Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Philza curses and slams his hands against the control panel of what he hopes is the escape pod. If it’s not he’s dead, with how much stuff he smashed in the cockpit. The aliens that took him seem to think so too, since they gave up on chasing him to instead get to the pod he is in right now. Not that he let them. A simple hit against what he thinks is the head with some sort of metal pipe was enough to make them crumble to the floor.

He has the pipe tucked into his belt and when the pod leaves the ship he stumbles and clings to what looks like safety handles. The pod seems to tumble and spin around itself. He gets thrown around quite a bit, which is probably not normal. There’s an ominously pulsing light on the control panel. He hopes it’s nothing too bad.

Outside the window, the other ship explodes. Philza hesitates. That was not his intention. He can’t bring himself to feel bad. The fuckers kidnapped him, after all. Gravity seems to finally decide which direction to point to. The direction he’s flying to. He saw a planet there, before he started spinning. Seems like it’s going to be a rough landing. Philza curls up and braces for the crash.

He really wishes he knew how to navigate the pod. More flashing lights appear. Philza shields his head with his arms. The crash is loud. The loudest sound he has heard in a while. Splitting metal and something that sounds like wood and dirt and stone. He gets thrown against a wall. It hurts and he might scream or might gasp for breath. Everything goes dark.

------

Philza wakes up with a pounding headache. Everything hurts. He sits up slowly and groans, before the memories come flooding back and he jolts awake. He checks himself over and is relieved to find that he has no serious injuries. At least nothing seems to be broken. The ground is weirdly spongy, which is probably what saved his life.

The ground is covered in something that reminds him of moss in grey and a soft blue. It gives him a headache to look at, so he looks away instead. He seems to be in a small clearing surrounded by… Those have to be trees, right? They’re tall but not branching, instead standing like pillars, covered in a similar, dark, moss-like substance as the ground.

It takes a few tries before he manages to get up, the give of the ground and the lighter gravity throwing him off and making him stumble. After he gets used to walking again, it doesn’t take long for Philza to find his pipe again. It’s a bit dented from the crash, but nothing he can’t work with. Nothing else from what’s left of the pod is salvageable, so Philza leaves it behind and starts walking. He needs to find water and food.

Philza is–was, really–a mechanic, not a survival expert. Not like most tricks from earth would work on an unknown planet, probably. Still, he knows a few things, most from watching weird documentaries on youtube at 3am. At least the planet isn’t all that cold, so he won’t have to worry about freezing to death, at least. Sure, it’s not warm , but he’s British. He’s used to colder temperatures, even if the air seems drier than he’s used to. Water should be his priority.

Philza has walked through the mossy forest for a while, no animals in sight. He doesn’t worry about that though, because they’re probably shy and way better at hiding than he is. Sometimes he even hears shuffling from underground. It take a while before he stops jumping at that. The only thing that truly unnervs him is the lack of birds, or any flying creature. He sighs. Alien planet, alien animals.

There are now bushes between the trees. Philza frowns and looks at them. They’re thin and branching, about the height of his hip and not covered in the same moss as anything else, but made of thin wood. They’re dense and, most importantly, filled with small blue berries, about the size of cherries. Philza carefully picks one, easily breaking the branches in the way. It’s funny how he feels just as guilty about this as he does about blowing up a whole spaceship.

Philza carefully opens the berry and inside is a clear liquid, almost like water. Philza frowns and tries one. It tastes like water, too. Like that one time Philza went into the mountains as a child and tried fresh water out of a clean river. It’s the same temperature as everything alse and Philza makes a face.

Still, poison is supposed to taste bitter, right? He’d know if it was, like, deadly. Philza hesitates, but then gives in. It’s not like the aliens that kidnapped him gave him a lot of water. So, he picks a few berries and pops them into his mouth, draining the water and then spitting the skin back out. It’s bitter. He doesn’t want to eat it. With the next few berries, he’s more careful. Opening them and draining them without chewing on the skin. It’s probably better for him.

Philza looks around. Now that he’s no longer as thirsty (but not completely full. It has taken quite a few berries to even get him to this point and he is not willing to push it), he examines the trees closer. The moss covering them is almost black and warm to the touch, unlike the ground. He jerks back at first, before remembering that black moss probably absorbs more light than the blue moss and that’s why it’s warmer.

On a whim, he rips off a piece of moss and tastes it. It tastes like cocoa. Not the sweet cocoa of chocolate, but the bitter one straight from the bean. Still, it’s also extremely filling. The closest thing he can compare it to is algae, but without the fishy taste. It’s weird, but not in a bad way, so Philza eats some more. He falls asleep under the quickly darkening sky.

He wakes up to a weird sound of what sounds like a hoard of birds whistling if you tune it three octaves deeper. Now, in the light of day, it’s easy to see how close to the end of the forest he is. Just under a hundred meters further is a huge field of ground-moss. Philza eats some more, now that he is sure it won’t make him sick, before walking towards the treeline. It’s faster than he expected. He blames it on the lower gravity and wonders if he’ll have to do special training to make sure his muscles don’t degrade or something.

Looking over the field, Philza can see a herd of grey creatures, a bit smaller than sheep at home but just as wool-y. Then one turns towards the trees and he can see that their build looks more like that of a wolf or maybe a tall dog, with claws and paws instead of hoofs. So maybe pack would be the right word.

Philza shakes his head. It doesn’t matter, he needs to make sure they’re not dangerous. So he stands hidden behind the mossy trees and watches as the pack of wool-dogs walk around the field. They’re not in a hurry, some even laying down while others dig in the ground before pulling something out and closing it up again. The occasional too-deep-whistle sounds over the field and the creatures move their ears to listen before answering back in a similar manner.

With a bit of hesitation, Philza decides to try and approach these creatures. They remind him of sheep herds back on earth and so he decides that they’re probably not too dangerous. Probably. Still, seeing something that reminds him so much of his home creates an ache in his chest. So Philza steps out of the forest and onto the field.

Immediately, The wool-dogs closest to him turn to look at him and Philza carefully crouches down, his hands open and turned towards the animals in a non-aggression gesture. He really hopes those are universal. The wool-dogs closest to him chatter, partly at him and partly at eachother, before One of them approaches and stares at Philza before licking his hand with a snake-like double tongue. He smiles and pats it’s head.

“Hello, mate. Now aren’t you just beautiful.”

It chirps at him and Philza notes that the low tone doesn’t freak him out as much as it did in the beginning. He tries to mimic the sound as best as he can and the woo-dog licks his hand again before laying down next to him and whistles at the others, who seem to relax. Some go back to whatever they were doing and others come over to greet Philza as well.

“Wool-dog is a bit lengthy, isn’t it? I should find a better name for you. Hm. Whistlers, maybe? Or poofs?”

The one still laying next to him flicks his tongue and chirps in what Philza assumes is content. He smiles.

“Poofs it is, then.”

Philza stays with the poof pack for the rest of the day. He mostly leans against the one closest to him, but after a while he stands up to wander. The poofs seem to pull some kind of root out of the ground to eat and Philza wonders if he could eat those, too. He doesn’t want to steal their food though, so he’ll stay with the moss for now.

He comes back the next day, and the one after that, to hang out with the pack. The one who greeted him the first time, a poof with a blue spot directly over her right eye, stays close to him and is always the first one there when Philza steps outside the treeline. Most of the poofs have blue spots and markings, probably to help them blend in. It’s a good way to tell them apart.

This time, when Philza visits, a few of the smaller poofs try and tackle him. At first, he is taken aback, but they chirp happily and he quickly gets that they’re trying to play. So it doesn’t take long before he is rolling over the ground with the poofs and even his friend jumps in. When the seemingly adult poof jumps at him, Philza catches her out of reflex and is surprised by how light she is. After seeing this, the smaller poofs want to be picked up too. Philza laughs.

At other times, Philza sits with his friend and talks to her. She lays close and sometimes chirps in response, but mostly she lays her head on his lap and lets him rant. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, even if that someone is a particularly wooly dog. Sometimes he leans against her to doze and notes how extremely soft her wool is, but at night he still returns to the forest to eat and drink every morning and night.

Chapter Text

Sometimes Technoblade misses him home planet, where it was always warm and he knew the people. Then he remembers why he moved here, into the cold to become a farmer, and he is once again sure that he doesn’t want to return. The constant fighting really got to him and the life of a farmer is nice. It even pays better than the arena, with how dangerous woolpertinger are. Still, their wool is highly sought after and he doesn’t mind the challenge.

Techno walks around the border of his field, past the fence and in direction of the forest. There is a small body of water marking the other edge and he trusts that the pack isn’t dumb enough to try and interact with it. He is bundled up in a heavy coat to block out the cold. His own fur holds more white than is usual for his age, but the cold air slowed the pink down. That’s okay with him, he doesn’t stand out quite as much as he would otherwise against the blue ground.

No small ones of the pack have gotten to the other side of the fence, so that’s good. On the other hand, they seem to be gathering closer to the forest than usual. He really hopes that no woolpertinger tried to eat the dark moss again. He doesn’t want to have to put another one down. He does a headcount while walking along, but stops when he sees his pack gathered around a figure, taller than he is and standing upright.

Techno stares at the strange being, but can’t make much out from this distance. He crouches and sneaks closer, thankful for the way the ground swallows sound. Soon, he can see the creature better. They’re standing close to the forest, their back turned to Techno and no eyes looking at him. He frowns as he sees the being pet the pack.

Woolpertinger are suspicious and strong creatures. They only accept strong beings to get close to their pack and most other beings fear them. That’s why their wool sells for so much money. Yet here is this being, almost as slim as an enderian, if not quite as tall, standing amongst them and chirping back when they whiste at them.

Techno hesitates. He trusts his pack, of course he does. Mutual trust is important when dealing with these creatures, and he trusts that they would not be this nice to someone with bad intentions. Still, it never hurts to be careful, so he gets ready to grab his axe from where it is bound to his back as he approaches.

The woolpertingers see him first and his pack whistles in excitement as they greet him. He is glad that he’s wearing his arm-guards since their saliva is slightly acidic to help them eat the roots that they dig out of the ground. The other being also turns around to face him, their teeth bared and eyes immediately catching on his axe. They yowl and back away, before darting into the forest.

Techno is confused, but doesn’t follow after them. He only checks on the young ones of his pack and takes note of how long he will have to wait before he can collect wool again. He throws another glance at the trees from where he feels eyes watching him, but doesn’t see his weird guest. On his way back home, Techno decides to come back the next day. If his pack trusts them, he will give the stranger a chance. He decidedly doesn’t think about how he doesn’t know what species they are and what they’re doing in the dark forest or what they eat.

-----

Philza watches as the alien checks on the poofs from the shadows of the trees. The alien has definitely seen him, he knows that, but they didn’t go after him. Just send an occasional look in his direction before leaving again, which puts the axe on their back on full display. He suppresses a shudder and is glad they decided not to hunt him.

The alien looks like a mixture of a boar and a bunny, with paws as feet and strong legs, but tusks and a snout and what looks like a line of hardened hair running over their head and down their back. He doesn’t remember what it’s called like with boars. Their hands are split hoofs with a thumb on the other side. They seem to reach about his shoulder height, with light pink and white fur, standing out against the blue ground, so they’re probably not from here, or toxic. As far as earth evolution-tactics can be applied to aliens.

The pack seems to like them, so they’re probably their keeper. Which, okay, yeah. That makes sense. Still doesn’t explain why they let him leave. He stays under the trees for the rest of the day, keeping an eye out. He can never be too careful, never again.

-----

Techno comes back the next day. It might be foolish, to come back to a skittish and possible dangerous person, because he’s pretty sure they’re a person, but his pack trusts them and they’re living in poisonous woods. He wants to at least offer his help.

“Hello, I mean no harm.”

He feels a bit stupid, talking to the forest, but he can feel them watching him. They don’t react. Do they not know common? He pushes the thought to the side. That could cause problems, but he will leave dealing with that to his future self. He waits until the glow of the day reminds him of his other chores.

Techno stands with a sigh and places a box with golden carrots down. They’re a vegetable from his home planet that he grows himself and most known species can eat them, so he’s comfortable offering them to his unknown guest. The walk back home is quick and he notices that the young ones are sadder than before. Still, he leaves.

Back at home, Techno takes care of his chores before he sits down and lets the news play on his communicator. Nothing new, just the usual stuff about humans that has been on the news ever since they were discovered. There is a picture and Techno freezes. He recognizes that flat face with the bared teeth.

It’s not exactly like the person in the woods, but close enough. There’s a human in the woods behind his house. A human who hangs out with his pack. Techno knows the stories of humans, has heard what people tell each-other when he visits the market to sell his goods. Humans are said to be aggressive and as strong as a piglin warrior. They are told to bring down entire ships on their own and kill if they think that something might be a threat to their pack.

Techno sighs and lets his ears flop down over his face. Of course there is a human living in the poisonous woods behind his field and bonding with his pack of woolpertingers. Still, the human fled when they saw Techno approach and they have been seemingly nice to his pack. Techno has always had the habit of picking up and befriending dangerous creatures, what is one human on that list? He will try not to judge them. At least this explains why they didn’t understand Common.

-----

Philza stares at the box the alien left behind. It looks like it’s made out of metal and the poofs ignore it, so it’s probably not dangerous. His friend, who Philza has decided to call Chat, even nudges it with her snout. Nothing explodes, so he comes out of the treeline to look at it in detail.

Chat presses against his side, chirping happily and Philza rests a hand on her head. He picks the box up and when nothing happens, shakes it. Something moves inside. Philza examines the box until he finds a lit and carefully pries it open. Inside are what looks like carrots covered in liquid gold, shining and clean. He frowns at them and takes one out, which Chat steals and eats.

“Guess they’re edible then, huh?”

He absent-mindedly copies the whistle Chat makes at him. She seems happy. Maybe he can give the alien a try, the next time they show up. He takes a bite off a golden carrot. It tastes a bit like a mix of normal carrots and blood. Philza makes a face, but at least it’s something he can chew. At least it’s something different from moss.

He quickly finishes the food in the box, trying to push away how he doesn’t mind the bloody taste. It’s just the iron. It’s just the fact that it’s something both familiar and new. He sighs as he closes the box again and places it back down. Maybe he can try trusting the alien. Just maybe. He will see how the alien reacts tomorrow. He really hopes it works out.

The alien is in fact there the next day. They pick up the box and open it, seemingly pleased to find it empty. They raise their head and look at the forest. Philza doesn’t try to hide, not as much as he did the day before and their eyes meet. The alien stiffens as Philza smiles at them and he remembers how showing teeth is often seen as a threat, so he hides them again. It’s not the best first impression, but it seems to work.

The next few days are filled with visits. Most often, the alien will sit and chat at Philza, or just play with the Poofs, while Philza watches. He watches and with each visit, he gets closer to the treeline. Philza doesn’t know why neither the alien nor the poofs get close to the trees, but it gives him a place to run to, so he doesn’t mind. Sometimes, when he sits closer, he can see the alien looking at him. He tries not to run away, but doesn’t always succeed. He gets more comfortable, but doesn’t talk. Doesn’t copy noises. Not yet.

Chapter Text

The first time Techno hears the human make any real noise, it shocks him. Sure, they have made the occasional unconscious noise, but he’s pretty sure that doesn’t count as speaking. At least he doesn’t think so.

It happens when he comes to visit. The past visits have been pretty good. He tried speaking common at the human, in case they answer, and even some of his own language, but they really don’t seem to understand. Still, they have been getting closer to him as time went by and the being watched changed to having company.

This time, when Techno approaches the trees, the human is with the woolpertinger. They crowd around them, nudging them with their snouts. Especially a big girl without a name. She licks along the human’s bare arm.

Techno can’t help but squeak in alarm, which causes the woolpertinger to whistle loudly and one of the smaller ones jumps at the human. Techno wants to reach forward, he didn’t want for them to attack the human, but the human only catches the creature as if it weighs nothing, holding it close to his chest and humming a calming note, before their eyes meet Techno’s.

Techno looks away quickly. To look into the eyes of a being that catches one of the most dangerous domesticated animals as if it was nothing and doesn’t even react to their saliva on their skin is not a good idea. He really doesn’t want to start a fight. Still, he sees as the human’s eyes narrow and they tilt their head to the side.

“Why?”

Techno startles at the word, spoken in Nether-tongue. The pronunciation is slightly off, but it is definitely a question-sound. Techno has been speaking more Nether-tongue instead of Common lately, but to think that the human would pick up on it so quickly. A thought comes to mind. Techno has always had trouble picking up new languages, but it seems humans don’t have the same problem. That opens a whole lot of other possibilities.

Techno squeals in excitement and gestures for the human to stay. He will be back soon, he just needs to get something first.

-----

Philza doesn’t know what just happened. He’s pretty sure that he copied the question-sound that the alien sometimes makes, but maybe he did it wrong? He hopes he didn’t offend them. He looks down at Chat, who noses at his hand and licks at his palm.

“Thanks, mate. I really hope I didn’t offend them.”

He shakes his head. There is nothing he can do now except wait. The sun is already setting when the alien comes back, holding a small black box. Philza slowly blinks at them. They seem excited and open the box, before gesturing first to Philza, then to the inside of the box. He slowly stands up from where he was laying against Chat and steps forward, carefully keeping an eye on the axe the alien is still wearing.

They don’t seem to mind, just holding the box out to him and gesturing until he takes it. Inside is what looks like a singular earpiece. Philza picks it up and the alien gestures again, first to the box, then their own ear and lastly to Philza. He furrows his brow and looks the small thing over again, before deciding to fuck it and trust this weird alien that brought him food.

He puts the earpiece in and takes a moment to adjust to it, before the alien starts chatting at him. Only this time, the earpiece repeats words in English. Philza freezes.

“-so this thing translates everything you hear to English! Of course it doesn’t translate what you say, but now you can learn.”

It’s weird, hearing static-y English on one ear and the Alien’s huffs and squeaks on the other. Philza blinks slowly and then points at the poofs, making what he hopes is a question-sound. Please let it be a question and not an insult or anything. The alien is watching him with a very intense focus and Philza shifts a bit where he stands before they look away at the poofs, a smile on their face.

“This is my pack of woolpertinger, they give good wool but their saliva is corrosive, so most people don’t want to keep them. But I’m fine with it, I have precautions.”

They show their gloves. Philza notices a word that doesn’t translate, probably the actual name for the poofs, but he mostly startles at the corrosive part. He didn’t notice anything when the poofs licked him, but the alien made it sound very grave. He decides not to think about it. That’s what he’s been doing with his other problems too and it seems to work out. They sit in awkward silence for a bit, before the alien seems to notice something, their ears perking up.

“Oh, my name is Technoblade, what’s your name?”

The name is a high note, followed by a low sound and something that sounds like a gruff humm. The translator tells him it vaguely translates to art of the new blade. Philza frowns, moving the sounds the alien made around in his head before slowly responding.

“Technoblade. My name is Philza.”

The alien, Technoblade, looks at him with wide eyes and thinks for a moment before answering.

“Is Technoblade the name you gave me? Your name would be closest to Philza.”

The way the alien says Technoblade is close to what Philza said, but not completely it. The name they gave him was a high sqeak, higher than their own, with a short klick following. The translator supplies him with the fact that this translates basically to language of the feathers. Philza smiles, making sure not to show any teeth. Techno’s ears twitch and he bounces on his feet.

-----

Teaching Philza to speak is going quicker than expected and soon, he doesn’t only speak Nether-tongue, but also Common pretty fluently. He still keeps his translator, in case they run into words he doesn’t know, but Techno is proud of how quickly his friend picked up on it.

On the second day after getting the translator, Techno managed to convince the human to come visit his home. On the third he moved in. They take care of the woolpertinger together and Techno explains what he does on the farm. Philza picks up on it quickly and while he is better with the woolpertinger than with gardening, his strength proves useful in many instances. He carries heavy things and while Techno still jumps higher, the human’s jump is quite impressive.

It’s another slow evening, both Philza and Techno sitting in his main room after dinner when Techno asks.

“So, Phil. Tell me, what did you eat in that forest?”

Philza hums, distracted by the tablet Techno gave him to learn how to read. It’s a slower process than spoken words, but it’s going along nicely. Still, he looks up at Techno with a confused look.

“The tree-moss. Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t eat it yourself. Sure, it gets boring after a while, but it’s not that bad-”

He trails off when he sees the shock in Techno’s stance. Philza has gotten better at reading his friend based on body language, just as Techno has gotten better at reading his expressions. So it is really very obvious when Techno freezes, his ears pressed back and stance wide. This, this is panic. And confusion. But mostly panic.

“You ate the tree-moss?”

His voice is soft, so much softer than it normally is. Philza frowns.

“Yes? Was I not supposed to? Is it like, a cultural thing? Because in my defence-”

But Techno only huffs a no.

“It’s not cultural, it’s not like you’re not allowed to, it’s just. There’s caffeine in that. How are you not dead?”

“Oh, so that’s the bitter taste? Damn, should have known. But, why are you freaking out about this? It’s just caffeine, it’s not like it’s poisonous, is it?”

He hesitates at Techno’s silence.

“But it’s not. I used to drink coffee all the time back home. Only way to get me through the day, really. Which is sad, since tea is definitely better.”

“You drink caffeine? Regularly?? How are you not dead?”

Philza shrugs.

“I don’t know what to tell you, humans do this all the time.”

“Of course. It’s a human thing. I should have known better than to question it.”

Techno mumbles under his breath and turns away, actively ending the conversation. Philza just smiles, already being used to the outrage that Techno feels at half the things he does. It was the same with letting the poofs lick and jump at him. Still, living together is fun. Philza has never had a room-mate and living with his best friend is nice.

He decides not to think about the revelation that his best friend is an alien. It would just make him sad. Just like he doesn’t think about how he misses earth less and less. It’s best just to go with it. Don't think about it. And doesn’t that just explain his whole life?

Chapter Text

The market is coming up soon. That means that Techno will have to gather all the things he wants to sell and make his trip over multiple days to the biggest space haven he can reach. The woolpertinger will be fine, but he is stressed. It would be bad to leave anything behind and the way is exhausting, especially since he has no animals that can pull the cart and not enough money to buy one that goes by itself. The technology to make it lighter is expensive enough.

Philza notices that his friend is stressed. Of course he does. So, when he asks and Techno explains why, he gives the only answer that makes sense to him.

“Then take me with you.”

Techno hesitates but looking at Philza’s face shows that he is serious about the idea. So, he thinks about it.

“We’d have to disguise you. Avians that follow the Goddess of Death often cover their faces and not all of them have wings. But you’d need to learn their language in only a few days. And it could be dangerous if you were discovered.”

Philza nods along and then smiles at Techno.

“I know, but I want to go, too. I can learn.”

Techno nods and the next few days are filled with research about avian tradition and culture. Learning their language, both spoken and body language. Luckily, the trills and whistles are something Philza can do with a bit of practice and the body language is close enough to his own that getting used to the new one is easy enough.

Before long, they fill their cart and get going. Philza’s clothes are black, billowing cloth that cover every bit of his body that could be seen and a black veil over his face. The biggest problem right now is Chat, who refuses to stop whimpering when she notices that Philza is going to leave. Techno scowls at her.

“Oh, so when I leave it’s no problem, but when Philza leaves suddenly the world is ending? Traitor.”

Philza sighs. They want to get going as soon as possible and this is definitely a hold-up. Philza hesitates, before turning to Techno. He can’t see his face due to the veil, But Philza makes sure to project his body language as an avian would. Techno narrows his eyes at him.

“Phil, no. There is a reason people don’t have them, we can’t take her with us.”

Now both Chat and Philza are looking at him. Techno tries to stand his ground but doesn’t last long before he gives in.

“Fine! Fine. We can take her, but you’re responsible for her.”

Both Chat and Philza trill happily.

-----

The way to the market place is way less lonely then what Techno is used to. Philza usually pulls the crate, so Techno is responsible to keep an eye on Chat, who Philza has made a collar and leash for. When they pause, they eat together and Philza tries to teach Chat tricks. Luckily, she easily responds to avian trills. Techno desperately ignores how Philza eats tree-moss when the right kind of tree is there.

In total, the trip takes five days, which is less than what Techno would take on his own, with Philza pulling the crate with an amount of strength not even Techno can copy. Still, he takes over the crate on the last day. Avians aren’t known for being strong. Sure, they’re quick and you wouldn’t want to fight one, but they’re not stronger than Techno would be. They need to keep cover.

The market is already partly set up when they arrive, but not completely. Techno quickly steers them towards his usual place and sets up his stall, Philza following close behind. People give them space, seeing the woolpertinger that Philza has on a leash. It’s pretty comforting, actually. The market only starts on the next day, so the two of them will sleep in the stall with Chat keeping watch.

-----

The next day comes quickly and once the market starts, Techno leaves Philza at the stall with a list of all the prices before going off to buy some things. Philza isn’t quite sure what Techno wants to buy, but he doesn’t mind waiting. He tells Chat to lie down, which she begrudgingly does, and sits on a stool behind the counter, waiting.

Nobody stops by before Techno comes back, only glancing over the wares or eyeing Chat warily. When Techno returns, he is holding a small package that he hands to Philza. They move a bit into the back to discuss it in nether-tongue.

“Avians usually have sharp talons, especially if they don’t have wings. These are talon-claws and with a bit of fiddling you should be able to wear them instead of normal ones.”

He is holding leather gloves with delicately decorated iron that covers the top of his fingers and bends into claws. The tips, that he assumes would be usually hollow, are filled with a smooth but light material. Luckily, avians have hands very similar to humans in structure so the gloves fit.

“Thank you, mate. This will be helpful.”

-----

Over the next few days, more and more of their wares get sold. Philza quickly gets used to what he calls his knife-hands and takes over hackling about the prices, which Techno happily leaves to him. They sell their goods and especially when Chat stays in the back they don’t have a lot of problems. Philza even picks up some words from the local language.

The first real problem comes up on the fifth day of their stay. Most of their goods are already sold and they plan to get back the next day when a group of people show up. They’re tall, with horns and sturdy looking scales covering their body. Philza notes Techno stiffen next to him and immediately knows that these guys mean trouble. Sadly, they left Chat to guard the stall while they had a look around the market before getting cornered in an alleyway. Really, this whole situation is pretty cliche.

“If it isn’t the brute monster lover.”

The voice of the leader is hissing and Philza scowls at her, consciously moving his body to display aggression in avian body language. None of the aliens pay him any mind. Techno turns sideways, nervous but standing his ground. Philza knows Techno can hold his own in a fight, but he also knows that Techno is better in 1v1 then group fights and ten people is a lot.

“Bruhh, we’ve been over this. Woolpertinger aren’t monsters.”

Techno scowls at the group, but they don’t back down. Instead, another one steps forward and reaches to tug at Techno’s ears while he talks.

“We know that against a group, you’re just talk. You can’t do anything to us, so why don’t you get back to the planet where you belong-”

Philza reacts before even he himself can think and the one that tried to touch Techno’s ears is clutching a bleeding hand to his chest. Philza shows off his metal talons, blood dripping from them.

“Leave.”

The leader glazes at him.

“Silence, little bird. I don’t know what this brute has on you, but know that he is nothing but a liar and-”

The sound Philza makes isn’t avian, like he wanted it to be. It sounds closer to what an angry woolpertinger would make. The whole group flinches back, Technoblade included.

“I said leave. Don’t touch my flock.”

The air seems to freeze around them as Philza gets ready to fight. When one of them opens their mouth instead of moving away, Philza acts. He quickly darts forward and kicks at the legs of the alien closest to him, before moving around them as they fall and laying his talons against their neck.

“Leave.”

He kicks the one in front of him again before moving away. The group quickly flees. Then he turns to Techno, who blinks at him.

“Relzard blood is poisonous.”

Philza smiles.

“Oops.”

-----

They’re on their way back, having packed up a day earlier than planned. Currently, they’re resting. Philza is brushing Chat’s fur, having taken his gloves off, before moving to clean them, too.

Techno watches Philza as he cleans his metal talons. Flock, he said. Flock, to avians, is very important. Avians live long lives but don’t have a lot of children. Flock, family, means everything. It’s important to survive. And sure, maybe humans don’t have the same things connected to that word, but looking at Philza’s relaxed form, he doesn’t think so.

“Phil?”

“Mhm.”

“You’re my sounder too.”

Philza freezes and turns to Techno.

“You mean it?”

“Yeah.”

And Philza takes his veil off before pressing his forehead against his friend’s.

“Thank you.”

“For you the world, Phil.”

Chapter Text

How Techno got the translator.

Techno watches as Wilbur empties what feels like half of his ship into the almost empty storage room in Techno’s house. There are boxes upon boxes with science equipment and forged and stolen documents. Techno knows that Wilbur is a smuggler, has escaped the arena on his ship and travelled with him for a while before settling down on his farm. He also knows that Wilbur has recently got into trouble with the authorities ever since getting in contact with a stolen ship full of a trio that are only just no longer kids. And that is the only reason Techno agreed to let him store his illegal science equipment in his house. It’s not like he cares about his friend or anything. Wilbur keeps telling him about how he got the things he’s storing but Techno doesn’t really listen for the most part. That is until Wilbur lets out an excited trill and presents Techno with a small metal thing. Techno has no idea what it is but since Wilbur seems very excited, he decides to listen.

“And, see, this is from that one time I stole from that one space counsel ship. This is some of the newest technology all over the galaxy regarding humans! It translates everything you hear into the human language, based on data the scientist gathered straight from their home planet.”

Techno looks at his friend like he lost his mind.

“And what exactly do you do with something like this?”

“It’s to help learn the human language! If Scientists want to understand humans better, they need to know what they’re saying and programming the human language into a normal translator is too much work, so yeah.”

Techno stares at Wilbur in silence. Wilbur who is his friend. Wilbur, who apparently stole one of the most important new scientific developments there is on humans and is now storing it in Techno’s house. Techno sighs and reminds himself that he agreed to help Wilbur. No wonder he has problems with the authorities. Still, it’s not really a surprise. Not with how interested Wilbur is in anything and everything regarding death worlds. Techno shakes his head before taking another box to help Wilbur clear his ship from any evidence.

“I really hope I won’t have to deal with the authorities because of this, Will. I better not have to move again. My poor pack wouldn’t survive your flying skills.”

Wilbur acts offended and sputters to defend himself but Techno can tell by his smile that he knows he is joking.

-----

Techno shakes his head at the memory, knowing how he thought the translator would be absolutely useless. He spares a glance over at Philza, sitting in his armchair and practising elytrian script with the same concentration he puts in anything he learns.

“Hey, Phil.”

Philza looks up at him and chirps a questioning sound in elitrian. Techno isn’t sure why he picked up on the language so quickly or why he seems to prefer it towards any other, but he doesn’t question it.

“Do you want to meet some of my friends?”

Philza hesitates for only a second before smiling at Techno.

“Sure, mate. As long as you trust them.”

Techno nods and smiles too as he takes out his communicator to text Wilbur. It has been a while since they’ve seen each other and by now Wilbur should have lost the people following him, hopefully. He did say that it was safe to text a few cycles back.

“Turns out that translator of yours did have a use after all.”

“Techno, what? What does that even mean??”

Techno doesn’t respond, finding amusement in the way Wilbur is obviously confused beyond all else.

“Technoblade, don’t you fucking dare ignore me right now I swear to the stars”

“Guess you’ll have to come visit and see for yourself.”

“Fine.”

There is a short pause in which Techno looks up at Philza who raises an eyebrow at him, something that Techno has learned to read as a question or sarcasm.

“I’m bringing the children.”

Techno snorts and puts his communicator away before turning towards Philza again, who somehow managed to get Chat to curl up on his lap despite being just as big as he is. Techno has given up on questioning his friend a long time ago.

“They will be here soon.”

Philza smiles.

“I look forward to meeting them.”