#hazard the halflander

[yesthefandomfreakblr]

The urge to write a 30 chapter novel about Mareth and Ripred coparenting Hazard and Luxa through the time after the COC and fully mourning who they've lost and Mareth having to confront and grow out of the hundreds of years old ingrained ideology of anti rat culture in regalia because even if he's 'one of the good ones' Ripred is just a gnawer and a very flawed individual but Hamnet loved him and trusted him with his son. And Ripred just has so many problems he needs to work through revolving around people of all races and he needs to grow and heal for Hazard. If Hamnet can love them both they can try and work together through the devastating political aftermath of the war, and keep the peace, and these kids, safe.

[haveihitanerve]

I have this headcannon that ripred just pretty much shows up at home with his new kids every once in a while and just assumes everyone is aware and every single one of his pack members accepts his kids, but the first time are always baffled by it like- Ripred: and as i was saying- razor did you have something you wanted to say? Razor: um… yeah. Who-? Why is the warrior here? Ripred: *glancing at eleven year old gregor who is playing hopscotch with another rat pup* thats my son obviously. Now as i was saying- - Mange: *waking up and yawning. Walks out of cave* good morning everyo- GAH JESUS CHRIST Ares: *hanging upside down right in front of the cave entrance* oh. Good morning. Is ripred here? Mange:...*heart rate at 200 beats per second*.....Yeah. yeah. Just inside Ares: *sweetly* thank you - Razor: Mange: Lapblood: Ratriff: Clawsin: Razor: why is the queen here? Lapblood: ripred just showed up, dropped her off, said something about retrieving the other one and left Luxa: *chewing some bubble gum* sup. - Ripred: Aurora: Ripred: Aurora: Ripred: Aurora: Ripred: *sigh* fine Aurora: yay! Lapblood: Razor: Clawsin: Ratriff: Mange: did any of yall get that? Them: nope.  - Ripred: *walking into cave for pack meeting time* theres more coming behind me Lapblood: oh okay we can- Ares: *flies in with gregor on his back* sup yall Mange: hey pup. Now- Aurora: *flies in with nike attached to her leg by a piece of rope* hey Nike: *sullenly* id didn't wanna come Razor: h-hi? Ratriff: okay so- Andromeda: hello! Howard: hey Luxa: *cartwheels in* sup bitches *high fives gregor* Mareth: *carrying a wet boots* gregor she said shes not feeling polite today Gregor: okay. Does she need to go to Regalia? Mareth: no shes just not feeling polite Boots: *hiss* Hazard: *comes skipping in* hello! Lapblood: is that the last of them? Ripred: *counting* yeah should be.  Them: …. Ripred: what? Mange: you have to count your kids? Ripred: THERES A LOT OF THEM OKAY???

[ezilo]

TUC Week, Day 2! Overland/Gregor

Managed to squeeze in both prompts for today! Title is from a Maya Angelou quote.

Happy TUC week!

The ache for home lives in all of us

"I want to go up to the Overland."

Luxa drops her fork. This is the moment Hazard realizes he's messed up. His sister never loses her composure, ever a queen.

"Up to New York city?" Her regalian pronunciation of the name feels wrong to him. He can still hear how his mother had said it, how Gregor had formed the words, Boots's little voice squealing.

"Yes." They stare at each other. "Luxa, this cannot be a surprise. I am a Halflander, after all."

"Yes, of course." She resumes eating. "But you are also my brother."

He hears it, hears what it means. You are my family, you know how many people have left me already. And you're leaving me, too?

She doesn’t say it, but he hears it anyway.

You know what if I have lost to the Overland.

*

He goes to Nike first.

"Greetings, Hazard." He had never really gotten used to the formality of Regalia, after a childhood of vines and easy laughter.

"Hello, Nike."

She looks glorious, up there, the queen of the fliers. Athena had died a few years ago, and Nike had gracefully lived up to her duty. It had proved essential to the peace, that she and Howard were bonded; the queen of fliers and the head of the Fount had worked tirelessly alongside Luxa.

"You have come for my help?"

"Yes. I know that my father told you my mother’s full name, before the battle of the cutters." That's how it had gone down in history, this fight that had claimed his father. All he remembered was the scent of starshade and waiting, curled up in Aurora's golden fur. All he remembered was that he had never for a second thought Hamnet would not be back.

"He did." The queen purred, studying him.

"I need it. I'm going up. I want the opportunity to find my mother’s family." 

There's silence, and then Nike flutters down to him. He runs a hand through her striped fur.

“He told me and Temp, indeed.” Hazard nods, and Nike waits like she knows he has more to ask.

“Why did he tell you?” She cocks her head a bit. “Your father did not trust Aurora, or Luxa, just yet. And perhaps he was right. Royal blood is fickle.” Hazard stares, wonders what she means, if she wants him to challenge her on that. Luxa is not fickle, has never been, but he understands where his father was coming from.

"Very well, I will tell you. I believe it is the right choice."  It shouldn't matter, but Hazard is still blinking back tears at her blessing.

"Your mother's name was Hannah Golding. Will you be needing a flier for your mission?"

*

Before he leaves, he stops in the museum, grabbing a few flashlights, some Overland money and clothes. On the way back, he bumps into Nerrissa in the room of Prophecies. Her eyes turn to him.

“Hazard. You are just about to leave.” She doesn’t say it like it’s a question, simply says it like she knows. He had hated her at first, because a part of his child brain blamed her for Hamnet’s death. If she hadn’t told him to be the guide, he and his father would have still lived happily in the jungle with Frill, right?

He did not hate her anymore, but he still felt uneasy around her, the seer, the spare.

“I am. Are you alright? Reminiscing?” Her fingers trace the words carved deep in the wall. “Oh no. This prophecy is not past.” She turns to him. “Yet.”

He glances at the title for a second, and then turns away, shaking his head.

The Prophecy of the Halflander is etched into the stone, but Hazard has never read it.

*

Vikus had written a letter, to take to his mother's family. Ripred and Luxa had both left letters on his desk, in case he managed to track down Gregor and his family, and hadn't talked to him about it. They really were a well matched pair. Ripred had been kind enough to do some of the work to track down his family, taking a look at phonebooks instead of just munching on them, and so Hazard felt he owed him.

He hugged his sister tight against him and promised to come back. She didn’t believe him, but that only meant that he would be able to surprise her, and he liked that.

Persephone was a small, almost green bat. She was agile and fast, and as they talked on the way up, he found out that she'd spent quite a bit of time in the jungle, on missions for the kingdom. They excitedly shared stories about plants and rare fruits, and he was almost sorry to be dropped off.

"I will meet you here again in four day's time."

"Very well, prince Hazard." He rolled his eyes. The title was only honorary, he had no claim to the throne, and he hated it.

"Call me Hazard."

"Then you must call me Persia. It is what my friends call me." He smiled.

"Deal."

And she flew away, graceful and fast, with a last call to fly high.

He had harassed Gregor with questions about the city, back then, those long months when the warrior’s mother had been recovering and he and Boots had practically lived in the Underland with them. He’d asked Luxa to write down everything for him, so that he would remember, and he still had the little notebook in his back pocket. Luxa’s neat handwriting spelled out neighborhoods – Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Soho, metro lines, attractions to see – Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Museum of Natural History, Central Park. That’s where he would emerge. The stone let no light out, so he did not know what he would find.

Hazard stands there, scared. He had never really belonged to Regalia, and not just because he was from the jungle. Because of his dark curls, the blood rushing through his veins that was not from under the earth. His mother had given him parts of the Overland, and she would have given him more, if she’d had the time. He’d wondered about it, about this unimaginably huge world above his head, about the idea of light every day, dark skin, brown eyes. As much as Gregor had felt like a normal part of Regalia to him, a fixture of his childhood, the boy had always longed for the Overland, for his home. Somewhere up there, Gregor was no longer a boy, twenty-three years old like Luxa. Soon, she would have to marry, and the potential suitors were making her queasy already, he knows. Hazard had asked her, once, why she wanted to get married. She’d looked at him, with cold violet eyes, pale skin, fair hair, the spitting image of the Underland, and said “I do not have a choice.” And, well. Nerrissa will never have children, and so the duty falls onto Luxa.

This is why Hazard will come back, even if he finds that part of him belongs to the Overland. Luxa needs him, always will, and so Hazard will come back, yes.

He pushes the stone to the side, and light hits him. He smiles through the tears forming in his green eyes.

*

Hazard loves New York. He understands why his mother had felt at home in the jungle, because the buildings envelop him like the vines had. He wanders for a day, and then clumsily manages to get a room at a hotel, although his accent throws the employee off.

The next day – and how strange to be woken up by beaming, all-reaching light – he heads out for an address in the Bronx.

The woman who opens the door of the address the rat gave him looks like his mother. She asks, annoyed, who he is, and Hazard takes a deep breath, clutching the ring he’d gotten from Vikus in his hand.

“I’m Hazard. I’m Hannah’s son.”

Her eyes go wide.

Later, sitting at a table, Hazard cries, watching his mother grow up from photo album to  photo album, as Halley – his aunt, and holy shit as Gregor would say, he had an aunt – shares anecdotes. Everyone who had known his mother has been dead for long, so he is still reeling from this, from being told new things about her. She even gives him a few pictures to take with him, and he thanks her profusely. She looks uneasy at his tears and he cannot blame her, really. She doesn’t ask many questions at all about Hannah, where she has been, how she died. She asks Hazard, about himself, his likes, and sometimes looks at him like he’s a ghost. His father had always said that he looked like Hannah.

“I don’t want to know much about it, her, why she left and never came back.” And that was not exactly the truth and not exactly a lie either, so Hazard doesn’t speak up to correct her. “Just tell me. Was she happy?”

“Yes. She and my father were very happy, and very in love.”

Halley nods, pensive, staring into her cup of coffee. Even after dumping four sugar cubes and milk in the substance, Hazard finds it disgusting. But Halley is on her third cup. He stores it away as an anecdote about her he will tell his children, some day.

“What was your father’s name?”

“Hamnet.” And at that, Halley finally smiles. A big one, that completely changes her face.

“Huh. I suppose it means she cared about us after all. ”

Hazard frowns. “What?”

“We all have names that start with an ‘h’. It’s a family tradition.”

“Oh.”

They smile at each other for a while longer.

*

“Luxa! Luxa, he is home.” Aurora says, flying into the office.

Luxa is on her feet instantly, rushing out, her crown falling to the ground with a clink. Aurora follows her out, and Luxa hops into emptiness, landing onto her back, and in a flash they are at the docks, watching Persephone land.

Hazard mounts down, and Luxa hugs him tight. “You are home.” She has rarely been so relieved, feeling her muscles relax in her brother’s arms.

He pulls away to grin at her. “Yes I am. I told you I would be back.” He whips around for a second and turns to her again. “And I am not the only one.”

The man who descends from the bat has dark skin, brown eyes, a little lopsided grin. He is tall, and strong, despite the scars crisscrossing his arms. For a second, Luxa has her defenses up, almost reaching for her sword. But then – no, it can’t be. He is in the Overland, is he not?

But when he speaks, all her doubts evaporate.

“Hello, Luxa. I am home.”

[haveihitanerve]

How I Think the Underlanders would react if they walked in on Gregor changing

(i added twitchtip this time)

Luxa: *leans on door* *wolf whistles* it just got hot in here

Ares: *eyes widen* whoops, sorry bro *stands in front of door like good bro and stops others until hes done*

Howard: *blank stare* what the actual fu- Howard: my cousin actually likes you? yoU?!?

Ripred: *gags* *retches* *screams, ‘MY EYES, MY EYES*

Sixclaw: AHHHHHHHHHH Flyfur: GOOD SANDWICH HES GOT HAIR!!!! (are the dramatic bad asses we know and love)

Lapblood: *doesn't even acknowledge him and just goes around the room tidying up*

Nike: OH GOOD SANDWICH SAVE ME FROM THE TERRIBLE FATE THAT HAS BEFALLEN M- Gregor: *kicks her out*

Aurora: oh! My bad! *just chills and waits for him to finish. Its nothing she hasn't seen before, they friends*

Andromeda: *just casually walks right back out*

Mareth: dude. *shakes head* theres this thing called a lock you know? You should try it. *closes door and leaves*

Hazard: bruh. I wish i looked like that! *just walks out and leaves door open*

Dulcet: Oh! My apologies overlander. *closes door*

Twitchtip: *knows hes changing* *doesn't give two fucks and smashes the door down giving him a heart attack* maybe you should learn to lock the door Gregor: iT WAS LOCKED YOU FU-AAAH!!!! *leaves* Twitchtip: *smirks* Ripred: *takes notes*

[yesthefandomfreakblr]

I imagine that in the fic AU of Mareth and Ripred raising/supporting Luxa and Hazard together in respects to Hamnet, Howard would be adopted and join the family too. Sure he's an adult in the underland but really, developmentally, he's a teenage boy, still a kid. Who's parents DO NOT have time for him or care. Oldest in big family, need I say more. He's been through SO much with no one to turn to.

Like, Howard is one of Ripred's primary caretakers while the rat recovers and they sort of bond/Red sees past Howard's mask and is actually the more gentle and caring for him out of he and Mareth when they start to integrate and include him more. Howard's the last of the three kids to be adopted but you don't outgrow family.

Potential argument between dads. Ripred wants to extend the offer to Howard to move in, Mareth thinks it's odd but has nothing against it. He's a young man, he can marry and have his own home and family, or have his own apartment. But at least hhe can pay rent by helping clean and care for Hazard- Ripred shuts that down rather venomously that he's not just a babysitter, he works full time and is exhausted like they are. He's been through Hell too, he's scarred and needs help too. Hazard is in school and they will not shrug him off when he is home. Howard's not a mere commodity he is a person who wants a family not a master, this is a home, not a rent-out. A child's value is not determined by their connection to Hamnet.

[haveihitanerve]

yes i ship boots and hazard. not when they are six and two. but when they are aged up a lil. lizzie and hazard literally exchange like two words while its actually canon that hazard and boots are friends and gregor comments on it, and hes like oblivious. so i defo ship them over hazard and lizzie

[haveihitanerve]

How the Boys would hold hands-

Gregor:

Mareth:

Howard:

Ares:

Ripred:

Hazard:

[haveihitanerve]

How the Boys would cuddle-

Gregor:

Howard:

Mareth:

Ripred:

Ares:

Hazard:

[haveihitanerve]

“So..” hazard grinned, leaning down to look his 5 year old niece in the eye. “Are you ready?” “for what?” Penelope asked, her hands swinging at her side. “Im gonna teach you something very special.” hazard said, smiling down at her. Phillipe, 7, snorted. “Yeah right. Is this gonna be like that time you brought us twelve puppies from the overland and mum and dad were very upset?” he asked, hands on his hips. “Noooo. And besides you got to keep those!” he shot back. Phillipe rolled his eyes, gently pushing his 2 year old brother james away as the baby tried to crawl into his lap where he was playing with race cars. “Im gonna teach you a dance.” hazard said, clapping when no one seemed interested. “Dance?” Wolf came waddling over to where his twin was standing. Sophie just rolled her eyes, (very opinionated for a 6 year old in hazards opinion, and very much like her mother) and kept on reading her book. Fred and charlie stopped wrestling though, and looked up. “What kinda dance?’ they asked in the clipped language that was a mix between gregor's overland drawl, which was more underlander by the day, and the underlanders clipped speech. “Its a special dance from the overland.” boots said, standing in the hallway. “Parents only teach it to those few special kids. Like yourselves.” she came over and squatted next to her boyfriend, still in Regalia Uniform as designated peacespeaker guard. (hazards title. So his guard) She turned and gave him a wink to which he grinned and turned back to his nieces and nephews. “You wanna learn it?” “yeah!” the younger ones yelled. Phillipe and sophie exchanged a glance before sighing and walking over. “Sure.” Hazard grinned mischievously. “Alright, well it starts with-”

“YOU PUT YOUR HAND IN!”

“Hazard!”

“YOU TAKE YOUR HAND OUT!”

“Don't blame me! Boots got them on board!”

“YOU PUT YOUR HAND IN!”

“Boots!”

“AND YOU SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT!”

“ What!? It was hazards plan!”

“YOU DO THE HOCKEY POKEY!”

“So?!!?!? Oh sandwich they wont stop singing!”

“AND YOU TURN YOURSELF AROUND!”

“They're spreading it to the other kids!”

“THATS WHATS ITS ALL ABOUT!”

“Yessss. Our plan worked hazard high-”

“YOU PUT YOUR LEFT HAND IN”

“Oh godric…” 

“YOU TAKE YOUR LEFT HAND OUT!”

“And how do you think howard is going to like coming home after a stressful one month trip to find his three year old daughter screaming - “AND YOU SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT!” at the top of her lungs?”

“yOU DO THE HOCKEY POKEY”

“Hahaha…. Oh.”

“AND YOU TURN YOURSELF ABOUT!”

“Mhm.”

“THATS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!”

“Oh im sure they love that you reminded them of how loud and eager the young Pandora can be Gregor.”

“YOU PUT YOUR FOOT IN!”

“Yes. Im sure they wanted a reminder. You know, i think howards scheduled to arrive here at the docks in a few minutes. Care to join us?”

“YOU TAKE YOUR FOOT OUT!”

“Will they ever stop?!?!”

“YOU PUT YOUR FOOT IN!”

“Oh yes brother, i would be ever so pleased if you and boots would join us and explain to him first hand why his daughter knows the “hokey pokey.”

“AND YOU SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT!”

“Its gregor fault! He taught it to me!”

“YOU DO THE HOCKEY POKEY!”

“Hey thats low hazard. Thats low.”

“AND YOU TURN YOURSELF AROUND!”

“Boots?”

“THATS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!”

“Run.”

“YOU PUT YOUR LEFT FOOT IN!”

“Lets get ‘em.”

“YOU TAKE YOUR LEFT FOOT OUT!”

“Will they ever stop, and Gregor….. Give them at least five minutes.”

“YOU PUT YOUR LEFT FOOT IN AND YOU SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT!

“hehehe oh they are so dead.”

“YOU DO THE HOCKEY POKEY AND YOU TURN YOURSELF AROUND! THATS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!”