Title: Where the Wild Things Are
Author: Pepper's Ghost (atlas-workbench on tumblr)
Summary: Wildchild!AU-ception. Alfred never realized that talking to strangers could spawn so many life changes. Ivan never thought hunting in the wilds could be so much fun. Together the duo would carve out a name for themselves and become something special to each other along the way. Eventual RusAme (it takes a while). Visit wildchildthings on tumblr to find out what you're getting in to here.
Warnings: Violence, lots of violence, pavlovian training in humans, emotional and psychological manipulation, probably stockholm syndrome, in general super twisted when you really think about it, male-on-male sex, sort of mutual dubcon, kidnapping, substance abuse, arson, murder, collaring, social justice issues, environmental issues, relationship issues, swearing, non-con body modification (not too intense but it is there), bondage, gas lighting, alternate history setting, non-nation AU, and general problematic things that tend to come with the territory.
Disclaimer: This is AU-ception – that means it's an AU of an AU folks. I did my best to incorporate all the details of the wildchild-universe into this but I am not the creators of the AU and they didn't even know about this fic until just now. So please take that with a grain of salt. For more info on this universe please refer to wildchildthings at tumblr (not associate with me at all). I also tried to work in a number of details back from when this AU was the USUK "hunter!au"… because there was some great early stuff that you can hardly find anymore thanks to blog deletions and name changes. However, rest assured that this fic is firmly a RusAm porn-athon with plot from the reboot variety…you just have to be patient enough to get through a whole bunch of exposition before you get to "the good stuff." With the deepest most sincere apologies to Shieunni, Zeemo, Nat, and Puni, this humble author presents one version of the Wildchild!AU reality.
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Chapter 1: Things Go Horribly Wrong for Alfred
X
The docks were a flurry of movement. Shouts and sounds cascaded over the area. Livestock braying and the crashing of waves only added to the din. Carts and crates jostled for space among the narrow streets and crowded market squares. It smelled horrible but this did not stop the chaotic action of people coming and going.
Everyone was so drawn in to their own business that they failed to notice two small children darting in and out of the crowds of people, animals, and crates.
"Mattie! Mattie! Matthew come on," said a little boy with a funny ahoge. "We're gonna miss all of the boats leave." He had stopped at a relatively open area and did a comical shuffle in place while waiting for his companion to catch up.
"Alfred! You know were not supposed to be down here," Matthew said. The white frock beneath his waistcoat was already horribly stained from brushing up against something and he rubbed at it frantically as if it would make the smudges go away. "We could get in lots of trouble."
Alfred ignored Matthew's words and instead grabbed his hand and drug him farther through the dense crush of people.
"Don't worry! I'm the hero so nothing's gonna happen to us."
Matthew shot his best friend a disbelieving look but silenced his protest in favor of trying to keep up. It was not like he could fault Alfred for his enthusiasm – market day by the docks was one of the best to get away from the stifling drudgery at home and truly learn about life. Sometimes nice merchants even gave them things for free. It was worth the risk of breaking their shared governess' rules and enjoying a day outside, unsupervised in an unsavory but interesting place.
Both boys gasped at the sight of the stately tall ships in the harbor being loaded and unloaded with all sorts of commodities from the vast Empire. Trade goods from all over the world could be seen and smelled. Friendly ships from neighboring, lesser empires were under close watch from imperial guards but everyone still held a fairly amicable attitude. The area was kaleidoscope of colors and funny accents that truly made the heart of the Empire look and feel just as powerful as everyone said it was. Truly, no place could ever be like Britain.
In the sea of everything Alfred caught sight of some particularly interesting looking people – he thought they were sailors perhaps – getting on to a ship. He wanted to go talk to them and hear all about their adventures, because sailors would tell anyone the best stories about anything, so he did just that.
Matthew, on the other hand, noticed a particularly inattentive merchant spill some wonderfully delicious hard candies from the Orient. If he brushed them off they would be just as good as new and there was enough for both him and Alfred.
Both set with equal determination to get to their end goal, neither noticed that the other wasn't following. They parted ways easier than the currents bringing ships to and from the Empire. The gap where the pair once stood was swallowed up as each boy darted toward his intended target.
X
Carefully Matthew approached the fallen candy and started collecting it as fast as he could before it got squished or he got noticed.
"Hey! You there!" came an angry cry.
Matthew's head shot up. He saw the careless merchant making toward him with his hands clenched in fists. Not one to stick around for a punishment, Matthew fled the area.
He ran and crawled his was through the masses of people before finding some crates farther down the docks that looked like a good place to hide.
As he caught his breath he examined his catch. 5 little pieces of sugary goodness. He decided to eat one now and tell Alfred that he only managed to get 4 so that they could split the find evenly. It seemed only fair for the problems he would suffer over his ruined shirt and nearly getting his fingers stomped on a few times when retrieving the candy.
He sighed in bliss as the sugary round slowly melted to nothing in his mouth.
He sat in his hiding spot for a long while before he ventured out. Try as he might, he could not find Alfred. He looked high and low but could not find the other in any of their usual haunts. As the day grew late he had no choice but to return home and hope his neighbor had done the same.
X
Alfred crept toward the waiting people as quietly as he could. There were a lot of mean looking guards in this area of the docks and he did not want to get caught and sent back home before he could get his fill of adventure stories. From the number of times Alfred had ever managed to escape his house and enjoy market day, he had come to realize that the scruffiest, meanest, most hardened looking people were usually the sailors that had just come back from being someplace for a long time and therefore had all of the good stories to tell.
This crop of people, with their dull clothes and warn out expressions surely had to have been out on the open waters for a good lifetime! He couldn't wait to hear what they would say to him.
As he got closer there was a bit of a commotion amongst the group. Something had happened and Alfred couldn't tell what but the next thing he knew someone had knocked him into a spot of what he hoped was mud.
"Hey!" Alfred called out. His dismay over his clothes was quickly overshadowed by a mass of guards absolutely descending on Alfred. For a while all Alfred could see was their bright red coats and their stark white breeches as a multitude of hands battered him about. No matter how he twisted and turned he couldn't get away. He even tried to bite one of the many hands to escape but soon after that he felt a sharp pain and then all the colors – the red and white of the uniforms, the blue from the sea and sky, the brown from the mud beneath him – all ran together and everything went black.
X
When the color leached back into the world, Alfred's first conscious thought was realizing he was still covered in partially damp mud. The smell of the sea was everywhere and the wooden wall before him would not stop moving. He felt very heavy and when he tried to move, his vision spun wildly and his head protested a great deal. The pain combined with the rocking back and forth was enough to make Alfred throw up.
He was oblivious to the commotion going on around him. All he cared about was that vomiting hadn't made him feel any better and now his clothes were even more disgusting. Again he tried to prop himself up but when another wave of nausea came crashing down he slumped back into the puddle of sick and watched the world spin.
He wasn't sure how long he stayed motionless but a bucket of salty, ice-cold water helped bring things into sharper relief. After another bucket was tossed over him, a pair of massive, brutish hands yarded him up by his now tattered waistcoat. The hands held him up on his feet but he didn't trust himself to move any farther. His view was dramatically changed when another big hand got a fistful of his hair and yanked his face up. Blearily he tried his best to focus on the very scruffy, very angry man in front of him.
There was a lot of shouting then. He was shaken around a few times just when he lost too much focus on the tirade.
By the end of the whole ordeal Alfred had more or less gotten the idea that he would not be returning to his homeport. That he was now lower then filth and the Empire didn't want him. That he was a disgrace to life itself and therefore he was rightfully a prisoner, on a prison ship, bound for a dumping ground. That there was no hope for escape like the stunt he had pulled at the market. And that God would not have mercy on his soul because he was lower than filth.
Alfred didn't want to be a prisoner on a prison ship bound for a dumping ground but he was not in a fit state to defend himself. He got the sinking feeling that once he could think straight it wouldn't matter what he said. His old life was gone. Surviving the path before him was the only option. He only hoped Matthew would forgive him.
X
Crossing the Atlantic was harrowing.
Outside it stormed all the time. Everyone on the boat was intensely unhappy about the weather and took it out on whomever they saw fit. The crew was mean. The captain was evil. The prisoners were no better. Alfred had found himself cuffed in a line with some of the most hardened criminals the Empire could find and extricate. Men, women, even some kids like Alfred – it didn't matter, everyone was nasty and frightful. Alfred hated the whole experience.
Even with the cards stacked against him, Alfred kept managing to get lucky. Being as small as he was he could easily steal cast off bites of the communal food. While some people got poisoned for eating or killed trying to get a drink of water, Alfred managed to avoid bodily injury by patiently waiting. It was hard when all the food smelled so good but worth it to avoid loss of life or limb.
For the most part he did his best to keep to himself. They were hardly ever free of the chains but when they were he would try his best to stay out of trouble. This tactic usually involved being in smelly nooks and crannies all around the ship. Even though these were the same haunts as the rats on board, the co-habitation actually turned out to be an added bonus. With enough desperation and a quick hand Alfred could catch one to help supplement his meager food intake. The nicest man on board – the cook – would even sometimes let him stuff his catch near the coals so it would roast a bit.
It was hard work surviving on a prison ship but Alfred made due with what he could.
Each day was one small victory.
X
It was a welcome sight to see the land.
It was the "free time" part of the day so most everyone was milling about the deck. The crew had noticed the land. Alfred had noticed the land but most others were simply enjoying the sun and stretching their legs too much to be bothered to notice the subtle change in horizon line.
Despite the hardship Alfred had to deal with to get there, he was excited to see what the new world would bring. Then, after he got to see it all, he could find a way to return and tell Matthew all about it. He hadn't done anything wrong to be on the prison ship, he had no criminal record anywhere, so he knew he could get back to the Empire with little to no problems unlike the other prisoners here.
As the ship approached the coastline it turned sharply away from what may have been the outline of a very tiny community. They skirted the coastline for a bit before coming to the mouth of a large empty harbor.
The whole thing didn't sit right with Alfred. He'd seen enough harbors and port towns from his old life to know that this didn't look right. He expected to see docks like back at home but there were none in sight. He expected the ship to drop anchor or something to wait for a guide boat or tug boat to help them through the passage. What he did not expect was to be grabbed by his shirt collar and the seat of his trousers and chucked overboard.
X
It was a long drop down.
When Alfred hit the water all the air was forced from his lungs but he knew better then to breathe in. He kicked furiously hoping that he was heading toward the surface but the salt stung his eyes so bad that he couldn't really tell which way was up.
Breaking the surface and finding the air was both welcome and freezing.
Alfred gasped trying to steady himself. The boat was mostly blocking the chop from the open ocean so he was able to catch his breath a little bit as he paddled furiously trying to stay afloat.
All of his attention was focused on maintaining momentum and trying to keep his head above the water.
Just when he thought he had the situation under control he got hit with another falling body. A large man slammed into Alfred and instantly started thrashing the moment the pair was submerged again. He was inadvertently kicking and punching Alfred as they struggled beneath the water. Alfred did his best to help his body return to the surface. The shock had made him lose most of the air in his lungs but at least he had his wits about him now which made things a little easier. It wasn't that hard to return to the surface once he detangled himself from the large man who was still thrashing but slowly sinking away.
When Alfred broke the surface again this time he looked up to try and see what was happening on the boat. From his crummy angle he could only hear a faint commotion over the sound of the waves crashing against the boat.
A loud bang startled Alfred. He accidently sucked in a bit of water and spent a moment or two trying to balance coughing up his lungs and paddling to stay afloat. Soon after another body fell into the water just to the left of Alfred. The resulting splash covered him but he quickly bobbed back up again. The volume from the shouting had increased exponentially. Alfred couldn't pick out individual words but the sounds of struggle and gunshots were now unmistakable over the ocean noise.
More people were thrown off of the sides of the boat. It was all so crazy Alfred found himself sinking beneath the waves on several occasions because he had forgotten to paddle.
He tried to remain calm and figure out what to do but his arms and legs were getting tired.
At least he was still afloat. Most of the adults that were pushed off of the boat didn't make it back up to the surface. Alfred could spy a few others who broke out of the water only to be pulled down by their heavy adornments and clothing. (The women in particular suffered this fate the most.) Fewer still were bobbing about like him. One man had even managed to get back over to the boat and cling to its side. His fingers were bleeding from the splinters the wood gave him but he still held on for dear life.
Alfred thought that maybe he should do that too.
He did his best to propel his tired body toward the ship and ignore the downpour of others joining him in the water.
Then there was a huge crack from above him. A body crashed through the railing and plummeted to the water. A good chunk of railing came away with him. Alfred barely had time to avoid getting hit with the falling wood or the body.
Through the salt and sting of his eyes Alfred could spy a sailor peaking over the side to see his handy work. There was another commotion when the sailor noticed several people now clinging to the side of the boat. He shouted down at them but the words were incoherent against the rush of the water and the other noises coming from the deck. The sailor then disappeared and reappeared a few seconds later with a few other men armed with guns.
They took aim and fired upon the survivors clinging to the boat. Many started to scream and soon the din in the water matched the commotion on the deck.
Once the clingers were dead the sailors disappeared back onto the main deck only to be followed by a fresh spew of folks over the side of the boat.
With every person to hit the water Alfred was pushed farther and farther away from the ship. He was too tired to really control his propulsion anymore so he just did his best on trying to stay afloat.
A sharp poke to his back made him cry out in pain. It was a chunk of the fallen railing bobbing on the surface. Without much though he clung to the wood railing that had nearly killed him and tried to block out the screaming. He was so exhausted and his eyes hurt so badly from the salt water.
It was only when the screaming took on a new degree of hysteria did Alfred look up again. He had been pushed a long ways away from the boat to the point where he could see the very edge of the commotion on the deck. He watched in muted horror as more people were pushed overboard and the sailors took their places by the sides shooting at everyone who came too close to the boat.
Alfred watched as the sailors scurried about to get the ship back to the main part of the ocean once the deck was cleared. Occasionally a hiding straggler was pushed overboard to join the others in the water. There were still many people left alive in the water but no one was stupid enough to approach the sides of the ship anymore.
There must have been some kind of current because between Alfred and the boat was a trail of bloody death bobbing in the waves.
Alfred did his best to focus his attention on the boat and not the death around him. The rigging moved up and down. The sails unfurled. Before Alfred could blink, the ship was a good ways away from the dump point.
With his only hope to return home departing without him, Alfred turned to regard the land. He, like some of the others floating in the water, knew making landfall was the only way for him to survive.
Using the broken pieces of wood Alfred adjusted his position for maximum floatation and set his sights for the land. He started paddling his way out of the death and toward hope not knowing if he could make it all the way there before his strength gave out or someone took the floating wreckage from him. Either option lead to certain death.
With nothing but the shoreline on his mind Alfred continued onward.
X
Author's Note: Welcome to what will probably be the craziest thing I will ever write. If the amount of death described above squiked you in any way I'd jump ship now and not even bother to wait for the end of the fic (for the porn). Before we get underway with the rest of the story I must tell you that this spinoff of the official wildchild!au world (which can be found at wildchildthings on tumblr) was originally a collab between a random person online, bokunofluffychicken (who's user name has changed several times by now), and myself. I had thought about trying to write something for this universe but always came up short. Naturally I jumped at the chance when I stumbled upon someone in the RusAme tag looking for a collaborator. I was originally brought on for just world building elements and background detail but after 32 pages of filler text on my part and a few vague plot details on theirs…well, they said it was all on me. That was back in 2012. Still, the project was too good to let go and I'd grown long frustrated trying to dredge up original bits of the wildchild!AU (also referred to as the Hunter!AU) to get my fill of this universe. Hopefully the original mods don't mind too terribly much at my spinoff of their wonderful brainpower.
Time period wise this is set at the height of the British Empire during the Age of Discovery (sort of). Global trade between nations was just starting to get rip roaring good (it had always been around but new tech made it easer to access). Things like the sugar hard candy Matthew was so keen on would have been reserved for the highest part of the upper crust of society during this time. (I don't think my one measly sentence can truly convey the happiness of a kid eating a rare sugary treat…he'd probably only ever had one or two in his life.) Also, fitting in with the selected era, dumping grounds and prison ships have been a thing for a long time. Alfred fully thinks that he's going to a penal colony of some sort (like oldschool Australia) except instead of being nicely let off a ship in the middle of nowhere on land that had more things to kill you then you could figure out, you were just pushed overboard – maybe not even close to a shore. No one would ever make it back from these trips so no one would ever know, particularly because the sailors believe they were doing the right thing. Lastly, eating the rats on the ship has been a steadfast last-resort backup for sailors before you had to descend to your leather clothing (or yourselves). Good thing Alfred's a fast learner with a perchance for survival skills. He's going to need it.
As an aside note, this fic is completely done. As in finished. As in I've already written the whole thing. Unfortunately, the posting schedule is going to be a bit on the wonky side because I don't have internet at my house and the library has crummy hours that rarely fit with my work schedule. Fortunately I do a bit of traveling every three weeks and the destination places normally have internet. So at the very least you will get an update every three weeks. Rant and rave all you want…I just can't financially afford to have internet at this point in my life right now.