It wasn't too hard to figure out where Phil lived. Tommy knew which way the man was going when he entered his territory and only had to circle near the area for a little bit to realize that Phil had been trying to take a shortcut. The forests around this mountain weren't well-traveled and by cutting through them below the river, Phil would have saved himself a few miles of walking when headed north. In that direction, just a little way from the border of Tommy's domain, he could see a clearing among the trees.

The cabin that stood there was small, cozy. Probably only large enough to fit three or four people, and even then it'd be a tight fit. It seemed a pathetic living space compared to Tommy's lovely den - and not at all fit for his treasure. Around the cabin, some land was cleared out for farming, and there was a dirt path that led away into the woods. It probably was more than a half day's travel, but Tommy knew there was a village in that direction.

Perfect. It seemed like Phil and his two sons lived a secluded, quiet life far away from other humans. Tommy wouldn't have to worry about anybody stirring up trouble after killing them both and claiming Phil as part of his new wyvern. It would be laughable easy, really.

Not that Tommy would have been worried if there had been an actual town there. Tommy was a big guy, very strong, and not scared of a few farmers with pitchforks. He could easily take them all in a fight.

He was just glad he wouldn't have to waste the time. He wanted to get back to his hoard as quickly as possible.

As he swept low, he could see smoke rising from the chimney. He touched ground far enough that they couldn't have seen him approach, then started to make his way over. His heart was full with anticipation of the next steps needed to make Phil part of his wyvern. Having him in the den was just the start - safekeeping his treasure. Lacking the ingrained bond of blood-related dragons, Tommy would need to forge that connection himself using magic. Otherwise, who was to say others wouldn't come to steal his hoard away? It filled him with such unreasonable rage just thinking about it.

But as he got closer to the house, something else intruded on his thoughts.

Tommy's footsteps faltered.

Music. He could hear music coming from between the trees, from outside the cabin. Gentle chords of a guitar being played with an incredible amount of care. A voice was humming along, deep and flowing. Tommy's ears pinned back, tail half-raised in attention. It sounded beautiful.

He hadn't heard much music aside from birdsong since his mother died. She used to sing to Tommy, when she wasn't busy being a horrible fucking person.

So instead of approaching and going in guns blazing, Tommy peeked through the greenery first to catch a glimpse of the person making such lovely sounds. It wasn't like he couldn't still kill them afterward. It wasn't like Tommy cared about music, no sir, definitely not.

There was some guy there, sitting in the shade, flecked with sunlight. His hair was brown and kinda unkempt, but curly in a similar way to Phil's. They did kinda look alike, but this man didn't have any wings and his eyes were a warm honey brown. His head tilted to the side a bit while playing the guitar, going back to redo chords slightly differently. He must be writing the song himself.

Tommy was mesmerized, watching the guy play, noticing how his lips pulled up into a little smile when he got his notes right. He almost - almost - felt bad about having to kill him.

"I know you're there," the man spoke suddenly, a laugh in his voice. He didn't sound annoyed at being spied upon or disturbed. "You can just come out here if you want to watch me play that badly. No need to hide."

"I wasn't hiding! And it wasn't even that good," Tommy said testily. But he did step through the undergrowth and into view. Not before concealing his non-human features first though. He didn't want the guy to run, chasing him down would be a pain. "But I guess I'll listen for a bit. It'd be kinda sad for you to play without an audience."

"I don't mind either way." The man gestured to the ground in front of him. Tommy purposefully didn't sit there, because he liked being petty. He stalked over to the guy's side instead, plopping down right next to him.

He seemed surprised for all of one second before smiling and starting to play again, a different song.

"I'm Wilbur."

Wilbur? Phil really wasn't great at naming things, was he? "Tommy."

"You're out here in the woods all by yourself, Tommy?"

"What do you care?"

Wilbur stopped, fingers hovering over the strings. "I mean, it's pretty unusual for people to wander around out here, especially kids all by themselves. I'm just trying to be nice." Tommy had to scowl at that. Him, a kid? Wilbur continued, "I thought you might have gotten lost and wanted to offer help. Is your family traveling through these woods?"

"My family has been traveling these lands for longer than you've been alive, actually." Tommy scoffed lightly.

"Oh?" Wilbur prompted for more but Tommy ignored it.

"What about your family? You guys just live in a fucking cabin in the middle of nowhere? That's weird!"

"Basically." Wilbur laughed. "My dad used to travel a lot and didn't like the idea of settling down." Tommy leaned forward, interest captured now that they were talking about Phil. With each passing minute, he started noticing little things in which Wilbur and Phil resembled each other, and he liked it. "So I guess this was his idea of compromise. He's still gone a lot."

"That sucks."

"Not really. We don't care anyway. Techno and I can look after ourselves."

"Techno?" Tommy didn't mind playing dumb to keep Wilbur talking.

A grin broke out on Wilbur's face, the opportunity to talk about his family literally making him beam with it. "My brother. He's out right now but he'll be back any moment. You could meet him if you stick around."

Tommy hummed. He could kill Wilbur right now, and the other when he got home. He could.

Some part of him didn't want to anymore.

Some part of him had become so instantly fond of Wilbur, that killing him at all sounded horrible.

"What's it like to have a brother?" he asked.

Wilbur thought it over a moment before responding. "It's kinda like having a best friend and a worst enemy but it's just one person and also you have to share your bedroom with them."

Tommy shrugged. "Yeah, I have no clue what that's like."

"I don't know, it's just… it's family, you know? You love them more than anything in the world even though sometimes you want to punch them in the face for being a bunch of right arses."

Tommy didn't think he ever loved his parents. Not truly anyway. And certainly not more than anything else in the world. He could relate to the second part though. Which meant a family and a wyvern must not be that different.

Phil would be Tommy's new wyvern - Tommy's new family. And Tommy would never not have enough with Phil, who was already his.

But he wouldn't mind having a brother too, he decided.

And Wilbur, with sunshine in his hair and the beautiful music he played and laughter that sounded like wind chimes rustled by a gentle breeze, would make a perfect treasure too.

Getting rid of the last one would have to wait, Tommy wanted to secure his hoard as soon as possible. Having Wilbur out in the open and leaving Phil unbonded and unguarded for much longer would be unbearable.

Loose ends could be tied up another time.

"We should be headed home." He stood, brushing the dirt off his pants.

"We?" Wilbur echoed, then tapered off into a high-pitched noise that was somewhere between surprise and fear. Not unexpected, seeing as Tommy had taken this opportunity to dispel the glamor that kept his dragon features hidden.

Wide brown eyes stared at him. Wilbur's mouth had practically fallen open. It was almost adorable.

"What the fuck!"

"Let's go!" Tommy grabbed Wilbur's elbow, trying to pull him up. For some reason, he didn't cooperate, and even with Tommy's strength, it was inconvenient to drag him around like this. He was still taller than Tommy in his human form.

Which meant his dragon form would have to do.

Wilbur weighed about as much as a puff of air to him and was lifted off the ground by Tommy easily, and just like Phil he screamed almost the entire way to the den. Unlike Phil he didn't struggle - the lack of wings, like Tommy had suspected, made all the difference. He clung to Tommy's leg as if the dragon would be foolish enough to drop him.

Clearly his treasures hadn't yet learned how he would take care of them forever. Nothing would harm them anymore.

Phil was still exactly where Tommy had left him. He perched up at the sound of wings beating, hands pressed to the edges of the nest that magic had left him tied to, unable to leave. His eyes were desperate and searching, frantic almost as they looked at Tommy.

When he saw Wilbur, confusion and relief both overtook him.

Tommy supposed it was just as well. He had no doubt Phil would have been very fussy if he had come back covered in blood.

They would both be much happier now that he'd come back with a second treasure instead.

He descended, knocking Phil onto his ass with the landing so he could settle on top of him again. And on top of Wilbur too, still half-gripped beneath him. He'd get to bonding them in a moment, he wanted to enjoy his hoard first.

A dragon could take such primal joy basking in the presence of its possessions. In a matter of hours, Tommy had found not one but two things to cherish forever.

He was so fucking good at this whole sire thing.

"Wilbur." Phil's voice was a little pinched, worried. Like before. Tommy wondered how long it would take for him to stop doing that, it was incredibly annoying. "Wilbur, are you hurt?" Phil pushed Tommy's wing to the side and with a low growl, he allowed it.

"I'm fine," Wilbur said slowly. As if he didn't entirely know if he was being truthful with himself. "Very confused about what's going on though."

"It's uh-" Phil's eyes shifted to him. Tommy pulled his wing back, settling it on top of Phil's hair. Phil didn't bat it away a second time. "It's a long story."

"I'd really like to get the condensed version still."

"Remember when I used to read you that history book about extinct End species?"

Wilbur finally extracted himself from Tommy's claws. "Not really, I always used to fall asleep three pages in. Techno was the one begging you to read it every night."

"Right, well… suffice to say End dragons aren't as extinct as we presumed."

"That's-"

That was the moment Tommy choose to shift back, done with the basking. It was time to get down to business.

"Who wants to get their bond first?"

"What!?" Wilbur looked at him, alarmed.

"This guy seems to think we're part of his… hoard? Weird dragon family? Something like that." Phil laughed as if it was funny, but he still sounded too high-pitched. His heart was beating too fast, Tommy could smell the fear on him.

He hated that his treasure wasn't happy that he'd brought his son to him, or reacted so fretfully to the idea of their bond becoming solid.

He hated that Wilbur stared at him so uneasily, that his eyes shifted to the exit of the cave as if wondering whether he could make a run for it.

"Because you are!" he said, a little more forcefully than intended. A growl was building beneath the words, anger igniting in his chest. "You are mine!"

It only made them draw away more.

(They didn't want him. Just like his parents, they didn't want to have fuck all to do with him.

They must hate him)

Anger has quickly morphed into rage. Tommy was upset, and he couldn't even pinpoint with who. At them? At himself? At the world?

Then, a much more appropriate target for his ire made itself known.

He hissed, turning around and spreading his wings as if to hide his treasure from view. Not that it mattered, the intruder wasn't near enough to harm them. They would never make it that close. Tommy would kill them before they could lay a finger on his hoard. The fact that they had managed to make it to his den at all was a testament to how occupied he had been until a second ago.

It had allowed the intruder to make it all the way to the cave, sword in hand, serious expression on their face. Their chest was heaving as if they'd been running, long pink hair sticking to their skin.

Wilbur sprung forward. "Techno!"

Tommy growled again and pinned his leg down. "Stay!"

The same magic that kept Phil in place would work on Wilbur too. At least until Tommy had dealt with this.

At least until Tommy had destroyed the one thing that could tear his new family apart.