#applefates

Day was surprised to discover how easy it was to get into this Multiverse compared to others, though he wasn't entirely sure if it was because of the device he'd been given in the last Multiverse or if it was because the barrier into this specific Multiverse was already weak. Whatever the case, it didn't strain his magic nearly as much as the other jumps had and he didn't end up in a random AU but instead made it to the target AU.

Though, that didn't mean he was exactly 'fight ready' when his feet hit the ground. He had no idea what this 'Dream and Nightmare' would be like but the fact that Dreamtale was very much alive in this Multiverse implied there might be some fight if he just showed up demanding answers. So, despite his instincts to just charge head first into the village, he stayed on the outskirts for a while, gathering whatever information he could without getting too close.

To start, the tree was very much alive and well cared for unlike the tree back home which he had finished cutting down after his brothers... incident. But another difference between his home and this new Dreamtale was the hill in which the tree rested on, which seemed to have been hollowed out and turned into a house of some kind. Not a cabin like the one that Day had back home but an in-ground home with a circular blue door and a garden made up of thick bushes covered in pink flowers. The village itself looked like most other villages he'd seen in the past, full of people who walked in groups, went about their lives, and more often than not surrounded one specific skeleton.

Dream.

Or rather the Dream of this Multiverse who he often heard called 'Sentinel' whatever that meant. Regardless this 'Sentinel' guy was surrounded the moment he entered the village, with villagers immediately complaining about one thing or another. They used the Guardian more as a therapist and treated him with (in Day's opinion) the minimum amount of respect they could get away with! All the while the skeleton that Day had actually come looking for was nowhere to be found.

No grave.

No statue.

No sign of Nightmare.

By the time the sun had started to set, Day had seen more than enough to know that if he stayed too long he would ruin their 'story' that was going on because he was five minutes away from storming the village and showing them how to treat somebody who gave everything to take care of them. But, as many an 'Ink' had told him, he couldn't interfere too much with their stories on the search for answers. He had to make his visits as short as he could manage and make sure that he didn't derail the story with his existence.

So, with a new goal in mind he hid his bags and supplies just out of sight in a spot that would be easy for him to retrieve later, with only the essentials with him. Including the one who he was doing all of this for, who he kept strapped to his chest to ensure that no harm came to them when his back was turned. Then, he went to the little house in the hill, sat on the edge, and waited for the 'Sentinel' to arrive.

It didn't take nearly as long as he had expected to be discovered once he stepped into view, which made him wonder if maybe Sentinel had known he'd been there from the moment he arrived. Though, Day wasn't about to give away more than he had to in order to get the answers he needed.

"Who... are you?" Sentinel asked, looking Day up and down in a way that made Day immediately want to run.

He hated being sized up by other Dream's. The constant reminder that he was just a kid in over his head. Just a Guardian who failed his job so badly the balance of his Multiverse was as unpredictable as his emotions. A brother who couldn't protect his younger brother and was now being forced to walk the world mostly alone, scrambling to figure out how to keep them both alive.

Almost every other Dream he'd met on his journey's still had a brother, even if they didn't get along with him. Most Dream's were doing well as a Guardian or were at least doing their best. Most Dream's hadn't been the one to cut down the Tree of Feeling's because they were so sick of it. Most Dreams had their shit together and Day knew they could tell he was still trying to figure it out.

Needless to say, having Sentinel look him over the way he did made the insecurities claw up his spine as he instinctually glared at him.

"My name is Daydream, and I'm here for your brother's magic. Where is he?"

Well... he probably could have phrased that better if the way Sentinel suddenly became more guarded was anything to go off of.

Anyways! that's all I have for right now but little by little Day is absolutely finding himself in more and more AU's. Hopefully this all makes sense and that there aren't too many mistakes in the picture or the story. I've been sick for going on two weeks now and this is the first day I've felt well enough to work on anything and even this was pushing it.