Chapter Text
Phil has a general advantage over everyone, with his wings.
The ability to fly is something that will always be freeing, and it’s something he will always cherish, because there’s nothing quite like going up into the clouds and watching a sunrise from all the way up there. It’s incredible to watch, and it’s just one of the benefits.
Another one of the benefits is finding really neat spots that most people can’t get to.
Phil’s an explorer, that’s in his heart. He wants to poke around and see what the world has to offer, and that’s how he will always be. So he pokes around a few mountains, follows up a waterfall, and finds a place that’s gone perfectly untouched.
A little pocket on the side of the mountain, and he says little, but it’s actually a bit spacious. It’s as if a ravine cut into the rock, then sealed itself up, leaving a large gap high up to let the sunlight in.
Phil flies in without a second thought, and he glides around in circles, scanning over the vines and flowers that are scattered across the rock walls. The cave is a bit deep, and there’s water at the bottom that Phil swipes a hand through as he flies close to it before going back up. There’s the source of that waterfall, probably.
There’s a little ledge to the side that sits directly above the water far below, and Phil flies up to it, landing and finding grass underneath his feet. It’s not a big area, it seems to be the only horizontal ground around here, other than the stone surrounding the small lake under him.
Phil lifts his head up, looking around with a hum and smiling at the new spot he’s found. It’s a nice place, it would probably be good for summer, maybe, he can see the others jumping off the ledge to land into the water below.
Although, is the water safe?
Phil leans over the edge, staring down at the lake and squinting, not seeing any obvious jagged rocks that could hurt if someone were to land onto one.
Seeing only one option to really make sure, Phil jumps off the edge with a “Woop!” and falls through the air, splashing into the water below and finding that it goes rather deep, and there doesn’t seem to be any sharp rocks at the bottom.
The fall was fun though, although the soaked clothes are a bit of an inconvenience. Phil goes to swim to the side of the tiny lake, and an idea pops into his head as he looks back up to the ledge.
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“I don’t know about this.” Techno says, peering over the edge with a doubtful expression, jerking back when Wilbur jabs him in the back, pretending that he’s going to push him off.
Techno turns around, Wilbur immediately trying to get away from the edge, lest he get thrown off by an annoyed Technoblade. Mercifully, Techno decides to not put the effort into dragging Wilbur to the edge and throwing him off.
“It’ll be fun!” Phil grins, hopping off the ledge and flapping his wings out, flying mid-air in front of them. “You’ll be fine.”
“No, no, I’m agreeing with Techno.” Tommy speaks up, kneeling down and frowning down at the water below. It seems like it’s not that far down, but then again, appearances could be deceiving, and Tommy isn’t sure he wants to go home soaked today. “This is a bad idea.”
“No it’s not.” Phil sighs fondly, falling backwards and letting himself drop for a second or two, before catching himself in the air and circling around. “It’s just a small drop!”
“This looks like a lot more than a small drop!” Tommy yells back, leaning backwards from where he’s kneeling, glancing back at Wilbur with a glare as he gets too close. Wilbur raises his hands up, as if he’s perfectly innocent, and wasn’t in fact planning on pushing Tommy forward a bit to mess with him.
“Nah.” Phil waves a hand, and Techno snorts. “It’s, ah, the angle.”
“Sounds like bullshit.” Wilbur chimes, shaking his head the smallest bit. “Tommy, you can go first.”
“What?!” Tommy rises to his feet lightning quick, taking a small step away from the edge. “Why me?!”
“Because I don’t want to go first, and Technoblade isn’t going first, so you can go first.” Wilbur says, pointing a finger to him, then Techno, then Tommy. Techno nods in agreement.
“Phil!” Tommy yells, hoping for him to say that Tommy in fact does not have to go first, or even go at all.
“Oh, you’re going first?” Phil asks, head tilted up towards Tommy.
“No!” Tommy yells.
“That’s brave of you, mate, good on you!”
Tommy makes a sound between a weird grumble and a squeak, and Technoblade leans into Wilbur’s ear, whispering quietly.
“You can do it!” Phil encourages.
“No, I can’t!”
“Jump!” Phil yells, holding his arms out.
“No!” Tommy shrieks, and Phil can hear the way Wilbur’s struggling to hold back a laugh, Tommy’s voice nearly cracking at the end. “I’ll die if I fall!”
“You won’t die.” Phil drawls, grinning and flying a bit closer. “I’ll catch you.”
“What if you don’t, though?!”
“Mate, even if I don’t, you’re just going to hit water, and you’ll be fine.”
“But then I’ll be wet.”
Phil rolls his eyes, holding his arms up again. “Trust me, Toms.”
“I do trust you.” Tommy responds easily, Phil’s heart warming. “But I do not trust this.”
“You know what I think?” Wilbur says suddenly, popping up behind Tommy, a hand clasped onto his right shoulder.
Techno’s behind him too, and Tommy has several sirens go off internally with the two of them behind him, and a long drop in front of him.
“What do you think?” Technoblade asks, like he wants to know, and Tommy turns his head to tell them to back the fuck up, before they do something terrible, and Tommy feels dread sink into his bones.
“I think-” Wilbur says, then they both push Tommy at the same time, Tommy stumbling forward and falling off the cliff.
He screams for the entire three seconds he falls, his voice echoing out across the stone walls around them.
Phil’s there to catch him, just as he said, laughing as Tommy clings onto him for dear life, his arms wrapped around Phil’s neck.
“-you’re fucking terrible!” Tommy yells, raising his head up at Techno and Wilbur, who peek down with matching smug faces. “I hate you both!”
“You’re fine , mate.” Phil reassures, dropping through the air for a second, Tommy screaming as they both go down, Phil flying them back up a moment later.
Wilbur and Technoblade do get their turn a few minutes later, jumping off with only a bit of hesitation and a bit less screaming than Tommy.
Phil catches them each time easily, lifts them back up and puts them back onto solid ground within a minute.
At one point, Wilbur and Tommy team up to push Technoblade off, and it results in a scuffle that lasts for a solid two minutes, with Technoblade hitting Tommy in the ribs, and Wilbur yelling victory as Technoblade screams from falling off the edge.
Phil catches him and laughs.