notus

Chapter 2: promise you'll stay, if i promise to keep you safe

Chapter 2: promise you'll stay, if i promise to keep you safe

"Where did you come from?" The Goat Kid whispers. They push themselves back and away. "I-I thought no one else knew we snuck out...I thought it was just me and Tommy."

The Prince blinks. Like a fish, his jaw opens and closes soundlessly.

"Hello," says he again, stupidly.

"...hello?" The Goat Kid eyes him.

Ranboo harshly shakes his head, dislodging the settling fog in his mind. "Er- hi," he manages, at least. "My name's-"

Prince.

"Ranboo," he says instead. "...what's yours?"

The Goat Kid holds their hands, close to their chest. They look at their fingers as they speak. "...Tubbo," they say at last.

Tubbo glances up at him, staring at his face. Both of them freeze, enraptured in the other.

Ranboo looks away first.

"How did you get here?" Tubbo straightens, some tension misting away from their shoulders. "Did you go through the portal too?"

Ranboo gnaws at his lips. "No..." says he, cautiously. "I've...always been in the End. I-"

Rule it? Own it? The Dragon you tried to kill, She answers to my call?

"-live here," he finishes lamely.

Ranboo sits back, mirroring the way the Goat- Tubbo pulled knees up close. "Why did you come here?" he can't help but ask.

Fool of him, perhaps. What else do outsiders want to do, when they come?

A flicker of shame, and embarrassment, passes through Tubbo's face. "We...just wanted to see if we can kill the Ender Dragon," they murmur. "It was Tommy's idea but...I thought it was cool."

Unfortunately unsurprised, the Prince glances away. "...She can get scary when She's angry," he offers. "But...She's usually really nice, every other time."

They huff a single chuckle. "She sounds like Phil."

A beat passes.

Tubbo looks at him oddly. "...'She'?"

In a moment of wondrous timing, The Dragon screams a wordless roar above them. A warning, double-edged with meaning, despite the animalistic nature.

"That's Her," Ranboo breathes, and he knows his time is up. But when he stares back at Tubbo, shivering and whimpering away, he makes a decision.

"Come on," he offers a hand, and a smile. "Trust me."

Tubbo stares at his hand, wide-eyed. "...you're not thinking about going out there, aren't you?"

Ranboo pulls a face and shrugs. "She'll get angry if I don't." Tubbo's terror is clear, and it softens The Prince's tone. "I'll keep you safe."

Tubbo glances between the hand and his face, teeth gnawing uneasily on their lips. Hesitantly, they brush their fingers along his palm.

"Promise?" they whisper.

"Promise," says Ranboo, ever unhesitant.

They clamber out of the tunnel. Ranboo breathes a sigh of relief, stretching his wings in the newfound space. Through the corner of his eye, he spots Tubbo eyeing them with wonder.

Ranboo catches their gaze with a smile. Tubbo smiles back.

Then the Dragon lands.

She's the picture of fury, the embodiment of cold rage. Smoke curdles from Her jaw. Her wings snap outwards as She rears on Her hind legs.