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Clementine ran through the manicured forest behind the castle, silk skirts catching on the few stray branches that made their way onto the narrow hunting path. The flowy fabric chaining her just as much as the broken golden shackle still stuck around her ankle. Clem was lucky the royal family had used such a weak metal, but she was under no illusions that the next chain wouldn’t be gold plated netherite if they managed to drag her back.
Clem paused for a moment to catch her breath, tail wrapped around a small sapling to keep her steady, ears twitching in all directions as the crickets began to chirp with the setting sun. There were no dogs howling or shouting of guards looking for her, but that didn’t mean Clem wasn’t being hunted. The royal’s magic was seeped into this place, these woods.
Nothing could escape their grasp within the castle grounds, perhaps even within the entire capital.
The entire country.
She had witnessed it herself, shortly after Wilbur brought her home. Technoblade stepping out of the shadows of the main gate to greet them, as though he were leaving a shallow pond, not solid ground. Offering her a calla lily as Wilbur carried her to the throne room to meet their father king Philza.
Back when she was still naive enough to think Wilbur was really trying to be better, to help the children left homeless by the war. The orphans. When she thought he really wanted her. Wanted to be a family.
Before she learned about that stupid bet-
The forest goes silent and Clem’s breath hitches in her throat.
They’re searching.
They're near.
Blood pulses in Clem’s ears, drowning out the last of the sounds around her. Leaving nothing but a quiet ringing in this world deafened by cotton.
There's nothing left to do but wait for them to find her.
Wait for those smothering arms to wrap around her. Cradle her like the doll she’s become. Dressed up, played with, taught tricks.
A little sister to be shown off to visiting dignitaries, and lorded over Dream and his own little project.
NO.
No.
She wouldn’t go back.
Not willingly.
Never again.
Clem released the sapling, ignoring how her claws popped out of its bark and the stickiness of her tail from the sap bleeding down the little tree.
There was a reason she ran at dusk, when the shadows meld together and the moon hasn’t yet risen. They may be able to track her, but neither of her brothers would be able to step from her shadow at this time.
Clementine ripped the remaining pieces of her skirts off below her knees and started running on all fours leaving the path behind and heading in the direction of the capital. The distant scent of lit oil lamps guiding her way through the dark trees.
It may have been a few months, but Clem still knows those streets better than any pampered brat or well-paid guard, and could easily squeeze through places even other kids her size would struggle with. From there she could ditch her clothes, get the damn shackle off her ankle, and find enough fresh milk to bath in to make it harder for the royals to track her with magic or Technoblade's nose.
After that? Find a way to save Ranboo.
He lost the Dream Team an entire fiefdom because he was still feral at the end of the four-month time limit. It wasn’t hard to imagine them taking out the anger from that blow to their pride out on the younger enderman-hybrid.
The smell becoming stronger as she picks up her speed. Scrambling over rocks and leaving skid-marks in the dirt as she dodges the trees, completely giving up on stealth in favor of speed, but the forest remains eerily quiet. Clem can’t even hear the leaves rustling in the same breeze she could feel against her fur, blowing sidelong of where the capital should be.
She barely registers a metal click as a hand wraps around her throat and slams her into a tree, bark digging into her back through the thin fabric as she gripped at the wrist holding her up. Trying to relieve some of the pressure on her windpipe, lashing out with her tail and kicking at the form in front of her, but his stupidly long arm kept any blow from reaching.
“There’s our precious little street rat,” Wilbur’s eyes glow silver as he sets fire to a nearby oak with his free hand. The tamed flames lighting up a small area while simultaneously casting dark shadows that the mages would be able to easily pass through. “While it is a nice night for a walk you should’ve asked one of us to take you, or at least stayed on the path. You know we hunt people out here and Techno is very bad at picking up his traps after he’s done.”
Wilbur tilts his head down, gesturing for Clem to look. Still pinned against the tree Clem’s heart stuttered in her chest as she caught sight of a monstrous mockery of a bear trap directly underneath her, hardly an inch away from her dangling feet. Five times bigger than necessary, with sharpened shark-like teeth, it could have easily cut her in half.
And she hadn’t even noticed it.
Clem gulps, going limp as Wilbur looped his arm under her knees and cradled the little rat-hybrid against his chest. Gently rocking her back and forth as she hyperventilated.
“Would hate for dad’s first time resurrecting you to be before you're even a teenager,” Wilbur hummed as the fire crackled beside them, refusing to spread beyond the lit oak.
“So, you actually managed to find her,” Techno huffed as he stepped out from Wilbur’s shadow, looking over his shoulder at the shivering rodent in his arms.
“Hey, I found her the first time! Finding her out here was easy, no other orphans to sort through,” Wilbur laughed as Clem began to growl, tail twitching as her senses slowly came back. “Ah, come on, don’t be like that. Aren’t you happy Wilby found you? Must’ve been scary, alone in the big dark forest, especially when the sound cancelation spell started.”
Wilbur cooed, squeezing his adopted sister’s paw as her growling only grew louder. Tail wrapping around her leg as she bared her teeth at him.
“Wilbur, stop messing with Clem and lets head back already. Before she throws another fit and one of us gets hurt,” Techno sighed, summoning a torch to lead them back to the path.
“Aw- Techno look, she even took the gold caps off her little baby claws,” Wilbur said, gripping her wrist, thumb pressed into her palm to force her hand open.
With a hiss Clementine uncurls her tail from her leg and whips it at Wilbur’s throat. She’s dropped as the prince wheezes, hands to his neck as he collapsed to the ground.
“Serves you right Wilby,” Techno mocks as he picks up Clem by the back of her dress. Watching with pride as the little rat hybrid continued lashing out, even as he held her at arm’s length, she didn’t stop swiping her tail or trying to twist in the air to sink her claws into his arm. “Now remember, a collapsed windpipe will take out the untrained commoner, but it'll only stun a mage at best. You’ve got claws kid, go for the heart or a decapitation before running if one’s stupid enough to grab you.”
“Are you trying to get her to kill me!?” Wilbur screeched as he pushed himself up against a tree.
“Self defense is important,” Techno shrugged, pulling Clem to his chest as she started flagging, holding her like a stuffed animal. Completely unbothered as her tail slammed into his legs with a vengeance. He’d actually bothered to wear armor when they went to collect her. The prick. “She’s not going to be mad forever.”
“Yes, I will you oversized boar!” Clem spat as she wiggled up a little higher in his grasp and started gnawing at his elbow joint, where the armor was the thinnest.
Techno sighed but didn’t even try to stop her. Rats may have the best bite strength out of any hybrid, but even she wouldn’t be able to do anything against the netherite weave and they both knew it.
“Get off the ground you over grown theater kid,” Techno orders, kicking his brother in the side, ignoring his squawking. “If you're not healed by now, you're not even trying.”
Wilbur just rolled to his side and made a show of reaching towards them while gagging.
“I could just kill you myself. Save us the trouble of dragging you back.”
“Wait. What?” Wilbur sputtered, pushing himself onto his feet and glaring at his twin. “Dad ordered us to stop killing each other!”
“I’ll tell people you left to become a farmer in Antarctica or something,” Techno shrugged, continuing on. “Would be a great way to settle the debate of who’s the actual heir. Besides, I didn’t kill you, Clem did.”
“Teeeeccchhhhnnnnoooo,” Wilbur whines, chasing after his brother as they walked back to the castle.
“C’mon Clem. We just got the first shipment of berries from the new farmland. Most were going to be used in the pastries for tomorrow’s celebration, but we can raid the kitchen now since I doubt you're going to sleep for a while,” Techno ignored Wilbur as he talked at Clem, not minding as she cursed at them between breathing and chewing on his armor.
Sure her adoption was a little weird with the bet and the fact that she didn’t have natural magic of any kind, completely disqualifying her from having any claim as heir, but that just meant Techno could dote on her without plotting ways to get rid of her when she was older.
A little sunflower among a patch of wither roses.