Chapter Text
Techno ran. He ran because he had done something terrible. He ran because they saw him as a monster.
Ever since he was a baby people had feared what he could do. They called him cursed, demon, damned by the blood god. This was all due to the simple fact that he was different. Techno didn’t choose to be born with wither ail. The darkness in his bones and the way he made others feel was something he couldn’t control, yet they saw it as a sign that he’d grow to do terrible things.
He had been passed around from bastion to bastion, eventually traded to an overworlder who sold him to a fighting ring. The Pit. Techno survived for months there before things went wrong.
One of the newer, meaner handlers had gotten rough with Techno while trying to take him to his cell after a fight. The man’s grip had gotten too tight for the young piglin and he had bit him to escape, falling to the ground with a squeal.
The handler had shouted in pain as he dropped him, looking down at his bleeding arm in rage. “ You fucking pig, you’ll pay for that, ” He had said threateningly, pulling out his knife as he walked toward Techno.
The boy’s mind had clouded with fear and before he knew it the man lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood, such blood was the same as that that coated Techno’s small sword.
More men came into the room after hearing the man’s screams, Techno’s own handler included. They were enraged.
Techno fled from the Pit as the men chased him, shouting things about how they knew he was cursed and that it was only a matter of time.
Now he cried as he ran through the forest, thorns and branches scratching at his skin. He could still hear the shouts of the men behind him, although farther away now. But he wouldn’t let himself relax, he couldn’t. Not when anyone who saw him would know he was terrible and wrong, cursed with an ailment to affect any who dared touch him with withering.
The piglin squealed in shock as his foot caught a root and he was sent flying forwards into the ground. His head hit against a rock, making his vision go dark.
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Techno lifted his head with a pained groan, blinking slowly at his surroundings. The edges of his vision were dark and blurry, and it was hard to hear.
He whimpered and pushed himself up with shaky arms, stumbling as he stood. The boy leaned against a tree, blinking repeatedly in an attempt to get his vision to focus. His ankle hurt, and his head hurt even worse, but he tried to ignore it, forcing himself to walk on through the woods.
Tears filled the young piglin’s eyes at the pain from his injuries and the fear that the men might still be following him. He pressed on, praying he’d find a safe place to hide for the night.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been on his own. He’d escaped captors and handlers many times before, but it was never long before someone new took him in. But it always ended the same; either he’d be thrown out for ‘poisoning’ them or sold off to somebody else.
He wandered near blindly through the trees, tears obscuring his vision even more than the head injury had. He wiped his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears. Back when he had still lived in the nether, his elders had always told him not to cry. They said that he was alive, and that was blessing enough for him. He was a burden, and he was lucky they kept him at all. This was before they traded him off, of course.
Through the trees he spotted a large clearing near the edge of the forest, a nice cottage built within it. Techno cried in relief, not because he was hoping for someone to help him, but because there would likely be somewhere for him to hide . Under a deck, or maybe behind a shed, but at least he’d have somewhere mostly safe for the night.
Techno limped into the clearing, a few crows watching him from the trees. He wiped his eyes again, trying to get a better look at the cottage and smaller buildings around it. There was a greenhouse, and a few sheds, so that would hopefully be somewhere to hide. No deck to crawl under unfortunately.
He stopped under a large tree in the clearing, trying to catch his breath.
Caw!
Techno looked up, spotting a crow looking down at him. It blinked, hopping closer on its branch.
Caw, caw!
“No- Hey, shh, please-” Techno whispered, tears filling his eyes again when he put pressure on his foot. It hurt a lot more now that he’d been walking on it. He’d definitely screwed something up.
A few more crows landed on the tree, joining in with the other and cawing like mad. Techno waved his hands, “No please stop that, you’ll get me caught!” He begged as loudly as he dared.
He heard a loud old screen door open and close, and turned around quickly to see the source of the sound. Techno cried out in pain when he accidentally put all too much pressure on his foot, falling to the ground with a yelp. He looked up, horrified to see a blond man with wings hurrying over to him, alerted to his presence not only by the crows but by his own pained sounds.
Techno scrambled back, trembling in fear as he pressed himself up against the tree. He held his hands out in an attempt to keep the man away, “D-don’t touch me! Please, I’ll leave! Just leave me alone!” He pleaded, tears streaming down his face.
The man gave him a pained look, stepping forward with his hand held out, “Kid, you’re covered in blood-”
Techno’s eyes widened in fear. “No! I’m sorry, I- I didn’t mean to kill him, I swear! I won’t hurt anyone, I promise! Don’t hurt me, I’m sorry!” The young piglin begged, eyes darting back and forth in fear.
The man cooed, crouching down in front of him. He glanced around at the monsters beginning to spawn now that the sun had set, before his eyes landed back on Techno. The boy flinched, trying to scoot away from him more but there wasn’t anywhere he could go with his injured foot. “Please, I swear-” He choked out again.
The man swiftly picked him up, and Techno screamed. But the man ignored him, holding him tightly and rushing into his cottage. “ Please !” The boy shouted, “I won’t do anything! Don’t put me in a cage, I won’t hurt anyone again!”
The blond man shushed him, shutting the door behind him as he went inside. “Mate, I’m not gonna hurt you. Please calm down, you’re hurt,” He said softly.
Techno shook his head frantically. “No no! You’re tricking me, you’re lying! I promise I’ll be good! I didn’t mean to, I won’t touch anyone, I won’t kill anyone! I’ll stay away, I swear-” The piglin froze, realizing the man was touching him without gloves. “NO! Put me down, put me down! You’ll get sick- I can’t touch people, I didn’t mean to, I promise!” He screamed, thrashing around in the blond’s arms.
He only cooed again in response, sitting down in a chair in the dimly lit living room, still holding Techno tightly to his chest. “It’s okay, you’re okay,” He whispered.
But how could he say that? It wasn’t okay, Techno wasn’t okay. He was a monster, he killed people without meaning to, and this time he’d used his own hands to do it, not just the sickness he was born with. He wasn’t okay, and this man was going to die from touching him.
Techno sobbed, digging his nails into the man’s shirt as he cried into his shoulder. “I- I’m so-sorry,” He choked out again, gasping for air through his tears. “I did-n’t mean to- You- you- I c-can’t-”
“Hey, hey ,” The man said softly, rubbing his hand down the boy’s back, “Deep breaths. In, and out,” He inhaled deeply, holding his breath for a moment before exhaling.
Techno tried to copy, but his breath burst out of him in another fit of sobs. “I- I can’t-” He stammered, wiping his eyes in a futile attempt to get rid of the tears.
“Yes you can,” The man said simply, “Just take a deep breath,” He waited for Techno to do so, “Then let it out,” He breathed out, watching to see if the young piglin would follow.
Techno exhaled quickly, repeating the action along with the man until his breathing was fairly even again.
“Now what is it you’re so worried about?” The man asked after a moment.
The boy whimpered and held up his blackened hands, withering particles emitting from his skin. The man nodded slowly, taking Techno’s hand in his. “I see… You’re worried you’ll make me sick?”
Techno choked back a sob, nodding. “Hey now,” The man said, letting go of his hand in favor of wiping the tears off his cheeks. “None of that. It’s okay, I won’t get sick, I promise. I can’t get withering, you don’t have to worry,”
“B-but- how?” The young piglin asked, confused. He looked up at the blond man who smiled warmly.
“I know a special lady who makes it so I stay healthy,” He explained.
Techno shrunk in on himself. A special lady? She sounded important, and that probably meant that this guy worked for her or something. Maybe she’d want to lock Techno up and put him on display in some sort of zoo. He’d had people talk about doing that to him before.
He whimpered, trying to get away from the man. “Please don’t put me in a cage, I hate cages… I’ll be good, I swear-”
“Hey hey hey, who said anything about cages?” The man asked, pulling him back up into his lap. “I’d never lock anyone up in a cage, much less a child. Can you tell me your name, mate?”
“ Demonic pig, ”
“ Plagued freak, ”
“ It fights like a monster, call it the blood beast ”
“ There we go, ” His handler had said, a cruel smile on his face as he fixed a plaque to the wall. “ You’re the Blood God, and you’ll keep winning me fights if you want to keep eating, ”
Techno trembled. “Blood God…” He mumbled.
“No hun, I asked for your name ,” The blond man repeated, cupping Techno’s cheek.
The boy blinked. “Techno,” He whispered, and the man smiled.