Chapter Text
Techno let out a breath, watching the cold air leave his mouth, coming out visible due to the weather. He glanced over at his brother, who was shivering from the temperature. He couldn't help the slight grin at this, thinking he was lucky to have such thick fur to protect him from the cold. His brother wasn't so lucky, unfortunately, but it wasn't his problem.
"Techno, can we go inside to play, please?" Wilbur shouted over to his older brother, who was a fair distance away, a slight whine in his voice. "It's so cold! I can barely feel my hands!"
"We can't play inside, remember? We kept breaking things! And Phil's trying to get Tommy to sleep."
"Yeah, but it's freezing!" Wilbur whined. "I promise I won't break anything this time, please!"
"Ugh...fine, but only if you swear you'll stop whining. It's so annoying!" Techno groaned, rubbing his forehead slightly.
"Deal!" Wilbur grinned, too caught up in trying to get inside to warmth to care about Techno's comment.
Techno sighed, turning around to yell. "Tubbo, Ranboo, we're going back inside, come on!"
"But I wanna stay and play! I'm not cold, and neither is Ranboo!" Tubbo replied, looking over at his little brother for confirmation. "Right, Ran?"
Ranboo looked up the mention of his name, just silently nodding while he continued to play with the snow.
Tubbo turned back towards Techno, looking triumphant. "See? Look, if anything happens, I'll yell right away, I promise, ok? Trust me!"
Techno chewed his lip. "I dunno..."
"I'll do anything you want for a whole month!"
"Ok, I'm sold," Techno shrugged, liking the idea of forcing his younger sibling to do his bidding. "But I mean it, yell if anything happens. Don't hesitate."
"When do I ever?" Tubbo grinned, watching from afar as Techno shook his head, no doubt rolling his eyes as well, before going back inside and closing the door behind him.
"Hey, boys," Kristin smiled as Wilbur and Techno walked inside, the younger shivering slightly. "Do you wanna go lie in bed, Wil? I'll bring you a blanket and a hot drink."
"Yes. Thanks, mum." He replied enthusiastically, rushing off to his bedroom.
"You're welcome, sweetie." She smiled, looking back at Techno. "Where are Tubbo and Ranboo?"
"Still outside, playing. I know what you're thinking, they're too young, but I trust Tubbo. He's kinda smart. He'll yell if there's a problem."
"I know, I trust him too. It's just other people I don't trust," Kristin sighed. "Either why, I'll be right by this window to keep an eye on them both, so don't worry too much."
"W-Who said I was worried? I'm not worried. They can look after themselves." Techno looked away.
"Tech, you're allowed to be worried for your siblings. It's normal. As the oldest, you're always going to."
"Well, I'm not anyways, so.." Techno sighed. "You're the one who's supposed to worry more anyway."
"Oh trust me, I do. It's one of my many important jobs as a mother. The next is to go make sure one of my children doesn't freeze to death. I'll be right back." Kristin put down a plate she was washing, leaving to go check on Wilbur, no doubt.
Outside, Tubbo and Ranboo were still playing in the snow. The enderman hybrid was rolling a ball of snow, whilst the ram hybrid stood up to go find a couple of sticks for the snow castle he was building.
"There's gotta be some sticks around here somewhere," Tubbo sighed, looking around the biome. "We live near a forest, after all."
After only 2 minutes of "looking" around (he was really only walking), Tubbo turned around to where he and Ranboo were sat, only to see nothing.
Everything was silent and still for a moment, Tubbo standing in place, eyes flitting around to see if he could spot the enderman hybrid. Sure, Ranboo was small, being only 4, but it wouldn't be difficult to spot him if he was nearby.
It only took a couple more seconds of looking for Tubbo to panic. He turned around to the house, running back as he screamed. "DAD! MUM!"
Kristin let out a sigh as she returned to the living room, seeing that Techno was no longer in the room, most likely having returned to his. Humming slightly, she moved back to the sink, glancing out the window.
She almost dropped the plate out of shock when she saw that Tubbo and Ranboo were nowhere to be seen.
Trying to stay calm and not let her mind wander to the worst possible scenarios, she put the plate down on the counter as she tried to recollect herself.
Suddenly, there was a pounding on the front door, and she whipped her head around as Tubbo's voice cried. "MUM! DAD!"
She immediately ran for the door, unlocking and opening it in a matter of seconds. "Tubbo! Oh Gods, don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Tubbo sobbed, gently pushing her away as she moved to pull him close. "Ranboo's gone."
The feeling of dread returned. "What?"
"Ranboo, h-he's gone. I only looked away for a second, I swear! He was right there!"
"No no no, it's ok. I-It's not your fault. Just hold on, don't move." She exhaled shakily, standing up straight before rushing to find Phil.
Phil smiled as Tommy let out a small coo, holding the boy's tiny hand in his own much larger one. He cooed back, watching in amusement as Tommy stared back in awe. He smiled, leaning back in his chair, feeling content for the first time in a while.
Then the door slammed open.
Phil almost jumped up in shock and fright, his wings wrapping around Tommy in a protective way, almost acting like a shield.
He looked over to the door, seeing Kristin standing in the hall, panting heavily, eyes glazed over with tears. He immediately relaxed, though only a little, seeing how distressed his wife was. His wings slowly returned to his side.
"Kristin? I almost shit myself, what-"
"Ranboo's gone." She cut him off, a small sob following her words.
Phil's face hardened in an instant, eyes devoid of all emotion except one:
Rage.
"Take Tommy." He spoke quietly. Kristin could only silently nod, taking the small infant into her arms, rocking him as he cried.
Phil walked into the front room, seeing Tubbo crying on the floor. He walked over, kneeling down in front of the ram hybrid.
Tubbo hiccupped, looking up at his father. Phil gave a small smile, hoping he didn't look as mad as before in front of him.
"Hey, mate. Can you tell me where you last saw your brother?"
Tubbo sniffled, rubbing his eyes as he nodded slightly. "I-It was right between t-those trees, before the forest. T-There's a snow castle."
"Ok. I need you to stay here, with your mother and brothers, alright? I'm going to find him."
"H-How long will you be?"
"Not long, mate," Phil smiled reassuringly, leaning forward to kiss Tubbo's head. "Trust me."
Tubbo nodded, sniffling again. "I-I do."
"Good. Now go to your mum, alright? Tell her I won't be long."
Tubbo nodded again, silently getting up to find his mother.
Phil walked outside, moving quickly towards the spot Tubbo had mentioned. The snow castle was still intact, though it was rather small. Nearby, a small ball of snow lay near a tree, looking as though it had been dropped. Phil leant down to pick it up, bringing it up to his nose. He inhaled, a small scent of lavender and basil filling his senses.
Ranboo.
Standing up straight, he looked up to the sky. It was still light, so if he set off now, he could still find him.
Phil crouched down slightly, then flew into the sky quickly, beating his wings as hard as he could whilst he flew towards the horizon.
Kristin watched him go, nervously rocking Tommy as Tubbo clung to her leg.
"Please come back soon.." She pleaded quietly, biting her lip.
As if he'd heard her plea, he turned back towards the house, now almost a spot in the distance.
"We will."