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Tommy leaned his hand against his cheek, looking out at the cramped forest around him as the carriage slowed. He didn’t want to be here, that much should be obvious, a noble has no place in an old, run-down town like this. He was sure he was going to be mugged on the streets the first time he didn’t have a chaperone, so yes, Wilbur, his pouting was incredibly warranted.
He marched his way up the steps, to his new home, if it could be called that. It was a shop, a smithy, old and run down and no place for him to spend his summer.
The dragon greeted him as he entered, “Welcome to– oh.” The fake smile he held slid in an instant, “You’re that royal kid.” The man was a lot less scale-y than Tommy had imagined.
“Aren’t you meant to have the whole– dragon head thing?” Tommy questioned, frowning suspiciously. Even if he didn’t want to stay with this asshole, he’d rather find the right asshole than be kidnapped by the wrong one.
The man raised an eyebrow in response, “I’m a dragon, not dragonborn.” he said simply, standing to his full height to pull out the braid that tied up in his pink hair. He did have the same color pink in scales that ran across his cheeks, so maybe Tommy could believe him.
Still, “Well, what’s the difference? Both get born out a dragon.”
The shopkeeper snorted, shaking his head, “Dragonborn’s a bred-out species, they’re weaker. I'm a full dragon. We can change our forms.” He opened a drawer, putting a hammer away before looking back up at Tommy, “Techno, by the way.”
Tommy felt himself straighten, hands landing behind his back in a way that they should’ve been before, “Theseus.” The shopkeeper wouldn’t be calling him by a casual name.
“Gotcha. Lemme close down shop, then I’ll show you where you’ll be stayin’.”
With Tommy’s expectations being so low, a bedroom on the second floor of the building wasn’t all too bad. In terms of bedrooms, though? It was small. Tommy flopped down on the bed, more mattress more springy than it should be, and listened as the dragon’s footsteps left. He stared up at the ceiling, at the starry constellations that were painted on it.
Oh, right, his bag–
Tommy sat up, unpacking the leather satchel quickly. He hadn’t brought much, not nearly as much as he should’ve, but he’d hate to fall into too many stereotypes when it came to princes.
There she was. He was careful in pulling Clementine from the bottom, the inchworm’s jar thankfully not all too mixed up in the travel. He found her curled up under a leaf, noting that it was best he replaced those soon- she's already eaten through plenty of them since he'd last checked on her.
In finding a place to set her jar, he also found a small parcel on the bedside table, wrapped in parchment. It had no label, just a piece of twine that held it together that Tommy pulled undone.
A pendant, with a simple golden chain, sat in his hand. The stone was set in a silver frame with no intricacies, though it was neatly polished, complementing the simple streaks of gray and white that ran through the stone itself.
Tommy left it on the table, next to Clem's jar.
-
The dragon had dragged him to a market, making him carry a box filled with simple jewelry that he couldn’t fit on his cart. Techno had explained his rhetoric of getting Tommy to make friends, and while he didn’t listen all too much to it, he was sure it was cut from the same stone as the one that he was given by his older brother, the sentiment that got him sent to this stupid town in the first place.
Tommy dumped the box at the stall, as Techno tied up his horse to one of the tarp’s pillars. He searched for his seat. There was a stool behind the till, too tall for him and also far too close to the front for his liking. He watched the man expectantly as he unpacked his goods, getting a raised eyebrow in response, “You gonna help?”
Help? Tommy wasn’t here to do this man’s labor, was he seriously expecting Tommy to deal with all of this? He took a small step backwards, looking the man over as he unpacked.
Techno rolled his eyes, something that would’ve gotten him in much more trouble if they were back at the capital. He unloaded, without Tommy’s help, other than a few blades that he passed back and instructed on where to put them.
And then he sat down at the stool, feet rested on the stall’s counter, and cracked open a book.
Tommy’s bafflement was only momentary, “Well?”
He didn’t look up from his book. “What?”
Tommy clenched his hands into fists, pursing his lips into a line, “Where am I meant to sit?”
The dragon’s red eyes met his, and he just looked bored, of all things. Tommy supposed that Techno had no choice in this matter, either, just as roped into his brother’s dumb plans as he was. He could almost feel a sense of comradery there, “On the ground.” The man suggested, and nevermind, Tommy still fucking hated this guy.
“I will not be sitting on the ground.” He crossed his arms, making the dragon snort. Honestly, the audacity! He knew blacksmiths were all cocky and shit, and dragons had a whole horde full of problems, but–
“Alright.” Techno turned back to his book, with the carelessness of the man that has never known the threat of someone higher than himself, “Go make some friends then, or somethin’. I don’t care, just don’t be sulkin’ around my shop. Scares off customers.”
Tommy didn’t say anything as he marched off down the dirt road.
It was still morning, most merchants getting set up for the day. Few people roamed the streets, letting Tommy walk without interruption. As it should be.
Wilbur wasn’t kidding when he said that the town was quaint, buildings old and weathered with time. He walked past one that had ivy growing up it, allowed to stay rooted in the bricks purely from neglect.
Tommy hated it. He hated that stupid dragon, he hated this stupid town, he hated–
Something thudded against his shoulder. Someone, in fact, a boy about his age, though Tommy had at least half a foot on him. “Hey!” He shouted after, as the boy ran laughing down the street, and was ignored.
“Sorry about that.” Tommy turned at the hand that had found itself on his shoulder, now, swatting off the tiefling that stood over him with a scowl. The tiefling paused for a moment, then smiled awkwardly, the grin stretching unnaturally far across their face, which was split black and white down the middle. “I’m Ranboo.” They said, holding the same hand out for him to shake, “And the satyr who stole my book–” They gave a glare at the corner that the satyr had rounded, “–that’s Tubbo.”
Tommy took their hand, purely because it was impolite to not. “Prince Theseus.” He said, trying to keep his face stern as he did so.
Ranboo snorted, “Prince?” They asked, like he was making a dumb joke, “Why would a prince be all the way out here?”
That was the question that Tommy had been asking himself. Still, he didn’t let himself hesitate, “Diplomatic manners.”
“Sure.” Ranboo didn’t believe him. Which made sense, Tommy was a terrible liar, but it could frustrate him nonetheless, “Well, if you ever need company…”
Tommy would not be finding company in this tiefling, or their satyr friend, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
-
It had surprised him how much one could get for only a couple silver. He had assumed that Techno had intended on starving him, by giving him such a lackluster amount, but Tommy had found vendors selling lunches for much less and giving him much more than he had expected.
He sat at one of the picnic tables set up in the middle of the small plaza, picking the cucumbers out of his sandwich and setting them on a napkin to his left. He sat alone, though there were plenty others here by now, sitting under trees and in the grass with their own chosen company. And Tommy sat alone.
Perhaps he should’ve gone back to Techno. The dragon surely couldn’t drive him out of his stall for the entire day, even if he did complain and accuse him of sulking. He was better company than not having company at all, Tommy supposed.
He was just about to pack up as the satyr sat down next to him. Now seeing him for more than a moment, Tommy could see his curly goat horns peeking out of a mess of brown hair, and the hooved feet that peeked out of too-long pants.
“You gonna eat those?” Tubbo asked, nodding at his small pile of cucumber slices.
Tommy looked the satyr up and down for a moment, eyes narrowing, “Yes.”
And the satyr looked back at him, unamused, as he leaned forward and slid the napkin with the pile on it towards himself. Tommy didn’t stop him, as he popped one into his mouth.
“So,” Tubbo turned around on the bench, looking up at the sky. There were dark clouds in the distance, threatening a rain by tonight, “A prince, huh?”
Tommy didn’t give him the grace of a response, taking another bite of his sandwich as an excuse.
Tubbo didn’t falter, however, continuing, “I heard you’re living with the blacksmith.”
Tommy sat up straighter, “How do you know that?” He questioned. Someone should not be able to find his whereabouts that easily, it should be considered a security risk. Especially since this satyr also knew that he was their empire’s prince. What was happening? Was there a spy? Perhaps this would let Tommy get back to the castle earlier than intended–
“Friend of a friend. You know how it is, in small towns like this.” Tubbo shrugged, completely unaware of the disappointment that settled in Tommy’s chest.
He frowned, “No, I don’t.”
Something that Tommy had not expected Tubbo to do was to laugh at that, “Everyone knows each other around here! Everyone knows when someone new comes to town, especially when he’s a prince that’s staying with our town dragon. It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?”
Yes, it was. The irony of repeating tall tales and myths of princesses being kidnapped by dragons was never lost on Tommy, but he’d rather the topic be left alone. And he acted as such, “Right. And you are, again?”
Surprisingly, the satyr followed along with this, letting the subject be brought back to himself, “Tubbo, as you know. I’m kind of just… around.”
“‘Around’” Tommy raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, I live in the forest, technically.” Tubbo shrugged, “But that’s often not a lot of fun, just, y’know, trees. And grass. And some stones.” That did sound quite dull, Tommy would admit, somehow sounding more boring than the town itself.
“Well,” Tommy kicked his feet into the dirt, regrettably about to indulge in this conversation, “Why don’t you move, then?”
Tubbo tilted his head to the side, like Tommy said something nearly fascinating, “I… can’t.” He said simply, slowly, like Tommy was not grasping a subject that most already understood. As if Tommy didn’t know purely thanks to his own ignorance, instead of the fact that the world, in general, knew incredibly little about how satyrs worked.
“It’s not that hard. I’m sure housing around here isn’t that shit, is it?”
Tubbo popped another cucumber slice in his mouth, laughing just a bit, “It’s more of a spiritual thing, really. We come from the forest, we live off the forest, we return to it when we eventually, you know, kick the bucket and all.” Tommy frowned. He wouldn’t want to be buried in a forest. But Tubbo probably wouldn’t want to be buried in a royal cemetery, either.
“That makes sense.” Tommy replied, nodding along. The satyr’s feet kicked outwards, hovering just over the grass. Tommy’s boots stayed firmly planted in it, heels sunk just a bit into the dirt. He wondered if getting different shoes would be smart– the ones he was wearing at the moment were already scuffed up and dirty just from a day’s use. They no longer shined, bright, polished leather eager to fade and collect the dust and grime that Tommy had been walking on all day.
Tubbo leaned over, bumping into Tommy’s shoulder as he did. Tommy flinched, pulled out of his thoughts, “Wanna see something cool?”
The smirk on Tubbo’s face promised nothing good, mischievous intent as clear as day. Despite this, and any dignity that Tommy still had left, he nodded.
-
Tubbo brought him deep into the woods, and despite the fact that there was still a dirt path beneath his feet, Tommy already felt lost. The amount of winding turns and forks in the road made his brain hurt, though that did help when he finally caved and took his shoes off. Tubbo promised that they would come back for them, and so he left them on an old stump that they found, his socks rolled up in each.
“Are you sure that you’re not bringing me out here to murder me?” Tommy joked, stepping over a root that blocked his path. Tubbo had hopped over it with ease, but Tubbo was a satyr. Tommy was, decidedly, not, and therefore found it a bit more of a struggle.
And he still wasn’t sure how Tubbo managed to walk backwards without stumbling over the uneven ground. Maybe that was also thanks to the goat legs, “If I wanted to murder you, I’d have done it when we crossed the bridge, back there. Much easier to hide the body.”
If Tommy snickered at that, it was only Tubbo that heard him, “So where are we going, then?”
“You’ll see.” Tubbo responded, stubbornly vague, “Oh, by the way. Do I have to call you ‘Prince Theseus’? Seems like a pretentious mouthful.”
He could nothing but agree, “Nah, call me Tommy. I mostly ditched ‘Theseus’, except for with royal things.”
“Like this ‘diplomatic mission’.” Tubbo didn’t even need the air quotes, they were quite clear with the knowing look he was given.
Still, Tommy shot a glare back, “Shut up.”
“Okay, Tommy,” Tubbo turned back around at just the right time to miss the smile on Tommy’s face, which he was more than thankful for, “Oh! We’re here!”
He had to run to catch up with Tubbo, as they ended up in a small clearing. There was still little light from the afternoon sun, however, trees curled inwards and branches of leaves blocking light from everything but the center, where yellow-orange light spotlighted a small ring of flowers.
“You garden?” Tommy asked, crouching down to touch one of the yellow flowers.
Tubbo swatted his hand away, landing a firm slap on his wrist, “Don’t!”
Tommy pulled back, standing up again quickly, “Ow, okay! My bad!” He figured that he’d be somewhat protective of his plants, that was par for the course, but overkill? Maybe just a little bit.
Tubbo looked back at the flowers, like he was waiting for something. There was a small gust of wind, but otherwise, nothing happened. He then finally looked back at Tommy, bewildered by something that he must’ve fucked up, “No, I don’t garden. It’s a faerie ring.”
Okay, now he knew that Tubbo was pulling at his leg, “A faerie ring, huh?” Tommy circled it, one careful step at a time, “Those don’t exist, T–”
“Shut up!” Tubbo rushed to cover his mouth, Tommy shoving his hands away, “Are you dumb? They could be listening, don’t tell them my name–”
“No one is ’listening’, man, it’s just some flowers! You’re way too superstitious–” Tubbo grabbed Tommy’s hand, dragging him away from the clearing and back into the woods, “Wh– hey!”
Why was this satyr so strong? He should not be able to overpower Tommy, “I’m never bringing you places ever again.” Tubbo announced, marching them back down the path they came from.
“That’s not fair!”
-
Sitting across from Techno to eat dinner was more… uncomfortable than he first expected, that was for sure. At least the food was good. More than good, in fact, it looked from the state of the kitchen that it was homemade. The stew was rich, full of meat and vegetables that may not be cooked perfectly, but complimented each other in a way that nothing at home quite understood how to do. The baked potatoes were warm and cheesy, stuffed with spices that Tommy didn’t know the name of but needed to put on everything he ate from now on.
Tommy hadn’t realized how hungry he was until stepping back into the house, all the smells of food all too good hitting him at once. He was now eating like he hadn’t had a meal in years, the careful manners he had been too keen on following pushed to the side.
“So,” The dragon started, sharp eyes watching Tommy with a thoughtful expression, more warm than he remembered them being. The small smile on his face, too, was a welcome surprise, “You made a friend.”
“Two, technically.” Tommy set down his spoon, quickly searching for a handkerchief to clean his mouth with, “Tubbo said he’d properly introduce me to Ranboo, tomorrow.”
He got a nod of approval from Techno, “Ranboo’s a good kid, you’ll like them.” Maybe. Tommy thought back to the short conversation the two had had. He couldn’t gauge much about them from it, but they seemed… fine. Agreeable. “What were you two doin’ today?”
Tommy considered lying, for a moment. He certainly would’ve, back home. Wilbur wouldn’t have stopped him from going out into the woods, no, but if he admitted what they had been doing to him, he’d likely insist that they bring a guard next time. And as much as Sam was amazing, great, and one of the biggest men that Tommy knew, he would hate to have the guy for a chaperone.
But Techno, so far, has been nothing like Wilbur. He barely even cared that Tommy was gone for over half the day, only returning to ask for coin that he had left at home. And maybe that was worrisome, and probably counted towards some kind of treason, but he doubted that he’d get the ‘Wilbur Response’ from him.
So, out with it, “Tubbo showed me this ‘faerie ring’,” Tommy picked up his fork, doing one-handed air quotes as he took another stab at his baked potato, “I told him it was a load of shit. He got mad and kicked me out of the forest.”
When Tommy looked up, the small smile on Techno’s face had faded into a small, thoughtful frown, “A… faerie ring.” He got it, he understood how dumb it sounded, “What’d it look like?”
Tommy shrugged, “There were a bunch of flowers, mostly yellow and this real dark green. There were some mushrooms, I think.” He hadn't been looking all too closely, he had to admit. That one was on him, too busy calling Tubbo out for being a liar to really study the weird plant formation. He took a bite of his baked potato, an offhanded thought buzzing around his head to go back and check. It wouldn’t do much harm, unless he got lost. That might do some harm.
“Theseus?” Tommy looked up at his title being called, a sudden reminder that he’d do good to tell Techno about the nickname he was letting Tubbo and soon Ranboo use. Techno was looking at him full-on, now, the look of concern on his face an unfamiliar sight, “Don’t go near that again.”
It wasn’t a command, not in a way that was heavy and sure. It was a request, one made from some kind of actual care. And maybe it was an unneeded type– fae had given up on faerie rings long ago, and they tended to stick to their own realm nowadays– but it wasn’t Tommy’s job to decide what kinds of worry were valid. He nodded, “Okay.”
The rest of dinner went by in silence.
-
Ranboo came down the stairs quickly, ducking around customers to make their way to Tommy and Tubbo, who sat at the bar. Tommy had managed to get the tavernkeeper, Niki, to give them apple cider, which she warned she would only give once, since she couldn’t tell if it had ended up with alcohol content or not. Tommy was drinking his through a straw.
“Hey!” Ranboo greeted, Tubbo giving them a small wave before continuing on his rant about the local artificer’s completely unearned disdain for him. Tommy tried to point out the fact that he seemed to have, multiple times, nearly blown up the guy’s shop, but he was ignored at every attempt.
Thankfully, Ranboo cut him off before he could get into a sub rant about the man’s choice in fuel source, and Tommy should really thank them heavily for that later, “Hey, Tommy, d’you play chess?”
Of course he did. He’d spent plenty of afternoons playing against his tutor, preventing them from moving on to the actual studies that he should be doing. He shrugged, “Kind of.”
There was a small chess board at one of the tables, left unoccupied, and Ranboo quickly brought it over to the bar, “I’ve been trying to get Tubbo to play, but he won’t let me teach him.”
“I will not be playing a simulation of war, thank-you-very-much.” Tubbo let Tommy switch seats with him, leaned against the bar with his arms crossed to watch as they set up the board.
Ranboo gave Tubbo a look, “You just don’t know how to strategize, I think.” they decided matter-of-factly, playing their first move on the board. Oh, that was a fool’s opening, Tommy was going to win this for sure.
Ranboo beat him five times.
“Now you know why I don’t play chess.” Tubbo nodded sagely, as Tommy drank the rest of his cider.
He sat up, looking at the winning move on the board. His king was utterly surrounded, how had he not realized that? “You’ve got to be cheating.” Tommy insisted.
Ranboo shrugged, “I’m just good at the game.”
The tavern went quiet for a moment, as the bell on the door dinged, announcing Techno’s presence.
While quickly resuming to chatter, that had definitely caught Tommy by surprise. Enough so that he stared at Techno as he approached them, and as he considered the chess board in between him and Ranboo, “You won?” He asked them, a proud smile on his face.
“They cheated.” Tommy butted in, pointing at them accusingly. Their shoulders hunched up, but they quickly laughed it off, beginning to reset the board. Tommy moved over to the seat behind him, Tubbo getting up and claiming he would referee the match. Ranboo pointed out that he still didn’t know how to play chess, and Tubbo insisted that that was irrelevant.
Tommy let himself spin on the barstool. Techno’s back was turned towards him, naturally, and the other two were debating on who should go first. Tommy could get up, like Tubbo did, to join the conversation, but that would crowd them. So he sat at the tail end, half-listening to his friend’s– friends-? Petty banter, and half looking around at the rest of the tavern.
There was a window, not far from him, looking out at the forest. On a cloudy day like this one, it was hard to see much of what was in there, but he was sure that he saw movement. That made sense– there were plenty of animals roaming– but something was off about this.
He got up slowly, walking towards the window like he was being drawn in. He squinted, trying to see better, at the lights that glowed, hidden behind leaves and branches.
“Tommy!” Ranboo called, and he spun back around like he had been caught doing something, “Come here and tell me if this is a legal move. I’m being gaslit.”
-
It was raining. Not hard, and there was no thunder or lightning, but it welcomed the night, rainclouds blocking out the moon and making it even darker than Tommy had hoped for.
Sneaking out, honestly, wasn’t that hard. How did princesses struggle so much with this? You’ve just got to wait until the dragon goes to sleep, and memorize the creaky steps.
He left his shoes at the door, nabbing the lantern from Techno’s work bench and lighting it under the eves of the house before he set out into the rain. Mud squelched under his feet as he walked, regrettably leaving very distinguishable tracks. The hope was that they washed away by morning.
He was just going to figure out what he had seen. It was probably nothing, just a trick of the eyes or some anxiety within him, but it was good to know for sure. He would just check the ring, make sure that nothing’s changed, and leave. It wouldn’t take long, it hadn’t taken them all too long to get there the first time.
The river was rushing as he crossed it, and he watched to stare at the water for a moment. The rain was getting heavier, soaking his clothes through, especially without the cover of the trees. He quickly continued down the path, into the forest.
The clearing was darker than before, and above him, he could hear droplets of rain as they hit the leaves. Not much water poured through, somehow, leaving Tommy to notice just how cold he was. A shiver ran down his spine, and something snapped behind him.
There was nothing there.
Turning back around to have a look at the ring, and a man was looking at him.
Tommy did not yelp, or stumble backwards, or drop his lantern and extinguish it.
“Shit, shit, shit–” Tommy dug through his pockets for matches, trying to keep his eyes on this man who had appeared out of nothing. Then, with a small snap, there was light.
Glowing orbs floated above them, the same yellows and greens as the ring that the man stood in. For a moment, Tommy thought he was an elf, pointed ears and proper clothes contributing heavily to that assumption.
But no. Something was off about him, the way his hair was combed back oh-so neatly, the smile on his face perfectly even, the hat that sat atop his head placed perfectly so that each stripe was symmetrical.
There was no way that Tubbo was actually right.
“Hello.” The faerie greeted, stepping just to the edge of the right to look down at him. Shit, Tommy had nearly stepped into it, too. That was lucky as fuck.
“Hey,” Tommy greeted, getting to his feet and scooping up Techno’s lantern, “Uh– I’m not here for any trouble, I swear.”
Blue eyes stared at him, unwavering, the color too vibrant to be normal, cold as a winter day felt, “I believe you.” The faerie said, “You are still in my forest.”
“It’s not just yours.” Tommy frowned. Of course it wasn’t. Plenty had a claim to this place, this man didn’t get to claim it for himself.
He tilted his head to the side, “I suppose it’s not. But it is still mine.”
There was truth to that statement. Of course there was, it was a faerie, but still. He nodded, “Yeah, I guess so.”
“You guess?” A small smile, nearly friendly. But it was not, Tommy was sure of that, “You’re not from here. You didn’t believe I existed.”
“I–” Tommy bit his tongue. This was like speaking in the royal court– every word he said was watched, waiting for him to slip up. But here, he had no Wilbur to cover him if he said something wrong, and all attention was on him, “I didn’t.”
The faerie nearly looked surprised, just for a moment, before his face calmed back into its neutral. Tommy continued, “I thought that Tu– my friend, was being dumb. I was wrong.”
Tommy didn’t like fae, he decided. This one’s magic was gorgeous, one of the lights floating by Tommy, changing course as it was softly hit by a raindrop. But that didn’t change the fact that he did not like them. At all. He didn’t like the way that his tongue felt dry in his mouth, how every word felt like a misstep waiting to happen. He was like one of those circus performers, walking a tightrope high above, everyone just waiting for him to fall.
He gained a small nod from the faerie, however, “Good. It is his woods, too. He knows it well.”
“And he was trying to show me something.” Tommy muttered, regret for his actions piling on his shoulders at last, “I messed up, didn’t I?”
The faerie gave him a small nod, “You did.”
To distract from his own actions, and the apologies that he would inevitably have to make, he brought the conversation back to what he should be focusing on, “You should be trying to– trick me or something.”
“Should I?” The sharp grin returned, but Tommy didn’t flinch from it now.
“It’s what the fae do, isn’t it?”
Perhaps that was a touch too rude. The fae rested his chin in his hand, pretending to think about it for a moment that was practically daunting, “We do. Sometimes we don’t wish to.”
Tommy raised an eyebrow, disbelief so clear on his face that the fae had to laugh, “Do you wish to?”
Sharp teeth in his smile, he answered, “I’m still figuring that out.”
Tommy frowned, taking a small step back. He almost asked what the faerie meant by that, but that would probably be redundant.
“Ah, well.” The faerie waved the idea off, “That is for another time. It’s late for you, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“I figured. Technoblade, you may take your ward home.” Tommy froze, turning. How? How did Techno know, how did he follow Tommy without him even noticing?
He was still dressed in his pajamas, which would be an amusing sight in itself if the dragon’s tired eyes weren’t looking at Tommy with a look that promised trouble. He pursed his lips, hiding his hands behind his back.
“Appreciate it, Phil.” Tommy quickly followed as the dragon trekked back into the woods, his strides long and sure, not quite caring that Tommy had to do double the steps to keep up.
Tommy didn’t dare break the silence that Techno left as they walked. Not until he broke it first, with a long-winded sigh, “Could you have at least snuck out at a different time? At least when it’s not pourin’ rain?”
Tommy looked up at the sky for a moment, gaining a quiet realization of how heavy the rain had gotten since he had first entered the forest. How long was he in there? “…Sorry.”
Techno shook his head, slowing just enough for Tommy to catch up and walk beside him, “You’re lucky that it was Phil, you know that?”
“You know him?” Tommy asked in reply.
Techno gave him a small glare, barely any weight behind it. Tommy didn’t falter. He relented, slowing down to a normal person’s pace, “We were… allies, some years ago. Fought together for a while. He’s better than most fae, I’ll tell ya that much.”
Tommy nodded slowly. He hadn’t really thought about how old Techno was, but he was a dragon. He probably had plenty of history that Tommy didn’t know about, and didn’t ask about. Now didn’t seem like the time to ask about it.
“He lives around here.” Tommy said, instead of the dozens of other sort-of-stupid questions that he could be asking, “Right?”
Techno gave him a look, and Tommy rolled his eyes, elaborating, “That’s his ring. When he comes to this world, he comes here through there. This’ the part of our realm he hangs out in.”
He was given a shrug, “Guess so.”
“Well,” Tommy started, “Since you two were friends, why don’t you– I dunno, invite him over to dinner or something? Fae can leave their rings if you invite them, right?”
This managed to get Techno thinking for a minute, eventually nodding, “I guess. Means he’s got a debt to me, though, so I dunno if he’ll accept it.”
“Say it’s a ‘thank you’ for saving my ass from life in the Feywild!” Tommy insisted, making the dragon laugh. He grinned as well, as they emerged from the forest to a rising sun and dewy grass beneath their feet.
“We’ll see. It won’t be today, that’s for sure, you’re helpin’ me in the shop.” Techno said, nodding decidedly.
Tommy paused, looking back at Techno, “I am?”
“Karma for makin’ me stay up this late.”
-
Having Phil over wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be. The faerie was witty, funny, and once the two properly were introduced, Tommy found himself less mindful of his sharp smiles and piercing eyes.
He had questioned exchanging names with him, before Phil got here. Techno knew his full name, evidence of their trust from long ago, just as Phil knew his. ‘Technoblade’. That was a sick-ass name, and Tommy told him so, telling him he should use it more often. Techno didn’t agree.
But, Techno had explained, ‘Tommy’ was not his true name, and while people knew him by it, it served more as a nickname. It was an equal exchange, for the name that he got to use for Phil.
Tubbo, however, didn’t agree, when he came over to tell him about it.
“A faerie has your name?” Tubbo looked so devastated that Tommy had to laugh, because genuinely, it wasn’t that serious, was it? “You’re dead. You’re so fucking dead. Ranboo, go find the funeral rites.”
Ranboo hummed distantly from the hayloft above them, because at least someone could be chill about shit, “The ones for someone going to heaven, or the ones for someone going to hell?”
He was glanced at by Tubbo, then he looked back up at Ranboo, “Hell. Definitely hell.”
“Hey!”
Chasing a satyr was a much harder job than Tommy had expected. He didn’t know how Ranboo managed.
-
They were going to have a potluck, and Tommy was genuinely excited. He and Techno were bringing a salad and a broth, both of which will bring home plenty of leftovers. They had set up their table, and Tommy belatedly realized that it was the same one he’d been sitting at, alone, a few days prior. Funny how things work out.
Phil was the first to be there, five minutes early. Tommy barely flinched when he turned to find the faerie sat down next to him, finding a pitcher of lemonade sat at the table. After a small bit of questioning from Techno, they got a promise out of him that it was safe, something that Phil picked up in their world, not the Feywild. Which was good, since Tommy was already pouring himself a glass.
Niki and Ranboo came just on time, bringing cookies that Ranboo gloated about making with just supervision from their friend. "You nearly switched the salt and sugar. Twice." She pointed out, in which they went a little bit quieter. Niki herself brought sourdough, as well as a dip that she refused to share the recipe for, and for good reason, because Tommy would absolutely steal it if he could.
Tubbo approached cautiously, just a few minutes late, with a whole-ass watermelon that Tommy was pretty sure that they should probably ask about. No one did, as he set it on the table, and asked which of the foods did the faerie bring. Tommy pointed at his cup of lemonade, taking another sip from it. The horror on Tubbo’s face was worth potentially being cursed.
The potluck went amazingly. Tubbo did eventually come around to Phil, after interrogating him with questions that the faerie answered with unflinching ease. Niki and Techno got on the topic of daggers, and everyone else agreed to leave them alone in their heated debate on what shape was best for a blade, after Ranboo tried to chime in and was shut down nearly immediately.
The horns that blew in the distance weren’t something that Tommy had noticed at first. What he noticed were the people moving, clearing the streets, murmuring gossip as the carriage rolled down the city streets, not unlike when Tommy had first arrived.
He recognized the symbol they were flying as his own. And despite his brother being a pain in the ass sometimes, he smiled as he stepped out of the carriage, walking over to him slowly as he dusted himself off.
“Your Majesty.” Tommy’s bow was a little too quick, but Wilbur never minded.
“Your Highness.” Was returned, a hand placed on his chest. Then he opened his arms out for a hug, one that Tommy eagerly accepted.
Letting him go, Wilbur brushed a strand of hair out of his face, looking him over with a raised eyebrow and an amused grin, “Where are your shoes?”
Tommy laughed, and Wilbur chuckled along with him as he brought his brother over to the rest of his friends. Techno and Phil paid Wilbur no mind, and somehow, Tommy expected that. “This is my brother.” Tommy announced anyway, lacking much of the fanfare that Wilbur got on his arrival, and returned to his seat in between Tubbo and Phil.
Wilbur looked over the table for a minute, considering the food on it with something that Tommy almost wanted to call contempt. His friends were too quiet in his presence. Yes, this was their king, but he was also just Tommy’s brother. They didn’t need to be intimidated, Wilbur couldn’t even hold his own in a fight.
“Is this a going-away party?” Wilbur asked, standing near Tommy like he wanted to sit, but neither satyr nor faerie would let him.
Tommy frowned, “Going away-?”
“No.” Techno said simply, and Wilbur shot him a small glare at the fact that he interrupted Tommy. Tommy, himself, felt nothing but relief, “This is a potluck.”
“Well,” Wilbur straightened, hands rested in front of himself, clenched together maybe a bit too tight, “I suppose I can wait until you finish. I’d like us to get back before sundown, though, Tommy..”
Tommy raised an eyebrow, skeptical, “I’m to stay here all summer.”
Wilbur laughed, shaking his head, “Did you really think I meant that? That is way too long to leave you out here, by yourself.”
He wasn’t staying here for the summer. That was never Wilbur’s plan. Of course it wasn’t. His brother was absurd, but he wasn’t that absurd.
This was what Tommy should want. To go home again, to be back at the palace, where he should be, where he could return to being his people’s prince. Still, he heard himself saying, “I’m not by myself.”
Wilbur chuckled, raising his hands up as he looked around at the table again, a small acknowledgement of his friends, “My fault, you’re not.”
Tommy held the end of the picnic bench tight, words coming out of his mouth before he could fully think them through, “I want to stay here for the summer.” He looked over at Techno, who seemed… surprised, “If that’s alright.”
Blinking out of his surprise, Techno nodded stiffly.
He looked back at Wilbur. His brother was looking at him, not angry, but definitely surprised. Tommy was surprised himself. He still didn’t want to take back a single thing.
“Alright.” Wilbur relented, a small smile on his face, “I’m a bit annoyed you made me come all the way out here just to tell me that you want to stay, but fine.”
That was absolutely not the answer that Tommy had been expecting.
“But,” There it was, “I came all this way already. Can I at least have some food?”
Tommy glanced over at Techno, who gave a small shrug.
Wilbur left not long after, promising to visit once he got another respite from his duties. And as he left, carriage pulling away, Tommy yelled after, “You have all summer!"
-
That night, Tommy watched as Clementine emerged from her cocoon, her glass jar set on the dining table. He fretted that she was taking too long, and Phil shook his head, "Just give her a minute. She's got it."
And slowly, she got out, airing out her white wings. Tommy waited an impatient hour as the sun set, and as she finally began to fly around in her enclosure. Then, he stepped outside, being extra careful to keep the jar steady.
"Go ahead," Techno encouraged, Tommy finally unscrewing the jar's lid. Clementine stared up at the stars for a moment, beady eyes wide. Then, she flew away.