Work Text:
Rays of morning sunlight shone down across the freshly fallen snow surrounding Techno’s house. The warm light made the soft looking substance shimmer like crystals as the sound of birdsong signalled the arrival of morning. Robins flitted through the evergreen trees and snow-pelted hares left their burrows to start a day’s foraging. With the stirred of wildlife in the forest, Techno’s house also slowly came to life, starting with Phil. He shrugged on his cloak over his tattered and torn wings, his breath showing up visibly in the cold air as he stepped out onto the porch. He looked to the left to where Ranboo’s hut was to see no indication of if the enderman was awake or if he was even in the hut. Not that it mattered, the young hybrid was perfectly capable of protecting himself. He looked to the forest, a small smile on his face at the faint sounds of life he could hear all around him. It was one of the most peaceful mornings he had seen in a while. Tommy no longer lived here, meaning there was no more chaos every thirty seconds. Ghostbur, well… he hadn’t been here since the failed resurrection. Phil didn’t really mind that, though. It meant he could go about his day without the painful reminder of his first reunion with his son. His ruined wings fluttered involuntarily at the memory.
Deciding not to follow that train of thought, Phil pulled himself back to reality, where the sun was slowly climbing higher in the sky. With a yawn and a stretch, the blonde walked down the steps and headed to the bee farm, taking care to not slip on the ice on the stairs. He shook his head with a huff at the treacherous state of the wood; he had told Techno to salt the steps before he left, but the pig-hybrid must have been in a rush because they were definitely not salted. He set himself a mental reminder to do that later, after the sun had thawed the ice a little bit. Until then, he busied himself with gathering honey and rearranging redstone. He had just finished collecting the last lot of honey when he heard it. A bird call, but not one of something small like a sparrow or a robin. Phil looked around for the culprit, and found it in an osprey that was sat, feathers fluffed up, on the roof of Techno’s house. Phil made eye contact with the bird and stared for a few minutes, the bird strangely seeming to stare back. It tilted its head, making Phil feel like it was watching him as much as he was watching it, before it stood up from its perch and flapped its wings. It made no attempt to fly off, almost as if it was encouraging Phil to copy him.
So Phil did.
He pulled off his cloak, exposing his wings before spreading them in all their tattered and torn glory. He gave a few experimental flexes of the wings, similar to how the osprey had done, realising just how stiff the joints in the wings had become from disuse. However, before he could become too distracted by his wings, the osprey took off, gliding straight down towards Phil before changing direction at the last minute, soaring off towards the beacon-topped mountain. Phil watched the osprey as it flew away, watching the way its wings flexed to accommodate for the wind, how the speed at which it was flying rustled its feathers and how at home and comfortable the bird of prey was in the air. All were feelings that Phil knew well, and all were feelings that Phil would never feel again. With a sigh, Phil put his cloak back on and started back towards the house only to be stopped by the osprey calling again. He cast a look over his shoulder and saw the osprey circling back around towards him, almost seeming to call him to follow. Phil laughed to himself and shook his head. There was no way the osprey was asking him to follow, and even if it was, there was no way Phil was going to follow it.
Phil grumbled to himself as he followed the osprey up the mountain. Whoever said birds couldn’t look smug must have been lying, because this one sure as hell had a smug look on its face. It wasn’t a steep mountain at all, in fact it wasn’t really a mountain, more a hill. Hence why Phil hadn’t bothered to pearl. Besides, he didn’t want to confuse the bird by teleporting. Just because he felt stupid didn’t mean he wanted to scare the bird off. So here he was, approaching the beacon Tommy and Techno had placed just weeks before. The wind was stronger up here, and he tucked his wings tighter against his back out of instinct to avoid being picked up, despite his wings being way too far gone to ever be able to carry weight again.
He reached the beacon, and saw the osprey perched on a rocky outcropping at the edge of the hill, overlooking the plains of snow and the expanse of pine trees. Techno’s house looked quaint and homely from here, not at all like it housed people with nicknames like the Angel of Death or the Blood God. But that’s not what Phil was focused on right now. Phil was focused on the osprey he was approaching. The osprey who waited until Phil was next to it before standing up and spreading its wings as if it was going to take off. Confused, Phil waited for the bird to do exactly that, but it never did. Instead, it gripped the stone beneath her tightly and stayed on the ground, letting the wind blow through its soft, brown feathers. Then it looked at Phil expectantly. Phil, who felt dumb beyond description, but followed suit anyway. He once again removed his cloak and slowly spread his wings, relishing the feeling of the wind blowing through what few feathers remained. He closed his eyes, and it was almost like his wings were whole again. If he ignored the feeling of the ground underneath his feet, it was easy to imagine himself cruising above the land on wind currents he had a knack for finding. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and looked to his right, to the rocks that the osprey had been perched on, only to find that his new friend had disappeared. He ignored the pang of sadness he felt. It’s just a bird , he thought to himself as the cloak went back on and he made his way back down to the house.
Visiting the beacon became like a therapy session for Phil. Sometimes he’d go only once that week, other times it was once or twice a day. It all depended on how stressed he was. Sometimes, he went there even if he wasn’t stressed. If he just wanted to pass the time. It was a relaxing place for him, and it became his safety bubble. Most of the time, the osprey would come and visit. Sometimes it would perch next to him and sit with him, other times it would just let out a greeting call. Sometimes it didn’t come at all, but it was never far. Especially when Phil was stressed. In a strange way, the bird became one of Phil’s close friends, listening to whatever the tired man wanted to rant about. The bird had found a way to soothe his longing to fly once more, and given him a friend in the process. Of course, Phil would never tell anyone. He couldn't risk the peacefulness and detachment he felt being stripped away from him. So he never told a soul. He didn’t even tell Techno, who had definitely noticed Phil’s trips up the mountain, but never questioned them. Ranboo had seen him heading up once or twice, but had never questioned it either. Phil assumed the enderman hybrid forgot about it, and everyone else lived miles away, so he didn’t need to worry.
He had found a happy place atop the mountain with no one to see him be vulnerable other than the osprey.