Sanctuary

sanctuary

living on the edge of the frontier, techno is used to many things wandering onto his land. that includes dream, an outlaw who is looking for some help and a place to hide.

rating: teen & up characters: technoblade, dream tags: western au, tending to injury, blood, alcohol

written for @nekioe for the @rivalsduogiftexchange! i hope you enjoy! <3 <3

The horse’s head hung low to the ground, sniffing the ground but making no move to nibble on the grass that poked out stubbornly from the dirt in sparse clumps. It was a white horse, grey on the nose and lower legs, and it wasn’t Techno’s horse. He stood in the doorway with his tin mug of coffee in hand, staring at the horse. Even at a distance, he could see the foamy sweat around the straps of the saddle if he squinted a bit. He didn’t need to squint to see the drops of blood in the dirt or the splash of red on the saddle blanket.

“Huh,” he said and took a sip of coffee before turning back inside. He set the mug down on the table. His gun and holster hung of the back of the chair and he picked it up. The leather was well worn and supple and buckling around his waist it was second nature. Through the greased paper window, Techno could see the horse, still in the same spot, just as blurry as when he had seen it the first time.

Outside, the sun was coming over the ridge and Techno squinted as he approached the horse from the front. It lifted its head but made no attempt to move away even as he patted its neck. Sweat covered its neck, chest, and flank. The horse had been ridden right to the edge of exhaustion, the sign of either a reckless or desperate rider. Judging by the blood, Techno thought desperate. The blood left a clear trail to his barn but he took the time remove the saddle and bridle from the horse.

“You just stay right here,” said Techno, giving the horse one last pat before following the trail of blood left on the dusty ground.

The barn door had been pulled closed. Blood was smeared on it, a partial hand print that the owner had attempted to wipe away. That struck Techno as odd. They had made no other attempt to hide their presence so why try to clean up the blood on his barn? He put one hand on the hilt of his gun and pulled the door open, letting light pour inside.

A gun was pointed right at Techno’s head.

The hand holding the gun was bloody and shaky and attached to a man, propped up against a bale of hay. His other hand was pressed against his side, holding a rag that likely used to be another color but was now reddish-brown. The lower half of his face was covered by a black bandana with a curved white line embroidered onto it, like a strange smile.

“Seriously, Bawaajigan?” Techno let go of his gun. “You’re gonna break into my barn then point a gun at me?”

An annoyed snort followed by a low wince of pain left the man. He lowered the gun.

“I—I told you, stop calling me that.”

“It’s your name, man, I dunno what to tell you,” Techno said with a grin. He crossed the distance between him and the man in three large steps. He knelt. “Did ya go and get yourself shot again?”

Above the black bandana, the man rolled green eyes. His forehead was shiny with sweat, blond hair sticking to his skin.

“What, sad it wasn’t you? Again?”

“You’re the one who wanted that duel, Dream.”

“Heh. Yeah—Yeah, that’s fair.”

Techno shook his head, grin softening into a knowing smile. The moment he saw the horse, he had thought his day would go something like this.

“Lemme see how bad it is.”

Dream slipped his gun into the holster that was strapped to his leg and finally pulled the black bandana down. Techno could count the number of times he had seen the whole of Dream’s face on one hand. He frowned a little as Dream pulled his hand away from his side. Dark, almost black blood slowly oozed from the tear in his skin.

“It didn’t get anything important,” said Dream.

One of Techno’s eyebrows shot upwards as he pulled a clean handkerchief out of his pocket.

“You sure about that?” he asked, pressing the handkerchief as gently as he could to the bullet hole. Dream drew in a sharp breath, air whistling between his clenched teeth.

“Well, I mean… No, but I don’t think it did.”

The words sounded uncertain and tight. Techno clicked his tongue. He wanted to ask what had happened, who had shot him this time and who was going to come looking for him. It was unlikely that anyone would come here; the last time he had been spotted in public with Dream, he had been twenty paces away. Techno’s hand felt around Dream’s side, looking for the exit wound. There was none.

“Good news,” Techno said as he leaned back on his heels, “you’re right – for once – and it didn’t hit anything important.”

The corner of Dream’s mouth twitched.

“Go to hell,” he said. And then, with the air of someone who already knew the answer, “What’s the bad news?”

“I’m gonna have to dig that bullet out.”

Dream closed his eyes for a moment. The blood had slowed to trickle, his body doing its job to keep him from bleeding to death. It wouldn’t matter if the bullet was left in to shift or break apart and seep lead into his blood.

“Yeah, I thought so.”

His eyes were still closed and Techno took this moment to look him over more closely. Blood had soaked his shirt and the waist of his pants but also near the hem of the opposite side. His knuckles were scrapped and his cheek was puffy and yellow, the sign of a newly forming bruise.

“Alright. Well, I don’t want to go diggin’ it out in my barn so how about I help you inside?”

“Yeah, sure.”

With a deep sigh, Dream finally opened his eyes and began to push himself upright. His hand slipped a little on the loose straw covering the floor of the barn. Techno grabbed his shoulder to steady him before unceremoniously shoving his hands beneath Dream’s armpits and pulling him to his feet. A string of curses were muttered but Techno ignored them, wrapping an arm around Dream and letting him lean against him. The first couple steps, Dream was stubborn, trying to walk without assistance but by the time they had left the barn, he was fully leaning on Techno. He squinted in the sunlight.

“I left—Spirit should be out here, somewhere,” he said.

The horse had wandered a few feet, closer to pasture where Techno’s horses were, and was grazing. He would have to be put up but for now, exhaustion and the fact the other horses had wandered over to the fence to graze closer to the newcomer was working in their favor.

“He’s right there,” said Techno, nodding his head towards the fence. “He’ll be fine. I’m gonna stop you from dyin’ on my land and then I’ll go put him up, alright?”

Dream nodded. His jaw was clenched and his fingers dug into Techno’s arm hard enough to hurt as they climbed the stairs up to the porch. Techno almost made a joke about how he wasn’t going to drop Dream, if that’s what he was worried about, but decided against it.

“Your house sucks,” Dream said as he stepped onto the porch, breathing heavily.

Techno snorted.

“At least I have a house, Dream.”

He used his shoulder to push the door open. The bedroom was straight ahead, the door already open, and Techno steered Dream in that direction. It would mean a change of blankets but he needed a relatively flat surface.

“You’re such a bastard.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Lay down,” Techno said.

Dream did what he was told without argument, though he tried to prop himself up on his elbows to watch Techno dig his leather medical bag out of his trunk and only fully laid down when Techno returned and pushed him back down. He grumbled a little then but it seemed to be all he had the energy for. Techno sat on the bed and the mattress creaked.

“Pull your shirt up a little.”

“You better not mess this up,” said Dream, pulling his torn and blood stained shirt up.

The buckle on the leather bag had long since broken and Techno pulled out a few items – clean rags torn into strips, a pair of thin metal tongs, and a bottle of whiskey – and set them on the crate serving as a night stand.

“Pfft, I’ll remind you that you came to me, man.” He uncorked the whiskey. Dream eyed the bottle warily. Carefully, Techno poured some over the wound then wiped away the blood with one of the rags. He glanced up at Dream, face beaded with sweat, and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

Lifting his hand, Dream wrapped his fingers around Techno’s wrist, his pale skin in stark contrast to Techno’s brown skin, and squeezed.

“I—I believe you.”

It was earnest and Techno inclined his head towards Dream before picking up the metal tongs. Dream let go of his wrist in favor of balling his fists into the wool blanket as Techno began his work. He found one large chunk of the bullet fairly quickly and discarded it to the side. The other two pieces were harder to find and Techno paused a few times when Dream made a pained sound, reaching out to place his hand over Dream’s for a moment. When he had finally gotten the final fragment out with a bit of twisting and pulling, Techno poured more whiskey over the wound. Dream hissed out a quiet ‘god damn’.

“Anything else I oughta take a look at?” asked Techno, glancing down at the blood on Dream’s leg.

Dream shook his head.

“N-no, I’m fine.” Techno paused in the middle of rinsing his hands off in the basin and cocked an eyebrow. Dream huffed. “It’s nothing I can’t handle, okay? I’m fine.”

Drying his hands off on his pants, Techno pulled out another strip of the makeshift bandage. He slipped a hand behind Dream’s shoulder and guided him up. A pained wince was bit back as Dream glanced at Techno sheepishly.

“I believe you, alright, I believe you,” he said. Without being told, Dream lifted his arms up so that Techno could wrap the bandage around his abdomen a few times, pulling it taut enough to help stop the bleeding but not too tight to be uncomfortable. “D’you want to tell me what happened now?”

The expression on Dream’s face was serious, hurt, and he looked away. There had only been a handful times that Techno had seen Dream’s face but the times he had, the other man had been grinning. The change was disconcerting.

“It was an ambush. I—They’re probably going to come looking for me. I figured, you know, I figured that they wouldn’t look here.”

Techno pat Dream on the knee and then handed him the bottle of whiskey. Now he grinned as he took a swig, face scrunching up as the alcohol burned his nose.

“Well, I’ve never been one to kick an injured and homeless man to the curb,” Techno said, nudging Dream a little with his knee. “You can stay here as long as you need.”

“What—You’re a son of a bitch, Techno.”

Techno’s smile stretched wider.

“That sure is a funny way of sayin’ ‘thank you’, Dream.”

A long, resigned sigh was pulled from Dream.

“Thank you.”

More Posts from Dulcamaraze and Others

dulcamaraze

5 months ago

@rivalsduogiftexchange gift for @thecaptainamore !

A cup of tea as Dream recovers from prison. It’ll take some time, but he’ll get there. It’s a long road to recovery

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dulcamaraze

5 months ago

not married not dating not friends but a secret fourth thing (outlaws running a city while searching for their missing kid)

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dulcamaraze

5 months ago

cPhil: mate it’s MY turn with the twink

cTechno, covering cDream with his entire body: you had him for three HOURS yesterday it’s MY TURN!

cDream, half-asleep beneath cTechno’s warmth and extremely excited by the prospect of two immortals fighting over who gets him: :)

God what a life cdream lives

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dulcamaraze

6 months ago

I don't wanna crowd your asks even more I am so sorry, but consider: c!Dream never able to properly do physical activities again after prison and what c!Quackity and c!Sam did to him, because no amount of respawns can heal that much nerve damage. His legs don't work the same anymore, he can't jump and run the way he used to. The tools in his hands are hard to hold and even harder to use because his hands are shaky and unreliable. Dream has never been good at staying still... -trainstation anon

don’t apologise for crowding my asks - i promise you’re not !! i had to give this one a happy ending,, as someone who suffers from immense knee pain sometimes i Felt This One, so here, have some post-prison dream hurt/comfort!

warnings: trauma, chronic pain, nerve damage, injuries, self destructive behaviour, unhealthy coping mechanisms, self harm (in that c!dream keeps pushing himself despite being hurt)

Everything hurts now.

He doesn’t like thinking about his time in prison - hates thinking about what the consequences have been for him even more - but when he’s constantly surrounded by reminders, it’s hard to do anything but. His whole body is a flashback to Quackity and Sam and the prison and the hell he’d been through: it’s frustrating, more than anything, frustrating and exhausting.

Dream has always been restless, flitting from place to place without being able to stand still, drawn to running and climbing by instinct. His body feels like a cage now: he can run, sure, but not far, and he’s wrecked for hours after even the shortest of sprints, his legs uncooperative and painful. He can’t run, can’t fight properly (even if he could force himself to pick up a weapon without panicking at the sight of it, his hands were too trembly to do much damage), he can’t do shit, and it’s miserable.

Find other things to do, people urge him - those that speak to him without pity, anyway - find other activities. You’ll ruin yourself if you’re not careful.

Dream has never been one for stepping back when he’s frustrated. He’s hot headed, he’s stubborn, and he’s not about to give up the few things he enjoys, because what is he if he can’t do manhunts? What tenuous position does that leave him in, if he can’t defend or attack?

So he struggles through his days, forcing himself to run and walk and climb and train as usual, grits his teeth and forces down tears at the agony he ends up in. His leg gets worse. His hands get worse. Everything gets worse, and when someone finds him collapsed at the edge of what had once been L’Manburg, sobbing with pain, they carry him home, tell him to be more careful - find something new to do, they advise, pity mingling with their voice - and leave him to self-destruct again.

You’re not strong enough is what Dream hears, and it’s what pushes him to keep going. Until one day it’s Techno that finds him staggering back from training, half-delirious with agony and unable to keep up his façade of pain-free indifference, and Dream wakes up in his own home, with Techno talking quietly to Chat under his breath. It’s a familiar quiet enough scene that Dream feels like he can breathe for the first time in weeks, despite the pain shooting through what feels like every nerve in his body.

“You need to be kinder to yourself,” Techno tells him with a shrug that morning, and Dream stares at him like he’s grown eight heads, “compromise with your body. How do you think Philza got back the strength to move around after his wings were blown to bits?”

Dream swallows. “I don’t want to give up anything from before. I’m- I know I can keep doing it.”

“I’m not telling you to.” Techno offers him a hand to sit up; bewildered, Dream takes it. “I’m telling you to compromise, idiot, or you’re going to run yourself into the ground.” And then he glances away. “I can help you. Consider it repaying that favour.”

And despite himself, Dream smiles faintly, and accepts, because Techno is the only one who hasn’t pitied him.

Compromise is perhaps tougher. There are days Dream can’t forgive his body for struggling, days where he’s riddled flat on his back in pain from his leg and arm and thoughts and can’t do anything but survive. There are days where it’s the opposite: his body seems better and he pushes himself too far. Those are both getting few and far between - instead, Dream is slowly beginning to find somewhat of a happy medium.

It’s not perfect. His body aches and no matter how much he and Techno work, he knows he’ll never be able to regain full strength or power like he had before. But he goes to therapy and when Puffy asks him how his week has been, he doesn’t have to lie - he smiles faintly behind his cracked mask and says he managed to build a treehouse for himself without getting hurt, and it feels like recovery.

“Not bad,” Techno tells him approvingly, caught off guard after two years of adapted fighting, “not bad at all.”

Dream grins. His right arm is too weak still to deliver a precise blow with a sword, but, he’s discovered with training, not so weak that he can’t use it as a feint to distract his opponent. “Not bad?” He laughs. “I beat you. If this was a real fight, you’d be toast.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Techno grumbles, but both of them are grinning, and it’s then Dream realises he laughed for the first time since he got out of prison, properly laughed, like how he used to. It’s a startling discovery, and it almost floors him.

Not quite, though. Instead, he offers a hand to Techno to help him sit up; begrudgingly, Techno takes it. And together, with Dream chattering excitedly to his friend, they begin to head home.

(He limps, but Techno is there to help if needed.)

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dulcamaraze

7 months ago

Prince Lindworm

Written for the dreamnblade christmas event @alterdnbweek is holding this year.

Day 7 Prompts: Fairytale AU; Healing

I went with the story of the Prince Lindworm. It's a Norwegian fairytale and OSP on youtube has a very quick video going over the story. [here!]

The basics of it are that a king and queen can't have kids, meet a witch who gives them instructions to have a kid that aren't followed perfectly, the queen gives birth to a lindworm that refuses to let the prince marry before him, and a maiden manages to transform the lindworm into a human spouse with some oddly specific items.

**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**

Techno is not happy with this situation. He gets why it's happening, but he had zero impact on how the kingdom got to this point. He wasn't even born when the king and queen decided to use magic to have a kid then screw up the instructions so badly there's a lindworm threatening the entire court. It's something the king and queen should be dealing with and, he guesses they are, but how do they expect him to kill a relative of dragons? They're just going to be down one of their best knights instead of being able to marry off their son to another kingdom finally.

"You look like you could use a tasty treat," a voice says.

His head snaps up from the floor below him, staring at a woman carrying a basket of what has to be fresh made breads and pastries. She's wearing the simple clothes of the common folk, a long loved cloak over her shoulders as protection from the cooling weather. Her hair is a delicate pink much like Techno's own, yet the rest of her features strike out the idea they have the same ancestry.

"Uh, I'm fine," he finally says when he realizes it's been too long without a reply. "Just out for a walk."

"Hm. Well, you have the look of someone who's aware of their surrounding and you didn't even notice me," she retorts. "Come on. Talking about things is the best choice, but fresh apple pastries are a damn close second."

He not able to object a second time, the woman trotting off down a smaller path in the forest and leaving him to do nothing but follow her. She takes him to a cottage that's been loved and cared for. It's surrounded by a lovely garden filled with flowers, herbs, and fruits. Insects are fluttering around the entirety of it and he can hear squirrels chittering in the trees around them.

The woman opens the door, shoving him into a chair as she plops her basket on the table. She digs out a lovely looking pastry and wiggles it towards him. He gently takes it and-

Oh, this is delicious.

She laughs, "I'm glad you like them. So, do you want to talk about what is bothering you or just stick with the pastry? Promise I'll just be a listening ear."

And Techno finds himself spilling all of the information he can about what's going on. The fact that the king and queen are trying to get a marriage set for their son, but a lindworm showed up and reveled that it is the true first born of the couple and demanded a marriage before the prince everyone knows. He explains that they've already tried two princesses from different kingdoms and both have failed because the lindowrm ate his brides. How they have decided that the only way to take care of this is to marry Techno to the lindworm with the intention that Techno will kill him and they can finally put this whole thing behind them and move onto finding a proper match for their heir.

He tells her about how the king and queen ordered him to marry what is effectively a dragon with little more than the sword he's been using for years and is in no way suited for cutting through scales that resist lava.

The woman is silent through it all, simply passing another pastry over when his first is finished then sliding a warm drink as his words finally come to a stop. He sips from it, throat soothing from how much he talked and the warmth has his eyes drifting shut. It tastes good. A hint of apple under it that complements the flavor of the pastry. The warmth soothes the aches he hasn't realized he's been under such that he slumps forward to the table, resting his elbows on the table.

There's really not a feasible way out of this. He's going to die and it will be for nothing.

"...I may have some advice to help you in this situation," the woman says. She's looking past him into the distance, though there's nothing there when Techno takes a look himself. "Here's what you will need-"

-----_____-----_____-----_____-----_____-----_____-----_____-----

Dream is coiled in the room, listening to the footsteps of his 'husband' as they get closer and closer. It's just another attempt to get rid of him, to let his brother marry for their own goals and happiness. He refuses to let that happen while he's here. Not before he gets his own and since that won't happen, he'll get to torment them as long as he wants.

The door creaks open and he rises as his 'husband' enters.

He looks, bigger? No matter. Dream hisses at him, "Loose the clothes." They taste disgusting. He doesn't want to eat those things.

"You first," is snapped back, the man making no move to pull off the clothes.

He blinks, "What?"

"You want me to loose the clothes, you loose the skin."

Dream stares. It wouldn't be impossible. His scales always have been a loose so it should only take a bit of wiggling to get them off. If that's what he has to do to have his 'husband' loose the fabric, he'll do it.

It's a matter of minutes to shed his scales and he rises, lifts himself above the other to-

"I shed so loose the clothes," Dream hisses, eyes narrowing at the insolence.

The human bares his teeth, "I did."

He almost lunges at him screw the fabric in the way, but- But there is a pile of cloth on the ground. His eyes flick back to the human who's teeth are showing more.

"You want me to loose this layer," he says, lifting the top a bit, "you loose another layer of scales."

Dream stares at him. Now that he's looking closer, his 'husband' does look... odd. Lumpy almost. As though there are a few more layers of clothes still to be shed. It's a minor inconvenience to shed his scales a few more times and it's not as though he can't eat his scales after this.

So he sheds. And sheds. And sheds seven more times.

He's exhausted by the tenth, but too invested in this to back down. He can barely lift his head, though, and there's still another layer of clothes. His stomach turns at the thought of having to shed again. Everything is too tender and too tight around him. Strange feeling when his scales tend to the loose side of things.

His 'husband' steps closer to him, something in hand and it takes too long for his exhausted brain to recognize it as a whip. It snaps across his muzzle before he can lunge at him, burning as it lashes his fresh scales. His head is snapped to the side, eyes wide as the human grabs a bucket and flings it right at his face.

Liquid drips down his face and his head is too heavy to keep up. He falls to the ground. All of him burning and aching and breaking and stretching. He's sure this is the end. The king wasn't hiding that he was trying to find a way to stop him from getting his right and killing him would be the easiest. Especially now where he is exhausted and unable to defend himself.

But metal doesn't cut through his neck.

Warm limbs curve around it instead as his head is pulled into a cave of warmth and softness and calloused fingers are running over him. Dream aches in a combination of good and bad, but he can't say he regrets winding up in this position. Not now when it's the first time in his life he's felt a touch has not been intended to hurt. The first time he's not been in danger from things around him. The first time he's ever been in a spot to be vulnerable in as long as he can remember.

Fingers are running along his scalp, managing to find all the spots that have him sinking further into the hazy space his mind has sunken into. It's a nice spot to be in. Somewhere he doesn't have to worry about what's going on around him because someone else is going to be doing that. It means he's safer than he has been in he can't quite recall how long. It means he can take the time to relax for a moment.

He's pretty sure there's going to have to be a conversation once he's actually up for it, but for now his skin is throbbing, wet, and pressed against a source of warmth he's never felt before. That can wait. He's not going to let any part of this escape again. Not when he finally knows what this feels like.

He looks up at his husband who's smiling at him. It's a small quirk of lips, but it's aimed at Dream and that's all that matters.

**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**

I adore the odd, more unknown fairytales and given the chance to write a fairytale AU, I'd rather go with something that is a bit more unknown. Still adore the more known ones, though.

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dulcamaraze

1 month ago

What if I make cdream a rabbit hybrid too

REVIVAL BOOK DISEASE (excessive bone growth)

Warning for body horror (I think? No drawings just writing

The rest is under cut

(These are all in stages, the more you use it the more you progress, there’s not exact amount to break through the next stage, all just depends on the strength of the user)

Stage 1: starts with slight headaches, not too bad but still noticeable, there’s usually a specific spot where all the pain hurts the most, this is where the horn/s will come out

You may start to lose weight too, may be from all the fats turning into energy, and then magic

Y’know, from reviving

Stage 2: you start feeling lighter, this turns out to be your bones thinning and bone marrow disappearing (who knows where? (you’ll find out soon) Dream only figure out stage 2 when Quackity cuts off his leg)

You will feel very wobbly! Your bones are still adjusting to how light you feel (must’ve hurt putting on that armour, did holding the axe feel like it was going to rip your arm off from the weight?)

Stage 3: you start to feel a swelling headache, no longer a slight one, it’s so painful some flashes will make you lose your vision, but don’t worry, there’s still a chance to go back (your only chance out)

Stage 4: The point of no return is when your head starts to swell, for dreams case, this was the middle of the forehead, many with think they somehow hit their head and forgot, Dreams too smart for that, he figured it out pretty quickly

Final stage: For a while you’re skin will adjust, then, it’ll stretch, and stretch, and stretch, until about one inch protrudes from you skull, then it wants out quicker, it’ll grow quicker, your skin with start to grow irradiated and red, you’ll want to rip your skin out, the horn will do that one itself

Now the horn is different depending on your species, if you already have horns, great! You skipped a bunch of the steps, you will feel very unbalanced from the weight, like a drunk! Or you’ll want to drink to stave off the pain.

The bone growth doesn’t look smooth, it looks jagged like a tree branch, nearly willing to split off into parts, maybe it will.

What I’m trying to say is that it looks unnatural, but running from the natural cycle of death is also unnatural too no?

This doesn’t mean unicorns aren’t real, they very much are, maybe Dream was one, or could’ve been one (he was a baby in godly terms, horns wouldn’t have grown for a while) XD is, maybe if he practiced safer magic he could’ve had a smooth one, one that could’ve been shown off,

But no, he’s stuck with this disgusting abnormality on his head now.