I Chose to Bow

Tales from the Past

In the end, they invited Ranboo inside. Kristin laid some bread, apples and ham slices on the table, while Philza, Bunnyblade and Ranboo tried to carry on a somewhat awkward conversation. Bunny stared unblinkingly at the new guest while he nibbled at a carrot and Philza kept running his hands through his hair, not sure how to come to terms with the idea that not only had he known Bunnyblade's brother at some point, but he'd had an entire life he'd somehow forgotten, and so had Kristin.

It was hard to say what Ranboo was thinking. He kept his head on one side, the veil now thrown back to show his face, and his eyes went from one member of the family to the other. Every once in a while, he opened his mouth to say something while another person was already talking, but then he shut it again.

"So..." Philza was saying, as Kristin set the first of the plates down, "you're...his brother's friend?" He began rubbing Bunnyblade's back. "And I...knew you?"

"Uh-huh." Ranboo answered. "And a few other people too. I thought to find some of them here, or at least one. But," he said slowly, "it looks like everyone was separated. Like me."

Bunnyblade thumped his feet on his chair and asked, "And who are you?" Ranboo's eyes skipped about the room in a confused manner until the boy clarified. "You're Ranboo, yes. But who is Ranboo?"

Kristin set a plate of ham in the middle of the table, along with some of their maple syrup and a bit of brown sugar. "You mentioned being a 'gentleman of war and courtesy', whatever that means."

"Ah," and Ranboo grinned, though it was hard to tell exactly what emotion lay behind that grin, "yes. Gentleman. War and courtesy. It's a way of saying that I am very good at fighting and I'm very polite about it." He gave a chuckle, somewhat forced, and continued. "I've known Technoblade, you, Kristin, Little Fluff here, and...and a few others for a while now. We were always mostly on the same side. Mostly. But Dream and his goons, no. No, we all hated them and kept trying to kill them." He shifted in his chair, taking some of the ham and drizzling the syrup over it. "I got a message one day, almost a year ago now, from Technoblade, telling me to go find his little brother. He said Dream and his motard squad had been attacking him and Fluff, so he had to handle them, but his brother had gone missing. So I was to find him. I didn't know why he didn't just ask you," he indicated Phil, "but I figured, hey, maybe Phil and Techno are fighting together again, like old times. And I started looking for Little Fluff. Didn't have a lot to go on, but when I eventually realized he'd been taken by Dream, of course the next thing to do was go after him."

Bunnyblade shuddered in his seat and nervously took a large bite out of his carrot. Philza picked him up, seating the boy in his lap and holding him close. Bunny leaned into his chest.

"Then," Ranboo continued, finishing his ham slice.and taking some bread Kristin had just supplied with butter, "it took some doing to figure out where Fluff was being held, only for me to find out later that the clever bunny-boy had escaped."

A loud sniff and a whimper came from Bunny, who turned right around in Philza's arms and buried his face under his neck. The farmer ran his hand down Bunny's hair, stroking it softly and keeping his eyes on Ranboo. "What did they want with him?"

There was a hard, cold tone to his voice that made Ranboo lower his head and Kristin come over next to her husband to ask, "Are you alright, love?" He nodded, but continued staring at Ranboo.

Eventually he got his answer. "Technoblade disappeared. Dream and his minions were hoping Little Fluff knew where he was, and if he didn't, they were planning on using him as bait." And Ranboo put the last bite of bread in his mouth, going silent.

The farmer's arms tightened around Bunnyblade. His voice was still tight as he said, "Disappeared?" Ranboo nodded, but did not elaborate.

For a few minutes, no one spoke. Kristin sat down next to her husband and cast anxious looks at Bunny, who hadn't raised his head yet. Ranboo shuffled in his seat.