There was conflict in Harry's mind as he wandered the streets of the Disney District, no destination in mind as Misfit walked beside him.
'Should I tell Blacky I have his brother's heartless with us? Or do I lie?' Mismatched eyes closed with a groan as he tried to think of ways to tell Blacky the bad news, when he collied with someone.
A startled yelp escaped the boy before large hands came and caught him around the waist. "Are you alright? That could have been a nasty fall." Harry looked up at the speaker, and was met with a pair of curious electric blue eyes.
'Oh wow, I've never seen a toon like this before.' Indeed, the toon before him didn't quite look like anything he's seen either on paper or in real life.
"Hm? Is there something on my face?" The hands left him in order to poke around at the smooth skin. Harry merely shook his head, confused and slightly curious.
"What kind of toon are you?" The figure frowned at the words, head tilted to the side. "Toon? Ah you mean an animation." They shook their head with a laugh.
"I'm not a toon, I'm flesh and blood like you are." Harry digested their words, even more confused. "Like me? I thought I was the only human?"
"I never said I was human." The boy paused at that, mind whirling. The figure paid the younger no mind as they gently coxed a curious Misfit to them.
"If you're not human, then what are?" Harry had a sinking feeling in his gut as he watched the figure pick up the smaller heartless.
"Me? I'm a monster. You might now me as Fenrir."
Several miles away, Blacky sneezed loudly, scattering all the piles of papers.
"Nooo! My paperwork!" He wailed, before scrambling to gather as much as he could before the door opened and a gust of wind blew the rest out of the window.
Blacky froze, before slowly turning to a sheepish Cedric and growling. Without a word, the toon leapt up from the floor and chased the boy out of the room and into the common room, yelling all the while.
Harry couldn't breath. His mind was reeling, hands shaking and shoulders tense. Fenrir seemed not to notice the inner turmoil he had put the younger in, instead focusing on Misfit.
"You know, I didn't quite believe there would be a heartless wandering around outside the districts, you must be one special kid." He hummed, turning his gaze to the boy and flashing him a toothy grin.
"Heartless don't wander to far from Kingdom hearts?" Harry couldn't help but ask, his curiosity out weighing his fear. Fenrir shook his head, letting Misfit crawl onto his shoulder.
"Many toons back in my day barely left their own worlds, Heartless had no purpose to wander unless they were forced to." He scratched under the toon's chin, grinning when he began to purr. "Although, it's odd to see such a young kid running around the districts, especially with the lockdowns." Harry scratched his head sheepishly.
"I didn't know about the lockdowns until I got here." Fenrir only huffed in amusement before a though entered his mind. "Want some company? Unless you prefer to be alone?" He asked, and Harry was at a lost on what to say.
'Should I let him tag along, or should I tell him off?' The war in his mind raged on, until Misfit cooed at him. The small heartless was laid out on the elder's shoulder, body relaxed and eyes pleading for them to stick together. Harry cursed his weakness to puppy eyes, and reluctantly agreed.
"I guess you can tag along, although we're just gonna be visiting Merlin." Fenrir hummed once more as he walked beside the smaller.
"Sounds like fun, I haven't seen the old man in centuries."
"He hasn't changed much, still an odd man."
"All great wizards are, from what I can remember." Fenrir scratched his head in thought before shrugging. The two walked in silence, Harry stewing in his thoughts and Fenrir petting Misfit.
Soon the odd trio approached the center square where Merlin lived, Harry beyond nervous at the events that will unfold. Seeing his companion halt, Fenrir tilted his head curiously before going ahead himself and knocking on the door.
"Wonder if old Merlin remembers me?" He muttered before the door swung open and a wizened old face appeared. Merlin took one look at the male, and blinked.
"Max? Is that you?" Fenrir shook his head with a laugh.
"No, it's me Fenrir." Merlin swirled the name in his mind before he nodded.
"Ah Fenrir, you've grown since the last time I saw you. Have you been eating well?" The old man threw out question after question, each one turning Harry's head.
'Why isn't Merlin fighting him? Isn't he the bad guy?' He couldn't understand what he was seeing. Merlin heaved a breath as he reached over and ruffled the younger's hair, eyes twinkling.
"Both you and Max were quite a handful huh? Why, he even took on a pupil." Fenrir's eyes widened at that.
"He did? I thought that old hare was never gonna get out of that hellish place. Lucky break huh? Who's the lucky artist?' Merlin grinned down at Harry, who blinked.
"Young Harry here had the honor of bringing him back to the world of the living." He answered, drawing Fenrir's eyes to the smaller male.
"You did? I'm surprised you can put up with him, he was such a stickler for rules and such when we were younger. Damn prude." Fenrir huffed fondly.
Harry only shrugged. "He helped me out of a very odd situation, honestly he was the best thing to happen to me." He answered truthfully.
Fenrir grinned at that." Yeah, Max was always the most helpful of the two of us." Merlin coughed to regain attention. "Since you're here Fenrir, I was wondering if you could help me with something? It involves your knowledge of Darkness." The male nodded, interested. "Something involving my kind of power? Sounds awesome. Will I see you around Harry? I liked your company." The young pre-teen gave the question thought.
'If Merlin doesn't think he's a threat then maybe? But there's an alert out for him. Argh! This is so hard.'
"We'll see, but for now I need to check in with the others." Harry answered, collecting Misfit from the man. Fenrir nodded, accepting the answer.
"Alright, and if you see Max anywhere, tell him I miss him."
"Will do."
I live! story is not dead it's just when i get inspired to write.