Chapter Text
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The Oasis is a small town near the center of the desert outside Capitol City.
It's name comes from the odd scenery in the village, being lush and green despite the dry, hot weather surrounding it. This is largely thanks to the massive lake at its front, and the large rocky hills at its back protecting it from most of the harsh weather. Its villagers are a mixture of different mobians who prefer rural living over the bustling city on the other side of the desert. As its population continues growing, G.U.N has started stationing agents within its borders to protect from the constant threat of the surrounding wildlife, as well as the dangerous mercenary group that resides somewhere nearby.
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It was the witching hour, a few minutes past midnight. The only light in the small basement workshop came from a small, dim, desk lamp that flickered every so often. Soft clicks could be heard, along with the occasional ringing of metal as tools were haphazardly thrown back onto the table. Two wolves, a father and son, worked diligently on a small gadget and talked in hushed whispers. The elder wolf did most of the work, his young son was bright for sure but something this complicated was far beyond the grasp of his knowledge. Or was it?
The elder wolf had been frustrated with this contraption for quite some time, and the pair spent many nights down in his workshop trying to figure out the best way to make it work. They had yet to be successful, but tonight his son had suggested to add something to it. His father’s hands were too large for the delicate circuitry that was required to make it work, and tools could only offer so much – yet his son had been able to do the work with ease.
As the small wolf put the finishing touches on their device, his father stared down at him with a proud smile on his face. He was truly astounded by the solutions his son had been able to come up with, developing an intuitive mind at such a young age. The boy was gifted, for sure, and would likely grow up to be an inventor just like his father.
His father patted him on the head, ruffling up his short red fur with a hearty chuckle. “Looks like this might be it Gadget! I think you’ve cracked it!” The younger wolf looked up at his father, device clutched delicately in his hands, beaming with a toothy grin. “You really think so, should we try it?”
He was given a nod in response as his father took a few steps back. “I don’t see why not, just be careful not to-“ A whizzing sound followed by a loud BANG cut his sentence short. Both wolves stumbled back, as papers and various tools and equipment was knocked off the now overturned desk.
Gadget had landed flat on his butt, his fur puffed up from being startled by such a sudden, loud noise. He looked over to his father, wide and stunned eyes giving him a silent apology. At the same time, he reached down and clicked a button on the device without looking away from his dad. The slow zipping noise of the wire retracting back into its coil was all that could be heard for a moment while the wolves stared at each other.
“Well, at least we know it works.” The elder said, breaking the silence. His son said nothing, giving a silent nod and looking down at the device, and then at the mess he’d made. He heard a snort, and when he looked back to the elder wolf he was cracking the same toothy grin Gadget had worn moments prior.
The small wolf mirrored his father smile, and after a moment the two started to laugh. It was a comical scene - them both on the floor with puffy for and mussed clothing – surrounded by months’ worth of work scattered because of such a tiny little gadget.
“Im proud of you son, once we tweak that trigger, we should have a working prototype! Unless of course, we want to sell it to use for redecorating.” Gadget chuckled, getting up and brushing himself off. He set their invention down on one of the counters against the wall for the time being. “I dunno dad, I’m pretty sure that stirred up a couple years’ worth of dust. This place needed a good redecorating!”
As the elder finally got himself off the floor, a muffled cry could be heard from upstairs. He sighed, walking over to his son and handing him the broom he’d grabbed off the wall. “Looks like your brother isn’t as amused as we are.” Gadget took the broom, looking around one more time with a mysterious glint in his eye.
“Do you mind tidying up a bit while I go calm him down? If your mother comes home and finds this place a mess, and him awake she is going to ground us both.” His son nodded, already turning and beginning to pluck various items from where they’d landed and fill his arms with them. His father walked over to the stairs, climbing up out of the basement while his son worked vigorously to tidy the clutter.
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Thirty minutes of humming and rocking later, and the small wolf pup had finally calmed down. The racket downstairs must’ve really scared him, because when the elder wolf came upstairs to his crib, he could’ve sworn the poor kid was going to make him deaf with the sheer volume of his wails. Fat tears rolled down his rosy cheeks as the child continued to sniffle and cling for dear life to his exhausted father. He decided it’d be best to take Gears downstairs while they finished cleaning up, lest another loud noise scare him, and they not be there to comfort him fast enough.
As he made his way back down to his workshop, he let the pup hang onto his large thumb. He seemed to calm down as soon as he got ahold of it, squishing the pad with his tiny little hands and going wide-eyed with delight. Kids were so easily amused, or at least most kids were. Gears was, but Gadget hadn’t been like this as a child. He was always quiet, didn’t even cry when he was born. He was so quiet in fact, that it worried his father, but after many assurances and examinations from his wife proving there was absolutely nothing wrong with him, he realized his eldest son was just different.
Gears had, at some point, started trying to nibble his father’s finger. He was still too small to do anything too painful, but at just the right angle – “OUCH!” His sharp little canine had managed to poke him just enough to hurt. “You’re gonna be a biter, huh buddy?” The elder wolf chuckled, pulling his finger away to lightly poke his son’s nose and readjust the light blueish-green blanket he was wrapped in. As if to say ‘yes’ the pup reached out and pulled his father’s finger back down to chew on some more, making his father smile down at him.
He was so distracted by Gears; he hasn’t even noticed the condition of his workshop until he looked up. Not a single piece of clutter…anywhere, the bookshelves were organized, the tool bench sorted, and the surfaces dusted. He gawked for a minute; he couldn’t remember the last time this place had been so clean. Yes, his eldest son was definitely different, what other kid would voluntarily clean that thoroughly without being told to? He looked around, finding his son sitting in the office chair that was much too big for him. He was huddled up against the back, feet swinging happily over the edge of the chair with his nose in a book.
“I guess that thing really was good for remodeling, eh Gadget?” His father beamed, running one hand over the now dust-free table as he walked over to join his son. “Oh, sorry dad! I just thought that, since you’ve been letting me help you more it might be easier to work if it were…uh…” The boy looked away, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile on his face. “Clean?” The elder wolf said with a slight smirk. “Its ok son, I appreciate it. You know I’m no good at staying organized.” He said, letting out a hearty laugh and using his free arm to pat Gadget’s head.
Seeing how hard Gadget worked in just thirty minutes, along with the engineering book he was poring over, his father realized that perhaps he was putting too much pressure on him. Of course, he was so proud his son was so responsible, and intelligent at such a young age…but the elder wolf couldn’t help but feel like he was robbing him of the normal moments that should be experienced as a child. He looked down at Gears and decided to do something normal with both the boys before they headed off to bed. “Let’s read a book together, kiddo.”
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It was almost 2AM now, and Steth was finally making her way home from her very long, very stressful shift at the hospital. Her strides were quick, and her eyes were kept peeled as she walked through the dark empty streets of their small town. Only a few stragglers were outside at this time of night, mostly the nocturnal mobians that preferred the light of the moon over daylight. Speaking of nocturnal mobians, she could hear the distant, shrill howls of a notorious group of mercenary jackals that supposedly lived in the desert just beyond the town borders.
It was never confirmed that they were even out there, other than the howling at all hours of the night, but the increase in cases where someone had been attacked and robbed just outside of town recently had given her enough a hint to assume that they were. Nothing could be done about these thugs either, seeing as how there was no real police force around here, and even if there were the sands were much too treacherous to go out searching for wherever their headquarters was.
That being the case, her nerves were on end every time she walked home alone at night. She just hoped they weren’t bold enough to make their way into town, which seemed to be the case for now. From what she’d heard, these mercenaries were very cautious in their approach, and one of them would stick out like a sore thumb around here.
The she-wolf finally spotted their house, quickening her pace just a bit. She knew it was late, but she was still excited to poke her nose in to see her son Gadget, and her newborn Gears sleeping faces. It was hard, going back to work after having a child. For those few months she was on leave she did nothing but hold him and spend time with her family. Now she was back to grueling 24-hour shifts and a constant need to get more sleep. She couldn’t wait to crawl into bed next to her husband and sleep off all the aches and pains from a long day.
Walking through the door, only one sound was heard echoing through the otherwise silent home. It was a sound she was quite used to, and though most other people might find it grating – after being a partner to someone for so long it became almost soothing. She followed the source of the noise down to her husband’s workshop, being sure to avoid floorboards she knew creaked, or bumping into objects so she didn’t wake anyone.
The sight she was greeted with at the bottom of the stairs warmed her heart, and she smiled placing a hand on her cheek and pulling out her phone to take a quick snapshot. On the chair, huddled up with both children sleeping comfortably on his lap, was her husband, fast asleep. She was surprised that both the kids could sleep through his obscenely loud snores, but they seemed to be just as accustomed to it as she was.
She walked over to the sleeping trio, looking down to see a children’s book resting in Gadget’s open palms. They must’ve fallen asleep while reading it. She reached out, taking the book gently from her eldest son’s hands so she could place it back on the shelf. Apparently, she hadn’t been quite as quiet as she thought, because she heard stirring behind her as she placed it back where it belonged.
She turned to see her husband slowly sitting up, giving her a nervous smile. “Sorry dear, didn’t mean to wake you.” She whispered, making her way back over to him and holding out her arms to take Gears. Gadget stirred next, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes and looking up at his mother. “Is it morning already?” He groaned, covering his mouth to muffle a yawn. “No sweetie, but we should get you two to bed now.” Steth replied, her youngest son now nestled against her chest, still sleeping soundly.
Gadget didn’t seem to have enough energy to stay awake, after hearing his mother his head lulled back down against his father and he drifted off to sleep once again. Their parents carried them both back up the stairs and to their respective rooms, tucking them in and exiting the rooms quietly before meeting in the shadowy hallway.
“I’m glad to see you getting along with the boys so well while I’m at work, Gizmo.” She said, leaning forward to plant a peck on his cheek while they padded their way to their bedroom. He nodded silently, opening the door for her and following after. Once the pair were settled into bed he spoke. “Our eldest is really something Steth, he managed to crack that darn problem I’ve been having on the grappling wire.” She gasped lightly, smiling with pride and turning to face him. “That’s wonderful dear, he’s turning out to be our little inventor just like you.”
With a nod, and a peck to her lips he finally laid his head down to sleep; she followed shortly after and the couple drifted off to sleep. Or at least Gizmo did, she stayed awake awhile longer, listening to the eerie howls outside and worrying about the future.
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