Dream decided to take a break from walking to rest.

He shrugged the man off his shoulder, propping him against a tree. Dream gathered some sticks and kindling, starting a fire.

The night sky peeked through the dense forest branches providing little light. Dream cast a curious glance towards the man across from him. The raven haired man was still unconscious, Dream influencing his unconscious thoughts. Dream didn't allow the man to dream, instead he gave the man a blank mind to sleep to.

Dream sighed and sat down, leaning against a tree. He closed his eyes, still awake, but resting. A twig snapped from nearby and Dream reopened them. He grumbled at the interruption and tilted his head towards the noise.

The prince from a few nights prior stumbled from behind a tree, holding a bag tightly. He grinned sheepishly and sat down near the fire, not saying a word.

Dream sighed again and gritted out, "What the fuck do you think you are doing here?"

The prince flinched at the harsh words and muttered, "I want to come with you."

"Well, you can't," Dream stated, "you're not welcome where I'm going... besides, don't you have princely duties to attend to?"

The brown-haired man shrugged, "I ran away, I didn't like being a prince. I want to travel the world."

"Go find someone else to be your guide."

"I'd rather go with you."

"Do you know who I am?" Dream asked, growing frustrated.

"No," the prince replied, rummaging through his bag and pulling out an apple, "but you haven't killed me yet, so... here I am."

Dream blinked, watching as the man took a bite of his apple. The soft firelight danced across the prince's features, making his eyes look startlingly inhuman. One blue and the other brown, two eyes blinked curiously. Dream realized that this prince was not human which was... contrary to his previous beliefs.

Dream leaned forward and muttered, "What are you?"

The prince froze. He quickly shrugged it off and said, "A prince, duh. What are you?"

"You already know what I am."

"Meh... not really." The prince drawled, "Who are you then?"

Dream paused at the hubris in his voice. He tilted his head and replied, "You don't think I will kill you."

The man shrugged and took another bite of his apple. "Do it, I dare you."

Dream grinned at the challenge, but he made no move. Instead he said, "I think you should leave."

"I think I should stay."

Dream snorted, and pulled out a dagger from his boot. "Don't make me use this."

"Oh please," the prince scoffed, rolling his eyes, "not another threat."

Dream's jaw dropped at the utter sass in his voice. He sheathed his dagger and leaned back, curiously studying the man. The prince didn't grin at his unspoken victory, instead, he tossed his apple core into the woods and returned Dream's stare.

"I'm George," he said with a head tilt.

"Okay."

George blinked, a grin tugging on the corner of his mouth. He asked, "What's your name?"

"Guess," Dream challenged, annoyance lacing his voice.

George crossed his arms and analyzed Dream, studying the masked man in front of him. He muttered, "Hmm, let's see. You're Fae, mysterious, skilled..." Dream smirked as the prince fed his ego. George grinned and added, "... bitter, mean, and just plain grumpy."

Dream scoffed and rolled his eyes. George continued, "So, that being said, I think your name is... idiot. Yeah, I'm gonna call you idiot from now on."

Dream normally would've killed someone for calling him that, but something about the prince intrigued him. And maybe part of him didn't mind the company for once.

So he sighed and muttered, "You are the idiot, not me... I'm Dream."

"Dream..." George said thoughtfully, tasting the name on his tongue. His eyes widened and he leaned forward, whispering, "Wait, so does that mean that you can..." George pointed an index finger towards his head and closed his eyes, snoring obnoxiously, "y'know?"

Dream snorted. "I was right, you're clearly the idiot."

George grinned and looked at the unconscious man, slumped against a tree. He whispered, "Are you controlling his dreams right now?"

"You don't have to whisper," Dream said, "but yeah, I could give him a dream if I wanted to, or a nightmare, but right now his mind is blank."

George furrowed his eyebrows. "Why aren't you letting him dream?"

"His dreams are sad."

"Oh, how so?"

Dream studied the prince and replied, "There's a man in them, clearly his lover, but they were separated somehow. He couldn't stop dreaming about him, so I gave his mind a rest."

"That's very kind of you."

"I'm not kind," Dream muttered and crossed his arms.

George shrugged. "So... where are you from?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Well, if we're going to be travelling together, I think I should know more about my guide."

George was clearly trying to get on Dream's nerves, and it was working. Dream snapped, "Are you going to talk all night? Because I'd like some peace and quiet."

"Oooh, touchy subject," George teased.

"Don't make me knock you out again," Dream warned.

George pursed his lips and joked, "That's not very kind of you, Dream."

"Okay, listen here you little shit―"

George burst out laughing, stopping Dream mid-sentence. Dream paused and watched dumbfoundedly as the prince continued to laugh. After a solid minute, George calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes. He said with a grin, "I know you meant to sound threatening just then, but I just can't picture it... you won't kill me, so why should I be afraid of you?"

"I'll give you something to be afraid of," Dream sneered.

"Do it then."

Dream's eyes narrowed. "Give me three reasons why I should let you live right now. You have three seconds... three... two..."

George sighed. "Fine... let's see, I'm basically everything you're not, so that's intelligent and devastatingly attractive." George smirked, counting off his fingers, "I am very funny... comedic relief, am I right? You're the type of guy that needs some humor in his life."

Dream's jaw was agape. He didn't know what to do with this prince in front of him. He had never met someone as daring as George to talk to him the way he was. George was pressing all of his buttons, but Dream couldn't find it in himself to kill him.

"That's what I thought," George said with a satisfied nod, "you clearly need me. I'm absolutely essential. Without me, there's no way you would last a day."

To put it simply, Dream didn't know what to say.

George held his stare for a moment, a grin growing on his face. The prince nodded again and yawned, watching Dream.

"You won't leave if I sleep, will you?" George asked.

Dream shrugged. "Probably."

George's eyes narrowed. "Fine, I'll just catch up in the morning."

When Dream didn't reply, George sighed and laid on his side, resting his head on his pack. His eyes watched the fire for a minute, slowly drooping to a close. Dream really shouldn't have, but he used his mind to go into the prince's.

He flinched at his own memories that resurfaced as he watched George's dreams. Dream quickly pulled his mind out, eager to get away from the part of the prince that was not something he should be looking into. George had his own history it seemed and not a pleasant one at that... no one should grow up in an abusive household.

It seemed the prince had his own story to tell.

~

Dream didn't sleep, an idea that was disliked by him. Sure it was needed, but Dream hated the memories sleeping brought up. He watched the fire all night, poking at it with a stick. The prince's snores were incredibly loud, but Dream didn't bother going into his head to stop them.

He watched as the fire eventually died from lack of kindling. At dawn Dream got up and stretched, walking to his target and slinging him over his shoulder. He cast a glance at George and sighed. Dream bent down and picked up a small rock and tossed it at George.

"What the―" George mumbled as his eyes slowly adjusted, blinking rapidly at Dream's receding figure.

Dream left their campsite, not waiting for the prince, who was scrambling to catch up. George jogged up to him breathlessly with a grin.

"I knew you needed me," George said, fixing the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Too late," George said gleefully despite just having woke up, his eyes roaming the forest ahead of them. He asked, "So, Dream, where are we going?"

Dream didn't reply, he just sent an unseen glare to the prince from under his hood. George scrunched his nose and muttered, "Like I said, grumpy."

Dream rolled his eyes, fixing his grip on the man over his shoulder. George asked, "If I tell you something about me, will you tell me something about you?"

"No."

George sighed. "You're hopeless."

"Didn't ask."

George laughed softly and glanced at Dream. "Someone's moody, and it's not me or the man on your shoulder."

"Can you shut up?" Dream asked, growing irritated.

"Moody, for sure."

"Says the annoying one," Dream retorted.

"Grump."

"Idiot."

George laughed. He opened his bag and pulled out another apple, taking a bite. Dream sighed internally in relief, now he wouldn't be nagged by some prince who wouldn't stop yapping.

"Y'know," George said, mouthful to annoy Dream, "I haven't had a friend in a while."

"I am not your friend."

"What are you then?"

"Not your friend," Dream muttered.

George shrugged and took another bite. He peered at Dream curiously, trying to see under his hood. He asked, "Why do you hide under your hood?"

"I'm not hiding."

"Sure," George hummed. "Only a coward would hide his face."

Coward.

Dream flinched, freezing in his steps, "What did you just call me?"

George missed the stiffness in Dream's voice and replied with a shrug, "Coward, 'cuz it's what you are."

Dream snapped, unable to stop himself as he dropped the man on his shoulder and pushed George against a tree. His gloved hand wrapped around the prince's throat and he snarled, "Don't you ever call me that again."

George's eyes were wide in fear and his fingers frantically tugged at Dream's fingers, a desperate plea for less pressure. He rasped, "Okay, okay! I'm sorry!"

Dream's grip loosened, feeling no remorse as he took his hand from the prince's throat and picking up his hostage again. George leaned over and coughed, a hand at his throat. His breathing calmed and this time he wasn't as quick to catch up with Dream.

George quietly walked beside Dream now, his eyes on the ground. Dream didn't apologize or offer any help. They walked in silence, the only sound being the occasional bird call and the rustle of the forest floor beneath their feet.

"Can we take a break?" George asked quietly after several hours of wordless walking.

Dream glanced at him, replying, "You wanted to come with me, so you need to be able to keep up."

"I'm not a Faerie like you, Dream," he muttered.

Clearly, Dream thought. He held in a sigh and said, "Fine."

George sighed in relief and plopped onto the forest floor, leaning against the nearest tree. His eyes closed as he tilted his head back against the tree, red marks wrapping around his pale throat. Dream winced, recalling the dreams that the prince had, starting to feel a little sorry.

He set the raven-haired man down and realized something. His target was mortal. Mortals need food and water. So did Fae, but not as often. Dream sighed and looked at George. He asked, "Do you have food?"

George's eyes opened and he looked to the man Dream was gesturing towards. The prince said, "Well, not really. Just some apples and other small snacks, not a full meal."

George's stomach grumbled and he winced, asking Dream, "Do you have any food?"

Dream shook his head and muttered, "Give me a minute."

He stalked into the woods, quickly finding a couple rabbits and killing them swiftly with two of his throwing daggers. He returned less than half an hour later and tossed the rabbits onto the ground in front of George.

"Food," Dream said.

George opened his mouth, but then he closed it. A small smile grew on his face and he pulled out a knife from his pack, starting to skin the rabbits. Dream walked to the pyrokinetic and rested his blade on the man's throat as he slowly loosened his mind's grip on him. The man gasped and his eyes flew open.

A spark flickered in the man's brown eyes, but before he could do anything, Dream growled, "Make a move and I cut off your hand, yeah? You try to harm us and I won't hesitate to kill you."

The man's eyes widened and he nodded slowly, his throat scratching against Dream's blade as he swallowed. The pyrokinetic watched warily as Dream sat down, several feet away. He rubbed his throat and his gaze snapped to George.

George offered a smile and asked, "What's your name?"

"You again," the man replied, his eyes narrowing. He looked at Dream and said, "Uhh, Sapnap... call me Sapnap."

Dream didn't respond, so George said, "Hello Sapnap, I'm George and that's Dream. He's a bit of a grump if you ask me."

Sapnap eyed Dream warily and muttered, "What am I doing here?"

George swiftly changed the topic and asked, "Would you mind lighting these logs? I'm sure you're hungry, so am I, but I don't want to eat raw rabbit, do you?"

Sapnap looked at the meat in front of George and nodded slowly. He looked to the kindling that George had gathered while Dream hunted and lit the logs, carefully watching Dream all the while.

"Thank you," George hummed.

Dream leaned back and watched as George cooked the rabbit and gave Sapnap water. Sapnap drank cautiously, still on edge.

"What are you?" he asked Dream.

"I can easily kill you, that's all you need to know."

The pyrokinetic blinked slowly and looked back to George, "And you?"

"Human," George replied simply.

Dream knew he wasn't, but he didn't say anything. The prince was mortal, yes, but not human.

A mystery that Dream knew he would solve eventually.