The gentle tick of the clock on her desk was the only sound that filled the small room, announcing each second that went past the midnight hour. The window was open, letting the cool summer night's breeze in through the window, carrying with it ever so faintly the sound of the waves on the shore a few blocks away. The days had been unbearably hot recently, the gentle breeze that played games with her curtains a welcome reprieve. Despite the calm night around her, Hitomi tossed in her bed, unaware that she was doing so. It was not the first night recently that she had done so.

She dreamed.

She dreamed of a field of white flowers with purple centers like lilies, but she had never seen flowers like these before. Long stemmed, and bowing in the wind, they were vibrant, just like the sky above her. The sky was bright, a beautiful cerulean blue. Earth hung in the sky like the moon, distant and beautiful. She knew, even before she saw it, that she was back on Gaea. Since she had left two years ago, said goodbye to Van, she had often dreamed of it. She closed her eyes, feeling the sun on her face, the breeze through her hair. She almost believed it was real. But she knew it was just another of her dreams..

She opened her eyes, aware that she was no longer alone, and blue eyes looked across the field. A woman was standing there, and she was as beautiful as the flowers around them, distinct features blocked by spots of light caused by the sun on her pale skin. White hair flowed free around her, dancing on the breeze. She wore a plain dress of white and gold, but her eyes were blue; blue like the sky.

"Who are you?" asked Hitomi, her voice echoing around her. She wasn't sure if she had spoken it aloud, or thought it. The woman smiled at her, a gentle and kind smile. She turned to face her, and Hitomi caught a glimpse of a pendant around her neck. A short silver chain with a silver crest on it: a crystal of some kind with finely sculpted wings wrapped around it. The other woman moved forward, stepping through the flowers carefully, as though afraid to break one. She came to a stop just a few feet away.

The woman reached out to Hitomi, and Hitomi reached her own hand out to catch the woman's. The woman's fingers were long, beautiful. She felt no fear as she reached out to the stranger, but rather she felt safe. Like the woman was a relative or close friend. For some reason, it felt important that the connection be made: a simple contact. Just when the fingers would have touched, just when Hitomi felt she would have had the answers she wanted about who the woman was— the world was torn apart.

Fire ripped through the flowers, burning them and causing them to shrivel in on themselves. She heard screams echo around her, and felt the heat from the flames. The woman's image disappeared like the wavering lines of a mirage, and Hitomi was left on her own in the frightening scene. The beauty of the world around her was fading.

"Somebody help me! What's happening?! Please!!"

She shut her eyes, tried to block out the noise of the flames, of the screaming people. She tried to wake up. "It's just a dream, it's just a dream.. somebody please! Wake me up!"

As though answering her call, a bright light cut through the darkness and flames, the receding heat causing her to open her eyes. A bright light had filled the area, making the flames and ashes like falling snow freeze in place. A figure emerged from the flames, rising through them as though they weren't there. It was the figure of a woman, but beyond that there were no other similarities. She could see no face on the woman, no mouth through the light that she emitted, but she could see the creature's eyes. Eyes that glowed a bright blue. The creature seemed like she was made of white and purple light, her hair flying around her head viciously. She looked wild, untamed, but there was something almost... natural about her. What was this being? The fires seemed to lessen before her, as though they were shying away from something. As the last of the blaze vanished, Hitomi saw that the land was barren, all the serenity of the scene gone replaced only by a still quiet that the she-creature seemed to give off. In the silence, Hitomi felt sorrow for all that had been lost, and yet, there was a feeling to the air, as though she could feel everything moving, working to make things right again.

"What... are you?" she asked the creature, who merely tilted its head at her, regarding the human girl. She almost got the impression that it might have spoken, but the air became tense, and before she knew what was happening, cords of fire came from the sky, wrapping themselves around the creature. It fought, but more and more fiery ropes fell from the sky, binding it until it could only struggle. The creature gave out a cry, and was pulled into the sky.

As though it sensed the creature's departure, the world started to shake, and the ground beneath Hitomi began to crumble. She screamed as she fell into the darkness below.

She hit the floor of her room, tangled in her sheets, and waking with a start. She stared at her ceiling, the morning light playing its way across the white paint. She stayed there, letting herself recollect.

"That dream again," she said to herself finally, touching her chest where her pendant had once been. She sat up slowly, rubbing the back of her head. She leaned against her bed, looking at the clock on her desk. It was only seven AM. She stood up, going to the window, opening it fully. The breeze was still cool, the sun having only just risen. In a few hours, it would be boiling. Her mind flashed to images of the fire from her dream. She lowered her eyes, looking at the ground two stories below.

"Van.." she murmured quietly, a familiar and faint ache in her chest. Leaving Gaea had been difficult, but her family was on Earth. It was where she belonged. And Fate, it seemed, hadn't been willing to let them stay together. She looked up at the sky, the blue not as vibrant as it had been in her dream. "I miss you... I'm... " she looked down, eyes becoming moist. "... I'm worried..."

Something didn't feel right, and hadn't since those dreams had started.

She had a bad feeling about all this..