Dream Frontier: The New World Continued... Chapter 2

Back By Popular Demand

    I wanted to see which direction this story might go and I had some requests to keep it up, so I decided to see which way the creative muscles took me.  I apologize for traveling between tenses.  If you need to go back and read my first post to catch up.  I don't think each post will be too long, maybe 10 minutes of reading or so.  Please let me know what you all think about my ideas so far and anything you'd like for me to write about.  I'm all for going outside my box and trying something new.   Thank you everyone! 

Dream Frontier: The New World

Chapter 2

    As I woke up and began the next morning’s routine of stretching, working out, making breakfast, and showering before work, I developed a massive headache.  The vividness of the previous nights dream was still crystal clear in my mind, but I assumed the headache was due to maybe hitting my head on the desk in my sleep or sinus pressure from the cold I had the week before.  Maybe the dream reflected me moving in my sleep and hitting my head?  I took a Tylenol with breakfast, drank a glass of water, showered, and headed off to work.  

    When I got to work, I shared the story of my dream with my co-worker who consequently laughed and said it was like one of those falling dreams where you wake up when you hit the ground.  My response was that it sounded like quite the cool story idea, where someone went to sleep and woke up in another world or where dreams became a reality.

    After a long day dealing with a torrid of problems with customers and equipment in our store, I made my way home.  Over the course of the day my headache got worse and worse, and I had debated going home early, but stayed the course to help my Assistant Manager Natasha figure out some solutions to our issues.  She’d noticed my discomfort and offered me some more Tylenol but it hadn’t seemed to help.  I even made sure to stay hydrated all day.

    When I got back into the apartment, Haru, Yuki, and Beerus greeted me with their normal aplomb, demanding dinner.  It was dark inside, because I’d forgotten to leave a light on for them again and the Netflix screen asking “Are you still there?” was on the TV since I usually leave it on for them during the day. 

    I cleaned out their litter boxes, vacuumed up any excess litter the catch mats didn’t get, fed the cats their wet food and took out meal prepped stir-fry I made for myself.  I sat down to eat and turned on a mindless showed I’d seen a million times so I wouldn’t have to focus on the screen with my headache. 

    Once I’d finished dinner I got up and rinsed my plate, placing it in the dishwasher, then came back to the couch.  I laid down on my side, leaving space behind my legs for Beerus to jump up and curl up between the back of my legs and the back of the couch.  He happily obliged and took his normal spot right after I laid down.  Haru crawled underneath the coffee table into her little blanket nest and settled down to take a nap after eating.  Yuki took her spot on the leaning back against the throw pillow on other couch opposite where I was but close enough to be petted.  She always looked so human when she sat like that with her legs out, and arms resting on her belly.  What a goofball of an animal.

    As I reached over to ruffle her creamy fluffy furry belly, my headache started to get a bit more poignant and painful.  It felt like surging pressure in my head.  Like I’d just whacked it hard on something and it was swelling.  As I looked away from Yuki and back toward the TV my vision started to blur at the edges.  Beerus’ head perked up and he turned to watch me with his golden yellow eyes.  Yuki reached out and put her paw on my hand with a confused expression on her face.  Did she know I was hurting or was that her normal always concerned expression?  I looked back at Beerus because he’d moved to put his paws on my leg and knead it while he looked down at my face.  His eyes and face seemed to take on a more human expression and he opened his mouth, his cute pink little bottom lip exposed, like he was going to meow at me.  

    As I closed my eyes to the sharp, growing pain, I swore I heard him say “Noesh?  Noesh? Sá kir winkan?” and he moved his paw to touch my face gently.  At that point I’d already passed out.

********

    The sound of the sea waves rolling onto the shore came to me first as I slowly came out of my slumber.  It sounded like an ambient noise machine I would use to help me sleep.  The smell of the wet salty air came to me next, but I could smell it so vividly.  The plants and moisture in the air was so crisp and clean, but the smell of people hit me next.  The air was cooling as I tried to wake up, like on a late summer day when it might rain. 

    I tried desperately to force my eyes open but it was slow going, like I couldn’t quite control them.  My body felt….different.  I could feel the wet sand on my hands, but my feet were feeling the damp forest ground, like I was on all fours.  I wasn’t cold despite the fact the air was cool.  My head still ached terrible but it was easing slowly and my eyes were finally starting to let in some light. 

    As my eyes finally lurched slowly open I noticed that the gray’s and blue’s of the evening were vividly clear and defined.  I was looking out over the beach and I could see the wreck of the ship out in the bay.  The crew was using the longboats to haul the supplies back and forth between the ship to the beach.  The lieutenant whose name I still didn’t know was commanding the crew on the beach and guiding the crew unloading the barrels of goods and building materials and guiding them up the shore to a large outcropping of rocks.

    As I fully opened my eyes I realized the world just looked a lot more gray and blue, with the sun having almost set, I didn’t see much color.  I looked to the right to the tree next to me and realized it wasn’t green like it should be, neither were any of the weeds and plants nearby.  I turned my head back to the left and froze as I looked up at a female warrior of the New Worlders stood next to me, her tanned hides died brown and blue, her facepaint was the brightest blue and white. I could see she had small feathers looped around a necklace of metal and a small headpiece with a few feathers that adorned her head.  Her prominent cheekbones and slender appearance was stunning as it was intimidating and fierce.  She had her bow cocked and an arrow knocked aiming toward the crew on the beach. 

    Why was she so tall? I was at her waist. Oh, right I was on all fours. I tried to stand up, but immediately had trouble balancing and fell back to all fours. When I did this, she reached out and put a hand on my head and I felt her ruffle the top of my head, trying to get me to stay calm.  What was I, some sort of pet?

    I looked past her and saw a male warrior and another female warrior standing slight further off, spaced equally apart, all with bows knocked with arrows, ready to fire on the crew on the shore.  A lynx stood next to the male warrior, while a red fox stood next to the other female warrior, both at the ready to attack and looking out at the shore. 

    My ears perked up as I heard shouting on the beach and I looked back to watch the crew move into position to defend themselves.  The lieutenant was shouting orders at the men that I could hear extremely clearly even at this distance.  I felt my ears move their focus forward and listened to her.

    “Stay calm men, ready your weapons, but do not aim and certainly do not fire.  Get word to the Captain and have him come as soon as possible.”  She turned back toward the forest and took a step or two forward with her hands up.  I could smell and feel the tension in the air from the crew and from the warriors next to me.

    I started to take a step forward and was grabbed by my companion who yelled at me “Apis!” and I immediately sat down and put my arms out…..which was when I noticed that they were covered in white, black, and grey fur with large paws at the end. 

    What in the world was going on here….I stared down at them and noticed the end of my snout and nose visible at the same time.  What in the world was I? A dog? No, my paws were too big.  I started to get agitated and my tail started whipping around behind me.  I felt it brushing against the ground.  I felt a tail.  I think maybe I was a wolf.  That would explain the sense of smell, the eyesight, the height in comparison to the warrior next to me.

    She stopped berating me and I just sat there and watched as the minutes went by and eventually the Captain made his way to shore and disembarked the longboat.  When he did this the male warrior next to us started walking toward the crew, lowering his bow.  The Captain made his way onto the sandy beach and past the crew, coming face to face with the New Worlder. 

    “Nitáp”, the Captain said, speaking what I assumed was the native language here.

     “Cumay” replied the male Warrior, his build was very athletic and muscled.  He was easily a good half a head taller than the Captain. 

    After he said this single word he smiled and embraced the Captain, who embraced him back.  What in the world was going on here?  The crew looked equally as confused, the lieutenant approaching the Captain, as the other female warrior and my companion lowered their weapons and slowly approached the shore.  The male warrior’s lynx, as well as the fox stayed behind at the edge of the woods.  I decided it was probably best for me to do the same so I didn’t get yelled at again. 

    As the other New Worlders approached their leader and the Captain, the Captain smiled at them and made a small gesture, running his hand in a circle around his chest where his heart was.  Was that a greeting? The two female warriors repeated the gesture back, as the lieutenant joined the gathering and the Captain introduced her to the three New Worlders.

    “Captain Navarro,” she addressed him (at least I knew one name now), “Sir, what is going on here.” Her face was showing the same confusion I was experiencing in so many ways. 

    “Ah Lieutenant Marino,” (finally had part of her name!), “let me enlighten you.  This is Mataoka, Nahinni, and Kaya, members of the Quonatooka clan.  I apologize for keeping our true mission secret from you.  We are here to establish a trade relationship with the Quonatooka and the Spanish settlement of Lumina to the North.  The religious fanatic group that founded the town has done nothing but cause problems for the Quonatooka and we look to fix that.” 

    The lieutenant frowned at finding out she was lied to but kept her obvious disagreement with their mission to herself.

     “Yes sir.” She didn’t offer any objection but stepped back a bit after nodding at the Quonatooka warriors. 

    So, my native companion in this dream was Nahinni.  I said the name out loud, which just came out as a bit of a jumble of growling barking noises.  She turned back to me and made a shushing type gesture, covering her mouth with her hand.  Had she understood what I said? 

    The other two animals came over toward me, the fox started making noises, that weirdly I could understand clearly.

    “Wahnata, why are you being so agitated today.  You know who the Captain is, there is nothing wrong.” He came over and sat down in front of me as the Lynx settled in and laid down next to me, her fur touching mine.  I could smell that they were male and female and the differences between the two species.  This noise was something else.  I liked the way the lynx smelled, but the fox smelled like a wet dog with the moist salty air.

     “Keenawah, calm down, Wahnata is just upset that he wasn’t able to follow Nahinni and stay close to her with all the new people here with the Captain this time.”  Her voice was soothing and a bit more fluid than the fox’s abrupt speech. 

    “Shin, just because you like Wahnata, doesn’t mean you have to always defend his behavior,” Keenawah nipped at her but didn’t come close.  She shifted nervously at the mention of liking me. 

     This was easily the weirdest dream I’d ever had.  I was a wolf, talking to two other animals, who could understand a language I didn’t know and obeyed the commands of warrior named Nahinni.  I hope at some point I would understand what these names meant.  The inquisitive part of me was still looking for answers and trying to analyze what was happening, even now. 

     The group along the shore was being given instructions by the lieutenant and started to gather up the supplies to bring them inland.  The Captain and the three warriors approached us and as they got close and walked past Nahinni looked at me and motioned for me to follow.

    “Wahnata, pyas”, which caused me to instinctively get up and follow.  Pyas must mean come, or follow.  Both Shin and Keenawah followed behind me with Mataoka and Kaya and Captain Navarro. 

    As we made our way through the woods, Nahinni and I took point, scouting ahead and putting a bit of space between ourselves and the others. As we walked she looked back at me occasionally and the third time decided to ask me a question.

    “Wahnata, what is wrong with you today.  Is something bothering you about the newcomers? You know the Captain already and we trust him.” I found that I truly understood their language and was able to interpret in my mind.  I looked up at her, her face had a worried expression as she back at me.  How was I supposed to answer her? I just decided to give it a shot and see if she could understand what I tried to say.

    “I don’t know.  I am just overwhelmed with everything that is happening.” I looked back at her, meeting her eyes and she smiled back at me.

    “Do not worry Wahnata, all is well.  I will protect you as you will protect me always,” she said with such confidence in her words that my anxiety subsided, albeit slightly. 

    As we continued to make our way inland through the forest, the path opened a little wider and I could start to see a clearing up ahead.  A wooden structure appeared, a large wall of stakes like a wooden palisade stretched out around a somewhat large village.  I could see thatched roofs above the wall and little bits of smoke rising here and there.  As we approached the wall we slowed down and looked behind us as the Captain and the two Quonatooka warriors came through the forest into the clearing around the town behind us.

    I looked back up at Nahinni who pet my head and came up to stand next to me.  As I looked up at her face and into her eyes again, I heard Beerus saying “Wake up, wake up please Dad,” to me in my mind.  I blinked my eyes and Nahinni looked at me in concern.  I blinked again and again….and then I woke up.