Post by Therdde on Sept 17, 2008 22:04:26 GMT -5
In which Kein and Nayeli share a dream. Note: None of this actually occurred.
Characters:
Kein - Male Adolescent Cougar
Nayeli - Female Adolescent Cougar
- Stone Formations -
Absolutely anything seems logical in the dream world, and so it does not cause Kein any concern that he has found himself back in Amaranth, that he has apparently lost either days or weeks. He can't remember any details from when they left the oasis, or about where his family is, but he's certain they did and his family is safe, at least for now. After all, he would /remember/ if something bad happened to them... Right? What does cause him concern is that it is late. The sun has begun to set, causing the stone formations to cast long shadows throughout the clearing, offering plenty of hiding places for cougar-killing wolves or Chesmu. The angry reds and oranges the setting sun has painted the sky don't do anything to calm the youthful cougar, and so he is tense as he walks through the formations, heading back towards the cave in which he was born. Back towards safety, where his family certain is. He could almost definitely hold his own against any one wolf, even an adult one, anymore, but wolves do not travel alone if they can help it, and he /can't/ take on Chesmu by himself. Not yet, no matter how much the Amaranth chieftain deserves it.
It's almost an odd afterthought to Nayeli: the fact that she's dreaming at all. It's been so long since her last dream that she could almost imagine that dreams simply didn't happen to her anymore. Thus, there is a freshness and realness to this particular dream that makes every detail stand out in her mind. All her senses seem to be on overload as she notices every color, every shadow, every scent, every sound... it almost feels as though she can read the thoughts of the various stones jutting up from the ground around her. Maybe she can. It's a dream after all, isn't it? And for that matter, how did she end up here? This isn't where she fell asleep. Why here? She's sitting in the very center of the inner formation, staring off into the distance. Why this particular direction? What's she looking for? Nayeli can't think of any reason why... she just is.
Unlike Nayeli, Kein has not yet realized that he's dreaming. He might eventually, but right now, getting back to his family seems a more important task than picking at things that don't make sense, and much of his attention is devoted to looking for any signs of potential danger. He gets one too, a moment after passing by one of the large stones, spotting the form of a cougar through them. He first spots Nayeli out of the corner of his eye, and he stops walking very abruptly and turns to face her, unable to keep himself from crouching just a little before he is able to process the facts that this cougar is not large enough, or even the right gender, to be the one cougar, in particular, he feels could be a serious threat to him.
What else can happen during a dream? Could she fly? Of course, that also begs the questions of /would/ she want to, and does she even know how to? Hmm. Nayeli continues staring straight ahead. How long is this dream going to last? Does she have enough time to go anywhere and still return in time? Or would waking up return her? There are so many fascinating ideas and possibilities, Nayeli is almost afraid to move, lest she shatter the dream and wake up suddenly. It's a tentative rotation of her head to survey the half of the stone formations on her left side. It /looks/ like what she remembers it to look like. She starts to turn to the other side to complete her survey of the area. Wait... is that another creature over there? It's hard to tell, that deep into one of the shadows, but.. it /looks/ like another cougar.
Kein does not growl, or run away, or spring forward, or anything of the sort, because before he could do any of those things, he is capable of telling that this creature is not an adult. He remains just slightly crouched, as he was before, while he tries to think of what he should do. He wants to be back with his family, but... As usual with his dreams, if he shouldn't be running away from something, he should be exploring it. His dreams remain fairly true to real life in that way, even if he doesn't always have as much conscious choice in the matter. He has had plenty of dreams in the past where he'd have preferred to ignore what he instead examined. For example, if this plays out like most of his dreams as late, it will be Ruut'h waiting for him, not Nayeli, and he would prefer to avoid that, but he feels driven to look. As such, he begins moving forward, his body still somewhat tense as he does. Before he can make out any details about the cougar, he says, "Hello?"
It's moving forward. Toward her. It's talking. It's /talking/ to her! Nayeli wasn't expecting anything of the sort, although she does have to admit that it makes perfect sense. It's another cougar--why wouldn't it talk to her? It's a him, from the sound of it, but it's not Daddy. Or Yuma. So... who else could it be? She feels curiosity more than fear, though not enough to simply bound over and see who it is. "Hello?" the girl calls back, still trying to make out visual details. It's not easy, with the shadows playing tricks on her eyes. "Who are you?" Her second question is a little more confident than the first, and now she's turned around to face toward the slowly approaching cougar.
That is definitely not Ruut'h's voice, so Kein continues forward. He can see the girl cougar fairly well by the time he stops walking, no more than ten feet away from her, but it has been so long that he does not recognize her. If he had ever expected Nayeli to appear in one of his dreams, he would have expected her to appear as a cub, as Ruut'h does. While, by now, a few things, like the way nothing seems to really have a distinctive scent, have begun to stick at him, demanding that he should realize that none of this is actually happening, seeing a cougar he does not recognize fits in so well with the realism of this dream that he has not yet admitted to himself that he must still be sleeping near the oasis. Only after he stops walking does he speak. "I'm Kein. Who're you?"
Kein. Oh.. great.. stars.. Nayeli can feel her jaw dropping slightly as she now begins to slowly back away. Kein! /Kein/!! "No!" she yells, taking a larger step back. "It.. it can't be you! This is a dream.. so.. go away! Now!" She can make him go away, can't she? If this is her dream? But there's a great disconnect between knowing that this is her dream to knowing how to make the dream do what she wants it to. Kein. No. It can't be Kein. Not in her dream. Not ever.
That was most certainly not what the boy was expecting as an answer. He can't help but jump a little when the other cougar starts yelling at him suddenly. He most certainly does not go away, though. In fact, other than that jump, he doesn't move at all, neither forward nor backward, even though this cougar backs away from him. He still doesn't know who this cougar is, not for certain, but... He could venture a guess. His tone is more subdued than hers, when he speaks, but still loud enough to be heard. "But, I..." Is this a dream? And if this is a dream... If this is /his/ dream... Then it's no surprise Nayeli wants nothing to do with him. The idea that it's a dream doesn't make that rejection sting any less. Neither does the fact that he /knew/ she would react that way. In a moment, his shoulders slump, and his expression changes from confusion to defeat. He doesn't expect this to get any better, but he tries. Half-heartedly, but still... "I'm not going to hurt you." Ever again. Not if he can help it.
"You've already hurt me!" Nayeli doesn't so much fear him hurting her /now/--the damage has already been done! With a choked sob, she turns around and dashes off toward the treeline, seeming to slump as she goes. This isn't fair. Kein already hurt her deeply once, and now he has to come into her dream--her /only/ dream in what seems like forever!--and ruin it like this? As she passes the outer ring of stones, she's tempted to stop and see if he followed her.. but then decides against it. No. She'll just keep running. Whatever it takes to get away from him.
Kein doesn't chase after the girl. He hadn't hoped for that to work to begin with, and so her reaction isn't surprising. Heart-breaking, but not surprising. No amount of telling himself what Nayeli told him, that this is only a dream, could possibly restore any hope he might have had for rebuilding his relationship with his former friend, and while his heart feels like it's about to shatter and tears sting at his eyes, he can't even begin to consider continuing on his way towards the cave. Right this minute, he'd just prefer to lie down here and wait until lack of food or water kills him. Or he wakes up.
Her own emotions are in a complete turmoil. Even as she sprints into the comforting cover of the trees, her mind is flashing back and forth between that terrible day when Kein said those terrible words, and the events of just a moment ago when he dared to intrude into her dream. It's only a few seconds later when she realizes that something is oddly wrong. Instead of continuing on into deeper woods, she's approaching the edge of the trees... and before she realizes it, she's now at the treeline, staring straight ahead at the all-too-familiar stone formations. And now all-too-familiar form of a male cougar. Kein. She lets out a startled yelp before turning around and running off again. Somehow she must have gotten turned around in the woods--it's the only explanation.
Were it not for that yelp, Kein might have never noticed that Nayeli had returned unexpectedly. The yelp draws him out of his very momentary depression, and he spins to face her direction just in time to see her run off again. Even having accepted that this might well be a dream, he assumes much the same thing she does. The girl is so upset by his arrival that she has lost her sense of direction. She's running in circles, and she may well continue to do so. This time, though, he does not simply let her leave. He takes a step after her and says, "Nayeli, wait! Stop, please!" She can stay here. He'll leave. He just doesn't want to be the cause of her getting herself turned around, lost... And at the mercy of something truly vicious, like the last time he upset a girl cougar into running in some random direction.
Wait? Stop? No! Nayeli races forward, confident now that she's leaving Kein behind. She'll head over to where she had fallen asleep, and see if there's some way she can leave this dream. She can already see a clearing up ahead... odd. Shouldn't it be farther away? As she gets closer, she starts to make out familiar details. No. No...! How is Kein doing this? He's trapping her in this area! Instead of turning around now, she takes one step out from the treeline and yells at the male, "Stop forcing me to come back! Just let me go!"
Kein doesn't give chase, and he frowns as she continues running. He just stares at the trees, right up until he can hear her behind him again. This time, he was actually paying attention, and how quickly she winds up behind him surprises him. Again, he turns to face her, laying his ears back as she yells at him. He makes no attempt to defend himself verbally. Rather, he lowers his head as he continues to fight at the tears stinging at his eyes. Let her go? He has tried to let her go a million times since he first shouted at her, those many months ago. Every time he feels like he might be getting close, someone comes along to destroy that. How is he supposed to let her go, to forget about her? His voice is still quiet, lacking any anger, when he responds. "Just... Just stay, Nayeli. /I'll/ leave. You stay here." It's only fair. This is her home. It isn't his, anymore. Besides, it would seem like it's the best way to make sure she stays safe.
For someone who's intruded in her dream and announced his presence in such a way, Kein sure doesn't seem excited to see her or interested in conversation. That's a relief, at least. Nayeli sure doesn't want to talk either. She's really baffled as to how Kein is keeping her trapped in this clearing of stones, but she does find it slightly eerie. There's enough of this dream that she doesn't understand or feel comfortable with already, and now this? "Fine, then. Leave." There's no gloating in her voice or anything other than just annoyed--and tired--relief.
Kein doesn't leave immediately. Oh, he will, but... Now that he has her staying here, instead of running off to get herself hurt, he says, "I'm really sorry, Nayeli." He doesn't expect this to be any better than when he promised he wouldn't hurt her, but he promised his mother he would apologize, and whether this is a dream or not, it doesn't seem right to walk away without doing so. "For everything." For his stupid, angry comment a lifetime ago, for interupting her here, and for things she doesn't even know about. After speaking, he turns around. He doesn't care where he goes, so long as it is not here.
Nayeli is very much tempted to snap something back about not caring how sorry he is, but... she can't. As much as Kein's apology, in her mind, is too little too late, it at least demonstrates that he apparently didn't come here to mock her or tease her... or deeply hurt her again. She just gives a tiny nod, near-tearing eye watching him depart across the other side of the clearing. Should she move back into the center of the stone formations? No.. she'll just wait right where she is, at the treeline. As far away from Kein as possible.
Kein doesn't see the nod. Unlike Nayeli, his departure is much slower. He couldn't run, or do /anything/ energetic, if his life depended on it, right now. He just walks, reasonably straight, altering his path only to avoid any trees in his way. He's not sure how far away is far enough, or even that it matters. Surely he'llwake up eventually, and until then... Well, he can just keep walking.
As Kein disappears from view, Nayeli finally just collapses down onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Tears stream down her cheekfur as she lets out all the held-back emotion, frustration, and sorrow that she's been carrying ever since that day. For sure, she cried herself to sleep many times after that, but nothing had really allowed her the emotional release that she needed. Until now, anyway.
Characters:
Kein - Male Adolescent Cougar
Nayeli - Female Adolescent Cougar
- Stone Formations -
Absolutely anything seems logical in the dream world, and so it does not cause Kein any concern that he has found himself back in Amaranth, that he has apparently lost either days or weeks. He can't remember any details from when they left the oasis, or about where his family is, but he's certain they did and his family is safe, at least for now. After all, he would /remember/ if something bad happened to them... Right? What does cause him concern is that it is late. The sun has begun to set, causing the stone formations to cast long shadows throughout the clearing, offering plenty of hiding places for cougar-killing wolves or Chesmu. The angry reds and oranges the setting sun has painted the sky don't do anything to calm the youthful cougar, and so he is tense as he walks through the formations, heading back towards the cave in which he was born. Back towards safety, where his family certain is. He could almost definitely hold his own against any one wolf, even an adult one, anymore, but wolves do not travel alone if they can help it, and he /can't/ take on Chesmu by himself. Not yet, no matter how much the Amaranth chieftain deserves it.
It's almost an odd afterthought to Nayeli: the fact that she's dreaming at all. It's been so long since her last dream that she could almost imagine that dreams simply didn't happen to her anymore. Thus, there is a freshness and realness to this particular dream that makes every detail stand out in her mind. All her senses seem to be on overload as she notices every color, every shadow, every scent, every sound... it almost feels as though she can read the thoughts of the various stones jutting up from the ground around her. Maybe she can. It's a dream after all, isn't it? And for that matter, how did she end up here? This isn't where she fell asleep. Why here? She's sitting in the very center of the inner formation, staring off into the distance. Why this particular direction? What's she looking for? Nayeli can't think of any reason why... she just is.
Unlike Nayeli, Kein has not yet realized that he's dreaming. He might eventually, but right now, getting back to his family seems a more important task than picking at things that don't make sense, and much of his attention is devoted to looking for any signs of potential danger. He gets one too, a moment after passing by one of the large stones, spotting the form of a cougar through them. He first spots Nayeli out of the corner of his eye, and he stops walking very abruptly and turns to face her, unable to keep himself from crouching just a little before he is able to process the facts that this cougar is not large enough, or even the right gender, to be the one cougar, in particular, he feels could be a serious threat to him.
What else can happen during a dream? Could she fly? Of course, that also begs the questions of /would/ she want to, and does she even know how to? Hmm. Nayeli continues staring straight ahead. How long is this dream going to last? Does she have enough time to go anywhere and still return in time? Or would waking up return her? There are so many fascinating ideas and possibilities, Nayeli is almost afraid to move, lest she shatter the dream and wake up suddenly. It's a tentative rotation of her head to survey the half of the stone formations on her left side. It /looks/ like what she remembers it to look like. She starts to turn to the other side to complete her survey of the area. Wait... is that another creature over there? It's hard to tell, that deep into one of the shadows, but.. it /looks/ like another cougar.
Kein does not growl, or run away, or spring forward, or anything of the sort, because before he could do any of those things, he is capable of telling that this creature is not an adult. He remains just slightly crouched, as he was before, while he tries to think of what he should do. He wants to be back with his family, but... As usual with his dreams, if he shouldn't be running away from something, he should be exploring it. His dreams remain fairly true to real life in that way, even if he doesn't always have as much conscious choice in the matter. He has had plenty of dreams in the past where he'd have preferred to ignore what he instead examined. For example, if this plays out like most of his dreams as late, it will be Ruut'h waiting for him, not Nayeli, and he would prefer to avoid that, but he feels driven to look. As such, he begins moving forward, his body still somewhat tense as he does. Before he can make out any details about the cougar, he says, "Hello?"
It's moving forward. Toward her. It's talking. It's /talking/ to her! Nayeli wasn't expecting anything of the sort, although she does have to admit that it makes perfect sense. It's another cougar--why wouldn't it talk to her? It's a him, from the sound of it, but it's not Daddy. Or Yuma. So... who else could it be? She feels curiosity more than fear, though not enough to simply bound over and see who it is. "Hello?" the girl calls back, still trying to make out visual details. It's not easy, with the shadows playing tricks on her eyes. "Who are you?" Her second question is a little more confident than the first, and now she's turned around to face toward the slowly approaching cougar.
That is definitely not Ruut'h's voice, so Kein continues forward. He can see the girl cougar fairly well by the time he stops walking, no more than ten feet away from her, but it has been so long that he does not recognize her. If he had ever expected Nayeli to appear in one of his dreams, he would have expected her to appear as a cub, as Ruut'h does. While, by now, a few things, like the way nothing seems to really have a distinctive scent, have begun to stick at him, demanding that he should realize that none of this is actually happening, seeing a cougar he does not recognize fits in so well with the realism of this dream that he has not yet admitted to himself that he must still be sleeping near the oasis. Only after he stops walking does he speak. "I'm Kein. Who're you?"
Kein. Oh.. great.. stars.. Nayeli can feel her jaw dropping slightly as she now begins to slowly back away. Kein! /Kein/!! "No!" she yells, taking a larger step back. "It.. it can't be you! This is a dream.. so.. go away! Now!" She can make him go away, can't she? If this is her dream? But there's a great disconnect between knowing that this is her dream to knowing how to make the dream do what she wants it to. Kein. No. It can't be Kein. Not in her dream. Not ever.
That was most certainly not what the boy was expecting as an answer. He can't help but jump a little when the other cougar starts yelling at him suddenly. He most certainly does not go away, though. In fact, other than that jump, he doesn't move at all, neither forward nor backward, even though this cougar backs away from him. He still doesn't know who this cougar is, not for certain, but... He could venture a guess. His tone is more subdued than hers, when he speaks, but still loud enough to be heard. "But, I..." Is this a dream? And if this is a dream... If this is /his/ dream... Then it's no surprise Nayeli wants nothing to do with him. The idea that it's a dream doesn't make that rejection sting any less. Neither does the fact that he /knew/ she would react that way. In a moment, his shoulders slump, and his expression changes from confusion to defeat. He doesn't expect this to get any better, but he tries. Half-heartedly, but still... "I'm not going to hurt you." Ever again. Not if he can help it.
"You've already hurt me!" Nayeli doesn't so much fear him hurting her /now/--the damage has already been done! With a choked sob, she turns around and dashes off toward the treeline, seeming to slump as she goes. This isn't fair. Kein already hurt her deeply once, and now he has to come into her dream--her /only/ dream in what seems like forever!--and ruin it like this? As she passes the outer ring of stones, she's tempted to stop and see if he followed her.. but then decides against it. No. She'll just keep running. Whatever it takes to get away from him.
Kein doesn't chase after the girl. He hadn't hoped for that to work to begin with, and so her reaction isn't surprising. Heart-breaking, but not surprising. No amount of telling himself what Nayeli told him, that this is only a dream, could possibly restore any hope he might have had for rebuilding his relationship with his former friend, and while his heart feels like it's about to shatter and tears sting at his eyes, he can't even begin to consider continuing on his way towards the cave. Right this minute, he'd just prefer to lie down here and wait until lack of food or water kills him. Or he wakes up.
Her own emotions are in a complete turmoil. Even as she sprints into the comforting cover of the trees, her mind is flashing back and forth between that terrible day when Kein said those terrible words, and the events of just a moment ago when he dared to intrude into her dream. It's only a few seconds later when she realizes that something is oddly wrong. Instead of continuing on into deeper woods, she's approaching the edge of the trees... and before she realizes it, she's now at the treeline, staring straight ahead at the all-too-familiar stone formations. And now all-too-familiar form of a male cougar. Kein. She lets out a startled yelp before turning around and running off again. Somehow she must have gotten turned around in the woods--it's the only explanation.
Were it not for that yelp, Kein might have never noticed that Nayeli had returned unexpectedly. The yelp draws him out of his very momentary depression, and he spins to face her direction just in time to see her run off again. Even having accepted that this might well be a dream, he assumes much the same thing she does. The girl is so upset by his arrival that she has lost her sense of direction. She's running in circles, and she may well continue to do so. This time, though, he does not simply let her leave. He takes a step after her and says, "Nayeli, wait! Stop, please!" She can stay here. He'll leave. He just doesn't want to be the cause of her getting herself turned around, lost... And at the mercy of something truly vicious, like the last time he upset a girl cougar into running in some random direction.
Wait? Stop? No! Nayeli races forward, confident now that she's leaving Kein behind. She'll head over to where she had fallen asleep, and see if there's some way she can leave this dream. She can already see a clearing up ahead... odd. Shouldn't it be farther away? As she gets closer, she starts to make out familiar details. No. No...! How is Kein doing this? He's trapping her in this area! Instead of turning around now, she takes one step out from the treeline and yells at the male, "Stop forcing me to come back! Just let me go!"
Kein doesn't give chase, and he frowns as she continues running. He just stares at the trees, right up until he can hear her behind him again. This time, he was actually paying attention, and how quickly she winds up behind him surprises him. Again, he turns to face her, laying his ears back as she yells at him. He makes no attempt to defend himself verbally. Rather, he lowers his head as he continues to fight at the tears stinging at his eyes. Let her go? He has tried to let her go a million times since he first shouted at her, those many months ago. Every time he feels like he might be getting close, someone comes along to destroy that. How is he supposed to let her go, to forget about her? His voice is still quiet, lacking any anger, when he responds. "Just... Just stay, Nayeli. /I'll/ leave. You stay here." It's only fair. This is her home. It isn't his, anymore. Besides, it would seem like it's the best way to make sure she stays safe.
For someone who's intruded in her dream and announced his presence in such a way, Kein sure doesn't seem excited to see her or interested in conversation. That's a relief, at least. Nayeli sure doesn't want to talk either. She's really baffled as to how Kein is keeping her trapped in this clearing of stones, but she does find it slightly eerie. There's enough of this dream that she doesn't understand or feel comfortable with already, and now this? "Fine, then. Leave." There's no gloating in her voice or anything other than just annoyed--and tired--relief.
Kein doesn't leave immediately. Oh, he will, but... Now that he has her staying here, instead of running off to get herself hurt, he says, "I'm really sorry, Nayeli." He doesn't expect this to be any better than when he promised he wouldn't hurt her, but he promised his mother he would apologize, and whether this is a dream or not, it doesn't seem right to walk away without doing so. "For everything." For his stupid, angry comment a lifetime ago, for interupting her here, and for things she doesn't even know about. After speaking, he turns around. He doesn't care where he goes, so long as it is not here.
Nayeli is very much tempted to snap something back about not caring how sorry he is, but... she can't. As much as Kein's apology, in her mind, is too little too late, it at least demonstrates that he apparently didn't come here to mock her or tease her... or deeply hurt her again. She just gives a tiny nod, near-tearing eye watching him depart across the other side of the clearing. Should she move back into the center of the stone formations? No.. she'll just wait right where she is, at the treeline. As far away from Kein as possible.
Kein doesn't see the nod. Unlike Nayeli, his departure is much slower. He couldn't run, or do /anything/ energetic, if his life depended on it, right now. He just walks, reasonably straight, altering his path only to avoid any trees in his way. He's not sure how far away is far enough, or even that it matters. Surely he'llwake up eventually, and until then... Well, he can just keep walking.
As Kein disappears from view, Nayeli finally just collapses down onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Tears stream down her cheekfur as she lets out all the held-back emotion, frustration, and sorrow that she's been carrying ever since that day. For sure, she cried herself to sleep many times after that, but nothing had really allowed her the emotional release that she needed. Until now, anyway.