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A woman sat in the silent shadowy depths of a pool, with her knees against her chest. She was utterly alone in the deep; the world above her was just a bad dream waiting to happen the moment she would surface. She just sat in the silence, alone with her worryless thoughts.

The woman was young, twenty-five at most. Her flowing locks of hair scarlet red like blood that would flow from a stinging papercut on the tip of your finger. Her eyes were a dark blue, like mysterious pools of the deep sea, with gleams of wonder and excitement for what the future had in store for her. The good or the bad. Her skin was as pale as a fresh blanket of snow on a winter's eve, as if it was untouched by the tanning light of the sun. Seed-like freckles were trickled across her nose and her cheekbones. Her young, beautiful body was thin and tall; her legs were powerful like those of a mighty cheetah, but a faded yet long scar was down on her thigh, probably from a checkered past. Her face was lean, not a trace of fat was on it. Her bathing suit was the same colour as her blood red locks.

Her name, by all accounts, was Safire, Safire Lupa. Her name was strange as she was, she had one and only friend -- Midnight Oakes, who had accompanied her to the aquatic activity that very day.

Strange she was not thinking about her friend. She was not even thinking about anything above the surface. The only thoughts racing through her red head were just singing, just the singing of an elegant voice, like the song of a nightingale. The singer never sung any words, but it resonated with Safire's soul.

The singing started to fade away. It was being drowned out by one thought: oxygen. Her lungs started to feel like they were going to explode; she felt a gagging feeling in the back of her throat. She stood up on the floor of the pool and she started to swim up. Each second would pass, she would feel pressure build up in her lungs; the gagging feeling became intense.

Luckily she surfaced up above the water to the rich, free air. She gasped like she hadn't breathed in years, breathing felt so good. Her vision was blurred the moment she surfaced, they stung from the chlorine. The silence was broken from the depths, the sound of playing, swimming and joyful bliss from the other swimmers. The surface was noisy, voices overlapped with other voices. Safire hated all of the noise.

She treaded water and her vision started to slowly come back to her, but the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, they stung like a thousand tiny needles were going in her eyes. She rubbed her eyes as she treaded the water.

'Watch out!' A voice suddenly cried out in a warning. Disorderly discombobulation filled her mind; she looked over towards the voice, but before she could reach, a rubber ball smacked her right in her freckled face.

'Fuck!' She exclaimed; families just glared at her with judging eyes as their ears heard her cussing words. Her face was in a sharp, throbbing pain; she started to feel blood dripping from her nose. 'Fuck,' she mumbled underneath her breath. The thick scarlet red liquid dripped down her face, some drained down her throat, the metallic taste with a hint of salt just filled her mouth. Unpleasant to most, but to her the blood tasted sweet and succulent.

She liked the taste of blood. Some blood ran down her neck, going down her chest. It floated on the water like ribbons of scarlet red, but it wasn't her concern, she was more focused on the taste than what was going on around her. People around her just gave her angry or worried looks, they just swam away from her as if she was crazy.

A smirk rose up on her face, she just tipped her head back as she saw towards the ladder. Her vision was watery, blurry and all she could taste was blood, beautiful red blood. She slowly climbed up to the deck of the pool, she started to scan the deck to find her friend, Midnight. She placed her hand underneath her nose, but the blood dripped down her hand.

She slowly walked around on the deck, still searching for her friend, with. As she walked down the deck people just stared at her, but they moved out of her way. As the blood dripped down the back of her throat, her stomach started to feel slightly sick and her head started to lightly spin. Her nose didn't seem like it would stop bleeding anytime soon. She would get nose bleeds regularly, but she wasn't squeamish from blood.

The blood dripped on the ground, it splattered on her beautiful snow-coloured feet. The blood ran down her arm, dripping from her elbow onto her feet. Quickly her eyes met with a large gentleman.

The gentleman was taller than most who were at the pool. His hair was parted to the left and it was slick and sharp; its color was ash blonde, akin to the lonesome, rough desert where no man dares to tread, and it was tipped with lime green, giving him a rather punk undertone to his persona. His skin was fair, fair like the smooth white sand on the calm, silent beach where no soul knows of, untouched by corruption and evil. His eyes were bright green, they seemed kind, and perky, they had a gleam of happiness shining in them. His face was round, pudgy, and it beamed with a ray of joy and happiness. Midnight was an overweight gentleman; his blubber was stored mostly in his midriff and his rear end. His trunks were akin to the orange hue of the setting sun.

'Oi! Midnight!' Safire shouted to the gentleman, she quickly rushed over to her blubberous friend. The thick, sweet blood drained down her throat and dripped down to the cold, wet ground of the deck.

Midnight's head quickly turned towards Safire; a smile had quickly risen then fell off of his face once he saw his bloodied friend. He quickly rushed over to his redheaded friend, his expression quickly changed to a look of worry.

'Safire, what did you do?' He cried. He quickly ran up to her friend.

Safire just chuckled, she almost fell on Midnight. She placed her hands on Midnight, a bloody handprint was on Midnight's swollen tummy. Her mind started to swirl and spin, the loss of blood was getting to her. The smirk turned into a drunken smile. Her white teeth were stained with the scarlet red liquid; a surge of happiness ran through her bones, she was enjoying the blood a little too much. People were just staring at her like she was a madwoman.

'Girl!' Midnight grabbed Safire by her arm and he brought her over to a black backpack and a magenta leather handbag. 'You've got to stop bleeding like this! This is a public place!' He slowly placed her down on the cold, wet deck.

'Yeah,' Safire laughed like she was drunk on the reddest of wines; she sat down by the bags. She was propped up on her hand she used to cover her nose, the blood was smearing on the floor; it would be an interesting day for the janitor. The wet floor almost made her jump when her tush touched its icy . 'But... it tastes so good... that sweet... thick... beautiful... taste.' She was gazing off into the depths of oblivion.

'Safire,' Midnight sighed; he slumped down next to Safire. 'Let's just get you cleaned up -- not in the pool!' He turned towards Safire as he just gazed at her with worried eyes.

Safire's nose was still bleeding, it poured like a faucet of ribbons of red. Safire was the only one who was not worried about it, this was a normal thing for her, ever since she was a young teen.

She would wrestle with her first love. One day her love accidently hit her and her love knocked out one of her teeth, a molar. She bled, at first she was startled, even scared, she also cried from the pain, but the thick, red liquid filled her mouth, to her it tasted like heaven. She didn't think about the pain, she just thought about the taste of blood, like a wolf in the full moon night. She would call them: "blood-gasams". She wouldn't go out of her way to try to make herself bleed, but whenever she bled, she would embrace the moment, like there was no tomorrow. Sometimes she would pass out from loss of blood, sometimes she would make herself feel sick to her stomach, but she would claim it would be all worth it.

'Fine... fine,' Safire groaned; she slowly got up on her blood-stained feet and she slowly made her way to the woman's changing room. With each step she would take, a drop of blood would drip down onto the ground. Blood also ran down her young body.

Midnight sighed as he watched his friend walk from his sights, where she was alone, amongst strangers. With a big heave Midnight got up off of his cushiony tush. 'She's gonna get hurt...' he mumbled to himself. He grabbed the backpacks and he slung them over his back. He followed Safire into the changing room, his heart was clearly bigger than his mind. People just stared at Midnight like he was an idiot.

Midnight looking around once he made his way in the changing room. His eyes met with a trail of splatters of red blood, clearly a path to find his redheaded friend. With a deep sigh he followed the trail of blood to find his friend laying down on one of the benches, keeping her head upright to let the blood drain back down her throat. Blood was still on her body, making her look crazed, even insane. A coy smirk was quirked on her face.

'Shadow! Geez Louise!' cried Midnight. He quickly dropped the bags by his feet. 'We need to get you cleaned up! Just hop into a shower then get dressed, okay?'

Safire snorted and she swallowed the remaining blood in mouth and her nose, including the deep red clot, stopping her nose from bleeding anymore. Giving a satisfied sigh, she sat up on the bench and she stretched out her arms like she was waking from a long winter's sleep. She licked her thumb and she wiped the blood on her face, licking the blood off of her thumb with every other wipe.

Once she finished there were faint smears of red stains all-over her sharp, freckled face. 'I don't want to... I'll shower when we get back to the dungeons,' she grumbled, getting up and making her way to one of the grey-steel lockers. She did not care that Midnight was in the woman's changing room. Midnight was gay: he had no interests with girls, Safire thought it was just for him to sometimes accompany her to the washrooms, she was not concerned how other women and girls would judge Midnight, claiming that he was a pervert. Safire would always back him up, either by bold sass or flying fists, but Midnight would try to keep his redheaded friend from using her fists.

Midnight was always the jolly, peaceful type of person. He never wanted to get into fights, verbally or physically. He would get picked on due to his large size and sometimes his sexuality. He would try to walk away, just ignoring those who try to bully him. He used to get beaten up when he was just in high school. He was always a chubby child, he was always picked on for it. He sought food as a comfort. When he was younger, he would spend some days locked away in his room, gorging his face with fatty foods. He was never a lazy child, he just had a bit of an eating problem.

Safire on the other hand, would like to intimidate people, always prove she's the alpha wolf. She would sometimes get bullied, being called names, like "Looney-Lupa", and she would also get teased from her wild personality, for standing out among the others. She was not much of a social child, she only had a few friends throughout her high school years. By the end of it she had lost all of them, except for Midnight, who she met the year before.

Safire quickly turned the lock, and she flew open the door of the locker where her clothes, a peach-coloured towel and her shoes laid there in a messy bunch, like a hurricane whirled in her locker. 'Dude, just get changed, I'll meet you out in five,' she said as she slipped off her bathing suit, soon drying off with the towel she grabbed from her locker.

Midnight simply nodded, not saying a word. He picked up the handbag and he walked out of the changing room, back to the pool. He was given some annoyed looks from the women who walked in and out of the changing room, they thought he was being a pervert instead of a very caring friend.

Safire rushed out of the changing room dressed and ready to go. Her hair was still damn, her eyes were still bloodshot from the chlorine. Her body was still tainted with blood, and the succulent taste was still fresh in her mouth.

Safire was in a black hoodie, black like a starless night where the moon was hidden underneath thick clouds in the sky. She wore coal black jeans; they were well-worn, scuffed up, they snugly hugged her long legs. A pair of dark red high-top converses were on her feet, they were kept in a very nice condition, yet there were a few smudges of dirt on the shoes. Overtop of her hoodie she wore a leather coat dyed with the colour of a red much like a cherry, a light hue than her red hair. The black backpack was slung over her one shoulder.

She walked around the lobby, still looking for her friend. Her hair felt heavy on her head and she started to get itchy from the pool water still on her body. She wanted to get the hell away from the pool and back to her cozy little place, which was a dorm room in a college: Sandalwood college.

Safire was aspired to become an electrician, it was her dream since she was a little girl. She was doing rather well. She was among the top-twenty in her class of one-hundred. She also knew her way around welding, which she started to do in her tenth grade year. Her only major flaw in her career profession was her mathematics. She was slow in figuring out equations and she needed to use a calculator and a piece of paper to jot down her thinking, but her teacher said that she would be on her way down a very successful path.

Safire slumped down with her back against the wall while she waited for her bulbous friend. She gave out an exasperated sigh and she just stared off at the ceiling. She wasn't really thinking about anything, she was just staring at the ceiling.

Moments passed. Midnight soon came beside Safire and he waved his hand in front of her face to grab her attention.

Safire blinked a couple of times and she shook her head. She looked up at her blonde friend, who wore a very fashionable well-worn ebony black leather jacket with red and green plaid arms, cloud grey sweat pants, oil black military-designed boots, great for trekking around in uncharted territories, and a dark grey shirt with No Drama, Only Pizza in bold white letters and small pizzas in the background of his shirt, like they were falling from heaven. She saw a grim look on her friend's chubby face, which was a sight she would rarely see.

'Midnight, what's wrong?' She asked gravely, a look of worry passed across her face.

'I have to get going. My parents are in town and they want to talk to me about some things...' he sighed, 'I might have to go with them on the Auroras break... So this might be goodbye until Dawn's Morn...'

'Fuck,' Safire got up from her tuckus and she fell into a hug onto her pudgy friend, she felt like she was landing on pillows oddly shaped into a non-perfect sphere. 'I thought we were going to have such a good time during the break...' she rested her head upon his flabby chest. 'I guess I'll have to spend it alone... God fucking dammit, Midnight...' She deeply sighed.

'There, there,' Midnight pat his sad friend's red head. 'Shade, you'll be fine. Just don't let yourself bleed, okay?' The patting turned to slow, gentle stroking from the top of her head down to the bottom of her neck, repeating the process each time he would reach the end. 'And just think about it, sister, you have both my room and your room to yourself! But don't go through my things.'

Safire warmly chuckled; she looked up into his bright green eyes and she just smiled. 'Don't promises, but no one will know,' she deviously winked. 'And don't worry, Night, I won't be bleeding everywhere, I don't plan on to get into any fights during the break.'

'And don't cut yourself!' Added Midnight. 'The last thing I want to see is to come back after the Break and see you lying on your bed with a thousand cuts all-over your body!'

Safire rolled her eyes as she scoffed. 'And I'll go to bed no later than nine, I'll eat my greens and I won't watch any porn,' she said sassily. 'Don't worry, Mother,' she scoffed, 'I'll be just fine. I never cut myself, I just get cuts. We all get cuts and bruises, I just deal with them differently.' A very toothy grin rose up on her face. She fastened her backpack against her back, slipping her other arm through the strap. 'You stay safe, and call me everyday. Okay?'

Midnight smiled, softly chuckling underneath his breath. 'Fine, just to check up on you. You're like a cat!' He wrapped his arms around Safire, embracing her in a cushiony, warm hug.

The hug soon ended; Midnight softly kissed Safire's forehead before he made his way to the outside world.

Safire raised her eyebrows surprisingly, Midnight had never done something like that to her before. Thoughts bounced around in her head, but she just dismissed them, it was a mystery she had to solve when he came back.

She watched her friend as he left. A sense of sadness sparkled in her mind and her chest felt heavy. She took a deep breath, quickly sighing to relieve the sorrowness off her chest. She soon walked out of the lobby, making her way outdoors.

Safire walked out to a tall and mighty city made from brass, stone and steel. It was the great city of Nona. The buildings were high, almost touching the pale grey sky above their heads. Fresh white snow had blanketed the ground, it was winter time within the city. The sun hid behind the clouds, letting peaks of sunlight beam upon them.

This story does not take place on the planet of Earth -- if you were questioning. This was a planet far beyond the horizon, many burning suns away. This was the planet of Noctora. A planet shared by humans -- also referred as "the Races of Men" -- alongside different and exotic species.

They lived in harmony and chaos, like any great civilization with groups of people with many differences. There had been war, famine, disease, corruption and sorrow throughout the millennium the planet had endured through. Speciesism, sexisim, classimism, racisim and poverty were still large problems in different parts of the world. Like anything, this was an imperfect world, and it would probably stay that way for many more generations to come.

Safire looked down the busy street. She saw people with their puffy coats and their warm hats on their heads. She felt a gust of wind brush up against her that made her shiver and shake.

The ends of her hair turned to icicles in the icy grip of the winter wind. Safire had her arms crossed and her teeth chattered as she walked down the streets. All she could think about was warm cocoa that her mother used to make when she was little, before her mother died just seven days before her eighth birthday. There was much grieving, Safire even forgot about her birthday that year, and she's been trying to forget that year ever since.

Safire loved her mother, though she didn't know much about her. She knew she was a pianist, her favorite colour was violet, her name was Christine Dalton and she had beautiful ebony black hair. There were things she could not talk to her about when she was so young. She would do anything in the world just to have one conversation with her mother. She wanted her to be alive and well and for her to see her daughter thrive and strive into the strong and beautiful woman she was on that very day, and more days to come.

Safire had a father, two younger sisters and an older brother. She was the best of friends with her father; they would play catch at the park, go snowboarding some winters, and up until Safire left the house at twenty her father would tuck her into bed and he would read her a bedtime story. Her favorite story that he would read her was: The Demon Hunter; which was about a young woman who strived to extinguish the land of Toe-Toe from demons and witches. The story had a happy ending where the young woman got married and she lived happily ever after. Safire loved happy endings.

Her two sisters were twins: Stacey Lupa and Alex Lupa. They were only eighteen at the time, only seven years younger than Safire. Together they were crafty and mischievous; always pulling pranks on the unwary individual to cross their devious paths. Safire even called them "the Devil's Duo" and "the Twin Tricksters", throughout her days living with them. Even though they played some mild, some awful and everywhere in between kind of pranks on her, she still loved her sisters at the end of the day.

Lastly, her elder brother: Edward Lupa. Edward was seven years older than Safire. Safire used to look up to him as an idol from the time she was only three until she was fourteen and three-quarters. She thought Edward was the coolest person in all of Nona. He wore a black leather jacket in his youth, even in the hot, sticky summer. When he was older he got into some trouble with the authorities. Nothing major, just the drunken nights he would spend with his pals. He used to have a very fit body, popularity, and devilishly good looks. That all changed once he turned twenty-six.

He slowly became fat, fatter than Midnight, and that slowly proceeded to laziness, making him even larger. Safire rarely sees him anymore, not even during holidays and birthdays when the family would get together. She would get the occasional message from him, just responding to her checkups. She was just being a good sister. The last time she heard from him was the month before. He claimed he was doing fine, getting some work done, and trying to lose weight. Safire knew this as a lie; the work could have been true, but she knew that he would not try to lose weight. The last she had seen of him was six months ago, and he looked fatter than a whale. It was a scary sight to see if you were his loving sister.

Safire walked down the street; taking turns at lights and watching out for the coming traffic. Within several long, cold blocks - and a rather boring hello from someone from one of her electricians classes - she made it back to the college with her teeth chattering and her body shaking in the cold. She quickly made her way indoors to the dorms. Still shaking and shivering, she ran up the stairs to the second floor, down to room 252: the number of her dorm room. The door was a plain white as the other doors with its number in a rusted bronze.

Safire shoved her hand in her coat pocket, rifling around in it for a moment or so. She pulled out a steel keychain with two old, dull, golden keys, worn down by time, like anything else in the mortal world.

She unlocked her door and she proceeded to the inside realm of her domain. The inside was a wreck of a mess. There were mismatched socks, unused underpants and blank paper all over the floor. The light blue sheets upon the top bunk of the grey wooden bunk bed tucked away in the corner of the room was wrinkled, and it had books and papers scattered across it in a very disorganized formation. The bottom bunk was neat as can be with its matching blue sheet and a fluffy white pillow. A white wooden dresser was facing the bed from the opposite wall; a shining golden locket with the engraving of a heart and a few neatly kept books with colourless covers sat on the top of the dresser.

Giving a tired sigh, exhaustion ran through her body. Safire threw the backpack off her shoulders and her coat off her back as she walked into her dorm room, closing the door behind her. She threw her bag and coat throwing on the messy ground. She unzipped her hoodie and she climbed up into the top bunk. Kicking away some books and papers, she laid her head down, slowly closing her eyes. She drifted off into the warm, gentle embrace of sleep.

Safire soon found herself walking through a dark forest, where the leaves were black as the night, the wood was grey as stone, and the ground was a sickly shade of black, touched by the evil from the darkness. There was no light, sun nor moon, that shined through the leaves of the trees embracing the forest with its warm touch. The air was still and stale. Each breath Safire had to take to seem to be an act of labour, and a bitter taste would fill her mouth.

Safire still trekked through the forest, unsure on why she was on her journey, she just knew she had to walk through the forest. She had a fine silk robe of white and gold fastened on her body, keeping it from being fully exposed to the elements of the forest. It gave off a faint glow like it was a guiding light to any unwary traveller.

Safire heard nothing and she felt nothing. The only thing she could feel was her stomach knotting and a strange pressure build up in her mouth. With each step she would take the bitter taste would get worse, like she had eaten the bitterest of fruits.

She soon heard the sounds of a piano playing a beautiful and jolly song. It was an end to the madness that had flooded the forest. Warmth started to flow through her blood and bones, she felt happy again. Picking up the pace of her feet; she tried to look from where this beautiful music was coming from.

The taste of air turned from a horrid bitter to the beautiful sweet taste of lavender. The air started to lighten up, it soon became warm and gentle. It felt good to breath again, but the light emanating from the robes doused down, like it was a candle being starved without oxygen. The robes should turned into a gloomy, dark black akin to the forest around her.

Safire soon found a faint, summer-white glowing coming from the forest floor past the dark, gloomy trees. She soon came across a glade with vibrant green grass, and moonlight that kissed the glade with its sparkling silver light. In the center of the glade there was a pool with bright blue water, akin to the blue sky on a warm, cloudless day. Beautiful black roses with scarlet red stems started to bloom out of the soil with each passing step Safire would take as she proceeded into the glade.

Her eyes gleamed in the moonlight like pearls and her hair shined with a crimson light that reflect against the gloomy trees, making them faintly glisten with a similar red light, like they were under the bloodmoon. The piano started to slowly die down, but it was not being drowned by silence. Safire could hear her heartbeat and the sharp breath from her mouth.

She spotted a tall, lanky shadowy figure at the opposite side of the glade. Her eyes could not make out who the figure was. The figure started to slowly trek towards the moonlit glade; relieving itself from its shadowy veil.

The figure was a woman who had fair skin, similar to a summer snow rose, and it was just as beautiful. She had long, shimmering blonde hair with thin streaks of silver through her hair, like veins of silver through a yellow rose. Some of her hair was tucked behind her long-pointed ears. Her calm eyes were a mixture of a forest green and a chestnut hazel, and they gleamed with a calming delight. Her face sported sharp angles, with high cheekbones. She wore robes that was made of starlight and it gleamed when she step forth into the glade, like a blanket of silver under a full-moon light.

The woman just inspected Safire, not saying a single word. She started to walk around the redhead, still with observing eyes. Her eyebrows crossed with curiosity; which each circling she would do she would get closer to the redhead, with her eyes still glued on her.

Safire looked at maidan, she found her to be quite interesting, a little odd perhaps, but very interesting. She had never seen anyone with ears like hers, but she had heard tales of a species that roamed the land as travellers, but they came from a distant land, hidden behind the shadows of mountains and the great, roaring sea. They were never seen for two-hundred years, like they had vanished without a trace.

'Quite interesting,' the mysterious woman muttered underneath her breath with an elegant, soft voice. 'By the Twilight, who are you? More to the point, what are you?'

Safire crossed her eyebrows in question, slowly raising her right in concern. 'I'm Safire,' she answered. 'And what do you mean, "what are you"?'

'What are you, what is your species, or race?' Asked the mysterious woman, she still paced around the redhead.

Safire crossed her arms, keeping her eyes glue on this woman. 'I'm a human,' she answered.

'What kind of human?' The woman halted, keeping her eyes still fixed upon Safire.

'"What kind of human"? I'm well... the human-y kind of human. The human-y kind of human that wonders, who and what are you?' Asked Safire. 'You've asked me about me, now I would like to ask about you,' her eyes slipped to the woman's ears.

'How very quaint, Safire the human-y human. I've never met a human-y human before,' the woman turned towards the pool, and she slowly walked over towards it, gazing into its vast beauty. Its light reflected against her fair face, giving it an alluring glow. 'To answer your question -- my name is Tanelia, and I am one of the dream elves; we were once known to your species in the Days of the Ancients.'

Safire was utterly confused by what this Tanelia said. 'Days of the ancients? Dream elves? What do you mean by all of this?' She asked confused.

Tanelia suddenly turned towards Safire. Her eyes were cold and her face expressionless. 'The forgotten days when the species of the land lived in harmony and balance. Where hate was never even a thought, where it never mattered what species or race you were. These days where also referred to as the Golden Days. But hatred spread through the land like a sickening plague, to this day it is unknown why it was so. Different species feld to different lands.

'Everything looked like it was going to break into hell, into a bloody war. But the ablux who reside in House of Haven -- a city of prosperity and wealth, a city that wages high to the heavens above -- forged an alliance, the Affiliation, but it was only for certain species. The other species were shunned by the ablux, maybe in the future they could become apart of the Affiliation, but I fear that that day will never come, I fear for something worse.

'And of the dream elves... well, we were forgotten among many, in solitude in the Forest of Nocturnal. A solitude that one cannot trek to physically. I am two-hundred and six, this is my first time dream walking. I have reached out into the Twilight and my spiritual embodiment has transcended with yours. It is a strange, yet painless process to undergo -- I guess for the Races of Men it would be the ritual into adulthood, as the Elders have told us.'

Safire seemed to be lost, what Tanelia had said was over her head, was this all true? Her eyes trembling with confusion and her mind in a race. She did not know what to say to this Tanelia. But before she did, there was a blinding white flash of light, the sounds of the forest grew dim and she felt as if she was leaving her body. Then everything turned black as a starless night.

Safire suddenly woke up in her dorm room, there was a knock at her door: bang bang bang. Her blurred eyes gazed at the pale door. The dream still lingered in her mind, but she just dismissed what this Tanelia had said, even Tanelia herself. Safire thought it was just her mind running wild with imagination.

She climbed down from her bunk bed, making her slowly to the door, almost dragging her feet behind her. She placed her hand on the bronzed doorknob, opening the door to see who was outside.

There was a woman, around Safire's age, maybe a year or two younger than her. She had neck-length strawberry blonde hair akin to a deep orange flame that calmly blazed in the fireplace on a cold winter's night. Her eyes were red, much like Safire's luscious blood red locks, with rims of starlight silver around her black pupils. Freckles were dotted across her face strangely enough like Safire. Her skin was a light royal blue, like the calm blue sea you would set your boat upon and drift against the calm sea breeze. She was as thin as a willow wand, and she was only up to Safire's eyebrows. Upon herself she wore a heavy grey coat, big black boots for marching in the snow and hazel pants on her legs. A backpack was slung over both her shoulders on her back.

The woman sported a shy smile on her face and a light rosy blush across her cheeks and the tips of her nose.

'Are you Safire?' She asked nervously. 'I've been told that I'm suppose to be staying with you.'

Safire crossed her eyebrows and she gave an exasperated sigh, 'Yes, I'm Safire. I haven't been told about this, but' - she shrugged her shoulders - 'just put your bag on the bottom bunk, sorry about the mess.' She made her way back into the dorm.

The blue guest made her way to the bottom bunk, keeping her head tilted towards the ground very shyly, sliding her back off of her shoulders, and she placed on top of the bottom bunk. She sat down next to her bag, taking short glances at Safire.

Safire kept her arms crossed and her eyes calm. A dull silence quickly spread through the room.

'So, what's your name?' Asked Safire, shattering the silence like glass.

The blue lady looked up at Safire with shyness woven into her eyes. 'Winter,' she sheepishly answered. Her eyes seemed unfocused but she kept her head up towards Safire.

'That's a pretty cool name, Winter,' said Safire. 'Named after the season?'

Winter started to look confused, 'Season?' She asked, 'What's a "season"?' Her eyes quickly came to focus towards the redhead.

Safire crossed her arms, quirking her eyebrows in as much confusion as Winter. 'You don't know what a season is?' She asked skeptically. 'How do you measure different times of the years? You know: winter, spring, summer, autumn, those things! And you've never heard of them? It's winter outside now; how it's snowy, cold, how you want to curl up in a blanket and sit in front of a fire.'

Winter quickly shook her head in denial. 'No, no. Are you talking about harvests?' She weaved her fingers together, crossing her legs.

'Harvests?' Asked Safire. She was as confused as Winter with seasons. She walked towards Winter, and she sat beside, keeping close to her like they were friends. She looked her square in the eye, keeping herself prepped up with her arms against her thighs.

Winter positioned herself towards Safire, taking a deep breath as if she was going to yell. 'Well, right now we're in Eterna-Mor; as you said it was like winter outside. So I guess Eterna-mor is like winter,' - she started to sound unsure - 'but I know very little about the Race of Men and their customs, I am only familiar with mine, an agu'vin from the homeland: Pa'rim. I do hope I get to learn about your culture, Safire.' She followed it up with a great yawn, stretching her arms up to the ceiling. Her eyes started to look heavy and tired, they were barely opening. Black rings started to form around her eyes like she hadn't slept in days, missing the sweet embrace of sleep.

'By the moons,' murmured Winter sleepy. 'I've stayed up for so long... I had to take a ship from my homeland... which I got very little rest on board.' She started to slowly unbutton her coat. 'It is impossible to find an engineering program back home.' She tossed her coat beside weakly, and she slumped down on to the bed. 'But you,' she curled up against herself like a kitten. Her eyes soon shut and the warm embrace of sleep had a hold of her. A soft snoring started to escape from Winter's lips; she looked so peaceful, like a worryless angel high above in its clouds.

Safire just gazed at the sleeping Winter. 'Dear god,' she mumbled underneath her breath; a soft smile rose upon her freckled face and her eyes gleamed with a warm happiness. 'That is the damn cutest thing I've ever seen,' following up with a great and tired yawn. She was still tired, regardless from the nap she had.

Safire swiftly made her way out from the bottom bunk, walking towards the ladder keeping her away from her glorious rest. With ease she climbed up the ladder, and she laid down on her the soft, cushiony mattress, slowly closing her eyes into a relaxing sleep.

Safire stood the glade of the forest, very similar to the forest and the glade in her dream before her sudden awakening from Winter. The beautiful woman, Tanelia, stood beside her with a kind, heavenly gaze in her eyes and a sweet, soft smile woven onto her face. She had her long hands in front of her stomach, one on top of the other.

Safire glared at Tanelia with cold eyes. 'Did you plan this happening today?' She asked sternly. 'My friend leaving for the holidays, you entering my dream, Winter being my new roommate?'

Tanelia's smile slowly faded off her fair face. 'Why would I do such a thing?' She asked. 'I only have the ability to walk among your dream, and speak with you. Do not mistaken me for the shaper of your future, I am only a guide. You can either dismiss the knowledge I've given to you, or keep it close to your heart and spirit. I must warn you that this knowledge is not common among your people, but it is not forsaken in your vaults of knowledge and the past! This knowledge might be grave in your future, your very essence might depend on it!'

There was a pause from Tanelia. 'But if I might ask,' she asked. 'Why would it matter to you? Why would it matter to you that your friend was just leaving for the holidays, or I entering your dreams? Before you woke up you showed no hostilities towards me, and now you seemed to be alarmed, like bells ringing off in your head. Tell me, did this "Winter" have anything do with this? Do you have something against her?'

Safire crossed her arms. 'No, I don't have anything against her! She seems rather nice, and a little bit shy... but I think she's cool! And sometimes I need a bit of a change up -- just a little shake up in my life.'

'Do you have any feelings towards her?' Asked Tanelia. 'An attraction towards her?'

'I do not!' bellowed Safire; her face turned to a pout as she kept her arms crossed She looked down towards the ground a tad bit pissed off from Tanelia's remark.

Tanelia started to warmly chuckled as she kept her eyes glued upon Safire's embarrassed self. 'Young child, love is not something to be ashamed about,' she said calmly. 'I might only be two-hundred and four, but I know a handful of things about love.'

'I don't even know the girl!' Safire protested. 'Hell, she could be a killer, or a prostitute! She could be Midnight in disguise! I don't want to propose to her right as she gets up! I just want to be her friend, her roomie.'

Tanelia chuckled once more, keeping her hand in front of her face. 'Safire, you are an interesting individual, and I wish I could stay with you and talk with you, but we have our lives to attend to!' She wavered her hand and a golden sparkle fell from her palms onto the darkened earth, fading into utter darkness. 'Farewell, Shadow! May the blessing of the Twilight be upon you! And good luck with Winter!' Tanelia suddenly vanished in a flash of golden light.

The forest grew dim and dark. The pool turned from a brilliant blue to a sickly, oily black, and the bark of the trees started to fade off, like darkened ash on the wind. The roses started to wither, and crumble, they were tipped with a veil of winter frost. The moonlight faded away into darkness, leaving no trail behind.

Safire looked around at the darkened forest. She started to feel like all of the happiness was sucked from the world, leaving it an empty husk. She started to hear the trees eerily groan and they leaked with a thick black liquid, akin to poisoned blood.

Suddenly the trees burst open like over-inflated balloons, only leaving hollowed stumps in their places. Hundreds of large black birds with piercing red eyes flew out from the stumps. The birds drove towards Safire with their shrieking cries.

Safire was in a state of fear. She wanted to run from the maddening birds but her legs ceased to work, like she was glued to the forest floor. Her heart accelerated in her chest, fast as a cheetah. The birds started to claw and peck at Safire as they shrieked their fearful calls.

Safire wailed out in pain with each tear the birds would do to her. Her body bled with blackened blood from each gash and tear the birds left on her beautiful, snow-coloured body. Her eyes started to leak with thick blackened tears; but Safire felt a burning sensation where the tears trickled down her slender face. Steam started to rise from her face with each tear that would trickle down. The tears would burst and blaze into golden-orange flares when they kissed the ground with their fiery touch.

The pain was so immense that it was unbearable, that death would be a blessing in this hellish nightmare. Safire was paralyzed, stealing her chance to either fight or flight. Bone and muscle was visible to the birds and the dreary forest. The birds still peaked and gnawed at her flesh, and they gobbled it up with delight. Safire was just a delicious feast to these godawful birds; but suddenly she felt nothing, and everything was black. There was only her and the darkness.

Safire suddenly woke up from her nightmare back in her dorm room. Her body was drenched with sweat and her heart was pounding like a drum. Her breathing was heavy and ragged, the dream was still fresh in her mind, like it was a recent memory. Her body ached with a stinging pain, probably her body fooling herself from the dream, it felt so real to her.

Safire blinked a few times as she examined her room: it was just the same as before she fell asleep. But the room was silent as a library, the sound of the snoring of her exhausted guest had disappeared.

'Winter?' She whispered. 'Winter, are you there?' She looked over the edge of the bunk bed to see if her blue friend was not anywhere to be seen. She was not asleep on her comfortable bed nor was she anywhere else in the room.

A sense of worry with a dash of puzzlement started to flood Shadow: 'Winter could get hurt out there!' She thought to herself. 'Where the hell is she?' Safire climbed down from her bed, and she rushed over to the door. But her eyes met with something on the dresser that was not there before: a white piece of paper. Safire had no memory of this piece of paper, a faint flicker of hope burned in her heart, maybe it was from Winter. Within an instant she grabbed the paper and she flipped it over. Bold, grey penciled letters were written on the paper:

Safire, if you read this before I am back, I am just looking out at the college. Don't worry! I'll be back within the hour.

Safire gave an exasperated sigh, 'First she says she's tired and she hasn't slept in days, now she's walking about?' She mumbled to herself. 'How long have I been fucking asleep?' She stumbled to the edge of the bottom bunk, where she sat down with discombobulation in her mind. She laid back down on the bunk, sighing once more.

Minutes slowly passed, like drying paint. Winter soon came back to the dorm room with rosy cheeks and a beaming smile stamped on her face. She looked rather perky and awake, unlike Safire, who was still dead and dreary; Safire was happy to see her new roommate came back in one piece, safe and sound.