Oneshots, etc.

The Mossheart's Promise AU

A/N: GUESS WHO'S NOT DEAD AGAIN!
It's me, that's who. :]
Anyway, this is based on a book called 'The Mossheart's Promise' - really good book by the way, highly recommend reading it if you get the chance. I've tried my best not to put in any spoilers for the story, as this is more of an 'Origins characters in that world' kind of oneshot than a 'let's stick Origins characters into this book's plotline' kind of oneshot.

For some necessary context, the book is about fairies who live in a terrarium, but don't know it, and their world (A.K.A. the terrarium) is rotting away and dying because terrariums really aren't meant to last that long. That's all I'm going to say about that - plus, it's literally in the book's blurb, so not technically a spoiler.

Warnings:
- Starvation/famine
- Amputation (does not happen on-screen, but is brought up repeatedly) specifically non-consensual amputation
- Is there a way to say 'the people in charge made amputation of specific limbs mandatory'? 'Cause there's that.
- Abelism (I think that's what it counts as? Not one hundred percent sure, but just to be safe.)
- Mold/mould. So much of it. (Usually I use the european spellings of words, but the book uses the american one, so mold it is)
- Implied child abandonment
- Also implied Being Eaten
- Implied child workers

There might be more. I don't know. If you spot any, please tell me, I'm not great at recognising what needs a warning and what doesn't.

Lucas frowned down at the small number of work tokens in his hand as he and David made their way to the market, joining the crowd of other fairies all lining up for rations of food, cloth and medicine beneath the wingless, round-eared statue of the Gardener that watched over the marketplace.

His wing stubs twinged in anxiety at the sight of so many fairies already there, right as the market opened - what if there were no rations left? What if they didn't have enough tokens for what they needed? What if, what if, what if-

The image of a small hand, reaching out to him weakly from beneath thin blankets, sprung into his mind's eye, and he took a deep breath, ignoring the nervous feeling bubbling in his gut. Ech was relying on them - both of them - and he and David refused to let their son feel the constant gnawing hunger pangs that had become an ever-present part of life for almost all fairies in Terra, with the exception of a select few such as the mayor. So long as the ragtag duo remained alive and capable, their child would be kept as safe as possible from any threat; whether that be hunger, the ever-spreading mold that took more and more lives each day, or the ongoing war against the newts and earwigs.

Lucas turned to his friend, determination settling on his face despite his hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. His voice left no room for argument as he spoke. "You've got more tokens - you go grab us some food. I'll go to the medicine stall."

"No worries, I'll check if they've got any beetroot for you. See you in a bit." David grinned, shooting Lucas a wink as he stepped forward to join the quickly-growing queue for this month's harvest.

"Don't forget mushrooms for Ech, if there are any left!" The shorter fairy called back as he entered the line for medicine, receiving a thumbs-up in response before David disappeared into the crowd. With his friend now gone and a flick of Lucas' pointed ears the only evidence of his exasperation, Lucas clutched his work tokens close to his chest, shuffling slowly forward as the line inched along.

The marketplace was eerily quiet in the dim light of Glowrise, despite the enormous amount of fairies all crowding together and forming long, winding lines that were rapidly stretching down nearby streets and out of sight.