Dream's mind was muddled as he slowly woke up. His eyelids were heavy, seeing two blurry figures standing above him. Voices echoed in his ears, but he couldn't make them out over the ringing in his ears.

"Dream?" a muffled voice asked, "Dream, can you hear me?"

Dream could barely muster the strength to nod, but he did and two loud sighs of relief were easily heard. His blinking was slow, almost as if he was drugged. He could hardly move his limbs, but he could feel them throbbing in pain.

"Hey," a voice― George― said, "is it okay if I take your mask off? I need to see if you have any head trauma."

"I― it's okay," Dream rasped.

He could see George's face clearly as his mask was lifted off, cool air greeting his face. His mind fogged up again, threatening to take him back to the unconscious. Before he passed out again, he muttered, "Do what you have to."

~

"This is really bad, George."

"I know."

"How the hell did you do that?"

"I..." George's voice trailed off when he heard Dream groan.

Dream coughed hoarsely, his chest aching as he breathed. He clenched his teeth together and his eyes focused on the two mortals across from him. George rushed forward, kneeling at Dream's side while Sapnap paused a few feet away.

"Where..." Dream coughed, not able to finish his sentence.

"A cave," George answered immediately, handing him some water, "Sap and I found it on the side of the mountain."

Dream drank the water, his shoulders relaxing as the warm water eased his scratchy throat. He watched George warily, still hurt from what George had said... how long ago?

"How long have I..." Dream started, trailing off.

"Less than a day," Sapnap said from behind George, "we didn't want to carry you far and risk hurting you, so we stayed in this cave."

Dream nodded and tried to sit up. George's eyes widened and he lifted his hands in a gesture to stop Dream. He hissed as pain coursed through his torso, causing his head to feel faint.

"It'll be easier if you don't move," George said, "you'll heal faster."

Sapnap brought the pack and set it under Dream's head, sitting on the other side of Dream, across from George. Dream frowned at the pack's near emptiness, they would need to find food soon. He would need food soon as well; Dream couldn't remember the last time he ate and it would certainly help his recovery.

Dream looked down at himself, wincing at his torso. Cloth bandages were wrapped around his bare stomach tightly, splotches of red under them. Where there weren't bandages, there was skin so purple it was almost black. Dream lifted a shaky hand to run it through his hair, realizing he didn't have his mask on.

His eyes widened and George said quickly, "You said it was okay for me to take it off. I needed to see if you had any head trauma... if you did, it's gone now."

Sapnap nodded. "You're lucky that you're Fae, that first blow to your head would've killed me and George."

Dream avoided George's eyes and leaned his head back, staring at the cave ceiling. He swallowed and muttered, "How... how am I alive? Where did that boulder come from?"

Sapnap looked to George, who seemed to shrink into himself. Sapnap said, "That's a question for George... I see you on the ground, getting up and leaning over to catch your breath. Next thing I know, the ampi― the whatever thing was coming towards you. George shouts something and his hands are in front of him. Seconds later, a boulder hits the damn beast in the side and it spins. Its tail swings out and slams you into the mountain side... I scared the dragon thing away with my fire."

"Amphiptere," Dream muttered. He looked to George curiously and tilted his head. "So you're telekinetic."

George cringed and said, "No."

"Oh, fuck you," Sapnap snapped, "yes, you are, we know now."

George frowned, but Dream chuckled, joking, "You're just jealous that he's got a better power than you."

Sapnap scrunched his nose and crossed his arms. George seemed to relax at the easygoing atmosphere after being found out. He said quietly, "Yeah, I have telekinesis... but I don't know how to use it well."

"Clearly," Sapnap said with a scoff, "you knocked the ampi- amphi―"

"Amphiptere," Dream and George said at the same time.

Dream ignored George's small smile and listened to Sapnap continue, "Yeah, that thing. George knocked him right into you."

George cringed, "It was an accident! I was never taught how to use my power, okay!?"

Sapnap narrowed his eyes, but Dream said quietly, "It's okay George. I'm alive and recovering, that's what matters."

Dream didn't meet George's eyes, instead he looked to Sapnap and said, "Speaking of recovery... I need food. Why don't you go find some berries or some wildlife to cook and eat."

Sapnap scowled. "No, George can do it."

George crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Dream sighed and said, "George needs to stay with me, he's clearly more advanced with injuries and stuff. Besides, you can use your fire to scare off the amphiptere and cook the meat."

George nodded, a smirk on his face. Dream added, "You can use my throwing daggers, they're sheathed to the inside of my boots."

Sapnap groaned, knowing that he lost the argument. "Fine, but if that thing eats me, it's not my fault."

George laughed and helped Sapnap remove the daggers from Dream's boots, waving a taunting goodbye to Sapnap. The pyrokinetic flipped him off and stomped out of the cave. George laughed lightly, turning back to Dream.

Dream looked towards the cave ceiling as George asked quietly, "Are we good? After what I said to you two days ago, I understand if you don't want to talk to me."

Dream didn't reply and George sat down with a sigh, wiping the cave dirt off his knees. George whispered, "How many times do I have to apologize for you to forgive me?"

"So you're a telekinetic," Dream said, switching the topic swiftly, but not subtly, "that's cool."

George noticed Dream's eagerness to change the conversation direction and mumbled, "Not really, I don't know how to use it."

"Because of your father, right?"

Dream heard George stiffen, the brunet replying slowly, "How did you know that?"

Dream shrugged and said, "I'm guessing he was jealous of your ability and wanted to prove to you that he was stronger by abusing his dominance, right? Must've been tough."

He felt George look at him curiously. George said, "Yeah... it was."

Dream closed his eyes and swallowed, muttering, "Well, you're here now. Is this the life you wanted? Being attacked by wolves and flying serpents?"

George let out a breathy laugh."It's not so bad."

Dream opened an eye and looked at him. George perked up at the attention and added, "The good parts outweigh the bad ones."

"What are the good parts?"

George chewed on his lip for a moment before responding, "Well, there's Sapnap―wait, no, he's the worst." George laughed softly in a way that let Dream know it wasn't true. "I've seen so many new things... a siren, a shapeshifter, a winged Fae, Pegasi... not to mention all the beautiful terrains the world has to offer..."

George looked at his hands and added quietly, "And there's you."

"Me?" Dream asked skeptically, opening both eyes, "What's good about me?"

George's eyes met Dream's and he smiled softly. "You're... a good friend."

Friend. Dream bit back the urge to deny it. He remembered what Philza had told him, 'Don't get too attached.' Dream frowned and said, "Uh, thanks, I guess."

George smiled softly, studying Dream's face. Dream chewed on the inside of his cheek and joked, "So, my face, huh? What do you think?"

A flush rose up George's cheeks and Dream's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. George opened and closed his mouth, nothing coming out. He looked away and muttered, "You're different than I'd thought you'd look."

"How so?"

George looked back to him, his gaze raking over Dream's features. He said quietly, "It suits you."

"What?"

"Your personality... it matches your facial features," George said as if it made sense. He swallowed, continuing to study Dream, and said, "Your jaw is sharper than I thought it'd be... and I didn't know you had freckles... uh," George cleared his throat, his face reddening as he added, "and your eyebrows, they fit your face well, just like your eyes." George commented, "You have long eyelashes."

Dream blinked at the vivid description, unable to find a reasonable response. George cleared his throat and looked away again, his eyes darting back seconds later. He asked quietly, "What happened?"

George's stare landed on Dream's scar and Dream muttered, "Oh, it's just a scar from a battle a couple of years ago."

"Battle?"

Dream looked away as he lied, "Yeah, sword slashed through my face and I lost my vision for a couple of weeks. That's why my eye is discolored."

Dream added a truth to his lie to make it sound more believable. George sensed something because he said, "It's easier now." He clarified, "Now that I can see your face, it's easier to tell if you're lying."

Dream's eyes looked back to him, his gaze even, daring George to make another comment on it. George frowned before he tilted his head in curiosity. He asked, "I thought you said your eyes were green before. They're discolored?"

"Yeah, the one with the scar is lighter, duller even," Dream said. "It's easier to see in the sunlight."

"Huh," George remarked, "so they're like mine, almost."

Dream blinked. "I guess, I've never thought about that."

"That's cool. Your right eye is lighter, just like mine."

Dream looked between George's eyes, realizing that George was right― they were matching. He asked, "What happened to your eyes? Were you just born with them like that?"

George nodded, "Yeah, my parents thought I was gifted with telepathy at birth, because, y'know, seeing into peoples' minds and discolored eyes. Kinda makes sense I guess." George shrugged and added, "But then I displayed a different ability and things just went downhill from there..."

"That―"

"I'm back, fuckers!" Sapnap announced, dragging a goat behind him.

"Oh, yayyy," George said sarcastically, getting up to help Sapnap, "I was hoping you died or something."

"Nah, I'm too cool for that," Sapnap said with a wink.

George rolled his eyes and held his hand out. Sapnap lifted an eyebrow and handed George one of Dream's daggers. The two started to skin the mountain goat, bickering back and forth.

"Oh, shut up, George," Sapnap snapped and turned to Dream. He changed the subject, asking, "Have you ever eaten goat before Dream?"

"Yeah, it tastes like ass."

"You would know," Sapnap said slyly, tossing a smirk at Dream.

Dream coughed. "What?!"

Sapnap burst out laughing, George joining him. Dream glared at them and muttered, "Idiots."

Dream couldn't help the smile that slowly grew on his face. George glanced back, his eyes lingering for a moment. Dream lifted an eyebrow, holding his smile. George smiled back slowly before Sapnap snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Stop staring at each other," Sapnap complained, "I'm here too."

George rolled his eyes and helped Sapnap cook the meat. Dream lifted himself up, groaning slightly as he leaned back on his elbows. George gave him a worried look, but Dream dismissed it as casual concern for a friend... because that's what they were, friends.

Part of him smiled at the thought of having a friend, someone to help him and talk with him. The other part of him disliked making friends because Philza was right; mortals' lives were short, unlike the Fae. Unlike Dream, who still had centuries ahead of him.

George and Sapnap only had decades.

The thought made Dream frown. He mulled over this as he ate the cooked goat meat that he was given. George and Sapnap gave slightly disgusted looks as they took their first bites. Goat meat was very different from cow or chicken.

"You're right, Dream," George said, using his tongue to get a piece of meat from between his teeth, "this tastes like ass."

Sapnap scoffed, a grin spreading across his face as he remarked, "So, you know what ass tastes like too?"

George flushed and gave Sapnap a disgusted look. "What is wrong with you?!"

Dream wheezed, his laugh cutting off into a series of coughs. His chest throbbed and he sighed in frustration, leaning his head back into the pack. Sapnap laughed at his misery, saying something about his "horrible laugh" and how it was "killing him".

The group talked until sunset. The lighting from outside became little to none and soon the crackle of the fire was the only sound. Sapnap fell asleep first, like usual, and George moved back over to sit by Dream.

"I'm just gonna change your bandages," George said quietly, "if that's okay."

Dream nodded and closed his eyes. He felt gentle fingers lift the bloodied cloth from his stomach and chest. Seconds later, a wet cloth was wiping his chest softly, cleaning up the dried blood. Dream opened his eyes and lifted his head, assessing his injuries.

He winced at the splotched of reds and purples, but mostly the two holes in his stomach. Two wounds inflicted his chest, evidence of where the amphiptere's spiked tail had rammed into him. They were slowly closing, but Dream knew that they would leave a mark.

He seemed to be getting a lot of new injuries around mortals.

Dream rested his head back down and watched George grab strips of a dark cloak. Dream's brows furrowed and he whispered in a panic, "Is that my cloak?!"

George winced and muttered, "Yeah, I didn't have anything else to use, you went through all of the other bandages."

Dream sighed slowly and looked away. George asked, "Was it special to you?"

"Yeah," Dream admitted, "it was a gift."

"Oh," George said, holding the scraps of the cloak with a new gentleness, "I'm sorry for destroying it."

"It's okay," Dream replied, closing his eyes and swallowing, "it has a new use now."

George was quiet for a moment, causing Dream to open his eyes. George blinked and slowly started wrapping the cloth around Dream's torso. Dream exhaled, murmuring his thanks when George finished.

George smiled softly in response and whispered, "Do you need sleep? I'll stay up."

"Yeah," Dream muttered reluctantly, "if I have a nightmare... it's best if you don't wake me."

"Why?"

"Remember what happened last time?" When George nodded, Dream continued, "I don't want to hurt you."

"But if you stay in the nightmare, you're hurting yourself," George replied, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Better me than you."

George's expression softened and before he could reply, Dream said with closed eyes, "Goodnight George."

He heard a quiet "goodnight" as he drifted to sleep.

Dream's mind was strangely blank as he slept, a slight threat of a nightmare was the only worry. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he could've sworn he felt fingers in his hair, guiding his sleep. Dream barely felt nails as they brushed against his scalp, relaxing his mind and preventing him from wandering into dark places.

He thought he heard quiet whispers, calming him as he drifted from the unconscious and helping him sleep. Dream could've sworn a soothing voice murmured to him in the dead of night, but he wasn't sure.

Dream couldn't tell if it was real or just a dream, either way, it was... nice.