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The sky was doused in soft blues and yellows, gentle, fresh breezes of air ran through the atmosphere, rustling branches of trees and making its leaves dance back and forth.
Green, grassy fields accompanied by flowers of varying colors decorated the landscape. A river ran through the land, its water fresh and cold, crashing against stone; filling the air with gentle, relaxing sounds. The edge of an oak tree forest bordered the grassy plains; faded silhouettes of a mountain chain were visible behind the woods.
And then, there was Dream; clad in enchanted Netherite armor, weapon tight in his hands; he was half limping, half walking through his server's lands. These particular chunks were far away from the SMP’s mainland; everyone in the mainland was making themselves prepared, building walls and amassing fighters; nobody would come looking for him right away.
For once, after so many months, he was finally safe.
Slowly, he made his way towards the creek, its water running fast and clear; pebbles and sand were visible below the water’s surface. He bent down carefully and dipped his hands into the stream. The water felt cold, as if teeth made out of ice were biting into his skin, yet, he sighed in relief as the water's temperature mended his pain. He cupped his hands, letting them be filled with water and brought both of them to his face, cleaning it of grime and dirt.
He got up again, hands finding and releasing his armor and dropping his netherite weapons. One after the other, another armor piece met the ground, still shimmering gently with the magic of various enchantments. He summoned multiple items out of his inventory; healing potions, a big piece of cloth that resembled a towel, fresh clothes which included jogging pants and one of his signature green hoodies, as well as bandages. All of these were given to him by Punz when they met at the frozen shore. He set the items down on the ground, leaving the bandages on top so they wouldn't get soiled. Dream was left standing in front of the river now dressed in the orange, dirty jumpsuit of the prison.
Quickly, as fast as his body allowed it, he undressed himself, finally getting rid of and freeing himself of another shackle left from his time in the prison. His body was pale, littered in scars and wounds. Barefooted, he stepped into the water, feeling loose, small stones carrying his weight. The water's feel had such a stark contrast as opposed to the water in his cell; it was cold and fresh, so unlike the warm, steaming and stale water he was forced to become accustomed to.
He stepped deeper into the river, the water's surface now reaching up to his knees. Once again, bending down and cupping his hands, shoveling water into his palms and releasing the liquid above his head. He let out shuddering breaths of air as he scrubbed his body, still attempting to acclimate himself. Hisses left his lips when he attempted to clean still unhealed wounds. Grime, dirt, sweat and trails of blood were washed downstream.
Once he was clean and his body and hair were dripping droplets of water, he stepped out of the river and onto the pebble bank. He grabbed the towel that he left there and dried himself off slowly, being sure to be more careful when drying up parts of his skin that was still injured.
Next, he dropped the cloth, spread it out and sat down on it slowly. He took the roll of bandages and a healing potion, uncorking the bottle and letting the sweet scent of melon hit his nose; just the smell alone was calming and relaxing to his mind and body.
Dream tipped the glass bottle and let a few drops of the glimmering substance onto his injuries. Silent hisses and growls of discomfort and pain left his lips as he did so. He set the bottle aside, instead focusing his attention to wrapping up his wounds with fresh bandages. One after another, each wound would soon be covered by soft cloth and protected from infection and more harm.
His hands found the clothes that Punz had given him before they both split paths again. Slowly, Dream dressed himself, hiding his bandaged skin under a green hoodie, black jogging pants, fingerless gloves and sneakers. He turned around and met his reflection on the surface of the water; carefully, he observed the image that was looking back at him. Aside from the long, wet hair, absence of his mask; he'd have to make a new one later; and all the new scars on his face, he was able to actually recognize himself for once.
He ran a hand through his messy hair, carding his fingers through singular, long strands of dirty blonde. Dream picked up his netherite axe; he held it tightly together with a bundle of hair in his other hand. Weapon angled towards the bundle, he cut off his still wet hair. Pretty impractical way of having a haircut, but for now it'll do, he thought. Once he was done, pieces of blonde hair were being chased downstream by the water of the river. Dream looked at his reflection once more; his hair was still messy but it was way shorter now, almost as short as how his hair used to be. He stared at his reflection, a soft smile on his face. He remembered the times he saw his reflection in prison, he hated looking at himself; now it was more bearable, he looked almost like his old self. It made him...happy. Content.
Suddenly, he remembered that he hasn't eaten since the day Technoblade broke him out, the last thing he ate was a singular gapple and his wounds would heal faster if he were to get back to a regular diet as fast as he could. His gaze shifted towards the oak forest to his left. On shaky legs, he made his way towards the forest's border, collecting branches that have fallen to the grassy ground. Once he seemed he had enough, he made his way back to the river bank and dropped the sticks. Next, he collected stones as well as flint from the river bank and laid them out in a circle on the bank’s sandy and stony floor. Then came the sticks; Dream threw a couple of sticks into the stone circle, leaving a few from meeting the same fate.
He grabbed a flint and smashed it against stone, the flint shattering into multiple pieces. Now with flint shards, he was able to grind the shard against a stone quickly, creating faint sparks. Sitting down, he held his hands close to the wood, and struck sparks; after a few tries, the sticks finally caught fire and he began to feed oxygen to the flames. Once the fire was big enough, he held his hands close to it; it felt warm, not as warm or hot as the lava in his cell.
He abruptly threw away that thought. He wasn't there anymore, he was here, out and free; listening to soft breezes, the melodies of birds chirping and the sound of water running. Dream closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then he opened his eyes again and looked around. He was still free.
He summoned food from his inventory, raw pork chop which he gathered on his way here. He grabbed a stick from the pile and skewered the meat onto it before holding the pork chop over the flame. He watched the orange and yellow hues dance in the flames as he waited for his food to cook, yawning every once in a while.
Once the meat was cooked, he guided the stick to his mouth and blew on his food before digging in. He sighed in content, finally being able to eat something that wasn't just a raw potato after so many months of suffering from flavor fatigue. He hummed while eating, letting the effects of regeneration coupled with the healing potion from before wash over his body. When Dream was finished, he threw the stick into the fire; then his gaze fell on the prison jumpsuit. Eyebrows furrowed and sighing, he got up, made his way to the piece of clothing, picked it up and walked back to his campfire. Without even another look at the clothing, Dream threw it into the flames, watching it catch fire and scorching away.
Free. He was finally free.
He looked towards the mountain chain. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky in a soft gradient of pinks and yellows with dark purples and blues threatening to swallow the server whole. Soft stars were already visible in the sky, accompanying the faintly glowing silhouette of the moon. Then, his gaze fell back to the oak forest, then back to the mess he made; where armor pieces, an empty bottle and the cloth towel laid around. Slowly, he cleaned up the river bank, guiding the armor pieces, his weapon, the empty bottle and the towel into his inventory for later use. He made his way to the water again, cupping his hands, letting his palms with liquid once more before throwing it onto the flames, successfully extinguishing the campfire after a few throws.
When he was satisfied with the result, looking down onto what remained of his prison clothes being reduced to ash, he made his way into the oak forest. Shadows cast by clumps of leaves obstructed his figure and he held onto one of the trees tightly. With a thrust upwards, he started to climb up, crawling up the trunk of the tree until he found a branch that would support his weight fully. He moved from the trunk onto the branch and sat down before shifting and lying down instead.
Now, with his back leaning against the trunk; legs spread, supported by the branch and arms resting on his lap, he was able to take in the landscape before him from up above. He saw the river and spots of color from the flowers that decorated the field. The sun has set, the sky now a dark blue with shimmering stars up above.
Dream smiled. He was free, he hasn't been able to fully take in his situation yet but now it was clear. He took in a few breaths of fresh air, enjoyed as gentle breezes carded through his hair. With bright eyes, he watched as the stars shone down on him until his eyelids fell and he succumbed to a much needed slumber.
Finally, he was free.