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"Brother? Brother!" an anxious voice sounded through the haze of sleep, forcing Night to come to his senses and ignite his purple pupils.
His body ached as if he were lying on shards of glass instead of the slightly prickly grass at the foot of the mighty tree of emotions, and his skull felt as if it were being shattered into tiny pieces. As the rapid footsteps grew closer and closer, Night decided to rise. His eyes sockets flew open as wide as possible due to the intense pain that instantly spread throughout his body. The negative twin barely managed to stop himself from falling again, and he sat up.
“Brother, are you okay?” the positive twin asked as soon as he ran up.
Night could see the worry in his brother's golden eyes, the way his brother's breathing was labored, and he could clearly see what would happen if he told the truth. No, he couldn't. Dream had a very good relationship with the locals, the status of an innocent and incredibly kind sunshine that illuminated their path, and a relatively happy life. He wouldn't tell. Wouldn't dramatize. Wouldn't make his brother worry and ruin his relationship with the villagers nearby. No, he wouldn't ruin his brother's life, wouldn't make him worry. All he has to do now was lie a little.
"It's okay, don't worry," Night said with the softest smile his battered body could muster.
His purple eyes scanned the grass, and his bony hand picked up a small, worn-out book.
"I'm just a fool who thought it would be fun to climb up a tree and read. I lost my balance and fell," the negative twin said, chuckling at his own foolishness.
The golden pupils studied his brother's relaxed face for a moment, and then Dream sighed and smiled faintly.
"Okay, I'm sorry, I thought something terrible had happened," Dream laughed at his own words, "Wait a bit, I'll quickly go get a first-aid kit and we'll treat your wounds."
There was no point in contradicting his brother, so Night only nodded briefly, and then, when the positive twin turned away, let out a breath.
"Boss? Boss!!” through the fog of thoughts, a familiar worried voice was heard.
The mucous eye socket closed and opened several times, helping the vision to clear up. The emerald eye, which had previously been looking precisely at the wooden floor, began to slowly look around, there was a wall under the gooey knuckles of the outstretched arm, and on the opposite side there were badly battered and worried guys. Even Killer didn’t neglect his emotions, shining with a single pupil in one of the empty eye sockets and a soul that took the form of an inverted heart. The tentacles behind his back twitched slightly, and the positive arrows that were stuck in them immediately caused a sharp pain that spread throughout his body. Nightmare barely managed to suppress a moan of pain.
"Are you okay, boss?" Killer asked again.
The emerald pupil examined his subordinates in more detail. As he had expected, the guys were just as battered as he was. They needed to focus on their own bones, not worry about some clump of negativity. No, he had no intention of causing them to worry, not now, not ever. All he had to do was lie a little.
"I'm fine, take care of yourselves," Nightmare replied, standing up.
"But you're..."
"If I say it's okay, it's okay," Nightmare interrupted Killer, who was about to speak. "You're all going to get some food and medicine and get treated right now. Do I make myself clear?"
There was a brief silence, with the emerald eye stubbornly staring into the dull white pupil in the black abyss, where the worry was still clearly visible, until Killer gave in.
"Yes, sir," the white-boned skeleton replied, and then he and the other skeletons went to another room.
Nightmare, oblivious to the fact that the worry had not left the boys' emotional state, breathed a sigh of relief. That's right, everything is fine. He's fine, he just needs to lie a little.