(Art by me)

The forest was cold and tended to prey on the weak. It was restless, and would groan until its stomach was filled with feeble, unfortunate souls. That was why Mono was reluctant to even have another person with him.

Don't get him wrong, Seven seemed like a tough guy; but Mono swore that if that kid did one wrong move all of Seven's twigs for bones would snap.

Seven was already lucky enough to somehow avoid the beartraps he ran though. It took Mono months to map the whole place out, and this blue jacket wearing kid ran through it like he knew where all of them were!

The trail to the shack was long, the two boys cautious as they went. The air was dense with a awkward and tense silence, neither of the, saying anything.

'I should say something.' Mono looked over to the other, but stopped when he saw the look of the other.

Mono hadn't take much time to actually look at the other, but couldn't stop staring at him once he finally did.

Seven looked thrown away, rough dark brown hair with bangs swept in his eyes. His jacket barely clung to his thin, unhealthy figure, skin a sick pale color. The ends of his blue jackets were slightly ripped and had holes, smudges of dirt on it. A wet rucksack hung off his back, looking like it could easily make him topple over.

His gray pants were in the same condition as his jacket, though it wasn't as bad. A slightly tight ankle shackle hung on his right foot, a broken chain trailing behind.

"Hey, are we almost there?" he asked, voice holding a barely noticeable shake to it, like it was still in it's early puberty stage. A faint country accent softly stirred in it.

Mono blinked, looking to Seven. 'Where ever he's from must have been hell...'

"Right up ahead, just lay low and don't get caught. There's a TV over there if needed,"

"What about the TV?"

"I'll explain later, come on."

Mono saw the trees begin to open up more, traps that had already being sprung laying on the ground around them. A broken wooden shack being seen in the silver rays of moonlight.

The scent of rotten meat made Mono flinch slightly, forgetting the Hunter's hobby.

Seven didn't to seem to mind the smell all that much, continuing to the creaky stairs on the shack's porch. Mono glanced around, noting the untouched frying pan on an unlit campfire.

The Hunter wasn't here it seemed like, or maybe he was and he was just... busy.

A shiver ran down the boy's spine, shaking his head. No time for gross thoughts, just- whatever happens don't think of blood, or guts, or-

Mono felt himself nearly hurl in his bag. Bile splashing in the back of his throat as he forced himself to swallow and hold it together. He couldn't stand the thought of that monster's hobby.

"Come on, how do we get inside?" Seven asked, snapping the boy out of his thoughts.

"Right, sorry, be right there," Mono whispered, climbing up the stairs to the other. He walked past Seven, towards a chest underneath an open window. Jumping, he grabbed the edge and pulled himself up, looking over as Seven followed him.

The pair silently entered the house, dropping on the wooden kitchen floor, a light hung over an island in the middle with a pot of stew on it.

Mono took the lead, the other following behind him. Going to the opened door, the two slipped out and found themselves in a hallway.

"Where could he have her at?" Seven whispered softly, looking out. He reached over, pulling a flashlight out of his rucksack. With a click, it turned on, lighting up their path.

The air look a bit dusty in the light, Seven starting to take the lead over Mono.

"He might have her somewhere hidden. I think he's got a basement, or something like that. I think it's this way."

The floor board ever so softly creaked under them, Seven lighting their way. They came to an opening, going down a small set of stairs.

The air was suddenly filled with soft music, like it came from a music box or something. Careful to avoid the last two broken steps, the duo found themselves in a room with bags of what Mono could only hope was only animal pelts.

Seven stepped forward, Mono spotting a door to the side.

"Six?" Seven called out quietly, walking to the door.

The music stopped, soft footsteps sounding through the door.

"Sev?" asked a soft, feminine voice.

"Six! Oh thank God I found you, don't worry, we'll get you out!"

"Seven, you gotta go, that hunter guy is still here. You have to be quiet, please, please, please be quiet!" she whispered frantically.

"We still. Take cover, we'll be in a second."

Seven looked over to the other, Mono noticing a much more relaxed and more relieved look of the other. "Come on, we gotta find something to break the door down."

Mono gave a nod to the other, looking around. He spotted a room off to the other side, quietly going to it and look for any help.

Upon coming inside, the boy found himself gagging from the smell. Rotten flesh and blood filled the room, making Mono feel his guts churn inside.

His eyes darted around to try and find something before he lost what little lunch he had. Nothing caught his attention, before his eyes wondered to a small hatchet lodged in a wooden box. That'll do it.

Jumping and grabbing the handle, Mono was barely able to knock the metal out of its spot, falling down with it and nearly chopping himself in half.

Once up on his feet once more, the boy drug the hatchet out, seeing Seven by the wooden door.

"What do you mean it somehow got in the bag?" Seven asked quickly before noticing the other. "Hey, hold that thought, you two take cover."

The sound of footsteps shuffled on the other side, and after a moment, Mono lifted the hatchet up and slashed at the bottom of the door.

Chunks of wood flew off as he hit it again, moonlight filtering through a window above a table on the inside. Mono hit it again, this time making a hole big enough for them to get through.

Seven raced in before the boy with the paper bag could, nearly stepping on the splittering wood.

Mono walked in after, seeing a young girl with a yellow raincoat. She had the same pale skin as Seven, with a oddly thin yet slightly rounded face. Black hair poked from under her hood like small horns, while bangs covered her eyes.

White shorts barely poked out from under her bright yellow coat, wearing no shoes like him and Seven.

Her smile was bright, brighter then her coat as she ran to the other, hugging him. "I was so worried he got you!" She stated.

"Me? I thought he was going to kill you!" Seven said back, the two visually relaxing after their fears left them.

Mono cleared his throat, making the two look to him. Seven spoke, "Oh, right. Six, this is Mono. Mono, this is by best friend, Six."

The girl, Six, gave a small smile to him. "I should have figured that out with the paper bag. I'm Six, Veronica's daughter."

"It's great to meet you too. Look, even should get going before he shows up. The only way out of here is through the backyard, but since we haven't seen him yet, my best guess is that he's outside too."

Mono spoke quickly, anxiety in his voice. The Hunter could show up any minute! Did the noise of the wood breaking alert him? Did he already know they were in?

Six gave a nod. "Right, yeah, let's go. C'mon, Zero!"

Mono gave a confused look to the girl, who patted her thin thighs, calling out to a dark corner.

From the shadows, a small puppy exited. Fur fluffy with silver, blue-gray, black, light brown, and white markings placed on her pelt, two different colored eyes sparkling with worry.

She limped over, a bullet wound in her shoulder. She came to Six's leg, whining and licking at the other. The girl picked the small puppy up, smiling as she was immediately giving puppy kisses.

"Little rascal was in my bag. Negative might not have realized she got in. Sev, Mono, meet Zero! Or at least that's what I've been calling her."

Zero let out a small bark, her nub of a tail wiggling. Mono couldn't help the need to give a small 'aww' when seeing the baby dog.

"An Australian Shepard I think. I use to love to read on dogs and cats and bugs and birds, and and whole lot more," he explained, reaching to pet the soft puppy.

Zero let out a small growl, going to nip at his hand with her sharp teeth. Mono shot his hand back, letting out a small hiss of pain.

"I'm sorry, did she get you?" Six asked quickly, holding Zero in her other arm to look at the other's hand.

Mono shook his head. "Just enough to break the skin, nothing to bad, no worries."

Six looked at Zero, gently popping her on her black nose. "No, we don't bite humans! We bite rats, mean people, and occasionally Nomes!"

Zero let out a small yap. Six's face grew a little red from annoyance. "Don't talk back to me, young lady. I'll tie your non existing tail in a knot!"

Zero snorted, wiggling in the girl's arms, before dropping down. Seven let out a small bark of laughter.

"She's got an attitude. It'll like handling you all over again when we were kids. We gotta get going though, we can't risk him finding us here."

Mono nodded, turning and walking back to the door, Seven and Six (and Zero), following right behind him.

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Finished - September 7th.

Oh boy, sorry about the delay for this chapter! Junior year is still a bit rough after going from homeschooled back to another school.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

Little Daydreams AU info expansion

Mono (final main) - Though he has seen a lot of things, Mono is pretty weak stomached to thing such as blood, guts, and bad smells. Before everything happened in The City, he had previously dreamed of becoming a Vet to help animals in needed.

Zero - Zero is based after my own Mini Aussie, Sally. Her and Sally share a lot of things like: talking back to you, randomly licking you out of nowhere, and whining for peanut butter.

More info later on...