Neon Tears

Chapter 8

- BittyTale #4 -

Once they were in the hallway Dream looked up at Fresh 404.  "What was that all about I have never seen you that formal or ask to do something other than editing Cerulean's codes."

"Uncle Dream from your perspective what has happened since we came to this AU?"  Fresh 404 tilt their head watching him.

Dream blinks frowns as he catches the, your perspective part. "We came here and started walking. I was sure we were lost. Then you told me why we are here and that we were looking for a local to guide us.  Then you looked at the codes and we had to run.  Then you almost killed those kids.  Which you are so in trouble for.  Then we rescued a bunch of bitties and got directions here and now we are helping get them settled."

Dusty stands up with his arms crossed on the outside of the pocket listening to Dream.  "Kid are you sure he is the adult here?"

"Yes Dusty but the binding from his AU only broke recently he is still learning.  Uncle Dream we need to think about how Moonlight sees things what his day was like.  This morning he was a leader making plans and deciding how to help his people. Perhaps stressed and worried because one of his partners is very sick, and all of his people have magic depletion.  This afternoon he was a warrior fighting to protect his people, watching some of them die fighting to save their loved ones.  Then he lost consciousness only to fully wake up trapped in a basket with all his people packed in without wiggle room.  Faced with all the worries Dusty told us about on the way here.  Now he gets to see his people taken care of through no agency of his own.  All he can do is wait and watch.  To a leader it is almost a perfect formula for feeling helpless and useless."  They glance down meeting Dream's eyelights.

"I.. Fox I didn't even think about how all of that would affect any of them just that they would get the help they needed and it would all get better." Dream looks at the ground ashamed that he had failed to see what was happening.

"That is true in the long run but we need to think about how those around us feel and why.  He is a good leader from what we can tell he and his partners have kept a very large group alive and healthy for years only recently having a string of very bad luck.  It does us no harm to acknowledge that and treat him like the smart, strong, resourceful, leader he is.  Especially when we plan to adopt his family group and a few others.  They will need his leadership when we have to leave for work."  They smile gently at Dream as they walk into a dining area set up for bitties.

Dream watches with wide sockets as Fresh 404 gently set the bitties down and moved to Mama Cry being so gentle with everyone, hardly able to believe this was the broken child his brother had hidden away all those years ago, or the same kid who nearly killed without a sign of remorse earlier.  Yes he had known about 404 not the details only that Inky had whined about a special type of Sans that he was working on and how Error and Nightmare made it disappear.  He had thought it odd that Inky whined about the Sans and not the AU.  But he had assumed they had destroyed an AU.  Not literally whisked an out code out of sight and into hiding.  He had forgotten about it until Cobalt told the council about 404 because Inky never brought it up again.

Fresh 404 gently lifted Dusty from their pocket in a cupped hand holding him and Larkspur at chest level.  "Mama Cry please meet Dusty and his partner Larkspur.  You requested help making arrangements for family groups?"

"Yes thank you usually when we get in a lot of bitties like this we arrange accommodations in a hurry and they sort out who they prefer the company of over the next few days.  But Dream mentioned they were worried about being separated from their established groups.  So I thought maybe one of them could tell us what the groups are so we don't stress anyone." Mama Cry explains why casting worried glances at Larkspur still tucked in the glowing blanket.