EverSun:
Part Four
by supergirl309

A score of pets sat around a bonfire. They were mostly males, and had thick sandy-colored or grayish fur that hung on their bodies shaggily. A tall slim silver-gray Uni paced about a ways away from the fire.

The reinforcements are to arrive on the morrow, she said loudly, so that the pets clustered around the flickering, dancing fire stopped what they were doing and fell silent, all eyes on the strangely pretty Uni. They are here to help us, and I want them treated with respect. Xere will be with them, and among their number will be a pet--a shadowed creature that was once a normal Gelert--who they call a weapon. DO NOT, under any circumstances resort to calling him a freak or anything else! Do you hear? Nods quickly circulated around the group of pets.

The Uni sighed and turned away from the fire. she whispered to herself, he will be greatly needed.

* * *

I ended up glad that I'd taken Xere's advice and gone to that night's meeting. We were told about what would be going on the next day, and we were given a short shpele about what the fighting was actually going to be like. Xere and Maurin were the main speakers. I noticed that Xere knew a lot more about fighting than I'd suspected. She informed us that the majority of Ayamin warriors were men, but most of their leaders were female.

When I left the cafeteria, I was filled with a strange nervous sensation. Truthfully, I had never fought in any real battles before. Back at the lab, I'd practiced entirely on dummies. I was slightly apprhensive about actually going out and fighting tomorrow.

I approached Xere in the hallway outside her room. I said, clawing at the ground with my back paw, tell me--is this going to be mortal combat?

Xere raised her eyebrows slightly, noticing the slightly nervous look that edged my normally angry features. If we are going to win this war, Jadus, then know this--both the Ayamins and the Gaimlens will come from the battlefield with at least several less tribe members.

I cursed. It wasn't that I was afraid I would be killed or severally hurt, I was only annoyed--and slightly apprehensive--at the thought of taking another's life. And for what? An item the Ayamins stole from the opposition? It seemed pointless...

I said carefully, enhanced eyes slitting back into my normal cold glare, what exactly did you steal from the Gaimlens that was important enough to start a war over?

Xere's eyes glinted slightly. I was going to tell you earlier when we were in my room, but then Maurin came to the door and wanted to talk to me... he asked why you had been in my room... she paused, sighing and shaking her head. He... doesn't me to tell you, Jadus.

I glared at her. What do you mean!! I hissed venomously. I'm fighting this stupid thing, I have a right to know!!!

Xere sighed heavily. Jadus... maybe he's right. Now that I really think about it, you'd be better off not knowing... trust me.

I glared icilly at her. I muttered coldly. I don't even care.

Xere narrowed her eyes. Jadus, if you knew, you would thank me! she spat coldly.

I rolled my eyes and sneered. Yeah, Xere--thanks for letting me be ignorant as to why I'm going out and helping people I don't even know by killing people! I owe you one!

She snarled. Don't you ever think about anyone but yourself? she said, her voice icy and angry.

I narrowed my eyes feircely. I'll start caring when people call me by my name, not my expirement code! I snarled, reddish eyes livved with anger.

I turned and cantered back to me room. I had no one. I needed no one.

* * *

Usually, when I have nightmares, they're all the same--I'm being chased. What's chasing me, I can never tell. Also, another element of the nightmares is the scenery--a dark icy crevasse. There is always a small portion of the sky peeking through the top of the crevasse, but the sky is always a sickly red. At the end of the dreams, I fall off of a cliff, but always, I wake up before I hit the ground. That night, my nightmares were different, and much more haunting.

I sat on a branch jutting out from a large gnarled oak tree, in the middle of a dark wooded area. Small rays of sunlight filtered through the branches of the twisted black trees, giving the forest a strange look, as if it was forbidding me leave. I don't know quite how the light made it feel like that, but it did.

Suddenly, I heard the pounding of many paws on the ground. Through the thick of the trees, I glimpsed a great mass of shadowed pets stomping; marching towards my tree. As they neared, I began to feel a driving pain in my chest, that worsened with every step they took nearer to me.

Soon, they were practically under my tree, and the pain was so intense, I was screaming and howling. It ripped at my chest, pushing on my ribs, cracking and crushing them. I tumbled off the branch, and fell to the leafy forest floor, still shrieking with agony. The shadowed pets were inches away, only a step closer and they'd be on top of me. Just as hundreds of feet came off of the ground and slowly began to come down, a white, searing light burst from my chest and they stopped immedeatly, frozen in their tracks.

Then, they began to scream.

Their agonized, peircing, splitting shrieks easily drowned out my screams of pain, blending together and greating an awful high-pitched grating shriek. I couldn't stand it, and while I was listening to them wail and cry eerily, I noticed that my paws--my whole body--were shrinking, and my fur was slowly molting from black to shimmering gold. I could feel my wings stretching out and growing--this hurt even more than the pains in my chest and the light.

Suddenly, the forest scene melted away, the piercing shrieks still splitting the air. I was engulfed in a thick yellow-green mist, and I felt as if I was stuck in it. Slowly, though, the mist began to fade. As it grew thinner, I found I was falling through it--slowly and gently at first, but when the mist thinned more, I began to descend faster.

Soon, there was no mist at all, and I felt the air rushing past me as I streaked, screaming and howling, through a shapeless, undefinable, bloack abyss.

Unconsciously, my brain began to realize that this was a dream, and my fear subsided slightly. I fell, screaming stopped, waiting for the moment when the black would suddenly dissapear and I would wake up.

But it didn't come.

Thud.

I hit a hard rocky surface, feeling and hearing the snapping of several bones. My mind began to jar itself awake, and numbly, just as I began to wake up, I remembered--I had wings, yet I had fallen without even thinking of opening them.

Then, in an instant, I felt something shaking me more into consciousness.

But the thought rang in my head until I was fully awake and staring up at Ayou's squashed face.

I had wings...

to be continued...