I dreamt of strange things that 'night' after I'd been forced to sleep.
Strange, twisted dreams that I had no fear of, most likely because of my sleep state. They teased reality until I had no sense of what was real and what was only drifting thoughts.
When I awoke, the first thing that came to mind was: I'm not dead.
I mean, isn't it great to wake up after possibly being kidnapped and to find out that you're still breathing? I think it's a good thing.
Sitting up, I looked around the dimly lit space. A single lantern swung from the ceiling, revealing a host of objects in the room. There was cold stone beneath my paws, a blanket or two folded beside me. Somehow I'd shifted in my sleep, ending up in my wolf form. I stretched and shifted again, getting to my feet. A small, empty bookshelf sat to my left and a desk with a pen and paper to my right.
All of my belongings were still on me, so I set out to find the others. I noticed that the bandages were gone and all that was left of my wounds were faint scars. Assuming that the others had been brought here with me, I stepped out of the cave. The one I had been stuck in was a part of a trio of caves branching off of the main tunnel.
I checked the closest cave first. In there were a few blankets and nothing else. I tasted the air and found the scent of smoke and mint familiar.
Ash.
Puzzled I looked around the room again, seeing if I missed anything.
That's weird, I thought. I know he's in here, but where...?
I looked down at the pile of blankets. If I squinted my eyes, I could just make out that the pile was rising and falling ever so slightly in the shadows. Almost as if it was breathing. Or something was breathing under the pile.
Gently moving the cloth aside, I saw a dark shape huddled in sleep.
"There you are," I murmured.
It looked like Ash was put in the same sleep as I had been, only he hadn't worked yet.
I carefully nudged him, rustling his soft feathers in an attempt to wake him. He dozed on. I said his name a few times, even removing all the blankets and pushing him a bit. Nothing worked.
There had to be an enchantment or magic of some sort involved with this.
Fear wormed its way inside me. What if Ash never woke up?
I shook my head. No, I'd find a way to fix this. He was always helping me, it was my turn to help him. After all that he's done, it's only right...And I couldn't just leave him like that. My heart wouldn't let me.
"Sorry about this beforehand," I told Ash. I cupped my hands and lifted him. His talons gripped even in his sleep, and I sat him up on my shoulder. "I have to go find the others."
I was slightly reluctant to find Sora, but she was apart of our team. And for some reason, when I saw her before the competition, she was looking more and more sorrowful. Almost like she felt some kind of regret or that she was hiding something. I had to watch my back around her.
I found Sora in the last cave. Like the others, she had shifted and was lying on the ground, asleep. I nudged her in the shoulder slightly.
"Hey," I said in slight annoyance. "Wake up."
Unlike Ash, she awoke instantly, springing up into a hostile position. Then she saw that it was me and relaxed, a look of relief crossing her face.
That's weird. I thought she hated me.
Nevermind that, because I certainly don't want anything to do with her.
"Where are we," Sora asked, shifting into her human form and looking around.
I shrugged. "I have no idea. I found you and Ash," I pointed to the raven on my shoulder. "But he won't wake up. Do you think the snake boy is with us too?"
"I don't know," Sora said, her voice regaining some of its venom before she gave up. "We should check."
We did but found nothing. Sora makes no snippy comments and I make none in return, although I do point a few things out condescendingly. She does nothing to retaliate and it makes me suspicious, but we have other, bigger problems to worry about right now. All that's left is to head down the main tunnel and see what's on the other side.
The tunnel stretched on for quite a while, some of it turning to form other empty caves or small storages. We decided not to take anything until we were sure where this was.
I waited until Sora was ahead, out of earshot, and whispered to Ash's sleeping feathered form, "Don't worry, I'll get you out of this."
"Melody," Sora called back quietly. "Come here."
Jogging up to her, I asked what it was. She was somewhat relaxed, so it couldn't have been something dangerous. She looked calmer than I'd ever seen her before.
I stepped up next to her. We were at a railing that dropped into a lower area where two figures were sitting and talking. The part we were standing on gradually sloped downwards in a staircase to reach the floor below.
"Who are they?" Sora asked. I gave her a shrug in return, also confused. I couldn't detect any scent from them. There was some sort of mask that concealed it.
"You two should stop whispering and come join us."
I whipped around at the sudden voice. The man from before was standing before us, looking stern and bored at the same time. I looked back down. There were still two figures there, one distinctly identical to the man.
"What?" Sora said.
The man rolled his eyes. "I said come join us."
He snapped his fingers and suddenly we were on the ground in the cave below. He was now sitting in his chair again, the boy opposite him was the mamba.
I wasn't sure if I should feel worried, angry, annoyed, or just a mix of everything.
"Thanks for helping us out there," I said hesitantly, "But where is this and what did you do to Ash?"
"Ah, the raven, yes." The man waved his hand. "I merely put him to sleep a while longer than you two. He will be waking up shortly. I had to assure that you would seek me out instead of fleeing as soon as you had all of your comrades with you. And if I took your leader, then you would stay behind."
This arrogant little--
"Stop glaring at me in that manner, pup. It will do you no good and only wear you out."
"I'm not a 'pup'," I grumbled, practically proving that I was.
The man sighed and told us to sit down. I did, albeit cursing a few times. Sora did as she was told, choosing to stay silent.
I was overly conscious of the weight on my shoulder and looked worriedly at Ash again. The raven's eyes suddenly flickered open and Ash let out a small croak, flapping his wings to rebalance himself. I got hit in the face and he glanced around wildly, falling and shifting in his shock. He didn't realize that he was above me and I fell from my chair with a yelp.
Ash landed on top of me, hands out to brace himself. His giant wings were out in his semi-form and he looked about as confused as I was. He locked eyes with me, his lips parting as he gasped. I stared at him, a blush rising to my face when I saw how we were positioned.
An image of the kiss popped into my mind. Why am I thinking of that right now? And why...do I have the sudden urge to do it again...
Someone coughed and the confusion cleared from his eyes.
In a flurry of feathers, he scrambled off of me and stood.
"What the heck...?" He asked. He looked back down at me and helped me up. "Oh, shoot, sorry Mel."
I accepted his hand, noticing the red hue coloring his cheeks. We dusted ourselves off, not looking at each other.
The green mamba cleared his throat, pursing his lips to conceal a smirk. "Well, that was..."
The man glared at the lot of us. "Sit down. We have much to discuss."
"Yes, we do," Sora said calmly, speaking for the first time in a while. "Could you start with what happened and where are we?"
(Side Note: I'm back!!!!)