[Blankets]

chapter three

Technoblade always smelled like the woods. It didn't matter what he did, whether he had just come inside from exploring or just gotten out of the shower, it stayed with him. It wasn't a bad smell, it was comforting, and good; like sweet pine cones dropped from trees and earthy metals mined beneath the ground, weathered bark of birch and the sun drying the morning grass. Tommy loved it. But right now it terrified him.

He was cowering behind Techno's desk in his room, after having snuck from his nest into the base, and into Techno's territory. It was the middle of the night, pitch black except for the occasional torch throughout the base. Tommy's eyes could compensate for the lack of light, but that didn't matter if you felt hunted. He had assumed Technoblade was altpreadly long gone, journeying to the village. He'd be back in a few days time. So Tommy had entered his brother's room, and the smell he was so familiar with hit him too late, masked by the scent of newly sheared sheep's wool.

He tried to steady his breathing, his tail fluffed in fear and kept as close to his body as possible to make him appear smaller. Technoblade had never found Tommy in his room before. If he knew about the blankets, he didn't press the issue. But what would he do if he did find him?

Tommy's heart raced as he peeked around the corner of the desk. Techn was still there, asleep, laying next to the pile of new blankets that had blocked Tommy's sense of smell. Why was he here? It was supply run time, not give tommy a heart attack time. If Technoblade wasn't awake from Tommy's scent yet,he'd surely be awake soon from the new scent of fear radiating off of the boy. He had to leave. So why wasn't he moving? He cursed himself for staying out for so long, but he was paralyzed. It couldn't be that bad if he got caught, right...?

Finally he urged himself forward, carefully crawling along the carpeted hardwood floor. He was at the door, ready to grab the knob, when he heard it.