The Hyenas {Dreamnotfound AU}

30. Lies

earlier

George's POV

"The only way I thought I would see you again, was dead," Technoblade opens the conversation as I sit across from him at his table, the one where we sat before. I raise an eyebrow looking at him.

"Good way to start a negotiation," I answer, sounding sassier than I usually would. The man in front of me lets out a low chuckle, leaning back in his chair.

"I won't feed you any lies," he replies, and I scoff, crossing my arms. "Honestly, I'm surprised, maybe even a little impressed, that you're still alive," he continues, his eyes boring into mine. They're a strange shade of brown where it almost seems as if they're glowing red. 

"How come?" I ask, crossing my leg over the other. 

"We observed you, we knew you were scared of this place, scared of us," he says, leaning back forward on his chair to rest his arms on the table, propping up his head with one of his hands. He seems to take in every detail about me that he can spot. "But somehow, you flipped. You stabbed me, you hurt one of us to free your friend, and now you were out on the streets by yourself," he continues with somewhat of a questioning tone in his voice.

"Things change," I say with a shrug, staring right back into his eyes. That's also something that I wouldn't have done before. I would have probably looked away, trying to find anything at all to divert my gaze to, but I don't now. 

"Wilbur told me about what he saw when he followed you earlier.  Lover's quarrel?" I roll my eyes at his question.

"You can stop referring to me as his boyfriend, because I'm not," I tell him, not breaking eye contact. I feel a slight sting in my chest, but I push it away in an attempt to dull my disappointment. 

"As you please. How should we call you then?" he questions, tilting his head slightly. Is this where I tell them my name? I've tried so hard for the past few weeks to keep it a secret, to keep my family safe, but do I need to? If this is where they 'recruit' me, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't go and hurt my parents. Besides that, there's enough Georges around, it'd be hard finding them just off of my first name. 

"My name is George," I tell him, leaning back in my chair now. Technoblade hums, nodding as he removes his hand from under his chin. 

"Very well, George. I would like to come to an agreement with you," he says, laying his forearms down on the table. 

"So I've heard," I answer, gaining another hum in response.

"I would like for you to join us." I let the room go silent as I look into his eyes. I knew it was going to go somewhere in this direction, but I didn't expect him to be this direct about it. A small shiver makes its way down my spine. 

"Why would I?"

"We can offer you the protection that your friends can't," he states bluntly. 

"And why would you want to offer me protection?" I ask. I need to get to the bottom of this before agreeing to anything at all. This could very well be a scheme still, and I need to ensure that I come out of this, preferably without my head on a stick.

"You, in combination with Dream, are too dangerous for us. We'd rather have you on our side than his," he answers casually. Wait. I'm in the middle? I have a choice in what side I want to be on. I have a choice in who I want to protect me. Clay, or a whole army. But, an army full of monsters. Technoblade apparently noticed how I sank away in thought, as he speaks up again.

"Let me show you something," he says, lifting his sleeve. It shows a city mark, but there's several lines inked over it, so you can barely see its shape anymore. I study it from a distance, but I can't seem to recognize what city it's from.