#tiny!philza

The Galactic Government (GG), observing this tragedy, did not stand idly by and took a certain number of humans to a so-called ‘reserve’. This place was located on one of the GG's satellites in another part of the universe and was named after the Earth satellite, Moon-2. Most of the characteristics of this celestial body were viable for humans, except the temperature. That's why a complex climate control system was installed here. Even then, not all of the territory was at a favorable temperature, and humans had to travel between cities using special transport. But over time, everyone quickly got used to it, and it became the norm.

The management system, leadership, and hierarchy were all simplified and made as transparent as possible for their own good. Every adult had a role in the new society depending on their abilities and inclinations toward certain activities. Some outstanding minds were even allowed to work in the Galactic Government in prestigious positions. Everyone had access to quality education, healthcare, and other essential needs.

It has been 30 cycles, or 300 years by human standards – 12 generations have grown up here. However, during the migration to Moon-2, there were people who decided to undergo cryo-sleep for some reason. This procedure can only be done once in a lifetime, so it’s very important to think about the date of your defrosting. Еvery few cycles you can see such people. They were often interviewed to hear their impressions of the future, of new technologies integrated into human life – in short, about everything that was different at the time they entered the cryo-capsule.

In general, it's an interesting experience and young people in each cycle are largely enthralled by the perspectives inherited from the past, particularly the utopian ones. But, such idealistic concepts have always been detached from reality. And of course, there's the conviction that these people are from the same era as the founders of the colony on Moon-2, who set off for another part of the universe to save humanity.

It's ridiculous, isn't it? To make such a big deal out of people who were just trying to save their own skin.

…

Techno was a young worker at the Scientific Galactic Community, specialized in maintaining macro- and microclimatic systems. He was sent to Moon-2 to perform maintenance and adjust settings for the next 3 years due to a drop in temperature on the satellite. This happens every few cycles, but this year saw record-breaking lows. So, he'll be spending some time getting it right.

He was studying human culture at university and got into some of the ideas. Like anarchism, for example, despite being a rather utopian and contradictory system of beliefs, he still enjoyed thinking about it.

His thoughts were interrupted as everything around him tilted – the spaceship had finally landed. He was supposed to be met by the satellite keeper, but he knew nothing about the guy beyond his name. As soon as he stepped outside, he was met by an Arachnitian. They were also humanoid, but a spider-like race with two pairs of arms. On their torso was a white spot with two black dots and a line shaped like a creepy smile, while the rest of their body was bright green. Honestly, Techno almost laughed when he saw it.

“My eyes are up here,” the voice said impassively in Common Galactic.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. It's the first time I've met someone like you,” Techno said awkwardly, rubbing his pink fur on the back of his neck.

Dream shook his head, "Forget about it. I'm glad SGC responded so quickly and sent us a climate engineer," he put all his hands together and made a little bow.

Techno repeated the gesture and then said, "I'm also glad to arrive here, I'm counting on you."

“We’d better hurry, it’s gonna get even colder.”

He nodded and followed his guide. He wasn't much for chatting up strangers, but he needed to know something, "What's it like? Being the keeper here?"

Arachnitian looked over his shoulder, “Are you interested in humans?”

Technoblade paused for a moment, "Kind of."

It wasn't quite a lie. As a rational species, they had clearly messed up. But if you ask his opinion, it was akin to lost potential. The Galactic Government makes exceptions for outstanding individuals to recruit them, while preventing them from developing in other fields. Sure, it means they don't lose great people on Moon-2, but still... They were capable of so much more.

The green alien returned his gaze forward and after a short pause said, "Pretty good, actually. I thought it would be worse."

Not everyone could breathe the same air as on Moon-2, so Techno was recommended primarily for this work. It seems that Dream could also breathe normally here, and only occasionally took a breath from a special device with a higher concentration of oxygen.

Before he could ask anything else, Dream held out a hand in front of him.

They reached the border of the warm zone, and a human city was visible relatively nearby to their left. Ahead, in the dead zone, stood a complex, branching system that seemed to benefit from the surrounding low temperature.

 “Put this on,” Dream said, handing him a special jacket.

Techno waved his hand, “I’ll be fine,” but took it as a token of appreciation.

The Arachnitian shrugged and, dressing warmer, stepped across the border.

He followed him, and despite being a Piglin, even he felt cold; he sneezed almost immediately due to the sudden change in temperature. Now more than ever, he was grateful for his warm fur, but it seemed even he would have to put on clothing like his companion.

A human couldn’t endure here for 20 minutes.

Most of the races in the galactic community were giants, unlike humans, so it's clear that body size also affects susceptibility to cold.

They got to the right place pretty fast, and Techno made a clicking sound when he was done checking out the climate system. He often mumbled while working, "I'll have to lower the temperature for the humans to temporarily stabilize the external system. It looks like autumn and winter will have to be shifted closer in this cycle."

Dream watched him silently for a while, but eventually spoke, "Do you know why this is all so poorly engineered?"

"You're aware that the project was developed in a rush, right?" Techno threw his tools down and carefully closed the panel cover.

“That doesn’t explain…” Arachnitian waved both his left hands vaguely in the air, “this.”

"Fair enough.” He sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain it, “That was the only dependable choice, though not the most practical one. Even after so many cycles, no one has managed to improve the system to a decent level. The important thing is that it has been running without breaking all this time."

“It could be better for them- I mean, for me. I'm also uncomfortable traveling between cities in this cold.”

“Oh, so you’ve attached to them,” Technoblade snorted in a friendly manner.

"Stop it." Dream hissed, his mandibles opening wide above his lip, but they quickly returned into place, "Just say that no one cares."

“Well, I do.”

Dream gave him an appraising look, as if searching for lies in his words.

Piglin continued, “It’s impossible to do something like this on my own, and I couldn’t think of a better way to do it. It’s not my strong suit, to be honest.” He folded his arms thoughtfully, “We need a good architectural engineer!”

“I doubt they'll make this project a priority, given the opportunity for more esteemed assignments in prime star systems.”

Techno shrugged, "I just shared my thoughts with you. If you do manage to get the GG's attention, then call me," he extended a fist forward, awaiting a reciprocal gesture...

Wait. He forgot that in his culture, this expression of respect would likely be misinterpreted and-

Laughter.

He blinked, still holding his outstretched hand in the air.

Dream smiled at him for the first time and extended his fist in return, “I appreciate it. Although it sounded like you were making fun of me.”

“What? Me? No… maybe just a little,” he got a slight push on the shoulder.

Techno turned around to look at the panel he had recently closed. Local climate change indicators were displayed next to it.

“Hey, сan I ask you for help? I need to monitor the temperature boundary in this sector, but it will be faster if we do it together.”

“Sure,” Dream put a bunch of portable thermometers in his bag, “Communicators don't work in the cold, so message me when you finish your part.”

Techno nodded and put his own equipment in the bag.

“Oh, and one more thing. If you see any freezeheads, bring them back to the warm zone.”

“Freezeheads?”

“Yeah, some humans are acting weird after cryo-sleep. Sometimes I feel like they're just trying to freeze their brains in the dead zone. And I don’t understand why.”

“After defrosting, you can't just immediately start walking, right?”

Dream shook his head, “Humans are different from us in this regard, but they’re unstable. Every time they manage to escape somehow, and every time I get a vague explanation...” he adjusted the bag on his shoulder, “Ok, I’m off.”

…

Techno vigorously rubbed his hands together and breathed on them a few times to warm up. The cold was already seeping into his bones, though it hadn’t even been 40 minutes yet.

He didn't notice anything strange on the way here, so he decided to do one last check of the perimeter.

He saw someone small lying on the ground.

Even though it wasn't a significant distance from the border, especially for someone with such long strides, Piglin still speed up.

Techno carefully but quickly picked up the unconscious golden-haired man. He was dressed in thin clothing, like from the Earth Age – jeans, a green shirt, and an unremarkable black cloak with white diamonds along the edges.

The man moaned when he was touched, so Techno hurried back to the warm zone, but the border lacked the heat to thaw the little thing.

He looked around, but Dream wasn't nearby, and the communicator needed time to thaw.

Ideally, the man should have been placed in room-temperature water. Then, after some time, the temperature should have been gradually increased to provide him with proper first aid…

The city wasn't too far away, but Technoblade was certain that he should start warming the man up right away.

It definitely wasn't the best idea, but it was the fastest way…

Techno carefully placed the human in his mouth and lightly ran his tongue over them. Piglins' body temperature was slightly higher than humans', so this shouldn't have caused any harm.

The poor thing trembled and began to move slightly due to the surrounding warmth, still unconscious. Techno wanted to purr to soothe the human, but that would only disturb them, so he didn't.

For now, he decided to check the readings from the remote thermometers he had installed on the border – everything was working perfectly.

The calm lasted just 15 minutes, as someone decided to wake up.

At that moment, he was taking off his jacket because he was getting hot.

Techno almost swallowed them when he suddenly heard muffled human swearing.

He accidentally pressed them against his palate, and this caused them to start hitting everything around them with their limbs. Any sound of discomfort from the giant was perceived as a victory, and they continued doing what they were doing.

Technoblade wouldn't stand for it and released them, cupping his hands under his mouth.

The frightened man stared at him, quickly looking around to understand where he was. The man said something.

Well, here we go. The language barrier.

Piglins communicated through growls, snorts, or clicks, so most soft sounds were difficult to produce.

If they speak too fast, he won't even be able to understand what they say. Like right now.

Techno's grimace made the man look even more terrified. He wanted to slap himself, as his facial expressions were unlike human ones. He relaxed his snout to look as peaceful as possible, considering he was a huge humanoid boar.

He made an effort to recall all his knowledge of this language.

“You’re safe.”

Yeah, this won't be a long talk.

The man still looked distrustful, “Leave me alone,” he said quietly, “Go away.”

He hissed, clutching his hand, which was clearly hurt by the cold. Even Techno could see the red patches on the white skin.

For some reason, this upset Techno more than it should have. He lifted the human closer to his face, not taking offense at the man's flinching.

Technoblade cupped his hands and began to periodically breathe warm air onto the man, occasionally glancing to see if Dream was approaching.

After a few minutes like that, he felt some light taps on his pinky. He pulled away to look at the man better.

Well, much better than it was at the beginning.

At least he won't die while Techno carries him to the city.

“I will bring you home.”

The man froze, and then suddenly hid his face behind his knees.

Water around the eyes is bad, right?

Whimpers were heard.

Yeah, it's definitely bad!

Techno panicked. What did he do wrong? Or is it still cold?

He carefully touched them with his finger, but the man slapped it away and freaked out, "Don't touch me! You ******!"

The man got to his feet and continued to yell at him. Techno didn't understand most of what they were saying, so he just stared back in silence. Whatever it was, it was obviously bothering them, so he'd let them blow off steam today.

Wait, today?

The yelling stopped, and the man quietly sat down, wiping tears with his hands. It seemed to have taken all the strength out of the poor guy, because he looked exhausted.

Techno decided to check if the communicator was already working, taking it in his free hand.

“I don’t want to go back.”

“I have to bring you home,” said Technoblade, still pronouncing the soft sounds rather roughly.

They looked towards the city, " This is not my home," then back at the alien, “I don't belong there.”

He should have just brought the man back to the city and continued working. It wasn't his business, but still. Maybe he could keep him company for a while. Although Dream wouldn't like that.

“Stay with me. For now.”

At least if they didn't like hanging out with him, he could just bring them back, because there were simply no other options. Certainly not for a human. This further swayed his disapproval of the galactic government.

“Are you taking me with you?”

Technoblade nodded.

He shouldn't be doing this. He doesn't even understand why he's doing this for this stranger. But because of their unfortunate look, he had a feeling…He didn't understand what it was, but for some reason his safe bag started to ache and throb slightly.

“Sorry, but before I agree, can I ask what you're doing here?”

Hmm, this will be difficult to explain.

And he didn't know such words in English, but he had a short but logical answer to the question.

Technoblade pointed to his bag of equipment and said, "Nerd stuff."

The man chuckled but cut it short, clearing his throat instead, “Yeah, sorry. I didn't expect to hear that from you.”

Piglin laughed, though it was kinda just a bunch of short snorts. An alien's appearance doesn't necessarily dictate their profession, though Techno does have a rather menacing appearance. However, anyone familiar with him would readily confirm he's a giant fluffy boy, both literally and figuratively.

It's difficult for humans to pronounce the growling sounds of piglins, so after an awkward exchange of names, they both decided to go with Philza and Techno.

Obviously, the human didn't know what a ‘safe bag’ was, so Techno had to explain that it was safe for them.

“I need to put you in my… storage,” it was the closest word he could remember.

“In your what?” Phil asked, looking the alien up and down with confusion.

He slightly pulled back the hand that held the human, "Here," he said, and ran his palm over the upper part of the belly.

"Is this the stomach?" Philza asked apprehensively.

"No. It's safe and warm," Piglin said quickly, holding Phil up to his face. He added, almost sadly, "It won't be for long."

The man stared at him, but eventually agreed, “I believe you, and…” they placed their hand on his thumb, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

Techno had no idea what possessed him, but he suddenly pulled Philza to the base of his neck and started purring (more like rumbling). A short "Whoa!" snapped him out of it.

He looked at them again, and the man laughed awkwardly.

"Wow, that was loud, I could feel it in my bones."

“Sorry?”

 “No, it’s ok, mate! I like it, really.”

At that moment, Technoblade felt so happy! It was strange, but in a good way.

"Let me know when you're ready," Techno instructed, then opened his mouth wide, moving his hands closer.

Phil carefully crawled inside, avoiding tusks the same height as him. He ran his palm over the tongue, and it began to twitch slightly, to cover him with a layer of saliva for a smoother descent.

Everything around stood still, waiting. He lay down with his feet first, because he didn't want to break his neck or hurt his back, no matter how much pressure would be around him in a few seconds.

"I'm ready!" Philza shouted.

Piglin raised his head slightly and swallowed, placing his fingers on his neck to trace the human down.

That feeling again. His storage was clearly pleased to receive something 'valuable'. Maybe it's because Phil has light hair? But he felt a desire to protect this person, and he didn't have a logical explanation for it yet.

Speaking of which, he placed his hand on the spot where Phil was. In response, he felt a gentle pressure, and a muffled voice shouted, "I'm fine, mate!"

Technoblade rumbled with happy purrs.

His communicator made a nasty, high-pitched sound.

Oh, he had missed messages from Dream.

D: I'm done. What about you?

D: Where are you at? Is there a problem?

The device just made that sound again.

D: I'm coming.

As soon as Techno looked up, he saw his partner on the horizon and walked towards him.

“What happened? Is the communicator broken?”

“Nah, everything's fine. I was just checking something here. Let's get back to base.”

“Are you sure?”, Arachnitian asked, looking him up and down.

"Yeah, yeah. And hey, do you have a built-in workshop? I'd like to take a look at the climate control system blueprints, maybe I can make some notes for the future.”

“Wow, you’re really excited about this idea.”

“Yeah, that's for sure. Sudden inspiration, you could say," Techno absently rubbed his belly and headed towards the base with a contented sigh.

Dream didn't say anything and just followed him. He received a message on his communicator.

Arachnitian stopped and stared at Piglin's back. Then he quickly entered the message on his device and continued walking.

Techno glanced over his shoulder, "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no. Don't worry about it."

"All right."

Dream kept drilling him with his eyes, but Techno seemed not to even feel it.

…

“What are you doing?”, he asked, annoyed but calm.

Techno slowly turned around and saw Dream leaning against the wall.

"How long have you been here?", the piglin asked awkwardly, hiding his hands behind his back.

“Long enough to see you steal my human food supplies,” he sighed and rubbed his temples, leaving his other pair of hands on his waist. “I knew it. Where are they?”

“Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about, man, I-”

“I have a message from the cryo-center, Technoblade. You must return them.”

“But can we keep him for a bit, pretty please?”, he tilted his head to the side innocently.

“What? Why? Besides, we’re not talking about a cat, we’re talking about a whole person!”

"Okay-okay. I get it...", Techno grumbled disapprovingly but then he tilted his head again, "What's a cat?"

Dream groaned and, without a word, went to the Piglin's room. He swiped the keycard, not even ashamed that he'd had access to someone else's room all this time.

He and Technoblade froze for a moment as they looked into the room.

Techno exclaimed in Common Galactic, "No, Phil! You can't draw on this!", he managed to scoop up the human, who didn't look remorseful at all.

“You got the original system blueprints and left them alone with the freezehead?!”

“I only showed him how to use the holographic tablet and virtual tables, I guess he got bored and connected to my workstation...”

Philza didn't understand the language, but he knew what was going on anyway, so he finally spoke up, "That blueprint was a mess, I just upgraded it."

Dream asked in English, "What? What do you mean by-". He looked over at the table, then poked Techno in the side with his elbow.

Techno placed Philza back on the table and began reviewing the edits. While Dream was sending the improved blueprint into the simulation - all the indicators were close to 100% stable.

"I copied it before I made my own version, there was no call for all that shouting, you loud fucks," the human complained, rubbing his ears.

Both aliens looked at him as if he were the strangest one in the room.

“What?”

"Who the hell are you?", Dream asked. "This is too perfect for a person from the beginning of this millennium."

Philza snorted, "First of all, fuck you," he gave Arachnitian the middle finger, then nodded towards his work, "Secondly, I just made edits on an already finished blueprint. If I got used to these new tools, it could be even better. But I don't know this language, and honestly I'm not into the nerdy part."

"Wait, you said this could be done even better?!" Dream burst out, not seeing Philza flinch, but Techno did and picked him up.

"I didn't get it all, but don't yell at him," Technoblade warned seriously.

Arachnitian gave them both a crooked smile, "You two really piss me off, but damn." He stared straight at the man, drilling him with his gaze, "Seriously, who are you, Philip Rosales?"

Technoblade felt Philza flinch and wanted to scold Dream, "Hey! Knock it off! You're only making things w-", he felt a tapping on his finger. Phil gestured to be put back down.

Dream finally pulled back, realizing he'd crossed the line. He and Techno sat down at the table. Philza, meanwhile, sat down on a little earring case, put his hands together, and looked over at Dream.

"Before everyone found out Earth was dying, I was one of the most famous architects of the last generation. And of course, you can't be good at it without understanding related fields like building and engineering."

Dream quickly translated his words into Common Galactic for Technoblade.

Phil continued, "But a wealth didn't help me with my... problem." The Arachnitian gave a short nod, as his guy at the cryo-center had leaked him information about this man. He knew about Kristin.

"I changed my name and surname when we were preparing to leave our planet. There was such a commotion that no one even noticed," he felt tears welling up in his eyes, so he lowered his head.

"And then I woke up today to find out that she... I feel- It seems," his voice cracked, and he slowly raised his gaze to the aliens, confessing with tears streaming down his face, "that Philza Minecraft died 300 years ago."

…

That conversation left Philza so shaken that Technoblade had to calm him for a long time. The man even asked to be hidden in the storage because the reality of what had happened had completely thrown him off.

Phil didn't know what he was thinking when he escaped from the cryo-center. Perhaps to see his beautiful wife's face one last time, to touch her, to gently stroke her head, to say that everything was alright... to say sorry. Even he didn't know what he wanted at that moment. He just felt as if he had lost a part of his soul.

However, despite the hardship, he will learn to move forward.

In this world that is completely alien to him. He will have two stubborn but reliable friends to help him through.

Perhaps thanks to them, he'll be able to turn this universe upside down, even if he's just doing what he likes.

And who knows, maybe someday there will be a human who finds a cure for death or will be able to bring people back to life. It sounds very utopian, but if they manage to break free from Moon-2 and continue to develop, then it's not such an absurd idea, is it? Though this clearly won't happen in Philza's lifetime.

However, if he can make his dream a reality even a fraction of a second sooner, he will spare no effort to achieve it.

Although the two aliens won’t let him overwork, that’s for sure.

…

Logbook «Brian». Record from November 4, 2328 [Earth calendar]:

Phil sent instructions for Sector 103-f to the main screen via his tablet. He still had to wear a mask due to the unbreathable air. But the crew was working fast, so they'll be able to breathe easy in just two weeks. He was so glad Technoblade was the one who understood all that nerdy stuff.

Anyway, where are the guys?

Someone poked him from behind, and he yelped.

"Are you half-asleep, freezehead?" Dream chuckled. "You didn't even notice me come in."

“Unlike Techno, you have a light step,” he replied in Common Galactic.

"Heh?", Piglin was on the other side, startling the man once more.

"Do you wanna give me a heart attack?" Phil asked, clutching his chest. He shot a sharp glance at the Arachnitian, "And stop calling me that, it's been three years."

Dream feigned thought, "No." He and Philza exchanged two middle fingers, and with a quick goodbye, he left them with Technoblade.

They went to the empty cafeteria, where they could breathe freely without a mask.

"Don’t you know what rest is, Philza?" Techno asked, and then took a sip of his coffee.

“I just want to finish this project early so we don’t waste time here on this-”

Piglin interrupted him with a loud click, 'Wrong answer.'"

Phil snorted, "Ready to volunteer your services, are you?"

“If you keep calling it that, I'll drop you in my coffee.”

"Maybe that's what I want," the human replied with a smirk.

"I don't think we should be doing something like this in your current state," Techno noted, casting a dubious glance at him.

"Mate, I'm not out of steam yet."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that, dude." Piglin extended a hand for Philza to climb on, "How about a nap for a couple of hours?"

Philza bit his lip. He actually wanted to do something else for the current project, so he wasn't sure if he should-

Oh, what the hell.

He laughed, "Weren't you supposed to be busy as well?"

Technoblade snorted, "That can wait. I really wanted to check out that Earth book you told me about."

Phil smiled, "I think you'll like the strategy book." He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. He didn't want any extra questions; it was enough that Dream knew.

"Ok, enjoy your reading, mate. And this time, don't forget to wake me up."

"No promises," Techno said, bringing his palm closer to his face, "Considering I'll be doing two of my favorite things at once."

"Just admit you're greedy," Phil chuckled, crawling inside.

Smells like coffee.

Technoblade will never get tired of this feeling. Is it weird to taste happiness? Probably yes, but he doesn't care. He's happy that Philza came into his life.

Gulp. Purring.

"Maybe," he said contentedly, rubbing the spot where the dearest person in his life lay curled like a sleepy ball.

…

That's it! The end!

Due to the fact that humans lived in a colony status, they were not allowed to develop in other fields besides the GG. However, thanks to the explosive incident involving Philza, everything changed. The GG had to publicly admit that humans hold untapped potential and that it was irresponsible to waste the opportunity to nurture valuable individuals for the entire galactic community.

Historically, in Piglin culture, partners would give each other small gifts, which they kept in safe bags. Techno almost never used a ‘storage’, because he is, ahem, a nerd. But that wasn't the only reason Philza caught Techno's attention. Firstly, he was curious, and he experienced that explosive personality firsthand. And he wasn't awkward about it! Which is rare for him, even though Phil sometimes made him nervous.

I absolutely did not want to write s*icidal thoughts for Philza in this oneshot. I decided to stick with the idea that upon hearing the news, he felt as though he had died on the same day as his wife. Yeah, he messed up by running, but it was a mix of several factors. In the end, it was easier for him to adapt thanks to Technoblade than to try and build a life in the colony with humans. And he doesn't regret it.

Dream was their social lightning rod in the team, as he took on all communication with investors, management, and so on. He and Phil often argue, while Techno tries to calm them down. Dream tried to make a joke at Philza's expense, saying that Techno shouldn't have picked up that wild opossum. The man simply ridiculed him for knowing such ancient memes from the Earth Age. But for real, they consider themselves friends who constantly annoy each other.

I can't say that I've written everything I wanted to, but I didn't want to make chapters for this story... I wanted to write some more hurt/comfort for this au, but there's already a lot of words here.

If someone sends me questions about any of my aus, I'll definitely answer them.

So yeah :D

Why the human got the feeder in the first place was beyond him.

He smiled to himself as he finished up his meal, flying back up to his nest. He smiled as he began to hum to himself, curling his wings around his body to protect himself from the ever growing cold air.

- - -

He woke up soaked and freezing. Shivers racked his body as he watched the rain fall down heavily. Oh prime, this sucked. Loud noises filled his ears, specifically the clanging of metal on metal and loud breathing.

He watched as blond hair slowly peaked out, revealing massive blue eyes staring right at him. The human got higher and higher up, sitting himself on the roof.

“Come on little guy, I’m sure you’re cold. How about you stay with me for a bit?”

The human’s accent rang through the air, filled with the gentle tone of their voice. He watched the human with every fiber in his body, but right now, he could feel the warmth radiating off of them and that made him feel better.

He nodded as he stretched his wings, walking towards the being. They smiled in return, carefully picking him up and sliding him into the pocket. He felt warmer now, and longed to feel warmer.

The human began to descend from the roof, and Wilbur watched as metal–probably from a device he heard the neighbors call a ‘ladder’--passed his eyes. The human whose pocket he inhabited moved the device so it was now laying inside a part of the house before they walked back outside into the human moving machine.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s going to flood. Needed to get you out.”

Oh, was that when the water covers the ground? He chirped, to the surprise of the human. “Sorry, sorry, let’s just get out of here, okay?”

- - -

“Phil! Wilby’s bullying me again!” Tommy shouted as Wilbur snickered. The other bird hybrid flew into the room, laughing at the sight.

Wilbur had curled up int the human’s hair, pulling some of the strands. “Wilbur, stop messing with Tommy.” “Yeah, last I checked you are the only thing keeping me from making dinner!”

“No, I’m the master chef, I’m Ratatouille!”

“You’re WHO?!”

“You know, the rat.”