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Dream is perched on the summit of the rocky mountain that he and Technoblade have planned to rendezvous at, his feet dangling over the edge of a sheer drop into the cold ocean below. Black waves lick against the cliffside, white sea froth misting into the air with a barely audible fizz. The whole world is all monochrome, save for the faintly shimmering purple figure that grows closer on the horizon. Technoblade is backlit by a breathtakingly clear night sky, star studded and milky bright. Cosmic braille, he thinks.
He does come here often, alone. The darkness is still and preternaturally quiet, a peaceful escape from the perpetual chaos of the settled areas of the server. More so, this place reminds Dream of something integral to him. The yawning spread of nothingness and the plummet downward exist at his core in some indefinable way. Idly, he adjusts his vambraces and rolls his shoulders under the weight of the netherite chestplate. Technoblade is very close now, at the foot of the mountain. He is riding a horse—a chestnut brown stallion that Dream had seen a few times around. As they trot up the steep incline, Dream stands to his full height. His mask is cool against the skin of his face.
Once at the peak, Technoblade hops off his mount, taking his horse by the lead. For a moment, the two men regard each other with the same cautious expectation. It’s easier for Dream to glean information from Technoblade, who makes no effort to hide his face. His pink ears are tucked due to the cold; his eyes are careful and curious behind his glasses; his stance is solid and precisely controlled, like Dream’s own. A meticulous assortment of potions and weaponry are strapped in some way to Technoblade’s body, and no doubt many more are stored away in his horse’s saddlebags.
“Hello,” Dream begins cordially. “Long time, no see. Where have you been?”
Technoblade smiles in greeting, tusks gleaming dully. “I’m surprised you beat me here. I headed straight for this mountain as soon as I got your message.”
Dream smiles under his mask. “I’ve been sitting here for a while, actually. You came from a pretty strange direction.” He gestures toward the east, where he knew Technoblade’s base was not.
“Hmm. Well, actually,” Technoblade says, voice taking on a sarcastic, teasing inflection. “I had been purposefully obfuscating the direction from where I came, pretending I was lost, so as to conceal the location of my base.” He winks at Dream, and Dream laughs. The casual self-deprecation was disarming.
“I see. I’m sure your horse enjoyed the scenic route.”
“Oh, sure. Carl and I had a lot of time to bond.” Technoblade thumps his horse on the back. Dream takes a step up to Carl, regarding him closely.
“May I?” Dream asks, reaching out to pet Carl. Technoblade shrugs.
Dream reaches up to smooth his palms across the horse’s coat. His body heat warms the tips of Dream’s fingers that aren’t covered by gloves. Carl shakes his head slightly and huffs, his breath fogging in the cold air.
“I had a horse like this once. Similar coat.” Dream’s fingers card softly through Carl’s mane. What had recently transpired with his cherished companion's remains was still fresh on his mind, raw and tender.
“Oh, really? Was he a good horse?” Technoblade asks, feeding Carl an apple. Carl chomps and swallows before belching slightly.
“The very best,” Dream murmurs. The horse nuzzles his hand. Dream steps away.
“Anyway. I have some information for you, as well as the map.”
Technoblade quirks an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Dream nods, looking back at the other man. They stand at the same height. He’s sure that Technoblade picks up on the seriousness in Dream’s voice, because his expression changes to a more calculating one.
“So, I have heard from a spy of mine that there is a bounty hunting team trying to hunt you down and kill you.”
He watches Technoblade take in this information. All the other man does is blink. “Okay.”
“It’s not in my best interests for that to happen, and while I know Technoblade never dies—” Dream adds with a wry smile. “—this is just in case.” He tosses the rolled-up map to Technoblade, who deftly catches it out of the air.
Technoblade pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and unfurls the parchment, examining the landscape depicted on the map and the enchanted dot in the corner. His eyes scan rapidly across the faded green and blue inks of far away forests and oceans.
“A Woodland Explorer Map, Dream?” Technoblade glances up at him, looking a little chagrined. “I totally know how to read this.”
Dream chuckles. “Yeah, I’m not any good at reading maps either. If it helps, I think it’s West, but I could be completely wrong.”
“Alright. Thank you for the map. And the information. I’ll keep an eye out for bounty hunters.” Technoblade laughs dryly.
Dream claps the other man on the shoulder. “You’re welcome. And if you have any information for me, let me know.” He looks out across the ocean, to the distant forested land and the night sky above. Grey is peeking out over the edge of the horizon as the sun begins to rise. “We can meet here again, on this mountain.”
“Yeah,” Technoblade responds. He mounts his horse again, taking the reins and waving a jaunty goodbye at Dream. Carl stamps his hooves against the ground, ready to move. “I’ll see you later, Dream.”
Dream wishes Technoblade good luck and watches as he departs, apparently Northeast, until he is once again a purple dot in the distance.
A cawing seagull catches his attention as it swoops down from above him, hunting for fish at the surface of the sea. Dream sits at the edge of the cliff again, watching the bird’s progress as it soars, beady eyes trained down on the inky black waves below. An abyss, Dream suddenly recalls from his train of thought earlier. What this place reminded him about himself was that it was an abyss. How often had Dream come here, just to stare down into unfathomable nothingness? To feel the eyes of the void stare back at him, the one thing that would never leave him alone. There was a quote about what happened when one gazed into an abyss, and Dream was quite content to continue to do so.