Inkwhumptobertale 2024

Day Twenty

Pastries - Emotional Angst, Shoulder to Cry On, Giving Permission to Die, "It's not your fault." 

This takes place in the timeline with Demon! As you can see from the 6k+ words in today's submission, I really like this timeline! This would have been longer if there weren't a deadline-

Trigger warnings: implied eating disorder, very-very-heavily-implied-but-not-directly-stated vomiting, child abuse, child neglect, verbal abuse, conditioning, and all the emotional angst you could ever want! (Jk there could be more - be glad there is not more.)

Comments are welcome and appreciated! 

Please enjoy!

~~~~~

"Well, I think we're all set!" Ink announced, twirling his paintbrush around with a grin. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Blue confirmed.

"Uh, yep!" Dream nodded, trying to sound enthusiastic; he didn't really like the idea of this mission, but..it would be fine! He would be fine!

The mission was simple: the three would go to the base of their enemies, and while Ink and Blue fought off Killer's crew, Dream would knock out the escaped prisoner to get him back! Dream wasn't sure what the plan would be after that, but that wasn't his business; his business was focusing on doing what he was told. He had to be good. 

"Then let's get moving!" Ink opened the portal, and the trio entered it, traveling to the new world. 

Dream wasn't a fan of dark, creepy forests; it only made sense that Killer's crew would take up residence in just such a place. Ink and Blue led the way, and Dream held the strap of his satchel tightly, playing out his mission mentally. He had a bottle of chloroform, a rag, and a sharp knife (just in case); he would have to be quick about this, though, as Killer's group of thugs wouldn't stand by and let Dream kidnap their newest recruit! When the trio spotted a shack in the middle of the woods, Ink gestured to Dream to get ready, and the little guardian nodded, opening his satchel and preparing for the mission. Ink and Blue grabbed Dream's shoulders to drag him through a teleport, landing the trio just inside the cabin; Ink and Blue tried to hide Dream behind them to hide his presence, of course, but Dream was well-versed enough in these missions to hide himself somewhere else quickly. He ducked behind the couch nearby as Ink and Blue jumped into combat with the adults in the room, and he quickly tried to locate his target.

Dream squinted when he didn't see the other boy immediately, but soon enough, he noticed a pair of violet eyelights peeking through a cracked door, and he nodded to himself; that was his target. Dream opened the bottle of chloroform and readied his cloth before sneaking over to the doorway; the other boy was too busy watching the fight to notice Dream. The little guardian gripped his tool and nodded to himself before pushing the door open and sending the other to the floor. He wasted no time in tackling the other child, pinning him down, and moving to cover his face with the rag, but the other boy..fought back. The other boy's eyelights flared, and he pushed Dream off of him. Dream scrambled to grab his knife, but the boy moved faster than he had accounted for, tackling him back and..yanking the cloth from his hand. Dream started to summon a magic weapon as a last resort, but it was too late; the other boy had identified his method of attack, and he turned it back on Dream. The little guardian's eyesockets slowly closed, and everything faded to black. 

"Stress baking?" A young voice was the first thing Dream heard as he began to regain consciousness. "What's that?"

"Well, sometimes, when people are stressed out or anxious, they'll turn to hobbies in order to burn some energy and focus on something else." An adult..Cross? "Horror bakes."