Chapter Text
The late summer sun beat down heat like flamethrowers, sizzling the sand beneath its rays and threatening to turn it to glass. The vivid blue, cloudless sky stretching across the desert giving no help to the man as he was relentlessly sizzled close to cooking as he walking across the vast landscape. Raising a sleeved arm to wipe the dripping sweat from his overheated forehead, Phil released a sigh. Regretting the idea that had the audacity to grace his mind, the daring idea to scope out the unseen part of the desert he lives beside. Hearing a tale from the travelling man who stops by on occasion, that there were ruins in this direction.
He had been an adventurer, he had been in heat similar to this within the nether realm. But after a few years of retirement, it’s like stepping through the portal for the first time all over again. He could almost hear the bubbling magma in the back of his mind already, the anxiety creeping up behind him at the fear of a ghast cry or the grunt of a piglin. This was one of the reasons he retired. The anxiety of death was scouring his mind relentlessly every time he stepped outside to fish or feed his cattle, having him resort to moving away to a village close by to a desert. And after pushing back his itching need to explore his surroundings he built himself a comfortable home on the village outskirts and stationed himself there with a large fence and roof inside for him, his cat and a few cattle. It was nice, he enjoyed the company of occasional tea with the traveller and visiting the village library or just fishing by the river. Yet after years of the same routine, it became agonising. So he gave in to his past instincts and made his way into the desert for a quick look, hoping to see if there’s loot in the vicinity to quench his adventure thirst.
So that’s where Phil was, walking through a desert with fewer supplies than what he would bring when he was younger. He had definitely lost his touch, it was almost disheartening but not enough to stop him from going. His dull sapphire eyes stared off into the heat waved distance with his last bit of adventurers hope dripping from him he groaned. Feeling like a fool for humouring the story. Phil stopped walking, collapsing into a sitting position in the scorching sand. Digging a hand into his satchel, happily nicknamed his ‘inventory’, to drag out his water canteen and unscrew the cap to take a drink. Shuddering as the warm liquid slid down his throat, feeling an intense need for cold right about now. His eyes moving across the area around him to spot something, anything! Of importance. But nope, nada, nothing. He was tolled a tall tale that cost him his precious time of doing nothing.
His mind was humming on the idea of heading home when he heard the familiar sounds of an individual leaving a nether portal, his eyes widening and he shot up from where he sat. sloppily capping his water and shoving it into his inventory before shooting off on tired feet in the direction of the sound. Making his way up a sand mountain, standing on top out of breath only to see the crumbling remains of a portal. It’s purple gate slowly fading and glitching as the aged obsidian crumbled, finally a chunk fell and the portal ceased.
With laboured breath, Phil slid down the sand mountain, stumbling at the bottom a bit. Catching himself from getting a faceful of sand, the blonde stood there in awe of the scene a newly crumbling portal stood before him, the obsidian already starting to cry in certain places from the magic recoil of the smashing portal. He hesitantly stepped towards it, avoiding the bubbling sections of lava and magma as he stepped onto the netherack that corrupted the sand. Looking through the portal his already surprised eyes widened more at the sight.
Laying on the sand on the other side of the broken portal, trembling and curled up into a ball was a child. Or what seemed to be a child. It had fur, hooves, ragged brown clothes and despite them being hidden by ragged brown hair, pig ears. It was a piglin. A piglin with hair? Phil moved a hand hesitantly to the hilt of his sword, stepping through the portal, his eye trained cautiously on the figure. He heard faint whimpers, causing worry to surprisingly fill his chest. His hand falling from his sword as he took a few steps closer, hesitant to speak.
“Hey..” he spoke softly, watching the child as its head shot up in surprise and its eyes stared at Phil with immense fear. For a moment it was frozen, still trembling before it shot up onto its feet, ready to shoot off in a sprint before it ultimately collapsed again. Phil’s eyes were filled with worry as he saw the piglin in full, seeing the deep crimson red injury that dripped down the poor thing’s leg. Without hesitation, Phil shot forward, kneeling down and using an arm to support it.
“Hey, no, its okay im here to help.” the words fell from his mouth before he could even comprehend it. Was he going to help it? Apparently yes, as he made eye contact with the child, seeing it visibly relax against him after he spoke. Prompting Phil to dig into his inventory to find a potion he had brought that could heal it with. Feeling the glass against his fingertips he pulled the bottle from the cluttered bag and opening it with his thumb before offering it to the injured piglin. Seeing as it eyes the bottle hesitantly before slowly taking it in its hands and bringing it to its mouth to drink the liquid, watching as almost instantly the wound healed, leaving dried blood to clump within its fur.
A sigh escaped Phil as he took the empty bottle back and slipped it back into his bag, looking over the child for any injuries that may have been missed if that was even possible. His eyes soon moving to meet the child’s, seeing the trust radiating from its gaze made him speechless. Within all his years he has never been on friendly terms with a piglin, they never spoke much English and never got close enough for him to touch them. It was strange, the piglin child was strange. Piglins never had hair, they never left the nether and they stayed within their packs. Now here he was cradling a piglin child, with hair, that left a crumbling nether portal and left its pack.
“Uh…” Phil hesitated, averting his gaze and gently moving the child so it could stand by itself. “There, all better..” he spoke softly with a smile, watching as it stood shakily. Looking down at its previously injured leg before taking a step back to test if it could walk. Finding that it could, a happy noise escaped it and it took a few more steps back before running around excitedly.
A chuckle escaped Phil and he stood, his smile softening as he watched it celebrate its healed injury. A new feeling filling him as he watched, his smile soon falling as it dawned on him. This piglin child was alone now, it would surely die out here in the desert for a variety of reasons. Phil was either going to have to take it or leave it here. The thought was gutwrenching, abandoning this strange child after healing its injury. The feeling of regret raising in his mind but he pushed it down with a breath, thinking it was better to ignore such thoughts in favour of thinking on the piglins safety.
“Kid” he spoke, catching its attention. It stopped its running and turned to look at him with a curious noise. “You’re stuck out here now huh?” Phil asked, crossing his arms and letting his calm smile returned. Seeing as it nodded slowly, visibly its mood dropped upon the questioning.
“Then… how about you come with me for now, im sure I can help you find your way back into the nether. I know places” he suggested, kneeling down to meet the piglin’s height. “Does that sound alright?” he asked, holding a hand out to the child in hopes it accepts his offer.
The piglin blinked at him, the cogs turning in its brain. Sooner than thought, it walked over to Phil and placed its trotter into Phils. A smile appearing on its face as it bounced happily on its newly healed legs and letting out a few happy grunts, causing Phil’s smile to widen.
“Nice, it’s a long walk, it would be easier to carry you. Is that alright?” he questioned softly, earning a small nod from the animal. Letting Phil move to lift the piglin up and let it sit on his arm as he held it up, feeling it wrap an arm around his shoulder for support.
Phil then started his adventure back home in the blinding heat of the now setting sun, a warm feeling in his chest as he carried this child back to his home. Mind racing over how he would bring it home or even if he was going to keep it… it… in his mind, he kept referring to the child as ‘it’… no, it was a he. He was going to stay with Phil until they figure something out.
»»——⍟——««
Rain pelted the window panes, filling the night with a soft ambience to accompany the flickering flames of a fire. The soft amber glow washing over the couch and the sleeping form lying beneath a blanket, its soft snores being heard from the kitchen table across the room. Candlelight filling in the shadows on the other side of the room, allowing the blonde to read the words written within one of the many books on nether creatures he decided to nab from the library before returning home with the piglin child, thankful that the librarian understood his situation and after a brief calm introduction agreed to help Phil on his research. Accompanying the many, many books on the table, was parenting novels. Picked out on the chance that Phil can’t find a proper way of returning him home.
With a tired sigh, Phil closed the leather-bound book he had been trying to read. Feeling the bags gather under his eyes already from his unusual lack of sleep. Expecting the sun to rise at any second, he stood, quietly picking up the candle holder and walking to check on the piglin. Looking over the back of the couch to see its sleeping form, a soft smile gracing Phil’s features again upon seeing him. Reaching down to softly pet his head with a surprising amount of fondness, the warm feeling returning to his chest, something that had returned when he had picked up the parenting novel.
With a small sigh, he took his hand back from the child, moving away from the couch to head to his bedroom. Feeling that it was best to rest before sunrise anywho, he worked better after a good rest. Knowing that in the morning he would have to figure things out with the kid, feeling slight dread for the upcoming stress of communicating with something- someone that couldn’t speak.
Slipping his shirt off of his shoulders he soon collapsed into the welcoming warmth of his bed, a satisfied sigh escaping him as he practically melted into the mattress and pillow. Slipping away into a dreamless sleep almost instantly, satisfying his tired brain. Waiting to wake to more responsibilities when the sun rose and the child woke.