The Feather Coven

I thought I had already posted this before I went on holiday! Pls forgive!

Sweet and to the point! Pls enjoy!

---

One of the most annoying aspects of Dream was when something got stuck in his head, he could not let it go.

As soon as he spoke with George about the fact Sapnap and that tall God looked alike, George knew that wouldn’t just be it. Now whenever there was a quiet moment with the three, George would watch Dream get that look in his eye as he looked to Sapnap. Eyes scanning, taking in every detail and comparing it with his memories. Before Dream could say anything, George could always intervene and he could move the conversation to another topic.

That could only work for so long. George could not stay by them both forever. He had stepped away as he woke up to hunt for food. When he came back, the house was tense and George could hear them talking in the kitchen.

“Dream! Drop it!”

“You can’t tell me it’s not just a coincidence. He looks like you! Just...taller?”

The first idea that came to George’s mind was just to leave. They could work out whatever they needed between them but there was a deep gnawing curiosity in George. For now, he focused on his care for Sapnap and walked to the kitchen.

Sapnap stood by the smoker currently cooking something. His arms were folded and lips curled to a snarl. Dream sat by the kitchen table but his chair turned facing Sapnap.

“You’ve got to know him!”

“It is no business of yours if I know him or not!”

“No business of—We were raised together Sapnap! I see a guy who looks just like you, who you clearly know, and I’m supposed to not ask?!”

“What are you two yelling about now?” George cut in before Sapnap could snap back. It was clear what they were talking about, but making them explain it could at least calm them for a moment.

“Dream won’t shut up about some random nobody he thinks looks like me.” Sapnap’s glaring eyes turned to George then. “And thanks by the way for telling Dream I spoke to him.”

“How was I to know it was a secret?!” George’s plan to diffuse the situation already failed in getting defensive. He took a calm breath and tried again. “Dream. If he says he doesn’t know him, then Sapnap doesn’t know him.”

“Sapnap is a liar!” Dream looked between the two. “Am I insane here?! There is a God who looks just like Sapnap, or close enough to at least and I’m called crazy for just making the slight suggestion that it’s similar to me and XD?! If he spoke to him he clearly knows him!”

No it wasn’t insane to think. George had thought the exact same thing but the concern for saving Dream was the only thing that mattered. That and the uncomfortable acceptance that if Sapnap’s copy was related to him, then logic would surmise his own was related to George.

“So what if I know him, what is the big deal?” Sapnap’s voice was calmer now, trying to sound more distant and not caring. It did not work.

“So you do know him!” Dream pointed his accusation, excitement renewed and surging through him.

Sapnap rolled his eyes and George felt an uncomfortable headache come along. “Dream...”

“I knew you knew him!”

“Dream!” George snapped again, this time getting his attention. “Did you think Sapnap doesn’t want to talk about it because it’s uncomfortable for him?”

Dream snapped out of whatever excited mood took him. The sparkle faded from his eyes as he looked between Sapnap and George as though fully taking in the situation. “I... I didn’t mean anything bad by it...” His voice flipped, now turning meek and he shrank in his chair.

As he took a seat by the table, the annoyance in George quickly melted to sympathy. He knew Dream wasn’t trying to push boundaries. It was in his nature to explore a topic on his mind until he had all the answers and sometimes he got lost in pursuing it.

“Sorry Sap...” Dream apologised.

“It’s fine. It’s...whatever...” Sapnap shrugged but his voice was edged with sympathy too. Before George could enjoy the small relief that the matter was settled, Sapnap spoke again. “He is... He... He calls himself my brother.”

The excitement crackled in the room again, but Dream kept his cool this time. He perked up with a smile. George felt a deep dread.

“But he’s nothing to me! He’s out of my life!” Anger came back into Sapnap’s voice.

“You’ve never mentioned him to us.” Dream gently probed. When Sapnap didn’t snap again, he carried on. “Does Bad know him?”

“Yes. Of course he does. He-It doesn’t matter!”

“Well...you’ve never told us this before.” Dream carefully spoke. “I just...since with me and XD I thought maybe it would be the same thing.”

“It’s not the same thing! Your brother didn’t fuck up your face and abandon you!”

Sapnap’s scar had just been apart of him for as long as Dream and George could remember. He never spoke about it, but George knew it bothered him. Some days Sapnap would style his hair to cover that side of his face more. If he was sit still and fidgeting he’d pull his hair just a little bit more over it. But then some days he walked around with the scar showing and not a care in the world.

“He...” Dream started talking but stopped when George shot him a look. The tall God was large and imposing but he seemed nice enough. He stayed back and helped people out of the Egg’s pods. It wasn’t impossible that it was all a show but George and Dream had no right to question that.

“So that’s why I don’t want to talk about him.”

Sapnap put the matter to rest, but Dream couldn’t. However, he had more grace now to gently ask. “Can I just ask one more question?”

Sapnap’s nose twitched, but he nodded.

“Is he a God too?”

Sapnap paused to think. “Yes... I think.”

“So it’s sort of like me and XD.” Dream confirmed for himself, but his eyes wandered to George. And Sapnap glanced to George as well. Because it was on everyone’s mind.

Well if we have god-like brothers, then logic dictates you have one too.

“I’m going on a walk.”

George pushed himself up from the chair suddenly. Dream and Sapnap both looked shocked.

“D-Do you want company?” Dream offered.

“No.” George quickly responded. “I need to think.”

George expected the tightness in his chest to fade once he stepped outside so when he walked into the woods and the stress did not ease, he grunted and carried on.

He was alone but it felt like eyes were still on him. Dream and Sapnap constantly staring at him like waiting on him to finally realise the truth and suddenly it would all click into place.

Well nothing clicked into place.

George had no memory of HD. No matter how young, George was sure that meeting or being related to a God was an unforgettable thing. The earliest of George’s memories were of him managing to sneak off from his adoptive parents and escape into the woods. A three year old could not get very far however and he was always dragged back, but George would try again and again.

The memories slowly flowed in and George stopped mid-step. Memories of him always running to the woods when he could. If his parents eyes were off him for just a second, or the door was just slightly open, he’d bolt as fast as he could. George had always put it down to just childhood frenzy. Children got overexcited and ran off all the time. And he grew out of it.

Or...did he? Did he grow out of it, or was he just better watched? There were times George remembered his bedroom door locked and he threw tantrums in frustration. If he didn’t get out and run to the forest, it felt like a part of him would die. As an adult he excused it as childish feelings he couldn’t handle. Now the memory was fresh in his mind and the feeling was real and...awful.

His heart thumped in his chest and George realised he was holding his breath. He took a moment, slowly letting out his breath. His headache faded and he unclenched his jaw.

“It was stupid childish things...” George mumbled. “But...maybe...”

It was no secret George was adopted, found wandering at the edge of a village where his parents took him in. George had no interest to find his family, he found one with Sapnap and Dream. But he must have been left by someone. Why couldn’t it have been a brother?

Before George worked himself into a bigger frenzy, he took in another breath. He’d get nowhere thinking himself into circles. As much as he did not want to admit it, he’d only get his answers from one specific person.

“I need to talk to him...”

Admitting it out loud was easy but then actually planning for it already hit George with a snag. How was he supposed to contact him?

He had no idea where this God lived. Did he live anywhere? George didn’t really pay attention to anything about him and the last thing he said to the guy was calling them strangers. Past George might have already foiled George’s plans.

If all else failed he knew he could ask DreamXD. He seemed friends with HD and George could call XD to him as he used to and work from there. Though he’d honestly prefer no-one else involved.

Well...did he have to?

George could call on XD the same way Dream could. It was just an extension of the power shared between them. No matter where Dream was, XD could find him. A bond between a God and his brother.

It was a long shot of a chance, but it was the only option George could think of. He shut his eyes and focused. When he’d call on XD, he could just think it and he would respond. So with the same logic, George mentally called for HD and then slowly opened his eyes.

It wasn’t answered right away. The forest was still and quiet but it seemed dimmer as though the sun was blocked by the clouds and the forest floor turned misty.

Right away it was clear it wasn’t a normal mist. It had a slight blue tint in colour and while it slowly rolled over the roots of the trees it gathered close in front of George before a door slowly materialised from the mist.

It reminded George of a castle door. Tall, dark blue with the edges lined with gold. The mist formed more into cloud shapes on either side of the door, then they slowly opened and there was GeorgeHD.

The last time George remembered him, the strange God seemed out of sorts. As though he’d thrown on clothes and not cared for his appearance. Now he seemed more taken care of. His hair still a ruffled mess of stars, but it seemed more fluffed out and brushed. He wore a pale lilac robe with golden stars glittering over the fabric. His mismatched eyes looked hopeful but he reserved himself back. The room he stood in was like the entrance way to a grand palace. There was a display of stars, comets and planets in the middle of a spiral staircase behind him.

“I... I thought... I felt you...call...? For me?” HD spoke first. Voice so hopeful but hurt.

Cold anxiety gripped at George’s throat for just a moment. The fear and grief took him for just a second then he cleared his throat and nodded. “I did. I wanted to...ask you some things.”

A gentle smile broke out on the God’s face. Their cheeks brightened with an pink hue and they stepped just a bit. “Yes! Of course. Come in!”

George stepped forward before the fear could stop him. He was out of the forest and the door closed behind him. The warmth of the sunlight was gone. The palace was cold.

“I can grab us something to drink and we can talk. Uh... C-Come this way.”

HD went to a doorway just off to the side of the spiral stairs. George followed cautiously after. It was a small room set up like a kitchen but more modest than what a kitchen for a castle would look like. There was a metal stove, wooden counters with various jars and walls lined with dried herbs. There was a table and chairs set up against the wall that HD motioned to. George took a seat while HD waved his hands. Cups materialised, jars opened and herbs floated to the cups.

George watched all the ingredients move, suddenly feeling awkward sat and waiting. He wanted to try and focus and think of the questions before HD returned but the only thing he could do was look at HD and beg his mind to try and just remember something.

When HD returned with two hot cups of some type of tea, George had no questions or memories ready, but he was feeling less awkward when he took the cup in his hands. It was nice to have something to warm him up.

“Sorry I should have asked what you wanted.” HD sat opposite George. “It’s just regular tea.”

“It’s fine...” George mumbled. He decided he wasn’t going to drink it, but it was good to keep him warm. “I have questions.”

“Of course.” HD nodded. “Yes. I’ll answer what I can.”

His mind was a mess but George tried to push pass his feelings. “You say we’re brothers. How did we get separated?”

HD’s face twisted to sadness. “I honestly can’t remember. My memory is still hazy around the end of our time together.”

“But you’re sure we’re brothers?”

“Yes!” HD’s voice edged with a hint of desperation. “Yes, we are. After I took XD here the memories came back. Some of them are hazy but I swear we’re brothers.”

“But you just can’t remember how we were separated?” George meant to ask it more in a clarification, but the tone came out more as accusing judging by the look on HD’s face.

“I do remember I grew tired a lot. My sleep wasn’t the best even before I was a God, but when I was connected to the Overworld I got tired a lot. My best guess is I went to sleep and when I woke up you were gone.”

It wasn’t a satisfying answer, but George could give some sympathy over the sleeping problems. In another mood, George would have joked he and HD would have the same problems with sleep.

“How did you forget me?”

“That would be from the sleep issue again. I remember I was in a loop of looking for you and falling asleep. I’d look for you in my dreams. Then I woke up and would do the same. I couldn’t tell when I was awake or asleep anymore and I couldn’t tell when I started looking for you. But I tried to. I promise I did.”

George realised he was holding the cup a little too tightly, and eased off. “How can you be so sure? What if you really were looking for a dream, and I just happened to look like them?”

“When we met those few weeks ago, one of my hands responded to you.” HD said and either in example or it responding to his call, a white ghostly hand appeared. George suddenly remembered it. At first he thought it had appeared to harm him, but now he laughed at the thought. The hand looked so small and soft.

“When it appeared...” HD continued. “It was like instinct. I didn’t know how at first until I came here and things just...clicked.” He gave a sorry look to George. “I know these probably aren’t the answers you want to hear. I am sorry.”

It was annoying all his answers were fogged over by a cloud of amnesia but he didn’t expect the answers to be easy. The tea in his hands was slowly losing it’s warmth. George gave himself until the tea turned cold. Then he would decide.

“The way you spoke about it, you make it seem like you were narcoleptic. But you seem to be awake and fine just now.” George pointed out.

HD gave a sad smile. “I’m not...uh.” He ran his hand through his starry hair. George watched a few stars shoot through the strands. “I’m not connected to the Overworld as I once was. In the beginning it was no bother if I slept for days or months. But when you came along that was no longer an option. After you... After I lost you and couldn’t really tell what was real or not anymore I left the Overworld. I went to a sort of between realm and slept for...probably years.”

“And now you’re just not connected to the world anymore?” George asked.

HD shook his head. “No. Not in the way I was. It’s different. I can feel the Overworld now but before it was like...like my breathing was it’s breathing. My heartbeat was its.”

George cast his eyes down to the table and tried to imagine such a feeling. He got tired just from a regular day. A day connected to everything in the world just sounded exhausting.

“I know it might not mean much since I don’t remember anything but I am truly sorry George.”

George looked up and HD was looking to him with sad, soft eyes.

“I’m sorry George. I’m sorry for losing you. I’m sorry for not finding you. And I’m sorry for forgetting you. If I had one chance I’d fix it. I’ll try and fix this in anyway you need.”

He didn’t know why, but George’s thoughts first went to Sapnap. Rightfully angry over his scar, but the anger just made him bitter and resentful. George wondered if Sapnap’s brother offered the same apologies and the same promises. What couldn’t a God offer for forgiveness?

The scheming part of George imagined all the diamonds he could ask for but even the joking thought did not bring him happiness.

The cup lay cold in George’s hand now. It brought back the chill of the palace but George had made up his mind.

“Can I stay here? For a couple of days?”

HD looked shocked to the question. George was shocked himself. It was an option he was considering but even he wasn’t sure if he would go through with it.

Well, he said it now. He’d stick with it. “If this place helped you get your memories back, maybe I’ll remember something too.”

He said it as an explanation but it was clear on HD’s face he didn’t need any convincing. “Yes! Of course! This is—was your home too! Of course you can stay. I’ll-I’ll show you your room!”

It was a nervous excitement, but contagious in it’s joy. HD led George up the stairs, were the palace got darker but in a soft comforting way. The floor was a dark mist that kicked up glittery stars with every step. The ceiling was a night sky, slowly raining down golden stars that disappeared before they touched the ground. It was a magical fairyland and George was happy to just be in it for the moment.

HD pushed open a set of doors to a child’s bedroom. The floor was a plush light blue. The walls were a similar blue but the top faded out to a late morning sky shade. There were shelves pushed to the back wall, that held an assortment of toys, soft stuffed animals and books for children. There was a cradle in the centre of the room, settled in a golden crescent moon. At the tip of the moon there were stars hanging down.

“Uh, sorry. I cleaned up but I didn’t think. Here...” HD waved his hand and the crib slowly morphed. The moon shape was still there but it stretched out now to the size of a proper bed. The pillows multiplied and the sheets grew to fit the size of the bed.

“I-If you want to change it let me know.” HD added.

“No. It’s alright.”

George looked around the room again, willing himself to remember just something.

Anything.

But no.

Nothing.

He tried not to let the disappointment show, and instead turned to HD.

“I need to get some things from my home. I also need to tell Dream and Sapnap where I’ll be.”

“Right. Of course.” HD nodded. “The front door will open to your cottage. It’ll stay there until you come back.”

The trip home and back was quicker than George thought. He only grabbed a few things, just enough to fit into a pack while telling Dream and Sap about the situation. They were trying to be understanding but worried.

“I feel like I pushed the idea on you...” Dream mumbled in his meek, sorry voice.

George paused for a moment before he responded. “Maybe you did. But it needed to happen at some point.”

Sapnap and Dream shared a look and a wordless conversation passed between the two.

“You don’t need to try and fix any relationship with him.” Sapnap reminded him.

“We’re discussing it.” George quickly shut down the talk. “This is just something I need to do. Whatever happens...well it’ll happen.”

Worries still exchanged between them, but George was firm in his decision. “I just need to know you two won’t kill each other while I’m away.”

“Pffft! Of course we won’t!” Dream scoffed like the idea was ridiculous.

“What ever gave you that idea?” Sapnap asked in the same tone and put his arm around Dream’s shoulders. “We’re get along perfectly.”

“Like a house on fire.” Dream added.

George rolled his eyes. “Just make sure my house isn’t on fire when I get back.”

Despite George’s insistence he didn’t need seen off like a child, the two followed him out, and marvelled at the huge castle door awaiting him. As it slowly opened HD stood in the middle of the open room again. His face lit up with a bright smile, like he was anxiously waiting. Like he didn’t believe George would come back.

“Hey, HD...” Dream awkwardly waved.

HD’s smile was warm. “Hello Dream.” He greeted before looking to Sapnap. “And Sapnap. I’m sorry our first meeting wasn’t on the best terms.”

Sapnap just gives a hum in response. His stance firm and cagey. George wondered if his hate for his own sibling extended to all Gods but then he’s always been kind with XD.

The Dream Team shared another goodbye and George stepped through the doors. They closed behind him, with the warmth of the sun disappearing and the chill of the palace returning.

The tentative brothers headed back to George’s room, as HD talked.

“The palace is your home, you can go wherever you please. The kitchen will always be stocked for you.”

When they returned to George’s room it had changed. The bed was still it’s new shape, but there were less toys and the books on the shelf had been replaced.

“I thought maybe you would appreciate the room being less childish. If you want anything else changed, just let me know.”

“It’s fine.” George quickly cut in. He learned quick for HD’s nervous rambling, and if he didn’t cut in it would only continue. “Thank you, HD. It’s good.”

HD gave a wavering smile and left George to settle in his room. He placed down his pack and gently tested the bed. The mattress was unbelievably soft, like sinking into a cloud. The sheets and pillows were much the same.

George sat on his bed and tried to will his mind to remember something. Anything.

Nothing.

***

Settling into the palace was a lot easier than George would have thought. For the first day he stayed in his room as long as possible, reading over the titles of the books again and again before hunger called him out. He tiptoed down the stairs but saw the light from the kitchen glowing into the hallway.

After realising how dumb it was to try and avoid HD, who literally lived in the palace, George walked down the rest of the steps and carefully entered into the kitchen.

HD was in lighter robes than before; less golden accessories and in a soft blue tone now. He watched over a pot of something over the small hob fire before he quickly turned his head to the door.

“Oh! George.” His lips pulled to a smile. He waved his hand and the fire over the hob simmered down. “I thought of calling for you but I wasn’t sure if you were hungry. The kitchen is yours to use whenever you like of course. You can eat whenever.”

George’s stomach made a growl he hoped HD couldn’t hear. He looked to the pot over the hob. “You...make food?”

“Yes?” HD head slightly tilted to the question.

“Aren’t you a God. Can’t you just snap your fingers and food appears?”

“Ah... Sometimes I like to cook. If I need to think or...distract myself.”

HD answered almost sheepishly but George tried to politely ignore it and nodded. “Do you actually need to eat?”

“Not in the same way you or mortals would. I can feel hunger but it’s not like a pain. It’s more like a craving than a need.”

“What are you making?”

HD turned his head slightly back to the pot. “Just some stew. Would you like some?”

George frowned just a little. “No thanks.”

“Is there anything you do want? We can make it.”

“You’ve already made your stew though.”

HD raised his hand, waving it again and this time the fire went out, and the pot and anything in it disappeared.

“Wha—Why? You’ve wasted your time!”

“Time I have abundance of.” HD shrugged. “We can make whatever you want.”

There was a pressure now to choose, but George couldn’t help smile to how silly it all was. It was a clear attempt to desperately bond with him, but it was endearing. “I... I don’t know...” He quickly tried to think of anything he could cook with HD.

“I have some cookbooks in the pantry. You can have a look through them.”

Overly curious to find out what sort of cookbooks a God would have, George slipped off to the pantry. It was just a small space in the back of the kitchen, with shelved filled with various jarred food and one small shelf of cookbooks.

The books were not what George expected. They seemed very old. Old enough that if George even looked at them wrong, they’d fall apart. They were also on the top shelf that George was not reaching. He could maybe get his fingers to the shelf but could not reach the books.

George huffed and stretched himself up to try again. He was still too short to grab it, but then as he pulled his hand back, one of HD’s white hands suddenly faded to existence. It reached up for the book George had been eyeing, gently pulling it out and slowly lowering it to George’s waiting hand.

The hand stayed around, even as George gave it a wary look. He returned to the kitchen, book in hand and eyes on the hand until he turned to HD.

“If you were going to use your weird hands you didn’t really need my help.”

HD gave him a puzzled look before watching the white hand following after George. He seemed surprised for a moment. “Oh. I never did that. It just responded to you.”

“Responded?” George asked and looked to hand. “How? Don’t you control them?”

“I do, but it’s more like instinct than a command. Like in your cottage when you were covered in flour. The hand appeared because you wanted the flour off you. It must have been something I set up before.”

George frowned. “You don’t remember?”

HD looked sad. “No.”

His memories might have been fuzzy as a child, but George would have remembered if he’d ever had a weird helper hand around him. His parents would have freaked for sure and his escape attempts would have been more successful. Whatever happened in their separated severed the link this ethereal hand had to him.

It was getting far too quiet and George didn’t like the tension. He quickly put the book down, and snapped HD from his thoughts.

“Let’s make something before I starve.”

The cookbook was surprisingly ordinary, but George couldn’t complain. The food was good, and with them making something together it left no time for any silence. The conversations was kept to only food topics and even George could admit the evening was pleasant.

***

The next day, George curiosity to the hand slowly melted to a warm acceptance. At first it still caught him off guard. When he had a passing through that his pillow was uncomfortable the hand appeared to fluff it up. When he was hungry, the hand appeared with snacks. It answered every call of his no matter how small.

By midday George fully accepted the ethereal hand as another part of him.

As soon as George woke, he spent the day exploring the palace. He avoid any of the rooms upstairs, not wanting to enter HD’s room, and instead kept to the lower floor.

There were long empty rooms, with high windows looking out to the clouds and fancy couches in front of them.. A study like room with a desk and chair but the room was oddly bare apart from that. A long twisting room filled with artwork. Some paintings off the Overworld and a few of the Nether. There were a couple paintings of golden fields and floating islands that George had never seen before.

Finally George came upon the library. It was a tall room but small floorspace wise. Shelves of books pushed against the wall in the centre of a room there was a small reading space of soft chairs and long couches.

Curiosity pulled George to the books, wondering what books could be interesting enough for a God. The answer was surprisingly boring. It was mostly old books, majority fiction but there were some old travel books with maps and published journals of adventurers. George grabbed a few of them to read and while some of the old adventure books were interesting, nothing could keep his interest.

He was laying over the couch, flipping through the third book when he realised he wasn’t really paying attention to it and took in none of the words. He closed the book, placing it down and huffed in irritation.

“I’m in a palace in the sky. How am I possibly bored?”

Maybe it was because George still felt uneasy about his own memories. Nothing was coming to him so the palace still felt cold to him. He could fill his time with small distractions but nothing worked.

George felt himself pout and was happy in that moment to be alone, when suddenly the little helper hand popped up.

George jolted in surprise for a moment then settled. “Are you as bored as I am?”

The hand gave no answer, just slowly hovered closer. George had a stray thought, wondering if the hand could relay messages to HD. Did he know George was bored, or was the hand just acting out of instinct to keep him company?

Just as George was thinking it was probably best to find HD, his side suddenly tingled and static, tickly shocks ran through his body. George jumped higher than he had when the hand startled him and gave a small ‘yip’ before he pushed himself up.

The helper hand had tasered his side.

“Wh-Whahat the fuck!” George’s voice was far from demanding as he wanted it. It tickled more that he was caught off guard. Just as he rubbed his side to be away of the ghost tickles, the hand had silently floated around and got under his arm.

It tickled for only a second until George laughed and rolled off the couch. He was worried for a moment landing on the books might have damaged them but then he didn’t care when the hand followed him and tickled at his side again.

“Get—!” George tried to yell but laughter overtook him. He smacked the hand away, but while the hand left his side, it went back in, attacking his stomach and up to his ribs this time.

“S-S-Stohop! Stohohop!” George threw his head back in laughter. He abandoned trying to smack the hand away and instead curled into a ball, protecting any spots the hands went for. When he defended one area, the hand pulled back and went for another.

“Not—! Aha...Not—NOT THERE!”

The hand squeezed at his thigh and George made a move to grab it. It dodged the first attempt but it when it went back in for George’s leg, he grabbed again and got it.

It should have been impossible for a hand to show expression yet George knew as he held it, it was trying to act innocent.

“Wh-What the hell was that for?” His cheeks were red and his mouth breathless.

The fingers wiggled slightly in George’s grip. A childish irritation bubbled in George’s chest. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, and he never got to find out.

There was a door slamming from somewhere in the palace, and the air suddenly went cold.

George released the hand which faded right away and he slowly crept to the door. Everything was still for a moment as George tried to listen but he couldn’t hear anything. Maybe the distant sounds of footsteps but they sounded heavy. Not HD’s.

A moment of panic surged George’s thoughts that he quickly shook that away. No-one could just sneak into the palace without HD’s notice. They were a God, and the palace was in the clouds. Who or whatever was here was allowed in.

Trying to step as quietly as possible, George made his way down the hallway. He peeked into the front room, seeing no-one but now he could hear distant voices. One of them he was sure was HD’s. The other sounded louder but not angry.

Following the voices brought George to kitchen but then towards a set of doors he had never noticed before. The door was slightly open, letting in the shine of the sunlight. George kept himself at a distance to not be caught but found a perfect spot to stand beside the kitchen counter where he could see through the door just a bit.

It was an outside garden, bathed in the glow of the afternoon sun. Greens and a multitude of colours danced in the light. Between the colours he could see HD, standing by an elegant looking garden table and chair. In front of him was a tall figure George did not know, but recognised right away. His back was mostly to George but he moved and shifted on his feet as he talked. His wild hair of black and fire flicked, showing his horns and part of his face.

It was the Tall God who looked like Sapnap.

“You were silent for days. The last time you said you were going looking for...and then you just didn’t come back! I thought...” The Tall God spoke. His voice was deep with a rumble under the words. It reminded George of the way XD would speak, like there was always a voice under his own. But this God’s voice was warm and while he sounded worried there was no edge of anger or bitterness.

“I’m sorry.” HD spoke calmly, but his face looked guilty. “I’m sorry I should have contacted you. Everything just happened so quickly with George. I was caught up in it.”

The Tall God sighed, but he didn’t sound any more relaxed. “No, I-I get it. I just...fuck I thought you were gone.”

His voice turned soft at the end. It made George think of a campfire. Warm and gentle. HD looked pained and took a step towards the God but he stopped himself.

“I’m sorry, 4K.” HD said, “But it’s only a few days and I’ll be back to help again. I already spoke with the wardens and guards at the prisons. None of them know what it is. If you can’t find any more—”

“I’m not searching.” 4K quickly cut in. “I can’t—I’m not searching alone!”

“Okay, okay.” HD held his hand up to calm. “XD should still be able to help. He’ll know the layout of the Overworld better than me by now.”

“It’s not...I...”

The mood shifted as 4K’s voice broke a little. HD tensed and took a slow step forward. “Did something else happen?” They carefully asked. When 4K didn’t move or respond, they called out again. “4K?”

4K remained still but his shoulders hunched. A tense moment passed that felt like hours but was probably only a few seconds; then those shoulders relaxed.

“Nothing. Everything is fine, HD.” His voice was warm again, but emotionless. “I’m just on edge. After... I-I’ll ask XD to look with me in the Overworld. You take your time with George.”

HD calmed then, but not completely. He looked to 4K with concern and a look George knew well. It was the look he had when he wanted to speak, but instead he would just nod and say “okay.” As HD just did.

There was a purple flash of something behind the door George couldn’t see. 4K stepped into whatever it was, then he was gone. HD let out a slow sigh. “You can come out now, George.”

There was a split second George considered sneaking away, but two of the white hands appeared and pushed open the doors to the garden. The light of the sun blinded George a moment before another hand pushed on his back and led him forward.

The garden was not as big as George first thought. It was a small internal courtyard, enclosed in the palace walls. There were tall trees on both sides of the doorway, arching over the cobblestone path. Around the trees were various flowers and plants, in an array of colours. In the middle was an elegant, marble looking garden table and set of chairs were HD stood.

George slowly walked in, enjoying the ray of the sun on his skin warming him for the moment and stopped at the other side of the table.

“Did you really think you could sneak up on two Gods?” HD placed a hand on his hip as he asked. He didn’t seem angry, just more amused so George assumed he wasn’t in trouble.

“I don’t know...” George held back his shrug. “I wasn’t trying to sneak up I just didn’t know who was there. Then I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Uh-huh.” HD’s tone didn’t believe him. He lowered down to the chair slightly pushed out and George saw there was a small tray on the table, with tea and small cakes.

“D-Did he...4K? Did he also know I was there.” George asked.

“Most likely.” HD shrugged. “He wouldn’t have said anything he didn’t want you to hear.”

The guilt and shame of being caught was pushed aside for the curiosity to 4K. George only saw him briefly before they went to save Dream and everything else he knew was from Sapnap. Which was he had scarred Sapnap and left him.

“HD... Did you know that 4K has a brother?”

HD gave him a look, and answered carefully. “Yes.”

“Do you know their relationship?”

“I know they don’t speak. And that’s all I know.”

The tone was clear to shut George down, yet disappointment made him ask. “Aren’t you curious?”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m curious or not. If 4K wanted to tell me, he would have.” HD waved his hand, and two plates appeared on the table. “If you clean up the books in the library, you can join me.”

Hunger gnawed George’s stomach and he realised he had not eaten yet. The small cakes suddenly looked delicious and fuelled his quick steps back to the library. When he returned back to the garden the sun was still warm, and the afternoon was peaceful. The chair opposite HD’s was pushed open and George slipped in.

“Did you have fun in the library? Read anything good?” HD asked while he ate a small cake.

“Some of them were. I was never much of a reader, though.” George tried to carefully word himself to not offend HD. He took one of the cakes HD pushed towards him.

“You didn’t get bored?”

It was a simple, common question and yet it made George pause. He looked at HD’s face for any sign he knew what went on but his face was stone and gave nothing away. “No.” George shook his head. “Maybe a little until I heard 4K arrive. But the books were good.”

HD only nodded.

***

A sleep schedule for George was just whenever he was tired enough to collapse. Sometimes that would be normal, in the night when the moon was rising. Sometimes a little later. Sometimes he’d sleep all through the day and become a night owl. It didn’t help that his stupid mushroom cheeks always gave him away.

The red and white splotches under his eyes would fade the more tired he got, and would grow more noticeable the longer he slept. And George could sleep for days sometimes.

Tonight it was a night that no matter how restful and soft George’s bed was, he was not tired. His mushroom cheeks were fading slightly, but still held a slight redness to them. He had no mirror to check but George could always just feel it like it was another sense to him.

George tossed and turned but he wasn’t sleeping. He had learned if he tapped on one of the moon shapes hanging over his bed it would give him a small light and tried to read for a while, but he was too on edge to focus on the words. He next tried to kick off the covers, and pull his grass cloak over him as a blanket and for a moment, it worked.

During packing, George had debating taking the cloak with him. For no other reason than he thought it felt childish. It had served more as a comfort blanket than a cloak through his life, but in the end he convinced himself there was no harm in it and packed it for the stay. A decision he was he was now glad for.

No matter how fast his mind was spinning, the cloak could calm him down. But it couldn’t make him relax.

A last ditch attempt was made and George decided he’d take a walk till he was tired enough to crash out.

The palace was cold naturally and at night it was eerily still. The walls already a dark blue blended to the clouds outside. Everything felt colder which was just another reason George was thankful for his cloak. He pulled it tight around his shoulders and stepped out of his room.

HD’s room was opposite George’s, on the other side of the top landing. The doors were closed and George quickly moved on before curiosity could decide for him. Since he spent the day downstairs exploring, he instead kept to the top floor.

George found himself wandering to a long hallway stretched to the other end of the palace. The windows reached from the floor to the high ceiling and covered almost every inch of the wall. They looked out to the night clouds, which shone a pale silver with the moon’s light. He took a few steps down, wondering what other rooms this place could hold when he stopped and noticed HD was not asleep in his room as George had thought.

HD was sat on the build in seat to one of the windows. He was propped up with pillows, his back to the wall and legs up on the seat as he was half lying down. He had a book in his hand which took his attention until he noticed George and he sat up slightly.

“Hey...” HD called out. “Is something wrong?”

“I was just taking a walk.” George quickly answered before HD could worry. “I couldn’t sleep.”

HD relaxed then and George noticed the book more clearly now. It was less like a book, more like a album “What are you reading?”

HD’s smile turned soft. He pushed himself up, binging his legs down and shuffled over on the seat. He pat the cushions beside him and George carefully  moved over. When he sat down, HD placed the album down on his lap and flipped the pages back to the start.

“This is my family’s history.”

George’s eyes widened and suddenly his politeness was genuine interest. ‘Morgan’ was the name in bold fancy letters at the top of the page. There was an illustration of a crest with thistle below. HD turned the pages, and were a few names written, along with very minimal portraits and blueprints of a home.

“Is...were you a human? Like...before?”

HD shook his head. It was only the two of them in the palace, but his voice was softer in the night. “No.” He paused and then asked. “Do you know what a fae is?”

George had heard the name before. Mostly said by angry adults and in the whispers of gossip. “Sort of. I’ve heard people talk about them. I thought they were just made up stories.”

“They’re not a common sight anymore.” HD agreed. “They’re creatures, not quite human. They live in their forests, separated from the Overworld by the thinnest veil. In the past it was more common to see them. Fae’s are tricksters and people would be cautious around them. I was a fae, before I was a God.”

It shouldn’t have been a surprise the way things were going, yet George felt the weight of the reveal all the same. The idea that a God was once mortal, or as close to a mortal as a fae was anyway. “So...were your family fae?”

HD’s smile turned sad. “No. It’s... It might be complicated to explain. Some faefolk when they have children they’ll leave them to a human family or swap places with a human child. When I was a baby I was left to my family. They raised me, until I was a young man and the fae’s came for me.”

HD flipped a page. Another few simple drawings and more names. There were notes over the pages of children’s names, and children’s children’s names. Who married who and what families joined together. In the corner of the right page, there was a piece of cloth stuck into the book and a note above. The family had taken up weaving as a profession. The next few pages were filled with old pieces of cloth and drawn in pattern designs.

“But... Did you leave them? The ones that raised you?” George asked.

“For a while,” HD turned another page. More drawings of patterns, clothes and a loom littered around the page but now there were names between them. “I went to the faes for a time, but I longed for my family. I returned back to them.”

“Did they take you back?”

“They did. I wasn’t sure they would. They’d have every right to mistrust me, but I returned and they accepted me with open arms. I stayed with them.”

Another page turned but this time loose papers were stuffed between the pages. They were drawings. Paintings and illustrations of a home and people. When HD moved some of them away, there was more underneath. Detailed paintings of men and women like miniature portraits.

“These were my family.” HD gently handed one of the paintings to George. He was terrified to even look at the painting wrong, but gently held it as carefully as he could. It was of an older woman, with long silver hair and smiling sweetly. “She was my grandmother.”

HD flipped through some of the paintings. Each of a family member. His mother and father, a brother and two sisters, one older and one younger he said. Each smiling in the portrait with eyes full of love.

“I painted these for the album.” HD pulled out more parchment. Some were paintings of what George guessed was their family home. Others were small ink illustrations. Quick sketches of days out or the family performing mundane activities. His sister by the loom working. His father and brother readying for a hunt. His grandmother and mother talking by the fire.

The pictures were so full of life, and George realised HD was is none of them. He could capture small moments of life with his family, but he could never be in the illustrations or paintings himself.

“You’re...really good at drawing.” George said to distract from the sad thought, but it was also true.

“Well I’ve not drawn in years.” HD shrugged as his cheeks tinted a red. “It was an old hobby.”

“No, but it’s really good.” George said again, carefully placing the paintings together. The canvas paper they were on was old, but it was well taken care of. George wasn’t a creative soul, but he could still appreciate art.

HD had loved his family so fiercely. Were they still around? Did their ancestors still live? George wanted to ask but when he glanced to the album to hand back the paintings, he got his answer.

The pages that held the paintings were blank otherwise. No names, no drawings. Nothing after his family and even the paintings and illustrations all stopped suddenly. The family never growing older.

Were they...gone?

George wasn’t sure he should ask, until he gave a glance to HD’s face and knew then he should leave it alone. There was a deep sadness in his eyes, looking over the illustrations again like holding onto the memory.

It wasn’t exactly jealousy George felt, but some sort of twisted emotion coiled in his chest. HD was loved with his family. George’s parents hadn’t even liked him, much less loved him. Sometimes George even wondered why they had taken him in, if they hated him so.

George’s arms burned as they usually did when thinking of his parents. He scratched at his arms a little but the wraps just irritated his skin. He was trying to think of an excuse to leave so he could unwrap when HD noticed him scratching.

“Do your injuries still hurt?”

The question caught George off  guard for a moment it distracted him from the burning. “H-Huh?”

“Your injuries from the Egg? Are they still bothering you?” HD nodded his head to George’s wrapped up arms. “I can heal them for you, if you like.”

“Oh...n-no there’s nothing to heal...” Of course to anyone else who hadn’t met him, the wraps would just look like bandages. “My arms are just...weird.”

George was already unwrapping his arms instead of explaining. The red and white splotches slowly unravelled and George had to look away. Instead he looked up to HD who watched with rounded eyes as the arms became seen.

“See? Weird.”

HD looked at the arms, but it wasn’t in confusion or disgust as most had seen them. He looked almost bewildered then wordlessly brought forward his own arm. He pulled up the sleeve of his robes, revealing his own arm and now  George’s eyes went wide.

HD’s arms were marked with small green splotches, much like George’s own with the red and white. Only HD’s arms had tiny leaves growing out from his skin. There were some small buds, growing from his skin, but other fully grown leaves were still small enough they lay over HD’s arm without disturbance.

“I remembered you having your mushroom cheeks when you were little. I think you must have had them on your arms too. It never crossed my mind.” HD smiled gently then as he had his arm beside George’s.

George’s heart thumped as suddenly a memory flooded him. Well, it wasn’t exactly a memory. It was like remembering something he had no memory of. George knew what those leaves felt like.

Their arms were not touching, but George had felt those leaves between his fingers, when his hands were smaller and the leaves seemed so much bigger. He knew their scent and taste before someone would chastise him and pull the leaves from his small mouth. His mind filled in the voice as his parents but it couldn’t have been. The voice was gentle. The voice loved him.

“George.”

HD’s voice snapped him from the memory and George looked up. His heart still thundered in his chest, worse now under the careful expression of HD.

“Where did you get that cloak?”

His hand gripped to the cloak for some form of self soothing. The soft grass against his palm calmed him. “I’ve always had it.” He said slowly.

HD touched the edge of the cloak, feeling the grass between his fingers. “It used to be mine...” He almost whispered. “I thought I’d lost it years ago. Around when...”

His lips still moved but his voice was gone. Like a river rushing through his ears, George couldn’t hear or even think properly. His mind pulled together pieces of a long buried memory.

His arms stinging from bruises. His little lungs burning. His face was scratched from the twigs and branches as he ran through the forest. But if he didn’t run, the man and woman would catch him.

The memory didn’t know what he was looking for, but the feeling in that moment was important. Like if George didn’t find it, he would die.

He ran and ran and ran and then he came upon the grass cloak. He ran to the cloak and grabbed it tightly. He remembered how warm it felt and how instantly it comforted him. He remembered shouting something out into the forest and then he was grabbed by the man and woman chasing him.

He fought and shouted as much as he could, but he didn’t start screaming until they tried to take the cloak from him. Between the screams he heard them talking about throwing the cloak away, or burning it. George cried so hard his whole body retched and ran out of air.

The man and woman — his parents — decided it was easier just to let him have it. They could hide a cloak easy enough and if it kept him calm even for a few moments they’d take it.

He stopped his screaming but George was carried back to that home crying. He was put into the unfamiliar room with the cloak still clutched in his hands. He lay on the floor with the cloak wrapped around him. He clung onto the lasting warmth and familiar scent for as long as he could.

It smelt like home.

It smelt like HD.

“I was looking for you...”

George finally spoke again and his voice nearly broke. He felt a tear run down his cheek.

“What?” HD noticed the tears then. “George!”

“I was looking for you all that time.” George repeated. “I remember. I... I-I can’t—I don’t remember but I know... I was running away, trying to get back to the forest and find you!”

It was a lost jigsaw piece finally slotting in and completing the puzzle. He was never just running to run. His tantrums weren’t just from his stubbornness. He had lost his brother. The last time he had seen him was in the woods so George’s only logic to follow was if he went back into the woods, he’d find HD. When he had ran and found the cloak he had assumed HD must have been nearby. He was screaming for him as his new parents dragged him away. He was crying for his brother.

“I forgot you!” George was breathless. His chest felt tight. He couldn’t breathe.

“Hey! Woah, just calm down.” HD’s hands were on his shoulder.

“How did I forget?!” He couldn’t breathe and his voice broke again. It felt like he was about to throw up but his throat felt closed and choked.

All of a sudden George was pulled in to a tight hug. His head rested over HD’s shoulder and hands rubbed at his back. The tightness in his throat eased. HD smelled like spring wildflowers and grass. It was the scent that calmed him as a child. The scent that used to be with the cloak.

The tears fell then and despite his best attempt George couldn’t hold back his sobbing. His body shook with his cries, but HD held him gently. His cheek rested over George’s head and his hands were comforting and patting his back. George was catching his breath when he realised he was being moved.

HD had moved the book off his lap and was lifting George into his arms. George felt like a child but in that moment he didn’t care. Years worth of grief and loss crashed into him and he felt like a ton of bricks. But HD lifted him like he was weightless.

George didn’t see where they were going till he was set down onto a bed. It wasn’t his own bed but a bigger one, with sheets that moved like clouds. When he was placed down it was like he sank into the bed, as though it had made a small divot for him.

His face was wet and George wiped his eyes and cheeks. He sniffled as HD sat on the bed beside him. His hair was pushed out of his face and HD smiled.

“You’d sleep in a little cloud divot beside me sometimes. Do you remember that?”

Vaguely George did. He remembered being so little he had to climb up to the bed and there would be a small space for him to lay while HD would nap.

“Yes... Prime, this is stupid.” George wiped his face again. It was funny and stupid how one little memory suddenly unlocked years worth of forgotten things. “How could I forget that?”

“You were young. It’s understandable.” HD’s voice was soft still and he brushed George’s hair gently. “And I forgot too. Trust me, whatever you are feeling George, I’ve felt it.”

His heart was a mess with feelings of shame and elation. A weight lifted from his shoulders but there was still so many questions to answer.

Well, now they could find the answers together.

“I used to try run from my parents to the woods.” George started talking. He worried it might set him off again, but while there were still tears he didn’t sob. “I wouldn’t get far but... I don’t even know why they’d bother to bring me back.”

HD lay down on the bed beside him. “Do you remember how your parents found you?”

George shook his head. “I think I was wandering in the woods and stumbled into a village. But that was a lot of my early memories. I don’t... I can’t really remember when I stopped trying. It was just easier to not fight.”

HD frowned. “Were your parents unkind to you?”

George wasn’t sure how to answer. “In a way...”

“Did they hurt you?”

The words became difficult to say. George never liked talking about his parents, even with Dream or Sapnap. They had never given him a beating but there were marks and years of self-doubt they had to answer for. Even if it wasn’t physical, it was abuse and saying it out loud wasn’t easy.

As soon as he could leave he was gone and they never came after him. Raising him was more like an obligation but it was one they chose themselves. Why?

Another tear ran down his cheek but was wiped away. George blinked and looked up to see one of the ethereal hands above him. It waved slightly, wiggling its fingers in an over-exaggerated manor.

A memory clicked in his mind. The white hands above him keeping him entertained. They’d wave at him and make shapes with each other.

The hand poked at his cheeks, drawing George from his memory. He bat weakly to the hand.

“They’d keep you entertained as a child.” HD spoke fondly. “They’d play with you then.”

“Well they’re annoying me now.” George was smiling as he spoke and the hand poked his cheek again. He tried to swipe at it and it floated up out of reach. He reached up to hit it away, and another hand appeared and tweaked his ribs.

George squeaked as HD smiled. “They’d do that too.”

George protected his ribs and opened his mouth but the hand tickled on his other side. George grabbed at it, but as it quickly flew back and waved tauntingly at him, another hand appeared and tickled at his ribs again.

“NO!” George arched and jumped.

“You fall for it the exact same way.” HD cooed.

“H-HEeheDeehe!” George squeaked as one, two, three, more hands than he could count through his squinting eyes appeared and descended. It was not a rough, wrestling kind of tickling he expected but instead it was soft.

Fingers caressed and fluttered over his sides, ribs and stomach. No matter how he waved his arms and hit them away, the hands would leave and then gently float back like feathers.

“T-Tehell them to stooohohop!”

“And deprive them of your adorable giggles? That seems cruel.” HD said, amused and smiling.

One of the hands got to the spot right were George’s ribs met his stomach and the giggles turned into a hiccuped squeal. He managed to grab one of the hands, but two more took it’s place.

George threw his head back, kicked his legs and his hands squeezed the white ethereal hand he still held. His nails scratched just lightly over the palm.

The hands all paused at once and HD gave a breathy, giggly gasp. George took in breathes with the break of tickling. His mind whirled and connected the dots but his train of thought was cut off as his waist was grabbed and he was pulled into more waiting tickling hands. This time only two, and flesh instead of ethereal.

“Please!” George gasped. “Not agahahain!”

“Tickle, tickle, tickle...” HD’s voice cooed right by his ear. Fingers pinched up his sides, skittered down his ribs and fluttered by his ear. George could try push them off but his strength melted away with his laughter.

“S-Sto...haha...stooohohop!”

“Hmm, we should stop. You are getting tired.”

The hands fluttered off, leaving George giggling and rubbing his sides. The hands came back and while George tensed in anticipation, they just cupped his face this time. George bravely opened his eyes as thumbs brushed over his cheeks.

“Your mushroom cheeks are almost gone.”

Thumbs brushed over his cheeks again. HD held his face so gently and smiled so softly. His eyes were fond and wet with emotion. He was happy.

“You’re getting tired.”

“I’m n-nohot...”

There was no point denying it. George’s eyelids were heavy, and the only thing holding back his yawns were his giggles. HD’s hands were soft and tickled lightly over George’s face. He was already so sensitive from the tears and tickling before. He couldn’t help but giggle whenever the thumb would swipe over.

“Yes you are...” HD cooed. “Your mushroom cheeks are slowly disappearing. Slowly being wiped away.”

“I knohow what you’re d-dohoing...”

“I’m not doing anything.”

Was this how he got George to sleep when he was young? It felt familiar in a safe way. He had been here before? Coaxed into sleep and fighting against it just to stay awake with his brother for a few minutes more.

But even without seeing them, he knew the red and white spots were fading. His eyes were opening slower and slower and HD’s hands were gone, replaced with a soft cloudy pillow.

“Sleep, Little Prince.”

The grass cloak was pulled to his shoulder and George slipped into a sweet sleep.

Just a mini fic between main stuff. This is a complete lore drop fic really. I've fiddled with this for a bit trying to get it right and this is the best it will be. Had to cut out some ideas but for a mini lore fic, it's perfectly fine.

The fics after this will be more tickle focused so please look forward to that.

---

The air of the underground tunnels was stale and heavy. The feeling of it all was different when it was empty and the bricks cleared of the dead vines. With all of the vines removed, the tunnels became unstable. The tendrils had buried so deep into the stone and some were thicker than  DreamXD’s arm. XD was rebuilding some parts of the wall, just to make sure the tunnels wouldn’t collapse, and all the while keeping one eye on the obsidian wall that covered over the strange moss.

HD’s reaction was still fresh in his mind. The Overworld God had never looked so fearful. He wasn’t just scared, it was pure fear etched on his face. All over moss that XD was sure looked familiar but he couldn’t place it.

Well he’d get his answers.

The air crackled with energy. The purple swirl of a nether portal appeared and GeorgeHD and Sapnap4K stepped out.

HD still looked worried. 4K’s face was a mix of sceptical and dread. His eyes caught onto the obsidian and his face pulled to an uneasy frown.

“There?” He asked.

“Yes.” HD’s reply was quick. They both approached the dark purple wall like it was ready to explode at any moment. HD waved his hand, the blocks fell away and the moss was still there, pulsing in the darkness.

“Oh...” 4K’s voice sounded broken. “You were right...shit...”

“Did you think I would lie about this?!” HD sounded offended.

“No! I was just hoping you were wrong!”

“What is it?”

XD’s question broke whatever frustration had come over them. It was like they remembered XD was there. Both God’s looked at each other then 4K turned back to XD and spoke. “It’s called skulk...”

“Oh.” It all clicked for XD. “The stuff from the Warden War.”

The words flashed over each God differently. 4K visibly flinched as though the words would hit him. HD’s eyes widened and it took a moment before he blinked again.

“Y-Yes... How did you—Did Prime tell you about the Warden War?”

“Only some parts.” XD admitted. “Prime said there was a great catastrophe that changed the world but never went into detail. The Endless Library had books on it that I would study.” Now their reactions made sense, but XD was still puzzled and peered at the skulk again. “This skulk won’t spread.”

The older Gods looked immediately doubtful to XD’s claims, but were polite about it when HD calmed asked. “How do you know?”

XD pulled into long deep memories. A time before Dream and before the End was so quiet. Desperate to be loved by his people, he spent weeks in the Endless Library studying their history. “It is not glowing bright enough. Skulk spreads with exp. If it does not have enough to grow it becomes duller.”

“You’re sure of that?” HD asked.

“It is the truth.” XD felt suddenly defensive he was being doubted but his annoyance faded to the looks on their faces. When XD was studying the history, even the kind teachers did not wish to discuss the war. It was fresh and painful so XD studied alone. Now majority of the people who were in the war were long passed and it was never a thought to XD. But HD and 4K would have been there. They lived through the war but their days in it would have been in fear of this skulk spreading and creating more Wardens.

“I will prove it.”

XD walked boldly to the skulk, reached out and touched it. HD was quick to his side and pulled his hand away but his skin had already made contact. Some of the moss stuck to the warmth of XD’s skin but it didn’t spread. Instead it slowly crumbled off like dried dust. Another sign it was close to death as the moss of skulk was normally soft.

“Don’t ever fucking do that again!” 4K snapped in a tone so unlike him. He had come to XD’s side as well, his hands warm on XD’s arms but his words harsh. “You scared us half to death!”

“There is nothing to fear. It is dormant.”

“But why is it here?” HD hissed. Even with proof of the skulk’s state he was still looking at it as though a monster could spring to life from it at any moment. “There shouldn’t be any left. After the war we cleared it all.”

“We can follow the trail and see where it goes. Maybe there is a source.” XD suggested.

The idea made sense though HD and 4K grumbled their agreement. XD felt offended he was lead back from the skulk corner and 4K kept a steady grip on his arms while HD carefully cleared away the wall.

The moss went much deeper than any of them thought. HD had already cleared a pathway about six feet into the wall and as the blocks lifted the skulk crackled and easy broke away. When the skulk started growing downwards, it became firmer and harder to unstick from the blocks. Carefully, HD cleared another three feet of blocks from the ground, dug out to make a small ditch, and they came across something unusual.

A yellowing block of uneven stone with the skulk over the top of it. The source.

HD didn’t look fearful anymore. Now he looked mad. “This was deliberate. This was placed!”

His concern for the skulk was gone as he grabbed the strange block and lifted it. It was just about the size of a pumpkin, or maybe a little bigger.

“What is it?” XD asked.

“A catalyst.” 4K answered. “It’s like...a source block for the skulk. It spreads out if it gets exp. If it gets enough it just starts spreading on it’s own.”

XD studied the block but could not remember it in his reading. Surely the books wouldn’t have left out an important detail, and put it down to him missing it somehow. “Well... It didn’t spread, so it didn’t have enough exp then.” He theorised.

“But it did.” HD pointed to the skulk in the small ditch. “It did! Enough to spread out this far. Something was being fed to it to give it exp.”

The thought was chilling and horrifying. Especially when the moss was growing so close to the chamber, where the Eggs feeding chamber lay. Was everyone accounted for when they were rescued?

XD couldn’t let his thoughts grow too far. “What if...what if something was fed to it before and then it was placed and started growing?”

4K looked thoughtful. “It’s a possibility...”

“It doesn’t matter!” HD cut in. “Whether something was fed to it before or continuously, it doesn’t matter.” HD shook the catalyst in his hand and looked to 4K. “We destroyed these. All of them! It took years but we destroyed every single one of them. Now one of them is here.”

“So someone is making them.” 4K finished.

“Not someone. Something! They’re back!”

“Don’t! HD... Don’t say that!”

“The evidence is quite clear 4K! They survived! They’re back!” HD snapped his attention to XD. “What did the books say happened at the end? When the war was over, what happened?”

The concern for HD made XD’s memories panic. He quickly ran through everything he could remember. “It...the Wardens were growing weaker. They couldn’t get enough exp to live and began to starve. They died out.”

HD and 4K looked between one another, with the thought passing between them clear as day.

“That was a lie?” XD asked.

“It’s not entirely wrong.” 4K admitted. He had looked uncomfortable the moment he saw the moss and now it was like his skin was constantly crawling. He scratched at his hand or face and his tail would whip behind him every few seconds.

“Then what happened?”

“They did grow weaker.” HD explained. “The Wardens worked as a hive mind. They were supposed to act for the skulk, growing it further and bringing exp to feed into it. But the Wardens also needed exp. Their gluttony fought with the hive orders, and couldn’t bring enough exp to sustain the skulk. The skulk lost power to grow and make Wardens. The Wardens lost connection to the hive mind. They were uncoordinated but still dangerous. To organise a mission to kill every single one of them would have been too dangerous.”

“So...they live?”

“An idea was called...” 4K took over. “That if we couldn’t kill them they would be...locked away.”

“Locked away?” XD’s ears twitched in his confusion. “Where?”

“There are cities hidden deep underground the Overworld. They were there long before my time. Maybe even before Prime. They were the first to be overrun with skulk and the Wardens. When we had confirmation every catalyst was cleared out, we would lock them down into the deep underground cities and let them starve themselves.” HD explained.

“Not all agreed...” 4K mumbled.

“It was voted on and decided!” HD defended. “The war was over! To lose any more people killing those things would have been wasteful. We’d already lost so much. It won the vote and I gathered every Warden from every Realm and I locked them away underground. They’d kill each other and the ones left would starve. It kept people safe!”

The silence that followed was tense. 4K and HD refused to look at each other.

“Okay... Well... Maybe they did die. Or maybe they did not.” XD cleared their throat. “But whatever happened to them, this...catalyst? It’s here now. And if you say all of them were destroyed then someone had made more.”

It brought the tension back down from the room, but it was no less troubling to think about.

“Can Wardens make these things?” XD asked.

“Not on their own. Without the hive the Warden’s only thought is consuming to survive. They were supposed to bring exp to catalysts to keep them going. If they’re all destroyed it would take... Prime, I don’t know...a lot of exp to make one.”

“So either, they weren’t destroyed, or someone coordinated enough exp to make one from the skulk.” XD reason. His mind flicked through possibilities and memories of his reading when the skulk pulsed again, and a memory struck XD. “Oh shit...”

“What?” 4K asked.

“The moss—Skulk! I’ve seen it before. It was found at the prison. In Dream’s cell and through the walls.”

“In the prison?!” HD blinked. “That... Is that how Dream escaped?”

“He said it was through the moss. He said someone contacted him and he escaped through a strange moss. I never put it together!”

Connections quickly lined up in XD’s head, overwhelming and stunning him. The moss at the prison leading to Dream’s cell. Dream spoke about someone talking to him through the revive book. ‘Friend’ he called it. It never clicked to XD the moss could have ever been skulk, or that it could ever be used in such a way.

“Dream said he travelled through the moss. Is that possible?”

HD and 4K shared a look between one another. “That’s never been a thing before...” 4K mumbled, and immediately regretted it when XD’s face twisted in worry.

“Even if it wasn’t, Dream’s fine. He’s not infected with anything.” HD quickly assured him. “But if someone contacted him and is using the skulk, then that someone probably made...this.” HD held forward the catalyst again. It pulsed it’s eery glow again and again.

“He said...this friend contacted them through the revive book.” XD gave a look to 4K.

The Nether God quickly pulled the book from the jacket. “This? I thought...there shouldn’t be any way to contact someone through this.”

“Dream said the person was dead but...not dead like gone. I’m not sure if he meant it was a ghost but he said they contacted back and forth with the book.”

The God’s shared another look. 4K looked almost distraught but HD was trying to keep his face calm.

“Before we get out of control with theories, we need a plan.” HD’s voice was calm now. “Firstly, we need this taken care of.” He motioned to the catalyst. “I will speak with...uh, the prison guard. They might have found another catalyst.” He looked to XD. “If you can talk to Dream and get any info about this friend we can work from there. If this person speaks through the book then 4K can keep an eye on it. It might try to reach out to Dream again.”

It was a shaky start to plan, but it was the only one they had for now. XD was not looking forward to the talk with Dream again. He was so resistant to speaking before and after everything he couldn’t really gauge where his brother was in his moods. But not speaking to Dream directly lead to a lot of trouble before, so it had to be this way now.

“First let’s clear up this skulk.” XD suggested. A mindless numbing task was just what he needed. “I know it needs the catalyst to spread but just to be sure we should make sure it’s gone.”

They agreed and XD first got to work, going into the dug out tunnel HD had cleared and started pulling off the moss. It fell apart in his hands and turned to dust, so it would be a fast clean up.

HD and 4K didn’t join at first. They held back and while XD didn’t mean to listen in, his ear twitched to their words and he couldn’t help it.

“If Dream said they spoke to them through the book, it might be him...” 4K spoke so hushed and softly and desperately.

“We don’t know for sure.” HD replied back just as softly.

XD resisted the urge to turn around and just listened again.

“But it could be.” 4K’s voice almost broke.

“I know. Believe me, 4K, I want it to be him as well but you can’t get your hopes up.”

XD thought back to the flickering light that lead him to the moss. Not just a light, but it was the shape of a person. It knew XD was staring at it and it pointed right to the moss.