Who Lies in the End?

Ch 43: 14 "Where's the dragon?"

art by: queenroosh

It was approaching six o'clock now and the sun was preparing to set behind the dark leaves. Beneath them, shadows turned into monsters as the dark oak forest seemed to brim with grim energy. Redne was unphased by the monsters who seemed to skitter away with one glance of her amethyst eyes; unfortunately, the same could not be said about Dream and Punz.

The latter had passed out a while ago from blood loss and Dream was teetering on unconsciousness as well. The only thing that kept him away was the fear that Punz would fall out of the tree, as well as the fact that he couldn't go unconscious even if he wanted to. No, he would have to stay awake with weariness in his mind and sluggish bones. While he had the energy, Dream had moved them so he was leaning against the trunk with Punz asleep against his chest.

Dream sighed for the umpteenth time as he tried to think of the best way to get out of this situation. He couldn't leave Redne behind or else she would be at risk of being spotted and causing more damage. Then she could be shot down or enslaved by another city or the Illagers, and if it was the latter, then the End was that much closer to being exposed.

He had the Creative Block that he could use, but he was still too nervous to exploit its abilities. If he crossed the line and disabled himself, then that put himself and Punz in danger; still, he couldn't just leave Punz to bleed out. Every hour or so, Dream would use just a little bit of the pendant's power to heal the unconscious male, enough to keep him alive, but not enough to completely destroy Dream. They both were running out of time though, and these quick fixes won't last.

Dream dreaded nightfall when the phantoms would appear and circle overhead. They were an added nuisance that he would have to take care of, but trying to balcance Punz and himself on a tree branch while aiming a heavy crossbow when he felt drained was not going to end well.

He had tried a couple of times to get Redne's attention and hopefully convince her to take them back, but she would either ignore him or just shake her head. Whatever her plan was, Dream hadn't even the slightest idea, but she seemed happy to stay exactly where she was.

He sighed as he glanced down at Punz and grabbed his wrist. Dream pressed his thumb along the pulse and counted the beats. It was slower than it should be, but it was still steady. He released the cold wrist and glanced back up at the ombre sky.

Despite the situation, he and Punz had a decent time up in the tree. They talked for as long as Punz was awake, just shooting the shit about whatever they could think about. Apparently, Punz was quite skilled himself and he hoped to hit the road soon, starting his own adventures. The end goal was to explore the whole world and see every town, city, and wondrous sight that the world had to offer before returning home and settling down on a bee farm. Dream had offered a few suggestions on places to see first and best ways to get around, which the other took note of happily.

Granted, none of that would happen if he bled out in a treetop.

Grey eyes glanced down at the bandaged shoulder and the white fabric that was almost completely stained crimson. Life spans were one of the weird things that Dream had to wrap his head around in this world. For everyone, their time was infinite, living as long as they could without repercussions. The only time death became a threat was when you opened your door to it. Illness, injury, and poor decisions were all quick ways to turn infinity into a dwindling number.

Still, Dream flirted with death on a daily basis, because that's where his life was. On the open road, testing his limits, and exploring the unexplored all so he could say that he had done it. To him, the real death was just sitting and staring out a window, pining for something completely in his grasp and yet never stepping a foot towards it. Just the very thought made his idle hand twitch with the need to move.