[M] Ice and Fire [Xros Hunt]

“I’m an amputee” the human said suddenly, noticing Gum’s attention to his legs. “I lost my feet in an accident, so now I wear prosthetics. Want to see? I can take one off so you can have a look.” Gum didn’t say anything, which the human seemed to take as a yes and began twisting the metal thing, pulling it away from his leg to reveal a stump. It clenched as Gum watched and the human grinned, doing it once more for effect. “Residual muscle” he admitted, “I can actually walk on my legs like this though it’s a bit slow and awkward. Here. My blade.”

The human passed the metal blade to Gum who tentatively took at and looked it over curiously, pain dimming a little in his chest as he distracted himself. It was weird. A fake leg because the human had lost its real ones. So it wasn’t just a pathetic Samaritan, it was a useless cripple too. Still, the thing was pretty neat to look at, surprisingly springy and surprisingly light.

Finally, he passed it backwith a disinterested grunt and slumped back against the wall, biting his teeth as another wave of emotion threatened. He ignored the human as it pulled the prosthetic back on with a deft click and sat back next to him. Gum looked at the other two sleeping bodies. The white one was tossing and turning, kicking her covers as she snored loudly. The flamemon lay tightly curled, one hand loosely dangled in the flames as if they were a safety blanket. Pathetic.

“They’re nice people” the human said suddenly, as if reading Gum’s mind. Startled, Gum looked upward to see him watching. With a flush, he looked away again, annoyance twitching through him. “The Salamon is Hope and she believes she’s true royalty” he explained warmly with a grin, “The Flamemon is Konoha and she’s a normally sweet pyromaniac who goes flame-crazy.” Chuckling, he pulled the blankets around him, and then looked back at Gum. Gum refused to meet his gaze, turning away. The human was trying to soften him up for some reason. And the two digimon were crazy. Completely nuts.

“What was your friend like? The one that died?”

It was a low blow and he hadn’t expected it. Gum let out a wrecked gasp, pressing his claws to his ears as the question sparked memories to sprout across his brain, then blood, then the body. He shook violently, eyes clamping tightly shut as his breath became rapid and his chest tight. A squeak of pain left his body as he shuddered, shaking his head rapidly. His vision narrowed, becoming a black tube with a tiny, distant light at the end. He began to rock, grasping at each breath he could manage. He was going to die.He was definitely going to die. How could he live with this? It was like drinking acid and sitting, waiting as his insides withered away.

Haru lay awake, arm tightly wrapped around the digimon at his side. His shirt was still damp from tears and he’d had to wipe away a few of his own when the digimon had began sobbing. With a smile, he felt the digimon snuffle and wiggle closer to him, as he slept. “He is asleep now?” Haru looked up as Hope approached, a curious look on her face. She peered down at the squat purple digimon as he wrapped his claws around Haru’s shirt, then glanced at the deep scratches on Haru’s arm. “That was reckless. Don’t forget you’re my general” she said quietly, sitting next to him peacefully. “You’re not as annoyed as I thought you’d be” Haru replied back, smiling at her.

Hope puffed up her fur, affronted, “Annoyed at my general for showing compassion to one of my citizens, albeit a rather murderous one?” she declared in a low, angry whisper, “What sort of queen do you take me for? I am a kind, compassionate, wise ruler!” Haru grinned and closed his eyes, feeling tiredness wash over him. “Good job” he vaguely heard Hope compliment, before his consciousness slipped away into the warm, floating bliss of sleep,

The next morning, Haru awoke bleary eyed to a cold space by his side. The digimon had returned to sitting a distance away against the wall, a sullen look on his face as he stared at the floor. Haru sat up, frowning slightly. With a yawn, he clambered to his feet and stretched his arms above his neck, feeling his muscles click and roll back into place. Restlessness seeping into his muscles, he hopped up and down on his prosthetics, feeling the burst of energy race into his gut like fire, waking him up and brightening his eyes.

“WILL YOU STOP?” Hope erupted, leaping from her bed with a snarl of morning temper as Konoha rubbed her eyes blearily next to her, “I need my morning sleep in order to stay fresh and beautiful!” Haru grinned, “You won’t stay beautiful if you don’t do morning exercise” he replied, eyes glinting as Hope shot him a sour look. With a huff, she began to jump up and down as well, panting after a few minutes as she matched Haru’s pace. “Konoha, you will jump as well” She declared, to Konoha’s obvious horror, “I refuse to suffer alone. And you, dragon.”

Haru grinned as the purple digimon started, caught surreptitiously watching them. He glared at them but amazingly got to his feet, jumping up and down in light, fluid hops. Aggressively, he picked up the pace, shooting a glare at them and Haru grinned wickedly, speeding up to match it, to the digimon’s surprise. The digimon began to leap faster, beginning to use his tail as a spring board and Haru continued to match him, though he struggled as the speed began to become punishingly, clenching his teeth. A small grin spread across the digimon’s face as they competed, each pushing to a faster smile and Haru grinned back, even as his thighs and the stumps of his calves began to scream in protest. Eventually, he stopped, collapsing onto his knees as the purple digimon bounced once more, letting out a triumphant cackle.

Hope and Konoha had long since abandoned the exercise and Konoha had heated some beans on the fire, passing a bowl to Hope. She smiled up at Haru and the purple digimon as they approached and Haru passed the first bowl to the purple digimon, yielding it as loser of the contest. It took it reluctantly, sniffing it carefully before it took a tiny bite, chewing it suspiciously. Once it was fairly obvious the food WAS edible, the creature dove in. Haru took his own bowl and sat down, pulling off his running blades to massage his joints.

“I have decided that we will leave in exactly one hour” Hope declared over her beans, fur smeared with orange. She licked it off hungrily before drawing herself to a proud height, looking at them imperiously, “We have spent too long in these mountains, so we will be going back to the flatlands. Any questions?” Konoha immediately raised her hand. “Are we going to Whitewater?” she asked excitedly, “I’ve always wanted to go there – they say the food is delicious and I’ve never been to any city but terminus.”