Arcanus ❂ A Dream SMP Story

[23]

"Ow!" Tenebris fell over, their head barely colliding with the trunk of a tree.

"Oh sorry," Dream helped them up, dusting off pine needles and dry pieces of bark from their shirt. Tenebris rubbed the side of their head and looked up.

"Eh? Where are we?" They looked around in the unfamiliar forest, trying to identify anything.

"My house," Dream helped them walk towards the opening of the forest and into a large field.

"Where's Tommy? Is he back in L'manberg?" Tenebris winced as they limped alongside Dream, trying to walk as light as possible on their feet. Dream shrugged and stopped walking. He crouched down, letting Tenebris lean on his back. His gloved hand searched in the long, green grass, lightly brushing over the dry dirt. He seemed to find what he was looking for and pressed down, the earth crumbling away and revealing a small stone button. Tenebris watched with curiosity as the floor started to break and fall down, a spiraling staircase going down deep into the earth. Dream stood up again, helping Tenebris down the staircase.

Tenebris quietly laughed, "I'm like an old person,"

"Maybe if you didn't overwork your leg," Dream chuckled, "Like I said." Tenebris internally rolled their eyes as they weren't able to physically roll their eyes. The two got to the bottom and Dream switched a lever up. Bright lights turned on, row by row down the long corridor. The staircase behind them closed. 

"I thought you were homeless," Tenebris let go of his arm and walked forward, looking around the minimally decorated underground base.

"No," Dream followed them, "I'm not homeless."

"Ooh, you sound offended," they teased, peering into an open room. There was a small bed in the corner of the room, the sheet messily tangled on the mattress. A large bookcase stood by the bed, filled with books of all kinds of colors and thickness. The desk opposite to the bed was neatly organized, various documents and books stacked on top of it. Dream reached over Tenebris and grabbed the golden doorknob, closing the door.

"Is that your room?" Tenebris asked, walking down the hallway again. He nodded and pulled off his black gloves, sticking them into his pockets. He rolled up his green sleeves, rubbing his hands together as a draft of wind from the ventilation system blew over the top of his head. His hood was pulled up, tufts of his golden-brown hair sticking out the top.

He turned to the left and opened the door to a room with medical supplies and potions, gesturing at Tenebris to come in. Tenebris limped in and sat down, letting out a heavy sigh. They leaned back and closed their eyes, letting their injured leg rest. Dream walked to the other side of the room and grabbed a roll of bandages as well as a strength potion for the pain. He set down the supplies by the chair Tenebris was sitting in and kneeled down, carefully rolling up their pant leg. 

Tenebris peeked out of one eye to watch Dream remove the old bandages and put the new ones on, "You've gotten much better at using those bandages." He nodded, pulling the pant leg back down and grabbing the potion, holding it up to Tenebris. They took the glass bottle and uncapped it, chugging half the bottle. Handing it back to Dream, they stood up and walked out of the room. 

"Are you tired?" Dream asked, opening the door for them. Tenebris nodded, covering their mouth as they yawned. All of their exhaustion and tiredness seemed to pile onto them right as they had sat down in the chair. They hadn't been doing much physical activity since the Butcher Army came and combined with no sleep, Tenebris was weary and sleepy. 

He led them to an extra room with a bed, watching them flop onto the bed and close their eyes. 

Before he closed the door, Dream asked another question, "Did you tell Tommy about our blood promise?" But they were already fast asleep, their steady breathing making their chest slowly rise and fall. He quietly shut the door and went to his room, filing through the dozens of books on the bookshelves.