Makosa had sprawled himself out beside his mother, relishing in the warmth she provided and the solid heart-beat beneath his cheek. She was basically unconscious, so tired from the day of walking. They had been afraid to stop, because Sukanya had felt herself growing ill from the cold weather the nights had been bringing, and she had wanted to find a safe spot for herself and her cub to rest. Unfortunately, they had not found one, and Sukanya had finally given up and placed them both into a cave dug into the rocky wall of the nearby cliff.

Adelai'e, the bird who had taken to following Makosa around, 'protecting' the young cub, had flown off to search for some food to return to the couple. Adelai'e would find no meat, but he could return with berries to sustain the young seer until his mother was well enough to hunt. He would have to scavenge for Sukanya too, else she would not recover.

Makosa had his eyes closed, shifting and curling up closer to his mother. Flashes of dreams were burning the back of his eyes, the red and black merging together and making him whimper. He hated these dreams, and prepared himself for the blood or violence which would emerge from the red. It was always painful, the visions, but he was afraid of what the red would bring.


A flash of red. Black...blue...

Tega was walking along the bank of a river, staring down into the water. His family was nearby, but he was not sure exactly where. He hadn't slept last night, afraid of the dreams his sleep would bring. Often, they were nice and sweet but there were times when they made him cringe.

“Tega!” A familiar voice called from above, and he raised his face, a smile building on his face at the sight of the bird soaring down to meet him.

“Sonali!” He called back, excited to see his friend. The bird was a free spirit, there was no doubt, but she never failed to stop by and see him. The smile on his face continued to grow until it was nearly splitting his face in two.

A flash of green, as the scene changed. A different view.

Makosa shifted, wincing and whining.

Sukanya opened her eyes and stared down at her son, her vision cloudy and skewed from the fever that was building. “Hush, little one,” she tried to soothe, but her voice was gravelly and painful. She wanted to comfort her baby boy, but her eyes were already slipping closed. She prayed that Adelai'e would be back soon, to wake him from the dream.

She lifted her tail, coiling it around his fragile body and pulling him closer. Oh her precious one. She wished she could d more, but already the darkness called to her, drawing her back to sleep and to the sweet abyss, free from the sickness swamping her body. She sighed, her body slumping and her breath coming out in heavy pants.

Makosa could feel his mother's prescence, but it did not stop the dream.

A flash of blue, the river scene. More grass. The river was fading away. Black...red...the blue was still there. Eyes of blue and such a pretty shade of blue. Blue was better than red.

“What's wrong, little one?” Sonali asked, cleaning the sprouting of the mane the cub was sporting. It was only tiny, since he was still only young.

“I dreamt again,” Tega said, his tail flicking behind him. His head was rested on his paws, laying on his stomach. He had bent low so that Sonali could groom him without standing on his shoulder, but rather his shoulder blades and back.

“Again?” Sonali fussed, a frown crossing her face before she wiped it clean. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Not really,” Tega admitted, but smiled back at her. “I'll be fine, Sonali. Just need a nap later.”

“But you are still afraid of the dreams.” It wasn't even a question.

Tega sighed, and rolled, causing her to shift. He lifted a paw, dragging her down for a one armed hug. “Always but I won't let it bother me too much.”

Sonali smiled. “You sleep, I'll keep watch and wake you if you start to 'see'.”

Tega sighed in relief and closed his eyes. “I owe you big, Sonali!”

“No you don't,” she scolded, grooming him once more. “You just rest up and then you can help me figure out where I am and then we'll call it even.”

A flash of black. It was crowding in around him. For a second, he couldn't breath.

“Makosa!” A masculine voice called, and he felt a sharp peck to the back of his head, startling him from the vision and dream. The vision faded, the scene disappearing to nothing but a vague memory in the back of his head.

His breath caught and his eyes snapped open, staring blankly into the darkened cave. A familiar shape rested beside him, breathing restlessly and for a moment, Makosa was not sure what had woken him.

“Are you alright, son?” Adelai'e asked, the avian staring worriedly down at the leopon cub. The bird had always liked the young thing. “Were you dreaming again?”

“Yeah,” Makosa gasped, and pushed himself upright, careful not to touch anything but the blanket of fur that his mother had laid down. He did not 'see' when he touched that, as he had known it all his life. “But it wasn't....like normal.”

“Not like normal?” Adelai'e asked curiously, rolling some berries onto the fur and watching Makosa nibble on them. “Is that good, or bad?”

“Just...different. Good, I think.” Makosa frowned. “It was another boy.”

“Oh-ho-ho! Those kind of dreams,” Adelai'e teased, but earned a blank look from the cub. Oh. He hid an embarrassed look. Too early! The poor boy wouldn't know anything about those sorts of dreams until he was much older. “Nevermind. Another boy you say?”

“Yeah,” Makosa ignored the other part of the conversation. “He was talking to a bird about...about dreams. I think they were like mine...do you think his dad was a God too?”

“Maybe, or maybe it was his mum,” Adelai'e suggested, affectionately cuddling close to the young cub as the boy laid back onto the fur.

“I didn't know there were others like me,” Makosa mused, shoulders hunched. “He didn't like the dreams either, I don't think. He seemed nice.”

“Maybe you'll stumble across himm and you can ask him about it?”

“No,” Makosa said firmly, without a doubt. “He's not near here. He was near a river.” They were in the desert area. If they did travel towrads the nearest river, it would take them too long to find it and the other boy would likely be long gone.

“I didn't mean now, maybe when you're older.” Adelai'e smiled and fluttered his wings. “Or maybe I'll find him when I fly and can direct him towards you.”

“Maybe,” Makosa sounded doubtful, but more relaxed. “It's kinda nice.”

“What is?” Adelai'e jumped onto the younger figure, waddling across to try to wake Sukanya from her sleep. She would need to eat.

“Knowing I'm not the only one with dreams like these. Knowing I'm not alone.”

Adelai'e frowned. “You'll never be alone, my boy. Not with your Ma and I around. Now go to sleep. I'll keep watch over you and tend to your Ma.”

Makosa nodded, but did not sleep. Instead he kept his eyes closed, listening to the bird fuss over the leopardess, and thought of the boy. Tega. He knew his name, his face, his secret but the boy knew nothing of him.

Makosa felt selfish, knowing all of this and knowing he was not alone, when the other boy, Tega, knew nothing of the sort.

He felt his mother's paw rest on his head and opened his eyes. She looked at him with a soft and wobbly smile. “Go to sleep, little one,” she commanded lightly.

He looked confused and glanced at Adelai'e, who looked worried. “We may be here a while, my boy,” he told the leopon softly, and looked at Sukanya, who had already faded back into a restless sleep. The berries were left untouched, lightly staining the fur beneath the trio.