Hideaway
Word count: 864
Rating: General audiences
Pairing: Polyghouls
Characters: Dewdrop, Aether, mention of Omega
Key features: Dew with a kit, semi feral Dew, semi feral ghoul whisperer Aether
Summary: Dew has been missing for the pack for three days. Aether finds him.
This work was heavily inspired by @chapel-of-rizztual 's new fic! Go read it right now!
Dew had been missing for three days.
Now, while it wasn't unusual for ghouls to disappear for a few days for hunts or heats, it was strange for Dew to go missing.
The ghoul, if he was injured or sick or just tired, would hole away in his room until he felt better. But they had checked his room. In fact, they had checked every inch of the dormitory. He wasn't there.
The pack was starting to worry.
They'd spread their search, to the library and the chapel and even the siblings' dorms.
It was late at night, and they were just about to give up their search for the day. Aether could feel the other pack members telepathically telling him that they were going to look again in the morning, that maybe Dew would come out for food.
Aether was far from the dorms. He was down in an abandoned part of the Ministry, mostly used for storage nowadays. Everything was quiet, muffled by a thick layer of dust.
Then, a whimper.
Just a soft one.
Aether's ears twitched. He followed the sound, his footsteps light, not wanting to spook whatever made that sound.
He found what he had been looking for.
Dew.
The poor ghoul, he was propped up between a bookshelf and a wall. He wore only a shirt, though all of the buttons were undone. He only looked semi conscious.
"Fuck, Dew." Aether breathed. He ran over to the sad little lump, his footsteps making Dew perk up.
Dew looked around dozily for a second, then hissed and curled away from Aether. He tucked his head down and brought his knees up, hiding away in a ball. His tail thudded anxiously on the floor beside him.
"Dewdrop. Shit. Hi." Aether slowed his approach, seeing how Dew reacted like a flighty animal. He chirruped softly, a noise reserved for submissive ghouls, to show Dew that he wasn't going to hurt him. "Hey. You're alright."
Except Dew probably wasn't alright. As Aether stepped closer, he noticed the dark puddle under Dew. He could smell the blood.
"I need you to talk to me, Dew. Tell me you're okay." Aether dropped to his knees and crawled the rest of the distance, though he stopped around five metres from the other ghoul. "Or tell me you're not okay, and I can help."
Dew stared at Aether with big, fearful eyes. Then he chittered anxiously, a quiet 'ekekek' sound.
"Alright. Can't talk. Okay." Aether nodded slowly. Sometimes ghouls went a little feral. It was in their nature. It was okay, Aether could deal with it. "Are you still bleeding?"
Dew shook his head. He tucked further into the corner.
Then, another, tiny whimper rang out.
It didn't come from Dew's lips.
"What the Hell?" Aether whispered. Dew was starting at him like a deer in headlights. "What's going on, Dew? Give me something to work with here."
Slowly, and ever so cautiously, Dew turned. In his trembling arms was a kit. A tiny, curled up little thing, sucking on the fork of their tail in a self soothing gesture.
"Oh, fuck…" Aether crawled closer. "Where did you get them, droplet?"
Dew gave Aether a look, as if to say 'Where do you normally get kits from?'. He raised a disapproving eyebrow, before his expression was replaced by a wince.
"Hey, take it easy. Steady, little guy. Can I see them?" He asked softly. Dew shook his head. "Alright. Can you hold them out a little, just so I can look them over?"
Carefully, Dew held the kit up, even as they squirmed and whined at getting moved. They were absolutely tiny. One of the smallest kits Aether had ever seen. Their cord wasn't attached, and they seemed to have a belly full of milk. Dew had done well on his own.
"Thanks, Dew. That's all I needed to see. You can take your kit back now. That's it, keep them warm against your chest. Good lad." Aether murmured, as if he was speaking to a spooked animal. He closed his eyes, contacting Omega through their telepathy. Letting him know that he'd found Dew and he needed medical help.
"I'm gonna give you my shirt. I want you to put it over the kit, like a blanket. She's very little, Dew. I don't want her getting cold." He said steadily, unbuttoning his shirt and holding it out to Dew. The fire ghoul snatched it from him, then carefully laid it over the kit's back, covering her completely.
"Yeah, that's it. You managed to hide her well, huh?" Aether laughed quietly. He could hear all of his pack popping into his head, asking questions about Dew. He ignored them for the moment.
"Ti-nee." Dew croaked out in explanation, his voice crackly from disuse. He gestured to his middle. It had a bit of a swell to it, but otherwise it just looked like a regular belly. Not like someone who had just given birth.
"Yeah, she is… You've done such a good job, Dew." Aether could hear Omega's heavy footsteps in the distance. "We're going to get you some help, gorgeous. Just stay awake for a little longer, yeah? Alright. Doing a great job. Good mama."
Dew smiled proudly at that. He was a good mama.