Prompt: None

Fandom: Thomas Sanders – Sanders Sides

Date: August 28, 2019

AU: Magical Creatures

TW: Talk of past abuse, detailed description of scars and brusies

WC: 2,267

He had to keep running. Through the trees and the bushes, he weaved in and out. He had to escape. Fight or flight, and he knew he would not have been able to fight his master. For the past six years, Virgil had lived under the thumb of a cruel man. He referred to himself only as Virgil's master, and he took pleasure in seeing Virgil fight and squirm to escape punishment. For six years, Virgil had been clinging to what few pieces of his sanity he had left.

The Neko ducked behind a tree, trying to catch his breath, his vision getting blurry behind the blood that dripped in front of his eyes. His body ached. The world was swimming. He had to keep moving. He did not want to be caught again. He couldn't continue to handle the intense pain every time he made a mistake. Even if he deserved it, his body couldn't handle anymore.

Pushing himself off the tree, Virgil allowed the adrenaline to continue to carry him forward. The cold air of the night stung against his torn ears. His tail curled around his body defensively as he shivered. Sweat mixed with the blood on his face. He had been running all day, but he had to keep going.

Early this morning his master had left the front door unlocked when he went out. It was a rare, but beautiful, mistake. Virgil had seen an opportunity and took it. There hadn't even been a choice in his mind. One moment, he was sitting submissively on the couch, and the next, he was running through the forest. Halfway through the day, he had come to his senses. Briefly, the Neko had thought about turning back. His punishment would be less severe if he returned rather than being caught. If he begged maybe he wouldn't be beaten until he passed out. If he reminded his master that he was just a useless toy who didn't know better than maybe...

No! He couldn't stand the pain anymore. He didn't want to return. It was the only thing pushing him forward. He may not have deserved it, but there had to be something better out there.

Fate was smiling kindly on Virgil that day. His heavy feet brought him to a small cottage at the edge of the forest. It gave off a sense of warmth and happiness, two things Virgil hadn't felt in a long time. Surrounding the cottage was a beautiful garden. He would be able to sleep among the flowers, hiding within if his master was chasing him. Hopefully, the owner would not mind his intrusion. Cautiously, Virgil slipped into the perimeter. His quiet footfalls barely made a sound as he sunk into the flowers. For the first time, in a long time, he was able to relax. If he died at this moment, he would be content.

~~~~~~

Morning came, and Virgil immediately noticed two things. The first thing, he ached all over. Every inch of his body throbbed in pain. It was so painful that he didn't register the softness of what he was laying on. His back was sore from laying on it, he normally didn't sleep on his back. Typically, it hurt his tail, but his tail must have been squished into the soil. It wouldn't move but it didn't hurt either. The second thing he noticed, he was warm. He wasn't hot, but he was perfectly comfortable. There was something soft and fuzzy laying on top of him. Something was wrong, he wasn't in the garden he had fallen asleep in. Sitting up with a start, he mewled in pain. His eyes screwed shut as he tried to control his breathing. He shouldn't be trying to move so fast, but his fight or flight reflex was once again telling him to run.

"Hey, now kiddo, just lay back down." The voice was warm and soothing. It made Virgil relax almost immediately. "You were pretty injured when we found you out in the garden last night."

Questions immediately began to fill his mind. There was more than one of them. How many people were here? They had found him last night. Why didn't he wake up? Virgil forcefully opened his eyes to look up at the man who was helping him lay back down, he had never seen such bright brown eyes before. His eyes reminded Virgil of freshly roasted coffee beans, his hair looked like caramelized honey. The longer Virgil looked at the man in front of him, the more he relaxed. Were their other humans who had the constellations painted on their face?

"My name is Patton." He chirped happily.

"V...virgil." His voice almost failed him as he tried to get the words out.

"Well, Virgil, it's nice to meet you."

Virgil opened his mouth, trying to ask all of the questions that were in his head. He couldn't get a single word out. Was the world always this heavy?

"You need to drink something kiddo." A glass was brought to Virgil's lips and he hesitantly drank. "Good job, I'm so proud. It's okay, you can rest now. Close your eyes. You are safe here." With those words, Virgil felt sleep once again overtake him. He did not fight the paternal voice. He did not protest, he allowed himself to slip into oblivion.

~~~~~~

"As much as I would love to save every damsel in distress that you find, Padre, we can't simply take a Neko away from its owner!"

"Roman, he was bleeding in my petunias! We can't let him go back."

"Patton, I agree with Roman on this particular matter. It will not be a simple matter for us to take over the care of... what did you say his name was?"

"Virgil."

"Yes, Virgil. If we hope to take him from his previous keeper, then we must form a plan that is completely sound in its evidence and reasoning. Before we make any decisions, we need his input. It is his life, after all. Only with his permission will I continue with what I have already begun to formulate. There are laws that protect Nekos, and it is obvious that whoever was his original owner," the intellectual seemed to spit that word, like a foul taste in his mouth, "was not staying within his allowed punishments." Though those were the words used in the legal documentation, he did not approve.

Virgil shifted lightly as he heard this. He had never heard of any laws that protected Nekos. Then again, he had been with his master for a long time. Before that, he hadn't had the best education.

"Logi, do you think he will be okay?"

"Despite my hesitation to do a thorough examination of someone unable to consent, I was very thorough. Given the circumstances, I reviewed everything, Patton. He will recover adequately, however, many of his injuries will scar. His ears will most likely be sensitive the rest of his life, beyond what is normal for a Neko, and he will need to take it easy for a while. He had multiple broken ribs and is still severely dehydrated. Not to mention I speculate that he has been malnourished, his blood did not clot properly while I was tending his wounds. When he wakes, I suggest copious amounts of fluid and soft foods-"

At that point, Virgil couldn't hold back a cough.

"Allow me to check on him." The faucet was turned on. Though these people seemed nice, Virgil worried that they were not as kind as they appeared. His anxiety began to kick in. What if the water was a cruel joke? What if they brought it close but wouldn't let him have a sip? He knew they were just talking about him needing water, but what if they knew he was awake? What if they were just playing him?

"I am not here to hurt you, Virgil. I am going to help you sit up so that you can drink this water, okay?" He had dark hair and an angular face like Virgil's master. Even his voice sounded of feigned kindness, but the thing that truly terrified Virgil was his cold cerulean eyes. They pierced into Virgil, analyzing him, reading him like an open book. His fear returned but in the most paralytic way.

"Y...yes, sir."

"Please don't call me sir." Logan did his best to soften his expression at the sound of Virgil's terror. He eased his frown into a weak smile as he helped Virgil sit up. "Drink slowly." He placed the glass of water in his hands. Virgil was eager and Logan had to keep him from choking it all down.

"M... more... please."

"Of course, Patton, would you please bring us another glass of water?"

"On it." Virgil heard him yell from the other room.

"Now, Virgil, I am a doctor. I have looked over all of your wounds and treated what I could, but you were in very bad shape. I have formed a hypothesis of my own, but I would like to hear it from you. How did you get these injuries?"

Virgil flinched. "I..." Once again, he felt his much was dry. "I was..." He was saved by Patton who brought out a blender filled with water.

"Patton, why did you fill the blender with water?"

"It's the largest container we have."

"He is a Neko, not a goldfish." Logan said with a sigh.

"Well, maybe I was just fishing for compliments on a job well done."

Virgil fought back a laugh, it made his sides hurt.

"You like dad jokes?" Patton's eyes glistened, "Don't worry kiddo, my joke normally aren't this dry. Typically, they leave you thirsting for me."

Virgil finally let out a laugh. "P-please stop." It hurt so much to laugh, but it felt so nice. "It hurts."

"Oh, I'm so sorry kiddo. I'll stop for now. Once you are better, I will make sure to tell them all day."

"Please no." Logan sighed, taking the blender and pouring more water into Virgil's glass.

Virgil once again drank it quickly, this time less greedily.

"However, Virgil, you have not answered my question."

He almost choked. "Right." He fiddled with the glass. "You seem smart. I'm sure you have already guessed it."

"I'm sure, but I would like to hear it from you."

"My master would beat me anytime I stepped out of line."

"Did he keep a line drawn on the floor that you weren't allowed to step out of?" Logan asked slightly confused.

"No, I mean any time I didn't obey his rules."

"Oh, apologies. What were some of these rules?"

Patton could tell that nervousness was beginning to crawl up Virgil's spine, so he took the Neko's hand, holding it gently.

"Things like, going to bed and waking up at certain times without an alarm, and having the house spotless before he came home. I also got in trouble for making the wrong thing for dinner."

"None of those sound-like reasons for this sever of punishment, though it is my opinion that nothing warrants abuse to this level."

Virgil just shrugged once again. "Can I ask a question?"

"Obviously you are capable of asking questions," Logan muttered, "But yes, you may ask us anything you like."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Approximately 56 hours, though Patton tells me you did wake up briefly to tell him your name."

"Yeah, I kind of remember that." As his water glass was once again emptied, Patton filled it up again.

"And there is a fourth person here?"

"Why of course my darling damsel!" Roman came sweeping into the room. Virgil had noticed all of the fine details of Logan and Patton, but Roman's beauty was like staring at the sun. Virgil had to look away, staring at his water glass. It didn't help though as the image was burned into his mind. Roman had rusted hair that sat somewhere in between brown and red, as if at any moment it would burst into flame. His eyes were a chocolate brown with a ring of gold around the edges, made more apparent by the eyeliner he wore. Virgil genuinely would not have been surprised if this man had walked right out of a story book.

"So, what do you all want with me?" His voice wavered and the water he was drinking did not help calm his nerves. For a while, there was just silence.

"Kiddo, we don't want anything from you. We just want to help."

"Patton is correct, the three of us have only altruistic intentions on this matter. We saw a Neko, passed out in the garden, obviously in need of help, and we decided to help."

Virgil's tail flicked back and forth. It was a nice thought, but he didn't believe it. People weren't nice without a reason. Maybe they needed a house cleaner? He wasn't very good at that. Maybe one of them was a vampire and needed a blood source? He didn't like the thought, but he could do that. Maybe-

His thought was cut off by Roman. "Well, they may not have ulterior motives, but I thought you were an adorable little Neko, and I figured it would be nice to have a pet."

It was obvious that he was teasing. Virgil hissed at him but smiled, blushing slightly behind his water glass. This could possibly be okay. He wasn't sure yet, but this could be okay. He would stay on his guard, but if they were all as nice as they seemed, he could be happy here.

AN: I have been working on this for three days, and I realized it was over 2,000 words, more than I would normally write for a one shot, and I still had more to say. I tried to wrap it up nicely, but I might write a second part.

I also like the idea of rewriting the whole thing but having Patton be the Neko that gets found. We will see what the future holds. If you have a preference or any ideas let me know.