This is my first ever SQ story. I'm not sure that I'll even finish it, but I'll try. I've actually got ideas for where I want this to go. There is no beta so all mistakes are my own. Standard disclaimer applies; I own nothing regarding OUAT I just simply like to take the characters outside to play.

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Chapter 1

What Dreams May Come

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She was running. She had a brief moment of thought that this wasn't Storybrooke, but that thought became buried as she ran. The jungle around her was a cacophony of sounds and colors; there were wide leafed ferns, and vines dangling from the canopy above. She could feel the warm rain that dripped from the high leaves, the soft mulch-like earth beneath her paws and the air that rushed past her face as she all but flew along the bases of giant trees.

She was grace personified. Fluid movements added to her poise and beauty as she lept over a fallen tree with nary a stumble. She was free. Up ahead she could see more light filtering through the trees as it dappled in larger patches along the now sodden ground. Finally, she came to a break in the dense foliage and slowed to a stop as she approached the cliff just beyond the break, her sides heaving and midnight coat gleaming.

Sitting on her haunches along the edge, she looked upon the endless jungle before her. The rain had stopped almost as suddenly as it started and sunlight began to break through the low clouds lighting up the carpet of green before her in interspersed pockets. In the distance, a flock of large billed birds launched themselves into the sky in a sudden flurry.

It was beautiful, this wild home of hers. Home. The word rattled around her head and felt wrong but also so very right. Yes, this was her home. She sat there and gazed upon it for a long while. As the sun began to set, she thought she could hear a lone call in the far distance. It was, however, too far to be able to make out. Only a few minutes later, she heard the call again. This time, it was closer and she let loose a predatory, feline smile. She'd been getting wafts of this other being as she ran, and, however fleeting the scent, she recognized it as her mate.

Quickly she stood and looked out over the ledge once more as the last vestiges of sunlight painted the jungle a wild array of golds, yellows and oranges. When the call sounded a third time and decidedly nearer, she was ready. She and her mate would finally meet. With this in mind, she bellowed out a deep call of her own, then sat back and waited.

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Emma woke with a start breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. Glancing at the clock, she noted that it read about half past four. Summer was upon them and the sky was already bright enough to begin lighting her house with a vague twilight.

She could only remember snippets of her dream; bright colors, and a huge flock of what looked like rainbow colored parrots. She had stumbled across them as she was navigating through what she thought might be a jungle. Emma remembered that she wasn't scared even though she had no idea where she was. More and more flashes of her dream came to her and she pulled out a notebook from the stand next to her bed to record all she could remember. There was a sudden downpour of rain and instead of being annoyed by it, she felt rejuvenated. Alive even. It was intoxicating. She began to run. There was no destination, just a sudden desire to express this freedom, this exuberance of being alive. So she ran.

The rain had ended shortly after it began and though it was short lived, it left many puddles that she found herself stomping through. If she'd had the ability to laugh while doing it, she would have done so. After running a fair distance, Emma realized there was a familiar scent on the breeze. Putting her nose to the air, she sniffed. Her mate. She let out a loud call, calling to her. Once again putting her nose to the air, she judged which direction the scent was coming from and set off at a canter.

Emma was writing in her journal furiously at this point, having remembered all of the details. She recalled running through the heavy brush without a care as to what was around her. She had only the desire to find her mate. Stopping to sniff the air again, she let off another call. Her mate was closer, but still not yet close enough. Again, she set off, only this time it was at a dead run. Flying through the trees, she kept her nose to the scent, following it as she wound her way up a steep slope. At the top, Emma paused to catch her breath and let out a final call.

There was an answer this time and it sent shivers down Emma's spine. She trotted through the foliage and came upon the most beautiful sight. The trees had thinned to nothing and the cliff overlooked the jungle she had just run through. The sun had almost fully set leaving only purple and indigo in the night sky. She inhaled the warm tropical air and came to the edge of the cliff where the most beautiful panther she had ever seen lied seemingly in wait.

This was it. Emma had found her. Her mate.

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A/N Let me know what you think!