Okay so like... I can’t find this in my archive? I drew it early last month and it looks like it never made its way here :I
(Sorry if I already posted this, I legit can’t find it in my archive)
Mini's mouth twitched as she trundled through the forest.
She'd ONLY just BARELY managed to evade her caretakers.
The dappled lights of the forest flickered around her, making it seem brighter and happier than its inhabitants would belie.
But as long as she didn't go too far away from the Gate and camp, she could avoid the bigger Digis that would want to eat her or tear her leg off.
Well. Probably.
Sometimes a particularly determined or angry digimon would try and get through the Gate, which usually either led to their death or the death of a few Minumarmon.
Those days always sucked.
Mini continued to weave and bob between fallen trees, stumps, and impressively large oak trees until she came to her special spot: The Leave-and-Take tree.
That's what Mini called it anyway.
She wasn't sure of what it was called, but the massive hollowed out birch had a tiny, brassy plaque on it that said “Take one to enjoy, but be sure to leave one to bring others joy"
It was full to the brim with hundreds of books; Some old and worn, with yellowed, crinkly pages, and others new, with crisp white square pages.
Mini loved the way the place smelled; The earthy smell from the ground, mixing with the parchment smell, and the leaves... It was a perfect secret spot to spend an afternoon.
She loved all the books, even the ones with very long words she couldn't understand (sometimes, she'd ask her caretakers what a word meant; she's always act like she'd overheard someone else saying it and wanted to know what it meant)
While she spent hours at the tree, she never took them away, which meant she was still following the rules, right? Someday, she would bring a new book to the tree, in return for all the hours it had let her spend there.
The sun had drifted lower in the sky over the last few hours, making the light slowly go from pale yellow to deep gold.
Mini was determined to finish her book before going home; She'd started it last week, and was so close to figured out who had killed the “humon” in the story.
She still wasn't certain on what a “humon” was, but at this point she just assumed they looked like hairy floramons.
She started flipping a page, stopping as she heard a stick snap in the distance.
Shoot – was one of the Minumarmons coming to look for her?
She stifled a gasp as it occurred to her that might mean for her; They wouldn't let her come back here – heck, they might not let her out of their sights until she was an adult!
Mini gently closed the book in her paws, shuffling back along the branch carefully as to not snap any twigs off.
She held her breath, rapidly darting her head around in the hopes of spotting the offending twig snapper.
It wasn't a Minumarmon, that was obvious now.
It was big, and a pale cream, with a gold tail and lots of horns on its neck, and a single, spiraling horn on its head.
It stopped, sniffed the ground, and sat down as something on it's back shifted around.
Another digimon, most likely.
It only took a moment for the other digimon to show its head, squeaking loudly as it ran up the larger digimon's head.
It didn't look to be the same species.
Well. she assumed it wasn't the same species.
Some digimon lines weren't exactly.... easy to decipher.
Mini scooted back again, only to yelp as she moved too far to the side.
She sucked in a breath, clamping a paw over her mouth as the digimon raised its head.
It barked – er. Quietly shouted? - something that sounded like “Lu”, and the Digimon on its head rushed back to the safety of its neck.
Mini watched with baited breath as it looked around, only to let out a quiet whine as she realized she was slipping.
Shoot.
Mini pulled the paw away from her muzzle, desperately scrabbling against the smooth bark trying to find a purchase.
It didn't work.
She teetered on the edge of the branch for a second, going crash-bang to the ground the next.
Mini sat, stunned for a second, before squealing as a cold, hard claw nudged her side.
They had moved so fast!
“you good?”
A low, grumbling voice asked, whiskers tickling the side of her head.
“YEAH! ARE YOU OKAY??”
A second voice shouted, somehow louder than the first.
Mini cracked open an eye, expecting to see a cavernous maw of teeth and death.
The face she saw, while big, and with big teeth, seemed more friendly and worried than about to eat her.
"You're not dead, so I'm just gonna assume you're alright."
It said, nudging her.
Mini sat, trembling as the digimon continued to stare at her.
“So.... Where are your caretakers? Around here somewhere, I guess?”
Mini stared up with woeful eyes, hunkering down further into the dirt.
Oh. He was just going to take her back to her caretakers. And then they'd know where she'd been and this was it. No more tree. No more books til she grew older and split from the group – if she ever did.
“Look kid, I don't wanna hurt you, I just wanna make sure you don't get hurt. There's guys out here who'll eat you.”
“YEAH! THERE'S A BIG MEAN OL' GAZIMON OUT HERE WHO KEEPS TRYING TO EAT ME AND HE'LL EAT YOU TOO!”
Mini jolted as a small digimon all but leapt off of the big ones back, turning dizzying circles as it yelled.
"....what?”
Mini responded, tilting her head.
“THERE'S-”
“Lu. Outdoor voice.”
“Aaaaaaaaa ok papa”
The smaller one trailed off, kneading the fur in between spikes.
“There's digimon who could kill you, kiddo. Where's your caretakers?”
“Uhm.”
She could lie, and say they were nearby, or be honest.
If she lied, he'd likely make her sit there til someone showed up, and someone would eventually show up to find her. Which would mean no more tree.
If she was honest, he'd likely escort her back to her family – which would also mean no more tree.
There was a third option, she realized. She could run.
But one glance at the massive digimon in front of her quashed that.
Honesty it was.
"Lu. Off."
The white digimon said before yawning, mouth stretching wider than Mini's head was big.
He grunted, scratching behind a spike as “Lu” jumped off.
“HI!!!!”
The small yellow digimon squealed, getting right up in Mini's face.
Mini started, jerking her head back to avoid getting smacked in the muzzle.
“Uhm. They're back at the Gate...”
Mini mumbled, fully anticipating a scolding.
It wasn't horribly far, but it was still far enough that if she yelled no one there would hear her.
“that's awfully far for someone your age. Do they know you're here?”
“..no.”
Mini mumbled even quieter, huffing a sigh at the end.
“Ah. Sneaking out, hm? Do you want someone to walk you back, if you're done?”
Mini tilted her head.
This was not the reaction she had been expecting.
A scolding, a few harsh words, and maybe a nip on the scruff before being marched back to Miestro.
“Uh. No, thank you. I know the way back pretty well..”
She stood up, eyes on the ground as she shook herself off.
“Alright. Holler if you need someone. It's Sear, by the way.”
He added the last part after a pause, like an afterthought.
“Lucy.”
Sear called, letting out a gruff laugh as the tiny digimon sped over to him, tail a blur as she jumped up on Sear's back.
“I won't bite if you come back. Feel free to sneak out again, just let me know you're here.”
And with that, he turned around and lumbered off into the forest, Lucy running back and forth on his back quickly.
That.... Went far better than anticipated.
She shook herself off, and picked up the book that had fallen from the tree.
She dusted it off, and tucked it back into its hole in the tree.
With another quiet sigh, she hurried off into the underbrush, hoping to get back before the sun went down – or before Miestro noticed.
