Ahahaha
Hi
.....this story is ass
Also
I thought that I put this chapter out like months ago, and was even finally getting around to working on the next one again.
So to all the people who thought I was legitimately dead
My bad
...lmao
"You want me to....give information about Atlantis in order for me to be let go?" George frowned.
"Basically, yeah," Dream shrugged. "That's not a problem, right?"
"Are you kidding? No way," George crossed his arms, scowling. "I'd rather wait here forever. Do you realize how stupid that sounds?"
"Naturally, but if you have nothing to hide, then it's okay," Dream responded.
Dream had eventually returned. He had put it off for as long as he could, which was only a few hours. He had gone as far as to do the meticulous chores that Callahan would normally impose upon some unlucky crew mate every Thursday, but he had been rescued by Bad.
The demon had unofficially diagnosed the captain with self-inflicted insanity, as nice as the gesture of cleaning out the dirty cupboards was, and had ordered that he do something about whatever was bothering him.
As short as the doctor was, compared to Dream's tall frame, practically everyone knew not to challenge Bad once he had made a decision.
It would be ridiculous to challenge a medical professional, anyway, right?
Regardless, Dream was fully aware of what was bothering him.
Aside from his own concerns about Eret's warning about the waters they were currently in, one thing was constantly on his mind.
And the issue came in the form of blue scales and angry eyes.
After getting kidnapped, wounded, and made into a hostage, Dream didn't doubt that George should be allowed a little bit of malice against him, as a treat.
However, his compliance would make everything just a little bit easier.
Dream's last attempt had ended badly. George shut down and didn't even want to answer him kindly. All he needed to do was just explain everything and what his people were planning beneath the ocean, and Dream could devise a plan on what to do. The missing ships could get rescued, the Ghost Sea would be under their control again, and he could go back to messing around with floundering nations. He didn't need a stubborn mermaid delaying his plans any further.
For now, he stared down at the mermaid lying in a makeshift pool, his mask giving away nothing. Dream never liked putting people in cells —- much easier to kill them and dispose of their bodies —- but this mermaid was a special case. The crew of the SMP didn't treat George like it, of course, with his barrel taking up a lot of the cell space, but they didn't have the will to make a cozy stay for the mythical creature.
Dream just needed answers, and this mermaid was his one chance at getting them.
The captain didn't have any new material, however, and asking the mermaid the same questions over and over seemed to only trigger the same responses as before. George was very irritable, Dream also noticed. Dealing with royalty wasn't exactly Dream's idea of fun, but he had experienced it enough times to easily recognize familiar signs of entitlement.
George, as a Sea Prince, certainly had every right to try and defend his underwater kingdom, but going around and around in a vicious circle of unanswered questions was getting tiresome.
The jacket George wore still had some of the dried blood on it. His puddle of water was thinning out, and Dream could already tell that despite the mermaid's protests, George was close to caving. Even if the inquiries were the same, it couldn't be much longer before the prince gave in. Dream considered it perfect timing that he arrived a few minutes ago.
He'd grill him for a bit, remind him of what he had to lose, and then get answers.
Dream honestly had no idea about the shriveling-up threat he had made a while ago. Dream had never encountered a mermaid before, obviously, and was only going out on a limb. The ultimatum about George dying if he ran out of water was apparently working, however.
He just needed to push a bit harder.
"I won't say anything," George bared his teeth. "I'll speak in another language again."
"How will I understand if you want more water?" Dream then gestured to George's waning pool. "You're running out of time here."
"Am not," George snapped, simultaneously glancing down at his fading puddle.
Dream sighed. This was getting tedious. He just needed to know if there was competition out there, or some kind of threat, so that he could put it down and get it over with.
George's childishness wasn't helping move things along.
"Look," Dream crouched down to the other's level, "I really hate being the bad guy here. Okay? I don't want to be the person who hurts you. I want to be your friend."
"That's a lie," George scoffed.
Dream inhaled and exhaled. It was technically something he hadn't planned on saying at all. Being this fish guy's friend was not exactly an accomplishment to brag about to the boys, even if he was a prince.
He had a lot of royal friends already, or people indebted to him.
But something about the way George turned down the advance irritated him.
Could the mermaid not see that he was trapped?
"It's true," Dream insisted. "I don't want to keep feeling like I'm threatening you. I just need to know what you're people have done with our missing ships. Some nobles and supplies are in there- like, a lot. Those people govern regions and provide for their own people. Can't you see that?"
George opened and closed his mouth. Dream smiled behind his mask. As stubborn as this prince was, the captain had already found an exploitable flaw.
The prince was emotional.
Whether it was his friends who were injured, or even a foreign species supposedly left without their leaders and a means to live, his heartstrings were subsequently tugged and his logical lines of reasoning were interrupted.
Dream was sort of exaggerating with the nobles ruling a general area and needing to feed their people, but there was enough truth in it to obviously make it believable to George. Foolish often combined survival supplies with his building materials, and it wasn't a stretch to say that the ships were necessary for some regions' survival and success.
The brunette's eyes narrowed at Dream then. "And why do you care about them? You're a pirate. Are people paying you as mercenaries to go and find them?"
"I expect we'll be paid later on," Dream shrugged, "but for right now, we're doing this out of the goodness of our hearts. I'm sure some of my men even used to live in some of those places, and their families need food or supplies..."
George was biting his lip. Dream caught the slight curl of his fingers. It was working.
Just a little more prodding, and the mermaid would open up.
Just a little more pushing, and Dream would know what's been coming after his territory.
"....... I think that...." George said slowly, staring directly at the captain's mask, "...you'll need to do better than that to get me to trust you."
"Can you not trust my concern for the people in these regions?" Dream countered.
"I can't even trust you specifically," George snapped. "Look where I am!!"
Dream opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. The mermaid had a point. Dream hadn't exactly offered him a five-star room at a luxurious inn, but he didn't have much of a choice. His crew was freaked out enough by the mermaid on board- something he had picked up while idly walking around, trying to stall and do chores.
There was no other place to put the mermaid, and Dream almost preferred this cell as the holding space for George. He could observe the male here without any curious eyes out in the open, since most of his men were still too stunned to come down here. Putting the mermaid in a more open or accommodating space might decrease the factor of concern. If George wasn't made out to be seen as a threat, threat enough to be put in a cell, Dream's plans might be interfered with.
Of course, George's attitude towards his crew members during his time on deck seemed to hold on tight in making them wary.
However, there was a pressing matter at hand. It wasn't much, but the mermaid could be persuaded to speak. Twice he had visited the mermaid, and twice he had returned to his quarters with slightly more information than before. It didn't help with finding the missing ships of Foolish or figuring out what exactly had been overtaking his oceanic territory, but the insight was enough to begin visualizing the mermaid's life and thought processes.
He just needed the push.
That was all.
Then, he could get some answers.
The male staring at him with loathing in his beautiful two-toned eyes would give up some answers to him, with the right nudg-
...
No, not beautiful.
Jesus, just talk to him and say something, Dream chided himself. You look like a freak right now. Beautiful eyes, my ass. Get a grip.
A new idea suddenly appeared in his mind, spurred on by his confused thoughts.
Perhaps the reason why these strange acknowledgements of the other's looks and mannerisms was triggered by the fact that he was getting COMFORTABLE around the mermaid. It was a more CASUAL type of comfort, as Dream had barely known this supposed prince for two days, but... his threats didn't always stick for long. The mermaid warily regarded him, but here he was, pushing and prodding for a better result. The banter was getting to his head, his failure to obtain information dampening his intimidation record in the world. The mermaid didn't really know what he was capable of, and stubbornly refused to always admit that Dream had the upper hand here.
He just sat, proud in his cell-puddle, and wouldn't budge.
That interested Dream.
That made him lower his guard.
That was a sign of giving in, yes? To lower someone's walls was to give in. Dream didn't know how exactly George was able to do this - they had barely interacted - but something felt intriguing about this whole ordeal.
Maybe it was the fact that George was a mermaid, or the mystery at hand.
Or maybe it was the prince himself.
Regardless, Dream focused on one thing. He was trying really hard to get information through interrogation, but that was obviously not working. It only made George more defensive and less trusting. The look of anger was the only answer Dream would receive if he continued to push George this way.
To conjure up thoughts about the mermaid's pretty features was a slow sign of being on the road to trust. Of course Dream didn't trust someone he just met. But he had to be trying for something.
Every word that came from the mermaid seemed genuine, from the sarcastic quips to the pleas of protecting his home.
The idea that had appeared in Dream's head, however absurd it was, really bordered on getting the mermaid to trust him.
If he couldn't threaten him and obtain immediate results, Dream would have to try a more personal tactic. He needed to know what was going on here. He needed to gain George's faith in his character if he was ever going to get anywhere.
He needed George to trust him, to lower his walls and allow the thoughts of caution that Dream used to have in abundance fall away. He needed George to view him in the same casual way that Dream was viewing the prince. Pretty eyes aside, he needed George as a possible ally.
He needed George to trust him.
And here was the perfect opportunity.
"... Fine," Dream leaned away from the cell with a sigh. "Want to get out of here?"
This gave George pause, his eyes that were definitely not gorgeous and unique and perfect widening slightly.
Bingo.
Dream suppressed a smirk at the response he had gotten. The offer would be too good for the mermaid to pass up. He'd better define the logistics of how far he'd go to get George to trust him, but for now, the look of surprise and the hushed voice showed well enough that his tactic was working. He was pleased that he had gained something that wasn't a snarky comeback.
".... What?" George whispered.
"You heard me," Dream said naturally. "Do you want to get out of here?"
George's mouth opened and closed. Dream could tell that his was thinking, as his brow furrowed. The mermaid pulled his bloodied jacket around himself better, frowning at the captain.
"You're not.... You're not actually letting me go, are you?" George asked slowly.
"Do you not want to get out of here?" Dream tilted his head.
"I do! I do... but..." George shook his head. "There's .... there is no way you're actually letting me go free, after all that...."
"All that?" Dream repeated.
".... You know...." The mermaid looked down. "..... The threats. You talked to me about wars and hostages and.... And...."
Right.
Backtracking.
He had to fix his past mistakes, and just help ease George along the intended path.
He could probably do without the threats and stuff, anyway.
"Yeah, I can be a .... jerk sometimes...." Dream decided to say. "I'm just... really worried about the ships of supplies and people. I mean.... I've got wars going on in other places. There are people trying to start a nation, hybrid uprisings.... There's just a lot going on in the world.... There's not a lot of order in it, either.....I know it doesn't make up for attacking your friends and all, or keeping you here..... But it's hard to predict what will happen next. It's hard to keep things civil and under control. And.... I kind of took it out on the biggest anomaly right in front of me."
Yeah, that should do it, Dream thought to himself. It's not a lie. It's me opening up to him. That's how it works. And the walls come tumbling down....
"Oh....." George said quietly, stealing a glance upwards. "....that does sound stressful."
You have no idea how many people I have to actually please, Dream thought with a sign.
"Yeah, well......" Dream shrugged, sticking a hand through the bars of a cell, "it wouldn't hurt to ease up, right? If we're not enemies... then maybe we can help each other."
George stared at Dream's hand. The captain could tell that the prince was wary to trust, after everything, but perhaps his apology had sufficed. Perhaps he was at least considering the concept of trust.
Carefully, slowly, a pale hand made it's way through the metallic cell bars. George slipped his fingers in-between Dream's, the pirate blinking in surprise behind his mask. George's hand was cold, smudged with dried blood and damp from the little water he had in his cell. It contrasted greatly with Dream's warm one, in more than just size.
"Jesus," Dream murmured, shaking George's hand softly. "...Now that that's settled, I guess first thing's first."
Dream reached into the inner pockets of his coat with his free hand, pulling out a ring of keys with a small jingle. George's widened, his lips parting. Dream noticed how slightly blue they were, how his expression betrayed how he was feeling. George clearly couldn't believe he was actually getting out right now.
"You're....You're serious," George gaped.
"Obviously," Dream snorted, selecting a silvery key and inserting it into the rectangular padlock of the cell. "I don't normally shake hands with mermaids for nothing."
The captain opened the cell door, its hinges creaking. Behind his mask, a million thoughts were screaming within his mind. Maybe it was a bad idea to let this mermaid out. Dream was taking a big risk, letting his one piece of evidence get a little more freedom than most people would ever wish to see. He couldn't believe he was letting this fish prince practically get what he wanted without leaving Dream anything in return.
George paused, before a slow smile crept onto his face. His fins seemed to curl and uncurl as his tail was still wrapped around himself, as if they were displaying his anxiety melt into relief. If Dream hadn't seen that movement, George's eyes still said it all.
Something tightened in Dream's chest at the sight.
Maybe he did get something out of it.
".....As nice as this is," George looked around himself, ".....I'm in a barrel."
Dream blinked, before registering his words.
Right.
He was a mermaid. He couldn't walk out. He was stuck on the ground in a dingy puddle.
"You'll probably have to call someone down to help you lift me up," George looked back up at Dream. "I don't know if you can carry me all the way up those stairs, and when you dump me out-"
Dream hadn't felt himself begin to smile, but he could easily feel it drop behind his mask. George hadn't understood. Dream hadn't been very clear, of course, but....George didn't understand what constituted as "being let out". The prince continued to ramble, some energy beginning to instill itself into his personality. Dream almost felt bad for his next words, but they had to be said.
George had to be reminded of who was in charge here, and what he was after.
"Ah," Dream cleared his throat. "I....Look, that's great, and yeah, I could probably carry your barrel up by myself.....but I don't mean....that you're being let go."
"....I don't understand," George frowned.
You haven't understood anything since the moment you got on my ship. You didn't understand the importance of how your species' existence plays into our society. You didn't understand what those missing ships meant to some people. You don't understand that I can't just let you go. You should be able to understand by now, your Highness.
"You're not being let go," Dream repeated carefully. "...You're being let out. You're still....You're still going to have to stay on this ship."
The change in George's demeanor was immediate. The flash of eagerness and calmness faded into solemn regard. The mermaid was wary of Dream again. He shrank in on himself, his fins returning to stillness and his tail curling closer to himself.
Dream almost cursed at the loss of progress.
Kneeling down, he spoke again in a reassuring tone. "Look, I'll still take you out? I can easily carry your barrel. We'll get you new water, you'll be out on the deck.... You can even talk to some other people."
Dream had no idea what he was saying. The saddened expression that George had been sporting for a while now was starting to get to him, just like the prince's arrogance from before had gotten to him. He was saying things before he thought them through.
Yes, he could carry George's barrel. He wasn't weak. He could carry two Georges in two barrels, if he wanted. He could also make good on the promise of new water. The royal hybrid's damp filth was probably uncomfortable to sit in.
As for the deck thing, that was a little trickier. With the right maneuvers and no one else in sight, George could easily toss himself overboard. It would be a one-way ticket to Dream being back at square one and this prince snitching on them to his secret underwater warrior army.
Of course, that only meant Dream could keep a better eye on him by positioning crewmates strategically around the deck, but that only created a few other problems. Not only were many still fearful of the mermaid in their midst, but the idea that a mythical creature might want to start up a conversation with them would probably be a little much.
However, it was the best solution.
"....You know I can't let you go," Dream sighed, trying to placate the other. "You have information, relevant to what happened here or maybe what's going on elsewhere. I intend to figure it out, but I don't want you to think....that I'm threatening you. We're not enemies."
Not yet.
George didn't say anything. He appeared to be thinking, hard. Dream didn't know how George could be taking so much time to be weighing his options. His choices weren't that hard to consider.
The captain, however, knew nothing of his doctor and navigator previously visiting the mermaid to give him advice.
That one interaction was the only reason George finally looked up and neutralized his expression.
"If anyone annoys me, I'll kill them."
"....Fair enough," Dream inclined his head, holding back a chuckle. "....You ready to get out of here?"
George hesitated once more. The handshake from before was practically cancelled out by Dream's confirmation that George was not, in fact, getting off the ship entirely. The mermaid secretly still had no idea what to do to try and earn his freedom otherwise, but playing along was his only shot.
Ironically enough, Dream believed that playing along was his own only shot as well.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
George was soon settled on the deck. Dream could tell he was still not happy with this arrangement, but knew he would be even unhappier staying in his cell. Besides, if the captain was going to make good on his promises to George to find out what was really going on, he'd have to come through on every vow he made.
And he did.
He made sure that George was immediately given new water, before he was even moved. Antfrost was the only one who had the time and the willingness to come down and do it alongside Dream albeit he wasn't happy about how many trips it took to fill up George's barrel.
The time in between Antfrost and Dream's motions to get George new water was awkward, to say the least. Neither the captain nor the hybrid tried to speak to George, who could only sit in his murky puddle and watch the barrel get filled up. Dream mentally face-palmed at having to keep him in the barrel - (Would George have been more willing to answer his questions if they found him a better container?) - but there was no replacement at that moment. Until they could figure things out, they'd have to take this a step at a time and finally get used to the whole....mermaid thing.
Even then, Dream could've sworn he saw a tentative smile on the mermaid's face when he came down with his fourteenth bucket of gathered sea water.
That alone was enough to make Dream return the grin, although no one would be able to see it beneath his mask. It was also the reason why he forgot to admonish his crew for not helping out with the tedious water task, the members of his ship merely gaping at their captain in disbelief. He didn't even scold them for their whispers or murmurs of astonishment, even if he heard someone mutter about the captain being......Flogged? Whipped? One of those. He didn't care. He didn't know vocabulary. He only knew George's smile.
The prince was willing to begin cooperating.
The next step was bringing George up and out of the cell area, onto the deck. Once the crew members heard of this transition, everyone was suddenly too busy and confined themselves to their quarters below-decks. Dream assumed that it was just as well, since he had been struggling to effortlessly carry the aforementioned barrel up to the deck, anyway.
With George and the water inside, it was a harder task than he had initially thought.
He could tell the mermaid enjoyed it, however.
George had been leaning over the rim all the while, his tail propped up against his chest and one hand supporting his smug face. He made stupid jokes and gloated over the captain, taunting him from within the barrel that Dream could oh-so-easily tip over. The prince found Dream's struggle to carry him all the way up and out humorous.
Idiot.
Dream deposited him right in the middle of the deck, shaking out his sore arms and looking out across the empty area. He frowned at the lack of men in sight, not for their lack of politeness, but because it meant that he'd have to be the one to stay out here with George. A third part of his negotiations was that George would have people to talk to, and with the mermaid looking at him so expectantly.....
But Dream didn't want to be around George.
He felt weird. He didn't like how his attention kept reverting to the prince's eyes. He needed to focus, he needed to plan, he needed George to adjust.
He needed George to trust him.
Was he really going to have to do all of the work by himself?
"Where's all your hardcore pirates, hm?" George leaned on the side of his barrel, a sly chuckle in his voice.
Dream's jaw clenched. This guy was taunting him on purpose. The prince had a point, acknowledging the absence of his men, but the captain refused to let a mere mermaid get the better of him.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, however, his brain stopped him. He had been about to retort with a snarky comment about the absence of George's own friends and possible bodyguard, but that might not be received well. It might close George off or make him get all sensitive. The prince was clearly touchy about the subject, and it wouldn't help the captain make George feel at ease around him. Besides, it was Dream and his crew's own fault that George was isolated from the people he knew.
And it was George's fault that Dream was left to babysit him alone.
Swallowing his pride, the captain opted for a different approach. "Probably eating or sleeping. Have you done any of that recently?"
"...Only a few hours of sleep," George answered slowly, as if he had expected Dream to rise to the bait. "I didn't think you'd feed prisoners."
"I don't," Dream replied, looking at him. "But you're no prisoner."
"Oh yeah?" George raised an eyebrow.
".... What do you eat?" Dream sighed, already getting tired of trying to appeal to the mermaid.
"What do you mean, what do I eat?" George wrinkled his nose. "I eat the same things as you."
This stumped the captain, his tone turning thoughtful. "Uh, really? Are.... Are you sure?"
Of all the different foods that popped into Dream's head at that moment, he could hardly imagine George eating half of them. There was no way the mermaid could possibly eat bread products, or sweet things. He had no idea what kind of food mermaids ate beneath the surface of the ocean, which was why he asked, but George's answer was incredibly vague and inconceivable.
The ingredients alone that made up the foods Dream was thinking of, like cakes or sandwiches, couldn't possibly be gathered in underwater regions.
"God," George rolled his eyes. "Fish and vegetation, obviously. Are you crazy?"
Dream blinked, even though the prince couldn't see his momentary disbelief. He had said that with such confidence that the captain almost chided himself for not realizing sooner. However, his own audacity overpowered Dream's brief pause. The prince was talking down to him like a spoiled kid, even as he was trapped in a barrel above his underwater kingdom on a pirate ship.
The whole thing made Dream clearly snicker, a tea-kettle wheeze causing George to flinch.
".....Why are you laughing?" George asked slowly, unsure of whether it was really a laugh or not.
"Fish and....what the hell, was it- vegetables?.....Yeah, that shit isn't the only thing that's edible around here," Dream snorted.
"....What else is there?" George frowned.
Dream stopped chuckling, the inquiry moving him into a period of silence. Not only was trying to get the mermaid to give up any information difficult, but Dream was having an extremely hard time following the prince's comments. He didn't know what he was supposed to talk about with a mermaid, in order to break down their boundaries, but he certainly hadn't imagined the topic of food as a conversation starter.
And what a rough conversation it was turning out to be!
".....You're joking, ri-.....You're not," Dream studied George's face from behind his mask, realizing just how serious he was.
Damn. I'd have gone fucking crazy if I ate salad for the rest of my life.....Hell, does he even eat salad? What the fuck is "vegetation" supposed to mean? I'm a pirate, for Christ's sake, not a dietician or something.
"What else is there?" George prompted again.
Had it been anyone else, Dream might've been furthered annoyed with the phrasing of the question. It could've easily sounded like an entitled prick demanding to be shown better options on a menu. However, seeing as it was clearly a repressed mermaid who had only eaten fish and grass for most of his life, Dream supposed a little bit of grace was warranted.
"....Uhh," Dream looked around himself, as if staring at the wooden planks that made up his ship would help him think. "....There's.... there's spaghetti."
Wonderfully said, Dream.
"...Spaghetti?" George repeated. "....That's....That's not a food. You're making things up."
"I'm not!" Dream insisted. "It's a real food. It's a-a type of pasta, okay? You eat it with some bread, and-and the sauce.....Agh, forget it."
"No, no, come on," George challenged. "Where is this..."spaghetti"? I want some."
"I'm sure I'll find some fish and plants for you to eat instead, Fish Bait," Dream grunted.
He shouldn't have said anything about other kinds of food. It was already difficult enough to get George to listen to him on other matters. The captain turned and began heading towards the direction of the doors that led to the kitchen below. The prince, however, was clearly not done with him.
"Don't call me that! I'm not Fish Bait," George scowled after him. "And I just said that I wanted spaghetti."
"This isn't a public pub, Your Highness," Dream stopped, tilting his head to look back at the mermaid slightly with an edge in his voice. "My ship is not your restaurant. Besides, I don't even know if we have any onboard. And if we did, I would eat it right in front of you."
"Then why did you suggest it?" the prince began to pout.
"Because it was the first thing that popped into my head," Dream snapped. "There are other kinds of food besides that, but you asked for examples. I gave you one. Are you hungry for something, or not?"
"...If it's not spaghetti, I don't want it," George huffed, crossing his arms.
This fucking guy-
"Fine," Dream haughtily shoved his hands inside of his coat pockets, trudging back to stand by the mermaid's barrel. "Starve, then."
An awkward silence ensued. Dream was mentally smacking himself over the hasty words, and George was clearly sulking about the lack of spaghetti. It had been a stupid conversation, but a conversation nonetheless, and Dream had already blown it.
And George was clearly too proud to ask for anything else.
".....I'll ask Callahan if we have any spaghetti, or some kind of pasta," Dream grunted, as of saying the words physically pained him.
If anything, it mentally pained him. He simulated the pain of kicking himself in the shin for giving into George's demands. The prince hadn't even said anything for almost two minutes, and Dream was already caving.
Bad would applaud Dream's behavior as polite and courteous, while Sapnap would make another Wilbur Soot joke.
Dream had personally never met Sally, but the stories alone made him pity the poor girl, if she was actually a mermaid as well.
Either way, it made George brighten slightly. "Are you sure? You're not going to accept defeat and admit that it's not real?"
"How would you know?" Dream teased, falling back into the playful rhythm almost gratefully. "You haven't even been here for a week yet."
".....Well, yeah," George averted his eyes, looking down at his barrel.
Afraid he had strayed into the territory of silence again, Dream came up with a quick fix to the situation. "Do you- Do you want to move closer to the rim?"
Dream had interpreted George's hesitation to engage in conversation as a sign that he was uncomfortable. The only other way Dream could accommodate him was move him closer towards the water. It might make him feel closer to...home?
What was Dream doing?
Why was he so keen on meeting this mermaid's needs?
"....I suppose," George responded slowly. "...Is that allowed, though?"
"...Yeah," Dream nodded, calculating the risk. "Yeah, no, that's....that's allowed. It's fine. Totally. Yep."
The chances of George rocking his barrel to tip over the side of the ship were very high. It would make for an easy escape. Even so, Dream had to trust that George would behave. It was the simple principle of give-and-take again.
He had to trust George just as much as he needed George to trust him.
At the careful nod of George, the wooden barrel was shoved over to the starboard side of Spirit. George tentatively peered out over the side of the ship, watching Dream out of the corner of his eye. Dream had his arms crossed, using all of his self-control to not overreact. With every lean of George's torso, Dream had to remind himself that the prince wouldn't escape like this.
He wasn't that kind of person.
As far as Dream knew, anyway.
"....Thank you," George said quietly, not meeting Dream's eyes as he stared out at the ocean.
Dream quietly accepted the prince's gratitude and watched the waves with him. They weren't black and fog-covered, and the wind wasn't as chilly as Dream had last remembered. In fact, the sky itself was relatively blue, only a few clouds peppering its surface.
It was a nice day to be out.
Dream realized that he hadn't appreciated a calming view like this in a while. He couldn't even remember the last time he had seen such a calm sea. He could remember calm seas for sure, and being lazy when they were around, but it felt different now.
It felt... relaxing.
Almost.
He couldn't explain it.
Dream didn't want to explain it.
He didn't need to.
"....It must be nice, seeing things like this everyday," George's voice broke through the captain's thoughts.
"...Well, not every day," Dream replied evenly. "Storms can happen a lot. And it depends on where you are. Sea-traffic can even make views like this look weird."
"Still," George shrugged. "It's nothing like what I've seen for years... under the sea, you know....but it's still nice. It's different.... I would've liked to see things like this every once in a while. The same things get boring after a bit."
"I wouldn't know," Dream said honestly. "I haven't lived like you."
"True," George agreed. "I used to want.....uh, never mind."
George's sudden cut-off immensely intrigued Dream, the masked man turning to press the mermaid a little more on the matter. It was a playful gesture, nothing more. He was sincerely interested now.
"Yeah?" Dream chuckled. "What did you want? A bigger ocean to rule?"
"No, actually," George leaned on his arms, his gaze wistfully directed towards the sea. "....Like I said, it's stupid now....but I haven't really been out much. You could probably tell, anyway. Ever since I was small....I just wanted to come up here and see the surface. I wanted....to experience everything, to meet walkers, to understand the SOUL behind the history of yours that I was forced to endure. You guys are terrible at politics, by the way."
"No argument there," Dream whistled.
"Regardless, I...." George swallowed, still fixated on the horizon, "....the first time I came up here, in my entire lifetime......it was when you guys found us."
Dream fell silent. He had the urge to look away, turn his head or mumble something nonchalant. But he couldn't do that. He had nothing to say here. The captain was glad the gears were turning and the prince was opening up to him, but he wasn't expecting that strange night to be brought up so soon again.
As crazy as this whole scenario was....a lot of this was making Dream out to be the bad guy. But he had been the bad guy plenty of times before. Why should this time matter?
Dream didn't need to care. George was here now, and would eventually shed some light on the matter at hand. Right now, however, the only thing George was interested in shedding light on was a ruined experience.
"Sam got hurt," George murmured, "my friends were scared.....It was a going-away party, and they were scared."
"A party?" Dream looked over at George, surprised at the tidbit of info. "You threw a party on a rock in the middle of the ocean?"
"....That's the only thing you cared enough to ask about?" George glared at him from the corner of his eye.
"Sorry, sorry," Dream held up his hands. "It's just that neither of us know what happened to your buddies. I mean, they're obviously not here, but.....you know. I can't ask something that doesn't have an answer. You're gonna snap at me again or something."
"....Yeah, well...." George looked out to the sea again. "You deserve it."
Probably.
".....Well," Dream exhaled, looking out towards the sea, "....I guess I can assume that you think the surface is shitty?"
"Pretty much," George grimaced. "Thanks for that."
That wouldn't do.
Dream struggled with an internal conflict raging inside of his head. On one hand, he had just discovered the existence of mermaids and their possible threat to his control of the seas, as well as their possible threat to all nations. On the other hand, he was currently trying to befriend the prince of this mythical race, to try and solve the matters at hand.
Dream had been given an unofficial mission by Eret. She wanted to see that HBomb and Foolish were alright, along with the rest of the nobles and cargo aboard the missing ships. Finding mermaids having a random party right around the spot of the alleged disappearance was a little too coincidental. It was obvious that the mermaids, who used to be nothing more than fairytales and warnings, had something to do with this.
But this prince, with his sharp tongue and pretty eyes, was switching between opening up to the captain and shutting him out completely.
George's personality was just beginning to show. For all of his spoiled mannerisms and smart-alec remarks, he cared about his people and only wanted what was best for them. He was unable to properly mask his fear at times, but it never undermined how stubborn he was.
Seeing him like this, looking so sadly out to the ocean..... Dream knew he had to do something.
Time was of the essence.
If he was going to get George to trust him, he needed to do better than bantering about foods he hadn't experienced before or taking him out in a barrel to the deck. It was a step up from a cell, but it wasn't enough to warrant change. Dream would have to push a little more to get any information out of him.
He was already so close. He was doing so well. He just needed a little more, and Dream would be able to fix whatever was going on here.
"What if there was a way I could change that perception?" Dream asked aloud.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Sapnap's going to have a field day with this one.
"...What?" George looked at Dream.
"What if I say the surface isn't so shitty?" Dream countered boldly, resting his chin on the palm of one hand while staring at George. "Think about it- the surface that YOU know was just a rock surrounded by water. At night. So, not a very fair assumption."
"You could've killed Sam," the prince deadpanned.
"Not a very fair assumption," Dream repeated, brushing over the comment quickly. "Point is, you haven't even seen the REAL surface."
"I've seen enough, I think," George scoffed.
"Then think again," Dream insisted.
"...You're being weird," George frowned. "First the spaghetti, and now-"
"Do you want to go on land?" Dream finally delivered his proposal.
George fell silent, his eyes going wide. The pirate had clearly stunned the prince with the simple question. Dream felt pleased with himself, having done that a lot recently. He had no idea why he should be proud of being able to surprise the mermaid, but the strange feeling was present regardless.
"...You're offering me all of these ways out," George noted softly, eyeing the captain. "...You're giving me a lot of freedom all of a sudden. Why?"
"Just like I said," Dream leaned into his arm more, "I don't want us to be enemies."
"Alright, so we're not enemies," George's brow furrowed. "But I'm still in a barrel. I'm still leashed to your ship and your charge. What does that otherwise make us?"
The prince posed a good point. Dream almost wished he was stupid, and wouldn't acknowledge how strange he was acting. The captain would never do this for anyone else, in any other circumstance. The mermaid wouldn't know that, but he apparently knew enough to tell when Dream was being a little too nice.
His intriguing eyes held a lot more than two different pretty colors.
"... Tentative allies," Dream decided. "Or friends. Again, I want to help the both of us. Until I can be sure that you'll do no harm to my overworld-"
"I won't! None of my people will!!" George interjected vehemently.
"-Then I will see for myself what we will be," Dream finished. "I believe you enough to begin loosening some of my standard rules for normal people in your position. If I am sure of our equal safety, then... we can work something out. But I think you know something, and I want to find out what it is. I want us to be friends, see?"
"....You're sure acting like it," George muttered, although his malice was fading.
"Just a little bit of trust, George," Dream said softly. "Isn't that enough? Just a little bit of trust, for me to show you that first impressions... aren't what they seem. Things can be better."
Again, Dream's mouth was running away without him. He was making promises he wasn't sure he could keep, saying things that were a little too close to what he was thinking. George... just seemed so open and inviting, having told Dream some things about his own life or experiences, that maybe made the captain want to make things easier.
Dream's main goal was to get to the bottom of this elusive mystery that entailed the mermaids and the missing ships.
Surely, if he brought a mermaid prince to experience the better parts of the surface, in the name of coaxing information out of him.... It was all a justified means to an end, right?
Dream settled on leading with that philosophy, mentally preparing himself for another squabble with Skeppy or someone later. Even George seemed to be having doubts, but Dream wanted to change that. He wanted to change everything, before everything changed in the world around him.
And showing the mermaid his world might be.... interesting.
Fun, even.
He wanted to see how the prince would react to overworld experiences. He wanted to see every expression, hear every exclamation. For some reason, Dream found himself selfishly wanting to experience it all alongside George, past the guise of getting information.
It was strange.
It was new.
It was something Dream couldn't control.
"So, Fish Bait," Dream grinned beneath his mask, "....what do you say?"
this makes so much sense after the most recent lore streams ahaha
Also
Someone let me know that a TikTok was made about my book? Considering this story sucks and I never thought anyone would actually read it, that piece of info was highly valuable to me. In a good way!! I was really interested and have been dying to see what the TikTok was, I love when people do stuff like that and have never experienced it before lmao
If anyone can find it, I might put the next chapter out faster
Okie
Back into the darkness I go
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Until next time!
Baiii~