Apples of the Earth

1

*Technos point of view*

Light streamed through the dim windows. Outside in the snow, I could make out rabbits frolicking in the cold white powder. I keep from my bed. I wear the same outfit, more or less, as I usually do. I slip out of my warm robe and pajamas and into my dress clothes. Which are my normal clothes. Dad says it's important to make sure everyone knows you're in charge,  and the best way to do that is to look the part.

As usual,  I'm freezing before I even get outside and wrap my warm cloak around me. Dads with the horses. Wilbur is with him, all dressed and ready himself.

"Ready to go?" Dad asks, and I nod. He smiles at me and ruffles my shaggy hair. I want to grow it out, but when it gets very long, it just starts falling out and can be annoying. I mount my colt, Carl, and watch as Dad helps Wilbur up. Today, I get to meet my new sibling. Most people don't have actual parents,  they just appear. Typically, on the younger side, but occasionally people spawn in older than 10. Some even come as full grown adults!

Captain Puffy started the orphanage program, and my dad, Philza, is signed up to take kids. Wilbur is his own, but I'm one of the ones that appear at random. A spawnie, they call us.

Today, we get a new sibling. I'm hoping for a brother because then I won't have to share a room. Dad says if it's a girl, she gets my small room, and we'll share Wilburs. But if it's a boy, he and Wilbur will bunk together. We ride through the snow and arrive eventually at an ocean. We tie up our horses and get in a boat, as we have done a million times before. We row for a few hours. Soon, an entire kingdom begins to materialize in front of us, and eventually, we reach the port. It's almost night, so we stay in an inn on the shore and rest. I wake up first, having not slept well being away from home. I watch the sun rise over the city and grin. I dawn my cloak despite the warmer climate, and I drag my family out of bed. Wilbur especially is reluctant, but I want to see it all. Eventually, they are ready, and we leave to hit the town.

Aromas from food vendors enlighten me to the sustenance around me. From sweet cakes to fresh baked bread to juicy steaks. My stomach rumbles, and it's not the only one. Dad lets us each buy a small breakfast with 2 emeralds each. Wilbur buys bread and a bite of cake. I, however, am starving and search out the cheapest item I can buy. And then I find them. Baked potatoes.

We don't grow much food back home; we mostly hunt or trade. So, seeing 16 baked potatoes for an emerald looked amazing. And it really was. I was also able to pocket an emerald for later. Dad stares but then chuckles when he sees me come back with armloads of potatoes held to my chest. And even with their warmth against me, even with my cloak on and the sun in the sky, I shiver from cold.

We walk through town, and I get a few sideways glances. I suppose it's normal. At first glance, most people take me for a baby pigging, a hostile monster that was known for attacking humans. I kinda am. It's becoming more and more common each year, but it's still fairly rare. Some people are born into this world a hybrid. Not fully human. At face value, that should be really cool. It typically comes with perks from special abilities to increased stamina,  to just looking cool. But we scare people too. I wonder if my new sibling will be a hybrid too?

We finally reach the large wooden and cobblestone building that serves as the orphanage. Out front is the strangest spawnie recorded. His name is Dream. We don't know what he is. It's assumable he's a hybrid, but what of, we don't know. He's mostly green with a face in his stomach and eyes on his chest. He's practicing his sword fighting with a boy with weird white glasses. They stop to watch us pass. Not bad, but I could do better.

We go inside and are almost instantly greater by a sheep hybrid with puffy hair and a captains coat. It's captain puffy. And she's cradling a baby.

"This is Theseus. He spawned in just yesterday. I would probably keep him myself, but my little duckling is having a few problems with him. He appears fully human, but as we know, that doesn't nessisarilly mean anything." She says, passing the baby over to Dad. YESSSSS. It's a boooooyyyyyyy!

Hard name to remember, though.  Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Theseus. Ok. I think I  can remember that now.

"Theseus? That's asking for bullying. How about Tommy?" Dad asks. Dang it.

Captain puffy shrugs. Double dang it.

"That's just the name he came with. You kept the last one, so I thought that I might as well tell you." She says. Spawnies come with a name tag. It usually will apply to them at some point in their life. Like Technoblade,  my name, probably had something to do with my attitude to fighting. I have no idea what Techno means. But that's usually what people call me anyhow.

I look at my new sibling. He has blond hair and a devilish smile. We'll have fun someday.

Suddenly, I become incredibly hungry, so much that I double over and frantically grab at my pack. I pull out my last three potatoes, practically inhaling them, and the pain stops, but the hunger does not.

"Oh sweetheart,  are you ok?" Puffy asks me. I stand up and nod with clenched teeth. Dad looks at me, worried.

"I've been meaning to ask, do you think you could run a medical exam on him? He's been acting sickly lately, and none of my potions are helping." Dad says to her in a low whisper. But my ears are sensitive, and I pick it up easily. I'm fine, right?

She nods, her face a mixture of puzzlement and perplexity.

She leeds me to the back room where potions and medical books and scrolls lay lined on shelves and in chest everywhere.

We run through some basics. Jump. Punch a block. Take a few potions. Breathing exercises. Roll up my pants to check my legs. Then, she tells me to take off my cloak so she can check my arms, neck, and back. I have a funny feeling that I know what's she's looking for now.

I shake from the cold as I remove my cloak. She frowns at this.

"Have you been eating? You're so thin!" She exclaims. I nod.

"Phil isn't -" She begins, but I cut her off.

"He's the best. He does so much for us, all the time. I don't know what is wrong, but it's not him." I interject. She nods.

"I didn't think so. You should start eating more then." She says. She then feels along the thin fabric of my shirt. Running gently up and down my back, then up and down my left arm.

"What are you looking for?" I ask warily.

"Anything that shouldn't be there. Squishy skin, or bumps, and everything in between." She explains.  I sigh.

"Like this?" I pull my collar to the right to reveal my secret bump. It's about a pixel tall and is almost the width of my palm now. Sometimes, my arm hurts, and I think it from this.

"Oh my Wither, that would be something out of place alright." She says. She gently prods it and begins more tests, including taking a small sample from it.

"Well, I won't have results for a while. I'll have to talk with Doctor Ponk. But you should take it easy for now, ok?" She asks, and I nod. I do feel a bit tired anyway.

She leeds me back to my family, and we head home. I fall asleep in the boat, and before I know it, we're back at our horses, and it's dusk. We ride back slowly and get home around midnight. I fall asleep quickly in a sense of security from sleeping in my own bed again.

If only I knew that would be one of the last times I felt that way.