The Crow Of Death (DSMP AU)

Chapter 4

Techno felt bad for making Phil move even when he is hurting, but he didn't lie when saying that his feathers felt way too cold. It was a slow progress, but when the giant bird did manage to get on his feet, he found his new balance rather quickly. After he made sure that his friend would't collapse again, he started to lead the way back to their isolated home. The crows followed, keeping their eyes on their murder leader to make sure he is alright.

The hybrid finds it adorable that the birds love their human friend so much. Yes, they can be annoying, especially to someone who can't understand them, but they are loyal and protective of both Phil and Techno as if they were one of them. Granted, Phil is already considered a bird with his wings, but Techno isn't, so he does feel honored about just how much the crows care about him. Even more when knowing that the birds stayed around them out of their own free will.

One of the crows came down from it's position in the sky to perch itself on Techno's shoulder, cawing softly at him. The Piglin gently placed his hand on its back and let his thumb glide over the smooth feathers. Most of the crows look the same, black feathers and dark eyes, but a few still managed to stand out as special members of the murder.

There was a large one that almost never left Phil's side, constantly chatting with him, both normally and to annoy him when they felt like it. Even with all of his crows responding to 'Chat', he gave a few direct names. This one was called Ian. Another one was a crow who had silver tipped feathers that looked almost like metal. It also stuck around Phil a lot and functioned as a communicater for the crows that were too shy to talk to Phil themselves. That one was called Brian.

The one on his shoulder looked like a special one too, but he couldn't remember if he ever heard a special name for it. It's feathers had purple tips and it's eyes also seemed to have a purple shimmer to it. It reminded Techno of an Enderman... but in bird form.

A soft chirp from behind him caught his attention as he looked back at Phil, who was trying his best to keep up with Techno. The hybrid slowed his pace, allowing Phil to walk beside him again. "Sorry... i got distracted." The giant Crow cooed and nudged his head against Techno's shoulder as if saying 'It's okay.' "Is it hurting a lot? We can take a break if you need it." Phil shook his head no.

Soon they reached the edge of the forest, finally seeing the inviting lights of their home. Carl trotted towards them from where he had waited for Techno to come back. "Hey... Sorry that I left you out here..." The horse just nudged him and then turned around to walk towards his stable, obviously tired and cold. The two friends followed and Phil patiently waited outside for his friend while he took care of Carl, brushing him and putting new hay in his feeder.

When he stepped out of the stable, the large crow hasn't even moved an inch from where he left him, watching him closely. "Let's get you inside. I'll go grab some blankets and pillows so you can make yourself a nest or something... probably more comfortable than the bed right now." Phil nodded and carefully clmbed up the stairs to the front door.

He barely fit through the front door and tried his best not to knock anything over with his tail feathers, but two poor vases took the hit anyways. "Okay. you're not staying downstairs. You will break everything." Phil lowered his head and tried to make himself as small as possible, not wanting to break anything else. "No no no I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's alright. Things like that happen." He went to gently stroke over the bird's head again, who immediately leaned into his touch.

"Give me a minute to fix some things upstairs before you go up. You don't mind me taking out the bed and desk from your room, right? To make enough space for you?" Phil shook his head and carefully settled down on the floor, not moving more than he had to. Techno took this as a sign that he could leave, so he went upstairs to Phil's room.

You'd think removing the bed and desk would be easy, but not when it came to Phil's stuff. The winged man needed a special bed to fit his massive wings comfortably. Otherwise they would fall over the sides and lay on the floor. It would make his wings just as sore as when you sleep in a wrong position and get a sore neck. It took a while, but he did manage to take it apart and store it in a chest. Now the desk...

Phil's desk was covered in books and papers, old letters and journals he has written during his long life. Techno knew how much these journals meant to him, since most of them contained information and memories he no longer had himself, centuries of newer memories causing older ones to fade away. So, naturally, he placed each book with as much care as if they were made out of glass into a barrel, trying to keep them sorted the same way they were on the desk. After that came the letters, then the books and lose papers.

He had to use three barrels to fit everything and those were only the things on the desk. Luckily he would't have to move the bookshelfs that covered one wall of the room. That would take ages. Once the barrels were carefully stored away in the closet, he went to work on taking out the door. They rarely ever closed their doors anyways, only when they are changing or cleaning themselves.

In a split second decision he started to modify the small balcony Phil had connected to his room. The single door got replaced by large double doors that were secured by a single metal bolt to hold them shut. That way it will be far easier for Phil to enter and leave his room.

Finally satisfied, he stretched and groaned when his back popped. "Phil!" A loud caw responded from downstairs. "Go outside and come to your balcony! The door is big enough now!" There were sounds of movement downstairs, which sadly included the sound of another flowerpot shattering, then the sound of the door opening and closing. Thank Prime he placed down the pressure plates before he let Phil into the house.

A few seconds later he heared another caw from beneath the balcony. It only took Phil a single strong flap of wings to get up to where he wanted to be. The wood creaked beneath the weight of the large bird as he slowly made his way through the wide open doors. He looked around the almost empty room, cooing at the empty space where his desk used to be. "Don't worry. I put everything away safely and tried to keep it organized. It's all in your closet." Phil nudged him again as a thank you before looking at the piles of blankets and pillows Techno had brought him.

"I can try and help you make a nest? Or maybe a few of your crows can teach you how to do it. They are probably better at it than me." Phil chirped and nudged him again before turning to the still open doors, cawing loudly. A handful of crows came immediately and they started to talk with each other. Techno noticed the same Enderman looking crow from earlier, which was immediately hopping towards the blankets and tried to pull one with it, clearly wanting to help Phil.

The hybrid chuckled and helped the poor creature pull the blanket to where it was supposed to go. The next 30 minutes were spent on trying to make a comfortable nest for Phil, moving pillows and blankets around until it was perfect. The crows seemed to be incredibly picky on how the nest should be, even when Phil was already satisfied with their second attempt. It ended in them spending much more time than they had planned on it, but it was worth it.

When the nest was done the large crow immediately laid down in it, trilling happily when he did. Sounds like it really was comfortable. Techno smiled and knelt down to stroke through the midnight black feathers one last time. The sun was slowly rising now, but neither of them cared. They were too tired to care.

The Piglin closed the doors and then back to the hallway. He looked back inside Phil's room one more time, noticing that his friend was already asleep. With a small smile he blew out the candle in the lantern that had been the only lightsource in the room. "Sleep well..."

With that he disappeared into his own room, kicking his boots off before flopping down on his bed, not bothering to change out of his day clothes. In a mater of seconds he fell into a dreamless sleep.