A Matter of Time || Dreamnotfound

17

"Where's George?" Sapnap asked, meeting Dream in the library.

Dream jerked his chin towards the door he had just left from. "He's in there. Give him some time."

Minutes later, George came out, avoiding their stares. He mumbled, "Let's just go."

Dream nodded and led the group out of the city, using the exit that he had used all those years ago when he assassinated Kinoko Kingdom's king. They exited the kingdom quickly and soon they were back on an empty road.

The walking was quiet, the only sound worth noticing was George's occasional sniffles. A few leaves drifted to the ground around them, swaying in the chilly wind. After hours of walking and when Dream knew they were safe to stop, he picked a small area between three trees and the group sat down.

Callahan left to gather wood and Dream got up, leaving to get some food. He muttered his plans to George and Sapnap and left. Minutes later, he was carrying back a small doe. His steps faltered when he neared the camp and he hid behind a tree.

"You didn't see it," George said meekly, "he... he killed him."

"I'm guessing it was because he didn't want word getting back to Technoblade," Sapnap replied.

The two hadn't heard Dream and Dream stayed still. He heard George whisper, "But you should've seen him. He enjoyed it. Sapnap, he fucking asked for the man's name and proceeded to cut open his throat. What kind of monster does that?"

Monster.

Is that what I am? Dream supposed that George was indeed right. He was a killer, but monster seemed more fitting.

Yet the word still stung like hell. He looked at his hands, bloody and full of deer hair from the doe. Sapnap must've said something that Dream missed, because George said, "I-I don't know what to think."

Dream's shoulders sagged and he felt a pat on his shoulder. He glanced over to see Callahan sporting a sympathetic look, his eyes full of understanding. Dream looked away and followed Callahan into the camp.

George's head shot up at the sight of Dream, his eyes worried and wary. Dream dropped the doe near Callahan's gathered sticks and muttered something about taking a walk.

George didn't follow him, surprising Dream. His heart fell at this and he climbed up a tree to sit on the lowest, sturdiest branch. He stared at his scar-flecked hands, hating how things rushed through his mind.

He had killed so, so many. An uncountable number, a tally that Dream had given up decades ago.

Dream whispered to himself, "Maybe I am a monster..."

As the word passed through his lips, Dream realized that he was. He's a monster... but that wasn't the real question. The real question was: was Dream made into a monster, or had he always been one, deep down?

His hands seemed to shift under his scrutinizing stare and suddenly he was somewhere else, somewhere better, somewhere from years ago...

"Clay!" his sister giggled, running up to him after he'd just returned from helping his father plant the fields. "You're home!"

Clay's mouth grew into a smile as his sister jumped into his arms. He was greeted with the smell of sugar, the white grains dusting his sister's cheeks.

"Were you helping mother bake again?" Clay asked, to which he received a laugh and shining eyes.

His sister jumped from his arms and twirled her braids around her fingers, her small, sharp ears pointing out from beneath blonde hair. Her pink lips framed her ivory teeth in a small, shy smile. She grabbed Clay's hand and led him to their house.