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The more Dream lingered around New L’manburg the more on edge Ranboo grew. Dream would stay in the now empty houses, claiming to be preventing them from gathering dust yet when Ranboo would check on them after his stay the dust seemed the same. New L’manburg was basically a ghost town aside from the president thrown into office, the socially anxious half enderman, and the server owner who would help with projects that were meant to bring people in but somehow made the country feel more empty.
The bee sanctuary that Dream helped with was nice Ranboo would admit. It was a nice, calm project to work on and the help Dream gave was genuinely helpful. But Ranboo couldn’t help but be on edge around the masked man after everything.
Dream’s voice was like the honey Ranboo would help Tubbo collect smooth, sweet, and golden. But too much of something sweet always makes you sick like the way a kid shovels candy into their mouth on Halloween and feels nauseous later was the same as how Dream would come around and be friendly with Tubbo and Ranboo before Ranboo started feeling sick for a reason he couldn’t pin down.
Dream had come by once again, helping Tubbo plant more flowers in the bee sanctuary for the bees to have a wider variety in their diet. Dream asked Ranboo if he wanted to help but Ranboo panicked and lied, deciding to say he wasn’t feeling well and when Dream offered his help Ranboo denied it further, saying he wouldn’t want Dream to catch whatever he had. Even from under the mask Ranboo knew Dream wasn’t buying it but the way Tubbo was tugging at his sleeve was hard to ignore and left Ranboo alone in his house with his pets.
That was when he started packing.
Ranboo was getting out of New L’manburg. He couldn’t be here anymore. Not to mention the consistent tug in his chest pulling him north. He had no clue why he felt a need to go that way but something in the back of his mind told him that he’d be safe. Then again pretty much anywhere was safer than here.
Ranboo gathered his valuables, spare blocks, leads for his animals, and once they were all outside he quickly ran back in and left a note in a spot he knew only Tubbo would look and only Tubbo would understand. Once the animals that couldn’t follow were on their leads he picked up Enderchest and Jjjjjjjjeffery and headed north, avoiding the water as best he could.
The further north Ranboo got the more he realized he needed a jacket. He could only hope that he was strong enough to withstand the cold but he felt like he was getting closer to whatever was pulling him out here.
When a village came into view Ranboo took no hesitation in buying a big blanket since none of the coats available fit him. Once he had something to better protect himself against the elements with he asked the locals if there were any places he could stay for the night and when he was lead to a house that had been empty for a while he brought all his pets in, set up the fireplace and lit it and eventually settled in for the night, feeling safer in this random village than he ever had in New L’manburg. He was in a warm house and surrounded by his pets.
The next morning Ranboo realized that the tugging in his chest had gotten stronger. Ranboo gathered his pets once again and let the feeling direct him, leading to a cabin only a little ways off from the village. He wondered who could live out here but just being near the house made him feel safer.
Ranboo hesitated before he ended up knocking on the door, holding the blanket around himself as he waited. The man who opened the door was one Ranboo had seen few times before but heard a lot about.
Technoblade.
The piglin was just as intimidating in person as the rumors he had heard about said he would be, even in the light blue clothes that were different from the wanted posters Ranboo had seen that should have made him seem more approachable. Why did he feel a need to be here? This didn’t feel very safe.
“Who are you and why are you out here?” Techno’s voice was very low and gruff as he looked up at the younger man.
Before Ranboo could sputter out an answer like an old car on its last legs Tommy moved in front of Techno, wearing blue and fur-lined clothes that looked similar to the piglins.
“Ranboo! You’re here! Did you follow the eye?” Tommy shoved the eye of ender he had been absent-mindedly staring at just a moment prior into Ranboo’s face and it clicked for him.
He had given Tommy an eye linked up to himself. That’s why he wanted to be out here.
Then another thing clicked for him.
Tommy had kept the eye of ender. Tommy had kept Ranboo’s gift.
Ranboo realized he should respond before he gets too caught up in his thoughts and just gave a simple nod before explaining himself. “Y-yeah actually. I- L’manburg- uh… I don’t know how to explain it but I didn’t feel safe in New L’manburg. I just felt this- this tug and after following it I ended up here. I-if you don’t want me here I can always go back! I completely understand! You wouldn’t want a stranger in your house.”
Tommy floated up and around the taller boy, already rambling about how exciting it was to have someone else out here that wasn’t old and boring or constantly spitting metaphors. Ranboo tried to interject and ended up looking to Technoblade for answers.
The piglin sighed and opened his door wider for the enderman and when the boy hesitated the ghost was quick to pull him and his pets in. Before Tecno made Ranboo tie up the pets he had on leads outside (and Ranboo complied).
Ranboo was allowed to take his armor off and warm up by the fire as Tommy sat with him, bringing up idea after idea for things they could do.
Technoblade wasn’t thrilled about having a stranger in his house but the way Tommy’s face had lit up when he saw the other and the way he circled the tall boy like a shark when he (Ranboo, Techno soon found out as Tommy kept repeating the boy’s name) showed hesitance. He didn’t know much about the situation but the kid had apparently been pulled here by the eye of ender that Tommy had and he didn’t feel safe in New L’manburg. He’d have to ask Phil about what he knew about either of those things.
Techno watched as Tommy leaned on Ranboo, making a joke that made the other laugh. Techno held back a small smile as he continued the book he had been reading before the knock on the door.
Techno had seen the new kid in his cabin before when he was yanked from his retirement as him, Quackity, Fundy, and Tubbo showed up. What Quackity had admitted to Techno in the sewers made his blood boil. It had all been a show of power. It was an attempt at a warning to others. And a failed attempt at that. Techno didn’t trust Ranboo, granted he hadn’t played a huge part in the butcher army and immediately gave him back his armor with some light threat but Techno wasn’t one to forgive easily. Ranboo could stay here until he found somewhere else to live and then that’d be it. He’d be gone and Tommy could visit him if he wanted but he wouldn’t be living here. The cabin was getting crowded enough as is.
Phil had other plans, however.
When Phil found the new lost teen asleep on the couch in Techno’s cabin after getting home late from a nether trip he was surprised, to say the least. It wasn’t that Techno couldn’t be kind it was just that kindness and allowing people in wasn’t what earned his son the nickname “the blood god”.
Phil had heard of the kid on the couch but from the ghost hovering over the boy with an eye of ender in his hands, who when Phil entered maybe a little too loudly quickly shushed him and said people were sleeping and called him a prick. Normally Phil would tell Tommy off for that but he was too tired currently to argue so he’d let it slide.
“That’s Ranboo yeah? Why’s he here?” Phil spoke softly as not to disturb the boy on the couch. He was tired, yes but he figured he should get a rundown of the situation now before Techno was sarcastic with him tomorrow and refused to tell him anything useful.
“He followed the eye. He said something was wrong in L’manburg and that he didn’t feel safe so he’s here now.” Tommy shrugged, holding out the eye slightly for Phil to look at.
“Did he ever mention why?” Phil obviously hadn’t been in L’manburg in a while, he took Tommy and his valuables and ran with Techno’s help and hadn’t intended on keeping up with anything that happened there. But if the boy ended up on his son's couch it wouldn’t hurt to at least catch up on his situation.
Tommy shook his head and the weariness of the day hit Philza once again. He could ask Ranboo about what happened in the morning. For now, the winged man needed to rest.