As Philza had said, Wilbur and Tommy were allowed to continue visiting with their friends. However now they were not allowed to go anywhere outside of one of their family. Kai and Ranboo, Sam, Philza, Lune and Technoblade, one of these or more was now consistently on watch. Most of the little group didn't mind the arrangement, but Quackity had black looks and darkly muttered words for whoever stood at a distance, observing them. But if it was Technoblade, he dared not even glance in the hybrid's direction.

Many days passed so, and the children continued to play and enjoy each others' company. Shy Niki even made friends with Kai, Lune and Ranboo, bonding with them over their idea of a cafe and the food they could serve there. Jack, Sam and Philza discussed buildings on occasion and Karl seemed to be present at every conversation. Foolish remained at a distance, though he could generally be seen in the vicinity of Technoblade. Bad and Skeppy also remained on the edge of the groups, uncertain if they actually belonged anywhere, but never exactly wanting to leave. Hannah, however, found an unexpected friend in the avian boy, when she found him planting new flowers about the house. He showed her the roof, displaying the variety of flowers that grew there and the means by which they were tended. Kai and Hannah shared many quiet conversations, mainly about flowers, and a special friendship blossomed between them, for they both adored flowers with a passion, and both had a connection with the earth that was unique and beautiful, if not entirely well understood.

Quackity inserted himself more and more into Wilbur and Tommy's lives, going on walks with them and coming over as often as he was allowed. He rarely spoke of his home life, but the little Techno ever caught, as he strolled behind them, sufficed to tell him that the boy had bitterness and resentment buried deep in his heart. Every once in a while, the thought of killing him came back to Technoblade, but Philza's words held him back. The young man did not like to admit it, but Philza gave him more discipline than he was likely to have ever gained alone.

Days passed into weeks and peace began once more to settle. At least, for most people. The Minecrafts and the Recantos(Sam's family) were never fully relaxed. Dream was sighted again and again now, roaming the lands in the distance in one direction or another. He did not come to their homes, but his stride and the white smiling mask gave them little ease.

One other thing began to trouble Technoblade, though this he kept to himself as much as possible: his nightmares were returning. For many years they had lain dormant in his mind, silent under the happy influence of his family life. Now, memories of his past, of the beginning years before he ever met Philza, resurfaced to darken his dreams. Black despair and pain clouded his mind at night, and during the day his thoughts raced to understand why they appeared now, after all this time.

Kai was first, besides Philza himself, to sense something wrong with his brother. He did not ask what the matter was, but sought to comfort as best he could. He would lead Techno into the library on many occasions, asking for stories or making the hybrid sit down so he could read to Techno himself. He stayed up late into the night, kneading dough and crafting shapely breads that smelled of flowers and fruit, or honey that glazed the tops and made each nearly glow in the lamplight.

It was over this time that Ranboo, himself as attentive to Wilbur as Kai was to Techno, caught a change in the boy. A rash, wild spirit was growing in Wilbur's heart and showing itself in his constant mischievous attempts to slip away from his guardians and lose himself in the woods. Unsure what conclusion to draw, Ranboo went one evening to Philza's study door, where his father was busy drawing sketches in the notebook Kai had given him, years and years ago.

"Come." Philza's voice gave him some measure of confidence, and Ranboo entered. His tail wrapped about one leg, as usual when he was feeling nervous.

"Hey, uh...I have something I wanted to talk to you about." Ranboo said, shutting the door.

Philza put down his notebook and closed his wings, which had been gradually spreading as his mind explored stairways and catacombs. "What's up? Do you want something to eat while we talk?"

"Nah." Ranboo sat down in a beanbag chair and curled up, forcing his tail to wrap around his knees. "I just...ah." He sighed and looked towards the fireplace, where coals glowed softly.

Philza poked the embers gently, provoking them into life again. "I should build this up." He remarked, getting off his stool and kneeling by the hearth. He busied himself with tending the flames and let Ranboo think.

The youth rubbed his wrists, where the little encircling scars still showed. "It's...it's about Wilbur."

"Oh?" Phil answered. A little spark took light in the embers, flickering to life and swaying back and forth as the minute puffs of air touched it.

"I dunno if it's bad or good," Ranboo went on, "never having actually tried to help raise a kid before. But Wilbur is getting...well, kinda restless, I think is the word. He thinks it's fun to slip away, to dodge out of our sight. I'm not sure if it's just child energy or something else..." His voice trailed off and he started twisting the hair on the end of his tail.

Phil got up from the hearth and went back to his stool. "Restless, I can imagine. Wilbur is a child, after all, and I'm not sure what losing a life actually did to him, after all. He did not want to talk about it much. But," he sighed, "if he's finding it fun to run away, I doubt it did much harm to him." A frown passed over his face and he ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know what to think of that, either, though...death is something traumatizing to most. What did Dream do to it...?"

He remained silent long enough for Ranboo to feel it. The Enderman hybrid glanced up. "Dad?"

Philza blinked and wrapped his wings around himself. "I need to see my son." He muttered. "Thank you, Ranboo." He got up abruptly and walked out of the room.

Ranboo glanced at the fire. "Well, I guess that was a good talk." He muttered. Curling up a little more snugly, he kept his shaded eyes on the dancing flames until sleep descended over his brain and he closed his eyes.

Philza went outside. Lune was there, her long horns silhouetted against the sky as she stood on lengthened legs, one hand shading her eyes as she watched Wilbur, Tommy, Bad, Quackity, Skeppy and Niki playing together. To the side, Techno was lying in the grass with an arm over his face.

The angel walked up next to Lune. "How are they?" He asked quietly.

The girl made a whistling sound in her throat. "Children being children. They played hide-and-seek, tag and play-battles. I could have shown them how to do it better, but they're still too much like gremlins to properly pay attention." She hummed. "They have a long way to grow."

She's right. Phil thought. He wished he could be satisfied with that, but all he'd heard of the childrens' doings so far made him somewhat uneasy. Wilbur was his first blood-child, raised from babyhood. Phil was not sure what the right call would be right now, but he had to make a decision. Stepping forward once, he raised his hands to his mouth. "Wilbur! Come here a sec."

He saw Quackity nudge Wil briefly and say something, though he did not catch what it was. Wilbur ducked his head and then rose, quickly trotting back to his father. "Yeah, Dad? What is it?"

Phil led him a little way apart from the others, then sat down in the grass. He spread his wing a little, sheltering Wilbur from the sun. "Wil? I have something to talk to you about. Shouldn't take too long."

Wilbur rumpled his hair, trying to seem at ease. "Everything alright, Dad?" He glanced briefly over his shoulder at the other kids.

"Maybe. Hopefully." Phil said, lifting a wing to nudge Wilbur's head back to him. "Ranboo tells me you've been slipping away from him and the others, when they're supposed to be watching you."

The boy shifted where he sat. "S'just a game, Dad." He muttered out of the side of his mouth. He began ripping up bits of grass and dropping them again.

Phil let the silence carry a few moments. A few birds, probably sparrows, twittered and cheered in the farther trees. Wind slid through the grass and Wilbur continued to tear up grass. After some seconds, Phil spoke again. "Just a game? A game with multiple participants requires those participants to know what they're playing, doesn't it?"

Wil shrugged. But since Phil kept silent, he eventually grunted uncomfortably and said, "Dad, I'm alright. Nothing's happened, has it?"

Philza's wing curved gently around his son's body and a few feathers tapped Wilbur's chin. "Something already did happen, Wil. You know that, and it's why you have to stay in sight of your siblings, or Lune, Sam or me."

"But it turned out alright, Dad." Wilbur replied, looking up. His brows were furrowed and he sounded as though he didn't understand his father's concern. "Quackity protected me when I got busted and nothing happened in the end. I was alright."

"You were not alright when Techno brought you home that night." Philza replied sternly. "You were terrified and wounded. Techno was covered in blood, Tommy, Tubbo and Niki were injured, Quackity was hurt too. It was not nothing, Wilbur." Searching his son's face, Phil wondered if indeed he had made the right decision, letting Quackity remain friends with Wil. "Wilbur...I need you to tell me, honestly, what happened to you when you died."

The boy shifted again, shuffling his knees in the grass. He scowled at the ground, but replied anyway. "I got blown up by a Creeper. It was hot for a second, but that was it. Woke up a few minutes later. It was like getting knocked out. Nothing much."

A dark sorrow was steadily growing in Phil's heart. He was more and more sure that Wilbur was hiding something from him, but what that was, he wasn't sure. He tilted his head, studying the boy's face. "Wil, I have seen death before. Many, many times. It's not like being knocked out at all. What's wrong, Wil? Is there something I've done that's shaken your trust in me?"

"No." Wilbur said hastily, shaking his head. He stopped tearing grass and sat straighter. "It's just...I just put it out of my head, is all."

Phil continued to watch him. "Go on. I'm sure there's more, mate."

Wilbur nodded. "There is, I just...didn't want to talk about it. Not for a while, anyway. It's...hard to think about."

"Mate," Phil said, reaching out and touching Wil's shoulder, "I can't help you as I ought if I don't know what it is that's hurting you. I'm your father, Wilbur. How do you expect me to act like one without your trust?" Around them, as he spoke, a few of his Crows landed and started pecking the ground. Corvus was not among them this time.

It was a few minutes before the boy spoke again. He stared at the earth and grass blood that speckled his fingertips. "It...it...I was scared, Dad. I was really, really scared. We all were, but if we ran, it would have been worse, right? So we just stood our ground and fought." He wrapped his arms around himself and Philza scooted nearer him, folding a wing more securely about his child. "I...didn't even see it coming." Wilbur said, his voice slightly muffled. "All I heard was a hiss and a patter of feet right beside me. I looked and...and...and there was this...this big...green...monster...."

Phil picked up Wilbur from his place and put him on his lap. His boys were never too old for lap hugs, though they might grumble otherwise. "Take your time, Wil." He whispered, kissing his son's dark hair. "I'm right here. It's alright."

Wilbur leaned against his father's chest. "I remember thinking, just in that moment...'is it screaming?' And then there was a bright light. And for a second I was hotter than I'd ever been, burning up, like...." He trailed off again.

Phil began to rock back and forth, holding Wilbur. He was trying to keep his own emotions in check, but hearing his boy describe his own death, however temporary, was tearing pieces of him apart. If he could have bled for Wilbur, removed the experience from his life and taken it upon himself, he would have, instantly.

Wil stirred in his arms, as though waking up. "Next thing I knew, I was awake again, and Quackity was standing there. He was screaming so loudly, Dad. Daring them all to come through him to get to me. Tommy got me to my feet, and then we had to keep fighting."

"And Quackity." Philza said. "What do you think of him now?"

Wilbur shrugged. "He's reckless, I know, and he doesn't always know what's good or bad. But he's clever, Dad." He turned around to look up at Phil, who carefully brushed the brown hair from his face. "He's brave, too, in a way. He stood by me, after all. And I don't want to stop being friends with him."

They stared at each other for a few minutes. Black eyes studied blue, and Philza wished he had the power to understand what was going on in the mind of his son. "Wil," he said slowly, "that boy may be all you say he is. But he is also irresponsible and he defies authority. And if it comes to it, he will defy my authority as your father. You will have to choose, then, between your friend and your family. Do you understand why?"

Wilbur shrugged. "Yeah...I guess. But I don't think he'll do that, Dad. He knows what he did was wrong, after all. He won't do it again."

"Maybe." Phil replied. "Now, about you lot being watched. You know why that's happening, don't you?"

A shrug was Wilbur's only reply, as he looked back down at his hands again.

"So nothing like that first death will ever happen again." Philza said firmly. "Whoever they are, whether it's me, Lune, Sam or one of your brothers, we are your backups in case something does go wrong. And I need you to remember that. I need you to help Quackity remember that."

Wilbur thumped his feet on the ground. "I will, Dad, but..." He began reaching for grass again, but pulled his hands away.

A quick foreboding passed into the angel's heart, but he kept himself from showing it. "Yes?" He asked softly.

"Can...it..." Wilbur thumped his feet a little more. "Quackity can't change all of a sudden. You know people aren't like that. Can...just for now...can Techno not watch?"

Philza glanced over his shoulder. His oldest was still lying in the grass, only he'd rolled over and his back was to them now. He still appeared to be asleep. "Techno is your best watcher, Wil." He said quietly. "Techno worries about your safety as much as I do. I know Quackity doesn't like him, but Techno will not harm him. I've told him not to. Your friend will have to deal with it. Alright? You understand why?"

With another shrug, Wilbur nodded. He seemed suddenly restless and Philza let him off his lap. The boy stood up. "I'll tell him." He said.

Phil nodded. "Alright then. You can go play." Watching Wilbur scurry down the slope towards his friends again, he wondered if he'd made the right decision. If Quackity was going to be trouble later, and if, perhaps, Wilbur was taking a little too much liking to the bitter, rebellious boy. As for what he'd said about Techno...the foreboding returned to the angel's heart. Wilbur was usually so thoughtful of his brothers. What had changed to make Quackity's feelings more important to him than Techno's? Closing his wings about himself, Philza bent his head in thought.

~~~~~~*

Wilbur slid in among his companions. Quackity tugged on his sleeve and the two quickly exchanged whispers. "Well?" Quackity asked.

"He doesn't trust you." Wilbur admitted sadly. "Says Techno'll keep watching, as he's looking out for me."

"Him?" Quackity snorted. "His temper's on a short leash, that one. He can't be trusted around children."

Wilbur shot a brief glare at his friend. "He's been fine enough all my life. And he only got mad because he saw me and Tommy hurt. Besides," and he folded his arms, "Dad said he told Techno not to touch you. You're safe, Q."

Resentment and suspicion glinted in his friend's eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, Wilbur." He muttered. "Hybrids, you know, especially Blood gods, are only good as long as you keep them happy. And he," nodding at the still form of Technoblade, "isn't happy with me."

Wilbur humphed and picked at a grass stem. "Well, he's my brother, and I still think he's safe." He turned away and went back to Tommy and the others.

Quackity eyed Techno, whose sleep had turned restless. He watched as Techno shifted uneasily, and could just barely catch the sound of the hybrid's voice as he spoke desperately. "Safe, huh?" Quackity remarked under his breath. "Safe. You're not safe. You never were. You just need the right circumstances." His hand trembled as he reached up behind him, feeling the bandages around his wings. "Safe." He snarled. "Safe. I'll make sure Wil sees just how safe you are, you bloodthirsty bully. They'll all see it, if I get the chance."