Chapter 12 is also up! Don't forget to read both. Next week I will start posting only one chapter on Mondays and Wednesday due to school. But there will still be updates on both days!

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Rose Tea

Chapter Eleven [Techno]

Techno and Phil sat rather uncomfortably on the front of the carriage. He knew that if anyone who knew Phil, saw this scene would probably pass out in shock. He knew that by human standards it was odd for a nobleman to pull their own carriage but Techno was against the thought of hiring a coachman. If they added one more human to their posse; he was going to die of an aneurysm. And yes, technically Phil was only half-human, but beastfolk were just as bothersome. They looked like a traveling circus.

"Tommy, sit down, you might fall out!" Techno glanced behind to see that Tommy had opened the window to the horse-drawn carriage, the wind blew through his hair. Thank god that the smell of that overbearing cologne was blown the other way. Inside Tubbo appeared to be trying to pull the excited brat back in.

"Look at this Tubbo! We're in a carriage, like those posh upstarts that always strut around town!"

Techno shook his head. Not that someone his size would fit on the inside of a human-made carriage, but he was glad he was out here. Wilbur must be having a field day with those two. And he wasn't being sarcastic.

Phil chuckled. It was afternoon, the sun was reasonably warm as it shone down on them, but he was used to hotter so he didn't mind. Phil wore a green and white striped hat that shielded him from the rays, but Techno wasn't sure if it counted as fashionable. Though he was no expert on human fashion.

They were currently on the road south of Crowle. Phil believed that the last place Dream's axe was located was in the port town south of them. The port town of Yuden. It would take them 3 days to arrive, so until then Techno would have to put up with the growing number of people beside him.

He was getting used to Wilbur, but he was actually fine with Phil. That question he asked him the night before still weighed on his mind, but outside of that he was pleasant company to be around. At least Phil didn't bother him with useless chatter like Tommy or nag him like Wilbur. Tubbo...well he was making himself useful holding onto Wilbur's journal.

They packed lightly. Enough supplies to eat and rest, but nothing more than necessary. Techno had a good nose, so he wasn't worried about finding resources. If they really needed anything then he would help track it down.

"W-whoa!" Techno turned around and reached out as Tommy nearly fell out of the carriage, "Whoops..." Tommy awkwardly grinned while hanging uselessly by his collar in Techno's grip, half hanging out of the carriage window. Techno frowned and let Tubbo pull the teen back into the carriage. Tommy made no moves to lean out the window again.

"Well, at least you don't hate them," Phil mused.

"What?"

"The orphans," Phil gestured with his head to the back of the carriage, his left hand held onto the reigns, his right arm was back to sitting in the sling.

"Hmph," Techno snorted, "I'm not really fond of them, either," Techno looked over at Phil.

"Maybe so, but you also didn't let them die last night either. That must count for something."

"I think you're giving me too much credit, I'm not sure if it's the human in you or the birdbrain in you, but those kids would have been in the way if they stuck around. All I did was get them out of the way."

"Sure, sure, but you also had no plans to fight either. For a guy who says he doesn't care, that was a pretty self-sacrificing act."

Techno took it back. Maybe they wouldn't get along as well as he thought. He knew he should've left last night. He could've let Phil handle all of Wilbur's hero business. Though, even though he berated himself for that, he knew he wouldn't have left. He would just berate himself for not leaving and leave it at that.

"Hey Techno! Hey Techno!" Wilbur flew up and out of the carriage before flying right beside Techno as the carriage continued to move, "Guess what!"

"What?" Wilbur swung at him and lightly punched him in the shoulder. Techno stiffened, "Ow! What was that for?"

Techno clutched his shoulder. It didn't actually hurt that much, the ghost had no power behind his punch, but he was battered and bruised so it hurt more than it should.

"I can touch things now. I can control it at will now! That means you can leave some of the fighting to me!" Wilbur smiled. Phil snickered beside Techno.

"That's great Will, give me a little warning before you hit me. Injured pig here, remember?"

"Whoops, sorry. Anyways. Tommy and Tubbo have been helping me practice, so now I'm a little less ghostly!"

Wilbur stayed outside the carriage for a bit. Techno closed his eyes as Wilbur and Phil chatted beside him. He could hear Tommy and Tubbo loudly laughing in the carriage behind him, the body of the carriage rattled only a little bit but settled down fast. He dozed off.

When he woke, he was nearly thrown off the carriage as it came to a rumbling halt. He groaned as he caught himself from falling. It was early evening, the sun had not quite set yet.

"Sorry there, mate. The boys in the back want a bathroom break, and it's getting late so I thought it best to stop here for the night and start setting up camp to avoid the monsters.

"That's fine," Techno slowly slid off the carriage. He walked to the back where they had stored the supplies they had bought in town earlier. He chuckled for a moment when he remembered the shocked face of one shop owner as they stared up at him in all his bandages and glory.

"Let me help!" Tubbo hopped out of the carriage and ran up to Techno. Techno handed the boy their bundled sleeping bags. Tommy came up to him, and Techno handed him a small crate. Inside they had some of their food supplies.

"Oh, I wasn't–" Tommy quieted when Tubbo nudged him and the two left with their things. Techno himself gathered up some of the heavier things like the tents and more of the food.

"Over here Techno," Phil gestured for Techno and he brought the items over. Phil began working on the tents and Techno left to grab tinder for a fire. The sun was low to the horizon and cast dark shadows over the hilly terrain they traveled through. There weren't that many trees in the area, mainly shrubs and bushes, so he was left to gather meager amounts of wood. As Techno walked further he could hear a faint noise. His ears twitched slightly and began to pick up the sound of voices.

"H-hey fellas! Come on, why don't we just go our separate ways–oof!" There was a pause, "A-alright, you got me there fellas! Good punch so why don't–"

"Shut up, just hand over your money while we're being nice."

Techno climbed to the top of the hill and saw on the other side a group of 4 people, 3 of them appeared to be standing over the 4th as they pulled from the individual their bag while tossing out items from the bag.

"Careful fellas, I kind of need those." Techno thought for a moment and then turned away. He couldn't be bothered.

"Hey! Mister Pig Monster! Help!" Techno stiffened and looked around. The four figures were now looking up at him, with the man on the ground waving to him. Techno slowly turned away again. Just keep going, he couldn't handle another–

"Oi! Hand over your things!" The three men were slowly walking up the hill, hands slowly reaching for their weapons.

"If I ask you to nicely go back to beating up the other guy, would you?" The men yelled and pulled out their weapons and charged up the hill to him.

Techno sighed, "Of course not, it's never that easy. Since when do humans reasonably listen?" Techno threw down his gathered twigs at them, which sent one man fumbling and stumbling as he tripped and rolled down the hill. Just to clarify, Techno didn't consider that fighting. He looked back behind him, in the distance he could faintly hear his comrades, should he call for them? Techno shook his head. What were two kids, a barely tangible ghost, and no offense, half a man-bird gonna be able to do in this situation? These bandits were armed, and unlike the last time help came running to his aid, they were not unconscious in a pool of their own blood.

Techno ducked under one swing. At least one of them was taken care of by chance. Techno glanced down at the bottom of the hill. He didn't see the traveler that they had attacked; of course, the bastard had probably already taken the chance to flee...leaving him with the armed assholes. Techno hissed in pain, he was pretty sure he just felt one of his cuts open up as the flesh tore under his bandages.

Keep it together, don't lose control.

Techno reached out and grabbed one bandit's sword before ripping it out of his hands and using his strength to fold the cheap weapon like a piece of paper. The bandit faltered and took a step back before running away in fright.

"Look man, I don't care to fight you," Techno tossed the origami sword to the ground and kicked it down the hill.

"Hmph, can't blame me for making an honest living," The third bandit shrugged.

"This is literally the least honest thing you can do, heh??" Techno said. The man snickered and shrugged. He raised his sword.

"HaAH!" someone yelled, but it wasn't the bandit. Instead, the origami sword Techno had thrown away was raised and swung behind the bandit until it connected with his head with a thunk. The man tumbled down unconscious and instead, a new stranger stood in his place.

Square glasses, brown hair, and a very toothy grin. He had a satchel around his shoulder at his waist. He was the traveler Techno had thought had run off, "Well, look who's getting robbed now!" The man clapped before bending down and rummaging through the bandit's pockets.

"That's pretty awful..." Techno said as he looked down at the stranger who pulled out a jangling bag of coins.

"What?" he looked up, "Are you going to stop me? It's honest work."

Techno waved the man off, humans were stupid off. He walked past him as he picked up his tossed tinder for the fire, "Yeah...I don't care that much." After gathering up the wood, the man stood at the top of the hill waiting.

"Thanks for the help friend," the man held out his hand to Techno, and he reluctantly took the hand. It was sweaty, and their smile was overly friendly. Reminded him of a certain friendly ghost.

"The names Charlie! What's a monster like you doing roaming these parts?" Techno stiffed and hugged his twigs close.

"What are you talking about, quit calling me that." Earlier before the start of their journey, Phil had discussed with Techno that in the interest of traveling, it would be best to not reveal his nature to outsiders. Instead, he was supposed to pose as a regular beastfolk, though he doubted many people would believe him at first, "I'm just a normal pig folk..."

The man laughed at him, but not in a way Techno found funny, "What? There's nothing wrong with being a monster. So am I, well sorta," he tilted his head.

"Hey Techno! You have that firewood yet?" In the distance he heard Phil calling for him, he stood on top of a hill waving to him.

"Oh, are those your friends? Cool, I'll come and say hi!" Charlie made moves to head over but Techno reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"What do you mean you're a..." Techno sniffed the air surrounding the man. It smelled human...but also not. It was something so subtle he wouldn't have noticed if the man hadn't said anything.

The man looked at him, "Don't look so shocked man, you're not the only muck around living on the down-low. Us monsters gotta stick together, right?" Techno didn't stop the man as he started running over to his comrades, "Hi!" he shouted, "I'm Charlie! Your pal Techno just saved me, I hope you don't mind me joining you.

Techno slowly began to walk back behind the man. Monster huh? Sticking together... Techno sighed. The real issue was how he was sure his group was growing, mainly with annoyances. He knows he thought he would die if another human was added...he didn't expect a loophole to that...

As Techno arrived, he noticed the tents were pitched and a small fire was already burning. The area of their campsite, carriage, and horses included, were surrounded by a ring of monster warding lanterns. Basically what the lanterns did was they could conceal the area somewhat from a monster's senses. Phil was waiting with an unlit lantern to allow for Techno to walk in, but after the two of them entered the lantern was lit. To Techno, now on the inside of the ward, the world outside of their camp appeared a little hazy. It was good they beat the sunset before the monsters began to rise.

Techno deposited some of his tinder into the fire and the rest in a pile beside it. It looked like Tubbo was already beginning work on a pot of stew. He was surprised the boy knew how to cook.

"Hey who's this chump?" Tommy narrowed his eyes and puffed out his chest as he looked down at the man.

"Down boy, down," Phil walked up and placed his hands on Tommy's shoulders. Who reluctantly glowered and started to slouch.

"I'm Charlie, I was in a bit of a pickle just over there and your friend here saved me," Charlie pointed at Techno.

"Oh, that's wonderful! See I knew you were a good guy," Wilbur clapped.

"I was dragged into the situation against my will," Techno said, "Oh Phil, you mind taking a look at this wound? I think it opened up again," Techno pointed to his side where a slowly growing splotch of blood was seeping through his bandages.

"God mate! What did you do!" Phil rushed over and dragged Techno to the fire before sitting him down on the ground.

"Uh...bandits," Techno looked away as Phil gave him a look, "I didn't fight them if you're wondering. Just scared them a little." He winced as Phil removed his bandage. Charlie sat down by the fire and Tommy sat across from him, still shooting the stranger untrusting glares.

"Would you like some rabbit stew?" Tubbo dished out a bowl of stew.

"Thank you–" Charlie noticed Wilbur floating just over the fire peering down at the stew curiously, "Hey! That's a funky ghost you got there!"

"Nice to meet you, Charlie, you can call me Wilbur."

Techno said a quick thanks as Tubbo handed him a bowl of stew. The smell was tantalizing, and the taste, better than he imagined. Maybe at least one of their new members had a good use here.

"H-hot!" Tommy shouted and nearly spilled his stew. The stew dribbled from his mouth back into the bowl.

"I told you to blow on it Tommy," Tubbo shook his head and Charlie laughed opposite of Tommy. Tommy turned slightly red. Phil only chuckled before tying up Techno's new bandage.

"All set mate, try not to strain yourself again. Call for us if you get into trouble, you can trust us," Techno watched as Phil slowly tucked his right arm back into his sling and placed the bowl of stew given to him from Tubbo on the ground. He used his left hand to spoon the food into his mouth. Wilbur looked down at the group eating and chatting, Techno could see the sort of despondent look in his eyes. He looked at his half-eaten serving, he honestly felt bad for the ghost. 300 years and no memory of taste or smell or touch.

"So what brings you fellas out here?" Charlie said.

"Wouldn't you like to know–" Tommy started.

"We're heading to Yuden!" Tubbo interjected. Tommy frowned.

"Hey me too!" Charlie pointed to himself.

"Well you're welcome to join us, Wilbur said, he snapped out of his daze and floated down beside Charlie with a cheery grin.

Charlie grinned, "Thanks! I think I'll take you up on that. I have to take a ship at their port, but it's hard traveling alone. So I'm glad I ran into you guys."

"So what do you do, anyways?" Phil asked. Techno perked up, he was also curious what a strange guy like him would be doing, traveling alone, spouting nonsense about monsters sticking together.

"Oh, nothing much. I just like to travel, meet new folks, see new sights, and so on," Charlie set his bowl down and clasped his hands together, "I'm searching desperately for rare treasures for my love!" he fluttered his eyelashes. Techno gagged but didn't show it.

"That sounds romantic, they must be a really lucky person to have someone so dedicated like," Wilbur said, his eyes shining.

Charlie laughed, "Oh stop, you, it's just a silly nickname. They're just a collector of rare items, and the nickname grates their nerves so I use it for fun. I don't mean much by it."

"Oh..." Wilbur looked a little less starstruck.

"We're also looking for something rare, an axe–" Tubbo was stopped as Phil interjected.

"An axolotl, Techno here wanted a, um, rare golden pet axolotl, so we are traveling...to get...one..." Phil trailed off.

Techno was very close to physically face-palming but he resisted the outward urge to shame Phil for his impeccable lying skills. To use him of all things for the excuse and to do it so poorly; it ticked him off. He held it in though.

"Really? That sounds great. Axolotls are pretty cute, and if you're going down to the port town of Yuden, I'm sure you'll find some good ones." It seemed Charlie didn't hear what Tubbo had almost said. Tommy yawned and in turn, Tubbo followed, "Looks like it's getting late, thanks for the meal. I can help clean up if you don't mind."

"Thanks, mate, I appreciate that," Phil started grabbing bowls with Charlie helping.

"Let us help Phil," Tubbo yawned again.

"Don't worry about it, just go get some rest in the tents." The two boys nodded and quietly left to enter the tent.

"I'll keep watch," Wilbur flew up into the sky. Techno added more twigs to the fire. It crackled and sparked and the embers flew lazily into the night sky above. Techno ate the last bit of his stew before walking over to Phil and Charlie and adding his bowl to the pile.

"I can wash these up, I'm afraid we don't have a spare sleeping bag, but..."

"Oh don't worry about that, I prefer sleeping without one," Charlie waved the gesture off.

"I'll stay up for a bit and keep watch with Wilbur," Techno interrupted.

"Sure thing, just wake me in a few hours and we'll switch." Techno nodded and left to sit back by the fire. He was doing this partly because he didn't know Charlie and wanted to be sure the man was as friendly and as nice as he seemed. By the smell of him...he was still a monster so he still could have that instinct buried in him. Techno didn't want to see anything happen just because he decided to ignore the nervous feelings in his mind.

He still hadn't decided whether he would be a fighter or a pacifist, but he could still keep watch over the others, just to be on the safe side.

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Word Count: 3342

Yay! One of my favorite characters is finally here! Charlieeee!!!

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