Ranboo

Ranboo stared at his arm. Resting right on his left inner wrist was a circular jewel with a half-spherical quality. It was a gray at the edges, a dark green for the most part, and a lighter green in the middle were a crack of black made an almost straight line in the middle. It resembled an eye, Ranboo noted. He let his fingers trail across it. While the eye was freezing cold to the touch, a spike of warmth flooded the rest of his body. Ranboo shivered in surprise. He tore his hand away from the jewel embedded into his skin. At least it didn't hurt. Ranboo didn't choose to have the thing. It appeared without his consent.

"Do you children know what these mean?" A woman asked them. Ranboo looked around the room. He wasn't alone. Sitting right beside him was a boy named Tubbo who had bee wings and antennas. Tubbo was the one that Ranboo had gone through the maze with, and the reason that Ranboo had this jewel in his arm. To be fair, though, Ranboo was pretty sure he was the reason why Tubbo's arm had honey-gold hexagons on his right wrist. All Ranboo knew about it was that in the maze, he had been terrified of a golem, and when he grabbed Tubbo's hand, the tattoo-like things appeared on their arms when Ranboo teleported them out of the maze.

Tubbo was the only person in the room Ranboo could name. The woman who spoke was a Thaumaturge, one of the highest ranking mages in the Watchers. At the woman's side was a golden haired boy wearing a red apprentice Thaumaturge outfit. Right by the golden haired boy was a pale blonde kid wearing something like a purple kimono with light armor. Sitting on Ranboo's other side (farther away than Tubbo) was a girl with hair the color of redwood and a boy with features that resembled a shark and a Totem.

When no one answered her, the woman began to explain. "They are called Markings. Mages are able to use their will to control the chaos of the universe in various ways. One thing we have taught you all is that most forms of magic have an opposite. When two mages with opposing skill sets form trust each other with their lives, they are able to gain a Marking. It creates an unshakable bond between the mages, creating what we call Confidantes. Some theorize that any two mages can become Confidantes, while others claim it is something more intwined with destiny, like soulmates. No matter what you believe it to be, Confidantes are rare. Not only does it provide a mage with someone they can trust completely, a rare commodity in our profession, it increases your magical prowess. The Watchers chose you six for your impressive talents to become Confidantes with each other."

The woman turned towards the golden haired boy and the pale blonde. "Tommy Innit of the Northern Kingdom, you are unmatched in your ability to control the elements air and fire. You also have the remarkable gift to summon starlight from the heavens." She turned to the pale blonde. "This pairs with Purpled Gray of the nomadic tribes, who is proficient with the element earth. You can create defensive magic like armor and shields. Due to your Origin as a reaper, you can summon the grim magic of shadows. The two of you have become Confidantes."

The woman walked over to Ranboo and Tubbo. Ranboo swallowed down his nerves, instinctively grabbing Tubbo's hand. The woman smiled softly at both of them before turning to Tubbo first. "Tubbo Underscore of the Northwestern meadows, you have the ability to summon explosions and a unique form of mental manipulation." She looked to Ranboo with a soft expression like she knew how nervous he was. Maybe she did, Ranboo thought. Thaumaturges were known as miracle workers. "Ranboo Beloved of the End dimension, possessor of one of the rarest forms of magic: Void manipulation and teleportation. The two of you have become Confidantes."

The woman gave Ranboo a head pat before walking to the girl. "Hannah Rose of the Wild Forests. You are a woman of superior talent in illusion magic. Because of you Fae origin, you are skilled in plant manipulation and the creation of Will O' the Wisps. Your partner is Foolish Gamers of the Aether dimension. As an reincarnated soul, you are able to tame one of the most dangerous forms of magic known to all mages: storm magic. The two of you are Confidantes."

The woman walked back to Tommy. She turned to face all of them. "The reason we have made these pairings is because we have a special mission for all of you. On the isles to the south of the main continent lays a colony of hybrids with varying Origins living in harmony. The Watchers are proud to see that this, and while we don't want to disturb the peace, we've been informed that there is a powerful mage who deserted the Watchers hiding among the colony. It will be your duty to infiltrate the colony to find this mage and return them to the Watchers for punishment."

Ranboo looked back at his hands. Even though the woman said it happily, Ranboo felt nervous for this person. Ranboo had been with the Watchers for his entire life. He had been told that he wandered out of an End portal and was raised by Enderman. The Watchers took Ranboo in when they realized he had a level of sentience. To that end, Ranboo had never seen the Watchers being cruel. His teachers were strict, but they weren't unfair to anybody. Ranboo had never been made fun of for his inability to control the elements or his odd appearance. Ranboo didn't know why he felt anxious. It could be that he was naturally like this, but he didn't know why it came to him at the thought of a deserter being punished. It was justice. It wasn't like they would be killed... merely reformed for their actions.

"Lady Clara! The others said they wanted to talk to you before you explain the mission," A woman came into the room. She wore a blue poncho with golden runes sown along the edges. She had the bell-shaped sleeves pressed together to hide her hands. She had brown hair with purple tips, and her blues eyes were sparkling with a hint of sea green. Around the woman, a sea turtle no bigger than a chessboard's width flew on top of bubbles. Ranboo knew this woman was another Thaumaturge, but he didn't know her name. At least he knew the person who had been talking to them was named Lady Clara.

"Oh, I'll be right there, Lady Alvara. Please wait here, children. Tommy, can I trust you to keep the order?" Clara said, turning towards the blonde. Even though his smirk was nothing short of wicked, Tommy nodded to Clara. She huffed with an amused smile, following the other Thaumaturge outside the room. Ranboo counted to three before everything dissolved into chaos.

Tubbo grabbed onto Ranboo's arm with a growing smile. Usually, Ranboo would be comforted by the touch, but Tubbo's smile made Ranboo slightly uncomfortable. Ranboo was right in his feelings when Tubbo shamelessly asked. "Does being Confidantes make us platonically married?"

Ranboo felt a blush creep all the way up his neck onto his cheeks. As his eyes darted around the room, he noticed that everyone was blushing in secondhand embarrassment, some more visible than others. Before Ranboo could refute Tubbo's claim, Tommy pointed at Purpled threateningly. "Oi, dickface, you and I are not married in any sense of the word!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't marry you," Purpled replied. Though it wasn't abundantly clear, Purpled did have a slight blush at the implications. Ranboo was just blushing even harder as everyone started to reflect on Tubbo's point.

"You motherfucker! Am I not good enough to marry? I'll tell you what, you shit, I would be a wonderful husband," Tommy argued with his face burning a bright red. Ranboo didn't know if that was blushing or if Tommy's face got red when he was angry. Ranboo suspected it was a mixture of both.

"You are sending a lot of mixed messages," Purpled deadpanned, his blush completely gone. Tommy snarled at him, crossing his arms over his chest like a little child. Purpled sighed. Hesitantly, Purpled ruffled Tommy's hair. While it wasn't met with immediate resistance, Tommy did seem antsy with the contact. Purpled looked him over. "Sure. Why not? Platonic husbands. I've done worse."

Hannah laughed from where she was. Ranboo looked over to see that her and Foolish hadn't moved all that much during the conversation. Now, she turned to Foolish, sticking her hand out. Foolish accepted it, and they shook hands. While they were doing that, Hannah gave a polite smile before turning to them all. "I think we'll stick with friends."

"So will we-"

"Yay! We're platonically married! Take that, taxes!" Tubbo cheered, interrupting Ranboo as he threw his arms around Ranboo's neck. Ranboo looked back at the bee hybrid with an awkward smile. He wasn't going to argue with that no matter how much he wanted to. Ranboo just meant that they didn't pay taxes, so why was Tubbo concerned about that? Well, that didn't matter. Tubbo was excited. Ranboo didn't mind it. They were going to have to be close anyways since they were Confidantes. He looked down to the eye lodged in his wrist. This proved they were connected.

"Hello, children," Clara said as she came back into the room. She gave them all a concentrated look as if to defer what had happened in her absence. With a satisfied nod, Clara continued speaking. "You will all leave in two weeks time. It is suggested that not only do you further your connection with your Confidantes but also as a team. It would be good to strategize together. I trust that you all will grow to be some of the strongest mages in our known history. It may seem like big shoes to fill, but you have all proven to be prodigies and lucky in the genetic lottery. I cannot wait to see the heights you all will travel."