18

                                    

                                          
Dream returned to the camp an hour later, after he took his time hunting.
                          
Sapnap and Callahan were awake and George was poking at the fire with a stick. He stood up when Dream approached, opening his mouth to speak, but when Dream sat down away from him, George closed his mouth. 
                          
Dream skinned the four rabbits he caught, avoiding all of their gazes. He cooked it and soon there was no reason to talk because their mouths were all filled with food. 
                          
Dream looked up at the clear sky, not a cloud in sight. He noted the trees around them, losing more and more leaves. The thought of winter made Dream pull his cloak tighter around him. 
                          
They'd reach Technoblade in just over a month. 
                          
~one week later~
                          
That week had passed in mostly silence. George didn't bring up the topic of their future again and Dream didn't bother bringing it up either. 
                          
Sapnap spent most of his time talking to Callahan, who listened with interest to Sapnap's stories about his past life, his pyrokinesis, and Karl. 
                          
He was talking about the upcoming winter when George stood up and walked into the bare woods. He turned his head back at Dream and jerked his chin. Dream looked back at Sapnap, who nodded, and got up, following George.
                          
When they reached a large enough distance from the others, George turned around. His eyes studied Dream's for a long moment. Dream said nothing, observing George's cheeks, flushed from the cold, and his eyes, intelligent and thoughtful.
                          
George said nothing when a leaf floated down in front of Dream. Dream dismissed it as natural, but when the orange leaf froze in the air, he gave a curious glance at George. George's lips tugged in a smile. 
                          
George said, "I don't know if you've noticed, but as we've been walking, I practiced with little objects around us."
                          
Dream grabbed the leaf by it's stem and twirled it between his fingers. His lips twitched upwards when George murmured with excitement, "Watch this."
                          
Dream's eyes widened as a leaf floated from the ground, followed by another, and another. Leaves floated around them, too many to count.
                          
Dream looked back at George and whispered in awe, "This is incredible. George, it's a huge step from where you last were."
                          
George nodded. "I've noticed that with my ability I can sense the positions of objects around me. I can feel them like they're an extension of me. It really helps me focus."
                          
"Do you know how much power this gives you?" Dream asked with a quirked eyebrow. When George shook his head, Dream said, "You could control a person's movements. You could stop their heart or crush their bones." Dream paused, watching George's eyes light up with interest. "Don't do anything on me. I don't want you to try and lift me and accidently squeeze my brains out."
                          
George's eyes widened a fraction before he laughed, a sound that Dream hadn't heard in a while. George asked, "Do you think I'd really be able to do that?"
                          
Dream shrugged. "Eventually, yeah."
                          
"That's so cool," George whispered as he released his hold on the leaves and they fell to the forest floor.
                          
"Yeah―" Dream cut off, grunting as an arrow tore through his shoulder. He stumbled forward, eyes wide, into George.
                          
"Oh my god," George muttered, his voice frantic. His eyes scanned the area around them. His wide eyes snapped back to Dream and pulled his arm over his shoulders.
                          
Dream swore, taking his arm off George; he could support himself just fine. The archer only hit his shoulder, had it hit his torso, they would be in big trouble. He grabbed George's arm and tugged him back to their campsite.