My apologies, Dearies!
It seems that I have missed my self-imposed deadline of posting on Fridays this week!
I hope you can forgive me… but believe me- I think this chapter will be worth the wait!
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As always- thanks to Garnet Kitsune, my awesome personal TRC Expert! (Go check her work out!)
See you next chapter!
DEATH!*

One Dark and Stormy Night

Chapter 14

As the night wore on, Fai found himself staring out over the grassy expanse and thinking of his friends and all the things they had seen and experienced since their fateful meeting that day at Yuuko's shop. He also wondered how many more adventures they would have, and what fantastical things and exciting places still awaited their arrival on some distant shore.

We have all changed since that day… whether we expected to or not. Each of us has grown in our own way. Even with all the experience we each brought with us added together, it pales in comparison to what we have seen and experienced since embarking on this adventure… and that is dwarfed by what possibilities still remain unknown and are patiently awaiting discovery. Fai sighed deeply as he returned to watching the rain.

Dearest One, what would you do in my stead? it thought, as it lay beneath the willow by the lakeside and contemplated the latest developments as the night progressed. Oh how desperately I miss you… the way you thrummed when we greeted each other, the scent of your silky fur when warmed by the sun, the way your eyes danced with joy when you would chase the first fireflies of the season.

The pain in its heart became almost unbearable as the memories flooded back. So much time had passed since then, yet the visions still remained crystal clear… as if the events had just happened only yesterday. It has been so long, and yet here I sit… unable to go back, incapable of moving forward, and barely able to even exist. A single tear escaped the corner of its eye and traced a path between iridescent scales before dripping down to join the rain pooling under its paw.

The night passed quietly, with Fai deep in thought, the others peacefully sleeping, and the rain continuing to gently fall. Fai's earlier hopes looked as if they would be fulfilled as crickets and frogs began to call from the many spots in the ruins where they sought refuge from the storm. It is indeed an auspicious sign if the frogs have decided that it is once again safe to go a-courting.

Resting in the safe and gentle embrace of the sleeping Syaoran, Sakura slept, her mysterious illness continuing to plague her with fever and chills. Occasionally she would briefly stir as she fell in and out of consciousness. At some point during the late night, her fevered mind slid into dreams.

Alone in the mist, she wondered where the others had gone. The meadow was eerily quiet… no trace of the usual early morning activity of the many small beasts that usually inhabit forests and fields. As the sky began to lighten into day, the mist remained on the meadow, thick and ominous, as if daring the sun to try and burn it away.

"This meadow… it feels oddly familiar somehow, although I am not quite sure exactly why." She turned in a slow circle, barely able to make out the trees that marked the edge of the dark forest. "Fai-san? Syaoran-kun? Kurogane-san!" she called. 'Where are they and why did they leave me alone here?' she thought to herself. She strained her eyes, trying to see through the fog that billowed around her as the silent mists continued to thicken in the meadow. Unable to see much past her own reach now, she began to slowly stumble in what she thought was the direction of the nearest trees she had seen just moments before. All she could hear was a soft whispering of the mist through the tall grass.

As she cautiously continued to make her way, she began to think she heard something else moving in the mists nearby. Her heart began to beat faster as her ears strained to identify and place the phantom sounds. She realized quickly how useless it was to try as the sounds seemed to echo across the meadow. Each time she thought she heard something she would turn to try and hear it better. After several attempts she realized with a sense of foreboding that she had lost her sense of direction, and did not even know how close she might be to the forest's edge.

"H-Hello? Is someone there?" she cautiously asked as she rubbed her arms to warm herself against the cold of the mist . No one replied and the silence returned as the echo of her words died out. She felt a slight breeze stir her skirt. 'No, not a breeze…' she thought as her skirt's movement ceased and it again hung limp and unmoving.

'…something else is here.' The silence hung as thick as the mists and all she could hear was the pounding of her own heartbeat. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a shadow dart past. 'Is something really there, or is this just my imagination playing tricks on me again?' Her unsettled feeling increased as her heartbeat pounded harder. A chill ran up her arms, leaving goosebumps in its wake as she shivered involuntarily.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and closed her eyes in hopes of heightening her other senses, yet the feeling of foreboding remained as strong as ever.

As she stood there lost in herself, she felt something gently touch the palm of her hand as it hung by her side. Her heart began to race even faster than before. Whatever it was then pushed under her palm and allowed her hand to rest upon it.

A strange calmness descended on her and her racing pulse slowed back to normal. Afraid to open her eyes, she cautiously felt what had touched her palm. Whatever it was felt warm and dry despite the cold mists in the meadow. Soft fur gave way to smooth scales as she gently moved her hand over the surface, exploring it in an attempt at identification by touch alone. She began to hear an odd humming and felt a slight vibration in her hand, almost as if a kitten were purring.

"Yesss, there. Please, scratch there again. That was… nice."

Shocked by the gentle voice she heard so close by, she opened her eyes to see her hand resting on a large head covered with a soft cream colored fur interspersed with beautifully iridescent scales. Her hand ceased its exploration as she looked at the strange creature now lying in the grass next to her.

"Oh, please do continue… it has been far too long since I was able to scratch that pesky itch." it begged.

Sakura found herself somewhat startled by its sudden appearance and boldness of the creature's actions.

A slight smile began to trace its way across Sakura's face as her hand returned to its explorations. "I thought I had been left alone in this meadow… it's good to know I was wrong." Sakura said to the creature. She had the unexplainable feeling that the animal by her side was there to help her, and she felt no fear despite the size of it.

"I too have been alone in this meadow… for a long time now, with not even a bird or cricket for company. I am glad you came along." it told her.

Sakura's hand ceased its movement and she turned to take full measure of the creature who had befriended her so easily. Even in the relative dimness of the thick mists, its iridescent scales shimmered with a radiance that dwarfed that of the finest gems. Where they started intermittently at the top of its head, its scales transitioned into full plates of shimmering armor that flowed down each side of the creature's lithe body. The soft fur that began on its head continued to run down its crest and back, ending in a small tuft at the tip of its long whip-like tail. It turned its curious and deep amber eyes upon Sakura, and the girl marveled at its beauty.

"Why are you here alone?" Sakura asked. "I can't seem to find my friends… we probably just became separated by the mist for a brief time, but it's sad to think that you are here all alone."

"Do not trouble yourself with sadness on my account. For some reason unknown to me, I have been stuck between this world and the next, unable to move on." It took a deep breath, and when it began its story, a deep sadness filled its heart and spilled over into its voice. "We were so happy together, my mate and I. Time had no meaning, and our days were filled with our endless love and the simple joy of each other's company. But then, one day, the previously peaceful inhabitants of a nearby village suddenly became filled with an unnatural hatred of us. Before that day, they had ignored us for the most part, and we paid them little mind."

Its voice became more strained and emotional as it continued its sad story. "They began to hunt us, but we knew not why. Several times we had to fight them off, and each time we only tried to get away. We had no desire to harm them… we only feared for our safety."

Sakura's heart ached even more as its story continued, and she fought back the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes.

"That final day, they cornered me while my mate was off catching fish for our evening meal." A single tear began to form in the great beast's amber eye as the sadness of the memory washed over them both.

Sakura gasped in disbelief as it told her of its desperate fight to get away, and the finality of that last blow. She openly wept as its story continued… how its mate had arrived moments too late. How it had watched from above, oddly detached from itself, as its mate had flown into a rage so deep that it had exacted its revenge on the whole of the village, males, females, old and young alike.

And finally, how it now seemed cursed to wander between this world and the beyond, able to see and watch yet unable to touch or communicate with its mate, both of them now painfully alone, and unable to do anything about it.

Sakura knelt down and embraced the creature as they shared in its grief, not breaking apart until she finally felt its pain begin to recede.

"Wait, does this mean…" Sakura began, eyes wide and a look of sheer terror on her young face.

"No." it interrupted, as if it knew what conclusion Sakura had come to. "It is not as you think. You are still alive… but you are gravely ill. As we speak, you lay in a fevered state in a shelter with the others you spoke of. But I cannot be certain of the outcome of your illness. It does not make any sense. You were fine as you arrived, and there is nothing here that could have affected you so deeply and quickly".

"How…" the girl began, only to be interrupted again.

"Doesn't this meadow feel familiar to you?" it inquired. "It should. You, a tall one, a large one, another your age, and an odd… thing… all arrived during the height of the storm yesterday, did you not?"

Sakura nodded, unable to respond.

"This is the very same meadow. I was waiting to catch a glimpse of my mate as he came by on the path just inside the woods, like he does most days at that time of the day. Many unexplained things have happened lately... your arrival was just the latest."

It turned its head and looked over its shoulder into the mists. "I must go now, and you must get better so you can rejoin your friends." With that, it disappeared silently back into the mists as mysteriously as it had arrived, leaving Sakura shocked and once again, alone. As the world began to fade from her sight, she thought she heard someone familiar calling her name as if from a great distance.

(Garnet Kitsune: "Hi guys! Garnet here! Weren't expecting me, were ya? Well, I'm just here to say that my awesome senpai, JustaFanGrell, is giving me a chance to write my own version of the dream scene! So watch for it soon, maybe as a bonus chapter. So... just wanted to say 'Ganbatteimasu' and bye!")