Wrote this for a charity event over on my discord server. I'm not super experienced at writing Grian so this was an interesting challenge. This is kind of a cross between hermitcraft and origins smp.

Obviously, Technoblade would never miss their old home.

Even calling it a home would be generous. It was a prison if anything. Techno hated that place. He hated the white walls and floors, he hated the loud whistling noise the scientists used to wake them up in the morning, and he hated the needles they poked them with most of all. Just because Techno never really knew anything else didn't mean he liked it there. He didn't want to go back.

But he also hadn't been cold and hungry all the time.

Techno tried to hide it because he didn't want to stress his brother out any more than he already was. Grian used to laugh a lot, and make silly jokes, and sometimes when they could get away with it they'd play little pranks on the even-tempered scientists that wouldn't get as mad. Techno felt weird saying they were happy. They weren't. But sometimes when he fell asleep with Grian's wings wrapped over him like a blanket, Techno thought things weren't too terrible.

Being on the run sucked. The rain had drenched his feathers and made his wings hang like limp weights off his shoulders. It made walking even harder than the pain in his ankle already did. There used to be a metal band attached to it but Grian got it off for him. He'd gotten his own one off as well. Apparently, it's what the scientists used to track them.

"We're going to have to wear the cloaks again," Grian said suddenly. "There's a town up ahead."

"Do we have to?" Techno asked, voice dangerously close to a whine. When Grian turned to look at him, Techno swallowed it down quick as he could manage. He had to be strong. For both of their sakes, he had to be stronger than this.

Grian was doing a lot to protect him and Techno felt terrible that he wasn't returning the favor enough.

"I know you hate them, Tech." Grian crouched down while sliding the backpack to the ground so he could dig through it. "It's only for a little bit. If we're clever, we can get a place to sleep."

"That'd be nice," Techno said. They'd been sleeping whenever they could, curled up against each other in a tree's hollow or beneath a dense shrub to protect themselves from the weather. But Technoblade longed for a proper bed.

"It would, wouldn't it?" Grian smiled at him. "So we're wearing the cloaks for a bit, but it'll be worth it."

Techno nodded, watching as Grian stood again after finding what he'd been searching for. He reached out to drape the heavy fabric over Techno's head and back, covering his wings. The texture was horrible and terribly itchy, Techno hated it. He didn't like how it scratched against his sensitive feathers and made them feel compressed and restricted. For the promise of maybe sleeping in a warm bed tonight though, Techno would endure it.

Grian had his own cloak that he wrapped around his shoulders. His wings were slightly smaller than Techno's but a lot more colorful. Techno thought they were very pretty and he often admired them during preening. The scientists said Grian was a failed experiment because he couldn't use his wings to fly. But Techno couldn't use his either. He could only glide a little, or break his fall. Maybe when he got older and they grew to more properly match his height, he could fly with them. But Grian's were too small compared to his body for him to ever do that.

Techno used to think that would be nice though. If they could both just fly away from the prison and never have those eyes on them again.

"You remember the rules we made, right? The ones that keep us safe?" Grian's voice was firm enough to shake Techno from his daydreaming.

"I keep quiet," Techno recited them from memory. "I remember our story. And no eye contact."

"It'll be easy." And Techno could tell Grian only said that to reassure them. But he nodded anyway.

Grian was the smartest person Techno knew. Much smarter than the scientists back at their old home, who only knew how to hurt others. Who couldn't make wings no matter how much the Watchers wanted them to.

"They're just pissed it's something they can't control," Grian said once while Techno lay in his lap trembling and shaking. The latest round of tests had been rough. "It annoys them. To see everything but not touch anything. So they're trying to sculpt what they can."

Techno didn't really get what it meant back then. But maybe some part of him did understand. Because in the prison, he also sometimes felt so helpless.

"Come on." Grian grabbed his hand, tugging him along towards the sound of people. Techno inhaled and kept that breath in his chest. Long enough that it kind of started to hurt. That helped him to concentrate. They had passed through two or three villages before, though usually they didn't want to linger. It was too dangerous. Grian would swipe them some food or other stuff they needed, then they'd move on.

But after days of traveling, they were exhausted. They couldn't keep going like this, even Techno knew that.

He made sure to stick close to Grian's side as they effortlessly blended into the throng of people on the town's square. There seemed to be some sort of market going on. Techno knew what a market was because Grian had told him about them. Grian taught Techno almost everything he knew since he couldn't remember much from before the Watchers, or the wings grafted into his back.

Having this many people around him was hard. Techno didn't like people. He only liked Grian.

"What do you think?" Grian asked, leaning close a bit so Techno could hear him over the noise. "A tripwire right there so somebody would fall face-first into the water?" He pointed at the small fountain in the middle of the square.

Techno giggled. Sometimes, they liked to imagine other things they could do to prank people. Not because they were actually planning to do it, but just because they could. It distracted Techno from how nervous he felt.

"If you do it over there it'd be a domino effect," he said. Picturing one person falling and pulling a whole line of other people down with them caused another chuckle.

"Ambitious." Grian nodded. "I like that."

They walked to a big building with a wooden sign carved in a funny shape. Techno supposed it kind of looked like a glass, though a weird glass. The ones that they would serve foamy, disgusting-smelling drinks in. Techno didn't like those. Grian squeezed his hand more tightly as they went inside, adjusting his cloak one final time.

The inside of the building was warm.

Techno shivered. But it felt like a good shiver. As if he hadn't realized how cold to the bones he was until the inn's heat trailed along his skin. The thought that they could sleep here tonight excited him. They could probably get a big bed with fluffy blankets and extra pillows. Grian could build them a little nest.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the counter looked down at them with a friendly smile. She had an apron tied around her waist and dimples in her cheeks. Techno decided he liked her. He did his best not to meet her eye, looking at her chin or forehead instead.

"We're looking for a place to sleep," Grian said. He dropped a small leather pouch of golden coins on the counter. "We can pay."

The woman's eyebrows drew together slightly. Techno hoped it wasn't because she could tell the money was stolen.

"Where are your parents?"

Grian squeezed his hand again. "Our father is off at the capital. Our mother died, so we are traveling to him." There was no hesitation.

And it was a good lie. The woman's expression softened. "Oh, you poor things. It's pretty busy today, what with the market, you know. But I'll check if I don't have somewhere I can put you two." She walked off.

"She believed that easily," Techno muttered. Grian smiled at him.

"Pity is easy to exploit," he said.

Only a few moments later the woman returned. "It's not much, but we got one room left if you want it."

Grian nodded and nudged the bag of coins toward her. "We'll take it."

She picked it up and pulled on the little string. "There's enough in here for a hot meal for the both of you too. I bet traveling has made you pretty hungry." Techno could feel her gaze on him, burning into the crown of his head. "Don't you think a nice bowl of soup would hit the spot?"

"He'd love that," Grian answered after a moment of awkward silence. Techno hadn't really registered that she was speaking to him, too busy trying not to look her in the eye.

"Your brother isn't very talkative, hm?" the woman asked with a laugh.

"He's very shy," Grian said. "And we've been on the road a while."

"I can imagine." Then before either of them could react, she had reached out to touch Techno's chin. "I have a boy around his age, maybe you could-"

Her fingers pushed his head up before Techno could blink. Her eyes were green. The kind of green that Techno had never seen before in the cell but had become very familiar with in the past two weeks. Green like fresh meadow grass or the first leaves of spring.

Though they only were that beautiful color for a moment.

Techno's eyes met hers and in an instant they changed, bleeding through with that horrible glowing purple that made him feel nauseated. Her face went slack, devoid of any emotion as the Watchers rifled through her brain, her memory, her senses.

Grian grabbed his wrist and they started to run.

They would be on them in a moment and had to get out of there.

Techno wanted to apologize, because he felt stupid and guilty - it was his fault that the Watchers knew where they were. But running made his breath catch short and his chest ache. Hands reached out to grab them, every pair of radiant purple eyes in the crowd turning to watch their escape. Jumping from consciousness to consciousness in these human vessels, the Watchers were a lot quicker than them. It must be nice if you didn't need to use your own legs.

How they got out of the town, Techno wasn't sure. Grian might have punched a guy. Next thing he knew they were sprinting through the woods.

They were being followed. Techno could hear the footsteps behind them. He could hear the inhuman screams made by vocal chords that did not hold the capacity to make such noises. The Watchers' whispers echoed in the corners of his mind, close enough to invade him again.

They told him how silly they were for thinking they could ever get away.

"Down here!"

Grian tugged on his arm so hard it hurt. Techno wasn't going to complain though. He was too busy trying to keep his feet from slipping out from under him as they skidded down an uneven slope, going off the path to where more trees and bushes grew. Hopefully, this would mean the Watchers would lose them quicker.

Techno's cape kept getting stuck on the branches so he shrugged it off. Grian did the same. His wings flared out behind him, the flapping giving him a tiny bit more momentum. He thought the sounds of pursuit might be dying out. They were going to make it.

That hope was dashed instantly when Grian came to a halt abruptly at the bottom of the slope, a tight grasp on Techno's wrist stopping him from careening over the cliff's edge.

"Oh no."

Techno didn't like the sound of his brother's voice then.

"Tech. I know it looks like quite a drop, but you can-"

"No." Techno turned his hand, making it so his own fingers were clutching at Grian's sleeve instead. "I'm not leaving you."

"You have to. I can't use my wings." Grian sounded so calm about it too.

Techno shook his head. "I'd rather go back to the lab with you."

Grian opened his mouth, before closing it again. Even while frowning, a dumb grin got stuck on his face. He had to be used to Techno's petty stubbornness by now. "If I try to shove you off this cliff, you're just going to drag me down with you, huh?"

"Maybe," Techno said.

The Watchers wouldn't kill them. They were too valuable. And Techno wasn't lying, freedom would be meaningless without his brother by his side.

The whispers rushed against the corners of his mind.

Before they could get any closer, a flurry of feathers blinded Techno's vision.

Techno blinked up at the man that had landed before them, dark wings flared out impressively. He had… come from the sky? He could fly?

"Who are you?" the man asked. It didn't sound unfriendly but not very kind either. Curious, maybe. Or weary.

"Who are you?!" Grian demanded.

"Really?" The man raised an eyebrow. "You two are skirting a little too close to the borders of my domain to be acting so cheeky. Fledglings these days."

The man was an avian. He was what the Watchers were trying to recreate. Techno realized this within the same moment that he realized the man had been staring into his eyes all this time and it wasn't doing anything.

Were the Watchers only able to overtake human minds?

"We're being chased," Techno said. Grian squeezed his hand a little, but Techno really thought this man might be able to help him. Pity, or what had Grian called it?

The avian inclined his head, as if only just hearing the sound of people approaching. "By who?"

"Does it matter? They want to hurt us!" Grian yelled. "We'd appreciate your help very much."

"I suppose." The man seemed bored with it almost. The smirk pulling at his face told differently though, the feathers on his cheek making the expression seem like more of an amused grimace. His long black cloak trailed behind him as he came toward them and scooped him both up - one in each arm - with no preamble.

His talons dug into the ground before he took off into the sky like an arrow.

Powerful black wings hurled them upward with even strokes. Techno watched them move, awed by it. Would he be able to do this someday?

"Thanks for saving us," Grian said, trying to raise his voice so he could be heard over the whipping of the wind around them. "Uh, who are you?"

The avian chuckled at that. "Philza. But people around here often call me Crowfather. Will you do me the courtesy of returning the favor now?"

"Grian. And my brother's name is Techno."

"Where are we going?" Techno asked, craning his neck so he could watch the cliff become smaller and smaller, the people on it who ran out of the woods nothing more than specks from this high up.

He smiled to himself.

"There's a town not far from here. Not an average place, don't worry. Somewhere for people like us. And somewhere nobody can find you easily, I'll guarantee it."

Techno wanted to believe that was true. The way Philza said it made it hard to doubt. But it was a bit terrifying not knowing what the future would bring. Grian moved his hand, fingers digging into Techno's skin. Not letting go.

Whatever it was, Techno was sure they could manage.