Techno had to change into a dry set of clothes before they left, so Phil quickly flew them back to his house. While Techno changed in the bathing area, Phil got everything they need. A small bag with emergency potions, his sword and golden apples. For a second he considered wearing armor, but the gold would probably give away his position faster than his green clothes.

He turned towards his human friend when he heard the curtain being moved. Phil had given him a darker set of clothes so he could also hide better in the shades of trees and bushes. "Ready?" "Yup. Let's make this quick so no one will notice." The bird nods and opens his Enderchest. "Here. You will need this, if it comes down to fighting." He smiled as he held Techno's netherite sword out for him to take.

"Wait... really? I can have it back?" "Only for now. I would let you keep it, but I'm not so sure if the others would all agree with me." "Right..." Techno grabbed the sword and tied it to his waist. He would have preferred his axe for a fight, but he doesn't want to ask Phil for it instead. He should be grateful the bird even dared to give him his weapon back. "Alright. The place I want to go to isn't too far away from the fog, so we can walk. It will probably be safer for now, as hunters are looking for a flying hybrid." "Whatever you say. I trust your lead on this. You've been doing this for years."

Phil smiled and helped Techno down from the house. They quickly made their way over to the fog and disappeared into it before anyone could notice. A few crows followed them to act as guardians and an alarm system while they will gather the resources they need. It felt weird to walk through the dense fog again, but he felt a little safer every time he saw the familiar black wings in front of him, leading the way.

The guardians let them pass without a problem, Phil's feathers glowing slightly when they walked over the stone bridge. "They detect hybrid traits... don't they? You're feathers always glow near them." "They do. They know if the person crossing is a hybrid or not. And even then, outsiders are first tested. Hybrids can be hostile too... years of being hunted down making a large portion of us egoistic and only focused on our own survival."

Techno hummed and watched as a guardian swam past them, glancing up at him. The human walked closer to his hybrid friend, nervous that the guardian might try to drown him for whatever reason.

They soon reached the other side of the fog wall that surrounds the sanctuary. The dense forest looked familiar to Techno, making him smile. At least the trees had provided him with some sort of safety during his week living in the wild. "Alright, follow me."

Phil lead the way through the trees, staying away from any existing paths that humans have made. The crows stayed in the surrounding trees, looking out for any kind of dangers that could threaten their two friends.

It didn't take long to find some berry bushes, since they grew almost everywhere in the spruce forest. They gathered wood and saplings after they got a decent amount of berries. During the whole time they didn't talk unless they absolutely had to and even then they only whispered. They were in the enemies territory after all. Talking could give away their position to any nearby hunters.

Techno covered Phil the best he could when he picked up more wood, scanning the surrounding area. The forest was quiet... too quiet. It made him anxious and grip his sword a little tighter. He jumped when Phil touched his arm, showing him he's ready to move to the next spot. The bird chirped at one of his crows for confirmation if the coast was clear and quickly started to lead the way once he got a yes.

This time they walked much longer. The further they got away from the safety of the sanctuary, the more nervous Techno got. They were wearing no armor in favor of hiding in the trees and bushes and only had their swords with them. One good shot from a hunter and they're dead. He prays to the gods above that it wouldn't come down to a fight.

Soon, they reached a clearing where some bamboo was growing. Phil and Techno stayed at the edge of the forest until the crows confirmed that no one was around. Only then they slowly creeped out into the clearing, grabbing a handful of bamboo each. Every branch snapping or leave rustling could be a potential threat and every time it happened they both froze and looked over at that spot, ready to just bolt at any moment.

It worked out pretty well, without any hunters disturbing them. Or at least they thought so...

When they turned to leave the clearing, satisfied with their loot, a crow shrieked loudly. A warning. Someone is coming. They both immediately tried to run for cover in the trees, but more shrieks came from that direction. They were surrounding them. Techno could spot something reflecting sunlight in the trees. "Phil look out!" He quickly grabbed his friend and pulled him out of the way, an arrow piercing itself into his shoulder.

"Techno!" Phil tried to grab the arrow and heal his friend, but hunters started to emerge from the trees, crossbows and regular bows pointing at them. Techno groaned in pain, but stood back up with his sword in hand, the hybrid pressing against his human friend. One wrong move and all arrows would come flying their way.

Luckily, Techno didn't spot the familiar white mask in the crowd. "Step away from the hybrid. He's our prey." Techno growled and gripped his sword tighter. "No. I won't let you hurt him." The hunters shared confused looks. Why the fuck is a human protecting the hybrid? "He's not dangerous. Just let us leave and we won't cause you any trouble." If he had all his weapon and armor, he may have challenged them, but not now. Now he's vulnerable.

While Techno tried to talk his way out of the situation, his injured shoulder burning in pain, Phil moved behind his friend, keeping an eye on most of the hunters. He has to figure out a way to get out without risking him or Techno getting shot. A quick glance at the sky showed heavy clouds starting to cover up the sun. They could use them to escape! But he has to get up to them first... and the bird is pretty sure that there will be dozens of arrows flying as soon as his wings even twitch.

Then again... they would shoot him anyways, so this is probably the only chance he will get. They are still confused by Techno trying to protect him, so they should use this confusion to their advantage. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around his friend's torso, trying to look like he was only hiding behind him for safety. "Hold on. I'll get us out of here..." Techno pressed closer to him, knowing that the hunters don't understand a single word he says.

In a second, Phil had spread his wings and shot up into the air, dodging every arrow that came flying their way. Techno held on to Phil for dear life, watching the ground zoom past with how fast Phil was going. The bird grinned as he flew between the trees, knowing that there was no way that the humans would be able to shoot him down. And maybe he was laughing at how Techno was reacting this kind of flying too.

The Elytrian dodged more nets and arrows coming their way, spotting more hunters revealing themselves. "Okay. Fun's over now." He gripped Techno tighter and turned to fly straight up now to where the arrows wouldn't reach them anymore. Higher and higher, until they were above the clouds.

"Are you okay? Did anyone manage to hit you?" "I'm fine. Those hunters were terrible shots... how's your shoulder?" Techno tried to reach for the arrow, but only hissed when it moved the slightest bit. "Not good..." "I'll heal it back at the pub. Just a bit longer." The human nodded and tried his best to keep his grip on Phil.

"No wonder you're so hard to catch... with flying like that. And that was while carrying another person." The bird laughed and started to fly lower, spotting the familiar ring of fog. "Thank you. I love messing with them when I know they have no chance. It's different when I know a hunter is skilled enough to maybe get me... but not those idiots."

Techno huffed and looked up at him again. "How did you survive so long again?" Phil just grinned and dove down to pass through the fog, allowing the guardians to confirm its only him and Techno that are trying to enter. Let's not risk getting shot down by them, because they will actually get him.

The human sighed when he finally spotted the pub on its floating island, knowing that they are safe now. Phil carefully landed on the grass path and helped his friend into the pub.

He was met with two sets of angry eyes staring at him, the owners of said eyes standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed. Oh he's gonna kill Tommy when he gets out of here...

"Where the fuck were you?"