She was caught like a rabbit was caught in the talons of an eagle, and with just as little hope of mercy. As he'd said; she had been warned. And she'd made her decision to seek out those closest to the one she'd been warned away from. She shivered in fear, and waited for the blow that would fall and destroy her mind – and with it her body.
"Wait!"
River felt the fear of the woman and the anger of the Presence, and reacted to both. This was his dream, after all, right? He couldn't allow such an awful fate to befall someone in his dram. His good nature recoiled from the very thought.
The Presence turned to him, and River felt none of the anger that was radiating at the woman being turned onto himself.
"She is dangerous, boy. She must be stopped."
"She's helpless..." He answered.
There was the crux of it all, and the Presence gave a purely frustrated sigh.
"You have a protective soul, boy, and a generous spirit. You feel for those who cannot defend themselves – and this is a good trait for someone like yourself to have, because it will serve you well as you grow into your role in life. But this is different... she's not as helpless as she appears – and nowhere near as innocuous. You don't know the full story... and you cannot know it."
"She's-"
"Dangerous Deceitful. And has once again shown up in a place she has no business going."
This was another voice. Another female voice, and one that was filled with just as much power as the first female's, but nowhere near as much as the masculine one. There was no comparing that Presence to any of these. Not even to River's and it was his dream.
"I should have killed her when she first meddled." The male said.
Xara struggled in his grasp, and felt the hold on her tighten. Had she needed to breathe in this form, she would have died, for there was no part of her that could move, now.
"I promised her she wouldn't die," the female answered. "She's done us a service, and-"
"We let her live." The male said. "With the understanding that she not return – and here she is."
"I have to know!" She didn't need to move to be able to cry out. "What is he?! Who is he?!"
"He's my business, not yours!"
Now the anger was deafening – a crashing rage that was ready to strike, and although it wasn't directed at River, he could feel it, and he recoiled from it.
"You can't kill her." The other female didn't fear the anger, and it showed. "I gave her my promise."
"She went after your son! My grands-"
"I know what she did." The voice was just as cold, but there was no killing hatred. "I am aware of it, now, and will make sure she can't do anything to him or the other two, now. Never again."
"It's not enough."
"Then deal with her. But don't kill her. I gave her my word."
"I didn't."
"My word holds you, and you know it."
"I'm not your son..." River spoke up, confused by what was going on – which wasn't fair, since it was his dream – and the Presence turned to him as the female sent a surge of amusement.
"No," she said, and he suddenly felt a caress as gentle as one his mother might have given him. "You're not my son – but you're a fine young man, and a good friend to my son – who does need such friends."
He suddenly put two and two together. He wasn't stupid, after all, and this woman just felt similar to...
"Shawn. You're Shawn's-"
"Enough."
The male interrupted them, and River turned.
"I won't kill her – although she deserves it. But she will not return, and she will never be able to."
He turned his attention to Xara, who had watched the conversation between the boy and the other woman, but she hadn't learned anything she didn't already know.
"You will never leave your body again." The voice said, with no trace of the towering rage it'd once held. "The moment your soul leaves its vessel to go searching where it doesn't belong, both will be destroyed."
"That's the same as killing me..." she protested.
"Except it will be you who does it. You know the risks, now, and if you attempt any more of your wanderings into places that are not your own mind, then you will deal with the consequences you have created. Live or die. The choice is your own."
There was a snapping sound, and a wail, and the presence of the old woman was gone, leaving the three of them alone.
"Is she...?"
There was a pause.
"She's safe enough. I've sent her back to where she belongs. What she does now is none of my concern."
"Who was she?"
"An annoyance," the male grumbled.
"A rarity among your kind," the female answered. "One who truly possessed a rare ability."
"Who are you?" River asked, picking up on the way she made it sound as if she were different from himself.
"That I can't tell you. Not even here, where you won't remember."
"I won't tell."
There was more gentle amusement.
"I'm not worried about you telling anyone."
"Then-"
"River." The male interrupted, although there was no sign of impatience in his voice. "She can't tell you."
"Who are you, then? Some kind of Guardian spirit?"
"Something like that." The Presence agreed.
"For Shawn?"
"No."
"For-"
"Enough." The voice cut him off with an amused tone, and even River felt himself smiling, although he wasn't sure what was so funny. "I won't play guessing games with you, boy. Not when you're quick enough you might make the right guess. Go to sleep, now, and forget everything you've seen."
"Oh, I'm not going to forget-"
"You'll forget," the woman assured him, and he felt another tender, motherly caress. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. He drifted off to sleep, the remainder of their conversation gentle in his ears.
"She's truly taken care of?"
"She won't cause any more trouble for anyone."
"But she's alive."
"Would I lie to you?"
There was a chuckle, and he felt the edges of a wave of love that passed between the two, and then if they said anything else, he didn't hear it as sleep finally pulled him under.