#ANYWAY GARDENER. she’s covered in plants and vines and fungus.

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

The Gardener

Aka the monster au’s Preacher. Basically a forest creature that helps protect and look after. Well. The forest. Mostly the Savior’s Willow.

[robanilla-writes]

In The Garden (Right Where You Left it)

Read on Ao3

Rated G | Words: 688

CW: Canonical Character Death, Decay existing as an extant form of life, Grief/Mourning, Sorrow

Summary: Dream wakes up after 500 years as stone.

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Dream blinks.

Inhale. Exhale.

One finger at a time, now. A hand.

The air is fresh and warm, but it's different.

He tries to move his arms from where they cross protectively over his chest, but vines keep him in place. Moss grows up his legs, and his crown has been overrun with flora.

He coughs. It hurts.

The sun shines down brightly, and for a few minutes more, Dream is sure he's lost his vision completely.

But he blinks, and he finally breaks through the roots holding him in place, and he shields his eyes from the light.

He recognizes this hill, but it's different.

He knows there should be a village to the south, but when he turns to look for it, there is little but forest. When he finally breaks away from the dirt and takes his first, shaky step towards it, he may notice the ruins of that village under the foliage.

He turns. Behind him is a tree stump, covered in masses of beautiful fungus and moss and extant forms of life- and for a moment, Dream just admires it. He takes in the explosion of plant life around him, and then he takes in the sun, and he breathes in deeper.

There is a bright buzzing off to the side. Clicking and squeaks of beetles, the chirping of birds- there is life here.

Dream takes another step, and his bones barely remember how to stand up for themselves after being stuck in stone for so long... how long has it been, anyway?

How long has it been, since...

Memories play back in his mind's eye, and Dream chokes. He looks around again, and he sees the scars of the incident embedded in the hill. There are patches of life fertilized and fed by the corpses of the villagers, and the stump...

He looks over the wonderful color, and he is horrified. Life, yes, but the sort of life that grows when something is rotten to the core.

Unlike him, his mother would never wake again.

Dream falls to his knees before her grave, and weeps.

His hands are so small. His legs shake like a newborn fawn. But his grief is so loud, so overpowering and strong, that every creature on the hill quiets their song to listen.

He had failed her

He had failed the village.

He had failed his brother.

If only he had been there. If only he had realized sooner that the villagers had ill intent. If only he had done his duty to protect!

He cries until he can't; until the river of his tears meets with the river of his childhood, but other than the bees, the toads, and the snakes, no one is around to hear his wail.

Not anymore.

Dream curls up next to his mother, and though he understands that she isn't there anymore, he tells her everything he can remember. He asks her every question that comes to mind.

How long has it been? What happened to his friends?

Why did Nightmare do this? What happened to him?

Is he okay now? Where is he?

Why can't he feel him anymore?

The birds, the squirrels, and the lizards flock to him, hoping to ease his unrest. The butterflies, the spiders, and the ants fret about. From the forest, deer, elk, and bears alike have been called upon by Dream's aching cries. Even in the remains of his home, Dream is not alone.

The stump does not answer, but Dream can feel her love wrap around him, part of his immortal soul.

He naps in the ruins of what used to be his home, one last time.

When he wakes up again, it is to the pull of joy. Like a magnet, he is called to stand up and walk towards its source. He feels it flow through him like water, and he's just now realizing how parched his tongue seemed to be.

The ring of sunlight that appears before him beckons him further, and with a last look at his universe, Dream walks forward, taking his first step into his new reality.

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Dreamtale | Dream by jokublog