A Prince, Long Forgotten (Discontinued)

Dinner Conversations

Tommy had awoken around two hours ago as the strange man walked into a pulsing wall of purple energy. As the two passed through the portal, the Nether's heat was left behind, and Tommy saw the Overworld for the first time in his life. Tommy looked out over the valley, his eyes full of wonder. Tommy's hair gently swayed in the breeze as he sat up on Phil's back. Feeling the boy's movement, Phil glanced over his shoulder with a smile, "Glad to see you're alright, kid."

Tommy didn't meet the man's gaze, fascinated with the world around him. "What's your name?" Tommy ignored the winged man's question, his instincts telling him not to trust a stranger. Instead, Tommy opted to watch the sky as stars began to fill the dark blue canvas. "Cat got your tongue, kid?" Phil smirked, again being ignored.

Phil sighed softly, inwardly cursing as he saw the inky black sky. Wilbur and Techno were expecting him back home by now. The detour he had taken in getting the boy and himself to the portal had slowed him down significantly. But Phil hoped his son and student would be understanding. Phil set the boy down onto the grass with a smile, glancing towards the slowly darkening sky. Storm clouds were gathering in the distance. "Looks like we got a long walk ahead of us, kid."

The pair set off down the mountain trail and away from the portal. After several hours, they arrived at a small cottage in the valley. As they approached the home, the door burst open, two boys rushing out into the cool night air. The two boys immediately began shouting at the man.

"Dad!" The boy with curly brown hair shouted, wrapping his arms around the blonde man's legs, "What took you so long? We were so worried!"

"Correction. Wilbur was worried. I knew you'd be fine." The other boy, a boy with long pink hair, stated matter of factly, his monotone voice making him sound as though he genuinely didn't care, but the smile on his face told Tommy otherwise. As Tommy watched the scene play out before him, he suddenly locked eyes with the pink-haired boy. "Phil. Who the hell is that?

Tommy clung to the coat of the blonde man he now knew as Phil, shivering uncontrollably. The heat of the Nether was almost unbearable, but the cold was almost worse, and with the incoming storm, Tommy felt utterly miserable. Phil smiled a little before scooping Tommy up into his arms, much to Tommy's annoyance. "I'm sorry I was so late. I'll explain everything once we get inside and settled down, alright?" The two boys stared at Tommy briefly before relenting, leading the way into the small cottage.

As they crossed the threshold of the cottage, the scent of food filled Tommy's senses. His stomach growled, and his mouth began to water as Tommy sniffed the air. Phil simply chuckled as he carried Tommy into the kitchen, finding his own dinner untouched. This kid needs this more than I do, he thought as he sat Tommy down in his usual seat. Tommy simply stared down at the plate before glancing up at Phil in confusion.

With a smile, Phil simply motioned to the plate, "Go ahead and eat, mate. You look hun-" before Phil could finish his sentence, the boy began stuffing food into his mouth, eating quickly and as much as he could. Phil felt his heart begin to ache, weighed down with sadness. The way the boy devoured the adult portions of what was meant to be Phil's dinner... it was as if he hadn't eaten in days. Praying that wasn't the case, Phil turned to the doorway. There stood his son Wilbur, and Technoblade, his current student. Both were watching the young boy, their expressions mirroring Phil's own. Phil smiled and motioned for them to have a seat at the table.

The two boys quickly complied, sliding into their chairs and watching Phil expectantly. Phil took a seat between the three children before sighing, "I guess I've got some explaining to do."

"Yeah, no kidding Philza. Who's this kid?" Technoblade demanded, his arms crossed over his chest. Wilbur nodded in silent agreement as he continued to watch the boy, who was currently reaching towards Wilbur's unfinished meal. Sliding the plate to the child, Wilbur kept his eyes locked on his father.

"Well... I don't know his name. He hasn't said a word to me." Phil began, rubbing the back of his neck as he searched for the right words. "You both know I needed some Nether Quartz. Well, I had just finished gathering some when I heard the sound of a Ghast attack, not far off from where I was. When I went to investigate, the Ghast had blasted the side of a pillar. I thought that maybe some adventurer had been spotted. But then... "He glanced over to Tommy, who was now attempting to steal the remnants of Technoblade's meal as his student stubbornly slid it out of the boy's reach, "...but then I realized the Ghast was attacking a kid."

Both Wilbur's and Technoblade's eyes widened. "Wait, so this kid was in the Nether?" Techno asked, pretending not to notice Tommy practically crawling up onto the table to reach his food.

"Why would a kid be in the Nether?" Wilbur muttered quietly, watching the boy successfully snatch Techno's plate away from him. A sudden, terrifying thought hit him, "You don't think this has anything to do with.... with Dreamons, do you dad?" A long silence followed Wilbur's words, making him immediately regret voicing this thought.

Dreamons. The ungodly creatures that stalked the Earth. Although Dreamons are arguably the most powerful creatures, dreamon sightings were sporadic. They were simply myths, stories told to frighten children into behaving. But in the last decade, four dreamon kingdoms arose, and chaos erupted across the world. Wilbur inwardly shuddered as he recalled the previous dreamon attack that he had witnessed. The night Technoblade lost his family, the night Wilbur lost his mother, and Phil the love of his life.

The tension in the room was broken when Phil spoke again, "No. I don't think this has anything to do with Dreamons. He wouldn't be alive if those monsters were involved." Tommy sat in his seat, munching on the potato he had stolen from Techno's plate, glancing between the three people that sat around him. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but Tommy didn't care. For the first time in weeks, Tommy's belly was full.

Taking a deep breath, Phil let out a long sigh, "Since we don't know where this kid came from, I say we let him live with us. Until we find out where he came from, or who his parents are. Wilbur and Techno looked at each other nervously. The three of them barely had enough food as it was. Adding another person would make things significantly more difficult. But all Phil, Wilbur, and Technoblade all knew that they couldn't abandon the kid, nor did they want to. The blonde boy invited an entirely different energy into the home. It was strange. The trio had only spent a few moments with the boy and already considered him family.

Wilbur smiled a little before it struck him, "What's your name, kid?"

Tommy glanced up to the boy. He had yet to say a word to anyone in the room. He vaguely remembered someone telling him once to be wary of strangers, not to trust someone you've just met. But the kindness in Wilbur's dark brown eyes convinced Tommy that these people could be trusted.

"Tommy. My name is Tommy Innit."

Word Count: 1,285