Dreaming of Demons (Dream x oc)

[50] Far Too Real

I hadn't been to the training arena in ages. Well—besides the time I made a pit stop there during the Wither fight a couple days ago. But this time, as the morning sun streamed through the trees surrounding the arena, I was actually there to train.

The battered, hay-filled training dummy wasn't the best opponent. Smacking it around with one of the wooden swords quickly turned boring. I thought about calling up Sapnap for an opponent. He was a pretty skilled fighter and he would at least give me some challenge. But I didn't want to bother him with a last minute call.

I shuffled back a distance from the dummy, giving a half-hearted, javelin throw with my wooden sword. The blunt weapon managed to pierce the dummy, then it fell to the ground with a depressing thump. Dropping my arms with a huff, I debated whether or not I really wanted to walk over and pick it up.

Light footsteps near the entrance caught my attention. Dream was just walking into the arena, a netherite axe propped on his shoulder. My heart jumped a bit to see him with his signature weapon paired with his mask—pretty much the two things I've come to associate with the Dreamon. But upon seeing me, his eye slightly crinkled in what must have been a smile. I let out a breath, allowing myself to smile back.

He dropped the axe from his shoulder, glancing over at me as he propped it up against the wall near the wooden weapons. "You wanna partner?"

I chuckled, picking the sword I had been using from the dirt ground. "Yes."

He slipped a wooden sword out of the barrel and tested its weight in his hand, bouncing the hilt of the weapon in his palm.

"I haven't fought with a wooden sword in a while, so you may have an advantage." He said, a grin sounding through his words.

We moved across the dirt to find an open spot to start in as I raised a brow. "Got too comfortable with netherite?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. You ready?"

To fight the most skilled fighter in the SMP? Probably not, yet I spread my feet into a balanced stance. The prospect of an actual challenge lifted my motivation. "Yes."

He immediately started circling to my right, taking easy steps. He wasn't in any rush and I nearly rolled my eyes when he twisted his wrist to spin the sword, completely at ease. But I stayed focused, mirroring his movements to keep the distance between us.

He was probably waiting for me to lower my guard, but I kept my hands tight on my weapon and my footsteps light. Every time I had fought Dream was when he was the Dreamon. He was more aggressive that way, so admittedly, it was a bit of a surprise when Dream didn't attack first.

I stopped moving after more than a few seconds of silence, watching carefully as he came to a stop just a few steps in front of me. I raised my sword between us, still slightly guarded, but he made no move with his. What was he doing? Was he going to fight me or not?

"Waiting for something?" He asked.

"Waiting for you, yes."

"You want me to make the first move?" I could hear the teasing in his voice.

"Well, I was sort of expecting—"

His sword swung up, knocking against mine and flinging it straight out of my hands. It happened so fast, all I could do was stand there and blink, my mind taking a second to catch up.

And then he laughed, and that caught me completely off guard too. It wasn't the typical short chuckle or light laugh that I had heard many times before, but one that burst out of him, causing him to bend over just to try to contain it. The sound was so hearty and genuine that I couldn't help but laugh a little as well, even in my shock. I had never, ever heard him laugh like he did, and I wished I was able to fully see his face when it happened.