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Inspiration from weirdshitshow and their Puppy Joel AU
If you do look them up, be 18+ and BE VERY MINDFUL. The AU has a lot of noncon, abuse, amputation of limbs, etc. So if you look it up, PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THAT. DO NOT LOOK IT UP IF THAT STUFF TRIGGERS YOU.
I was unsure if I should link them simply because of the dark themes they often talk about, however, credit deserves to be given no matter what (at least, imo), but I just, again, want to give a MASSIVE TW.
Trigger Warning: This story will have talks of past rape/noncon, past abuse, past torture, past nonconsensual body modifications, anxiety, depression, self harm, and possibly other things I am missing. If any of these things trigger you, please read a different story.
Xisumavoid: We have a new member joining Hermitcraft. If you want to meet him, come to the Shopping District, where the Hermit Permits were distributed. We'll only be here an hour so please be quick.
That was... very odd. It wasn't like Xisuma didn't invite new people to Hermitcraft, Joel and Skizz were their newest members! But to have someone just appear when so much has already happened? The Shopping District was booming, so many shops were built, and everyone's bases were growing drastically. Not to mention, Xisuma always asked everyone else for their opinions and input, and makes sure everyone is comfortable with the person joining. Sure, at the end of the day, Xisuma could invite anyone he wanted, but he never abused his power as an admin. Hell, if even one person expressed they didn't want the person to join, Xisuma wouldn't let them in.
But here he was, announcing a new member with no one even knowing or hearing some rumors or anything about a new member.
And for Xisuma to say they would only get an hour before he, presumably, took the person on a tour?
It was very out of character. It peaked everyone's interest, multiple people questioning what was going on, but all flying to the Shopping District. While flying, people talked, asking if they had any idea, if they knew, wondering what was going on, etc. People landed in front of the Hermit Permit stage, where Xisuma was kneeling in front of the new person, a blanket wrapped around their shoulders, an umbrella shielding them from the sun. Xisuma turned to the growing group, everyone curious, whispering and muttering, as the man counted.
"Oh, perfect!" Xisuma said after he finished counting, "Everyone's here! It'll make it easy, I won't have to repeat myself!" He then looked at the new person, gently cupping his cheeks, "Are you sure you're alright? You know you can say no. I won't get mad, you won't get in trouble. You're safe now." The voidborn cooed sweetly.
The new person nodded.
Xisuma hesitated but stood up, motioning to the man, "Uh, guys, this here is Solidarity. He's going to be joining Hermitcraft. I know this is sudden and very unusal, but..." He trailed off, everyone looking over the person.
The man had dirty blonde hair with dog ears that seemed pinned to his head, one ear having a chunk missing, as if someone ripped a part of it off. He head a dirty blonde tail that stayed between his legs, sitting stiffly in the chair. He wore nothing but a long white shirt that barely fell to his knees, as well as the blanket around his shoulders. His pale skin was decorated in bruises and cuts, bitemarks all over his neck, shoulders, arms, and legs. His nose had dried blood under it, that Xisuma definitely cleaned beforehand, and his right eye was swollen and bruised shut.
"I couldn't just..." Xisuma gently pet Solidarity's head, the dirty blonde not reacting.
"No, you made the right call." Cleo said, everyone either nodding or letting out small "yeahs" in agreement. The redhead stepped forward, kneeling beside the dirty blonde as she smiled, cooing, "Hi Solidarity. My name is Cleo. It's nice to meet you."
He looked at her, his eyes a sky blue color, but they looked dull and dead to the world.
"You poor thing, those marks look pretty painful. Can I help you?"
Solidarity blinked before he nodded slightly.
"He, um, can't speak." Xisuma shifted uncomfortably.
"That's okay." Cleo took out some golden apples, "Here, eat-"
"No, um, does anyone have healing potions on them?" Xisuma called.
Cub raised his hand and took some out of his bag as he stepped forward, "Here, drink-"
"Just pour it on him."
Everyone looked at him, Cub raising an eyebrow, "What? Xisuma, you know it will work better if he drinks it!"
"I-I know, but-" Xisuma looked at Solidarity, who looked at him. He then pet the dirty blonde again, "...Just trust me?"
Cub was hesitant, but did as he said. He knelt down, putting the dirty blonde's leg in his lap, gently pouring a couple drops on the bitemarks. Solidarity stiffened and let out a whine, looking up at Xisuma.
"It's okay, it's okay!" Xisuma cooed, petting behind his ears, "I know it stings, but it's okay!"
Solidarity relaxed into his hand, whimpering and whining as Cub continued to let little drops fall on his wounds. Eventually, all the bitemarks, scratches, and bruises were healed, but there were multiple scars on his body. He had a ton of little scars across his arms as well as circular burn scars all over his arms and legs.
"This one's going to hurt." Cub hesitated, looking at Xisuma, "...To heal his nose, he needs to drink it."
"I-I know, but... just not now."
Cub sighed and smiled kindly at the dirty blonde, "Can you close your eyes?"
Solidarity blinked before he did so. Cub hesitated once more before pouring a couple drops on his swollen eye. Solidarity cried out, whimpering and whining as he held his eye, Xisuma and Cleo cooing him. Cub cringed and stepped back a bit, not wanting to scare the dirty blonde as the healing potion did its thing. Solidarity whimpered, panting a bit and that's when Cub noticed.
His eyes widened, pupils turning a very light blue, almost white, his vex wings coming out as glowing blue crack-like scars came from his eyes.
"Cub!" Scar pushed forward, kneeling beside him, "Hey, buddy, what's wrong-"
"Xisuma, what happened to his mouth?"
Xisuma widened his eyes, looking at Cub.
Cub narrowed his eyes, "What happened?"
"What's going on?" Scar asked, looking at Cub, then Xisuma, then back to Cub.
"Cub, listen, you need to calm down-"
"'Calm down?!' After what I saw?! Who did that to him?!" His eyes glowed a bright blue, red scarring appearing around his eyes as his skin began to turn a blueish-grey, "I'll kill them, I swear-"
"Cub, calm down, you're going to scare Solidarity!" Cleo reprimanded, the dirty blonde staring at Cub, shaking a bit.
Xisuma covered the dirty blonde's eyes, looking at the Vex, "Listen, I know it's bad, but there's nothing we can do. I've already tried giving him a healing potion, I've even given him an enchanted apple, but because it happened years ago, there's nothing we can do-"
"So you expect me to just accept the fact someone cut his tongue out?!" Cub yelled before covering his mouth with a gasp, his vex traits being hidden as he widened his eyes.
The tension rose as everyone stared at Cub, letting the words sink in.
"What do you mean his tongue was cut out?" False voiced everyone's question and anger.
Xisuma took a deep breath.
"X, I'm sorry, I just-"
"No, it's fine Cub, it's better I tell everyone now rather than everyone finding out later." Xisuma looked down at the dirty blonde, Solidarity looking up at him, "Do you mind if I tell them a little? I won't say everything."
Solidarity simply leaned into hin, eyes fluttering.
Xisuma gently pet Solidarity's head, "Well, obviously, you guys could tell he wasn't with the best people, just from the marks you all could see. The people he was with were really abusive, manipulative, and overall a waste of space." He growled, "They saw Solidarity was a dog hybrid and, instead of treating him like the person he is, they treated him like a dog. Only, worse than a dog."
"So they cut his tongue out?!" Joel yelled.
"Dogs can't speak, there's no need for it. Their reasoning, of course."
"Why abuse him then?! Like, what was their goal?!" Pearl exclaimed.
Xisuma bit his bottom lip, "They... wanted him as a fight dog. But, you guys saw all the marks, Solidarity is not a fighter."
"So, then what?!" Tango questioned, "What was the point?!"
"That's... not something I'm going to share."
Solidarity looked up at Xisuma and stared. The voidborn knelt beside him, petting his head more. The dirty blonde's tail seemed to try to wag, but Solidarity dug his nails into his arm, stopping himself.
"Hey, no, no." Cleo cooed, stopping him, "Don't do that."
Cub offered the healing potion. Xisuma took it and gently prodded Solidarity to open his mouth. The dirty blonde did and everyone could see half his tongue had been cut out, making them all stiffen and furious. Xisuma helped the dirty blonde drink,the rest of the potion, Solidarity shaking his head and cringing at the taste. However, once his nose (and anything else they may have missed) was healed, his tail tried to wag.
He went to grab it to stop it.
Cleo gently caught his wrist and pet his tail. Solidarity widened his eyes, but she smiled, letting his tail go. When it continued wagging, he stiffened a bit, scared, his tail stopping in fear. However, Cleo once again pet his tail, making it wag. Xisuma did the same, petting his tail and watching it wag.
Solidarity blinked, taking turns in leaning into Cleo and then Xisuma, his stiff body relaxing, his tail wagging freely, his ears lowering from their stiff upright position.
"There we go, good boy." Xisuma cooed.
Solidarity let out a noise from the back of his throat, akin to a purr.
"So, what's going to happen to him?" Gem asked, everyone moving a bit closer, but far enough as to not crowd him.
"Well, we're going to keep him here." Xisuma explained, "Obviously, he has a lot of trauma, trust issues, triggers, etc, and all of us are going to do our best to help him get through this. I also want us all to show him we're not a threat. Even if all you do is buy him new clothes, I'd be happy with that. I want him to feel safe with all of us." He pet the dirty blonde, who hummed more, "I prefer we treat him like a person, but I don't know if that's possible."
"What do you mean? You think we're gonna be a jerk to him?"
"No, no, not at all. It's not you guys I'm worried about." He continued petting Solidarity, who seemed oblivious to the conversation, "He's been broken down, both physically and mentally, I think he truly believes he's just a dog. I don't know if trying to treat him like a person would hurt him or do him good..."
"Well, we can treat him as person and, maybe, he'll slowly come back to his senses? Like, maybe if we show him he's not just a dog, he'll believe it." Etho suggested.
Solidarity leaned into Xisuma and smiled slightly as the voidborn hugged him, "I'm not sure, but I hope so. Let's do our best, people."
Everyone agreed as Solidarity's tail continued to wag.