The mask

The next morning, the two acted like the conversation from last night never happened, but George certainly didn't forget about it. He watched Dream more closely this day, seeing how much Dream truly enjoyed his job. Despite having a mask to cover his features, George could tell Dream was beaming silently at feeding the bear cub or taking off the makeshift cast from the stag. If Dream noticed George's staring, he didn't comment on it.

By midday, George decided to start up the conversation from last night again. As Dream set George down on the bench, the Brit spoke up, "Do you nurse dragons too?"

Dream sat down beside him, "Is this a trick question?"

"What's the trick behind it?"

"If I say yes, you'd hate me and list off every reason why I shouldn't. If I say no, you'd say that if I don't, why do I talk so highly about helping and saving lives," Dream laughed.

George shakes his head, "Okay, no trick then. I'm just curious."

It took Dream a moment to answer, "I'm mainly a dragon nurse, which is why it's easy for me to help animals since a dragon's anatomy is much more complicated than a regular animal, however similar enough for me to know what I'm doing. Kinda the reason why I'm not a good human nurse."

"You're a great nurse for me," George mumbled, which made Dream wheeze. The hunter continued when the other calmed down, "Has a dragon ever tried to kill you?"

Dream thought for a moment, "Once or twice, but out of fear. When the dragon realizes that I'm there to help, they usually calm down and lay there for me to examine them. Sometimes, they even come here. Either they were injured or needed help with pregnancies, they sought my help since word got 'round that there was a dragon nurse in the middle of the forest."

"Wait, what? Can subtype dragons communicate with other subtypes?"

"Definitely. Usually to warn each other of hunters or dragon shifters since hunters kill them and dragon shifters usually have no loyalty to either species. Those are the dragons you should be worried about, by the way. They're usually the ones that kill people and other dragons. Most of the time, they want chaos so they started this war between humans and dragons."

George nodded, "I knew about dragon shifters."

Dream chuckled, "Yeah. And technically, all dr-" Dream suddenly yelped and jumped closer to George, "Para! That fucking hurt!"

The parakeet, who was sitting out of George's view on the other side of the bench, had nipped at his ear. Patches jumped up on the bench and stared at Dream with an unpleasant look. George didn't know whether to laugh or feel threatened.

Dream huffed annoyedly, "Anyways, any more questions?"

"Uh...why do dragon shifters want chaos so much? Do you know?"

"Since they're neither human nor dragon, most of them believe that humans and dragons shouldn't live in harmony. I know a few dragon shifters, but they're chill. Either they couldn't care less about the relationship between the two, or sought out harmony. But they're not all the same. There's really only one I met that hates humans, even then his pack doesn't let him go on a murder spree or anything. Thank the Saints."

The both of them fell into silence, but George knew Dream wanted to say something. With a sigh, George spoke up, "Say it."

"Will you..." Dream paused to properly put his words together, "Are you going to hunt dragons again? After what I told you, that is."

This caused George to look at Dream who was petting the cat that was staring at him. He felt a breath on his exposed neck which made him turn around and come face to face with Mars, causing a short yelp of surprise and a wince of pain from his sudden movement. Dream gently placed a comforting hand on George's shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mars just scared me," George watched as Dream reached behind him and lightly pushed Mars' muzzle away, eliciting a whine from the big cat and a shove to his hand. The two did this for a good few seconds before Mars gave up. Dream dropped his arm on the back of the bench and looked to George, expecting an answer to his interrupted question.

The Brit pursed his lips as he sat back, dropping his head on Dream's arm that was around the bench's back still, "It's not like I can just drop out of the corps. I'm basically property to the Hunter Corps until I complete my ten years, I joined when I was nineteen. Even if I say that killing dragons is wrong to the highest rank, I would still have to serve. That's one of the downsides of being a hunter, I guess."

"Okay, then...do you think killing dragons is wrong?"

That silenced the hunter. He trusts Dream's word, especially with what he said about dragon shifters.

"George?"

"Uh..." He lifted his head and looked at the wild animals Dream was caring for. He noticed that the bobcat was staring in their direction, most likely at him, "I don't know."

Dream chuckled and used the arm behind George to pat his head, "Honestly, I expect you to say it's not wrong, you seem like a stubborn guy who sticks to his ideals."

"Gee, thanks," George rolled his eyes, letting Dream's hand on his head, "You're just convincing. You would be a great lawyer if you wanted to."

That caused Dream to wheeze, making George smile, "I prefer the quiet life here in the forest, with the dragons. They're like crows, they remember those who did them good or dirty, returning the favor at a later date."

"Ah, so if you get caught by the Hunter Corps, they'll swoop in and save you?"

"Caught?"

George looked at the dirty blond, "Yeah...you didn't know that it was illegal to associate with dragons now?"

Dream sat up straighter with concern, "Wait, since when was that illegal?"

"I think ten years now? Since training and taming dragons was outlawed, the kingdom's council representatives have been trying to get association with dragons, other than hunting them officially under the Hunter Corps, illegal. They barely passed it with the king ten years ago."

"What's the penalty?"

"Depending on how long and what the person was doing with them. You'd probably be put in prison for life for helping them. How long have you been a dragon nurse?"

Dream deadpanned, "Just a tinsy-winsy little bit of my entire life. I'm pretty sure they'd execute me just by looking at me!"

"Highly doubt that just looking at you would be executed, but that entire life bit might," George mumbled. He thought of something that twisted his stomach in a way he doesn't like, "I'm not gonna report you or anything. Neither will I do to your friend, Sapnap. You saved my life, it'll be a pretty dick move if I sell you out."

Dream turned to him a little, staring for a second before jokingly replied, "That really would, so don't be a dick."

The masked man took a second before asking, "If a hunter were to associate a dragon, what's the-"

"Immediate death. It's against everything the corps stands for, and the hunter will be used as an example to others to not betray the corps."

A somber atmosphere fell upon the two after sharing that fact. The hunter looked forward again, at the bobcat, who was still staring, "Really, what did I do to that thing."

The masked man looked to where George was gesturing, breath caught in his throat before standing up and heading over to the bobcat. Mars circled from behind George and sat in front of the Brit. George nervously smiled at the big cat. He nearly yelped again when Mars dropped his head on the human's lap, looking up expectantly. Para flew onto his shoulder when George hesitantly patted the mountain lion's head.

George laughed when Patches rubbed against his free hand, "Making Dream have a run for his money. I'm so not used to this many animals on me."

Para tweeted happily while the two cats purred at George's attention, "I thought Dream said it took forever for you guys to warm up to Sapnap."

A minute like this passed when George looked up towards Dream who was crouched, talking with the bobcat as he tugged a tug toy with the bear cub. He held back a laugh when the bear tugged too hard, causing Dream to lose his balance. After a pat to both the bobcat and bear's head, Dream stood up and turned to walk back but paused when he looked at George's current position.

George snickered and called out, "I think they really like me!"

Dream slowly walked over and spoke softly, "I think they do."

"I'm replacing you."

"Highly doubt that you can be even a decent medic," Dream wheezed, sitting down next to George and slipping his arm behind the Brit again, "I'd like to see you try though. Also, tell me if Para gives you something shiny."

"Sure thing, but why?"

"Why tell me or why did she give it to you?"

"Both."

Dream hummed, "Why tell me because I want to know. Why did she give it to you because she really likes you."

George nodded as he continued to pet both cats, getting more comfortable with a mountain lion on his lap.

George swallowed the last of the meds Dream gave him as he watched the dirty blond wash the dishes, "Is Sapnap usually gone for this long?"

"He left a day before I found you, so yeah. No longer than a few days, that's when I go searching for him and drag him back by his ear," Dream said jokingly.

The Brit laughed a little before thinking a bit more, "Do you wear your mask with him?"

"Not really. At the beginning, yes. But he ripped it off my face and told me to be unashamed of how I looked. Honestly, I'm only iffy about my eyes. But other than that? I'm basically a model."

"So you wear a mask to hide your eyes from me? Then why have a mask that covers your entire face?"

Dream chuckled, "For Sapnap, the answer was my eyes. For you, the answer is to not scare you. I felt like I've mentioned that before?"

George shrugged, "Don't remember. And what's so scary about you?"

"Imagine scars-" George gestured to his own scar on his face but Dream ignored him, "that are white with age and frightening green eyes."

A huff came from George as he mumbled, "Well, I'm colorblind so I can't really see green."

"Really? Sorry, but you're missing out on life."

"Oh, shut up," that caused Dream to laugh out his kettle-like wheeze, hunching over a bit, "It's not that funny, Dream. Stop laughing."

It took a minute for Dream to stop, he straightened himself and leaned on the sink to look at George, his voice revealing his smile, "The more I learn about you, George, the more I enjoy our time together. It's refreshing to have someone that isn't Slobnap. It's a bonus that Patches, Para, and Mars like you."

"Must be my pretty privilege," George thoughtlessly remarked.

"Oh, come on now, of course it has to be your pretty privilege," Dream teased, "Anyone would fall for that face of yours."

George laughed and playfully winked at the other, "Does that include you."

"Watch it, you're gonna make me act up," they both laughed for a bit before Dream went to collect Patches and Mars' empty food bowls. He washed the dishes before drying his hands on the kitchen towel, "I'm curious though, do you have someone waiting for you at home?"

"By that you mean lover, no. I focused on my studies at school and trained to become a hunter in my free time. Plus, if you couldn't tell by my accent, I'm not from this part of the country. I'm more from the north-west, we're in the south-east."

Dream whistled, "Why so far from home?"

"I was assigned to travel to this state and hunt since I've got a sharp eye with bows. The weak points of dragons are generally smaller here so they need sharpshooters more than brutes," George answered openly, not wanting to hide why he was there.

Dirty blond hair caught on the sunlight from the window, making it look like Dream's hair was made of gold instead. It was a pretty sight, maybe Dream has more pretty privilege, I honestly wouldn't be surprised. George couldn't help but stare at how sparkly Dream's hair was as he spoke, "Is that why you had those goggles?"

"Yeah, they help with my colorblindness and focusing on my target if I panic which, if I may add, hardly happens because I'm just basically heartless."

The masked man scoffed and crossed his arms, "It didn't look like it when you had three animals-" He suddenly stopped talking, body still and chest barely moving as he breathed. Patches quietly came into the kitchen and looked up at the dirty blond, letting out a concerned noise.

"Dream?"

The mentioned man stood up straight and mumbled, "Something is..." He went out of the kitchen door that led outside as Patches trailed behind him. Curious and worried, George limbed after them. His eyes widened once noticing a gigantic shadow coming from the forest. It was slow to come into the light, but once it did, George's hand instinctively went to his hip to reach for a dagger when a wyvern crawled its way over. Red blood contrasted against bright blue scales, white wings torn and useless for flight.

Dream ran his way over to the dragon and it collapsed as he reached it. The nurse jumped right to helping the wyvern, calling out to Patches or Mars to collect his kit.

Not knowing what to exactly do, George continued his way towards Dream who was forcing his hand down on a bleeding wound on its stomach. Mars, somehow looking bigger than he normally is, ran past George with a case as large as the human's chest.

When George came behind Dream, the dragon weakly turned its head to look at him, making the hunter hold his breath. It slowly blinked at him, and George felt as if it were reading him like a book. It huffed in his direction, probably knowing that he's a hunter, but also injured. It's eyes were bloodshot, but because of the poison in its body. The shivering was noticeable, despite it being a nice and warm spring day. The wound Dream was pressing on before was an ugly purple, slowly spreading under the scales and corrupting it with said color.

Dream hissed in pain as a sizzle rang in the air, which made George worriedly look down at him. The nurse grunted as he opened the case, "Mars, go fetch Para."

The mountain lion ran to the house. Dream plucked out a syringe and a bottle of liquid. He stuck the syringe into the top and filled it with the pale orange substance, "Hold your breath for me, I'm going to try to neutralize the poison you were hit with."

The dragon did as it was told as Dream injected it into the dragon's weak point, making it whimper and whine.

"It's most likely the new venom issued out to the hunters that's more intense than the last. My platoon was supposed to get it next week."

Dream just now noticed that George was behind him, "You're kidding. That's why these are way different symptoms from usual."

"I'm assuming that was an antidote?"

"Useless now. I need to make a new one, but I won't have ti-"

George interrupts immediately, "Amanita mushrooms, toadstool mushrooms, and oxeye daisies might work. The poison isn't that fast but it's really effective, it kills its target within the day. The amanita and toadstool mushrooms activate relaxing and healing properties oxeye daisies have."

Dream nodded, "I'm sorry to ask but can you help me?"

George looked toward the dragon who looked back at him. It went against the Hunter Corps to even be within ten feet of a dragon without a weapon to either kill it or protect yourself, let alone helping one. It's illegal.

Dream saw his hesitancy in his silence. He sighed as he went to press on the bleeding wound once more, "You don't ha-"

"What do you want me to do?"