Slumber Disturbed

Fire. Shrieks of pain, terror, and fear blaze through as though the stars themselves were falling, and the fabric that held the universe was being rend in two. There’s red everywhere- flames, the sky, the moon itself, and so much more. Fire- both natural and man-made, scorches the earth. Myu can see it with her own eyes- humans, people, creatures running in terror as meteors crash into the ground below. She opens her mouth- an attempt to scream in horror at the sheer amount of despair and desolation she is bearing witness to. Then, almost in an instant, light trails across the sky. The entire scene flashes white, and there is nothing more. The shrieks, the people, the fire- it’s all gone in an instant. All that is left is eerie silence, and just when she thinks it might resolve.

Myu opens her eyes, jolting up from her resting position and taking in her surroundings. Books, cushions, special trinkets meticulously placed to show every piece of their beauty- everything is back to normal. She is in her room, and she can feel every muscle in her body release the tense breath she has been holding in. She pants. The same dream. She has been plagued by this very dream ever since she was younger- an oracle, her family had called her before keeping her locked up in the castle walls she knew so well. Not that she minded it. No, far from it. If the world outside was like that of her dreams, she wanted nothing to do with the outside world.

However, one thing pulls her out of that thought. Hitori. Hitori practically startled her near death when he appeared in the garden one night, catching her off guard… yet… still so curious. He wanted to stay in the garden, look up at the stars near the pond she cared for so diligently.

Hitori was new, and from when they spoke and as she came to know, he lived to travel- far and wide and beyond. At first, Myu had worried gravely, knowing very little beyond what she knew from books and her own dreams.

Every time, he came back. Not only did he come back, but he always brought the most beautiful gifts. It made her… curious about the world beyond her gilded cage. But now? She worried. Hitori had been gone for about three days and three nights, which in her opinion, was far too long. She loves Hitori dearly, but love meant being able to watch him come and go once more. Every time he left was the silent thought of whether or not she would see him return.

Myu tears up at the thought, seeking comfort in the pond they love to lay by every night. She walks to the balcony’s edge, stretching her wings not too wide yet just enough to allow her to glide down effortlessly. Ever since Hitori became an important part of her life, she added a new fish to the inhabitants of her pond. One that reminded her much of him. She had read it in one of her books, the rumour that fish were connected to the souls of their owners or those they cared for. Myu had taken it to heart, finding a lot of comfort in seeing that little fish alive and well. It reassured her that despite his absence, Hitori would return…

Right?

Myu had to know. She pads over to the pond. She has to look, just to be sure. She must.

The moonlight casts its glow over the pond, and starlight dances across the surface. It is dark, and a bit hard to see beyond a foot into the water. Some of the fish swim toward the surface, expecting to be fed… but what worries her is that a flash of red does not swim near. She feels her mind begin to spiral- what if something finally happened? What if he was in trouble, or what if he needed her help? Perhaps--

She can hear the flap of wings, but she is far too concerned to pay it a lot of mind… that is, until she hears a very familiar jingle of a bell. Myu’s head shoots up, and her eyes scan the sky. The red that fills her vision makes her smile and radiate with warmth.

“Hitori! Oh, my dear…”

He lands, giving her an equally bright smile. Nothing can compete with the sunshine it radiates. She is quite sure of it.

“Good to see you again, Myu.” They approach each other, embracing and intertwining tails together. She nuzzles her face into thick cream neck fur and gives the biggest, dreamiest sigh.

“I missed you, Hitori. You know I worry about you.”

Hitori can’t help but let out a small sigh. He knows she worries endlessly, almost to the point of making herself sick. He presses their foreheads together. “I know, but I can promise you, Myu, that I will always come back to you.”

Myu practically melts at those words, leaning into Hitori and knocking him over with a bit of a laugh. They both tumble onto the grass with joyous laughter, cuddled up closely.

“Why don’t--” Myu lets out a yawn. “Why don’t you tell me about your journey?”

“I owe you that much, at the very least.” There is a smile in those words. As he begins his tale of traveling through the skies to get to the most remote of islands, Myu closes her eyes. Like this, she gets to feel as though she is there with him. Hitori is a wonderful storyteller, and the more his voice fills the night air around them, the heavier her eyelids begin to feel.

She lets out the smallest mumble, curling a bit into herself as the two lovers lay together. “Hitori?” she sleepily asks. She receives a small hum in response, her cue to continue. She thinks for a moment, before settling on one question.

“On your next adventure, will you take me with you?”

Hitori raises his head a bit, startled by the question. Myu had always been so afraid to take a step beyond the castle she knew so well, but… he knew one thing. That if anything were to happen, he would do everything to protect her and make sure she made it back home.

“You’re always welcome to join me, Myu. I love you,” he whispers, pressing a loving lick to her forehead.

“And I love you too, my darling,” she whispers back, sleep heavy in her voice.

Myu falls fast asleep, and as the familiar void of the dreaming realm enters her mind, the usual nightmares that plague her seem to vanish, giving ways to happier dreams. The two starsnares sleep through the night dreaming of the world they love so dearly.