Chapter 1 - Dream the Beast

The eyes... They stared back at me. They were lower to the ground than my eye-level. A lot lower. About thigh-level it seemed. And they were beautiful. A bright shiny silver that lit out of the woods ahead of me, directly in my path. The eyes were very striking, as it seemed that they were detached and floating in the darkened forest. As if the trees themselves were watching me and waiting on my next move. The eyes were almost familiar to me, and I tried to remember where last I'd seen them. My mind failed to bring forth any image of these eyes other than what was before me now.

I took a step towards the dark forest and the silver eyes, and stopped at the sensation of soft grass tickling my bare feet. It was then that I noticed that not only was I not wearing shoes but, I also was not wearing pants. Or, it seemed, much of anything else. I was completely naked but for a beautiful and elaborately made piece of jewelry around my neck. Gently, I placed a finger on the jewel and it seemed to warm to my touch. It was a jade-colored stone hanging between my breasts from an elaborately flourished design made from pure gold, hanging from a thin golden chain.

"Lovely..." I said aloud.

I looked up in the direction of the eyes and noticed that the figure the eyes belonged to had also taken a step forward. Out of the darkness, I saw a massive white paw with a set of wicked claws attached. The animal, the beast -- I didn't know what to call it, but I knew it wasn't any animal I knew of because none that I knew had paws that huge -- broke eye contact with me to look to the left. His left. I followed where his eyes had gone and then, finally took in the rest of my surroundings.

Everything seemed to pop out at me. To grab my attention. All colors, all shapes were so vivid. Almost alive. It seemed as if every color lived, and vibrated to become richer than the last. From the green of the grass to the darker, muddy green of the trees in the forest. Not only were the colors calling, seeking my eyes but, it seemed that all of my senses were more alive than usual. Coaxed by the stimulation that was all around me.

I could hear waves breaking on the rocks a couple hundred yards from where I currently stood, and it was a calming, soothing sound. I could smell the rain coming, even though it was far off. A couple miles away. I could almost taste the drops on my tongue. The wind kicked up, blowing my thick hair around my face and shoulders, teasing my sensitive skin. The feeling was incredible, almost as if I were being caressed by the hands of an invisible lover I had yet to name.

I looked down at my stomach. My skin was a rich caramel brown that had a golden hue. I frowned slightly, wondering why I wasn't upset at my state of dress. Then it hit me. A dream. I was dreaming. I looked up at the beast again and, almost instantly I knew what it was. When I met his eyes again, I could see that there was more to them than what I had previously thought I'd seen. They were not just silver, but tricolored. The outer ring was silver, but inside of that was a ring of storm cloud grey; inside of that was the darkest blue. It was dark enough but not too dark as to be considered black. I could almost swear that the rings were pulsing, growing larger and returning to normal size. It was really breathtaking.

How had I missed all of this? I wondered. My only explanation was that I could see more clearly now that my senses had broken wide open. I lifted my arm and reached, wanting it to come closer. It began to take another step towards me. Then, just as it would have stepped into the light, just as I would have seen what beast those eyes belonged, what I was dealing with, I was wrenched suddenly and almost violently from the dream. With a gasp, I was pulled away from myself and the warmth of the wind tickling my cheek. It was gone. My dream was lost to me, a final pinprick of light in the center of darkness. Like the last hope at the end of a very long tunnel. I growled in frustration because I knew what the dream meant, and that I needed to finish it. But for now it was gone, even that tiny point of light being doused to bring complete darkness.