Wow You Found Me… Better Not Lose Me!

They've been perfectly nice to him, honestly; they're named Dream and Sapnap, and they're funny. Several times he's had to stop walking for a few minutes as he bursts into laughter and Sapnap lets out loud giggles and Dream chokes on wheezy laughter. He wishes they could join him on the path, but Dream insisted that wouldn't be safe, so he stops asking. These woods are dangerous and he doesn't want them to get hurt while coming over to see him.

"Um. . .it's getting dark!" George calls, pausing to lean against a tree as he peers deeper into the woods, searching for movement. "How much further to the edge of the forest? I thought you said it wasn't far?"

"We might have. . .miscalculated?" Sapnap sounds apologetic, at least, but that doesn't really help George. "Dream must've thought you were faster than you actually are."

"Excuse me? You're the one who's had more experience with hum- uh, them. You should've corrected me if I was wrong," Dream snaps. There's a distant thump and George winces, hoping that whatever caused that noise won't be a threat.

He can hear the two of them quietly arguing and he sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Guys, please, it doesn't matter whose fault it is. Can you just tell me how much further it is to the edge of the forest?"

Dream lets out a low hum as he thinks. "Based on your speed. . .at least another thirty minutes, maybe more. It's not that far to the edge of the forest, but you'll have to travel a bit further than that if you want to get to a safe place to rest."

"Shit." George opens his bag, pulling out a flint-and-steel. "Is there anywhere closer I can stay, at least for the night? Would it be safe to camp right here?"

"I mean. . ." George hears a loud crack; he flinches, tightly gripping his flint-and-steel as he tries to figure out what could have broken a fucking tree in half, because that's what it had sounded like. "Fuck. It might honestly be safer for you to stay with us for the night."

Dream and Sapnap start quietly bickering, too far away for him to understand what they're saying. George tunes them out for now and focuses on dragging some sticks onto the path, lighting a small campfire so he can keep an eye out for any nearby danger.

The woods look empty, but George can hear the distant rattling of a skeleton as well as the still-present constant sounds of something huge moving through the woods in the distance. The only thing that big would be a dragon, right? But there's only one, and she lives in the End. I guess it COULD be an oversized ravager or warden?

Whatever it is, George hopes it doesn't come any closer. He's also a bit worried about Dream and Sapnap's safety since the sounds seem to be coming from that direction, but they seem familiar with these woods and surely know how to protect themselves.

"-think he can stay with us," George hears Dream say, once he's got his fire all set up. "I just don't think it would be safe. It puts us at risk, and he could get hurt."

Do they sound closer? Or are the woods just quieter now that it's night?

"I know." He can faintly hear Sapnap let out a sigh. "But these woods aren't safe for him, and he seems nice. Maybe. . ."

George suddenly twists around, because he'd heard footsteps. Dream and Sapnap are too far away, so it must be a threat.

It takes him a minute, but he eventually catches a flash of yellow-green out of the corner of his eye. He spits out a curse and stumbles back when he realizes it's a creeper. The monster has clearly noticed him, and it starts to move closer, letting out a raspy hiss as it faintly begins to glow.

George leaps away, pulling out his stone axe, but he knows his weapon is too weak to kill it before it explodes. His best hope is to trick it into exploding further away from his camp, so he continues to back away as it stops glowing and follows him.

"Yeah, yeah, c'mon," George mutters, stumbling slightly but regaining his balance before it catches up. "Get away from my fire, you-"

He hears the whizz of an arrow flying through the air and he drops to the ground, but he isn't fast enough to dodge it.

It hits him in the shoulder; he screeches, twisting around and trying to grab it, but he isn't able to get a solid hold on the shaft of the arrow and he only ends up tugging on it and sending a burning pain shooting down his arm.

The skeleton fires again and he scrambles to the side, hands and feet skidding on the dirt path as he barely manages to dodge. George freezes when he hears the creeper start to hiss again, and he knows that he isn't going to be able to get far enough away before it explodes.

Something huge slams down in front of George and he yelps, jerking back and nearly falling over. In the flickering firelight he sees that it. . .it's a boot, bigger than he is, probably even bigger than a ravager. He feels a shudder behind himself and twists around to see a second boot shift a bit as the giant adjusts their weight.

Because that's what this has to be. A giant.

The boot in front of him moves slightly and he squeezes his eyes shut and shivers because all that's left of the creeper is a scattered pile of dust. He can hear a second set of footsteps, can feel them making the ground tremble as the other giant steps around his fire.

"I'll take care of the skeleton," The second giant says, and George's eyes fly open because that sounds like Sapnap's voice. "You've got him?"

"Yep." George looks up when he hears Dream speak, and the fear coiling in his gut tightens even more as he realizes just how tall these giants are. It doesn't help that Dream's face is mostly covered in a white mask that almost reflects the firelight. "Hurry up, before anything else. . ."

George scurries back while they're distracted talking to each other, scrambling to his feet and getting out of the firelight as quickly as possible. They don't notice his disappearance right away, too focused on each other, and he continues to slowly move further back.

It's dark out, hopefully they won't be able to see me. The only option I have is to hide; I won't stand a chance fighting or escaping if they spot me again.

". . .and- wait, where'd he go?" That's Sapnap's voice, the words blurted out and sounding almost panicked. George freezes, watching as Dream shifts his weight slightly, the giant looking around like he thinks George is hiding behind his boot or something. "Dream!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know he was gonna run off?" Dream turns around, scanning the ground. His white mask has a creepy-looking smiley face carved onto it. "Why would he- fuck, nevermind, it doesn't matter. George?"

George doesn't answer; why would he? He can't see Dream's eyes but he can tell the giant's looking for him. The darkness is helping him hide, but he knows he'll be spotted soon, because he's practically just standing out in the open.

He takes a hesitant step away when both of the giants seem to be facing the other way, glancing at a nearby bush. Maybe I can hide in there for now?

"George?" Dream repeats, taking a step to the side. "Hey, you can come out, I promise we aren't gonna hurt you."

George ducks underneath the bush, gritting his teeth and forcing down a yelp when the arrow sticking out of his shoulder bumps against the branches. He traces the shaft of the arrow, brushing against it with his fingertips, and it's pretty clear that he won't be able to just yank it out without injuring himself even more.

Fuck, fuck, what should I do? The second they grab me, they might accidentally push the arrow in deeper and I could DIE. And that's assuming they won't just crush me or drop me or KILL me.

Maybe they aren't lying? Maybe I can trust them? I've been talking with them for hours and they were friendly even though they totally could've ambushed me, and they rescued me from the creeper. They also look like they're trying to move around carefully in the dark. Maybe-

No. I can't risk it. If I'm wrong and they are planning to kill me, I won't be given a second chance to escape again.

George flattens himself against the ground even more and watches as the two giants slowly move around the camp, carefully watching the ground as they search for him. He thinks Sapnap picks up some of his stuff, but he isn't sure. He ignores them when they call his name again, choosing to just sit there and wait and hope they grow bored.

Eventually Dream lets out a huff; he sounds frustrated, and George tries not to shudder when he realizes that he's definitely pissing these giants off. "George? C'mon, the woods aren't safe at night. There are mobs everywhere. We'll protect you, just come out of your little hiding spot."

George stays still. He wants to be able to trust them, but whenever he thinks about stepping into the open, his whole body just locks up. It's too risky.

Please, PLEASE just go. Just leave me alone.

"I think he ran off," Sapnap mutters. "I don't think he's hiding nearby. He could be anywhere."

George hears Dream's footsteps start to move away. "I'll. . .try to search for him, I guess. You stay by the camp, just in case he changes his mind and comes back."

"Watch your step," Sapnap warns. George clamps a hand over his mouth to hide his whimper when he understands what Sapnap's implying. "It's dark out, and we have no clue if he's already injured from the mobs. We have to be careful."

Dream leaves. Sapnap lurks in the camp for a few minutes; George flinches when he hears a tree branch snap, but Sapnap's just adding a bit more fuel to George's pitiful excuse for a fire.

George leans out of the bush slightly, just to see what Sapnap's doing. The giant seems agitated, moving around the camp and occasionally grumbling to himself. It looks like the giants picked up his stuff; he can't see his bag or axe anywhere.

Sapnap seems to get bored once a few minutes have passed; he stands up and George immediately ducks back underneath the bush. What is he doing?

The giant starts circling the campsite, moving further and further away from the campfire each time he completes a round. He studies the ground intently as he moves. He's searching, and this time he's being much more thorough, checking behind bushes and even lifting up a large fallen log like he thinks George might be hiding inside it.

He's slowly getting closer to George; if he doesn't stop soon, there's no way he won't find George.

Do I make a break for it now? He'll definitely hear me running. But if I stay here he'll find me, and I won't stand a chance of escaping when he's too close.

George is frozen by indecision, and by the time he makes a choice, it's too late to get away. Sapnap brushes his fingers against a nearby bush, then reaches for the one George is hiding behind. George shivers and tries to make himself even smaller, because the giant's fingers are as long as he is tall.

Sapnap moves slowly, carefully nudging the bush with his fingers, but he's huge and George can't stop himself from letting out a startled yelp when the giant's thumb bumps against his leg. The hand jerks away, and before it can return, George scrambles to his feet and runs.

He hears movement behind himself and flinches, nearly tripping as he frantically glances around. He can't outrun the giant, he knows that, but if he can just get out of sight-

Something blocks his path and he cries out, skidding to a halt and whipping around so quickly that he slips and falls over. He doesn't bother to get up, choosing to curl up as small as possible as he desperately hopes that the giant won't crush him with the boot blocking his escape.

He flinches and chokes on a whimper as Sapnap crouches, leaves crunching beneath giant limbs as he leans a bit closer to study George. The human squeezes his eyes shut and waits.

He has no idea what the giant wants to do with him. Was he telling the truth when he said he didn't want to hurt George? Or is he planning to snatch George up in a fist and squeeze him until he breaks? Or. . .fuck, maybe this whole time he was being hunted, and now he's going to end up being eaten by them.

Nothing happens.

After several seconds pass, George hesitantly opens his eyes, looking up at Sapnap. It's too dark to get a good look at the giant, and based on the way Sapnap's squinting, his night vision must be just as bad as George's.

"You're okay, George," Sapnap eventually murmurs; George twitches, startled by the sudden words even though the giant's speaking quietly. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

And, well. . .the giant doesn't really have a reason to lie about that, does he?

He doesn't have anything to gain from tricking me. He's caught me and there's no way for me to escape; if he wanted to hurt me, he'd just DO it. Maybe. . .maybe he's being honest?

George doesn't try to move away, even when Sapnap adjusts his weight slightly so that he's kneeling instead of crouching. Fuck, every time the giant even breathes it makes George realize how tiny he is compared to him, but George does his best to ignore the instincts screaming for him to run.

There's nothing I can do to get away. I just have to hope that he won't hurt me, either accidentally or on purpose.

"Are you okay?" Sapnap asks. "We. . .we didn't hurt you, right?"

George slowly shakes his head. The arrow stuck in his shoulder burns, but he'll recover. Sapnap lets out a relieved sigh.

"Good, I was worried about that." Sapnap's hands come closer and George jerks away, hunching his shoulders and flattening himself against the forest floor again; the giant goes still. "Wha- oh. Oh, don't worry, I'm not trying to grab you."

Sapnap rests his hands on the ground, close to George but not quite close enough to touch him. George forces himself to sit still and not flinch away as the giant leans a bit closer, clearly trying to get a good look at him in the dark.

"Sorry that we scared you." Sapnap leans back, sitting upright as he glances around. "It's just that these woods are dangerous, especially for humans, and if we had been any slower that creeper could've killed you."

". . .it's okay," George whispers. Sapnap blinks at him and George repeats himself, a bit louder this time. "It's fine. Um. . .what are you going to do with me?"

"Well, it's not safe for you out here," Sapnap explains, voice gentle. "You can come back with us for the rest of the night, okay? We'll protect you and take you out of the woods once the sun rises."

I guess I don't really have a choice.

George nods. Sapnap grins and George looks away when he realizes that the giant's teeth seem oddly sharp. Does he. . .are those FANGS?

"Great, great, all right. . ." Sapnap clears his throat, then turns to the side and cups his hands around his mouth. "Dream! Found him!"

George flinches at the loud shout, leaning away and squeezing his eyes shut; Sapnap seems to notice, because he quickly apologizes.

"Sorry bud, your little ears are probably really sensitive, aren't they. . ." Sapnap's hands move a bit closer like he's trying to comfort George, but it just makes George feel more trapped.

Footsteps approach; they're moving quickly at first, but they slow and then stop. George stares up at Dream and hates that he can't see the giant's expression behind his mask.

"Is he- are you okay?" Dream asks. George nods again and Dream seems to relax. "That's good, that's really good. Are you coming home with us, or should we risk taking you to the edge of the woods in the dark?"

"I, um, I'll come with you," George stammers, trying and failing to hide his nerves. "If- if that won't be a problem for you."

"Oh, not at all, don't worry about it." Sapnap lays his hand on the ground, palm-up. "I guess you can just. . .climb on?"

Oh, fuck. I didn't think about how they'd GET me to their house.

George stands up, swaying slightly as he warily studies Sapnap's hand. The giant's keeping himself pretty still, but every so often his fingers twitch slightly, and one look at the giant's face shows that he seems to be nearly as nervous as George is about this situation.

Well. . .if he's nervous too, that's a good thing, right? It means he wants to be careful.

George sucks in a deep breath before walking over to Sapnap's hand, acting confident in the hopes that it'll help with his stress. It doesn't, and he stands there for a moment, trying to convince himself to just step onto the giant hand that could easily crush him.

Sapnap starts to speak and George grits his teeth and shakes his head, forcing himself to step forwards. He nearly loses his balance because the skin is a lot softer than the ground he was just standing on, and he quickly sits down so he doesn't fall over. Sapnap's fingers curl around George slightly and he flinches as Sapnap slowly stands, holding George close to his chest.

He is not enjoying this. He's too high up, and every movement from the fingers around him makes him want to whimper; he does whimper when Sapnap's thumb bumps against the arrow embedded in his shoulder.

Sapnap goes still, squinting down at him. "What's wrong? Are-"

"Heights," George blurts out, not wanting to admit how much being in Sapnap's hands is scaring him. "It's, uh, the heights, I don't like being this high up."

Sapnap studies him for a moment before turning to Dream. "Is your pocket empty? George, maybe you'd feel better in there because you won't have to see the ground."

That does sound better, actually; he might feel more trapped in the pocket, but at least he won't have to be held, so he nods.

Dream steps closer and Sapnap reaches out, opening Dream's hoodie pocket some more with one hand before carefully setting George inside and pulling his hands away. Dream carefully bumps against him with a finger, just to make sure he's secure, before both the giants start walking.

George curls up in a small ball, trying to ignore the breathing and the heartbeat and, fuck, the occasional stomach gurgle he can hear behind himself. He wants to trust them. He has to trust them. He doesn't have any reason not to; if they wanted to hurt him, they would've done it already.

They might want to keep you as a pet, the traitorous part of his brain hisses. Or they might want to eat you alive, but they've just taking you home to do it first.

George shakes his head, ignoring his aching shoulder as he tries to make himself comfortable. Shut up. They said they won't hurt me; I have to trust them.

Please don't let this be a trick. Please don't let this be something I regret.

There's nothing for him to do except sit there and wait as the giants move through the woods, taking him to a home that could either be a deathtrap or a safe place to rest.

Please, just let me be safe.

--

I might write a part two for this since it was really fun! If I do, though, it'll have to wait; I have lots of asks to work on and also two other stories I wanna write (the mcyt g/t group prompt, and one involving Naga!Dream.)