Dreaming of Demons (Dream x oc)

[56] Call me Nightmare

Dream was finishing up the supplies for Tommy when I told him I was heading out to the battle arena later that day. I was planning to practice archery a bit more, but I made sure to bring my sword along with me. It would probably remain at my hip for the entire evening. At least I hoped so. I didn't want to run into a member of the Eggpire while I traveled to the arena.

The sun was already settled low in the sky, threatening to disappear in the next hour or two. The temperature was already cooling down as shadows stretched across the ground. It took me a few minutes to get to the arena, cutting through the long expanse of grass and a few clumps of trees until I could finally step foot in the arena.

It was empty, which wasn't much of a surprise. I had never happened upon anyone else practicing in the arena unless it was me and my friends. But I didn't mind the silence. In fact, it gave me a lot of time to think and focus. I set up a couple targets situated in different directions, then I stretched a bit before trying to pull back a bow. Once I was satisfied enough to start, I did a warm up, shooting a couple arrows at one target until they began to stick close enough to the middle. I really sucked at long-range weapons, so that task alone took almost thirty minutes. But I finally got the hang of it.

I started shooting at one target, then quickly twisting to shoot at another one. The second arrow I shot barely came close to the target, and the more that happened, the more I became frustrated. How did people shoot like this? Sapnap could do it. I had seen him hit targets well enough. Even George was good at it. Good enough that it just looked like a casual game to him.

I wanted to become skilled in almost any weapon I could. I didn't want to worry about being limited to certain weapons in a fight. If a bow was all I could use at some point, then I had to be confident enough to use it.

I had been training for a while now and the sun was no longer present in the sky, leaving bright gold and pink painted against the blue. It was bound to get dark pretty soon.

I cleaned up the targets I used and gathered any other arrows off the ground. My fingers were dusted with dirt after having to pick up all the fallen arrows during my practice. It made me realize just how much I had missed the targets.

But I was sure I was getting better. The amount of arrows that had actually embedded in the targets had gradually increased near the end of my practice. Maybe next time, I wouldn't have to pick up so many arrows from the dirt.

I slung my bow over my back and began to trek back home. A couple birds flew past me and the crickets ceased their chirps as my shoes crunched on the dense foliage between the trees. The sound of careful footsteps caught my attention. I stopped and turned my head towards the noise, my senses suddenly alert.

But I relaxed when I saw Dream coming through the trees, carefully picking his way around them. He was wearing diamond armor, his axe strapped to his back.

But what confused me more than anything else was the mask he was wearing. It was clean, unbroken, clearly new. And instead of the smile it usually had, the mask was crossed with an 'X'.

"Dream." I greeted, turning to face him fully. My head tilted in slight curiosity. "Were you coming down to the arena?"

He stopped just in front of me, gesturing to me. "Actually, I was coming to see you."

"Me?" My brows shot up, and my mind blanked for a second. I wasn't prepared for an answer like that. "Oh..."

"Yeah." He tilted his head. "Do you not want that?"

"No—No, I'm fine with that." I looked down quickly, feeling heat rising to my cheeks. "Um, you know you don't have to wear a mask around me anymore...right?"