Forget-Me-Not (dreamxreader)

54 || Great and Sudden Change || Part 3

TW: SWEARING, YELLING, SWEARING, TRAUMA, ANXIETY, REPRESSION OF EMOTIONS

FIRST-EVER PART 3 BABYYYYYY

Also, this chapter is much chunkier than usual, so go get a snack!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The end of our ride to Snowchester had been silent apart from the huffing of our horses and light shuffles as we pulled our outer layers of clothes tighter to keep out the cold. I had told Drista what happened, she proceeded to say nothing and opted to mull over the events quietly. I wonder if she feels stupid for not foreseeing this. I'm sure that if she did she would have mentioned it. 

We pull up by the stables, the night had set in long ago and we had ridden most of the way in the darkness. It bothered us little, Snowchester was impermeable to outside forces and to demons too. Lights tethered to trees had guided our way through the forest and over the bridge.

I slide off Percy's back and take him into a free stall in Snowchester's stables. He's happy to be in the warmth of a clean stall, his aura has always been one of the easiest for me to understand. He chuffs happily as I slip flakes of hay into his hay net and he tilts his face to the redstone-lava heater that had been installed on the back wall. I try to soak in his happy feeling, the relieved feeling that comes after a day of long work. But that feeling doesn't come as much as I wish it to. I give him a quick scratch on the neck before slipping out of his stall, when I do Drista is waiting for me.

I give her a questioning look, but she hugs me instead of answering. I'm slow to hug her back, but when I do I feel a bit warmer than when I was standing without her.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," she mumbles into my shoulder. I heave a deep breath and force everything away. Now wasn't the time, Dream and Tubbo are still missing, and Ranboo and Tommy are going to need stability, not another live wire.

"I can't think about it now," I say honestly and pull out of the hug. "There's too much happening right now."

"Well, I'll be here for you when you do think about it," Drista sends me one of her classic grins. The kind of grin that makes her freckles scrunch and flicker like stars and makes her lime green eyes shine brighter.

"You'll have to get through Dream first," I try to joke. Drista laughs even though it wasn't the sort of joke you'd expect people to laugh at.

"That's true," she says.

We make our way down the hill to Ranboo and Tubbo's house. The frosty windows glow gently and the softly falling snow clings tightly to the roof and windowsills. From far away, the house seemed tiny, like a little wooden craft by an artist. The sort of little wooden structure one would put a candle inside to make it look alive and sweeter than before. Inside, I can see shadows that make me frown. It didn't quite look like Tubbo and Ranboo's furniture.

We climb up the stone stairs careful not to slip on the icy surface. There I notice another shadow in the window by the door, only this shadow reveals itself. Ranboo flings open the door and pulls me into a desperate hug before Drista even had the chance to knock.

"We were so worried about you, are you ok?" Ranboo pulls back quickly with palpable fear behind his green and red eyes. I try to smile for him, but I know that it will do nothing to convince him that I'm fine.

"I'm all in one piece I promise, but I have news that won't help," I say feeling guilty when I notice his stress increase with the flick of his ear and a brush of his tail on my leg.