Dream Walker✔️

3.9

I was standing at the edge of a cliff I'd never seen, next to a gray-feathered man I barely recognized. It was Aster, but he didn't have his metallic skin. Instead, he almost looked like a less colorful version of me. We both had wings on our backs, and he seemed completely at ease with this fact. I couldn't remember messing with my halfway form like that. I couldn't remember regenerating enough magic to shapeshift at all, actually. And where were we?

The cliff overlooked a lush forest of warm, green trees clustered around a cool, blue lake. Other people in feathered halfway forms drifted on the wind over the lake or dipped beneath its waters. Were they other phoenixes? Or just some type of illusion?

"What is this place?"

Aster laughed in a carefree way that I hadn't heard him do since we were back on Earth. "Don't you remember, dear? It's our special place, where we first met."

"It is?" Something about this was unnerving. It felt real, but none of it made sense. My first thought was that Shade might be messing with me, but he was much too far away to do that. Had I fallen into the dreamscape of a different dreamwalker? If I had, that could end terribly. Normally, dreamwalkers never took enough magical dream energy from a host to kill them, but I wasn't in any state to have surplus energy. I needed to wake myself up. Maybe I could reason with the dreamwalker.

He--the dreamwalker pretending to be Aster--laughed again. "Of course it is. You invited me up here for a flying lesson nearly three years ago now."

"Uh huh." I frowned. Dreamwalkers weren't typically agreeable creatures, and I knew he had to be reading my mind right now, so it wasn't like I could spring this revelation on him anyway, so... "I'm afraid I can't let you feed off me."

He blinked. "Why on Earth would I want to eat you? What, are teknons cannibals or something? Gah, I hope they're not. That would really put a damper in our relationship." It was as if a veil had lifted, revealing the Aster I was used to, but as soon as it had lifted, it was gone again, and he returned to using an uncanny voice of false nobility.

"Nevermind, my dear. Let us forget about that nonsense and return to the matter at hand. As you know, I'm expected to choose a bride by the end of the year, and if I don't, I'll be stuck with Princess Isabella." He wrinkled his nose. "It's quite a dreadful practice, betrothing grown men to little princesses, isn't it? I'd much rather be paired to a gorgeous maiden such as yourself, especially as you hold my heart as well as my attraction." He took my hand and kissed it.

For the first time, I realized he was wearing a medieval prince's outfit, with puffy sleeves and stripes everywhere, along with a royal purple cloak. And I was dressed in a trailing pink dress that clashed horribly with my red feathers.

This was getting weird. Well, weirder.

A thought occurred to me. This could be Aster's dream. He was still untrained in his powers; he could've dragged my consciousness into the dream realm without even meaning to. If that was true, I didn't really want to end it. I didn't want to leave this beautiful oasis with the two of us existing outside of the worries of the real world.

But at the same time, I couldn't intrude on his dreams without letting him know I was real. He'd probably set up this elaborate dream scenario over the last few days, never being strong enough or close enough to rope my actual consciousness in. He undoubtedly assumed I was just a figment of his imagination.

"Shall we fly down to greet them?" he asked, nodding at a group of phoenixes that had landed by the pond.

"I can't. I'm guessing you can probably guess why."

"What are you talking about?"

I ran a hand through my hair, every word sending ripples out into the peaceful landscape. I wanted to stay here and rest properly for the first time since we'd left Earth. I wanted to pretend to be safe and happy in a community of people just like me. Why couldn't I? Why did I have to make the honorable choice all the time? Could a little guilty pleasure really hurt?