//I do not know how to tame a horse. This is not realistic in any way. Have mercy on me

As dawn approached, the group noticed just how long they had been awake. The night felt too short, spent laughing and chatting, ignoring the faint hint of nervousness and homesickness that lingers in the air. It's better to try and just forget it, to not risk another fight or trigger nightmares. When the adrenaline of new people arriving faded and the first rays of sunlight peek over the wall of their home, the group was left exhausted.

Despite the day just beginning, the group split into two and filtered into the houses, ready to just sleep half the day away. It's not like they actually had anything to do. No jobs, no videos, no streams. They can do whatever they want. After a bit of reshuffling, the Dream Team settled down on the three pushed together beds, lazily fighting over the blankets and space before settling down. Techno and Tommy decided to just squeeze together on one bed, allowing Puffy to have Tommy's bed. The two immediately shut down Phil offering a bit of space on his bed, arguing that despite feeling better, he was still hurting and growing his wings. The last thing he needs was someone pushing or kicking his wings on accident.

Curled up in blankets, the group hid away from the early morning, dreaming of missing homes and friends, or not dreaming at all.

Life continued that way, the group of now eight people and two little companions settling into a steady routine. Wake up, eat breakfast with your roommates, get to work on open tasks, eat dinner around a campfire, sleep. Days melt together, any semblance of time lost in the mines or out in the woods. The stable was finished, a nice big house of oak and cobblestone surrounded by a large fenced area. They had prepared the space for more than one horse after all, knowing that it would probably be stupid to only have one for so many people.

The base got an upgrade as well, with the back and left wall being moved after a good chunk of lake had been filled in. A third house was in construction, this time set to be bigger than the two already standing. It gets annoying to constantly move the wall with every new person they find and have move in, so they will make the most of the new space and prepare a house with two stories and the first basement.

A field with wheat for the horses was added outside of the border, at the edge of the lake. Golden wheat swayed in the breeze, safe inside the fenced area and raised earth in case the water ever rises further than it should.

George and Tommy ended up doing the most farming work, Puffy helping them more often than not. They were the ones with the least physical strength at the moment, so they had to do the tasks that require the least heavy lifting. The rest was tasked with either building or gathering materials. Techno and Dream ended up doing most of the building, Sapnap had his fun in the mines and Bad switched from getting wood and sand to processing the resources in furnaces and crafting benches. Phil was still not allowed to help, only giving building input and make sure that the fields are tended to with enough water and care.

His wings had reached their full wingspan and were healed, his muscles only aching and sore from the growing. The pale skin had turned dark and a healthy layer of black down feathers had grown. The first primaries and secondaries were also poking through, slowly sliding from their sheaths once they were ready. Phil had to force himself not to scratch the itchy feathers, not wanting to disturb the growing or pull out a feather on accident. The only times he dares touch them is when he feels two feathers tangled together or one struggling to slip out fully and needed help. As scary as it was to suddenly have wings sprout from his back and ripping through his skin, watching the feathers grow was somewhat fascinating.

But the change was not just obvious on him. He had his wings, but his eyes started to change too. The pale blue became more intense, more bright and vibrate and his pupils started to change more to a cat like appearance, even slitting when he got scared once. Whenever Techno or Tommy were forced to help him walk around on bad days, he felt lighter than he should, despise the food he eats. Hollow bones was the theory they came up with.

Bad's teeth had grown a bit sharper, his skin growing darker and his eyes glowing brighter, slowly starting to hide his iris in their glow. He had grown a bit taller too and a terrible itch on his head had been bothering him for a few days. Probably growing something or losing his hair, they haven't figured it out yet.

Techno's iris had started to switch from the round shape to a more diamond or emerald shape, his pupils adjusting to the new form the same. His skin had the slightest shade of pink and small golden spots had started to appear under his eyes, sometimes glittering when the sun hits his face in the right angle. His ears looked a pit more pointy than before. His strength seemed to grow with every day, not because of the workout that is their life right now, but something else. Much like Bad, he had also started to grow, only really noticeable when he had stood next to the now shorter than him Dream.

They couldn't see any physical change on Dream through his mask, but he said that his eyes started to glow a bit too. That seemed to be the only change on him so far, maybe the only one considering he looked mostly human anyways, if not counting the green and white blob he is supposed to be.

Sapnap started to feel warmer and seemed fascinated with fire. He had given the group a heart attack when he had actively reached for the flames of their dinner campfire. But apart from his rising body temperature, which was definitely not a fever, there were no changes on him either.

Puffy, Tommy and George showed no changes whatsoever. It could be blamed on their time spent here, but George had been here roughly the same time as Dream, so maybe he just won't change and stay human. Probably for the best, considering how much it itches and hurts to get these new traits.

They learned to live with the changes as best as they can, most of the time just ignoring them completely. Apart from Phil's wings, the hybrid additions don't really get in their way anyways.

When the sun rose once again, three figures had already left their homes and gathered at the iron door. Technoblade had his axe strapped to his back and an iron chest-plate strapped on. He was now 6'6 and would rival Ranboo's height, if the boy would be in this world. Dream stood next to him, sword at his hip and mask on his face. His hoodie had been abandoned back in the house, feeling too warm already to keep it on. And lastly, Sapnap joined the group, stifling a yawn with his fist. His hair was messily tied away from his face with his bandanna, but he had armor on and an iron sword at his side.

Once everyone was ready, they pushed out of the iron door and left the safety of their base. The wooden path creaked underneath their feet, the water of the lake glittering in the rising sun. Peaceful, just like always after the sun burned away all the monsters of the night. They passed the large field of wheat and the finished stable, walking out into the plains. A small shadow passing over them indicated that Brian was following them, guiding and keeping watch.

The plan for today was to try and catch a horse, maybe two. A bag was slung over Dream's shoulder, full with wheat and apples for the animals as well as some rope they can use as leads. Everything depends on how easy it is to tame a horse. Maybe feeding it a bunch will be enough, maybe they have to literally drag it down, who knows. All three had agreed that if the animals were truly wild and they had to force a rope around it's neck, they will just let them be. It would be cruel to force them into submission that way.

Sure, that was the way horses used to be caught and trained, but none of them have the heart to actually hurt the animals. They already completely banned pork from the base just because they have Blade and it will probably be the same for chicken with how attached they are to Brian. Animals are just soft spots for them. Meat isn't completely off the table and they know it, but only as long as they don't have to butcher it themselves.

"How long do you think it will take to find some horses?" Sapnap looked up at the black bird circling them, then to swirling clouds on the horizon. "Looks like we might have actual rain for the first time, so I don't really want to be out when it starts." Techno huffed and scanned over the wide plains, patches of tree scattered around here and there. Some cows and sheep were visible, but no horses. "I don't know. I don't think there are any nearby, so we might have to walk quite a bit." "George and I did see a handful when we first went to look for Phil, but they probably already moved on from here."

"We just have to wait and see. Brian is helping with the search, so we will know if there are some nearby. For now we just walk and keep an eye on those clouds just in case." Sapnap grinned and stood a bit straighter, giving a mock salute and a cheery "Sir yes Sir!". Techno can't help the smile that tugged at his lips while Dream cackled under his mask.

It took more than an hour to locate a small herd. The loyal bird had spotted the animals near a small forest, peacefully munching on some grass. Once he had swooped down and cawed at them, leading them into the right direction, he perched on Techno's shoulder to rest. The group hurried towards the forest, still concerned by the growing wall of clouds at the horizon.

A total of three horses were gathered at the edge of the forest, staying in the shade as they ate. With a silent conversation through looks, some wheat and a rope was pressed into Techno's hands. The first horse would be his to catch, since apparently he was the best with animals? He doesn't quite understand the reasoning behind it, but he'll take first pick anyways. Even if they will share the horses later anyways, he can still have a favorite.

His eyes land on a horse with a beautiful chestnut color, reminding him a lot of his fictional horse Carl. Without hesitation, he began to approach the horse, clicking his tongue to gain it's attention. Dark eyes focus on him, ears perking towards him in curiosity. Carefully, a hand with wheat stretched towards the animal. The horse sniffed at the treat, slowly stepping towards him. Something in his chest warmed at the sight of the horse nibbling on the wheat, nuzzling into his hand without fear.

Slowly, he slips the rope around the horse's neck, making sure it's lose enough. The animal didn't complain, simply nudging his hand for more treats. "I know... I'll get you some more in a second." He began stroking a hand over it's muzzle, then began petting it's neck. "You're so beautiful... Thank you for trusting me." The horse nudged closer, ears still perked in interest.

Movement to his right caught his attention, where Dream was approaching a beautiful black and white horse, also bribing it with an apple. Sapnap was holding out a handful of wheat to a gray horse, looking more nervous than anything. It was understandable. Horses are strong, they could crush your bones if they wanted to.

Techno quickly grabbed another handful of wheat from Dream's bag and fed it to his horse, which he decided to indeed name Carl. He has no idea if it's a male or female and he honestly doesn't give a shit about looking. Carl will be a beautiful name no matter what.

A low rumble made him look away from the animal and towards the sky. The dark clouds were getting closer, slowly starting to cover the sun. "Are you guys good to go? We need to hurry if we want to make it home in time." "Yeah I'm good." "Yep. Let's go." Techno nodded and looked to Brian, who got the message and took to the sky, leading the way home. The three men carefully lead the horses along, who followed with no complaint. It was definitely not normal, not at all. Horses are skittish and run at the first sign of danger. They don't stand still and accept being led around with a rope.

By some sort of miracle, the first raindrops only started to fall after they spotted their base over the hill. And once they hat put the horses inside the stable, filled with food and warm hay, the downpour really started. The three laughed and giggled as they ran through the rain, racing to the door that would bring them into warm homes and dry beds.