Shining Scales

by Umber888

Summary:

Tommy is a young servant of Lord Schlatt. One day, he gets assigned to assist the Lord and some of his knights on their quest to exterminate a settlement of dragons. Needless to say, the encounter goes south. Still, it appears Tommy has caught one's eye...

Or

I wanted a dragon au and since nobody else is doing it, I must take matters into my own hands.

Notes:

Update: darkness score, a whopping 1/10 for casual murder and if you choose to read a certain scene a certain way it goes up to 3/10. Nothing bad is there after the first chapter though

Chapter 1: Change of Plans

Summary:

The green dragon flew over to Tommy, landing with a thump. Tommy stared up at it. This one had black, feathery wings, as well as black feathers on its ears and the end of its tail.

 

"I- um, hi. If- if I give you this," Tommy started, drawing his bronze ring from his parcel of belongings, "will you let me go?"

 

A deep rumble filled the area. Fuck.

 

"Little one, I have no need for your meager possessions. You're not the one who invaded my home and tried to kill my son, so I have no grievance with you." It stated.

 

"R- really?" Tommy stuttered.

 

"Of course. What would I gain from tricking you, mate?"

"Get back here, you pest!" The shopkeeper screeched. Tommy sprang over a dumpster and kept running. He hadn't even done anything- it was some group of kids who thought that Tommy, otherwise known as the Raccoon, would be a good person to blame for their hijinks. Running probably wasn't helping, but Tommy didn't want to get beaten.

 

Finally, Tommy bolted around a corner and dashed into the shop that was there. Dream's tavern was always a safe spot for Tommy to hide out for a few minutes. Tommy panted as he glanced around the warmly lit room.

 

"Hey, Raccoon," A familiar voice called. Sapnap was waiting tables again. "Need a ride back to the castle?"

 

"That would be great, Sapnap," Tommy replied. Tommy worked in Lord Schlatt's castle. One of Sapnap's fiances did, too, so when Tommy came over to the tavern, Sapnap would usually give him a lift back.

 

"Great. In that case, my shift's over in half an hour. Do you wanna order?" Sapnap offered. Tommy shook his head.

 

"Sorry, Sapnap. Schlatt slashed my pay. I need most of it just for room and board," Tommy explained. Sapnap sighed.

 

"That man's a bastard. Good luck, Tommy." He said, quickly returning to his duties.

 

Tommy slid into an empty booth. He wasn't close with the Dream Team, but they were always kind to him and never accused him of stealing. Sapnap's fiance in the castle, Quackity, was also nice to Tommy. Maybe it was pity, but Quackity kept an eye out for Tommy. He appreciated it.

 

Eventually, Sapnap's shift came to a close. He signaled for Tommy to follow him and the two left the tavern through the back. Sapnap's horse was waiting for them.

 

As the two rode through the cobblestone streets of Manburg, Sapnap decided to strike up a conversation.

 

"Still sleeping on that coal pile, or did getting your pay slashed finally get you an actual bed?" He asked. Tommy scoffed.

 

"Don't kid yourself, Sapnap, of course not. This is Schlatt we're talking about. He slashed my pay because he realized he could get away with it and I wouldn't be able to do jack shit."

 

"Kids your age shouldn't be working at a job like that. When I was twelve, I bussed tables for three hours a day at the Wastaken tavern," Sapnap muttered, shaking his head.

 

"You had dads to take care of you, Sapnap. I don't," Tommy replied. Sapnap sighed.

 

"Doesn't make it right. Maybe when you're a bit older, you could switch out the castle for the tavern. I get the feeling you'd do better there," He offered. Tommy offered him a small smile.

 

"I just might take you up on that, big man."

 

Tommy and Sapnap reached the castle all too quickly. Tommy scurried off to go take care of his evening duties while Sapnap went to see his fiances. Tommy went from room to room, putting coal in the fireplace and ensuring the fire was strong. It was October, so the castle didn't get too cold, but Tommy was in trouble regardless if it wasn't warm enough.

 

Eventually Tommy finished and he went down to the kitchens to get dinner. The door was locked. Tommy must've missed it again. He sighed and went to his coal pile.

 

On the coal pile, Tommy was left to fidget with an old bronze ring that Schlatt had discarded. It had oxidized on one side, but it was still Tommy's favorite item. He needed something shiny, after all.

 

Tommy wasn't as uncomfortable on a coal pile as most people would be. He also had a strange attraction to shiny things, and in between that and the fact that he was always dirty and had been caught eating garbage, someone was bound to start calling him a Raccoon. And it stuck.

 

Tommy rose off of his coal pile in the morning and stretched. He had some clean clothes tucked away in the corner of the room, and pulled a set on. He then went up to the kitchens.

 

An old, frazzled woman served each servant a bowl of porridge and a biscuit. Tommy took his tray, grateful for the sustenance. Breakfast was the only meal he didn't consistently miss. Tommy sat down away from the gossiping maids and the messy stable boys to eat. Of course, then Quackity entered.

 

Quackity was the head butler and organized the servants. He knew each and every one of them by name. He usually had an announcement for the servants once a week or so. Granted, the other day, he'd announced the pay reduction so nobody was excited about his presence. The twenty or so servants all stared at him as he entered the room.

 

"Alright, everyone. Lord Schlatt has identified a settlement just past the mountains that appears to have been overtaken by dragons. He, five royal knights, and five of you are being selected to go. The rest of you will stay here and continue maintaining the castle," Quackity announced. Gossip began to spread between the circles of servants.

 

"How are people being selected?" The librarian asked.

 

"And when do we leave?" One of the chefs added.

 

"Will we have to provide our own supplies?" A stable boy checked.

 

"You leave tomorrow at dawn. You're all too underpaid to actually have any supplies, so Schlatt's gonna have to cough them up. As for who's coming?" Quackity mused, scanning the room. "Raccoon, Scott, Beau, Grian, and Aimsey."

 

The group of chosen servants stood up, nervous and unsure.

 

"Of course, Schlatt's too much of a cheapskate to give any of you the day off. You'll have to pack up tonight. Finish eating and get to work." Quackity ordered.

 

––~~°~~––

 

Tommy was bundling up his clothes when he heard a knock on the door.

 

"Come in!" He called. Quackity opened the door.

 

"Hey, Raccoon. You ready for tomorrow?" He asked gently. Tommy sighed.

 

"Let's just hope I don't get eaten by dragons." He joked with a weak smile. Quackity shook his head.

 

"I have a hunch that you're going to be just fine."

 

"I wish I had your confidence, Quackity. Any clue how long this is gonna take?" Tommy tried. Quackity smirked.

 

"Actually, I know a guy who lives over there. It's about a day's journey if you walk, but since Lord Schlatt's not nearly that patient, it'll probably take closer to half a day. You'll go in, there'll be a fight where you and the other servants should stay the fuck out of the way, you'll spend the night if the Lord and the knights live, and then you'll leave the following morning." He explained. Tommy nodded.

 

"Alright. Thanks, Quackity."

 

"No problem. Good luck, kid." Quackity muttered, turning to leave. The door clicked shut behind him. Tommy sighed and bundled up his clothes. After a moment of consideration, he grabbed his bronze ring. Tommy slid it into the parcel.

 

––~~°~~––

 

The following dawn came all too quickly. Tommy waited anxiously with the other servants as Schlatt readied the guards.

 

"Anyways," Schlatt stated, turning to the servants, "you can each take a horse. Your supplies are in the saddlebag. You're not getting more. I don't care if it's 'not enough', you greedy lowlifes can make do."

 

Tommy scowled. Schlatt was just god fucking awful. Still, Tommy was grateful for his regular riding with Sapnap as he watched Scott struggle with his horse. Schlatt looked increasingly impatient.

 

"What's the holdup?" He finally snapped. Scott looked flustered.

 

"I apologize, my lord. I'm inexperienced with horseback riding-"

 

"You have ten seconds to get on that fucking horse before I fire you and ruin your family," Schlatt growled. Scott quickly found a way to stabilize himself. Beau's horse took a few steps towards Scott. In an instant, the guards' horses and Schlatt's horses took off and the servants were quick to follow.

 

Quackity was right about his estimation. They made it through the path between two mountains and sat on a hill not far from a pleasant looking little village.

 

The guards all opened their saddlebags to retrieve a meal. Tommy opened his own to reveal… two loaves of bread, an empty water skin, and a bedroll. That was it. Tommy scowled.

 

"You've got to be kidding me," Beau hissed. "Raccoon. Scott. Grian. Aimsey. One of you has to have more than-"

 

"Two loaves of bread, a bedroll, and a water skin?" Aimsey interjected. Silence. After a moment, Beau sighed.

 

"I can't believe this. Fuck Schlatt."

 

"Careful, Beau! He's right over there, he could hear you!" Grian hissed. Beau scowled.

 

"Fuck him," She repeated, although quieter this time. The group each began to eat one of the loaves.

 

All too soon, Schlatt and the knights moved. They all entered the village, and the servants were quick to find a good spot to watch the fight.

 

There was a large, pink dragon in the middle of the square with darker fur along his spine and at the tip of his tail. The dragon, Tommy thought, looked warm. It was about six feet long, not counting the tail, and fairly burly.

 

Schlatt let out a battle cry and barreled towards the dragon. It tripped him with its tail and roared at the man. Schlatt spat at the dragon and swung at it with his sword. The dragon dodged the blow and snapped Schlatt's spine with its jaws.

 

The other knights were quick to follow, but a blue dragon, a green dragon, and a black and white dragon assisted the pink one in taking them out. The broken bodies of the knights laid in the square, and the servants couldn't take their eyes off of them.

 

The dragons almost seemed to congratulate each other in taking the knights out when the green one caught Tommy's eye.

 

"Shit!" He whispered.

 

"What is it?" Aimsey asked.

 

"One of the dragons saw me!"

 

"Raccoon!!" Beau hissed.

 

"The knights are all dead, maybe if we leave now, the dragons won't follow us!!" Grian suggested.

 

"But they already know I'm here!!" Tommy exclaimed. Beau but her lip.

 

"Raccoon. We have to go. The dragons only saw you, right?"

 

"I- yeah?"

 

"Maybe if you stay here, they won't realize there were five of us."

 

"Yeah, you're right, Beau. Good luck not getting eaten," Tommy whispered. The four other servants scurried off, and Tommy formed a plan that stood a chance of saving his ass.

 

The green dragon flew over to Tommy, landing with a thump. Tommy stared up at it. This one had black, feathery wings, as well as black feathers on its ears and the end of its tail.

 

"I- um, hi. If- if I give you this," Tommy started, drawing his bronze ring from his parcel of belongings, "will you let me go?"

 

A deep rumble filled the area. Fuck.

 

"Little one, I have no need for your meager possessions. You're not the one who invaded my home and tried to kill my son, so I have no grievance with you." It stated.

 

"R- really?" Tommy stuttered.

 

"Of course. What would I gain from tricking you, mate?"

 

"Okay then," Tommy relaxed a bit. He was still in the presence of a being who, minutes ago, had torn a man's throat out, so he couldn't completely trust the beast, but it had a point.

 

 

"What's your name?" The dragon asked.

 

"What?"

 

"Your name?" The dragon repeated. "It feels fairly rude to call you 'the kid who was dragged around by some would-be dragon slayers'."

 

"Oh. Uh, Tommy," Tommy replied. The dragon nodded, pleased.

 

"I'm Phil, Tommy. It appears your companions are all dead, so would you like to come back to the village for the time being?" He offered. Tommy wasn't sure if this guy would take no for an answer, and he wasn't willing to risk finding out.

 

"Sure."

 

"Good. Good. Let's go," Phil responded, sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight. Tommy followed the dragon to the cobblestone streets of a dragon village. There were houses along either side of the road. They looked cozy. Finally, Phil stopped in front of the blue dragon.

 

"Hey, Wil."

 

"Where'd he come from?" Wil asked, eyes flicking to Tommy. Tommy shuffled behind Phil.

 

"Ah. Tommy? Yes, he seems to be some kind of servant of the barbarians who attacked us."

 

"Uh- yeah," Tommy quietly confirmed. Phil dipped his wing in acknowledgement.

 

"Shouldn't humans pick adults to be their servants?" Wil leered at Tommy. Tommy shrank back.

 

"Probably. I'll never understand them," Phil agreed. "Anyways, let's get him inside. I think it's going to rain soon, and we wouldn't want him to get sick."

 

"A little rain won't get me sick," Tommy grumbled. Phil laughed- a deep, rumbly sound.

 

"Sure, mate."

 

Phil led Tommy to a larger gray house. The door was wide and Phil opened it to reveal a homey sitting room. A man with pink hair, horns, and a tail with a tuft of fur on the end was sitting on the couch, reading a book. Across from him, there was a fire in the fireplace.

 

"Hey, Techno," Phil called. Techno glanced at Phil, then at Tommy.

 

"Fucking Prime, you picked up another one?" He asked.

 

"You know me," Phil replied. "Come on, Tommy, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Phil went ahead of Tommy, and then the strangest thing happened.

 

Phil shifted.

 

It was weird. One minute, he was the big dragon and the next, he was some blonde guy with a green and white striped bucket hat and an obscene amount of gold rings on his hands. Still had the horns and tail, though.

 

"What, didn't know dragons could do that?" Phil said, elbowing Tommy. Tommy shook his head. Phil laughed.

 

"There's probably a lot you don't know, mate. Let's go."

 

Phil lea Tommy upstairs, past three doors on the left side of the hallway. Phil opened the door at the end of the hallway. Inside, there was a decent sized bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a large open area with a carpet underneath.

 

"Wow."

 

"Yeah. This is our guest room. It's generally more tailored towards the needs of a dragon, but you should be able to get a good rest here." Phil explained.

 

"Yeah." Tommy agreed, stepping over to the bed. He flopped over on it. "Can't remember the last time I slept on one of these things."

 

"Oh? Where do you usually sleep?" Phil asked, approaching the foot of the bed. Tommy shrugged.

 

"Coal pile at the castle," He responded. An incredulous look crossed Phil's face, but when Tommy blinked, it was gone.

 

"Why did you sleep on a coal pile? Why don't your parents give you an actual bed?"

 

"Don't have parents. But Schlatt figured I could suck it up and it saved him money."

 

"No wonder you're so dirty," Phil muttered, rubbing a spot of coal dust on Tommy's face. The gesture was calming.

 

"Yeah. It's the kind of thing you get used to eventually," Tommy explained. Phil shook his head.

 

"You shouldn't have to. By the way, who's Schlatt?"

 

"Schlatt?" Tommy scoffed. "Fucking bastard. Lord of Manburg, and the first guy to die. That pink dragon killed him. Schlatt was an asshole, and the only reason he didn't, like, enslave us is Quackity."

 

"I've heard of Quackity. Well, I'm sure you've had a long day. Feel free to rest for as long as you like. I'll call you when dinner's ready," Phil stated. He gave Tommy's hand a gentle squeeze and exited, shutting the door behind him.

 

Phil was right, it had been a long, wild day and Tommy was tired. It was maybe two, so Tommy had plenty of time to nap.

 

––~~°~~––

 

"Hey, Tommy?" A voice called. Tommy's eyes snapped open. Shit. He overslept, didn't he? What if Schlatt found out?!

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Dinner!" Phil responded. Tommy exhaled.

 

"Coming!" Right. Schlatt was dead. And one of his killers was feeding Tommy.

 

Tommy came downstairs to see Techno and some brunet with curly hair and a lot of gold jewelry sitting at the table. He had the same curved, blue horns as the blue dragon from earlier so Tommy assumed that he was Wil.

 

"Go wash your hands." Wil ordered, signaling to a sink of sorts. Tommy nodded and washed up. The brunet gave a satisfied hum and Tommy looked at the food. There were mashed potatoes, green beans, and some unusual meat. Steak, if Tommy had to guess, although he honestly didn't know.

 

"So, Tommy, you're from Manburg, right?" Wil asked. He cut himself a piece of meat and Tommy followed suit.

 

"Yep."

 

"And you know Quackity?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Cool, he's a friend of mine," Wil stated. Tommy nodded.

 

"He mentioned having a friend over here. Have you met his fiances?" Tommy checked. He dug into the meat. It was chewy and flavorful and wonderful. If this was steak, it was no wonder he'd never had it before- if Tommy were Schlatt, he'd want to keep something this good all to himself, too.

 

"Sapnap and Karl? Once, when I was in town. Those three dumbasses are perfect for each other."

 

"You know, before today, I was pretty sure Quackity was just Wilbur's imaginary friend," Techno inputted. Tommy coughed.

 

"Wait, really?"

 

"Yeah. A human who Wilbur saw on occasion that we'd never heard of? Sounded pretty fake to me."

 

"Shut up. You know Quackity is real." Wilbur jabbed, pushing Techno.

 

"Boys. No roughhousing at the table. Besides, Techno, I've heard Sam talk about Quackity. That's on you," Phil stated. He gave Tommy a gentle smile. "How do you like dinner, Tommy?"

 

"It's really good. It's, like, better than Dream's tavern and that's the best place I really eat at," Tommy answered. Phil laughed.

 

"Glad you like it."

 

The rest of dinner continued on with banter between the brothers and Phil. Tommy ate a lot more than he usually did, but when he got up, he still got a look from Phil.

 

"Is that all you're gonna eat, mate?" Phil asked. Tommy had quietly nodded and gone upstairs. He was tired.

Notes:

Was the mystery meat steak? Was it Schlatt?? Who knows!! Your choice, I'm just throwing a bone to dark sbi enjoyers in my inoffensive adoption fic where no kidnapping is necessary and it's technically not murder.

Chapter 2: Improvisation

Summary:

"Tommy," Wilbur started, "are you getting horns?"

 

"I- what?"

 

"These look like horns."

 

"I- I didn't have fucking horns yesterday!" Tommy exclaimed, reaching towards his fucking horn .

 

"Well, there's two. They're pretty small right now, and they're also gold." Wilbur explained. "We should probably talk to Dad."

 

"Oh my- I have fucking horns . What the hell??!" Tommy whispered.

Tommy Tommy was currently lying in bed, unable to sleep. His stomach hurt. Like, a lot. He felt like he was going to puke.

 

Wait.

 

Shit.

 

Tommy jumped out of bed, tiptoeing down the hallway. He tried to be quiet when he went down the stairs, but hit a creaky step. Still, Tommy made it outside and proceeded to vomit into the bushes. 

 

He stood there for a minute, heaving, before vomiting again. Tommy felt light headed. He put a hand against the wall to steady himself as he heaved for a third time. More vomit, although not as much this time, slid out of his mouth. Tommy felt a hand on his back and he practically jumped.

 

"Hey, Tommy, breathe-" Phil said. Tommy turned around to face him. He was pretty sure there was puke on his face.

 

"Are you sick?" Phil asked.

 

"Don't think so," Tommy replied. His mouth tasted gross.

 

"You seemed fine earlier… do you know what made you throw up?"

 

"Mm. Think I ate something I shouldn't have," Tommy muttered. Phil sighed.

 

"Alright. Let's get you cleaned up."

 

Phil led Tommy down a hall on the first floor that he hadn't acknowledged earlier, to some sort of weird bathroom. There was a big pool of water with water spilling over the sides. It looked cool, even if Tommy didn't know where the water was coming from. There was a shelf over the pool with several little jars filled with oddly colored liquids, and on the other end of the room, there was an outhouse, a sink, and five fluffy towels. 

 

"This is the soap and shampoo." Phil explained, signaling to a honey-colored jar and a pale blue jar. "When you're done, take a towel. He nodded at Tommy and left the room.

 

Tommy stripped naked and began to wash himself. Tommy scrubbed at his forearms. Huh. He didn't realize how dirty he was until he saw the grime floating over the edge of the pool. The honey colored jar was far from empty, so Tommy kept scrubbing. It smelled nice. 

 

Tommy's hair was always a greasy mess because he wasn't rich enough to afford to bathe regularly. So he was admittedly nervous when he poured a large dollop of the blue liquid into his hand. Tommy scrubbed at his scalp, detangling his hair. The knots weren't that bad, Tommy tried to care of his hair, after all. Eventually, he got out of the water and wrapped himself in a towel.

 

"Phil?" Tommy called.

 

"Yeah?" Phil replied.

 

"I'm, uh, done."

 

"Alright. You have a spare set of clothes, right?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Good. Go change into those and I can take care of the messy ones," Phil decided. Tommy slowly opened the door.

 

"Thanks."

 

"You look much better without all that coal dust," Phil commented. Tommy nodded. He scampered upstairs and carefully changed outfits. Tommy went to sleep that night spinning his ring around on his finger.

 

––~~°~~––

 

Tommy woke up the next morning to pots and pans banging. He had a killer headache. Fuck, last night must've really done a number on him. Tommy stumbled downstairs.

 

"Wilbur, no!!!" Techno shrieked, chasing Wilbur. He was holding a pan, and its contents were on fire. Tommy stared at the chaos.

 

"You can't fucking stop me, Technoblade!!" Wilbur hollered in response.

 

"I will or I'll die trying!!" Techno spat, grabbing for the pan.

 

"Boys, what the ever-loving fuck is going on?!" Phil cried. He came down.

 

"He started it!!" Wilbur hissed.

 

"Don't you dare try and pin this on me!! Dad. You know I would never," Techno insisted. Phil took a deep breath.

 

"Wilbur. How many times do I have to tell you that you are banned from cooking for a reason."

 

"I was just trying to make breakfast." Wilbur retorted.

 

"Yes, and you set a pan on fire," Phil stated. "I'll make breakfast." 

 

Phil made eggs and pancakes. Tommy hardly waited for them to cool before shoveling a whole pancake down his throat. He was hungry. Phil laughed.

 

"Slow down, mate. The food's not going away."

 

"Yeah, save some for the rest of us," Wilbur whined. Techno glanced at him.

 

"No. Eat all of the pancakes now, just so Wilbur doesn't get any," He deadpanned. Tommy giggled.

 

"Techno, Wilbur can have pancakes if he wants to," Phil chided.

 

"Not if I eat them all first," Tommy interjected. Techno gave Tommy a small smile.

 

"I like this kid. Can we keep him?" Techno asked. Wilbur burst out laughing.

 

Tommy did end up eating another pancake, but Wilbur finished the rest off while somehow maintaining eye contact with Techno the entire time. After breakfast, Tommy pushed his chair in.

 

"Well, I should probably get going now. Thanks for having me." He stated, glancing around. 

 

"Mate, after last night, I'm not sure that's a good idea right now. Plus, I said I'd clean your clothes for you and I haven't gotten around to that yet. I'm a man of my word," Phil insisted.

 

"Another day couldn't hurt too much," Tommy agreed. Wilbur smiled.

 

"I'm stealing the child," He announced. 

 

"Don't do anything stupid, and if Tommy starts to feel unwell, bring him home," Phil told Wilbur. Wilbur jokingly rolled his eyes.

 

"Got it, dadza. Now come on, Tommy."

 

Wilbur led Tommy to the town square, where he entered a shop. Tommy considered telling Wilbur about his headache, but it was probably nothing. He followed the elder into the warm shop.

 

"Niki!" Wilbur called. A woman with split dyed hair and pink horns with jewels dangling from them came over to the counter. Tommy stared at the odd bit of jewelry for a moment, before she spoke.

 

"Hello, Wilbur! Who's your friend?" Niki asked.

 

"This is Tommy. He's some poor kid those invaders dragged along for their stupid scheme." 

 

"Ah. Well, would you like to order anything?" 

 

"Yeah, actually. Let's get two chocolate cookies, a croissant, a berry tart, and oh, how about one of those lemon squares? Scratch that, two lemon squares," Wilbur decided. Niki laughed.

 

"You and your lemon squares, Wilbur. Your order will be six gold. Anyways, so you want to introduce Tommy to Ranboo?"

 

"Sure. Ranboo needs friends in his actual age range, after all," Wilbur responded.

 

"RANBOO!!!" Niki shouted. "Get down here, I have someone I want you to meet."

 

A tall, lanky kid practically covered in silver scrambled over to Niki.

 

"Hello!!" He said, offering his hand. "I'm Ranboo."

 

Tommy took Ranboo's hand and shook it.

 

"Tommy."

 

"You two can go chat outside. Niki and I want to gossip about some stuff that would just bore you two ." Wilbur stated. Ranboo nodded and pulled Tommy outside.

 

"So, what brings you to our village?" Ranboo asked.

 

"I was dragged along by the dragon hunters," Tommy stared bluntly. Ranboo nodded.

 

"Hunters suck. I helped fight 'em."

 

"Which dragon were you?" Tommy questioned. Ranboo smiled.

 

"The black and white one. Give me a sec." Ranboo shifted into his larger dragon form. It was fairly majestic, with delicate spines across his back and three sets of horns. 

 

"Wow. That's so cool!" Tommy exclaimed. Ranboo let out a rumbly laugh.

 

"Yeah, I guess it is. Hey, Tommy, that gives me an idea. Have you ever gone flying before?"

 

"I'm a human, Ranboo," Tommy deadpanned. "Of course I haven't."

 

"Get on my back," Ranboo ordered. Tommy pulled himself up- it wasn't unlike getting on a horse. "Now hold on tight!!"

 

Ranboo took off as Tommy clung tightly to the dragon. Ranboo soared upwards, towards the mountains. He drifted over towards the snowy peak of one mountain, letting Tommy's fingers catch a snowdrift. He then went the other way, towards a large, thick forest. Ranboo stuck closer to the ground over there, quickly weaving in between the trees. After that, Ranboo went high, high, higher, yet higher still. They went far above the snowdrift and Tommy could feel the air start to thin out. And Ranboo dropped. Tommy shrieked as the dragon fell towards the earth. He felt a twinge in his back and when they were fifty or so feet above the ground, Ranboo spread his wings.

 

"What the fuck, man??!" Tommy exclaimed.

 

"That was funny. Niki freaks out when I do that, too," Ranboo replied.

 

"Asshole."

 

"Yeah, that's fair. But I'm great," Ranboo chirped. He let Tommy off on the ground. A sharp pain went through Tommy's forehead, and he winced. Ranboo shifted back into human form.

 

"So, uh, are there any other kids our age around?" Tommy asked. Ranboo shook his head.

 

"I'm thirteen. The next oldest kid is Junior, who's only five. The next youngest person is Niki, who's already an adult."

 

"That sucks."

 

"Do you have any friends our age in… uh…" Ranboo snapped his fingers. "What's it called…"

 

"Manburg? There's lots of kids our age, but most kids my age have better places to be than the castle. That's where I live and work," Tommy explained.

 

"That sucks," Ranboo replied. Wilbur exited the pastry shop.

 

"Did you two make friends?" He asked. Ranboo looked at Tommy.

 

"I mean…"

 

"If you want to…"

 

"Then sure." Ranboo finished, cracking a small smile. "We're friends."

 

After the pastry shop, Wilbur and Tommy returned home. Before they entered, Wilbur reached for Tommy's forehead. His finger grazed across a sensitive formation outside of his skin. What the fuck?

 

"Tommy," Wilbur started, "are you getting horns?"

 

"I- what?"

 

"These look like horns."

 

"I- I didn't have fucking horns yesterday!" Tommy exclaimed, reaching towards his fucking horn .

 

"Well, there's two. They're pretty small right now, and they're also gold," Wilbur explained. "We should probably talk to Dad."

 

"Oh my- I have fucking horns . What the hell??!" Tommy whispered.

 

"Tommy?"

 

" Fucking. Horns ." 

 

Wilbur pulled Tommy into a hug. His hands were cold.

 

"Take a deep breath. Everything will be alright." Wilbur took a slow, exaggerated breath, and Tommy tried to copy him. Wilbur repeated, and so did Tommy.

 

"Better?" Wilbur asked after a minute.

 

"Better," Tommy answered. He grabbed Wilbur's hand and let the elder lead him inside.

 

"Phil!!" Wilbur called. Phil stepped into the main room.

 

"What's up, mate?"

 

"There's something up with Tommy," Wilbur explained. He pulled Tommy's hair aside to reveal the budding horns. Phil stared at them for a minute.

 

"Huh."

 

"What?" Wilbur exclaimed.

 

"I sort of suspected he could be dormant, but I wasn't sure."

 

"Dormant?" Tommy asked. Phil nodded.

 

"Some dragons grow up in places where it's… unsafe to be not human. And from what I know about it, Manburg doesn't sound like a safe place to be a dragon. Either way, essentially what that does is it makes your body force down your nonhuman traits until it's safe," Phil explained. Tommy rubbed his arms.

 

"So I'm a dragon?" He whispered. Phil smiled.

 

"Yeah. You're one of us." He replied, running a hand through Tommy's hair. Tommy nodded. Wilbur said something, but Tommy wasn't listening. If he was a dragon, how would he function back in Manburg? How would he hide it? What would happen to him if people found out? He had enough enemies as the weird raccoon kid and turning into a fucking dragon wasn't going to help that by a long shot.

 

A freezing cold hand touched the back of Tommy's neck, and Tommy took note of the pain in his tailbone.

 

"Hey." Wilbur gently said. "Are you with us?" Tommy nodded.

 

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Let's head inside," Phil decided. The three dragons entered the house.

 

"Do you want to see my hoard?" Wilbur offered. Tommy snorted.

 

"You have a hoard?"

 

"I- yeah! It's a dragon thing- we hoard shit!" Wilbur defended.

 

"Alright. Let me see this 'hoard' of yours," Tommy agreed. Wilbur smiled and clasped his hands together.

 

"Right! Follow me."

 

Wilbur led Tommy upstairs, to the second room on the left. Inside, there was a large bed, two dressers, a wardrobe, two crates, and a desk. But the walls were almost completely covered in all manner of instruments (mainly guitars), jewelry, unusual trinkets, and small tapestries. 

 

" This is your hoard?!" Tommy exclaimed. Wilbur laughed.

 

"Yeah, this crazy mess is mine. This isn't all of it, though."

 

"There's more?"

 

"Yeah. Over here." Wilbur led Tommy over to the two crates. He lifted the lid and-

 

Gold. More gold than Tommy had ever seen in one place before. He reached inside and picked up a small band.

 

"You can keep that, if you want," Wilbur offered.

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah, I can always coerce Sam into making me another one if need be. Plus, I somehow doubt that you exactly have much of your own."

 

"Wilbur, I'm dirt fucking poor. I don't have any gold," Tommy retorted.

 

"Definitely keep the ring, then," Wilbur decided. Tommy slid the ring onto his finger. It was loose and would probably fall off if Tommy wasn't careful.

 

"What's in the other crate?" Tommy asked. Wilbur put the lid back on the gold crate, and removed the lid of the other crate. 

 

It had jewels. So many jewels. In every color imaginable. Tommy gaped at them. Dragon hoards were so cool. Wilbur grinned.

 

"Pretty, right? My hoard's pretty great."

 

"No fucking shit."

 

"So what's with the instruments?" Tommy questioned. Wilbur turned and lifted a guitar from the wall. He plucked a string before adjusting one of the little knob things at the top.

 

"Well, I like music. It's probably pretty obvious that guitar is my specialty. I write my own music- for once I have it all put away." Wilbur explained, carefully plucking and adjusting the strings.

 

"Can I hear some?"

 

"Sure," Wilbur strummed the guitar. He hummed along to the tune as he played and Tommy let himself get lost in the music.

 

––~~°~~––

 

Later, Techno came home. Tommy was sitting on the couch. He hadn't spent any time alone with Techno, but he didn't seem mean. Well, he did, but not like he'd be mean to Tommy.

 

"Hey, Techno, can I see your hoard?" Tommy asked before he could second guess himself. Techno blinked. "I mean, if it's not rude to ask or anything. Wilbur showed me his earlier-"

 

"Uh, sure. I don't have a problem with showing you, I just wasn't sure if you'd be interested."

 

"Hoards are cool," Tommy defended. Techno chuckled.

 

"Alright, come on, dragonet."

 

Techno's room was different from Wilbur's. Sure, Techno had a desk, but it appeared that he slept on a pile of gold rather than an actual bed. His back wall was covered in all manner of weapons- swords, shields, bows, axes, crossbows, even daggers. There were several ornate chests and a wardrobe in the back. There were two sets of armor on either side of the wardrobe, and a big, red cloak hanging on the side of it. 

 

Techno approached one of the chests, and Tommy followed. Techno filed through pieces of jewelry, before settling on a gold crown with red and blue stones embedded in it. He gently placed the crown on Tommy's head, and shut the chest. 

 

Tommy stared as Techno approached the next chest. He rifled through the jewelry in that one as well, before pulling out twelve gold bangles. Techno slid six onto each of Tommy's arms. He went to the next chest to look through that as well. Finally, Tommy snapped out of his confusion.

 

"What are you doing?" He asked.

 

"I- you wouldn't- it's a dragon thing," Techno muttered.

 

"Cool!" Tommy replied.

 

"I mean, I'm more fixated on jewelry than a lot of other dragons, but we all handle our hoarding instinct in our own way." Techno explained, selecting a necklace and two odd clasps. He returned to Tommy and fastened the necklace around his neck and stuck the clasps on his ears. They felt funny.

 

Techno quickly went through a fourth chest before drawing two pairs of rings with ornate chains connecting them. Techno slid them onto Tommy's horns. The bigger rings didn't quite fit at the base of Tommy's horns, but Tommy imagined that they still looked cool. Techno nodded, satisfied.

 

––~~°~~––

 

The bangles on Tommy's arms clinked as he walked downstairs. Phil had started on dinner, and smiled when he saw Tommy.

 

"I'll take it Techno showed you his hoard, mate?"

 

"Yeah. Techno's hoard is cool," Tommy replied. Phil's grin grew wider.

 

"Yeah-"

 

"Tommy!!" Wilbur burst through the door. "Quackity's here and he wants proof that you aren't dead, come on."

 

"Okay," Tommy replied. He followed Wilbur out of the house, through the village, to the hill where the travelling party had eaten. 

 

Quackity was glancing around impatiently. His shoulders sagged when he saw Tommy.

 

"Raccoon!! Thank fucking Prime. They didn't kill you. Are you good?" He asked.

 

"Yeah, I'm alright, big Q."

 

"Good. Good. What's with all the jewelry, though?"

 

"Wilbur's brother is really into it," Tommy explained. "How's everything back in Manburg? Did the others make it back safely?"

 

"Yeah. Beau told me what happened. You made a good call."

 

"Thanks. You're awfully calm about this whole mess," Tommy stated. Quackity shrugged. 

 

"Yeah, I kinda wondered if you were a dragon, I've got to admit. It checks out that Wilbur's family adopted you, though," He replied. Tommy blinked. 

 

"Wait-"

 

"I'll make sure to tell, like, Sapnap and Beau that you're okay. I'm gonna head over to Sam's. I'll catch you in the morning before I leave." Quackity said, walking off. Tommy looked up at Wilbur.

 

"What do you mean by adopted me?" Tommy asked. Wilbur scratched the back of his neck.

 

"Phil has… a habit of picking up kids like you. Where do you think Techno and I came from?"

 

"Phil's wife??"

 

"Phil doesn't have a wife, dumbass!!"

 

"I figured she was like dead or something. I don't know," Tommy pouted. Wilbur squeezed Tommy's shoulder.

 

"Nope. Techno's from a city called Pit, got in some trouble, ran away, and ended up around here. I'm from a city called Pogtopia, and they drove me out for being a dragon," Wilbur explained. Tommy paused.

 

"Oh my prime, that's what Techno was referring to."

 

"What?"

 

"Nothing. Let's go back to town." Tommy decided. Wilbur nodded. They made the trek back down, entering the square.

 

"I swear to prime, if Sam doesn't finish that bracelet by tomorrow, I'm going to go up there and confront him! I don't know what his problem with me is," Ranboo complained. 

 

"Sam's a busy man, Ranboo," Niki defended.

 

"It's been three weeks. I heard that Foolish put in a more complicated order a week or so ago and got it back the next day."

 

"Hey, guys!" Wilbur called. Niki turned around.

 

"Hello, Wilbur!"

 

"Are you two gossiping about Sam?" Wilbur asked. Niki laughed, and Ranboo turned red.

 

"If Sam doesn't like you, he's just being an asshole," Tommy stated. Ranboo nodded. His eyes drifted to Tommy's horns.

 

"I thought you were a human?"

 

"I thought I was too," Tommy replied..

 

"Oh."

 

"Yeah. So, uh, who's Sam?" Tommy tried. Ranboo rolled his eyes.

 

"Sam is a blacksmith and jewelry maker. He uses some kind of magic to finish his projects in a day or two. I'm pretty sure he hates me." Ranboo explained, tail lashing back and forth.

 

"Damn. That sucks. Do you know why?"

 

"Honestly? No clue. I think I'm pretty normal. Maybe Sam just hates teenagers." 

 

"Good thing I'm not a teenager for another several months," Tommy joked. Ranboo playfully shoved Tommy. Tommy shoved him back.

 

"You're a pain," Ranboo shot.

 

"You're a dick," Tommy retorted.

 

"You'll be a teenager soon enough, and then you'll suffer alongside me!" Ranboo declared.

 

"Tommy, let's go home. Dad's probably almost done with dinner," Wilbur decided.

 

"Catch you later, Ranboo!" Tommy called. Ranboo nodded with a nervous smile.

 

At home, Techno and Phil were waiting. They'd already eaten, but were still chatting at the table. Tommy served himself and ate quickly. He then went upstairs. It had been another long, crazy day. 

 

Upstairs, Tommy felt a sharp pain from his tailbone. Ah. That was probably his tail. He flopped over on the bed, and his horns mashed uncomfortably against his pillow. Tommy sighed. He tugged the horn jewelry off, stripped the bangles, unclasped the necklace, removed the crown, and tugged off the earrings from Techno. 

 

Tommy set them on the desk, near the gold ring from Wilbur and his bronze ring. Tommy went back to his bed and rolled over on his back, and his tail immediately protested. He groaned.

 

Tommy fell asleep on his side, in the end. He dreamed of being chased through the streets of Manburg by cruel shopkeepers and nasty teenagers.

Notes:

I may or may not have this entire thing pre-written and am just spacing the chapters out to torment you.

But in other words, we live for crimebois and alliumduo content. Tubbo will not be in this (L) because if there is a sequel (there probably won't be because writing 8.8k words in two days is hell and I'll never finish it otherwise) he will be the focus. Buuuuuut I feel like dishing out some Tubbo lore anyways- he's Schlatt's son. Schlatt did not treat Tubbo well, and Tubbo gets exiled after his father's death, maybe a week after this chapter? Either way, I hope you rest well knowing that while Tommy is off getting adopted Tubbo is suffering.

Chapter 3: Success

Summary:

"So, Tommy, you got your tail?" Wilbur commented.

 

"Yeah, I guess."

 

"It looks nice. Want me to help introduce you to, like, flying and shit later?" Wilbur offered, shoving an entire egg down his throat.

 

"That sounds awesome!!" Tommy exclaimed. Techno shook his head.

 

"If you think you're doing that without me, you're dead wrong."

 

"Ah, of course. We wouldn't want to leave you out, Techno." Wilbur agreed. Tommy jumped out of his chair.

 

"As soon as you slowpokes are done we can get going!!" He declared.

Tommy was groggy when he woke up the next morning. He slid out of bed, nearly stepping on his tail in the process, and stumbled downstairs. Phil was making breakfast. Tommy yawned as he sat down at the table, rubbing his eyes.

 

"Sleep well?" Phil asked. Tommy nodded. "Good, good. What's your opinion on bacon?"

 

"What's bacon?"

 

"A type of pig meat. You'll have to try it."

 

"Is breakfast ready?" Wilbur called, stepping downstairs. Unlike Tommy, he was actually dressed.

 

"Almost. Just another minute or so."

 

"The question is, will Technoblade be down by then?" Wilbur pondered.

 

"Yes," Techno responded. He sat down next to Tommy. Techno's eyes bore into Tommy for a minute.

 

"We're going to need to buy you clothes, aren't we?"

 

"I- well-" Tommy sputtered.

 

"Don't answer that. It's no big deal, Phil's just going to have to head into Badlands to pick some up tomorrow. It's a day trip, no big deal or anything. Phil's gonna pick some shit up and be back before you know it," Techno explained. 

 

Phil set some plates on the table. There were fried eggs, apple slices, and thin strips of meat. Tommy carefully bit into the bacon. It was disgusting.

 

"So, Tommy, you got your tail?" Wilbur commented.

 

"Yeah, I guess."

 

"It looks nice. Want me to help introduce you to, like, flying and shit later?" Wilbur offered, shoving an entire egg down his throat.

 

"That sounds awesome!!" Tommy exclaimed. Techno shook his head.

 

"If you think you're doing that without me, you're dead wrong."

 

"Ah, of course. We wouldn't want to leave you out, Techno," Wilbur agreed. Tommy jumped out of his chair.

 

"As soon as you slowpokes are done we can get going!!" He declared. Techno eyed him up and down.

 

"Looking like that?"

 

"Techno's right, Tommy. You can do better."

 

"Boys." Phil warns.

 

"What do you expect from me? I only have two sets of clothes at the moment, and one's really gross at the moment." Tommy shot back. 

 

Techno stood up and dragged Tommy upstairs, with Wilbur on their heels. When they went into Wilbur's room, Tommy sat down on the bed. Wilbur handed him a hairbrush. 

 

"Brush your fucking hair," He ordered. Tommy did as he was told. The sooner this was over, the better.

 

Techno went back into his room and Wilbur began rifling through his wardrobe. He pulled out a white button-up with red embroidery on it, and tossed it to Tommy. Tommy pulled it on. It was too big.

 

"Here." Wilbur said, walking over. "Let me help you with that." Wilbur rolled the sleeves up so they weren't hanging over his hands and adjusted the collar, but left it unbuttoned. 

 

Techno quickly re-entered with about eight different rings of different sizes, a circlet, and a pendant necklace. They were all gold with green stones. Techno put three rings on each of Tommy's horns and one on each hand. Wilbur placed the circlet in Tommy's hair. And Tommy took care of the necklace himself. Techno and Wilbur shared a look.

 

"Good enough," Wilbur decided. "Let's go."

 

––~~°~~––

 

The brothers went to an open field not far from the village. Techno shifted into his dragon form, while Wilbur stayed in his humanoid one.

 

"Okay, so first, you don't know how to shift, do you?" Wilbur checked. Tommy shook his head. "Shit. Okay, I don't really know how to explain it- it's kind of like, uh, moving? But you get wings and shit."

 

"That was a god awful explanation," Techno stated.

 

"Like you have a better one," Wilbur retorted. Tommy thought about the feeling from when Ranboo had opted to free fall the previous day. He focused on that sensation, and-

 

"Holy prime that actually worked," Techno muttered.

 

"Wilbur didn't do shit. I figured it out on my own!" Tommy insisted. Wilbur laughed.

 

"Probably. Anyways, flying. It's pretty instinctual, and kind of like riding a horse. Except instead of an animal, you usually end up riding air currents," He explained. Tommy nodded. Wilbur shifted.

 

"You have to take off first. Generally you want to leap into the air and beat your wings like crazy 'til you're twelve or so feet off the ground," Techno elaborated. "Like so."

 

Techno sprang into the air, quickly flapping his wings until he was comfortably high up. Tommy copied his movements… and fell.

 

"See, copying Techno isn't going to work. You have to apply common sense based on your location and the wind," Wilbur corrected.

 

"Okay," Tommy replied. He sprang up, beating his wings quickly. He flew up and over to Techno.

 

"Not bad. Next thing to cover- landing. Just wait till you're three or four feet up and drop," Techno explained. He flew back down, and Tommy awkwardly followed suit. He landed on all four feet, so Tommy counted that as a win.

 

"Alright, Tommy. Good job. Now," Wilbur said, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "let's see if you can keep up."

 

In an instant, Techno and Wilbur were soaring through the air. Tommy moved as quickly as he could to keep up with them. They soared upwards and turned towards the mountains and keeping up with them was fucking tricky.

 

Techno and Wilbur looped around a peak of a mountain and dropped downwards. Tommy barely caught himself, but had to keep moving. They then took to weaving in between trees. Tommy thought he was doing pretty well, but then there was a thunk sound and Tommy was on the ground.

 

"Tommy??! Tommy?!!" Wilbur shouted. Tommy rolled over, groaning.

 

"Are you alright, dragonet?" Techno asked.

 

"Yeah," Tommy rasped. He slowly got to his feet. Wilbur shifted back into human form and ran a hand down Tommy's face.

 

"Nothing's broken, right? How many fingers am I holding up?"

 

"Four, Wilbur. I think I'd know if I broke a bone," Tommy retorted. Techno rolled his eyes.

 

"Do you feel up to flying home?" Techno offered. Tommy grinned.

 

"Fuck yeah."

 

––~~°~~––

 

Back at home, Tommy, Wilbur and Techno grabbed some sandwiches before heading into the square.

 

"Let's go pester Sam" Wilbur decided. Techno nodded.

 

"Good idea, Tommy could use some actual stuff for his hoard." 

 

"I have plenty of stuff already, guys-"

 

"Tommy, you have the shit Techno covered you in yesterday and the ring I gave you. That ring didn't even have any jewels in it," Wilbur retorted. "You need an actual hoard.

 

"I also have a bronze ring…" Tommy muttered. Wilbur took a deep breath. He grabbed Tommy's arm, and pulled him towards a large, stone building. Wilbur lifted the knocker, and before he could bring it down, a woman in floral jewelry emerged.

 

"Hey Wilbur, Sam's in the back. Is that the kid I heard about?" She asked.

 

"Thanks, Hannah. Yeah," Wilbur replied. Hannah nodded.

 

"Knew you'd be coming around sooner or later. Sam was wondering when you'd show up."

 

Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy went into the back. It was a forge with a large fire pit in the middle of the room and various metals and gems scattered everywhere. A muscular man with a green tail was hammering away at something. 

 

"Just a minute, I have to finish this project for Ranboo," The man stated. Wilbur sighed. The man hit the metal in a few more spots and then dropped it into a bucket of water. He then turned to face Wilbur, Techno, and Tommy.

 

"So, Sam, meet Tommy, a dragon from Manburg who my father adopted," Wilbur announced.

 

"From Manburg? Do you know Quackity?" Sam asked.

 

"Yeah. Big Q's great," Tommy confirmed.

 

"Nice. What are you looking for, Tommy?"

 

"Tommy doesn't really have a hoard yet. Obviously, he has a few items, but we need to get him an actual collection of jewelry," Wilbur explained. Sam nodded. 

 

"I hear what you're saying. Is there anything specific you're interested in, Tommy?" He checked. Tommy paused and thought for a second.

 

"Um… I like gold. And Techno had these really cool weapons in his room- I get that I probably wouldn't be able to carry a sword or anything but he had some daggers that looked super cool-"

 

"Do not give him an actual weapon, but a decorative knife should be fine," Techno clarified. Sam chuckled.

 

"Like a letter opener?"

 

"Or a steak knife," Wilbur joked. Sam smiled.

 

"That works. A few decorative knives should be a fun project. Do you have any hobbies?"

 

"Uh, not really," Tommy mumbled. Sam sighed.

 

"Got that. Alright, which of you is paying? Or am I going to have to bill Phil again?"

 

"I'll have you know that I still have plenty of money from my last performance and Techno has even more than I do from his last tournament."

 

"Tournament?" Tommy asked.

 

"What, did you think those weapons were for show? Sometimes I participate in fighting tournaments in Badlands," Techno explained. "Good way to get a little extra money."

 

"Yes. Which of you am I billing?"

 

"Techno." Wilbur quickly spat.

 

"I'll get you the money in a few hours," Techno promised.

 

"Good. In that case, I'll probably start as soon as you bring the gold over," Sam decided. 

 

Out in the square, Tommy saw Ranboo.

 

"Hey, Ranboo!" Tommy called, waving. Ranboo turned around.

 

"Oh, hey, Tommy! How's your day going?"

 

"Pretty good, big man. How's yours?" Tommy replied, walking over. Ranboo shrugged.

 

"Same old same old. Niki told me that next year, if you come with me, we might be allowed to head down to Badlands without an adult."

 

"Well, I was at Sam's and I think your order is finally getting finished."

 

"Finally!!" Ranboo exclaimed. He shook his head. "You know, maybe I should learn to forge jewelry. Then I wouldn't have to be so dependent on Sam who obviously hates me."

 

"Sam doesn't hate you, Ranboo, you just ask for shit in silver which Sam doesn't generally keep in stock. I'm sure if you provided your own, Sam would both charge you less and get your orders out faster," Wilbur countered. Ranboo paused.

 

"Maybe. I'll think about that."

 

"Tommy knows Ranboo? Great. Probably gonna be good for both of them," Techno commented. Wilbur nodded.

 

"Speaking of Tommy, can I steal him for a bit? I wanna go looking for cool flowers in the woods," Ranboo suggested.

 

"Yes, go fuck around with your friend," Wilbur agreed. Tommy shrugged.

 

"Okay. Last one out of the village is a rotten egg!" He exclaimed, shifting and taking off into the air.

 

"No fair! You had a head start!" Ranboo argued, racing after him. 

 

––~~°~~––

 

The forest was big. Tommy ended up shifting back because someone needed to be able to hold anything they found.

 

"That tall tree's an oak. Oh, and you see that little mushroom? If you eat it, it makes you hallucinate," Ranboo babbled. It turned out that Tommy's friend was a huge plant nerd.

 

"What about that?" Tommy asked, pointing to a purple flower.

 

"That's an allium. They're pretty neat, in my opinion," Ranboo explained. Tommy reached over and picked the flower.

 

"Well, now you have one," Tommy replied. "Are they unusual in this area?"

 

"Not really. They bloom a few times a year and I have a number of them. But," Ranboo shifted to human, pulled the flower from Tommy's hand, and stuck it behind his ear, "you don't. I'll probably press and dry this one, but you're getting one of mine when we get home. 

 

"Thanks," Tommy smiled.

 

"No problem. Now, what kind of tree do you think the one with the spiny leaves is?"

 

"...pine?" Tommy guessed. Ranboo shook his head.

 

"Close. It's spruce. Pine trees have longer needles." 

 

"Well, uh, what's that over there?" Tommy asked, signaling to a thorny bush with red berries growing on it. Ranboo's face lit up.

 

"Sweetberries!! Get over here, Tommy, these things are delicious," He exclaimed, popping a berry into his mouth. Tommy stepped over and plucked one. He eyed it for a moment, before biting into it. It was amazing.

 

"Damn. They're called sweetberries for a reason."

 

"They're good, right?"

 

"Fuck yeah!! Let's eat 'em all!!" Tommy decided. Ranboo laughed.

 

––~~°~~––

 

The two boys returned home with red stained faces and the biggest of smiles on their faces.

 

"How was the forest?" Techno asked, not looking up from his book. Wilbur stared at Tommy's face for a moment, blinking.

 

"What did you get into?"

 

"Ranboo and I found a sweetberry bush!" Tommy explained. Wilbur exhaled.

 

"Good, good. You're not, like, torturing animals or anything."

 

"Torturing animals?!" Tommy squawked. 

 

"I- I don't know!! I just saw red and thought blood!" Wilbur defended. 

 

"How could you think so lowly of me, Wilbur?!" Tommy whined dramatically.

 

"Oh my primes I'm sorry, fucking hell."

 

"What is this betrayal?"

 

"Go clean your face, I don't think you want Dad to see you with your face covered in berry juice," Techno told Tommy. Tommy nodded.

 

"On it, Techno. Thanks!!"

 

––~~°~~––

 

Dinner came quickly enough.

 

"So, Tommy, how was your day?" Phil asked.

 

"Pretty good. Flying turned out to be easy-"

 

"You literally crashed-" Wilbur interjected.

 

"Shut up, Wilbur. Then Techno and Wilbur took me to Sam's, and after that I went to hang out with Ranboo in the woods. Oh, and he gave me a pressed allium!!" Tommy rambled. Phil smiled.

 

"That's great to hear, mate! Tech, Wil, what did you two do?"

 

"Well obviously we taught Tommy to fly and took him to Sam's," Wilbur stated.

 

"Which I paid for, thank you," Techno added.

 

"I spent some time composing and Techno went to go work out-"

 

"I went to train, Wilbur. There's a difference," Techno insisted. 

 

"There literally isn't."

 

"Yes there is. Working out makes me sound vain!!"

 

"I mean, you are pretty vain," Tommy chirped. Techno stared at him.

 

"What?"

 

"You two dragged me upstairs for a good ten minutes because you didn't like what I was wearing," Tommy elaborated, smiling. Wilbur chuckled.

 

"Tommy, we didn't want you walking around looking like a street rat," He stated. Techno shook his head.

 

" You didn't want him walking around looking like a street rat. I wanted an excuse to put gold on him," Techno argued. "Speaking of which, Tommy, how do you feel about piercings?"

 

"Uh, I don't know. Give me some time to think it over," Tommy replied.

 

"Reasonable. Either way, I am not the vain one," Techno finished. Wilbur scoffed.

 

"Your hair care routine says otherwise. You put, like, five different things in it every morning!"

 

"Like you're any better. And besides, my hair is part of my brand in tournaments. I have to take care of it!!" Techno insisted. Tommy laughed. 

 

"Well, boys, as soon as you're done eating and we clean up the kitchen, we can fly out to watch the sunset," Phil suggested. Techno and Wilbur went silent and began shoveling food down their throats. Tommy also made sure to eat quickly. He wasn't sure what the big deal was, but he definitely wanted to find out.

 

The kitchen was cleaned fairly quickly, with Techno and Wilbur washing dishes, Tommy drying them, and Phil putting them away. It was still pretty light outside when the four finished. They each shifted into dragons and took off towards the mountains. 

 

Phil led the group over a snowy peak and down to a cliff that was dry and had a killer view. The sun was just starting to set and a beautiful array of colors was spilling across the sky. Tommy sat there, gaping.

 

"Pretty incredible, right?" Phil said. He draped a wing over Tommy's back.

 

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. Wilbur shuffled over.

 

"I'm glad you're here to see it."

 

"Me too," Tommy replied.

 

"What, you aren't going to abandon me, are you? I can't believe you would stab me in the back like this," Techno deadpanned, stepping into the cuddle pile.

 

The sunset was beautiful, Tommy thought, but it was even better enjoying it with his family.

Notes:

The flying scene was one of the scenes that took me the longest so I will not be accepting critiques or criticisms of it.

But also I'm not cutting back the neopolitan trio, I love those three together. Especially in dragon form.

What does Tommy look like in dragon form, you may ask? He has gold scales and the rest is up to your imagination. I'm just the author, I don't have to make shit cannon in my AUs.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Each Tommyinnit hybrid is like an eeveelution