So funny story: this was supposed to be a oneshot but the person who commissioned the first piece, paid me to write some follow ups. So uh, yeah, bedrockbros enjoyers rejoice I guess
There weren't many things worse than being woken up from hibernation.
Though, if Technoblade hadn't been on the cusp of waking up anyway, then the howling outside wouldn't have done the trick. Somebody could probably drop a bomb on the server and Techno would be able to sleep through it when he was hibernating. That was one of the reasons why he didn't give in to the urge often, or waited for Phil to be around.
The wind slammed fiercely into the outside of his cabin, the familiar noises of creaking wood and air forcing itself through the little holes in the floorboards was louder than usual. Probably a storm then, but one that had mostly passed and was unleashing its final moments of fury. Louder than the storm still was the howling, swallowed up by the wind in such a way Techno could have mistaken them for being one and the same. The few odd barks caught between the whining told him differently.
It was his hounds.
Techno rolled over, grunting at a sharp stab of pain in his frontal lobe. Did he mention waking up from hibernation was the worst? His body needed some time to catch up, every muscle pulled down by lethargy while his brain struggled through the heavy lingerings of sleep to function properly. The dogs barked louder. They wanted to be let out, probably.
If he went back to sleep, Phil would take care of it. The old man must be out on an errand, but he was aware of Techno's hibernation so he should have been taking care of the animals and chores for a couple of weeks already. Phil would be back soon and let the dogs out. And maybe he'd come up to check on Techno too. That'd be nice, then Techno could get Phil to grab him food and stuff, he wouldn't even need to get out of bed.
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Technolazy
Bruh making them wait is animal abuse
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Dogs are better than sleeping
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Oh right, he forgot about Chat for a moment. Silly him.
They were always quieter around hibernation (maybe they slept too? Techno certainly never asked) but if there was one thing guaranteed to get them jolting to attention again it was the dog army. Ugh, there went any hope that he could get back to sleep.
The voices did not take pity on his annoyance, noticing his wakefulness as if they could read Techno's mind. They couldn't, he was quite sure of it. But they had some sort of awareness that wasn't worldly. Not that having a choir of observers in his head could ever be worldly by any stretch of the definition.
"I'm getting up, I'm getting up," Techno grumbled - getting loud jeering and cheers as a result. Some of them seemed to be trying to mimic the sound of bells and that made him smile.
Pulling his heavy body from the blankets and already shivering at the cold, Techno forced himself to stand on wobbly legs. He wasn't in top form right after hibernation, though that didn't stop Chat from making fun of his unsteady gait. Some of them were crying for something else though. "I thought you wanted to see the hounds?" Techno asked. Their yelling couldn't agree.
He walked over to the bell that sat next to his ladder.
"Just a little bit then," he hummed. "If you overdo it I'm waiting another week."
Eagerly, the voices agreed. They promised to be good, as if they hadn't promised that a million times before. They were liars, all of them. Techno picked up the hammer anyway.
The first ring was light and echoed around the cabin pleasantly, a soft vibrating chime that arrived in Techno's still sleep-muddled brain just right. He would almost call it pleasant, even. Pity that Chat had to ruin it with their yelling. Despite them breaking their promise, Techno kept sounding the bell a few minutes more, hoping it would keep them calm after he was done. The last thing he wanted was them heckling him when he was still in post-hibernation mode. It always took a while for him to fully mentally shake off the deep sleep.
Physically too, Techno was a bit more shaky than usual as he climbed down to the living room. He was dizzy and slightly nauseous. Not eating much for over a week ironically had the opposite effect, making his stomach cramp unpleasantly at the thought of food. The wind had died down to an ambitious breeze and the hounds were still howling. Techno put on his thickest clothes - another effect in the direct fallout of his hibernation was that he didn't deal with the cold as well anymore - and headed outside.
The sun was sitting low in the sky, indicating it was late in the afternoon. That lined up with Techno's assumption that Phil wasn't around because he was running errands. Techno saw that the snow in front of that cabin was freshly disturbed, a mound pushed up against the railing by the door opening and closing repeatedly.
(He didn't check the shack. Techno never did anymore.)
"I'm on my way," he said mildly, either addressing Chat's continued screaming for him to hurry up and get to the dogs already or the dogs themselves. Several of them were jumping up against the fence eagerly, tongues lolling out in excitement. Animals always seemed happy to see him, unlike people. Techno couldn't imagine why.
Doggies!
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Look at their little snouts. Pet them!
YES
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Oh yes petting time
I think they want out
Techno walked over to the gate into the doghouse, reaching over and pushing several overexcited hounds aside that were already nipping playfully at his fingers. It was kind of preventing him from pulling on the latch.
"Yeah, I'm letting you out. Calm down."
Chat made fun of him for talking to his pets but little did they realize it was better than talking to them. At least Steve made him feel like he was having a constructive (if one-sided) conversation once in a while.
"There we go." After a few more seconds of fumbling, he managed to grab the iron and pull it up, stepping aside so he could open the gate. An avalanche of fur and claws poured out of the enclosure, knocking Techno over. Normally he'd not be floored by something like that but again: hibernation wasn't great for his balance.
Grasping onto his moment of weakness, he got a face full of dogs for his trouble. Techno pushed off the one that tried to lick into his mouth, at least. He might be a pig, but that was just gross. "Shoo, off with you!"
After grabbing the fencepost Techno managed to get himself upright, brushing the snow off and quickly looking around to make sure nobody had seen that little mishap. Not that anybody really could have, Techno would know. He left the commune more infrequently than Phil did. There was never anybody around.
Niki visited even less than she used to. Techno did not have it in his heart to hold it against her and a bigger part of him understood why. Ghostboo had found something interesting in Snowchester to occupy themself with. Techno wouldn't remember the last time he had seen Wilbur.
(The dogs barked so loud that he couldn't hear the voices. Or maybe that was just an excuse.)
With no destination in mind, Techno started walking. When he took the hounds on a walk normally he'd do so while going to check on the turtles or maybe gather some resources. He didn't feel like going very far today though, not with the heavy cloud of hibernation looming over him and dragging down on his shoulders. Vaguely, he wondered if it would be an option to go back to sleep after this but somehow he doubted it. Once Chat got this restless it would be hard to calm them down again. He might need to file that one under lost causes.
Eh, Techno could move up the schedule for his next hibernation. Not like he had anything better to do.
He went as far as the plains over the hill next to their commune. From up there, Techno could look all the way to the ocean. It was a nice view, and while it hadn't at all played into his reason for building his cabin there - no, back then Techno was only concerned with getting away from those that harmed him. He did not have aesthetics on his mind, but defensibility and escape routes. He wondered when that changed - he'd come to appreciate it in time. The way the light reflected on the frozen waste and choppy waves had some melancholy to it. It itched the part of his sensibilities that cared about poetics. The part he didn't often indulge because this server had proven over and over it valued the sword over the pen.
Maybe Techno should get back into writing?
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Technonerd
Focus please
They found something
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Nerd
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What's that? :0
WAIT IS THAT-
Techno whistled for the dogs to return but they didn't, because they were stubborn and did not like adhering to what was convenient for others. They'd found a mound of snow to mess around with and didn't want to give it up. Techno was planning to be patient and wait for them to grow sick of it until he spotted a flash of bright red among the white.
That… that wasn't normal. Had the dark shape he could see vaguely in the distance been a shadow or a boat? Somebody who had crossed the ocean to get to their cabins, but got caught in the blizzard on their way?
As fast as his wobbly legs would take him, Techno stumbled down the hill. He almost face-planted several times but nobody was around to see, least of all the person the dogs were busy digging out of the snow pile they got stuck in because they weren't moving. Which - really - if Techno thought about it for more than a second he could realize that was definitely a bad, bad sign.
Then he got closer and saw who it was that had fallen unconscious at his doorstep. And things instantly got a whole lot worse.
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ITS THE CHILD
Oh not again
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I can't believe Tommy's back
Techno couldn't believe it either.
He hadn't seen or spoken to Tommy since the short and awkward visit back when Wilbur came around. It had been a good conversation overall, he wouldn't deny that. There might have even been some hugging involved. They weren't really friends again though. They were passable acquaintances at best.
And there Tommy was, left for dead in the Arctic, with Techno looking down at him. He couldn't believe it.
But it didn't really matter if he believed it or not because Tommy was curled up rather pathetically in the snow and pale as could be. Considering he must have gotten caught in the storm, it was a miracle he was alive at all. The dogs were licking at his face and bouncing around him, oblivious to the fact that their keen sense of smell has managed to save a life. Techno shuddered to think what could have happened if he'd turned over and gone back to sleep. If he had decided to wait for Phil to let the dogs out.
They would be digging a corpse out of the snow.
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If you wait long enough you'll also be digging a corpse out of the snow
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Shoat cold
Shoat hurt
Ignoring the fact that his instincts decided this was the moment to pipe up again, Techno quickly came to his senses and bent over so he could scoop Tommy out of the snow. The boy didn't have a ton of body heat left but was alive if the moving of his chest in shallow exhales was anything to go by. His skin was cold to the touch, making Techno flinch a bit.
As Techno trudged back to the cabin, he hoped Tommy wouldn't accuse him of kidnapping or something after this.
Obviously, he had to be on his way to the commune to begin with. But Tommy wasn't exactly known for his sound decision-making or common sense. If this got spun into Techno being a bad guy for trying to help out, he'd be pretty pissed off.
"I only want to make sure this guy doesn't die in my front yard, Chat. That would lower the property value worse than the cobblestone towers did."
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Technosoft
Aw, the denial is so cute
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Take care of the shoat now o/
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The warmth inside the cabin bit at Techno unpleasantly. Prickles danced along his nerve endings. One of the dogs had followed him inside, Techno didn't bother putting them back in the paddock. He closed the door with his hoof and contemplated the ladder.
On one hand, he didn't know if he wanted to put Tommy in his own bed. It might be a bit weirdchamp, to be honest. And also climbing up there with Tommy's lanky dead weight over his shoulder sounded like a bad idea. On the other hand, because of his recent hibernation, his room was the warmest in the house. It was all set up to stay that way for a prolonged time comfortably. So probably the best room in the cabin to recover from hypothermia.
After a few moments of hesitation, Techno decided that screw it, if Tommy was going to get angry at him for saving his life he could do that later. Techno was not going to be held responsible for that crap. Awkwardly, he managed to haul Tommy up the ladder without braining him on the wooden rungs. Techno's bed was a mess, so Techno just kinda dropped Tommy in there and folded the blankets closed after removing the kid's soaked mittens and coat, calling it a day when he was done.
There, good deed of the day all taken care of.
Techno had checked Tommy over for any signs of frostbite but found none, so that was a good thing. All that needed to be done now was wait for him to warm up. Maybe make sure there was soup in the house or something? Sick people liked soup. It was extremely likely that Tommy would get a cold after this. If not pneumonia.
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You could give him a hug to share body heat
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LOL
Yessss snuggle time
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Will it be as awkward as last time though? I cringe at secondhand embarrassment kekw
Techno raised his hand as if to physically wave away Chat's less than helpful suggestions. "He's fine, Chat. He's going to be fine."
At this point, Techno didn't know if he was trying to convince them or himself.
He looks so tiny like that though
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We could just kill him
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Omegalul
Why would you even say that
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Shoat small
Shoat very cold
Take good care of shoat
Techno couldn't remember the last time his instincts were this loud. They often felt sharper around hibernation, a vague itch that settled in his hindbrain and that he rarely gave into. He probably should more often since ignoring them wasn't exactly healthy, but Techno had never been a shining example of good self-care. It had taken a lot of convincing for him to hibernate semi-regularly and not just wait until his body started to shut down on him.
It was hard though, with Tommy all curled up like that. Techno stubbornly pressed down the chuff building in his chest and turned around.
Well, maybe a tiny bit would do no harm.
Techno owned surprisingly little gold for a piglin. The gleaming metal was appealing to him, it called to him with cravings of home and safety and sounder that he hadn't related to since he was a shoat himself, crawling along the netherrack looking for food. When it came to combat practicality though, gold was one of the softer metals. It didn't come close to the protective qualities of netherite or even diamond. Most of Techno's gold came in the form of jewelry - pieces he never parted with.
Gingerly, Techno removed all of it except for the crown.
Then he laid them out on the bed, encircling the sleeping Tommy with them. He wouldn't go as far as to actually put them on Tommy - if he did that he would never see these items again. The little gremlin would just steal them. But it made his brain buzz pleasantly seeing the light catch and give the scene before him an aureate glow.
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Shoat safe
Shoat taken care of now
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What are you doing?
At times like these, it was disconcertingly hard for Techno to keep his instincts and the voices apart.
Did Tommy need anything else? Warmth was the important thing, right? Rest? Food. Maybe Techno needed to get food for Tommy. Gapples would be good, gapples would make Techno feel less frazzled probably.
Gapples for shoat
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Oh he's not doing great
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Shoat cozy
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Technosoft
Techno struggled with the latch on his chest before managing to open it with clumsy fingers, disappointed to only find a single gapple in there. The rest should be downstairs. He huffed and climbed down the ladder again, almost falling down because his head hurt so much.
Right then was when the door opened, making Techno hiss at a cold gust of air. Phil had to press his back into it behind him to close it again. The storm had picked back up, Techno could hear it rattling against the windows. "Oh, mate, you're up."
Too busy looking through his storage to answer, Techno offered up a small grunt in greeting. Finding those gapples suddenly felt like the most important thing in the world to him.
"Did you eat yet?" Phil asked, not taking his silence as a bad thing. Not yet anyway.
When Techno ignored him to continue looking, that's when Phil got concerned.
"Techno?" A hand landed on his elbow, trying to gently steer him over to the couch. "How long ago did you wake up?"
"A while," Techno mumbled, reluctantly letting himself be led into sitting down. "I had to let the dogs out."
"You could have waited until I came back." Phil frowned, reaching over to press the back of his hand against Techno's face. "Yeah, you're freezing. You shouldn't go outside when you're fresh out of hibernation, mate."
"They were barking," Techno offered meekly. Phil wouldn't push the issue. As annoyed as he was at Techno putting himself in harm's way, he also realized it was pointless to chide him. Techno was his own person, he was going to do what he wanted to anyway. But that wasn't the more pressing issue at hand. "We found Tommy out in the snow."
And that clearly did catch Phil off guard. "You what?"
"I think he was on his way here but got caught in the snow. I, uh, I put him in bed. He's upstairs."
Phil blinked dumbly. "Is he okay?"
"I tried," Techno said.
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We took good care of shoat
God this is so lame
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Shoat has gold
Shoat is warm
Good care of shoat
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He blinked and Phil was gone. Going by the noises, he was upstairs. Techno must be more groggy than he realized if he missed Phil climbing the ladder. He tried to stand, muscles aching with the strain. Ignoring his body earlier was coming back to bite him, hm? He sunk back down.
"Did you cover Tommy with gold?" Phil asked, already coming down again.
Techno nodded. "I was trying to help."
"How exactly was the gold supposed to keep him from freezing to death?" Phil prodded, amused. If they hadn't been best friends for literal decades, surely Techno would be embarrassed. As it was he simply shrugged.
"I was going to get him food next."
"You really suck at taking care of sick people, hm?" Phil chuckled. Techno glared at him, putting what little energy remained him into fond anger. Chat praised him for his effort in trying to look after the shoat, but if Chat thought he was doing a good job that was definitely a bad sign.
"I'll look after him," Phil said. "You should eat something too and get some rest."
"I'm perfectly capable," Techno insisted. A statement that probably would have done more to be convincing if he wasn't saying it while melted into the couch.
"No, you're a stubborn bastard. And the last thing I need is two patients." Phil looked at him. "I'm glad you found Tommy." There was something there, hesitant and fragile.
Phil had spent some time with the kid but Techno couldn't exactly define a relationship between those two anymore. If he were to guess, it was the same as Tommy and himself. Horribly complicated.
"Yeah, me too," he said.
Techno didn't protest a second time when Phil told him to stay seated and eat. He had some carrots while waiting for Phil to make stew, actually. Stew would be good for Tommy. Techno remembered Tommy used to like it when he added potatoes.
"Oh, hello!" Ghostboo floated into his field of vision. They hadn't knocked, they never did. And since they were incorporeal they kinda could just go and come as they pleased.
(Chat fell very, very quiet. They always did when Boo came around.)
"Hi Ghostboo," Techno greeted.
"You're here," Ghostboo said. Almost sounding surprised that they would find Techno in his own home. "I came by before and you weren't here."
"I was asleep," Techno told him. Did Ghostboo remember that he hibernated?
Probably not because a pale face craned to the side unpleasantly, Techno imagined he could hear every creak of that bent spine. "That's good. That you're here, I mean."
"How so?" Techno asked.
"I've been trying to find people lately but finding people is hard. I can't find some people anymore."
Swallowing uneasily, Techno gestured with his carrot. "Well, I'm right here. So is Phil. And Tommy, actually. He's upstairs."
"Tommy's here?" Ghostboo spun in a small circle before Techno could get to the end of his sentence. "That's great, he was one of the people I couldn't find. I was getting worried. I thought he might have left, like Wilbur."
"Wilbur left?"
Phil was staring at Ghostboo in what Techno could only describe as vague horror. Wilbur must not have told him. He hadn't told any of them.
(He probably told Tommy. That might be why Tommy was on his way to the commune.)
"He went far, far away. So far that I don't think we can reach him anymore." Ghostboo hummed. "He really needed to leave, I think it was good for him. Not very good for everybody else though."
"He didn't tell me he was leaving," Phil said, a little choked.
Techno got up. "Phil-"
"No, it's fine, right? Wilbur's an adult." Phil turned around so he could continue stirring the stew. Techno didn't need to see his face to imagine the strained smile that had found a place there. "He can do what he wants, I'm glad it's good for him."
Techno opened his mouth, but words fell awfully short. And Phil would not appreciate him mentioning it anyway. So he bit his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I think I'll go check on Tommy."
He wasn't feeling completely like himself again, but Techno needed to escape the stifling awkwardness that had fallen over the room. So he curled his hands around the wooden rungs and pulled himself up. He hadn't picked up any more gapples but that was fine, he could just-
"What the heck?!"
Tommy flinched badly enough that he banged his head on the top of the open chest he was digging through. Him falling back with a pained cry and grasping the red mark that would become a serious bruise soon was enough vindication for Technoblade.
He wished Tommy hit his head every time he tried to steal something. That'd be the only way to get rid of that nasty habit.
"Dude, what the fuck?" Tommy yelled at him as if Techno was the one at fault here. "Don't fucking scare me like that."
"Seriously?" Techno said. He climbed the rest of the way up. "I take you into my home out of the kindness of my heart and you repay me by yoinking my stuff?"
"I was just looking for food, I'm starving," Tommy complained. He showed no signs of suffering any ill effects from the hypothermia at first glance, aside from the worryingly pale pallor. Also, before Techno could answer he was already stifling a cough into his elbow so. Probably sick, then.
Techno did not listen to Chat this time. They didn't know what they were talking about.
"Phil made stew," he said simply. "You're welcome for me digging you out of the snow, by the way."
"I'm not thanking you before I get something to eat," Tommy said abrasively. "No point in me not freezing if I'm going to die from starvation in your cabin anyway." The way his nose scrunched up at the accusation was all too familiar.
Techno didn't know if he should be glad or not that all the tense, emotion-laden stuff from last time was something Tommy clearly didn't want to mention. He had no particular desire to get back into that either but…
But maybe him opening up his house was enough.
"Get down there then." Techno nodded at the ladder. "Also, you're sleeping on the couch tonight. I don't want your disgusting germs in my bed."
"What germs?" Tommy asked - then sneezed. Techno scowled. "I'm going, I'm going." Holding his hands up in defeat, Tommy slid past him and to the ladder.
He did not ask about why Techno would let him stay or the silent implication that it could be a while before he left again. Techno did not mention the last time Tommy crashed at his place and all that it led towards.
Neither of them said anything about Wilbur, nor did Phil as he smiled brightly at seeing Tommy up and poured them both stew.
There were probably a lot of things none of them were saying.
But the cabin was warm and the storm outside raged on. The wind whistled along Techno's floorboards again, his head pounded with the echoes of his hibernation not fully cleared up. He could do with some quiet.
Though he also knew well enough that with his new roommate, quiet was going to be harder to come by than ever.