It has been about a week since Technoblade left the palace to meet the world of humans. It was a decision he made after learning that he was to wear the crown on his sixteenth birthday instead of the eighteenth. It was a cruel thing to announce to a teenager, really. He only had a year left before his freedom was to be taken away from him and so, he had the urge to see all that he could before being locked up in the throne room and only attending boring meetings and events he could care less about.

He had left the place with Skeppy, his protector through the years, before the maids could explain anything.

He has found shelter in Niki's seaside hotel, a nice mermaid from the Antarctic who had gotten bored of the ocean's ambience and decided to settle on land for a while. She has been treating him like an older sister since she met him on the shore of the beach. She has helped him enroll in the local high school as a normal fifteen-year-old and has him do chores around the hotel in exchange for food and shelter. She calls it a 'job' because she pays him and Techno can barely understand the concept of paper money.

Skeppy was hesitant around her at first but after being given a lot of baked goods (muffins), he was as chirpy as before -if not more.

Madame Puffy is the co-owner of the hotel and part-time fortune teller with her own cryptic room in one of the many hallways on the main floor. Technoblade later learnt that most -if not all- of the woman's predictions come out wrong. He will never forget how hyped he had been when she had told him the numbers of the lottery only to get the last one wrong.

"It was your greed that changed the outcome" -No, it was not.

He had sulked for the whole weekend after that experience.

Currently, he is sat in class by the window with his nose buried in a history book, minding his own business, the sleeves of his white button up rolled up to his elbows. He does not understand why he needs to wear 'clothes' and the material itches his skin so much that he wants to rip it straight off but alas, there is a dress code to observe in the human world.

A very weir dress code but a dress code nonetheless.

It is his first day at school and as expected, it is boring as all hell. What with all the teenagers chatting around him and a group of girls swooning over some dude at the center of the classroom. Is that clock even ticking? He does not know and frankly, he could care less if it is ticking or not. He has only been in the building for what? Thirty minutes? It is just like his tutoring sessions back at the palace: he wants it all to end and go back to thrusting a trident in his opponent's shield.

Then again, if he jumps out the window, he has plenty of chances of surviving and escaping with what Niki had called an "ambulance". Curiously, he diverts his attention from the very interesting book on his desk to judge the distance from the ground to the classroom.

He is on the first storey of the school, he could technically survive with just a little bruising in the shins. He sighs, though, because he doubts the pain will be worth it and also because Niki would kill him if she learnt that he yeeted himself out the window to lose an hour of Literature.

Literature of all things. Perhaps the only school subject to have piqued his interest so far. He has another period of Literature and then it is Math time.

He can wait for one more period. Throwing himself out the window during Math is a more plausible situation -he has heard the other students saying that they would do it in a heartbeat if they were to lose a confusing period of Algebra so, it should be okay? Then again, none of them have done it yet so maybe it is not.

"Hey there, you're the new kid, right?", someone asks and his attention is suddenly ripped from the window and his devious plotting. His eyes fall on the light, freckled face and shining green eyes of the boy those girls had been ogling earlier. Dirty blond tufts of hair fall over his forehead, looking too soft to belong to a normal man.

His face scrunches up in annoyance and he feels the corner of his upper lip lift in ire to show off a sharp fang. Who is this guy who dares disturb his daydreaming? He was just minding his own business!

Had he still been in the ocean, he would have called for the guards but sadly, he is walking on land on two tails- erm, feet- and he does not need to cause a scene.

"Yeah", he responds as casually as possible, hoping to scare off the stranger with just his expression and baritone voice. "And who are you?"

"Oh! My name is Dream! And you are...", Dream tilts his head in an attempt to catch Technoblade's name on one of the neatly stacked notebooks on the desk beside the history book. He ultimately fails because the letters are too curly and calligraphic to be understood by a mere mortal.

"Technoblade", he responds with a sigh and drops the annoyed facade since it isn't repelling the other in any sort of way.

"Nice to meet you, Technoblade! I heard that you're into fencing-"

"Where did you even hear that?"

"-and I was wondering if you would like to spar with me in the gymnasium after school"

"...Sure?"

"Alright, awesome! See you there at four, 'kay?"

And with that, Dream is gone, out the door and probably headed to the cafeteria or something.

Technoblade vaguely remembers dropping his beloved fencing book while he was putting his stuff away into his designated locker. Just how fast does gossip travel in this school? Unless the guy had been stalking him but with so many people, he doubted that had been the case.

Well, thanks to that gossip, he has something to look forward to now. He scraps the idea of escaping hell temporarily. A small sparring session would do him good both physically and mentally, especially since he hasn't touched a trident or a sword in a week. He hasn't crushed an opponent's hopes for a week and his brow twitches at the thought.

His fingers ache at the loss of his pendant still after all these years and he rubs his temples dismiss that human boy's face; the one he had heroically saved from a sinking ship while other humans were struggling to get to the surface for oxygen. He has replaced it with a new one, just to have a weapon in case something happens but it is not the same.

That human child, whoever he is, has Technoblade's family heirloom and most familiar weapon to the pinkette's hand and he doesn't even know it.

He sighs. Is that human even alive? Clutching the chain necklace in his hand, he studies the shiny emerald hanging off it. The gem had been a gift of good will from the royal family of the North Atlantic and it had been sitting in the treasury collecting dust for years until he used it. The news of the kingdom's fall were truly tragic and apparently, no one had made it out of the rubble alive.

It had caused security to become tighter around his palace for half a decade.

He never really tried to look for someone who resembles that child on his few days of walking but still. He should have at least bumped into him on the road! They are about the same age, if he remembers correctly, maybe the kid is in the same school as him!

But that would make the odds too favorable for him so that idea sucks.

"Woah!", another voice exclaims from beside him and he has to refuse the urge to jolt, "You just spoke to Dream, dude!"

It is another boy with a blue beanie on fluffy, brown curls, eyes of a dull gray with an edge of blue. He is probably one of his new classmates. Technoblade thinks that he is not worth the time of day and looks away. The guy doesn't seem all that phased by his attitude, though.

Just what is it with people not taking a hint in this school?

"The dude is famous, look! All his fans are blowing steam out their noses!", the guy laughs hysterically as he points to a corner.

Technoblade can see the group of girls and boys looking at him with narrowed eyes and ugly snarls out of the corner of his eye. He lets a smirk creep on his face and slowly he turns to wave at them cruelly.

He had been expecting for one of them to explode at his gesture but that... does not happen for some odd reason. He has no idea why but one of the girls actually faints and the others stop whispering curses at him, their eyes stuck on his face. What? What is happening? And he raises a hand to touch the corners of his mouth in case they were looking at forgotten muffin crumbs.

The guy beside him snickers at his obliviousness.

"You actually made her faint", he points out and then turns to look at the pinkette, "Well, fair enough, you are quite handsome when you're not scrunching up your face"

Well... That was blunt.

"My name is Wilbur"

And for the next few periods, Wilbur stuck around to bug him. Eh, he is nice company, Technoblade thinks as the other is sat on his desk, talking about nothing in particular. It is the only reason he is not shooing him away -that's what he tells himself anyway.

Techno has noted the way Wilbur has added a ruffle tie to his school uniform, tucked under the collars of the dress shirt and the note pin on the beanie on his head. Wilbur tells him that he is in the music club when he asks him what that is about.

"So, what is the deal with that Dream guy?", Techno asks when silence sticks for longer than he is comfortable with. Wilbur hums before he speaks.

"He is the president of the fencing club, currently the top fencer in it as well"

Top means the best, right? Oh, it is going to be a wonderful afternoon with a worthy opponent! Techno nods, brows raising with satisfaction.

"Are you planning on joining any clubs, Techno?"

His finger twitches at the nickname but he doesn't say anything.

"I don't know, none of them interest me yet"

What else was he to say? That he doesn't know what a 'school club' is? That would just be humiliating and he would like to have as normal a year as possible.

Wilbur's smile falls into a pursed line and he tilts his head as he stands from the desk.

"Do you not know what a school club is?"

Oh Poseidon, had he spoken aloud?

"You didn't speak aloud, no, but it is pretty obvious and this has just confirmed my suspicions!", the brunette chirped all of a sudden, "Come on, I'll show you all the clubs the school has to offer!", and his arms splay in the air like a maestro.

"Wilbur, class literally starts in ten minutes!", Techno yelps when he is yanked to his feet and dragged out of the classroom.

"And what subject do you we have in ten minutes?"

"...Geometry?"

"Fuck Geometry!", Wilbur makes a disgusted face and continues out the door, Technoblade close behind since the brunette has yet to let go of him.

He says it like it will not make Technoblade look bad on his absence records. Already skipping classes on the first day! Great! Niki had told him that she would chop his head off if he did this on his first day and he does feel a little guilt as the two of them go down the various halls.

Ω

Skipping one class is thrilling; that is the conclusion Techno has come to.

While they were running up and down the halls, stopping at various rooms with Wilbur showing the interior of each one and explained what club practiced, Techno could not shake off the feeling of dread from his chest. He had been so worried about getting caught in the empty halls by a teacher -or even worse, the headmaster- and getting what Niki had called 'detention' (she had told him it was a torture chamber for misbehaving students) but the adrenaline rush he got out of it was exhilarating.

He would definitely do it again.

Of course, the one club that tugs at his heart strings is the 'Book Club', which Wilbur had compared to a tiny, quiet library. He had not waited for the president to make an introduction, he had cut him off and asked: "Where do I sign?" with a slight nervous edge to his voice, like a child asking its parents to open its Christmas presents early.

And now he has something to look forward to everyday; a nice seat at the sunlit table in a quiet room with a good book as company. He doesn't care much about the members in it and he doubts he'll reach out to them. One human is enough for him.

"You said you had a match with Dream", Wilbur says all of a sudden and Techno only raises a light pink eyebrow.

"I do not remember mentioning anything about that to you", he responds and the other just waves him off. Techno sighs disapprovingly. He eavesdropped on us.

"I have my ways of learning peculiar events surrounding peculiar people", Wilbur tells him with a shrug of his shoulders and an easy grin. "So, it is almost four o'clock. Do you need directions to the gymnasium?"

They are changing route before Techno can nod.

"So... What's a gymnasium?"

Ω

The gymnasium is huge, as big as the main room of his ocean palace if not any bigger. Huge windows are covered by royal blue (dusty) curtains and some posters are stuck on the support pillars (he completely ignores Skeppy who is hiding behind one of the pillars). There are a lot of humans gathered around on the ground, standing on legs and not floating in the water of a familiar ocean with eye-dazzling jewelry on finned tails. Some are sitting on seats made of the soft and flexible material that many times he has found polluting his waters and strangling sea turtles. They are all buzzing with excitement and nerves and Technoblade finds that he doesn't mind Wilbur's hold on his sleeve as bad as before. He should have expected to have a crowd to entertain.

He recognizes some faces that belong to his classmates and the presidents of the clubs Wilbur had introduced him to on their small tour. And along with them, he recognizes Dream who is wearing a white suit that covers him from head to toe. The blonde is standing in the middle, waiting for his opponent who breaks Wilbur's hold to approach him.

Pink, shoulder-length hair flows behind Techno as he walks to the boy. His uniform is somewhat wrinkled from the many twists and short turns he had been forced through in the maze that was the school's lengthy halls. His gaze is piercing like the spikes of a deadly trident and the point is proven when Dream acknowledges him.

The blonde's emerald eyes stare into his in mortal wonderment and his mouth hangs slightly open, as if his breath had just been stolen from his lungs. It is a cool staredown, a mere minute to observe the challenge and plot for an easy win.

Techno judged Dream when the teen stood straighter on his feet. Bravery, strength and a clever mind show in his posture, arrogance and what can only be deciphered as a healthy amount of narcissism dance behind the crinkling of his eyes as he smiles brightly.

"Awesome, you came! I was starting to think that you had stood me up", Dream grins and reaches out a hand for a handshake.

"To stand someone up is to intentionally fail to meet them after you said you would", the pinkette recites in his head. It was a phrase he had found in the dictionary Niki had given him a day ago. The small pocket-sized yet girthy book still sat on his nightstand in his room and he is so thankful that he had skimmed through the pages now.

"I am a man of my word, Dream", Technoblade responds coolly as he shakes the other's hand.

He looks around for a place that resembles an armory but finds none. There is an iron bar basket filled with hard balls in a corner and a couple of mattresses that groups of students are sitting and chatting on. Finally, he makes out a wooden stand with what look like white, weird fishing poles. What are those doing so far away from sea? No weapons, though and he begins to wonder if he had heard the dude clearly the first time they had spoken.

Aren't they supposed to fence? To slash and stab each other?

"Where are the swords?", he asks as his arm drops to his side.

"Right here, boss man!", a kid shouts from beside Dream, throwing one of those poles to each of them.

"Thank you, Tubbo", Dream says and ruffles the boy's hair.

The kid, Tubbo, is maybe a year younger than them -judging by height- with brown curls almost hiding his eyes from view. There is a certain lilt in his voice, the harbinger of mischief and chaos that Techno had only ever seen once in his life many, many years ago.

Techno pokes the nubby end on what he thinks is a fishing pole with slight confusion. The 'weapon' in his hand -if it can even be called that- is not made to harm the opponent but to simply poke in mock-offense. What a joke.

"How is anyone supposed to stab with these?", he asks like the item in his hands is an unnatural piece of garbage. Like it has offended him on a personal level.

Dream huffs a chuckle, commenting on how that was a good joke. He isn't joking though and he is glad that the only person close enough to hear is Wilbur since Tubbo had left to hang out with a loud-mouthed blond at the sidelines.

"I think we have a suit that might fit you", Dream offers and Wilbur snickers at the way Techno wrinkles his nose at the mention of more clothes.

"No, thank you"
"Are you sure?"
"Yup"

He is more than sure actually -absolutely sure that the button up of the uniform is more than enough. If anything, he will end up with a few bruises, nothing out of the ordinary after a good sparring session. As long as Dream doesn't go for his eyes, he will be okay.

(He'd prefer to wear the coral armor of his kingdom right now, bulky and hard and unbearable as it is)

Soon, there is a referee at their side and the first match begins. It's a best out of five that Techno opts to win with a huge difference in points. You know, for bragging rights.

He fixes his stance, putting one foot vertical to the other, body twisting along to match in an attempt to make himself a smaller target. Dream has done the same and before long he is thrusting that needle of a sword his way.

Techno dodges with a full body flinch and swings his tail to propel himself forward... Except he has no tail and he is not getting propelled forth. Instead, he goes down with a yelp and his face meets the hardwood floor with a thud.

"...Ow"

The match stops for him to get back up and Dream looks concerned behind his head gear. Wilbur rushes to his aid and Techno has the urge to shake off the guy but he doesn't.​​​​

By the great Poseidon, that was so embarrassing-

If his face is slightly flushed, no one mentions it.

"He is just a little out of practice, he is okay!", and now he has to thank Wilbur for coming up with an excuse for him. He groans inwardly.

Dream buys it. The referee calls for a one-minute break and the crowd disperses from where it had gathered around the two fencers.

"You have to remember that you have legs, Techno!", Wilbur hisses in his ear and in the heat of the moment, Technoblade doesn't think much of the way his classmate phrased his advice.

He has to remember that he is not fighting in water, that he does not have a fish tail but two weirdly-shaped appendages called 'legs' that are less flexible with just three joints. How is anyone supposed to fight like that? He grits his teeth and tells himself that he will destroy his opponent, no matter the cost -he will prevail even if he has to fight with legs. It's a best out of five, he just needs three wins to have Dream's grin shift into a loser's frown.

"Go get his ass!", Wilbur encourages as he gives him a rough pat on the back, smiling wildly as a newfound determination seeps off Techno's body in red waves.

The matches begin.

Ω

So far, Techno has been wiping the floor with Dream's face. He dodges each hit with inhuman response time, flinches away from the nubby end of his opponent's sword, blocks and twirls away from the hit only to block an incoming attack. He plays on the defensive until he can get a good read on Dream's offense. He can see the way his left foot twitches when he goes for the shoulder, the way he seems to shift his right foot when he kneels for the stomach.

That is when he strikes. He blocks, pushes the offensive sword with his and then goes for a stab to the chest and he only stops there because the referee calls it enough for him to win. When Dream is kneeling, he can only block until the boy raises to his full height again so he can get a clean shot at his chest. Techno's sword is arching high before Dream can blink, pressing into the padded white of his fencing suit to win another point.

It is the final round for Technoblade, he tells himself so. The crowd has followed Wilbur in chanting his name, reacts amazed at his speed and agility -he royally ignores the haters who boo at him. Even Dream seems to gawk at him from time to time even though Techno can't quite make out his expression behind that fishnet he has over his face. He can already feel the crumbling hope for victory his opponent makes.

It is also the one round in which Technoblade makes a mistake.

Dream gets lucky because the pinkette stumbles on his feet just enough to push him into defense. His sword is about to press against Techno's shoulder and score him a point. Techno's eyes widen at the realization and he hurries to block the blow.

A blow that never comes.

The windows shatter and everyone is screaming as glass shards fly through the air. The lingering teachers are quick to herd the students to the opposite wall, out the emergency doors and into the hallway. Wilbur rushes to help them escape, though no one knows what they are escaping from. At least not until heavy clouds of something flow in through the new holes of the gymnasium.

There is coughing and the clutter of a plastic item at his feet. Techno refocuses on his opponent and realizes that Dream has abandoned his helmet in favor of coughing up his lungs in an attempt to get the gas he has breathed in out. Bodies thud on the ground, students fast asleep with a pulse that barely exists, save for the few who have made it out of the room safe and sound with just a few cuts and scrapes. The room grows utterly quiet.

"T- Techno-!", Dream stutters as he fights off the sleeping gas, drops his blade and reaches out to the pinkette who reciprocates the action. He kneels as the blond falls with desperate breaths, hands ready to catch him when his breathing hitches.

His hands don't connect with a heavy, sleeping body though, because something rips Dream away. The blond is lifted into the air by a magical chinese dragon made of water and coral in the shape of mushrooms. Techno can not believe his eyes.

He has been given a rough description of water dragons who had attacked kingdoms in the past, that destroyed everything in their path until there was nothing left. He knows that the thing that roars in front of him is a water demon's doing. Automatically, he widens his stance, ready to fight the dragon who holds his classmate in its bony arms with just his fists. There is a slight problem, though.

The moment the water will touch him, he will turn into a merman and he will be stuck on the shore, flopping like a dying fish for as long as he will take to dry.

He does not hesitate to follow the beast out the window, though, hurrying to retrieve his kidnapped classmate and opponent whose ass he was trying to beat. No one steals a match away from Technoblade and gets away with it; not even a water demon. He ignores Wilbur and Skeppy's cries to wait as he lands on the rough pavement outside the building.

The dragon retreats to the beach near the school, travels down a grassy hill and drags the human with it in the water. Techno is not far behind, letting his shoes skid down the hill and sink into the sand as he chases after them. The thing is trying to drown the human and he can not let it -not until he is done wiping the floor with Dream himself.

It is a possessive and angry feeling that overtakes his senses and so, he jumps in after them.

His legs are exchanged for a pink tail covered in golden rings and chains with glittering gems and he finds a semblance of relief at the feeling. His hair grows longer and flows in waves as he beats against a current. He is way more flexible in this form and the emerald pendant around his neck feels heavy as he dives deep down, away from the surface and shallow water to the root the problem. He has lost the dragon in the grand expanse of ocean but the fins he has for ears are too sensitive not to pick up the movement of someone in his left.

So he turns and hisses at the wrongdoer who is holding Dream tight in clawed and webbed hands. The blond is still fighting, still kicking to try and get to the surface for oxygen and it is an admirable effort but the human is weakened in this element and the hands holding him incredibly strong. Technoblade's eyes narrow at a coral hat that looks too much like a collection of mushrooms and too much like the dragon that had just attacked his school. The owner of the hat is grinning at him with shark-like teeth, eyes shining bright behind the white frame of seeing glasses and it seems to be a man wrapped in a white-spotted red regalia with too long and too wide sleeves for his thin arms.

His first day is just going swimmingly, isn't it?

"Hey! Let him go!", he shouts and the water demon tilts his head, the slight grin turning wide and threatening with canines.

"Oh, the prince of the North Pacific!", the demon cackles cruelly, "How nice it is to meet you! I was originally looking for one gem and now I have two! Oh, my king will be so pleased if I bring back the both of you!"

Something glints at Dream's neck: a silver chain and a red ruby encased in a golden frame that reflects off invading sunlight. The blonde was conscious enough to hear and see them and his green orbs glint with realization and familiarity at the sight of the pinkette. Technoblade's own shine with the same feeling of familiarity and he gulps, coming to a halt. The victim of the cruise ship, the one who he had saved and given his pendant to so many years ago had been right in front of him this whole time. How kind can fate be?

But most importantly, how stupid is he for not realizing sooner?

As he is distracted, the demon raises a webbed hand in the water, strengthening his hold on the human, before swinging it forth to summon a dragon. No, not one dragon but many. There are at least five of the beasts that come slithering for Techno's head with short, bony hands and claws and the sharpest pairs of fangs.

Techno is fast enough to dodge the first few attacks, narrowly avoiding losing a finger to one of the dragons and his tail to another before he reaches for the pendant around his neck. The emerald shines bright and the dragons back away from the blinding light that pours from between his fingers. The demon, too, covers his eyes with a loud hiss.

When the light fades, a trident is being cradled in Techno's palms. Three sharp tines that could pierce the largest of whales glimmer in the stray rays of sunlight that have escaped to the depths of the sea and a crown of curved spines binds them to a glittery green pole with intricate, golden designs. There is a single emerald that rests on the crown, shining brightly as the merman presents it to the world, belonging to a kingdom that is not his own.

"I am giving you one chance, water demon", he snarls and notes the way Dream grips the clawed hand on his chest in an attempt to pry it away. The human is running out of oxygen, he should hurry. "Let the human go and maybe you'll live another day"

Even threatened in return, the demon only grins and he swings his free hand once more. The beasts rush at him but this time he does not stumble like an idiot because he has no legs. He has a strong tail that allows great maneuverability and agility in the water and he spins and thrusts the trident in a dragon's body when it charges him. The beast cries and dissolves into seafoam and coral dust in a moment but it is soon replaced by another.

"Is that all you've got, prince?", the demon taunts as he sends another wave of magical beasts his way.

Technoblade fights until his muscles ache and his breathing becomes uneven. The demon does not make a move to leave, nor does he seem to care about the life he is squeezing in his hand. The merman has slowed and a dragon manages to knock the offensive weapon out of his grasp. He growls, rolls out of the way of an incoming attack and reaches out for the trident but it is knocked away.

He is not the only one getting tired, however. The number of beasts is dwindling and some burst into foam and dust without receiving any damage. The demon is growing weaker and the magic he possesses is slipping from his control.

Dream sees it too through blurry, stinging eyes. He can feel the grip on him loosening as the demon focuses more in the fight. He does not understand how that pendant had turned into a weapon taller than the merman that once held it but he understands that the one around his neck must be the same: a weapon hiding in plain sight; magic waiting to be used. "Catch!", with a cry he snaps the chain using the little strength he has left in him and throws the pendant to the ocean currents.

"What are you doing?!", the demon hisses in the boy's ear, reaching for the pendant in an attempt to retrieve it but it is too late.

The ruby has been driven to the merman by the polite current of the dragons by accident and Techno holds it tight in his hand. It has been so long since he last felt the gem's energy humming under his fingertips. A wave of nostalgia washes over him and sends shivers down his spine but he has no time for dramatic reunions.

He has a human to save for the second time in his lifetime.

The ruby transforms in a bright light like the emerald had before. It takes the shape of a saber sword, a sacred blade, long and thin that cuts through the water easily. The grip is of brown, scaly leather and ends thin in a golden pummel. The shiny ruby rests comfortably on the gold double helix guard protecting Techno's knuckles. It is only natural for the weapon to slip in his fingers and feel like that is where it belongs.

"You had one chance, demon!", he shouts in the water and with a battlecry, he surges through the water with renewed vigor and the energy emanating from the heirloom in his grasp.

He reaches the water demon with just a few beats of his tail and his blade finds the other's face in the blink of an eye. The white frame of seeing glasses breaks and the demon shrieks in pain and agony as he backs away. There is a deep slash across the demon's face, diagonal to his nose but it has spared his sight. The blood pours out and sizzles against the sea salt that burns the wounded skin.

Dream is free of the thing's grasp but he is passed out, floating like a dead fish in the cold ocean.

"This will not be the last you see of me!", the demon yells and he spins, gone in a whirlwind.

Techno sighs in relief, his aching bones creaking as his shoulders slump. The sword transforms back to a familiar pendant that he ties (with some difficulty) around his neck. A simple knot will do until he can fix the broken chain. He spares a look at Dream, notes that his limp body is reaching the surface and then spares a moment to retrieve the trident from where it is stuck between rocks at the bottom of the sea.

Ω

Dream wakes up to the setting sun of the afternoon, sank in the sand of a remote part of the beach, hidden by rocks and weeds. There is a vaguely familiar burning sensation sensation in his lungs but he finds that there is no water to cough up. Where am I? It is a good question, that one, because his eyelids are too heavy to lift right away. He can feel slippery skin under his cheek and strong arms wrapped around his back and waist supporting him in a sitting position. He can hear the clinking of metal and something dragging on the sand.

His green eyes are revealed to the world, the whites an angry red from the stinging salt. He sees that he is resting on a broad chest, slick with water that smells of the sea and splattered with grains of sand. Something moves by his feet and the metal sound ensues. He can see gold on a tail of a dazzling pink gradient that glimmers in the orange sun.

He looks up and meets eyes of a deep red looking down on him, long pink hair framing a pretty face that he remembers all too well. A spontaneous chuckle leaves his lips and he is pulled closer to his saviour.

"Long time no see", he rasps out and he hears his teeth grinding sand as he speaks. The merman, whose name he does not know, smiles down at him, shakes his head and his grip loosens considerably.

"You keep getting yourself in trouble", the other tells him, smile turning fond and Dream reaches a hand up to touch a cold cheek.

"Are you okay?"
"I believe I should be asking you that"

And the two laugh at their strange reunion.

On a hill of rocks, Skeppy leans down and looks down at the two who keep talking and laughing, telling tales from two completely different lives. The diamond man sighs disapprovingly but he does not dare interrupt the two, instead keeping an ear open in case Techno attempts to reveal his identity.

"Does Techno know what will happen if he tells Dream that he's a merfolk?"

Skeppy almost jumps out of his skin and he turns to see that curly-haired boy Techno had been hanging with the whole day crouching behind him and looking down at the other two. A solemn look rests on the brunette's face, gray eyes turning blue with concern.

"Wait, wait, wait- What did you just say?", Skeppy whisper-yells and his beady, black eyes immediately fall on the necklace grasped in Wilbur's hand. A finger slips and a rose-cut sapphire glimmers in the sun. All the diamond man can do is gawk at him.

"He will turn into seafoam", Wilbur continues, disregarding Skeppy's obvious distress.

But the pair they are spying on is separating and Wilbur drags Skeppy away as Techno returns to the ocean and Dream stands to wave goodbye.

---------------------
*casually sips coffee*
Mmmmm, the right mixture of fluff and sugar I think-