Chapter Text
He remembered the day he became a monster.
Some could argue that he’d always been one. After all most don’t have shadows that could move on their own. Most can’t make growls, trills, and clicks in place of words.
Most don’t have a monster for a father.
But to him, it wasn’t until that day that he became a monster. That day where all chance to truly be human disappeared forever.
The day he had his first true meal.
Oh many would think it was when he transformed for the first time. When scales replaced skin and a tail grew. But they would be wrong. It wasn’t till that first real bite that he lost whatever humanity he ever had. That bite fueled by protectiveness and desperation. That bite that caused a grown man to scream.
That bite that ensured he’d never get enough of the taste.
Sure, he cried and protested tasting it again. Said how disgusting and wrong it was. But in the end he gave in. Gave in to his father and his own desire for another taste.
Forever sealing his fate as a monster.
After that first meal he couldn’t get enough of it. He happily ate his fill whenever he could. Eagerly awaited the days his papa could hunt without notice.
And when he became old enough, was thrilled to learn how to hunt for himself.
He learned everything he could from his papa. How to hide your true form. The best ways to put your pray at ease. Ways to appear weak to your prey. And how to recognize a vulnerable soul.
He spent years learning and perfecting each and every skill under his papa until he perfected them. Got so good his papa decided he was able to be on his own. That he could survive and hunt own his own.
So his papa left. Went off to find that place in his dreams. That place where he could be a boy again and be free of all responsibilities.
Including him.
It had hurt watching his papa leave him. Leaving him without the one being who understood. Making him live in a world where the only ones around him were food.
It hurt, but he had to move on. Had to keep going and surviving on his own.
So he moved from town to town. Played a couple games, learned new ways to improve his skills, chose his prey, and if he felts so bold, shed his fake form.
It felt so good to be in his true skin. To not be forced to look like his food. So good in fact that it was during this time he let his shadow roam free. Free to explore and cause havoc. Trust in its ability to not get caught and find his next target.
This was how it was for the first few years on his own. Just the same pattern over and over again with each town he came. Everything going exactly the way he expected.
Until one day it doesn’t. Until he gets a little too comfortable with the way things go. So comfortable he made an error he’d regret for the rest of his life.
He’d gotten cocky. To him it was just a normal town. Nothing out of the ordinary. Everything had gone according to routine. He’d charmed his target and lured them away just like always without catching any attention to himself. Ate his fill without any trouble. Got so relaxed he decided to shed his fake form. Just let himself fell the cool night air on his scales. Even let his shadow loose to have some fun.
He never even thought that someone might see his shadow. Never thought they’d follow it back to him either.
But someone did. And they came back with friends.
That’s when he heard it. The sounds of angry men, dogs howling, and hooves thundering on the ground. The sight of torches and gleaming metal almost blinding him as they came closer. A horn echoing out, making his blood freeze.
This was a hunting party. And for the first time in his life he was the game.
In a blink of an eye he jumped up and ran. His heart threatened to pound out of his chest as his breath became labored with fear. The once cool air now feeling icy as it whips in his face. The sounds of the hunting party only getting louder as they gained up on him.
His golden eyes frantically searched for a place to hide. He couldn’t out run them, not when they were horse back. He couldn’t fight them either, there was just too many! Oh gods he didn’t want to die!
As if hearing his prayers, the sound of running water broke through the roars of the hunting party. The river! He just had to make it to be river than he’d be alright. He knew here the river ran deep and fast. Enough so that if he made it in, no one would follow.
With a new found hope for survival, he ran faster. Faster than he’d ever ran in his life. He could feel the cattails and reeds slapping against his body as he raced to the bank. He was here! He was going to—
A sickening slicing sound
At first he felt nothing. Everything seemed to stand still if even for a moment.
But then that moment ended. All he could feel was agonizing pain shooting through his spine.
He fell to the ground hard, mud soaking through his tunic and trousers. Shaking, he brought his head up to look at the cause of his pain.
A large harpoon had pierced through his tail. Cutting through bone and muscle, digging into the ground below. His blood painting the wood and metal an almost black shade of red. Even in the dark he could tell only a small part of his tail remained even attached to his body.
A cry of agony ripped out of his throat, tears freely falling as he screamed and wailed. His shadow circled around him in a panic, wailing as well for the pain he was feeling. The sounds so loud they echoed throughout the wood(and unknown to him, neverland as well).
Everything hurt. His body racked with sobs as excruciating pain shot throughout him. His ears flooded with the sounds of the hunters getting close, his heart pounding, and the mixture of screams. His mind swirled, he had to move, he had to do something, anything!
Trembling, he reached behind and grabbed the harpoon, his hand slipping a little from the blood. Steeling his nerves, he braced himself before ripping it out. Another scream escaping from the mind numbing pain.
Desperately his claws dug into the muddy ground below, pulling him forward little by little closer to the river. Everything became numb around him. The whole world becoming deaf to him besides his own cries and heart beat. (So much so that he didn’t hear the hunting parties slaughter. Their wails being music to the boy king of neverland’s ears.)
Darkness crept in. The world slowed and his vision started to fade. Even his screams becoming muffled in his ears as little by little as he faded into the blackness. Leaving only his desperate shadow and his unconscious body on the blood soaked river bed. (Completely unaware of the monster that stood behind them. The blood of his son’s hunters soaking him to the bone. Bodies littered across the ground in shredded pieces).
He didn’t know how long he was out for. Didn’t know how long he laid there by the bank. All he knew that when he woke up next, the sun was already beginning to peak. Drowsily, his head starts to lift as pain starts bleed through his body again. The sun blinding him slightly as he looks around. He was in a hut. Faintly he hears the sound of footsteps on the straw floor, making him tense(lowly groaning in pain at the action).
A pair of older women stepped into his view. One carrying blankets and the other a basket of he assumed to be a basket of cloth.
Seeing him awake the women’s faces brightened as the one with the blankets walked over to him, ignoring the tension in his body.
“Awake already I see. Must be a tough lad huh. When that boy brought you here we feared that you wouldn’t make through the night with all that lost blood,” the woman said, draping a blanket onto him. Tucking it into a more comfortable position.
“Where, where am I,” he quietly asked, his voice hoarse from all the screaming he had done.
“Ah right. You’re in our home dear. I’m Hildegard and that is Matilda”— she gestures to the woman now sitting at a spinning wheel—“gave us a bit of a fright you did but it seems you on the mend. Don’t know how long till you’re back on your feet though dearie. But until then you can stay with us till then,” Hildegard said walking over to the other spinning wheel.
“You’ll have to earn your keep though dearie. Do you know how to spin?” Matilda asked, meeting his eyes. At his head shake she responds, “That’s alright we can teach you.”
And so they did. Taught him everything there was to know about spinning. Claimed he could spin for kings and queens one day. But he never did, instead he kept a low profile. Gathered straw and spun for the kind spinners who took him in. And when they got old he buried them. Never letting know what kind of monster they let into their home.
He never let anyone learn what kind of monster he was. His shadow now lay still, blaming it self for him getting hurt. He stopped hunting almost completely. Only picking off beggars that wouldn’t be noticed. Even then only enough to survive.
He met a woman as well. Milah was her name. A spit fire through and through. Fire and determination in her eyes. He couldn’t say he loved her. Fond of her, yes. So much so that he married her. If only to keep up appearances. He would stick out to much if he didn’t marry her.
He never let her see the monster she married. Instead he let her believe he was a normal, if gentle, man. So much so that she feared for him when he was called to war. Not knowing he had already seen more than his fair share of corpses in his life. Even caused a good amount as well.
Then his life changed again. He met a seer. A young girl who told him that if he went into battle he would be killed. And his son would be left fatherless.
So he did what he had to do.
He shattered his own ankle to get back to his boy. His son. His son who might be just like him. A monster wearing a humans skin.
Oh how Milah hated him for what he did. Screamed how he was a coward and how he sentenced Bae to fate worse than death. He didn’t care though. Not when he saw his Bae’s tiny shadow move all on its own.
That’s when he knew he made the right choice.
He couldn’t raise Bae to be a monster. Not when his human mother was still around. So he made due. Hid Bae’s clicks and trills with the sound of his spinning wheel. Used his own shadow to cover Bae’s. And when Milah was off at the tavern getting drunk, he would make his boy a special meal. One that only the two of them would share. His boy’s favorite meal, just like his papa.
That’s how life continued for the two of them. Milah left with a pirate, finally getting the life she wanted. When he learned the truth he wanted to make the two of them bleed. Wanted to rip his teeth into their bodies and eat his fill. Maybe even save some of the meat and make it into his boys favorite dish.
But he didn’t. Not with his bum ankle. It just wasn’t worth the risk. Instead he let them go and lied to Bae. Telling him that his mother was murdered if only to save him the pain of abandonment.
The two of them lived normally after that. Sure his boy had cried for his mother at first. But then his tears dried and all he needed was his papa. All he needed was the two of them to stick together.
Then the ogre wars happened. They were going to take away his boy. Send him off to war to be killed. He couldn’t let that happen. Not to his boy. Not his Bae who even at fourteen still hadn’t turned.
So he became a monster again. All for his son.
He set the dukes castle on fire and stole the dark one’s dagger. Ripping apart any guards who stood in his way. He stabbed the former dark one and ate his fill for the first time in a long time. Then he slaughtered the men coming for his boy. Ripped out their throats with both his teeth and the dagger. Scales proudly showing for all to see. His golden claws stained red like the dagger he held in his grip. His dagger now.
Turning towards his son, a thrill rippled through him. For where his too human boy once stood was a monster. A monster with yellow and black scales replacing once human skin. A long serpentine like tail wrapped around his body in a self soothing manner(just like his tail used to do) as webbed, clawed hands wrapped around himself. Shaking in fear as he bared his long, sharp fangs at his papa. Golden eyes(so so similar to his and his papas) with split pupils glaring at him with fear and terror. Warning him that if he got any closer he would bite.
The very thought made him excited. This was a good sign. It meant his boy had the drive to hurt. To kill if needed. He may be afraid now, but that was ok. He’d learn in time to embrace his real self eventually. Even come to enjoy it with time.
After all, he was a monster just like his papa.