Learn how to love (Dream Team fanfic)

Chapter 9 ~ Encounter

Prepare yourself, this is a long chapter. Oops sry. (Let me know if you guys want me to break them up a bit more. Idk why you would it's all the same story but no judgment here!) enjoy the chapter.

The Dream Team all stood there, hesitantly looking up at the top of the plateau where the Ghast lay dead.
"Come back here," Dream said to George, who was the furthest up the mountain. He responded silently, putting his bow where it belonged on his back, and hopping down and returning to his friends. They stood there together, looking up, not making a sound, and then they heard it. A loud laugh. Followed by the echoes of
"Yes! We've finally found one! Nice shot!" At this, George looked to Dream, seeing in his peripheral that Sapnap from the other side had turned to look at Dream too. Dream however looked straight ahead, eyes narrowing. The knowledge that there were other survivors passed between them at that moment, and they all stepped forward, climbing the mountain.
   

 When they reached the top they saw four others. More than they had expected. They hadn't noticed their presence, still blissful from their victory and naive as Dream's group had been moments ago, still believing they were the only ones there. They took this moment to analyze their thieves. Dream lowered his mask.

 
    Of the four, there was one wearing a beanie and had curls falling over his right eye, looking and smiling at the one still talking. There was another on the other side of the speaker, he was shortest, looking giddily at the one talking and doing a bit of a hop with a sword clutched in his hand. 

Behind them all stood the tallest one. He looked quite intimidating, silent, not smiling, but when Dream looked closer, the look of content barely revealed itself on his features. He had a pigskin hide wrapped around his chest and wore it almost as if it were armor a crown sat atop his pink-haired head and he clutched a bow in his left hand. 

He was the one Dream was apprehensive about and instinctively, he put a hand on each Sapnap and George as if to stop them if they planned on moving forward. This momentarily distracted the other two boys, looking to Dream, then realized they needed to play this smart. 

And finally, there was the blonde one, who was quite loud. The last of them, the one who hadn't stopped talking since he'd started had a red shirt on and he was clearly still a kid, maybe 16 or 17, like the other short one. He had a walkman attached to his belt and connected to them, was a long chord of earbuds, one of which, was still in his ear. Looked like a hazard if anything, Dream was curious as to how he'd even managed to survive this long with something so distracting and unnecessary.

One bit of knowledge was certain that passed through the three of them. If these people were able to manage their way around the nether, they were not anywhere close to weak. How strong they were, however, they didn't know.

The boy hadn't stopped talking since he'd gotten that ghast tear clutched in his hand.

    Once their eyes landed on the tear, it seemed that they finally noticed their spying visitors.  

The one with the pig hides upon noticing them locked eyes with Dream and would not remove his gaze. His look was incredibly more intimidating than his already intense nature, and though he would never show it, a trail of chills ran down Dream's back upon his gaze. 

No one spoke for a moment. George almost panicked and thought to look to the others, telling them to run, all from the man's stare, but Dream did not waver. So he stood tall.

 They all stood guarded however, weapons in hand, and ready for an attack at any moment. The Dream Team, looked a bit more roughed up than the others, due to their fight with the ghast. Sapnap looked the worst with his clothes singed from having the now passed Ghast's full attention. It seemed the others knew this, took note of it, and became guarded themselves. Well all of them except the one holding the tear of course. He was the first to speak.