Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“From My Dreams,
I can see the Future.
All I see,
Is for You and Me.
…
From My Dreams,
I am Calling you.
…
From My Dreams,
I can see the Future.
Follow me,
To set you Free.
From My Dreams,
I can hear you Calling me,
To set You Free.”
- “From My Dreams” by Forest Elves.

A wild-looking figure floated in a gray, misty space. You couldn’t tell what shade of gray the space was, for it was constantly shifting. Maybe it wasn’t gray. Maybe it was every shade of colour imaginable, all blended together. Who knows?

This unknown figure, you couldn’t entirely tell what it was, seemed to be watching silhouettes in the mist. The gray silhouettes moved and spoke; a small feminine figure arguing with a larger, broad-shouldered one. A man’s long pony-tail flapping in the breeze as he jumped roof-to-roof. A cloaked shortish person who wore a golden medallion leaning against a tree in a forest. A person with a clawed hand being crowded by many people. A bull-shaped outline of a mask, amongst dozens of other images. Though, no sound was heard by anyone other than this strange stranger.

Suddenly, the Space trembled and the Unknown figure turned toward the source of the disturbance.

Another figure, this one much more easily identifiable as a four-legged animal with odd attributes, emerged out of the mist and came toward the Unknown.

“Ah. Aloha, Faolyn!” Unknown spoke as they embraced the newcomer with a quick nuzzle. “Did you get what we requested?”

The fluffy newcomer, now known to the observers as Faolyn, plopped a medium-sized draw-string bag from her mouth into an outstretched clawed limb. The bag was pale yellow, and a warm glimmer of light was shining through the gaps at the top of the bag. The Unknown figure gently opened the top of the bag and peeked at the contents inside. They smiled before drawing the string close.

“Swicked! Fantastic job, Faolyn! We’re really gonna have ta thank Sandy when this is over. Big time!” The Unknown said as they lightly tossed the bag up once and caught it. They turned back to the moving silhouettes, contemplatively.

“Hmm, ‘suppose we’ll have to divide and conquer for this one.”

The mist began to swirl around the figure, faster and faster, a soft blue glow shown through, until a magnificent flash encompassed them.

Two figures, one taller, one shorter, now floated where the unknown once did. They each held a smaller version of the pale yellow bag.

The larger of the two spoke in a brusque voice, “You take those three . . .”

“And you get those three!” The smaller chirped. “But what about those other two?”

“I’d rather get the big guy.” The taller said, crossing their arms. “You okay getting that other guy?”

Their companion drooped, slightly disappointed. They sighed, “Welp! Someone’s gotta bring ‘im! ‘Sides, I guess he’s not so bad . . . deep, deep, deep, down.”

The drooping figure popped back up; all previous perk regained. “Just remember, when you go get that guy get squeaky too!” They waved a tiny finger at the taller.

The other huffed. “How could I forget that nut-loving puff-cheeked fuzzball? It’s practically a cannibal!”

“She is not!” The smaller put their hands on their hips. “She just has a well-balanced diet.”

The taller shook their head, causing their long braid to sway behind them. “Pft. Yeah, sure. You keep thinking that, little one.” They pulled up a hood and began walking off into the mist.

“Oh,” The taller paused and called back over their shoulder to the Other. “What about the ruff and tumbled people? Or those three? And those others, including my copy-cat?”

“Oh yeah!” The smaller smacked their forehead. “I suppose we should bring the ruff and tumbled group into this! We’ll both get them with whatever sand we have left. Those three and the others? Meh, we’ll bring them in later. We’ll need more sand for that first. And may I remind you, that you’re the one copy-catting him, dear one?” The smaller giggled, looking smug.

“Hush, little one. Your imagination is taking you away again. Is Faolyn going with you?”

“Yup!” The smaller said, hopping onto the furred-creature’s back.

“Well then, quit dawdling and go!” He took off, his voice echoing back as the mist covered his leaving.

“Love you, too!” She called, as the wolf with wings she was riding flew through the shifting atmosphere and disappearing like a shadow.

“FLY LIKE THE WIND!” Echoed from two voices that were One.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Even if someone had been looking closely enough at the moonless sky that night, they probably wouldn’t have seen the near-invisible figure of a wolf with wings and its rider soaring across the stars.

The person riding the winged-wolf laughed happily, not at all caring that the sound may draw unneeded attention.

“Hah-hah! The wind is so clear here! Too bad the moon isn’t out. Ah well, the stars are still pretty. Pretty, pretty!” She held her hands up as if she could reach up and grab them. The one who flew made a grumbling noise beneath her.

“I love flying with you too, Faolyn!” She hugged the large wolf around the neck. “Hey, have you found him yet? He’s all we have to do. It was easier to find a few of the ruff and tumbled group and ‘poof’ them already, so he’s all we have left!”

The figure sat back up and grabbed onto the wolf’s scruff. “I’m really glad the dear one let us get this last guy. Hope he got all the rest of them. Oh, what am I saying? Of course, dear one got all of them! He’s relentless with something like that.”

The she-wolf made an affirmative sound. Then her nose picked up as a breeze blew by. Abruptly, she banked her wings and turned, startling her rider.

“You found him? You really found him? Alrighty, let’s go!”

They flew on for several minutes. It was hard to see, unless you had eyes that specialized in the dark. Which wolves do, and at night to a wolf’s eyes, bright yellow is like sunlight at midnight.

“Ah, there you are.” The passenger whispered as she huddled closer to her companion, hoping to be less likely to spot. “Lying in wait, most likely. Watching and waiting, as you always are.”

“Hmm. You may be able to hide your presence, but that only works on your dragon brothers.”

They dropped silently beneath the tree line to the ground. The passenger slid off and crouched low. Hidden by the scrub, they both crept forward, barely making any sound as the neared their target.

The target, who was resting against the knotty roots and rough bark of a giant oak, seemed to be asleep.

‘But you can never know in these situations. ‘‘Never underestimate anybody.’’ Especially someone like him.’

“Faolyn. Go.” She whispered to her wolf friend. Said wolf slinked off into the forested shadows, wings brought in tight as to not catch any low-hanging branches and possibly give away her location too early.

A few minutes passed. The figure in the bush readied herself, reaching to the small draw-string pouch at her belt.

There it was. A howl. Haunting, and to anyone not familiar with it, frightening close.

The person under the tree started awake, (although he most likely never was,) and stood. He turned in the direction the howl came from, away from the figure in the bushes.

‘Now.’

She flew forward, faster than any her size should have allowed. She reached into the pouch and grabbed the handful of the contents remaining. When she reached him, he turned and saw her, but too little too late.

“What-“ POOF!

The girl threw the glowing-golden dust in his face and he immediately began to tip backward.

“Oh nonono!” She rushed and caught him under the arms before he hit the ground. She sighed in relief, before huffing, “Gosh, you’re heavy! I’d thought you’d be lighter than this.”

She hefted him and as gently as she could, she laid the yellow-headed person at the base of the tree and tried to get him into as comfortable a position as possible.

“You don’t deserve any more pain.” She whispered solemnly. “Goodnight, sleep tight, have sweet, sweet dreams tonight.”

She leaned back on her heels as she crouched and watched as the dreamsand floated above his head. It hadn’t formed a picture yet.  Makes sense, since this sand was for a special purpose.

The girl noticed that the soft, warm light of the dreamsand reflected slightly off the boy’s golden head. It made his hair seem like it was glowing.

“Hehe, what a perfect match. Oh, darn!” She brought down a small fist into her open palm. “I wish I had a camera right now! Sandy or North really need to make one that can capture pictures of dreamsand.”

At that moment, Faolyn separated from the shadows and trotted over to her friend. They greeted each other with a nuzzle as the girl stood.

“Hey girl! Fantastic job back there! That was a beautiful lullaby.” The wolf’s tail wagged once and she flicked an ear at the unconscious form. Her companion turned and smiled.

“Mission accomplished! Well, almost.” She went back over and lightly touched the cloud of dreamsand above the sleeper’s head. It glowed brighter and began to swirl excitedly.

“Now everything’s in place.” The small girl said. She ran back to her wolf and vaulted onto the back, tucking her legs under the wings. “Let’s head back to Inbetween!”

Spreading their wings, they lifted off. If you listened, you could hear a wolf howling in the crisp night breeze.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A hooded human-like person ran as fast as the wind around the kingdom of Kouka.

A light breeze blew through the maze-like cave system hidden deep in the mountains of the Fire Tribe.

The mysterious hooded figure dashed to a small alcove just outside the first pitch black mouth entrance.

The figure reached for the two long weapons at his belt. Flicking his wrist and with a clink that sounded like crystals echoing off each other, they merged into one. A burst of blue mist and they were final connected with a string, tip-to-tip.

He drew an arrow from the quiver behind his left shoulder, nocked, and anchored. (1) The feathers of fletching turned from leafy green to dark purple. He released.

The arrow hit the ground not far away from him and it immediately unleashed a cloud of black smoke. The figure ran straight through it. The smoke curled around and completely covered him.

The teen boy now blended perfectly in with the shadows. He entered the cave.

‘This may not keep me hidden from him, but at least it’ll stop those pesky villagers from spotting me. Glad only one person in this place has the eyes that can see through walls and shadow.’ He thought as he traversed the complicated caves and tunnels.

‘Also really glad he’s the last. Thunder Beast nearly killed me. Greenie wasn’t much better. Why did I decide to get Mother-Hen first?! Shoulda done easiest last. At least those old farts were deep sleepers, thankfully.’

He easily slipped past the masked watchmen and villagers. All they did was shiver and complain about the cold wisps of air that brushed past.

‘Hmph. Wimps. ‘iTs JuSt ThE WiNd. ~’’ 

The boy continued to make his way to the deepest and darkest cave in the area. Candles became less and less frequent. He came to a dead end and, knowing what to do, pushed a stone panel into the wall. A secret door grinded open.

‘Probably just gave away my location. Oh, well. It was gonna happen sooner or later. Never said this guy was gonna be easy.’

He went down the dark passage.

At first it seemed like there was nothing down here. However, he knew better.

RING, RING . . .

Therefore, he knew the sound of bells that signaled the attacker was coming, and was prepared to block the from-behind sneak-attack with his bow.

CLASH! The straight, black sword met the curved, crystal bow.

“Shoulda known you’d be able ta see me. Ah, well.” The boy threw off his attacker and turned to face the latter.

To anyone else, nothing but pitch darkness would be visible. But neither of these fighters were ‘anyone else.’

That’s how the first mysterious figure was able to see the ghost-like masked person in front of him.

“Look pal, and I know you can,” The person across from the bow-wielder opened his mouth a little in shock at being called-out about his powers by a complete outsider. “I didn’t come here to fight. And in case you’re wondering how I can see you, that’s a trade secret.” The boy smirked.

“Sorry ‘bout this, but I’m in a bit of a rush. Hope this inspires you to see the light outside someday!”

Faster than most eyes could see, although the masked-man saw it, the boy drew an arrow whose fletching turned bright yellow and fired it at the cave ceiling.

A blinding light filled the cave, and blind it did. To one blue-haired, golden-eyed, masked dragon warrior.

The blue dragon cried out in shock and slight pain from the bright light. He stumbled back, raising his arms in front of his mask in attempt to protect his extremely sensitive eyes.

‘He’s stunned. Now.’

Running towards the masked warrior, the hooded boy yanked the pouch attached to his belt open and tossed the golden dust inside at similarly coloured (though covered) eyes.

POOF!

Just like he had with almost every other encounter he had tonight, the boy caught his recent dreamsanded victim before they hit the hard ground.

The hooded boy took special care with this man. He leaned his bow against the stone wall and, after removing it from his back, did the same with his quiver.

Since they were about the same height it wasn’t too difficult to heft the unconscious masked-man onto his shoulders, and then began the slow trek down to the blue dragon’s “room.”

‘‘Purgatory’ is more like it.’

Once they reached it, the hood carefully slid his passenger off his back and lowered him slowly, tenderly, to the ground. He stood back up, watching the dream dust float there, being the only source of light in the space.

He stared down at the furred and masked person, seeming so small on the cold cave floor, and frowned. He looked around but there was nothing that could be used for warmth or comfort. A low growl escaped his throat.

“Pu’kyuu!”

“Ah!” The figure jumped, startled.

Poking her tiny head out of the sleeper’s fluffy headwear was the squirrel, Ao.

“Oh. Oh, it’s just you.” The standing figure breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sheesh, give a guy a heart attack, whydoncha?” He whispered as he knelt down on one knee, to closer look at the tiny creature.

“Pu’kyuu!” She squeaked. The hood shrugged sheepishly in response.

“Sorry, but I don’t speak squirrel yet. Been trying, but you guys are ‘tough nuts to crack.’” He winked. The squirrel only blinked and tilted her head.

“No sense of comedy.” He muttered. His gaze turned back to the sleeper. The dragon-eyed warrior’s head was at an awkward angle, and would no doubt, hurt in the morning if not moved.

“Can’t leave the poor guy here like that. Little one would have my head if I did.” He reached over, earning a slightly protective “Pu’kyuu!” in response.

“Hey, hey, I’m trying ta help. His neck’ll really hurt tomorrow if we leave him like this.”  

This caused the little creature to stare at him unblinking, no real emotion showing on its fuzzy face.

‘Well, this is uncomfortable.’

Finally, the tiny fluffball blinked, “Pu’kyuu’ed,” and scampered off her companion. Of course, she stuck close by; she always kept close to her dearest friend.

“Thank you.” He said as he reached for the fluffy white mane of fur this person wore to keep warm. The boy shifted it, so it rested more under the taller man’s head to act as a pillow. It still covered his back though, as to sperate it from the cold stone floor.

More hesitantly, the hooded boy reached for the horned mask, receiving a shocked “Pu’kyuu!” of protest. He ignored it, and simply turned the mask so it wasn’t pressing uncomfortably against its wearer’s face. The masked still covered the eyes it was meant to hide, but now the horn of the mask that had been against the floor was out of the way.

Retreating his hand, the hood stared at the sleeping person in front of him. He was still kneeling and sighed. He ran a hand over his face.

“I really am sorry about having to do that to you.” He told the unconscious person. “I know how much pain those eyes have caused you, and I’m truly sorry to have caused you more by them. You don’t have to thank me when this is over, because I probably don’t deserve it after this, but I do believe this is for your best.”

The hooded boy stood, and watched the dreamsand float in a shapeless could above the sleeper’s head. He reached a hand out and touched the cloud, which shone brighter and the glowing particles danced faster, hyper.

“Night-night, Moonlight.”

“Pu’kyuu?” The squirrel intoned as she hopped over to her dear friend’s covered face.

“Heh, he’ll be fine. He’ll just be having some strong dreams tonight.” The figure spoke as he leaned over the two. He reached for the nearly-empty pouch at his waist. “Can’t forget about you too, Squeaky. Luckily, I have only a pinch of dreamsand left. Just the perfect amount for you.”

“Pu’kyuu?” She looked at him with big, beady and utterly cute eyes.

“Aw, heck. I’m going soft.” He reached for the inside of a fold in his fur-lined parka and pulled out a hazel nut.

“Alright, I’ll admit it, you are the most adorable, brave, and kind-hearted squirrel I’ve ever met.”  He gave the nut to her, earning a thankful “Pu’kyuu! Pu’kyuu!” as she stuffed it in her cheek.

“But I still think you’re a cannibal.”

Poof!

The tiny pinch of dreamsand connected with the little squirrel’s head.

“Pu’kyuuuuu~ . . .” And she plopped down right next to her friend’s sleeping head.

“Heh. Adorable.”

Lightly. He touched the golden dust above the squirrel’s head, which had the same reaction as the sand cloud above the human sleeper’s head.

“Sleep sweet, Squeaky.”

With that, the hooded figure left the dark cave and headed back the way he came. When he reached the place where they’d had their confrontation, he quickly rushed to his bow and quiver.

“Mission accomplished.” He whispered to the empty cave as he shouldered his quiver. “Now, time to head back to the Inbetween.”

“Everything’s in place.”

Chapter Text

It felt like she was floating.

Was she dreaming? She hoped it wouldn’t turn into that nightmare of Hak and herself being chased from the castle. 

She felt no fear here though. She didn’t feel threatened at all.

She wanted to see where she was.

Yona opened her eyes.

Gray mist was staring back at her.

She wasn’t in her room, so this had to be a dream. Although, she’d never dreamt of just plain, boring old mist. Usually, Soo-won was in her dreams. Or beautiful gardens, filled with fragrant flowers and good smelling tea. Or nightmares. But this didn’t feel like a nightmare.

Maybe Soo-won is here? Or Hak?

Yona turned her head to the side so she could see her surroundings.

At first, it was hard to make out anything other than mist, mist, mist.

But . . . there! There was a figure lying on the ground just a little distance away from her.

She picked herself up off the ground, (though how it could feel solid she didn’t know, considering the whole space was mist,) and ran to the other figure. She was careful not to trip on her silk shirts as she went.

When drew near enough, she could finally make out the person on the ground.

Oh, it’s just Hak. The princess thought drily.

Her bodyguard was resting with one leg bent and the other stretched out, while his hands were locked behind his head. His glaive rested next to him.

I wouldn’t be surprised if his dream snores could wake me up in reality.

Indeed, Kouka’s Thunder Beast was sawing logs loud enough to be comparable to, well . . . thunder.

“Actually, I’m more surprised he hasn’t woken himself up.” She spoke aloud to herself.

As Hak continued to snore, the sound stared to wear on Yona’s thin patience. A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

“Hak.” She said. He continued to sleep on, nonplussed.

“HAK!” She finally kicked him in the shin, starting him awake.

“Huh-wha?! Whazz it? Who’s there? Wait, that guy-!” His eyes landed on the red-haired girl in front of him.

“Princess! Hey, did you see that weirdo with the crazy-looking bow? Did he hurt you?! And what are your feet made out of, rock?!”

The girl pouted. “Even a dream version of Hak is a bully.”

“Dream? Princess, what are you talking . . . about . . . ?” Hak finally noticed he was standing on nothing but mist.

“Ooooookay, a dream makes sense. This better be a dream, otherwise I’m afraid that I’ve gone senile early.” He said semi-NOT-nervously.

“Oh, shut up Hak! Why am I even talking to you like you’re real, this is a dream!”

“Uh, pretty sure you’re the dream princess, ‘cause I know for a fact that I’m real. Although having dreams about you isn’t all that unusual.” The last bit was muttered quietly to himself. Unfortunately, the red-head still caught it.

“Are you calling me dreamy?” She said with a hint of threat in her tone.

“Not at all.” He deadpanned. “If anything Princess, you’re a nightmare.”

“Why you-!”

“Hey! Is there someone there?” A voice called from somewhere. They both recognized it.

“S-Soo-won?!” Yona squeaked.

“Lord Soo-won?” Hak called.

“Hak? Yona? Is that you?” Soo-won said as he broke through the mist that had hidden them from view.

“Soo-won! I-I didn’t see you there.” Yona stuttered, face tinted a light pink.

“Hard to see anything in this place, Princess.” Hak said as he picked his weapon from the ground and shouldered it. He stared at his surroundings, azure eyes trying to pierce the veil.

“Although, I do not think we’re alone here.”

The other two tensed, Soo-won reached for the sword at his belt and Yona hid herself behind him. Hak moved to cover their backs, placing the princess Inbetween the two of them.

Yona glanced around nervously.

For a few moments, they stood in tense silence.

“H-Hak, what-?” She finally spoke, before . . .

“HEY! Who are you?!” Voices could be heard arguing faintly in the distance.

All three of them jolted and snapped their heads in the direction the disturbance came from.

Just beyond their sight, faints silhouettes could be seen moving.

“You two stay here.” Hak told the two royals, placing his guandao between them and the supposed threat.

“No way, you’re not going to face whatever that is alone.” Soo-won retorted. He pushed passed the Wind Clan General.

“I don’t want you to go alone either!” Yona piped up, following right behind her cousin.

 The Thunder Beast growled in frustration. “You two are so stubborn. Look, I’m the one who supposed to protect you, Princess. Let me handle this.”

“C’mon Hak, it’ll be like old times. Remember Ogi and the marketplace?” Soo-won

Hak fought not to chuckle at the memory. He let out an exasperated sigh. “Alright but if you die, I’ll charge you in the afterlife for all afternoon naps and three-meals-a-day you’ll owe me.”

Soo-won laughed. “Fair enough.”

Together, they moved towards the silhouettes, Hak taking point, and the voices became clearer.

“-ook I just wanna know why you have a giant, scaly, white hand, huh?!” A male voice that sounded rather young.

“Absolutely not! You are not privileged to that information, boy!” Another male. This one sounded older, belonging to someone in their early-twenties.

“Who you calling boy?! You’re barely an adult yourself!”  

“Now, now, let’s not be too rash.” This one was also male, sounding like it came from someone who had to smooth-talk their way out of way too many situations.

“Zeno thinks everyone should calm down!”

They finally broke through the veil to a semi-comical sight.

There were five people, three older, two younger.

One of the older, a white-haired man, was standing defensively with a large scaly hand raised in front of him. He had his very sharp claws directed at a teenage boy – or was it a girl? – who despite the very sharp, very pointy, very DEADLY, digits in his(her?) face, was glaring defiantly right back.

Standing, not directly between them, was another young boy with bright yellow hair. This kid seemed to be trying to break up the imminent word lashing and fire glares flying amidst the two. He had his eyes closed and was smiling in seeming exasperation.

Off to the side stood a rather odd character. He wore a horned, bull-shaped mask, as well as a large main of white fur. He looked rather lost. One hand rested on the wrapped hilt of a sword behind his right shoulder and kept turning his head from the white-haired man, to the blond kid, to the feminine boy, and back. Like he didn’t know whether to attack, run away, or break up the argument.

Further off was a tall man with green hair, who seemed to be trying to slowly edge away from the group. His expression clearly said he wanted to be as far away from there and as fast as possible. ***(Stopped beta-ing here.)

Hak, Yona and Soo-won all blanched.

“Good grief, now I know I’m dreaming.” Hak deadpanned.

“Well, you’re not alone then.” Soo-won murmured beside him.

 “Should we . . . talk to them?” Yona quietly asked.

“No.” Was both men’s blunt answer.

Yona looked down at the ground, before her eyes widened and she lifted her head.

“Wait. If this is just a dream then none of you are really real, and I can speak to the made-up people in my dreams if I want!” She realized as she came out from behind her cousin.

“Yona!”

“No, Princess, wait! Hey, get back here!”

But she wasn’t listening to her bodyguard, as she ran toward the strange people in her “dream.”

“Hello?” She called. “Who are you?”

When the white-haired man turned his gaze and saw her coming towards them, he froze. As did the yellow, green, and masked man.

“Crimson . . . hair?”(1)

"HEADS UP, BUTTERCUPS!!" A high, childish but surprisingly rough voice shouted from overhead.

Everyone's heads snapped upwards at the voice.

A figure dropped from the mist above them. They landed before them in a graceful crouch before popping up with a bright grin, arms spread out.

"Surprise!" They called out in a jovial tone.

The gathered group took in this strange being which was, to put it bluntly, a mis-match of everything.(2)

This . . . being . . . wore no clothes, but the was no need of them. The creature’s features covered all indecency, if there was any to be found in the first place. You couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Although there was not a scrap of clothing on them, strangely enough they did wear a single piece of jewelry. A necklace. There were two charms on it: one was a wooden item, the other a silver ring.

Their hair was long, reaching the floor and appeared to have vines and leaves, not only threaded into it, but growing out of it. A rainbow of feathers seemed to replace the hair on their scalp, and there even seemed to be crystals poking out here and there. Its face looked to be covered in a copper-coloured fur, a thin line of tan scales edged where the hairline would have been if it hadn’t instead been feathers. The nose and mouth were shaped somewhat like a lion’s.

But it was the eyes that caught your attention. Both had pupils that were slit like a cat’s however, the one on the right was a deep cyprus-umber while the left was a cold cobalt blue.

Their body was startling; covered in fur, feathers, scales, of all kinds, colours, and shapes. There were patches of leopard, tiger, giraffe, skunk, wolf, fox, and maybe dozens other types of fur were scattered intermittently. No one patch of fur touched another, as scales separated each kind of skin. While some looked reptilian, others looked like they came from fish. Dark green, light green, leathery gray, blood red, sandy brown, bright yellow, and even turquoise scales in some places. A few types of skin they couldn’t identify, like a slippery-looking pale gray, a wrinkly red that was covered in slime, among others they weren’t even able to name.

And that was just the skin of this creature. Their limbs were also abnormal; there was no symmetry between them. One hand had all five fingers that were supposed to be there, but each ended in a deadly-looking claw. The limb itself seemed more like a paw that had been stretched out and contorted into the shaped of a human hand. The back of this arm was covered in sharp black-and-white quills that didn’t look at all like they would be pleasant to be stuck with. The other hand only had four fingers with an aquamarine webbing connecting them. This arm had a sleek blue fin emerging from it.

Then the legs; it stood on two legs, but that was where the similarities to a human ended. Both limbs were bent back, like a faun of myth. One leg ended in a cloven hoof and the other in a large black paw. And once again, the splattering of fur and scales continued down both legs.

And finally, what our characters could make out of this chimera creature, was the tail. A tail that was covered in solid blue fur, and at the end of it sprouted a wicked scythe-like blade. It was pure white, and the deadly edge of it gleamed. It swished lazily behind the creature but one could tell but the muscles tensing in it, that it could strike faster that you could blink. This being was not to be taken lightly.

Yet, the gathered group couldn’t really decide if this creature was horrifying or beautiful.

It was Kija, (name yet unknown to those present,) who broke the stunned, and slightly terrified, silence.

“Who . . . who or what are you?!” He demanded. He raised his dragon hand in clear threat to the being’s neck.

They raised their hands in a sign of peace. “Woah, woah, woah, Dragon Hand! We don’t mean any harm! We’re not here to hurt you.”

“Your appearance does nothing to convince me. And who is ‘we’?” Kija made no move to lower his deadly hand.

They sighed and closed their eyes. “We had a feeling it wasn’t going to be that simple.” They lifted their dichromatic eyes to meet the sky-blue ones of Hakuryuu. “It would probably be easier to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell.’ But first, let’s take this party somewhere a bit more comfortable.”

Still holding their hands up, they snapped their clawed and webbed fingers.

Grey consumed everyone’s vision.

When they opened their eyes again, our colourful characters were staring up at straw-thatched roof. Individually, each person sat up and looked around.

They were previously lying down on a tatami floor, pillows and cushions spread all over they place. Surrounding them were four simple fusuma walls, no obvious windows or doors to the outside. The room itself was spacious, plenty of space for the eight people(and squirrel) occupying the center.

Hak groaned. “Now where are we?”

“You are still in the Inbetween.”

They all let out noises of surprise at the voice coming from above them. Looking up, they saw the being from before casually hanging onto one of the rafters by the tail. That deadly tail was wrapped around the wooden beam just at the base of where the blade emerged from the blue-furred skin.

And that being was grinning at them like a stupid monkey.

“Aloha, down there!” They called and waved. Before anyone could muster enough cohesive thought to actually speak, the chimera loosened their grip around the rafter. They fell but then flipped in midair to land in a crouch like a cat.

The green-haired man, his name yet unknown to the present group, spoke up. “And what is this . . . in between?”

“Ah!” They smiled, showing off sharp canines, and pointed one clawed finger toward him. “We’re glad you asked, Jae-ha!”

“Hey, how do you know my-?!”

“All will be explained in time! Don’t asked too many questions before you have the answers, one at a time, one at a time!” The being cut him off as they walked on all fours, a feat that was made easy by their inverted legs, over to the back-left corner of the room and slid open the fusuma door there.

All that was beyond was gray mist.

“The Inbetween is nowhere and everywhere. It exists, but typically you can’t see it. Some go through their whole lives, never realizing that they’ve been there at least once. It is ‘in between’ everything.”

They turned back to the group that was still sitting down. Looks of confusion or disbelief were written in each of their countenances.

“In other words, it’s just a really weird and conflicted place in your mind!”

That alleviated a few of the looks but most remained miffed.

It was Soo-won, who then stood up and addressed the crouching creature.

“You still have not acknowledged that person’s question from before; who and what are you? And is it safe for me to assume that since you knew that man’s name,” He gestured towards the person now known as Jae-ha, “You know the rest of our names as well?” He waved a hand at the rest of the gathered people there.

Those dichromatic cat-slit eyes took on a glint. It was not a cold or dangerous glint, more like someone who knew there was more going on and were in on all the little details of it. Someone who knew how to play the “Hidden-Mysteries-Speaking-in-Riddles” game, and knew it well. They smirked at him.

“So many questions, but that’s a good thing we suppose. You are correct, mister!  You’re really good at seeing the hidden meaning in things, we like that about you!”

They stood up from where they were crouching and slid the fusuma door closed. Then they faced the others with their hands lightly placed on their hips.

“And sorry for not introducing ourselves earlier! That was kinda mean to keep you in the dark like that, but it would have been even more confusing for you if we had tried to explain right there, right then. Plus, there probably woulda been a MAJOR freak-out if we had, and nobody wants that.”

“What do you mean?” Yona, who had been silent this whole time, inquired. She was sitting close to Hak.

“Like we said earlier! It’s probably easier if we ‘show’ rather than ‘tell.’ Just . . . Don’t. Freak. Out.”

With that, the chimera creature backed up into the open area where no one was sitting and closed their eyes.

Slowly, almost ceremoniously, they reached up and took hold of the two trinkets hanging at their sternum.

A blue light emitted from their closed hands and mist enveloped them.

The mist and light faded.

Two people now replaced the one. A boy and a girl.

The boy seemed to be in his mid-teens; he was tall and lean and had a serious and slightly closed-off, though not unfriendly, look on his face. He stood with his arms crossed but seemed relaxed. His hair was a surprising pure silver, almost as if it went premature gray. His head was covered in a thick, unruly mane of the locks, while a single long, thin braid reached the small of his back. Two smaller braids hung by the left side of his face. A cluster of white feathers were pinned in his hair, with a single black feather among them. A strip of leather wrapped around his head and underneath the silver bangs that flopped around his eyes. The eyes themselves were a startling lunar-blue. Two twin, curved swords hung from his right hip(bow grip). They appeared to be made out of glass and had an odd inner glow. A quiver of arrows rested behind his left shoulder(Left-handed, reaching back, draw string). The fletchings that poked out were a deep emerald green. He wore a deep blue sleeveless parka, with white-fur trim. On his feet were animal-skin moccasins that reached his mid-calf. They were very simple and hugged his feet comfortably as he shifted from foot to foot. A silver ring embedded with a purple stone cross hung on a chain at his neck. All-in-all, he looked very wild.

On the contrary to her companion, the girl seemed to be around nine or ten years old and was seemed very open and bubbly. A cheerful smile etched her face. Bright ember-brown(carmel) eyes twinkled beneath light-auburn bangs that flowed into long wavy hair that just brushed the floor. A pink hibiscus was pinned on the right side(not married!) of her hair. She wore a plain sky-blue dress that reached past her knees. It made of a very light material, almost as if a breeze had been solidified and turned into fabric. She had leggings on underneath the dress that seemed to be made of the same material. There was something peculiar about the cuffs of her sleeves and leggings however; they seemed to meld into her skin near the wrists and ankles, like the material was her skin. She had no shoes on. Lastly, they noticed at her left hip rested a sheathed dagger attached to a belt that seemed to be made out of snowflakes and autumn leaves. The sheath itself was made out of tightly-woven green vines that were covered in frost. The hilt was a crimson red. An ornately carved wooden cross lay on her collarbone. The girl herself was bouncing on the balls of her feet, absolutely bursting with energy.

"Ta-da!" The girl said, dramatically waving her hands with a flourish.

"Hiya! I'm Faith!"

"I'm Wolf." The boy identified himself.

"And we're TheWolfFaithChild!" They finished in unison.

“Huh?! Wha-how . . .?!” The boy with two feathers in his apricot hair spluttered. The others in the room all shared varying expressions of shock as well.

“Oy! You’re that weird kid from before!” Hak exclaimed and pointed at the teen-boy, Wolf, who covered his face with a hand and sighed exasperatedly.

“We don’t have time for this.” He lowered his hand and stepped forward abruptly.

“Look, I’m only gonna say this once and I’m gonna say it fast, so listen up!

“Faith and I were once One Person who decided to split into Two Persons. The result: the two people you see before you. That merged form you saw us in before is our True Form. We understand it can be disturbing to some people, so separating into two more human-looking bodies was our best option for this. We didn’t want to lie to you, so we first showed ourselves in our Wilder appearance. That’s it. Got it?! You good?! Greeeeat!” Wolf finished by shouting, losing all patience.

He was leaning over them, almost popping their personal-space bubble.  They were all leaning back, away from the force he was extruding.

This was when Faith decided to intervene, trying to soften the blunt words of her companion.

“Easy, easy, Wolf! No need to intimidate them before we’ve even begun, or else we’ll get nowhere!” She said as she laid a hand on his shoulder. He sighed, but his position relaxed. He then walked over to one of the corners and leaned against one of the support beams, content to let his Other to the explaining.

Faith looked back at the group. While they had been talking, the Thunder Beast had stood. He held his guandao in a clenched fist. Clearly he felt unnerved, unsure of the situation and the possible threat it posed to the Princess and her cousin.

Faith met his eyes.  “You cannot die here. We have not brought you, nor anyone else, here to be harmed.” She spoke with a high, warm voice, and her soft child-like brown eyes held no ill intent. It made Hak loosen his grip on his main weapon. But only a fraction.

“Then why did you bring us here? And who are these other guys?” Hak asked, looking around at the colourful assortation of people in the room.

“I’ll the first question first: We brought you here to witness events that are about to unfold in the waking world. And before you ask what that means,” She halted the question that was bubbling to the surface with a raised, tiny hand. “Basically, you’re going to be watching your future.”

“What?! That’s impossible!” The boy, not yet known as Yoon, protested. “I’m not sure about the rest of these strange beasts, but I know for a fact that I’m not an oracle! Prophetic dreams just aren’t possible if you’re not one.”

Faith turned to him. “Good thing this isn’t a prophetic dream then! It is a dream about the future, but nothing so vague like a ‘prophecy.’ Think of it like when you were a kid! Didn’t you ever have a dream where something happened and then something similar, but maybe not exactly the same, happened within the next few days?”

“Uh, well . . . maybe once.”

“Exactly! Children are much closer to the spiritual plane then adults. That’s where we came in! We connected your minds to a different plane, using a special gift from an old friend!”(3)

“We’re dead?!” Kija exclaimed.

BONK!

“OW!” He cried out, while in the backround could be heard “Zeno knows for sure we’re not dead!”

“No, ding-dong! You are in a Universal Lucid Dream. It’s a realistic dream that involves multiple people with a strong connection to each other, or actions strongly affect others’ paths, in order to show them what they need. In this case, it is your future.” She said, straightening up from where she smacked a small fist into Kija’s white head.

“And as for your secound question Hak, they will eventually be your dearest comrades.” Wolf said from where he was leaning against the beam. “You are here to witness a glimpse of that in the coming future.”

“Alright, do any of you have any more questions?!” He, rather loudly, demanded.

“I have one.” Kija raised his human hand. Faith gestured for him to continue.

“Who is she?” He looked and pointed at Yona. The princess of Kouka was slightly surprised at being the sudden focus of attention by all these strange (and slightly familiar?) people.

This caused Wolf to smirk slyly, and if one looked close enough, a hint of pride.

“That, Hakuryuu,” He said, backing up to the front of the room and spreading his arms wide. “Is what you are here to find out.”

Behind him, two sections of the wall slide apart to reveal a plain, white . . . liquid?

It stretched ceiling-to-floor, wall-to-wall, and shimmered with a pearly sheen.

It was beautiful, in an ominous sort of way. **(Stopped betaing)

Yoon torn his gaze from the white wall, to pin Faith with an incredulous and rather repulsed look.

“This can’t be real. It has to be fake, right? This is just a dream, and it’s not real.” He muttered while backing away. He was overwhelmed and beginning to panic.

Slowly, Faith approached him and gently reached up to free the hands that had grabbed a hold of his apricot hair. She had to stand slightly on her tip-toes, since she was nearly two heads shorter than him.

She looked him right in the eye and held his hands in her tiny ones as she spoke softly,

“None of this is ‘fake.’ It’s all real. Well, I guess depending on what your definition of ‘real’ is. Is it actually happening? Yes. Is it happening in the physical world?  No. Will all these events be forgotten in your mind? Yes. But the fact that they happened will not be forgotten by, well, at least someone out there. Whomever they may be. More than likely, God. But there is no reason to fear what will happen. Even if you don’t think it now, one day you’ll see this was all for your good.”

When she finished talking, she released his hands and stepped to the front of the room. Yoon, while still not entirely appeased, had seemed to comforted by her words. At least a little.

“Any other questions you have will be answered in time.  For now, just make yourselves as comfortable as you can.” Faith invited. Immediately, the yellow-haired kid who kept calling himself Zeno FLOMP’ed onto a pile of pillows.

Taking his action as a cue, the rest hesitantly sat themselves in among the various pillows and cushions. Seeing as they had no choice, they couldn’t leave unless they wanted to get lost in the misty world outside, after all.

Hak sat closest to the Princess, who was sitting in between him and Soo-won.

Yoon shot the girl a look of disdain before flopping himself between Jae-ha and Kija. He seemed incredibly short compared to the two tall men. To Jae-ha’s right is where Zeno was lying with his face buried among the pillows.

On the opposite side, to Kija’s left, Seiryuu sat a little separated from the arc of people. He was slightly tense, unused to being around to many people who didn’t seem afraid of him. But a part of him, heavily suppressed over years of rejection, was silently grateful.

Wolf suddenly sat beside the masked person. Seiryuu started.

At first, Wolf firmly kept his eyes ahead of him before saying,

“I know I said it before, but you weren’t conscious to hear me so I’ll say it again. I’m really sorry about having to use that blinding light arrow on you. I know it hurt you, and I’m so sorry.” Wolf then looked straight into the black eye-holes in the, yet unnamed, Shin-ah’s mask.

Seiryuu’s mouth widened slightly, not quite believing someone was apologizing to him, before nodding in acknowledgement.

Faith went to the end where Zeno was, and similarly to the Yellow Dragon, FLOMP’ed herself into the pillow-pile.

“Fluffy!” She called.

“Fluffy, Fluffy!” Zeno mimicked with a bright grin.

“You seem to be really fun, little miss!” He commented

“Thanks! You too, mister Zeno!”

“Zeno’s just Zeno.” He amended.

“Oh, okay!” She nodded.

Then much more quietly so none of the others would overhear, she whispered, “The reason why none of the dragons went through the blood-initiation is because this is, technically, a dream.”

Zeno’s eyes widened slightly at her abrupt change of topic, and uncanny insight to a yet untold secret. (Well, it wasn’t really a secret, per say. But it defiantly wasn’t a common-known subject.)

“None of your physical bodies are actually here, this is how all of you see yourselves in your unconscious minds. Because their bodies, and therefore blood, are not here there can be no initiation. The only ones with bodies that can be harmed here are Wolf and myself, since we are a creature of this world.” She summarized.

Zeno saw the old look in the young girl’s eyes. He knew those eyes. He knew them all too well, for he himself possessed them at times when past pains reared their heads.

Ouryuu smiled kindly at the seemingly-young girl.

“The tiny miss is very sharp for her age. Zeno thinks that’s very telling of her.” He glanced at the others around the room.

“And Zeno is sure the tiny miss and wild mister mean no harm to any of the people here. For whatever reason you’ve brought them here.”

Faith breathed in relief. Her eyes were shadowed by her brown bangs. “Thank you. That’s all I needed.”

She sat up to sit criss-cross-applesause and extended her hands toward the liquid wall.

Wolf did the same.

“Well, then . . .” He said, sardonically.

“Everyone, we are happy to welcome you . . .” Faith continued, her previous enthusiasm regained.

“To ‘Yona of the Dawn!’”

The screen flooded with black.