Chosen by the Fates

That Night

Ashleigh~

My mind is an empty palace, and my attention is intentional. We have been traversing the dreamscape searching for one of our own, and finally we may have discovered their last point of contact with the dreaming realms. When I look at my brothers, they nod in unison. 

"Ash, it's been a hard couple of nights and we have a long flight tomorrow. Are you sure tonight is the best night to do this?" Sionainn is the eldest of us and his fair features are striking in contrast to our younger brother Cian, who standing beside him.

Sionainn’s concern only seems to further illuminate his features, like light filtered through rough waters. Ahh. My poet's mind. Our family is known for our beauty, and Sionainn in particular is the most photogenic. 

"We've tracked them this far, we could lose the trail if we let up." My voice is cold, controlled. Cian nods his agreement with me. 

"Perhaps we should reach out to Adah?" Sionainn suggests. 

I shake my head. "It's no good. We all remember what she said about this before we began."

"If the night walker is involved, this is a lost cause." Cian quotes Adah, his baritone is soft, suggestive of his gentler and quiet nature.

Sionainn sighs. Between us, Sionainn is the strategist. He's always had a mind for planning, and views problems from every angle. His unspoken concern resonates through us all. What if their trail is leading us to the same fate they suffered?  We may end up needing backup, and Sionainn just doesn't want us caught flat footed. But we also know that time is critical.

 It is unusual to need to weigh time as a factor. For Lucids, the dreaming makes all of time and existence accessible to us. But when Delphi went missing, we all felt their loss and... The longer they are gone... I quickly cut that thought short. We trained alongside them, Delphi is a survivor and with all the tools of a Lucid at their disposal. Even the night walker would find them formidable. I tell myself this, but I can feel the worry eating at the edges of my mind. 

"Very well. Are we ready then?" Sionainn's eyes follow me as I lie down on the couch in our shared study. Cian leans back comfortably in his preferred chair.

"Aye." My answer is short, and confident. I would do anything for Delphi. I know my brothers feel the same as Sionainn starts the pendulum of our clock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.....

Sleep claims us all, and our dreaming begins. 

***

Aisling

I feel Miss Meow Meow settle against my chest as I curl around her on my side. My heart has finally quieted, but the quiet was slowly replaced with the growing ache of a loss I cannot comprehend. The ache reminds me of a few of my worst break ups. The pit of my stomach is in knots. Maybe it was something I ate?

I heave a sigh and focus on the comfort of my blankets and pillow and my plans with Sol tomorrow. Sol. What an unusual name. So pretty. Just like him. All it takes is that one thought of him, and I remember the low baritone of his voice, his languid movements... My imagination is flooded of thoughts of him as my mind drifts to sleep, and I am too tired to try to reign it in.

When my dreams finally take me, I am standing in the dense forest. A cold wind tangles my hair and nightgown. My hot breath comes out as a mist in the pale light of the moon, carried away by the same breeze that plays through my hair and across my skin. 

I look around, the forest feels familiar. It reminds me of the mountains behind the city. As I search, my eyes fall on him. His body is bare, silhouetted in the moonlight. Golden eyes lock with mine. My breath catches, my heart thumps. Heat rises to my cheeks and pools in my stomach. He begins to walk toward me, and I can feel my whole body pulling toward him. The snow crunches beneath his feet.

Just when he is about to step into the light, his image scatters to the wind and rushes past me. I gasp, spinning in place to watch as the form of the massive golden wolf now stands behind me, watching me. Then, the wolf spins and bounds into the woods.

No...! Something within me cries out, and suddenly I feel the wind take me. 

My body becomes nothing, and everything. I am rushing through the trees, easily gaining on the wolf. I feel snow cold against paws of my own, the swish of a tail and the burning of new muscles. My senses are flooded with sounds and smells I've never experienced. The wolf's ears flicker in what I realize is recognition. He knows I am there. His run and posturing are almost playful. The scent he gives off is intoxicating, stirring something deep within me. When I catch up to him, we run together. The golden wolf leads me through paths and trails of a forest that seems familiar to me. We play in the snow, chase around hills after one another. I feel the pure joy of simply being, my senses completely attuned to him.  

A howl calls out in the distance, and he stops. I watch as his ears shift toward the howl, and then his whole body turns as he races after the call. When I attempt to follow, a bare human foot crunches in the snow. I am no longer a wolf. The forest fades, and the darkness of the dreaming floods my mind.

"Is she awake?" a familiar voice whispers.

I blink, and am blinded by a bright light. I bring a hand up to block the painful stimuli.

"Yes. I believe so."

I realize I am staring up at three familiar faces. However, one face in particular looks like the face of an angel. His mouth moves and I hear him ask, “Delphi?"  His tenor has a musical quality that I find comforting.

I don't understand that word, though. Where am I? When I try to ask, my mouth moves, but I am unable to speak.

"We don't have much time."

"Let's get her up..." 

I feel strong arms loop undermine, and look between the men I see holding me. They are gorgeous. Why do I keep meeting gorgeous men?  My body weight feels somehow different as they lift me. I finally manage to say, “Where am I?"  

They glance between one another, the angelic one smiles warmly at me then, "Where do you think you are?" To my right and left, the other two seem worried.  

I blink a few more times and try to take in my surroundings. It looks like an old warehouse maybe? Broken concrete... chunks of rock on the ground. I can't see past the dark area we are in, but there seems to be a red glow outside. "I have no fricking clue..." I mutter as I try to process everything.

"What is the last thing you remember?" This comes from the darker man with a more serious face. His brows are knit together, and I find myself reflexively reaching out to brush his eyebrows gently. Coaxing him to relax them. His eyes widen, startled, and then he rests his forehead against mine.

"Please?" His voice is soft and raw with worry. My stomach twists into knots, realizing I had worried him. 

I think for a moment, "I... I was a wolf... a naked man. My cat? I have to work tomorrow. And I have a date..."  As I speak, the ruins around us begins to vanish.

"NO! No no no no...." I watch as his eyes fill with panic. His grip on this body that is strange to me tightens, as if trying to anchor me to him, "Delphi, tell us where you are!"

What he is asking somehow seems important, but all three of them seem more and more distant to me as the darkness rolls in. 

"In bed." I struggle with that thought. I clearly am not in bed, but that seems to be the best answer as their voices fade.

"Where is your date?!" The angelic man leans in to ask me. The darker featured man's eyes fill with desperation as he is unable to hold on to me and we drift apart. 

The thought of my date fills me with a warm sense of comfort. "Rise & Grind,"   I mumble the answer, waking up in my own bed to the purring of my cat. The urgency of the dream is all that remains in my memory as my alarm goes off.

I groan, shoving my face into my blankets. "Another dollar another day Miss Meow Meow." I grumble and then force myself to face the cold morning air and get up.

***

Ashleigh~ 

My voice is a growl as I sit up, "We nearly had them." I clench my hands together, I can still feel the warmth of her body in my arms. "They… She was so confused." I whisper.

Sionainn and Cian exchange a glance, but keep quiet.

I slump over my knees, head falling into my hands. "She was in my arms." This last is pained. Sionainn nods slowly, then thoughtfully interjects, "She said she's meeting someone at a place called 'The Rise & Grind.' We should start by seeing if we can find out when and where that place is."

I let out a long, slow breath and then nod my agreement. It was a last ditch effort as she was pulled forcibly out of the dreaming. Thank god Sionainn had thought fast and asked that. Cian is already on his feet, heading for the door. "I'll check with our manager." His voice is gruff.

I can feel the frustration subsiding, replaced by hope. "She's still alive." And we finally have a real clue. 

Sionainn watches my expression relax, and a smile pulls at his lips. "Let's find her for real then? If we can't go to her in the dreaming, then lets meet her where the dreaming cannot manipulate our encounter."

I nod, rising to my feet. "But first, our 36 hour flight followed by the concert." 

Sionainn smirks, "Oh is that all? Good thing we can take a small vacation after this." 

"The upside of fame and fortune, I suppose." I arch an eyebrow at him, and he laughs. I clap him on the back as we follow Cian out the door.