The world of the dream felt cool and wet.

Ashamin kicked in his sleep--splashes leapt and surrounded him. This was sleep, wasn't it? The Haruspex wasn't sure. He didn't know. He tried to open his eyes but it was as if they were being tugged downwards. He could see nothing but the dark of that feeling, the unknowingness of it all. He nosed blindly for Lochan but could not find him. Was his companion there, beside him? He thought he remembered falling asleep with Lochan's forelegs draped over his back and the sky growing light. Wasn't Lochan there? Wasn't he back in the Basin, standing on solid ground?

His eyes were still shut but his heart was beating loud. He knew he was awake, or waking up at least. Where was the water coming from? He could feel it, up to his knees, then higher, rising like a wave. It covered his chest, began to drift slowly across his back. But he couldn't see it, he couldn’t see anything.

For what felt like the longest time, perhaps an eternity, he lived a life like that. Everything in black, surrounded by water--not awake, not asleep, not knowing.

--

Ashamin's eyes blinked open and he found the day like a pleasant surprise. His hindquarter ached in a numbed pain, and the water of the secret grove blanketed his hocks like a shroud as he stood. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd seen the morning like this, with his lid lifting instead of drooping. And he couldn't remember, either, how he'd gotten here.

His large ears caught a dripping sound, and when he turned to investigate he found it was coming from himself. His scars were fading, blood was taking their place. The pain grew--he struggled to stay standing. The red overtook, bleeding and soaking the white of his hind, and suddenly he fell into the water.

He was in the Secret Grove again, fearing death as he had been just at the turn of the season.

Ashamin searched for Lochan or Zahra, some sign, but there was no one. Even his token of spark, the coils that often warmed his tail, were gone. His head swam with the possibility that none of it had happened--that he had dreamed life beyond it. Had it merely been hallucinations, brought on by pain and passing out? Had Lochan ever hatched? Had he ever met Tiamat, Atlas... been made the Haruspex?

No, it must have just been a dream. He was still here. He was still dying. And Lochan and Zahra, the friends he had made, were nowhere to be seen.

He was alone, again.

"" ""
[[For Tiamat--this is most definitely a dream thread. x3]]

ASHAMIN

I dreamed up a whole word
where you were real
and I, alive.

To think,
I did it all
for my own good.

We'll laugh about this,
someday--once we've
finished crying.

We'll laugh about this--
will we?
Am I dying?
Am I dying?