Wereology

№22|Dreams

Her eyes flickered open to reveal a beautiful snowy field covered in miles upon miles of snowy pine trees. She shivered as her bare feet walked through the icy snow. She rubbed her arms, trying to gain some sort of warmth as she scanned her surroundings.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the forest, a certain Russian wolf strolled through the winter wood. Knowing something seemed off, he began to walk faster, his walking soon turning into running.

Dalaja’s body began to freeze. Shivering like a cat in rain she wondered if she could muster enough strength to go on. She could feel her toes freeze over as her body began to stop in its tracks.

Her eyes fluttered close as she leaned forward, waiting to feel the cold impact of the snow that never came. Instead, she was welcomed by the warmth of another’s arms.

“Why hello little one.” Valentin smiled, holding her in his arms.

Dalaja tried to open her eyes to see her savior, but when she did, all she met was a blur. She tried to muster up the words to thank him but no words left her cold lips.

She looked away from him, her body still shivering. His hands gently stroked her cheek as he walked through the woods. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re in my dreams little one?”

“I-I-I don-don’t know…” She shook her head. “W-wait! Thi-this is my dream!”

“I believe you have it backwards. This is my dream.” Valentin clarified.

“N-No! Th-this is,” a cute sneeze interrupted her, “m-my dream.”

“Alright, little one, this is your dream.” Valentin chuckled, allowing the latter to win just this once.

“Wh-Why are yo-you calling m-me that? Yo-you don’t look much old-older than me.” Dalaja squinted her eyes, but that only seemed to make the blurriness worse.

Valentin stopped in his tracks. “Little one, can you see me?”

“N-No… it’s all blurry,” she traced her hands over his face, “how old are you?”

“25. How about you?”

“21.” Dalaja replied, her hands trailed down his neck, “I can’t see you, but I can feel you.” Warmth traveled through her body as her hand touched his heart. Like a moth to a flame, Dalaja latched onto the Russian wolf, hoping to soak up as much warmth as she could from him.

“Little one, you’re freezing! Why didn’t you bundle up?” Valentin chuckled, looking down at her attire to see she only wore a white silk nightgown.

“This i-is what I slep-slept in… I didn’t ex-expect to be i-in a sn-snowy woods.” Dalaja muttered into his chest, her body still shivering.

“Let’s find somewhere out of the cold.” Valentin suggested, spotting a cave up ahead.

Once the pair reached the cave, Valentin tried to place Dalaja down but she wouldn’t let go. “N-No… you-you’re warm.” She murmured.

Valentin sat on the cave floor, his back against the wall. “How long have you been cold?”

“T-Too long…” Dalaja replied, her body absorbing Valentin’s heat like it was the last remaining energy source.