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Family was never a thing that Tommy had growing up. He didn't remember his parents at all, but he remembered what happened after they died. The humans who had killed them had taken him and thrown him into some sort of circus. He couldn't remember it too clearly, but he remembered being ogled.
The humans would ogle him and he would hide behind his feathers. He wouldn't get fed unless he showed off for the people who came by to look at him, and then he would end up skinny and malnourished and starving.
He had only managed to escape after another Hybrid of some sort had set the circus-esque place on fire.
Learning was not something Tommy usually enjoyed, as it usually ended up in consequence if he made a mistake, but Tommy learned that day just how fast he could go.
{._.}
Tommy was not used to relying on people. From the time he escaped that shitty circus he'd had no one to help him but himself. He'd made his own nest up and above the town that tormented him and slept peacefully for the first time. He ate his own homemade bread and didn't throw up. He gathered his own fucking resources. He didn't need anyone!
But he was terribly lonely. At least in the circus he could talk with that tall Enderian kid with the heterochromatic eyes. Out there, he had no one. He was absolutely and horribly alone.
{._.}
There was an Elytrian in the forest. The very same forest that Tommy was hunting for seeds in.
Tommy was shocked that Elytrians even lived in the Overworld. They were known to be Royalty among the End Dimension, protected by Shulks and Enderians alike, only coming about when the Ender Dragon Herself blessed a human passerby She deemed worthy. How did this Elytrian get here?
And then Tommy caught the Elytrian staring at his flashy feather train, which hung behind him similar to a cape. A prickling feeling of unease crept up his spine at the feeling of being ogled like he was a piece of art.
"What are you starin' at?" he snapped.
The blond Elytrian blinked and cleared his throat awkwardly, gaze darting to the left to avoid the younger Avian's seething gaze. He didn't answer.
Tommy huffed and crossed his arms, feathers twitching to spread and assert dominance but he restrained. And he knelt down and picked at the melon seeds he'd been fiddling with earlier. "Well, I'm getting food, so if you want you can join me."
There was a terse silence as Tommy continued to gather seeds with the Elytrian man standing awkwardly just watching him. Oh, how Tommy was tempted to let his train rise and spread into the beautiful fan it could be behind him to show this birdbrain that he wasn't something to be messed with.
But then the blond man cleared his throat again and offered a hand out to Tommy, who was kneeling on the forest floor. "I'm Phil," he said. "It's nice to meet you. Do you have anywhere to stay?"
There was an underlying tone of...pity in his voice that Tommy resented. He scowled. "I'm not a pity case, I'm perfectly capable of living on my own. Have been for the past three years."
The man's face flashed with some emotion that Tommy wasn't familiar with and shook his head. "How old are you, kid?"
"Don't call me 'kid'! I'm fifteen, I'm plenty old enough to live on my own!"
Phil hesitated and scratched at the back of his head, ruffling the dark green bandana wrapped tightly around his head. He drew his lips into a thin line, humming thoughtfully as if he were contemplating something. "But...do you want to live on your own? I live with other Hybrids, if you'd like to live around peers who won't endanger you on purpose."
That sounded...heavenly. Living around other people? Possible friends? Who won't force him to be ogled and stared at like he was a statue carved out by the gods? Sign him up!
He took Phil's hand.
{._.}
Phil already had kids. Tommy silently raged about why this man wouldn't tell him he already had kids but ultimately decided against bringing it up.
Wilbur was a Phantom, Tommy hadn't met many Phantoms. Like all Phantoms, however, Wilbur was very playful and had a habit of pranking him. He'd go all invisible n' shit and pop out in front of the blond teen, cackling when Tommy squawked. Tommy wasn't sure how to feel about him.
But Tubbo, Wilbur's younger brother who was closer to Tommy's age, was...just plain weird. He was clingy to all hell and when Tommy insisted on finding a nearby village to make his residence, Tubbo insisted that the blond live with him in the jungle, even going as far as to climb onto his shoulders and stay there.
And then there was Niki, the Merling girl who lived in the lake under Wilbur's house. She was the sweetest girl, and Wilbur had an obvious soft spot for her. He gifted her things that she wouldn't be able to get from in her little lake. And in turn she would sit and listen to him play music or just talk. Tommy liked Niki. He would shout for everyone to shut up if they were talking over her and he would apologize if one of his jokes went too far.
Then there was Ranboo, an Enderian kid. Enderians were strange, they were born in every biome that humans have found so far, but Ranboo seemed to have been born in the End, if his limited Overworld English dialect was anything to go by. Not for the first time, Tommy wondered how the End native Hybrids got to the Overworld.
They were a weird bunch, a mismatched group of Hybrids that somehow all fit together perfectly. Tommy had a feeling he would like it here.
{._.}
A week into staying with them and Tommy had already developed some of Phil's bad habits.
He'd traversed the Nether, looking for anything to satisfy his boredom, when he came across a lonely Blazeborn.
Blazeborns weren't common in the Nether, a distant relative half-species of the fearful Blaze. Tommy's come across as many Blazeborns as he has beetroot seeds, which is to say none. Even as Tommy scoured the forests for beetroot, and any villages he came across, he found none. Finding a Blazeborn so near a Bastion, as well, was just as rare.
"'Ello," he called, tucking his feather train tighter against his back so the Blazeborn knew he wasn't a threat. It didn't mean much, since they were a Blazeborn and not an Avian, but you get the idea. "What are you doin' here?"
The Blazeborn's head snapped to where Tommy was standing and they tensed. They had dual-colored glasses, red and blue. Their skin was aflame as was usual for a person of their kin. Tommy decided he liked them.
"Erm," the Blazeborn stammered, "I live here."
Their words were choppy and broken as if they were unused to speaking Overworld English.
"My name is Tommy," he spoke clearly, so that his words didn't slur together and it was easier to understand. "What's your name?"
They were silent for a moment. "Jack," they mumbled.
"Any specific pronouns you want me to use?"
Jack's brow furrowed, a low hum emanating from their throat as they pondered. "Uhm, he and him, I think."
Tommy asked Jack if he wanted to come to the Overworld with him. Jack answered yes.
So the blond Avian dragged his new Blazeborn friend behind him to his Nether Portal. There was the familiar nauseating feeling of traveling Portals and then Tommy saw the comforting sight of the night sky. He embraced the feeling of rain pattering against his face but he heard quiet sizzling and then an inhuman cry as Jack attempted to shield himself away from the rain.
Tommy whipped around to see Jack's skin smoking and emitting a dimmer fire than before. The rain was making his fire weaker with each little splash. Hurriedly, Tommy built a makeshift shelter made of the steaming netherrack he got from his travels in the Nether. "Under here! It should protect you from the rain!"
The poor Blazeborn rushed under the scrappy netherrack and curled in on himself, steadily reheating his skin until it was the normal temperature for a Netherborn Hybrid.
Once Tommy was done panicking about if his new friend would be okay, he began to cackle hysterically at the situation. Of course it would be raining as soon as they stepped out. Just his luck.
Jack began to screech about what are you laughing about, Tommy?! It is not funny!
Neither of them mention it, but they are glad that their friendship started off this way, with simultaneous horrendous and fantastic luck. Tommy found a lonely Hybrid and gave him a home, even if Jack's new home was introduced to him in a rather terrifying manner. If this world was built to tear them down, they will just make the world bend to their will.
{._.}
Introducing his family to Jack went smoother than he thought it would go. Tubbo said hi and went on his way. Ranboo bonded with him over the fact that neither of them can enjoy the cooling lake that their friend lived in. Niki stayed a safe enough distance away but still listened to whatever Jack had to say. Phil helped Jack and Tommy build their sky base so that they could live together.
And then Father Fragrance made an appearance.
As soon as he showed up, with his scary amount of eyes and arms, satchel clinking with the objects in it against his hip, Tommy knew he was going to be a big deal around here.
He wore the robes of a priest, dark purple draped over each of his shoulders and black fabric falling down to his feet. When he entered Wilbur's house, he offered them Scents. He dug around in his ratty satchel and fetched small vials filled with liquids of varying colors.
"Gather round," he called, beckoning them closer with his free hand and popping open the vial. "Smell the Scents! They really do smell like real blocks!"
Wilbur was the first to lean forward and sniff it. His eyes brightened and he gasped. "It does! It really does smell like a block! It smells like wood!"
Tommy was skeptical but leaned forward anyway. As soon as he inhaled, he could smell the familiar and soothing scent of spruce wood fill his nose. Startled, he jerked back and stared with wide eyes. "What the fuck?"
Mostly everybody decided to take whiffs from the vials that Father Fragrance brought out. Phil stood to the side with a disgusted sort of amused expression. Even if Niki wanted to, she was stuck in her little tank, and she couldn't even smell anything above water anyway.
A short while after Father Fragrance had left, Tubbo had arrived asking who the hell Father Fragrance was. And just like that, the Arachnid Hybrid was back in the house, shouting his magnificence for all to hear.
It was a fun day for everyone. Father Fragrance even made a little home that he could return to when he wasn't going around the world showing everyone Scents. Their family grew one more that day.
{._.}
Tommy sometimes whined about not being able to fly like Phil. His little feather train was only used to glide, something similar to a humans' hang-glider.
But, something nobody knew about him, he did not know Avian or Elytrian culture. He was not aware that his flashy and colorful wings were a feature that was meant to be respected and envied.
He did not know why Phil would stare at his feathers with poorly disguised contempt. He did not know why Phil would always lift his wings a little higher whenever he was around. All he knew was that his feathers were pretty much useless while Phil's wings could bring him high into the air with just a flap.
Until Father Fragrance, who Tommy learned was named Schlatt, sat him down and explained different Hybrid cultures. He explained the history of Felines, a horrible man who had a sinful attraction to a cat and decided to embrace it. He explained the habits of Shulks, fiercely protective and made to take damage with ease. And then he got to the intertwined cultures of Avians and Elytrians.
"Elytrians are like the mother species to Avians," Schlatt spoke, drawing more figures on the papers before them. Around them were drawn images of the other Hybrids they learned about, cartoonishly drawn but still obvious to what they were meant to be. "Avians came to be when a few select Elytrians forgot how to fly. They never needed to so they never did, and as time went on, they taught their children how to live without flying, and eventually they evolved to exist without flight features.
"Of course, they could still glide, they didn't lose all of their bird-like features," Schlatt said, eyeing Tommy's bright blue covert. "Some even evolved to grow varying bird features, such as your peacock's covert."
Tommy's feathers ruffled at the mention and he smoothed them down thoughtlessly. He thought back to Phil's weird fucking staring and hummed. "Phil is always starin' at my feathers. Any reason in Avian and Elytrian history that would explain that or is that just a weird Phil thing?"
Schlatt looked disbelieving. No way an Avian kid wouldn't know about the color hierarchy. "Kid, (-don't call me kid, arsehole) every Avian and Elytrian know that the more colorful your feathers are, the more likely it is that you'll get a 'mate' with someone of the same species. It's an instinct thing, I think."
... So what Tommy was hearing was that the more colorful his wings, the more he's considered hot by lady Avians and Elytrians? "POGCHAMP!"
The next time Tommy caught Phil staring at his feathers mournfully, he cheekily lifted them and let them spread into the fan-like shape it took when he glided from high places. The older blond looked incredibly salty and Tommy fell into a hysterical fit of giggles at the sight.
{._.}
Family was not something Tommy was used to. Family was not something Tommy had the luxury of having in his life before now.
It took him a very long time to call his flock family. He was scared that if he finally admitted to them being family, the gods or whatever higher being that loved tormenting him would hear and take them away.
But they really were his family. It showed when he and Niki sat by the lake and talked for hours, sometimes even falling asleep with each other.
It showed when Tubbo and Tommy would spar until they were too exhausted to move, often passing out holding hands or curled around each other.
It showed when Jack would cheer him on every time he glided down gracefully from their nest home in the sky.
It showed in the way that Ranboo and he told each other of their lives in the circus after reuniting properly upon discovering that they were each other's old acquaintance from their previous lives.
It showed in the way that he often teased Phil because his feathers were less flashy than his.
And it showed when Schlatt would sit and explain things to him patiently, with a few goodhearted jabs at him.
Tommy loved his family. He would do anything for them, and he only prayed that they would do the same for him.