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Honehime stirred slightly in her sleep, as her mind ascended a portion of the path to full wakefulness. She merely shifted her position somewhat, shifting her arms to lay flat along her sides, and then calmed down once more. During this brief interlude, her dreams also shifted, moving from one set of images and vague meanings to the next. This next set of dreams had a slightly more ominous note, as if it was trying to warn her, warn her of something that had yet to come. Would she heed the warning, would she even remember it? Morning would reveal the answer.
(12584 words + 102 words = 12686 words)


Lieselotte frowned at Sakazuki's return to the same mocking tone she had used before, but didn't immediately reply, she just wanted to return to camp and get some sleep. A moment later, she did finally choose to answer the Circe's comments anyway, though. "Zat would appear to be ze case, Sa-Ken-zuki." A slight smile crossed her face as she turned back the 'Barbie' joke on it's owner. She didn't want to get into a full argument with the other girl, but she at least wanted to show that Sakazuki wasn't the only one who could make jokes like that.
(12919 words + 107 words = 13026 words)


Mei sighed, and snuggled deeper under the blanket after Shuku set it upon her. She kicked out her legs a little, and managed to untangle her first blanket from her legs, so that it was actually just wrapped around her feet. If Shuku wanted, she could easily pull it free so she would still have a blanket for when she slept. Mei mumbled under her breath, not really saying anything legible, not even as clearly as she had earlier during her sleep. Licking her lips, she tilted her head to the side and calmed down once more. Her tail made one last swish in the air, and then it flopped down, sticking out from under the blanket. She snuggled a little more, and then snorted snoring softly.
(14482 words + 127 words = 14609 words)

Honehime slept for some time longer, stirring only very rarely, seemingly a near total opposite of Mei's nocturnal behavior. Even her breathing was quiet and restrained, likely more from self restraint than anything. And within her dreams, those same feelings of restraint had no place. Within her dreams, things were wildly chaotic, as flurries of images sought to make themselves locked within her memory long enough to be remembered upon awakening.
(12686 words + 72 words = 12758 words)


At first, Lieselotte thought that Sakazuki might not have heard her comeback, but instead it had just taken her a while to decipher it and reply back. Smiling slightly, it seemed that her tiredness was slowing Sakazuki down a little, Lieselotte thought about what she said. "Are you pozitive? You seem to act more like a man zen a woman." And still Elfriede led them on, the sound of her clicking joints nearly hidden by the two's back and forth. It didn't seem like it would descend into a cat fight, though. At least not tonight.
(13026 words + 98 words = 13124 words)


Mei continued to slumber, mumbling every so often, still totally oblivious of the real world all around her supine form. Suddenly, without warning, she cried out, making yet another pointlessly bizarre announcement. "Aisle three is closed, please move on to the next teller!" She kicked her legs rapidly, accidentally knocking loose her blanket, and just managing somehow to kick the wadded up leafy blanket at Shuku's back. Then she flopped back down, and muttered something that couldn't be quite heard or understood, and went silent again. She rolled onto her side, soft snores and occasional moos coming out of her mouth as she breathed slowly, and for what would likely only be another brief moment, peacefully.
(14609 words + 118 words = 14727 words)

Honehime continued to sleep, unaware of the continued antics of Mei and Shuku, or of the continued absence of the rest of their group. Once morning rolled around, it would be a different matter, but for now, she was within her dream world. Which was a very unusual place, yet familiar enough to be somewhat disquieting. There were definite shades and shadows of the real world, but they were changed and alien enough that it was somehow worse than if it had been something completely different.
(12758 words + 86 words = 12844 words)


Lieselotte could only shake her head wearily at Sakazuki's last comeback. She should have been able to guess that the Circe would manage to turn the conversation back to the act carnal. They walked in silence for a moment longer, silent save for Elfriede's clicking and clacking, of course. Only then did Lieselotte finally reply to Sakazuki's last statement. "Well you certainly seem to dwell on ze perverted zings, just like a male." She shook her head again, and then looked up upon noticing she could see a light ahead. They had to be getting close to camp.
(13123 words + 101 words = 13224 words)


Mei gave no signt hat she noticed Shuku looking at her. The reason why was because she was asleep, of course. She tossed and turned a little, and then calmed down once more, breathing slowly as her enormous chest rose and fell, making it appear even larger than before, if that was even possible. She mumbled again, and if Shuku would listen close enough, she might possibly hear Mei complaining about something, perhaps about the price of ground saffron? But the words were slightly muffled, so she could have just as easily said something completely different. As all the things she had already said before while asleep would so aptly prove. At the very least, as wild as her sleeping habits were, it was lucky that she didn't do anything even more disruptive.
(14727 words + 134 words = 14861 words)

Honehime continued to sleep, blissfully unaware of what went on around her. In fact, she had her own minor predicament to deal with. There must have been something a bit odd in their stew, her dream was taking a turn for the bizarre. And not just the bizarre that came and went with the odd peculiarity of all dreams, either. No, this was the odd that came from eating the wrong kind of mushroom. That being said, the mushrooms that had been in the stew were perfectly safe. It must have been something else.
(12844 words + 94 words = 12938 words)


Lieselotte didn't reply to Sakazuki's last comment, perhaps sensing that the weary Circe had said a little more than she had intended. She wouldn't pry into the other girl's past, just like she expected the others to leave her own past unspoken. She had already revealed enough, at least she told herself she had told the others more than enough about her past. Then again, it had always been her normal mode of operation to never say anything about her past, and even then, she had opened up, even a little, to these near strangers. Odd.
(13224 words + 100 words = 13324 words)


Mei rolled over once more, this time in the opposite direction. She had to be one of the largest and most curvaceous rolling pins ever. She mumbled sleepily to herself, stretching out a hand to reach for something in the real world, as she did the same thing within her dream. Was she reaching out for salvation? For truth, or justice? Or for the last slice of pizza? Her mumbling certainly could be confused with the gibberish of talking with a mouthful of food, at any rate. She calmed down, and pulled her arm back within the warmth of the leafy blanket, unaware that she had an audience in Shuku, who seemed to be intent upon watching her. Whether to stop her from doing something foolish, or perhaps some ulterior motive? Regardless, she seemed to be giving Shuku quite the show. She mooed softly and rolled over onto her stomach, resting on the overstuffed pillows that was her bust, her rear sticking up in the air slightly.
(14861 words + 167 words = 15028 words)

Honehime's dreams continued on until they reached a crescendo, and then they fell away into the void. At the same time, she silently woke up, slowly opening her eyes. She didn't sit up, but listened as the missing members of their group finally returned, seemingly with only minor injuries. She would lay awake for a moment longer, to wait and see if there was anything that they might need her help with. There was only minor knowledge of first aid that she knew, but perhaps it would end up making the difference.
(12938 words + 94 words = 13032 words)


Lieselotte shook her head as she moved past Sakazuki's crouching form, before sinking to a bare spot by the fire. She then replied audibly, in case Sakazuki hadn't been looking. "Nozzing a night of sleep won't fix. I assume you aren't hurt, eizzer?" She looked around camp for a moment, before sinking back to the ground. Things seemed the same as before, with the exception of the mattresses and blankets. That was a welcome change, the ground felt as hard as ever underneath her.
(13324 words + 88 words = 13412 words)


Mei continued to sleep in that same awkward position, seemingly still able to breathe and mumble as if nothing had changed. Her tail swished back and forth regularly, although most of it was hidden under her blanket. The only visible part was her tufted tail, which moved along the edge of the blanket. She was still as deeply asleep as before, it seemed she had no idea that the others had returned. She was still going through the whole bizarre circumstances that were the multitude of dreams she was experiencing. She pulled one of her legs underneath her, pulling her foot back under the blanket from where it had only recently escaped.
(15028 words + 112 words = 15140 words)

Honehime could tell things seemed pretty settled, she doubted any of the others would need her help before morning would roll around. Or to be more precise, her turn to watch rolled around. So she closed her eyes once more and drifted off to sleep, shifting slightly as she did so. She was asleep again almost instantly, and a moment later, she would be subjected to yet another dream that was supposedly a hint at the future, but was vague enough to be impossible to understand fully until it had already happened. What did bat wings and a metal spike have to do with them, anyway?
(13032 words + 106 words = 13138 words)


Looking over at Sakazuki, Lieselotte heard her sum up the battle rather succinctly. She frowned slightly, but she couldn't really argue with what the Circe had said. The battle had indeed ended much quicker than they had thought. That reminded her. She got up, dusted herself off, and moved the snake skin bag containing the snake meat they had harvested, and moved it closer to the fire. Hopefully the crackling flames would help deter any carnivorous wildlife that might otherwise be lured by the prospect of an easy snack.
(13412 words + 90 words = 13502 words)


Mei mooed softly a few times, and one of her hands waggled for a brief moment, almost like it was afflicted with a case of the shivers. but hands didn't get the shivers, did they? Perhaps her hand had transformed into a creepy crawly bug in her dream? She didn't seem troubled, though, so maybe not. Guessing would only ever be just that, guessing. And if by bizarre chance Mei was actually able to remember her dreams once the morning came, then if anyone was interested enough to ask, they could try to find out. But considering Mei's ditzy nature, that would be a gamble, and likely near impossible to figure out. Not because it was just that vague or obscure. No, because it was just so zany and nonsensical. You couldn't make sense of the senseless, after all.
(15140 words + 143 words = 15283 words)

Honehime frowned slightly as she slept, this current dream was becoming even more detailed, this was something she would definitely have to try to remember. Actions passed before her eyes in super speed, compressing entire hours, days, into mere seconds of frantically blurred activity. She tried to take in all the details, but at that speed, her eyes weren't good enough to do so. She did her best, though. Hopefully that would be enough, hopefully that would let her remember enough that when the proper time came, they would be ready. Whenever the proper time was.
(13138 words + 97 words = 13235 words)


Lieselotte looked up and her hand moved to intercept the small bottle that Sakazuki had thrown to her. Looking at it, she saw the familiar crystals. She nodded, and went to begin the task, opening the rather crudely made snake skin bag, so that she could do at least a somewhat detailed job of salting the meat. Admittedly, some of it likely wouldn't be edible, but if they salted it, perhaps that would stop the poisoned segments from spreading into the rest fo the snake flesh? It would be worth a try, at the very least. So she got to work, quietly focused.
(13502 words + 104 words = 13606 words)


Mei's hand had already stopped jittering before Shuku put her own hand on the cow girl's. Nonetheless, Mei sighed contentedly and seemed to calm down a little, shifting on the mattress until she was almost on her side once more. her tail gave one or two last futile twitches, and then she sighed once more, before beginning to snore softly. If Shuku were to look closely, she could see Mei's eyes shifting and moving around beneath her eyelids, she was deep within REM sleep now, much like before. Luckily for the Mayonaka, it didn't seem that Mei was going to suddenly ambush her and drag her into another far too tight hug. At least not now.
(15283 words + 120 words = 15403 words)