Phil had an inkling of an idea ahead of time how difficult it would be to keep Technoblade in bed for long.

Bedrest was just as much a foreign concept to Techno as it was to Phil, truly. Many injuries had been sustained by them over the years, but none of them had been considered with much more than the confidence that they could be 'walked off' soon. There wasn't anything to them that a long nap and quick stretch wouldn't fix.

And while it wasn't the healthiest approach to things, it had always worked for them.

(When Phil had arrived on Techno's doorstep after a week of aimless wandering through a snowstorm with winds not nearly strong enough to blow away the memory of Wilbur's wide pleading eyes – begging to be killed, begging for Phil to end a suffering he hadn't been there to witness – Techno had opened the door and wordlessly ushered him inside.

They hadn't spoken about it, hadn't acknowledged the ruined feathers of Phil's left wing.

But the next day Techno had brought him the harness he had stayed up all night making, patched together from repurposed straps of leather. He had wound it over Phil's shoulder, fastened it around Phil's alula until the entire contraption was secure.

With its support, Phil had healed and by the time L'Manberg burned a second time Phil could fly once more.)

That was why he walked through the forest now, Ranboo humming a song under his breathe that Phil vaguely recognized while they searched. They had found some serviceable backups already, but Phil knew there had to be a better branch out here that would suit his needs.

Ranboo stopped suddenly. "Did you get any more information on the guy actually? I should have asked that earlier, I guess."

"Not yet," Phil answered. "I'm working on it."

"And what will you do when you uh, have what you're looking for?"

(Destroy whoever dared to lay a hand on Techno. Burn down all they ever touched and lay waste to all they ever loved.

That's what Phil wanted. But they were dead and nothing he could do would hurt them still. The target for his fury had been lost.)

"I don't know," he admitted. "That's a bridge we'll cross when we get there."

After that, they lapsed back into silence for a while until Ranboo broke it again.

"This one?" he asked, holding one up for Phil to inspect.

Phil took it from him, turning it over in his hand to examine the curve and weight. It might be a bit long, but that was a problem easily solved. "It's perfect."

A few hours later saw them sitting in Technoblade's cabin. Ranboo was staring at Phil while he worked, the avian was used to this. Ranboo might be looking at him, but he wasn't looking at him, rather lost in his own thoughts. Phil was using a small knife to whittle away at the branch they had found, removing the rougher outer bark to lay bare the smooth wood beneath. The handle had already been carved too, though Phil considered adding gold or iron to both ends to make the cane sturdier.

If Techno wanted they could even embellish it, decorate it to suit his tastes. Grafting an emerald into the collar could be a neat idea.

Before he could decide he was disturbed by a sudden knock on the door that drew him away from his work. Ranboo jumped to awareness, legs drawing up to his body in one jerky motion. Phil shook his head while he walked over to the door, catching only a glimpse of pastel pink hair through the window.

If Niki was at all surprised by Phil being the one to greet her, she didn't show it. Her smile was no less bright than usual, only slightly curbed in by nervousness. Her fingers clenched firmly around the belt that kept her bag in place around her shoulder, she tucked some hair behind her ear with one hand.

"Uh, hi?" Niki was the first to speak.

"Hello." Phil smiled back. "Sorry, I didn't expect to see you here. Come in."

Wiping her feet on the porch to get the snow off her boots before entering, Niki walked into the room and exchanged some words of greeting with Ranboo while Phil closed the door behind her. By the time he turned around again, she was looking around the cabin with interest, taking in Technoblade's rather unusual sense of interior design.

"I don't mean to be rude," Niki began, a precursor Phil knew often meant the person in question did in fact not care at all about coming across as rude. Out of anybody else that'd be the case, though with Niki he actually believed it. "But I was actually looking for Technoblade? I tried messaging him first but he didn't answer so I thought I'd just drop by and see if he was around." Her hand slipped down the bag's strap. "That was maybe not the best idea," she admitted sheepishly.

"Why not?" Phil asked, sitting back down on the couch and seeing this as a cue she shouldn't keep standing either Niki followed his lead. Ranboo unwound his legs again, scooting over to make some room for her.

"Because I've been messaging and dropping by for weeks now and he's never here." Niki laughed, a joke at her expense she clearly didn't take to heart. "If I didn't know any better I'd think he was purposefully avoiding me. After inviting me and everything."

Pulling out the knife, Phil continued his task while they talked. "When did he invite you?"

"Oh, that was over two months ago. He came by with a..." she hesitated. "A proposition? I guess that's the word. I needed some time to think about it, but I'm finally ready to take him up on his offer. Except apparently, Technoblade's never home. This is the fourth time I've stopped by."

Phil exchanged a glance with Ranboo, who had pulled out his memory book and was skimming through it in search of any evidence he had known about this before. Maybe Niki had come by while they were both busy looking for a missing Techno – or maybe Ranboo had seen her but forgotten to write it down.

He shrugged helplessly and Phil chuckled.

"Yeah, we've been having to deal with a situation," Ranboo said. He closed the book softly, putting it back in its place with care.

"That's one way to put it." Phil turned to Niki. "Might be better just to show you."

If the matter Techno had been meaning to discuss with Niki was what Phil thought it to be, there'd probably be no problem informing her of the current predicament. He also knew that Techno had taken a shining to the girl ever since the L'Mantree burned at her hands along with all it stood symbol for. And Phil shared the sentiment.

Curiosity peaked by their (probably unnecessarily) cryptic behavior, Niki followed them into Phil's cabin. "You might want to be aware th-"

Phil didn't get to finish his sentence before being interrupted by a heavy thud from above followed by a pained yelp and then a series of muffled complaints. He rushed up the ladder without a second thought, forgetting all about the other two downstairs.

When he got there, Technoblade had already managed to push up onto his elbows, though he couldn't get up from the floor partly because Steve had taken the opportunity in this moment of weakness to lay down on top of him. The polar bear's paws settled flat on either side of Techno's chest so he could rest his snout on the crown of Techno's head, purring in contentment. Techno wasn't trying to push him off.

"Did you try to get out of bed and immediately fail?" Phil asked him.

"No," Techno said. "I clearly decided the floor to be a far superior place to sleep, Phil. That's why I'm down here."

"Okay, do you want help?"

"Perhaps."

"Oh no!" Ranboo spoke from behind Phil, then promptly started laughing. Niki had followed the enderman up and looked at a loss for what to think of the sight, brows drawn together despite the grin on her face in response to Ranboo's laughter.

"Hullo," Techno greeted her calmly. As if he was not currently in the process of being smothered by 800 pounds of white fluffy death. He nudged Steve, who huffed and ignored him.

"Hi." Then her eyes caught onto the many bandages still covering the majority of Technoblade's body and her smile fell away. "What happened?"

The mood shifted drastically, with Techno attempting to avoid Niki's gaze and Ranboo's laughter dying in his throat. Phil answered instead. "It's a long story, I'll give you the short version later."

And by short he meant the few details Ranboo and him had managed to piece together that they didn't already know about. It still wasn't a lot, but Technoblade had not spoken in detail about what had happened while he was missing.

(If it was up to Techno, he probably never would.)

"In any case, since I predicted four days would be about the limit of your patience I made you this." He walked over to shoo Steve away with his foot. The bear growled for a moment before relenting, rolling off Techno and onto the floor. Techno wheezed as his improvised weighted blanket took off.

He still didn't get up though. Phil figured that – with the dismal state of his leg – he couldn't.

"Here." He helped Techno get up by the elbow, shifting to support his weight. Pushing the walking cane into his hand, Techno could lean on the stick instead of Phil and wobble around without the use of his half-healed knee. "It'd still be better for you to stay off it completely but we both know that's out of the question."

Techno grinned at him. "You know me so well, Philza Minecraft."

Phil rolled his eyes, not amused. "It's your body, mate. If you want to ruin it before you turn thirty, you have my blessing."

"This conversation has taken a highly concerning turn," Ranboo said. Niki glanced at him, even more confused than before. Phil had to find it hilarious.

"It's not important," Technoblade said while approaching them. Or more like, shambling with the cane doing most of the work. "What is important is the question I'm about to ask you both."

He even left a dramatic pause, Prime how Phil hated Techno's English major tendencies.

"What do you know about anarchy?"