[SIDESTORY] Morbit Oneshots

[ThreadLurkingComorant]

Sabbath - 2021
Comorant, Masa con Papas
CW: Implied physical and emotional abuse.
Erica finds a Rabbit in the Storage Room.

---

 

You're Erica Judgment, gunslinger knight extraordinaire...

 

At least you were, these days you consider yourself mostly retired. 

 

Admittedly it's in a bit of a loose sense of the word but you sure don't travel the world hunting abominations like you used to.

 

These days you've taken over the family duty of watching over the Judgment house, something you know you got down more than any of your relatives.

 

Part of that, of course, is keeping inventory and taking care of the old family storage room, a massive armory of tools, loot, and archived information saved for future generations.

 

For the most part it's been standard routine, a few things are out of place but you figure your grandkids must've shuffled things around at some point...

 

At least you figured in the moment.

 

You hear a fumbling in the corner. 

 

Erica: Charon! Geezer! You there?

 

There's an immediate whimper, one that's vaguely familiar but not one you recognize as either of your grandkids.

 

You hear the sounds of someone trying to get back onto their feet and failing miserably. You creep around the corner quietly, you can make out the top of the head from behind a counter.

 

You manage to get close enough that if they tried to book it you'd pin them easily. 

 

Erica: You stay there, got no idea how you managed to break in here but if you don't wanna make things hard for yourself you'll keep calm while I escort you out. 

 

You see their ears perk up slightly, vaguely rabbity. 

 

???: ...Mom?

 

Their tone immediately hits you in a hard way.

 

Erica: ...Bucket?

 

You immediately scramble over to get a proper look at them, a metal rabbit on the ground shaking.

 

???: Sorry for making a mess, I've been locked in here for a long time... couldn't figure a way out.

 

You shake your head and offer a hand to them immediately.

 

Erica: No worries, lets get you out of here kiddo.

 

???: Kiddo?

 

Erica: What, you don't like that?

 

???: I dunno.. feel too old to be called something like that. 

 

Erica: Fair, sorry about that. Kind of a old habit.

 

???: It's fine...

 

They grab onto your hand, you help pull them up. They're wobbly.

 

Erica: You doing okay there?

 

???: Trying my best, starving honestly....

 

Erica: Yeah? Hungry?

 

???: Yeah...

 

Erica: Lets see what we have in the fridge then...

 

The two of you quickly scoot to the kitchen, you can worry about cleaning up the storage room later. The mystery rabbit sits down in the middle of the kitchen, fussing about with the table cloth to pass the time. 

 

You take a look inside the fridge.

 

Erica: You up for pie?

 

???: Sure, what kind?

 

Erica: Some recipes from overseas my grandsons took a crack at, they're out right now but you'll get to meet them soon. Very fruity, ¿querés?

 

???: Yes please! If it's okay...

 

Erica: It's nothing, don't sweat.

 

You take the pie to the kitchen counter and start getting a slice ready.

 

Erica: You want a big slice or a small one?

 

You hear a shy muttering you can't make out.

 

Erica: Can't hear you, gotta speak up!

 

???: Big please... 

 

You cut the slice and served it to them with a plate and fork.

 

Erica: There you go kiddo, just for you.

 

They took a big bite with zero hesitation. The poor thing clearly wasn't lying about being in there for a while if they were that hungry.

 

Erica: You like that?

 

They look at you with a mouthful, unable to speak fully.

 

???: Mmm!

 

Erica: So tell me about yourself a little yeah? Not often I find a stranger in my own home.

 

They pause for a moment. 

 

???: Stranger? I mean... I guess so... I don't feel like one.

 

Erica: Guess you did just call me mom like it was nothing. 

 

???: I mean... it feels right in my head. That's probably weird though.

 

Erica: Doesn't bother me as much as you'd think, you got a name?

 

???: Don't think so. Don't remember all that much outside of this house and the woods around.

 

Erica: No family or anything?

 

???: I mean... I remember you pretty well, and I remember there being someone else. You're a lot older though... I feel like I missed out on a lot. 

 

You go quiet for a bit, they didn't look any older than your grandkids so there's no way they could have possibly been around that long right?

 

You might've heard a story about something like this but...

 

You'd need to fish around to confirm.

 

???: Is everything okay?

 

Erica: Just thinking, sorry about that. Who's the other person?

 

???: My partner! You'd know them, dog just like you, really strong too. Long hair, dyed it pretty often. 

 

Erica: Bucket..?

 

???: Mmhmm! We trained together for years, two of us had been through a lot... stuff got weird though. You two started arguing a lot.. hated that a ton.

 

Erica: Yeah... I'm sorry about that.

 

???: Still really hurts, honestly? Just started thinking about running away, felt like you just couldn't really get me no matter how much I tried to talk to you.

 

Erica: ....

 

???: Didn't see as much of you after that. Two of us started training with Ali instead.. really pushed us to the brink once we really got more committed to the idea.

 

???: Think we ended up crying a lot after our sessions. 

 

???: Then one day Ali wanted to test us. Pulled out the biggest hunk of metal we'd ever seen. Worst fuck up we've ever done-

 

They stopped themselves.

 

???: Sorry, didn't mean to swear like that in front of you...

 

Erica: It's fine, keep going. 

 

???: She was swinging so big and hard she could hit us from across the clearing, kept really putting the pressure on us. Scared she'd straight up kill us. Did my best to block it, really did but I couldn't take it...

 

Erica: You tried clashing with her?

 

???: All we could do in the moment, chunked us both super hard for that. They barely made it out with their life, if it wasn't for whatever magic she had they would've survived. Told us to keep it a secret if they wanted to still train the "real way"... guess they never told you. Wasn't as lucky myself though...

 

Erica: What'd you mean?

 

???: They couldn't fix me without a complete reforging of the blade. Shelved me in the storage room for a bit, never came back for me though. Guess I can't blame them though, did an awful job in the end...

 

Their tone goes incredibly somber. 

 

You place your hand on their head. 

 

Erica: Bucket's got a lot going on these days, it's been hard for them to come back.

 

???: Are they okay?

 

Erica: Hard to say honestly kiddo.... guessing with all you've said though you don't have anywhere to go huh?

 

They shake their head.

 

???: Not really no, got no clue where to start either.

 

Erica: Well worst case scenario, you can stick around here. We got rooms to spare and I wouldn't mind extra company. Grandkids are always busy during the day so it helps.

 

???: You wouldn't mind that?

 

Erica: Nah. We need a name for you though. 

 

???: Need to think on that one..

 

Erica: First thing your gut feels good about.

 

???: I mean... there's Sabbath. They were considering it but thought it was too much...

 

Erica: Honestly it has a nice ring to it, how do you feel about it? 

 

???: It's kind of nice...

 

Erica: Then we'll go with that for now. Sound good?

 

Sabbath: Mm.. 

 

Sabbath goes quiet, focused on finishing their slice of pie and scraping at the leftover crust and cream stuck on the plate for a good while.

 

Erica: You need another slice?

 

Sabbath: Mm....

 

Erica: Use your words, kiddo.

 

Sabbath: Yes, please. 

 

You grabbed their plate and went back to the counter to serve them another slice.

 

Erica: Gotta make sure to tell Geezer and Charon how much you liked it when they get back. Gonna have to introduce ya'll to each other, especially if you decide to stick around.

 

Sabbath: Of course. You're sure it's okay? 

 

Erica: Yeah, treat this place as your own home.