Chapter Text
Under the bright lights of the afternoon sun, shielded by the large shadows cast by the tall trees that loom overhead like a protective blanket of coolness from the heat of the sun’s loving and warm embrace, a man entered the forest.
Hair which used to be short but extremely fluffy with untamable curls of golden blonde locks were now almost a pale ashy white color, tied with a band so that it wouldn’t obscure his vision yet still able to fall down to his shoulders and back in a serene waterfall of white, foamy curls. His eyes, like unpolished and raw emeralds, glanced around the forest with the experience of a wild runner or hunter, depending on the situation at hand. The greens were dulled yet with the right amount of love and care, they would shine just as brightly as a villager’s prized emerald. His face was still pale from the lack of sunlight that bathed his skin but with the constant travels through the outskirts of his forest they started to regain their natural colors helping his freckles shine against his face once more.
He had nothing particularly important to do today and thus had decided to spend time in the forest. It was a lovely afternoon and he wanted to explore deeper into the forest and find its hidden secrets and learn of the messages deep within the circle of life in the greenery.
Dream tiptoed across the forest, carefully avoiding the twisting of the gnarly roots threatening to trip him and make him lose his balance. Dream, skillful and graceful as always with his movements, jumped over flowers and roots, avoiding puddles of mud and grime and danced through the forest’s floor with a small peaceful smile.
He leaned a hand against a tree as he spotted an odd cluster close by a log, overgrown with vines. He crept closer and saw the pretty colors of the little sprouts before his eyes on the moist grassy surface below him. Bathed in dim light, hidden under the large feather-like leaves of the bigger, stronger trees above protecting it from the harshest of winds and trampling of animals, was the little bundle of brightly colored mushrooms growing perfectly in a circle.
Something about the little guys was odd. But the blonde haired man shrugged off the feeling, sitting beside the ring on the log, uncaring of how the dirt must be starting to cling to his pants already.
A soft smile graced his face and he let the wind caress his cheeks, eliciting a chuckle which seemed to make the voices of nature whistle in giddiness. It had been a while since their creator’s carefree laughter. He brought a finger down, gently prodding the top of the mushroom which bounced lightly against his finger, reminding him of his beloved little blobs, which he had carefully hid away so that they would not have to face the horrors befalling his land. He chuckled once more. This time albeit sadder.
He missed his little creations. They’ve always been some of the sweet creatures and they never failed to make the blonde break out into a smile as he watched their cute little shenanigans. The trees seemed to lean down and tousle his hair as he felt ghostly touches of the branches and felt the leaves falling onto his locks.
Dream had always been close to nature, even before he got his admin powers all figured out. Nature was his first friend. She understood him and he in turn.
In times of distress, he could almost always hear her motherly calls soothing him, deep in his soul as he traversed on a lonely walk in the dead of night, meeting with the occasional zombie.
Or a skeleton would groan at him in greeting, their skeletal bodies clacking as they walked alongside him as silent comfort and company.
Even the endermen would shy around, placing grass blocks on his path as a way of comfort.
When he’d nestle up in the trees or wade through the high tides, he’d always have some creature stare at him with patience and compassion unlike anything else. From the drowned’s little seafloor trinkets to the careful protection of the creepers around him.
He could feel their energy as they huddled close to provide comfort in the shadows yet staying a good distance away in case they got too excited and imploded. Although, their creator never minded when they would accidentally deal him a few burns if he was too close, silently mourning for them.
In a hunt, the trees would be on his side. Strong branches helped him swing across and lose the hunters through the maze of green and brown as the sun shone bright warm rays tickling his skin. When he jumped from the highest of cliffs, the water would gently cradle him in its cold but comforting embrace, welcoming him to enter its darkest caves and learn its secrets.
In the early days of the SMP, he would spend hours upon horse, discovering land. Instead of building houses like the others he was content to roam free, never being satisfied with staying too long in one place as the world was so big and he had so much to explore.
Here it was different.
The wind was gentle, not whipping his hair into his eyes as he traversed through the vast expanse of land. But instead carefully tucking them away from his face to expose his scarred but tender face as he soaked in the gentleness of the sun’s warmth in the damp forest. Under his fingers, he felt the bark creak with acknowledgement of his gentle pats. And the mushrooms positively glowed under the bare light of the sun.
He remembered a quiet tale from his childhood as he sat there, pulling up his knees and staring mesmerized by the rainbow of colors beneath him. One that his big brother has always reminded him when he would venture to his adventures, leaving him to his devices with a peck to the forehead and the loving smile, ever-present on his face.
An old tale without much meaning but held for him memories of some of the lovelier times of his life when everything was not so complicated yet.
Tell the ring of mushrooms your dreams but never step in their circle. After all, they love to hear your stories.
It might not mean much nor did he think that would anyone ever hear his tale but still he spoke, gentle as a lullaby, quiet as the night, as heartfelt as a mother’s love.
“I had a dream…” Dream whispered, almost like he did not wish for any human to hear his gentle words. For they were only meant for the ears of those who are willing to listen, the guardians of the forest, the spirits of all those who watch over him and the fierce warrior animals protecting their homes.
“... Before everything…” Dream forced a smile but a burden, unseen to the human eye, made his shoulders slump, green eyes dulling to a lifeless gray as he stroked the wood, tracing patterns off its bark. “I wanted a happy family. One big happy family. Like before… everything.”
Dream felt the winds cup his face and if he strained to hear he would be able to hear the quiet whines of the darling wind that will forever fondly embrace him like a loving mother.
“I had a good family even though my father’s face I could never remember and my mother has been gone from my life since my little sister was born. I still loved them all. My siblings were kind and well. We never had much since we started to take care of each other but it was still one of my happiest memories.” He continued. “But we… fell apart. Drista disappeared, Mamacita left to live with her husband and Exdee was chosen to be a god. We didn’t want to part but the fates of our lives were stronger and then… I was alone.”
Dream closed his eyes, the quiet calls and lull of mother nature, guiding his battered soul through the oddly peacefulness of his new life.
One so unlike his wartorn past that he almost couldn’t believe he’d managed to not be drowned in his greed for control once again. But he's already accumulated a lifetime of regrets, perhaps leaving the server members to deal with their own conflicts would be better.
He tried to come between them. To fight for his ideals like everyone else on the server has. To bring it back to its former, more peaceful times where they didn’t need to worry about betrayals and wars and countries. But he could well see how that turned out.
Now, he prefers ignorance. To not have to align himself with the past once more. He’d not seek anyone and try to keep away from trouble.
“Everything in my life turned upside down and spiraled out of control because I was… weak.” The words were whispered even quieter. Dream clenched his fists remembering the utter emptiness he felt back in his house. Mamacita had been gone even before that. Then his mother. Then, his father. And finally, both Exdee and Drista were taken from him.
He wondered about his elder sister’s husband and what would have happened if they met. He hoped he treated his sister well. She was easy to anger and more aggressive than your typical woman but she was kind and loving at heart. He hoped they lived happily.
He wondered about Exdee who seemed to have forgotten him and instead taken an interest in one of Dream’s oldest friends. He hoped George would not be unkind to his older brother and treat him with patience. Exdee had changed from the kind, patient and gentle big brother Dream remembered.
He wondered briefly about Drista but he knew she was fine. Even though he had not been able to be there physically, Punz had mentioned she was faring well, finding a friend in Tommy of all people. However, he wouldn’t restrict her from befriending him. They were both chaotic forces of nature and they deserved to live and be free.
Dream shuddered, tears pooling behind his eyes as he desperately clutched onto the remnants of his past memories that slipped from his fingers more and more as time went on.
“Then in that moment of despair, you found me. You gave me power only given to those you deem as worthy.” Dream’s lips lifted in a smile as his eyes shone with a mesh of emotions so complexly tied and knotted together that no person could possibly tell just how much emotions the blonde felt. Joy, regret, sadness, relief, pride. There were so many more lost in the ocean of green.
“And I built a world.”
Dream was silent for a moment. He wondered what would have happened if he’d never used his power to build the SMP. It has caused so much damage to everyone on the server. He would say it could be one of his biggest regrets and yet as he opened his eyes to stare at the greenery and its serene sympathy. He felt nothing more than pride.
His world had done nothing wrong to warrant him thinking it would have been better uncreated. No, it was the people whom he put his trust in to not destroy the beauty that amassed such destruction. He made a silent promise.
Never again would he let them hurt his creation. He would rather let his blood spill and paint the sky red than see his beloved nature here be torn apart by the hisses of the TNT and the clanging of weapons once more. He would make sure that this safe place would never see the darkness of war. She has suffered enough.
“Maybe it was always meant to be this way.” Dream exhaled, tilting his head to look up as he felt the sun weep his golden rays onto his skin that hardened with war and hardship. He gave the sky a kind smile.
One he hasn’t been able to provide his dearly loved world. The hands clenched around his heart were still painful. Dark inky black spots reminded him that he was an awful person but, in this moment, he ignored the silent pain he felt.
Perhaps this was always how it was supposed to end. It would be anticlimactic for a story of a villain to cause such chaos and uproar and when he finally gets his punishment, suddenly runs away never to be seen again.
But he’d like to dream that…
“Perhaps I’m right where I’m meant to be.”
He ran a finger across the mushroom top, booping it lightly. He chuckled as it seemed to bounce happily in front of his attention.
And yet the hand squeezed his heart tighter and he found himself asking a question to the wind, hoping but never getting an answer.
“Do you think I made the right choice to abandon everyone?”
His own voice was a weak and vulnerable whisper amidst nature's own voice of pure love and compassion for her creator.
But deep down, he knew there was no right or wrong answer in life. Only consequences of your actions. So he stayed silent and let himself feel nature’s loving caress as he laid on his back on the log and let himself relax and listen to nature’s song.
In another kingdom, a man tossed in his sleep restlessly, seeing a certain blonde with a bright, young freckle splattered face in his dream and yet always missing him when he tried reaching out. He’d almost caught him this time but the boy only managed to slip away like water through his fingers and with his disappearance came the tears and heartbroken cries as a mask forcefully stayed on his face. He almost broke down on the ground as a helpless, pained and weak, “Help!” rang in his ears.
And he could no longer recognize the person who stood before him.
This time, standing before the tall imposing imposter, he tried to reach up and unclasp the porcelain. But his hand was forcefully wrenched away and the king heard a scoff. He choked back a sob, reaching out a hand to try to touch the mask wearing deceiver.
But he merely turned around just in time as mushrooms began to grow from milky skin. The male collapsed onto his knees, body too heavy to stand upright as he felt hands choking his neck, pulling him back and away from his old friend. His eyes blurred until he could no longer see the supposed speck of green and, with a whisper of a name, he promptly passed out.