Acheron walked through the strange environment filled with fear and excitement. Gray lines bordered the huge black road he walked on, and on the other side of each gray lines stood rows upon rows of buildings, each like a large face, doors and windows dotting the strange siding. Most were not wood; he knew this much from walking up to one and tapping on the side. Apparently, the people here did not like him walking up to the buildings, as he soon found out when an elderly man came chasing after him and swiping at him with a broom. He had avoided the strange buildings since then and had stayed in the middle of this hard, black road, following the bright yellow line that ran through the middle. All of his surroundings were strange to him, and he wondered how he had gotten here.
Suddenly, a roar came up behind him, and then a great loud noise like the honk of a goose. He jumped, looking behind him. A huge object was hurtling down at him, a big box on wheels, not that much different from the carts and wagons he had seen back home, though still with enough difference to seem alien-like to him. He could dimly see a human sitting inside the box, and he squinted to try to see more clearly. His eyes widened as the box came closer and closer, speeding up as it moved. The roaring filled his ears and was occasionally interrupted by the great goose-like squawk. Hurriedly he jumped out of the way, and was immediately spun around as his tail was hit by the great box; spun so hard, in fact, that he lost his balance and fell to the ground. The box and human inside it sped away, not even looking back.
He sat there for a moment, trying to catch his breath. What a strange world, indeed! And why ride around in a great big box like that? That human had nearly killed him! Just as his relief at being alive began to settle in, another squawk came at him from the other direction, and the roar once again filled his ears. He gave a startled yelp and, jumping up, ran to the other side or the road, narrowly missing another box that barreled towards him. This one was different, he thought. The color was a bright red, rather than blue, and it was smaller and sleeker than the first box.
Just as the second box on wheels passed him, another roar came from the same direction as the first. He didn't pause to think before he began to run, leaping up onto one of the hard, gray lines that ran alongside the huge black line, jumping over fences, slinking between the strange buildings, flying through the strange world as though he had wings, and running until he thought he must be far enough away.
He slowed to a stop, pausing to catch his breath. He had no idea where he was, no idea how to get back, but he was away from the big black road. He began to walk again, slipping through houses like a ghost. He began to hear laughter drifting through the air, and he headed towards it. He needed some laughter, now. He felt miserable and alone. His steps quickened as he came closer and closer to the cheerful sound, until, at last, he found its source, and stopped in wide-eyed wonder.
Before him stood a giant building, this one made of red stones similar to what he may have found in his own world. In front of the giant building was a large area covered in the same black material that had covered the road he had previously walked on. Next to that black ground was grass, and on top of the grass sat huge objects, all twists and turns and chains, all, except for the chains, made of another strange material that he did not recognize. And running about on all of this, all except for the building, were children.
He stared. They climbed on the strange twisty objects sitting on the grass, they ran about on the black ground, they jumped and skipped across ropes, and they kicked a small ball and ran around in circles as fast as there short little legs would go. And every single one of the children were laughing and smiling.
He began to walk towards them, and with a start found another of the huge black lines that he had walked on before. He shot it a wary, uneasy glance, then scuttled away from it, running towards the children. He would be safe with the children.
As he reached the grass and walked across it towards the twisting, turning objects, he felt a sense of security. The place where he walked was peaceful, not at all like that dreadful black road with the yellow line. He felt safe as he walked amongst the children. Only when he reached the black ground so similar to the line he had seen did he realize that the children had gone quiet.
He stopped, puzzled, and looked behind him. A jumble of children stood behind him, staring up at his furry face, awestruck. Silence filled the air, the ropes dropped to the ground, the ball rolling forgotten across the grass. Suddenly, a small girl pointed and began to giggle.
"Look at the cute kitty!" she said in a small, soft voice. She took a few steps forward and reached for his tail. His eyes narrowed, and he backed away. The child's lower lip jutted out, and she reached again. Once again, he backed away. What was the girl trying to do? It was his tail; she had no right to touch it. The girl began to sniffle, and a tear ran down her pudgy little cheek. With a determined set to her lip, she reached out and snatched his tail. He let loose a loud yelp, which was followed by a second of silence. The girl still held onto his tail. Abruptly, a loud shout of laughter erupted from the watching children, and all at once they ran at him, jumping up on him to grab his ears, squeezin his nose, pulling his fur, and shouting non-stop. He did his best to fend them off, but they kept on. There seemed to be a never-ending knot of children surrounding him. There was no escape. He could scratch and bite as many of them as he wished, and many of them left with bruises and cuts decorating their skin, each one crying like there was no tomorrow, but the others would still persist in their game.
"Noooo!" he howled, but this only made the children laugh harder. They forced him to the ground, wrestling with him. "Nooo!" he shrieked again.
"Acheron," a voice said, calmly, soothingly. He struggled to stand, pushing children away hopelessly. "Acheron," the vioce called again. The world around him began to grow fuzzy, but every pinch and pull was felt clearly. His tail and ears were knots of pain, and he had long since lost the ability to feel his toes under the weight of the children. "Acheron, it's time to wake up," the voice called once more, and the world around him went black.
He blinked his eyes and looked up, Lie'ella and Neirenn stood above him, Neirenn shaking him by the shoulders to wake him. They both smiled, and he sat up. Varden sat off to one side, his back against a tree, eating a turkey leg. He recognized his surroundings, now; everything around him was familiar. He let loose relieved sigh, and Lei'ella laughed.
"Welcome back from dreamland, da'kor," Varden barked from where he sat.
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