𝘔𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳

𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔?

"Light em' up!"

Alby yelled. The large pile sticks and leaves getting stabbed by multiple flamed poles. Boys cheered, watching it burn brightly.

The sun had gone down and it was time to celebrate having a new Greenie.

Some tapped sticks against pans and buckets, making music for the Glade. (Y/n) howled as he watched a houser do a flip trick, rising his glass of moonshine to the night.

After a couple of hours had past, (Y/n) and Gally were in the circle. Both without shirts. The small group that gathered were evenly cheering for one of the boys.

Gally wrapped his arms around (Y/n)'s neck, making the boy react by pushing them to the floor and suffocating Gally with his thighs. The two tapped off each other, pulling away to breath before fighting each other again.

Newt and Greenie watched from a log, facing away from everyone.

"Those two are still assholes," Greenie grumbled. His head turning away to play with his pants.

Newt fell quiet, staring at Greenie's face. "(Y/n) was looking out for you, he saved your life today. Trust me, the Maze is a dangerous place," He sipped out of his jar. Mind flashing back to the day he broke his ankle.

"We're trapped here... aren't we?"

The Second-in-command slowly nodded, eyes looking out into the Glade, "For the moment... but, see those guys? By the fire?"

Newt turned his torso to look over the log, pointing to a small group of boys. Most of them stood but one sat, eating his dinner of a wooden bowl.

"Those are the Runners. And that guy in the middle there, that's Minho. He's the Keeper of the Runners. Every morning when those doors open, they run the maze."

(Y/n) finally got pushed out of the circle, making his supports groan. The boy chuckled in defeat flipping off Gally. Gally raised his arms with a smirk. Though, (Y/n) did do his own damage.
Bruises that would heal in a day or two, dotted over his skin.

The boy left the builders and walked over to his housers. Jack, the youngest Blood Houser, passed him a bowl of pork. (Y/n) ruffled his hair causing Jack to scrunch up his face. (Y/n)'s eyes glazed over to the log, seeing that the two had moved.

He shrugged it off and joined a conversation. His knife was sheathed from his pocket and a small piece of wood started to get picked at.

"What animal are you choosing for Green Bean?" Winston sat on a tree stump next to him, watching the knife slide effortlessly across to peel.

"A cat. So I can say if he ever goes into the Maze, cause you know he will, 'curiosity killed the cat.'"

Winston laughed, making (Y/n) tilted his head down and smile, showing his humour. Since Winston and him practically worked in the same area of expertise, the two grew close. Brothers, they were.

(Y/n) remembered when the boy came up in the Box. He was younger. Same age as Minho, just a kid. The boy loved watching (Y/n) carve things, even tried to but most of his stuff looked like shapes then animals.

Winston was obsessed with caterpillars, always finding them in the woods to show (Y/n). So guess what animal he carved the boy?

It glistened in the fire light, dangling from a thin rope. (Y/n) made every single Glader a carved animal, didn't matter if they wanted it as a necklace or just a small statue. Once he gave it, they did whatever.

"And here we have (Y/n), Keeper of the Blood Housers."

"Blood Housers?"

(Y/n) tilted his head up, giving out an airy laugh. The wood piece getting put away with the knife. Jack spoke for Newt, "We bleed for the Glade."

His voice dramatic, the Keeper laughing as he ate some pork. (Y/n) placed his empty bowl on his seat, standing up. He towered over Newt and Greenie.

"We just chop up the meat. We do the bloody work while the Slicers care for the animals. We might as well be the same thing but that's a different story," (Y/n) smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. Glancing at Newt during the last sentence, who scratched his neck with a sheepish smile.

The two walked away and (Y/n) turned to talk to his workers. Greenie gazed behind his shoulder, watching the Keeper drink his moonshine.

"You guys look close."

Newt snapped his eyes at the newbie before shrugging it off. "Yeah... once you get his loyalty, it will never break. Sometimes, he does stupid things for the sake of others," Newt sighed.

The two walked back to the builders. Greenie blinked at Newt, feeling like he was very close to stepping over a personal line. His grey eyes travelled down to the necklace that Newt had.

"What, uh, animal is that?"

Greenie lifted his finger to point at the wood. Eyes flickering to boys walking by that they too had carved wood, all different.

"Elephant."

Newt spoke like it was something that came up every month. Cause it did. He would give the tour, boys would ask, Newt replied with one word.

"Where'd you get it?"

"(Y/n) carves them out for every new Greenie, gives them out when they remember their name. Usually, the animal is what he thinks of you, so better pray it's not an ant or something."

Newt chuckled, patting Greenie on the shoulder. He remembered when (Y/n) gave his. Back when he was bed ridden.

-

"It's an elephant."

The ridges looked harsh but were soft to the touch. Newt grazed his thumb over the small piece, a thin rope hanged from it. The two were sitting in the Med hut, eating dinner away from everyone.

Everyone was just seven boys back then, not fifty.

(Y/n) pulled out his own necklace. "Mine's an elephant too," it rested between his thumb and finger. The ridges were different, a different pattern.

"Why an elephant—"

"They protect each other. Just like you and me."

Newt stared at the boy who sat beside him. He couldn't be serious, right? But his eyes told everything that he needed to know.

(Y/n) would protect Newt from anything.