Chapter Text
Ranboo never thought about using his wings.
He knew they were able to be used, he knew they were the size they were so that they could lift his abnormally large form from the ground. He knew and yet at the same time, it terrified him.
What scared him even more was the possibility of being hunted down for flying.
Logically, he knew this wouldn't happen, the server was full of winged hybrids, most if not all of the members of the server had wings and those that didn't often got to fly with their friends strong enough to carry them. The skies are a safe place, one where no one is allowed to battle, all are equal and share the space as if it were a safe haven.
In all actuality, it was. The whole server was a safe space.
He knows this was what the server was for, it's why so many of the people here had wings in the first place. The Dream Smp was a place for people like himself to be free from the cruelty of other servers that refused their freedom, refused to allow them to use the one limb they needed to use unless they wanted to lose all ability to use them at all.
And yet Ranboo was still terrified.
In every server before this one, winged hybrids had been forbidden flight. Whether it was Bedwars or a simple, "relaxing" server, it had always been forbidden. They were given the okay to spread their wings in their homes, but never in public, could never fly, and those who did would sometimes be punished .
Ranboo remembers seeing clipped wings in Hypixel and feeling sick to his stomach, the fear that he would experience his wings being clipped ( though how does one clip wings like his? can they even be clipped? ) keeping him bound to the ground.
Now, though? Now he was free to soar, free to stretch his wings and feel the air in his hair, and yet…he couldn't. He was too scared .
He must have zoned out on the pathway Phil had made between his new home and Techno's, because one moment he was alone, the next he had the bird hybrid at his side, a dark wing stretched out above the ender hybrid's head, protecting him from snow he hadn't even realized had begun to fall. It was only now that he felt the slight sting against his scalp from the melted ice and he silently curses himself for forgetting the hooded cape Technoblade had been so generous to give him.
"You back with us, mate?" Philza questions, voice laced with light amusement. The teen hums low in his chest, throat sore from his lack of speaking over the last few days.
"Yeah, sorry," he murmurs, clearing his throat in an attempt to rid the itch. The older man chuckles lightly, nodding his head towards his home in a silent suggestion to follow him.
Before, Ranboo remembers hesitating to follow the other men into the cabins, scared of intruding. Now, after being here for as long as he has, he doesn't even have to think as he follows Philza into his cabin.
The heat of the insulated home sends a startled shiver down his spines, multihue wings stretching and shivering slightly behind him.
So odd, his wings. When he felt them growing in, he'd been terrified. All stories he'd heard were of feathered wings soaked in blood as they emerged from a hybrid's back, soaking their clothes and skin in the crimson liquid. Most people had someone there to help them through it, he'd heard of Techno's story, how Phil and Wilbur had been there to comfort him as large, pinks and brown speckled wings grew from his back, or how Philza had his parents there for him through it back during his mortal life.
Ranboo, however?
He'd been alone. He didn't have friends or family to help him through it, his appearance and size scared people away, and so when he felt the signature pain in his back, he was terrified . How does one handle that kind of pain on their own?
The day they stretched from his back, he was bedridden, screaming into a pillow as the scaled limbs ripped his skin open, black wings speckled with white stretching from his back. Never had he seen wings like his own, most feathered and looking more bird-like while his own almost seemed draconic in appearance.
Maybe they are. A familiar voice buzzes in his head, others perking up to put their input in as well.
DRAGONBOO!!
Dragon my beloved
Guys maybe he's an enderd-
ILEGAL!!!
I think they're cool
Ask Dadza!!
One singular voice bringing up Philza caused a ruckus of 'Phil' and 'Dadza' to be screamed in his head and Ranboo groans, raising a hand to his temple.
"Are they acting up?" Phil asks from where he had begun to make tea while the teen grew lost in his thoughts, gaze gentle with concern.
"Unfortunately," He murmurs, quickling shuffling towards the fireplace so he could sit down. His 'voices' hadn't begun to grow louder until he joined the server and met more people like himself, hybrids of "monstrous" mobs. He'd been scared when they grew louder, terrified, and he'd hidden them, not telling anyone, not even Tubbo. It wasn't until they got too loud that someone finally found him, curled up in the snowy tundra with his hands over his ears and begging them to stop.
Really, he was lucky Techno and Phil found him that day, the two familiar with the voices "monster" hybrid's had to deal with.
A cup of tea is held in front of his face, once again snapping him from his thoughts, and he eagerly takes it, a soft murmur of thanks passing his lips.
"Do you want me to get Tech?" Phil had seen the piglin hybrid help Ranboo before, though his friend would never admit to it. A light laugh leaves the teen and he shakes his head, tilting his head to the side to look give him a slight smile.
"No, but thank you, he was talking about wanting to go hunting and I don't want to distract him."
The older man simply hums and nods, clapping a hand in his shoulder and moving back to the tea to get himself a glass.
A comfortable silence falls over the two as Phil moves about the cabin, tea in hands and mind set on getting some more prepared while Ranboo warms himself by the fire, wings arching to get closer to the comforting wings. The silence also allows Ranboo to think, the voices' suggestion dancing around his mind. Would Philza know what type of wings he had? The explorer often stared at them, a slight longing and familiarity he thinks he's good at hiding able to be seen deep in his eyes, so possibly he did? But then, did Ranboo want to know? For years he'd been told he was an enderman hybrid, he had the appearance of one, he could speak Endspeak, he made the noises, could understand Endermen when they chirped and spoke to one another. He had even made friends with Edward! So why would he want to find out that this wasn't true?
Red and green eyes flicker towards Phil and he finds the man staring at him, that oh so familiar longing shining in his blue hues, and Ranboo finds his answer when their gazes briefly meet.
"Phil, is there something you know that I don't?" The question slips from his lips and he feels his wings tense on his back, long tails twitching anxiously behind him, curled around one another. The words seemed to make Phil pause, eyes widening slightly, before a low, airy chuckle rumbles from his chest.
"What do you mean, Ran?"
Phil's wings were pulled in close, hands hidden, and he wasn't looking at his face like he normally would when they spoke.
Ranboo's eyes narrow.
" Phil ...You know something about me," he murmurs, turning in the seat to face him, "I see you look at my wings sometimes and the way you stare is as if you miss something. So what is it?" He didn't realize his voice was raising as he stood, hands clenching at his sides, gaze pleading. "Phil, what am I ?!"
His yell echoed through the empty air, a tense silence falling between the two for just a moment. Phil's eyes widened when the ender hybrid had yelled, dark wings fluffing up slightly, before his gaze softened slightly. Closing the distance between them, Ranboo takes an instinctive step back, only to be stopped by the chair behind him and leaving him with the blonde standing directly in front of him.
"Mate, can I see your wings?" His expression is gentle and yet so sad and Ranboo can't stop himself from reaching a large, scaled wing reach towards the older man. Philza's hands are gentle, warm, and Ranboo feels himself instinctively relax at the feeling, shoulders slumping slightly.
"Ranboo, have you ever visited the End?"
The question catches him off guard and he can't stop the startled chuckle that leaves him, multihue eyes flickering about the small cabin. Black tail lifting, it curls around the older man's wrist, its white counterpart curling around his own calf.
"Of course, that's where I was born . I don't remember my parents, but I remember being there and then the Queen allowed me to leave when she realized I wanted to explore more and the End just…wasn't enough," he breathes out a laugh, raising a hand to his hair, "She allowed me to be free and promised I'd always be welcome back, but, well…that was years ago now? I lost track of the time, I don't know for sure." Ranboo can only shrug helplessly, hand falling limply to his side as he looks back to the bird hybrid.
A moment of silence falls over the two, Phil's fingers lightly tracing the scales of his wings, before the elder sighs. Eyes flickering to look at his face, blue hues not meeting his eyes, something he'd always be grateful for.
"Did you ever wonder why the Queen was biased towards you?" He questions, tone falsely light, and Ranboo pauses.
"That's…she's allowed others to leave, Enderfolk are all over, you'd know, the tundra is full of Endermen-" He doesn't realize he's rambling, hands flailing, until a hand gently takes one of his own, holding it in place carefully.
"Ran, your wings are very distinct, I don't know how you haven't been told sooner-"
No.. No, he can't be an Ender Dragon hybrid, that's impossible, the Queen, she can't…she can't have kids..!
But can she? How would he know, he barely remembers her face when she was outside of the Draconic form she took on to protect her realm. He doesn't even remember her voice , so how can he assume she can't have children?
Ranboo?
Dragon boy!!! I knew it!
RANBOO IS A DRAGON POG
POG POG POG
Guys, he seems upset?
Ranboo, are you okay?
L
Ender Pog
Where's Phil?
Oh dear
Randragon lol
Memory Boy can't remember his own mom f
F
F
F
They're being loud , it's so loud , he can't even hear his own thoughts, it's so much -
When did he end up outside? Where was he? He was just with Phil, but he knows he's not now because it's cold and Philza was warm and safe and he's one of his homes and this isn't home .
Eyes open and he feels the air leave his lungs.
He's flying .