A Dragon's Hoard

Chapter 4

TRIGGER WARNING FOR THE REST OF THE BOOK: Alcohol/alcohol abuse, implied abuse, violence

The room was dark and small. It had no windows and only a small oil lantern to illuminate the space. It was almost empty except for the broken door and a bed with a tiny figure curled into a ball, hands over ears. The girl on the bed looked at him, standing in the doorway, with fear in her eyes. She had long black hair that was hanging in her face. Her skin was pale and her hands almost blended into her hair as they seemed to be covered in some black liquid. She wore a white shirt and black pants, both covered in dirt. Dream moved towards her slowly, folding his wings behind him as not to scare her anymore.

"Whoa, hey I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm Dream. I'm here to take you away from Schlatt, is that ok?" Dream winced as at the mention of Schlatt's name the girl had flinched.

The speaking of Schlatt's name had seemed to have summoned the goat man, Dream smelled him before he saw him. He had moved toward the girl in order to prove himself not to be a threat and the drunken man had now blocked the doorway. The girl's eyes were fixed on Schlatt, bottle of whiskey still in hand.

"Stealing my citizens wasn't enough for you Dream?" His words were slurring.

"You can't treat people like this Schlatt"

"I can do what I goddamn wanna, you bastard! I get to decide what happens to her"

"You don't own her"

Schlatt scoffed; "of course I do. I'm the emperor of this shit country. And she's not leaving this fucking room." He moved towards the girl and Dream spread his wings in front of her. His tail flicked with anxiety and adrenaline but he kept it from hitting anything. Schlatt glared at him and threw the half empty bottle at them. Dream turned his back, blocking the younger with his wings. The bottle shattered against them and he felt the glass imbed itself in his skin. Fuck that hurt.

The girl shrieked at the noise and Dream picked her up bridal style. She clung to the tall hybrid man as he shot a burst of dragon's breath towards Schlatt. Wrapping his wings around her to protect her from the magical poison, he ran out the door and down the stairs, going as quickly as he could without dropping her. He could hear Schlatt stumbling behind them as he burst out the door and into the light.

As soon as they were clear of the building he took off, ignoring the pain in his wings from the glass whenever they moved. He flew shakily towards his nest passing over Manberg soldiers. As they went over, they grabbed crossbows and started scrambling to try to shoot at the flying man. Arrows and bolts whistled by his head and he sped up as much as he could.

Eventually the weight of flying himself and the small girl became too much and he barely managed to stop them from hitting the ground as they crashed into the forest. The girl, who's name he still didn't know, tumbled out of his arms with a cry of pain. He only just stopped himself from letting out one of his own, instead grunting as his wings were battered more than they already were.

He and the girl laid on the ground for a minute, just breathing. He knew they had to get going soon but for now they would rest. Schlatt would be after them as soon as he was sober enough to make decisions. After what felt like only a couple of seconds but was actually thirty minutes, he sat up and looked at the person he had saved in the light for the first time. She was cradling her wrist, it must have broke in the fall. The raven-haired girl felt his eyes on her and looked up at him.

Her eyes were a dull gray, and what he thought was liquid on her hands now looked to be part of her skin, almost like a tattoo. Her voice broke and she cleared her throat.

"Thank you." Her voice was hoarse, as if it hadn't been used in a long time.

"You're welcome. I'm Dream."

"I'm Nyx" interesting name.

"We should get moving, they'll be after us soon. Is your wrist broken?"

"I don't know, it hurts but I'm fine." Dream looked at her. She didn't look fine. Her cheeks were sunken in like she hadn't eaten and she looked weak.

"Can you walk? My wings are pretty busted." Nyx nodded and got shakily to her feet. They then began their journey towards the base. The trip took longer than it normally would have, both of them were injured and the younger kept tripping over the ground.

They were about a mile away from the nest when Nyx tripped again, and Dream wasn't fast enough to catch her. She crumpled to the ground, barely missing hitting her head. Dream checked her pulse, thank prime, she was just unconscious. He picked her up, trying to maneuver her to not hit his injured back, and continued.

It was late when Dream finally stopped at the rocky door. He stumbled as he entered the living room and all four people on the couch jumped up. He felt the girl being lifted out of his arms and Niki started fussing over him but he pushed her towards Nyx.

"Help her, I'm fine." She didn't look convinced but moved to follow Tommy and Tubbo. Tommy was carrying the small girl down the hall. Dream felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Fundy.

The fox man guided him over to the couch and left towards the kitchen.

He came back with a first aid kit and began removing shards of glass from his wings and back.

"What happened Dream?" Dream explained and Fundy sighed. "That was stupid and reckless. Prime you can't do stuff like that! I- we can't lose you Dream."

He was taken aback by this. He knew that they appreciated him saving them but this-

"I'm sorry. She needed me." There was another sigh from Fundy.

"I know, maybe we'll actually get some peace and quiet." They both laughed. That was unlikely. "Uh I need you to take off your shirt. You know to get the rest of the glass."

Dream looked at Fundy, was his face red? He pulled his shirt off and turned back around so Fundy could get to his back. The orange-haired man finished wrapping his injuries and hurriedly excused himself to put the first aid kit away. He came back and sat next to Dream, avoiding eye contact. Then he leaned on Dream's shoulder. Oh Prime. He held his breath, and then slowly moved his arm and wing to wrap around him. They stayed like that and fell asleep that night cuddled on the couch.

A/N

Chapter 4 pog? This chapter ended up a lot longer so I hope you liked it! Also have you noticed how Dream acts like a cat? His tail does what my cat's does when he's anxious or mad lmao. I hope you guys like Nyx! She's an OC and I'm excited to get to add in my own character! I am also feeding your Dream x Fundy needs. I hope you like it! Let me know if you have suggestions too!

Bye!!!! Love you all!