Chapter Text
He hadn’t felt the ground beneath his feet in so long. Hells, for a moment— a very long moment— there, Gideon had forgotten what it felt like to stand on solid, still ground. Now, twigs and sticks snapped under his feet as he ran. His legs were shaky and weak; he fell more than once, landing in the dirt of the unknown woods around him. He wasn’t sure for how long he could run, for how long he could last.
Gideon did not know how much time had passed since he left the train behind. He’d snapped a hobgoblin’s neck after re-engineering the manacles around his wrists and made a run for it.
Maybe there would be a town in the near where he could rest and eat, or maybe he would starve out here, or find out how to survive amongst the wild critters of the forest. Any of those options were better than staying with the hobgoblins.
After a while— it could have been minutes, it could have been hours— Gideon slowed to a stop in front of a small pond. He fell to his knees, barely processing the faint pain of his legs hitting that ground so harshly. Desperately, Gideon cupped his hands in the water and drank. And drank. Gulp after gulp, he took in the water. It felt fresh, but he couldn’t tell if it was or not, he didn’t care.
Gideon opened his eyes to watch a tiny little fish swim away further into the pond. He frowned at it, and then caught sight of his reflection staring back.
That… that was what he looked like?
His face was gaunt, yet more refined than he remembered it being. The ragley beard on his face had faint, weak embers. Gideon raised a single finger, tracing it down his face, matching what he felt to the features he saw.
He didn’t recognize himself.
At the same time, he barely remembered what he had looked like before he was taken. It wasn’t this, though. He knew that for sure.
Gideon took another handful of water and splashed it upon his face. When his eyes reopened, it was still the same reflection looking back at him. He fell back on his feet, putting his weight against his legs beneath him.
If he kept moving, maybe the hobgoblins wouldn’t find him. The thought popped into his head just as he caught a whiff of something else in the air. Something different. He didn’t know why, but something told him that this smell meant food.
That intuition was all he needed to head in the direction of the smell.
He pushed himself back up onto shaky legs. His stomach grumbled loudly, a sound that Gideon had grown accustomed to over the years. Following the smell as his only lead, Gideon wandered through the forest. He made no attempt to be quiet, it never crossed his mind. The smell grew stronger as he continued, the only hint that he as going in the right direction.
A small opening came into view, and Gideon held back, taking in the sight. It was a campsite. A small one, but still a campsite. A singular tent partially blocked his view, but Gideon could see a pot over a fire and a figure facing away from him.
Gideon’s gaze focused on the steaming pot. Food. Real, actual food from the smell of it. No mush scraps that the hobgoblins leftover for Gideon to keep their stupid train going.
He moved forward to be behind the tent. He must have made a noise for the figure turned abruptly, and before Gideon knew, the end of a cane was pressed up against his chest.
“Who are you?” The figure drawled.
Gideon stared for a second. He had never seen anyone like this before. They were beautiful.
— • —
“Who are you?” Kremy repeated the question, harsher this time. “I won’t ask again.” He held his cane with a tight grip against this new, intruding person. The Lizardfolk took a step closer, and in return, this intruder cowarded. The look of… shock, was it?… on the intruder’s face quickly turned to panic and desperation.
The intruder tried to speak, opening his mouth but no sound came out. He paused, winced, and tried again. He croaked out a weak “food”.
The word took Kremy by surprise, and he lowered his cane slightly, though still keeping it raised in the air, distancing himself from the intruder. He looked over the figure, weak, frail, and thin, though clearly some muscle built in the malnourished form. Kremy brought his cane to the ground, leaning atop it. “Well, you’re lucky I made extra. Come.” Kremy slowly invited the large figure in. “Make any weird moves and you’ll regret it,” the alligator swore, the light around them dimming noticeably before returning to its natural state.
Kremy watched the intruder hesitate only briefly before coming further into his campsite. The chains attached to each of the intruder’s arms caught Kremy’s interest, but he pushed that aside for now. Instead, he moved towards the pot of roux. “It’s nearly done now, if you’d not mind waiting a few more minutes. It is worth the wait, if I do say so myself.” Kremy spoke and the other didn’t reply. This new figure simply sat down on the ground and waited. His posture seemed tense, and the way his eyes never stayed still told Kremy quite a lot.
“Oh where are my manners?” Kremy asked, stirring the pot. “The name’s Kremy Lecroux. You don’t gotta share your’s, but I do appreciate a dinner guest whom I can accurately refer to.”
No response.
Kremy wasn’t all too surprised. He kept at his roux, and the intruder never moved beyond running a single hand across the dirt. Kremy watched him curiously as he picked up a tiny rock and ran it between his much larger fingers.
“All done,” Kremy said finally. He quickly scooped his fill into his bowl, before pausing. “I, ah, don’t have another bowl, so you’ll have to drink from the pot.” The intruder was already up and moving, grabbing on to the pot. “Wait, it’s hot—” Kremy tried to warn, but the intruder didn’t listen, or mind. Kremy watched as he grasped the hot pot with two bare hands and drank right from it.
Kremy shrugged and focused on his own food. He ate slowly, while the larger figure beside him ate much faster, scarfing down the roux.
The warlock paused his eating, looking further at the chains around the man’s wrists. Kremy noted the man’s red skin, and the faint embers of his hair and beard. He remembered then, mentions of Genasi not too long ago. He remembered hobgoblins murmuring over their “engine” acting up. He remembered that the train was MagiTech. As everything clicked together, Kremy felt himself saddened at this stranger. That didn’t happen too often.
The intruder finished the pot off and set it down. “Gideon.” He said finally, voice still sounding unnaturally scruffy.
Kremy tilted his head. “Pardon?”
“My name… is Gideon.”
The warlock smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Gideon. You don’t run into many out here, I’ll admit.” Kremy finished his bowl and set it down beside him.
A rustle caught Kremy’s attention, and suddenly he was up, standing. He heard the sound of quiet arguing in goblin. He didn’t know what was being said, but that didn’t matter. To Gideon, he hissed, “get in the tent. Quickly, Gid. Don’t make a sound.”
Gideon obeyed, as quickly and as quietly as he could.
Kremy turned, holding his cane. As he heard the tent close, five hobgoblins stepped into view. “Whattado, friends!” Kremy greeted. “How can I help you?”
One of the hobgoblins looked at Kremy. “I’s saw you a few days ago.”
“Ay, it seems we’ve traveled a similar path.” Kremy forced a smile.
The hobgoblin frowned. “Looking for Genasi. Have you seen Genasi?”
“Me?” Kremy asked, giving a laugh. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t. You are the first I’ve seen in days.”
“We’s take a look around camp.” The hobgoblin started to move forward. Kremy held out his cane, blocking them for going further.
“I’m afraid I can’t have that,” said Kremy.
“Why not? Haves you something to hide? No? Then we searches.”
Kremy shook his head again. He took a glance back at the tent to see the faintest flicker of light visible through the tent walls. If those hobgoblins spent much longer here, searching his campsite or not, the Genasi stranger would be found. And Kremy had decided he didn’t want that.
The warlock leaned close to the hobgoblin. “Would you kindly leave and abandon your search for the Genasi you seek?”
The hobgoblin blinked, and for a moment, Kremy wasn’t sure if it would work. And then the hobgoblins turned. “Right. Back to the train we’s go. Follow.” They commanded harshly to the others in their group. The other hobgoblins looked confused, but they followed nonetheless.
Kremy watched them leave. He stood still for a moment, before turning back to his tent. “Gideon? You’re free to come out. They won’t be bothering you again.”
A moment passed before the tent door was opened.
Kremy gave Gideon a faint smile. “You know, I have food to spare, and I can’t take the silence much longer, so how about we travel to the next town together, you and I?”