Dream meets the new visitor and decides on a plan

———-

Raven Multiverse

It had been a few days since Dream had received the call from Geno for some help but he had been rather busy. He wasn't sure what Ink had exactly done to Candytale but it took a lot of words to soothe all the irritation the Creator had caused. His annoyance grew at seeing how unrepentant Ink was and they were even laughing about it. He saw the other was about to leave his side and made sure to grab him by his scarf.

"We have plans today, Ink. I told you this morning".

He saw the others eye shapes flash rapidly and sighed in relief when he finally saw some recognition. He did enjoy Inks company, just sometimes it felt like he had to babysit them constantly. He was bringing Ink along today as Geno had commented, they had been the only adult that hadn't been ignored by their guest. He wanted this to go as smoothly as possible, so hoped having Ink there would help.

The lack of eating he had been informed about was also a rising concern. He didn't like to influence others emotions too much, but if calming down anxiety would aid in better health he would do it.

They arrived in Reapertale with Dream making sure to keep his grip on the bouncing artist. He knocked on the door and was faced with Genos' exhausted expression. He could feel the stress and worry coming off them and used his magic to slightly soothe them.

Before he could greet them Ink got out of his hold and pushed past Geno. He placed his hands on his face in exasperation and when he looked up he noticed Ink on the floor with the babybones, who was drawing.

Ink had felt the disapproving looks being directed at him but he just didn't care. As soon as he saw art supplies he was entranced. He had started looking at all the coloured pencils, then looked over to see what the kid was drawing.

"Oooo, that is nice. Try using this one, to get a better contrast".

The child merely looked at him, then took the offered colour to use. Ink made several other suggestions and surprisingly none were shot down, so he counted it as a success! Ink thoughtlessly placed his hand over the small hand, to show how to make the image shaper and was merely greeted with a chirp in response.

Dream was shocked about how well this was going. He observed that as the interaction continued, the uncertainty in the child decreased. He did have to ask Reaper and Geno to stop hovering as each time they moved in any way, he sensed the child's emotions grow darker.

Ink finally realised they had come here for more than drawing, so was about to get up and stand by Dream. He was stopped by a slight tug on his slave and he glanced down at the babybones.

"Stay?".

The grip wasn't tight and yet soon after the other was already starting to let go, as if they knew their plea was pointless. He stopped his movement and sat closer to the child, observing how their wings twitched at the movement.

Dream sat down with the pair and observed the peaceful dynamic. He let this continue for ten minutes, until he felt it was time to interject.

"Hey, my name is Dream. Do you like staying here?".

"It's fine, I've had worse".

The response was distracted and he wasn't looked at directly, but he was answered at least.

"What about the food? Edible at least?"

"Ink!"

He was distracted from his lecture, when he noticed the negativity increase in the room. He tried upping his aura but strangely that had no effect. He rarely met monsters that were immune to his and Nightmares magic. His smile threatened to fall at the possible reasons a child could do this. Instead he watched as Ink furthered the questions in his stead.

"Hate it huh? That's ok. I can be picky too. What do you like to eat?".

The babybones gaze seemed to try and look to Inks core and he kept himself from fidgeting at the continued silence. A crinkling sound caught his attention and he watched as they pulled out a chocolate bar. Confused, he looked at it closer and was surprised it was the same brand as Error ate. He had had to obtain a lot, to make the Destroyer stop being mad at him multiple times.

The item was soon hidden, as they went back to drawing. He could hear a breath of relief being released by Dream and grinned at what they had found so far. It wasn't the main goal but they would need more trust and Error for that.

"Want to see some puppets? A friend made them for you".

He had no idea why Error had given them to him but he wasn't going to complain. Not at seeing the white eyelight briefly change to a star, as the babybones looked at him. His smile grew as he took them out of his inventory ,showing the many figures. Error had made one of each family member here and of the babybones, there was even him and Dream.

A weight in his lap alerted him that the child had chosen him as their new seat. He merely shrugged and watched as they picked each doll, examining all the details before moving on to the next one. He noticed they left Genos and Reapers puppets alone

"Don't you like these ones? Error did a pretty good job on Reaper's wings".

A small hand prodded the figures in Inks hands but continued to ignore them for the others. He saw Dream mouth for him to talk more, making him have an idea.

"Want to play with the puppets with me? I love playing pretend. Who do you want to be?".

Dream wasn't sure where this was going. He had tried interacting with the baby bones but they showed no interest in him. Grabbing the puppet that was based on him he was truly impressed by Error's work. He smirked when he remembered the embarrassment he sensed, when Error had handed them over. The Destroyer wasn't as bad as he thought.

"How should this one act?".

He noted that Ink was asking this question about each puppet and how intently the answers were listened to. What were they trying to do? He couldn't always understand how Inks thought process worked and he was sure he didn't want to.

The more the other talked the more he slowly understood. The child hadn't been with some of these monsters for long or had even met them. Ink was testing to see how their home multiverse was like. He shivered at the intelligence that Ink sometimes revealed.

It had been all going smoothly till they reached Reaper. It was almost like seeing a switch had been flicked and the life that had slowly been blooming in the others face just died.

"He's scary when he is angry, he sometimes forgets he can't touch other monsters in that state. Did you know monsters dust slightly differently from death's power?"

Karma was unsure when he had started to slip. The sounds coming out of his mouth didn't feel like they were his own. it was like he was drifting apart from his body with each word spoken. Would he just keep floating away till he was forever lost?

A peculiar sound caught his attention, as did the vibrations through his body. He focused on that and realised it was coming from Ink. He pushed into it and enjoyed how it made his bones slightly rattle.

Opening his eye sockets when did he close them? He saw Dream right in front of him. Their hands were near his face, glowing bright yellow. When they noticed his stare they removed their hands and sat back.

'There you are, little apple. Are you feeling better now?"

"Karma"

"Hmm?"

"My name is Karma"

The dazzling grin directed him confused him but he was too drained too care.

"I'll be right back. Just need to check something".

Dreams demeanour changed to a more stoic expression, as he entered the kitchen. He saw Reaper and Geno ,quietly chatting at the table.

"He can't stay here. Reapers presence, let alone name is making Karma highly distressed"

"Karma? Is that his name?"

He tried not to show the pity he felt at Reapers emotions. He could feel the care they felt for their young guest, but it wasn't enough in this case. He instead explained that they might have a solution to the feeding at least and they might open up eventually. He left the two monsters alone, walking in on Ink wandering around the room with Karma in his grip. He couldn't hear what was being said but it seemed to entertain both of them.

Ink spotted him as soon as he got near and headed for the front door. They had expected this outcome before they had arrived. While the other two had raised children, multiverse travellers were always an unknown. With the multitude of issues that occurred during their stay it would be easier for them to be with Dream and Ink.

Dream opened a golden portal to the Doodle Sphere and relaxed once they entered the house. He usually didn't live with Ink all the time, as their energy could get too much even for him. Even Blues energy couldn't match up to the Creator.

"What's your favourite animal, Karma?".

"Cat..".

He was amused when he saw Ink place Karma on the couch, then create a cat onesie. It was black and white and even had a tail on the back. He giggled at the awe on Karmas features and chirps when they felt it in their hands.

"Need some help getting changed?."

The lifting or tiny arms was Ink's answer, making him snort in amusement. He carefully removed the scarf then helped them remove the top. He felt his eyelights try to extinguish, at the mark spanning the babybones chest. It reminded him of the Sans, from timelines with multiple Genocide runs. The slash mark that finally dusted them, never fully left them even after a RESET.

He continued with his task and clothed them in the new outfit. He squealed at how cute the outfit looked but shared a look with Dream. This was a more serious situation than they thought.

~~~~~

Dream: I will have to stop Ink from making things worse

Ink: *great with Karma*

*Dream.exe has crashed*