Dreams, Dayna and Lauren [inspirational books .TXT] 📗

long as its body hung in the air behind it. Its hind feet were paws, while its hands held five slender fingers.
“What, still here? That was your cue to scram,” Fanyare said.
“See, you’re not as horrible as you appear to be,” said the creature, smiling uncertainly, as if unsure whether or not the wolf before him was going to suddenly pounce again.
“Sorry, just got caught up in the moment,” Fanyare sighed, finding that he had no desire whatsoever to eat this creature. He sat heavily on his hindquarters, sinking once more into a despondent mood and hanging his head. The creature stared quizzically at him, still having doubts and wondering if he was just being lulled into a false sense of security. But for some reason he did not feel himself freezing up with fear or have the sudden urge to run.
“What kind of creature are you anyway?” Fanyare asked dully, not really interested in the answer.
“I’m an… imp,” the creature said uncomfortably, as though he was ashamed of this fact. He cast his gaze to the ground, clasping his hands behind his back. “My name is Gilraen. I didn’t mean to come here. It was an accident! I was being chased, I slipped, and the next thing I know I’m being launched out of a pond. I know what you must be thinking. I don’t like being an imp, I honestly don’t! I don’t go around playing nasty tricks on creatures for sport.”
“An imp? I can’t say I’ve ever met one, or seen one, until now that is. So you really did come from another place?” Fanyare looked mildly interested now.
“Yes, and I have no idea how to get back,” the creature moaned, looking up at Fanyare and unclasping his hands. “I think it’s safe to say that if you wanted to eat me you would have already done it, right?”
“I’m not going to eat you,” Fanyare promised, laughing. He could already feel his sadness trickling away. He found that he actually enjoyed this creature’s company. “So this pond really is a portal.” He looked over his shoulder again. “I knew there was something special about it.”
“Now that we’re… friends… do you think you could help me find a way back?” Gilraen asked.
“I’ve been living on this island all this time... so lonely all these years when a whole world lay within my grasp.” Fanyare shook his head.
“You could live there you know,” Gilraen suggested. “If I can find a way back.” Fanyare’s heart leapt.
“Chinook. I’ve got to tell Chinook! She’ll be so happy!” Fanyare suddenly leapt to his feet and jumped into the air. Things were finally starting to turn around! “Come on, let’s find out how this portal works.” He bounded to the edge of the pond and began sniffing around, a new hope kindled in his heart. “What are you waiting for? Come help!” he called to Gilraen. The imp stayed his ground, suddenly looking miserable.
“What?” Fanyare shot him a puzzled look.
“I didn’t mean to excite you like that, but I’ve just remembered… only creatures with some sort of power or special ability are allowed through the portal.” Fanyare’s eyes went wide.
“You mean there’s a whole civilization of creatures that all have powers! I’m not the only one?”
“You have a power? Oh, what a relief. For a second there I thought—“
Fanyare’s heart skipped a beat. What about Chinook? She didn’t have any powers… did she? Then again, she did seem to have that mysterious wind constantly surrounding her.
But wait. He didn’t even know where she was. Where to begin? The island was huge! It could take days for him to attempt to track her down. One complication after another. It seemed like nothing could go entirely right.

On the other side of the pond, beneath a willow branch gently resting on the surface of the glittering water, a pair of iridescent red eyes gleamed in the early dawn, silently watching the events pan out before him. A forked tongue flitted out in amusement—who ever heard of an imp not wanting to play practical jokes?
He kept this thought to himself and slowly, painstakingly slipped out of the water, clawed feet scrambling for a handhold. Although the black and white creature at the edge of the pool was indeed a wolf, the one he was seeking was female and had a different coloring, as he had been instructed back at the Council.
It had been rather convenient that Gilraen had appeared just then, because it had opened the chance for Lucavi to escape unnoticed. He continued to watch the two intently from behind the willow tree, and as the imp revealed the fact that there was indeed a world beneath the island, his normally jade-colored scales paled in anger. Lucavi repressed the urge to voice his disapproval, and instead shook a clawed fist furiously at Gilraen before disappearing into the ferns lining the ground around the pool.
Once in the forest, everything turned dark almost immediately. The thick canopy above prevented the frail morning sun from penetrating the forest floor, and while Lucavi could see everything laid out before him perfectly, he had to admit that he had no idea where he was going.
“Idiot Council!” he groused as he padded along. “Oh, they’re genius, all right, sending me off on this harebrained mission without even letting me examine the viewing glass first! Now it’s up to me to search this entire island without so much as an inkling to where I’m supposed to go. I suppose I could always fly, but where would that get me? Judging on how thick this canopy is, I wouldn’t even be able to see the forest floor!”
Lucavi threw up his serpentine head and stared at the tree branches above. “I guess it’s worth a try. It’s not like I have a better plan.”

Chinook sighed and gazed out at the dwindling storm clouds. That gale had passed far too quickly. She hadn’t even finished with her song before the rain had lessened and the sun had broken free of the squall. Now it was back to her monotonous everyday life. If only she could somehow find Fanyare…
Fanyare! In a stroke of inspiration, Chinook jerked her head up keenly. As long as she was doing nothing, she might as well look for him.
Scrambling off of the outcropping, Chinook dashed across the tiny beach and into the forest. While she wasn’t sure as to where exactly it was, she remembered the giant tree where she had first met Fanyare. Perhaps if she went there she would be able to find him again.
Skidding to a halt next to a mossy rock, she fervently nosed the ground for any sign of the wolf. She snorted in disappointment when she realized that it was futile; the only scent she could detect was the smell of wet earth. Chinook trotted forward anyway, resolve in her azure eyes. She would somehow make this right. As she rounded a bend in the solid line of foliage all around her, she whimpered eagerly.
Chinook could see the tree clearly; it was the largest and most gnarled of them all, an ancient relic swallowed up by a sea of saplings. The wind began to pick up in her excitement, and Chinook allowed it to swell around her, almost lifting her feet off the ground as she rushed toward the tree.
“AAAARRGGHH!”
A rustle overhead captured Chinook’s attention as she came to the base of the massive tree. A split second later, a creature closely resembling a large lizard came crashing out of the branches only to slam onto a limb far above.
Lucavi winced in pain as he came down onto the branch. One minute, he had been soaring over a tree that towered over the rest, the next a freak gust of wind had blown him off course—straight into the tree! He groaned, not wanting to move.
“Yeow!” he shouted as a sharp pain went coursing through his tail. Glancing back, he was startled to see a bejeweled beetle with a metallic black pincher. “What did I ever do to you?” he shrieked at the bug, whipping his tail back and forth in an attempt to shake it free.
The beetle clamped down even harder and exclaimed, “You landed right on my house, that’s what! Do I look like I’m running a hotel? That’s two visitors today, and it’s only morning! There’s a whole forest out there—go land on someone else’s house, why don’t you?”
Jerking free of the beetle’s grasp, Lucavi made his way slowly down to the base of the tree, grumbling of the Council and of psycho bugs.
“Are you okay?”
Lucavi shouted in alarm and jumped backwards, unintentionally rolling into a bush. Clambering out of the plant, he looked up to find himself facing a large pair of sapphire eyes.
“I saw you fall out of that tree,” Chinook said, “so I came over. So are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m just peachy,” Lucavi snapped irritably.
Chinook looked at him strangely. “Suit yourself, then. I’m looking for someone right now, so I suppose I’ll see you around—erm—what’s your name?”
“Lucavi, if you must know.”
“Oh…well, it was nice meeting you, Lucavi,” Chinook replied. She turned away and began sniffing at the base of the tree for any telltale sign of the wolf.
Silver fur! That must be her, Lucavi thought. Scrambling to his feet, he skittered over to Chinook. Here goes, he thought exasperatedly before turning to the wolf.
“I am terribly sorry, ma’am. Please excuse my rudeness before,” Lucavi began, quickly shifting into a polite façade. “You must be Chinook, I presume?”
Chinook, puzzled, peered down at the little lizard. “Yes,” she said slowly. “What’s with the sudden mood change?”
A flash of irritation lit up Lucavi’s features, but he forced it back with a grim expression. “You have been invited, by the Alyan Council itself, to participate in a distinguished event. By winning this event, you will—“
“Who’s the Alyan Council? I’ve never heard of them before.”
“Do not trouble yourself with such trivial questions, Miss Chinook,” said Lucavi. He hated this sickeningly sweet demeanor, and he hoped he could get this over with soon. “Now, if you would come with me to the portal, we may leave immediately.”
“A portal?”
“Miss Chinook, all will be explained to you when we get there.”
“Um…okay…” Chinook said awkwardly. Ever since she met Fanyare, she was meeting all sorts of odd creatures! “I suppose that it’s better than doing nothing, in any case.”

“What’s wrong?” Gilraen queried. His stomach gave an unpleasant lurch as, out of the corner of a vigilant eye, he caught a glimpse of the person he least wanted to see sneaking away from a far edge of the pond. He’s come after me! Gilraen thought, suddenly panic-stricken. The Council found out what I did so they sent him and now he’s going to scour the whole island for me! If he finds me I’m as good as dead!
“There’s this wolf that I met earlier today. I have to tell her about the portal,” Fanyare said firmly.
Gilraen struggled to keep his anxiety from showing on his countenance. He couldn’t let Fanyare find out that