-Rants & Raves-
Dear fellow writers and readers. I've had an idea about something to add in this story. I would like to include others as characters in my story. Please let me know if you are interested. E-mail or review me with some ideas of who or what I should include for an upcoming chapter. If I receive enough replies I'll start on it as soon as possible.
(Just don't kill me if I don't chose your idea, please... I have feelings you know &(^-^)&)
-End Rants & Raves-
(I wish but) I don't own Capcom, Breath of Fire or its characters. But the characters, and world in this story for the most part are my own creation
Chapter Six: Out of the Mouth of Babes
For the remainder of the night Imperial and Orion searched around the inn trying to find any trace of Lakaiko or the innkeeper. Grabbing two antique lanterns from behind the main desk, they made their way out into the still night air. Imperial considered it would be best if they split up to cover more ground. Orion agreed and departed in the opposite direction.
Some ways off from the inn he came upon a large patch of corn and other edible vegetation growing. He wondered why would anyone want to farm so close to the sea as he studied the plants closely. After a few minutes of observation he realized that his mind was wandering from previous events and he continued on with the search.
He endlessly searched for what seemed like hours. Weariness and fatigue began to set in Orion's body as the pink and orange rays of dawn slowly lit up his surroundings. Sighing, he leaned against a tree, rubbing his neck. With the coming sunlight he figured it would be easier finding something.
He glanced around the nearby areas to see if he could spot Imperial. She was a couple of yards away, moving in the high stalks of the cornfield, calling out Lakaiko's name. After a few minutes she emerged from the green jungle. She caught sight of Orion leaning on the tree and walked over towards him.
"Find anything?" She asked hopefully, her wings turning from light blue to bright pink. Orion leaned his head on the tree observing the new morning sky.
"No, no sight of him." He replied his face grim with growing worry. "Has he ever done this before?"
She shook her head no "He's never gone more than twenty feet from me, even when he could only crawl. Imperial lifted her arms in despair. "I should have kept a closer eye on him. We have to find him. What if something happened to him?" her voice broke with emotion.
Orion placed a furry hand upon her shoulder, and squeezed gently. "We are going to find him, Imperial. We are going to keep looking for him until we do, okay? Just don't give up yet."
Imperial stifled a sniffle, nodding in agreement with the woren. Slowly she walked off again to carry on the search. Orion shifted against the tree trying to find a logical reason to what happened to Lakaiko and the innkeeper. Sighing impatiently he kicked his foot sending a small pebble softly flying into the wind. Watching it fall into the dew softened mud he perceived a miniature shoe print in the soft earth.
Moving to the where the pebble landed, he bent down to view more footprints leading into the growing corn stalks. With renewed strength, he followed the steps a little ways before calling Imperial over. He showed her the trail and together the two followed the tattletale markings.
At the other end of the cornfield they found a one-story bungalow easily obscured by the tall, thick patches of the corn. The duo crept over to a grimy window. Orion spied through the dirty glass only to see blurry images of movement inside. Imperial tugged at Orion's arm as he continued to scout.
"Well, what's in there?" she questioned impatiently. Orion turned towards her and placed his furry hand over her mouth.
"Shhh! This window is so filthy that I can't tell who or what is sitting in there. Logically, we should wait until we know more about who's inside before we make any moves." He whispered feverishly.
Imperial removed his hand and peeped through the window herself. Squinting she spied on the blurred activities going on inside. Making a hasty decision, she rose to her feet and went towards the front door. Orion comprehending what Imperial had in mind, scrambled over to her.
"Have you lost your senses? We don't know what's in that house! You just can't bust in!" He whispered strictly as he reasoned with her. She gave Orion a challenging glance, placing her hands on her hips.
"Oh yeah? You just watch me." She replied briskly reaching for the door. Both grabbed for the knob at the same time and went crashing through to the floor. Inside the innkeeper, a young female armadillo and Lakaiko were sitting at a table eating breakfast. The barrage caused the Innkeeper to spill his steaming coffee on his lap. The young armadillo ran to his side frightened.
"Daddy, who are they?" she shrieked as he patted her back soothingly.
Lakaiko, undisturbed by the surprise, turned to the two on the floor. Still eating his breakfast, he gave a bright grin as he waved the mushy continents in his spoon happily across the table at the two. Imperial gained her footing and rushed over to the child, grabbing him into a tight embrace as she kissed his forehead.
"Why in the world would you take him from us? I though you hated foreigners!" She glared at the Armadillo. The huge beast rose from the table and with his coffee soaked pants began to awkwardly waddle over to Imperial and Orion. "You're right, I didn't like foreigners..."
Orion reached his hand out to where the beast made his way over to the threesome. With his hand balling into a fist two sharp-knifed prongs swiftly slid out of the top of the metal claw that covered the top of his wrist and flashed mincingly.
"Stop where you are and explain your actions, sir. I suggest you seriously think about your answer before you take another step towards us." Orion growled low in his throat. The armadillo held up his arms in surrender.
"But this little boy showed me the error of my ways. Without him, I wouldn't have my little girl right now." He quickly added. "You see my Aranda has been sick with fever and because of the stupid civil war in Auria, I couldn't go into the next town to buy medicine. She was going to die without it. The little boy followed me home last night saying he could help my daughter..."
"He's a mute, you liar!" Imperial retorted harshly. "He can't talk!"
The both the Armadillos looked at the little boy who in returned gave them a brilliant smile. Breathing a sigh of relief the Innkeeper began to give a hearty laugh.
"Are you sure, miss? He damn near talked me and my daughter's ear off last night after he helper her."
Imperial wondered if the giant oaf was a tad bit touched in the head. She looked to see Orion had the same expression of confusion on his face. Kaiko turned his face up at the bewildered two. Squirming in her arms the child slid down from imperial's hold. He walked over to the innkeeper, taking one of his huge fingers into his small hand.
"'Perial," he stated seriously. "He needed me."
Imperial's jaw dropped at the simple sentence. She stared unbelieving at the child who for so long couldn't, no, would not utter a word to her. She couldn't understand why Kaiko decided to speak his first words now to a total stranger.
"By the god's..."she began when a sharp pain stabbed her forehead, stopping her in mid sentence.
She held head in her hands as the pain intensified. "What's...happening to me!" she moaned through gritted teeth.
Her knees began to buckle but before she fell to the floor the armadillo lifted her up with ease and placed her into a nearby chair. She heard him calling for his daughter to bring some water before drifting into darkness.
%(^_^) Somewhere in Imperial's dreams (^_^)%
A bright light surrounded her yet she felt unnaturally cold. She rose from the unseen ground quivering. She waited for the monsters to come and torment her like they always have, but all she heard was silence. A strong breeze began to blow causing her hair to viciously whip her face. Bring her arms up; Imperial shielded herself from the force of the winds. She screamed out in pain as the icy breeze increased taking its toil on her body.
"Someone help me!" Imperial cried out in agony. She twirled in the wind for what seemed like forever before she heard the faint call of another person.
"Where are you, child?" A soft voice whispered to her. With all the intensity of the gale she could barely make out what the voice was saying. Imperial shook her head furiously as the breeze increased, she held herself trying in vain to keep warm.
"Here! I'm over here! Please help me!" She screamed out into the whiteness that was engulfing her. She felt herself being lifted up into the air. Flailing her arms haplessly, she heard the voice again, this time stronger than before.
"I'm scared. I can't see you!" she began to wail as the wind began to blow harder.
Imperial shifted her body, fighting the wind with every movement. She opened her eyes to see an outstretched hand levitating a few feet away from her. With every once of her strength Imperial fought against the wind until she was able to wrap her fingers around the frail hand. Feeling the warmth of another the hand closed tightly around hers. Imperial sighed softly as a feeling of strength and protection washed over her. The wind abruptly stopped, allowing her feet to touch some sort of ground.
"I won't be able to help you much any longer, my child. The Forces are growing stronger everyday and soon I won't be able to hide you anymore. They are becoming desperate in their search for you and the child." The voice whispered as the wind began to circle again.
"You must choose..."
Just as Imperial was about to beg the unseen spirit to stay with her, the ground that she stood upon began to tremble. The grayed landscape began to crumble into nothingness. A crack opened before her and swallowed the rock. She held tight to the hand as the landscape fell into the unknown brightness leaving her swinging in the air stream.
Another voice called her name causing it to echo throughout the brightness. Imperial instantly recognized it as Lakaiko's. "You must choose!" the voice faded within a fresh blast of wind. Imperial's hand began to slide from the safe grasp of her rescuer, finally slipping from the fleeting grasp into the violent gale.
Another flash of air thrashed around her, slamming Imperial into a floating cloud formation. Grabbing her now sore ribs, she dazedly went about gaining her composure. As her eyes refocused from the pain her in chest, she took note of the face the girl that visited her before in her dreams materialized on the gray cloud she lay upon.
"I can't see you just yet, but I know you are there, demon protector." She stated as she spat at Imperial furiously. "You don't understand what that monster is capable of. The thing you are defending will destroy the world, given a chance. I'm here to dispose of him and save the mortals of this realm."
"Leave this place and return back to your life before you met this demon seed, I will insure your safety, if you leave the beast behind. Either way, protector, I will have to take care of this 'boy' when the time comes. You have been warned, let us not cross paths again." With that the image disappeared.
All of a sudden the vision turned to the worst as Imperial saw massive jagged claws form in front of her. A monstrous gray and black tyrant dragon came from out of the darkened clouds floating a few feet before her. It's shredded leather-like wings continued to blast Imperial with acidic winds as it began to wave it head. Its grayish decaying scaled covered skull shimmered grotesquely in the light, causing pieces of loose flesh to fall.
Opening its vile maw, the dragon crimson forked tongue licked his rotten teeth as blood-tinted spittle fell from its mouth. Imperial's stomach turned as the beast lifted one of its massive paws to swallow a screaming orc it held. The tyrant's blackened belly quivered in delight as the still living orc made it's way down into the bowels of the beast, finally stopping when it reached dreaded destination. Retching, the beast expelled the still steaming bones of the creature he had swallowed a few moments before.
Imperial screamed in terror as the beast's purple eyes finally laid its sights upon her.
Yet before the monstrosity could lay a claw upon her an ice barrier formed a wall around her, shielding her from the ominous horror. She turned to see half of Lakaiko's body floating just out of her reach, stretching his little hands out to her. The huge behemoth dragon before her began screaming in frustration as he clawed at the barrier.
"Perial!" Lakaiko's worried voice reverberated in her mind "Here I am!"
She turned towards the boy as the dragon before her let loose with a dazzling flame, trying to defrost the ice casing she was in. Her fingers skimmed the child's as the beast cracked the cold prison surrounding her. Her eyes widened with fear as one of the monster's four hands reached in to take her. With one last effort, she reached for the boy's hand barely taking it before the monstrosity grasped for her.
Clutch for dear life to the child, she felt as if she was traveling at a great speed away from the shrieking beast, so much so it felt as if her breath was being taken away. The force of the rapid pace was chilling her body to the bone. As soon as she felt she couldn't take anymore, the feeling suddenly stopped.
"Imperial...Can you hear me?" a fuzzy voice asked gently.
She opened her eyes.
%(^_^) Awaking (^_^)%
Orion was staring at her as he placed a cool compress on her head. Lakaiko was laying next to her in a fetal position sucking his index and middle finger, something he always did when he was nervous.
Orion smiled. "We have to stop meeting this way." He quietly joked as Imperial placed a hand on her now aching head.
Lakaiko he looked up at her with a frightened expression on his face and snuggled up close to her. Imperial kissed his head absentmindedly. Without Kaiko saying a spoken word she already knew what he was thinking. He was afraid.
And so was she.
"What happened? How long was I asleep?" She winced from the growing headache surrounding her temples. Orion gave her a gloomy stare as his eyeglasses slid down his nose. He grabbed Kaiko up in his arms and placed him on a bed adjacent to Imperial's. He smiled down at the boy, grabbing a tray of food and placing it beside him. He returned to Imperial and leaned in close so the boy couldn't hear.
"Three days." He replied simply. Imperial sat numb in shock. Three days! She was asleep for that long? The dream seemed to last for a few minutes. What the hell is going on? She thought to herself.
"After awhile" He continued. "I really thought this time that you wouldn't wake up. Then on top of that, yesterday Lakaiko fainted just like you did. I've been nursing you both since then."
Orion wiped his glasses with a small cloth "When you passed out you had another nightmare, am I right?"
Imperial gave Orion a puzzled look as she slowly nodded yes. "Tell me about it." He directed her. She gave the cat a detailed retelling of what she experienced while he took notes. When she finished, he leaned over placing the compress back into the cool bowl of water on a nearby table.
"I figured you had another nightmare due to the fact you were fighting something in your sleep. After while you started screaming, as soon as you did Kaiko passed out. After that you both were comatose until this morning. The next thing I know, you both wake up at the same exact time. It boggles my mind. I have been sitting here trying to come up with some logical reasoning as to how that could happen."
"It seems to me" He continued, "after studying you when you were sleeping and after what you just told me I've come to the conclusion that your subconscious and Lakaiko's subconscious are somehow connected. Furthermore, I believe you can communicate to others within your subconscious state. Whatever it is you are not the only one affected by it, as proven by Lakaiko."
Imperial rubbed her aching head with her hand as she gazed into the Woran's eyes "Could you put that into Sparoan, Orion?"
Orion sighed as he pushed his glasses back on the ridge of his nose. "What I mean is you're somehow able to send and receive messages from others when you are in a subconscious state, or in layman's terms, when you are asleep. If the transmission is strong enough, you pass out in order to receive the message."
Imperial shook her head slowly in disbelief "Are you saying that all the time I've been having these 'nightmares', they were really someone trying to get in contact with me?" Orion nodded yes once again, causing his glasses to slide down his nose.
"So in a sense, I'm a walking antenna." Imperial interjected thoughtfully. Orion contemplated her words for a moment and then nodded his head yes. "Yes, you can say that." He replied.
"If what this person or thing has to say is so important why can't they use the mailing express instead of my or Kaiko's dreams!" She mumbled infuriated someone was using her, for his or her own personal broadcasting system.
Orion gently patted her hand and stood up. "The bigger question here, Imperial, is why someone or something has decided to contact you."
He retrieved another tray full of soup and bread and placed it on her lap. "Eat, maybe I can find something at the library that can offer an explanation. When I get back, we'll talk more on my theories." Imperial smiled weakly at him, thanking him once again. The smell of the food made her stomach grumble in discomfort, she greedily ate the cooking set before her.
Nearby Silos stood listening outside the occupied room. He could hear everything that was being said inside due to the slightly opened door. Stroking his sharp chin, he wondered about these mysterious people who sat in his home. He needed to find out more about these three strangers before he went to report to Prince Gage...
Dear fellow writers and readers. I've had an idea about something to add in this story. I would like to include others as characters in my story. Please let me know if you are interested. E-mail or review me with some ideas of who or what I should include for an upcoming chapter. If I receive enough replies I'll start on it as soon as possible.
(Just don't kill me if I don't chose your idea, please... I have feelings you know &(^-^)&)
-End Rants & Raves-
(I wish but) I don't own Capcom, Breath of Fire or its characters. But the characters, and world in this story for the most part are my own creation
Chapter Six: Out of the Mouth of Babes
For the remainder of the night Imperial and Orion searched around the inn trying to find any trace of Lakaiko or the innkeeper. Grabbing two antique lanterns from behind the main desk, they made their way out into the still night air. Imperial considered it would be best if they split up to cover more ground. Orion agreed and departed in the opposite direction.
Some ways off from the inn he came upon a large patch of corn and other edible vegetation growing. He wondered why would anyone want to farm so close to the sea as he studied the plants closely. After a few minutes of observation he realized that his mind was wandering from previous events and he continued on with the search.
He endlessly searched for what seemed like hours. Weariness and fatigue began to set in Orion's body as the pink and orange rays of dawn slowly lit up his surroundings. Sighing, he leaned against a tree, rubbing his neck. With the coming sunlight he figured it would be easier finding something.
He glanced around the nearby areas to see if he could spot Imperial. She was a couple of yards away, moving in the high stalks of the cornfield, calling out Lakaiko's name. After a few minutes she emerged from the green jungle. She caught sight of Orion leaning on the tree and walked over towards him.
"Find anything?" She asked hopefully, her wings turning from light blue to bright pink. Orion leaned his head on the tree observing the new morning sky.
"No, no sight of him." He replied his face grim with growing worry. "Has he ever done this before?"
She shook her head no "He's never gone more than twenty feet from me, even when he could only crawl. Imperial lifted her arms in despair. "I should have kept a closer eye on him. We have to find him. What if something happened to him?" her voice broke with emotion.
Orion placed a furry hand upon her shoulder, and squeezed gently. "We are going to find him, Imperial. We are going to keep looking for him until we do, okay? Just don't give up yet."
Imperial stifled a sniffle, nodding in agreement with the woren. Slowly she walked off again to carry on the search. Orion shifted against the tree trying to find a logical reason to what happened to Lakaiko and the innkeeper. Sighing impatiently he kicked his foot sending a small pebble softly flying into the wind. Watching it fall into the dew softened mud he perceived a miniature shoe print in the soft earth.
Moving to the where the pebble landed, he bent down to view more footprints leading into the growing corn stalks. With renewed strength, he followed the steps a little ways before calling Imperial over. He showed her the trail and together the two followed the tattletale markings.
At the other end of the cornfield they found a one-story bungalow easily obscured by the tall, thick patches of the corn. The duo crept over to a grimy window. Orion spied through the dirty glass only to see blurry images of movement inside. Imperial tugged at Orion's arm as he continued to scout.
"Well, what's in there?" she questioned impatiently. Orion turned towards her and placed his furry hand over her mouth.
"Shhh! This window is so filthy that I can't tell who or what is sitting in there. Logically, we should wait until we know more about who's inside before we make any moves." He whispered feverishly.
Imperial removed his hand and peeped through the window herself. Squinting she spied on the blurred activities going on inside. Making a hasty decision, she rose to her feet and went towards the front door. Orion comprehending what Imperial had in mind, scrambled over to her.
"Have you lost your senses? We don't know what's in that house! You just can't bust in!" He whispered strictly as he reasoned with her. She gave Orion a challenging glance, placing her hands on her hips.
"Oh yeah? You just watch me." She replied briskly reaching for the door. Both grabbed for the knob at the same time and went crashing through to the floor. Inside the innkeeper, a young female armadillo and Lakaiko were sitting at a table eating breakfast. The barrage caused the Innkeeper to spill his steaming coffee on his lap. The young armadillo ran to his side frightened.
"Daddy, who are they?" she shrieked as he patted her back soothingly.
Lakaiko, undisturbed by the surprise, turned to the two on the floor. Still eating his breakfast, he gave a bright grin as he waved the mushy continents in his spoon happily across the table at the two. Imperial gained her footing and rushed over to the child, grabbing him into a tight embrace as she kissed his forehead.
"Why in the world would you take him from us? I though you hated foreigners!" She glared at the Armadillo. The huge beast rose from the table and with his coffee soaked pants began to awkwardly waddle over to Imperial and Orion. "You're right, I didn't like foreigners..."
Orion reached his hand out to where the beast made his way over to the threesome. With his hand balling into a fist two sharp-knifed prongs swiftly slid out of the top of the metal claw that covered the top of his wrist and flashed mincingly.
"Stop where you are and explain your actions, sir. I suggest you seriously think about your answer before you take another step towards us." Orion growled low in his throat. The armadillo held up his arms in surrender.
"But this little boy showed me the error of my ways. Without him, I wouldn't have my little girl right now." He quickly added. "You see my Aranda has been sick with fever and because of the stupid civil war in Auria, I couldn't go into the next town to buy medicine. She was going to die without it. The little boy followed me home last night saying he could help my daughter..."
"He's a mute, you liar!" Imperial retorted harshly. "He can't talk!"
The both the Armadillos looked at the little boy who in returned gave them a brilliant smile. Breathing a sigh of relief the Innkeeper began to give a hearty laugh.
"Are you sure, miss? He damn near talked me and my daughter's ear off last night after he helper her."
Imperial wondered if the giant oaf was a tad bit touched in the head. She looked to see Orion had the same expression of confusion on his face. Kaiko turned his face up at the bewildered two. Squirming in her arms the child slid down from imperial's hold. He walked over to the innkeeper, taking one of his huge fingers into his small hand.
"'Perial," he stated seriously. "He needed me."
Imperial's jaw dropped at the simple sentence. She stared unbelieving at the child who for so long couldn't, no, would not utter a word to her. She couldn't understand why Kaiko decided to speak his first words now to a total stranger.
"By the god's..."she began when a sharp pain stabbed her forehead, stopping her in mid sentence.
She held head in her hands as the pain intensified. "What's...happening to me!" she moaned through gritted teeth.
Her knees began to buckle but before she fell to the floor the armadillo lifted her up with ease and placed her into a nearby chair. She heard him calling for his daughter to bring some water before drifting into darkness.
%(^_^) Somewhere in Imperial's dreams (^_^)%
A bright light surrounded her yet she felt unnaturally cold. She rose from the unseen ground quivering. She waited for the monsters to come and torment her like they always have, but all she heard was silence. A strong breeze began to blow causing her hair to viciously whip her face. Bring her arms up; Imperial shielded herself from the force of the winds. She screamed out in pain as the icy breeze increased taking its toil on her body.
"Someone help me!" Imperial cried out in agony. She twirled in the wind for what seemed like forever before she heard the faint call of another person.
"Where are you, child?" A soft voice whispered to her. With all the intensity of the gale she could barely make out what the voice was saying. Imperial shook her head furiously as the breeze increased, she held herself trying in vain to keep warm.
"Here! I'm over here! Please help me!" She screamed out into the whiteness that was engulfing her. She felt herself being lifted up into the air. Flailing her arms haplessly, she heard the voice again, this time stronger than before.
"I'm scared. I can't see you!" she began to wail as the wind began to blow harder.
Imperial shifted her body, fighting the wind with every movement. She opened her eyes to see an outstretched hand levitating a few feet away from her. With every once of her strength Imperial fought against the wind until she was able to wrap her fingers around the frail hand. Feeling the warmth of another the hand closed tightly around hers. Imperial sighed softly as a feeling of strength and protection washed over her. The wind abruptly stopped, allowing her feet to touch some sort of ground.
"I won't be able to help you much any longer, my child. The Forces are growing stronger everyday and soon I won't be able to hide you anymore. They are becoming desperate in their search for you and the child." The voice whispered as the wind began to circle again.
"You must choose..."
Just as Imperial was about to beg the unseen spirit to stay with her, the ground that she stood upon began to tremble. The grayed landscape began to crumble into nothingness. A crack opened before her and swallowed the rock. She held tight to the hand as the landscape fell into the unknown brightness leaving her swinging in the air stream.
Another voice called her name causing it to echo throughout the brightness. Imperial instantly recognized it as Lakaiko's. "You must choose!" the voice faded within a fresh blast of wind. Imperial's hand began to slide from the safe grasp of her rescuer, finally slipping from the fleeting grasp into the violent gale.
Another flash of air thrashed around her, slamming Imperial into a floating cloud formation. Grabbing her now sore ribs, she dazedly went about gaining her composure. As her eyes refocused from the pain her in chest, she took note of the face the girl that visited her before in her dreams materialized on the gray cloud she lay upon.
"I can't see you just yet, but I know you are there, demon protector." She stated as she spat at Imperial furiously. "You don't understand what that monster is capable of. The thing you are defending will destroy the world, given a chance. I'm here to dispose of him and save the mortals of this realm."
"Leave this place and return back to your life before you met this demon seed, I will insure your safety, if you leave the beast behind. Either way, protector, I will have to take care of this 'boy' when the time comes. You have been warned, let us not cross paths again." With that the image disappeared.
All of a sudden the vision turned to the worst as Imperial saw massive jagged claws form in front of her. A monstrous gray and black tyrant dragon came from out of the darkened clouds floating a few feet before her. It's shredded leather-like wings continued to blast Imperial with acidic winds as it began to wave it head. Its grayish decaying scaled covered skull shimmered grotesquely in the light, causing pieces of loose flesh to fall.
Opening its vile maw, the dragon crimson forked tongue licked his rotten teeth as blood-tinted spittle fell from its mouth. Imperial's stomach turned as the beast lifted one of its massive paws to swallow a screaming orc it held. The tyrant's blackened belly quivered in delight as the still living orc made it's way down into the bowels of the beast, finally stopping when it reached dreaded destination. Retching, the beast expelled the still steaming bones of the creature he had swallowed a few moments before.
Imperial screamed in terror as the beast's purple eyes finally laid its sights upon her.
Yet before the monstrosity could lay a claw upon her an ice barrier formed a wall around her, shielding her from the ominous horror. She turned to see half of Lakaiko's body floating just out of her reach, stretching his little hands out to her. The huge behemoth dragon before her began screaming in frustration as he clawed at the barrier.
"Perial!" Lakaiko's worried voice reverberated in her mind "Here I am!"
She turned towards the boy as the dragon before her let loose with a dazzling flame, trying to defrost the ice casing she was in. Her fingers skimmed the child's as the beast cracked the cold prison surrounding her. Her eyes widened with fear as one of the monster's four hands reached in to take her. With one last effort, she reached for the boy's hand barely taking it before the monstrosity grasped for her.
Clutch for dear life to the child, she felt as if she was traveling at a great speed away from the shrieking beast, so much so it felt as if her breath was being taken away. The force of the rapid pace was chilling her body to the bone. As soon as she felt she couldn't take anymore, the feeling suddenly stopped.
"Imperial...Can you hear me?" a fuzzy voice asked gently.
She opened her eyes.
%(^_^) Awaking (^_^)%
Orion was staring at her as he placed a cool compress on her head. Lakaiko was laying next to her in a fetal position sucking his index and middle finger, something he always did when he was nervous.
Orion smiled. "We have to stop meeting this way." He quietly joked as Imperial placed a hand on her now aching head.
Lakaiko he looked up at her with a frightened expression on his face and snuggled up close to her. Imperial kissed his head absentmindedly. Without Kaiko saying a spoken word she already knew what he was thinking. He was afraid.
And so was she.
"What happened? How long was I asleep?" She winced from the growing headache surrounding her temples. Orion gave her a gloomy stare as his eyeglasses slid down his nose. He grabbed Kaiko up in his arms and placed him on a bed adjacent to Imperial's. He smiled down at the boy, grabbing a tray of food and placing it beside him. He returned to Imperial and leaned in close so the boy couldn't hear.
"Three days." He replied simply. Imperial sat numb in shock. Three days! She was asleep for that long? The dream seemed to last for a few minutes. What the hell is going on? She thought to herself.
"After awhile" He continued. "I really thought this time that you wouldn't wake up. Then on top of that, yesterday Lakaiko fainted just like you did. I've been nursing you both since then."
Orion wiped his glasses with a small cloth "When you passed out you had another nightmare, am I right?"
Imperial gave Orion a puzzled look as she slowly nodded yes. "Tell me about it." He directed her. She gave the cat a detailed retelling of what she experienced while he took notes. When she finished, he leaned over placing the compress back into the cool bowl of water on a nearby table.
"I figured you had another nightmare due to the fact you were fighting something in your sleep. After while you started screaming, as soon as you did Kaiko passed out. After that you both were comatose until this morning. The next thing I know, you both wake up at the same exact time. It boggles my mind. I have been sitting here trying to come up with some logical reasoning as to how that could happen."
"It seems to me" He continued, "after studying you when you were sleeping and after what you just told me I've come to the conclusion that your subconscious and Lakaiko's subconscious are somehow connected. Furthermore, I believe you can communicate to others within your subconscious state. Whatever it is you are not the only one affected by it, as proven by Lakaiko."
Imperial rubbed her aching head with her hand as she gazed into the Woran's eyes "Could you put that into Sparoan, Orion?"
Orion sighed as he pushed his glasses back on the ridge of his nose. "What I mean is you're somehow able to send and receive messages from others when you are in a subconscious state, or in layman's terms, when you are asleep. If the transmission is strong enough, you pass out in order to receive the message."
Imperial shook her head slowly in disbelief "Are you saying that all the time I've been having these 'nightmares', they were really someone trying to get in contact with me?" Orion nodded yes once again, causing his glasses to slide down his nose.
"So in a sense, I'm a walking antenna." Imperial interjected thoughtfully. Orion contemplated her words for a moment and then nodded his head yes. "Yes, you can say that." He replied.
"If what this person or thing has to say is so important why can't they use the mailing express instead of my or Kaiko's dreams!" She mumbled infuriated someone was using her, for his or her own personal broadcasting system.
Orion gently patted her hand and stood up. "The bigger question here, Imperial, is why someone or something has decided to contact you."
He retrieved another tray full of soup and bread and placed it on her lap. "Eat, maybe I can find something at the library that can offer an explanation. When I get back, we'll talk more on my theories." Imperial smiled weakly at him, thanking him once again. The smell of the food made her stomach grumble in discomfort, she greedily ate the cooking set before her.
Nearby Silos stood listening outside the occupied room. He could hear everything that was being said inside due to the slightly opened door. Stroking his sharp chin, he wondered about these mysterious people who sat in his home. He needed to find out more about these three strangers before he went to report to Prince Gage...