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“Fuck!” Ranboo screeched, leaping back from the splash. He clutched his forehead with a small groan, taking tiny steps back from the puddle on the floor “What was I thinking??” he muttered with a huff, running a hand through his hair and untangling it from its small ponytail. He shook his hair out, flicking an ear as he looked around his surroundings. “What the heck??” he muttered, scoffing a little as he realized he was in his own basement “Wha- Why did I do that??” he puzzled, glancing down at the steaming puddle that had come dangerously close to splashing his bare feet
The teen shook his head again and headed for the ladder, grabbing his hidden cloak from the chest behind the wall and stretched out his sore limbs once he made it outside.
“Guess I should warm up” he mumbled, summoning his sword and swinging it lightly “I think Phil is out, I’m sure I can borrow the training grounds while he’s gone” he jogged over to the pond between his neighbors houses, bracing himself before leaping into the hidden hole. He hissed a little as the water stung against his skin but grit his teeth and moved past it as fast as possible. He finally made it down to the unfinished training grounds, pulling his hood on and tugging his cloak a little tighter to stave off the chill of the stone room. He gave a little sigh and began on his swordsmanship, going through memorized steps and complicated moves that had been ingrained into him.
He slipped, momentarily tripping over his tail and froze. The teen made a frustrated hiss, taking several steps back to restart.
“No mistakes” he mumbled to himself “No mistakes. It has to be perfect. Nothing less than the best.” He continued the moves, faster this time as if to make up for his slip up “No mistakes. Can’t afford to mess up. Master needs me to be the best and I won’t fail Master. Not again-“
“Hey! Who are you?!!” a voice called out from the entrance, startling him. He peeked over a shoulder and scowled at the sight of Technoblade hanging on the ladder rungs “What are you doing here?! How’d you even get down here??!”
“Shit.” Ranboo muttered, immediately taking off towards the wall
“Hey!! Get back here!!” Techno shouted, immediately giving chase. The hybrid was fast for his size, using a pearl to immediately catch up to the cloaked teen. But two could play at that game and Ranboo grinned under his mask as he slipped out a pearl of his own, throwing it high in the air as the man approached him. “Well that was stupid” Techno snorted, eyes beginning to glow red as he got closer, sword drawn. Ranboo only laughed a little and slipped out another Pearl from under the folds of his cloak.
He was Master’s student. Master could escape from anyone, and as his loyal protégé it only made sense that Ranboo could too. He cut his connection with the pearl right before it landed, grinning as his feet smashed into the hybrid’s head, slamming the man against the floor and taking off for the ladder, using his second pearl to teleport the distance and race up the wooden rungs.
“HEY!!” Technoblade yelled, hooves clicking against stone as he frantically tried to catch up
“See you ‘round Blood God!!” Ranboo couldn’t help but taunt, knowing the man wouldn’t understand him and a bad habit he’d picked up from his teacher. He slipped out of the pond and teleported himself up the mountain, smashing an invisibility potion he had in his inventory to make himself vanish and ducking behind a mound of snow. He laughed to himself quietly as he watched Technoblade rush out from the pond and look around wildly. Ranboo patiently waited for the man to give up his search, staying in his spot and munching on a golden apple. He was good at waiting. Master had taught him the importance of patience and Master was always right.
He shook the snow off of his pants and headed up the mountain, having to dig around a little for the button he’d hidden in the stone, smiling as he found and pressed it. He lit the torch kept at the entrance and skipped down the stairs, door grinding shut behind him with a rumbling boom. He lit more torches on his way down, letting out a small sigh of relief as he arrived in the small room at the end of the hall. Ranboo pulled down his hood and shook his head to fluff out his hair, ears flicking after being covered for so long. The room was warm, magma blocks in the walls keeping the area comfortably heated from the chill outside without the risk of smoke like a fire would make.
The teen hummed a little to himself, a song Master had helped him remember long ago as he slipped off his cloak, tail swishing slightly. He continued humming, heading for the lectern and grabbing the notebook he’d left there. He plopped down on the cushions in the corner, sprawling out and eating another golden apple as he flipped through the book. He mumbled quietly through the lessons he’d memorized, written on the pages so he’d never forget. He shut the book and tossed it aside, stretching out and looking over his list of things to do for the day.
Master had taught him to be self-sufficient, relying on others for survival was always a risky gamble, one that Master had always warned him never to take if he could help it. He summoned his shovel, preparing to go get sand before doubling over with a splitting headache.
“What the-“
“Why are you doing this?” his voice begged. Ranboo groaned and shook his head frantically. He’d stopped. He’d stopped the experiments, Master had warned him to stop, that they were getting too risky and Ranboo always listened to Master. He was the best student, he always listened… but other him wouldn’t now would he
“Go away” he snarled “I stopped the experiments you shouldn’t be able to-“ another wave of pain and he grit his teeth “I shouldn’t be able to remember. Why?”
“I need answers.” He replied “Why are you- why are we doing this?? What are these lessons I keep remembering??”
“My lessons” Ranboo grit out, claws digging into the cushion “Master’s lessons.”
“Is Dream manipulating us-“
“Dream is helping us” Ranboo snarled “We were nothing- are nothing without him. He helps us, he trained us. He protected us and I have the audacity to side with traitors and thieves” he ran a hand through his hair and collected himself, purple eyes glaring at the wall across from him “Dream needs me. And I will finish what he started. He’s my friend, my teacher and I am his protégé.”
“No. No Dream would never-“
“I’m useful to him” Ranboo hums smugly, taking another bite of his apple “I’m useful and I listen, unlike the rest of the idiots. That’s why he trained me, because I’m better and actually respectful… to him anyway” He got up and twirled his shovel, putting it away as he approached the chest he’d promised to never use again “None of this would need to happen if everyone just listened to Dream, so I’m going to help him fix it”
“Do you even know what I’m doing, what you are making me do?!”
“Of course!” Ranboo exclaimed cheerily, casually pulling out a glass bottle of water from the chest “Don’t worry, this is all for the greater good” he soothed himself, uncorking the bottle and bracing “Everything will go back to how it used to be”
“Why am I helping Dream-“
“No sides” he grinned, wincing as he poured the water over himself “Just one big happy family”
The teen grit his teeth and let out a low, pained hissed as the water began to burn his skin. He tossed the bottle aside, forcing himself to hold still despite the pain. The hurt in his head dissipated, replaced with the burning agony of water on skin. Ranboo finally let out a curse and raced for a magma block, snatching up his discarded cloak and drying himself off next to the heated stone. He bit back a pained whimper and limped over to the chest, pulling out the Regen potions stored there with the water for this very purpose. He quickly uncorked it and chugged the magic, letting out a small sigh of relief as water-blistered skin began to heal.
The boy let out a small little whine, plopping back down on the cushions and curling up, wincing a little as his still sensitive skin rubbed against the cloth. He groaned and drank a bottle of Healing to top off, laying still as the magic took effect. Once he felt well enough, he got up and re-summoned his shovel, slipping the cloak back on and grabbing the torch, heading back up the stairs to the door.
Ranboo kicked his legs lazily from atop the pillar, leaning back and humming as the wind ruffled his hair. He cracked an eye open, glancing over at the person who’d teleported next to him.
“You’re late” Dream huffed, seemingly glaring from under his mask
“Sorry” Ranboo grinned from under his own covering, yelping as Dream smacked the back of his head lightly “Ow! I’m sorry! Getting here took longer than I thought it would…”
“Be faster next time” Dream snapped. Ranboo ducked his head shamefully, tail curling up around him and ears down
“Sorry Master” he mumbled, flinching a little before relaxing as Dream ruffled his hair
“Just be punctual next time” Dream sighed, slipping his hands back in his hoodie pocket. Ranboo cautiously perked back up
“What am I learning today?” he asked curiously, looking over the land from his vantage point
“How to MLG” Dream hummed back, stepping up to the edge. Ranboo tilted his head a little, ear flicking a bit
“But I already know how to do a MLG water spell-“ he snapped his mouth shut at the glare Dream shot him “Sorry Dream” he mumbled
“Everyone knows how to do a MLG water spell” Dream snarled “But sometimes you don’t have water on hand so what do you do?” Ranboo sat there patiently, waiting for his teacher to continue “You have to get creative” he announced with a grin, stepping off the ledge and hands empty.
Ranboo let out a startled cry, looking over the edge and watching with shocked amazement as his teacher summoned a boat and landed on it before he hit the ground, the summoning and placement magic somehow negating damage from the fall. He looked up at Dream now teleported next to him
“How’d you do that?!” he exclaimed, getting to his feet immediately with a summoning spell in hand at the ready. Dream glanced over the side
“Okay, you won’t re-spawn from this height, but you’ll definitely break a couple bones” He announced, looking over at his now much more nervous looking student with a fiendish grin. He held up a bottle of Regen “Have fun learning!”
“Wai-“
Dream shoved the teen over the side, laughing at how the boy flailed mid-air. He sat down and examined his nails, counting down in his head. The Admin couldn’t help but wince at the broken off scream and soft thud from below.
“Did you make it?!” He yelled down. An agonized groan was his only response. He rolled his eyes and dropped the bottle, hearing it faintly smash below “Alright, suck it up buttercup! From the top, try it again!”
“Noooooooo~ Master pleaseeeeee~” Ranboo whined
“Do not make me teleport you mid-air!!” Dream threatened. Another groan of protest. The Admin rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, grinning sadistically as the boy went flying past him up into the air
“Nononono!! I’ll jump Master I’ll jump!!” Ranboo screeched, limbs flailing as he began to drop once more towards the unforgiving ground
“Don’t worry!” Dream called out after him cheerily “You won’t re-spawn from that height either!!”
By the end of the day, Ranboo had begun mastering several various MLG spells and fall breaking magic that he could perform from almost any height.
He also lost just about all feeling in his legs from the countless potions and healing spells he’d drunk and had performed on him.
“Did I do good today?” Ranboo panted, limping after the cheerful Admin. Dream glanced over his shoulder, scrutinizing the teen before shrugging
“Good enough for a beginner” he admitted, Ranboo perking up at the praise “But you need to practice. My protégé isn’t going to die from a failed MLG spell of all things you understand? Do you know how embarrassing that would be for me as you teacher?” Ranboo nodded frantically
“I understand” he agreed “I’ll practice. I won’t let you down.” He bent down a little as Dream reached up to ruffle his hair, smiling back at the grin the Admin had
“Good. Do not fail me Ranboo.”
“Never.”
Ranboo looked over the forest and sighed, leaping from treetop to treetop. He had a big haul of supplies today, but the trek back to his hiding spot was long and annoying. He decided to take a break, leaning up against the trunk and pulling his hood a little lower. The boy rifled through his inventory, considering for a split moment whether or not to set something on fire out of boredom. He decided, no, he wouldn’t do that, Master didn’t like it when he set the forest on fire and he didn’t want to disappoint Master.
He sighed and stretched out, grumbling a little as his joints popped. He prepared to take off again when he felt something watching him. He froze momentarily, hidden ears swiveling as he cautiously began to make his way back through the trees. He’d have to double back through the portal, maybe lose his mysterious watcher in one of the towns, even head to the main city. He scowled at the thought, Master always taught him to be out of sight and the city was the worst place for him to be. Ranboo sped up a little. He would simply have to out run them then, and he grinned fiendishly at the thought. A chase?
How fun.
Ranboo whistled a little, tail twitching from where it was coiled around his waist to keep out of sight. He could feel his tracker getting closer, still staying out of view
“Too shy?” he hummed as he casually hopped from branch to branch, sensing how the other paused at the strange words “You’ll have to do better than that” he laughed, immediately taking off.
“Hey!!” the person yelled “Who are you?!”
Ranboo only cackled in response, speeding up and vaulting from tree to tree, building across gaps he couldn't make and setting minor inconveniences his pursuer stumbled over. He came to a pause, waiting for the person to try and catch up, letting them get tantalizingly close before beginning to run again, mockery clear in the action.
“You bastard” they panted, and Ranboo could hear a weapon being summoned. He simply chuckled at the amateur mistake. Master had taught him how to run, to keep his hands free if he could help it to help with the much-needed balance one required to parkour. He proved Master’s point by running circles around his opponent, literally. Cackling and calling over taunting insults in another language to the gold-winged man.
“Is the little duckie lost?” He purred in broken Traveler’s “This isn’t the way north birdie~”
“Fuck you” the traitor spat “Who the fuck are you??”
“Wouldn’t you like to know beanie boy” he sneered, slipping out an ender pearl and throwing it to land behind the much shorter man. A swift kick brought the man crashing through the trees, cursing as he face planted into the ground below, Ranboo’s mocking laughter ringing in his ears. “Get good nerd!” he called back, quickly making his way through the trees and racing away.
He hummed to himself as he slipped through the portal, ducking behind a stack of Netherrack and waiting patiently while sipping on a bottle of milk. The portal hummed and glowed, his pursuer bursting through the obsidian border and racing down the haphazard trail he no doubt believed Ranboo took. The teen snickered as he watched the man run by, humming smugly as they raced out of sight and hopping back down to the portal, tossing a bottle of Swiftness from hand to hand as he waited for the magic to take him back to the overworld.
Ranboo drank his potion and climbed back up into the trees, practicing his parkouring all the way until he hit the snowy biome he lived in and the trees began to thin. He headed back to his little base, dumping his items in the storage before heading back down to his house, hiding away his cloak and diving into bed with a yawn. He snuggled up under the warm covers, freshly lit fire crackling away in the corner.
Today had been a good haul, and outrunning Quackity was a nap well-earned in his book.
“Hello Master!” Ranboo greeted cheerily as he landed in the clearing. He looked around curiously, ears flicking for any sign of his teacher “Master? Dream? Where are you-“ he gave a yelp as something tackled him, immediately thrashing around with a snarl to throw off whoever was on him.
“You’re late again” Dream noted and the teen immediately relaxed at the voice
“Oh. Hello Master!” Ranboo chirped, grunting a little as his face was pressed against the dirt “Where were you?”
“Trees” Dream responded coolly “Your reaction time sucks. I could’ve killed you just then.”
“Master is just too good, I didn’t hear you” the teen replied, smiling smugly to himself at how Dream puffed up a little and let him up. He wiggled out and tucked his legs under him, looking up patiently as his teacher stood and brushed himself off. “What am I learning today?”
“In the missions I send you on, you might be chased by people trying to stop you” Dream hummed “Under no circumstances are you allowed to get caught. So today you’re gonna learn how to escape any pursuers using the environment ” Ranboo nodded eagerly, getting up and tail swishing excitedly “Great. Start running.”
“Huh-“ Ranboo could barely make out his confusion before getting slammed to the ground again
“Too slow” He snarled, getting up and kicking the teen lightly “You’d be dead or captured. Again.”
Ranboo wasted no time this round, taking off immediately towards the safety of the trees. He managed to make it a little under the branches before getting tackled once more
“A straight line?” Dream scoffed “If I had a bow you’d be dead. Again.” Ranboo let out a small, frustrated growl and got to his feet, using a pearl to go behind Dream and race up a tree. He yelped when Dream’s mask appeared in front of him, upside down and the man hanging from a branch “You need to get better at traveling through trees” he snorted, pointing down at the creaking branch Ranboo was perched on “That’s gonna break”
Ranboo yelped as the branch sure enough broke, sending him crashing to the floor. Dream hopped down from his own branch gracefully and soundlessly, pressing his boot on Ranboo’s back to keep him pinned
“You have to watch everything around you, use anything to your advantage” he hissed “One slip up like that and you’re dead. Or worse, captured.” He dug his heel in a little “Do you want to be captured Ranboo?”
The teen froze at the warning, remembering flashes of dark rooms with too many eyes, cold chains biting into wrists, debilitating headaches and pain pain pAiN PAINPAINPAIN-
“N-no” he gasped out, claws gripping the soft earth under him, a reminder that he was free, his past was far behind him and he would never go back. Not if Ranboo could help it. Dream lifted his foot and knelt down next to him
“Go.” His teacher ordered and Ranboo shot off into the woods.
Dream chased him down for the rest of the day, forcing Ranboo to come up with more and more creative ways to escape the scarily silent hunter always on his trail.
The two were perched on a branch, Dream passing his exhausted student a bottle of milk and Revitalizing Potion that Ranboo happily chugged down.
“Can we do this again?” Ranboo asked quietly, tail flicking nervously. Green eyes side glanced him from under a bone mask
“Why?” Dream huffed, taking a sip from his own canteen “I’ll keep knocking you to the ground”
“I know, you’re a lot better than me at this” Ranboo laughed softly “But I think it’s cool, and it’s super helpful to know this. Also… I want to get better” he kicked his legs a little, looking over the forest “You’re really really good. I bet you could get away from anyone and I wanna do that too”
“Welllll~” Dream drawled with a small smirk “I am pretty amazing at parkour” he ruffled the teen’s hair, smirk slipping into something gentler “I guess I could teach you a few more tricks my Beloved protégé” he hopped down and smashed a bottle of Swiftness at his feet, grinning up at the teen “See if you can catch me” he laughed, immediately vanishing behind a curtain of vines.
Ranboo hopped down and chased after the man, slipping his mask back on and making offended noises
“You’re using potions!! That’s cheating!!”
Ranboo’s tail swished slowly from his perch, ears flicking as he listened to the chaos down below. The bandanna over his eyes was annoying, but Master had warned him to keep them covered since their purple glow easily gave him away on reconnaissance missions. It was fine though, Master taught him how to use the rest of his senses to take in his surroundings, he couldn’t always rely on his sight after all.
He smiled a little as he listened to the group below, Master would’ve loved the mess going on below. He followed the group around, writing away in his book and making sure to stay out of sight. His ear flicked at the sound of something making its way closer, barely heard over the yelling and horrified screaming. He snapped the book closed. He had enough information.
‘What are you doing here?’ the voice hissed in his head, garbled and low. ‘The traitor has returned? You are a traitor, betrayed your friends, working with the enemy-‘ Ranboo scoffed and hopped back up into the vines, snipping one of them with enchanted shears. The voice’s small cry of pain went unheard over the fighting below, making Ranboo smirk cruelly
“Shut up” he hummed, snipping another vine and grinning at how it writhed in agony in his palm “I’m no traitor. I’m just making sure there’s no more conflict in this Realm and you” he hopped up onto another pillar “You must go.” He peeked under his cloth to find the hidden hole in the wall he’d entered through, climbing up the vines to avoid the wall of lava that had dropped to trap the idiots who’d taken the invitation to this banquet.
Ranboo made his way to the prison, drinking an invisibility potion and using his trident to land on top of the massive building. He paced the obsidian roof a few times, making sure to avoid the Guardians within the walls before kneeling down at the spot he needed. He tapped the roof three times before beginning to dig, pickaxe thrumming with overly powerful enchantments only one person could provide. He dug a small hole through the fortified wall, tapping his trident again. He caught a glimpse of a bloodied, cracked mask peeking up at him and he gave the man an invisible smile
“Hey” he whispered, blocking the rain from trickling in
“Hello” Master croaked back, making the teen want to tear the prison apart with his bare hands block by block and release his teacher. He restrained himself, tail flicking in annoyance. Master told him to be patient, that everything would fall in place and he trusted Master.
“I got the notes” he told him, dropping down the journal. Dream caught it in poorly bandaged hands, flipping through it
“You did good kid” the man hummed and Ranboo’s tail wagged proudly “Keep up the good work-“ they both froze as something went off in the prison “Alright then, you better get going. Don’t get caught”
“Okay Master” he nodded “I’ll be back soon”
“Good boy” Dream grinned, waving a little as Ranboo quickly sealed the hole back up.
“HEY!! WHO ARE YOU?!” Sam shouted, landing on the roof. Ranboo quickly got to his feet, drawing his axe and spinning it warningly. “Who are you?” he snarled, getting closer and pointing his trident at the teen. “What are you doing here? This place is off limits-” Ranboo scoffed and rolled invisible eyes in annoyance. He wasn’t allowed to kill Sam, but if the man persisted well… his hand might just slip.
Ranboo slid a foot back, stancing himself and readying his weapon. Sam scowled and raced forward, eyes widening in surprise at how easily the stranger sidestepped him, kicking him away with a powerful paw and swapping his axe with a trident. In an instant, Ranboo was mid-air, flying away from the prison and its warden. He glanced behind him and saw Sam giving chase, laughing at the man’s futile effort to catch him. Ranboo was uncatchable, untouchable, just like how Master trained.
He landed in a small forest, ducking under the trees and waiting with his sword drawn for Sam to inevitably arrive. The man did, putting away his trident and drawing his own sword as he cautiously approached the woods. Ranboo waited until the man turned his back, lunging with a silent snarl. Sam turned around and parried the blow last minute, cursing under his breath at the sheer power behind the strike. Ranboo laughed as he was knocked back, slipping around Sam’s wide swings and darting in to parry blows. He kept an eye on his potion timer, speeding up his attacks and pushing Sam back.
He finally ducked low and swept Sam’s legs out from under him, getting up and twirling his sword as he stood over the fallen warden. He rested the blade on a shoulder, tilting his head as he looked down at the hissing man.
“Hello Sam” he purred in his broken Traveler’s “Can’t stay long I’m afraid” He pulled out a bottle of Invisibility and tossed it in the air loftily. Sam blinked, looking as if he was seeing something else for a split moment
“Dream?” he whispered. Ranboo sneered and smashed the bottle, dousing them both and vanishing from each other’s sight
“You wish” he spat, taking off into the night
Ranboo let out a pained cry as he was once more knocked roughly into the ground, panting as he scrambled out of the way of the sword that tried to pin him to the floor.
“Tired?” Dream sneered, yanking his sword out. Ranboo shook his head breathlessly, he’d learned long ago not to show weakness in front of the Admin. Weakness meant liability. Weakness got you killed.
“No Master” he wheezed, holding back exhausted tears as he parried another blow with trembling arms “Not tired.” Dream snickered and sped up his attack, landing more and more nicks on the boy
“You’re getting sloppy” he hissed, swapping his sword with an axe and bringing it down. Ranboo barely got his shield summoned in time to block, the hit knocking the breath out of him and sending him sprawling in the dirt “When you get tired, you get lazy. You get reckless.” He hit the shield over and over as Ranboo cowered under it “You slip up-“ he grabbed one of the teen’s legs and yanked, the boy scrabbling to get back under his splintering protection “And that one mistake,” he twirled his axe high in the air. Ranboo immediately ducked, holding his arms over his head in the vain hope to keep the powerful weapon from splitting him in half. “Gets you killed.”
The axe imbedded into the ground next to his head, thrumming enchantments shimmering and warping his reflection on the razor-sharp blade. Ranboo let out a shuddering sob of relief, curling up and tail coiling around his trembling body. Dream scoffed and rolled his eyes, yanking the weapon out and summoning it away.
“Get up.” He snapped, watching on with disapproval as Ranboo shakily got to his feet “For fucks sake” he muttered, tossing the boy a bottle of Healing “Go home. You’re clearly in no state to learn-“
“No!” Ranboo shouted, surprising the both of them “No! I’ll fight!” he promised, quickly drinking the potion and tossing the bottle aside “I’ll fight!”
“You can barely stand” Dream pointed out with a scowl “Go home.” Ranboo met his hidden glare with a fiery look of his own as he stubbornly summoned his sword and got back into a fighting position. “Ranboo.” Dream warned
“I don’t wanna die” he whispers, clutching his sword tightly “I want to learn to fight. I can fight. For you.” Dream looked the battered boy over skeptically before shrugging, re-summoning his axe and resting it on his shoulder
“Fine. But don’t come crying to me later” he huffed before launching himself at the boy, blow after blow barely parried by a re-focused Ranboo “Fix your feet.” He snapped, stepping to the side and quickly nudging one of Ranboo’s paws before going back to sparring “Arms up.” He swapped with a sword and bumped the teen’s elbow to adjust it. “Focus. I don’t care how tired you are and neither will your enemies.” He continued his attacks, Ranboo slowly beginning to learn the pattern and get hit less and less, face scrunched in concentration and purple eyes darting around to each swing before they landed.
He ducked low and used one of Dream’s own moves to knock the man off of his feet, sweeping his legs out from under him. Dream snarled and rolled out of the way, using his axe to trip Ranboo up before hopping back up to his feet and aiming his weapon at the fallen boy’s neck. The two stayed there, frozen in place and chests heaving for breath.
Dream’s mouth curled up into a smile, putting his axe away and extending a hand to help his student up. Ranboo lowered his mask to breathe easier and took the outstretched hand, grunting a little as he got to his feet
“Next time” Dream snorted, leading the exhausted teen back to their tree to rest up “Don’t hesitate to go for the kill, because your enemy won’t hesitate to kill you.” He tossed him a cooled bottle of milk “Mercy is a weakness Ranboo” he flicked the gold circlet nestled in half white, half black hair “And what is a weakness?”
“Something that gets you killed.” Ranboo replied, lesson firmly beat into him training after training
“That’s right.”
Ranboo sighed and leaned back, groaning a little as he stretched, limbs popping at the sudden mobility. He yawned a bit, rubbing an eye with a gunpowder-smudged hand. Making TNT was easier with a crafting table, but there was something soothing about the methodical routine of blending sand and gunpowder, carefully rolling them up tightly in paper tubes by hand and binding it all together with a fuse.
Master had taught him long ago the perfect ratio of sand and gunpowder, back when the only thing Ranboo was trusted with was the fuse and rolling paper tubes. He’d lost count of the hours they’d spent together like this, hunched over a table while Dream fussed and nit-picked over the bundles Ranboo made until each one came out perfect. His tail flicked and he smiled at the surprisingly fond memories of late-night stories and wheezing laughter. When they weren’t Master and Protégé but just two friends.
Dream always let him do what he wanted with the “defective” TNT, which usually meant outlandish TNT machines and cannons that barely worked half the time. He still remembers one particular incident where the bundle had gone off early, blasting Ranboo to kingdom come. Dream mercilessly mocked him the entire time he bandaged the burns, only to have karma spit in his face when the same thing happened to him not even five minutes later. How they didn’t wake half the Realm with their TNT fight after that was beyond him.
He fiddled with a stick of dynamite, small, warm room now seeming too big and too cold without Master by his side to fill the emptiness with his endless chatter like always. Ranboo shook his head stubbornly to get rid of such thoughts. He was fine without Master, Master taught him how to survive on his own. Attachments were liabilities. Weakness. And Ranboo was not weak, not weak in the slightest because he was Master’s protégé, his student, better than any other person on the Realm. He was not weak, he had no need for such trivial things like attachments.
It didn’t make the empty spot reserved for freckled grins and friendly hair ruffles in his chest hurt any less.
“Ranbooooo~” Dream drawled as he entered the small house. Well, shack was probably more appropriate “Where you at kiddo?”
“H-hello mister Dream” the boy sputtered, purple eyes flashing fearfully although he relaxed at the sight of the Admin’s friendly grin and at the sound of his familiar mother language on the man’s tongue. Dream perked up and sat himself across the table from the boy, casually resting his chin in a gloved palm as he let out a few calming clicks and soft rumbles to further relax the teen. Ranboo almost hated how well it worked.
“How are your wounds doing?” he questioned, tone slipping into something more concerned as he eyed the bandages wrapping the boy’s arms, neck and bare torso. Ranboo instinctively curled in on himself “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the Common House? It’d be easier to get some proper treatment-“
“N-no thank you” he mumbled, hand beginning to come up and cover his mouth as he spoke “It’s a very kind offer… but I really don’t want to be around that many people-“
“Hey, hey, hey it’s okay” Dream soothed as the teen began to tremble “It’s alright. I’ve seen plenty of folks come into my Realm in similar- if not worse shape” he reassured with an almost bitter laugh “They were also a bit skittish around other people so I understand the distrust” he reached out and gently rested a callused hand over his “But you’re safe here okay? You’re safe, people won’t hurt you for what you are, I promise.” There was something else unsaid in that vow, perhaps it was the man’s tired, strained smile that gave it away but Ranboo got the distinct feeling that although he wouldn’t be hurt for being a Hybrid here, there was a good chance he could get in trouble for something else entirely.
Oh if only he knew back then how awful power-hungry people could be to their own kind.
“Thanks” Ranboo replied, smiling a little behind his hand. Dream seemed to remember something, holding up a finger to pause whatever else Ranboo would say as he dug around his inventory
“I almost forgot!” he laughed, items flashing into his hands “I got you something!” the teen perked up, curiosity getting the best of him as he tried to see what the Admin had. “Ta-da!!” Dream announced proudly, holding up a cloth mask with a flourish. It matched Ranboo’s skin, split evenly down the middle to copy his black and white coloration “I noticed you don’t really like showing off your mouth a lot” He explained as he handed him the mask. Ranboo suddenly became a lot more conscious of the hand hovering over his split jaw, knowing how much it unsettled people when it unhinged in bouts of anger or excitement. “And before you worry about looking even more strange with a mask, plenty of my people wear masks to cover up various things, so don’t worry about standing out. If anything you’ll fit right in!” Dream reassured with a laugh, looking quite proud of himself when Ranboo quietly slipped it on and his tail began to thump lightly on the floor boards.
“This… This is a lot better actually” Ranboo admitted, felling much more at ease with the fabric covering his face. Why he hadn’t he thought of this before??
“And! And!” Dream added, excitedly handing him a pair of sunglasses “I know Endermen don’t like eye contact so I got you one of these just in case. For like crowds and stuff y’know?” Ranboo held the tinted glasses in his hands reverently, surprised at the thoughtfulness of the near stranger that had taken him in only days before
“Thank you mister Dream” Ranboo hummed, smiling even wider as he carefully put the glasses in his inventory. He glanced up to see Dream fiddling with something in his lap, hidden by the table between them “What’s that?”
“Hmm?” the man startled, as if not quite expecting the question. He smiled almost sheepishly and held up a golden circlet with three peaks, an glittering emerald set in the tallest, middle peak and a smaller ruby in the middle of the other two points. “Strangely enough, you kinda remind me of someone I know” he hummed, fondly running a thumb over the gold before shrugging “I don’t know. I kinda made Eret make this for me on impulse but-“ he reached across the table and gently placed it on his head, the crown nestling crookedly behind small, black and white horns. Dream grinned and Ranboo tentatively smiled back, a warm feeling blooming in his chest at the satisfied nod the Admin gave him
“It fits you perfectly.”