Buttermilk Stories and Prompts

The setting sun streamed through the bars, the perfect angle to blind Serenity no matter how she moved. If she wasn't so tired, there was a chance that she could get turned around in the tight enclosure, but as is she couldn't find the strength. She laid her head on the flooring once again and willed herself to sleep, but deep down she knew there wasn't a chance. Hoards of people still crowded the cage, shouting and jabbing at her. Somewhere a child screamed incessantly, and the shrill sound only worsened the aching in her head. Her stomach rumbled, but she knew she wouldn't be fed until the next morning. If only she could sleep to make the time go faster, but she knew she couldn't. This was her reality, and she had to endure it, no matter how wrong it felt. Indeed, deep down she had always felt that something was off... wrong... missing. There was a nagging in the back of her mind, a greater calling. It beckoned to her in the still moments, and tempted her with visions in her dreams. Now, as the moon chases away the sun, Serenity lets herself fall into her dreamworld...

Every dream started off different, but Serenity was at peace, already knowing how it would end. Tonight it was a jungle, all quiet and mysterious. She was trudging through the underbrush, seemingly lost. The canopy blocked out any light the moon had to offer, and every direction looked the same. The air was thick and still, as if the world was holding its breath just as she was. Strange as it was, not a creature stirred, but Serenity felt as if she was being watched. Stopping to look around, she heard it, and her heart quickened. It started off as merely a whisper, a dull humming, but she recognized it all the same. She leaped into a gallop, following the tune. As she ran, the music built, and soon she found herself stepping in time to the beat of a drum. The music seemed to carry her and guide her with a familiar joy like no other. In what seemed like both a second and an hour, she burst through a curtain of vines and skidded to a stop. Her breath caught in her throat, and the music faded. The view was glorious, as always, and she fought the urge to cry. An enormous valley, sloping away from her, illuminated by strange lights of every hue. Trees shot out of the lowest point, proudly supporting hundreds and hundreds of layers of huts and bridges, magnificent treehouses. Serenity was most captivated by those that roamed these structures, though. Here, in this dream valley, were thousands of animals that looked just like her. Here, she knew she wouldn't be called strange or stand out, and she could be comfortable in her own skin. It was where she belonged. This was her kind, her family, her home that she had never known. This was where she longed to go with all her being. It was her only aspiration. Even as the dream faded, she still felt the lingering peace and joy, for she knew that somehow, someday, she would see this place, and that was something worth fighting for.