George began gaining his consciousness at the sound of shuffling and unfocused mumbling. Aside from the heavy pressure in his head as he groaned quietly.

"Morning Gogs." A voice coed as the faceless person approached. Feet stopping in front of George's face as the hunter forced his eyes open. Looking around weakly before his vision finally refocused and he glanced up at Dream. He wasn't hiding behind his mask like he usually was but he didn't really need to since Dream never necessarily put effort to hide his identity to begin with.

Tilting his head like he would meet eye to eye with the hunter still strung up, he flashed a smile before sitting back down on one of the logs surrounding a little, flimsy made campfire. "I've been busy." He hummed, pulling George's bag closer between his legs as he rummaged through it. The bow and arrows were also taken away from George, leant up against a rock a few feet away from him.

George squeezed his eyes shut to relieve the growing headache and let out a small groan. His wrists and ankles testing the ropes a bit but they were double-knotted and secure. He glanced back at Dream. "We got that when you raided the village." He hissed. Dream hummed.

"That was just distraction, Georgie. You have create a diversion to then slip in unnoticed and get what you want." He said, throwing the compass into the fire. Tapping his own forehead. George grit his teeth and glared. "You didn't even hide the traces- you just left-"

He threw the maps in next making the fire roar up as the it swallowed them into nothing but dusty ashes. "If I stayed any longer I would've been caught. There's a dozen of you and four of you were patrolling the outside. Two guards on the inside and three patrolling the building. You never take the chance when it's slim."

"What about the animals? You could've released them yet you killed some of them." George spat. Meanwhile his hands fumbled with the small knife behind his back that he'd managed to pull from his waist band. Cutting at the ropes slowly and silently.

Dream brightened at the mention of the animals and coed. Throwing the bag into the fire once he took everything he found useful and stood up. "Target practice." He shrugged, stretching his arms before he began approaching George. The fire cackling behind him in the dead of night like the evil that he was.

George's body stilled, growing stiff as he believed this was the end. Where Dream would drive a dagger through his heart and remove one of his obstacles; one of his problems. Watching as the vigilante pulled out a knife and flipped it in his hand. Like he was taunting the hunter. Dream stopped in front of him.

"Well, Georgie, you were a good fight." He flipped the dagger one last time before gripping it tightly.

The veins pulsating all along his hand as he looked down at George with eyes sharpened with cold cold ice. "Just not good enough."

Dreams knife came flying before George could comprehend it, making the hunter's eyes widen before the ropes around his wrists finally snapped and George swung his upper body forward just before the knife could swipe at his neck. Immediately swiping his knife across the ropes around his feet just in time for Dream's knife to come flying once more. Missing George by a hair as he fell to the forest ground and immediately rolled to the side.

"Sorry to ruin your fantasies Dream-" He said, scrambling to get himself up. "but I can't die today." He stepped back, dodging his swipes. "Not until I get that eye back.."

Dream seemed to catch that, stumbling with his last swipe and George reacted by hitting Dream's hand up. Kneeing him in the gut when the knife was away from him before kicking one of his feet out from underneath him and tripping Dream back in a swift motion.

Bingo.

"It's over Dream." George spat, stepping on the hand about to reach for the knife, and immediately yanked Dream's sword out of its holster. Swinging it around before swiftly pointing it at the vigilante's neck. "I win."

Heavy breaths left the both of them as Dream panted and stared up at George. Then he smirked. He smirked.

George's mouth quirked up into a curve of disbelief, when he felt a hand suddenly grab his ankle. Shoving it out from underneath him making George yelp out and lose his balance. Losing grip on the sword which clattered to the side and felt how his back hit the forest ground with a heavy thump.

A large hand grabbing his two wrists before pinning them above his head with a sharp grip as Dream hovered over him."Which eye?" He hissed. George's eyes widened with a surprise blush and he he huffed as began to struggle against him. "Let fucking go you creep- you know which eye."

He glared, huffing when Dream only held him tighter. However he couldn't lie and say he wasn't confused. Looking at the vigilante like he was crazy. Hell maybe he was. "You're the one who stole it-"

"I didn't steal shit George- hell I wasn't even the one who raided the fucking village!" Dream blurted and George stilled.

"It was a lie to find out what all that commotion was fucking about. I wasn't even near the village that night." Dream breathed. Letting go of George before pulling himself to his feet and grabbing his sword. Shoving it in its holster while he let George process the information. Slowly sitting up.

"It wasn't you.."

"It wasn't. I knew there was shit going on at your village I just didn't know what. Even I'm not stupid enough to steal the Eye." He scoffed, the most stressed George as ever scene him. Which explained why George was even able to pin him down back there. The news had caught Dream off guard.

That alone convinced George he was telling the truth as he stood up and brushed himself off. Dream never hesitated, never got distracted, and surely never got pinned down by George or anyone else until now. Seeing him in his non-cocky and confident state definitely made this all the more alarming.

"This is bad.. if the portal's activated-" "Go home George. Tell your little friends I don't have the eye and stay off my fucking trail." Dream hissed, throwing George his bow and arrows before turning to disappear into the woods, but suddenly paused.

"I let you go this time.

Next time I won't be so nice."