With a gasp, Flisety shot up, her head swimming as she snapped it upright. Her eyes flicked open, then squeezed closed again, momentarily blinded by the harsh sunlight filtering through the window. With it came a light breeze she leaned into, welcoming of its chill. Heat pounded through her veins.
A dream. That was all it had been. Already, she could feel it fade into disconnected fragments, sinking to a place far from the front of her mind. Only to pounce on her once again whenever she next entered sleep’s void.
Shaking herself, she rose, pacing a tight circle on her bedding. Her heart still raced. Tension clutched at her muscles, brought on by the violet flashes that came with every blink.
The dream always ended in a jolt, tossing her back into consciousness before the chasing sting could leave her claws. But something was new this time. In a lingering flicker, she recalled a voice cutting away the darkness. A voice she couldn’t quite place, but knew she should recognise. A real voice.
A voice that was something more than an echo of the past.
Her snout creased into a frown as she clung onto its tone. Every bit of her focus went into it, for it was the only part of her dream she could bear to let herself dwell on.
“Got you!”
Flisety felt her paws leave the wooden floorboards as her shock snatched her breath away. Wildly, she spun around, and in the movement a memory grasped her, tugging her down into her mind.
When her eyes locked onto a pink wolf, still half-concealed by the doorway, she expected to see a different face staring back at her.
For a moment, she was somewhere else entirely. Grass tickled her paws. Laughter burst from her chest, uncontrolled, alive with its freedom. And before her stood another pink wolf, a smile gradually melting from his surprise, before he shot her a look of accusation.
“Fliss! That was not funny!”
“It was.” Flisety knew her response as if it were rehearsed.
Yet as she heard her own voice, loud and clear, sail through the air, it shattered the valley’s image. The wolf was replaced by another, and in that brief moment, disappointment was heavy in her heart.
It was Kalia who stood by the entrance, in the midst of a fit of giggles. A friendly face, but not the one Flisety wished to see. Her chuckle died in her throat.
Kalia shot her a quizzical glance. “What?” she asked, failing to pause her shaking laughter.
Shaking herself hard, Flisety forced a smile. “Nothing.” Nothing at all, for the wolf she wanted was impossible to bring back.
Once she’d gained control of her giggles, Kalia rose, though her eyes still sparkled with mischief. “Well, your face was priceless.” She chuckled again, and Flisety joined her. It was fake, but it was there.
“I guess I should thank you for the gentle wake-up call,” Flisety said dryly as she followed Kalia from the hut. In truth, it was a genuine thanks; she was glad to be free of her dream’s grip.
Kalia shrugged. “I tried to be gentle at first. You were really deeply asleep.” She stopped, a brief curiosity crossing her eyes. “And sort of… twitching, too. Were you dreaming?” She resumed her walk, bouncing a little. “Do tell me about your dream! I never get them, so I love to hear about others.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Flisety tilted away from Kalia’s gaze. “I… I don’t really remember.”
“Ah. Don’t worry about it then.” Kalia nudged Flisety’s shoulder, her playful nature dissipating as her eyes narrowed. “You alright? I didn’t scare you too much this morning, did I?”
With a faint smile, Flisety turned back to meet her eyes. She gave a firm nod. “I’m fine. You’re not scary enough to unsettle me.” She bumped into Kalia’s side, producing a tinkling laugh from her neighbour.
“I can be scary enough,” Kalia protested, sinking into a prowling crouch as she flashed her fangs. She was up again in an instant, twirling into the middle of the street. “Anyway, I didn’t want to let you sleep too long because I have an action-packed day planned for us.” She flicked her tail towards the path to the right, the one Flisety had first entered along the previous day. “Get ready, Flisety, because you’re going to see all of Lunerda! Or the best bits, because it’s too big to cover in a single day.”
Shaking away the last remnants of her dream, Flisety bounded after Kalia. She felt a fraction of the previous day’s excitement return, an increasing fizz building in her stomach. She slid in alongside Kalia, determined to keep pace. “Sounds great! I can’t wait to see what you have planned.”
“But you’re going to have to.” Kalia’s eyes sparkled.
Flisety always had loved surprises, and so she forced herself not to question her new friend any further. Yet that didn’t prevent the rush of thoughts their silence brought. She did her best to focus on the anticipation of the day ahead, or the trail they tracked as they weaved their way out of the Aest Ring, or the white streaks of cloud gradually thickening amongst the crystal-blue sky. Anything in the present.
Anything that steered her away from the past.
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