"You would have eaten the meat even if you knew. Don't pretend."

"Yah.. Seungminnie..."

"I wasn't sure when we got here. Only after I took a closer look at their armor." Chan defended himself.

"Doesn't matter now. We are out of here and they didn't get us. Now, let's set course and get out of here." Minho said and the rest of the day the boys relaxed on the ship a bit, fishing, playing liars dice or other games as the Blueprint softly sailed across the ocean and Chan found himself walking up to Minho once more.

"You're not bad... for a prey hybrid." Minho smiled and Chan grinned back at him, though his face looked tired Minho frowned slightly, watching the other curiously.

"Heheh... I always wanted to travel more. But ever since my uncle died and my parents well... never mind." Chan mumbled, leaning against the railing and placing his head in his arms. Minho stood next to him, observing the bunny hybrid and his tail dropped as he let out a heavy sigh.

"If you want to talk, we can talk. Or- I'll just listen..."

"I doubt you want to hear me whining about how horrible my life was when I had a giant palace to live in." Chan chuckled and Minho bit his bottom lip, frowning slightly.

"... I-... I never knew my parents." He said and leaned against the railing as well and Chan looked up to him with soft eyes. "I grew up on the streets, trying to survive. we all..." Minho looked over to the other cats, all laughing happily, "we never really had a home to call our own. But after a while we realized that we don't need one. We don't need a palace, gold and silver. We had each other. Of course we need enough money to survive, but... I don't mind dying somewhere in a ditch if I had spend time with my friends and lived to the fullest without regrets. It couldn't have been easy for you though, right?" He asked and glanced down at Chan who dropped his eyes, looking down at the ocean.

"I never really had friends." The bunny hybrid whispered quietly. "Some servants and guards were nice and fun, but... I was never able to truly be myself."

"Well, you have us now." Minho smiled gently and Chan snickered and grinned up at the predator.

"Is that good or...."

"Hey!" Minho laughed as well, playfully hitting the bunny.

"Hahahahah. No for real though, thank you, Minho." Chan smiled slightly, though he really sounded tired now.

"We're all glad you're here- oh... all good?" Minho asked and tilted his head to the side, looking at the bunny. Chan was swaying on his feet now and it wasn't due to the waves.

"Y- yeah, I-..."

"Chan? Chan!" Minho yelled and now all the other cats watched as Chan crumbled to the ground and Minho, thanks to his quick refelxes, managed to catch him before his head hit the ground.

"What happened?" Asked Jeongin with worry as the seven boys were now all around the bunny hybrid who was unconscious, breathing heavily in and out with pink flushed cheeks, but there was no injury. 

"I think his heat started." Seungmin explained as he placed a hand over Chan's forhead, feeling the warmth that radiated from his body.

"Oh damn..." Muttered Changbin and half of the boys started to panic.

"What do we do?" Asked Han. "We never had a prey hybrid in our pack... how do we handle this?!"

"I don't know!" Yellled Changbin back.

"Calm down." Minho told them, while Hyunjin knelt down to pick Chan up and the bunny immediately curled in on himself. "He just needs rest... hopefully."

"He probably needs a good nest... we can get him all the pillows!" Felix suggested and he and Seungmin ran ahead to create a comfortable place for their bunny to nest in.

"He will be fine, yeah?" Asked Jeongin with worry and Minho nodded slowly.

"Of course. We just have to get used to having him aorund. These heats don't happen that often as far as I know."

"What about uhm-..."

"Our rut?"

"Y- yeah..." Jeongin nodded, biting his bottom lip. "It get's triggered by heats after all."

"We-... we have to see." Minho mumbled though he could feel his own chest tightening and he glanced over to the others. They were all on edge with their eyes watching Chan with worry and protectiveness. "Let's see how he will handle it and if we have to, then we keep our distance."

And so Chan was twisting and turning in his nest. The cat hybrids had given him all the blankets and pillows and they left the bunny alone, trying to steer the ship towards their next destination without Chan's help, letting him rest and fight the heat's fever. But what the cats didn't know was that the bunny wanted nothing more than to be embraced by the seven cats...