↚The Pig's Shadow | Dream x Reader | Slowburn ↛

Prologue

A tall, young man sat around a fire, poking a steaming potato with a fork. Around him, the trees rustled and whispered in the wind, sounding like jeering laughter. The man shifted, his long pink hair brushing his pig mask. The potato in front of him popped, revealing a mealy white inside. With a sigh, the man leaned down, sweeping away his ermine-lined cloak. He bounced the burning potato in his hand while using his other hand to unclip the mask. Finally, the pink pig mask fell to the ground and the man tossed the potato to his right hand with a sigh of relief. Just as he picked up his fork to dig in, a noise to his left made the man jerk his head up. There was obviously something moving there but attempting to be sneaky.

With a groan of annoyance, the man set his potato down and picked up the mask, securing it around his head as he walked gracefully towards the noise. As he got closer, the noise stopped, as if something has seen he was coming. With a rub of his red eyes, the king-like figure pulled a torch out (yeah it was lit in his backpack XD) and held it up.

It was a forest, obviously, made with thick tangles of brambles and a carpet of leaves that grabbed at his cape. One large oak tree surged into the sky, with a hole high up that probably housed an owl. Below the tree, there were drifts of leaves that parted to reveal sharp edge rocks beneath them. With a frown, the man leaned forward. Crusting along the edge of one rock was blood, still trickling down. With a noise of understanding, the man switched his torch to his left hand and pulled out a sparkling, almost crystalline blue sword in the other. The firelight glinted off one edge, and the man could hear a whimper come from a space between three trees.

Springing into motion, the man darted towards the trees, sword held high, and came slicing down onto-

Nothing, apparently. At the last moment, a small, H/C-haired girl had rolled out of the way and was pressed up against one of the trees, breathing heavily. With a roll of his eyes, the man sheathed his sword.

"Great snakes and orphans." He said, voice monotonous. The girl gasped for another breath.

"That's me. Or, at least, the last part is." She stood up, barely half of the man's height. Brushing off the leaves, she glanced at the pink-hair. "Woah. Is it natural? Ooh, I like the ears."

The man rolled his eyes for the second time that night. "The hair? Yes. The ears? Also yes." He held the torched closer the girl. "What are you doing out here? What's your name?"

The girl shrunk back a little. "I don't have a name. I... I was hungry." She stared with hungry E/C eyes back towards the fire, where the potato sat innocently.

The man groaned. "Oh no. Not my potato, orphan." The little girl, perhaps three or four, put a pouting face on.

A rumble of thunder, as loud as a Tnt blast, shook the trees. Over to the side, a small oak burst into flames as lighting flashed down. The man shoved the girl behind him to protect her, expecting her to cry or be scared.

She wasn't.

Instead, she watched in open moth awe at the burning tree.

"Great snakes and orphans," she said, quoted the pink-haired king. "That was EPIC."

The man-pig-king frowned. "To be honest, I was expecting you to run and cry like most children. That's why I don't stay around them. They're too loud and easily scared."

The two sat in silence for a while, watching the tree slowly burn to pieces. After a while, the man spoke.

"Do you have any family?" The girl shook her head. "Any memory of where you come from?" Another head shake. "Any belongings?" A hesitant nod this time. The girl opened her B/C knapsack, pulling out a small apple, an iron nugget, and a handful of cocoa beans. The man looked at the little girl, who was staring up at him in a mix of excitement and questioning.

"Can... Can I eat a potato now?" the girl asked. "Or stay with you?"

The man frowned. "Stay with me? Maybe. Potato? ...don't push your luck."

He stood, offered the girl his hand, and pulled her to her feet.

"Wait," the girl said. "You never told me your name."

The man smiled slightly under his pig tusks. "My name's Technoblade."

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795 words

it do be short.

Eh. It's a prologue XD