Icarus

Chapter 6

"Stop squirming!" Phil snapped, trying to tend to the blind boy.

"Its cold!' Came Tommy's retort.

Phil had arrived home and immediately had gone to make a paste from the plants he had collected. He had used the medication before when Techno had been burned al those years ago. The nether was a dangerous place.

"If we don't treat this, it could get infected. And we already put tit off long enough!" Phil said, attempting to stop Tommy from sliding away from his touch.

"I don't care! It's ******* cold!"

Phil had enough with the boys stubbornness. It could potentially hurt Tommy further, and he needed to clean up those burns!

"Techno," Phil growled.

"No! Techno I will ******* kill you if you touch me!" Tommy snapped, looking wildly to where the man could be.

He felt hand clasp around his shoulders, pinning him the the couch.

"We could always give you back to Dream," Techno responded to Tommy's thrashing. 

"What?" Tommy stopped, a stricken look on his face.

"No, we're not going to do that," Phil glared at Techno, who shrugged in response.

He started to place the past on the burns around Tommy's eyes. He flinched at the soft touch, but soon got used to it. 

Tommy sat very still. He knew that struggling wouldn't lead to anything good, but his instincts yelled at him. It was all he could not to snap back at their touch. Swipe away from them. His muscles started to shiver from the effort.

"Tommy?" Phil saw the change in his demeanor. "You alright mate?"

"I'm fine Phil," came the gruff reply.

A sigh came from the older man. "I'm gonna start putting the bandages on, okay?"

A small nod came from Tommy

Phil glanced at Techno, who released Tommy's shoulders. Tommy shifted from the absence of the pressure.

Phil carefully unwrapped the cotton fabric. Techno had traded from the villagers a while back. The long strips of white wrapped themselves around Tommy's face. They were warm to Tommy. And soft. The paste had a minty chill to it, and the bandages gave a little warmth to the discomfort.

"There we go," Phil whispered. "All better."

Phil gently ran his hand across the boys forehead. It had been a long time since there was a child under his care. The last time he was any type of father figure...it ended in blood. He didn't want Tommy to end in blood. Didn't want anyone else to end in that way.

"Phil?"

Tommy was so quiet. It scared Philza. Such a loud boy reduced to a whispering shell.

"Tommy?"

"Why is it always me?"

Tommy lifted his head to face Phil's voice. Which was uncanny to Phil, as he saw a bandaged figure slowly turn to him.

The question caught him off guard. Him? What was always him.

"The blame?"

The blame. What got him into exile. What betrayed him. What threw him to the ground and kicked him blind. The blame the he seemingly craved for. With his chaotic tendencies and his order defying stubbornness.

"You don't exactly have clean hands tommy." Phil said softly.

Tommy wrapped his arms around himself. A heat coming to his eyes.

"Who does?"

                                                                                                             *

Phil sat at the top of the roof. His icy blue cape sitting beside him. The stars twinkled in the inky darkness. he pondered for a moment, was that what Tommy saw? Did he see the small shining's, or was it a dead black?

Wincing slightly, he stretched his charcoal wings. His left wing always ached before storms. A byproduct of explosive injures. The wing was shorter then the other, feathers missing and scorched. He missed them. He missed flying.

"Philza?"

A new voice. younger, slightly gravely.

"Ranboo?" The enderman hybrid waved slightly, climbing up to Phil.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sorry about the intrusion," he scratched nervously behind his head. "I had been keeping an eye on Tommy. Making sure he was okay. I'm glad to know he's in your care." A slight smile spread across the tall boys face.

Phil sighed. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

The smile faltered. His pointy ears drooped slightly. "Yeah."

A frown formed on Phil's face. He turned to the creature.

"Wouldn't this be considered treason?"

Ranboo turned suddenly.  "Treason! Now Phil, you woul-"

A soft chuckle came from the older man. "No, no I wouldn't. How did you find us here?"

Ranboo held something up to show Phil. "I found your feather at the campsite. I followed your tracks."

Phil nodded, drawing the conversation to a close. Ranboo's tail flicked back and forth as they looked up at the midnight sky.

"You need a place to sleep for tonight?" Phil asked.

"No, I don't want to burden you further. I also don't want La'Manburg to find out either."

Another nod. Ranboo shivered slightly. Phil, the father that he was, took notice. He handed the enderman his cape, a slight smile returning to his features.

"It's cold out, you should've brought warmer clothes."