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Ranboo breathes out, watching as his breath comes out as a puff of fog in front of him. He shivers a little, shifting on his feet as looks back over his shoulder at the portal behind him, just to make sure that he wasn't followed here. Ranboo knows how to be careful whenever he travels to the Antarctic Empire - he might not be the strongest and he might not have control of his mind all the time, but he's not stupid. He knows how to catch a spy, he's good at that. Ranboo turns back, shoving his hands in his pockets as he continues to walk along the manmade pathway that leads to Techno's little cabin in the middle of the Arctic. This entire place, Ranboo thinks to himself as he walks, is beautiful. He glances up at the sky, smiling at the pale blue and fluffy, cotton-like clouds that are strewn about. He doesn't think that he'd change a thing about this place, other than the near unbearable cold, but to be fair, the cold is part of its charm. Ranboo keeps moving, scuffing his feet along the ground, careful to not accidentally get any snow in his boots or on his skin. While he's mostly covered up, Ranboo still knows better than to mess around and be upset at the consequences. He learnt how to not burn himself in the Antarctic Empire pretty quickly.
He heaves a sigh, shivering even more, wishing that it wasn't so cold. It's not even this cold in Snowchester, and they're the same kind of biome - they're both tundras, they're both full of snow. Ranboo rolls his eyes, wondering if the only reason it's not so cold in Snowchester is because of the amount of nukes that are there. While he thinks it doesn't entirely make sense, it's sort of funny to blame it on, so that's what he'll go with. Ranboo stands at the front of Techno's house, trudging up the steps, stepping over the one creaky stair that he always accidentally steps on at night. He stands on the porch for a moment, rubbing his arms with his hands for a few seconds, wishing that it wasn't stupidly cold. After a second, Ranboo reaches out, knocking on the door six times in a pattern that he knows Techno will recognise. As expected, the door swings open a second later, Techno having been the one to open it. He's not even in his training armour, opting to settle in just a shirt and heavy pocketed pants. Ranboo raises an eyebrow at the half-Piglin who's supposed to be training him, gesturing to his lack of armour.
"You're early," Techno grumbles, running a hand through his hair, screwing up his face. He yawns, and Ranboo looks away as quickly as he can, not wanting to do the same. He hears the man stop after a second, and turns to look back at him. "You can come in, why are you just standin' there?" Techno snorts, moving away from the door. Ranboo sighs after him, closing the door behind him so the wind doesn't freeze them all to death. "Give me a couple of minutes to get ready, okay? It's five in the mornin', Ranboo. You were supposed to be here at six," Techno mutters, and Ranboo watches as he spares a look at his clock. "It's not even five," Techno blinks. Ranboo looks down at his feet, offering the half-Piglin a sheepish smile. "It's four thirty in the mornin', Ranboo."
"I figured that, um, you know," Ranboo laughs, trying his best to keep the awkwardness out of his voice. He holds up his hands, keeping that sheepish smile stuck on his face. "Maybe it would be better if I got here early, um, you know? So we had more time to actually train, right? That..that makes sense, doesn't it? I'm just trying to be a good student, y'know? I'm just making sure that I.." Ranboo pauses, sighing when he realises that Techno is just staring at him blankly, very obviously not buying any of his words. "I just wanted to not be late."
Techno blinks at him, and Ranboo can't help but wonder if the other man is going to kick him out of his house. Ranboo shifts, taking a small step back towards the door, motioning back to it. He opens his mouth to say that he can go if Techno wants him to, but Techno raises his hand, cutting him off before he can even start. Ranboo blinks at him, annoyance settling in the back of his throat at being interrupted. He's not surprised - Techno's manners really aren't the best, but it's fine. Ranboo isn't here to teach Technoblade of all people how to not interrupt, no. He's here to be taught how to fight, that's all. Manners aren't really that important when you're being taught how to stab someone until they don't get back up. "So you got here two and a half hours early?" Techno smiles at him, his eyes bright with amusement. "Okay, Ranboo. Whatever you say," he waves a hand, turning away. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Phil's up in the backyard if you want to go and keep him company. Or if you just want someone to talk to. He likes your company, anyways. Give me ten minutes and then we'll start."
Ranboo smiles at the words, pretending that they don't mean anything to him until Techno leaves the room. Ranboo grins so hard that he has to duck his head, staring at the floor to ignore the feelings in his chest, ignoring the way that the words he likes your company makes him feel. It makes him feel loved, sort of. Makes him feel like he's finally got a family, like he finally has two friends that he can trust no matter what. While Ranboo knows that he has Tubbo and Techno and Phil, sometimes his head makes him feel like he doesn't, and it's nice to be reminded that that's just his head messing with him. Ranboo moves to the back door of Techno's cabin, opening it and closing it behind him. He glances around, scanning the open arctic for Phil, frowning a little when he can't find him.
"You all good down there, mate?" Ranboo gasps, biting down on his lower lip to prevent himself from saying something he normally wouldn't. He cranes his head, looking up at the roof, unable to hold his mildly annoyed look when he sees Phil grinning down at him. Ranboo smiles back up at the man, crossing his arms against his chest. "Hiya, Ranboo. Techno didn't tell me that you were coming over this early," Phil is sat on the roof, books and blueprints and schematics all scattered around him. "Figured I had a bit of time to set this up for you guys." Ranboo smiles up at the man, leaning back on his heels as he stares up at whatever it is that Phil is doing. He watches as he flips to another page in the book at he has, one of his blueprints nearly rolling off of the side of the roof, Phil barely managing to catch it with his one free hand.
"Set what up?" Ranboo asks, tilting his head to the side. "And why are you up there, Phil? Wouldn't it be, you know, easier to plan down here?" Ranboo motions to the ground around him. "So your things don't roll off of the roof, or something like that?" He pauses, wondering if he's going to get a genuine answer. Phil just looks at him, though not meeting his eyes, which Ranboo is thankful for. "Yeah, fair. Anyways," Ranboo taps his foot against the ground, swaying back and forth to keep his body moving, not wanting to accidentally freeze to death out here. "What are you setting up, Phil? What is that you're scheming, Philza?"
Phil laughs, beaming at him so brightly that it has to hurt. Phil always does that - he always smiles and laughs. He always seems to be so full of life, and Ranboo doesn't understand how he does it. He knows that Phil can be cruel and bad; he's seen it happen. He's watched Phil bring L'manberg to ruins, he's watched the man before him cause terror, he's heard the legends of the Angel of Death. He's heard tales of Phil from before he came to this world, how his nicknames represented him as a person. And yet right now, Ranboo can't see any of that. The man in front of him is a bright man with a bright smile and happy eyes, though they get exhausted easily. Ranboo doesn't know what he should believe, not entirely. "The snow fucks with you, doesn't it?" Phil raises an eyebrow down at him. "I was gonna make you two a place to spar without having to rearrange the entire goddamn cabin," Phil snorts. "Anyways," he sighs, waving a hand. Ranboo watches as he shoves all of his books and blueprints under his arm, hopping off of the roof a second later. His breath hitches in his throat, but Phil just lands easily, not even stumbling once. "I'll have to finish that later, probably. Alright," Phil smiles at him. "You have fun fighting Techno, mate."
"Actually," Ranboo swallows, shifting on his feet. "Do you have any, um, advice?" He pauses. "You know. For fighting Techno? I've never really even been in a real fight, not that I can remember, and I don't want to get totally ruined, you- you know?" Phil turns, smiling at him softly. "I mean, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, I mean, I know I should probably go into this blind, right? So it's like, an actual surprise, but, um, I don't want him to actually beat me up, you know? I feel like he'll hold back and go easy on me, but I also don't know for sure and I don't want to go into this.." Ranboo heaves a sigh, tilting his head back and looking up at the sky. "I don't want to go into this without knowing anything, 'cause then I'll look stupid, and I..I really don't want to look stupid in front of Techno, you..you know?"
"Yeah, alright. I can tell you about him, mate. Techno is strong," Phil sets his books down on a workbench set up behind the house, leaning on the back wall of the cabin, propping himself up with one leg. He crosses his arms, tilting his head back a little, shutting his eyes. "He focuses on taking his enemy down immediately. He strikes fast and hard, he won't give you time to recover, he'll try and throw you to the ground so you don't get back up. He's terrible with axes, so he'll be using a sword. But if you ever fight him for real, mate," Phil smiles at him, a spark in his eyes. "Make sure to prepare in advance, 'cause he'll be doing the same. He's a great strategist, but he tends to get overwhelmed thinking about a fight weeks in advance. He's not just good with weapons, he's great being unarmed. He'll fuck you up, Ranboo," Phil laughs. "He isn't going to go easy on you, mate. But that's only 'cause he thinks you can handle it."
Ranboo breathes out. "What if I can't?" He asks, wincing when he hears Techno's door open from the inside. "What if I'm not actually ready, Phil?" Ranboo feels his pulse spike, he feels his heart start to race. "I don't know if I can do this, I've never done this before, I don't.." Phil is in front of him in a second, his hand gently set on Ranboo's shoulder.
"You can, mate. Come on, now," Phil offers him a soft smile, tilting his head to the side. "You'll be fine. I'll be there to make sure nothing happens, okay, mate? I was joking when I said he'll fuck you up, seriously. Techno's impulsive sometimes and he gets carried away fighting, but he won't hurt you. He's probably more scared than you are," Phil laughs, ducking his head. "Really. He's nervous about this. He doesn't want you to know that, but he is. He's scared of hurting you." Ranboo nods, breathing in, feeling a little less nervous than he had only a few seconds ago. Phil, the Angel of Death, is way too good at calming him down.
"Okay," he nods. "I think I'm ready. Does he have a spare set of armour for me?" Ranboo asks, moving to walk back into the house. "Or do I actually have to go back and- oh," Ranboo nearly runs into Techno. On the table by Techno are new clothes, along with armour. "Is that..mine?" Ranboo asks, figuring that they are, but he's not going to just take clothes from someone without making sure they're actually for him.
Techno snorts, moving out of the way. "Yes, they're yours. Figured that you needed a wardrobe change," Techno smiles, crossing his arms against his chest. His armour isn't the heavy kind that he normally wears - in fact, Ranboo's never seen this set of armour before. It looks a lot lighter, it looks like it'll let Techno move easier than his other set, but it's definitely not as protective. "You can go and change in the guest room," Techno waves a hand. "Or just put on the armour, whatever. Those clothes are just a little more insulated. I know that you get cold, but," Techno clears his throat, heaving a sigh. "Not like I care. Do whatever you want, Enderboy. Meet me out here whenever you're ready." And then he's gone stalking off without saying another word. Ranboo smiles after him, picking up the clothes on the chair, moving into the guest room where he stayed for a couple of weeks.
Ranboo throws off his overcoat, sighing as he tugs on the new clothes. He closes his eyes, listening to the wind start to pick up outside. It's not that bad, but it sounds like it's going to get worse, which sucks, but he's not going to back out of this just because he's cold. Ranboo shifts in his new shirt, feeling warmer than he had only a few seconds ago. He smiles, strapping on his armour, tugging on his chestplate, adjusting his shoulder pieces. Ranboo looks at himself in the mirror, barely recognising himself. Of course he has armour of his own, but it feels so weird to him, looking at himself in armour that's clearly powerful, that's obviously strong. Ranboo is going to learn how to fight, how to hurt people. It's..terrifying. Daunting, too. Everything about today feels weird, but in a good way. He turns away, running a hand through his hair, messing it up more than he meant to. He moves out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him, pushing open the door to the outside.
"Ready," Ranboo announces, flinching back when Techno tosses a sword. He barely manages to fumble it in his hands, catching it after a second of struggling. Ranboo stands a little taller, running his hands over the hilt of the sword. "You just made this, didn't you? I've never seen it before." Techno motions over to Phil, smiling a little.
"Phil did, thank him. You should name your sword," Techno tells him. "Namin' your weapons always make them more inclined to not break," he pauses. "I guess that's just a superstition, but it works for me, so it might work for you. Do whatever you want, I don't care. Just a suggestion," he shrugs. "So," Techno beams at him, puffing out his chest, standing a little taller. Ranboo watches as he pulls out his own sword, one that barely catches the light of the rising sun. "How much about fightin' do you know, Ranboo? What do you know how to do?"
Ranboo breathes out, giving him a half shrug. "I've defended myself before, but not..not properly. I think I'm just really good at running away," he admits, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. "Are we just going to- woah!" Ranboo shouts as he glides to the left, stumbling out of the way of Techno's sudden advancement. "That's cheating," Ranboo points out, narrowing his eyes sharply. "That's so cheating! That's not fair at all!" He laughs, making sure to pay attention to Techno, making sure to not lose track of him. Ranboo doubts Techno would try and pull something like a sneak attack or whatever on him, but he isn't sure. Phil told him to expect anything, so he might as well expect anything
Techno grins at him, his tusks that jut out of the side of his mouth becoming even more apparent. "I was gettin' bored. Come on, Enderboy. Fight me," Techno rushes him again, and Ranboo barely has any time to throw up his sword, blocking Techno's assault. He feels his arms tremble as Techno pushes back against him with far more force than Ranboo thinks that he can handle, hissing out in pain when he takes a step back, nearly twisting his ankle to the side. "Come on, Ranboo, you can do better than this." Techno taunts him, not relenting, not even easing up on the pressure. Ranboo grits his teeth, breathing through his nose as he pushes back, trying to keep his weight equal in both his legs and his upper body. Ranboo watches his arms start to bend back, feels himself starting to lose ground.
There isn't snow around here.
Ranboo drops to the ground, sending Techno tumbling forward. He leaps back up to his feet, breathing out, feeling his heart slam in his chest. Techno turns around, his eyes huge. Ranboo beams at him, bouncing on his heels as he tightens his grip around his sword, excitement flooding his chest. "Was that good?" Ranboo asks, unable to wipe the grin off of his face, unable to stop bouncing on his feet. Techno laughs, looking both shocked and proud, a surprised grin working its way onto his face. He looks proud, Techno looks like he's actually impressed, but Ranboo isn't sure if he is or not. It's always been hard to read Techno, harder than it is to read Phil.
"Yeah," Techno confirms with a nod, twisting his body around, facing Ranboo fully now. He tosses his sword in the air, catching it again. "Let's see if you can block me." Techno doesn't give him a second to prepare, and Ranboo yelps as he has to put up his sword at the sudden onslaught. He narrowly avoids being stabbed in the chest, though he knows that Techno wouldn't actually kill him. Ranboo pushes back against his sword with his own, keeping his feet dug into the ground. Techno isn't going to fall for his trick twice, Ranboo knows that well enough. He frowns, feeling his chest tighten as Techno keeps pushing him back.
Ranboo shakes his head, taking a few steps back, letting Techno win that. Why shouldn't he? If he didn't move, they'd have just continued their shoving match, and that's not fighting. Ranboo quickly raises his sword, the clash of metal making his ears ring. He fumbles his sword when Techno moves a little too quickly for him to catch, crying out when he feels his hand get cut. He drops his sword, immediately moving his other hand to hold his injured one. He sees red trickle out from under his glove, hissing out in pain when he peels back his glove.
"Stop!" Phil shouts, his voice louder than the clashing of swords that still rings in Ranboo's ears. "Time out, mate," Ranboo looks up, heaving a sigh when he watches the older man appear from the sidelines, moving to stand in front of him. "He only nicked you," Phil tells him with a gentle smile. "It's not going to kill you, mate. Let's just get that bandaged before we continue," Phil pauses, his eyebrows going up. "Unless you want to keep going. We normally bandage shit after, but I don't care. Up to you, mate."
Ranboo breathes out, reaching up with his other hand to run his fingers through his hair. "I'll keep going," he nods, looking up at Phil. "I'll keep going." Phil grins at him, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Then keep going! Pick up your sword, mate. He's not gonna wait on you all day." Phil stalks back to the sidelines, his arms crossed against his chest, his grin still intact. He looks proud. Ranboo smiles back at him, picking up his sword off of the ground, watching his blood trickle down his fingers. The wound stings, it really, really stings, but Ranboo isn't going to stop. He's not going to chicken out because he got a little hurt. This is all about him fighting, becoming better, getting stronger, having more control over himself. Ranboo pushes the pain down, he ignores it entirely, opting to stare at Techno, taking a long and low breath before he nods once.
That's all it takes for Techno to charge him again. Ranboo throws up his sword, the clashing of metal becoming more familiar. He pushes against Techno, throwing all of his strength into this. Ranboo feels himself taking steps, he feels himself moving, pushing Techno back, making the man lose ground. Ranboo keeps pushing, keeps moving forward. He spares a glance at Techno's wrist, and realises how badly he's messed up when he doesn't feel Techno losing ground anymore. He feels a hand wrap around his arm.
Ranboo hisses as he feels himself go flying up into the air, landing on the ground a second later, his sword clattering to the ground next to him. Ranboo sighs, wincing as he reaches to his back to rub his tailbone, pain going up through his body. He looks up at Techno, who still has his sword and is moving towards- shit.
Ranboo fumbles to pick up his sword, throwing it in front of him, blocking Techno. Techno presses down, and Ranboo doesn't think that he'll be able to hold for much longer, already struggling to keep up his sword. "Come on, Ranboo," Techno stares at him, his eyes full of pride. "You can do better than this." Techno is right - Ranboo can do better than this. He feels his arms tremble as he pushes back against him, kicking out with his leg. Techno stumbles back, and that's just enough time for him to leap up to his feet, desperately trying to catch his breath, the sting of his hand completely ignored now. Ranboo grins at the man in front of him, raises his sword. He adjusts his stance, feeling himself buzz with excitement, grinning even more at the half-Piglin before him.
"You're right," Ranboo shifts on his feet, getting more and more used to the weight of his armour, getting used to the weight of his sword. "I can do better than you." Techno grins at him so hard that his face has to hurt, and there's only a second of peace before Techno is already charging at him again.
They fight until noon, swords clashing and injuries being traded, but it's all worth it. Ranboo is sore all over and he feels like he's dying, but it was all worth it. He leaves the Antarctic Empire with a couple bruises and cuts, all wrapped up, but he also leaves with more confidence. He holds his head high as he walks back to the portal, feeling his entire body buzzing with energy and excitement, unable to stop himself from continuously bouncing on his heels as he walks, something like pure happiness settling in his chest the entire walk back to Snowchester.
Ranboo really might not be all that good at fighting right now - but that's going to change.
He'll make sure of it.