Remember Sanctuary, the first oneshot in this book? Well there's MORE :)

(*inhale* blood, violence, implied drunkenness, implied genocide, and childhood trauma in the making)

Shouting.

That was actually the farthest back thing he could remember, if he was being honest with himself

Which he rarely was.

The shouting came from every direction outside, seeming to shake the wooden walls with its intensity, the front door trembling on old leather hinges.

A young boy, barely eight years old, clung tightly to his mother. He didn't understand what was going on, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid. In fact, he was afraid because his mother was afraid, too. He knew from the way she moved quickly from one side of the room to the other as she carried him, her short tail twitching and her bright eyes wide as they darted about, searching for something that wasn't there.

He would later reason that she had been looking for a place to hide; one that would fit both of them.

But the room was small and sparsely furnished. The woman's fingers trembled as she smoothed down the boy's long soft ears, the same blond- brown color as his hair.

"Hush," she said quietly, as if should sense the sob building in the boy's throat. "It's going to be alright, but I need you to do something for me."

"I'm scared." The shouting was getting louder, and he could hear doors being slammed open.

"I know. I know, but I won't let them find you." The woman opened one of the only doors in the room, an empty closet which she set the boy down in. "I need you to be very quiet and very still, and don't come out until I come to get you. Can you do that for me, Grian?"

Grian nodded, his shoulders shaking from the effort not to cry.

His mother ran lightly across the room and pulled a tattered blanket from the bed. As she darted back, she froze halfway when she heard heavy footsteps. Her ears shot up, turning to determine where the sound was coming from. Then she ran back to the open closet and knelt on the floor next to Grian. She pulled him close, pressing her forehead against his and closing her eyes.

"I love you," she whispered. "Please don't ever forget that."

When she sat back her face was wet with tears. Then she threw the blanket over Grian's head and closed the closet door.

It wasn't exactly quiet. Grian could still hear the loud footsteps (too many to guess the number of people) as well as his own quickened breathing. But the shouting seemed to have stopped, or at least lessened to a blur of gruff voices.

Maybe they're going away, he thought. But he knew it was too good to be true.

A door slammed open, hitting the wall with a loud bang that was so close Grian flinched and nearly yelped in terror.

The voices, being closer, were now louder as well. But they were slurred, sometimes talking over one another, and Grian couldn't make out enough words to understand what was being said.

But he heard his mother's voice, or parts of it, at least.

"...please... come back later... my husband... talk to him then..."

Grian wasn't sure he heard her right. Whoever these people were, it would be pretty hard for them to talk to someone who was either dead or gone for good.

There was laughter in response, though there didn't seem to be any actual joy in it, and Grian caught the words "no need" followed by a short scream and a loud thunk. The laughter increased in volume, accompanied by the incoherent voices of several men, and Grian tried to fight back the rising panic in his chest.

After a minute or so, the sound of receding footsteps reached his ears, and Grian recognized that the people, whoever they were, were leaving.

He waited for several painstakingly long minutes, his heartbeat drumming in his ears as he listened for any indication that his mother was coming to get him. She would open the door and pull him into her arms, telling him everything was okay now, and that he had been very brave.

But there was just silence. Nothing moved, and no one came.

Grian pulled the blanket from his head, his long ears sticking straight up as he continued to listen. He pushed the closet door open just a crack, and felt cool air on his face. The door creaked as he moved it, and the small noise sounded thunderous in the empty silence. But no sounds followed, so Grian opened the door further and stepped out.

Even through the thick fur on his feet, the wooden floor was cold. He wrapped the blanket tighter around his shoulders, his steps making virtually no sound. The front door was wide open, rain drifting in from outside. One of its hinges had snapped, leaving the door to hang at an angle, and as Grian approached it, he couldn't help but think the door looked tired.

He sniffed the air, hoping there was a scent he could use to find where his mother had gone. He had been told before that he had a keen sense of smell, but he wasn't sure how much he believed it. All the smells of the town tended to blend together in a confusing mess, leaving him to wonder often what oceans smelled like? Or rain when it mixed with dirt instead of the filth in the streets?

Two sharp and equally unpleasant smells struck his senses, causing him to wrinkle his nose: a spirits of some sort (maybe whiskey) and blood.

Flattening his ears back and pulling the blanket onto his head like a hood, Grian stepped outside into the street. Rain came down at an even pace, soddening his clothes and turning the cobblestone road beneath his feet slick. He passed many buildings as he walked, mostly one story, made out of wood. Several were built from some sort of bricks, and some of the nicer ones even had real glass in the windows. And nearly every front door was left open.

But Grian was focused on only one thing as he made his way through the streets of Riverbend, and that was the scent. He was certain it would lead him to his mother, but the longer he followed it, the more it was dampened by the rain and muddled with every other smell.

Then he lost it. The scent was gone, and Grian was beginning to wonder if he should try and find his way back home (but what good would going back do?) when he realized he could hear voices somewhere ahead. This whole time, he had been steadily nearing the center of town, which was more populated and better built. It was also where most of the humans lived. Maybe one of them could help him.

He broke into a run, and as he got closer to the town square, the sound of many conversations became louder. Despite the mild downpour, a large crowd had gathered in the square. He ran up to the first person he saw, a human woman, and tugged lightly at her skirt. She turned and looked down at him with surprise.

"Oh, are you lost?"

"Have you seen my mummy?" he asked, his voice coming out much more small and scared than he thought it would.

"Um... I don't know." The woman knelt down so she was at eye level with Grian. "What does she look like?"

"Well, a lot like me, I guess," Grian replied, pulling down the blanket to show the woman his rabbit ears.

She immediately let out a gasp, flinching back like she'd been burned. She scrambled to her feet and shook the shoulder of a man standing next to her while she pointed with a trembling hand at where Grian stood.

But he had already hid his ears and run off before the man could turn to see him. Grian had never actually interacted with a human before. Was this how they were all going to react to him?

Grian pushed through the crowd, scanning faces. He quickly realized that not only did he not recognize a single face, but every one of these people was human. And with that realization came every bit of feeling scared and alone from the past half hour or so. Hot tears dripped down his face, and he didn't even try to stop them.

And as he made his way around, he also heard snippets of conversations, presumably talking about him. Mostly centered around the same thought: "what's a kid doing here?"

Any more he might have heard was cut short by yelling from the edge of the crowd. People began shifting to clear a path, and anyone who didn't move was shoved aside by the tall man who marched importantly down the makeshift aisle.

"MAKE WAY! " he shouted, far louder than any occasion would require. He swayed suddenly, nearly crashing into several people before regaining his balance. "MAKE WAY FOR TH' FREAK!"

Peering around the people in the crowd, Grian could see someone (no, several someones) following the loud man. The first held an end of a rope, which he tugged harshly as if there were some great weight at the other end.

Grian's mouth went dry when he saw that the "great weight" was a young hybrid woman. Short ears flattened against dark hair, her long spotted tail thrashing behind her. She bit at the rope which tied her wrists together, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, and in her eyes was a wild mixture of anger and fear that Grian had never seen before. She kicked and twisted about, trying to break free (once landing a kick to the knee of a human carrying a long rifle, who had followed a bit too close behind), but it amounted to nothing as she was half dragged through the square, screaming and spitting at her captors.

Grian cautiously pushed to see past the people in front of him. To see where the strange party was headed. He should have run. That should have been more than enough to convince him to get out of there, but he was curious. He wanted to know.

He could just see down the pathway to where he knew there was a large stone dias in the center of the town square, but he thought he saw... more hybrids.

There were no hybrids in the crowd. There were many at the center. The hybrid who was being forced over there. The empty houses Grian had passed. The break in. The human who freaked out when she saw his ears.

There were pieces missing, of course there were, and he couldn't quite figure it all out. But something clicked in Grian's mind, and a horrible sickening feeling overtook him as one thing started to make sense...

He was in danger.

It was as if the whole world became louder, but less clear. He could hear every conversation, but not a single word. He backed away slowly, his breath coming in short gasps as he stared with wide eyes at the unfamiliar faces which surrounded him. People who could turn against him at any moment.

Danger. Danger. The word repeated itself in his head over and over, preventing any other coherent thought from forming.

Danger. Danger. He couldn't breathe. But he was breathing. He needed to get out. He turned and shoved through the crowd.

Danger. Was it raining harder than before? He finally pushed his way out of the crowd and broke into a run.

He didn't know where he was running. It barely even mattered. He just needed to get away. His feet pounded against the road and he just kept on running. He ran until the thudding of his heartbeat and the falling rain drowned out all the sounds of the crowd.

He ran until he slipped on the wet cobblestones, falling flat on his face. He didn't even bother to get up fully, sitting on his hands and knees as tears fell from his face and mixed with the rain. He was alone. He was so alone, and he didn't know what was next. What he should do, where he should go.

All he knew was he couldn't go back.

How long was it before he moved? Before he noticed the strange sound? It was the sound of someone crying quietly, like they didn't want to be heard, but couldn't really help it.

Wiping his face with the soaked blanket, Grian pulled himself to his feet and followed the noise. It came from a nearby alley, which was shielded from the rain by the roofs of the buildings on either side. And sitting in the alley, knees tucked beneath his chin, was a kid rubbing at his eyes with the backs of his hands. He looked up suddenly as Grian approached. He didn't cry out or say anything, just stared with wide eyes, looking wound up and ready to run at a moment's notice.

"Hey, it's alright," Grian said. After several moments he realized the boy was a hybrid too. His black ears were difficult to see in the dimness of the alley, flattened back against shaggy hair of the same color. But his feet were more like those of a cat than a human, and his long tail flicked nervously.

Grian pulled the blanket off his head and let his ears stand up. "It's alright," he repeated.

The feline visibly relaxed a bit, but he kept staring. "I know you, he said after some time.

Grian thought for a moment. He knew he recognized this kid from somewhere, as well. He was several years younger than Grian, and while Grian had never really talked to him, he had definitely seen him on more than one occasion.

"I'm Grian." He crouched down next to the cat. "You're Mumbo, right?"

A nod in response.

"I knew I'd seen you before," he continued, forcing a smile. "Our mum's are friends, right?"

Mumbo looked down, his eyes shining with fresh tears, and Grian realized that might not have been the best thing to say.

"I want my mummy," the black haired cat said quietly. "I was with her, but then I got lost and- and I can't find her." He sniffed, hugging his knees closer.

Grian was silent for a moment. Then he sat down shoulder to shoulder with the kid, someone who was younger than him but just as scared, maybe more. Someone who needed him. "I want mine, too... But I'll stay with you until we find them, alright?"

"Alright." Mumbo leaned his head against the rabbit's shoulder.

Just then, an ear splitting crack broke through the air, followed immediately by screams and... cheering.

Grian clamped a hand over his mouth, fighting the urge to scream, which Mumbo did while trying to cover his ears. He looked up at Grian, eyes wide with horror.

"...what was that?"

Grian didn't have an answer to that. Only a guess which he didn't dare to say.

Several of the same deafening noise at once. More screaming. More cheering. He threw his arms around Mumbo, as if by hugging him, he could stop how badly they were both shaking.

"It's going to be okay." Grian's attempt at reassurance sounded more like a terrified plea. Mumbo didn't respond, his crying difficult to hear over the noise from the town square.

When the loud cracks sounded for the third time, Grian heard no screams. And whether they were drowned out by the animalistic roar of enthusiasm, or there was no one left to scream, he had no idea.

Or maybe he simply couldn't hear them over his own screams, words that he wouldn't forget for the rest of his life.

"They're not going to hurt you. I won't let anyone ever hurt you! I promise I'll protect you!" Tears fell and he held Mumbo close, not sure if he could even hear him. "I promise..."

<~~~>

What happened after was mostly a blur to Grian. He dimly remembered a long time passing, then being lifted up, too exhausted to try and fight. The next thing he knew, he was indoors with a dry blanket, a bowl of broth, and the sound of many people around him.

It took a lot of explaining for him to understand and accept the situation. Several human women had formed a sort of home for the hybrid children who had been "misplaced during what happened."

Over the next few weeks, many kids were reunited with their parents or other family, but no one ever came for Grian or Mumbo, or several others. And it didn't take long for them to realize that no one ever would.

They spent nearly two relatively uneventful years in the home until it was shut down without warning or explanation, the children there now back in the streets with nothing, once again.

<~~~>

~10 years later

"Could you tell me again what happened back then?" Mumbo asked

"What?" Grian turned to look at him as they exited the medical tent, faced with a city of hybrids they never could have hoped to imagine.

"The day we first met," Mumbo explained. "I still can't remember it."

Grian sighed a bit, looking back at the path before them. "To be honest, I don't remember much, either. We both got lost and found each other, and I promised I would keep you safe. Then we ended up in that sort-of- orphanage."

Mumbo glanced at his rabbit friend, then nodded. "Alright."

He knew it was a lie, or at least not the whole truth. He knew Grian remembered more than he let on.

But he also knew that was probably the most he would ever get out of him about that day.