Was it
just a Dream. 1.0
She stood underneath the gigantic tree
at the never ending sea of grass in front of her. What made it so compelling to
gaze at was not the way the wind caused a rippled effect across it, but its color. The meadow was blue. It looked like water…..on land. Pulling her eyes away from
the weird landscape, Clariss turned around and looked to see what was behind
her. Her jaw dropped as she stared ahead of her. Behind her was a vast ocean of
some sort. But the ocean wasn’t the color it should have been. It was purple. Man, I’m eating too much candy, and this is
some wacko dream. She couldn’t remember anything that had happened before
her sudden arrival at the….as she just now noticed orange leaved tree. It looked
to be an oak tree, but fruits of all kind were growing on it. That’s when she
noticed the sudden burning sensation on her arms. Smelling a strange burning
scent she looked to find that her arms were burning, they had just started to
blister. Scared, Clariss fell back against the giant trunk of the tree. The
blistering and burning had stopped when she fell out of the rays of the sun,
but her arms were still damaged. She gazed at her arms, holding them out in
front of her. She couldn’t believe at what had just happened. The sun….just burned me….it BURNED my skin,
what the heck is this? Hysteria was creeping into the edges of her mind, as
she scooted herself against the tree
trunk as much as possible, in an attempt to get as far away from the sun as
possible.
Curled into a small ball, Clariss
jerked her head when she heard the sudden noise of chirping. Looking up, she
glanced from branch to branch until movement caught her eye. Finally locating
where it had come from, her blue eyes rested on a strange looking animal. It
looked like an oversized chipmunk, possibly a mix between a flying squirrel and
chipmunk. What was even stranger was the small antlers that poked out on its
forehead. It seemed to be looking down at her with its giant emerald green eyes,
and was chirping at her cheerfully. Using the tree to help her to a standing
position, Clariss continued to keep her eyes trained on the critter.
“You should watch out. You seem to
have a strange sensitivity to the sun.” The voice was kind and deep. It took
Clariss a few seconds to realize it had come from the creature that was
chirping only a few seconds before. Her eyes grew wide in astonishment as her
jaw dropped once again. No way did that
thing just speak to me. This is most definitely a dream. The strange animal
suddenly moved, jumping down from limb to limb until he landed in the blue
grass in front of her. Clariss pressed herself up against the tree, feeling
cornered. Suddenly a giant cloud appeared almost creating the typical POOF sound
like in cartoons.
“I would like to say that I am not a thing but a living being thank you. And
no, this isn’t a dream.” The voice now sounded deeper but still held the same
kindness. As the weird cloud slowly started dispersing, the small chipmunk like
animal was replaced by a very tall, young, athletically built man. All the
muscles in her body seemed to be paralyzed as she stood looking at the man in
front of her. His hair was a very dark green, being only one or two shades from
black and his eyes were a vibrant violet color. His complexion was pale but not
a deathly white color. But the part that stood out the most was the antlers on
his head. Just like when he was in his….animal form, antlers poked out from
beneath his hair. They weren’t massive, probably the size of a young male
deer’s, and they looked velvety. Clariss had the odd feeling of wanting to
touch them but luckily for her, her body was still not obeying her thoughts.
Stepping closer to the frightened girl, the man’s face was blank; the only sign
that showed he didn’t mean harm were his eyes. Nothing else on his face
portrayed any emotion, his sparkling purple eyes almost grinning.
“You do not need to be afraid. I am
not here to harm you in any way. If I had wanted too, I could have done it
quite easily earlier. Now let me introduce myself. My name is Amser and I’m the
guardian of time as well as God of the forest.” The blue eyed girl swallowed
her breath and nodded. Suddenly she realized something. Furrowing her brow,
Clariss looked around.
“….Where’s the forest then?” Her voice
was tinged with confusion, not sure if her idea of a forest was the same as
this world’s. Finally, the mask that Amser had been wearing broke, as he
grinned openly at her. Stunned, she looked curiously at him noticing that her
body was beginning to lose its paralysis. Holding her hands behind her back,
she took a step closer to him and took his appearance in more closely. Amser
seemed suddenly almost self-conscious with this young woman looking him over. Trying
not to shuffle under her gaze, he too took in her form. Her hair was a light
reddish color, and he knew that in her world her hair length had been extremely
short but here, it had grown a significant amount. It came wistfully a little
more than halfway down her back. She
doesn’t seem to have noticed her hair yet. Looking at her clothes, he
wasn’t all that sure of what she was wearing. This is what she wore, a short
plaid red and black skirt, with suspenders over a white shirt with a logo of a
picture of chopsticks equal love. To finish it off, she had black fishnets.
Clariss was not wearing shoes because at the time she had mysteriously
materialized in this world she hadn’t been wearing any, much to her dismay.
Remembering that he had not answered her question, he pulled his eyes of her
weird attire and observed her face.
“Glad of you to notice your
surroundings. You are right. There is no forest located around here, it’s
actually some distance away. I wanted you to come here because it was easier
for the both of us on you not becoming alarmed and getting lost.” His tone was
a matter of fact. Clariss stopped in mid-step and looked at him coolly.
Forgetting her curiosity of him, she straightened her back and looked into his
eyes.
“What are you trying to say? You’re
making me sound like I’m stupid or something, an airhead who freaks out after
seeing some trees.” Her voice was border lined with anger as she just stopped
herself from losing it. Amser was taken aback on her reaction, having no idea what
he’d said was insulting. He bowed, immediately causing Clariss’s anger to
diminish replacing it with surprise. I’m
not sure if I can take being surprised, shocked and stunned anymore. I’m going
on an emotional overload here. Standing up again, he gave an apologetic
smile.
“I’m terribly sorry to have insulted
you. I did not believe what I said would have that effect on you. May I ask you
your name since I cannot seem to find it in your thoughts?” Clariss liked the
way he spoke, with an elegant air the words just seemed to dance off his
tongue. Even though she did find what he said amusing. She refrained from
laughing, unsure of how he would take it.
“Apology accepted. I don’t talk to
myself in third person. So I’ll tell you my name. It’s Clariss, but you can
call me Clare.” Clare held out her hand and smiled. Amser looked at her hand
and then back to her face with an expression of mild confusion. A giggle
escaped her lips before she could stop herself, regaining her composure Clariss
explained.
“You’re supposed to grab my hand and
then we shake. It’s how we greet new people.” Amser nodded his head and did as
she said. Afterwards, both stood in silence, not sure what to do or say. Time
passed by and Clare just stood there looking around still not quite used to the
exotic colored surroundings. Amser suddenly started walking away towards the
purple ocean. Making as to follow him she froze remembering what happened the
last time she went into the sun. Fear of being alone gripped her as the
antlered man got farther and farther away.
“Hey! Amser! Please don’t leave me!”
Her voice was almost shrill as she waved her arms in his direction. Seeing him
stop, joy leapt inside her watching him turn around halfway and for a split
second she thought she saw him nod his head before turning around and
continuing to walk away. Her hands dropped to her side as the only person or
creature or whatever species he is
left her alone.
Clariss continued to watch Amser’s
figure getting smaller and smaller until it looked like he’d stopped. That’s
when she noticed the change in lighting. The sun was casting a orangish glow on
the meadow and ocean, giving the sky a collage of pinks purples and….green?. Gaping at the newest strange
thing she remembered what the setting sun would do. Jumping to attention Clare
ran to the opposite side of the ancient tree, away from the rays of the sun.
She still had a view of the ant size Amser in the distance and tried to figure
out was he was doing.
Time passed, and not seeing a change
in Amser’s position she sat down and pulled her knees up under her chin. How the heck am I going to get out of this one. How the heck did I get myself into it to begin with. A frown danced across her pink lips as she tried
to concentrate on what she’d been doing before finding herself here. Not
getting anywhere Clare’s eyes slowly started closing and her mind began
shutting itself down as fatigue took effect throughout her body. Resting her
forehead on her knees she drifted off.
Amser walked around the side of the
tree as twilight descended around him. Finally finding the girl he’d summoned
he noticed she’d fallen asleep. Kneeling, he gently placed the dark purple
cloak around her shoulders. It seemed to shimmer and create the illusion of
water as it settled about her. Clare shifted in her sleep at the sudden
presence of something warm around her. Opening her eyes slowly she looked
around drowsily. Her eyes grew wide when they came to rest on the lone figure
standing in the moonlight a short distance away. Glancing around Clariss
noticed the cloak on her shoulders. Standing up she pulled her cape around her
and slowly walked towards Amser.
She stopped a few feet from his side.
Not sure if she should disturb him. Amser turned his head, so she could see
half his face. Nodding his head, he gave her permission to approach. Shyly,
Clariss made her way next to him, watching the long grass for any creatures
that might be lurking. Standing next to him, she glanced up at his profile, his
calm features looking around intently at the growing nightlife.
“You are safe now. The cloak was woven
from threads of the ocean. I’m sorry I had to leave you for so long.” His
voiced was hushed as Clare looked away, trying to find something more
interesting to stare at. Simply nodding her head, she could feel her face
getting warm.I’m like a
little schoolgirl around him, this is rather annoying. Clariss felt stupid
getting a crush on him, after all it was only a dream.
“So…how did you make a cloak from the
water and how is it going to protect me from the sun?” Clare was feeling more
confident again, getting over her middle school moment. She turned to face him,
and at first it looked like he hadn’t heard her. Observing his face with
surprising clarity, she saw a pained look in his distant eyes. I wonder what’s wrong. He looks like he’s
hurt….
“Hey! Are you okay?” Placing a hand on
his arm worriedly, she quickly pulled back when a loud roaring sudden echoed
around her. Scared she swiftly looked around and tried to find out where it had
come from. Glancing at Amser, she saw him alert and looking to his right. A
split second later he grabbed her around the waist and took off running.
Alarmed, Clariss wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his
robes. A scent of flowers and plants filled her nose as she peeked up at him
for a few seconds.
To Clare, it felt as if they’d been
running for ages. Amser hadn’t said a word to her since before they’d started
fleeing. I wonder from what… She was
becoming stiff and beginning to think that maybe it would have been better to
just stay and fight whatever beast had made that disturbing cry.
“I don’t think it would have been such
a grand idea. You see, I would not have had a problem killing it, but the
creature that was hunting it might have been a little more difficult to kill
while protecting you.” His voice caused Clariss’s heart to skip a beat.
Swallowing his words, her anger flared slightly.
“Are you saying if I hadn’t been there
you could have taken care of them, but I got in your way?” Clare refrained from
yelling at him just barely, realizing that if she got him too mad he’d just
drop her and leave her by herself. Glimpsing up to his face again she saw he
was giving her a look of exasperation. He slowed down, and Clariss got scared
that he was going to leave her. Her anger diminished and she tightened her grip
around his neck.
Amser nearly choked when she tightened
her grip on his neck. Wincing, he slowed down faster and finally came to a
stop, gasping for air for his oxygen deprived lungs. Soon he did go in a slight
choking fit. His arm let Clare go, as she realized she’d been strangling him.
Stepping back she held her hands to her throat and watched as he gasped for
air. I…just nearly killed him…. Shock
sparkled in her blues eyes, as the eerie glow Amser had noticed from her eyes
began to twinkle. Leaning over, his hands were planted on his knees as air
finally filled and replaced the carbon dioxide. He looked at her through one
eye, still breathing heavily. He saw her gradually backing up farther away, the
distance growing between then faster than he’d like.
Before Amser could say anything, Clare
quickly bowed and turning ran off. She couldn’t believe she’d nearly killed
him. I’ve never had the strength to do
anything like this before. What’s going on? First I can’t go into sunlight,
then I can see in the dark and now I have super strength. I just want to go
home. Tears fell down her cheeks as she blindly ran as fast as she could, not realizing that she also had the ability to run
incredibly fast.
Alarmed, Amser ran after the upset
girl. He grumbled to himself for being so quiet and not speaking to her or for
that fact respectfully. He hadn’t known that yet again his words would anger
her. These otherworldly women are
extremely touchy. He had not expected Clare to have all these abilities. It
caught him off guard when he soon realized she had super speed to top it all
off. What else can se do? She seems to
have the powers of a god. I need to research this when I get back to the Divine
Gates. If I get back, at the rate we are going it might be some time.
Sighing heavily, Amser pushed himself to go faster, he could see the girl ahead
of him and deciding to meet her from the other side leaped into the air.
Clare saw Amser standing in front of
her only a couple yards away. Surprised, she tried to slow down before running
into him, but the cloak got tangled up in her legs and felt herself
falling. You have got to be kidding me.
Can things get worse? Amser ran up to catch her before she hit the ground. He kneeled in the waist high blue grass
holding the cringing form in his arms gently. Opening one squinted eye, Clariss
looked up to see Amser looking at her worriedly. Sighing she pushed away from
him and looked away.
Suddenly movement caught both their
attention. Looking in the direction it had come from, Clare focused on what
looked to be a small bunny. A smile crept across her lips as the cute furry
animal hopped towards them.
“Aw, look it’s a bunny!” That’s when
Clariss noticed the tail. It had a cat tail and sharp claws. Strange…it must use the claws to dig or
something. Amser looked at her like she was crazy.
“Yea, maybe to dig into people’s
bodies…it’s not so innocent.” He kneeled in front of her ready for an attack
and Clare could only stare at the green haired man surprised. It’s a carnivore?! A horrified
expression replaced the look of surprise as the bunny was suddenly swallowed by
a much larger beast. Looking him over quickly, Clare cam to realize it looked
like a mutant mouse. It’s teeth razor sharp and eyes
glowed red. The size of the monster was larger than Amser as it gave the same
bestial yell she’d heard earlier. Clariss scooted back her eyes locked on the
creature she didn’t want to be there, she didn’t want any of this happening.
All she wanted was to go home and sleep. And maybe eat some nilla
wafers. Please, I just want to go home.
Please just let me go home…
Clariss woke up sweating. Her sheets
were tangled around her as she looked around frantically. Looking at her clock
she noticed her alarm was going off. It was