𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐁𝐘𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 .. ᵈʳᵉᵃᵐ ˢᵐᵖ

𝙶𝙾𝙾𝙳𝙱𝚈𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙰 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙻𝙳

warning for gory depictions, amputation, character death.

. Technoblade had always wished he was an onlychild, just- not like this .

It's barely past nightfall, and a snowstorm had started outside. The wind was picking up, sending fractures of ice and snow at heightening speeds, inviting strays and other aggressive mobs to begin to crawl out of the caves and crevices around the snowy landscape. It was a hellscape of frozen water pools, slowness arrows, and weather that could kill you. Not particularly the best of biomes to set up shop, but one person had done so for the exact reason of keeping others away. A house of wood and stone. Built by hands calloused by war and the grip of a sword hilt. A farm, by an unfrozen pool, ground vegetables and sugar cane beginning to sprout just under the soil, warmed by lanterns and lava hidden just under the stone. A haphazardly built path, a horse pen - the muscled, armoured steed currently asleep, wrapped over in a large tack blanket - stairs to a door. Unopened windows, and the faint smell of mushroom stew wafting through the air.

He was tall, but his brother had been taller. His twin had towered over him in life, ruffling his hair, teasing him, leaning his elbow on his head and calling him teasing names that one would call a brother they pretended to argue with. The house had tall ceilings though, so he had little trouble with it, unlike his previous underground hideaway. The furnace was almost done warning his dinner, the wooden bowl would be hot to the touch, but that was why he held a cloth in his hand. Waiting for the food to be finished - the smell was driving him mad - Technoblade, son of Philza, looked around his home away from the chaos of L'manburg. Out of the reach of Dream, of his family, of the stupid disc wars that he had been dragged into. The howls of ungodly skeletal creatures still echoed in his ears at night, the black withering effect leaving lasting damage. Just because he had summoned them, didn't mean they gave him sweet mercy.

Panic episodes are common, but nightmares are excessively frequent. Waking the man up in the middle of the night, sweat dripping like rain, breathing as if he had run the entire distance from his home to the woodland mansion. He could feel the fading effects of withering that were the cause of his sudden awakened panic. Of course, the effect had worn off an hour after it had been given to him, but every dream made him feel it all over again. It was like someone had scratched the disc of his memory, the track skipping, replaying the one moment again and again, until someone shut it off.

The ding of his food being finished made the Piglin hybrid flinch, stumbling against where he leant back against the table before quickly regaining his composure, shaking his head, and retrieving his food. No one saw that. No one saw him for that split second of weakness. No one saw.

The window crashed open, and Techno sighed heavily - it wasn't uncommon, the window latch was faulty - so he placed his bowl down and walked towards it to close it once more. He liked the repetitive sound of his hooved feet against the wooden floors, the tapping kept him grounded, keeping his mind focussed on each task he had to do. If he didn't focus on exactly what he did, he got distracted, started doing other things, leaving the original task uncompleted and thus, making himself more frustrated.

He snatched the window latch with padded fingers and reminded himself to add to his to-do list. This would be the next thing to repair after he expanded the potato farm. He got halfway through pulling the window down when he looked out over the great fields of snow with analytical red eyes, eyes that were trained to pick put anomalies from the crowd. Eyes that spotted something that didn't belong half-buried in the snow. He paused, squinting his eyes as if it would help him see what he was seeing any better. It was a figure, light coloured clothing and skin, almost blended into the snow. Only visible due to the bright wrapping of red around the shoulders. Technos first thought is Philza, the blonde hair being the first feature that he took note of. He wondered for that split second about what the absolute hell Phil was doing out here in the middle of a snowstorm. He'd just gone back to L'manburg the day before. Techno had waved him off when he had taken into the clear blue sky, promising to come back in two days time.

It's when he sees the red among the white shirt, the tan coloured cargo pants, that Techno knows, undeniably, that the figure in the snow is his younger brother. It's Tommy, and Techno doesn't respond right away. He doesn't know how to.

Tommy was exiled, he should have been hanging out in his little tent by the ocean, with Ghostbur and Dream. Enjoying the bright sun, playing around with a trident, mining and building in the great open space. Logstedshire is what Tommy had called it when Techno had visited once with Phil by his side. He'd spent the time making fun of the younger boy, mocking his tools and his house and his stupid log girlfriend. Now, seeing what he could, Techno wondered how much of that light-hearted, brotherly, teasing that Tommyinnit took to heart.