Don't let them take me - KenjoCatze (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Dreams shoulders drop in obvious defeat, the tips of them shivering noticeably.

“Look-” Techno says, shifting his stance so his sword points more to the ground than at Dream. “I really need some ‘me time’, if you want to call it that. And I know you can take care of yourself, you do manhunts against multiple people for fun. This isn’t much different and this time there isn’t a- a compass leading straight to you. So keep your head down and you’ll be fine, I know you will. You’re a strong person, Dream, don’t let them win.”

Dream stares at him for a beat, reaction time slow, then makes a small frustrated growl in the back of his throat as he looks down at the hastily crafted wooden axe shaking in his weak hand. He looks pathetic, shivering in the cold despite the boots they’d stolen and Technos cape around his shoulders, his dull green eyes glaring down at the snow in defeat.

Techno sighs and turns around. As much as he’d entertain the thought of taking Dream with him, he really needs space after over a month of constant proximity to the nerd. He also needs a few weeks of hibernation, but realistically the first thing he’ll do is get Philza to call for a syndicate meeting and see if any of the members will help him destroy the prison.

Just thinking of the prison makes his fingers curl angrily, the blatant abuse of power and institutions that everyone seems content to just glance away from. Dream didn’t get a trial, the green Teletubby had confided in him that the only reason Tommy and the server hadn’t just murdered him, was because he had the revival book to use as a bargaining chip for his life. That he was only kept so that they could revive anyone who lost their last life.

Chat screams in his head as his boots crunches in the snow, some angry and some delighted that he left Dream behind.

He does feel a bit bad leaving him behind. Dream clearly wasn’t doing too well, sometimes he’d almost act like the nerd Techno had come to know and other times he’d withdraw completely, only the obvious set to his shoulders revealing that Dream suddenly flipped into being scared of Techno. One time Dream had fearfully called him “Sir” and Techno could have ripped the heads of Sam and Quackity with his bare hands at the same time in that moment. Still, for how affected Dream was, Techno has faith he’ll be able to take care of himself. After all Dream was an expert at running and surviving against all odds, and without a compass leading straight to him no one would be able to find him. Anyone on the server could disappear if they truly wanted to, even Techno himself was only found by the Butcher army because he’d given Philza Minecraft a compass pointing to his home.

Speaking of Philza, Techno muses, staring at Phil's house. The lights are out, but he can see a faint glow from the dog house and in passing he smiles, glancing briefly inside where they are resting, unbothered by his month-long disappearance. Instead of heading home immediately, the first thing he does is knock firmly at Phil’s door, louder and louder until he hears his old friend shout "Shut!" on the other side, the windows lighting up as he comes to the door.

“Philza,” Techno greets his stunned friend once the door has opened. Immediately he’s pulled into a firm hug, snout tugged into Phil’s neck by a firm hand at the back of his head. The familiar scent of the oils Phil uses on his wings finally makes him feel like he’s home, easing tense muscles in his back. “Did you read my will?” He asks.

“Mate,” Philza says, stunned, releasing Techno and blinking up at him. “Ah, no, not yet, it hasn't been that long.”

Chat screams, calling Phil old and forgetful.

“Bruh, it’s been over a month, Philza.” Techno says humorously.

“Ah.” Phil fidgets, wings ruffling. “I thought you said three months? I- besides, I had faith you wouldn’t die!" He chuckles nervously, "So what happened? Did you get to talk with Dream?”

“Yeah, the warden locked me in with him. I was able to use Dream’s knowledge of its blueprints to find us a way out, but Phil, the prison… It's bad, worse than I thought. The amount of infringements of sentient rights and abuse of power is staggering, and from what Dream said, most of the server is aware of it."

Phil purses his lips, displeased, “Do you need me to call a syndicate meeting for you?”

“Yeah, I’m starving and I want to sleep in my bed for once.” Techno’s stomach growls, signalling its agreement. As much as he liked potatoes, raw they were somewhat unpleasant and potentially poisonous.

Even if Techno happily avoided the potatoes with green spots, he saw Dream munching on them a few times. His stomach clenches painfully at the memory of Dream eating those. With that diet, it honestly was no wonder Dream’s gripping strength had gotten so weak in the prison that he almost couldn't hold a wooden axe.

“Come on in then, I’ll get something together for you.” Philza lets him inside, placing a glass of apple juice on the dining table before Techno.

Techno grumbles, not really thirsty. Dream had shared his delightful method of overdrinking with him so at least Techno could say he wasn't thirsty. “No potatoes please.”

Phil stops, blinking down at him. “Mate, you're asking for no potatoes? Technoblade is asking for no potatoes?”

“We only had raw potatoes, Phil. I don’t really feel like eating more potatoes for a while. They didn’t even give us any new ones, all we had was the ones Dream had rationed and half of those were already going bad by the time I was locked in with him.”

Phil stares, bewildered. “That’s...” Unable to give an answer he busies away in the kitchen, the smell of mushrooms sizzling away making his stomach clench painfully with hunger.

He’s so hungry-- starving really. As a pigling, he doesn’t need as much food as others like Philza or Ranboo did, but that doesn’t mean a month of near starvation and nutrient deficiency isn’t hard on his body or that his muscles haven’t long since begun atrophying.

Looking up, his eyes meet the portrait of Wilbur hanging on the wall ahead of him. They’d kept Dream locked up to resurrect the dead of the server, yet no one had asked Dream to resurrect Wilbur despite that being the purpose they said they kept him alive for. Techno snorts, clearly the people of the server didn’t care for resurrecting the dead indiscriminately.

After all, Wilbur had only been reviewed when Tommy had brought him as an accomplice in his failed attempt to murder Dream.

Techno truly does not know what goes through that kid's head. If Tommy had killed Dream then the kid would've most likely ended up murdered himself, either by the SMP who'd be angry that their boxed necromancer was dead or by Quackity and Sam who'd be angry that their plans failed.

Techno is glad nothing bad happened to Tommy, even if the kid yet again tried to do something selfish and hurt others doing it.

He sighs, tiredly and drums his fingers on the table cloth. He waits patiently, even as the smell of mushrooms turn heavenly, mouth-watering, as Philza must have put red fungus in the soup based on the distinctive spiciness added to the scent.

Philza grins as he finally hands him a large bowl filled almost up to the top. He stares down at the soup for a moment, taking in the real food before him, the brown almost sauce-like soup with red and brown chunks.

Unable to contain himself, Techno forgoes the spoon, holding it to the side of the bowl as he brings the bowl up and practically drinks the thick soup, chunks and all.

He feels his eyes water, almost crying as the warm soup glides down his throat pleasantly and the taste is even better than it's ever been. And Phil must have noticed Techno's tears for he chuckles softly at him.

"What can you tell me now?" Philza asks once Techno has drained the bowl. "And do you want more?"

"I'm good." shaking his head, Techno scratches at the bowl, tilting his head. "I don't want to have to repeat myself too much but while Dream can't remember exactly how long it was going on, I believe that for between two to four months before my birthday, Sam had been allowing Quackity to come into the prison every day to torture Dream."

Philza pales. "What?"

"Yeah," Techno grunts. "He wants the revival book and unfortunately he's willing to do anything to get it." he grimaces, remembering some of the wounds he'd seen on Dream that hadn't yet healed in the week's break he got until Techno was locked up with him. Some of Dream's scars, the ones Techno had been able to spot, the ones Dream didn't hide quickly enough, painted horrific implications of the methods Quackity had utilized on the man.

"And where is Dream now? I don't imagine he'll just let something like this go. Even just two months is a… horrifyingly long time to be tortured, I'm surprised he can even walk."

Techno snorts, "He almost couldn't the first week I was in there with him. He kept stumbling over his own feet and using the walls as crutches. But not being tortured for a month did wonderours for him. I should start a physical therapy office, I have practice now." he jokes weakly.

"It really bothers you huh?" Philza whispers, grabbing his wrist. "The thing with Dream?"

Techno nods, "I spent a month straight with him, Philza. It would've been a wonder if I didn't grow some attachment to the nerd. I don't think you can help a tortured man walk around and not grow some kind of attachment to them."

"So he's a friend?" Philza grins.

"Bruh, don't expose me like this Philza."

"Still," Philza sighs, exhaustion lining his face as he looks away. "It's good that you sent him away."

"Heh?" Techno gapes at his old friend. "I thought you of all people would protest me leaving the tortured guy behind. I thought you'd berate me, maybe tell me to baby him even if he'd hate it."

Phil grins. "I would but…" He frowns with a hard pull in his eyebrows. "It would be more dangerous for him here, Quackity knows where we live, this way he's safer, out of everyone's hands. He's had a month with you free of torture, so I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, if they’re more focused on us, Dream will have all the time in the world to get better. I think he might need that."

Techno snorts, chat is filling his head with sadness and that can't stand for long. "I'll send him a gift card once we've destroyed the prison and apologize for making him homeless again." he chuckles to try and ease the knot in his stomach. Chat, easy as always, begins screaming homeless Teletubby, drowning out the sad voices and making him feel lighter.

"He'll be okay, Techno." Philza reassures, always quick to catch onto Techno's moods. "He's Dream for f*cks sake, that man is famous for these exact situations, he'll never be caught."

Dream will be okay. Techno thinks again as he lays himself to bed that evening after bathing- after soaking for almost an hour. Despite knowing that Dream is more than capable of surviving on his own, Techno's stomach still betrays his worry.

Dream would be fiiiine.

At least that's what Techno resolved until the next morning when he went to make sure his wolves had enough food. He expected to find his dogs lazing about, stomachs filled with whatever Technochan's bi-daily hunting party killed only to find Dream huddled up in a corner of the dog house, shaking slightly, face and hands covered in blood as he wolfs down a piece of raw meat.

"...Dream?"

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

The rejection stings. Dream doesn't know how he'd ever convinced himself Techno would let him come with him to his cabin. Of course, he wouldn't, Techno cares for him, they're tentative acquaintances, tentative friends if he pushed it, but he's not Philza or one of Techno's pets. Techno cares for almost everyone around him in a broad sense of gentle empathy, but Dream isn't enough to warrant more care on his own.

Why would he be?

Dream breathes slowly, watching Techno's back get smaller and smaller. He feels paralyzed, breath coming out in misty puffs, the cold frigid air clinging to his ruined skin, soothing the constant pain while making him feel too much. His skin feels tight like it's choking him.

And then he's alone, the wind howling in his ear. He stands there, holding a badly made axe, clutching Technos cape, the ruined strap of his mask tangled in his fingers, unable to move. It feels like everything comes rushing back to him. Everything he's shoved down into a tight box not to dwell on, every cut and word he's had to repress to remain functioning, to be able to keep going. To seem like himself, to try and feel like himself, trying to feel like a person and not some hollow evil monster to be kept in a box until it's useful--

Dream flinches to the side, birdsong suddenly coming from his right. He trips over his legs, landing painfully in the scalding cold snow.

He wanted out so badly, to be free from the torture and the claustrophobic box, yet it all feels overwhelming. He’s scared, heart choking the air from his lungs. He feels himself aching for the pool of cool water, how crying obsidian would drip down in the centre of his forehead if he laid in the right spot, how he'd giggle in childish delight until the feeling of its drip would become overwhelming. He finds himself longing for the rush of stepping into searing hot lava and finally feeling alive, of using his own spilled blood to make finger paints in his books. He aches for having someone around, Techno had been a constant presence, a comfort to him that made him feel safe from torture, from all the pain he deserved but feared. He aches for company, for Techno, for--

He wants to puke, throw up, as he feels stinging yet kind phantom touches of Quackity. Mocking rewards for when Dream would comply quickly, a comforting hand running over his shoulders and brushing his cheeks as Dream called him ‘sir.’

His hands shake, he’s scared, he wants back. He wants back, he wants back, he wants back.

Dream feels burning confusion wrapped in humiliation, he'd longed for freedom, desperately craved it but now that he does have it all he feels is fear. He's terrified of the uncertainty, of making decisions again after being taught not to, after being taught that his own choices were always evils that only bring more pain.

Dream doesn't know what will happen to him now, he can't even get himself to move or make a decision for where to go. What if he chooses wrong, what if going as far away as he can, will mean that Sapnap will find and kill him? What if settling in the wrong biome means he starves? What if hiding away in a cave system means that Ranboo's amnesiac self will find him and take him back? What if hiding away in the SMP means that Quackity will find him and kill him? What if- what if--

Before Dream even has the opportunity to think about what he's doing, he finds himself following Techno's footsteps.

If he can just convince Techno that he can be useful, that he won't be in the way, that he can be quiet in a corner, or that he won’t be annoying, or be a burden, or disobedient, maybe he'll be able to survive, or recover or- anything really. Dream doesn't know what he wants, only that he's still desperately pushed by a fear of dying.

Eventually, as he finds his destination. There's a new house where Tommy and Ghostbur had built an unfinished shack, in the same style as Techno's but with an open balcony out the back. Besides it is a smaller hut and then further down, still in the fenced area but past the farm, is a building in a completely different style set into a cliff.

Dream feels nauseous, staring at the new buildings. He remembers, well, he thinks he remembers Techno mentioning having friends now, he just didn't think they lived this close.

Barely able to stand on his own, Dream sneaks around the new house, careful not to touch the building or smear any blood or grime on the pristine wood. He stops, hearing something bustle inside the shorter hut. Unable to help his curiosity, he carefully looks through the dimly lit windows. It's wolves, so, so many of them. Almost all of them are sleeping contently in big piles, others petting at each other with obvious care. Two puppies are gnawing on a piece of brightly coloured rope, playing tug of war. Along one wall is a basin of water and beside it a basin filled with dried meats. Dream's stomach clenches painfully, his tongue darting out to his lips in hunger as his eyes find a wolf happily gnawing on a piece of meat. It doesn't look hungry, none of them do, yet there's food left out for them.

They're Techno's pets, his war wolves, the remaining ones that survived Doomsday.

It’s clear they’re well cared for, even in Techno’s absence. The pigling truly loves and cares for his pets. When Dream had theoretically asked what he’d do if one of his wolves bit him, Techno had laughed and said they wouldn't, but if they did he's sure they’d have a reason to so it would be fine. The words had made Dream angry, he’d refused to speak to Techno for a day, wondering why the man wouldn’t throw away the wolf for biting. A wolf was just a pet, yet Techno showed more faith in his animals than Dream’s friends had shown in him.

Engrossed in staring at the eating wolf, mesmerized, almost able to imagine what the texture would feel like on his tongue, Dream flinches as something cold touches his elbow. He catches himself from falling by grabbing window still, spreading crusted blood on the wood. Dream freezes, his breath becoming laboured as he dares only a quick glance to find out what touched him.

It's a big wolf, one of the bigger ones if his quick glance told him anything, with a splattering of darker fur along its back. Not daring to look directly at it, Dream lets it sniff at his frozen form. Something warm and wet runs over his arm and over to his hand, rubbing, stabbing-- or licking, he realizes, at his dirty bandages and old crusted wounds and scars.

The wolf makes a soft sound, almost something like a growl as it steps around him and pushes at his hip with its head. When Dream doesn't move, it truly growls, sounding harsh and dangerous to Dream's easily frightened brain.

Dream startles, he stops breathing, feeling like his heart and lungs are being gripped tightly and squeezed. He falls, legs finally giving out under him in fear. Curling up against the wall with the cape over his head and eyes squeezed shut, Dream trembles, waiting for the wolf to bite and tear his flesh, but unable to lift even an arm to try and defend himself.

He's going to be eaten, the wolf had licked his blood and thought he tasted good.

Dream remembers watching from above as these wolves tore into people on Doomsday. He doesn't know what he'd felt seeing the people of the server scream in pain, wolves tearing into flesh, blood spurting everywhere before they were dragged into a respawn. Dream thinks maybe he'd found it fun, he thinks the Dream of before would have, he's a monster and monsters delighted in others pain, except right now it doesn't feel fun at all to Dream.

It's terrifying, something new, a new pain he's never felt. But maybe he'll finally be useful and lose his last life so the wolf will get a full meal from his body.

Except the wolf doesn’t bite, its tongue runs up his face and its head nudges at his tight throat, growling softly and pushing. Demanding that he move.

Dream crawls, limbs almost unable to carry himself as he lets the wolf nudge him with small touches that have him flinching, hurrying to crawl faster. He thinks he's being led around the hut but can't get himself to open his eyes to look at where he'll die. He'd rather the last thing he saw before dying being animals worth more care than him being well-fed and content. His hands burn in the cold, he feels himself crying silently, head dazed as the tears drop onto his hands.

The wolf nudges at his head from the front, halting him and growling firmly, nudging him to the side.

His hands touch something solid, warm air surrounding him as the wolf pushes more firmly at his side, pushing him fully into the wolf house. He's shoved forwards, mask slipping from his fingers and clattering over the floor, his shoulders crash into a wolf that growls loudly, teeth snapping up besides Dream's head with a snarl as it scrambles out from under him.

Stilling carefully as he lays prone on the floor, his ears ringing, Dream waits for the pain. Hopefully, with the whole pack of wolves, he'll die quicker and then his pain will finally be over. He'll finally be able to rest.

Except the snapping wolf doesn't bite, wet nose coming up to touch Dream's cheek. All around him, he can faintly hear other wolves beginning to move over to him, their noses and tongues prodding at his skin and wounds.

He feels his heart stuttering, finally able to breathe as he gasps for breath, the wolves touch hurting but soothing in a way he thought no physical contact but Techno's could ever be again. Daring to open his eyes, but unable to get himself to look directly at the wolves moving around him, he sees all of them seemingly taking their turn to smell and nudge at him.

Once they're done he feels cleaner than he has in months, blood and dirt having been licked from every bit of visible skin on him. A wolf steps up in front of him, daring to glance up beside its head, he recognizes it as the one that had found him outside. It drops something in front of him, a piece of the wolves' dried meat.

His teeth ache, stomach clenching as he stares at the food. The wolf nudges him, growling with its mouth pressed into his neck. Dream stills as it steps back and pushes the dried meat with its nose, shoving the food up into Dream's face. It growls again, licking at his closed mouth before stepping back.

Blinking, Dream stares cross-eyed at the meat and then tentatively up at the wolf standing firmly before him with its ears forwards. The wolf yips, licking its lips before nudging at Dream's face.

Oh.

It wants him to eat. It's allowing him to eat from their food.

His hands shake, almost unable to pick up the meat in quivering numb fingers, more scooping it into his mouth than holding it. He bites down on the hard meat, it tastes strange, not at all what he'd remembered dried meat to taste like, unable to comprehend the taste as his aching teeth chew at the slip to get a piece off. It’s hard, texture rough and it prickles, it doesn’t taste salted, but it burns at his taste buds anyways, scraping over scars on his tongue. The meat feels wrong and sharp as he swallows it, throat clenching painfully around it.

The wolf makes a sound of approval, stepping over him and laying down behind him with its head tucked over his neck. Trapping him under it.

Slowly as he works his way through the meat, with the heat from the wolves surrounding him, the steady rhythm of the wolves breathing, the weight of the wolf's head on his neck and the collar digging into his jaw, Dream finds his eyes dropping. For the first time in months, since he stopped living at the community house, he falls into a restful, peaceful sleep.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Dream wakes up warm, a comfortable heat that makes him sweat but not boil. He sighs, burrowing upwards into something soft which is tugged against his hair. There are weights pressing comfortably against him and on top of him, making him feel heavy and content.

One of the weights above him moves, something pointy digging into his rips just briefly before something wet runs over his cheek.

Eyes snapping open, he tenses. Dream stares out at the mass of white- grey's around him. Breathing laboured, his eyes flint around, he doesn't know where he is, he can't see the familiar obsidian walls or hear the cry of the Guardian as it curses him with constant fatigue. His hands spasm as he tugs them against his chest, the ground is too soft, there’s no sharp obsidian digging into his side. He sniffs, slight snot dripping from his nose.

The wet thing runs over his cheek again, the weight above him rumbling against his shoulder. There’s a sound, soft and pleasant-

Dream turns his head, staring up at the wolf. It’s the same one from last night. It continues licking him, its tongue dragging over his eyes. The drag across his skin pulls him out of his head, the tight feeling in Dream’s body lessening as he recalls what happened, where he is. He carefully notes his surroundings, he's in Techno's dog house, surrounded by the warmth of Techno’s wolves. And from this angle, he can see a nametag hanging from the collar of the wolf above him. Its name is Technochan. Unbridled Dream snorts softly, unable to comprehend why Technoblade would name one of his wolves that.

Technochan notices him calming, tucking its head under his chin and bumping up at his head with a playful sound. Dream grunts, as the wolf’s cold nose, dig into the skin under his chin. The weight lifts from him and Technochan nudges at his back.

He shifts, rolling up into a ball. Wanting nothing more than for the wolf to leave him to rot. He wants to lie there surrounded by wolves and quietly exist with no worries. But Technochan doesn’t care, it only grunts, thrusting into his back more firmly. Digging in further, its head starting to feel like a knife against his skin as it keeps pushing.

Dream grits his teeth, swallowing back a hiss of pain and pulls himself up to his knees. Technochan huffs at him, breath clammy against his cheek, it stands by him with its tail and head held high. He looks at it, their eyes meeting, it has warm golden eyes. It’s been so long since Dream looked someone in the eyes that he finds himself mesmerised, it almost feels like he’s falling into the wolf’s code as he gazes into its eyes. He can almost feel the code under his hands, full of life and- The moment ends abruptly, Technochan suddenly bares its teeth at him, growling harshly. Dream flinches away and averts his eyes to the floor.

He’s cold as the wolf nudges at him, pushing and guiding him through the piles of wolves, blankets, dog beds, dog toys, old half-eaten pieces of food- the entire cabin a mess of comfort. Technochan only stopping occasionally to stand over other awake wolves until they roll around with a small whine to show their belly. Technochan huffed pleased at their submission, biting at their necks, and having them lick at its muzzle.

He's guided to the basins of food and water. The water is slightly dirty and probably filled with wolf saliva but Dream doesn't care, scrambling over and cupping his hands in the blessedly cool water and bringing it to his mouth. He shakes too much, the water falling between his fingers and down his lap. Quickly giving up, he grips the sides of the basin and leans over the edge, dipping his chin in the water and letting it run in his mouth on its own. He drinks, sinking down mouthful on mouthful until he feels like a water balloon ready to burst, stomach aching no longer rolling with nauseating waves of emptiness.

Technochan notices him being done and nudges him along to the next basin, the one filled with food. He hesitates, fingers still on the metal edge. Technochan nudges his neck, licking at his chin and mouth.

Staring down at the sickening food in front of him, Dream wants to throw up at the thought of eating more. He ate last night, he ate a lot last night, he ate a whole piece of these dried meats. Eating again would be a waste of food, he's not hungry enough yet, and he just filled his stomach with water. He shouldn’t eat yet.

The wolf growls, nudging at him more aggressively, Technochan’s mouth suddenly opens around his neck, teeth scraping at his skin.

Dream freezes, eyes wide. "I- I can't." he tries to explain, clutching at the metal edge in front of him. The wolf doesn't understand, he does not know what words it knows and he can't get himself to voice the word, ‘no’. Swallowing nervous spit, he’s only made him more aware of dangerous teeth around his vulnerable throat, Dream whines carefully, trying to sound as much like a wolf as possible. The wolf growls, teeth closing in, digging into his skin but not breaking through. Gasping, Dream grabs a handful of the meats with a shaking hand, clutching them to his chest.

Satisfied with his compliance, the wolf releases his neck and Dream very carefully holds onto the basin as he lies down, limbs shaking and only barely preventing himself from collapsing in a heap. Again, Technochan’s face rubs against his, tongue darting out over his eyes, licking his face until Dream stops gasping for panicked breaths.

“f*ck.” Dream hisses, voice strained as he breathes slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth as Bad had taught him. He bites onto the meats, just holds them in his mouth. They sting on his tongue and chapped lips as the wolf begins pushing him along again. He’s led back to Techno’s cape which had fallen off him as he slept and has since been taken over by a cluster of wolves laying on the thick red cloth. Growling, Technochan snaps at the other wolves, prompting them to get off the cape. Carefully watching the wolf in the corner of his eye, Dream sits down and picks up the cloth and slowly wraps it around his shoulders, ready to rip it off and give it to the Technochan if it wants it. The wolf only grumbles pleasantly, tail wagging.

Pulling the cloth up to his nose, it now smells of the wolves as well as faintly of Techno. He struggles with the buckles on it, giving up Dream just ties the ends of the cape together with a bulky knot at his throat, keeping it in place over his thin shoulders. With the cape firmly in place, he creeps around the wolves, looking for his mask. He finds his mask a bit away from where he’d dropped it, a young wolf lying with its head over the smile. He glances nervously at Technochan, he finds it grooming with some other wolves, cuddling against them. Carefully he slips it out from under the wolf’s head.

With an aching heart, he slides his fingers over the crack in the mask's surface, splitting the smile in half, then he feels at the torn edges of the straps, too short to reach around his head.

He slips the dried meat from his mouth and holds the mask to his face. Dream sighs, closing his eyes as he takes in the feeling of porcelain pressed against his skin. He takes a moment to himself, shutting out his surroundings and just feeling the mask touch his face.

Eventually, Technochan barks for his attention as it comes over to him, four others, all with name tags like Technochan, following it with ducked heads and tails down. He’s nudged into the middle of the small group, the other wolves yipping at him and one particularly pale wolf named Em rips the meats straight from his hands. The wolves, the other three named Shield of Hope, Jabber, and Chloe, sniff him over curiously, bumping into him softly as they’re led outside and into the snow.

Shakily getting on his feet, Dream stares out at the horizon, mask clutched in his hands. The sun is rising, painting the sky in beautiful reds, purples, yellows and blues. His breath catches in the back of his throat, eyes wide with amazement. He’s seen sunrises a thousand times, yet this one feels so much more than any of the others. He feels sucked in like the horizon could draw out his soul, the very essence of his code from his body and keep it, and he’d only welcome it.

His server. Dream’s server, his flesh and blood. He's not seen it look so beautiful and serene in a long time, he wishes it would stay like this always. That it had stayed like this. His server, his dangerous obsession, destroying everyone around him. Uncontrolled, treasonous tears drop from his eyes, emotions spilling out of him.

The wolves push at his legs, even letting him brush his hand through their soft fur as they jump around him with energy as they herd him. They keep close, no doubt going slower than they would if not for Dream’s sluggish aching pace. Technochan leads them through the openings in the fences surrounding the area and into the forest beyond. He feels a pang of longing for the skyline as it becomes obscured by trees, but the forest is also good. The air is crisp and filled with the scent of pine, reminding him of lazy childhood days spent in treetops, time spent just existing, breathing with the forests. But there’s something unnerving and magical about these trees. A quiet song, a rhythm pulsing out the trees like a choir of dead children. He feels it in his bones as his hand brushes spruce bark.

He doesn't dare leave to investigate, following the wolves. The four wolves have so much energy, jumping around and making small sounds as they topple each other, playfully fighting as they keep pace with Technochan. The clear alpha of the pack not even reacting even as the bigger dark grey one named Jabber even topples Dream over as it bumps into him with a playful and happy sound, but Dream grins despite it all, dragged into the wolves energy even if he can’t play with them. He wheezes as Em, who had stolen his meats suddenly trips face-first down a small hole in the forest floor with a yelp. And laughs as the smaller Shield of Hope jumps on top of Jabber and lays there one of the times when Dream has to stop for a break.

By the time Technochan herds them to a stop he’s panting, limbs shaking with exhaustion, barely keeping his breaths quiet as he sucks in cold air. He winces in pain, gripping a thick branch to keep standing. And there, beyond a cluster of trees and bushes is a group of sheep lazily nosing snow away from the grass hidden underneath.

Oh. The wolves are hunting.

Dream stares down at the wolves around him, confused at why they would take him out hunting. Why would they include him? He’s not part of the pack. These wolves are special, they’re Techno’s beloved pets and Dream is nothing. Yet they seem determined to include him. Technochan had fed him and given him water, the four surrounding him had bumped playfully into him as they did each other, and didn’t mind Technochan taking him out to hunt with them despite him being a complete stranger to them. They weren’t territorial towards him, they didn’t try and chase him away, they just accepted him. Welcomed his presence.

Clutching the cape around his neck, Dream sniffs at the fur. Did they think he was one of Techno’s pets because the cape smelled of him?

He doesn’t feel upset at their assumption, he should be upset at the wolves for thinking he’s a pet like them, but he doesn’t. The thought of being part of Techno’s pack of wolves feels comforting. He knows he isn’t worth as much care as the wolves, not nearly as useful either, but his heart still aches, wanting that. Wanting the obvious care Technoblade shows them. Wanting the inclusion they show him. They walked slowly so he could keep up instead of rushing forwards and leaving him behind. They aren’t pushing him away, they aren’t snapping at him when he can’t play or be as good as them.

Heart beating with warm lightness, he gazes at the wolves. The smallest of the group, Shield of Hope, notices his staring and wags its tail, tongue hanging lazily out its mouth. It feels like acceptance. It is acceptance, it’s an initiation ritual in a sense. They want him.

They want Dream who’s a worthless mons-

Then quite suddenly Technochan snaps her teeth in an almost silent command and the wolves rush towards the sheep. Dream startles at the sudden flurry of movement and stumbles after them, trying to keep up with the wolves as they pounce on the sheep. The sheep bleat loudly in alarm, scrambling away with fear. One of them isn’t quick enough, Jabber’s teeth ripping through its back leg and viciously crippling it. The wolf turns, blood splattering off its muzzle as it barks loudly at Dream, bouncing over the sheep and continuing in pursuit of the rest that the other four chased with Technochan in the lead.

Dream's frozen. The sheep pushes itself up and falls, blood soaking into wool and snow at an alarming rate. Dream feels paralyzed, staring at the dying sheep, knowing it’s losing too much blood too quickly to survive. He takes a trembling step forwards, unable to look away from the sight of its pathetic form, trembling and staring at him with fearful eyes. His stomach clenches with anxiety.

He’s had wolves before, though never enough for a pack or anything near as many as the pack Techno sports, but still, he knows what the wolf expects from him. It wants him to kill the sheep, for him to help with hunting and cement himself a place in the pack because they think he’s one of them. They think he's a new pet of Technos.

Dream wishes he was a new pet of Technos, he wishes he didn't feel faint at the sight of the sheep's slow unpleasant death. His hands shake, he can smell the blood on the ground, it smells nauseating (it smells good) but he can’t tear his eyes from the sheeps terrified and writhing form.

He can’t breathe.

Dream falls, tears freezing on his cheeks as he heaves for breath. He lies in the snow, gawking wide-eyed as the sheep slowly stops struggling, its panicked noises tapering off into shallow breaths of panic that match his own. Except he keeps wheezing for air and the sheep takes one shuddering breath before falling still.

His insides revolt. Dream rolls over quickly getting his quivering hands under him, lifting up just in time for him to empty water and bile onto the snow. He heaves, throat and stomach constricting painfully, trying to puke up something that isn't there, stomach painfully empty again. He looks over to the sheep, its glassy eye stares at him blankly. It feels like judgement, but he doesn’t know for what. For not helping it? For not putting it out of its misery quicker? For not soothing it as it died? For being a creature too weak and frightened to do anything but fall?

He stares at the blood, jaw trembling and it’s like Dream’s back in his cell. Searing heat uncomfortably tight on his skin, obsidian digging small wounds into his feet. He’s staring at himself, lying dead in a pool of blood, glassy green eyes staring straight back at himself, the Wardens Willbreaker sits deeply into the obsidian, severing his ankle from his leg. Bone sticks out from the separation, the meat is almost minced from strike upon strike of the pickaxe.

Dream flinches, falling back. He scrambles away, backing up until his back hits something solid. Fear grips his throat, he can feel the cuts on his ankle, the pain overwhelming as he grabs his leg frantically, bending in over it in some pathetic attempt to protect it. He sobs, feeling his ankle solid and whole under his hands with his foot attached. He’s felt it so many times, the pain his brain can’t comprehend, the fear that maybe this time he won’t be put back together and then the terrible relief of touching horribly small scars where parts of him had been separated. He’s had so much cut off and stuck back on with burning potions repairing the damage to his codes specifics. Leaving only faint scars in his form and code.

Hysterically he wonders what his code would look like these days. Wonders if he’d feel an urge to uselessly try and fix the breaks, the glitches and bugs. If he wouldn’t care that such tampering was impossible and try anyways until he created enough glitches and breaks that he’d fall dead.

The wolves find him huddled against a tree, their incessant licking and pawing pulling him out of his brain. There’s blood on their faces, smearing lightly onto Dream as they bring him back to his body, back to himself. The wolves have two sheep corpses with them, long smears of blood coming out from further into the forest. Technochan nudges him to his feet, letting him pick up his mask from the snow before pushing him back along the trail of foot and pawprints they made getting there as the other wolves drag the dead sheep with them.

He can’t get himself to look back, heart in his throat as he follows Technochan with a downturned gaze, straining to not fall on his quacking legs.

By the time they’re back at Technos area, Dream feels ready to collapse in the snow and never get up. The rest of the pack must have smelt the blood, for there are enough wolves outside to fill a small house, barking and shuffling around impatiently, with some pups tossing around in the snow, playing with each other. Dream ignores them, shuffling quickly into the doghouse. He curls up in a corner, drawing Techno’s cape over his head. He wants the image of himself in the dead sheeps’ place far from his mind.

He must have dozed off, for something wet and heavy suddenly fell into his lap, and when he opens his eyes there are wolves back in the hut, happily licking their bloody muzzles. Technochan is standing before him, mouth bloody as it staring into his eyes. Dream averts his gaze, quickly spotting what had fallen onto him, it’s a big mauled piece of raw mutton.

The wolf growls softly down at him.

Again, Technochan wants him to eat.

Stomach growling in anticipation, chronic hunger clawing at his insides, he brings the meat up to his mouth and bites. Unable to help it, Dream moans at the taste, the wet and soft texture is pleasant against his rough tongue and doesn't burn as he rips a chunk off with sharp teeth. It’s been ages since he’s indulged his taste buds with unfilling raw meat. The last time he'd eaten raw meat had been when--

He forcefully stops that thought, focusing on the meat in his hands instead.

The meat rests pleasantly in his stomach, not nearly as unpleasant and nauseating as the dried meat yesterday had been. He feels relieved, happy tears in the corner of his eyes as he chews, tasting sheep's blood run down the back of his throat. His hands are bloodied but the sight doesn’t set him into a panic, old repressed hunting instincts rearing their head, making him crave more meat and dulling the panicked edge lingering in the memory of the sheep’s death. He licks his fingers, almost not stopping himself from automatically gnawing on them. Embarrassed for himself, he shoves the meat back into his mouth and chews on it.

“...Dream?”

The mutton falls from his hands and mouth, landing with a wet squelch. His head whirls around, staring wide-eyed at an equally shocked sounding Technoblade. The pigling is gaping at him, his hand on a door Dream hadn’t seen before with a bucket hanging in his other hand. On his shoulders is a cape in a different style from the one he’d given Dream, more blue than red.

“...Technoblade.” Dream says roughly, and it's hard- he feels like he's forcing out the words through thick mud in his throat. He stares at Techno, suddenly sweating, wanting to hide away despite having been alone with the man for a month. Fear grips his throat, terrified that Techno will be furious with him for being with Techno’s wolves, for tentatively letting the wolves think that he's actually one of Technos wolves, and kill him for it. For not doing as Techno told him to and left him alone.

“Alright, into the house, now.” Techno commands harshly, a tense pull to his shoulders as he stalks around and dumps the contents of his bucket into the food tray, then out the door. Technochan looks at him shortly, bumping its head into him before turning away and following its owner.

Dream follows, shoving the last of the meat into his mouth. The door Techno used leads straight out towards Techno’s cabin, now on this side of the dog house, he can also see a wooden bench beside Technos home. He scrambles up the stairs, feeling wild and feral with his limbs shaking under Techno’s intense gaze as he’s shown inside.

Inside he’s overtaken by a rush of warmth, making his skin tingle as he's led over to a fireplace so nicely warm and bright that he wants nothing more than to step into it and lie down on the fire. By the fireplace Techno has a soft-looking blue sofa with a few furs draped across it and by the sofa, on the small table is a downturned book and a cup filled with some sweet fruity smelling drink, in front of the sofa are two armchairs facing it spread out in a fashion that feels natural for gatherings of four. The pigling sits down on the sofa, Technochan taking its place beside his legs.

Dream ignores the chairs, knowing he shouldn’t sit on them and kneels down in front of Techno.

Techno eyes him with a wrinkle between his eyes. “You can sit on the chair, you know.”

Dream shakes his head, he really can't sit on the chair.

Dream watches carefully from the corner of his eye as Techno crosses his arms. “What are you even doing here? I thought you’d be halfway to the borderlands already. And didn’t I say I needed time? Alone?”

Technochan notices Techno’s tone and stands, taking a step forwards, stance threatening and alert. Watching him like a threat.

Flinching, Dream looks away, trying to make himself look smaller. Of course the wolves would reject him if Techno did. Why did he ever dream in his dumb little hopeful heart that he’d be able to stay with the pack even if Techno rejected him? He's such an idiot.

“Down,” Techno says, pulling the wolf back by its collar and sitting it down. “Dream, why did you come here?”

Dream opens his mouth and then quickly closes it, he doesn't want to talk, he can’t talk, it's like a plug has been shoved into his brain, making the act of speaking near incomprehensible to him. Nervously he licks his lips, sheep's blood pleasant against his tongue. What a sight he must make, with blood smeared over his jaw and his gaze unfocused. “Please,” He chokes. Speaking feels unnatural, though just a day ago he'd spoken so easily to Techno. Now the words die in his throat and he has to force them out. “Let me stay- let me stay with the pack. I won’t be in the way, I pro- promise.”

“Heh?” Techno says, “Stay with the pack? You do know that you’re not a wolf right?”

“What does that matter? Even if I’m not a wolf that doesn’t mean I’m-” He hesitates. “I won’t be in the way and you know I don’t eat much! I- I-” He stops, Technochan barking softly.

Techno looks at it, eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to say?” Technochan huffs, tail wagging. “You like him? He’s not a wolf, Technochan, he’s a person.”

Technochan taps its paw and barks, turning to look at Dream.

It’s- it wants him even though Techno doesn’t. It’s loyal to Techno but even though it knows that Techno disapproves, it’s telling Techno that it wants to take him in. Dream smiles before he can help himself, Technochan quickly notices, its tail beginning to wag wildly.

Techno snaps his fingers between them. "You're a person, Dream."

Dream flinches away from the hand. “I’m not.” He whispers. He can’t be.

Techno hisses, Dream’s gaze immediately drawn to Techno’s hoof as he taps at the ground. “Where the hell is this coming from, Dream? You’re not an animal.”

Dream shakes his head because he knows he's no better than a dog or Techno's wolves. Really he's worth much less than them, not nearly as useful or obedient. Sir- Quackity had liked to remind him that he was no better than a dog. Sometimes Quackity would tie a leash around his neck and make him crawl around the vault, scrambling to keep up with Quackity or choke as it tightened around his neck. One particularly violent day, when he’d bitten Quackity, the man had smashed one of Dream's knees and hands before taking him on a walk like a dog, since he clearly was one if he bit as Quackity explained it. Dream had limped, half being dragged around the cell by his neck for what felt like hours until Quackity could put his fingers into Dream's mouth without him instinctively biting viciously down on them with sharp teeth.

Once he'd learned not to bite, Quackity was able to grab and pull at his tongue, carving marks into it without worry.

Dream shakes his head again, shoving the memories away. Techno was too hung up on personhood, refusing to acknowledge that Dream isn't a person because of his ideals, just because he used to be something resembling a person. Even if Techno refuses it, Dream knows he's just a rabid monster held back by a tight metaphorical collar of fear around his neck.

Monsters don't deserve sympathy, he knows this, but Dream would rather have Techno’s gentle hands hold his leash than Quackity or the Warden.

He needs Techo to take him in, desperately craves the comfort and safety it would bring.

But he also needs something to show Techno that he’s serious, that he can be good and obedient.

Looking away from Technochan, Dream shuffles closer to it and carefully lies down on his back with a low whine like the wolves in the hut had done. Technochan stares down at him with a raised tail, pleased with his show of submission. It reaches down, opening its mouth around Dream's throat, sharp teeth brushing his skin carefully. Dream squeezes his eyes shut in fear, breathing evenly to not show how terrified its teeth make him. The wolf holds like that for a bit, showing his status of being below it in the pack. Then Technochan holds its snout to his face and Dream knows what he has to, he'd seen how the other wolves acknowledged their submission to this one, and carefully licks its snout. As Technochan nudges his head in acceptance, he pushes the short hairs on his tongue off with his teeth.

Despite the fear of having teeth around his neck again, warmth pools in his chest. The alpha of the wolf pack has accepted him. Dream failed the initiation hunt, but Technochan still fed him the sheep later and still let him submit to it.

He doesn't open his eyes, breathing slowly as he waits. Techno hasn't moved. Then a foot nudges his side carefully. "Dream, you're a person. You can't just let Technochan boss you around like that, you're not one of them." Techno says. He sounds angry, frustrated yet also like he's giving in. Like he’s beginning to accept it. "You don't have to show your stomach or- or submit to my dogs- Dream I thought you were doing fine. You were talking, arguing with me! Only five days ago you shouted at me because you thought my plan to escape the prison was stupid and now you’re here asking me to what? Treat you like an animal? as nothing more than a pet?”

Dream nods. “I- I want to be your pet.”

“I’m not treating you like a pet, Dream!”

Dream winces at the tone. Techno’s not getting it. Of course Techno isn’t getting it. Frustration boils under Dreams skin, he wants to step into lava, but there’s no lava in Technos cabin, only endless frustration and no outlet. There’s the fire, but as within his cell, he knows Techno will stop him before he can touch it. “But that’s how it works!” Dream shouts.

Dream is a monster, and when monsters are caught and caged they’re pets. It’s basic logic. And if Techno doesn't get that then Techno is an idiot. But that's okay because he'll be Dream's idiot owner.

Techno stares at him. “Dream it was a mistake to leave you like that without a support system, clearly you weren't ready to be on your own if this is what you come up with. Just… stop. You’re not a pet- you're a person- I'll let you stay anyways right? You don't have to be my pet to stay. I have a guestroom, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve sheltered someone, okay? I'll let Dream, who's a person, not an animal or a pet, and who’s a massive pain, stay."

Who's a person, not an animal or a pet.

Dream wants to laugh, he was never actually a person, always a monster hiding beneath a mask. Still- Dream hasn't felt like a person in a long time, he’s not even sure if he knows what it even feels like. Though he supposes the last few weeks were the closest he got to it, being constantly around Techno who didn't hate him, or hurt him, or wanted him dead, who showed worry for him.

Besides, people make their own decisions and deal with consequences and pain. And he can't do that anymore, he can't make decisions for himself. He didn't even choose Techno's pack, Technochan chose him. And Dream went along with it because pets don't have to worry about choosing or making decisions, they don't have to worry about anything except being obedient to their owner and living a simple life.

He shifts, moving back up to his knees, hands splayed out over his thighs. The position hurts his knees but Sir always wanted him to cower in fear or sit like this, surely Techno would as well now that Dream's asking him to take him as one of his pets. Pet owners must not like their animals to be too assertive, Quackity hadn't liked Dream to be anything less than compliant. Dream had gotten good at showing Sir what he wanted to see, gotten so good at screaming, whimpering, cowering and being obedient that he doesn’t know when it stopped being an act.

Fingers snap in front of his face, he flinches back and stares wide-eyed at Techno. "Dream," The pigling says, opening his mouth to say something else but seemingly deciding not to. Techno sighs and Dream tenses at the sound, waiting to be hurt. "Did you even hear what I said?" Techno asks instead of hurting him.

Dream shakes his head, he's already forgotten what Techno said before, his mind a rush trying to stay in the moment while all he can feel and hear is Sir- Quackity- talking to him, praising- no- mocking Dream for staying still as he cuts a knife through his skin. Mocking Dream for leaning into the hand on his cheek.

Dream is afraid of Quackity and Dream hates Quackity.

Dream is afraid of Techno but Dream likes Techno.

"I won't be a bother." He says softly, making sure he doesn't sound too desperate. He has to convince Techno to keep him, he has to, and if he sounds too desperate Techno might not want him. If Techno wouldn’t want him, who even would? "I can be useful to you as part of the pack. You already have so many dogs what's one mo-" He stops, cringing back at making every wolf in the pack seem less than uniquely important on their own. They'd accepted him, welcomed him into the pack with soothing licks and nudges, and he's-

"They're war hounds, Dream." Techno reminds him softly.

Dream stares at Techno's knee, his shoulders are pulled up to his ears. They're war dogs and Dream can't even lift a wooden axe without trembling in fear because he's useless. Techno’s words sting, the reminder of his uselessness. "I can help with more than war- but I will fight for you! I just need-" he doesn't say it, already edging too far into sounding like he's demanding things, asking for time to recuperate is something he's never been allowed. He's already asking for so much. Asking for Techno's protection and a place in his wolf pack and being allowed to eat from the wolves' food bowls. He can't ask for more. "I can get stronger again so that I can fight for you- I can, uh, I can clean and farm and groom the pack and carry items and- and- I can cook- I can brew potions and-"

“Dream, you don't-” Techno groans tiredly, his hand touches the top of Dream's head briefly, tapping at his hair. Dream looks up, staring at the spot beside Techno’s face so he can read his expression. He looks put off, a downward tilt to his lips that look almost like disgust as he stares at him.

He said the wrong thing, Techno’s disgusted by him. Why’d he ever think Techno would want him? He’s such an idiot. Carefully still, Dream waits for Techno’s judgement, shoulders tense.

Sighing, Techno closes his eyes, dragging a hand down his face, stopping by his snout, hand over his mouth as he looks sideways to Technochan who barks. “Of course you’re all for this.” Techno groans at the wolf, slowly petting it behind its ears. Techno seems to have little care for Technochan, looking almost exasperated with it. Dream thinks it might be the name that he’s embarrassed about, or maybe the forceful nature of the wolf, yet he still shows obvious care and love for it. Petting it despite not being someone for physical affection and touch.

Dream finds himself staring involuntarily, imagining Techno’s hand rubbing softly at his scalp instead. He thinks it would be comforting, he wants it to be comforting, he wants a person to sometimes touch him with care instead of pain. Maybe even hug him.

Techno stops petting the wolf and Dream looks away quickly, noticing his red eyes on him.

"You can stay and- man don't make me say it, Dream, this is really cringe." Techno groans, head in his hands, fingers spread for him to look out in between. "You can stay and 'larp' at being one of my… pets… Right, as it, looks like Technochan really wants you in his pack, the sad*stic wolf that he is- and the rest of the pack likes you fine too, which is… good. But you're not sleeping in the doghouse okay? I'll set up a bed in the guest room that you can use- Don't look at me like that, you're not a wolf, you aren't made to sleep on the ground. You're sleeping on that bed because I…" Techno leans back into the sofa with a pained expression, staring away from him with his arms crossing over his chest. "No matter what you think you are, no matter if you think you’re my pet, I’ll take care of you, okay? "

Dream hides a grin, feeling relief. He did it. Techno agreed to take him in. He barks, feeling newfound energy as he pats over before laying down with his back against Techno's feet. Technochan grunts and lies down on top of him as it had done the night before. The feeling of Technos' feet against his back and Technochan above him feels grounding, reminding him that he's somewhere safe and keeping his thoughts from straying too far into dangerous territories.

Good pets lay at their owners' feet.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

There's a polar bear in Techno's cabin. Steve it's called and it lumbered in a few minutes ago, almost stepping on Dream as it went over to the fireplace. It laid down and immediately began staring at Dream as if it didn't consider him welcome, as if Dream's presence was an invasion on its territory.

"Oh, Steve's finally here." Techno says as he comes back into the living room, having been drawn by the loud bang when Steve smacked the front door open. He pets the Polar bear briefly, scratching it behind its ears. As he does, Dream can tell some tension in his back has loosened by the bear's presence. "I'll go get you some food." he whispers and turns to Dream, “Dream, how many times do I have to tell you, even pets are allowed on the furniture, please stop sitting on the floor.” He watches Dream for a moment, waiting for him to move before sighing and walking out again.

Immediately Steve's attention is back on Dream who's more or less crawled backwards to hide behind an armchair as if that would save him if Steve decided to attack. Dream inches forwards, testing his boundaries, drawn by the heat of the fireplace and the bear roars sharply. Dream flinches, falling back onto his ass as he skitters away behind the next armchair, further away from the nice warm fireplace he wanted to laze in and closer to the cold of the front door.

He bear huffs, content with Dream's reaction as it lies down again, confident that Dream won't try and approach the fireplace again.

Part of him hates Techno at that moment, irritated that he's been made to stay in the cabin with the unfriendly bear instead of with the wolves that pet and snuggle with him.

Carefully, Dream gets to his feet and, using the walls for support, gets himself hauled up on his aching legs by the nearest window. The shutters are open so he can peer out at the too-bright snow-covered landscloak. Out there he can see wolves walking along the fencing, he can see wolves playing with each other, free to do as they want, to toss and turn in the snow with no consequences for dirtying their fur.

Footsteps alert him to Technos presence. Dream tenses, turning his head to watch as his new… owner comes in with a big metallic bowl filled with raw salmon. "Food's ready." Technoblade utters as he sets the bowl down by Steve who rumbles pleasantly, a far cry from the furious roar he'd levelled at Dream.

Dream stares at the fish. Raw fish didn't taste as good as red meat, and the scales and bones were annoying but-

"Be nice," Techno says, tapping the bear on its head. "Don't think I didn't hear you roaring at Dream just because I was in a different room, Steve. He's going to be staying here so either you get along or you ignore him, okay?"

Dream drags his eyes from the fish to stare at Steve, the Polar Bear looks apologetic, it huffs softly at Techno who smiles and pats it on the head before leaving. Immediately as Techno closes the door behind him the bear gets to its feet and steps over the bowl, standing protectively over it. It growls softly, baring its teeth as it stares at Dream.

Dream looks away quickly, gripping the windowsill when the sounds of the bear crunching fish skulls between its sharp teeth begin reaching his ears. The fish doesn't smell entirely pleasant, but as Steve eats them the unpleasant smell is taken by the smell of their blood. Dream's stomach groans, hunger gnawing at him as always. He ignores it, not willing to test Steve’s patience.

"Dream!" Techno, his new owner, eventually calls out to him. Dream looks over, Techno is leaning on the door which leads to- the kitchen? He can't remember, it's been so long since he was last in this cabin. "Come on, I've prepared a bath for you."

Dream tenses but forces himself to follow Techno, beyond the door is a corridor with three doors and a ladder by the door to the living room. The door to the kitchen is open when they pass it, the kitchen looks warm and welcoming, just like the rest of Techno's cabin. Homely.

"Here," Techno says, opening the last door at the end of the hall. Inside is a brightly lit bathroom, light coming in through two etched windows with small pigs in the corners. One window is beside the toilet in the left corner which has a sink beside it out towards the door. On the sink is a cup with toothpaste and a red toothbrush and a bar of soap. Across the toilet is a cabinet built into the same material as the walls. Besides the cabinet is the bathtub long and wide enough that Dream could lie across any side with no problem though there’s a raised area along the wall to the right. It's filled up with slowly steaming water that must have taken ages to warm. He stares at the water surface with a pit in his stomach.

Dream turns around, trying to walk out but is quickly stopped by Technoblade who puts his hands on his shoulders and guides him back closer to the water. "No offence Dream, but now that we're not in a boiling hotpot I can finally tell that you reek. Besides you'll feel heavenly after you've bathed and gotten all the- the- well I'm fairly sure some of the stuff on you isn't blood and it's honestly gross."

Dream fidgets, finding his voice gone as he stares down at the water. He can see the bottom, he could stand in it and it wouldn't reach further than his thighs but that doesn't matter, it doesn't matter how shallow the water is.

He stares at the water, feeling somewhat dull, feeling dead, even as Techno takes his hands off his shoulders. "I've put some clean clothes in the cabinet for you." Techno says as he hangs a big blue, soft-looking towel from the sink. Then with one last look at him, he leaves, closing the door.

Carefully Dream pulls the toilet lid down and sits as he begins slowly unwrapping the bandages on his hands. He shakes, making the process torturously slow. As he unwraps the end around his forearm, he looks up at the water and stifles a sob.

It's dumb, Quackity isn't here, Techno isn't here, there's no one to hold him under the surface, no one to grip his neck and laugh as he struggles and his limbs flail with panic. He shouldn't feel afraid of water, he shouldn't. He was fine sitting in the pool under his respawn point, he'd be fine sitting in a bathtub. He'd seen that there was a seat on one end, he could sit there, raised up over the water.

Starting on the other hand, his hand’s shake so much he can't even get the end of the bandage tugged free. Stifling a scream of frustration, he throws the bandages he already got off onto the floor and curls up on the toilet. Clutching his legs to his chest, digging his fingernails into the back of his now bare hand, he sobs silently into his knees, trying to regain his bearings.

Slowly as he calms down he scratches at the bandage, digging his fingernails into his skin and eventually after new blood has stained his fingertips, he gets the slip out.

There's a knock on the door, "You done yet?" Techno asks, the door opening as his new owner peeks his head in. He stares at the empty bathtub before finding Dream curled up on the toilet, shaking hands slowly unwrapping his bandages. "You need help there?"

Dream shakes his head furiously, feeling humiliated as Techno comes over and gently takes his hand anyways, unwrapping it in seconds.

"The water is getting cold." Techno says, dropping the bandage on the floor with the other Dream had thrown. "Let's get you out of that uniform okay?" Techno asks, hands still on the zipper, waiting for Dream to give the go-ahead.

Dream feels hot with shame and humiliation as he nods. He can't even be a good pet and undress himself.

Techno unzips the jacket and gently tugs his arms out of it, dropping it with the bandages. Then he unwraps the layers of hastily made bandages that cover every bit of him up to his chin. As he unravels the layers of bandages, some falling off by themself as the bandages holding the tattered slips in place are removed, Techno gags and grits his teeth, hiding any further reaction from Dream. Once the bandages are gone, Techno carefully rolls Dream's tattered undershirt from his skin, it sticks to old wounds that never healed right, almost ripping them open. Once it's off, Dream crosses his arms around himself, staring away from Techno, feeling exposed and violated. An unintentional side effect of the layers upon layers of bandages was that they'd given him bulk, made him seem bigger and hidden away the easily felt ribs he can feel under his hands.

Thankfully Techno doesn't stare too long, instead, he grimaces at the shirt, looking more like a mauled piece of cloth than anything wearable, lips pulling back in disgust. "Right okay," The piglin says, immediately opening a window and throwing the shirt outside. "I'm not having that in my home." he says, looking ill.

Then he looks back at Dream, eyes pinched. "Please tell me they at least gave you new underwear every now and then?"

Dream shakes his head. The Warden used to have four sets of clothes he'd rotate and wash, only withholding them from him if he'd been bad again, then Dream killed Tommy and he never saw a new set of spare underclothes again. It was only if Quackity complained when his outer uniform got too ruined from the cuts and tears, when it began falling off him, that Dream would get a new one. But that was only the outer uniform, Quackity hadn’t cared for the ruin underneath it.

Techno grimaces. "Let's just get this over with then, okay?"

“Okay." Dream whispers, voice breaking, going high pitched halfway through.

Techno quickly tugs his pants and underwear out from under him, ripping his stolen boots off with the pants and throwing the new bundle of clothes out the window as well. Closing the window, Techno comes back and rips the bandages on his legs open, quickly unwrapping them with his head turned away to give Dream some semblance of privacy.

Dream doesn't know why he bothers, even if he is grateful for it. He looks down at himself, everywhere there have been bandages he's caked in blood. It almost looks like he's wearing a dark red skin-tight suit.

"Come on, nerd," Techno says, putting a hand on Dream's shoulder once he's completely exposed. He slowly nudges Dream off the toilet and over to the tub. "Do you need me to lift you?" He asks, clearly not wanting to touch Dream but offering anyways because that’s how Techno is, unfathomably kind even to things that don’t deserve it.

Dream shakes his head and clampers over the edge despite how his heart beats panicked in his chest. Obeying and getting it over with was always better, it always brought less pain. He steps and immediately slips on the bottom of the tub. Flailing, he catches himself on the edge, practically hugging it as he strains to breathe. The water reaches up to his collarbone, teasing dangerously against his neck. Too close to his face.

Techno kneels down in front of him on the other side, hands covered in Dream’s filth. Dream stares wide-eyed as Techno awkwardly pats him on the head. “You’re okay.” His owner says, scooping some water up from around Dream and scrubbing it through his filthy hair. “You’re okay. It doesn’t hurt right? It’s just some water, nothing to be afraid of.”

“It isn’t?” Dream asks childishly, he feels like a frightened child when he clutches weakly onto Techno’s arms. It’s humiliating but he’s far too used to humiliation to stop when Techno’s hands are so comforting on his scalp as he wets his hair. Dark and dirty water runs down his cheeks and neck, dripping down onto a towel Techno has tugged into his pants to protect his legs from the filth he’s scrubbing off Dream.

“Not while I’m here,” Techno taps him lightly, hands leaving his hair. He feels Techno reaches over for something, “If you don’t want soap in your eyes, you’re going to have to lean back a bit.”

Very carefully, Dream releases Techno’s arms and sits back on his feet, only glancing briefly at the water before clenching his eyes shut in fear. He clutches the edge of the bathtub, keeping himself upright and out of the water. Techno holds his jaw, tilting his head backwards and he’s going to place cloth over his head and-

“You’re alright,” Techno whispers, waiting until Dream gasps for breath, and keeps sucking in air as he realizes that he can breathe. “I’m going to wash your hair now.” Slowly Techno washes his hair, rinsing the soap out several times and starting over again until he’s satisfied. The scent of something he can’t place, flowers, honey, fruit? wafts down from his hair, pleasant and soothing.

As his owner’s hands run through Dream’s hair, out over Dream’s scalp, it feels tingly, light, and free. He falls into a daze, almost falling asleep, sitting there with the pleasant sensation of Techno’s fingers running over his head.

“Did you have patches of white hair before?” Techno tugs at some of his hair, “Here, look.”

Opening his eyes, the first thing Dream notes is that the dirty water in the tub is shallow, only reaching up over his thighs. Almost mystified, he slaps the water. Then he looks where Techno’s hand is in front of his face, between his fingers is a few locks of Dream’s hair. Some of the hair is white, standing out against his dirty blonde hair which has become dark from lack of sunlight. He takes the strands from Techno’s fingers, reminded of Fundy’s human form as he tugs at it.

“Oh.” He says softly, not sure what to say.

“Do you want me to wash the rest of you?” Techno asks.

Dream looks over at Techno who holds out a malformed bar of soap and then down at himself. He has long streaks of almost clean skin down his chest from Techno washing his hair. Beneath the blood and filth, he can see harsh scars and- “I can do it myself.” He croaks, taking the soap from Techno.

“Call if you need help, okay?” Techno says, awkwardly wiping his hands in the towel over his legs and using it to wipe off Dream’s filth from the toilet’s lid. He also picks up the dirty bandages and jacket. “I’ll be a shout away.” Techno leans on the door, taking one last look at Dream and closing the door behind him.

At some point, while he’s scrubbing himself, Dream hears Techno outside the window by the toilet. He’s talking to himself, setting Dream’s prison uniform on fire. Dream gags, a foul burnt smell reaching him inside the bathroom.

Washing hurts, the soap burns when he rubs too harshly on scrapes and opens up old wounds. But it's nice, his skin can breathe again, he feels fresh in a way he hasn’t in what feels like years. He’s the most careful with his face, never splashing water on himself, just rubbing wet hands over his skin.

Grabbing the clean towel from the sink he sits down on the edge of the tub and wraps the towel around his head and shoulders, slowly drying his hair. Once he’s finished drying off, the towel now stained red with blood in some spots, he waddles over to the cabinet and finds a pile of neatly folded clothes. Sorting through it, he finds a roll of bandages that he wraps awkwardly around whatever wounds he reopened, then he pulls on a pair of underwear that are too big before tugging blissfully elastic black pants up over them. The pants ache on his hip bones and he thinks he might bruise but it doesn’t matter because they’re clean and soft on the skin of his legs. He slips on a white tank top and runs his hands over the cyan knitted sweater that looks familiar and fits him well despite being too big. There’s also a pair of woolly dark grey fingerless gloves he happily slips over the harsh scars and groves in his wrists and the socks however are way too small and sit tightly on his feet.

He wonders if it's Philza’s clothes even if the cyan is a bit strange to imagine on the avian, because Techno doesn't usually have human feet and never wears socks like humans or hybrids like Dream do.

There’s also a pair of warm looking boots. Slipping on the boots Dream tugs the laces and frowns, gritting his teeth as his fingers shake too much for him to tie the laces. He can’t even get them into a knot, laces slipping from his fingers quickly. “f*ck,” he hisses after the fifth attempt. “Useless.” He voices out loud. His fingers ache, they feel restless as they disobey, shaking uncontrollably around the laces. Frustration roaring its head, he snarls animalistically, punching the tub's edge.

“Here,” Techno says, voice pulling Dream out of his mind as his owner is suddenly there in front of him. Techno kneels down, taking the laces from Dream’s arching fingers and quickly tightening the boots over his feet before tying a firm bow. “I’ll get you some boots without laces later.” He says and looks up at Dream.

“Congratulations, you actually smell decent now.” Techno grins.

“Thanks,” Dream murmurs, standing up he startles as he suddenly sees someone in a mirror hanging over the sink. The person- no not a person- the pet has a birds nest of dirty blonde hair with white patches, their eyes are dull, lifeless almost grey-green and their too-thin face is covered in scars with only a few freckles visible. They look frightened and haunted, “That’s… me?” he asks.

Techno frowns, “Yeah?”

Staring at his reflection he’s inexplicably reminded of a golden blonde kid. His reflection reminding him of Tommy. Abruptly Dream remembers where he’d seen the sweater he's wearing, Tommy had been wearing it in one of his less hazy memories, Tommy had been standing behind Techno, the community house whole and beautiful behind them.

He clenches his fingers around the end of the sweater, it's thick and so soft on his skin. It’s comforting when it shouldn’t be. Tommy had worn- had most likely knitted this sweater himself while hiding from Dream, and now Dream was here, wearing it as he’s hiding from the server. From Tommy, who he knows wants him dead. “This is Tommy’s.” He whispers, feeling bile in the back of his throat.

“Yeah, you’re about the same height so I figured it would fit,” Techno shrugs, gathering the wet towel in his arms. “He left a lot of things here when he went back to L’Manberg. I was going to burn them but it’s good that I ended up keeping it”

“Yeah,” Dream says slowly, feeling the yarn between his fingers. “I guess it was.”

Techno pulls him back along the hall, stopping by the ladder at the end. “I’ve prepared the guest room for you, come on.” He says and hauls himself up the ladder.

Dream stares up after him and rushes into the living room. Steve is asleep and rumbles a bit as Dream comes close to it. He quickly finds his mask and Techno’s cloak where he had stashed them under one of the armchairs. Binding the cloak around his neck, he bites the strap of his mask and hauls himself up the ladder, panting harshly through clenched teeth once he makes it to the top.

“You okay there?” Techno asks as Dream pulls himself up to his feet by the wall.

“Yeah.” Dream croaks between breaths. The upstairs has two rooms on either side of a short hall and then one door at the end where some distant memory tells him that Techno’s room would be. He’s led to the door to the right.

Dream looks around the room nervously, it's about the size of his cell, that's- that's good. Already there's a bed with green , lime green bedding, a dresser, a double chest, a crafting bench, shelves, and a bedside table. There are two windows, one which goes from the floor and up to the diagonal ceiling, overlooking the dog house and the magical forest beyond the fencing and one that sits up the diagonal roof.

"Any colours you want for the walls? Make it more comfortable? Green?" His new owner drawls.

Dream stares at the wall, the bright white that burns his eyes. "Ob-obsidian black." he stutters.

Techno stills, eyeing him. "Any other colour?" he asks, sounding displeased.

Oh right, Technoblade wouldn't want to be reminded of Pandora. Dream winches at his misstep, almost drawing back but forcefully stopping himself, staying within range for Techno to strike him. He shuts his eyes quickly, waiting.

"Uh, why are you standing like that?" His owner asks, he sounds confused as if he's not actually going to-

Dream opens his eyes slowly, quivering. "You're not going to- to hit me?"

"Why would I-?!" Techno exclaims, he looks wild, mad, and Dream flinches but stays in place. "Dream," he says roughly, crossing his arms, fingers clutching at the cloth of his shirt. "Dream, I'll never hit you."

"... Ne-never?" Dream asks, hoping he doesn't sound too hopeful.

Techno frowns, mouth pulled tight. "I've never hit you before , I don't know why you'd think I'd start now . No matter what you do I wouldn't hurt you, I'm not Quackity, I don't torture people. Even if you shouted at me or hit me, I wouldn't hurt you. Dream, you didn't flinch away from me before, you talked normally, you seemed fine , and I really thought you'd be fine. But Dream, what the hell happened last night after I left you?"

"I-" Dream chokes on his words, looking around wildly, feeling overwhelmed at the revelation that Techno doesn't want to hurt him, not even as punishment if he did something wrong. How is he supposed to know when he’s been bad if Techno isn’t going to punish him? Selfishly he doesn’t say anything, even though he knows he needs to be punished to learn. But Technoblade will find out that pain is the only way to teach Dream between right and wrong soon enough, so Dream doesn't have to inform his owner. Dream is selfish, so he’d rather say nothing even if his first punishment will be all the worse for it.

But then why does he also want Techno to grab him and hurt Dream right then and there? He’d desperately wanted to get free from torture and pain, to get free from the fear, yet he almost wishes Techno would just grab a pickaxe and let Dream know where they stand instead of leaving him floundering with no concrete instructions for how his owner wants him to behave.

He doesn’t know what to think, he needs punishment to learn, but he’d fled because of too much punishment, because of torture, because mindless pain that frightened him.

If Techno wouldn't hurt him then the only thing Dream was left with was the chains of Techno's ownership. It has to be enough, it has to be.

Dream turns around and pulls the duvet off the bed and wraps it up over his head, blanketing himself in more heat. His hands shake, feeling like he's pushing at what Techno will allow from him like he's trying to find the limit in his owners’ patience.

"Dream-" Techno says.

Dream shakes his head furiously, almost hissing as he tries to talk and fails, walking in circles, staring at the corners of the room before deciding on in the corner between the bed and bedside table and curling down on the floor there.

Techno crouches by him, resting a hand that doesn't hurt on his shoulder. "Dream, what's going on? Please explain what's going through your head?"

Dream shakes his head and frees his hands from the duvet, he signs wildly, unfocused, trying to convey something.

Techno pats his shoulder. "Slow down there buddy, I'm not that good at sign language."

Dream makes a sound in the back of his throat, frustrated, feeling overexposed. He grabs the porcelain of his mask and presses it against his face. His nose aches, the tip bent to the side but he only presses harder in frustration. Then slowly, mask pressed into place with his shoulder, he signs to his owner with jittery fingers.

‘Can't talk.’

"I guess you're pretty overwhelmed, nerd." Techno sighs. "We can talk more tomorrow if you're up for it, but first you need to get onto the bed okay?"

Dream tilts his head towards the bed, holding his mask with a hand again. He shakes his head.

“Bruh” Techno huffs, "Is this a 'pets don't do this,' thing? Because if you haven't noticed a lot of pets sleep on beds, cats do it all the time and if any of my dogs can get away with it they will sleep on me. So you literally have no excuse and you need to reset your spawn point." With that said, Techno suddenly puts his hands under him, easily lifting him up from the floor.

Dream yelps, flinching as he's set down on the bed. It's too soft, swallowing him up in seconds, he feels almost like he's falling, like the world is spinning as he lies on his back, keeping the duvet around him and his mask on his face. There's a light tug in his heart as he feels the anchoring of his life to the bed.

"That wasn't so bad, right?" Techno says softly.

Dream grunts and rolls around on the bed, curling up into a ball and lets the mask off his face as he pushes his face into the mattress. It’s soft against his clean face, comforting even if the way he sinks into it makes him ache.

Techno sits down beside him, “I don’t really have house rules for right now,” he says, “But I’ve already told Philza that you’re here, so if he’s home and I’m out, you can go to him if you need something. But be careful when you go outside, Ranboo lives here and as much as I trust that kid I can’t be sure he won’t freak out if he were to see you.”

Ranboo?

Dream warbles something vaguely Enderian into the mattress, not really sure why hearing that Ranboo lives out with Techno makes him feel warm in his chest.

Techno paused “Bruh, did you just speak Enderman? anyways- Wilbur lives in Philza’s attic, he’s out most of the time, but keep a watch out for him. Niki also comes by often and according to Philza Tommy hasn’t been here for a while but does visit Wilbur. Try not to get seen by them and if you see anyone who isn't any of those four, send me or Philza a message the moment you’ve hidden yourself.”

Dream rolls around and stares at Techno. Dream doesn’t even have a communicator anymore. He doesn’t know why he even would have one, pets don’t have communicators, monsters don’t have communicators either. Slowly he signs ‘ Don’t have.’

“You don’t have what?” Techno blinks, then looks genuinely upset as he continues. “Wait, they took your communicator ? Doesn’t that go against over fifty high-server laws?”

Dream doesn’t say What does it matter? Monsters don’t have communicators anyways , Instead, he shrugs, signing slowly. ‘ Pet’s don’t need communicators.’

Techno groans, “Bruh, you can use one so I’m getting you a replacement whether you like it or not. Maybe having one will knock it into your thick skull that you're a person. ”

Frowning, Dream rolls back into the mattress and draws the cloak and duvet up over his head. He grits his teeth, curling up further, wanting only to lash out and destroy something. Just thinking about having a communicator makes him anxious, it makes him afraid . But he has to be good, and that means he can’t lash out, he can’t destroy the things in his cell- in his room, and he has to accept the communicator with a smile . Wanting to scream, Dream instead pulls his right glove off and bites the side of his hand, the sharp pain as he breaks skin grounding him. His blood tastes metallic on his tongue with a faint tingle of magic. He shivers, a cold thread crawling up his back as his mind relaxes.

The cloak and duvet are ripped off him, Techno’s hands are harsh as he manhandles Dream, turning him around. Dream freezes in fear as his hand is ripped from his mouth, the grip on his thin wrist bruising. His owner stares at him, expression furious and Dream flinches, looking away. He shakes, waiting.

“ Don’t do that, Dream. Don’t hurt yourself.” His owner says furiously, and Dream yelps as he’s dragged towards the edge of the bed so that his hand is out over the floor. “Here hold it like that while I’ll go get some bandages. And don’t do that again. ” His owner commands sharply as he leaves, his footsteps loud and furious as he stalks through the cabin.

Dream stares at his hand as blood collects on the tip of his thumb and drips down on the floor. God, he’s such an idiot! Of course, Techno would smell the blood, he’s a piglin hybrid and they were hardwired to recognize the scent of blood.

As the footsteps come closer again Dream flinches at every single one, fear gripping his heart. Techno had said he wouldn’t hurt Dream even if he messed up, but listening to those footsteps he knows Techno is coming back to teach using pain. He stares at the bruise forming around his wrist, it’s good Techno hurt him, it's good that Techno will hurt him more or he’ll just continue being bad and Dream wants to be good.

Techno sweeps back into the room and kneels by the bed. Dream doesn’t move a muscle as Techno takes Dream’s hand, beginning to clean the bite with a wet piece of cloth before wrapping bandages around it. Techno wipes the floor quickly, getting the blood off before he grabs Dream's arm, thumb grazing over the darkening handprint bruise on Dream’s wrist. Techno stares at it and hangs his head. “I- I’m sorry.”

Dream rips his hand back in shock. He wraps his hand around the bruise and stares at Techno with pure hysteria. What?

Techno raises his head, eyes downturned. They look wrong like Dream’s owner did something bad, like it wasn’t Dream who should bow in front of Techno. “I hurt you,” Tehcnoblade whispers roughly. “I didn’t mean to, I smelled the blood and I- it doesn’t matter. I promised you that I wouldn’t hurt you and then I did not even a minute after. I’m truly sorry, Dream, it won’t happen again.”

Shaking his head, Dream scoots away from Techno and curls himself up in the furthest corner of the bed against the wall.

Why was Techno apologizing?

Why?

Techno looks up at him, “I mean it, Dream. Even if it was because you scared me, this was not okay. I am genuinely sorry.”

Dream shakes his head again in disbelief. Techno can’t apologise to him. He doesn’t get apologised to, he’s the one who apologises. He should apologize for bruising so easily.

Sighing Techno crosses his arms over the bed and rests his head on his arms. “Can you tell me why you bit your hand?”

Slowly Dream shakes his head. no .

“Try not to, okay?” Techno says slowly, sounding stilted as he drums his fingers on his elbow. “I care about you, Dream, so I don’t want to see you hurt in any way.” He stands, reaching down for Dream, hand coming to an abrupt stop when Dream flinches, turning his head away. Techno steps back, looking hurt as he backs up until his heels hit the doorframe.

They stare at each other for a beat. Dream doesn’t know what to think, he wants to apologise for flinching even though he knew Techno wasn’t reaching out to hit him or hurt him or torture him. He’d just seen the hand reaching for him and… reacted.

“I have something I need to go do,” Techno says, “I don’t know when I’ll be back but you can go wherever you want. While you're here my home is your home, okay? I stocked the kitchen this morning so there’s fresh food if you get hungry and there are games in the living room if you get bored.” With that said, Techno takes one last lingering look at him before leaving.

Dream hears him busying away downstairs, talking briefly to Steve before there’s knocking on the front door. Dream stills carefully, listening, expecting to hear the voice of the warden or Quackity. Techno opens the door and-

“You coming? We’ve been waiting.” Philza says, his voice carrying easily despite the slight wind.

“Yeah, I got held up,” Techno replies as he closes the door, voice becoming a tad more muffled, “But I’m ready now.”

“With…?” Philza asks, the two of them moving away from the cabin.

“Yeah.” Techno says, voice low, almost unintelligible as the wind picks up a bit.

Dream strains his ears, trying to listen for them. But they’re both gone, leaving Dream with only Steve in the house.

Dream gasps, suddenly able to breathe again. He doesn’t know how long he was holding his breath, only that he feels lightheaded, his mind swirling around. Clumsily he grabs the duvet and cloak, pushing them down on the floor. Sitting down on the floor himself, he rearranges the duvet into a small nest tucked in under the bed. Grabbing his mask and Techno’s cloak he crawls under the bed and lies down on the duvet, pulling the cloak up over his head and hugging his mask to his chest.

The cloak smells like wolves and Techno, quickly pulling him into an exhausted sleep.

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

"-am? Dream? Dreeaamm? Dream?"

He's burning-

please-

please-

Please stop-

"Teletubby?"

Biting back a startled yell, Dream jerks in place, limbs locking over the unfamiliar ground- too soft and even.

"Dream?"

Dream is brought from his nightmare filled sleep by Techno, his owner , softly calling his name. He's laying on the duvet given to him by Techno, huddled in the darkness under the bed, having taken the top mattress down over the side of it to block out the sun.

"Dream? Hullo? Dream are you awake?"

He raps his fist against the floor a couple of times and stretches his tired limbs out, his arm crossing into one of the slim beams of light coming in through whatever crevice between the top mattress and the bed the sunlight can make its way through. It's hot under the bed, a comfortable familiar heat laid out over him.

Blinking tears away as he stares at the painful light, Dream breathes carefully through his mouth, his nose completely blocked as his throat aches with rough pain at every inhale and exhale.

He's definitely gotten sick.

Dream thought he might have been, it's yet another thing for him to overcome and he hates it. He hates how his limbs shake, how he can't look into any bright light without tearing up or feeling enclosed and hates how his mind feels foggy.

He's been told it was better when he was weak and shivering, that he should be grateful to even be kept alive that much.

Maybe he should be grateful. It was his strength that caused him to hurt people which in turn got him hurt. He should be grateful he can't repeat the same mistakes, actions, patterns, or evils as his tormentors called it.

Groaning lowly he shuffles over into the little sunbeam and pulls Techno’s cloak away from his head, feeling the light on the skin of his face. Warm and comforting without hurting.

"I'm moving the mattress okay?" Techno states, waiting a few moments for Dream to knock on the floor before the top mattress is lifted from its spot against the bed and light comes pouring into Dreams' little nest.

Dream winches, rapidly blinking to get used to the downpour of light. Once he can see again, his owner has sat down cross-legged on the floor, he's leaning forwards over his legs, resting his head in his hand as he stares in at him.

'Hello.' Dream signs nervously, wondering what Techno wants. Wondering how his owner has decided Dream should spend the day.

It's almost a rush, staring at Techno and waiting for a command. He feels excited about it, anticipation boiling in his guts. He might be ill but he knows he can still follow orders and do as he's told.

Once Dream has decided on something he doesn't stop till he's seen it through.

Quackity would have killed him before Dream would've ever shared the revival book with him or anyone else.

"Good morning, Dream," Techno smiles shortly, "Are you hungry? I've got breakfast set out if you want any, or did you get something to eat yesterday?" Techno asks.

'I did.' Dream signs, remembering the raw mutton Technochan had given him. He's not exactly sure it was yesterday but his stomach doesn't hurt as much as it normally would after several days without eating, so it wouldn't matter anyway.

"That's good." Techno hums, "Want to come downstairs anyways? You look extremely homeless laying under your bed like this."

Dream glances down at the bright green duvet under himself and rolls his eyes with embarrassment. Of course, his owner would go for the homeless joke. Not that he minds anymore, pets can’t be homeless. Either they're pets or they're wild animals, or in his case- a monster.

Grunting he pulls himself out from under the bed and waits for Techno to get to his feet before hoisting himself up on his unsteady legs. He almost crumbles, his knees aching sharply but his owner grips his shoulder quickly to steady him.

Getting down the ladder is an embarrassing matter as his foot slips and Dream’s only saved from potentially smashing his head in on the floor by Techno quickly catching him. "Woah!" Techno gasps, setting Dream down on his feet. "Note to self, add a water drop or stairs- are you okay?" he asks, hands checking Dream for injuries.

Dream winches, his ribs hurt a bit more from landing in Techno's arms but besides that-

' I'm okay.' he signs.

“Good, that would have been a bad fall if I hadn’t caught you. You good to walk on your own?” Techno pats him on the arm. Dream gives him a thumbs up, locking his knees in to stand on his own and follow Techno through the door to the living room. ”Good- Oh, and Phil’s here.”

Dream freezes, his fingers going numb as he kneads them into Techno's cloak. His owner doesn't notice, leaving Dream frozen in the doorway. There, in the armchair closest to the front door is Philza Minecraft. His hat is laying on a coffee table that's been put between the chairs, leaving his bright blonde hair on full display. Besides the hat is an assortment of food, bread, cheese, butter, meats and berries. They're eating a rich breakfast, which is good because his owner needs it after only having Dream's potatoes for a month.

Philza looks up from the cup in his hands which is filled with something steaming, his bright blue pupil-less eyes meeting Dream's for just a second when Dream didn't look away quickly enough.

"Heya mate." Philza says, smiling.

Dream smiles as he should, almost having to rip his own hand free from the cloak as if he had claws that got stuck in the fabric to wave at the man. Greeting his owner's guests was important. Dogs would jump for scratches and cats would rub against their legs or blink at guests, Dream should greet them to the best of his ability as well.

Greeting over, he hurries over beside Techno and kneels down off the side of the sofa and rests his shoulder against the side of it. He's tired, soul-deep exhaustion that creeps into his limbs, making them weak and pitiful. At least he feels familiarly warm, having long since gotten used to the feeling of overheating.

"Dream, a chair please." Techno grunts, piercing red eyes staring down at him.

Looking meekly at the floor he shakes his head, staying resolutely on the floor at Techno's side as he should.

He wishes his owner would stop pretending to treat him like a person. Like this, he can just relax and doze off as his owner entertains his friend.

"I hope taking Techno away wasn't too stressful, mate. How've you been, Dream?"

Dream blinks, not expecting Philza to address him with Techno there.

What was Dream even supposed to say?

Would they want to hear that he'd been miserable? Would they want him to say he'd been fine? Happy even without Techno? Or would they rather hear that he'd been anxious for Techno to come back?

Would they want the truth that he’d slept most of the day away and the few times he’d been awake he’d only moved from his spot under the bed once to go downstairs to drink but had gotten roared at by Steve and fled like a coward instead of standing his ground?

Quackity had always wanted him to say he'd been anxious, that he'd been missing the pain or been afraid without his torturer because when Quackity was there he wasn't alone anymore .

Sometimes when Dream felt most like a monster, he'd think that maybe it was Quackity who felt lonely without Dream begging and pleading under his tools.

"Dream?"

A finger taps on the top of his head, startling him from his thoughts. He looks up, focusing on his owner's right shoulder as Techno leans over the side of the sofa.

"Lost in thought?" his owner asks with an awkward smile.

Dream hesitates then, ' yes' he signs.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Was it a demand or a suggestion or an offer? ' Thinking about how to answer P H I L Z A.' he slowly signs, playing it safe with what he shared while making sure to spell Philzas name correctly.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Philza says softly.

If you don't want to . Dream could laugh. Still, he knows his owner's guest wouldn't have asked if he didn't want an answer. ' I went down once and Steve roared at me again. Other than that I just slept.' he settles on. Safe and Techno wouldn’t be mad at him for sleeping, after all he hadn’t given him any instructions.

"Steve roared at you?" Philza says shocked.

Dream nods quietly, shrugging.

"Huh, I thought it was just because you stank that he did that," Techno drawls. "I'll talk to him about it again, maybe I need to be more firm about this."

Dream whips his head to Techno, grabbing his arm quickly to get his attention and signing. ' you don't have to!' he rushes with fumbling fingers, heart in his throat. ' it's my fault.'

Techno stares down at him, furrowed eyes dragging away to Philza. “You're better at sign language, what did Dream say?"

Dream looks at Philza, repeating his words hastily. His weak fingers fumbling together into an incoherent mess.

The man frowns down at Dream's hands, “That it's his fault, so you don't have to."

"If it wasn't because of your smell then it's because Steve is grumpy that he's going to have to share the house again, especially because he misses Edward, Dream. It's got nothing to do with you. " Techno taps Dream on the head again, "So lighten up, Steve just needs to be told off some more times and then he'll leave you be."

Nodding hesitantly, Dream looks away from them.

He shouldn't have mentioned Steve, now the polar bear will be punished because of Dream's dumb hands.

He feels guilty for getting the bear into trouble but also grateful that he's not the one being punished for getting on Steve's nerves.

'Okay'

"He said-"

"I got that one , Phil." His owner laughs, cutting a slice of bread and putting a good amount of cheese on it. Dream stares at the bread and cheese, he can smell the cheese and would like nothing more than to take the whole chunk and stuff it down his throat. "I'm not that bad at sign language. That said , I would like to borrow some of your old books on it."

Philza smiles. "Sure mate, I'll find them for you."

"Mmph." Techno grunts around the bread in his mouth. From his angle, Dream can't see his owner well, but he does notice when Techno suddenly turns to him. "Hungry?"

Holding his breath, Dream licks the inner side of his teeth and looks away from Techno and Philza's food. He shakes his head.

Dream had eaten a piece of mutton the size of maybe three potatoes yesterday. He didn't need to eat again.

His owner grunts and picks up the bowl of berries, holding it out under Dream's nose. Dream stares cross-eyed into the mess of red. The berries are mostly sweet berries but there's a few strawberries and raspberries mixed in between them.

"At least eat some berries, I noticed you didn't take anything to eat from the house while I was away yesterday." His owner says. "You need to build up your strength okay? You can't keep eating like we're still in the prison, and the dog jerky isn't enough, you're gonna need something more balanced."

Dream gently takes the bowl from Techno's fingers, putting it down on the floor by his knees before he can potentially drop and destroy it.

He nods, signing ' I understand' and picks up a raspberry. Seeing him actually pick up one of the fruits seems to be satisfactory to Techno because he turns back to speak softly with Philza about something to do with withers. Considering that Techno is Techno, Dream isn't all that concerned hearing him talking about beings of mass destruction.

Dream blinks at the raspberry held gently between his thumb and forefinger, it's soft and the tips of his fingers are painted slightly red by its juices. It's the wrong hue but the sticky liquid almost looks like blood on his hands, reminding him of the mutton from yesterday. Eating the raspberry carefully, it somehow tastes better than he'd imagined as he crushes it to the roof of his mouth with his tongue. Sweet, refreshing, nice .

He picks up another.

And another.

And another.

Soon his fingertips drag over the empty insides of the bowl, only sliding through slight berry juice.

He ate them all?

Gaping at the bowl, Dream picks it up and stares at the leftover juice, tilting the bowl and watching how it glides over the polished inside.

He wants more.

He feels gluttonous as he licks the dried juice off his fingers and puts the bowl to his mouth and tilts it back for the last few drops of fruit.

Dream's been a good pet right? He hasn't interrupted Philza and his owner's conversation has carefully not listened to what they're talking about. He's waiting patiently for when Techno will give him a command. He can ask for more berries.

Techno likes to spoil his pets. That's why he wanted to be Techno's right?

Dream can ask for more .

Techno's arm is right there by his head, elbow planted onto the sofa as he gestures to Philza, easy for Dream to poke.

His owner leans over to stare down at him. "Dream?"

Gaze carefully down, Dream holds up his bowl to him. Taking it from Dream, Techno chuckles into the now-empty bowl. "And you said you weren't hungry."

Dream winces, feeling chastised but he supposes Techno knew him better. Techno would be a good owner like that, knowing what Dream needs even if he doesn't himself. 'You were right. Can I have more, anyway?' he signs slowly.

"Yeah-" Techno stares down at Dream, looking almost surprised as he stands up. "Of course you can." He says, leaving with the bowl.

His skin crawls, left alone with Philza. It’s almost enough to make him regret asking for more as he feels the man's sharp eyes on him. Still, a few moments of potent discomfort isn't something he's disused to and the end reward of more berries only makes it more bearable. He can still taste the berries on his tongue, focusing on the taste helps him stay untensed as Philza shifts in the armchair, moving closer to the edge of it and un-crossing his legs, putting both of his boots into Dream’s line of sight.

Digging the blunt nail of his left thumb into his other hand he waits silently, eyes down.

Blessedly Techno comes back quickly. And when he hands the bowl to Dream it’s filled to the top with berries and apple slices. “There ya go.”

Putting the bowl onto the floor, he has to turn his head away from it to stop staring at the apple pieces, the whites of them slowly turning yellow and then, eventually brown. Dream carefully smiles up at his owner, hoping it looks grateful enough. ' Thank you.'

Techno smiles back. “Yeah no problem, there’s more in the kitchen if you’re still hungry later.”

Smiling until Techno turns to his food, Dream picks up an apple slice and tilts his head, able to observe Philza as the man continues to stare at him. Chewing on the apple slice he wants to stand and shout at Philza, scream, wail- anything really to get him to stop staring at him.

Crawling fear grips him as he stares at the last bit of apple in his hand. It has to just be his mind. He must be getting afraid for no reason because there's no way that Techno would- There's no way Philza was waiting for him to bite-

Techno wouldn't feed him a poisoned apple. Techno is his owner.

But why else would Philza stare at him like that? If he wasn't waiting for something to happen? For him to eat the last of the apple and die?

He remembers freaking out in his cell once, throwing all his potatoes into lava, convinced that they were poisoned. Convinced that only one bite would kill him.

Afterwards, when he'd gotten his senses back- after the Warden had come in and held him down until he stopped freaking out, he regretted it. He didn't get new potatoes to replace the ones he'd destroyed, it was his punishment for wasting his food.

Settling his nerves he eats the rest of the apple slice. Even if it is poisoned, he learned from experience that slighting his owner- the warden- he means- the person in charge of him by not eating would only be worse. If it really was poisoned then, though it was scary at least he'd only get violently sick or he'd… just have to respawn.

If he refused to eat the apple after asking for it, would it be Philza who would hit him so his owner wouldn't have to? (Just like Sam wasn't involved when he was the one who let Quackity into his cell to-) Technoblade said he wouldn't hurt him, apologized for bruising his wrist-but what about Philza? What about when he's spitting on their kindness, wanting to vomit up the apple in his stomach?

Working his way through the fruit with his heart in his throat until he feels firmly filled, Dream doesn't feel more sickly than before, maybe a bit less nauseated really. And he isn't dead or dying so it wasn't anything, it was just his mind messing with him.

It was just his mind.

He feels full.

And tired.

Really tired.

Resting his head against the sofa, he closes his eyes, and breathes carefully, letting his mind wash away into cold exhaustion.

Techno can wake him up once he has a task for him.

"Mate." Philza says.

"I know."

" Mate." Philza repeats.

Techno glares, not appreciating Phil's humour right now. "I said I know."

"Are you sure you didn't pick up Dream's twin? This is-" Phil tries, injecting humour into his voice.

"I'm sure," Techno sighs and glances down where he can see the top of Dream's blonde head as the man sleeps against his sofa. "As you can see I wasn't kidding when I told you he's… dehumanizing himself, he won't even sit on chairs and he was sleeping under the bed. At least he's still a stubborn bastard, he says he'll be obedient whatever that should mean, but still refuses to sit on chairs when I ask him to."

"He looks scared of me," Phil sighs. "But can I blame him? After being tortured, after breaking , maybe he'll never feel comfortable in anyone's presence but yours."

"I hope not." Techno says warily, watching the top of Dream's messy head of hair.

They finish breakfast in near silence, Phil staring at Dream for most of it. Techno hopes it means he's coming up with an idea of how to shake Dream out of his strange obsession with being Techno's pet. He hopes it means Phil has a therapy plan or an idea or anything, because while he's well aware that Philza doesn't really know what to do, Technoblade is even worse off.

Techno feels very lost for what to do next as he comes back after washing the dishes. Dream is still sleeping against his sofa, his breathing is slightly raspy, and there's a thin sheen of sweat on his skin. He looks almost sick, as pale as a vampire and with heavy bags under his eyes.

With all the blood and grime washed off, Dream looked awful. And he looks even worse today than he had yesterday.

Silently Techno kneels down by the man, only just touching his forehead to check his temperature when Dream startles back into wakefulness with a choked scream. He stares wildly at Techno without recognition.

Smiling softly, Techno folds his hands together. "Hey there buddy, do you want to sleep upstairs?"

Dream stares at him for a moment before sliding his eyes down to the floor, eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"Do you want to sleep upstairs?" Techno tries again in case Dream didn't quite hear him.

Shaking his head, 'What do you- me to do?' Dream signs to him slowly, the fourth hand sign completely foreign to Techno. But he gets the gist.

Why in the pits of the Nether would Dream want him to command him while he's sick? "I don't want you to do anything?" Techno pauses, watching how Dream's eyes become hazy, staring out into the air with trepidation- and-

Carefully schooling his expression into something mildly happy, Techno lifts his hands so Dream can see them. Bruh .

Dream's scared of him again. He'd somehow said the wrong thing. How was telling Dream he expected nothing of him but to rest, the wrong thing?

The last time he'd accidentally made Dream scared of him he hadn't been able to prevent him from dipping into the lava curtain. Dream had tried over and over again, struggling against him until Techno had to hold him down until he passed out. When Dream had gained consciousness again he acted like he didn't remember, but Techno had seen how he flinched and curled up whenever Techno had come close.

"Hey it's okay dude-" he soothes, looking away from Dream to Phil who's watching them carefully. "See my hands are here? I'm not going to touch you."

Luckily Phil sees his request for help and quickly comes over, bending down to whisper in his ear. "I think he might feel that he needs to be useful or he'll be thrown out or hurt. You should give him something easy to do until we can get his head back on straight. You might need to… play into what he expects, he can't heal if he's feeling like he's walking on eggshells around you."

"Right." Techno says, hating every moment of it. Maybe if Dream had come to his cabin to be a person rooming with him he'd have stacked chore upon chore on him while bullying him, but this wasn't that. This was one of his best friends calling themselves less than an animal and expecting him to hurt them - for what? His own good? Disaapointment? and use them as an animal- a tool. Like he wasn't a person .

He hadn't miss how pleased Dream had looked when Techno had bruised his wrist yesterday. When Techno had so suddenly smelled spilled blood and his vision had gone red and he'd made a liar out of himself, promising not to hurt Dream and immediately doing so. He'd almost done worse than bruise, high strung from the everything that was revealed to him as he undressed and bathed Dream, and with the voices clamoring for blood it had been hard not to give in when the sweet metallic scent hit his brain. Just thinking about it makes him want to vomit or finally follow the blood lusting cries of chat and and start murdering some folk.

Quackity and Sam in particular.

Opening his eyes with a sigh he doesn't miss how Dream's extremely expressive eyes flinch away from him while nervously watching Philza.

They are kind of cornering him, aren't they?

"Alright I've thought about something you can do," Techno stalls, wracking his brain as he stands, pulling Phil with him a good distance from Dream who scrambles to his feet, leaning heavily on the sofa as he stares eagerly at Techno. If Dream had been an actual pet and had a tail it would be wagging with how excited he looks. "You can... Er… sort my storage. I had a… racoon infestation a bit ago and never fixed it. "

The voices jump, delighted cheers of raccooninit! and hissed out shouts of theif! Mixing.

Dream doesn't smile, but he looks excited, eyes shining like they had those first steps outside of the prison. ' yes-' he signs, fingers falling into a mess of a hasty flail as he aborts whatever he was about to sign with an almost shocked expression. Behind Techno, Philza sucks in a sharp breath, understanding whatever Dream had almost signed.

Glancing at Phil it's clear whatever Dream signed was not something good. Philza grimaces, shaking his head softly as he pulls out his communicator and sends a message to Techno, his own device notifying him with two soft dings.

Dream pats the sofa hard, the sound distracting Techno from looking at what Philza sent him, ' the- downstairs?'

Techbo blinks. "Yeah downstairs."

Dream nods quickly, swaying on his feet as he rushes past. He looks almost drunk as he catches himself on the doorframe to the hallway, using it to slow down and-

"Hey hey hey!" Techno quickly calls, pulling Dream up and away from the trapdoor. "We're going around the house, I don't want you smashing your head in okay?"

Dream grunts as he's deposited against the window, blinking almost blankly at Techno and wiping away snot from under his nose. Gross. "Wait here I'm getting you a hat." He says hoping to find one in his clothes chest, if all else fails he has a few scarves he can wrap Dream up in. Techno doesn't use hats but hopefully, he'd brought some of Wilbur's old ones with him when he moved to the SMP.

He finds an old knitted beanie with pins stuck to it. Techno snorts, ' I'm not weird, just clever.' one of them reads, definitely ageing the beanie to be one of Wilbur's old ones from when he'd been an angsty teenager.

Pulling the hat over Dream's ears and wrapping his neck and face up in a scarf, Techno almost laughs at how he looks like a feral rat with his messy and knotted hair wrapped into the scarf. "That's good, now come on, I'll take you to the basem*nt."

They make their way around in the freshly fallen snow, Techno not taking any chances on the slippery stairs and carefully lifting Dream by his armpits to carry him down.

It was easier than it should ever have been to pick Dream up. Dream weighted the same as a child, feather-light to pick up for Techno and he hated it. In hindsight, he could probably have carried him down the ladder with little problem.

He hated how he'd seen Dream's ribs poke out at his sides, how thin his arms were. He hated how he'd not thought to check in with Dream sooner, hates that his inactivity and hibernation had let an institution like Pandora's vault get as bad as it was.

Sam had even locked up Connor , and no one had known. They'd locked up Techno and no one had known. Awesamdude was playing a dangerous game where he is the judge, jury, and executioner.

Once they're back inside, Blitz rushes between their feet, half spooked by Dream's unfamiliar presence but still excited to see Techno again. "Yeah yeah you silly fox." He grumbles, leaving Dream by the wall and quickly searching through his chests until he finds a golden carrot for the fox. Blitz yips excitedly, rushing into one of the basem*nt's corners and curling up, not eating the carrot just yet, just holding it.

Foxes were odd creatures.

"I don't really have a system right now, so you can sort it however you want." Pulling an empty chest from his inventory, he quickly places it down near the other chests. "Here, you can use this one too." staring back at the wall of chests, Techno wonders if he actually has a way he'd like it sorted, maybe the most valuable items hidden away while still keeping potions on the shelves, easy to grab in case something happened.

Dream knocks firmly on the wall. His head lowered when Techno turns to him. 'when- to- it done?'

Huh? "When what done?"

Dream twitches, ' when is D R E A M E X P E C T E D to H A V E it done?' Dream signs slowly, spelling out words.

"There's no time limit, you can take your time Dream. I don't expect it all to be done in a day. Actually-" Techno stops, thinking it over. " Don't finish in one day. Knowing your stubbornness, you'll try and speedrun it and burn yourself out."

' yes-' Dream nods faintly, fingers curling up into fists at his sides before he pushes himself off the wall and wobbles over to the bottom right chest. Sitting down in front of the chest, Dream begins quickly pulling items out of it into small piles on the floor. He pauses as he pulls out a health potion, fingers tightening on the cork on the top, looking like he wants to drink it, eyes staring into the glowing liquid like it came from the spring of life. His lips part, Dream looks hungry as he looks at it. Then ultimately he puts it away onto the floor, shakily adding a regen and slowness potion to the pile.

Frowning, he watches Dream's frantic movements, limbs shaking with effort as he drags out a large amount of sandstone from the chest, his chest heaving and-

"Maximum one chest a day." Techno corrects sharply, coming over to take the sandstone from him as Dream gasps silently with pain. "Here I'll help with the heavier stuff."

Dream stares at his knees, teeth clenched and slightly barred in frustration. "Look-" Techno starts, putting the stone down and making sure Dream is listening. "I get you want to be useful to me, Dream, but I don't want you hurting yourself trying to bend over backwards for my whims okay?"

Staring at Techno's chest, Dream's chapped lips close together in a thin line. By the time that Techno has started to think that maybe Dream actually did want to hurt himself while following whatever Techno wanted, Dream nods and turns back to the chest. This time he only pulls out a small amount of sandstone.

Retreating to give Dream some space he watches carefully to make sure Dream doesn't push himself too much. It's tedious, watching Dream slowly work through sorting his chest into different categories, but until Techno can be sure he won't hurt himself doing it he'll be here making sure he's being safe. Still doesn't mean he can't grab an old book on the history of the old greater SMP systems to read while Dream works.

It's an interesting book, nothing he hasn't read or experienced himself before but still worthwhile to read. After all, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

At some point as Dream digs out a bunch of dried berries, Blitz goes wild, jumping up from his spot in the corner of the room and practically toppling Dream as he curls up in his lap.

"You can give him the berries." Techno snorts, watching Dream run a hand over the fox's head and down around his collar, scratching beneath it and making the fox a pile of goo on his legs.

Pausing, Dream signs slowly. 'why collar? Fox no collar?'

Staring at his hands, Technoblade almost feels insulted by the baby signing Dream is doing at him. He's not that bad at sign language. "Sure, foxes don't usually have collars but this server is filled with people who kill animals and pets on sight- like your buddy Sapnap so getting them a collar with a clear name tag that belongs to me , I'm hoping they'll at least hesitate before killing my animals and reaping the consequences."

And it did work. Besides the times when he brought the hound army to war, no one dared to touch them.

Mostly.

L'manberg had taken Carl hostage.

Dream nods firmly, fingers tracing along the collar before returning to his work, letting Blitz lie in his lap, whining for berries and giving the fox a few of them as well as scratches in-between sorting items.

Techno snorts, watching how Dream clearly would rather cuddle with Blitz than sort items, spending more time scratching the fox and fidgeting with the collar around its neck than actually sorting anything.

Finishing a chapter in his book, Techno peeks over the edge of it, finding Dream strangely silent. The green Teletubby is sitting with a golden apple in his hands, Blitz is completely forgotten in his lap as he stares at the fruit.

"You want it?"

Dream flinches, throwing the golden apple back into the chest as if that would hide the way he'd been staring at it like a starved man. He pushes himself down against the chest, almost hugging Blitz to his chest, looking smaller. 'I'm sorry. I wasn't- to steal.'

"I didn't think or ask if you were, I asked if you wanted it" Techno says carefully and comes over to take the apple, an idea forming in his mind. He inspects the clear golden sheen on the apple, as with golden apples there's not even a bruise on it from the intact, perfectly intact and edible. Golden apples can last thousands of years without deteriorating even the smallest bit when whole, only growing more potent and stronger with time. "How about I cut this thing up and put it in a bag you can carry around then you can take some whenever you're hungry or craving?"

Techno can't say he doesn't understand cravings, sometimes he thinks he'd gut even Philza for a golden carrot. Dream clearly wants it, though he's just eaten the man was practically salivating looking at it.

Not that you could overeat on golden apples. You could eat a thousand of them and never become uncomfortable, just be perfectly satiated. Techno remembers some alchemist once explaining how it worked to him, but at this point, he can't remember much more besides "magic apple does magic things."

Dream blinks, staring at the apple, he looks afraid to accept Techno's offer but eventually either his sweet tooth or cravings win out.

"Alright then! I'll be right back." Getting up to his kitchen, dumping the enchanted fruit on a cutting board, grabbing a knife and hacking the apple in half, Techno pauses.

Setting the knife to the side he takes out his communicator. There are a few messages in the general chat - looks like Tommy and Captain Puffy had gotten in a mindless fight again- but still nothing about Dream or his own escape from Prison.

Sam and Quackity were keeping suspiciously quiet about it. There were a few messages about the alarm which had blasted while they escaped, but that was pushed under the rug as Dream misbehaving again .

Nothing to worry about.

Hah.

Part of him would have hoped the silence on it would be because Sam and Quackity realized what they'd done, that they regretted it and wanted to let Dream heal.

Techno however isn't a fool.

They're going to think Dream is coming back for revenge, they gotta be running scared now, thinking it's only a matter of time before their empire crumbles under the man they'd abused and tortured.

They don't know that a life of being Techno's pet- of serving Techno- is what Dream has decided he wants over any sense of self-fulfilment or retribution for what has been done to him. Technoblade wishes he understood Dream, if just to help him better. But he can't , Techno could never see himself just… giving up. He can't see himself just letting injustices against himself lie like this, to turn the other cheek and walk away from those that abuse their power.

Sighing he thumbs into the private messages and checks what Phil sent him.

Oh.

This was infinitely worse than Dream calling him sir when Techno had accidentally triggered him.

Ph1lza> Dream said "yes owner" but he probably realised you wouldn't like that and began signing "master" before realizing that wasn't better

Ph1lza> what the f*ck did those sh*ts do to him in there? I could have foreseen him going after Tommy once he was out, if what I've heard is true, not this.

Leaning his arms on the counter, Techno sighs, pressing his forehead into his communicator and resisting the urge to destroy it as the voices screech inside his aching head.

Dream really made it his personal mission to torment Techno.

Grunting he puts his communicator back and finishes cutting up the golden apple. Luckily with golden apples, there's no need to carefully cut out the core as they neither have them nor a stalk. Grabbing a napkin he folds the apple slices into it and deposits them in an old leather bag.

Glancing briefly inside the living room, Philza is sprawled half off one of the armchairs in front of the lit fireplace, snoring softly. Gently Techno pulls his friend up into the chair and plucks his hat down into his lap so it won't fall off. Phil doesn't as much as twitch, at total ease in Techno's home.

Dream has finished sorting the items once Techno is back downstairs, leaning against the chest and slowly petting Blitz. The floor has been cleared and when he checks the chest by the ladder there's a few plants stored inside. 'I've completed the-' Dream signs, frowning. ' The W O R K.'

"I can see that, good job," Techno says, and plops the bag down over Dream's head. Dream flinches but stays in place, hands fiddling with the clasp before opening the bag and peering in. Half undoing the packing around the apple dream plucks out a slice and refolds the packaging with more care than Techno would have.

Plopping the fruit into his mouth and chewing on it, Dream's eyes widen, a faint glimmer of magic in them and an actual genuine looking smile spreading on his lips as he chews, smiling up at Techno. Putting one arm through the strap, Dream pats the bag before signing. ' Thank you!'

Unable to help himself, Techno matches the grin. "No problem buddy."

It only takes a bit of persuasion to convince Dream to let Techno sling him over his shoulder and carry him up the ladders. Once up, Blitz follows after, yipping and shuffling around Dream's feet once he's set down.

Dream makes a small squeaky noise to Blitz, following after Techno into the living room. Techno looks briefly at Phil, content to see him still resting before turning to Dream. His friend looks exhausted, big tired bags under his eyes. "If you want to sleep, I can carry you upstairs now?"

Dream blinks at him, eyes shifting around, staring at the fireplace beyond Philza.

"Please don't burn yourself."

Dream shrivels around, staring wide-eyed at him. ' I'll be good!' he signs hastily. 'I wouldn't hurt your-'

"My what?" Techno stops, wincing as chat roars in his head. "Actually, no, don't answer that."

Blood for the blood God! Hah Dream probably called himself your property! L, SusanHam95 became a channel member! Pog, Sling him over your shoulder again! Cringe, Cringe, Dog boy Dream truthing! Get him a lead! Woof! L, Blood god! Blood blood! Did he call himself a pet? Cringe. Pet Dream! Pet him! Rub his ears! Rub his ears, Rub his ears, Rub his ears! Cringe chat stop saying that.

Chat should shut up, he's not going to rub Dream's ears. Unbiddeled he finds himself staring at Dream's slightly pointed ears, he's kept the beanie on but it's slipped off his ears, just covering the top of his mess of hair. He wonders what kind of hybrid Dream is with those ears, they're similar to what he's seen from nether hybrids though not nearly long enough- they look a bit too human to be from the nether. Even the most diluted nether blood gives longer points or no points at all.

Dream stares blankly at him, stepping around with Blitz rushing between his feet. He's fidgeting with his hands, finally reaching up and covering his ears, embarrassed at the attention.

"Sorry," Techno says gruffly. "I'll be going out soon, is there anything you want before I leave?"

Shaking his head, no, Dream stares back at the fireplace, eyes shifting to Phil and-

Ah.

Dream is afraid of Philza.

"He won't hurt you, Dream," Techno tries to reassure, he doesn't know if he should touch Dream to be reassuring- that was something Phil always did and Techno always found it reassuring. Yeah, he should try and physically comfort him, get him used to touch again, right? Dream had only been slightly scared when Techno touched him during the bath. Carefully he places his hands on Dream's shoulders, able to feel his slight shudders. Being firm, Techno wraps Dream up in his arms, trying to be reassuring. "If- If you can't trust Philza not to hurt you, please trust in me when I say that Phil won't hurt you. He knows I don't even want a hair out of place on your head, okay? He wouldn't hurt you, even if he hated you he wouldn't as long as you're my guest. If you want I'll watch over you for a bit, okay?"

Releasing Dream he gives what might be an encouraging nod and watches Dream edge a circle around Philza before laying Techno's cape down on the carpet before the fireplace and sitting down on it, Blitz rushing over and curling up beside the man. Dream pulls the cape over himself and sits up straight to stare expectantly at Techno.

… is he seeking affirmation?

Awkwardly Techno gives him a thumbs up and watches Dream dig out a slice of Golden apple, plopping it into his mouth before lying down and curling into Blitz's fur.

Technoblade watches for some time, letting Dream know he's still there until he can see how Dream's hand on Blitz's fur relaxes, curling in a bit with sleep, the up and down rhythm of his breathing settling down.

Quietly he writes a small note and slips it under Phil's hat, just a simple " Don't wake up Dream." Then, sneaking over his squeaky floorboards and stepping on none of the really squeaky ones, he quietly slips out of the door.

Time to meet with Ranboo and then find those blueprints Dream gave him the coordinates to weeks ago.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Dream is pretending to sleep.

Philza is awake and reading a book.

Another page turns and Dream stiles a flinch when Philza sighs tiredly. Shifting slowly, as if he was just moving in his sleep, Dream carefully covers his ears, his movements somewhat covered by the fox, Blitz sleeping up against his face.

Why isn't Techno back yet?

How long is he going to have to lie there, choking down his coughs, letting itchy snot run from his nose, pretending to sleep?

He doesn't want to be alone with Philza. Even with Techno's reassurance that he wouldn't hurt Dream without Techno's permission, he can't help the lingering feeling that maybe Philza wouldn't care.

When Quackity had brought him too close to dying he remembers Sam being angry, Sam shouting at Quackity that Dream was to be kept alive. Yet the next day Sam allowed Quackity to almost kill Dream again, and then again, and again until all Sam did was sigh disappointedly at Dream for almost dying as he shoved potion after potion down his sore throat.

Thinking of the potions makes him shiver, he almost misses the taste of them, the burn in his veins, and the rush of magic as they worked to repair his body back to perfection.

And the way, later, when they stopped being able to prevent scarring, they'd dull his mind and let him forget where he was.

His legs ache and his hands twitch towards his bag with the golden Apple slices. The golden apple soothed the pain in his body and made him feel stronger. Absorption and regeneration. Not strong enough to repair the worst damages he sustained, but enough to make him feel it less.

Philza makes a small sound, turning a page again.

"I know you're awake."

Flinching back with a started half-scream, half cough, Dream leaves Technos cloak and Blitz behind as he scrambles back behind one of the armchairs.

A wave of dizziness hits him at the sudden movement, his body tilting to the side and he crashes into the floor, not able to comprehend his fall to catch himself before he'd already met the floor. Dully he stares half blindly at Philza's feet as the Angel of Death leaps up, crowding into Dream's personal bubble. Mind swimming sluggishly, he can't muster the energy to retreat further, his leg scraping weakly over the floor as he suddenly gags harshly, feeling as though he's going to vomit.

"Dream,” Arms slide under his legs and back, picking him up. The sudden movement makes his head spin as he lays limply in Philza’s arms, unable to gather the energy to wiggle out. “Let's get you on the couch okay?"

Frantically Dream tries to shake his head, no, don't put him on the sofa.

Philza's hands slip off him as he's laid down on soft cloth, a pillow carefully placed under his head that smells of Techno and engulfing him in soothing scents as his owner's cloak is laid out over him.

"mmrmp." Dream voices, curling down into the cloak, pressing his face against the soft fabric. Too exhausted and off-footed from the rush of dizziness.

"You're sick, Dream." Philza says slowly, his cold hands invasively touching Dream's bare face.

Dream frowns, he knows he's sick. Sick and twisted, a monster who'd pretended to be anything resembling a person.

He bites back revulsion and heavy shudders as Philza tilts his head out of the cloak, fingers touching his neck right where his nausea rests, digging into his pulse. Hazy panic clouding his mind, Dream-

"Strange," Philza says softly, hand digging under the cloak and grabbing one of Dream's hands, thumb going in under his gloves to touch at the scarring there. It doesn't hurt, Philza's hand on his neck and wrist, allowing Dream to calm down somewhat through the uncomfortable feeling of someone pressing down on two of his most vulnerable areas. "He's not quite human is he?" Philza muses quietly to himself. "His baseline would be different…"

The hands leave his wrist and neck, trailing over his bare face, touching his face, until a thumb pulls his eyelid up and he's met with the bright light of a torch. Eyes watering, Dream hisses, drawing back and squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

"Delayed reaction time…" Philza mutters, fabric shifting as he stands up and-

Dream flinches, he's suddenly propped half upright on the sofa by pillows, an animal-probably Blitz-is in his lap and he can feel Techno's cloak's heavy weight against him.

What-

Blinking his eyes open, Philza is nowhere to be seen. He looks down, nose clogging at the action and carefully brushes a hand over Blitz fur.

Hey buddy, he smiles as Blitz shudders pleasantly with a yawn, shifting its head further into Dream's stomach. His fingers find the collar around the Foxes neck. The leather is soft and smooth under his rough fingertips. If Dream had one he wonders if it would be as nice in quality, with a name tag hanging from the front to show he was Techno's.

"You're awake already?" Philza's voice comes from behind him, freezing Dream in place as the man steps closer. "Here." Green covers Dream's vision as Philza sets down a streaming bowl on the coffee table. It smells like soup?

Philza steps back, watching Dream carefully. "It's for you." The man says when Dream just stares back nervously.

Mouth dropping open, Dream looks at the soup. It's… for him?

His first instinct is to do nothing, caught up between wanting to grab the blow and Rush upstairs and hide under his bed as he eats, and wanting to refuse the food.

They didn't poison him before, there's no logical reason to think Philza would now. It would be obvious and Techno would know Phil killed his pet.

"Dream?"

If he ran with the food he'd most likely not make it, or he'd spill it all if the bowl got hot, but if he didn't eat Philza might feel slighted. He didn't even need to feel like maybe the soup was poisoned, though his stomach clenches, very willing to eat, his throat is in knots of nausea thinking about eating.

"Dream?"

Blitz pushes against him, jerking Dream from his thoughts. He stares at Philza's chest. 'what?'

Philza nods with a small smile. "The soup, it's for you mate. You've gotten sick so you need something warm."

Ah right, the soup.

He can be a good pet and eat where the food has been placed for him.

Sitting up Dream has to grip the coffee table as the world tilts, his vision spinning at the edges. Whoah- Dream grunts slipping down the sofa and onto the floor. Slowly he lays his head on his arm, close enough to feel the heat from the soup. He grabs the spoon in the bowl with unfeeling but careful fingers and scoops a mouthful in. He spills on his luckily bare arm and quickly swallows down the hot mouthful which burns the whole way down. His lungs and heart feel unpleasantly like they're hurting, burning as the heat travels past them. His mouth tastes vaguely burnt but also of the pleasant taste of vegetable soup. It tastes amazing, not as good as the golden apples but still brilliant.

Weakly, he pushes his sleeves back to not spill soup on them and grabs another spoonful, eager to eat more, the soup helping with the nausea-

"Dream-" Philza says sharply, a tinge of concern for his friend's property clear in his voice. "You need to let it cool, blow on it. You're burning yourself."

Glancing up on the man, Dream blows quickly on the spoonful soup and gulps it down. It tastes better this time, not overwhelmed by the warmth of it.

A whole bowl of soup and a filled, pleasantly warm stomach, later, Dream smiles gratefully at Philza for feeding him. 'Thank you.' he signs and carefully licks away whatever soup he spilt on his arms, cleaning himself up and unwilling to waste even a drop of food. Delicious food. Not when he's been given a set amount, not even as his stomach protests eating more. He can't hide away the soup as rations for later. The soup he spilt on the table is a bit harder but he can wipe it off the table and lick it off his hands easily.

Quite suddenly his shoulders are grabbed, Philza pulling him up from the table. Dream stills, trying to focus on Philza as his head spins at the sudden movements.

"What are you-" Philza pauses, "You don't have to clean. I'll take care of it, okay? Now, back on the couch, young man, you're running an extremely high fever." Philza's hands push at Dream, grabbing under his armpits and lifting him onto the sofa. Heart startling into panic, Dream flinches at the sudden manhandling, biting the thing touching him-

Philza hisses loudly, ripping his hand from Dream's teeth and staggering back away from him with wide eyes.

Dream freezes, tasting blood.

Oh gods-

Dream falls over in a heap as he moves off the sofa, his elbows hurt but as he turns, hands are on him, holding him- pulling at him- Dream lashes out, getting free and quickly getting his feet under himself, body moving mostly on autopilot through the haze in his mind until he's huddled against the far most corner of his cell.

There's player blood on his tongue that's not his own, it doesn't taste like glitches and bugs, like irreparable hurt and harm. He bit Quackity again- he was supposed to have stopped that, he was supposed to be better, and not harm people on a whim- to not be a monster, he was supposed to have learned better- been trained to be better- and now Quackity will-

I'm sorry-

Quackity will-

Oh gods-

Sorry-

A green shape backs away- Sam- no not Sam, the Warden. He's keeping his distance. There's something moving and alive in his arms- a white animal wiggling to get free that Dream doesn't remember being in his cell, an animal he doesn't have the luxury to mourn. In Sam's hand he's holding something with a small green light, a communicator.

If he could grab it then he could demand his own back in return. Or he could destroy it, a petty meaningless revenge for being pulled apart and made aware of his own monstrosity by Sam's obsidian creation.

The warden doesn't have his weapons out, he's not even wearing armour but Dream knows he never enters his cell without at least strength II so he could instantly kill Dream should he attack him. How could he not know, when the first time the Warden had killed him, all it had taken was one hit from his axe? Maybe armourless Dream could take Sam in a fistfight, maybe even against Sam's weapons, but not when he can barely see the warden. He wouldn't be able to hit him or evade attacks when his form is blurry and the world spins. Not when he's seeing double.

"Dream." A voice says- not the warden but it is?

Straightening his back, even huddled into the corner, Dream sits proudly as he stares up the warden's form. "Sam." he says, vocal cords hurting, his throat feeling burned. Stand up and keep still, don't let him see- don't let him get to you-

"Dream, it's Philza?" The Warden comes closer and Dream can't stop his flinch as Sam crouches down by him, dropping something red and heavy sounding on the floor.

Don't be scared, don't show you're afraid-

Turning towards Sam, doing his best to look him in the eyes, Dream steels his nerves for an interrogation. He doesn't know why Sam is mentioning Philza but he knows it must have been something he did. Did he bite Philza? Had the avian been allowed a visit? "Philza… what? I thought I wasn't getting any visitors?"

The warden is silent, then, "I'm Philza, you're in Techno's cabin, it's morning and it's snowing outside."

That… made no sense.

Why wasn't Sam accusing him of something he supposedly did? Something he must have done?

"Dream, you're in Techno's cabin, it's morning and it's snowing outside. You escaped Prison with Techno a few days ago."

What?

Sam- no- Phil sighs, "Dream, you're in Techno's cabin, it's morning and it's snowing outside. You escaped Prison with Techno a few days ago." he repeats slowly.

Oh.

Dream slumps against the- smithing table? Behind him, finally noticing the black shapes behind Philza, his wings, one torn and ruined by explosions but still well preened shining prettily.

What happened?

"Dream, I'm going to touch you so don't freak out," Philza says, his hands coming up slowly into Dream's vision, one of them bandaged. "Shake your head if you don't want me to."

Dream almost shakes his head, almost pleading for the man not to touch him when he sees the red seeped into the bandages wrapped around Philza's hand. Oh right. He had bitten his owner's friend.

Slowly Dream nods his consent for whatever punishment he'll receive, a cold pit growing in his gut. Will Philza punish him now or wait for Dream's owner to come home? Will his punishment be worse if they are by Philzas discretion or his owners?

Though he expected it, Dream startles, almost hitting Philza when the man places Techno's cloak over his shoulders and touches them.

"It's okay." Philza whispers lowly, thumbs rubbing into Dream's shoulders- getting him used to the feeling of his hands on him. Then Philza bends down, pulling Dream up in his arms and-

Woah-

Dream gasps, head plonking weakly onto Philza's shoulder, vision spinning as he's lifted by the shorter entity. Being carried by Philza somehow felt safer than being carried by his owner, letting Dream close his eyes and wait to be taken to his punishment. Dream didn't feel as soothed by the action, but Philza clearly had more experience carrying humanoid beings, even those taller than himself, making it feel like he was secure and not about to be dropped should the man step on a bump.

Wilbur was the man's son, wasn't he? Dream remembers thinking that Wilbur was one of the tallest humans he'd ever met and Dream can't imagine if he had a father with workable wings he'd ever stop demanding to be flown around, even if he grew larger than his father.

Just like when his owner had carried him, Dream has to resist the urge to latch onto him and not let go.

"Two sec, hold onto me?" Philza asks, arm jostling Dream a bit. "Around my shoulders- I need my hands, mate."

Carefully he wraps his arms around Philza's neck, careful not to hold him too tightly, afraid he'd be taken with the urge to choke the avian, to kill him. Philza mutters something and Dream's eyes fly open, his hands quickly clamping onto Philza's cloak as the hands keeping him secure on the man's arms disappear and he begins pulling them up a ladder.

It's a bit confusing as Philza makes his way into Dream's room and softly sits Dream down on his bed, waiting until Dream lets go of his cloak to stand up, instead of just dropping him onto the bed like a sack of potatoes. His bag with golden Apple slices is slipped over his head and placed on the bedside table.

"Mate, where's your pillow and-" Philza starts asking as he looks around, stopping as he must spot Dream's nest under the bed. "Here, grab my arm," Philza says as he turns to Dream again, waiting for Dream to grab it before helping him down on the floor, despite the fact Dream could have easily done so himself.

Dream scowls. He's not a baby, he can get into his own bed cave without help, so he quickly scoots into his nest and wraps himself up in Techno's cloak.

"Don't look at me like that," Philza laughs, staring down at him. "I didn't want you to fall off, you already took quite a bump when you fell off the couch after you bit me."

Dream flinches at the reminder, moving back against the wall on the other side, out of the man's reach.

"Hey, hey, it's okay Dream." Philza placates. "I'm not mad, okay? I know I scared you, and just because you were too out of it to notice the first time didn't mean I should just have assumed I could move you around any time."

Saying nothing, Dream turns around to lay facing the wall and pulls Techno's cloak up over his head. He doesn't want to listen to what Phil says if the man is just going to pretend he's not mad. He wouldn't let Quackity get away with it and he certainly wouldn't let his new owner's friend get away with telling him it was OK when he'll be punished for his behaviour later anyways.

Clearly Philza wanted his owner's input instead of punishing his friend's pet on his own and while Dream almost wished he could just get it over with quickly, he was glad for the delay.

"Did he just turn around-" Philza snorts behind him. "I swear it's like having a teenager in the house again." the avian mutters, stepping out of the room. "Sleep well Dream, I'll leave some food in the kitchen if you get hungry." he says softly before closing the door behind him.

Dream frowns at the wall as Philza climbs back downstairs. It was smart putting him in his room where he couldn't escape, couldn't get down and run from his punishment.

Pulling Techno's cloak tightly over his head he let's exhaustion take him into a deep slumber. Dream would rather sleep than fret for hours, letting his mind torture him with possible ways they'd punish him.

Philza's blood tastes pleasant on his tongue, reminding him that he deserves what is coming for him.

"Please." he begs softly.

His arms and legs are shackled, thick chains fastened to an obsidian block behind him. In his chest his breath rattles as he gasps for air, his throat hurting and jaw aching from the heavy metal collar around his neck digging into it. He feels weak and sluggish, unable to even lift his head with the weight around his store throat.

The room is small and dark, claustrophobic with black stone walls and the only light comes from the window of the thin wooden door he could claw down if he could just reach it. But he can't, he can't even stand up, the chain connected to the collar around his neck is short, too short for him to even sit up in the middle of the room.

"Please." he gasps wetly around the taste of blood in his mouth, dragging his calloused fingers over the floor. There's some hay on the floor, as if it would make the stone softer to lie on, he grips the hay between his fingers, desperate for any stimulation. "Please."

No one comes and Dream is left with the hay and the dust that settles in his lungs.

He had been screaming at first, when he had been woken up, being dragged out from under his bed by rough hands, his screams gaining a panicked edge when he'd been shoved inside the small room, his screams quickly dying out to pathetic whimpers as he was held down and the manacles were fastened over his limbs, his whimpers becoming sobbing when the door was closed and he was left alone in the small cold room.

Someone walks past the door, their form blocking the light outside for just a moment.

"Please." Dream begs tiredly, tears in his eyes slipping down his cheeks.

Then- the shadow comes back and a key is turned, the heavy locking mechanism of the door making a loud clanking sound as it's unlocked.

Dream tenses as the door is opened, the words, the lies on his lips- please sir I'll be good please don't- dying out as his owner walks in.

Oh right.

As Technoblade steps into the room, staring down at Dream with disgust, Philza follows shortly, his cane-sword tapping on the floor, every little clang making Dream flinch. Dream stares at them fearfully, doing his best not to look at how Philzas hand is bandaged.

He knows they're here to punish him. He bit the hand that fed him.

Techno knees down by him, his hand running soothingly through Dream's hair for a moment, gripping it tightly and pulling him up against the wall. Dream gasps, head swimming as Techno puts a hand to his neck, holding him in place.

Shaking, Dream stares at Techno with fear, "Please." he gasps, "Don't hurt me, please."

His owner growls disapprovingly, his free hand caressing Dream's face. Dream leans into the feeling, eyes closing as he's soothed. "I'm not going to hurt you Dream, relax I'm not like Quackity."

"Though," Techno says, the hand suddenly grasping Dream's jaw tightly. He squeaks feeling as though his jawbone would shatter into a thousand pieces if just his owner gripped a bit tighter. Completely at his owner's mercy, as he should be, Dream can only gasp with pain and fear as he waits. "You bit Phil, Dream. You attacked my best friend. That's not something I can just ignore, you don't get to attack what I haven't told you to, you're supposed to be a good pet aren't you?" his jaw is released, the hand quickly snapping back over his face, slapping his head to the side.

It stings as Dream looks back to his owner. "Yes owner." he croaks. Techno's hands are covered in armor, blood coating the netherite surface and on his cheek, Dream can feel blood slip down from the cuts created. The sight of his blood on his owner's hand makes him feel ill, but-

This was good. He was being punished, he was learning how to behave right. His owner finally understood why Dream should be hurt. Nothing but fear would ever keep him in line, would ever keep him good.

"Phil?" his owner prompts the other in the cell, hand gripping Dream's hair, keeping him still as Philza crouches down beside his friend.

"I got it," Philza says, bringing something forth from his inventory. Dream doesn't know what it is before something is pressed to the bridge of his nose, Philzas hand roughly slamming his jaw shut as he pulls a muzzle down over his mouth and chin. "Techno, pull his head-yeah like that, thank you." his head forcefully, tilted down, it almost feels like Philza is buckling his mask around his head, but it's not his mask. It's Philza securing the muzzle in place so it won't fall off.

Once the muzzle is in place his owner lets Dream go. He falls over, catching himself on his hands as he gasps, only able to open his jaw just barely, not even enough to push his tongue through between his teeth. He shakes, staring down at his hands and testing how much he can move his jaw. Already he feels cramped and jittery, desperately wanting to be able to open his mouth and stretch his jaw.

A hand grips his head, "Can you be good now?" his owner asks, dragging his head back so Techno can look Dream in the eyes.

As much as he can, gripped tightly by his owner, Dream nods quickly. He can- he can be good- please-

"What do you say to Techno then?" Philza bites in, "You bit me, you're lucky Techno doesn't want to use more efficient punishments. If you'd been my pet you could have sat with my sword in your guts for a few days."

Dream quivers, shuddering as his stomach revolts at the idea. It wasn't something he was unfamiliar with, somehow, knowing how it would feel made the threat worse. Yes, yes he was Techno's pet because Techno was soft and put a muzzle on him instead of impaling him on a sword. His owner was kind in a world of blood and pain.

"Thank you." Dream whispers, the sounds being mangled by the immovability of his jaw.

Techno smiles, letting Dreams' head drop down again. "That's a good boy." He praises, petting Dream's hair, scratching him behind the ears. It's an odd sensation, but comforting as he feels Philza release the manacles around his limbs.

The chain to the metal collar around his neck, Philza places in Techno's hand. Quickly, Dream is pulled to his feet, tugged along out the room. It's on the first floor, right by the bathroom and when they enter the living room, Dream could have died, his heart stopping, his blood freezing in his veins.

Techno holds out Dream's chain and smaller hands take it from the pigling, tugging harshly on it.

"Aww you did find my pet! Thank you Technoblade!" Quackity grins, malicious eyes turned on Dream. "He ran away from home you see, so-"

"No!" Dream shouts, grabbing at Quackity's hands, trying to tug the chain from him, "I didn't- you don't own me no one does! Not the prison not-"

Quackity tugs sharply on the chain and Dream chokes, falling to his knees. "shut the f*ck UP!" Quackity hisses, kicking him harshly in the head and making Dream fall over. "You don't talk back to me, or touch me with your dirty f*cking fingers!"

"f*ck yo-" Dream gasps, eyes watering as Quackity steps down on his head.

"SHUT UP!" Quackity shouts, foot lifting from his head and slamming into his ribs.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP YOU f*ckING THING! SHUT UP!" Dream chokes wetly, lungs flooding with blood as his ribs are kicked in, as his jaw is shattered by kick after kick, his hands breaking, body giving out.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! WAKE UP!"

Dream screams, head slamming into something above him. He claws at himself, nails digging into his skin as he trashes.

Hands touch him, pulling at him, ripping his hands away from himself. Dream struggles, screaming as he's wrapped up in constricting chains, arms crossed over his chest with no air in his lungs. He can't breathe- he can't open his jaw- he can't-

"Shhh."

Hes rocked forwards, backwards, the chains keeping him locked in place even as he pushes at the floor with his boots, the soles squeaking as they grind over the wood.

"Shhh… it was just a nightmare," a hand runs over his head, tangling with his hair, soothing him. "It's okay. You're safe. You're safe."

Dream slowly stops struggling, feeling the steady rhythm of a heartbeat against his back.

"You're safe." it was Techno, softly whispering in his ear as he held onto Dream, rocking him slightly in a calming rhythm of back and forwards and back and forwards. "You're with me, Dream. You're safe."

He's safe?

As Techno holds him, gently petting his hair, Dream starts to feel safe too. It was a nightmare and that's all it was right? It was just- breath hitching, Dream burrows his head down into Techno's arms surrounding him, curling his shaking hands against his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat when his arms are cautiously released.

"You're safe." Techno repeats softly, continuing to pet him.

He's safe. Quackity isn't there. He's safe, anything else would be safer than Quackity and Sam. Even-

Tapping at Techno's arm, Dream pushes himself out of his owner's grip when it loosens. Pulling the bag with golden apples down from the bedside table he mushes a slice into his mouth and chews on it as he turns and leans against the table, feeling the brief rush of magic.

'I bit P H I L Z A.' He signs to his owner, quickly downing another slice of apple when Techno stares at him, silently frowning.

"I know, Phil told me," Techno says, then grimaces as Dream stuffs another slice of Apple down his throat. "We aren't going to hurt you for it."

'You should.' Dream signs, watching his owner carefully, after that nightmare anything Techno could do to him, short of giving him to Quackity and Sam didn't seem as scary. He eats another slice of apple, feeling nicely out of body, detached from reality. 'I attacked your friend.'

"Doesn't mean we'll attack you." Techno grumbles.

'okay.' Dream signs, wondering if a bite was a small enough, easily healed injury, that they didn't consider it to be as bad as someone like Quackity who wasn't an explorer or PVP'er would. Putting the Apple bag back over his shoulder, Dream smiles blandly at Techno. 'Where is P H I L Z A, I should apologise right?'

Technobalde looks uncomfortable for a moment before shrugging. "Eh he's out doing some things, you slept for almost 24 hours, Dream. Besides, he already knows that you're sorry."

Dream blinks, ah that was right. He was Techno's pet, so it was Technoblade who'd be the one to apologise should Dream be disobedient even if Dream feels as if he should beg for forgiveness himself. Dream never expected the few pets he'd had in the past to apologise if they did something bad, rather he'd focus more on training them right.

After all, pets were just animals or monsters, just things you owned. They weren't people or players.

"Mmm." Dream hums, the most he can get himself to voice as he slinks past Techno and down into his cave again and wraps himself up in his owner's cloak.

"Dream, seriously, are you alright? And I don't mean physically I mean your nightmare, you were-"

Knocking his knuckles quickly on the floor, Dream sticks his head out to Techno and nods, smiling as he does.

"Right." mutters Techno as Dream pats the floor, bringing Techno's cloak with him. "So do you need anything? Food? The toil-"

Dream slaps the floor and gestures to Techno who gets to his feet, quickly following. Yes. He needs the toilet badly. He wasn't sure his owner would even let him use the toilet, pets usually did their business outside, but he wasn't about to refuse this offer just because it wasn't something he deserved.

"Alright then," following him to the ladder Techno stops him, carefully touching Dream's shoulders, asking permission before slinging him over his shoulder and awkwardly climbing down the ladder. "Maybe you can shower too, you're starting to stink again from all that sick-sweating you've been doing." Techno rumbles, setting him back down on his feet.

Nodding obediently, Dream takes a step back, waiting a few seconds to see if Techno would protest and runs to the bathroom, almost slamming the door in his haste.

Behind the closed door, he can hear Techno laughing, his owner shouting something about making food he doesn't care about right now.

Dream really needs the toilet.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

There's a small comfort in waking up for the first day in a while and not feeling out of body or like he immediately needed to grab his bucket and vomit at the smallest movement as he had the past few days.

It had been…. Rough. Nothing like how he'd been before, during the long months where he'd been tortured, where Quackity had broken him apparat, they had been hell. Half the time he was delirious with fever and pain, hallucinating, or taken by deep fear he could still feel crawling in his heart.

A frightful ache he was still unable to get rid of even after days of freedom. Making him want to curl up in a hole in the ground and never open his eyes.

He was better, he was Techno's, why was he still afraid?

He was free, yet he still found himself feeling like his walls should be jagged obsidian, that he should be laying on a specific spot worn down over the course of a year. He missed his spot, he missed how he could drag a hand over the flatter area and feel it become more and more jagged. He desperately wants to ask Techno to replace the walls with obsidian, or even just give him a block he could curl up against. But Techno wouldn't approve.

He had the long lingering, creeping feeling, raising the hairs on his arms when he thought of it for too long, that if he merely blinked he'd suddenly find himself back in his cell with his own blood dried into the groves of obsidian.

Maybe it would be like those times he hallucinated Bad and Ant giving him food on their guard shift rotations and he'd wake up with no hint they'd ever actually been there, no salivating sandwich that was probably poisoned though he wouldn't have cared, no lingering feeling in his cheeks from where Bad had held him and pressed his forehead against Dreams. No hint that the Bad he'd tried to make help him, was ever real. No hint he hadn't been seeing things, hearing things, feeling things just because he craved comfort he didn't deserve.

His heart still wasn't sure, it feared that when Techno hugged him and held him like he was something precious with worth, when he fed him more than kibble, that all these things, these comforts, were as real as Bad had been. Not real at all.

Still, now that his fever finally broke, still not quite sure what happened while he was out of it, he's able to take small comforts in leaning against the window sill. Head pressed against the cool glass, just holding the old bag his owner had given him, feeling at the worn leather with his fingers as he looks out into the world beyond.

His world was so beautiful.

Down below, by the dog house, some wolves have gathered as the Alpha wolf Technochan watches over them having fun in the snow. He can see the four who he'd been on the hunt with, Em, Shield, Jabber and Chloe all tumbling around each other and play-fighting. Em being more aggressive than the other three and ending up with them ganging up on it when it tumbles Shield over.

Dream laughs, chest hurting as he does, he feels light-headed but oh so happy as he watches them, wishing he was down there playing with them.

Technochan barks softly. Like the wolves, Dream instantly looks to the wolf as the leader wolf steps up on the bridge connecting Philza and Techno's homes, looking up at Dream. Dream blinks, it's never done more than acknowledge his presence in the window but this morning it barks, stepping a bit in place. It seems he's being commanded to join them.

But he can't.

He's regained the ability to climb up and down the ladder without smashing his head in. The act took all his strength, but with the newfound bit of freedom he gained, he wasn't going to show how much strain it put him under. He was going to grit his teeth and breathe carefully to not show how his lungs ached and limbs shook with strain. Just in case Techno banned him from using the ladder on his own like he'd banned Dream from going outside.

He wants to join the wolves outside. Maybe even if they were going on a hunt. It would be hard and exhausting, but it felt so nice to be included in the pack, to feel the easy bond between them. Yes, he had the foxes but they were more solitary creatures and besides sleeping on him and reviving cuddles or stealing his food they didn't want to do much more.

He missed being with the wolves like he had before Technoblade found him. He missed the feeling of belonging the pack brought, how the others accepted him and liked him. He missed how easy it was to know what Technochan wanted from him, how it didn't hide behind fake smiles or tried to treat him like a person. How it punished Dream as much as it rewarded him.

Slowly, Dream places his palm on the cold window and shakes his head. He can't join them even though he wants to.

Technochan’s tail drops, the wolf barking loudly up at him, demanding that he comes out. Frowning, Dream scratches lightly at the window, doing his best attempt at a high enough whine for it to be able to hear, trying to show that he can't go. The wolf's ears drop, staring up at him. Averting his eyes, Dream looks away, stomach twisting as he spots the beanie and scarf Techno had given him laying on the cabinet.

He could just grab them and sneak out. He would be back before Techno got home again.

Pulling himself to his feet, Dream sways dangerously, stomach recoiling at standing upright. He quickly tugs the beanie over his ears and wraps the scarf tightly around his neck until it feels warm and constricting.

"Ugh." Groaning, Dream makes sure Techno's cloak is secure around his shoulders, his mask hanging from it and resting over his heart, then he grabs his bucket and sneaks downstairs. Technos not home but he still grits his teeth against the burn in his limbs and chest as he walks lightly to not wake up Steve who is sleeping deeply by the fireplace. The front door is heavy but he pulls it open with a small grunt, snow falling inwards onto the welcoming mat. Technochan isn't on the porch anymore but at the first rush of fresh air, he doesn't care.

The outside is so white. Even all those hours spent sitting, laying, sleeping by his window just to be able to see how far the world reached outside of his cell, never made it less fascinating and breathtaking to look at. It also never stopped his eyes from watering, unused to the brightness of everything, the light bouncing easily in the white snow. But the real thing, what brought him to his window, again and again, was that he could see the sky. And maybe he just wants to see the sky without glass between him and the outside, and breathe fresh air, his owner's commands be damned. Maybe part of him, deep down, in the parts of him that are monstrous, he feels like he traded one ugly cage for a gilded pretty one in becoming Techno's pet.

Did it matter?

Sitting down on the doormat he slaps his hand into the snow and pushes it away from the doorway, enjoying how it sounds under his hand. Heh. He picks some up, making a snowball and dropping it into a bit of undisturbed snow, the sound of snow crunching nicely soothing him. It was a nice sound.

"Arf!" Head snapping up, Dream smiles as Technochan and two of the other wolves, Chloe and Jabber jump up towards him. The two immediately crowd him, Jabber curling up behind him and Chloe bumping against him for pets. Petting the wolf, he watches Technochan as it rumbles pleasantly, happy to have him among the pack.

Technochan steps over Chloe rubbing its head against him, rumbling softly and licking his face. Dream hums back, and brushes a hand over its shoulder, letting the wolf nose at him without protest.

It rears back, growling softly, its ears dropping and lips pulling up from its teeth, disturbed by his scent.

Dream smiles sadly, as Technochan bumps into him again, this time growling as it smelled him. Yeah, he didn't smell good. Even Dream was able to tell that he smelled rotten, even to himself had his sweat had taken on a sickly sweet scent that made him gag whenever he focused too much on it. And the rotten smell constantly stuck in his nose? He didn't want to think about that.

Speaking of focusing on his smell and his building nausea, Dream quickly grabs his bucket, leaning away from the wolves as his stomach revolts, feeling cold phlegm sliding in his throat. He heaves unpleasantly over the bucket, trying to swallow down his stomach and quickly failing, his dinner from late last night, half a bowl of some cold meat soup and berries his owner had marked for him to eat, coming right up again.

Grimacing, he shudders over his bucket, taken with involuntary shivers as he gasps unpleasantly. Setting the bucket aside he leans against the doorway, feeling too exhausted to pet the wolves.

The wolves whine worriedly at him, licking over his face, cleaning his mouth and chin from whatever of his stomach content splattered on his skin. "Ugh." Dream protests, as Technochan's tongue drags over his skin, somewhat disgusted that it licked his own vomit off him.

Then, with one last rub against his sweaty hair as a goodbye, Technochan barks, ordering the other wolves away. Brushing against Dream one last time before herding Chloe and Jabber back down on ground level. Finally, it barks firmly, getting the wolves together and begins leading them away outside of the fenced area.

Not feeling like sitting in the cold without Technochan or the wolves there, Dream quietly gets to his feet and closes the door. Moving through the living room he resolutely doesn't look at Steve who's awoken and is staring at him.

The polar bear doesn't move from its spot. Whatever his owner had done to make Steve keep from Dream or to simply just ignore him had been effective. Though it was clear the bear didn't like it, downright hated it, Dream had been able to snuggle down in front of the fireplace many times while the bear was there as well.

Before heading upstairs he quickly takes a visit to the bathroom to flush his vomit down the toilet, brush the taste of bile from his mouth, and wash himself and his bucket by the sink.

His towel wrapped around his wet hair and smelling like flowers instead of obvious sickness, Dream climbs back upstairs.

Putting his hat and scarf back on the cabinet, Dream gives his hair a good rub before laying the towel over his pillow and laying down on it. His bucket he pushes into grabbing distance and his gapple bag he hides half underneath his pillow towards the wall, then with a small look around, he drags the curtains his owner had installed on the bed, closed. Picking his mask up from the floor he hugs it to his chest, letting his fever pull him into sleep.

Dream didn't wonder where Techno kept going, or where Philza went as well. He was a pet and pets didn't care where their owners went, they just cared that their owner was gone. They missed their owner in their absence. According to Techno, Dream had even been at the front door once during some fever hallucinating episode, where he'd cried for Techno to come home though the man had been sitting right behind him in an armchair. Techno had supposedly not left him alone while hallucinating and delirious after that.

Now that he's back to being more sound of mind, Dream doesn't think about where his owner and his friend goes, he just quietly misses the comfort that is Techno's presence when he's gone.

Still, Dream stares cautiously at the fresh grass stuck in his owner's boots. They'd definitely been out of the arctic during the latest trip. They smelled of the Nether too, so they'd one hundred percent been through that hellish landscape too. Maybe they were back in the greater SMP?

He didn't like thinking of the SMP, it only made his chest feel tight and filled him with an emotion he's sure is fury.

It wasn't Dream's business what his owner did, Dream decides and turns his gaze back to his feet, slowly peeling his calluses there. Somehow he'd even gotten calluses on the top of his feet. Philza suggested they might have formed from suddenly wearing boots all the time when he'd been barefoot for almost a year.

It hurts a bit as Dream scratches at one of the ones on the top of his foot, peeling it off with small beads of blood welling up.

Ah, crap.

"Dream, stop that." His owner grunts, no doubt smelling the blood.

Making a small sound, Dream pulls his sock back on and presents his foot, now covered with the blood seeping into the fabric, to his owner. 'Sorry.' he apologizes, determined not to try and pull off his calluses again. He could just file them down with the file Techno had in the bathtub.

With Techno appeased, Dream bends the skin flap, it's a bit unwieldy, pale and smooth with a bit of blood on it.

He almost wants to eat it.

If he'd still been imprisoned with the food as sparse as it was, sometimes not being fed for days and weeks, he'd have eaten it. Outside, belonging to Techno, he knows it would just upset his owner to see him eat his own calluses.

He got fed. He didn't need to. Even if he had a secret stash of berries slowly drying under his bed. Ever so slowly adding to the pile every day. It was highly unlikely Techno would stop feeding him unless he did something that really pissed him off. Unless he did something so bad, even kind, gentle Techno would hate and want to hurt him for it.

His berries would be better to keep than the callus.

Didn't mean he Dream didn't lick the blood off it before throwing it in the trash. His blood always had a faint tingle of magic that felt funny on his tongue.

He remembers Quackity accidentally getting some of his blood in his mouth. How the man had paused, feeling the tingle of magic in his mouth and had laughed high and deranged as he bashed Dream's head into the floor, screaming something Dream couldn't remember anymore.

Sitting back down by the couch, Dream wraps himself in Techno's cloak for warmth and carefully places his cracked mask on his knees so he can press his face down into it.

He rests like that, trying to tune out Techno's and Philzas conversation until finally they either address him, give him food, or tell him to go sleep upstairs.

In the end, it's Techno who addresses him. "Dream, we've been speaking and we think it's best if we took you to the nearby village for a cleric to check you over."

Looking up from his mask and holding it against his knees, Dream frowns and puts on his best 'confused' expression.

Techno sighs, shaking his head. "You aren't getting better, Dream. And we think something might actually be really wrong with you."

'But I am getting better?' Dream signs hesitantly. At least he thought he was. 'I'm not hallucinating!'

"He said he's not hallucinating." Philza translates promptly.

"We won't go if you don't want to, Dream," His owner soothes as he gets off his seat and sits down before Dream and gently takes one of his arms in hand. Dream looks away quickly, turning his head. "But you're shivering, constantly, and maybe you aren't hallucinating anymore but you can't keep food down and I'm not feeding you raw potatoes, your grip strength is gone, you bump into things and have to grab the walls to turn because you're too dizzy, and sometimes it's like you're not here, your body is but your mind it's just… a few steps behind."

Hissing, Dream glares at Techno's hand. Sure he was all of those things but he was improving. He was better. 'I'm better.' he signs.

"Compared to what?"

'Compared to-' Dream pauses, grimacing and buries his head in his arms, memories of blood and pain coming to him. Of begging Quackity to stop, of begging Sam to finally stop Quackity, for him to do this job. But he was being better, he was being good. He was better. Dream reaffirms as he moves his eyes, feeling that he's beginning to list to one side and firmly pressing himself against the couch to not fall over.

He licks his chapped lips, feeling a small sting of pain as he presses his mask against his face. "I'm better." he forces out, tongue feeling like lead as he shuts his eyes closed behind his mask.

Techno doesn't reply and as Dream is about to be worried that his owner preferred his silence, hands touch his shoulders and he's pulled into an embrace. Techno's arms are warm around him as they hold Dream against his chest, one hand on his back and one in his hair, petting him.

Dream sighs, his fearful heartwarming as he buries himself into the hug. Technoblade was an amazing hugger, he made Dream feel safe, cared for, loved even.

"I know you're doing your best," His owner says, and Dream can feel his jaw moving as it rests on top of his head. "But I can't do what is best for you, Dream. I don't have the experience to help you the way you need, Philza doesn't either and he's ten times more qualified than me. We talked to- um… our book club and one of the members suggested we take you to a cleric as while they aren't players, at least they're medically trained. And I can't… Dream I can't be certain I'm not doing you more harm than good."

Thinking about it, Dream frowns as his owner puts him back against the couch, hands carefully tugging Dream into a comfortable position. One of Techno's hands stays on his head, keeping it upright.

Dream supposed it made sense, in some ways the cleric would be like a… veterinarian. Dream certainly never thought he could perfectly take care of his pets on his own back when he had some.

Before they died.

And Bad had always stressed the importance of taking pets to a vet rather than clumsily trying to fix something yourself and doing more harm than good.

Still… a veterinarian for him just made him think of...

'Are you going to have me fixed?' Dream asks hesitantly.

Philza chokes behind Techno, "He asked if you were going to fix him." He translates, sounding amused at the idea.

Dream didn't know what was so amusing about it but wasn't about to shout at his owner's friend for deriving enjoyment from Dream's horror.

"I don't think fixed is quite the right word?" His owner muses, hand patting his head, "But yeah I guess you can say we want to take you to a cleric to have you fixed so you can get better."

Flinching back, Dream blanches, his eyes widening with horror. He can feel his jaw trembling. At least most pets weren't told before they were sent to a vet to be fixed, did Techno want him to sit in quiet horror about what his owner was going to have done with him? Did he admit it to punish him? Was this his delayed punishment for biting Philza? For anything else, he might have done while taken with fever and his mind locked away?

A pet. That's what he was. Dream was Techno's pet, his owners to do with as he wanted, so Dream had to accept it. Dream had to accept that his owner wanted him fixed.

He shouldn't have asked.

Techno's hands grab for him, touching his shoulders and Dream obediently doesn't rip himself away through his hands feel like they burn

Even Quackity had never seriously wanted to do something like that. All he could hope for was that they put him to sleep first.

"Hey what's wrong- Dream I-"

Philza bursts into laughter, "Techno, he meant fixed, as in castration." the avian giggles, his wings flapping with mirth.

"What? No, Dream- I wouldn't- I- What the-" Techno looks horrified as he pauses, mouth working soundlessly, he grasps Dream's shoulders tighter. It hurts a bit, fully drawing Dreams mind back to the present. "Dream, I'm not going to have you castrated against your will, I'd never do that."

'Okay.' Dream acknowledges, happy to know that wasn't in his future.

"You're going to be the death of me," Joking, Techno ruffles Dream's hair once before sitting back again. "And uh, I mean it. There'll be no… chopping off body parts or um…"

Dream nods, glad for the reassurance. that it was just his over imaginative mind messing with him. He almost feels silly thinking Techno would do that. He wasn't Sam or Quackity who treated him like the monster, the animal, he was. His new owner wanted to treat him like a person. 'I'm your pet, if you think a cleric is for the best then it is.' he signs.

Staring at him for a beat, Techno sighs. "Even if you didn't want to, you'd still say you did because I said I wanted to, right?"

'Yes.' Dream answers, happy his owner understood. It wasn't Dream's decision anymore.

Long-suffering, Technoblade groans but shoos Dream upstairs to grab his hat and scarf. Once back downstairs, Philza pulls him into an old warm jacket that reminds him of the worn-down coat Wilbur had worn while exiled from Manberg and quickly ties down the laces of his boots before Dream can try and struggle with them.

He's overheating in the jacket, sweat building at the base of his neck as he waits for Techno and Philza to finish in the Kitchen.

"Give me your mask for a moment." Techno says as he comes back, putting a bag down on the floor and holding a hand outstretched towards Dream.

Hesitating, Dream drags his thumb over the cracked surface of his mask and unties it from Techno's cloak before placing it in his owner's waiting hand.

"I'll be right back." Techno mutters and disappears back into the hallway with Dream's mask.

Heart clenching painfully, Dream picks at this left ring finger nail, it's rough and hasn't grown right yet, thin and painful when he presses down on top of it. Techno said he'd be back.

He'd be back with the mask… right?

He wouldn't just take it?

Right?

It was his mask.

He finds himself snarling silently, glaring at the floor as he hears Philza come back into the living room.

He needed it. He needed it back. Techno couldn't just take his mask! It was Dream's, it was a part of him. His owner would give it back! He was just putting it up in Dream's room or something, right? Maybe he thought Dream would drop it on the trip and lose it?

Heart stuttering quickly and painfully in his chest. Dream grits his teeth, trying to hide a gasp for air, feeling like he can't breathe.

It was his mask.

Philza moves down in front of him, leaning against the couch. "Are you nervous to meet the villagers? They're all lovely, Dream. I'm sure they'll love you." Philza says conversationally, bending a bit backwards. His dark wings stretch upwards, quickly pressing against the low ceiling.

Dream shrugs shakily, his pulse noisy in his ears. He wasn't that worried about the villagers, worst case the iron golems were able to tell that he was a monster, but he was certain Techno could keep him safe if he was attacked.

Worst comes to worst, Dream knew how to easily deal with iron golems. Even just with a fist and a bit of dirt.

Dream and Philza lapse into an awkward silence, Dream finding himself looking at the healing skin on Philzas hand from where he bit the avian. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with Philza not punishing him.

Punishments were a form of revenge. They were also forgiving. They were important to returning one's relationship back to amicable. To show you were sorry.

His lungs ache.

(See Dreamie! You took your punishment like a champ! It's okay now! You're forgiven!)

(liar)

(it was always a lie. He was never forgiven.)

(How could someone forgive what was the nature of a beast? Something unchangeable because monsters couldn't change. That was what made them monsters)

(That was what made Dream a truly evil existence)

(That was what made Dream desperately want to be a pet instead.)

But Philza just smiled, said it was 'okay' that he 'understood' and it brought little but anxiety he could only soothe by reminding himself that Philza wasn't his owner, that only Techno who is kind and gentle decides what happens to him.

"Dream, here you go."

Dream flinches, Techno is suddenly in front of him, having come back while Dream was stuck in his head. He's holding something out at him, something white with a golden streak-

His mask?

Dream blinks, staring down at his mask. Techno has inlaid gold into the cracks on the surface to strengthen its durability. Carefully he takes it from Techno, feeling the smooth surface of his mask. The gold wasn't too distracting, the smile clearly visible and looking just as it should. And hanging from the sides of it were new belts, the leather sown with gold and the buckle was just simple brushed iron.

Feeling his hands shake, Dream looks up at Techno, almost looking him in the eyes before stopping himself, focusing on his tusks instead. He feels his heart hurting pleasantly as he slips his hat off and straps the mask in place over his face. Putting the hat back over his head, he spends a moment, as Philza and Techno stare at him, to just feel the comfortable, safe feeling of having his mask on his face brought.

"Thank you." Dream croaks.

It doesn't feel the same. The belt is longer and thicker than he's used to, it's almost as long as what his mess of hair has grown to and he can feel it brushing his shoulders. But that's okay. He's not the same anymore and at least the mask itself feels the same against his face.

"How does it feel?"

Dream runs his hand over the surface of the mask. The gold filling in the cracks that can only barely be felt. "Good," he wheezes, throat hurting. "It feels good."

Techno grins. It's genuine and bright. "I thought you wouldn't want a bunch of randos staring at your face when we're at the village," Techno explains as he opens the door, leading Dream outside.

Dream is even allowed to walk down the stairs on his own, though he does clutch the railing hard as he slips on the ice beneath the snow.

Once he's boot deep into the snow, Dream is surrounded by four wolves yipping at him, one he recognizes as Shield of Hope jumping up against him. Dream grunts, holding tightly to the railing to not fall over as the wolf licks his mask. It's soon replaced by Technochan who seems very happy about him being fully outdoors finally. The wolf sniffs at him, whining at his sickly smell as it puts its weight on him, slowly pushing him down.

Just as Dream is about to sit down to let the wolf lay down on him, the weight is taken off him. He almost falls forwards as Techno drags the wolf away. "Get away from him, Technochan." His owner grunts, rubbing the wolf between its ears as it whines, padding it on it's way.

Dream stares after the wolf as it leads the rest away, quickly averting his eyes though the wolf wouldn't be able to tell as Technochan stares him down before disappearing behind Philzas house.

Huffing, Dream looks towards Techno, noting the displeased expression he's wearing as he stares out where the wolves were moments prior. Dream wishes he hadn't ordered the wolves away, he'd much rather be with them than be going to a village to see a cleric who'll prod and poke him.

"Come on." Techno pokes him, leading Dream around his cabin to the side with the horse pens. There's only one horse, one that Dream recognizes, a brown stallion that stares at him, dipping it's head slightly. In the other pen several foxes have bundled up in a knot, Blitz all the way down under two other foxes.

Techno quickly opens the gate to the horse, "Here," Techno grunts, handing Dream a brush. "You can brush Carl a bit and get him used to you." Explaining, he goes over to a weather-worn cabinet and opens the doors, hiding himself from view.

Staring shortly at the horse, stepping slowly closer so Carl can make its disagreement heard if it doesn't want him to come near, Dream begins bushing dirt out from the horse's fur. Carl neighs lowly, briefly bumping its head against Dream's shoulder, completely at ease with him. As he brushes along its neck, getting dirt from its fur he's reminded of another horse.

He remembers trying, burning book after book, hoping a white horse would appear.

"You done?" Techno grunts as he comes back. He's lifting a heavy-looking saddle in his arms with a blue blanket that matches the colours of his cloak.

Dream nods, not quite feeling like he did a thorough enough job, but having made sure Carl will be as comfortable as possible with the swift cleaning.

"Great." The blanket and saddle are quickly placed onto the horse's back and strapped in. The saddle has big pouches on both sides for storing items. From the right side pouch, Techno pulls out a brittle and gets it onto the horse as well.

Carl looks almost excited as Techno tugs it out of its pen, happy to go out riding again.

"Alrighty, Dream, your turn," Dream blinks, not quite understanding, did Techno want him to wear a saddle too? "You're riding on Carl, come on."

He holds his hands out and Dream obediently steps into Techno's arms, Dream waits as Techno starts counting. "One, two… three!" On the last count, Techno lifts Dream up and easily deposits him on Carl's saddle. The horse whines, stepping a bit about as Dream shifts one leg over to the other side and grabs at the front of the saddle so as not to fall off. "Easy there, it's just Dream." Techno soothes the horse as he grabs the reins. The horse quickly relaxes, bending its head down to nose snow away from the moss and grass under.

Cautiously, Dream pets Carl, wondering if it recognized him as it hadn't reacted badly to his presence despite him not being their owner. Carl had been unwieldy the last time he'd ridden on it, it had been stressed, panting harshly as Dream forced it down into the old tunnels so Techno could get it back.

Dream frowns, scratching Carl's beautiful neck. He can't remember why he needed to reunite Carl with Technoblade. Maybe he'd stolen the horse and what he remembered as giving the horse over was in reality Techno catching up with him?

That would explain why it hadn't been happy to have him on it but not why it's so at ease with him now.

They're only waiting for Philza who quickly comes jogging briskly out of his own cabin with a large backpack hanging off his shoulders down beneath his wings with a strap around his stomach to hold it in place.

Then they're finally off, Dream almost falling off as Carl starts moving. They go into the forest surrounding the commune, the trees buzzing with magic as they pass them, seemingly focused on the closeness of Philza, rather than Techno or Dream.

It was a bit creepy, but Philza seemed aware of it, brushing his hands over the trees with a smile.

Sighing, Dream focuses on Carl, feeling the strong horse under him. His lower back already starting to ache. It's going to be a long trip.

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

By the time they make it to the village, Dream is exhausted. His back hurts like a bitch, and his head is swimming, making thoughts fleeting and leaving him half asleep. Only the rhythm of increasing pain shooting up his back and from lasting wounds wrapped in bandages kept him awake on Carl.

He thinks he used to like riding. Now it was exhausting and painful.

The village is surrounded by tall wooden and stone walls, very obviously built by players, most likely Philza and Techno. The wood is a mix of more decorative spruce and stripped dark oak with iron spikes at the top and stone in the foundations. Large snow drifts have built up against one side of the wall, which blocked it from coming further in and burying the houses. From the open gates Dream can see that the homes are mostly spruce with a few created with packed ice, on the street leading straight from the gates he can spot a few fires melting snow around them and warming the residents.

"Hmm! HM!"

Dream flinches as a villager child, maybe the equivalent of a player of thirteen years old, runs out the village gates. They're dressed in the purple robes of a cleric with an iron broche on their hip signifying their status as an apprentice. Strangely enough, they have dark and messy hair peeking out of a beanie on their head instead of having it shaved.

Dream stares at the beanie with a hollow stomach as they approach. "Redstone sword!" The villager child calls excitedly in their language, mitch matched eyes, one green and one milky white wide as they collide full force into his owner.

Dream bonks his mask into Carl's neck as the horse abruptly stops as Techno does, pulling its head up high and its neck into his face. For a moment Dream could swear he passed out, maybe only for a few seconds as he draws back from the horse's mane. His head spins tiredly as he sags in the saddle, happy to give his back a break from the pain of riding.

"Hey there, Orphan." Techno grunts down at the child, brushing them softly on their covered head as they pull back to stare up at him with admiration.

The child grins, withdrawing an ender pearl from a pouch around their stomach and holding it out for Techno to take. "Hm hm!" the child grunts. "Redstone Sword look! Trade!"

"Oh?" Techno grins down at the child and takes the ender pearl, inspecting it. It's a good quality in Dream's opinion, the green is deep and filled with end magic, not as potent as ones procured directly from endermen, but it would throw far and teleport you quickly. If the child had made it themself, they'd done well for a cleric that young. "This one is pretty nice, you've gotten better." padding the kid on their head once, Techno hands them an emerald which is inspected and bitten once before being deposited in their bag.

The villager humms happily, a sound with no concrete meaning as they fling themself at Philza and hugs the man as well. "Heya mate," The avian greets, bending down and running a hand through the child's hair, pushing their beanie back. As his hand reveals more skin, Dream spots green splotches of zombification hidden away under the beanie and hair. Dream winces silently in sympathy, the head was the worst place to have the last remnants of zombification fighting back. "You've been taking good care of your infection."

The kid nods, turning back to grab Techno's free hand. They hold on tightly, eyes turning on Dream and widening as they stare up at him, then at Carl, Techno and Philza, wondering who he is. Dream feels frozen by their gaze, the milky white of their left eye clear as they stare at him.

"That's Dream," Techno introduces shortly, tugging softly on Carl's reins and setting the horse into motion again, "We're actually here to see old Dave because he's sick."

The kid follows, holding Techno's hand like it was the most natural act in the world. It was… cute, sweet- Dream wasn’t sure how to describe it, but it reminded him of a vague memory of Techno pulling a turtle helmet of a blonde teenager and fondly ruffling their hair– Tommy.

The kid touches their head where their hidden infection is. "Sick like me?"

Behind his mask, Dream flinches, baring his teeth in a grimace as the kid touches their hair where it's covering up the edges of their infection. The kid wasn't too far off. Except Dream wasn't hiding a sickness, an infection, that could turn him into a monster, he already was one.

Head shaking, Techno leads them through the gate and to the right along the defensive walls. "No, Dream just likes wearing a mask."

An Iron golem standing guard on the inner side of the village gates ignores them, no doubt used to having Philza and Techno visit. It does scan Dream, but it seems being led by his owner is enough for it not to be clued in that Techno brought a monster into its gates.

Villagers stop to glance at them, a few quickly looking through pouches and equipping brooches to showcase their craft mastery, hoping for trades.

Being scrutinized by tens of villagers makes Dream glad his owner was kind enough to fix his mask for him. Without it he would have been exceedingly uncomfortable with all the eyes directed at him, and even with it, he feels his skin crawl, wanting nothing more than to hide away from sight as he pulls a gapple slice from his bag and chews on it. The taste and slight tingle on his tongue calming him.

"Hm." The child says. "Good time, Redstone Sword, master is home. Dreaming will be seen."

Carl steps in a dip and Dream coughs, choking on the sudden laugh bubbling in his chest. The kid was dumbing down their language for Techno, speaking slowly with clear and accentuated sounds. Wheezing hoarsely, Dream's chest hurts as he holds in his laughter. He knows Techno knows villager-speak as well as Dream himself even if his pigling nature didn't allow him to speak it as well as Dream, so listening to a child dumbing down their language for Techno is just ridiculous enough that if Dream was still pretending to be a person he'd have been in the snow struggling to breathe with laughter as he mocked Techno for it.

Eventually, they stop by a large intricate-looking building made from spruce and stone with a tower and purple-tinted windows with pretty gold detailing. There are a few spots for horses or donkeys out front with food and half-frozen water set out. The cleric kid skips up the steps to the door and pushes it open, holding it with their back.

"I'll head out now," Philza says softly, flapping his wings in the cold air to get snow off the tips. Placing a hand on Dream's owner's shoulder, their eyes meet in silent communication. "Techno-"

"I know, Phil. I don't think we'll take long, so we'll see you soon." voice warm, Techno hugs his friend before they separate.

Dream stares after Philza, watching as the man approaches a librarian who rushes to show him the books they have for trade. Techno must also have been watching for he snorts as the villager accidentally drops their books in the rush to get Philza to trade big with them.

"Alright, Dream let's get you down." His owner says and steps up beside Carl, putting his hands up around Dream's middle and slipping him off Carl before settling him down on his feet.

Back shooting through with pain, Dream yelps involuntarily and clutches at Techno's cloak as his legs, which have lost all feeling after the long trip, give out under him.

"Woah," Techno grunts, bending down and quickly picking Dream up into his arms like he was as light as a pillow. Under his mask Dream winces as Techno's arm under his back digs into him painfully. "Sorry Dream, I should have thought of that."

"It's fine." Dream hisses, breathing harshly as Techno moves him into a more comfortable but still painful carry. "I'm fine, I can walk by myself." he wiggles his legs, trying to get feeling back into them.

"... Or you can let me carry you and get a sweet easy ride." He draws lightly, walking up the stairs to the front door, a bit lower than Techno and forcing the man to duck under the top.

"I can walk." Dream protests, knowing very well Techno doesn't believe he can.

"I get more channel members when I toss you around, you’re good for retention, so relax. You're helping me."

How many times had Dream hissed the same words at Techno inside his cell until Techno learned to just ignore his stubborn determination and haul Dream to the sink himself while saying some nonsense about chatting and members?

The kid at the door jumps excitedly. "You speak!" they gasp, the door starting to close behind them as they rush over to stare at Dream, "I'm Orphan!"

The entrance has a few places for shoes, coat racks and a couple of chairs. It's warm inside, making the beanie on Dream's head itch as Techno dumps him down on a chair and before he can think to do it himself, starts to pull his hat and scarf off to hang up on a coat rack.

The kid is still staring at Dream. His skin crawls. "Hello, I'm-" Dream finds his mind blank, hands halfway into automatically signing his name as well, not able to remember the name the villagers of his childhood had picked out for him. How could he have forgotten? It was something that had meant something to him once. He remembers being proud of it, but he can't remember it.

Maybe it didn't matter, he wasn't quite that thing, that fake person anymore anyways. It had to not matter. If it had really mattered it was another way he was broken and he wasn't broken. Dream was fixed. "I'm Redstone Sword's loyal pet."

The kid frowns. "That makes no sense, your name in my language is Pet? I thought Restone Sword called you Dreaming?"

“I'm- well I'm their pet."

Techno growls in irritation as he unbuttons the old coat they'd put Dream in. "No he's not, he's Dream."

"Calling yourself a pet is strange," the kid says gravely to Dream before turning to Techno, "I tell Master it is you Redstone Sword and your… Dreaming pet."

Dream slides his eyes to Techno as the kid leaves, it's getting hard to keep his eyes open now that he's finally off Carl. "They're talking to you like- like you're a complete idiot." he says tiredly, limp as a ragdoll and unable to get the energy to care about pride as Techno pulls the coat off him like he was a child who didn't have the coordination to do it himself.

It was shameful, yet in his exhaustion, he could only feel faintly warm at how Techno seemed to naturally aid him with soft care.

His owner snorts, pulling his own cloak off and throwing it at a hook before picking Dream back up into his arms in one smooth motion, "They think it's funny."

They're right, Dream thinks privately, head bumping against Techno's shoulder as he's carried further into the hall to where a door with a sign labelled office is. Techno awkwardly raises his arm and Dream's legs to knock on the door.

The kid, Orphan as they apparently are called, is the one to open the door and let them in. The room is spacious and neatly furnished, with shelves with potion ingredients along the walls, and a row of brewing stands on a big sturdy set of drawers. There's windows in the back of the room with a faintly purple tint, and behind them is a nice looking garden. There are also a few cabinets, a table with six chairs and a wooden examination table with some kind of padding on top in the middle of the room. Besides the examination table is a stool that is occupied by an older master cleric.

"Hello," the older cleric villager greets pleasantly and pats the examination table. "You can put them there, Redstone Sword."

Dream is put down on the edge of the table. His head rushes with dizziness while- he's fairly certain- the villager introduces themself as Dave. Dream is certain he remembers one of Techno's wolves also being named Dave. Dream grunts back their language, greeting them.

The villager stares at him, reaching their hand over to place the back of their fingers against Dream's neck under his ear. Dream jerks at the sudden cold touch, grabbing the edge of the table so as not to fall. He doesn't like how the villager is staring at him, there's something in their gaze that feels undeserved, something kind. "You can lie down and rest, Dreaming Pet while I'll speak to Redstone Sword. Orphan get them a pillow?"

"Sure, I'll do the talking. Leave it all to me, I'll remember to skip the parts where you were writing fanfiction, Dream." Techno drawls as he slowly guides Dream down to lie on the table.

"I don't." Dream slurs in protest, feeling the back of his head meet the pillow the kid found. It's like the world tips on its axis, spinning out of control as he lays there, feeling his life anchoring itself to the table, respawn point reset. Though he tries keeping his heavy eyes open, the moment his head rests freely on the pillow without Techno's hand holding him up, Dream loses his fight against his exhaustion.

And then he's asleep.

"Hmm." Dave pulls out a pocket watch, counting as they press a thumb to Dream's pulse point on his wrist. Dream doesn't so much as startle as he does at all touch, out cold from the moment Techno guided his head down on the pillow Orphan brought. "I see the situation. You know I'm not a cleric for you players but I'll do my best since you can't go to one of your own."

"I trust you more than them anyway." Techno sighs as the old villager notes down their observations with a frown.

"I didn't expect him to fall asleep," Dave muses as they grab a box from a shelf and withdraw a glass thermometer. They draw Dream's mess of hair away from his ear, fingers stilling as they brush over a chunk missing from the side before inserting the thermometer. "I think it'll be best if we let him rest a bit before we start the main examination. He didn't quite seem to be there, his eyes were hazy, is that normal?"

"It is, but the ride did take a lot out of him." leaning against the table, Techno frowns at the thermometer as it keeps climbing well over what would have killed a human. 43, 44, 45, 46, 47… finally stopping at around 58,5 celsius.

Dave winces at the temperature, quickly noting it down in a blank book. "What would you say is normal for him? This would be fine for you, but what about Dreaming Pet?"

"Don't call him that." Techno flinches, "He's not my pet."

"It's the name he gave us. Go wash that, Orphan," Dave says softly and hands the thermometer to the kid who leaves with it. "I understand you will not like the name, considering what you explained, but it is what he introduced himself as."

"... Right." Techno accepts begrudgingly with a tight frown, damn villagers and their sense of respect.

"Regardless," Dave slips off his stool, guiding Techno over to sit down at the table. He flips a page in his book and begins writing down a few notes. "Let's go over diet and such. You've most likely been feeding him too rich foods which could be why he's been vomiting as you described."

"Boiled vegetables?" Techno frowns at the list the Cleric is writing. Soup broth, light bread, only little fruit.

"It wouldn't be too hard on his system and you can build up from there instead of making him sick with every meal," standing up, the villager grabs a book from their shelves and quickly flips through it. "Is there anything he's asked for?"

Did Dream ever ask for something Techno didn't offer first? "he wanted Gapples." Dave nods, noting down 'golden apple' with a big 'no,' the cleric explaining firmly that the apples were most likely hurting Dream more than helping him. But then, Dream hadn't asked for Gapples, Techno had just deduced that he wanted them and gave them to him without a thought of if he could handle them.

"Magic is highly addictive, Redstone sword, and Gapples and potions come with wondrous blessings, but they can quickly turn to curses. Addiction, greater harm, total system failure- magical overload to name a few. They are not like exp which you players can carry infinitely, magic is dangerous, especially over long periods."

Techno knew the basics of this of course. He heavily relied on potions in combat, especially here, where he consistently found himself fighting multiple enemies at once. After the battle, it wasn't just adrenaline crashing him but the burn of mass use of potions sending him to sleep and leaving him aching and grouchy for a few days.

Dream hadn't asked for Gapples, and Techno feels shame at offering them so easily without thought.

"Do not feel shame, Redstone Sword." Dave says lowly. "many players eat Gapples daily, they aren't as dangerous as potions with their magic, but for Dreaming Pet with starvation and a possibility of an old forced potion addiction- they are dangerous. They'll make him feel full when he's not, their healing properties will be near useless, overruling his natural healing and preventing him from regaining his strength." Dave smiles. "Don't worry, it's unlikely you've done him irreparable harm. So- was there anything else he's actually requested?"

Techno thinks back, remembering the pure disappointment on Dream's face as he denied him Raw meat. "He's mostly asked for raw red meat, mutton, beef- rabbit too. Some chicken." But no pig, Dream probably thought it rude to eat pig near Techno.

"Raw-" Dave grimaces. Villagers never quite liked the idea of eating red meat, but the idea of raw red meat was worse for them, it reminded them too much of zombies. The only reason butchers even had any mutton or beef to sell was because they were byproducts of sheepskins and leather. "Has he had any raw meat with adverse effects?"

No, because Techno refused to feed him raw meat thinking it would just get him sick. Had refused because he felt slightly ill at the thought. "I didn't give him any," but then, his wolves had given him some. The first time Techno had seen Dream after busting out of the prison he'd been swallowing down mutton like it was nothing. "Wait no, he did eat some. Thinking about it, Dream didn't vomit until we began giving him actual food."

"Okay." Dave looks slightly queasy as they write down Raw mutton, beef, and rabbit on the recommended foods list. "He's a hybrid player then? Wolf, cat... Nether mob?"

"You'd have to ask him. But I don't think he's a cat, he gets along with my wolves too easily for that."

"Mmm." Dave hums. "Well that's about it we can do with him sleeping. And we'll need to speak to him about the diet too. And then some exercises once I've examined him. For now, we should let him rest unless you don't have long?"

Sighing, Techno slips off his crown and scratches through the fur behind his ears. It was probably better to let Dream rest though the man would be hissy about wasting Techno's time later. It was an odd thing Techno had learned about him, Dream hated wasting time, though they'd had all the time in the world while locked up he still got hissy whenever Techno wanted to just chill. "We can wait." putting the crown back on, he stands. "I'll leave him with you, if he has a nightmare, don't try and wake him without me or he might freak out."

Blinking, Dave looks over to Dream. The other is weakly kicking his legs in his sleep, face smushed into the pillow with his mask at the side of his head, the blank smile staring at them. He was most likely dreaming of running or doing parkour. It reminded Techno of his wolves with every kick, and he could hear him making a low sound, almost like talking.

"Is it safe to leave him here then? With Orphan-"

"He's safe for Orphan," Quick to reassure the villager, Techno claps him on the shoulder. "He won't attack you as long as you aren't wearing green or netherite- we learned that the hard way, but he might seriously harm himself if he panics and you're not ready to stop him."

Dream wakes up feeling not quite refreshed but like an edge of exhaustion has been taken off. He's laying on something pleasantly firm with a soft pillow under his head which must be filled with only the best quality of chicken feathers, nothing like the wool pillow Techno gave him, and over his shoulders, halfway up his head is a warm blanket. His mask has slipped to the side of his head in his sleep, the pillow is soft against his skin and doesn't smell of anything but him which is pleasant as he rubs his face into it, curling up on himself, feeling like he should bury himself in a pile of cloth or a hole in the ground.

He kneads his fingers into the pillow, unable to stop and feeling comforted by the feeling.

It felt weird.

It felt too nice, it felt… wrong, because it was nice.

Eyes snapping open, Dream looks away from the pillow, seeing an unfamiliar room. For a moment panic sizes in his chest, choking him up until he recalls what happened.

He's alone

Where was Techno?

He wasn't supposed to miss Techno, he was a good pet. He should have faith he'd come back.

Just like Quackity always came back. Always ready with something new to tear into him. A glint of steel in his mind, Dream flinches back into the pillow under him and hugs it to his face.

He wanted to flee, to go out and find Techno and cling to him.

But he'd stay where he'd been placed.

On the… table.

At least there was a pillow. And a blanket. But the pillow was the best part, it's soft and it feels good under his hands as he clenches them around it.

He wasn't strapped to the table, he wasn't chained down. If he wanted to he could disobey Techno and run in ways he'd never been able to flee from Quackity.

Dream flinches as he hears sudden footsteps, careless and with a slight skip to them. Like Quackity's. He feels himself rise from the comfort of the pillow, feeling on edge, lungs painful in his chest, as he crouches on the examination table, harshly gripping the side of it to keep himself grounded. To keep himself upright as his vision swims.

His lungs squeeze, he can't breathe. It hurts.

The door opens and a kid walks in and freezes as they spot him on the table, dropping something they'd been holding. Dream stares at the beanie they're wearing, at the dark hair coming out from under it as their green and white mitch matched eyes widen in terror. Dream bares his teeth, feeling some animalistic sound rising in his chest. The kid stutters, jerking backwards, practically falling over their feet out of the doorway. Their hand slips on the door handle, fumbling with it before slamming the door tightly shut with a loud sound.

Dream remains frozen on his perch, staring at the door. He's not sure he's even breathing until he hears the footsteps disappear down the hall.

Hah.

Gulping air, Dream collapses down on the table, limbs quivering as he buries himself in the soft pillow, drawing the blanket up over his head to hide from the world.

He got frightened by a child.

Hands shaking he pulls off his glove and rubs his thumb over the scarred skin on the side of his hand, he almost attacked Orphan who Techno clearly cares for in his freight because their footsteps had reminded him of Quackity. (because they looked like Quackity with the hair and the beanie and the eye-) hearing them brought him back to his cell, hearing Quackity skip over to him with a weapon in hand as Dream lay defenceless and in too much pain to fight back.

He wanted nothing but to rush out the door and chase the kid down, he could almost feel their neck under his palms as he presses his fingers into his own windpipe. It would be easy in theory, he'd twist and snap his neck, maybe choke him to death and flee before any harm could come to Dream. Maybe he would scream and struggle, maybe Dream would slam him to the floor until he became pliant, Dream almost thinks he'd enjoy it if he screamed, he wanted to hear Sir be the one to scream and cry.

It would feel like the times he'd caught Sir off guard and wrapped his thin weak fingers around his neck and squeezed with all the strength he didn't have. He knew the desperate battle that would ensue as Quackity would panic and flail, as he'd shout and command Dream to stop but sometimes Dream wouldn't, too taken with the monstrous part of his brain wanting to lap in the sounds of Quackity dying. Of him screaming and begging like Dream did so many times. (the scared frightened part that wanted the pain to stop. Killing Quackity would make it stop- show them it was too dangerous- please stop-)

But he would always fail soon enough, Quackity remembering his weapons, his instruments of torture before Dream could succeed and kill him. The flash of a blade and agonizing pain striking him down for his monstrous aggression, quick and concise punishment that left him reeling.

His teeth meet the skin of his hand, biting down, easily breaking skin with his sharp teeth and levelling him. His blood tingles in his mouth, feeling like gapples and potions, calming and distracting. Quackity wasn't here. The kid wasn't Quackity, they weren't a threat and weren't going to hurt him, and neither was the older villager.

"Hah." he breathes into his hand, pained as he digs his teeth in deeper. He feels the resistance of his teeth against his bones.

Bite deeper.

Be good. Be good.

Muffled, his mouth full of blood, he groans, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. He wants to rip his hand off, and get rid of the satisfying feeling of Quackity's throat under his hands.

Be good. Be good.

He shivers, feeling cold shoot up his spine as his mind relaxes. Carefully he releases his hand, wincing as he feels his teeth leave his flesh. Quickly he licks off the blood spilling from his hand before it can stain the examination table too much.

Shaking, Dream pulls a few gapple slices from his bag and stuffs them into his mouth. Mouth filled with the juices, he licks at the bite like a wounded animal, curling in on himself, feeling the regen effect of the juice tingle in the bite, helping it dry over. He freezes, swallowing down the gapple when he hears rushed footsteps, both hurried and none of them familiar.

Dream flinches despite expecting it, hearing the door open, a slight creak to the wood as a young voice rushes through words. "-Glowing I tell you it was-"

"Hush Orphan, they seem to have fallen asleep again, let's not wake them. I think you frightened them." another voice says, the old villager Dave.

"I scared them?" the young cleric squeaks, "they looked like they were going to eat me. They bared their teeth at me like a wolf or a- a zombie."

Dave hums, amused. "Yet you thought their eyes were cool?"

"Well-" the Kid huffs. Dream hears shuffling, they're picking up whatever they dropped on the floor earlier. "It was still scary- aw I got hair on the bread."

"Go prepare some more and I'll see to them okay?" Dave says softly and soon Dream hears the kid leave, rushing down the hall. A chair scrapes over the floor, he hears glass clinking and water being poured. "I know you're awake."

Dream flinches under the blanket, drawing it back to peek out at the villager. They're sitting in a chair by the table, turned out towards Dream with a hand wrapped around a clear glass of water. On the table is a pitcher almost filled to the top and an empty glass.

"There you are, hello." The villager smiles at him. "How are you feeling?"

Swallowing a bloodied bit of spit, Dream pulls the blanket over his head again, quickly tugging his mask back in place over his face and pulling his glove on. He presses softly on the wool, pressing it into his bite to help stop the bleeding. Then, pulling the blanket away from his head and covering his hand, he turns to the villager.

"You're injured." Dave observes neutrally without pause as they stare into his mask.

"I'm not." Dream denies it quickly and shuffles up so he's sitting cross-legged on the table.

The cleric blinks, looking terribly patient as they sip from their glass of water. "There's blood on your mask."

Realizing his mistake Dream covers the corner of his mask- only realizing his second mistake as he hears the wet squelch of blood as his glove smacks into it. "I'm fine." he hisses, grabbing his hand and hiding it away, it's wet and clammy. Looking down Dream scowls, both his hands are bloodied now and it's gotten on the blanket.

"Yet you're still injured." Dave returns, standing up to pull a box from the shelves. Sitting back down they place the box and withdraws a roll of bandages, some cloth and a jar of a faintly green ointment.

"Come sit, let me look at it. Here-" not looking away from him the villager grabs the empty glass and pitcher, filling the glass and placing it at the seat opposite themself. "You must be thirsty right? It's not a short trip from Redstone Sword's commune."

Dream clenches his hands in the blanket, not sure how to explain, not sure if he can. Techno put him onto the table. Dream couldn't just leave because the cleric was luring him with water for his parched throat.

"Dreaming pet?"

Dream freezes, goosebumps rise on his skin. It's like he's been doused in cold water. Did they just-

Dave continues, not noticing how Dream stopped breathing. "Redstone Sword trusted me to take care of you until they come back and to help heal you. I'll not harm you, Dreaming Pet."

Dream shifts, carefully making himself smaller, feeling a thrill of accomplishment. This was good. This was good. The cleric called him a pet, finally, someone acknowledged it, someone, who didn't protest just because of what he looked like on the surface and called him a person.

He didn't think it could feel so satisfying, just a version of his name in the villager language with the simple designation for pet.

Finally.

"Y-yes." Dream says, hands jittering with excited energy. Oh, how techno must have hated it, but Dream, Dream felt happy, he felt vicious and on the edge of a knife. Dream would let the cleric drown him if it meant they continued calling him a pet. "I'd like water, thank you."

With caution Dream slips his legs down the table and scoops off, quickly catching himself on the side of it as his knees buckle, infuriatingly weak and useless. Gritting his teeth, Dream straightens up and approaches the table, watching as the cleric cups their hands together on the table, appearing open and harmless in their body language.

Villagers weren't fighters. They wouldn't be hiding a knife to jab into his throat. Dave confirmed Techno was coming back and that he knew where Dream was. Not to mention, Techno left Dream in Dave's hands, Dream should trust and obey them.

Dream kneels at the table, glad it's low enough that he can easily reach the glass and grab it with his bloodied and slippery fingers. He watches the villager through the sides of his mask, pushing it up as he puts the glass to his lips and sips.

The water is nice, not too cold and not uncomfortably warm. It feels nice against his throat.

"Thank you." Dream thanks as he places the glass back on the table, wincing at the red blood prints from his gloves and fingers.

"Can I see your hands?" Leaning towards him, Dave tilts their head, holding out their hands for Dream to place his in.

Hesitating only for a moment, Dream places his hands in theirs, feeling shame at getting his blood on the cleric, shame at biting himself when Techno didn't want him to. It's a bit of an awkward angle, his upper arms digging into the edge of the table, and his hands shake at the contact, but his discomfort is no matter.

"That's good…" Dave praises and Dream feels warm and safe from the words, feeling tension leaving his shoulders. Good means no pain. The cleric pulls Dream's gloves off, setting them aside and gently wipes away the blood from his hands. Once clean, Dream withdraws his uninjured hand, clutching it in his shirt.

Dave pauses as they see the bite, glancing up at Dream shortly with mild surprise before continuing to patiently clean it. They clean the bite easily, villager clerics more than practised at treating zombie bites, Dream's bite not being much different. Then, with some of the green paste from the jar, Dave wraps his hand up.

"There you go. You did well." The villager praises again, "Can I see your uninjured hand, Dreaming Pet?"

Give Paw.

Bark.

Sit.

Dream thinks he'd do anything to keep hearing someone call him a pet.

"yes." Without hesitation, Dream places his other hand back into Dave's. Dream watches them mildly as the cleric presses on his palm and fingers, testing the feeling in them.

Dave pauses, thumb dragging over the skin on the back of his hand. "Do you know what kind of hybrid you are, Dreaming pet?"

Dream shakes his head, they'd never figured it out. Even Bad and Skeppy, immortal as they both were, had looked at Dream in bafflement as a child. One trait that suggests one thing would be disproven by a different trait and another would be disproven by a lack of other traits.

Bad always thought he was a mix of different types of hybrid, that maybe his parents who spawned him had been so wildly different that Dream's code didn't know how to make a full hybrid and instead just slapped a few traits here and there on him.

Now Dream wonders if he'd ever even been a hybrid. If all the traits, eating raw meat, wanting to burrow into holes, the teeth- everything-wasn't just early warning signs of the monster he is, just mistaken for hybrid traits.

He wonders if Bad had known, had seen it and decided it was fine that Dream was a monster because Bad thought he'd been successful in domesticating Dream.

But he hadn't been successful- not truly. It was something Dream realized one day in his cell, not long before Techno would show up. He'd been sobbing mindlessly with no tears after Sir had left him reeling on the ground, a wound on his head bleeding as he sluggishly recalled all the damnation shouted at him. In comparison Bad softly prying Dream's teeth from Sapnap's arm, calling him a small forest gremlin, hadn't domesticated him. It had made him a ticking bomb, ready to explode and hurt people around him for nothing but his own enjoyment.

Because Dream was evil.

After everything Dream cannot even remember what he'd been thinking while he hurt the people of the server. But he knows, deep inside where Sir's voice shouts at him while pulling him apart, one scream at a time, that he had no reason. Only his own enjoyment at tormenting innocents.

"Dreaming Pet?" a thumb presses into his palm. "You went away for a moment."

"Oh." Dream voices, not knowing what else to say. "sorry."

"No need to apologise." Dave smiles, "I was curious because I noticed you have a hardness on your hands. Here, feel this? It looks almost like an odd presentation of dry skin but it's more firm and smooth." As they talk they turn Dream's hand back around and drags their thumb over the back of it. His skin almost looks like it's flaking as Dave pushes at it.

Blinking, Dream withdraws his hand and repeats the motion Dave did. It felt strange, like skin but also not quite right, like his skin was growing a second layer. Weird.

"There was a few things I wanted to speak with you about, mostly diet. I made a general list with Redstone Sword and would like your opinion." a book is pushed over to Dream as he studies his own hand, for once able to ignore the way his fingers were too thin. He looks at the book, finding a list of foods.

"... Golden apples, no?" clutching the bag over his shoulder, the one filled with slices of golden apple, Dream wants to hide it away. He carefully lets go of the bag, not wanting to draw attention to it, kneading his fingers into his sweater instead. "I- I- they're-"

"They aren't good for you," Dave says quietly. "they give you a feeling of fullness but they aren't food, they're magic, not much different than a low-level potion."

Dream stares, he needed his gapples, they calmed his nerves, sometimes he'd feel at ease, his hands would finally stop shaking and his brain would let him forget his fears. He needed them.

"Redstone Sword mentioned you did well with raw meat, is this something new or have you always been able to digest it easily?" The cleric continues.

"Yeah, I don't… I think I remember mostly eating raw meat or berries as a kid." It's a vivid memory of his, one of the only left not buried in a haze of red and pain: he's hidden away under the roots of a tree, buried deep underground, gutting a rabbit with his hands and a couple of stolen knives. He's eating it, face covered in rabbit as suddenly a boy rolls into his hole, flame licking his dark hair, his high voice screaming as he crashes into Dream.

That had been the first time he met Sapnap.

"It tastes nice, I like sheep and rabbit the best. It tastes better than when it's cooked, soft, smooth, and wet and the blood- I've heard people say it just tastes metallic but it doesn't, it tastes amazing. Oh- if it's also fresh and warm, and if it's on bone then I-" he stops, finding himself salivating as the cleric grimaces at him, looking painted and nauseated.

Oh right, they didn't like the thought of raw meat.

"Sorry, si-" Ducking his head, he says his apology down into his chest, the word sir almost slipping out before he can choke it back. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, Dreaming Pet." Dave smiles through their evident discomfort. "If you want, the butcher a few houses down the street sells cheap but good quality mutton to travellers."

"Ok." Dream frowns behind his mask, smacking the feel of raw meat, of gnawing meat of bones from his mouth. He found himself craving them. "But gapples- I need them."

Dave straightens up in their chair. "You feel that you need golden apples?"

Dream shuts his mouth, teeth clicking together. "...No. I don't need them." He denies.

"Are you certain?" They smile at him, it's soft and understanding. It made his fingers twitch. "it's very easy to develop an addiction or a dependency to magic."

Dream could feel his fingers jittering, the questions setting him on edge. Immediately he finds his bag and- he lets go of it. "I don't."

Dave looks at him, considering something as they drum their fingers. Dream can easily tell when their mouth twists in disgust and vehemence.

"Dreaming Pet, while you were… captured," they're speaking slowly as if considering their words. As if they're trying not to upset Dream with what they're about to say. He knows what he's about to be asked, he can tell by how their expression had twisted, Dream can only stare at their hands, feeling the sting of phantom fingers dig into his jaw while potions were poured down his throat. Choking him, drowning him. They knew. "Did they… force-feed you many potions?"

Dream stares. He should answer, the answer is yes. But he doesn't want to. He never told Techno that he spent that week before he got locked up with him, shaking off the worst effects of his prolonged and forced excessive use of options, did he? He can't remember telling him. Or had the villager deduced it themself?

"Dreaming Pet?"

Answer them. Be good. Voice breaking, going high halfway through, Dream chokes out a "Yes." he didn't want to talk about it. He didn't even talk about it with Techno.

Softly, almost like they think he's made of the thinnest of glass, Dave softly prods at him, explaining information about how gapples work, how they are a danger to him, how he can accidentally starve himself to death on them until Dream has given over his bag of Gapple slices.

Only handing it over when they promise to give the bag to Techno once his owner comes back. They also let Dream have one last slice for his obedience while pushing a piece of bread into his hands that Orphan had come with.

"Excuse me." Dream says slowly and puts his slice into his mouth before pulling himself to his feet and sulking back to the table, hoisting himself up and hiding away under the blanket, not wanting to talk to the villager anymore. Feeling drained and missing the familiar feeling of his bag already, he pulls at the bread, ripping off small chunks chewing on them until they become mush in his mouth.

He hears Dave shuffling around, their chair pushing back. "One last question, Dreaming Pet," Dave walks over to him, not touching him but Dream feels a slight dip in the tables padding they lean on it. "How much regen or healing did it take for them to start working while you still got them?"

Dream shifts, facing the villager more while keeping under the blanket. "...I don't- I can't remember maybe six?"

Dave from sharpy and shortly. "Thank you for telling me, Dreaming Pet. I'll let you have some privacy now." Dave walks back to the door opening it. "Eat up, I promise not to disturb you untill Redstone Sword is back, Dreaming Pet."

Dream dazes away after that, almost making it feel like no time has passed before there's a knock on the door and Techno's low voice rouses him back into wakefulness.

"You came back," Dream greets, pulling the blanket back away from his head as he looks up at Techno in the doorway. "I stayed put."

Techno looks at him for a bit, then picks up a chair and puts it by the examination table. "I can see that," he says and leans on the table, arm pressing against where Dream's legs are curled up as he sits beside him. "Dave told me you bit yourself again."

"I'm sorry." Dream says quickly, face twisting behind his mask. The mask was a blessing, he missed it, he didn't like it when people could only look at him and be able to know everything he was thinking. Even when it was Techno whom he shouldn't hide from. "I know you don't want me to." he clarifies.

"It's not that I don't want you to for me, I don't want you to bite yourself for you."

"Sorry." Dream mumbles and shuffles around to lie on his other side, scooping down to have Techno's arm against his back. He didn't like laying on this side but with Techno watching his back and the door he can look out the windows and take in the frozen garden. "I don't mean to disobey you."

Techno makes a long breathy sound. "I don't want you to obey me, I'd just like it if you didn't hurt yourself like that, but I can't… I can only hope you'll be kinder to yourself."

Dream can't help but chuckle at that, "I am being kind to myself, too kind maybe, I'm- whatever-" he was Techno's pet because he wanted something kind for himself. Because he was a selfish beast afraid of pain and torture. Afraid of death but not willing to take the steps to prevent it on his own. He had to have Techno take him to a doctor because Dream was just content wasting away in his gilded cage.

The silence stretches uncomfortably. Dream shifts. "It's- you know I need punishment when I do something bad. Come on, you know this. You do."

Techno snorts. "Why did you need to punish yourself this time? The last time you bit yourself was because you puked on my pants and I really don't see how that was something that needed punishment as you put it."

Blinking, Dream twists to stare at Techno. "...what? I puked on your pants?"

Technos' eyes crinkle at him, a soft nice expression. "You probably don't remember because of your fever but you did, many times. It was disgusting and unpleasant, thanks for asking. Of course, now I know it was probably also my fault as I've apparently been giving you food that's too good too quickly. So really, wasn't it me who should have been punished for making you sicker?"

"You were trying your best, you're not- you shouldn't be punished for caring about people." Dream twists back to stare at the window, there's a small bird shuffling on a branch, looking around.

"If I shouldn't be punished for doing my best, why should you? You didn't attack Orphan even if the kid spooked you, isn't that a good thing?"

His chest burns. "I wanted to kill them."

He hears Techno shifting, arm pressing down on the padding behind him. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm-" Dream pauses, his throat feels full of cotton, "because I'm a monster, I deserve it."

Lightly a thick finger presses on his skull. "Dream you're not, and even if you were, you still didn't attack Orphan so really you had nothing to be punished for."

"I still scared them." He didn't kill Tubbo either, he'd been stopped. He needed the pain to stop committing horrors, that's why Orphan was safe. "If I hadn't bit myself how would I ever stop?"

"Bruuhh this is too angsty, Dream." His head is patted softly. Dream sighs, letting his eyes fall closed, safe with Techno at his back. Even if they were arguing. Techno snorts. "I also scared the kid when I first turned them back from a zombie. By that measure, I should also bite myself to punish me."

"What? No-" Dream turns, mask smacking into Techno's hand.

"Then why should you?" Techno cuts in, planning his hand flat on Dream's mask and twisting it slightly. "You're not special, why should you be held to different standards than me? Or anyone else?"

"Besides," Techno continues, releasing Dream's mask. "I'm never going to be happy about you hurting yourself Dream, so if you really feel like you need to be punished for something just tell me what you did and I'll give you a punishment, Maybe I'll get you to scrub Philzas toilet."

"That's not pain." Dream says, feeling jittery from arguing. Arguing was bad yet he couldn't get himself to stop.

Techno frowns. "...Do you want me to hurt you?"

"No." He didn't want to be hurt, he didn't like pain, he was afraid of pain. But he needed pain to be good.

"Bruh." Techno vocalizes, noticing the contradiction, "Then let me be kind to you."

Dream stills, thoughts wild, relieved and frightened at the same time. He knows what he needs to ask him. He moves over to sit cross-legged before Techno, slumping so he doesn't sit too much taller than his owner. Slowly he pulls his mask to the side, letting Techno see his face. His throat feels clumped up as he opens his mouth, his voice gone.

"I…" Dream forces out. "I want you to- I need you to promise that you'll kill me if I hurt someone. If I act like the- like the monster I am."

Techno's eyes widen, head pulling back. "Dream that's not-"

"How- how will I not hurt anyone if the only punishment for it is a few words, Techno? I- I'm not safe, I attacked Philza, I almost attacked Orphan, I destroyed people's homes and futures-"

"If you don't remember I was also there when we bombed L'manberg, Dream."

"But you had a reason... Right?" Dream feels cold in his fingers as he fiddles with them. "They wanted to execute you without trial- but me? I had no reason- Tommy he- he called me a monster and I didn't care, I didn't wake up, I just kept going. I just- I don't- I just- I wanted control of everyone, right?"

Dream looks away as Techno's eyes narrow on him, his head tilting as if in thought. "Shouldn't you be asking yourself that?"

Can Dream ask himself that? He can’t remember much. He remembers what he's done, Quackity had never allowed him to forget his actions. But he doesn't remember how he'd felt in those moments, what he'd thought or even what his motives had been.

He'd been after power, he's been told, absolute control.

There's one memory that comes back to him when he begins wondering if maybe there’d been more to it. When something worms its way into his mind, when a desire for kindness worms its way in like an infection that needed to be burnt away.

He's above new L'manberg, on the obsidian grid he couldn't remember erecting but knows he made. He remembers looking down at the destruction as he rained TNT-- which he'd let fall for days after Technoblade and Philza had left, until it was all one big crater-- and Tommy was there with Tubbo behind him. The kid was staring at him with fear, and fury, and hurt, and rage, and defeat, and he'd told him, "You're a monster."

He remembers looking down on the destruction and then back at Tommy and shrugging, lightly saying, "OK," as if he had no care in the world.

Dream wishes he knew what he'd been thinking back then. God he wishes. Because he is a monster and that scares him, it scares him because he's evil and he's ruthless and he's power-hungry and he doesn't want to be because monsters need to be punished.

So how had his past self, faced with the damnation just shrugged and continued on like it was nothing?

So when he wishes he knew what he'd been thinking back then, before the torture tore his mind apart. When he wants to know if there'd been anything redeemable about him, anything to signal he wasn't a complete monster, something to give the “him in the present” hope.

The memory comes and reminds him.

"You're a monster."

"ok."

Blase, uncaring, monster.

And he knows, the answer is no. There wasn't anything redeemable about him. No sliver of love or heart, just a cold cruel heart. Nothing containing a real soul.

It's ironic.

Quackity hurt him worse than he thinks he's ever been hurt. But Quackity taught him how to be better. How to be good.

Taught him what's right and wrong.

Carved the reminders of what's good and what's evil right into his flesh so he'd never forget.

Even if it feels hollow sometimes as he slowly sorts Technos chests, as he smiles softly because monsters snarl. At least when he does that, he's not doing anything evil. He's being good or at the very least neutral.

Quackity tortured him for months, and broke him down.

But.

But at least he came out on the other side with no desire for control, with no desire for control over other people. He came out with a desire to be good. To ensure he always would be.

He looks back to his owner, daring to meet his eyes. "Just promise, Techno, please."

Techno stares back, measuring his conviction. Dream doesn't look away, the first time he purposefully met Techno's gaze since he escaped prison. “Alright, Dream. I promise you, if you do something I’d consider senseless, evil, or bad, I’ll take your last life myself.” His words are firm as he stares back into Dream’s eyes, resolute in his decision. Dream can see it in his gaze, that should he cross the line, Techno would cut his head off in a heartbeat.

“Thank you.” Dream says, grateful as he slides his mask back in place. The tightness in his chest eased with his mask back in place.

Dave comes back soon after with a small smile. They shortly explain that they want to do a physical examination and check for injuries to get a general idea of his physical health and set up a plan for physical therapy.

Something that requires Dream to take his shirt, his undershirt, the bandages- everything off.

Daves tone is kind, soft and non-judgemental. But still, apprehension curls in Dreams gut. Hands stuck in the wool of Tommy's old sweater, limbs locked in place.

Take your f*cking shirt off Dream, I'm not asking again.

Seriously? First I have to drag you into the chair and then you can't even take your own shirt off? You're f*cking useless.

Sam's tired of the f*cking mess you make, I don't know why he even bothers to give you new clothes. Maybe sleeping naked on the obsidian would teach you a lesson, let you sleep in your own filth.

OH wow! Sam really didn't replace your shirt today? Holy sh*t are these obsidian burns on your arms-

"Dream," snapping from his mind like he'd been slapped, Dream turns to Techno. He has a hand on Dream's shoulder just firm enough so he can feel it and feel reassured. "Dave wouldn't hurt you, but I'm here if he tries anything, so don't worry."

Choking on his words, Dream nods. Techno wanted this for him because he cares. Techno cares for him so Dream can swallow his fear and be obedient. Quickly, like his clothes burn to touch, he pulls off his two shirt and unwraps the bandages wrapped around him before his brain can start to be stupidly afraid. He lays them out on the table, wincing at the sight of red and yellow on the bandages. Dream stares at the sweater, touching it, he feels wrong with his skin exposed to the cool air, he wants to pull the sweater back on, hideaway and make more trouble for Quackity, maybe even struggle for long enough the session would be cut short. But Dream was with Techno and not with Quackity where having to remove his shirt usually meant the kind of torture he couldn't play off as either hurting more if it was bearable or hurting less if it made him want to die and scream and curl up in a ball and sob.

Shaking the thought from his head, Dream pulls himself up on shaking arms to sit back on the edge of the examination table. He stares at his clothed knees, happy to atleast still have his pants, wanting to vomit as he feels Techno's eyes on him.

As the villager turns back to him, Dream grips his pants, grounding himself as they take a step around him, eying his torso and back. "You can lie down, Dreaming pet- on your back preferably, I'd like to examine the wound I can see on your side first." The cleric hums softly.

Dream nods, feeling cold as he shifts around, laying down on the table. As the villager steps up to him, he clutches the painful mess at his side, trying to hide it, to delay the pain. He’s always been an idiot who kept struggling.

"I need you to let go, Dreaming pet." The cleric says firmly, waiting patiently as Dream pulls his shaking hand from the wound to start lightly pushing at the inflamed area and -

Dream hisses back a sharp yell, hand snapping up and tightly gripping their hand, digging his thumb into the soft spot on the underside of their wrist. His hand shakes violently as he holds tight. "Don't." Dream chokes nonsensically.

"You need to release my hand, you're hurting me." Dave stares at him without flinching. If Dream had been at his past dexterity he'd have broken their wrist. Even now he knew a bruise would form. "I know it's uncomfortable and painful but I'm here to help. Try gripping the table instead, Dreaming Pet."

Shaking, feeling shame, he lets go of their hand and grips the table harshly, hearing the padding creak. Dream wants nothing more than to close his eyes and pretend to be somewhere else as Dave softly prods at him and pulls at ruined skin tissue. But he can't, watching them work with his body tense and his heart in his throat, hazy gaze fearfully tracking every movement of their hands as they keep a soft soothing narration of what they're doing.

He feels ill as he looks down at himself, having avoided actually looking at the worst of his remaining injuries. The way he could see his ribs, his hip bones, the scars, the infected wounds he'd done his best to clean just so they wouldn't smell too much.

Dave pauses, staring up at Dream as their blood and pus covered fingers hover over him. They look off to the side, where Techno must be standing before focusing on Dream. "I need to see inside of the wound and possibly trim away some of the infection, this will hurt, Dreaming Pet, if you'll allow it, for both of our safety I'll ask Redstone Sword to hold you down."

As Dave steps back towards their shelves, giving him time to respond or chicken out or allow Techno to hold him down- Dream doesn't know- Dream wants nothing more than to leap off the table and flee.

As he looks to the side he can already see the path he'd take. It would be easy to pick up the stool the villager placed by the examination table and hurl it through one of the windows. It would be an awkward twist to get through the window without hurting himself on broken glass, but he's done it before. Then he could easily make it to Carl before anyone would catch up, and then Carl wasn't tied down so Dream could be gone quickly enough.

The path is easy to visualize, Dream knows exactly what he'd do. It would have been easy to execute the plan, it would have been like stealing candy from a child. Except he couldn't do anything like that anymore. He was ruined. He couldn't even walk into the Clerics' home on his own.

Rage burns in his chest, feeling like ugly poison in his soul. Rage was not a good emotion.

He can't flee. And even if he could, this was Techno's decision, not Dream's.

Dream had been… content, to just let the wound slowly fester, numbing the pain somewhat with gapples. He'd been content to let it be, to not look at it or deal with it, feeling sick with emotions just thinking about it. He'd almost been… happy to have it. But Techno had decided on a medical check-up so Dream needed to grit his teeth.

Mask digging into his cheek, Dream looks up at Techno who stares back with heavy red eyes, glowing strongly as he stares at Dream's body with an expression frozen into stony cold.

Dream didn't know what his owner was thinking. He knew Techno was staring at the ugly patchwork mess that was Dream's skin, at the big wound leaking pus. Could Techno see exactly what had been done to him, where something had been done? The screams seared into his bones, Dream didn't even dare to look at himself, casting his eyes from the bathroom mirror when he washed?

Techno's hands are shaking.

It's an odd thing to note, Dream thinks, stomach rolling unpleasantly as he faces the ceiling. There was a cobweb up by one of the beams on the ceiling. He hopes Techno's expression is one out of disgust at how useless his pet is. Not out of anger at how Dream had been hurt by…

By his previous… owners.

(The guards had certainly spoken about him like he'd been their pet, their monster in a cage. Sometimes when they thought he was sleeping, even before Quackity carved the monster out of him, he remembers laying still on the floor, burning with unidentifiable rage as Ant and Bad whispered to each other. "We own Dream." They'd say with pride as Dream laid still and didn't lash out though he'd wanted to. Maybe to scream, maybe to rip into them with jagged nails broken on obsidian.)

(he didn't want to remember the rage, the hurt, the sting in his heart. Rage belonged in the past. He was supposed to be loyal and passive)

"Are you ready?" Dream flinches as he looks at the cleric back at his side. They've pushed a small table over to his side, the sight of the tools on it making his stomach drop. Reminding him vividly of how Quackity- how sir had used each of them on him.

Dream had never quite thought about how medical tools could be used for torture before Quackity started bringing every tool from the prison's medical wing in with him.

A bowl is presented to him, it's filled with something vile-smelling, reminding him of rotten lemons or kale, it's faintly pale green. "Here, a potion, it'll help with the pain, numb it a bit," Dave smiles at him as Dream picks up the bowl and drinks, gagging at the taste, almost spitting it everywhere as he forces it down, it was sour and tasted somewhat like rotten grass. Poisonous potatoes tasted better. Disgusting. "That's good, get it all down. It's plant-based and not magic so it should work."

Dream nods, hands shaking from nausea as he pushes the bowl back at the villager and lies back down.

"Tech- just– just get it over with." Dream snarls to the ceiling. A little pain, he could deal and if the green sh*t he drank worked he might not even be as bad. It was nothing new. Fingers and cold metal tools burrowing in cuts and wounds, he's experienced it many times before, this wasn't different, the fear and nausea and the way his stomach felt cold, the way bile rose in his throat was the same. But this time there was no Sam, there was no warden sighing at him, exhausted at healing and caring for his wounds, wanting nothing more than for Dream to give in and let them kill him.

Like he'd ever let them get the satisfaction of being the one to actually do it.

Techno's face comes over him, distracting him from his thoughts as hands carefully grip Dream's wrists and Techno presses an arm into his chest. "I got you, nerd." He smiles reassuringly, looking sure and collected.

He looks at ease, even with Dream's clammy feverish skin under his hands and the rotten smell of his wound right in his nose with no bandages to block it out.

Dream nods, fingers scraping at the table, it was uncomfortable, scary even, to have Techno holding him down but the knowledge that it was his owner was comforting. Somewhat. It was something to focus on to curb the urge to twist himself free and dig his fingers into his owner's eyes. He wasn't being restrained for torture. He just had to get through this.

Maybe Techno would even reward him for his good behaviour? For complying quickly with what he wanted?

Maybe even go against Dave's instructions and let Dream have a gapple?

Dave leans over, fingers lightly brushing his, "Did you feel that? How much pressure would you day i put?"

"Yeah- you- you touched my hand. Just slightly."

"That's good. It's working then," Dave says as they sit down on their stool. When Dream tries to focus on Techno's hands around his wrists, he can't feel the grip, only warmth. "I'll begin now."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Dream nods, focusing on the feeling of warmth from Techno's hands and arm pressing lightly down Dream's chest, trying to keep out other sensations as Dave pulls on his flesh, opening up the wound to the air. He shakes, feeling cool sweat beading on his skin as fingers push inside of the wound, prodding at the infection, tools keeping his skin apart. Vomit rises into his throat, burning the back of it as he jerks in place. It hurts, the potion may be numbing him, but it still hurts.

He can't help it, screams tearing from his throat as he kicks out, trying to get away, boots scraping over the padding as he jerks in place. Dave shouts something and one of Dream's hands comes free as his legs are pushed down. He claws at the person over him, attempting to pry them off, but they hold strong as Dream pushes, rips and screams.

"Dream! Shh it's okay!" a cold hand touches his head, petting through his hair. "You're alright-"

"Restone Sword sit down on their legs if you have to they're jostling too much-"

"I got him! You get this done as quickly as possible, Dave-"

"Redstone Swo-"

Sam's fingers and tools were buried inside of him, Quackity had left splinters- something- inside of him, his hearts were low and he'd already respawned five times, getting dragged out of the pool and pressed back into the obsidian with a rough hand at his neck and as Sam worked to get it out. He kicks out, only able to weakly jab his heels at Sam's side where he's pressing a leg down over Dream's to keep him still, his arms flail, unable to do anything but tear at the obsidian, the rock cutting into his palms and arms.

"Please- SAM-! AWESAM STOP-"

His hearts shudder with him, dropping down to one and a half hearts and then up to two again, shifting back and forth with the pain. He cries out, vomit bubbling up from his throat and then-

Nothing.

Dream jerks in place, half a scream stuck in his throat. There's something holding him down, binding him. He trashes, hands pushing out and-

"Dream!"

He lands on his shoulder, on something smooth and cool, knocking the breath out of him. He lies there, brain stuttering, unable to form a thought.

"Dream-" Hands touch him, pulling him into something cool- Techno. "Hey, hey, Dream don't move too much you'll pull your stitches-"

"Techno?" Dream slurs the name out, his tongue feels heavy, the taste of vomit stuck to it and his throat is ruined and hoarse.

"Hey there nerd," hands lift him and he's laid down on something. There's something soft and nice under his head- dream curls up, gripping the thing and pushing his face into it. "Why do you keep- doesn't matter- Dream how are you feeling?"

"Warm," Dream says, feeling sweaty hair stick to his burning skin, plastered to his forehead and neck. Where was his mask? "It hurts."

"Your fever came back worse, Dream," cool cloth dap at his neck, and over his ears. Dream sighs, pulling his face from the pillow and letting Techno drag the cloth over his burning skin. "But on the other hand Dave was able to clean up your infected wounds so you gotta be careful with no sudden movement,s."

Dream could hear erratic laughter as Techno put his bare hand on Dream's head, brushing his hair away from his face, pulling one single hair away he'd managed to get into his mouth.

"We're renting a cart for you. Dave doesn't want you to ride back on Carl so you'll be able to laze away on the way home okay?" the cool cloth is back, he felt uncomfortable with his layers, it was too warm, but the cloth was nice. Just like the pillow.

"Philza got your new boots- without laces- and some socks for you since you can't go shopping like we'd thought."

Dream nods, not quite registering what Techno was saying. The cloth drags over his forehead and he pushes into it with a small sound. If he could just have a hole in the ground and the pillow and the cool cloth against his burning body he could be content.

"Dave made some potions for you too, non-magical, just a bunch of plants and stuff, that will help make sure your infection stays down. It smells disgusting by the way so I know you're gonna looove it."

The cloth disappears, only to come back even cooler, chasing the burning feeling away from his skin.

"You gotta tell me if something is infected this time okay? It was really bad Dream, Dave had to use potions directly on you so I'm glad you kept passing out because-" the cloth stops on his cheek and eye. He sounds shaky, his voice gaining an edge of controlled hysteria. "It doesn't matter. Just don't- You were dying Dream- Did you want to- why did you just let it fester? you must have known, did you- No, just- just don't hide your injuries again, okay?"

"Ye-s - er-" Dream murmurs, turning his head down into the pillow again.

"That's good." Techno whispers, hand brushing over his hair. "Just rest okay? Phil and I will take care of everything. You're going to be fine, okay?"

Okay.

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

"You got your cooling pad and your heating pad-"

"Yes." Dream frowns, fingers tight-knit in his pillow. The pillow was nice under his bare hands, it was the one Techno had gotten from the cleric. Apparently, it had been easy to convince them to sell the pillow and blanket since Dream had bled on them. He liked the feeling when he squeezed it, feeling his weak hurting fingers clench around the soft fabric and feathers.

"I've already made food packages for when I'll be gone, Philza will come prepare them and if you get hungry early just knock on his door so don't touch the stove-"

"I can actually cook myself-"

"Not if you burn yourself and the food every time- I've also sent Steve out so he shouldn't be a problem until I get back again. And remember no wolves-"

"-When I'm alone," Dream finishes drily and kneads his hands into the pillow, "I know, I know. You know I'm not going to disobey you, you're my owner."

Techno cringes at the term, "Yeah I know. You're just an odd little man so I have to make sure you know to take care of yourself."

"Well- I do know how to," Dream mutters, shifting the pillow up to hug it to his chest. "Besides, I'm not mine to hurt, you've made that very clear. Like I belong to you. If you don't command me to, I shouldn't do anything like that."

"Bruh." Techno winces, but he says nothing against the truth of what Dream is to him. It's like their relationship had shifted after Dream had woken up back in the cabin days after apparently having had emergency surgery. Now Techno hovered over him like he thought Dream would go on a murderous rampage or off himself if left unattended and he'd begun commanding Dream in ways he hadn't before, becoming more demanding of him, watching him more closely, which was good.

He was keeping his promise, if Dream stepped out of line then Technoblade would be there to put him down.

"Philza will be coming over to watch over you later and make sure you eat and do your therapy, also I saw you didn't eat all your carrots this morning, is your stomach acting up again? We can move your things to Philzas house if you need more supervision-"

"It's fine," pulling a hand under his shirt, Dream touches his stomach, where bandages are wrapped around him and shudders. "I just wasn't hungry."

"You need to eat Dream. I've given you food for your stash you don't need to save-"

Scratching at his bandages, he presses down on his stomach, feeling a sharp pain. "I just- i couldn't eat it, okay? It was too much, I was already full. I've been drinking the medicine and you're the one who changes my bandages, I'm not trying to hurt myself."

Techno's hands touch his shoulders and his arm is pulled away from his stomach, his owner lightly grips his wrist and puts a small ball into his hand. "Mmm, I'll tell Philza to check in on you more regularly.

"Okay." Dream agrees quickly, dipping his head down as his hand curls around the ball and clenches it, his nails digging into the soft surface and making small cuts into it. He works the ball between his fingers, feeling tension leaving his shoulders.

Glancing up, he stares at Techno's shoulder. "Hug before you go?"

His owner huffs. "Of course, I'll hug you." He says awkwardly, leaning into Dream's space to give him a careful squeeze. He holds like that, letting Dream rest his mask on his shoulder and take in the safe feeling of Techno wrapped around him.

If Techno wanted, when he hugged Dream, it would be as easy as twisting the neck of a rabbit. He could easily shift his hands up and grip Dream's head and then Dream would be dead.

But he wouldn't. Not yet.

"I'll behave." Dream smiles behind his mask as Techno pulls back and places a cooling pad straight onto his head.

"That also means telling Philza if your stitches are acting up or if you're in too much pain so I'm counting on it, Dream." Techno grins, adjusting the pad. "You don't want another visit from Dave right?"

"If I…" Dream pauses. "Behave perfectly, will you let me have a golden apple?"

Techno huffs and stands up, quickly slinging a backpack over his shoulder. "Sure, a bit of Gapple in a week won't hurt you."

"Lets go." Dream cheers quietly to himself, waving at Techno as the other says his goodbyes, pulling the curtain back in place in front of Dream's bed. He hears him opening the front door, feet crunching in the snow before the door shuts with a small click.

Dogs bark, he can hear Techno talking to them.

Left alone, he pulls the curtain open a bit and looks out towards the fireplace, the fire still going, spreading warmth towards him. Dream pulls his blanket and Techno's cloak over his shoulders as he lies down, staring out through the opening and into the flames.

Downstairs the cabin felt too big sometimes, it made him feel weird and cold and sweaty so Dream was grateful for the blanket curtains Techno had set up around his mattress after it had been moved down and onto the floor. His bed looked more like a pillow fort or a nest and he found comfort in being able to just pull the blanket over in the way of the opening and be closed off to the world. Techno had also moved one of his armchairs over besides Dream's nest so he was able to keep an eye on him at all times, able to quickly draw the curtains back or lift the blanket over top to peer in and make sure Dream wasn't dying.

It was unnecessary, Dream thought, but Techno couldn't be convinced Dream wouldn't rip his stomach open or ignore pain or his body's warning signals. Techno had left Dream alone for a few days once and came home to find Dream had accidentally injured himself and then not gone into kitchens for food or drink either, that he'd just laid there on the mattress, feeling as gone from reality as he did in the prison, slowly starving with some of his stitches pulled, leaking blood and causing some of his infection to come back.

So now Techno had given him a food supply, mostly dried meat, vegetables and fruit, put in a nice basket with a few packs of medicine which were tightly wrapped so as not to smell and a few sacks of water. Some of the food and water Dream hid away underneath the cabinet close by together with some of his stash from upstairs. The last pieces of gapple he'd originally hidden in his stash, were safely secured in the spare parts of his inventory he could access with his health on the fringes.

The point being, Dream had the things to take care of himself. Techno made sure of it.

So it was unnecessary to watch him so pedantically through Dream was pleased with it at the same time. It reminded him of days when the lava would be lowered and the warden would stare in at him for hours, watching him, making sure he didn't misbehave. Sometimes he'd talk, call for Dream to give over the revival book. Most of the time he'd silently watch him like the Warden was slowly, agonizingly, debating with himself about going over and putting his sword or his pickaxe through Dream's throat.

Dream sighs, shifting over to lie more comfortably in bed, watching the fireplace slowly go out, by the time it's only faint ambers that are hard to see, there's a knocking on the door, one, two, pause, a flat thump of a hand, one, two-

Philza opens the door gently, and Dream hears his wings flapping once, twice, as he steps around, looking for Dream. "Heya mate. Are you in bed?"

Dream grunts and crawls out, quickly grabbing the armrest of the armchair near his bed and hauling himself to his feet. He winces in pain, keeping silent as his fingers go numb, digging into the chair. Philza is smiling as he turns around.

"Hey mate," The man says softly. "You up for your therapy now or later?"

‘Now is fine.’ Dream signs, not really wanting to, gripping the back of Technos armchairs as he makes it over to the sofa and lays down. Philza doesn't try to help him, waiting patiently and kneeling down by Dream once he's shuffled into a comfortable position and slowly grabbing a hold of his legs and beginning to move them for him.

It was strange- having someone else moving his legs when Dream was able to walk. Sure it was like a wobbly newborn fawn with nails hammered into its legs, but he could walk on his own. It felt humiliating as Philza moved his legs, every small hiss of pain as Philza guided his legs into some move that once would have been easier than nothing for him to execute.

Unlike Techno who gave a constant stream of nonsensical commentary as he moved Dream's legs, Philza did it in silence, focused on his task and doing everything correctly, only pausing to glance at Dream's masked face at a hiss he couldn't bite back, asking if he needs a break.

Dream shakes his head, if Philza didn't force the issue of a break like Techno usually did then Dream would rather power through it and get it done as quickly as possible.

Soon they're done, Philzas hands giving his legs a short massage which relieves a bit of the pain and sleeping feeling in his legs before laying one of Techno's furs over them. "There you go, Dream," He smiles "Let's get you a break and maybe some food."

Said food turns out to be boiled carrots, cauliflower and salted but raw mutton that Dream picks at. He pauses, fork in hand as he stares at the carefully cut bits of carrot, cauliflower and meat, the juices from the meat slowly spreading over the plate and seeping into the newly boiled vegetables. The cauliflower turning reddish pink near the plate.

Dream blinks. He almost feels overwhelmed though he'd had almost the same yesterday, just with some bread, butter, and less meat. And no cauliflower. He hasn't had cauliflower in… before the prison.

"Here," Philza separates a small bit of the meat and vegetables onto one side of the plate with a spoon. "Eat a quarter now and then you can eat the rest later." Philza watches him, fingers briefly drumming on the table when Dream does nothing. Philza scoops up some meat and cauliflower on his spoon and holds it up towards him.

Dream looks up, seeing Philzas blue eyes watching him from behind the spoon in front of his face.

"Here, once you get some food in you, it'll get easier." he bops the spoon in front of his face, nodding and smiling as Dream opens his mouth, letting the other feed him the contents of the spoon.

"Now chew."

Dream does so, awkwardly at first, the texture of the meat and cauliflower feeling gross together on his tongue. He swallows, grimacing as Philza holds up another spoonful. But he lets Philza feed him, forcefully chewing through three spoonfuls of horrid texture and taste before it becomes easier and he finds himself stabbing his fork into the food on his plate himself and easily eating it, enjoying eating it, feeling hungry, finding the carrots tasty and the meat delicious.

The cauliflower however was bad texture. Nope no. Dream didn't like it.

He pokes once at the last cauliflower with his fork before setting it down over the plate.

Philza snorts, looking delighted as he takes the plate back. "Don't like the cauliflower, mate?" He huffs, it doesn't sound mocking, instead, it sounds amused and light if a bit playful.

'No.' Dream signs, glancing sideways at Philza. 'Its texture is- I don't like it.'

"Ahh, texture," Philza looks at him with something like recognition as he plops the remaining Cauliflower into his mouth and chews on it. Clearly he didn't have an issue with the texture of them. "I get it mate, we'll get something to replace it, what do you think about broccoli instead? Kale?"

Dream shrugs. He didn't really know. He's certain, though he can't explicitly remember eating cauliflower before, that he'd liked it fine in the past.

"Well, we have a week to figure it out because unfortunately, there is cauliflower on your diet plan everyday for the next week." Philza laughs lightly as Dream grimances, rubbing a hand under his mask.

He leans back on the sofa, closing his eyes and dozing off into a light slumber as Philza picks the plate back up and leaves it with.

He's woken soon after to Philza holding out a cup of vile smelling potion. It's awful and Dream chokes as usual, almost vomiting several times before he gets it down, Philza wiping his chin for him as he shudders uneasily with his stomach churning unpleasantly.

Then, after his stomach has settled and his limbs have stopped quivering, Philza finds the small hand weights Techno had crafted for Dream.

On the days like today that he was too weak to use the wights, it was just moving his arms empty-handed, Philzas hand lightly under his forearm, never gripping or restraining, as he helped him through the exercise. As he moved his arms, feeling his near nonexistent muscles burn with the pleasant sort of strain that came with exercise, he could feel the back of his mind, his whole body itching to wrap his hands around the handle of a sword or an axe, running through old self-made forms, or to run through a forest and climb trees, leaping over ravines or scaling the side of them. He itched to move in ways he couldn't anymore.

Lastly Philza pats him on his sweaty bird nests of hair and helps him back to his bed, guiding him through a few last stretches before letting him collapse in a pained heap on his mattress.

Philza pulls his blanket up over his shoulder "Ugh." Dream groans, feet catching in the blanket and kicking it off himself. He twists, ripping Tommy's sweater off, letting the air cool his overheated body as he clutches his pillow to his chest. He sighs as Philza wipes sweat off his skin and drapes his cooling pad up over his bare shoulders and up his neck, cooling him as his sweaty chest sticks to the pillow.

Rising to his feet, Philza quickly gets a good flame going in the fireplace for the night. "Sorry about the heat mate, you'll thank me in a few hours when you're not freezing cold." Philza chuckles as Dream shifts uncomfortably and draws his curtains over to shield him from the direct heat. "I'll come check on you in the morning, have pleasant dreams, Dream."

Philza steps out, and closes the door. Silence.

Dream shifts, hands reaching out and pulling out a mess of cloth from his inventory. From the bundle he takes a slice, hastily wrapping up the cloth again and hiding it away in his inventory before placing the slice of Gapple in his mouth, chewing lightly on it.

It's boring. Dream is bored.

His mind is excruciating as he fidgets with his pillow, there's nothing else to grab and he feels like tearing it to pieces, pent-up energy brimming under his skin.

He shifts, leaving his pillow and moving over to the other end of Techno's couch and lays his head on the cushions. He touches the carpet under himself, fingers curling into it and ripping up a few fibres. He looks over where Techno had put his jacket, shoes and scarf on a shelf. It was devious, Dream could reach them easily, but he also couldn't because his idiot arms stopped working right at anything above his shoulders.

Philza was supposed to come let some of the pack in so Dream could spend some time with his fellow members of the pack. Technochan would also be there which was nice, though Philza said he'd keep it on a leash. Techno had been odd about the alpha wolf, he didn't want Dream to be near it. Or more realistically, he didn't want it near Dream as the wolf was more than content to see Dream as another member of its pack, and Techno still held the delusion that Dream was a person and just needed to be reminded of it.

It burned, the last time he'd seen the wolf and Dream had moved towards it to at least greet the alpha wolf but Techno had grabbed his arm and dragged him away. The wolf had sounded furious as it barked after them.

Still, being allowed to spend time with Jabber or Em was something. Even if Techno immediately pulled them apart or kicked the wolves out if they started to be aggressive with him. Dream didn't see the problem as the new pet he was naturally under them in the hierarchy and it was natural to reinforce that.

Dream huffs.

Idiot Techno and his anarchy and his idiot thinking Dream is people.

Suddenly feeling annoyed at the couch he sticks his arm under the closest cushion and flips it up over onto the other side.

Groaning out loud he looks at the jacket out of reach again. Where was Philza. He said he'd be back quickly but it could have been days since he left for all Dream knew.

Looking towards the lit fireplace, Dream stares at the poker hanging off a stand on the floor. He shifts onto his knees, glancing toward the jacket on the shelf again. He could just go out himself, see the wolves, and be back before Philza came back. No doubt he'd be discovered, but whatever punishment he'd get for meeting with the wolves, seeing Technochan unsupervised would be worth it.

He quickly moves over and grabs the poker. It's slightly warm to the touch from having soaked in heat from the fireplace, and Dream uses it to tip his boots and jacket off the side of the shelf. Putting the poker back he quickly brushes away the soot stains he made on the boots and puts them on. The boots are new and even with his fingers tingling, mostly unresponsive and painful when he moves them too much, they're easy to tighten to his legs with a simple belt at the top of them unlike the laces on his old ones that had been impossible.

Pulling an arm through the sleeves of the jacket, Dream freezes as he hears snow crunching. Several voices carried from outside the front door.

What?

His head rings, he can't make sense of what they're saying as he pulls himself back, shoulders hitting the wall.

Click click click. Restone coming to life, systems activating, pistons moving, coming closer. Chunk chunk chunk chunk chunk-

Breathe in. Breathe out. He's out.

Quietly pulling his mask in place over his face, Dream fully pulls on the jacket, failing and giving up with the buttons of it, and after fumbling at the pockets for his gloves and hat, he steps carefully over to the window by the door. Gently he shifts the curtains less than an inch and peeks out. He grimaces, the light blinding him for a moment. Immediately as his eyes adjust he collapses down on the floor, curling up against the wall, hiding away.

Philza, Wilbur and Ranboo.

And they're right outside.

Leaning his head against the wall he can hear the dull rumblings of their voices and slight vibrations as they walk on the bridge connecting Philza and Techno's homes.

Dream rises up again, peeking out again. Wilbur is going on about something with a van, turning around too much for Dream to be able to clearly read his lips, and talking too low for him to hear it. Glancing over, he watches Philza smile with a small worried frown on his eyebrows. He doesn't look at Ranboo, aware the moment he did, the enderman hybrid would without a doubt realize he was there.

He watches them for a bit until something shifts in the conversation, Philza opening his door and letting Wilbur in, Ranboo stepping down the stairs as the older men wave and head inside.

Dream frowns, watching Ranboo stare out towards the base inset into the hill further down.

He's going to turn around. Dream thinks mindlessly as he stares at Ranboo's legs. Then, almost as if on cue, Ranboo turns around and walks back up the stairs.

Dream scrambles back, given no time as Ranboo twists a key in Techno's cabin door and opens it. He barely makes it behind one of Techno's armchairs as the door closes again.

"Haah…" Ranboo breathes, fabric shifts as Dream curls in on himself, heart in his throat, "Now where is Steve hiding…" the Enderman hybrid says cheerily, feet stamping a bit on the doormat before taking clear steps into the cabin, his dress shoes- unfit for snow- clicking on the wood floors, heading straight towards Dream.

Ranboo steps out in front of him and Dream could have been the Enderman with how he's the one to freeze, heart beating so fast it hurts as Ranboo stares down at him, eyes meeting Dream's mask with no hesitation.

"Hello Dream, what are you doing down there?" Ranboo smiles.

Dream flinches hard, falling over, his shoulder and healing stomach hurting where he slammed it into hardwood. Disoriented, he pulls himself up against an armchair, leaning heavily against it as his vision spins. He turns to the blob of black and white that's Ranboo. "You- you said you were looking for Steve." he whispers, finding his voice coming easily if not a bit strained.

Ranboo is Tubbo's friend, they have a son. Dream doesn't know how he knows, Quackity must have told him at one point, mocking Dream about Tubbo living past Dream's plans and having a family.

Dream is a threat to Tubbo's life. It would only make sense for Ranboo to want him back in Pandora's Vault and Dream wouldn't blame him for the desire.

"I lied," Ranboo's eyes close in mirth and he moves forwards, sitting down beside him, long gangly legs spreading out over the floor. Dream feels frozen. "I heard you weren't doing so well."

Dream stares at Ranboo's legs wide-eyed, the hem of his pants are wet with melted snow and there's a bit of snow packed into the seams of his shoes. "What?"

"Techno said you were sick, Dream," Ranboo says, long legs drawing up under himself as he turns and leans a shoulder on the chair, mimicking Dream's position, "Really sick."

"It wasn't anything I couldn't have dealt with myself," Dream says before he can think better of it, voice clipping with harshness he shouldn't use. "I'd have dealt with it."

Then, getting his brain back in order, Dream looks away. "Sorry, I did… didn't mean to snap." he cringes to himself, shoulders forcefully relaxed as he braces to be struck.

"Now why are you apologising to me?" Ranboo questions lightly, shifting and bumping his shoulder bumping lightly into Dream's. Ranboo freezes as Dream hisses, pulling away at the contact. "How are you doing?" The Enderman hybrid says, sliding a bit from Dream's side.

Dream pulls his legs up, hugging them, hands jittering over his knees. Techno said he was sick? "Techno- Techno told you where I was?"

Had techno betrayed him? No, he wouldn't- and if Techno called the warden, or told Ranboo, it wouldn't be a betrayal. How could you betray your pets?

"Not exactly." Ranboo drawls. "He just said some things about not knowing what to do with a… pest that followed him home who was getting dangerously sick. I put two and two together."

Clutching his pants, Dream digs in his nails, feeling pain under each of them. "Are you… are you calling the Warden?" he says softly. "Are you buying time?"

Better question, why hasn't Dream run yet. Why, despite the fear clogging his throat and the pain in his chest, has he stayed right there besides Ranboo?

Ranboo would catch him as long as he was near the commune, out in the forest Dream would be able to shake him off. If he doesn't run he won't stand a chance.

Did Ranboo trust and respect Techno enough not to call Sam about having seen Dream?

"Of course I'm not, can't I go see how my friend is doing, Dream?"

Dream almost tipped over as fury rises up his chest, making his hurting heart almost unbearable. "I don't-" He gasps for breath, feeling like his lungs were squeezed like a sponge- "have friends!" Dream snarls, rounding on Ranboo. He grabs him by the front of his suit, "Are you stalling?!"

Ranboo's eyes are wide as he stares at him. "What has gotten…" He frowns, long fingers curling around Dream's wrist. He looks around them briefly, eyes narrowed before focusing back on Dream's mask and peeling Dream's hand out of his suit. "I've not called the Warden, or anyone else, Dream."

"Then leave." Dream demands. He scoots away from the other. He gets to his feet, teeth gritting painfully together as he nearly falls. "I don't have- friends or allies, Techno owes me a favour, that's why- that's why I'm here."

"Yes, yes, the importance of favors I know that-" The other stands up, standing taller than Dream, staring down at him. "Dream I don't understand, we aren't being watched, why are-? Tell me what's wrong?" He always stands taller than Dream, he comes into his space, always demanding things, standing above him. Interrogating him about the same things over and over.

Dream backs away, he can hear lava, fire, and water. Drip Drip Drip. Who are your allies, Dream! Tell me! "We aren't friends, I don't have friends, and I certainly don't have any allies!"

"You don't-? We're friends, what are you saying? Dream what are you-"

The other steps closer to him, too close. He can hear the mask, the air going through the filters, it's warm, he can't breathe and his skin burns exposed to the open air. He doesn't have allies. He doesn't. "I don't have friends, I don't have allies." He steps back, head shaking. "I don't, I don't, I don't."

A hand reaches out for him, it's sudden, touching his shoulder and Dream falls, scooting back further until he hits something. It's bright, the lava is right beside him, orange and red, and blinding to the eye and Dream stares at it, heart in his throat as the tall figure follows after him. He's about to dive into the flames, into death when hands grab him, wrestling him away, pinning him down against the floor.

"Dream! Dream! Stop, I'll leave! We aren't friends! We aren't! You don't have friends! I'll leave!" The hands losen, waiting for Dream to start struggling again. He doesn't, waiting as he stares up at the person above him, they look terrified, confused, painted, expression open and vulnerable while Dream hides away behind his mask. He lets go of Dream, withdrawing his hands.

Dream shakes his head, "Yes, I don't have allies, I don't I don't, I don't." he mutters, curling up on himself, clutching his head, tugging at his hair.

Slowly the person backs away, their movement catching Dreams' attention, having almost forgotten they were there, Dream startles as he watches them summon a water bucket from their inventory and douse the lava. He continues back step by step until Dream can't see them anymore, only a hazy view of a support beam in the ceiling, footsteps loud until finally the sound of a door closing.

Dream rolls around, clumsy hands pushing his mask off his head. It clatters away as he pushes up from the floor, the contents of his stomach coming up before he can stop it. His throat burns, bile on his tongue as he heaves over his vomit.

"I don't have friends, I don't have allies." He gasps and sits back. Heart racing painfully he slumps onto his side, half on the fur carpet in front of the fireplace. The edge of the carpet digs into his ribs as he pushes uselessly with his feet, legs weak. His fingers find his head, it aches as his fingers tangles in his hair, ripping at it. "I don't have friends, I don't have allies, I don't have friends, I don't have allies, I don't have friends, I don't have allies."

"I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't-"

"Dream!" Hands grab him, and he's pulled fully onto the carpet. His hands are pried from his hair, hands forcefully pulling his fingers free. The hands on his wrap them around something soft and squishy with a comforting scent. It's moved up, into his bare face, rubbing his skin against it. “sh*t, sh*t, how did Ranboo-”

"I don't have allies, I don't have friends." He presses his face further into the thing, inhaling deeply. It smells like safety. "I don't have friends, I don't, I don't, I don't." Why can't he stop saying it? Why can't he-

"I don't, I don't, I don't-" something is pulled over him, heavy yet soft, it has a familiar yet also so unfamiliar smell.

"It's okay." A voice says above him, it's a voice he recognizes, Philza. A hand draws through his mess of hair much more gentle than Dream's own hands had been and the weight above him shifts. "You don't have allies, you don't have friends." the voice- the avian- Philza affirms.

"I- I don't." Dream mumbles into the pillow, his pillow. "I don't have allies or - or- or friends." he doesn't move, voice dying out as Philza continues to cart his hand through his hair, slowly untangling it with his hands. The avian makes a small bird-like sound as Dream falls quiet, humming softly to fill the space.

He still can't think, heart beating its way out of his ribcage, he feels one bump away from a heart attack. He wishes he'd never seen Ranboo. He doesn't understand anything Ranboo said, why he acted so friendly, what he wanted. He doesn't understand anything, how long it's been, how long Philza has sat with him. But it feels a bit easier with Philza's hand in his hair and his wing draped over his shoulders.

"Oh come on!" Dream practically giggles the words as he rolls Jabber off himself. The wolf makes a delighted sound, fur full of snow that flies everywhere as it comes right back, tumbling on top of him. Jabber squeaks happily as Dream gets it rolled under him, rubbing his fingers into the thick fur at the sides of its head and down under its collar.

Jabber rushes up on its feet, doing small jumps in front of Dream and into him. Dream mimics him as best as he can, knees planted in the snow as he pulls his gloved hands up to 'jump' as the wolf is.

"Hey! Be careful!" Philza calls from where the man is sitting on a chair on top of the walkway between his and Techno's homes. The rails on the side of the walkway and also the roofs of the cabins are covered in crows making noise and squawking at Philza. "Don't do anything stupid and pull your stitches!" Technochan who's laying by Philzas feet with a leash clipped to the railing barks its agreement.

It was getting ridiculous, don't pull your stitches Dream! Don't do that Dream you'll pull your stitches! As if his stomach wasn't almost all mended together, if there was anything he needed it was his stitches pulled out.

And maybe a way to scratch at them without causing some kind of damage. They itched.

"Caw!" one of Philzas' crows swoops down, tumbling in the snow and landing in a roll at Dream's hands. It jumps to its feet, shaking snow off and begins dancing.

Dream blinks at the crow interrupting his fun with Jabber as it starts rubbing against his arm.

Philzas crows were… Odd.

Philza had decided that Dream needed his hair brushed that morning, something Dream only could agree with now that his hair was brushed and pulled away from his face with a few braids woven into it. Luckily Philza didn't want to try and cut his hair despite the tedious work of untangling his thick mob of hair, so Dream didn't need to confront the fact he most likely would have shut down at the sight of a pair of shears near his head.

While Philza worked his hair out, noting that Dream had a few bumps on his head and needed to be more careful about sleeping with his head close to the wall or any hard surface, some of his crows had decided they were… jealous, or something because three of them had attacked him, and then another had started fighting those three, while another had picked up one of the dog leashes and dropped it on Dream's head and yet another had thrown a pebble on him.

It had been odd. "Mate, stop attacking Dream or you'll get baped! I don't care if I have to clap you, behave." Philza had said sternly, poking one of them and they'd just scuttled away while the one that had defended him rubbed itself over him before also leaving, though not without joining a hoard of them staring at him through the window.

They were unnerving. But he liked the ones that seemed happy to see him. Like the one rubbing itself over his hand and tugging at his glove.

"Uhh…" Slowly Dream sat back and removed his glove and carefully stroked the bird that stared back at him, frozen solid as he touched it before jumping with a squack and flying off into a group of crows that immediately began cawing loudly. "What?"

They were odd and Dream didn't understand their behaviour at all. Still, they were amusing when not attacking him.

Crow gone, Dream quickly gets his hands into Jabber's cheeks, it had been staring after the crows and did a full-body jump, yelping in surprise as Dream started scratching it.

Then it was back to playfully wrestling, the small wolf Shield of Hope joining them on its own side against Jabber to see who could both fight Dream the most while also getting the most cuddles. It's amazing, and Dream is more than happy to give cuddles back to the wolves who include him into their pack so easily. It was the least he could do to repay them.

Dream laughs, laying on his back with the two wolves flopping onto him. Slowly he brushes a hand along with Shields head, feeling how its code buzzes contented under his touch. It's a comfort, and his own heart responds to the feeling, drawing him into a mirrored contended calm as he lays in the snow.

He looks up at the sky above, there's not a single cloud in sight, just the infinite expanse of the sky and space out beyond that. He can hear the subtle sound of crows flying around, the many wolves around him, playing in the snow, the ones inside of the dog house, their claws clicking on the floors, the few running around the forest and how the forest hums with unknown energy and power, sounding like a touch of a gentle and peaceful death.

His calm is interrupted by a sudden and loud whistle, the wolves immediately get off him, standing ready as Philza whistles again sharply. Dream freezes, someone was there and Philza didn't know who. At the second whistle, the wolves around Dream start moving, quickly rushing away into the dog house. Jabber and Shield push at Dream, setting him into motion, rolling up on his feet and sprinting as well as he can, up around the dog house and crawling inside when a gap opens up from wolves quickly gathering back inside.

As Techno and Philza had instructed for a situation like this, Dream quickly picks up a thick blanket on the floor and makes his way through the wolves to the feeding troth where he curls up at the side of it and covers himself up. Hiding from view.

As he waits he can feel a wolf tugging up to his side, laying its head over his lap. He stretches his legs out a bit, keeping them covered but finding a more comfortable position. Daring it, Dream sneaks his still gloveless hand out just a bit and brushes it over the wolf, feeling it's code, it's Jabber, who rumbles pleasantly as another wolf, smaller this time lays down on his legs, covering him more from view.

He waits anxiously, finally hearing the sound of a horse- no at least three horses, or two, or four- more than one stomping around outside. Too many horses, Techno left on Carl, it's not Techno. His fingers tighten in Jabbers fur, hands shaking too much to keep his grip as he hears snow crunching and-

"It's safe, Dream." Philza calls, voice slightly muffled by the door. His voice is almost indecipherable through the white noise in his head and the harsh sound of his own heartbeat. Crows screech on the roof and Dream flinches, biting his tongue to hold back a whimper.

"Dream, you can come out!"

He didn't do the "It's safe" knock.

For a moment nothing happens, maybe whatever was going on, Philza is convincing the people to leave. The reason Dream was instructed to hide in the dog house was because most of the server has been on the wrong side of these wolves' teeth once or twice. And you wouldn't want to step into their home in case they remembered you.

The door opens, Jabber and the other wolf on him- most likely Shield- shift but stays put as wolves start barking and -

"I'm home," Techno's low voice calls out, the wolves excitedly barking around him. "It's safe, Dream. It was just me coming home."

Carefully, heart in his throat, Dream shifts the blanket down from his head and stares out at Technobladewith instant relief. His head feels like jelly, the heartbeat in his ears calming down into an exhausted jumble of adrenaline wearing off. Techno was home.

"There you are, coming out of your cover like some mole rat," Techno turns to him, crouching down and rubbing Jabber and Shields's ears firmly as he grins, "I see these two have been doing their job and keeping you safe."

"Yes." Dream answers weakly, feeling a bit numb as the wolves move off him. He shifts his legs to get up and- "My legs are sleeping." he mutters sourly, shifting them and beginning to feel small pinpricks in them.

Techno laughs. "I get home and the first thing you do is find a reason to make me your personal taxi?"

"What? No- I don't control- Just give me a-"

"Picking you up now." Techno says before Dream can protest, easily picking him up. Dream grabs a fist full of the fur on Techno's cloak, he winces, legs hurting where Technos arms press against them, pinpricks becoming painful.

"I've brought gifts, Dream." Techno says as he carries Dream out, bringing him up the stairs and down again. He moves around to Carl's pen, the horse looking dower as Philza pulls its saddle off. And tied to a fence just beside Carl is another horse, this one is younger than Carl, with dark grey fur littered with black spots along its back. "A horse for yourself. She's not as good as Carl of course but no horse will ever be as good as Carl."

"Uh, thanks." Dream mutters, feeling bile in his throat as he stares at the horse. "Can we go inside?"

"Sure, but I think you should greet her, get on the right foot with her. She's the one who's going to be riding your green ass around so you should at least do that." Techno says and steps closer to the horse, taking Dream up to it. The horse stares back at Dream with no fear, only mild intrigue. "Now is when you pet her to form a bond or something."

Dream really doesn't want to form a bond with the horse, especially if it's his. But still, he can't help it as the horse snorts, placing his hand on its head and brushing down carefully. "I'm a pet, I can't own a horse." he says softly, watching the horse as he brushes his hand over it, feeling its fur under his hand.

Techno groans. "If it makes you feel better just take it as she's mine and that I'm making you take care of her."

"You're a cruel owner." Dream says, not untruthfully. He'd told him about Spirit, about the cat, he'd been there for the dog, when Dream has pets they die and they're used against him. It was punishment for him thinking a thing like him could ever have things like pets.

"Mhm, that I am," Techno says and finally moves Dream from the horse. "Anyways I'm making you name her, so get thinking."

Dream thinks and comes up with nothing. "Horse."

"And you call me cruel, Dream," Techno laughs, pushing the door open to his cabin. "Where do you want me to put you? Your nest?"

"Yes." Dream agrees easily, gritting his teeth as his legs protest being put down on his mattress, pinpricks stabbing into his legs. He wiggles them, feeling more pain.

"I have more gifts." Techno says as he steps over to the coffee table where his pack has been laid out. He rummages through it pulling out some dark forest green cloth and moves over to give it to Dream. "This was the only green hoodie I could find, it's like someone already bought all the eyesore lime ones in existence long ago."

Dream takes the hoodie, sticking his hand into a sleeve to feel the insides. It's nice and soft and the colour is one of his favourites. Awkwardly folding it while laying down, Dream tugs it into the corner of the curtains covering his nest.

"And also this."

Dream stares at the communicator Techno is holding out for him. It's the same model as his old one, he remembers buying this model because he wanted all its features like being able to activate a chat box in front of himself with a small gesture instead of having to type on the communicator. He'd bought it not long before making the server with George, remembers that his then friends had encouraged him to get it with the extra money he'd been earning in the limelight. It had been expensive and caused George and Sapnap to tease him relentlessly about the fact he typed with only his two pointer fingers when faced with a larger keyboard.

Why would Techno even buy such an expensive communicator for him?

"Take it." Techno says placing it down on the folded up hoodie. "Dream, activate the communicator."

Dream stares at it, it's within reach and it's unbonded, all he'd need to do was turn it on and let it touch his skin and hit confirm.

"No."

Techno picks it back up, holding it out for him. "It's literally something they give to babies, it's basically a law that every person must have at least one. I don't want to force you Dream, but you need a communicator on you, whether you use it or not."

"Then force me!" Dream snarls, slapping the thing out of his hand. "I'm not a person!"

Techno stares down at the communicator. It's undamaged, they're practically impossible to destroy unless you know how. "You can just not use it, Dream."

Dream draws back, curling up on his bed the furthest from Techno and turns around. He wiggles his legs, they feel fuzzy and like he's being poked with a thousand needles but with increasingly less pain. "No, either you force me or I won't do it."

"Your kind," Techno sucks in a breath between his teeth, "Your kind owner bought this for you, and it was expensive, Dream. You should be good and accept it."

"No."

"Fine," Techno stands up and Dream hears the soft thud of the communicator being dropped on his mattress, "I'll leave it here if you change your mind. You're missing out on some great texts from me, Dream. I took a cute picture of a cat yesterday too, I'll send it to you so if you want to see it, you have to activate the communicator."

"Oh wow, what a bribe, cat pictures." Dream huffs.

"I think it's a great bribe. I'll be back, I need to settle Carl and the new horse in." Techno mutters and soon Dream hears him open and closes the front door.

He shifts around and stares at the communicator, making a small surprised sound when he sees that besides the communicator is a quarter of a gapple. He'd forgotten he asked if he could have some if he were good in the week Techno was gone.

He's just spent the last minutes refusing Techno's command and wishes yet he still gave him gapple.

Why?

"Stupid," Dream hiccups, tears coming down his face against his own will as he takes the gapple. He takes a bite, feeling bad for disobeying Techno yet so filled with what he can only describe as positive emotions that they're bubbling over into quiet weeping. "He's stupid."

Chewing on the apple, tasting his own tears, he grabs the communicator. He stares at it, heart in his throat as he turns it in his hand, looking at it from all directions. There are a few scratches on it, a used model then. He thumbs the button on the side, feeling anxious nausea in his gut.

He presses down, turning it on.

The screen immediately lights up, white background with a simple "scanning" in the middle. As his bare fingers shift over the back of the device, touching the sensor there, the word colours green and he's brought to another screen. "Player: HiddenID," says the display at the top, the "HiddenID" in his signature green, then below that, "Confirm" and "Cancel"

Dream's face twists, he turns off the communicator, shoving it down under his mattress.

Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Chapter Text

The communicator is under his nest and every time he laid in it he could swear it was burning into him. He felt that girl who felt a pea through several mattresses.

He can't stop thinking about it even now, outdoors, far from his nest. It haunts him. What it symbolizes. It symbolizes humanity. If he wasn't cautious, Techno would fill his head with lies about himself- he'd gaslight Dream into thinking he was a person. Though he supposed, to be fair to his owner it is probably not true gaslighting if Techno was convinced of the delusion himself.

Dream sighs, mind still on the communicator even as the horse Techno gave him to take care of shifts under his brush, annoyed at his pause. It turns, bumping its snout into his shoulder.

Upon contact, he feels- concern, but also a layer of annoyance, a desire for Dream to get back to brushing dirt out its pelt.

Dream sighs, running a hand over its snout, and beginning to brush again. "Sorry, I got you."

He's been taking care of the horse for maybe a week already and every day he comes inside and if he's there, Techno asks if he's made up his mind about a name for it.

Routine.

Wake up, take care of himself, wash himself in the sink, and eat food. Go outside and stumble a bit around with the horse before brushing it off and letting it out to wander, cleaning its pen, and getting his hair nibbled on by Carl. Going inside, washing his hands, resting a bit, going downstairs to continue slowly sorting Techno's items, over halfway done already. Then back upstairs to rest, then physical therapy, food, rest, sleep. And repeat.

Sometimes Techno would be home, sometimes he wouldn't be. Dream knew they were doing something, making plans for something, whispered conversations at night as Dream shifted in his nest, heads angled away from him. He knew Ranboo had something to do with it, the enderman hybrid has been around more now, and his owner seems to trust him, though he seemed to be avoiding Dream. Even when his owner had Ranboo watch Dream.

If Dream shifted close the boy would shift away.

He seemed to think that if he approached Dream, he'd sling himself off into the firepit and kill himself.

Maybe he would.

Dream isn't sure, barely able to remember what happened the time he and Ranboo met a week ago only that Dream had been shaken and pathetic and acted like some anxious nervous pet afraid of strangers.

A good pet would let his owner's friends pat his head.

Dream laughs to himself. Maybe Ranboo tried to scratch his head and he growled at him. Metaphorically of course, though Ranboo was more open to treating Dream like the thing he was, he still held that undercurrent of idealized personhood for Dream.

"Um Dream. Stay." Ranboo had said as Dream approached him the first time he'd been on 'Dream watch' hand outstretched as Dream had come near him. And Dream had stopped, feeling a strange sensation as he shrunk back to his nest and blinked at the floor.

Between Philza and his owner, Dream would put Ranboo in about the middle of "Most likely to stop pretending he's a person and just command him" like Philza and "Constantly try and convince him he's a person and asking for his opinion" like Techno.

He makes it inside after seeing the horse off with a new braid in its mane. Technochan stares at him from the side of the dog house as he makes it up to the front door, staring at him but not approaching like it's been ordered to. He stares at its paws, longing to go cuddle with it and the rest of the wolves. His knees hurt, back aching uncomfortably as he turns from the wolf and makes it inside again.

The cabin is empty.

Techno was probably out doing some of his secret things.

Not his business, Dream thinks resolutely as he turns his mask from his face and smothers the curiosity in his chest and makes his way into the kitchen to grab himself his premade lunch. His Dream kibble. Time for a rest.

Pulling a stack of spider eyes from the chest, feeling them goop and squish unpleasantly, Dream almost drops them as something bumps into his back with a growl.

Freezing, recognizing the growl, Dream turns and stares at the chest of Technochan. The wolf is staring him down, a small rumble sounding in its throat as it leans in and nudges him with a small whine.

"You aren't-" Dream feels faint as he puts the spider eye away. Happy to see Technochan, yet knowing he should move up into the main cabin away from it. They're not allowed near each other.

The wolf comes closer and soon Dream is pushed to the floor, Technochan using its superior weight to force him down. It licks a wet stripe up his face, settling down half on top of Dream's chest with a comforting rumble.

Carefully Dream drags his hand over its fur, clawing his fingers to scratch at his pack leader. It's comforting, its weight against him, warm. He can feel the wolf staring at him, its intense eyes looking straight at his own as Dream meekly looks away from it.

Looking past its tail he can see it came in through the dog door in the wall. It came in to see him. Dream feels warm in his chest, Technochan came to find him. It was disobeying their owner just to see him.

This close, with the wolf in his face, he can smell blood, and daring a glance at its face he sees red seeped into the fur around its mouth. Not able to help it, his gaze drags upwards to yellow orbs, his eyes meeting with the wolf's. Stilling, Dream's eyes widening, Dream almost feels trapped in the wolf's gaze, unable to look away as it bares its teeth and growls at his disrespect.

He should look away and submit. He should, he wants to, it was good and safe when he submitted easily to the wolf, but he can't get himself to. Almost unthinkingly he keeps staring up at the wolf, challenging it. Like he wants to be the dominant one between them. Like their gazes are locked in place and he can't escape.

f*ck he's-

Dream finds his own lips pulling back, a low animal-like growl building in the base of his throat, a challenging answer to the wolf's call for submission.

Why is he doing this-

Technochan barks loudly in his face and Dream flinches, and immediately at the display of weakness its teeth snap open around Dream's throat, pressing down on the skin.

Dream squeaks, trying to push the wolf off him, but Technochan is stronger than him and resistance is futile. He growls and howls like a wild beast against the pain, fingers scratching at the wolf as if his blunt nails could do any damage. The alpha wolf only sneers sharply, paw stepping heavily down on his arm and roughly shaking him by his throat.

He can feel his hearts ticking down. He could just let the wolf kill him, one last act of monstrous defiance against those who know what's best for him before he's permanently killed.

He's acting like a monster. Defying Technochan now that Techno accepted him. Did his submission to it really mean that little to him? Was it always just a promise for him to break? A tool to get Techno to make him his pet?

Why did he feel like challenging the wolf whenever they locked eyes?

Words seared into his brain come to him. A truth he could never forget. His damnation.

Why can he never stop being a f*ckING MONSTER.

Heart in his chest, Dream closes his eyes and goes limp. Technochan shakes him a few more times, testing his willingness to submit before stopping, holding Dream for a few moments, upper back and head raised from the ground. Then he's released, thumping limply on the floor.

His throat hurts as he gasps for breath, staring out across the floor, away from the wolf that's watching every fearful twitch under his skin. Like this, head against the floor he can easily see the thin covering of dust on it across its surface.

Above him, Technochan growls sharply. Dream flinches, limbs spasming as he resists the urge to flee. Whining softly, Dream submits to the wolf, closing his eyes, and letting it wrap its teeth around his torn neck with no resistance.

Satisfied, Technochan cooes, a soft high pitched rumble coming from its chest as it rubs against his face, letting him shakily place licks over its bloodied muzzle and tasting animal blood mixed with some of his own fuzzy feeling blood. Technochan huffs happily, licking up his face in return. Quickly forgiving Dream for his defiance and disrespect and stepping off him, letting Dream drag himself up against the chests behind him.

He feels the burn behind his eyes as Technochan rubs its head under his chin, licking at him, a strange mix of fear-anger-frustration- and elation at Technochan forgiving his defiance bubbling in his chest.

Making a high sound, Dream rubs back against the wolf, careful to keep his eyes closed so he'll not be dragged back into defiance. It feels good to be accepted like this, to be punished and forced back into his place when he steps out of line. To be nuzzled and pet once he's done acting out, once the monster he is has been beaten back into submission.

With one last lick over his aching neck, Technochan steps away.

Hesitantly opening his eyes, Dream stares at his right hand as he drags his fingers over the floor, feeling the dust under his fingertips. He's shaking, Dream notes almost dully, noting how his knees quiver, how his hands can't drag a straight line over the floor.

Hahah

He's shaking.

"Heh… hehe-" Dream wheezes, weakly covering his mouth with his shaking hands.

Why is he laughing?

"Eh hehe-wheeze." Dream wheezes, tears falling from his eyes from the air loss as he gasps painfully, unable to breathe as he laughs nonsensically.

Technochan comes back, bloodied muzzle licking at Dream's tears, startling him out of his laughter, licking at him until Dream can breathe again.

Gasping against the tight feeling in his lungs, Dream gratefully pets Technochan. He keeps his eyes down and away, about to close them, laughter bubbling up his throat momentarily as he spots a piece of raw meat on the floor.

Oh.

That's where the blood on Technochan's muzzle came from.

Licking his lips, Dream looks quickly away from the meat as Technochan bends down, not willing to accidentally make eye contact again. The wolf pushes the meat towards him with its nose and steps back.

Picking up the meat, noting some dust on it but nothing that would make it inedible for him, he waits carefully, taking in the pleasant smell until Technochan licks over his mouth to take a bite.

He feels his shoulders slump as the taste of cow hits his tongue, the meat is still somewhat warm against his tongue as he enjoys the pleasant texture of it.

f*ck, he could eat this every day. This and golden apples.

His tongue had always been made more for raw meats than any other foods.

Monster.

Technochan rumbles pleasantly at his positive reaction to the meat, nudging Dream's head as he quickly finishes up the food in case it would take it back.

Once he's done the wolf yips strongly at him before rushing out through the dog door and as Dream finishes licking the last bits of blood off his fingers, it comes back with a bucket hanging from it's maw.

Dream blinks at the bucket, awkwardly placed before him. It's maybe one-tenth filled with slightly pink water dyed by the hundred of bloodied wolves who drank from their water basin. And right on the surface of the water is a yellow squeaky toy shaped like a bone. Chest feeling tight, Dream picks out the dog toy and squeezes it. It folds in his hands as it makes its odd wheezing sound. Dream squeezes it again, finding the sound somewhat soothing for his ears.

Technochan yips, bumping against the bucket of water. Putting the toy down, he lifts the bucket and drinks all the water. He feels somewhat bloated and slightly ill but in a familiar way that usually would ebb away hunger.

Laying back against the chest wall, he picks back up the squeaky toy and fiddles with it, feeling at the small indents in it from sharp wolf teeth.

"Mrmmph." Dream grunts as Technochan lies down over him, tugging its head against his neck. The wolf is heavy but warm against him and Dream hesitantly wraps his arms around it, slowly petting it. Giving his thanks to the wolf for accepting him like that and feeding him something he can easily stomach.

It feels nice.

Smiling softly he squeezes the dog toy as good as he can, listening to its slight dying wheeze. He squeezes the toy again and lets it inflate- then again- and again- and again. Bending one end on the toy, he watches it spring back into shape, he bends it again and-

Dream frowns, fidgeting with the toy, squeezing and bending it. He almost can't feel his sluggish hands but the feeling of fidgeting with the toy is nice. Overtaken by some odd desire he puts it up to his mouth and bites it. His teeth hurt at the action but he doesn’t stop, slowly gnawing on one end. It tastes pretty bad, but the texture is smooth with only a few indents from the wolf's teeth and now his.

Biting firmly on the main body of the toy once, until his gums scream and the toy has emptied from air, he pulls the toy from his mouth and stares at the indents he's left on it. His teeth have clearly become sharper and more pointy since he was locked in prison, he thinks lazily. It's an odd observation, Dream would almost think that with him having basically only eaten raw potatoes for who knows how long, his teeth would've become flatter. More herbivore-like, more prey-like.

Blinking slowly, he drags his thumb over the teeth' indents. His diet may have been potatoes but there was no hiding the monster he was, drawn to the surface through months of rigorous torture, pain, fear, and lessons, physically manifesting in his sharpened teeth.

Stuffing the toy back into his mouth, he chews at it, resisting a sudden urge to rip his teeth out or file them down. Anything to appear less like a monster.

"What the-?!" Dream blinks his eyes open dully then startles, dog toy dropping onto the floor, registering the voice and spotting Techno at the end of the ladder. His owner is staring wide-eyed at Dream and Technochan, mouth pulled back with shock. Quickly as Techno stares at him, Dream averts his eyes, sluggishly petting Technochan as it huffs, looking up at Techno.

"Get up-" Techno growls angrily, stepping closer with loud footsteps. "Get away from him, Technochan. Down, get out."

But the wolf only huffs, tugging itself back into Dream's neck. Dream feels his breath catch, Technochan was openly defying their owner.

"You little-" their owner mutters, hand grabbing Technochan's collar and swiftly pulling the wolf off Dream and out of his hands.

Dream flinches at the sudden lack of warmth, grabbing the dog toy where he dropped it and wrapping his hands around himself as he watches Technochan easily comply with their owner's demand to get out now that his hand was wrapped around its collar.

Then, with a last grunt, the alpha wolf is shoved outside and the dog door is locked from the inside.

Techno turns so quickly that Dream startles, hands starting to shake as Techno kneels down by him and grabs his neck.

Dream stills nervously. Did Techno want to hurt Dream for sending time with Technochan? Was he angry with him? Was that why he hadn't been allowed outside? Because he wasn't allowed near the wolves?

"sh*t-" Techno curses, fingers painful around Dream's throat as he touches it, pulling on his skin. "Are you okay?" asking this, Techno draws his hand away from Dream's neck, it's bloodied and Techno quickly gets out a few handkerchiefs from his inventory, cleaning his hands off.

Taking one of the clean pieces of cloth, Techno stills, staring at him. "Dream?"

Dream flounders, staring confused at Techno. He rubs some of Technochan's shredded fur between his fingers, feeling the texture.

Fingers snap in front of his eyes. "Dream?"

What?

Techno touches his face-what was it with his owner and Philza and touching his face- pulling Dream's bottom eyelid down.

"Not good," his owner mutters, pulling his hands back, looking away towards the enderchest in the corner. Dream tries to grab Techno's hands, fingers slipping as he fails to keep him close. Techno rushes to the chest, coming back quickly after. "Eat, Dream." he says, holding out a gapple.

Dream blinks, staring at the gapple. Oh. He wanted Dream to eat? Techno wasn't leaving? "Mrph?" he huffs trying and failing to grab the apple, his dog toy dropping from his hand. When did his arms get so heavy?

Techno's hands are shaking slightly, Dream notes tiredly as he pulls the apple in two, and then in two again and pushes the wonky slice of gapple past Dream's lips and into his mouth. "Chew. Please chew, Dream." Techno whispers, his hands coming up to hold the sides of Dream's head, keeping his heavy head up.

Dream stares back at his owner, gapple slice slowly seeping magic into his tongue from it's juices. He can't find it in him to chew on it, he isn't sure he can even taste it.

Techno grimaces, hand letting go of his head and mushing up gapple in his first and shoving it into Dream's mouth. "Come on… come on…" Techno mutters, thumb pushing Dream's eyelid down again.

Another bit of mushed gapple is pushed into his mouth, he feels sticky, fruit juice drying on his chin.

"How many hearts, Dream?" His owner demands, "Are they going up?"

Dream blinks, feeling his health. He's at… oh-

"Hey- hey, hey, hey, Dream- don't you dare, you only have one life le-"

Techno's hands around his head disappear, and for a moment as he stares into the darkness around him, he can't feel his body. He can't feel pain or sickness. Just him and the void, the space between death and life.

His code shudders, terror gripping him.

And then, what feels like days later, he's laying in his nest, his health back to normal and his throat healed.

And he feels cold, a chill in his bones he's gotten used to, a feeling of something not quite right, an agonizing feeling not quite like pain but somehow similar. The feeling of death. It'll linger for a few days, making him feel wrong in his own skin.

Dream never loved the after-effects of respawns.

"You're back." A shadow rushes over him, Technoblade staring down at him with heavy eyes, slowly padding Dream's shoulder. He grins wryly, the grin is fake and ugly on Techno's face. "Almost thought that one was permanent, Dream. You are such a drama queen that even your corpse decided to stay around for a dramatic amount of time."

… what?

Eyes widening, Dream rushes up, grabbing his neck. There are a few new scars, bumping out, fresh on his skin, nothing a normal respawn should have given him, but with the revive book and everything that happened in the prison he's long since accepted that his abnormal respawning is just another sign of his monster nature finally shining through.

He'd slowly bled to death and hadn't even noticed it was happening, hadn't registered the blood in his clothes or the hurt around his neck as anything but a minor wound. It wasn't the first time he bled to death without registering what happened before he was already respawned. Bleeding out had happened many times and Sam always got prissy when he did.

Grabbing the front of Tommy’s sweater he feels at the yarn texture under his fingers. At least the blood didn't stick around, leaving his clothes dry and clean.

"Uh." he voices, turning to Techno and bowing his head, slowly signing his apology. 'Sorry.'

"Dream," He sounds shaken, even as his voice remains firm. "Don't ever apologise for being killed. That dumb wolf mauled you. Your throat was torn open-" Techno cuts out, teeth-gritting audibly against each other. "He killed you."

Techno was right, the wolf had killed him, it had been careless with his throat. But it was still Dream's fault for challenging Technochan. Technochan was above him in terms of status, just like their owner was above both of them. If Dream challenged Technochan or Techno it would only be natural he would be hurt for stepping out of line. He was a pet. It was his job to obey and exist.

Dream only got as he deserved.

"Dream you were dead for almost ten hours. That's not- that's not normal."

Dream nods. He knows this. He also knows Sam once transported his body almost all the way out of the prison to be burnt before it finally broke down and he respawned back in his cell. He wonders if Techno had been planning to bury him or burn him as Sam had.

Most people got buried or stored in mausoleums when they died. Their loved ones kept onto a small hope that if they didn't destroy the body then it would one day dissolve and the person would wake up in their bed like they'd never died.

On average a respawn took less than a minute, the large majority being only a few seconds with the longest ever recorded respawn, being a king who'd been executed by his people some five thousand years ago who took twenty days to respawn each time. The stories Dream heard as a kid said he'd willed himself not to respawn out of fear of death. Bad said the stories had gotten wrapped by time and that it was actually twenty hours, not days.

As a kid, Dream remembers thinking it would be cool to be able to take hours or even days to respawn. Now, he knows it's not cool. That it's terrifying. That it feels like days in the void with nothing but yourself and overwhelming fear.

Dream nods again. "I'm back now." he says slowly, resisting the urge to apologise again. Techno wouldn't like that.

"Ye-yeah you are." Techno breathes heavily, rubbing the top of his head.

Dream blinks, noticing the messy look of his owner. He's not wearing his crown or his cloak and his white shirt is covered in dark dried blood, a good amount of the buttons are undone and the shirt is wrinkled. In all, it was very different from the way Techno usually presented himself perfectly put together.

"You tried to save me." Dream wonders, remembering Techno shoving golden apple into his mouth. Techno had looked… afraid? "It was unnecessary, but- but thank you, Tech- thank you owner." Dream smiles, appreciating that Techno tried despite a golden apple not being nearly enough to heal fatal injuries for Dream anymore.

Wincing, Techno pats him on the head. "Of course Dream, now get some rest, you look like a vampire,"

Dream snorts, a year inside would do that. "Alright."

Techno leaves a gapple on his bed and pulls the curtains back in place, hiding Dream from the world.

Dream sighs quietly, picking up the gapple and fumbling with it. He's not sure he wants to eat it. His appetite is gone. Turning over he feels at his throat, there are raised bumps of scar tissue on the sides of his neck, long drags where Technochan ripped his skin apart. His fingers jitter uncontrollably at the memory, nails scratching against his neck.

Technochan saved him, it took him in and it accepted him. And the moment he stepped out of line it killed him.

Quietly he laughs to himself.

He deserved it.

Em is running around with a branch in its mouth, it's big and heavy and the wolf stumbles over it. While it stumbles, paw catching on a twig, Dream wrestles the branch from the other pet's teeth and rushes away with it. He can feel energy thrumming through the branch like it was still connected to one of the softly humming trees it came from. His hand's tingle and he drops the branch, quickly covering it with snow. Em barks, after him, it topples Dream over, pushing him into the snow. Dream freezes but the weight lift off him quickly, Em taking advantage and quickly sniffs out the branch and digs it up. It jumps back, branch in mouth, leaning its chest down, tail wagging. Dream shakes himself as he pulls up from the snow and pauses for a moment, letting the anticipation build and then rushes for the branch, grabbing for it. Em makes a short quick jump back away from him, and again, as Dream rushes after.

And again, and again.

Losing the fight near the lava pool, Dream pants, rolling over in the snow and onto his back. The air isn't as cold near the lava but still biting as he gasps for breath, watching a small cloud moving across the sky.

Em appears above him, a small gnawed-off stick in its mouth. Dream stills, blinking up at the wolf as it snuggles down against him, rubbing its face against his before leaning back and dropping the stick right on his face.

The wolf huffs, licking him once before leaving.

Dream scoffs and looks off towards the houses where Techno, Philza and Ranboo are sitting by the outdoor table bench looking at something on the table between them. Laying beside the table is Technochan whose short leash has been looped around one of the legs. It's been almost permanently leashed since it killed him. He quickly looks away from the wolf as its head rises, noticing him looking. Instead, he watches Ranboo's tail lash with agitation, the ender hybrid soon after noticing Dream's gaze on him and looking up, flinching away and tugging his head into his arms nervously.

Lips pulling back into a near silent snarl, Dream stares at the enderman hybrid who's ears flatten down, tail curling up with discomfort.

Techno rises up above Philza and Ranboo, hands down on the table between the three. "Dream! Stop staring at Ranboo!" he shouts, staring Dream down until he's turned his head away.

Dream watches from the corner of his eye how Ranboo glances at him, tail lashing with badly hidden nerves. Ranboo should know better than to show his emotions so openly.

Dream huffs, rolling his eyes as he turns towards the lava pool. Making his way towards it, he lies down on the rock edge, pulling his hat and scarf off and soaking in the heat. He reaches for some grass growing between some of the stone, feeling the blades sing beneath his fingers.

He wanted to strip down to his undershirt and move closer, from this angle he could only see a small line of lava from the far end. The heat is comforting and familiar, drawing him in.

Behind him Techno laughs at something one of the others said, or maybe he made a good joke himself. He talks loudly, his voice filled with amusem*nt.

Dream drags his hand over the stone under him. It's not as jagged as anything he's used to, it doesn't hurt to drag his hand against the flow. Still he scoops closer to the lava, close enough he could dip his hand into it, and over a point in the ground that digs painfully into his hip.

The heat is suffocating, familiar in the ways it makes his breath harsh and uncomfortable.

Dream frowns, pushing a loose stone into the lava. It lands with a heavy plop, and a small spray of lava before sinking down.

Picking up a stone, Dream shifts his legs up under himself and sits up, knees right at the edge of the pool. Ranboo laughs behind him. Dream drops the stone at his side, fidgeting with the cloth of his pants. He's burning warm, sweat clinging his clothes to his skin.

He could just… Lean forwards and drop in.

Like he used to do in his cell, the only stimulation there.

He picks the rock back up and throws it in, watching it plop and stay on the surface, slowly melting into the rest.

He leans forwards, staring into the lava. It's bright and hurts his eyes but he can't stop, easily hours could go by as he stared at the lava just like he used to, forms taking shapes in his vision. A bit bubbles up and plops near him, lava spraying up on the rock and on his leg, burning into his pants and skin. Quickly, so he doesn't burn his hand, dream flicks it away to cool on the stone. Dream drags a hand over where it melted his pants to his skin absentmindedly, eyes focused on the lava as he scratches the hurting spot.

Putting his palm against the edge of the pool, Dream leans forwards, filling his entire vision with the lava and only the lava.

He wanted to drop in, feeling numb as he stares at it, knowing that respawning after the painful death would make him feel alive.

Just him and the lava, him and the heat, him and-

"Dream!" rough hands grabs his shoulders, digging into him as he's bodily hauled, thrown really, from the lava and into the snow.

The sudden cold is a shock and Dream freezes, skin burning as he stares confused at the white around him. Technoblade kneels down and peels him back off the ground and out of the snow. "Dream what were you-" his owner pauses, hand on Dream's mask, sliding it away from his face, he lightly slaps Dream's cheek. "Dream? Earth to Dream?"

Dream blinks "Huh? what?" he croaks and shakes his head, trying to focus back on Techno.

"Were you going to jump in the lava?" the hands on him tighten, displeased.

Dream blinks, "I- No?" he lies, feeling shame crawl up his neck.

Techno only blinks unimpressed and hauls him up into his arms. "New rule, the lava is off limits, period. No going near it or even looking at it."

"What?" Dream exclaims. "What no- that's not-"

"What no? Do you want to burn yourself?" Techno says pointedly.

Dream shakes his head. "It's just- It's just nice and warm, own- I mean, Techno I don't-"

Techno's hand grasps his knee right by where the lava had burned through his pants and left a blackened spot on his skin. "Nice and warm doesn't mean sitting so close your legs get burned." Techno shifts, swiftly picking up Dream's discarded clothing in one hand and then picking Dream up.

"Wha- hey!" Dream protests, lightly kicking his legs. He looks back at the lava over Techno's shoulder, squirming more as he's brought further and further away. He feels his chest ache, more aware of it with every step Techno takes. He pushes against Techno's chest, feet kicking out, pulling himself from Techno's hands. He lands heavily on the snow, only just getting his feet under himself when Techno's arms come around his middle and scoops him up again.

"Hey!" Techno exclaims as he hefts Dream up. "I'm taking you inside, so stop struggling." Techno breathes.

Dream feels his adrenaline surge as he looks at the lava. Just like a manhunt. He twists back out of Techno's arms, hearing him yelp. This time Dream lands on his feet and hands, quickly getting up, rushing past Technos grabbing hands. He stumbles a bit in the snow but makes it to the warm stone around the pit before Techno slams into him, pinning him to the ground.

"Let me- go!" Dream snarls, pushing with his legs just enough to reach the edge of the lava pool and grab on to try and heft him towards it. But he's too weak, Techno easily pulling his hands back and pinning them behind his back. Dream squirms testing Techno's hold- it's too soft. He raises his head, snaking a bit forwards

A hand on his neck pushes him into the rock. "I'm not going to let you kill yourself!"

"I'm not!" Dream snarls kicking his legs back against Techno's back. He tries to launch him off him but Techno sits firm, "I'll just respawn!"

At that his owner pauses. "You need so much therapy, Dream." the grip on his arms shifts. "And I thought you said you weren't trying to jump in the lava!" Techno grunts over him, shifting off Dream and pulling him up to his knees before he can react. He lets Dreams' hands go and grabs the back of his jumper as he pulls Dream up to his feet and drags him a few steps back, back into the snow.

Dream yelps, feet not quite stable under himself as he falls into the snow again. "Let me go!" Dream hisses as Techno pulls him up again, hand on the front of Dream's shirt. "Let me go!"

Techno stops fighting him, hand frozen in Dreams shirt, a bit of Dream's hair caught in his fist, preventing him from just slipping out of the jumper and running away.

"Let- go!" Dream grunts as he pushes at Techno's hand, it's practically the only thing keeping him upright right now. "I need-"

"You need what, Dream?" Techno says, voice low, he takes a step towards the lava, pulling him towards it. Dream feels his heart jump with fear as he feels the heat on him. Techno takes another step.

"S-stop!" Dream stammers as he stumbles, trying to turn away, he looks back, his heart surging into his throat as he stares at the lava. Techno takes another step. "Stop- it!" Dream snarls.

Techno freezes, "I'm not going to push you in Dream," he says deeply and quickly picks up Dream's jacket that had been lying on the snow before easily tugging Dream away from the lava with no resistance. He turns around hand fisted in Dream's shirt and pulls him back towards the cabin.

Dream feels dizzy as he stumbles after Techno, staring at the hand in his shirt. Techno says something but Dream can't hear it over the blood rushing in his ears.

He needs to get away.

Run, hide, regroup.

Dream shifts down before he can think better of it, easily taking the soft meat at the base of Techno's thumb into his mouth and biting down. Blood well into his mouth as Techno shouts in alarm, hand twisting free of Dream's teeth and releasing his shirt. Dream turns left, running away.

"Dream-!"

He practically crashes into the wall of the dog house as he stumbles, rushing inside the small entrance on the back. Dream pushes himself against the wall, curling up into a ball on the floor. He spits Techno's blood out, rubbing at his jaw and lips to get it off. Why would he do that? He presses his head to his knees. Why did he bite Techno, his owner? Techno does nothing but try and help yet Dream keeps acting out.

He freezes as he hears Techno's footsteps outside, his brain sounding like static. The footsteps stop. "Are you hurt?"

"N- o." Dream croaks, shaking his head. Calm down.

"That's good." something is pushed through the dog door. A bundle of clothes, his jacket, hat, everything he took off by the lava. "I'll leave these here for when you're ready to come back."

Dream stares at the clothing and feels his jaw tense. Anger suddenly coiled in his chest, chasing away the fear, only his panic remaining in the hurried trump of his heart.

The wolves, defiance. His owner, defiance. Himself, defiance. Again and again.

He staggers up, swiping the clothes and crawls out the dog house. He pulls on his hat as he stands up and looks to Techno who's making his way back to the bench. He stalks after him, pulling on his jacket, overtaking him.

Dream slows down, trailing to the side and a bit behind Techno who stares down at him wide-eyed.

"I'm Sorry," Dream says quickly, he doesn't truly feel the apology but ducks his head as he keeps pace. Good pets walk at their owners' side. He shakes, legs quivering under him. It doesn't matter, "It won't ever happen again."

Not if Dream plays this right. Techno won't pull him in, won't tighten the noose around his neck and he's been too scared to do it himself.

"Dream you-" Techno frowns, stopping. Dream stills beside him. "You can go rest."

"I'm your pet, I'll stay at your side. Loyal to you," Dream frowns. "I'm your pet but the way I've been acting has been… defiant. Selfish. I have one last thing, I'll be selfish one last time."

Techno steps in front of him, hands hovering. "Dream?"

He looks up, the smile of the mask looking straight at Techno. "Collar me."

Techno freezes, his shoulders pull back. He says nothing, his face betraying his shock. "No, Dream. I will not collar you like some animal."

"Either-" Dream says, nails digging into his palm. He feels hyper-aware of the scars on his neck, from when Technochan killed him. "Either you collar me or I go back to the prison where I know they'll keep me in check. Either you keep me and collar me, or you discard me and I go back to- To pain and torture. Because that's better than letting me free."