"George! Sapnap! Come over here." A blond shouted from outside their small makeshift home, two brunettes peeked outsidr gasping once they saw; a rabbit was laying beside the borrower with a weirdly large sharp object. "YO, YOU HUNTED WITHOUT US!?" Sapnap whined as he ran next to the blond. "Unfair dude." Dream laughed at his antics and motioned over for the two boys to help him prepare to cook it.
"How'd you stab it with this." George gestured to the item used to impale the poor animal, "It's probably quite heavy." Dream chuckled and responded quite quickly, "I used it to make a trap." George accepted the reason and continued to help the other borrowers drag the rabbit to their cooking area. The fire was controlled and calm. It danced across the circle it was built around; the item that once stabbed the rabbit was long gone and thrown aside.
Dream and Sapnap were tending to the fire whilst George grabbed the rabbits fur and placed it in their home for his crafts, Dream sighed in content as he looked at the perfectly cooked rabbit. Sapnap stood beside him, splashing the fire below; making it die down. George walked over, placing down a bucket of water.
Sapnap reached out his hand to grab a peice of the rabbit meat, "Sapnap wash your hands first!" George demanded pointing at the pail. Sapnap groaned and knelt down to wash his dirt covered hand, dirt and grime were washed away in the swirling clear liquid; his doused hand flicked away droplets of water on the ground. Dream laughed as the next thing he saw was the black-haired male lunged towards the cooked rabbit.
George chuckled at the way Dream's shoulders shook as he laughed, The two other borrowers walked over to grab a share of the rabbit for themselves aswell. The three males chatted around; having fun as they slowly consumed the rabbit.
It was now early night when they finished cleaning up the remains of the mammal and headed inside their small home, they made use of what they could it was fairly furnished and the boys were delighted that they atleast had their own sleeping quarters. They made their way's into their seperate room's.
George instantly wobbled over to his bed and flopped down, slowly drooping his eyes as he was enveloped into the duvets; Sapnap was simply laying on his bed unable to sleep whilst Dream was preparing the items he needed for the berry hunt with Sapnap the following morning.
"Sapnap!" Dream pounded at the brunette's door. Faint snores were heard from behind the door; Groaning, Dream went over to the kitchen area to prepare breakfast for the two sleeping boys. It wasn't much, but he was able to prepare some mushroom soup with fresh orange juice.
Sapnap stumbled into the room obviously still tired, "Finally you're awake." Dream acknowledged as he handed the shorter a bowl of mushroom stew and a cup of orange juice. "Just give me a bit, and we can go berry hunting." Sapnap yawned as he slurped up his meal. "Dude, I've been waiting for so long. It's also quite a long walk. You better not make me carry you."; Sapnap huffed and wordlessly walked to his room to change. Dream grabbed his backpack and axe, heading over to the door, leaning beside it.
Dream hummed to himself; tapping lightly at the wall he was leaning on, patiently waiting for the brunette to finish getting ready. Sapnap exited his room; sword in hand. "Let's get going, dude." Dream gestured for Sapnap to follow him, and they made their way to the edge of the forest.
"Dream, you brought the bag, right?" The brunette asked the taller, "Yea, it's with me."; Sapnap nodded, pleased with the reply as they trekked across the towering forest. Light conversations were made to pass by the time, followed by some light jokes. Sapnap whined in complaint as his legs felt the weight of having to walk for so long. "We're close, Sap."
Suddenly, booming footsteps rang around the borrower's eardrums; hiding for safety as two humans walked over to the area, Sapnap was about to speak, but Dream slapped a hand on the brunette's mouth. The humans above them; unbeknownst to the borrowers hiding under a rocky area, started blabbering.
"Hey man, did you hear the government is hosting a contest for borrowers to have an equal living in this world." One of the snobby males spoke, "Ugh- the mayor's daughter feels sympathy for those pests," the other retorted. "But hey? I heard if you entered a borrower and they won, you'd get a cash prize!", "Can you believe how much people are paying to get a strong and live borrower now?"
The two humans walked away laughing, Sapnap noticed the blond's hand still attached to his mouth. The brunette licked the others hand, receiving a scolding. "Dude!? Ew." Dream shook his hand in an attempt to shake away the bits of saliva. "Cmon, they're gone. Let's get the berries and dip."; the shorter announced as he ran over to the berry bushes.
Dream took a simple risk and climbed on top of a shrub to reach the grapes, whilst Sapnap collected barberries. The two silently did their task until Sapnap broke the silence, "Uhm Dream?"; the blond hummed in acknowledgment yet continued to collect grapes. "Earlier, the human's said there's a competition for us borrowers to have an equal living?".
"Yea? What about it." Dream now switched his attention fully to the brunette, Sapnap continued."I was wondering if we should join?"; Dream furrowed his eyebrows. "Sapnap," a sigh came out of the blond's throat. "That's too risky. We can't possibly know what happens if we lose. And it's likely gonna be a public competition, too many people in one area, anything can happen..." Dream reasoned.
"I was just thinking since- since it's kinda getting tiring fighting for survival..." Sapnap replied with a downcast tone. The taller came down the shrub he was previously on and walked over to the brunette, "Don't worry, Sap, We'll be fine,".
They finished collecting the berries soon enough and trudged across the forest oncemore to reach their home. "Dude, I loath being so small! These barberries are so heavy!" "Yea, I'm with you there. Grapes aren't lighter." They chuckled and brushed off the weight of the berries and continued their walk home. Sapnap noticed the shift in the blond's stance as he actively turned his gaze, cautiously watching the area.
"You okay, man?" Dream's head snapped to look at the brunette walking beside him, "Yea- yea... Just being cautious." Sapnap snickered, "Loosen up, dude. we haven't seen humans go this far in the forest for a while." The taller nodded. "Okay- okay, I might be a bit too on edge."
Once they reached their home, they were instantly tackled by George, "You guys took so long! I was starting to get worried!" George blurted out. "Aww! So Gogy does care about us!" Sapnap sneered. Dream wheezed as his two friends continued their antics. "Anyways, George, I got your fav; grape's~", George pounced up and rummaged through the bags the two males brought back, releasing a victory noise once he got ahold of the berry.
"Anyways, it's getting late. We should get these inside." Sapnap and Dream agreed, dragging the bags inside. And then played a chaotic peaceful dinner. George and Sapnap were rambling about something while Dream sat quietly in thought.
"I'm gonna head to bed." Sapnap and George looked at each other questionably yet shrugged and let the taller sleep.
Dream sighed, sitting on his bed, his head ached with how many horrible outcomes spiraled. He gently layed down; his eyes fell closed as he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
A shriek made Dream jump up from his bed; axe in hand, the dirty blond sprinted out. Sapnap was screaming in panic as George was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, a horrendously hoarse laugh made Dream realize what was happening. "LET HIM GO YOU PRICK!"
More specifically, a human hunter who is currently holding George in a fist. George squirmed in the man's grip as the man reached down to grab Sapnap. "SAP!" Dream screamed. Before he could do anything else, he was grabbed aswell and they were all stuffed into the man's bag. They all could faintly hear the hunter above them speak, "You guys can put up a fight, I'm gonna be rich with yall."
"Oh, prime- this can't be real." Sapnap panicked, George stirred quietly, panic clear in his face. "Calm down- we'll be fine." Dream reassured the two other males. "We'll be fine, don't worry." Sapnap scoffed but said nothing else. Arguing wouldn't help their situation. They felt the man start walking as the bag they were in lightly bounced.
The trio held each other close, keeping each other calm and collected it felt it were hours in the dark bag. Sapnap and George fell asleep a while ago, Dream stayed awake, call in paranoia, yet there was a weird unknown feeling crawling around his neck. The blond knew the 'easiest' way to get out of their current situation, but he had to find other more reasonable options.
Dream nervously sat there in silence, muffled voices taunting him from outside, humans, they were probably at a village. The two brunette's stirred in their slumber. Suddenly, the bag swayed dangerously, and they were all dumped into a wood seeming table.
White filled their vision, blinding them as the light shifted. Dream was the first to adjust to the shift and could now hear the conversation of the two humans above him. "I'd like to enter these three in the contest." The hunter who caught them spoke as the woman on the other side hummed and they continued the conversation while Dream ran over to Sapnap and George who held their head in pain from making contact with the table so roughly.
With labored breath's Dream grit his teeth and stood up to stare at the hunter, "What are you planning to do to us?!" The woman behind them chuckled, "You got a fiesty one ay?" The blond knitted his brow in anger as the hunter laughed. "Yeah, I have a feeling I'll be rich and these pest's can put up a fight, dying is definitely not on their to-do list,"
The borrower trio looked up the two humans in worry, "Anyways, I'll be heading home, I'll definitely see you at the competition." Then the tinies were violently shoved back into the pouch. Dream radiated pure hatred as he pulled his hair. Suddenly, Sapnap spoke out of breath. "Dream-" Green eyes snapped towards the two brunettes; Sapnap shook as he lifted George's head. "He's bleeding."
Dream shook as he put pressure onto George's head with a cloth; which was doused in blood. He swallowed the spit that collected in his mouth and turned to look at the other brunette who was soundlessly sleeping.
Dream hadn't got a wink of sleep. He stayed up tending to George, and the lack of air circulation wasn't helping. Sweat had pooled at their foreheads, and Dream felt sickeningly sticky and wet. Sapnap was beginning to wake up and uncomfortably shifted around. Sapnap stomach growled loudly, and he whined. "Dude, is he even gonna feed us? How does he expect us to fight in that contest if we're starving-"
"Surely he will, or at least let's hope."
George had gotten significantly better and woke up a while ago yet immediately fell back asleep due to his weak state. Sapnap and Dream chatted in attempt to dismiss the overwhelming heat inside the damp, hot, bag. They heard shuffling noises from outside and the bag was opened, as light seeped through the opening a hand emerged and grabbed all three of them, placing them in a cage.
"I'm gonna have to feed you guys, ugh-" He tossed a loaf of bread into the cage, locking it before turning to go to a different room. "Uhm atleast there's food?" Dream hesitantly said. Sapnap was inspecting the plain bread while Dream inspected the contents of the cage. The blond scrunched his nose when he saw a water bowl in the cage yet shrugged and walk over to it.
Dream took some of the water and dabbed it across the wound on George's forehead. The brunette groaned as the blond let him down to rest. Sapnap appeared behind Dream, handing him a chunk of the bread. "Here, man, you need to eat as well." Dream gratefully took the chunk and sighed as he slumped. Sapnap was seen huddling up beside Dream, holding a soft cloth he found lying around.
Dream sighed as he started giving into his instincts and slept alongside the two other males.
Sapnap groaned as he woke up seeing Dream punching the walls on one side of the cage, "Dream?" The blond had beads of sweat dripping down his face as he stared at Sapnap, "Sapnap! You okay?" Dream worriedly asked. "Yea- yea, I'm fine. What are you doing, tho?"
"I'm uhm-" Dream sputtered for a second, "Training, just in case." Sapnap nodded, not wanting to push further. George was in the corner shallow breaths, leaving his lips. Sapnap's gazed back at the blond who was now doing push ups, Sapnap was genuinely surprised by the blond—seeing him work out was quite almost a rare sight to see considering he would wake up extremely early to exercise on his own.
Sapnap was quite baffled that the blond would be embarrassed of working out, but his efforts definitely showed. Suddenly, the hunter came back, holding what seemed to be a piece of cooked meat in hand. "I got you guys beef. It should be good for protein." Dream shot multiple glares at the hunter; which was dismissed. The hunter placed a cup of water and the cooked beef into the cage, leaving right after.
Dream stared at the plastic cup filled with water, he sighed, noticing the cup was placed at the corner of the cage. He then headed towards George, shaking him. "George, wake up. You need to eat something." The shorter groaned as his eyes peeled open, adjusting to the light. "Is that- beef? Where'd we get beef?"
"Just eat cmon, same goes for you Sap." Sapnap nodded as he struggled trying to pry a piece of meat. successfully, he handed one over to George. At the other end of the cage, Dream was cupping his hands and drinking some of the water, even splashing a bit in his face. Then he walked over, ripping some beef for himself. The wound on George's head was quite healed, which was great.
Everything was so loud...
The cage was swinging back and fourth violently, a cloth covering the cage as the three were being taken to the competition grounds. They were huddling up together, holding each other in a protective and comforting hold. Dream was getting worried, millions of thoughts, possibilities of what could be heading for them made him hold a calculated and focused gazed, yet one stood out all the rest.
Protect George, Protect Sapnap.
The cage finally stopped swinging as they seemed to be placed on a table.cThey were silent, and then a booming voice spoke. "Welcome to the first Borrower Bonanza! This competition will determine if these borrowers-" The cover from the cage was removed as the three borrowers saw other borrowers like them locked in cages aswell, "-are going to have an equal chance of living with us as a society."
Cheers erupted, making some of the other borrower's wince and cover their ears. Sapnap and Dream were scanning the other borrowers in the cages, and George was staring at the announcer. Dream glanced over seeing a borrower, black hair, short frame, decent build. Dream eye'd him, watching him like falcon.
"Dream- dude, relax. We should focus on ourselves. We just need to win, and we're home free..."
