Chapter Text
4c would barely talk about his life before Pity. Although, ‘barely’ was a stretch in itself. 4c grew up in Pity. Even as a young child he knew his sole purpose was to be a farmer. He was good at it too. He cared for crops and animals like no tomorrow. No one really asked for his backstory and honestly it wasn’t that thrilling, so he didn’t mind.
One thing he had never told anyone was his full name. “My name is 4c. You’ll never really know my full name, but you’ll likely see it everywhere you leave.” It was something he used to say whenever he introduced himself. He loved how much it confused people, especially the Martyn fellow. That guy had bad news written all over him. 4c preferred to stay far away from trouble. But sometimes, trouble found him. And whether he welcomed it or not was not up to him.
“C’mon, 4c! It’ll be fun.” At least that’s what Cherie thought. Her and Apo had insisted on going mining for gold rather than fishing for it. Then, as a joke, they left 4c by himself on a rock formation and left. “This is not my idea of ‘fun’.” 4c pouted. There was no getting down and there was no way of jumping across. So, 4c made himself comfortable and waiting until the two decided the joke was over.
That was four hours ago…
4c found himself passing the time by counting every pebble on the cave ceiling. It was starting to get stuffy down here. It triggered a memory of when he was a boy. He was messing around with his father’s luggage and got himself trapped in one of the suitcases. He hollered for hours till his father found him and scolded him for messing with things that weren’t his.
4c was bored out of his mind till the sound of footsteps came through. It was about time those two had decided to come back. The lack of fresh air was messing with 4c’s head. “Hello?” A woman’s voice called. “O’er ‘ere.” He mumbled back.
“My, my. What’re you doing over there?”
4c sighed. He didn’t have the voice for this conversation anymore.
“Plea’, help.” Was all he could call out from the fog in his mind before he finally passed out.
When he woke up, it was to the feeling of fresh air in his lungs and the sound of a crackling fire.
“Bunny, he’s coming to.” A hand was on his forehead, he registered. He could hardly think past the fog in his mind, but he could at least tell he wasn’t in the cave anymore. “Take it easy, sugar.” He slowly sat up, a hand on his back.
“What were you doing in the mines, boy?” A man’s voice spoke a bit harshly. It reminded him of his father’s tone.
“Sorry, sir.” His eyes dropped, but he didn’t feel tired. Someone raised a cup to his lips, probably realizing the hoarse in his speech.
“There will be none of that, Bunny.” Missy. That’s who the voice belonged to. “Can’t you tell the poor child has been through enough?”
“I’m not a child.”
“How old are you, son?” Bunny’s stare was cold when 4c looked up. 4c suddenly felt small under such a stare. “18, sir. I’ll be 19 in 3 months.” He hesitated.
“18?” Missy sounded shocked. “Didn’t you say you ran a farm?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
4c was a bit confused. It wasn’t that hard to believe he could run a farm by himself before the storm took it away. He was raised on that farm. He knew everything about farming.
“That’s some talent, boy.”
“4c.”
“You must have hit your head, sugar.” Missy’s hand was back on his forehead, not leaving even as he shook it.
“No, ma’am. That’s my name. 4c. Fortune Vit.” 4c’s mouth seemed to have moved faster than his brain could register. He just gave them his full name without even thinking. His eyes widened as his brain caught up with him. “Please, don’t tell anyone that. Just 4c, please.”
“Fortune Vit…” Bunny mumbled. Missy looking at her husband confused. “You best get home, 4c. Drink lots of water as well.”
4c took no time in standing up, but the heaviness of no fresh air for a few hours had made his mind into jelly. “You best stay here.” 4c wanted to deny her request, but it seemed his body had other ideas. “You stay here in the tent. You stay and I don’t wanna hear any fussin’.” 4c only had the strength the nod slightly. The last thing he registered was the feeling of fingers in his dusty hair, drifting him off to sleep.
…
“Missy..” Bunny spoke softly. He watched as the boy had drifted into a soft slumber under the care of his wife. She had always had a soft spot for kids. Seems that desire had followed her to Pity. “We can care for him, Bunny.” She responded softly.
“You always said you wanted to be more friendly.”
“Friendly to you, Missy. Not a boy who we helped just this once.”
“He was on the brink of tilting to the edge-“
“He would have been fine.”
“-he needs caring for, Bunny.” She looked to him with pleading eyes. Despite his name, Missy took on more of a soft “bunny” characteristic in her eyes than he had. “He lost his home in that storm. He just a kid.”
And oh, did those bunny eyes burn right through his stiff heart. How could he say no to such an angel as Missy? The kindest of hearts he had ever met in any of his travels. “We can’t take him with us when we leave Pity….” His words carried on with a subtle softness. “But –“ Missy’s eyes widened, “We can care for him while we’re here… if he wants it.” The joy in those bunny eyes had lightened up a thousand fireflies in his heart. He watched as all of Missy’s attention went to caring for the boy, but once she turned away his eyes shifted slightly. Fortune Vit…
“I’ll be back Missy. You keep an eye on the boy, yeah?” Bunny didn’t wait for a response from his love. He mounted Temper faster than he ever had. He needed to think. “Where have I heard that name?” He mumbled to the wind, leaving the words in his mouth as his voice lost it in the dust trailing behind his horse. It was a few minutes and Bunny was well enough away from his camp when his horse came to a screeching halt.
“Vit..” He mumbled aloud. “Oh my days..”