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“Tommy, why are we doing this exactly?” Dream asks as he stares at the weird contraption Tommy has tied up to the door. Strings connect from the doorknob to all over just to do something Tommy called a “prank”. Dream honestly doesn’t see the appeal, in all honesty, he kinda thinks this is bad, but Tommy said it was okay to do so it can’t be that bad… right?
Ever since he started life up on the surface with the surface dwellers, the benchtrio — as they like to call themselves — have been teaching Dream all there is to know about this new world.
He’s learned about all the different food types that this world has and all its animals where the food comes from as well. He learned about different constellations in the sky that make different shapes even if they look nothing like an actual bear or scorpion. He learned that Philza is old and that people who don’t like you are a bitch. He learned that he is the biggest man (as Tommy always says so it must be true), that weapons are cool and can cause war. (He doesn’t know fully what war is. Ranboo told him it was when two sides fight, but Tommy and Tubbo told him it's awesome.) He learned that if you really like something and you can’t get it, steal it, but Philza did yell at him for that so he’s questioning that a bit. The thing is, Tommy told him that so now he’s confused. He doesn’t know what’s true now.
It’s a bit confusing, this entire surface, but he’s determined to learn all he can about this place and explore every inch of it. He loves to smell the flowers and he loves to climb up the trees and watch the birds in their nest. There’s just so much more up here than there ever will be down in the caves.
Of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss the caves. There are some days when he wakes up and he expects to find his entire Warden family down there, he expects to head to the lush cave to eat some glow berries while discussing with his elder protector. Now he’s up here and he doesn’t have that and he’ll admit, it’s making him a little homesick, but at least he got Phil who will always try to eat breakfast with him.
They’re all trying to make his life the best it can be and he’s thankful for that.
“You see, big man.” Tommy backs away from his intricate design and stares at it with a proud smile on his face. Dream just watches from where he’s sitting like a cat on a table in the hall. Tommy points to the doorknob that’s wrapped up in red string. “The villager opens the door when we chase after them, screaming because they’re so scared." He then follows the long line of string as it connects to a horn he tied to a mirror in the hall. “Then, because they opened the door, it pulls the string, causing this horn to honk which scares the villager because they aren’t expecting it and then, they turn around to investigate the loud honking noise, only-” He continues to trail down the string until he’s pointing towards a water bucket above the door. “-the water is now going to get pulled and fall on their heads.” He smiles joyfully and turns back to Dream.
“I don’t understand how this is a good thing, Tommy.” Dream replies as he studies all the strings. Phil always told him to be careful around Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo after the entire ‘no stealing’ lesson. He told him that they might try to tell him some things are right when he should absolutely not do them. He’s wondering if that’s one of these things.
“It’s a great thing!” Tommy counters. “First, we’re chasing them because we want to talk to them, telling them to get out of their shell.” Well that’s what Tommy said socializing does when he first found a home here, so that must be good. “Then we’re just going to scare them with the horn for a little laugh.” Laughing is always good. Tubbo told him it was the best kind of medicine for any situation. If you’re sad, laugh! If you’re in pain because of a broken bone, laugh it off with your friends because it soon makes you forget the pain. “Then, the water falling on them is just to help them hydrate. The sun is very hot outside, you know.” He does know. Being in a cool cave his entire life is way different then having to deal with the sun daily. It’s so hot and Dream finds himself constantly sweating which is something he didn’t even know he could do.
So… maybe this contraption is a good thing.
“Okay.” Dream says wearily, still a bit unsure. He doesn’t want Phil to get mad at him later, but Tommy seems so keen to try it so maybe he should give it a go. “I guess that’s not so bad.”
Tommy starts jumping up and down, yelling and cheering but freezes when Dream cocks his head to the side. “I’m just glad you understand logic, my good man.” Tommy walks over to the Warden hybrid, patting him on the shoulder and guiding him to walk out of the house through the back door, the one not currently wrapped up in all the string.
“Now.” Tommy claps his hands together and starts rubbing them mischievously. “We only need to find our prey.”
Dream turns to face him after that word. Prey. Correct Dream if he’s wrong, but isn’t that something you hunt?
Maybe he made a bad decision here.
---
Finding a villager to lure into the trap wasn’t so hard. Even chasing the poor fellow down the street wasn’t that bad either. Dream is half Warden which gives him incredible gifts of speed. So when Tommy told him to chase a certain villager, he just shrugged and went for it. Before, it was because Tommy told him to, now he’s doing it to explain himself.
The minute he started chasing after this person, they started screaming about how a monster is chasing him. Dream knows he’s not a monster, so he ran quicker to explain how he’s just trying to help the villager, but they didn’t seem to get it.
"Wait, no, you don't understand!" Dream calls as he runs after the person.
"Get away!" They scream as they dash into the house.
"Wait!" Dream reaches a clawed hand out, but it's too late. The horn honks and the villager screams, causing Dream's ears to flatten against his head. The water falls next, drenching the villager.
Dream swears he can see literal steam coming off the villager from how angry he is.
He can hear Tommy laughing from his hiding place, absolutely keeling over with laughter.
He knows at this moment that a prank is not a good thing. The villager looks so angry and it's aimed at Dream. Oh no, he messed up.
"You stupid, ugly, beast!" The villager yells and Dream backs up scared and he hears Tommy's laughter immediately stop. “You don’t belong here! You’re a monster! Skin on a wall!”
“Hey!” All the sudden Tommy’s in front of Dream glaring at the villager and giving them a piece of his mind. Dream doesn’t even hear the words he says, too busy spiraling further and further into his own mind.
Monster? Skin on a wall? Beast.
Dream shrinks back, his tail curling up around him.
He remembers screams when children fell into the cave he was in. He remembers seeing his Warden protector tear them in half.
He is a beast. He is a monster.
He should’ve never come to the surface.
He shakes his head and quickly looks for an out, an escape. He can’t be here.
He spots an opening in the forest and darts towards it, barely hearing Tommy yell out his name.
He runs and runs and runs to the only place he knows where to go.
---
“DAD!” Tommy forces open the door with enough force, it smashes into the wall behind it, creating a hole there, but Tommy could care less.
“Tommy!” Phil stands up from where he’s sitting at the dinner table.
He notices Tubbo and Ranboo in the living room, now turning to stare at him. It was his time to spend with Dream, they all took different times because they all want to do their own things with the hybrid, and they for sure notice how Dream’s not with him.
Phil storms up to him, anger evident in his face, but it soon fades when he sees the tears in Tommy’s eyes.
“Tommy, what’s wrong?” He asks and Tommy breaks, reciting everything that happened to Phil.
Let’s just say, some villager got beat up pretty badly.
---
Dream runs all the way back to where his senses are leading him. Back home to the cave underneath.
He should have never left. He should have stayed. How could he possibly think a Warden would ever be allowed on the surface?
“Beast.”
“Monster.”
The words still ring in his head. He shakes them off and changes direction. He dashes past the foliage of the forest and keeps running, leaping over logs and rocks. It’s truly incredible, him only being used to rocks have grown capable of running across a forest terrain with no problem.
His family has taught him a lot. Too bad he shouldn’t be up here.
He’s caught out of his stupor when he passes a tree and nearly runs into a human. He stops dead in his tracks and stares at them with wide, green eyes.
There’s two people in front of him. One wearing a bandana around his head and the other with ridiculous white goggles resting on top of his head.
He freezes. Oh no, humans, They’re going to yell at him, tell him how awful he is.
He shrinks down even further into himself and waits, waits for the inevitable, but it never comes. He looks back up at the humans and they’re just staring at him with confused faces.
“Are you okay?” The one with goggles asks.
Dream just ends up staring at them as they stare back and they’re caught in a staring contest, none of which are winning.
Dream finally unfurls himself from himself and stands up to full height, towering over both humans.
“Hello.” He starts. Trying to be calm first. He doesn’t want to scare these people off.
“You look sick as fuck!” The one in the bandana yells and he flinches back, causing them both to calm down a little. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Dream nods to them and gestures to himself. “I’m Dream, a Warden hybrid.”
“Woah, I’ve heard of those.” The one in goggles perks up. “They’re so cool.”
“You think so?” Dream’s ears tilt to the side as the goggle man nods widely.
“They protect the caves and are just so awesome.” He says. “Yes, they can be terrifying, but they’re just protectors. I love them.”
“He honestly won’t shut up about them.” The headband man agrees. “But I do have to admit, he got me interested in seeing one.”
“And now we have!” He gestures to Dream and the hybrid’s smile lights up, showing off his features for these two new people.
“Wait,” the google man stops petting the skulk on Dream’s arm, “where are my manners? I’m George.” He gestures to himself. “Human.” He then points to Sapnap whose skin is now on fire. “And this is Sapnap, a Blaze Hybrid.”
“You guys have funny clothes.” Dream blurts out and immediately regrets it. He covers his mouth with his claws, sorry for what he said, but both Sapnap and George are falling to the ground with laughter. “Did I say something funny?”
“You’re not the first to question what we wear.” Sapnap gestures to his headband and tries to steal George’s glasses, ending with a little cat fight between the two. Dream snickers at their antics and feels something warm inside his chest. He feels the same way he felt when he meant Ranboo, Tubbo and Tommy underneath the surface in that cave.
Friends and better yet, family.
---
Dream definitely wasn’t expecting a worried Philza to come flying into him while he was talking to George and Sapnap.
He was just chatting with them when all the sudden, a strong force ran into him and nearly forced him into a tree.
Turns out it was just his worried dad with his worried family being worried for him.
“Dad!” Dream yells excitedly, showing him both George and Sapnap. “Meet my new friends George and Sapnap!” He gestures to the two and they go to shake Phil’s hand, but get wrapped up in a hug with his wings surrounding them.
“Thank you for protecting my boy.” He whispers for only them to hear and they nod and hug back.
“No problem, Dream is amazing to talk to.” George smiles and turns to Sapnap who’s jumping up and down like a kangaroo.
“I love Dream! He’s cool!”
“Dream!” Dream looks over at Tommy who runs up and hugs the Warden hybrid. “All that villager said was lies. You’re awesome and not a monster.”
Dream’s heart melts at the words and he hugs his younger brother back. “Thank you, Tommy.” He said, squeezing the teen. “But next time, you’re chasing the villager.”
The forest is filled with laughter that day.