When the Dawn Breaks [TBAU]

☆ Chapter 4 ☆

TW: mentioned blood and injury
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Maybe Impulses' eyes were playing tricks on him. Maybe Bdubs wasn't who he thought he was.

Impulse still kept an eye on him as he talked with the other hermits. Well, it was more so the hermits talking to him than him actually talking. Currently a sheep hybrid and a butterfly hybrid were gaggling around him like teenage girls. The sheep was Zee- Zedaph something, and the butterfly, well Impulse was sure he must have misheard her name, because she introduced herself as Stress.

Eh, weird village, weird names.

But that wasn't what he was focused on right now. Because Impulse could've sworn he saw Bdubs point at him, and give him an odd look.

Come on Impulse, it'll be fine he thought to himself. The worst that could happen is that he tells everyone you're a horrible demon and they force you out of the town. Or hurt you, or worse...

Impulse sucked in a breath, feeling himself spiraling. He tried to swallow down his anxiety quickly, before he had a panic attack in public or something.

"Are you alright, luv?" Stress (if that really was her name) asked, clearly having noticed his anxiety. Oops. Well Impulse hadn't really tried to hide it anyways.

"Yeah, I'm okay! There's just a lot more people than I'm used to," Impulse sajd as a quick excuse. In his defense it was partially true. "It was great talking to you guys, but I might step outside real quick if that's alright."

"Yeah, that's just fine, we totally understand!" Zedaph shot him a smile. Impulse returned it and slipped away and around the crowd. Outside. Away from the others and away from Bdubs.

If he never let Bdubs see him, maybe he wouldn't realize who he was. But then again, maybe Impulse was panicking over nothing, and Bdubs wasn't the phantom hybrid from that day.

He stepped backwards, leaned against the wall. If Bdubs revealed him, it wasn't like they'd believe Impulse if he denied it. Why would they believe a stranger over one of their own? They wouldn't believe Impulse.

And of course luck couldn't be on his side today, because he hadn't even been outside for a minute when none other than Bdubs came storming out of the building.

He seemed upset, face contorted and cheeks flushed red. Impulse stayed silent. In retrospect, he probably should have run, booked it out of there. But he'd just hoped that Bdubs wouldn't see him.

Bdubs did see him.

But did Bdubs recognize him?

They held each other's gazes in a weird standoff. Bdubs eyes got somehow wider than they were before, and he took a step forward.

And then Bdubs spoke, voice an airy whisper. "It is you."

oooOh shit.

~ A little over one month ago ~

Impulse had another assignment.

Of course he did.

As if all he was dealing with in the nether wasn't enough already. The tyranny, the laws, all of it. At least he had Skizz. But if he wasn't careful, then his one source of hope would be taken away.

The assignment was labeled as an "easy" one. Impulse scoffed at the green marks on the stone tablet in his hands. No demon assignments were easy.

Okay, they were doable physically. Impulse just couldn't handle the morals of it all.

Because a demon assignment was an order to kill. To collect a specific soul and bring it to the superiors.