Ever since she could remember, Elinor Rabbit had weird dreams.

They weren't entirely confined to when she was sleeping, either. Sometimes she'd find herself staring out of a window and would suddenly picture a landscape behind the clear glass that was like nothing she could ever have imagined. Thick red grass, a burnt orange sun, buildings as tall as skyscrapers enclosed in a huge glass dome that sparkled in the sunlight. Sometimes she fancied she could even spy two young boys playing in the fields, chasing each other around and laughing.

Then she'd blink, or someone would distract her, and the image would be gone.

At night the dreams were even weirder. They were never particularly clear and she would generally wake up with a feeling of discontentment, as though she was reaching for something she kept falling short of, some incredible understanding and knowledge of the universe that was just beyond her grasp. A sea of faces would rotate through her mind and she'd hear names that sounded both so wonderful and so sad. In most of the dreams she was running, some faceless assailant chasing her, gaining on her. Sometimes they caught up to her and she'd wake up with a shout, but other times she'd turn to face them head-on and they'd fall to the ground in fright in front of her, as though she was some terrible avenging god they were terrified of, begging for mercy.

The dreams weren't always frightening though, in fact sometimes they were warm and safe and reassuring. She'd fall asleep and feel as though she was being held, as though someone was lying next to her with their arms wrapped tightly around her. Sometimes she could even feel their lips against hers, slow and soft and perfect. In the dream she'd feel blissful happiness but when she woke up the sense of loss would overwhelm her and she'd cry silently for a love she didn't know she was missing.

The dreams always left Elinor a little disorientated and she usually had to hold herself for a few moments to reassociate, chanting the little mantra her therapist had taught her.

Elinor. Explorer. Animal Town.

Name, occupation, place. It used to work but nowadays that feeling was still there, a rush of panic, of fear but not for herself, for others around her that were in danger. Sometimes it was too much to bear and only screaming into a cushion or running through the streets as fast as she could would help her burn off that pain, loneliness and neverending torment that had built up inside her.

This particular morning was no different. She was ripped from her dreams by a scream and bolted upright, that awful urge to run far away overcoming her until she threw herself out of bed, pulled on her running gear and ran, as hard and fast as she could. She was breathless and her legs were burning by the time she finally stopped, the sky hues of pink and red as the sun slowly began its ascent into the sky. She'd ran all the way up to the hills and the wind whipped her short hair around her face as she breathed in the crisp, morning air and gradually felt her heart slow until it was back into a normal rhythm.

She stood for a moment, watching the animals in the town below slowly start to wake up, the sounds of traffic and car horns drifting slowly up towards her. She spotted an ambulance blaring through the streets and was almost able to follow its route all the way to the hospital.

She turned, ready to run back to her flat, and spotted another early riser. The Bat famly was further down the hill. Ari was too far away to see properly but there was a bike on the grass next to him and he was looking up at her, his features a blur in the distance.

She waved at him and he tentatively waved back, hesitantly, as though he wasn't sure if he should.

She tried to ignore that uncomfortable feeling of deja vu as she made her way back down the hill.

Ari leant against the side of her car and watched the school.

It was the end of the day and the playground was starting to fill with parents and their children. Ari spotted a hyena boy he'd gone to this school with talking to a parent. He remembered him as a shy baby with pimples and a mop of ginger hair that he didn't seem to know how to style, but now he seemed more confident, his skin clear and hair tamed. He spotted her and waved cheerfully, the blue of his school lanyard bouncing against his chest.

Elinor came out after about thirty minutes, coat in one hand, handbag in the other, her black hair catching the afternoon sun and her bright brilliant face split open in a smile as she laughed with one of the other teachers.

Ari felt that familiar prickle of tears at the corner of her eyes, the pang in her heart that was always there but was so much worse when she saw the woman she loved.

Ranger Rabbit, Elinor's mother, walked past and didn't even look at her.

Ari quickly wiped the tears away as she caught her voice on the breeze, joking and laughing with the other teacher. She sounded so carefree, so happy. That voice could tear down civilisations, bring peace out of chaos, make people laugh, rip others a new one. In all their time together Ari had never heard her sound so happy. The last time she'd seen her, when she was still Ranger Rabbit, she'd been screaming, face contorted in agony, an image that Ari would never be able to shake from her mind as long as she lived.

She watched them walk to the end of the street, arms swinging so close by their sides that they were practically holding hands, then she turned and sat back into her patrol car, gripping the steering wheel tightly, trying to keep the tears at bay as she phoned Olive.

'She out?' the elephant girl asked.

'Yeah, just left. She's with another teacher,' Ari said, looking out the window as the playground emptied, the last few children skipping happily home with their families.

'Cool, I'll keep an eye out for her coming my way. Campout this evening?'

'I can't,' Ari said, as Mr. Bat began pressing his head against the steering wheel in frustration. 'I told mom I'd help her cook for Elinor.'

'No worries, we'll keep an eye on the old rabbit girl. You free tomorrow?'

'Yeah, should be.'

'Amazing, see you then. Oh, and Ari?'

'Yeah?'

Olive's tone changed, and she sounded gentle, kind and reassuring. 'We're almost there, just another 2 weeks and we'll have her back.'

Ari nodded, with Mr. Bat twisting the wheel in his hands. 'Yeah, you're right. We're almost there.'

'I'll see you tomorrow.'

She hung up and Ari took a deep breath and Mrs. Bat turned the key in the ignition, the car roaring to life under her fingers. One quick stop at the police station to get changed and return the car and then home to see his aunt and uncle. She missed them whenever they were off in Ari's, but being in close proximity with them all the time these days reminded her why she'd wanted to leave in the first place.

Well that, and the beautiful rabbit girl who'd stolen his and Olive's hearts.

'How was your time with Elinor, love?' his aunt asked when Ari walked through the door, kicking off his shoes and hanging up his bag in the hallway.

'Oh, you know, more parking disputes.'

'I could have sworn I saw your car near the school earlier,' his uncle said, and Ari felt his heart leap into his throat.

'Oh, yeah. We've had reports of kids smoking outside. Weed, that kind of stuff.'

'Well that's progress,' his uncle said supportively, nudging his eldest son's arm. 'You're starting to branch out a little.'

'From parking disputes to trying to stop underage students destroy their lungs,' Ari said dryly. 'Truly what I joined the police for.'

He joined his aunt in the kitchen and started to chop up onions and chillies, heating a pan and listening to the reassuring sizzle as she tipped the vegetables into it. Elinor'd done this before with Ranger Rabbit, back on the forest campsite. His friends had been insistent on learning how to make the Samosas his uncle had cooked up on their last visit, and the kitchen was a mess by the time they were done, flour and bits of pastry everywhere. She'd never forget the expression on Elinor's face though when they'd tested their food on the bats and had received nothing but praise and enthusiasm. The look of pride that lingered when she smiled at Ari, his eyes bright and smile wide, hair completely covered in flour.

Two more weeks, just two more weeks.

'Ari,' Elinor said, her voice gentle. 'I heard you again last night.'