My twt is @HadesTrades, I post updates on delays or reschedules there, follow to keep updated!
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"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dream placed his hand on Tommy's chest while the boy was on his way down the steps. Hopping down each one quickly before being abruptly stopped.
Did he do something wrong?
Tommy had fear in his eyes as he looked from Dream's hand up to the mask covering his face.
"Put these on, before you get your feet wet again. No frostbite today," Dream shoved a pair of leather boots at Tommy and the teen lit up. A gift? He was pleasantly taken aback and took them into his hands slowly, not sure how to feel.
Why was Dream being so nice?
First breakfast, and now this?
Tommy felt strange about it. As though something bad may happen if Dream did any more nice things for him.
"You're welcome," Dream said and Tommy looked up from the shoes, hurrying to tug them on after he kicked off his ragged one. He left it to land in the snow to the side of the house forgotten.
"Th-thank you," Tommy told him, then heading down the steps the rest of the way. He stood in front of Dream and without being prompted, he held out his wrists so the man could tie them up again. Dream simply put his hand out in response, stopping Tommy's gesture.
"I trust you'll be obedient today," Dream told him. Tommy gave a grimace at the word, his old self rearing it's head.
"Obedient?" Tommy grumbled annoyedly. He dropped his hands to his sides and followed close behind Dream as the man turned his back to the teen.
"Is that a no then?" Dream questioned. Looking back at Tommy, he cocked his head at the response.
"No, no! I mean, yes... I mean... no, I'll listen, Dream," Tommy nodded firmly.
"Good," Dream told him. The man slowed and Tommy flinched when Dream reached toward him. He hadn't expected for Dream to place his hand on his head and gently ruffle his hair in a playful manner.
Tommy hadn't done anything wrong then.
That was a relief.
The trek through the snow was a dreadful one, but doable and luckily they hit a warmer climate by midday. Tommy begun complaining about his feet and being hungry nearly halfway through the trip and groaned about it incessantly. He was told off by Dream a few times, telling him to shut up and stop complaining. A few more hours in though and Dream gave in and they finally stopped to eat. Nothing special, just dried meats and some apples to hold them over. It was better than nothing though and as before, Tommy eagerly inhaled the snack.
Tommy had asked where exactly they were going at one point. He tried to pay attention to landmarks but he was never very good at navigating through the wilderness. If exile taught him anything, it was that he was incredibly talented at getting turned around.
"You'll see," Dream had told him. He was being annoyingly secretive. It's not as though Tommy wouldn't figure it out by the end of the day anyway.
"Tommy," Dream said. He slowed to a stop and the boy having spaced out ran into his extended arm that'd been placed in front of Tommy for the purpose of stopping him. He nearly fell back but luckily hadn't been walking fast enough to.
"What?" Tommy asked annoyedly. He didn't appreciate nearly being knocked down by the mans seemingly abrupt stop.
"Stay here. I'm gonna grab one of these horses," Dream told him, placing his trust in Tommy that the boy wouldn't try and run off while he was away. Not that Tommy had anywhere to go, and he should know already that if he even attempted, then Dream would just kill him. That or beat the shit out of him.
Dream set off toward a group of wild horses and Tommy took a seat in the grass, holding his face in his hands while he watched Dream approach one of the mares.
Dream approached calmly but confidently and extended his netherite bound hand, allowing for her to smell it. Horses were usually fairly docile creatures in these lands. They didn't fear humans and were normally fairly easy to tame. Even if just for a short trip.
She looked up at him after giving his palm a sniff before shaking her head, annoyed by the scent. He drew back and offered her a handful of wheat next, which she took eagerly despite her initial reaction.
While she seemed pleased by that offer, he slung a saddle atop her back, distracting her by petting along her snout and giving her a heavy handed pet beneath her jaw and behind her ear. She seemed to be warming up to him and he took the opportunity to leap up onto the saddle.
As soon as he did she snorted with aggressively and leapt up on her hind legs, throwing him off. He landed to the ground with a purposeful tumble to stop himself from taking too much damage from the fall.
"Fuck," Dream huffed, looking up from the dirt to see Tommy who was grinning in amusement. As soon as the young teen saw Dream looking, he gave Dream an encouraging thumbs up.
"You got this big man!" Tommy gave his usual explosive laughter and Dream scoffed, pulling himself up from the ground.
He approached again, and leapt up onto the mare's back, only to be immediately bucked off. This time with more force and he hit the ground with a hard impact. The wind was knocked out of him and he gave an annoyed groan of pain. His ears were ringing but he could still hear Tommy cackling from where he watched.
Dream caught his breath after a few seconds and then pulled himself up once more. This was becoming very frustrating, very quickly.
Third time was a charm right?
And again, he tried.
He couldn't count the amount of times he'd been thrown over the course of the following half hour. This damn mare was just not having it and threw him to the ground over and over, nickering in amusement at his attempts and snorting in his face. She trotted playfully around his body after another painful collision with the ground. As if challenging him to give it another go.
Dream got up one last time. Wiping sweat from his brow. The sun was high in the sky by now. It was a little past midday by now and he felt like he was only wasting time by this point.
Tommy was laughing from a distance, giving him empty words of encouragement. Really the boy was just enjoying the show.
"Alright little man, give it a go," Dream told Tommy, finally turning to the teen and walking over to him.
"I'm not little, I'm big. Very big! Big man T they call me," Tommy corrected proudly with his chest puffed at the older man. Dream leaned down when he reached the child, pulling up the jacket from his lap that Tommy had been leaning over. Tommy leaned back, lifting his elbows up as his brows raised.
"Then get out there, big T," Dream smirked with amusement.
"I will!" Tommy shouted indignantly. "Show you how a real man does it."
He stuck his tongue back at Dream while running off toward the mare who had stuck around just for the amusement of it all.
"Hi, girl," Tommy said to her, reaching out his hand and she gave him a sniff. She wiggled her head in reply. Her ears flickered and her whole body turned toward him. As if to say hello in return. "I quite like you."
He gave her a gentle pet on the snout, enjoying the feel of her soft fur. With her permission he ran his hand up across the top of her head, petting between her eyes. Then with her permission he set both hands below her jaw, giving her more affectionate pets. She was a gentle giant. Tommy could tell. She just required respect and patience. Tommy was on her time.
Dream had just been too rough. Too demanding with a creature that had more pride than he could handle.
Tommy could relate to that.
"I'm gonna name you..." Tommy paused, pondering on a good name. "Well I can't name you Lizzy now can I? After the queen you know." He chuckled to himself. "Let's name you Lucy, that's a good name."
Dream could barely hear what Tommy was saying to the beast. Standing from a distance however he could still appreciate the moment of tenderness the two creatures were sharing. It was a side of Tommy that he wasn't well acquainted with. In this moment Tommy was gentle and self-aware, rather than his usual abrasive self.
Dream watched as the horse nickered and dipped her head down submissively. Tommy grinned in response and closed his eyes while he set his forehead against hers. Dream could tell Tommy felt proud of himself just from the expression on his face.
The boy walked around to the side of the mare, giving her a few gentle strokes. He placed his foot on the saddle. She didn't move aside from a glance back at him.
Tommy hopped up and swung his leg over. Sitting and waiting for the mare's reaction, but she just stood still. It wasn't until she shook her mane and flickered her ears before Tommy was certain she was allowing him to ride her, and he directed her to Dream with a triumphant grin, pride swelling in his chest.
Dream shook his head with a small smile. "Well, well. You feel pretty good about yourself, hm?"
"I think we already knew I'm just better than you. Green boy," Tommy said smugly. Dream rolled his eyes with a scoff, uncrossing his arms.
"Alright you've had your moment. Get off, we've wasted enough time on this damn horse, we gotta set off."
"Well, no. Come on, Dream. Can't I lead her?" Tommy complained. Dream shook his head sternly.
Tommy hesitated and Dream looked from the teen's hands that had suddenly clenched around the lead, up to his face where a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. A mischievous glint in his eyes. Dream nearly let out a sigh, already having an idea of what Tommy was thinking. Before Dream could even react however, Tommy tugged back on the lead, spinning the horse around and galloping away from the masked man in a teasing manner. He slowed and paced the mare back and forth, far enough away that Dream wouldn't be able to do anything.
"Gonna have to get your own horse then, green boy!" Tommy cackled and turned the horse to run down the meadow. She kicked her legs up behind herself, speeding down to the forest. Tommy looked back at Dream, curious what his reaction would be if the boy truly decided to run off on his own. If Tommy decided to try and leave from beneath the crushing weight of Dream's iron fist that held him captive since the first day he'd shown up on this server.
"Let's fucking gooo!" Tommy gave an explosive laugh, the wind whipping past him as he disappeared into the trees.
"Little shithead," Dream bit out. The kid always had to push his fucking limits. Dream would show him his mistake.
The masked man leapt onto the nearest horse. Rougher and more demanding than he'd been with the first. He didn't have the patience to earn it's trust so instead he would force it. Force seemed to be the only way to tame a stubborn creature.
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A/N edited recently for improvements!