Dreams from another life
Echoes of a battle raged within the thick stone walls as she laid upon the cool surface of the floor. The feeling of warmth and fur was at her side, a stark contract from the cold stone. ‘Kumari’ she thought to herself, a hand reaching out for the source of the warmth as her gaze tried to follow suit.
Red blotches stained the white fur of the over-sized tiger, the creature was dying after very clearly protecting his master. Ragged breathing came from the beast, the last few he would take before falling into an eternal slumber.
What struck her the oddest after she’d pulled her hand away to examine the blood was the shade of her skin.
With all the strength she could muster she lifted her head just enough to look down her broken form. Were those hooves? By the Twelve, what was going on? At the same time, she lifted her hand to touch her head only to find horns and tendrils??
A flood of memories assaulted her mind as she let her head fall back against the stone, there was no doubt that she was dying…she simply wished that she would pass at the same time as Kumari so that neither would have to witness their companion pass on.
A gruff human with striking green eyes and a mess of brown hair. The bottom half of his face was mangled enough to make him instantly recognizable, though he normally covered it up. He was harsh but fair, someone she could always trust without a shadow of a doubt.
A…one that looked like her now except male. He radiated light and that made her furious yet there was something about him that brought her an intense sadness, but she couldn’t seem to figure out why.
A kind…panda bear? A feeling of familiarity, of the ocean and of a teapot lingered in her mind. It felt like home and like family. If she had to describe the sensation in one word, it would be peace.
Green eyes blazed from a hooded figure as a clawed hand reached for her, she could feel nothing but fear and despair. She wanted to run as far as she could from the figure, to turn her back and never see it again.
Each thought, along with many others took what seem to be an eternity to go through. It was as if this torment would never end. She simply wanted to rest.
And now she would be allowed to.
With one final exhale, both Nyloree and Kumari closed their eyes to leave this plane of existence. With the pair together, it was a peaceful though solemn moment.
Until the Viera awoke with a start, the sunlight burning her vision. First, she scrambled to ensure that her hands were in fact not purple, that her feet were not akin to goat hooves, her ears were rightly in place and not some strange horns and that it was simply beads that touched her neck, not some bizarre tendril that was attached to her head.
Her next thought was about Kumari, panicked she looked for the young cub that had just started to stir beside her. His mother, Amara, was still resting behind the pair. In her old age it was hard for her to move much distance without needing to sleep. Soon she would pass and it would be up to Nyloree to raise the cub.
That’s right, they’d stopped to rest…she must have dozed off too.
“Elias, you’re not going to believe this twisted dream I had…” To an onlooker, it would seem like the Viera was talking to herself, or maybe the small tiger cub as she reached for piece of string that held a small silver ring for the little one to play with.
But to Nyloree, the Thavnarian man was as clear as day, sitting on the other side of Kumari listening to his wife talk about goat people, panda bears and shadowy figures.