Welcome Home (Dream SMP Rapunzel AU)

Tired Old Mare

tw: child soldiers, minor violence, death mention

—————— 4 ——————

"So what's the real reason you've brought me out here?"

Wilbur twirls his hatchet as they stroll through the forest, an assortment of chopped branches under his arm as stops at another, dying tree, "I want to know more about you, Tommy. There's a lot about you that you keep hidden, like how during the questions game, you didn't bother to join in, unless you had something to hide. I'm not forcing you to answer anything you don't want to, but I'm curious. You're more than a chameleon, and you have me intrigued. I want to sort of, pick you apart, you could say."

Tommy blinks, shuffling his hands on Wilbur's shoulder as he pulls down a long branch and swings the axe at its midpoint. The limb comes tumbling down, disturbing the leaves under it. "Okay," he answers, "go ahead, ask whatever."

Wilbur hums, "Why can you talk?"

A reasonable question, one that Tommy should expect, one that Technoblade had surprisingly never asked. "I can trust you, yeah, Wilbur?" he asks, nudging an elbow below the man's ear.

"Oh, of course. I won't say a word," he answers.

Tommy sniffs, but it's content, "I was cursed, that's why. I used to be a human, but now I just, I probably could have found a cure by now, but I didn't, because I stayed with Techno."

"Hmm," Wilbur muses, thoughtfully. Then, he turns his head to look at Tommy, "And how did you two meet?"

His tail flicks, "Well, he found me locked up in a cage, in a cabinet, and set me loose. I stayed because... I saw he needed my help. He was lonely, and he got me out, so I kept him company. I told him, uh, 'I will be your friend' —something someone said to me a long time ago, and I gave him my guidance." He says the last word proudly, tail stood up. A smile curves on his mouth, then Wilbur continues.

"Caged in a cabinet, in the tower. So, was Cornelius the one who cursed you?"

The lizard, once a child, lowers his tail. He blinks slowly, hesitating, "He can't be trusted, Wilbur. He's not a good guy, but don't tell Technoblade. He cares about him too much."

A beat passes. Wilbur nods, returning to the work of slicing the branch for wood. His hatchet strikes a thick offshoot, splitting it away with a sharp thump. He sniffs, "Alright. You can trust me."

—————— ₪ ——————

He doesn't feel the soft mattress of his bed under him this morning. Around him, he's wrapped in his own hair, something poking bumpy into the small of his back. He shifts in the too-tight cocoon, an ache lacing from his joints as he drowsily stretches. Something else large shifts beside him, and without opening his eyes, he finally remembers where he is.

They're in a clearing in the middle of the god forsaken woods, surrounded by yellow and red trees with birds chirping obnoxiously in the distance. He feels something scratch at his face as someone huffs loudly, making a sound of what can be described as beating a stick or something against a tree—repeatedly.

Techno groans. "Shut up, we can get a few more minutes," he yells to whoever's making the racket. Though, if Wilbur's beside him, and Tommy's too small to make a sound that loud.... Technoblade snaps open his eyes to see the damn chameleon sitting on the leaves in front of his face. He points to something behind Techno, expression kept stoic and unconcerned.

Almost immediately something heavy stomps down on Techno's hair with a thump. He shrieks and tosses himself to face the enemy to find his head against a leg. Above him a massive stallion stands over them and stomps again. Wilbur slips out of the cocoon with a hoof slammed into the ground where he was seconds ago. Techno harshly hits an arm against the horse's leg, trying to shove it off of his hair. A hoof comes down on his head and obscures his view as his hands blindly swing up in front of him.