((Sorry about the long gap between Chapters 9 and 10, my boring, stressful, non-fanficcing life interrupted the flow of creative juice, AND I got sick, and then Christmas... Sigh))

It took my eyes longer than usual to adjust to the darkness. I stumbled forward, first following the humans' road, and then realizing that we'd be seen immediately if we stayed on it. I heard a car start back at the house and I started to panic. There wasn't anywhere to hide. My heart pounded. Why did this place have to be so damn empty? Car lights hit the road behind us and I started running like an idiot, without really knowing where I was headed. I was off the road, grass swishing beneath my feet, hoping desperately that that forest Traum had promised would materialise. I could hear either Dormi or Traum ahead of me. Behind us the lights faded, and as they did the darkness became so solid that even the moon and stars became useless guides.

Finally we reached the edges of the forest. I felt a sense of calm as I found myself in an environment that felt, smelled, if not familiar at least recognizable. I spent a few seconds simply inhaling the scent of trees, earth, leaves rotting. Dormi yelped as she tripped over a tree root. I realized it would take some time for Dormi and Traum to adjust to it. We needed to find somewhere secure to sleep. If we staggered on we risked getting separated or injured. And we needed to know exactly what other threats lurked in this particular region.

"Traum, wait." I realized he had assumed the leader role.

"What?"

"We need to stop. We can't just keep thundering through here."

"I see, so you'd like to go back to the road and wait for the humans to collect you."

"No, but we don't know this place. We need to sleep; not get lost." I tried to control my irritation.

"If we just wait around we'll be captured, I'm sure your desire to be back with your human isn't that great."

He was afraid. "Traum, this place isn't my territory, but it will be someone's."

"Fabulous, a whole troop of swamp denizens, assuredly all as insightful and prudent as yourself."

"They won't be my tribe."

"No, because we've all earned a long dose of your company." He headed into the forest. Dormi shrugged at me, and followed. I waited for a moment. Finally I decided I'd be better off with them than alone, so I reluctantly went after them.

My eyes adjusted fairly quickly to the forest's dingy depths. The same apparently was not true for Dormi and Traum. I could hear them stumbling on the uneven terrain and scraping themselves on branches. Traum muttered angrily under his breath. Dormi yelped faintly, though I came to assume these sounds were less involuntary and more deliberate; designed to provoke sympathy from me. I realized how silent I was by comparison. My own movements were light, sure and steady. Dormi and Traum had never needed to stalk silently after a meal, or avoid enemies and predators. I felt alone despite their noisiness and wished that Lazlo were around.

The issue of finding a safe sleeping place was still a pressing one. I didn't know where any of the clearings here were, and, even if I did, I didn't want to sleep exposed in strange territory. On the other hand curling up on the ground would leave us vulnerable to cold and damp, and getting sick would be inadvisable. I suppose I should have voiced some of these concerns but instead I just followed behind Traum, with Dormi keeping pace with me.

Traum eventually must have tired because, seemingly at random, he crouched down and insisted we stop. At least the ground was only moderately damp. We'd probably wake up stiff and uncomfortable, but it could be worse. Traum lay down, turned his back to us and appeared to fall asleep quickly. Dormi just sat there, in the darkness, knees under her chin and her arms crossed tightly. I tried to make some sort of sleeping place without disturbing too much of the carpet of damper leaves, which rested under the newer layer of dry ones. I waited for a while, silently, before Dormi, as predicted, curled up close to me. If she'd been reading my mind she probably wouldn't have liked the contents. Finally I forced myself to sleep.

I woke up earlier than I wanted to, feeling cold and damp with dew. The only part of me that was warm was where Dormi was huddled. For a few moments I didn't want to move and lose this one source of heat, and have to face the loneliness of the early morning in this strange, unknown forest. And, I realized with a shock, I didn't want to let her get cold. Dormi and Traum, however far from ideal they were as companions, were all I had out here. I looked down at Dormi's sleeping face, two crescent moons of eyelashes resting on her dewy cheeks. She had a slight frown, and her mane was dew sprinkled and bright white against the dark brown leaves of the forest floor. She looked like any girl from my tribe. Not a beauty like Oneira of course, but comfortingly familiar. I sighed, and pulled away from her. She shivered but stayed asleep.

The sky still had that dingy blue quality it has on early, cold mornings. Overcast, and fog lingered around the trees. This place had an oldness to it that my home does not. My marsh abuts a forest, which is full of paths and clearings, walked through regularly by humans, stalked through by myself and my kinsfolk, full of sun on hot days… Not this. This place was ignored, by humans at least. There were none of the usual signs of traffic; humans had built roads around that enabled them to avoid it entirely. You could tell by the trees and plants, growing as they were in a rich, interconnected canopy. Everything was mossy and damp, life growing wild over other life.

For a while I just took it in, realizing my home was far less untamed than I had thought. Really, my home was full of, absolutely defined by, signs of humans. All the paths they'd beaten, which we wandered alongside, all the junk they left, which we examined, their incomprehensible signs indicating the direction of places I had assumed I'd never see. This forest would have frightened the humans who trekked happily through my marsh, and it frightened me too. This was wilderness I was not wild enough for.

Traum had disappeared. I felt both annoyed and relieved. Annoyed he'd decided to get the jump on me and explore the area before I had the chance to. Relieved I could savor the morning alone and try and get my bearings in the forest without feeling like a buffoon. Of course a few moments later I felt worried, despite my dislike of him, and wandered off to find him.

The ground was damp beneath my feet, and spongy, layer upon layer of decaying undergrowth. Dew here was a touch more noticeable than at home. Fog lingered around the trees. The whole place was uncomfortably moist and cool.

I wandered silently forward, hoping to hear Traum's inadvisably loud footsteps. But there was only silence. Where had he gone?

I kept waiting to serendipitously wake up and be home. Wandering through this forest that was some sort of uncanny valley of my world. Or not, perhaps, waiting… hoping. I cursed silently at Traum when I stubbed my toes on a concealed stone. I could hear water running up in the distance. Well, at least I'd have something to drink. You know, we don't need to drink as often as humans, only once in a few days. I remember eating the dream of some human man who was afraid of dying of thirst. I couldn't understand what I was supposed to be seeing, as all the water in their dream receded away over the horizon, whilst they struggled hopelessly to reach it. It was the first time I ever got caught too. As soon as I consumed the dream the man snapped awake, and started panicking, in my Drowzee foolishness I just stood there, wondering what had gone wrong. Lazlo had to save me, dragging me away as I stammered about how humans weren't meant to wake up until later…

"What a fine moment for our proud race- saving a Hypno who can't even keep some lonesome traveler under." Traum drawled, as I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Oh, don't be so shocked, I am certain you knew my every move, what with your honed forest dweller skills."

"Go die…"

"That's not very nice, just last night you were glad we were around, imperfect companions and all…"

I tried to keep my thoughts neutral, but mind reading was probably not required to guess my feelings. How had he snuck up on me?

"Yes, you're not quite as stealthy as you seem convinced we should be, are you, Marsh Boy?"

"Stop reading my mind."

"I probably should, wouldn't want to die from the tedium before we're even a day into this dirt heap."

"You and Dormi are just perverts."

"Even the winsome Dormi? Shock horror!" He laughed. "By the way, do you think leaving her sleeping alone in the open was the wisest course of action."

My stomach twisted in horror.

"Though I'm so flattered you cared enough to come 'find' me."

I stumbled back to where I'd left Dormi…

It was a monster. Hard, sleek shell, grey horns half my size, and the teeth, I could see its teeth, just inches away from Dormi's sleeping face. I could hear those fangs clicking as they flexed in and out of the creature's moist mouth. My blood was ice. I wanted to call out to Dormi but I was afraid waking her would cause the monster to strike. A stone sailed past me and hit it on top of its head, cracking the shell near its black, pit like eyes; it turned towards me.

Dormi, a slight smile still on her face, opened her eyes drowsily, and then screamed loudly enough that I'm sure every creature in the forest heard her. The creature, which had been distracted, instantaneously focused its attention back to her, the horns on its head clamping together, only barely missing her as she scrambled backwards. Traum flung a stick as I, roused from my terror induced stupor raced forward and pulled Dormi to her feet. The creature charged at us, its horns cracking together.

I bolted, dragging Dormi behind me. The monster was obviously enraged and blundered after us, smashing branches out of the way. Every projectile Traum hit it with seemed to give it more fury and speed.

"STOP MAKING IT CHASE US!" I yelled, pointlessly, because I doubt he could hear me over Dormi's hysterical wailing.

I tripped over a branch, yelping as Dormi fell forward onto me. I held my arm over my head as Dormi tried to strangle me… and grab the pendulum and hypnotise the monster. Traum must have made a direct hit because it toppled over next to us, head broken wide open and oozing black slime. Dead.

Dormi stood up, walked five steps and started retching uncontrollably. I stood up shakily and tried to comfort her, feeling my terror recede, replaced by a growing feeling of incredible idiocy. Why did I forget the pendulum? Dormi, turned and started sobbing into my mane. This was probably when Traum truly assumed the unquestioned status of leader.