Northstar Vale And when I came to, I had an epiphery.

She was a peaceful child; she rarely made noise or complained. She had nothing to complain about so far—she was warm, full, and loved. She slept often, almost always curled up in her mother's armpit because it was soft and warm and she felt swathed in the scent that made her feel safe and content. 

For now, though, she was slumbering quietly next to her sister, so deeply held within the grasp of sleep that she didn't wake to her sister's stirring or even when the stirring turned to whining and rooting around for food. She couldn't even be pulled from sleep as her sister's fit had her dainty little paw scraping along her side as she searched for the milk that might soothe her discomfort. She only twitched lightly but stayed securely in her own dreamland. Areielle's dreams were not so vibrant or disconcerting; hers were blurs of muted colors that she couldn't understand because she had never actually seen anything but darkness, comforting scents of mother and sister and milk, but most of all, her dreams were composed of feelings. These feelings were ones she knew and experienced every day like hunger, warmth, coldness (this one felt very rarely), contentment, and safety. It seemed every feeling had a color she didn't know; some colors were soft and comforting while others were icy and confusing—she didn't see the uncomfortable ones very often, mostly it was only pleasant colors and feelings because that was what she experienced in her waking hours—the feelings anyway. 

It wasn't until her mother's nose brushed softly along her tiny body that she twitched again, brought partially from her sleep. And then when she felt the warm kiss offered lovingly against her velvety fur, she twitched more and stirred, this time quietly waking. She wanted to be in her spot, and she wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep here or if she had migrated here unconsciously. There was no complaining, though, she just quietly nosed her way along her mother's warm abdomen until she found the place she wanted. Her weak legs swam against the ground as she pushed her way into the warm crevice, ceasing their movement only when she wedged comfortably in her spot once more. Within seconds, she was asleep again, colors and feelings drifting through her underdeveloped mind once more.