Dream PoV

Outside, rain poured as George led Dream down the hall towards the prison.

"...And then she woke up, screaming her head off." George explained, eyes wide. "Once she calmed down, she's said exactly seven words to us and hasn't spoken since." George walked down the last flight of stairs to the cell, stopping outside of it.

Inside, Shadow has somehow pulled herself up into the window and was sitting on the thin ledge, watching the rain with her head turned away. George stepped forward, wrapping his hands around the cell door.

"Shadow? Shaaaadooooow?" George tried, but the prisoner remained silent. "Shadow! SHADOW!" George shouted, frustrated. "God freaking dang it, Shadow, we're trying to help!"

A quiet snort and nothing more came from Shadow, who still hadn't moved.

George groaned, grabbing Dream's arm and pulling him out of earshot.

"Dream, this isn't working," he growled softly.

Dream sighed, dragging a hand down his mask. "Why does it MATTER, George?" The goggled man blinked, surprised.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused. "Shadow's my FRIEND-" he paused. "Well, I think she's my friend. It's... kinda hard to tell with her." He shook his head violently. "The point is, she's my friend and she's now a part of your SMP. You literally just fought Tommy for her."

"I fought Tommy for L'manburg, Tommy just made her a part of the deal," Dream argued.

"Yeah, but L'manburg has its independence now. The only part of the deal you actually won is Shadow, and I don't think it's wise to let her remain in her cell for the rest of eternity, being depressed."

"George, I got the disks out of the deal. Shadow- I couldn't care LESS what happens to her. At this point, the only reason she's not DEAD by my hand is because you're all a bunch of sappy idiots." George opened his mouth, but Dream barreled on, "So you can try whatever you want, do whatever you want, because I couldn't care less. The fact is, she's just a pawn, just like everyone in this FREAKING WORLD." Dream glared at George. "Including you."

With that, he whirled around and stomped up the stairs.

3rd Person PoV

"Well that was a train wreck of a conversation, wasn't it?" A mocking monotone voice came from the cell. Surprised, George walked back to the cell.

Inside, Shadow sat on the window ledge, one leg pulled up to her chest and the other one dangling down. Her head was tilted to the side in a mockingly sympathetic way, her gloves gripping the stone brick ledge.

"Losing your friend, Georgie?" she laughed sharply. "I did tell you, you know," she said, her voice going from taunting to sad. "I told you he was a monster, George, I told you." She looked away. "And you didn't listen."

George sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "I- I thought he was better than that, Shadow." He sighed. "I never..."

There was a muffled thump as Shadow jumped off the window, walking towards him. Moments later, she hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder through the bars. George jerked his head up. In all her time, even from what he'd seen at L'manburg, Shadow had been a great fan of minimal contact, if any.

Shadow stared at him through the bars. "Can I talk to Sapnap?"

...There goes the moment. Thanks a lot, Shadow, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to phrase it and it just jumped out the window faster than you could say Kermit. Whelp.

George hesitated. "...Sure?"

Shadow snorted. "You sound less sure of yourself than that time Tommy was asked to give a speech." She laughed slightly under her breath. "He was as jumpy as a jackrabbit, looking from side to side like he was about to be ambushed." She had visibly perked up, joking and telling George stories that the L'manburgians had told her.

By the end, the two were laughing so hard they didn't notice the masked man standing in the shadows, listening sadly.

->->->->O<-<-<-<-

Your PoV

You lay on your bed, turning over the events of the day while munching on a piece of Sapnap's famous Whole-Wheat Bread. The rain had stopped, sadly. You'd always loved storms and bad weather, probably because Techno had found you in one. After the bread was reduced to crumbs, you stood up and decided to poke around your humble hovel.

Well, of course there wasn't much to look at. You jumped back up onto the window ledge, your favorite place in the whole god-forsaken place. Outside, the storm clouds covered the stars, promising more rain. Through a hole in said clouds, the almost-full moon shone through, it's light illuminating the grassy land around the castle. You absentmindedly tugged and pushed at the stone bricks while you watched glowing sets of eight red eyes run around in the darkness of the forest and the bones of humans come alive and walk around.

Even in your present state, you smiled. The night and darkness had always been a favorite of yours, for it was where the truly dangerous creatures walked. In the night, only the best survived. It was a place for the strong, for those who thrived in shadows.

As you watched, two pale shapes appeared out of the forest, their long thin bodies a ghostly purple and white. They had not legs nor arms, only two large, bony wings, with a tattered membrane in between. Their eyes glowed with green fire as they shrieked, swirling around each other and swooping towards the moon like herons to the ocean. You watched, spell-bound, until the two creatures disappeared once more into the darkness.

Suddenly, the mortar around the stone brick you were tugging at crumbled, and the brick popped out into your hand. You yelped, surprised, before you noticed a small book in the hole the stone had left. Tilting your head, you pulled the book out, carefully replacing the stone.

You slowly opened the B/C/C book, noting the lack of a title. Inside, the text was water-worn and illegible, but the writing itself stopped past the 13th page. Flipping quickly through the rest of the book, you found nothing else of interest, not even a quill or ink to write or draw. Well, not like you were much good at either.

Hopping back up onto the ledge, you placed the book back into the hole, memorizing which brick it was under before replacing the stone.

Climbing back onto your cot, you pulled the blanket over yourself and watched the lightning flash through the clouds. Thunder roared as lightning struck right outside the castle. For the first time since you arrived L'manburg, you actually felt remotely happy.

------------

1123 Words

------------

Yay, more plot

Poor George, good Lord.

I'm going to be doing some rearranging of the art to better fit the chapter it corresponds to, so I'm sorry if you're confused by why everything's different.

TA TE CHILDREN