Home For Hostiles
Since the beginning, Nightmare had always had an affinity for less than savory types- much to his brother's chagrin. Each struggling creature found a way into his heart. And, eventually, his and Dream's shared home. First, it started with a mangy cat whose bad attitude could rival the worst gang leader roaming the streets. Then a spunky dog who had a lot more bite than bark. While Dream wasn't thrilled to share their mansion with these aggressive/troubled animals, he allowed Nightmare to do as he wished. That was until animals proved to be the least of his problems.
When both brothers finally started high school, the older of the two brought home not another cat nor dog but a living, breathing monster: Horror the Skeleton, a poor soul who had starved for nearly his whole life. The welcome he received wasn't the warmest by any means. Dream's ever-growing exasperation with what his brother was willing to bring home prevented him from showing much friendliness and caused quite a few ground rules to be placed.
One: Don't bring strangers home or let them stay for the foreseeable future. AKA, do not give random monsters a room and house key. ("What happened to 'stranger danger,' Nightmare?")
Two: Stray animals can stay for a week and only a week. After that, they need a real home with someone who has enough time to tend to their unique requirements. ("If I see one more cat in this house, I am custom ordering you a shirt that says 'Lonely And Covered In Cat Hair.'")
However, the rules were in vain. Killer soon joined the fold, followed by Dust; Cross wormed his way into the household shortly after them. And maybe, just maybe, Nightmare acquired a flock of swearing parrots and a few mice sometime during that time period. After taming the flock of fifteen crows lingering around their house, of course.
Due to the eldest's "interesting" choice in company (plus the fact the crows kept trying to carry him away), Dream rarely returned home and often opted to crash/live at one of his friend's homes. Primarily Ink's humble studio apartment.
Five years later, Nightmare had mostly followed the rules Dream set. He rehomed every stray cat and dog he brought into the mansion and offered "temporary" shelter to those in need. (It's not like Lust or Red ever left, but what Dream didn't know wouldn't kill him.) But it seemed fate had another plan in store for him. While wandering through the town's back alleys when journeying to his favorite book store, he spotted an unusual figure sitting amongst the rubbish by a small restaurant's back door. A dark-boned skeleton monster plagued with extreme pixlexia, marrow and dust-coated clothes, and a disposition for violence. Lethal violence, which checked off yet another box on the list of characteristics Nightmare found appealing. Naturally, making it nigh impossible to fight off the temptation to approach the other.
Their meeting stirred a choice: Keep the injured amnesiac murderer and risk further incurring his brother's disapproval or let them wander the streets and wind up arrested/dead.
Nightmare chose the former, as expected.
Settling the newly dubbed Vista into the mansion proved difficult, but once things calmed, more and more questions about them appeared. Why did Dream's friend Ink seem familiar with them? Who was Geno, and why were they so desperate to see Vista in person?
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