thou wast not born for death

2

They arrive at a rundown shack, staffed by a guy in a blue hoodie. He's sprawled over the counter, looking half asleep. George wonders just how much business they get down here - he can barely remember the steps they took to get here, and they're too far away from any of the main street lights to benefit from their glow. Everything is foreboding and dark and completely unknown.

"Is this it?" Sapnap asks. Dream nods, gesturing for them to stay a few steps back.

George frowns, but he falters as Dream approaches the stall. Sapnap waits with him, spinning his atom gun from one hand to the other impatiently.

"Dream?" the guy says, looking up when Dream is just a few feet away. "You here for Bad?"

Dream nods. "Yeah. Is he here?"

"Uh, sure. I'll go find him," the guy says. He slips off of the countertop and disappears behind a door that George didn't realise was there.

Sapnap steps up beside Dream. George watches his sticky fingers, watches his eyes calculating the value of everything displayed in the shack. "Who was that?"

"Skeppy," Dream says. "He's friends with the guy I came here to see."

"Why didn't you tell us about them before now?" George asks. He steps forward too, just a half-step behind Sapnap. He feels apprehensive about this. Dream seems on-guard, and he isn't sure why yet.

Dream chews his lip. "I didn't wanna lie to either of you. But they have a reputation. I didn't know if you would have known who they were, and I didn't want it to colour your first impression of them."

"Why would that matter?" Sapnap asks. "Who are they?"

Dream shrugs, like he doesn't really want to answer. "They're just friends. We've known each other for a while."

George hears the words he doesn't say: each other is all we have. He knows the importance they hold. "Why are we meeting them now?"

"They might have an item I want," Dream says. "They collect rare pieces and resell them."

Sapnap inhales. "What sort of pieces, Dream?"

"What?" George asks. Sapnap sounds like he's finally clued in to what Dream is saying, and George isn't sure what it is.

"Scavenged items," Dream explains. "Engine pieces, ship parts. Things like that."

"Scavenged?" Sapnap scoffs, shaking his head at Dream like he can't believe what he's saying.

"Sapnap..."

George steps around Sapnap to glare at them both. "What are you talking about?"

"Dream's brought us to some space pirates," Sapnap says. His voice is sharp with betrayal, and George doesn't know why. "They steal and sabotage ships to take and resell the pieces they can salvage for profit. These two are some of the most notable in the galaxy."

"Sapnap, that's not true."

"Dream?" George asks.

"They're good people," Dream insists. "I wouldn't bring you here if I didn't trust them, okay? Just give them a chance."

Sapnap's eyes drift from Dream to the stall, full of suspicion. "...Fine. I'll play nice. But if they bite first?"

"Then you can bite back," Dream allows. "Thank you."

"Are you sure this is safe?" George asks. He finds himself stepping slightly closer to Sapnap and hooking his index finger around the string of his bow.

"I wouldn't put either of you in danger."

There are a million and one incidents that attest the opposite. George doesn't bring any of them up. He watches Dream for a second longer, then turns to Sapnap and watches him too.