we can all learn things(just maybe in different ways.)

in which hunter and hunted are one and the same

(Ayo almost 4000 words of angst in this chapter new record pog?)

shut up i'm not writing this at 12 am what are you talking about

also how do we feel about me also posting this on my tumblr (@/heiioitsjay) ?

anyways still crying after tommy's stream yesterday must pog through pain with WRITING MORE PAIN GOTTEM GET REKT LMAOOOO

Techno was struggling, to say the least.

Forcing his eyes to open was like being a salmon swimming upstream. He felt so small, so insignificant, like he was merely a leaf fluttering to the ground aimlessly, pushed astray by even the smallest of breezes. No matter how hard he tried the water kept coming, kept rushing at him and engulfing him in its all-encompassing current, surrounding him. One wrong move, one moment of weakness, and he would be swept away, merely a memory of what once was, an unmoving shell ignored by passerby, an acorn to be stepped on and cracked without a second thought. He felt so trapped in this small skin that he would do anything to get out, anything to free himself from this prison he was encased in.

His eyes burst open with a gasp and he fell back into his body, inhaling huge puffs of air through his nose. His knees felt shaky against the cool marble floor. His hands were there but they were bound together much like his legs, and when he tried to open his mouth to speak he became acutely aware of the bitter, dry rag shoved in his mouth.

Eventually his eyesight focused and he forced himself to get his act together as muffled conversation became clear words. Techno had to squint to realize that he was kneeling on a cold, smooth floor, paved with spotless shining blackstone. His breath caught in his throat and he glanced up.

The far too familiar insignia on the banner stared back at him, almost taunting in its bright golden sheen against the royal purple banner. The same symbol on the brooch that Dream wore proudly on his cloak, pinned in the center of his chest for everyone to see. A symbol that was supposed to stand for peace and just rule, but instead represented something far from it, tyranny and injustice for all that resides in its clutches. Techno had known that for years now.

He looked at the blank wall below the banner, squinting slightly. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't just an empty expanse he was staring at. It was a screen, tiny holes pricked into the black metal, angled just so to allow what was on the other side of the wall to see Techno but stay obscured from his view.

Techno glanced beside him to see Dream, kneeling with his head bowed, his sword and shield and armor gone without a trace. His eyes widened and he tried to lash out, to make him pay for tormenting him and his family for more than a week now and violating the sacred laws of a duel, but all he could do was struggle in his bonds.

Still, if facial expressions could kill, Dream would have been smited long ago by the stone-cold glare on Techno's face.

"I did as you ordered, my Lord." His voice was even and strong, and it was hard to notice the slight waver in his tone. But the hesitation was there.

"Did you now."

The deep voice almost purred from behind the screen. Techno's head whipped forward and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. That voice, though he had never heard anything like it before, terrified him. There was something about the way it echoed, the sinister edge hidden in its tone, that sent shivers up Techno's spine.

"Yes, my lord. I brought you the Blade before moonset on the winter solstice. He is alive and mostly unharmed, yet still helpless."

"Good, very good. And what of his brothers?"