The information that Kisu had given her was heavy and of a nature quite beyond the girl's processing capabilities. She needed time for her reality to sink in, and so she had made her way to the rendezvous site, the picture of a shattered youth. Any who tried to console her were brushed away, until finally the child sunk into fitful sleep, during which she dreamed her first (and only) dream about her mother.
She thought she was still awake when the sound of trickling water made her ears twitch. Unfurling her tail and lifting her head, the cub blinked sleep from her eyes and cast around her for the cause of the subtle commotion. The wolves who had been present when she fell asleep were no longer there... She figured they must have gone hunting, or were meeting somewhere for some other purpose. As logical as it should have been to seek them out, Saēna made no motion to do that.
Instead, she slowly stood up and shook out her fur... And froze when a sudden sight at the edge of the clearing caught her eyes. It was a wolf, white and dusky black with heterochromia, who mingled at the edge of the wood with a very strange, very large bird. Panic squeezed Saēna's heart as she remembered the goose that had attacked Junior several weeks prior, and then the heartache of her sister's death replaced it. “Look out!” Saēna cried, loping hurriedly toward the white and black speckled wolf... But before she could reach them, both entities disappeared.
In their place materialized a great bear of white and blue, with mouth agape in a wide smile. Saēna's ears fell back against her scalp as she backpedaled, but the bear held her in thrall. Her rump connected with something soft and plush, and she whirled around, putting both the bear and the strange dog-faced swan that stood behind her perpendicular to herself. Both were watching her expectantly.
“She has come,” the bear observed, earning a nod from the weird bird. Saēna opened her mouth to ask what was happening, but a rush of wind seemed to stop any sound from ever emerging. “She is ready.” The bear took a few lumbering steps backward, leaving room for the swan-dog to step forward.
“You are the prophesied vessel. She named you in my honour as I said,” proclaimed the swan-dog. Saēna protested with a muffled whine, kicking her legs and wanting desperately for things to go back the way they had been before. Was this the world that Tytonidae lived in? Was this what her tortured (in Saēna's opinion) sister experienced, day in and day out? “I am You,” said the swan-dog, “and We will right all wrongs. You will resist... But then, you will accept. You will become Us.”
Before she could do anything about it, the swan creature shrank until it was the size of a small fly, and with alarming speed, flew into her gaping mouth. It shot down her throat, causing Saēna to cough and choke and flounder on the ground as a sudden heat spread through her breast...
With a startled cry, Pied's only daughter shot awake, coughing against the non-existent sensation of drowning. It took a moment for her heart to slow and for her to realize it was only a dream... A dream brought on by the weight of what Kisu had told her, and by her own stress and confusion. Nothing but a dream.
Still, knowing it wasn't real didn't comfort her back into sleep. Eventually, she rose and headed off for the spring she and Pura had discovered, thoroughly shaken by what she had dreamt.
She thought she was still awake when the sound of trickling water made her ears twitch. Unfurling her tail and lifting her head, the cub blinked sleep from her eyes and cast around her for the cause of the subtle commotion. The wolves who had been present when she fell asleep were no longer there... She figured they must have gone hunting, or were meeting somewhere for some other purpose. As logical as it should have been to seek them out, Saēna made no motion to do that.
Instead, she slowly stood up and shook out her fur... And froze when a sudden sight at the edge of the clearing caught her eyes. It was a wolf, white and dusky black with heterochromia, who mingled at the edge of the wood with a very strange, very large bird. Panic squeezed Saēna's heart as she remembered the goose that had attacked Junior several weeks prior, and then the heartache of her sister's death replaced it. “Look out!” Saēna cried, loping hurriedly toward the white and black speckled wolf... But before she could reach them, both entities disappeared.
In their place materialized a great bear of white and blue, with mouth agape in a wide smile. Saēna's ears fell back against her scalp as she backpedaled, but the bear held her in thrall. Her rump connected with something soft and plush, and she whirled around, putting both the bear and the strange dog-faced swan that stood behind her perpendicular to herself. Both were watching her expectantly.
“She has come,” the bear observed, earning a nod from the weird bird. Saēna opened her mouth to ask what was happening, but a rush of wind seemed to stop any sound from ever emerging. “She is ready.” The bear took a few lumbering steps backward, leaving room for the swan-dog to step forward.
“You are the prophesied vessel. She named you in my honour as I said,” proclaimed the swan-dog. Saēna protested with a muffled whine, kicking her legs and wanting desperately for things to go back the way they had been before. Was this the world that Tytonidae lived in? Was this what her tortured (in Saēna's opinion) sister experienced, day in and day out? “I am You,” said the swan-dog, “and We will right all wrongs. You will resist... But then, you will accept. You will become Us.”
Before she could do anything about it, the swan creature shrank until it was the size of a small fly, and with alarming speed, flew into her gaping mouth. It shot down her throat, causing Saēna to cough and choke and flounder on the ground as a sudden heat spread through her breast...
With a startled cry, Pied's only daughter shot awake, coughing against the non-existent sensation of drowning. It took a moment for her heart to slow and for her to realize it was only a dream... A dream brought on by the weight of what Kisu had told her, and by her own stress and confusion. Nothing but a dream.
Still, knowing it wasn't real didn't comfort her back into sleep. Eventually, she rose and headed off for the spring she and Pura had discovered, thoroughly shaken by what she had dreamt.
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