Dream Runners (ON HOLD)

Part 1

Dad warned me when I left that "they" would find me, but I didn't care. What kind of life was it to constantly be looking over one's shoulder? None. I moved as far from Mother as I could get, gaining a job as a waitress in South Carolina, ready to start my own life.

~~~A Report~~~

Doctor Roberts sat at the head of the table, waiting for the two teams to situate themselves. It took a little doing, as there was 14 of them, but the managed.

"Everyone ready?" He waited for the team leads to nod, then slid a folder down to each of them. "There's a bird we need you to find."

"Why us?" Blackbourne asked, his face blank as he opened the file to begin reading. At the front was the sketch of a girl, followed by several other sketches as she seemed to age. "And why sketches instead of photo's?"

"Please, allow me to finish." Roberts sighed, steepling his hands and looking down the table. He met the eyes of every boy there, telling them with his gaze that this was serious-not a laughing matter at all. "The Academy found her about twelve years ago for the first time-I believe it was the Toma Team shortly after they'd been recruited. They were doing their explorations, getting a feel for the local Dreamscape, and it was their first outing without supervision? They saved her from one of the Demons and asked her where she lived, but she was gone when we got there." He looked to Axel Toma, team lead of their family, for confirmation. Axel gave a firm nod, even as his brothers clenched their jaws-wanting to interrupt but knowing better.

"Ever since then we've found her in nearly every dreamscape-she's run into multiple members and teams, both young and old, but we've never been able to get to her in time in this realm. Twelve years we've looked, and twelve years we've failed. This is a last ditch effort. She should be nearing 18, or be there already, so hopefully she's able to stay in one place long enough for us to find her. If she doesn't, the best we can do is hope the next team teaches her to jump scapes so she can get some training by meeting whatever team finds her in the same scape."

The teams took some time to absorb this, Blackbourne finishing the file first and passing it to his second in command who viewed it with their doctor. Axel pushed his copy away for it to be scooped up by his second, the others crowding close to view over her shoulder.

"Fuck, it's Spitfire!" (italics are russian when Raven speaks, greek when North or Silas speak. Same when Sang speaks to one of them.)

"You know her?" Roberts knew the rest of the Toma's had met her, but thought it was before Raven.

"Da, when I was in Russia Spitfire met me in the dream scapes many times, I taught her how to fight. Every time I saw her she was better than the last, so she was getting training somewhere else too. I only saw her four, five times? She was.... Interesting? Different? No one word describe her."

"Did she ever tell you about her home life? Where she was?"

"No, I to busy teaching her. Last time I saw her was four years ago when I visited Russia. That's why I take vacations, see if I see her there. If no, I try again in a few months. If yes, then happy." He nodded, satisfied with his own explanation.

Roberts rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. "That's more contact than anyone else has had with her. Did she tell you her name?" Raven shook his head.

"No, she very quiet. Never talks, scared of something-but fierce as a lioness. That's why she's Spitfire."

"We're missing one important fact. Has there ever been a female Dream Runner?" Kota, Blackbourne's second, asked, looking to Roberts for the answer.