A Splash of ink

Chapter 9- Oh! What does this do? (SwapDream)

"C'mon. Let's get you in the bath and you play all you want.~"

Paperjam decided he really liked this new place, as he got to experience so many new things. This 'bath thing' and meeting his new tree friend, was a great start!

The babybones didn't notice how Dream sighed in exasperation but equl amounts of amusement, as the child was thinking out loud, none of their thoughts currently hidden to the world.

—

Dream was still thoroughly amused by his newest guest , intrigued at how they stayed up all the night with little issue. They fearlessly examined everything in the room, including him and after he had readily answered one of their questions, he was suddenly barraged with a million more.

The way they pushed back his magic, like it was an irritant fly was intriguing, which he of course continued to test throughout the night. He discovered that they could easily detect his magic but strangely never fed from it, despite their young age and the way he offered it. Instead they fed off their surroundings, which was very impressive and far harder to accomplish for most monsters.

..they still insisted he was a tree though, even commenting how his 'leaves' looked very vibrant, their opinion never changing no matter what he said.

Their emotions were also a treat to observers, grinning at the sheer chaotic mix they seemed to always feel. He knew he was considered insane but this child felt like they took it to a new level.

It was fascinating!~

He had only had them for a few days but he was hooked, closely watching how they would react to any given situation in amusement.

—-

Dream was currently outside with the kid, slowly trailing behind them as they explored the forest. At one point he observed Paperjam stare at a tree for 10 minutes straight before walking away, muttering to themselves thoughtfullyas if they discovered something very important.

Such a very odd babybones.

"-are not a pet! Just let them go before I have to deal with the mess again!"

..now if only his brother could be less noisy. They always seemed to find him when he went out with any guests but it did make the 'game' they were playing more fun. He was sure he could keep his current guest forever, considering their 'state' he found them in but knew it would be useless to try and convince his brother of this fact, so let them continue to rant.

They seemed to enjoy doing that alot.

Nightmare felt a headache form at the noncommittal hums Dream was giving him, practically tasting the disinterest in what he had to say, wafting off them. He sighed and took out a cigarette, having made sure to stock up now that Dream had grabbed yet another monster.

His mood soured further as he remembered this morning's incident, lighting his cigarette almost aggressively and ignoring Dreams' tut of disapproval.

To say he had been severely unimpressed when his friends had set up a scoreboard in their kitchen, listing all the monsters Dream had taken into their home over the years, would be an understatement.

It was so depressing to see how high the numbers were, sighing sadly when he realised he had gone through a pack of cigarettes already.

He was losing hope his life would ever change, feeling he would be a forever have to clean up after his brothers messes.

—

Nightmare had finally done it, somehow managing to get Dream to bring their newest acquisition with them to his home, hoping to hammer some actual sense into them.

However, his stress levels were rising to dangerous levels, as he listened to the babybones, prattle on about everything but the main issue.

"I can help you escape. I have many safe houses i can take you too and bring you back to your home multiverse"

"No thanks. I'm fine where I am. "

He was dumbstruck by the blasé responses, twitching in unease at the emotions coming off them throughout this 'conversation', which felt more like him pleading and them nodding along as if to merely appease him.

This was feeling far too much like talking to his brother but he refused to give up so easily!

Paperjam sighed at how loud they were, finally turning to face the persistent Negativity Guardian.

"They will try to keep you here. They will want to control every aspect of your life and won't let you escape!"

...Paperjam was lost on how to respond to this, looking up at the Fluffy Destroyer for possible answers. They made much more sense to him, not asking such baffling questions like the Creator used to.

He had seen his 'parents' use their magic in the past and even managed to observe their numbers better, so had a general idea of what counted as normal.

Fluffy Destroyers LOVE wasn't too bad and they had shown him some rather cool things, so he wasn't seeing an issue so far.

"They haven't done anything I've hated so far, so it's fine."

He shrugged, feeling no need to mention he was unsure if he was even able to get angry. He had never experienced it before to his knowledge and frustration seemed to be the closest emotion he had ever felt, that was similar to it.

He began tuning them out again, when they sputtered something about 'trauma' but his interest was truly lost, eyeshape flickering in intrigue when he spotted something much more fun to look at.

"BROTHER! You know this isn't normal. Think logically for once! You are not capable of caring for someone with this disposition , let alone a child as well!"

Dream huffed in offence, his mouth twitching in amusement at how they did not just blunty say 'crazy'. They always seemed so sensitive to that word, as though it was taboo to say out loud. His brother did have such funny reactions.

"Of course I can! I've never dusted any of my past guests by accident! I take great care of them.~"

They both knew he had however purposely dusted a few but that was only one or two 50 and counting as that had been very whiny.

"Oh really? Well your 'guest' is trying their very best to electrocute themselves right now."

Nightmare said dryly, watching his brother suddenly grab the babybones, who was poking his fingers in the plug sockets of his home.

Paperjam let out a noise of confusion when he was taken away from his new discovery, as he had really wanted to feel the strange non-magic closer. It felt buzzy to his senses and he had been so close to seeing how it reacted with his ink.

Fluffy Destroyer was not as fun as he expected, as they refused to let him down the rest of the day. He fully blamed Negativity for this, sure they were to blame for this sudden injustice...

~~~~

Paperjam: *Resolute and pouting unhappily* I refuse to go into the house! You cant make me!

Also Paperjam: *Easily brought into the house with a simple distraction*
-
SD Dream: *Highly disapproving* Really brother. You should really quit that habit. It's not good for you~

SD Nightmare: *Already on his second pack of cigarettes of the day* And maybe you should stop kidnapping random monsters but i dont see that happening anytime soon either
-
*SD Nightmare trying to warn Paperjam about SD Dream*

Paperjam:*Who considers his 'birth parents' normal*..i dont see any issues here
-
SD Dream: I am a great caretaker!~

SD Nightmare: *Watching the babybones try and do another insane thing, with Dream being ever oblivious*...has your insanity somehow gotten worse?