The Valley

we were young when we heard you call

Life had fallen into a routine for Tubbo. He stayed at home even more, not wanting to leave the loft. He worked on a new bot, wishing Wilbur was here. Or Techno. They were always willing to help Tubbo with his tech, or just talk to him. Get him outside since if it were up to Tubbo, he'd waste away in his room.

Sighing again, he looked down at the bot he was working on. Phil was out with Ranboo, taking him to a therapist. Ranboo hadn't been sleeping since... everything. So Tubbo was alone again.

His stomach growled loudly and he rose from his chair, deciding to go and get something to eat. At home, the fridge was always stocked with food and snacks. Here, Phil hadn't had the time to get more food, so he was stuck with what they had.

He eventually just decided to go out and get something to eat, there wasn't any microwave food and Tubbo wasn't a great cook. It was Ranboo who would cook usually.

He grabbed his black windbreaker, Phil had been quick to get them new clothes. It didn't feel right, but Tubbo just had to roll with the punches. He grabbed some cash Phil had left behind and ran out the door, going towards the nearest gas station.

He pushed into the gas station, shivering a bit at the wave of cold air. But it was better than the heat. In Tubbo's opinion he had dealt with enough heat to last a lifetime. He shuffled around, grabbing a bag of chips and a shitty breakfast sandwich despite the fact that it was 2 in the afternoon.

He decided to walk to the park to eat his food, sitting down on a metal bench. It was very cold, far to cold for a windbreaker, but he liked the cold.

He sat there for a while, watching people, eating his shitty food. He noticed a woman sitting down on a bench, dressed in black. Strange.

With a sigh, Tubbo rose and decided to go back home, walking home. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He kept on looking around, but couldn't see anything.

He got home without much trouble, settling on the couch to watch TV until Phil and Ranboo got back. They were supposed to go to the hospital, to pick up Tommy and visit Wilbur and Techno. Phil hadn't said much about what happened to Techno, just that he was stabbed. That he could still die.

***

The hospital was just as bright and sterile as Tubbo remembered, far to clean with nurses and doctors walking around. There wasn't much going on today, apparently.

They went to get Tommy first, who was good to be checked out. He had been interviewed again by the police, apparently so had Phil. Tommy was very excited to get out of the hospital, but they had promised to check up on Wilbur and Techno.

They went to Techno first, though they were told that he was still asleep, still recovering from surgery. It felt wrong to Tubbo, to see Techno so weak when he had been previously seen as this unkillable beast, the Blood God himself.

He excused himself outside of the room, he felt sick when he saw Techno's pale form. He held his head in his hands, looking at his shoes. They were stained with soot that couldn't be scrubbed out and there were still the holes from burns.

Ranboo joined him soon after, sitting beside Tubbo with a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Tubbo whispered, looking up and taking Ranboo's hand. He nodded a bit.

"The therapist was really nice. She gave me a book to write things down in." He said, equally as quiet. Tubbo nodded, his eyes downcast.

They sat there in comfortable silence before Phil and Tommy came out of the room. They went to go see Wilbur next, who was far more lucid.

Tubbo still couldn't be in the room, the idea of seeing perfect Wilbur scarred and hurt damaged the gilded memory of his elder brother far to much. He quietly told Phil he was gonna go to the car before quickly getting out of this place. He knew Wilbur was clean, but he could still feel the smoke pressing against his throat.

As he walked out into the parking lot, he breathed in the cool air. He curled his nails into his palms, but they were too short to draw any blood. Then he saw that woman again, dressed in black. And she was walking towards him.

Oh fuck she was walking towards him.

He felt a wave of panic, but the woman held out her hands, trying to calm Tubbo down.

"Calm down, calm down, it's okay I'm not gonna hurt you." She said softly. "I was just wondering if you knew someone." Tubbo backed against the car, but he wasn't as afraid. His family would be out soon and no one would try anything in a semi-full parking lot.

"Do you know someone named Eret? I need to find them, they're really tall and have a deep voice." Tubbo thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Why, are they your friend?" The woman thought for a moment.

"Of sorts, I suppose. But, uh, thank you. Sorry if I scared you, I'm trying to find someone and I think they can help, here." The woman held out a raven's feather, "Keep this close to you and nothing back will happen." Tubbo looked at the woman like she was crazy, but as quickly as she came, she left.

Tommy, Phil and Ranboo came soon after she left, Tubbo stuffing the feather into his pocket.

"How's Wil?" Tubbo asked as Phil drove them home.

"He's still Wil. He'll be allowed home in a few days. Nothing to worry about." Nothing to worry about.

That had become Phil's new motto since they got to the loft, though it was unclear who he was trying to calm. His children or himself, not that Tubbo cared. There was plenty to be worried about, in his humble opinion. Things that could keep him wide awake at night, like Ranboo, though Ranboo had slept much more since he moved to the couch.

Another sleepless night followed Tubbo, he decided to continue working on his bot, though he'd hit a wall. He was never supremely good at coding, that's why he had Wilbur and Techno who, when their nerdy brains were put together, could always help him out of any problem he had. Now he was just staring at bits of black metal he had yet to solder together, feeling empty.

He walked out of the room that him and Tommy shared, who was happily snoring away on the bed, and out onto the wide balcony that overlooked the city. Lights were flicking off, it was rather late, and Tubbo could hazily make out the stars past all the light pollution.

For his eighteenth birthday they had went to the forest to go camping, since Tubbo had always wanted to see the stars. It was the first birthday he'd ever celebrated, and it was wonderful.

He wanted to go back. Go back soon, hopefully.

He felt something jab into his leg and he pulled out the raven feather, still somehow in good condition. Then he remembered the woman's question, about a person named Eret. He hoped that she would find him.

He gripped the feather, not sure what to do with it.

"So, uh, miss weird lady, if this is a cool feather thing, can you make sure someone else doesn't get hurt?" Tubbo whispered into the feather. "Can you protect Technoblade? Make sure he lives. I would ask for Tommy, but we got him covered. Make sure Technoblade lives and gets to come home. Please." He felt like an idiot, talking to a feather, but maybe it'd work.

He hoped it would work.