Vwoop - Technoblade and Ranboo

22

"Ew, stop that. You look like a spider."

Technoblade scolds from the sofa, a slight grimace as he watches the creature move on his hands and paws, as if trying to mix walking with crawling. He can hear Phil laughing in the background, not bothering to search him with his eyes and focusing on seeing that the enderling isn't going to trip over his own limbs and face-plant on the ground.

"Oh, Techno, leave him be. He's trying his best, and that's a part of learning, after all." Intervenes Philza, his tone without ever losing the air of enthusiasm.

The child already stands on his feet, yes, as long as he's holding on to something, but it seems that he doesn't want to dare to try to walk for real just yet. Perhaps the shape of his legs, with joints similar to those of Techno, make it more difficult for him to stand up and walk. It could be.

Technoblade wonders if he had trouble starting to walk himself, but it's impossible to know that. His most distant memory is... waking up in a dark cave with an unknown hatchling in his lap (and the very, very vague image of a lodestone marker on a bastion many, many years ago). He's definitely not going to remember his journey to learn to walk, if he ever had one.

The shiny charm on the heterochromic neck swings from side to side like a pendulum as the child moves. Luckily he seems to have gotten used to it by now, only having tried to pull on the chain a couple of times the first few days of having it on.

"C'mon, Ranboo! Come here!"

Bright eyes lift to the friendly face of Phil, who crouches next to the sofa where Technoblade sits. The avian gleefully holds his gaze until the shadow of a snarl starts invading the little features. They're progressing. Phil can look at him in the eye for a little longer now. And Philza is happy about it. (And to be fair, the kid seems to do it on reflex, rather than as an actual threat. Must be his instincts acting up.)

Ranboo.

Technoblade still finds it strange and foreign to hear the name and relate it to the creature that has accompanied him for a year now. The child, for his part, seems to acclimatize well to the word. His gaze flies quickly to whoever mentions it, especially if it's the lamb who invented it. (Technoblade still can't believe that one youngling named the other. What a ridiculous situation. Well, at least he's got a name now.)

The boy takes his gaze away from Philza, after staring at him for a couple of seconds and making sure he's not looking at him.

"Come on, mate! You can do it, Ranboo." Yes, Phil is very determined to use his name to the fullest. Although the child does not seem to need to hear it as much to get used to it.

The claws and paws plant themselves on the ground, and the creature raises his rear to the ceiling, making a triangular A-shape with his body, and waves his tail like a flag over his figure. As he has done so many times before, he begins to move like this, toward them.

Philza waits for him with open hands, cheering loudly when the little enderman finally reaches his position. "Well done, mate! You're so quick! You'll be running in no time!"

Philza basically monologues as he gets up from the ground with the halfling in his arms, walking to where the creature was a moment ago and placing him on the rug again. He gently helps him straighten up on his lower limbs, urging him to take a few awkward steps with his support.

"Alright, Ranboo. You're very talented, you just need a little help, don't you?" Philza smiles as he stops by a chair, making the little boy hold on to it with his hands, so that he stands without his help now.

The boy stays there, standing on legs that seem to strain to support the weight of his body. And to be fair, anyone who has seen an adult enderman will be able to understand where the difficulty in the process comes from. Although the slender limbs do not yet show their marked and characteristic slimness, the proportions of the child seem to be beginning to approach slightly those of a larger member of the species. His body, shaped soft and round with plenty of baby fat still, and the legs and arms that do not show their lankiness and slenderness yet do not seem to agree on finally giving him adequate dimensions to balance everything on his appearance as an enderman.