The Raccoon and His Boy - A Varian x Reader story

XXV

You felt your face pale at her words, but Rapunzel took your hand and squeezed it to get your attention while Claude prepared the sterilizer. "Talk to me," she said, scooting a little closer. "It'll keep you distracted."

You inhaled deeply and nodded, feeling your shoulder tense as Claude leaned in closer. "So, w-who was that back there? The thief?"

Rapunzel sighed, twirling a chunk of her brown hair around her finger. "Clementine. She belongs to some elite group called the Separatists of Saporia. Their mission has always been to take over Corona and unite it with Saporia, but the last time we encountered them they were all thrown in jail. I–"

You screeched in pain as the cloth in Claude's hand brushed at your bloody cut, the sterilizer sending a burning sensation through your veins. Still, you turned back to Rapunzel as Claude continued his work, barely managing to hiss out, "Go on."

A sympathetic look spread across the princess' face, but she kept going. "Like I said, all the Separatists were thrown in jail over a year ago with a life sentence, and I haven't heard anything about one of them escaping."

"Could they maybe have used magic to escape?" you asked, remembering the stubby wand. "Clementine seemed pretty skilled."

Rapunzel thought about this for a second. "Maybe... I'll have to ask Varian."

The remark baffled you, but you couldn't ask anything further before another pang of pain shot down your arm and you howled lightly. Star brushed herself against you, trying to calm you down, but nothing helped until Claude finally finished up his work. You turned back to the princess, out of breath and tempted to grab at your shoulder and try to stop the pain. "Do you know how much longer we have to wait for them to get back?"

Rapunzel bit her lip in thought, but stopped and lit up as she glanced around the alleyway. "We don't!"

You followed her gaze to the alley's entrance, where three silhouettes stood. One was burly and muscled, the second tall and lithe, but the only silhouette you cared about was standing in the middle, his sky blue eyes focused on your now bandaged cut.

"What happened to you guys?" Varian asked, rushing over. "Sylvia didn't say anything, besides telling us we had to meet you at the main Nuage port."

"It was better not to expose too much before we regrouped," Sylvia explained. Obviously, you knew the truth, that she hadn't actually known any of the details because the only signal she got was a small flare. Still, you let it slide – Sylvia's ego was not something to mess with.

"We found our thief," Eugene said, stepping closer to the group from his lookout spot on the alley's end. "It wasn't hard, honestly. They were wandering around like the compass was a medal of honor or something."

"Well? Did we catch them? Can we go home now?" Lance asked, clearly excited by the prospect of returning to Corona.

Claude rolled his eyes so hard they could have fallen out of their sockets. "Does it look like we caught them?" he demanded impatiently, gesturing around the alleyway, which was empty aside from you.

"Well... Do we at least know who it is, so we'll have an easier time finding them?" Varian glanced nervously between the adults in the group. You weren't sure what had gone down with their team in Braise, but if it was anything like your adventure, the worry was more than warranted.

Rapunzel looked a little unsure what to answer him, but eventually said, "It's Clementine, from the Separatists of Saporia."

Your confusion reached a peak when Varian suddenly inhaled sharply and paled, but based on how he rolled back his shoulders and forced a calm demeanor onto himself, you figured now wasn't the time to inquire about his reaction.