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The branches were slick ice beneath Calina's paws as she stretched herself out and launched across them one after another. Her paws slipped and slid over the patches while her claws instinctively sank down through the ice to give her enough traction that she wouldn't be cast off into the darkness. The wind whipped around her as she kept her tail down level with her haunches and darted towards the trunk of a tree and went upwards. Her teeth cut into the staff that she carried balanced in her jaws as her ears remained twitched back to the sound of crackling branches behind her. It wasn't the wind that broke the wood, but heavy bodied males that were hot on her trail. The grey squirrel twisted her body as she kicked away from the tree and hooked onto a branch on evergreen and clambered into the thick needles with a gasping breath.

The first of them had come after her the moment she'd ran up the tree, the sound of his scrambling claws had made her look back to see him. Dark against the lightness of the snow. Others had joined in, one of them was Anin. He was back there somewhere with the rest of them, but she was able to outdistance them easily. She wasn't as large as they were and she was able to dance over the branches in a darting movement that barely stirred the snow, where they had to place their heavy weight down on icy branches and slipped about. She used her speed to her advantage, but it was staring to tell. Her lungs were burning as she sucked in rapid breaths and burrowed her way deeper into the evergreen tree and dropped the staff into her paws so she could catch her breath.

She had glimpsed down to see Kitch watching her go, it had taken every bit of her strength to look away again as if she were going off on an errand. He'd believe Anin. He'd believe in the baraen and what they stood for. She would blame himself, of that much she was sure, and she wished with all her heart that she could make him understand that it wasn't his fault. The pain he would feel made her flinch in sympathy. But he would be alive, no matter what the pain, he would get through it. He was young and strong, and the important part was that he wasn't coming after her to help fend of the baraen. They could kill her, she would accept that as a part of meddling as much as she had with them. She had hoped to change them or make others see that something wasn't right with them.

She knew better. She had come from a world where betrayal and cults were commonplace and they had a single them to it. They couldn't be penetrated easily and when they felt threatened they would defend themselves violently. She should have seen this coming, but she had been lured by the strange innocence of this place. The gentle ways of the squirrels had made her feel safe to voice her opinions, but they had turned against her. Violently. Would they blame Chane? Would her death show the rest what they were up to and how they had grown corrupt? Or would they accept it as something gone horribly wrong.

_Kitch won't. He'll see past it. God, I hope he's smart and keeps his mouth shut. I want him alive, he'll heal and grow happy again with time. _ She thought fervently. She didn't want to imagine him mourning for her for the rest of his life. He had to be alright, he just had to.

Calina leaned her head back against the trunk of the pine and listened to the sound of claws scrabbling against the tree across from the evergreen. She strained to hear them moving around while she tried to catch her breath and stop herself from panting so loudly that they'd hear her. Her ears twitched a little bit as the sounds grew muffled and she shifted on the branch. She gripped the staff while she kept herself crouched down tight to the branch as she tried to see past the thick pine needles. The same thing that kept them from seeing her, blocked them from her. Her eyes narrowed to slits and watched the needles move a heart beat before they erupted with a male bursting through them. It was warning enough that she bolted to one side and drew her staff out.

The warrior crouched down and swung his tail around in a move she had seen when they practiced. The wooden ring was brought down near her stomach, meant to knock her off balance, but she leapt upwards. She gripped the sticky bark and swung her staff down to hit hard against the squirrel's chest and heard him give a gasping curse. She followed up the swing with a kick of her legs that impacted firmly with his stomach and knocked him off the branch. She felt claws rasping against her tail, but she didn't press the attack. It was enough that she was able to kick him off balance so she could scramble up the sticky feeling bark. Her claws scrabbled as she heard other forms hitting against the pine branch coming after her.

Her ears flattened down and she transferred the grip on her staff to her teeth and continued upwards with the rest following behind. Her small size gave her speed as she darted around the trunk and tried to keep herself ahead of them. Her tail lashed back and forth as she heard the impact of a wooden ringed tail smacking near her and she had to launch to one side. There were more than six, probably as many as a dozen after her as she felt the cold air stinging her lungs. She had to get away from the pack of them. She'd be able to handle them one at a time easily enough, their moves were limited, at least from what she'd seen. If she could get past them she could make for the heart of the village where she'd be able to at least find Banich or Hatcha or someone to take her side in all of this! They'd see what the baraen were trying to do.

She cursed herself and that first moment of panic that had made her run when Anin had told her too. She should have thought clearly and gone straight into the town center so they couldn't kill her, but all she had thought about was the risk to Kitch if they were caught. At the time it had been logical to take to the trees, but once her mind had started to work past the shock of knowing they meant to kill her, she knew what she had to do. They couldn't silence her if there were others around, they couldn't stop her from trying to reveal them if she brought them to the rest of the elders. Even Hatcha would see the wrongness of setting the entire group loose after her in this way. Even if it were some test for them to prove they were able to lead the baraen, it was a ridiculous one.

She got nearly to the top of the pine tree before switching her hold on the staff and slipped it down behind her back so that it was hooked beneath the belt of her trousers where it would be secure. She had enough of a head start that she was able to leap outwards. She didn't aim for a branch, instead she aimed for the patch of needles that was far too fragile to hold her. Too fragile to hold her, perhaps, but enough that it cushioned her fall. She hit one and then another, her tail curled up between her legs as she reached out and caught each bunch of needles as she went. The sap coated her paws as she slowed her rapid descent and felt the needles whipping against her arms. It stung and a few hits nearly made her lose her breath, but as she neared the base of the tree she started to kick forward when she hit a branch. She scrambled and twisted, not gracefully, but it worked. Near the last branch she cracked down on solid wood and yelped out.

Calina gasped out, the breath nearly knocked out of her lungs as she tried to suck in air and twisted about. No time to wait, no time to try and get her breath. She had to go. NOW! She leapt from the branch and hit the snow with a crunch that pierced the layer of ice and bolted towards the village. She kept her eyes on the flickering lights as her ears twitched and tried to listen for anyone who might have noticed she'd hit the ground instead of another tree. She was going too fast though, her paws were scrabbling against the ground and crunching the snow. A red form burst from one side of the trees and hit her hard against the side so she went rolling into the snow. She kicked it up and twisted out of it gasping as a broad hand reached down and gripped the scruff her neck.

"Gotcha.." The strange male panted out victoriusly and hauled her up out of the snow, "Go limp, girl, I caught ya!"

"Not.. that.. easy.." She snarled out, she wasn't going to just give up without a fight. She wasn't going to lose her life that way.

She twisted her tail up in a move she had watched the young males practicing, but the lack of a tail ring made it less effective. It smacked up against the male's face as she felt the staff against her back. A bruised place where she had taken the hits from the tree that pushed it against her skin. With a twist she got her paws on it and brought it up and down to crack against the male's shoulder. He gripped harder against her scruff and threw her down to the snow, his weight slamming down against her as she tried to twist the staff around. The muffled curse only egged her own as she shifted her grip on the wood and brought the end up and under the baraen's jaw with a loud crack. His head jerked back and the fingers flexed against her neck. They loosened just enough for her to writhe free and kick against his shoulder to push herself off.

Calina didn't stop to see if he was following, she had already wasted time enough. She had to get past them all. She transferred the staff back between her teeth and went on all fours, her legs kicking out beneath her as she tried to get enough air between her clamped teeth to feed her burning lungs. She twisted through the night and darted back and forth as she became aware of the sounds around her. The shadows all looked like captors sent to take her and a dozen times she jumped this way and that only to find it was a clump of trees. She had to make it to the elders and show them what was going on. She wasn't going to be killed out here. She had come through too much, gone too far to allow herself to be killed by these males!

She heard the crunch of snow behind her, the sound of panting breath and threw her heart into her speed. She wasn't going to stop damnit, she wasn't going to let him take her down. She kept Kitch in her mind, her home, her warm fire, and her furs. She kept all of the strange new things she had come to love and held them there. For the first time in her life there was more to her world then just her work and science, but something that rang through her soul until she fought for it. She fought for it in a way that went beyond just fighting for life. She had a world that she had made here, not what she had expected, not what she had dreamed of, but it was hers. She would be damned if they'd take it from her.

Her paws ached as suddenly a staff cracked out and caught her arms and yanked backwards. They hooked right up beneath her stomach and onto the front of her legs so she went flying into the snow. Only instinct and practice sent her tumble into a roll that spilled her over onto her back and up again rather than flat down on her face. Her staff dropped down in the snow, but she groped around until she encountered the hard edge and twisted around. Anin let out a baritone snarl and hit forward with his staff again, he cracked out and went for her legs so she had to lunge forward to avoid him. He barely completed the swing before his tail came into play, the wooden ring aimed for her head. She dropped down beneath it, the hard edge clipped her ears, and kicked out with one paw high up on his chest. The impact rocked them both.

Anin didn't try to talk, his eyes were narrowed as he closed in on her with the muscles rolling beneath his winter fur. He fought fast and hard as he tried to drive her back. She didn't waste time trying to protest or taunt him, all her breath was taken up in trying to stay ahead of him. Anin was larger, more powerful and had been trained for years; she only had what she had picked up watching them train. She was faster, she was thinner and more graceful as she twisted and escaped his grip with short kicks and attacks that went low. She swung her staff and hit against his stomach with the hard edge again, pushing him back as he swung his tail around. The hard edge of the ring caught her shoulder so a rush of pain blossomed through her and she cut off a curse.

The snow was kicked flat around them as they faced off and her heart pounded in her ears. She had a glimpse of his white buck teeth flashing in the light before he launched towards her. His eyes caught the light and she imagined them blazing red as he lunged towards her. This time he came in low, his chin tucked down to protect his chest and neck from her attack. She crouched down as he came at her and flicked her tail flat behind her as she tensed up. The muscles along her haunches bunched up as she waited until the last possible moment, when his arm came out ready to snag her legs to bring her down. Except she didn't remain there, she threw herself up and over him with a high pitched cry. Her paws caught on his shoulder and kicked off, using her weight to go over him.

Her foot paws slammed down against the shoulders and pushed him in the snow as she set her eyes on the distant lights of the village. Calina didn't wait for Anin to recover; she tore off with the snow kicking up beneath her paws as she left her staff behind. She couldn't carry it and get top speed, and now that was all that mattered. Speed. She had to reach them before she was caught. It was a speed that she paid for as she felt her shoulder scream in protest each time she set her hand paw down on the ground, but it was faster than going on two legs. She wouldn't outdistance them if she tried going that way, she had to use all four legs take the pain. It was only luck that no arrows were being used. They wouldn't want to use those, not when they had to make it look like an accident.

Her ears flattened down to her red furred head and she stretched her legs out their full length as her tail twisted about to work as a rudder to keep her direction true. She heard Anin, but he wasn't close enough that he could stop her. The lights started to come closer and closer, a rich orange glow in the distance as she dropped her head down and sucked in a breath. Her lungs burned with the cold air, but she didn't let it slow her down. She forced the pain out of her mind as best she could, even when she longed to rest her injured shoulder. Calina distantly heard voices, a low rumble that gave her heart even as she felt claws scrape against her trailing tail. Anin, or someone else, was catching up with her. Shadows in the dark that meant her death to ensure her silence.

Just a bit further, just a bit.. She stretched her body out, her legs almost shaking as she twisted her body around and tried to dodge the lunging baraen.

Calina heard his snarl as she tore beneath the trees and saw a glimpse of one of the common buildings as she swung past. It was lit, but she didn't pause. The heart of the village, to the halls that held the Healers and bathing rooms and Sabon-hall. That was where she could find some authority that would stop this madness. She heard bodies moving behind her as she struck out and up when she spotted a familiar building. Her claws hooked into the wood and she lunged up and over it with a wild swing of her tail. Three bounds and she was able to leap to the next roof and the next. Her body stretched out as she blindly flung herself into space; trusting that she would find purchase so she could continue on. The lights that ringed the main buildings of the village loomed in front of her as she threw herself into the air. Safety.

The fires blinded her night adjusted eyes as she dropped down into the hard packed snow and skidded to a halt with her chest rising and falling. She twisted around and showed her teeth to the few of the baraen that followed and stumbled up to two legs with her tail bristling behind her. Anin was one of the first to stumble into the ring of light and a rush of anger rolled through her. How dare they? How dare they try to take what she had finally come to accept and even love? This was her life! She tensed up, ready to throw herself at the male and take him down before he killed her if she had to.

"You failed." The words were calm, amused and even somewhat impressed. Words, not snarls or curses. It jolted her and she slowly straightened up as she realized that they weren't alone.

"I wouldn't have if she had been a decent weight." Anin growled the words out, but he stood up from his aggressive crouch.

Calina turned around and blinked as she realized that there was a small group of squirrels gathered just outside of the main building. Chane was to one side of them, and Hatcha was seated in the door way, her back resting mostly in the warmth. And not just Hatcha, the Sabons of each season stood out in the snow, bundled up as if they had been there for some time. Kitch stood near Hatcha, his entire form stiff while his eyes blazed angrily as he kept his eyes on the males that had driven her into the heart of the village. The elderly Bara twitched his whiskers slightly as he didn't take his eyes off Anin.

"You tried to kill me." She spat out the accusation and lashed her tail roughly behind her. "Do you think I would be so easily silenced."

"You failed because she is not built like you." Chane ignored her and passed by her to approach his warriors. "You failed because you have always fought evenly among yourselves on a set course that has been set out since we first began to protect our villages. It is a trail carved out to-"

"Perfection," One of the males snapped out the words, he didn't make an attempt to sound respectful.

"No. It was a trail carved out to lead and branch out to other paths, not remain a straight stiff line." Chane turned his head and glanced back at the gathered leaders. "It was something that I was told seasons ago, that we were losing ourselves."

Kitch moved away from Hatcha and, without looking back, Calina moved her hand to catch his paw. She felt overheated, even the cold. Her panting breath had finally started to still and her temper gave way to confusion. She had expected Chane's anger or frustration, or even smooth lies. Instead, he didn't seem concerned at all that she had come home alive. She took strength from Kitch moving to her side and the feel of his warmth against her as his free paw slipped around her waist. His digits brushed her damp fur, assuring himself that she was alright.

"You tried to kill me." Calina spoke softly, her ears folded back as she kept the accusation there. "You delayed in coming to our aid when the Friran attacked, you caused the loss of lives and the injuries of others. You hide from the rest of the village and become your own civilization, one that is attempting to undermine the rest of us. You-"

"Of course I tried to kill you." Chane canted his head to one side. Kitch growled low in his throat and pulled her in close against him until she hissed when he jostled her aching shoulder. "But it did not succeed, did it? I didn't believe it would, if I thought you would be killed so easily I would have never sent them."

"That makes no sense!" She snapped out in reply and glanced over to gauge Hatcha's reaction. Her Sabon's face was carefully blank. Was she finally believing that these baraen were evil?

"It makes all the sense in the world. I knew that the only way for one of my boys to bring you back would be to kill you. I knew that when I saw your foolish attack on the bear." Chane grimaced slightly. "It was reckless and dangerous, only a fool would attempt such a thing, and you are that. But a young fool who can be molded, with courage enough to speak your mind when you know that none believe you and you risk yourself. A fool is only a fool as long as they are young and untaught, but that is easily remedied. You will work hard, that I promise you. I have never trained a female and I will be thrice damned if I allow your slight body stop me from ensuring that you learn well and thoroughly. You will be required to come twice a day and serve-"

"Wh..at?" Calina felt as if the world were falling out from under her as the old squirrel continued to speak about serving as a second.

"Are your ears clogged, girl?" Chane bristled and for a moment she saw a hint of the large male he must have once been. His fur roused up around his ruff. "The one who brought you back would succeed me as Bara. I set out a challenge that had never before been set. Always it had been some foe to fight, some coup to claim, but this time it was you, one of our own. You brought yourself back and that means you will succeed me... one day."

"But.. I.. You were trying to destroy the village and-" She stumbled over the words as the darkness she had attributed to the baraen seemed to realign themselves.

"I'm old!" Chane snarled the words, his eyes flaring to life as if enraged at his own failing body. "I cannot lead them, not as I used to. I am slow to respond when I should be swift. My mind reaches for what I once knew well and find cobwebs. We protect the village, but it isn't as it once was. There are no longer so few females that young energetic males need to be given jobs to keep them away. You are the proof that many needed.." He paused and glanced at one of the Sabons. "The proof we all needed that the baraen are losing touch and falling away. The mystery that clings to us will be our destruction when our villages were meant to preserve and understand one another. So, that much change. We must become a part of the village again, we must choose more than males, we must become better. Our villages were created because we grew stagnant, and I will not continue the path.

"I object to this, Bara Chane." Anin's voice came out, strong and sharp.

"As you have said, repeatedly." Chane spoke in a clipped tone that dismissed the large male. He turned back to her. "You, girl, you and I have a long path ahead of us both. You have succeeded in the challenge, do the Sabons agree with me?"

"Aye." Hatcha's voice was slightly strained with pain, but it was echoed. Calina could only look around as Kitch's hand rested on her hip. His face was held puzzlement as he looked at the Bara Chane and then glanced down at her.

"I'm... going to be the Bara? Their leader?" Calina tried the words as she moved her arm around Kitch. "I'm not giving Kitch up."

"Have you not listened to me, girl!" Chane snapped his teeth. "We need change, not to remain isolated! You are a part of that change. Keep your mate, but you will learn well, because you will require strength and intelligence. I will not truly step down until I know that you will care for the baraen and know them all. You will inherit my children, and not all of them care to be inherited."

Calina looked past the graying squirrel to the baraen, not all of them, but enough. They were caught in the firelight. Some faces held disdain and anger, others disappointment, and some were simply neutral. Anin looked fit to kill as he glared at her, his neck ruff bristled up and his tail lashing back and forth. She was expected to one day lead them? They wanted nothing to do with her! They wouldn't listen to her, any more than any other soldier had listened to her when she had been human. But.. She glanced back up at Kitch and he was glaring back at Anin. He was smaller, still young, and he was bristling at the male. She wouldn't stand alone. She wouldn't be without friends and allies in Hatcha and Banich. She wouldn't be facing this world alone. She had friends, a family.

"You'll have a lot to teach me..." She spoke softly and Chane's expression turned to a slow smile that made his features look younger.

"Then you will have to learn swiftly." The old squirrel gave his head a tilt and then barked out. "Baraen! My successor, your future Bara!"

As Calina looked out at the gathered males she wondered, just what had she stepped into? Kitch's arm squeezed around her waist as a steadying presence. She would not be alone. She would never be alone again.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Forty Years Later

~ ~ * ~ ~

Summer. Summer was at its height and the warmth bathed down over the few squirrels that were working on trading with the hares that had come down from the mountain. They gathered in a merry band around several large wagons that had been dragged into the center of the field outside of the village. The long eared beasts laughed and passed around drinks to those that came close, and eager little kits ran towards them for treats. Their whiskers were sticky and matted with sugared maple that their parents and adoptive parents bought them. It was a lovely sight, and one that Calina drank in through eyes that had started to grow fogged with age. Her grey frosted muzzle rested on the backs of her hands, which in turn rested on her cane.

It had been nearly ten years since she had stepped down as the Bara of the baraen, but still she lifted her gaze to the tree tops where the warriors stood watch. They gathered in pairs all through the forest with their polished rings gleaming in the light. At every point they stood, male and female, proud, strong and well trained. At the midpoints there were younger baraen, their slight bodies slumped and watching, but not nearly so intense as adults. One even was slouched with his head tucked down near his chest, half asleep on the boring watch. Even as she spotted him she caught sight of Norock leaping along the branches to take him to task.

Calina's lips twitched as she lifted one hand to shade it from the sun and admire the cinnamon colored male who stopped next to the youngster. He had filled out from the slight small kit he had once been and the muscles he had put on gave him a lean cat like appearance. His ears were pricked high, tufted almost exactly as his father's were. Kitch's blood, and her own, ran strongly through the village, but Nyroc had been the one that had taken after her most strongly. The only one out of six youngsters. The shy youngster had been awkward when young, but had blossomed into the Bara of the warriors. She had been so confident of him when she had finally stepped down from her spot. There had been no doubts of struggles, such as when she had taken over leadership.

She dropped her gaze back to the traders and sighed wistfully. Strange, that after so many years of struggles within the baraen as Chane had trained her and she had trained others, that she would miss it. She missed many things. She missed the old Bara, with his sharp angry tongue and his ability to bring the best out in her. She missed Hatcha who had been her ear as she tried to bring the warriors into the village properly so they became a part of daily life again. She missed Banich, who had breathed her last the spring after she had been announced the future Bara. She even missed Anin, whose anger and outrage had turned to a fierce loyalty she had depended on when years became harder. Even Kitch had been amused at the big male's loyalty to her after her first few years of training.

And Kitch. Her throat tightened slightly and her eyes stung as she thought of him. In her minds eyes she saw him as a brilliant young red male again. His body graceful and sure as he leapt through the trees. She remembered his face as she had first saw it, strange and foreign, but handsome. She remembered his strange vulnerability and openness. The emotions he had offered her without trying to hide them. They had been a gift. She hadn't realized it at the time, it had taken years before she understood the simple precious gift that was his heart. It was so strange to return to her tree and not find him there. Two years had passed, two long years since she had let him go and still it ached. The only balm on her soul was the joy that their kits and their kits' kits gave her. And not even that could take away the ache. So often she found herself drifting to the past instead of the present.

It was so easy to go back to the past anymore. The past winter had seen her bones aching and she half dreaded the idea of fall coming and with it the cold. Old wounds from old battles still ached when the nights were chilly even in the summer. In the past she could be young and strong again. She could be powerful and deadly, striking with her flaming tail ring at the Friran or driving the Lupar away with warriors at her side. A time when she had been more than just a respected graying squirrel. At times she even remembered a time beyond that. A time when she had been simply Mark. It felt surreal to think of that person, it felt strange that she had ever been anything other than Calina, but the mark of her past was still there on her soul. A soul that was as tired as her body.

She leaned her head back against the tree and breathed out a sigh. The warm sun was baking her grey fur and she let her muscles relax as the weariness rolled over her. The tiredness was always there, just below the surface. It never truly left her, though she could rouse herself to action if she needed to. It was easier to sleep now. She often dozed through the afternoon without any issue and would rouse in time to tell stories or listen to others. Her own story was a part of the village now, held in trust by those Kitch had trained when he grew older. They knew all of it. It was becoming woven into their legends how she had come here in another body, another form, even another gender. How it had been taken from her and how she had been changed.

_Do you really regret it, Marrck.. Calina? _ An echo of Kitch's voice, the question he had asked her time and again filled her mind and her lips twitched slightly as she started to doze off.

Regret it? How could she regret it? Her old life was a thing of emptiness and confusing awkwardness. A place where she had no real friends and felt no warmth for those around here. It was a place that was disjointed and disconnected. No, she would not have chosen this life, but once she had she could not regret it. It was as if her spirit had been cast into a world that she didn't fit and she knew it, it had taken getting thrown back into this strange world for her to truly live again. Live... and love. A love that had wrapped itself around her and embraced her. In all the long years of her life, even after losing Kitch, she had not stopped and regretted what she had become. Not when she measured it up against who she had once been. The person that had been born in that far away world was a pale phantom that was like a dream at times.

I never regretted it either... Kitch's voice sighed within her mind, echoing with memories from years spent together. I was blessed.

_ _

She could almost feel him beside her. She imagined the warmth of his body resting against her own and the way that his paw would slip over her fingers and rest there. So many times they had sat in the sun and enjoyed the simple peace of calmer seasons when the battles of winter and the demands on his time would separate them. He would rest close to her and sit in perfect silence as they watched the sun rise. Or the nights they spent beneath the stars, echoing how they had so often spent their evenings when she had first arrived. It was those times she held precious, when he spoke of his own uncertainties and tribulations as she had once voiced her own. The vulnerable admissions of what he saw as weakness were more precious than gold to her. He had needed her as much as she needed him.

_ _

Oh Kitch, I miss you.. _ She thought back to the memory of his voice, barely moving her lips to echo the sentiment. _I sometimes wonder if it would have been easier not to love you as much as I did. The pain would be so much less having lost you.

_ _

But look of all we did. All you did.. _ The memory of his voice grew stronger and she blinked her eyes open to look over the village. _Love cuts deep, with pain and pleasure both, but it the pleasure of our accomplishments that lingers longest.

They were strong now and growing stronger. Kitch had helped her temper her knowledge of her other world so as not to tarnish the innocence and purity of the land she had come to love and they had helped it flourish. She had never made a claim to leadership, nor had she tried to lead them anywhere that they did not wish to go. She had learned from them and given back her knowledge on how to create stronger homes and unite the baraen until they had mates of their own and kits. They were warriors, but they lived within the bounds of the village and knew exactly what they protected. She had taught countless youngsters and watched them teach others. Yes, they had accomplished many things together. No matter the ache in her heart, how could she ever give up what she had had with him, with her people, with her village?

We did so much. More than I had ever dreamed possible. _ She murmured to herself, her body growing so heavy and tired. _I'm so tired, sometimes the years make me feel as if it has been centuries, not decades that have passed. I don't want to sleep anymore, I awaken and think you are beside me and find only coldness...

Then do not sleep, my love. Come, run with me, Calina. Catch me! _ Kitch's voice rang out joyously in her mind, a bell that tolled through her very soul as something flashed in front of her. _My fleet pawed mate, run with me!

For a dizzying moment she thought that she had imagined it, but no. Calina's eyes widened as she saw a young male grinning down at her from a nearby tree. His fur was as red as newly fallen maple leaves, his eyes bright with mischief as he shouldered his bow across his back. His intense eyes were focused on her as his lips parted in a smile that bristled his whiskers forward. He looked the same as he did the first day she had seen him in the tree. It was the perfect illusion, the perfect dream. She could see his chest rising and falling. She could almost smell the unique vanilla musk of his scent on the air. It was a painfully accurate dream that she had had all too often. She had fallen asleep to relive this dream all over again.

I'm old, and cannot keep up with you. _ She spoke the words she had said every time she'd seen him in her dreams. _You will be gone before I can stand up.

_ _

Do not worry, Calina. I will go ahead of you. I will lead the way. _ Kitch's voice was like rain on the desert. She soaked it up as he lifted his head to look up towards the trees. _Follow when you are ready.

_ _

Her heart contracted painfully at his proud handsome face and then he was gone. He twisted in the tree and leapt upwards without her. In all her dreams he had disappeared as he ran, but this time he grew more substantial and seemed to glow like an ember. And she was left behind, where she would awaken in the grass alone. Again.

No! She launched herself forward and felt bonds clinging to her as her paws scrabbled against the ground. I won't let it end, not this time!

_ _

She would not awaken with her cheeks wet with tears as she was left behind and Kitch launched himself ahead of her. She struggled and pulled as invisible bonds tried to keep her back. They had been bonds she had once foolishly feared breaking, but now she kicked off with a cry. There was pain, it made her chest tight and for an instant she couldn't breathe, but she pushed past it. She tore towards the tree and the years fell from her. The ache of her joints melted away as she hit the bark and her grey furred paws gripped the rough tree and hauled her upwards. The weakness of her haunches was replaced with a surge of strength and energy that sent her spirit soaring. She flew up the tree as she had in the days of her youth and kept her eyes on the flame-bright tail of her mate as he paused in his ascent and stood up on a branch to watch her. The darkness of his eyes were filled with warmth, welcome and love.

I have waited for you to follow me... for so very long. He sang out as she deftly swung up onto the branch beside him. Calina trembled as his paw moved out and she felt his fingers brush through her cheek fur.

I have missed you.. _ She murmured back and pressed her cheek into his paw. _I have missed you for so very long.

Then come home, Calina. Come home with me. _ His touch left her cheek and he leaned forward to gently touch her nose with his own. Calina trembled for only a moment before he launched himself away from her. _Higher! We must go higher! To the sun and night itself!

_ _

_To the stars! _ She laughed as she followed without hesitation. Why hold onto the earth when the sky and her mate were calling her home?

_ _

The tree grew larger as she ran and chased him. Her paws barely touched the bark as they went ever higher. She twisted and twined herself around him in midair as if they were dancing like days of old. The tree seemed never ending as the sky above them flared to silver and golden light. It was as if the sun and the moon had come out together to share the glory of their ascent. Higher and higher they went, her laughter melding with her mates as she cast the world away behind her. She was going home. Home! And far below, a grey squirrel let out her last breath as she rested against a tree. Home at last, who could have ever imagined that home would have been so very far away from where she had been born.