They walked the whole night, trekking through the dark, spruce forest.

Fog came up to their ankles and several noises were heard in the distance, but nothing scared Dream. Sure, he was on edge, but he felt safe with company. George's humming never relented; it was the same tune that slowly became familiar to Dream.

He thought about humming along, but he decided against it.

Eventually, tiny rays of sunlight peeked through the thick foliage, telling them it was day. After several more hours of hurried walking, they reached the end of the forest and collectively breathed sighs of relief.

A knot formed in Dream's throat when he remembered what day it was, but he pushed the thoughts away with a shake of his head.

Once the group was a large distance from the spruce forest, they stopped under a shady tree in a meadow. Sapnap handed them all the last of their food and they ate quietly. Once they finished Sapnap claimed he wanted to find a pond or river to bathe in. He left, leaving Dream and George alone.

George sat down and leaned against the tree, resting his head back. Dream raised an eyebrow and said, "Get up, let's practice."

George blinked slowly and gave Dream a confused look, "What?"

"You said you wanted to be useful, so let's practice."

George grinned and stood up, wiping the dust off his pants. He lifted his fists up, getting ready to punch.

Dream shook his head with a grin, "No, no punching today." He picked up a rock by his boot and held it in his palm. "Lift this."

George's grin faded and he sighed. He walked up to Dream and took the rock from his hand, lifting it up with a sarcastic expression. Dream rolled his eyes and chuckled softly, "No, you idiot. With your mind."

He snatched the rock from George and held it between two fingers. George groaned in frustration, "Dream, I don't know how."

"Sure you do, you threw a boulder at the amphiptere, for fuck's sake. You can lift a tiny rock."

"That was different."

"How?"

George hesitated before saying quietly, "It was going to kill you."

"And?"

George looked at the ground between them and muttered, "I dunno, something inside me turned on, like a switch, and all I could think about was helping you... it didn't quite work out the way I thought, though."

Dream tilted his head and replied, "So, hypothetically, if I was in danger again, would it be easier for you to use your power?"

"Hypothetically," George said with a warning glare.

"Hmm..." Dream tapped a finger to his chin as he asked, "Wanna recreate the scenario?"

"No."

Dream sighed. "Alright, then pick up this rock... with your mind this time."

George chewed on his lip, starting to focus. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he looked at the rock. After a long moment, he sighed and threw his hands in the air, "Dream, I can't!"

"Yes, you can," Dream replied calmly. He offered, "Try holding out your hand like you're going to pick it up. Sapnap said you held your hands out when lifting the boulder, so try it now."

George gave him a bored stare, but he lifted his hand and looked back to the rock. Minutes passed and George dropped his hand. He said in frustration, "Dream, it's not going to work! Why are we doing this?"

"You said you wanted to be useful."

"Yeah, like physical combat or something, not telekinesis. It's too hard."

Dream turned the rock over in his palm and said thoughtfully, "It's just your mental barriers that are preventing you from lifting this. Something to do with how you were raised. I'm guessing not all of you wants to learn, you're holding yourself back."

"No, I'm not."

Dream raised an eyebrow. He looked down at himself. His bandages were still on, although there was little use for them anymore. He was practically fully healed, minus some bruises and scars. Dream said, "If I can recover in less than a week from almost dying, you can lift this rock."

"That's not fair," George said defensively, "you're Fae, I'm not."

"I know," Dream replied, "show me you can be strong, show me you want to be here. I want you to prove a point to me. Lift this rock."

George crossed his arms stubbornly. Dream narrowed his eyes and said patiently, "George, lift this rock."

George didn't move, so Dream said, "I can stand here all day. We're not in a hurry."

He held the rock in his open palm, meeting George's stare evenly. George looked at it with a sigh and lifted his hand. The telekinetic scowled after a long moment and sat back down by the tree. He closed his eyes and muttered, "It's pointless."

Dream opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped himself when he saw Sapnap return. Dream dropped the rock and approached him. Sapnap raised an eyebrow at Dream's determined expression.

Dream whispered to him, "I want you to fight me."

"What?"

"For George," Dream said, tossing his cloak to the side, "I'm trying to get him to use his power. So fight me, say we're practicing or some shit, and don't hold back."

Sapnap still seemed a little confused, but he took the sword Dream offered him. Dream pulled out two daggers and waited for Sapnap to go on the offensive. George was clueless as to what they were doing, the brunet still leaning against the tree, dozing off.

Dream's attention snapped back to Sapnap when he moved. The pyrokinetic's sword slashed towards Dream and Dream blocked it with his daggers. The loud clash rang out and Dream heard George sit up.

"What are you guys doing?" George asked from behind them.

"Practicing," Dream said through gritted teeth as he pushed Sapnap's sword away.

Sapnap grinned and the two started moving in a slow circle. Dream grinned back, it had been a while since he faced someone in a sword fight. The rhythm of fighting was like a dance, one moves and the other responds. Dream knew Sapnap didn't have much experience with a sword, but he wasn't planning on winning. He was going to let Sapnap beat him, letting him earn small victories through small injuries, hoping George would swoop in with his telekinesis.

Dream raised a dagger and motioned it towards him, tempting Sapnap to come at him again. Sapnap accepted the challenge with an arrogant gleam in his eyes. He swung his sword towards Dream's arm. Dream purposefully stepped back slowly, letting the metal graze his bicep.

He saw red in the corner of his vision and he could smell the metallic scent of blood hit the air. Sapnap raised an eyebrow and teased, "Wow, Dream, you're not as good as you pretend to be."

Dream said nothing, throwing a dagger just to the left of Sapnap's head, the blade landing somewhere in the grass behind him. A few strands of raven colored hair fell to his shoulder and Sapnap's eyes widened. His eyes narrowed and he muttered, "You're gonna pay for that."

Dream smirked and Sapnap jumped towards him, swinging his sword to Dream's right side, where he was now one dagger less. Dream parried his attack and ran his dagger up the sword, pushing out of Sapnap's hand.

The sword flew a short distance away and Sapnap backed up, a flame lighting at his fingers as he asked, "This allowed?"

Dream nodded and he heard George say, "Wait."

Sapnap grinned as he threw a ball of fire towards Dream's side. Dream moved out of the way, but slowly, purposefully letting the fire singe the bandages on his side. He hissed as hot flame met still-tender skin.

Sapnap frowned. "You okay?"

Dream nodded and said, "Do it again."

George muttered in disbelief, "Idiots."

Dream and Sapnap grinned. Part of Dream was sad as he watched some of the charred bandages fall to the grassy ground. His cloak was now nothing more than scraps of bloodied, and now burnt, fabric. He remembered the bracelet on his wrist and part of him was comforted.

This time he was caught off guard as Sapnap attacked. Dream snapped out of his thoughts and was slow― not on purpose this time― to respond. He stumbled as fire hit his bicep, burning over where Sapnap had cut him.

He inhaled sharply, tears stinging his eyes as he looked at his arm. Dream clenched his jaw and didn't let Sapnap get the chance to ask if he was okay again. He tossed his dagger to the side and threw an uppercut at Sapnap.

Sapnap dodged it, leaning forward to briefly whisper in Dream's ear, "What are you doing?"

"Play along," Dream muttered with a jerk of his chin towards George.

Sapnap's eyes widened in understanding. He used the opportunity of them being close to bring his knee in a sharp blow to Dream's stomach.

Dream gasped in pain, clutching his stomach as he coughed. Sapnap had kneed him in his still-healing wound. He gave Sapnap a glare as if to say 'what was that?!'.

George shouted, "What the fuck, Sapnap?! He's still healing!"

Sapnap sent an apologetic look towards Dream and Dream motioned for him to continue, slowly standing straight. Dream heard George take a step forward, still keeping his eyes on Sapnap's flaming hand. Dream swung his leg towards Sapnap's ankles. The pyrokinetic jumped over it and fell forward.

His hand flew to grab onto something for balance, grabbing onto Dream's uninjured arm. A fiery hot hand gripped his arm and Dream hissed in pain. Sapnap swore at his mistake, the two tumbling onto the ground.

Dream let Sapnap pin him to the ground and he muttered, "Act like you're gonna kill me."

"What?!"

"Just do it," Dream whispered, "bruise up my face or something I don't know. Just make it look real... I can take it."

Sapnap hesitated before lifting his fist. Dream nodded encouragingly, hearing Sapnap mutter, "This is messed up."

A fist slammed into Dream's face, whipping his head to the side. George shouted and ran up to them, stopping several feet away.

"Sapnap, what are you doing?!" George yelled, his voice panicking.

Dream closed his eyes as another fist punched him, sending an aching pain through his jaw. He spat blood to the side and taunted Sapnap, too quiet for George to hear, "Hit me, show me how strong you are... I bet George could throw a better punch than you."

Sapnap's eyes lit up in surprise and anger. His response was to punch Dream again, his fist coming back bloody. Dream sneered at him, continuing to egg him on. He grunted as fist after fist struck his face.

Through swollen eyes, he saw George try to shove Sapnap off him, but the pyrokinetic didn't budge. George shouted at him, but Sapnap was too far gone, taking whatever anger he had out on Dream. It was more than Dream intended, but it worked.

A wave of air slammed into Sapnap, launching him several meters away. Sapnap landed on his back and lifted his hand up, lifting a thumb to let Dream know he was okay. Dream chuckled, but it faded when George was instantly at his side, kneeling over him.

"Are you okay?!" George asked, his hands hovering over Dream as he looked him over.

Dream rasped, "You did it."

"Wait, you did that on purpose?" George asked, his eyes wide. He scolded, "You idiot! You should see how messed up you are right now."

Dream shrugged and went to wipe his face with his hand, but George grabbed it firmly. Dream narrowed his eyes and said, "Let me go, it'll heal."

"Don't touch your face with your hands. You could get an infection."

Dream rolled his eyes and sat up, "An infection won't kill me."

George crossed his arms. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. Go rub your wounds with dirty hands, but don't come crying back to me when it hurts even more."

Dream snorted as he stood up, going to grab his cloak. "You were right about being the mom of the group."

George scoffed, following Dream. He whined, "Don't call me that!"

"You gave yourself the label, not me."

Dream grabbed his cloak and sat down at the tree, pulling one of the last scraps of cloth from the pack to clean his face. George saw Sapnap approach them and confronted the pyrokinetic. Dream laughed softly at the harsh words spewed out George's mouth.

Dream's fingers grazed on a piece of cloth at the bottom of the pack. He lifted the familiar fabric, the last scrap of his cloak. He brought the cloak to his nose and inhaled deeply, smelling nothing but himself. Dream folded the last of the fabric and tucked it into his pocket.

Sapnap gave Dream his sword and daggers that were discarded and retorted to George, "He asked for it, literally."

"I don't care," George seethed, "look at him!"

Sapnap looked at Dream and winced. Dream shrugged and said, "I've been through worse."

Sapnap looked back to George with a pointed stare. "See! He's fine."

George crossed his arms, grumbling as he sat down. The three made conversation as the sun slowly set. Sapnap had gone out hunting and brought back a deer for them to eat as an apology to Dream even though Dream said it wasn't necessary.

He could feel his wounds healing, draining his energy. Dream started to regret letting himself get beat up because now he'd have to sleep. His mind drifted, losing focus as he blankly stared into the fire that Sapnap had started.

"Dream?"

Dream blinked and looked to the source of the question. George was looking at him expectantly. Dream asked, "Yeah?"

"I asked if you're okay."

"I'm good," Dream replied honestly.

George searched his eyes and asked, "Are you tired?"

Dream ignored the question and looked away, seeing Sapnap asleep, he said, "He sure is."

George scoffed. "He needs to keep watch more often. We let him sleep too much."

Dream hummed in agreement. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself, knowing that they would need to stop at a village soon to get more provisions. All Dream was wearing was boots, pants, a cloak, and some bandages that were barely hanging on.

He stood up and started walking to the open meadow. George called after him, "Where are you going?"

"To watch the stars, wanna come?"

Dream heard George scramble to get up and smiled softly. The mortal was growing on him and Dream couldn't deny it anymore.

He sat in the open, tall grass growing past his thighs. He laid down, resting his hands on his stomach as he looked up at the sky. George caught up to him and laid beside him quietly.

The sky was black, accompanied by the large moon that was slowly waning. A few stars were visible, but the bright moon dimmed their presence. There was no breeze and no birds, just the occasional cricket.

Dream closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He could smell the fresh grass, the abandoned bear cave nearby, everything... including George.

He heard a quiet rustle as George turned his head to look at Dream. Dream ignored the stare and opened his eyes to search the sky for more stars on this important night, but only a few were seen. He sighed and looked back to the moon.

They said nothing for a moment, the two sitting in wordless silence. George inhaled softly before asking, "Do you have a favorite constellation?"

"Cygnus― the swan," Dream answered quietly, his eyes sad as he searched for the familiar stars, but they weren't there, the moon taking away their spotlight.

"Why that one?"

"Because it was my sister's favorite."

The sentence hung in the air. "I..." Dream started, but trailed off.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," George murmured.

Dream whispered slowly, "When I was younger my little sister and I used to watch the stars together."

George waited for Dream to continue and Dream did, saying quietly, "She used to point at the sky and tell me every constellation in the sky. She was so smart, even I envied her sometimes." Dream paused and looked at the moon. He whispered, "I never knew how she could remember it all...

"I could point at a random star in the sky and she'd name it." Dream swallowed, holding back tears as he whispered, "I... I used to sketch. She'd given me a sketchbook for my birthday one year. We would always sneak out at night.

"She would teach me the constellations and I would draw them." Dream smiled softly, adding, "Every time I made a mistake she would be there to correct me, but she was never mean about it... always gentle. She... she was everything to me. I guess it's fitting that there are no stars out tonight."

"Why's that?" George asked quietly.

"Because today would've been her birthday... and she's gone, just like the stars."

Dream closed his eyes as a tear slid down his cheek. He exhaled slowly and muttered, "Fuck... it's been so long, but I still can't get over it."

It was quiet for a moment and Dream whispered with a weak laugh, "Please say something, anything to take my mind off of her."

George thought for a minute and eventually said, "I― I had, err sorry, I have a brother."

Dream could tell George was unsure if he wanted to continue, but he did. George whispered, "My brother wasn't born with an ability. Everyone in my family was, but he wasn't for some reason.

"I always suspected, but I think my father knew that my brother had a different father, which meant my mother... well, she left after he found out, leaving me and my brother with my father.

"Naturally, my father disliked him more than me. He hated having two children, one that wasn't his and the other with a power he feared. He would've taken his anger out on my little brother, but I always intervened. My brother and I were never close, but I would rather take my father's punches than have him take them.

"My brother never knew about it. He would question the bruises, but I would push him away." George paused before he added, "One time, my father left the door open...

"My guards had always known about what happened behind closed doors, but my brother had no clue. He was only ten after all. He was coming up to give me something when he saw my father with a belt... it was one of the worst days because he was sober and had more strength.

"I blocked out most of it, but I still remember him screaming as my guard held him back. He was taken away and I had to cover my ears as he was carried down the hall, kicking at the guard. It was the last time I saw him... he was taken away. My father claimed to have sent him to a school for princes."

George stopped, taking a deep breath. Dream opened his eyes and turned to George. With tears falling down both their faces, Dream pulled George into a hug. George froze before relaxing and wrapping his arms around Dream.

His head buried into Dream's neck, soft hair brushing against sensitive ears. Dream shivered and closed his eyes, inhaling George's scent. He smelled like Dream, but different. After sharing weeks and weeks of company, the two smelled similar. Dream could smell the pine of the trees, the freshness of the breeze, the earthy dirt and dried sweat. Another smell greeted Dream, that of George's home. He could practically taste the sweet scent as he breathed.

It had been a long time since Dream had cried with someone, but he missed the feeling of acceptance and understanding. He missed feeling a connection.