A lethal fantasy fanfiction!

...

He really didn’t want to come back so soon, but for his own mind’s sake going there was a must. Papyrus wasn’t aware of what he was doing - and he didn’t have to be.

He just wanted to check the situation he left on its own terms some time ago…

The woods were the same as always for what he could tell. The trees were green and the ground as well - all good!

The next step was to see how that family’s only child’s soul was bearing with everything that happened. Considering past experience, he had to make sure his scythe was sharp…

After venturing through those woods once, it was easier to spot the small house - the exterior was simple - it was made out of wood which clearly had been taken from the forest around it. The only real tree that existed there was an apple tree with… odd looking apples.

He could tell it wasn’t a simple apple tree - not only by the fruits’ appearance but also by the aura surrounding it. As if it was some kind of… entity.

…He knew there were other gods or entities just as powerful out of his universe. Was that plant one of them..?

…He supposed it was for the best to not get close, then. Nobody knew what cards an entity had up its sleeves - or under its roots, in this case.

 Looking towards the house there was a garden full of red fruits - tomatoes? - besides some other plants charged with fruits..? Vegetables..? Well, Reaper didn’t come there to train his knowledge anyways.

He decided to approach the house, looking through the window to not be perceived.

He could see the child was in their bed, lying peacefully. They had bandages covering their face, only showing the side where there were no cracks. Their only free eye looking around quietly.

It was almost pitiful to see such a SOUL with fiery spirit like that… It reminded him of someone he met once.

Around the child there were the adults. The red scarf and the other with the purple cloth were sitting by their side. The purple one was holding a book, probably reading the child a story while the red scarf one had them snuggled against him.

The parents, comforting their small child - it was a soft scene. Reaper could almost feel the fuzzies… that was, if those people weren’t the reason he had to leave his job unfinished.

…

He sighed.

He supposed the child was not unstable to the point of being a threat to the balance, just a little bit… traumatized by their meeting.

Why did it always have to be like this?

He decided there was nothing else to look at. He walked away.

Of course, he had to reap more SOULs. He couldn’t stay longer.

…Unless?

…

..

There was a really cozy-looking area of grass in the forest - it seemed way cozier than the mass of dark matter he had back home.

For sure trying it out for a little nap wouldn’t hurt.

He looked into the forest’s forms for that spot. The chase took long, but there it was!

The grass would be soft for only a few seconds before drying out - but who cared? He didn’t.

He lays down on the ground, putting his scythe nearby. The surface of the cozy weed wasn’t as soft as the one he found in Life’s garden, but it wasn’t very behind it either.

He didn’t even notice he slept - he was in an unconscious state in a blink of an eye.

…

To sleep was a simple process for Reaper. He didn’t think of anything about his reality or got stressed because of nightmares - to not have dreams had its benefits.

…

..

.

Reaper didn’t know what woke him up. Maybe he slept too much? Or an animal made a sound he didn’t register…

Regardless, it was a good nap. He would totally do it again.

He stretched his arms and wings, refusing to get up just yet. That grass was cozy even if it dried out…

It was when he heard something breaking somewhere. He turned his face towards the sound.

There didn’t seem to be anything special to be looked at. Trees, bushes, grass, some rocks, a bird that had just landed but took flight very soon after…

The golden eyelights, though, didn’t escape his gaze.

“oh, so you are still alive,” he said with irreverence.

Reaper by renrink

Mysterious golden eyes/lh by jokublog

The song’s pace fastens and a strange anticipation turns his limbs frigid and lead-heavy.

The sudden imbalance makes his fist plummet onto the flower, crushing it with a horrifying crunch he usually only associates with broken bones.

The flower, petal scattered around, lies in a puddle of red juice, slowly seeping into its fibers and thoroughly staining the immaculate.

Dream takes a step back, panic leaching at his heels and bumps onto another flower who instantly shrivels up and dies in a high pitched squeak.

The song is still here, surrounding him, pulsating against his bones, angry and hungry.

His run starts.

Each step kills a new portion of the gigantic plant.

Each step makes the beautiful flowers turn ugly colors and fade into the wind.

Each step makes agonizing noises of pain that scratches his skull’s insides.

His eyes closed, he runs, an hysterical laugh bubbling up and down in his rib cage.

And he runs.

And he runs.

And he runs.

Until he crashes into something he faintly registers as wooden before an explosion of pain claws a scream out of him.

Dream screamed himself awake.

Eyes unfocused and energy beating a wild tune between his joints, he looked wildly around for any shadow.

A soft blanket sat on his lap, only half-dislodged by his abrupt awakening. He gripped at the lumpy sensation of a mattress under his fingers.

A bed.

He was in Nightmare and Geno’s room.

Before he could further examine his situation, the door swung open to reveal a wide-eyed Nightmare. They met eyes and his brother gave him a gentle smile before frowning a bit, tears welling up in his eyes.

Still very confused about whatever happened, Dream did the only thing he could think of and opened his arms.

The invitation was answered with energy and they both chuckled at it soon after.

Someone came standing next to the bed  and playfully slapped the top of his skull.

“I see you’re feeling better, Dream,” Geno placed a hand on his hip, “you scared us to the bones, did ya’ know?”

Scared?

What did-

He looked at his brother and friend, searched for hints in their expressions, apprehension filling his space. Then something locked into place in his head and a fresh wave of panic made him turn and turn searching the room for someone small and enthusiastic and found none.

“WHERE IS-”, a hint of desperation crawled inside his speech.

“Shhh, that's ok, she’s sleeping in your hammock. She actually requested to sleep there so we could lull her asleep…” 

His brother did not make eye-contact and did not blink once while saying this. He wasn’t lying.

“We can bring her over if you want, she might be sleeping deeply enough to be moved. I’m shore she’ll be ‘lright with seeing you upon waking.”

Dream pondered briefly his options before nodding a ‘go ahead’ to his brother-in-law. Geno quietly left and returned as quietly with his precious bundle a minute later. 

He gestured to the twins to scoot and deposited the girl right in the middle of them.

Dream didn’t wait to circle her with his arms leaving just enough for his brother’s arm to slot and carefully pulled the snoozling toddler under the blanket.

Geno sighed and gestured to them that he was leaving for now, he looked tired.

Once he left, Dream allowed himself to rest fully against the pillows. 

He glanced at Nightmare, who had already closed his eyes to the world. How long had he been out? Did the other wait for him to wake? 

He looked exhausted but peaceful, with his arm draped over his child, the tip of his fingers brushed against his.

Vivid’s face was barely visible under the fold of her pajamas’ hood. It was the fluffiest she had, they had traded the fabric Geno used for it two whole pumpkins but it was worth it to see her jump and snuggle into the soft pink squirrel-shaped outfit. 

A bandage peeked across her face, covering the wound he now vividly remembered.

Will it heal?

The toddler moved slightly in her sleep, uncovering a bigger part of her face.

Her pointed eyes scrunched up a second before relaxing again, resting upon the ocean of freckles that always nested on her cheeks. 

Dream idly noted the lack of her thin silver crown she more often than not refused to remove from her head. He could only recall a couple times he’d seen her without since she got it for her 2nd birthday.

Her symbol of guardianship…

He was tempted to let himself sink more into the warmth and peace of knowing (most of) his family accounted for but a nagging thought kept pushing to the forefront and ignoring it made his toes twitch with anxious energy.

He had something to check.

Untangling himself without waking anyone would have been near impossible if not for the deep tiredness that seemed to permeate the room.

And with a phantom kiss on Vivid’s nose bone, he stood up, wobbling a bit, and left the room.

He, however, didn’t go unnoticed by Geno for long, who had been prepping some meat (or fish? Was it the ugly fish?) in the kitchen.

“Hey, buddy, where do ya think you’re going?”

The guardian managed a weak smile he was aware didn’t reach very far.

“I need to check something.”

He turned his back and continued towards the door. Light steps followed and soon an arm slipped under his, allowing him to relieve some of his weight off. 

Was it a silent understanding that made them process in the darkened night without a word? A shared apprehension? A controlled anticipation?

Regardless of what it was, they walked as a single man until they reached their most precious belongings, his family’s duties.

Dream stopped in front of the tree of feelings, pressing his forehead against the bark, feeling the dual drum of energies inhabiting the wood, enjoying for a fleeting instant the feeling of harmonious flowing. 

Bound by a leap of energy coursing through his bones, he let go of his support and walked towards his real goal, only a few steps away. 

A half-lidden moon aided him in finding it and soon, he was crouched in front of a very special plant.

Protected by a small picket fence, stood a strawberry plant. A crudely drawn sign announcing “No touch” (surrounded by arguably recognizable shapes) rested on the fence, an invitation to stop here and now.

Vivid’s plant.

Like the twins, she was tethered to a plant. It appeared at her birth and remained in that exact spot since then. 

The plant was still here and Dream couldn’t help but release a relieved sight. That was good.

While he wondered, not for the first time, what kind of concept could belong to the berries if it had one, Geno crouched as well, still tense.

“Dream, can you give me some light? I still have awful night vision unlike you, ya’ know?”

Dream nodded before blowing on his fingers. 

A soft light curled out of his joints, illuminating his palm.

Weaker than usual…

He placed his hand closer, tentatively crossing the fence, staying just shy enough to not later summon the toddler’s wrath by a hazardous touch.

The strawberries looked as red as ever, a few having an unripe spot at the tip or tops. Nothing unusual. 

…

Not just some.

Each of them sported the whitened stain of unlived youth.

Not anything some light wouldn’t eventually fix!

A hand pushed his arm softly towards the leaves.

The guardian gasped at their state.

All of them had drooped, former greenness now marred by a grim brown.

His trembling fingers cradled a damaged leaf, bits falling off under his careful touch.

No, no, no, no, no.

It couldn’t be true! 

His grip turned stronger and half of the leaf fell apart in a messy rain onto the ground.

A hiccup escaped him as all the details of their encounter with the violent stranger in the woods came crashing back against any argument for the theory he preferred, being that the guy was merely insane and that his niece was hurt and shaken but not- not-

The hiccup turned into sobs racking through his body and he felt more than saw arms grabbing his shoulders a bit roughly, pulling him away from the strawberry square.

Geno shook him a bit until he focused on the other's face that seemed to be mouthing words.

“C.A.L.M.D.O.W.N.”

Or maybe it was something else, like “cow drown”, he wasn’t a mouth reading expert.

The silly thought shocked him out of the weird trance he seemed to have been in. Why would Geno tell him about a drowning cow now???

A small chuckle erupted, surprised and surprising. A pressure he hadn’t noticed fizzled out of the surroundings and he glanced back at the other’s worried face.

“You with me, buddy?”

He nodded, finding leftover fear still had his voice locked.

Geno’s arms loosened his grip but stayed right there. 

He didn’t know how to describe his friend’s expression but it beaconed him to listen and shut his distressing thoughts. That was what he did. Listen.

“Now, it’s gonna be okay. I know it so listen to me when I say so.”

He listened.

“Vivid is not only your brother’s daughter but also mine.”

Yeah, and?

“I am not a guardian or anything fancy but you should remember I’m really far from being a ‘normal’ monster!”

He still didn’t follow the reasoning.

“And I died long ago and should be at least 6 metacarpal bones under!”

What?

“I guess I didn’t really tell you the whole story like I did with Nightsky…”

This night Dream had stayed huddled against Geno for a while before they went back inside, until his tears had dried and his hope had been rekindled.

If Geno had avoided death before because of his “determination”, why wouldn’t their girl, who was the most stubborn child he ever saw, be able to?

He pointedly avoided thinking of the other’s many gnarly scars or of Vivid’s splitted skull.

He finally went back to sleep, in this big bed in the company  of his family, with a final thought.

They were going to live and that guy or anything else would never be able to stop them.

Dreamtale, Nightmare and Dream by jokublog Geno!Sans by loverofpiggies Vivid by @bluepallilworld

…

..

.

“SANS!!!” he could hear a familiar voice calling his name. 

“oh, ey paps…” he mumbled quietly to his brother, quietly shifting his position on the ground.

“STARS, SANS! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR BACK?!”

“oh, well. funny story-”

“NEVERMIND! MY ANXIETY CAN’T DEAL WITH THIS KIND OF QUESTIONS!!! DID YOU GET THE SOUL?”

“i did.”

“WELL WHERE IS IT THEN?!”

“i let it go,” the smaller god said with irreverence.

Papyrus stood still for a few seconds, before his body started trembling. Oh, well. There it was coming.

“SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSSSS-”

Reaper shifted his position again, this time sitting down as he tried to bear with the loud scream.

“SANS! YOU LAZY BONES! I! TRUSTED THAT SOUL WITH YOU!!”

“apparently the mother owls couldn’t let go of their precious eggs,” he shrugged, “i did all i could but if they insist on keeping a rotten egg…”

“YOU CAN’T! BE SERIOUS!” Papyrus put his hands on his skull, “THAT SOUL NEEDS TO BE COLLECTED IMMEDIATELY!”

“look bro,” Reaper said, starting to frown a bit, “i know this is important and all, but it won’t do. they can’t be caught.”

“BROTHER I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT I AM HEARING!!!”

“paps, I-”

“YOU OUT OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW BETTER!!”

“papyrus-”

“YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME-”

“that doesn’t matter anymore.”

Reaper’s sudden harsh tone made Papyrus get quiet. 

Oh, the sweet, sweet silence he was silently (heh) begging for.

It was so good for him to put his mind in place again, though… he could see Papyrus with a sad, unusual composure by the corner of his eye socket.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for losing his patience like that, but his brother saw it coming he tried to talk about that…

Papyrus fiddled with his own cloak as he probably was reconsidering his words.

“...I’M SORRY.”

Reaper sighed.

“let’s just end things here, ‘k bro?” Reaper said quietly, a bit calmer now, “...there is no way we can catch them. not now, at least.”

His brother sat by his side, dramatically putting his head in his hands.

“SIGH… I SUPPOSE IT’S MY FAULT… THEY WERE MY SOUL TO REAP AND I FAILED… AND NOW I AM TRYING TO PUT YOU AS THE ONE TO BLAME… HOW SHAMEFUL…”

“i can agree on that last part,” the smaller had a lazy grin almost hidden by his cloak, “...but it’s not like you didn’t try hard before coming to me.”

Papyrus’ sad expression softened a bit.

“WHAT WILL WE DO NOW, THOUGH? THERE MIGHT COME CONSEQUENCES…”

Reaper stood in silence. He had no idea about what to do as well. It wasn’t a common occurrence in his job…

…What he knew was that he deserved a really nice, cozy uninterrupted nap for trying to be a good brother and grim reaper.

even if he failed at both

Reaper and his brother originally by renrink

Nightmare put a gentle hand on his partner’s shoulder and whispered something to him. Whatever it was, the monster untensed slightly.

They left the house, eager to find their protegee.

Dream lingered a second to the door before grabbing his bow and arrows.

Just in case.

The group separated quietly, a silent agreement to avoid noise while they searched through Vivid’s usual hang-out places.

They didn’t want to startle her if she was up a tree (he forbade her to do such but when did she ever listen to little old him?) after all.

Dream went up the river, following the familiar trail of big rocks he knew she enjoyed following up the northern cave.

The water was clear enough he could peer at various fish swimming at the bottom, each looking far more tastier than the one that will rest on their table for a while.

He hopped above a root dipping into the river, his feet agile (and shoeless, he didn’t wear any today) almost snagged on a pointier bit but a shameful dance brought him back to equal ground.

What could have kept their girl? Was she stuck? Wouldn’t she have sent them a mouse or a bird if so?

Like that time she attempted to crawl under a root and just couldn’t get out. She must have panicked for a moment since they had the visit of maybe 50 crickets who just flew right in their faces before fleeing (and damaging their garden). Her vague control over small creatures scared him sometimes. They had found crickets everywhere for weeks after that…

The northern cave loomed in front of him, a branch of the water body climbing into it and disappearing into the abyss. 

Dream didn’t lose any more time pondering the spookiness of the place and wandered inside the not-so-tall cave. 

Not even a minute later, a huge sound resonated from somewhere outside and what he could only think of as shouting voices.

Dream almost tripped hurrying out, the top of his wooden bow scraping against the hard walls.

WHAT WAS THAT? WHAT IF SOMETHING BAD TRULY HAPPENED???

Running in the direction where the sound was louder made him fall on a strange trail. A path of dead plants, some seemed to have been cut but others… just looked like they withered on their own.

Something unnatural was at work.

The guardian picked his bow and knocked an arrow, speeding through the wood as fast as he could, following the grim road.

A terrifying scene awaited him at the end.

Vivid hiding behind Geno, eye ablaze and arm outstretched towards a strange figure, hovering in front of them.

Wearing all black and bearing a scythe, he couldn’t read anything from their eyes. Empty voids of nothingness, hidden in even more darkness from a hood. The skeleton (because it appeared to be just that) had two dark wings protruding from their back flapping powerfully.

A sharp bone was stuck in the fabric of their sleeve and both were frozen, glaring at the other in a tensed pose.

Were these two fighting?

Nightmare arrived roughly when he finally put away his bow to crouch down and pry Vivid from Geno. Better to check her.

“move.”

The stranger’s voice was deep and cold, asking no questions.

The small girl allowed herself to be picked up and the little hood of her open coat slipped, revealing a long crack going from her eye socket all the way to the back of her skull, the line only broken by the thin shape of her stubbornly still on silver crown. The 3 years old squeezed her eyes shut, a tear rolling down her freckled cheek before burying back her face in his shirt.

“lemme do my work. move.”

Something boiled fiercely inside of him, and he felt the same happening to his twin who had his eyes fixed on a small red piece of fabric hanging on the tip of the scythe that looked suspiciously similar to the very shirt he remembered Vivid wearing this morning.

A roaring coming right from his past teared through the air and almost clipped the flier’s wings. Geno had enough.

After a sigh, the attacker dived towards them at full speed.

And the fight started.

At first, Dream took a few steps and let the others start the action, he had to secure Vivid before anything. 

Geno was the most active, tearing the air with sharp bones and burning it with repeated blasts, showing neither hesitation nor mercy.  

But Nightmare wasn’t so far.

It was less constructed and destructive but he threw himself in with fury, letting his magic leak out of his fingers’ joints into an acidic fluid he did not hesitate to expedite in the direction of the attacker, which one kept swinging around his sharp blade, diving and twisting without touching the ground.

He tried to put Vivid down and to relative safety but she clinged harder and harder with each attempt. Seeing it was futile, Dream rearranged the child’s position to a more comfortable one and whispered to her to grab on while he prepared an arrow.

The thin projectile soared right where the stranger was, a second ago.

Swearing quietly, he prepared another one and focused on an opportunity to shoot.

“I have nothing against you, but I need. to. finish. this job.”

A bone attack almost nicked the other’s arm and they continued their dance, words ignored.

“I’m not lying! this girl is already dead. she needs to go.”

Dream froze at the outrageous claim, cold bursting through his seams and paralyzing his movements.

The sounds soften as he focused on the weight on his chest, desperately holding onto him. Dead? No, she was right here, like always, shivering and crying, but there.

He glanced at her and traced the crack with his eyes once again.

No.

Their strawberry was against him, moving.

Still there. 

He glanced up towards his brother and friend, surely they didn’t buy the lie?

Nightmare’s eyes were hard and focused, unreadable, barely containing an anger he could still sense as clear as the day.

Geno? Geno’s posture slouched at the claim, his attacks slowing for a second, imprecise, messy…

His eye was brimmed with tears and his face… That was not the face of someone outraged by the biggest fat lie they ever heard, no, it held the kind of vulnerability that went with hearing world-shattering news that was so big you just can’t deny. It was the truth.

A purple drop followed by its siblings reached the stranger’s wing and they shouted in pain finally dropping on the floor.

Dream didn’t know what came upon him at this point, his mind had been out and his body acted on his own. 

He found himself with the tip of his arrow, still knocked on the string, pressing against the aggressor’s neck. The black cladded skeleton looked at him, from the spot he laid on dead grass.

Wasn’t it green just a moment ago?

“DREAM, DON’T TOUCH-”

The warning evaporated as he briefly felt a hand cup his cheek, brushing against a tear he wasn’t aware of.

Then, the black.

No more precious weight pressing against his chest.

No more shine of steel gliding against strike white bones.

Just the disorienting dull of senses.

Dream, guardian of positivity, brother of Nightmare and uncle of Vivid, fell down.

Dreamtale, Dream and Nightmare belong to jokublog Geno!Sans belongs to loverofpiggies Reaper!Sans belongs to renrink Vivid belongs to bluepallilworld

There were too many trees and too few people there. It reminded him of Life’s garden…The very specific smell of the woods, the cozy silence only interrupted by the sounds of the leaves as they were gently touched by the wind…the soft grass that slowly died under his feet…

Damn. That would be a REALLY good place to take a nap.

Too bad he had to go after someone in Papyrus’ place. His brother would be nagging and yelling at him if he didn’t do as promised.

…He wouldn’t leave this universe without taking at least one good nap there, though.

Oh… and not without taking care of Papyrus’ troublemaker… Yeah. That too.

…

It took him a while, but he found the star of this episode.

A child.

They were a skeleton. By their size and overall body proportions, he could guess they weren’t someone older than five years old.

A big crack was visible in their skull, going from their left socket to the back of their skull. It also gave him the impression that if someone touched it, more cracks could spread leading even…to some parts falling? Very delicate. Almost like one of those bird eggs Life showed him before.

…He supposed for someone who seemed so delicate a death caused by a concussion wasn’t peaceful at all…

Their body didn’t dust - in fact, if it did, Papyrus wouldn’t struggle to catch their SOUL. That only meant it was bathed with DETERMINATION.

…

He already went through this to know it was for the best to end things as fast as possible. Even if it was just a child - and , of course, he wouldn’t let Papyrus escape with such a delicious motive for mockery.

He pulled the SOUL out of the child’s chest.

Its shape was curious. It was something like he’d never seen before: it changed nonstop, as if stubbornly not settling in a singular form; a mass of uncontrollable magic and DETERMINATION.

It almost didn’t surprise him when the SOUL literally rolled away, not accepting its FATE.

What kind of surprised him was the fact the body decided to flee… as well.

Reaper made a sound of surprise. He didn’t think much about what to do next, already getting a tight grip on his scythe and going after the child.

…

For someone so small they ran really, really fast. They made sure to go between trees and bushes, so it would be hard for the god to see them from above, he guessed.

“clever,” Reaper said with a small grin. This was getting interesting.

He already had to deal with people trying to outsmart him or so bravely refusing to die… but never someone so young. What are parents teaching their kids these days..?

He kept flying between the trees, trying to avoid hitting branches all while trying to localize the child- their movements were quite…silent when compared to the entire complexity of life in those woods.

Sometimes he would check a trembling bush but it would be just an animal hiding in there - or the wind. No matter how much time he spent in nature he would never be able to recognize what thing was nearby - to him, a fox breaking a branch as it stepped on it was indistinguishable from a bear doing the same, somehow

Life had already made fun of him because of that…

The woods got more silent as he walked around. It certainly didn’t help him concealing his approach. Perhaps it was because of that he wasn’t managing to find the child.

What if… he stopped moving for a moment?

…

No birds singing, no leaves moving. Even the nearby river’s sounds got quieter…

He landed, noticing his wings were making a lot of sound.

He knew the child was nearby.

The vibration of their unquiet SOUL was one of the very few things he could hear in the dead (heh) silence of that place.

The next thing he heard was the noise of his scythe slashing at one trunk behind him. He heard a little gasp coming alongside it.

He quietly walked in direction to the trunk. He almost didn’t feel bad at seeing its flowers decaying as he pushed the leaves aside in order to find the child.

There they were.

 The scythe didn’t hit their small body by mere millimeters. Their shirt was teared at the torso-level - only for it a second later being pinned down the ground by the weapon in the cloth above the right shoulder.

They looked at him with a frown. It was almost comical to see them be mad like that.

“there you are, kid,” he said with his usual tired smile, “i guess it’s time to accept the time for kidding around…”

The child stared at him. Along with the fury from before, there was also a hint of… fear?

“Noooo!!” they exclaimed with all the energy they must have had in their lungs. They pulled something from under their shirt and threw it on the god’s face too fast for him to react.

“what-ey!” he exclaimed as the thing was scratching his face like crazy. It hurt, even for a god like him. He couldn’t see and the shock of getting something alive thrown at him. He couldn’t really say if attacking was its intent or if it was just trying to flee.

Regardless of the case, it got limp a few seconds later, falling on the ground.

A squirrel.

Reaper huffed as he looked around.

There only was his scythe with a piece of fabric pinned on the ground.

He threw the creature’s body away. His smile got more tight.

“kid… you don’t know what you just did…”

He pulled his weapon from the ground before taking flight once more.

…

His frustration pushed him to throw away the mere concept of being discreet. He couldn’t believe he let a child outsmart him like that again

Not a child… a toddler. 

His pride didn’t want to let that slip.

He flew between the trees and bushes, trying to sense the SOUL’s vibrations again. His wings were heavily flapping, with their feathers ruffled in frustration. At least he was moving faster…

He sensed a movement in a bush in front of him and sliced it - only to notice the movement went to a small tree, which also didn’t get any mercy from his weapon, only for the child to not be there… 

And so went on.

The more time he passed in those woods the worse his irritation got.

…At some point, the woods got less dense. It was easier for him to spot the child, he thought.

He could hear their footsteps already.

He took no time. His scythe almost immediately stopped exactly where the child was, pinning them against a tree this time.

He approached, his gaze intense.

He didn’t think of something to tell the child before ripping their SOUL apart - he wouldn’t repeat the past.

“HEY!”

A bone pierced through the sleeve of his cloak.

He turned around. His frown deepened.

Vivid by @bluepallilworld OG Reaper by renrink

Dream woke up to gentle sunlight on his face and a light breeze making his hammock slowly swing. The morning smelt fresh and quiet and coming back from his agitated sleep right into this calm reality was… disorientating…to say the least.

The guardian (while he hadn’t felt worthy of the title recently, it was still his responsibility) took a moment to get his bearings, lying against the soft fabric rocking in the wind.

A leaf floated in the room by the glassless window (truly, a glorified hole in the wooden wall), swirling and twirling in the air until it set on the floor, another friendly breeze carried it away not even a minute after.

The guardian spirit pushed himself up on his elbows and watched the outside.

The forest was slowly waking and the sun shined just right to illuminate the leaves, flowers and fruits around. They really lucked out of this place, everything was just so lush around here. The muted sound of the river not far reached him and he pondered on if they’d go catch a fish later. 

Dream let his body lay down again and sighed. He still felt like most of his energy fluttered away all these years ago, during that awful night. Surely, some came back with the new tree of feelings going strong but it sometimes seemed like all had been lost then... and while they replaced some stuff? 

It was different.

A laugh ping-ponged behind the closed door, tearing away at his torpor.

“Dweam! Dweam!”

The high-pitched voice ringing encouraged him enough to jump down and walk towards the noise.

He idly checked his appearance in the tall broken mirror in the corner of the room as he moved forward.

The slightly too big (and crumpled) shirt dwarfed his shoulders, the simple pants were held up by a thin golden cord and his usual crown was sitting tilted to the left on his head.

He hummed and shook his head to replace the ornament before reaching for the doorknob.

The door barely had time to creak before an unstoppable force barreled into his legs almost making him topple.

“DWEAM! YOU ARE AWAKE!”

Dream chuckled and lightly pushed back the small girl hugging his knees.

“Hello there, Vivid. Did you sleep well?”

Vivid nodded, face still burrowed in his pants.

“Tell me, young girl,” he slowly pried the barnacle off the fabric and picked her up in his arms, “are your parents up? Should we go check?”

“Yeeeesh!”

And that way, the two waddled towards another door, chatting and giggling in the morning atmosphere.

Ah Vivid... she only arrived in their family three years ago and yet had been such a light in their small life in the woods.

He shushed the child as he slowly creaked the new door open, trying to peek and see if the couple had risen yet.

The decently sized bed (resting on various boxes on one side) entered his view and his eyes focused on two lumps under the old blanket.

“Still sleeping, uh?”

Vivid stole that moment of inattention and used it to wiggle right out of his arms, landed on the floor with the grace of a (toddler) ballerina and charged towards her targets.

Oh well, he tried.

Another thing he tried very hard to was not to laugh at the distress an olympic worthy jump right into the mattress caused on the owners of the room. Now, they were awake for sure.

Nightmare and Geno caught the little terror fast after, turning the attack into a revenge and the small skeleton squealed and squirmed under her parents’ playful hands. Laughters rang around like small bells and the world seemed perfect for a second.

Dream stayed at the entrance, shifting his weight on one foot then the other. Maybe his old self would have jumped in without hesitation but now, he felt like he shouldn’t. Letting this precious bubble of warmth alone appeared to be the best solution to not pop it earlier than needed.

And so, he stayed there, smiling and making his heels jump in rhythm, and simply enjoyed the short scene.

Once the three calmed down, they all started to beeline to the small room they dubbed kitchen to share a small breakfast. 

His brother lightly bumped his head against his before getting some fruits and bread out for the table.

And then the dance they learned the steps during the years in this house started. 

Dream and his twin sat their back to the window, enjoying the first rays of sun, a meager fruit bowl for them two.

Geno sat beside his daughter, helping her make toasts of jam and whatever fancied her this morning, stealing a bite once in a while with the clear purpose of annoying Vivid. If she retaliated by purposely brushing her dirty hands against the immaculate sleeves of Geno, he turned a blind eye to it. He, however, crossed her red-purplish (or was it purple-reddish?) eyelights and smiled to the mischievous light in those.

The conversation stayed light-hearted all the while and soon they cleaned up the table and discussed the chores repartition of the day. It was at that  moment the youngest chose to slip away, running right outside to go play.

“Ah, she left to play with her imaginary friends again,” stated Geno. The monster looked amused.

Maybe one day, they’ll tell him one could not consider the spirits lording over nature “imaginary” no matter how invisible they were. Vivid had keen eyes.

“I bet she’ll be back right in time for lunch as usual.”

Nightmare nodded and they went back to talk about the day. They had some tomatoes to pick that should be ripe in the small garden they built beyond the river and their reserve of usable fabric had declined, they needed to build up their stock of exchangeable goods for the next time merchants stopped nearby.

And like that, each left to do their assigned task while keeping their senses out in case their child got herself in trouble meanwhile.

Dream busied himself by trimming the tomato plants most of the morning, the leaves had gotten so wild the fruits could not sunbathe properly anymore. Many of those were still green despite the promising weather. He sighed. No tomato soup tonight.

The guardian removed his straw hat (that Geno insisted one should wear while gardening) and allowed himself to sit for a while on the soft dirt.

And allowed himself to enjoy the comforting noises of nature surrounding him.

A bird was singing high and loud on a branch above and he softly hummed the melody back at it for a few rhymes. The hand of the wind played with the hem of his shirt and his own danced in it, feeling the resistance of the air between his fingers.

The day was beautiful.

And calm.

So different from the loud clamor of people advertising their goods on market days, of children running between everybody’s legs, of persons shouting his name over the street for a service or just to talk. 

“Dream! Dream! Dream!”

A shudder weaseled its way up his spine. 

He opened his eyes and looked up, the slightly worried face of Nightmare looked down at him.

Ah, it was not only in his head.

“You’re doing okay there, Dream?”

“Of course,” he responded, rapid fire, “as always!”

Nightmare put one hand on his hip, the sleeve (he probably rolled up earlier) flopping down his arm. Dream’s eyes accidentally wandered to the other sleeve, useless without a limb to ensnare, pinned up his shoulder by a small metallic brooch. Today it was moon-shaped.

His glance may not have helped convince his brother, since the latter’s frown deepened.

“I’m just sad I found barely any ripped tomatoes?”

The other seemed pensive but just shrugged to the news.

“You should see the fish we just got, it looks awful. I’m not touching that,” he extended his hand in his direction, urging him to grab on it, “what do you say about we skip the lunch and leave the abomination to the brave souls of Geno and the princess? ‘s not like we really need it…”

Dream let his brother pull him up by the hand and chuckled.

“Are you sure Vivid will touch it?”

“Honestly I saw her eat worse things, our girl has strange tastes.”

“When she starts chugging fish bits at you, I won’t help. She’s your girl, you wanted her, you dummy.”

“Fine, you deal with Geno then?”

“How is that fair, that’s your partner!??”

An undignified squeak might or might not have escaped him at the suggestion he had to help convince the monster to touch an ugly fish he didn’t even see yet. Nightmare snickered at that and they laughed the whole way back to the house. There, he finally gazed upon what was indeed (truly) an horrendous animal and crossed Geno’s eye who fully looked ready to bolt if one dared to suggest he dealt with it.

After a moment, the trickster finally found a decent distraction for the group.

“Hey, someone saw Vivid? We can’t really start without her, can we?”

A silence enveloped the atmosphere.

The toddler was usually back by lunch. 

Dreamtale, Dream and Nightmare belong to jokublog Geno!Sans belongs to loverofpiggies Vivid belongs to bluepallilworld (me :3)