Change in Life

Chapter 21. Awakening

Out in the middle of the fields the following night, Blake looked up to the shimmering sky atop a small hill as he did his nightly hunt. The sky was beautiful. Stunning even. The best he had ever seen it. The sky wasn't filled with the white motes of stars, though. Devoid of anything of the sort, the beauty of auroras stretching across the sky in all the colors of the rainbow spread above him. They pierced through the night sky like a bear had just ripped through it with its claws, radiating steamy whips of iridescent splendor. The warm breeze that flicked his fur lazily made a shiver of carefree content ripple through him, giving his body a boost of welcomed endorphins.

He felt lighter, like all his limbs where being cradled lovingly by some higher being. All his wary muscles and aching bones felt relieved of all duties for a time and he grinned. Everything felt right again. For once he was pain free. Forever, he would be conflict free. All of the self-feuding that took place in mental stasis had finally been abolished. Only one subconscious held the reins now. The respectable one. The right one. The fearful aspect from his human past was gone for good.

His gaze fell from the memorizing light-show above and found movement of a greater joy and fondness. At the base of the hill in front of him, Blake watched Jade running about happily in a field of vibrant wild flowers, enjoying the wondrous spectacle of Mother Nature as much as he under the grand opalescent sky. The light from the auroras shone down on top of her fur coat, turning it from a lush red to a mixture of all the colors that shone from the sky. A smile came to his face. He had seen her happy before, but this was the happiest he had ever seen her. More so than during their intimate time together the night before.

Walking down the hill with a clandestine gait, he crept to Jade who seemed to float in the air as she bounded off the petals of each flowers she glanced. He began to build up speed and once he was at the bottom of the hill, quickly dropping the deceptive approach, and jumped in the air and straight towards Jade in an attempt to tackle her into the bed ever-stretching bed of vibrant plants.

He landed on the ground passed her, having touched nothing. He had gone straight through Jade's body like he was a ghost. He looked back at her in confusion and noticed she had not even noticed him. Her gleeful pouncing continued and her smile was beaming. Her grin was infectious and Blake found a smile on his muzzle to pair with hers.

He turned slowly, blushing, picking a rather stunning white rose from the mismatch of countless other types of floral arrangements and approached her sedately. She stopped bounding for a moment and their eyes met... Or he thought so. Her eyes still seemed... off. With a gallant grin, Blake reached up and delicately placed the stem behind her injured ear. The glimmering white bloom rested naturally just above her hazel eye and stood out beautifully against her red tones.

Then in the glare of the roses petals, Blake saw to his amazement the tip of her ear returning as a stray petal morphed and floated up to her injury to make her whole again. She welcomed this with a smile... but not aimed at him.

The faint look of affection felt foreign. Concerned, Blake reached forward and softly kissed his nose against hers. He didn't feel anything. No powerful spark, no warm wetness, no... nothing. With his nose embedded in her phantom muzzle, he gazed deeply into those eyes he fell in love with, begging for some life to come to her. Some sign that what had happened last night was real. Although her eyes glittered with the colors of the sky, they wouldn't notice his.

'Jade? What's going on?' he asked with a trembling lip.

Still, she hadn't noticed him. She hadn't even heard his voice. His words vanished into nothing as silently as the stars that should have shone. She then continued to play in the flowers happily. The white rose over her ear shook pollen at each landing, sending a sparkle of white twinkles to the ground, leaving a glowing trail of speckled light. Blake was starting to get scared. He didn't know what was going on.