DIEGOXSHIRA ONESHOT #4

Dream

Am I dreaming or am I just walking in my sleep? I don't believe in anything that you want me to be. But I believe in me. When everything is falling down. Pick it up. Pick it up. When everything is falling down. Pick it up. Pick it up.

I'm free. The only two words that came to me the second Diego said those six words.

"Come with us. Come with me."

Coming from anyone else, it would have had no meaning or passion to it what so ever. But Diego said it from all his heart had. That's one thing I was sure of.

A lot can change in a lifetime, but in one day, my entire life was suddenly flipped in a new direction. And I want to believe for the better.

A lot of what happened that day didn't make much sense at all. Strangely enough, I still don't quite understand the whole idea of how it all happened.

That very same day I met him. The day my life was turned around.

I still remember that exact image that day on the ship. The last day I'd ever be on it. The crew was my family. My friends. Everything I had. That's what they wanted me to believe.

All of those years. They lied to me. They pretended to be who they weren't. Why? After all these years. It's something I may never understand. But maybe it's better kept that way.

No one has ever been so concerned about me. It made me feel lonely. Like there was no one on my side. Even though the crew was right there with me, metaphorically speaking. They never understood me just like I never understood them.

Being on that frozen piece of ice for as long as I can remember, it really changed my whole personality. Getting up every morning, tired as hell, just for some stupid drills that neither me nor the rest of the crew members needed. Yet, we did as we were told without question.

I guess you could say we were a really good crew. Mostly because of how well we happened to work together, and the fact that every mammal on board had his or her own unique ability that could be put to use.

As a pirate crew, I expected, my first day on board, that we'd go plunder some more less fortunate souls. No. That happened almost never. We weren't much of a plundering type. We'd usually just sing shanties all day. God, did that annoy the hell out me.

As the days grew to an end, I would always cry myself to sleep. I kept telling myself that I deserved better. I could have a better life. I really wanted to believe that. But I just couldn't find the strength to see it that way, nor would I do anything about it. I was just a lost soul at sea, fortunate enough to find a purpose in life, if that was even considered to be one.

Being miserable on that pirate ship really affected my sleep. I would often get up in the middle of the night. Nightmares were enveloping my dreams, and it drove me crazy. Members of the crew would often check up on me whenever I completely screamed my head off as soon as I woke up from those nightmares that I would constantly have. The worst part would have to be my difficulty to breath every time waking up. I had to go through this every night. For the first couple of times, the crew was showing worry for me, and for a while, I thought that I was actually cared for.

But of course, I had my hopes up, like always. They eventually got use to it, as if it worked itself into their own dreams. Lucky bastards. At least they can get some sleep. That just went to show that they never cared for me, and I feel stupid for never realizing it until he showed up.

Despite all the nightmares I got, there was one dream I had one night that I would never forget.

I woke up. All I could see was water. The air bubbles rising in front of my eyes, slowly starting to clear out, allowing me to see in front of me. I looked up, aware that I was deeply underwater. I tried to swim to the surface, thinking that I could actually survive. As I used my paws to grasp the water, helping ascend through the water, I gave up. Not because I was out of breath, but because something else was with me. It grabbed me, and pulled me back down into the depth of what I could imagine was the ocean. I tried kicking, clawing, anything that could rid me of this creature's grasp. Sadly, it was no use. As I struggled to reach the top where air was waiting for me, the only thing that I was accomplishing was descending farther and farther down beneath the cold ocean.

Looking down below me, I tried to see who or what was dragging down to the depths of the sea.

The funny thing was, though I felt something grab on to me, nothing was there. I was just sinking. I was drowning by force. I'm not sure how much worse it could get from that.

When I thought as though I was out of oxygen, I felt myself being pulled up, and before me was a sun blazing- golden saber tooth tiger. It was him. The crazy thing though, was that I had this dream BEFORE I first met him. I never told him about this. Maybe I should.

It was just so crazy. That's the only way I can describe it. It looked EXACTLY like him, too!

So, as I looked up at him, I saw a look of happiness in his eyes, on his face, everywhere. It was there. Although I never met him before, this saber that I knew nothing about, I smiled back.

Once I did that, his face, the most beautiful face I've ever seen, suddenly turned into a depressing state. It didn't confuse me in the dream itself. It was a dream, after all. That's all that happened as I woke up, screaming my head off once again.

That sort of thing would happen to me on a nightly basis. Ya, lucky me. All those years of depression and misery, I was surprised I managed to last without completely losing it and killing myself. I was about to do it too. But that dream I had, the one where he appeared before me. For some reason, it just motivated me to keep going. I never figured it out until that day.

I remember all of it. I'll never forget the day he appeared and instantly changed my life.
The morning had a thick foggy scene when I woke up and got up on deck. One of the crew members woke me up, informing me that we have hostages in range.

Now, because of my crazy sleep disorder, I was dead tired waking up, but luckily, I've had these sleeping problems long enough to the point that I could hide my exhaustion and pretend that I'm wide awake.

As I came outside the ship, I saw the whole crew over the edge of the ship, which told me that the hostages were right there.

Jumping up on the side of the ship to see who our prisoners were, I gazed down at the mammals that I never would have guessed would be in a place such as in the middle of the ocean. I would have just gone back to sleep like I usually did and wait for the captain to scream his head off because I was still tired as hell. But I didn't. The reason why? Because he was there. And no sooner would I have expected he would change my life for ever.

At the time, I never thought about that dream I had. I really wish I would've thought about it. But I didn't, which was really strange because I would always think about that dream. Ever since I had it, it would come up in my mind when ever I was thinking to myself.

But, the scary part was, for some reason, I could feel that someday, somehow, I'll see him again, and he'll save me. He'll take me away from this hell. I'd think about this every night, making up different possibilities that could happen if I were to see him for real. It really helped me, too. I'd wake up less scared from my nightmares, and even though it was only my imagination, I felt less lonesome.

Looking down, and seeing him on that lower elevated ice platform, I've never been hooked on to anything like him. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Or at least that's what it should have been like. Unfortunately, living on that pirate ship for almost all of my life really hardened up my heart. My personality was the same thing as a rock. I really didn't have one, so I really didn't show any facial expressions or any acknowledgment to the golden saber, although I'm sure that some where inside of me, I went crazy for him the moment I laid eyes on him.

That's the sad truth of it all. Having no feelings for him what so ever. Yet, he was still trying. He was still trying to convince me that I could have a better life. That I deserved so much more, and he was the key to unlocking it all. His name is Diego. He's the toughest, most warmhearted and good looking saber I've ever seen. He was the only saber I've ever seen. I really don't remember my own parents. If there was another saber out there that would try to win me over, he'd mind as well give up, because my mind is set. The best part about him though, is how big of a Softie he is. That's the main reason why I chose to join him in the first place. Or my second reason, I guess.

Once I agreed to join him, we slowly learned more and more about each other. When ever we were alone, which was hardly ever, considering that everyone in his herd was pretty nosey about our privacy. It really got on both of our nerves. However, I could tell that Diego hated it more than I did. The first few times, it was really cute seeing him frustrated from the lack of privacy and the constant teasing that was being shot at him. But after a while, it got really old really fast. I started getting frustrated too. Well, that explains Diego's short temper a lot. Before long, I'll probably be the same way. Yet, around me, and me only, his personality is really different. It's something that I really like about him, and if I believe in one thing in this world, I have a better life, and I've got him to thank.

"Don't you get tired of that?" Diego said quietly, making sure no one was eavesdropping on us that third night on the hardly explored island. We just got done with the rest of the herd throwing immature jokes at the two of us. I won't go into detail on what they said. It's just stupid, I'll say that much.

Finally getting away from the rest of the herd, I was alone with Diego. I really loved doing this every night. Just me and him.

"Diego, I hate it just as much as you do." I say with all honesty. Diego had a look saying, "ya right".

"Trust me, you don't. I've had to deal with this since the beginning. Now, they found a whole new reason to make fun of me."

"Which is?" I ask, already a hundred percent sure of the answer, but I asked anyways.

We were walking away from the herd as we talked, and I guess Diego thought that at this point, we were far enough away from all of them, so he sat down on the soft grass below. I sat down next to him.

It was at that moment, I realized why Diego sat down. Not because of privacy. Well, I guess that too, but the real reason is because in front of us, an incredible sight laid before us. The most perfect and most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen was dimly making noise as it came in contact with the river from below, which is where Diego and I were sitting. Right at the edge of the river. I could smell the spray that the waterfall was creating. Everything felt so perfect, that I was lost in fantasy for a minute or so, until Diego answered my question.

"You." He said so suddenly.

"Huh?" I said, completely forgetting about the conversation we were having a second ago.

"You're the reason why they won't leave me alone."

"Oh, ya. Sorry, it's just that..." I started as I looked back at the waterfall before me.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He said.

That was new. New for him, at least. That's the first time I've ever heard him say a word that soft. But I guess that just goes to show how much of a Softie he really is. It's cute. It really is.

Not knowing what to say, I nod my head. I really just wanted to stare into the falls for the rest of the night until I get tired.

"Shira. I need to know something." He said sighing.

Hearing him say that really made me nervous. What could he need to know?

"Yes?" I said, wishing that I would've worded that a little differently.

"Are you..." He started, as if he were hesitating, "are you...uh, are you... happy... here?" He said, looking away. He can be really shy with these sort of things. It's just one more thing I love about him.

"Of course I am. I've always been happier ever since I went with you. Why would you think I'm not?" I said. It was the truth, in fact.

Diego looked behind him to make sure that no one was spying on them. Boy, isn't he observant. He turns back around, and faces me. He looks me directly in the eyes. It was the first time I got a really clear view of his eyes. My god, they looked amazing! I always tried to believe that nothing was impossible, but looking into his eyes made me think otherwise. I found it absolutely impossible to look away from those glazing emerald orbs. I felt so uncomfortable, yet so relaxed at the same time, if that's even possible. So many thoughts were zig-zagging through my brain, through my body and heart at that moment. My heart and every muscle and vein in my body was pulsing, I couldn't control myself. I couldn't control myself as I jumped on Diego, and started licking his face, and purring from pleasure. I didn't know what his reaction was, and I honestly didn't care. I needed to know. I had to know.

I continued licking him until I felt him pull himself away, getting up, turning around to the waterfall, and not saying anything.

Now I did it. Great job, Shira. You really couldn't control yourself. At that moment, I felt the biggest blush spread across my face. I'm not sure if he was getting the same thing. Probably not. Why'd he pull away? More importantly, why did I jump on him and do... THAT?!

"I'm sorry. Really. Diego. I didn't mean it. I just couldn't control myself." I said, trying to find and say any excuse I could think of. Sadly, they were all pretty lousy ones.

"Come with us. Come with me." He said as if he were talking to himself.

I was about to say something back until he turned around, facing me with a blush on his face.

"Why did those words make your decision?" He said with a little bit of demand in those words.

"I don't know, just because? I was at such a loss back at that cove, what was I suppose to... But still, I made the right decision, didn't I?"

Diego looked up at the sparkly skies above him.

"That's what I feel." He said, looking back down at me.

I shook my head, "Diego, can I tell you something? Something I've never told you?"

"Go ahead." He said nodding.

"Well, before I knew you. Before I ever met you, I had a dream. I was being pulled down into the ocean by something. I'm not sure what it was, but it wouldn't let me swim back up to the surface, and when I was just about out of oxygen, I got pulled up, and when I looked up, I saw-

"Me?" He interrupted.

How'd he know that?! God, nothing makes sense at all!

"I had the same dream, Shira. The same thing. Only one thing was different. Instead of seeing myself, I saw-

"Me?"

"Ya." He said smiling. It was so beautiful! Is there anything about this saber that I don't like?!

I was about to jump on him and repeat the process a second time, but I learned from the first experience and I refrained from doing so.

Just then, Diego jumps on me. He doesn't lick my face. Infact, he skips that whole process and goes straight to connecting his lips with mine. He started purring really loudly. I don't think he really cared about anyone from the herd finding him like this, and honestly, neither did I.

I started to purr loudly with him as I stared into his emerald orbs as he returned the favor into my sapphire orbs.

There's a lot of things I still don't understand in life, but I guess there's a time and a place for everything. But for now, I'll live life while I can. As best as I can. Not caring about the past, nor about the future. Only here. Only now. Forever and always.

THE END