Chapter Text
Phil loved the feeling of falling. The sudden drop after he leapt blindly off some enormous height, right before he snapped open his powerful wings and soared through the sky, he had a moment of free-falling, a moment of peace. Everything seemed to slow down in those moments, his mind blissfully clear from any thoughts or fears as the wind rushed around his ears, the ground still miles away.
He usually enjoyed falling just as much as flying.
But this time it was different.
This time, his left wing screamed out in pain, his mind racing as he tried desperately to get it to open, to do what it was made to do and fly, to do something, anything at all. This time, as Phil plummeted though the sky, the forest of pine trees approaching rapidly, he had never felt more helpless, more afraid. No amount of frantic one-winged flapping would slow his descent, or stop his inevitable demise.
There was an aspect of disbelief as Phil descended. All those thousands of battles he had survived and this was how he died; a faulty wing and some bad luck. There must have been some humor in there.
Ah well, Phil though, just before he hit the trees. Hopefully Techno gets a laugh out of it.
And then his world was plunged into darkness.
----
Techno was getting impatient. He paced around his living room, glancing out the window facing the front of his property periodically. It wasn’t like Phil to be this late; he had promised Techno he would help with the repairs on the roof--the last storm had done a number on it--and agreed to start working at dawn when he got back from his morning flight. But the sun had been well above the horizon for almost two hours by now, still visible despite the snowfall, and still no sign of Phil.
Sure it was annoying, but Techno was worried. It wasn’t like his partner to be late or go missing like this. Techno made another lap around the room. He glanced out the window again. No sign of Phil. Enough was enough. Techno was going to look for him.
He crossed the room in two large strides and grabbed a netherite axe--the nagging voices in his head screaming that Phil was in trouble wouldn’t let him leave without it no matter how peaceful their lives had been lately--then quickly rushed out the door.
Cold air hit his face immediately, but he pushed through it, not letting the bad weather slow him down, and marched onwards into the forest. It had started snowing about an hour ago, but living in the arctic for a few months had made him well acquainted with bad weather, so he hardly noticed it when the ice cold water began to seep through his clothes and boots.
He marched on, following what he was pretty sure was Phil’s flight path through the woods. It was as good a start as any; maybe Phil had seen something in the forest and landed to get a better look. Techno couldn’t fly, but hopefully he could see any clues just as well from the ground. He kept an eye on the sky as he walked, hoping that he would catch a glimpse of Phil soaring high above him. The sky remained empty, and the feeling of dread in Techno’s stomach continued to grow.
It took almost thirty minutes of walking, before Techno finally noticed something a ways ahead of him in the forest. Some of the branches on the trees were broken. And on the ground directly below those broken branches, lay a figure. Techno broke into a dead sprint.
When he reached Phil, he could immediately tell that something was horribly wrong. Besides the obvious he was unconscious, he seemed pale, too pale, and his legs were splayed out beneath him at awkward angles. One of his wings was bent wrong as well, and his face and exposed neck was covered in tiny gashes that had clotted, but still looked horrible and swollen.
Techno wasted no time, brushing the snow that had accumulated off the man’s prone form, then moving to pick him up. He hesitated for a moment, fearing he would hurt the man, and cursed himself for not thinking to bring healing potions. Realizing there was no other way, he grit his teeth, and gathered the unconscious man up in his arms.
Phil must have been completely unconscious, because he didn’t make a noise. But Techno could feel Phil’s bones shifting abnormally, and felt a wave of nausea flood through him. He was a fearsome warrior hardened in the face of battle, but seeing Phil in this condition nearly drove him to tears. Phil was meant to stand at full height with both his wings spread, intimidating and strong, an immortal warrior. But like this, he seemed so mortal, so… breakable. It was unsettling. It was wrong. And it made Techno want to fall to his knees and sob.
The walk back to the cabin went faster than the walk out at the fast pace Techno was walking, but it felt like it took ages. Once he made it in the door, he threw off his boots, not bothering to shake the snow off of them like he usually did, and not bothering to lock the door, letting the wind slam it shut behind him. Nothing mattered right now, except for Phil.
He placed Phil down on the table, and quickly stripped Phil's wet coat of his freezing body, holding back a gasp at the other’s mangled body. He ran to the chest, grabbing two healing potions, a rag, bandages and some sticks to hopefully make a makeshift splint.
When he made his way back to Phil, the man had already started to shiver, which Techno was pretty sure was a good sign. Examining the man’s lower legs, which were already horribly swollen, and did his best to create a makeshift splint to hold the bones together using two sticks and some bandages. He then did the same with the other leg.
After the splints were in place, he grabbed the rag and one of the healing potions, soaking the rag with it. Then, gently, he began dabbing at the gashes that covered Phil’s exposed skin, beginning at his neck and slowly working his way upwards until he reached the top of his hairline. He then breathed a sigh of relief as the wounds began to close up with the aid of the healing magic.
With that done, Techno walked over to the fireplace, which had almost gone out and added a few more logs from the pile, poking it a few times to make sure they lit. Gathering as many blankets as he could, he layered them up in front of the fireplace to create a makeshift bed for Phil. He carried the man over and deposited him on the pile next to the fire, making sure that all of the man’s wet clothing was off of him and his wings were not crushed. By this point, Phil was shivering violently, even his wings shaking alarmingly. Trying to find another blanket to put over the man, Techno came up empty handed. Instead, he grabbed his cape from the hook by the door. He had forgotten to wear it in his haste to find Phil, meaning it was still completely dry.
He carefully draped the cape over Phil’s shaking body, the man instinctively curling into the warmth it brought. Techno sat down and guided Phil’s head into his lap, and began running his fingers through the man’s hair to comb out the bits of leaf and dried blood. Now came the hard part--waiting for him to wake up.