The Forest Through the Trees
08 Coll
by Assilsasta
(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Longing to Reunite_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)
Katie lay on her bed looking at the ceiling fan as it’s blades whirled overhead. It had been nearly two months since her brother Donovan had left home. She knew it was unlikely that he would come back, especially after the argument he and their dad had before he left. He promised he would see them again as soon as he could, but it had been three weeks since he had called home and both of her parents were now getting visibly worried about him. She thought she might be even more worried than they were. Only a few weeks ago she had experienced something she wanted to share with him. Something that she had learned from a stand-in coach for summer baseball camp.
She closed her eyes again as she pictured Donovan where her coach was, touching her the way that her and his sister had in the locker room when they were left alone. Her paw slipped under her shirt as she pushed her training bra off her budding breasts and pinched at her nipples. Her heart raced as she replayed the events in her mind, her paw slipped into her shorts and teased her slowly dampening folds.
She gasped as a knock came at her door. “Are you awake, Katie?” her mother’s voice called in to her.
She pulled her paw out of her shirts and straightened her shirt as she replied, “Yeah… I mean, Yes ma’am. I.. I was just…”
Before the young lynx could finish her excuse the door opened to reveal the taller white furred lynx woman. “How are you doing, dear? Your Dad and I are a little worried about you. You’ve been spending a lot of time alone in your room. Is there anything you want to talk about?”
Katie sat up on her bed and looked up at her mother as she answered, “It’s.. it’s nothing. I was just thinking about Don. He… he hasn’t called yet has he?” Her voice trembled slightly as she asked.
The woman sat down by the girl and put an arm over her shoulder consolingly. “Not yet, and your Dad said that the phone has been off the grid for nearly three weeks. I know you're worried about him. So are we. Your Dad has already filed a missing persons report in the last town we know he was near. I think it was Winter Creek. He seemed to have run into some people there, and may have been taken him in for a while. All we can do is pray that God will protect him on his journey and have faith that he is still following God’s will.”
“What if something happened to him?” Katie asked as the stories of hiking misshapes she found on the internet flooded into her head again. “What if he fell down somewhere and no one knows. It happens all the time and it’s been three weeks. If… If he is stuck some where he has like three weeks without food before he could die if someone doesn’t find him.” Her eyes went wide and filled with tears as she continued, “And only three day without water. It’s been three weeks… he… he could be….”
“No, he’s not,” her mother said as she wrapped both arms around her and pulled her tight. “I know he’s fine, He just hasn’t had a chance to call, that’s all. He’ll call as soon as he can, and when he does I will be sure to let you talk to him.”
They sat and held each other for several moments and her mother’s warmth soothed the feelings of fear and loss. She couldn’t understand how she went so quickly from fantasizing about when she would meet him next, to being so sure she never would. After what felt like an eternity in each other’s arms, Katie’s mother let her go. She looked up and saw the tears filling the older lynx’s eyes as she took a moment to wipe her own.
“Look sweetie,” Her mother said, “Your dad and I are doing everything we can to find out where he is and try and get in touch with him. I know in my heart that is is okay, and we just need to find him to know that for sure. You need to have faith that God is looking after him and will bring him back to us in his time.”
As her mother left the room, Katie flopped down on the bed and prayed aloud, “Dear God, Please keep Don safe and bring him back to us. I miss him… I love him… I need him. Amen.”
(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Snowed In_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)
The heavy snow had come earlier than Donovan thought it would. They had essentially been snowed in for the past week after returning from the gathering. But he quickly learned that snowed in is a relative term to the doe husky he had recently been mated to. Sonnet was up early every morning, pulling him out into the chill of the winter to seek out the small animals that still scurried around in search of food for the winter. HE was a little surprised just how thick his winter fur had come in that year, as if his body knew better than him just how cold it was going to be that winter.
He groaned as he felt the warmth of her body move away from the tightly rolled ball of fur in his arms. It had become their routine to sleep as close to each other as they could under the pile of furs and handmade blankets. Their nights were filled with passion but much of it was vanilla. He rolled out of the bedding on onto his hind paws on the cold floor. Suddenly he just wanted to be back in the warmth of his lover’s embrace, buried in the heat of their passion, but he had grown so aware of her need to tend to the grove even when it was sleeping as she described the winner state.
He pulled on the heavy robes and fur cloak that he had apparently inherited from her grandfather who was a bit taller than her was. He had not worn his own modern made clothing since they had made it back to the grove. Often when in the hut, neither wore a stitch of clothing, using a small fire and each other as warmth. The intimacy of their relationship was more than he had ever imagined it would be.
The memory of the heat from her young body press against him brought a smile to his face as he stepped out into the cold open air. His eyes quickly adjusted to the early morning light as it reflected of the several feet of snow that surrounded their camp space. He could see Sonnets tracks where she headed out into the woods and knew well it was pointless to follow her just yet. He grabbed the crude shovel as he started to clear the fresh fallen snow from the path to the fire wood, and the cold supply tree. He looked up at the wooden crate that was suspended from the tree wondering just how much longer the supplies would last with the rate Sonnet was using them to tend to a den of young ferals that had lost their mother to a hunter a little over a week ago. She cared more about the lives around her than she did herself. At times he had to go out and find her to bring her into sleep or she might pass out in the snow while tending to some animals caught in a hunter's trap.
“The fox is doing well,” the melodic voice called from behind him. He turned to find the radiant doe still sky clad even in the harsh winter wind. “He is eating and foraging on his own again.”
Donovan smiled as he walked over to her. “And how are the little ones?”
She smiled and lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his thick furred body. “They are doing fine. By spring they should be ready to bring out of the burrow.”
“It’s time to get you in out of the cold for a bit,” he told her as he lifted her in his arms. “You can check on them all again in a bit after we get that thin coat of ice out of your fur. You have to remember to think of your own wellbeing also, Sonnet.”
She snuggled into his warm chest and listened to his heartbeat as she carried her to the hut. “Why? When the mother brought me you to take care of me and look out for me. I can tend to the needs of those in the grove and you will always be here to warm me, both inside and out.”
He nuzzled into the top of her head as he muttered, “I will be here for you as long as the mother sees fit to allow me to stay.” As he finished his smile faded slightly as he thought about how long it had been since he had cracked open the bible, or even prayed. He had been observing her ways and living as she had, following her example. The life was extremely simple yet fulfilling. It seemed strange that he hadn’t even thought about it until that moment.
He sat them down by the dying fire as he reached to toss another block onto the smoldering ashes. “Is it time to read your story again?” Sonnet asked as she glanced over at the folded and partially disheveled detective novel he had been reading aloud. She seemed to be interested in every aspect of the story and everything in it. It was an innocent way to teach her about the outside world. He took the time to explain and answer every question she asked, even managed to teach her some of the simpler words. She was now able to read some of the sentences herself. But the process made it almost impossible to read more than a few pages a day.
He picked up the book and flipped it open. “Sonnet, How about we try a different book later?” He sighed as she leaned against his chest. The position had become the norm for them, always as close as they could be. He enjoyed the feel of her nude body pressed against his. “There’s also another thing we have to worry about soon,” he said as he adjusted the book in his paw to rest with his arm comfortably around her. “I think I might need to make a trip into town to get some more supplies in a week or so. I should also use the time to call my parents. It’s been a month since I’ve talked to them; at least I think it has.”
Sonnet looked up at him, a twinkle in her eye as she asked, “Will it last till Mabon? It should come to pass in three weeks.”
“I think we can stretch the rations out a bit,” he said with a little smile, “You might just have to cut back on feeding us or the little ones a bit.”
“Oh,” the Doe gasped in realization as she pushed away from him for a moment, “We'll have to bring them with us.”
Donovan smiled and pulled her back down to his chest, “We can bring them, we’ll just have to make them a mobile den on a sled that we can pull through the snow.” He propped the book open in one paw as he rested the other on the soft fur of her belly as he said, “Now let’s get to reading our pages for today.” He cleared his throat and started to read the story, “This was a complication I really didn't need right now. Two keystrokes engaged the electronic locks on all the doors, internal and external. A couple more activated the camera and an audio…”
“What is a camera?” Sonnet asked interrupting the flow of the story as she had done so often it had become part of their time together and a bonding moment.
“A camera is a device that can take a picture of something. a set time and place and put it on paper so you can look at is again later. It makes the pictures I have of my sisters. Remember when I showed you those?”
“Do… do you miss your sisters?” she asked as she looked up at him.
“Yes I do,” he replied, “But it’s not like I can get out of these mountains and go see them. And I promised I wouldn’t leave you, and you’re not ready to see that part of the world yet.”
“But you can,” Sonnet said as she pushed up away from him. “You can dream walk, through the ether. you can see them again, I can guide you.”
“Sonnet,” The lynx said as he looked into her eyes, “I know you have different beliefs, and you understand all the herbal remedies and stuff, but I’m not sure about this dream travel stuff and out of body experiences. It’s all a bit farfetched if you think about it.”
The Doe husky stood with a broad grin on her muzzle, showing the mix of canine and deer teeth, as she said, “Oh, my love, the things that your world has kept from you. These things I will show you.” She reached down as grabbed him by the paw. “Come first we bathe and cleanse.”
(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_What Dreams May Come_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)
Katie lay on her bed tossing her baseball into the air and letting it fall into her well-oiled mitt. The days seemed to pass so slowly when there wasn’t any practice. And the season softball season ended almost a month ago, leaving her with nothing to do but homework until football season got into full swing next month. She had managed to make the junior high boys’ varsity team, partly due to the fact the school didn’t have enough girls that wanted to play to form their own team, but she still had to make the tryouts and cutoffs. She just wished Donovan could have been there to cheer her on like he had the past two years.
After catching the ball one more time she dropped her arms to the bed, letting the ball roll out of the mitt and onto the floor. She let out a long sigh as she closed her eyes and said, “Don, When will you come home? We all miss you. Even dad.” She laid there motionless, just breathing, as she imagined her older brother standing at the sidelines of the football field with that smile of his he always had when she was out playing with the bigger boys and keeping up with them.
Soon the cheering crowd in her mind faded to a whispering breeze and the chalk lined field became a flower filled meadow. The scent of sandalwood and cinnamon filled her nostrils as she looked around her own daydream in confusion. The breeze that carried the smells to her suddenly turned cold as the flowers folded and snow began to fall. She thought about getting up off her bed and checking the thermostat. Her father had often turned it down in the winter to save on power. When she tried to open her eyes and move her body she found that she only moved within the vivid dreamscape and soon figured she must have dozed off.
She started to walk around in her dream, the chill getting to her as the ground slowly covered with snow. She wrapped her arms around herself, uncertain of why she hadn’t woken up with it as cold as it felt. It was almost as if she felt trapped in her own mind, but where she was don’t look like any place she had ever been before. She stopped in her tracks as she felt her heart begin to race with fear as she watched her day dream slowly turning into nightmare.
The snow picked up as the wind pushed her to the side. The world around her had turned from the lush green field of the southern California coast, to a blank white canvas. She dropped to her knees as she wished for nothing but to be back in the field with her brother. She jumped and looked around as she heard a soft voice call her name.
“Katie. Come on Katie, I’m right here,” the voice said softly into her ear.
“This is what’s in her heart,” a second voice said from nearby in the void, “She is lost, looking for something she can’t find.”
“I… I don’t understand,” the first voice said again. “I thought you said…”
“Shh,” the female voice whispered, “She’s was not ready. She’s scared, much like many are the first time. Reach out for him, reach out for your brother. He is right in front of you.”
“Don,” she said as she reached into the white oblivion, “Don, is that you?” Her daydream nightmare felt even more real as her paws came in contact with thick soft fur. “I.. I just want to wake up.”
The white began to fade to black as she felt warm, powerful arms wrap around her cold body. “Don’t be afraid, Katie, I’m right here. You’re safe, it’s only a dream.”
Katie closed her eyes and leaned into the heat of the body that pulled her in. As she was enveloped by the armed and the cold was forced away she whispered the only thing that came to her mind, “Don, I love you.”
“I love you too Katie,” the now familiar voice said, right next to her ear. She looked up into the smiling white fur of her brother’s winter coat. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. Nothing can hurt you here.” she looked up as someone else as she asked, “Isn’t that right , Sonnet?”
She looked in the same direction, into the black nothingness that they now sat in, only to hear a soft melodic voice speak back, “We are in a grass meadow in early spring. Feel the warm sunshine on your face, and smell the flowers in early bloom.”
“I… I don’t understand.”
“Open your eyes,” the voice said softly.
“They are open,” the young lynx said in reply.
Katie felt a chilled, damp nose press against her as someone place their paws on her cheeks. “They are only part way open, you have to open your inner eyes. See the world from within. You are trying to see with you outer eyes, and they are closed.”
She looked back at the vision of her brother, the dream becoming even more confusing and frightening. “Don, what… what’s going on?”
He nuzzled his chin into her head as he whispered, “I came to visit you in your dream. My mate Sonnet brought us here so I could see you all. But she said you were the only one open to this plain.”
“This… this is a dream,” she said as the world around her slowly flickered into the field she had been in before the snow came. “It’s… it’s not real?”
“It is real,” the female voice said as the form of a young deer, not much older than her wavered into the vision. “This is the astral plane, the place between this world and the next. Time and space mean little here. Your bond with your brother is strong, you love him a lot. With that tie you are close here, no matter how far apart you are in the waking world.”
The words sounded like something she heard in a movie, she didn’t care much. She felt her brother in her arms, as real as the day he hugged her as he was leaving. She felt the emotions flood in as she looked into his blue eyes. Overcome by the need to be close to him, the way Nicki and Seika were. She wrapped her arms around Donovan’s neck and pressed her muzzle to his in a kiss like she had seen in the movies, like Seika kissed Nicki.
She felt him shudder for a moment, the dream of him more vivid than she had ever imagined. He wrapped his powerful arms around her, his muscled larger and more firm than she remembered, as he returned the kiss. She reveled in the feel of his thick fur as he held her tight against his bare chest and leaned forward. He laid her on her back in the soft green grass. The damp chill of the dew on the small, soft green blades made her shiver.
She gasped for breath as Donovan pulled away from her lips and looked down at her. His blue eyes seemed more vibrant and real than she had remembered. She gasped slightly as she said “I love you Don, I always have.” Her young twelve year old heart pounded in her chest as her older brother looked down at her. Her smile faded as she watched the look of passion fade to confusion.
“Katie,” he said softly. “We can’t do this, I’m your brother. It’s wrong.” Even in her dreams she was denied the intimacy she desired with her brother.
“It’s because of dad, isn’t it?” she asked, knowing that the dream would only answer be was she thought. “He drove you away and you’re never going to come back.”
“No… Yes… I don’t know,” he said as he fell over to her side. “It hard to explain, Katie. There are a lot of reasons I left. But, I’m going to come back.”
She looked at him, realizing for the first time that he was wearing only a simple pair of shorts. He had never been so open, even wearing t-shirts when they went to the pool. her eye roamed his exposed body. He was more developed than any of the boys on the sports teams. She could see his well-defined muscle tone, even though his thick fur. He was more perfect, more alluring in his dream than he had ever been.
She sat up and started the reach for him slowly when the doe dropped to her knees on the other side. “You love him,” the doe said softly. “You want to be with him.” Katie gasped as she saw the canine teeth in the deer’s muzzle when she spoke. The doe’s soft musical voice was soothing and inviting, each word ringing in the air as fi filled with power and weight.
Her heart raced even faster as the other girl, just a bit older than she was, leaned over her brother toward her. “Shhh, you are safe here, nothing can hurt you as long as we are here.” She placed her paw on Katie’s as she went on, “Dawn is precious to you, as precious as he is to me. I can see it; you are red with love and lust. Fiery and hot in your core.”
“Who… who are you?’ Katie asked her eyes locked on the brown orbs that felt as if they looked into her soul.
“I am Sonnet,” the doe said with a smile, “You brother’s mate and lover.”
The lynx girl froze as the words hit her ears, echoing the ones by her brother. She was his mate, and lover. Even in her dreams he was out of reach. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as her heart broke.
Sonnet reached out and took her other paw, still looking Katie in the eyes. “Come sister, this is no time to cry. You brother and you share a bond. A bond much like he and I. It is something that transcends the waking world, and brought us to you… our sister… my sister.” The doe pulled the lynx girl to her and pressed their muzzles together in a kiss.
Katie melted into the passion and warmth of the doe’s lips as she experienced her second real kiss from a girl. She leaned in and tilted her head as the two girls hovered over her brother. Their paws moved to touch each other’s bodies. She could taste her brother on Sonnets lips, as she through the dream must be playing tricks on her. She flinched as her paws met the soft, firm breasts of the doe and Sonnet’s paws did the same. She pulled away from the kiss slowly, a string of drool still connecting them.
(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Awakening_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)
Katie jerked awake, dizzy and disoriented as if she was just pulled across the world at the speed of light. She held her head as it swirled and swayed, trying to get her bearings as sht world slowly focused from the blur. She finally focused enough to recognize her mother setting on the bed next to her, the older lynx paw on her chest.
“Katie, are you okay? You were moaning and calling your brother’s name,” the older lynx said as she looked down at her oldest daughter.
“I… I’m okay. It was just a dream,” she replied to her mother. “It was so real, and Don was there, with a girl. It was strange, like…” She trailed off as she touched her lips, the spicy taste of cinnamon on them.
The older lynx wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her close. “It’s okay Katie, He’ll be fine. You dad is already planning on taking some time off and looking for him. We’ll be going to Wither Creek where he last called from.”
“No… he’s not there,” Katie said as she pushed her mother away. “He’s… he’s not in a city, and he’s safe.”
“It’s okay,” her mother reassured her. “We’ll find him and bring him home.”
“But… what if they are happy, and he doesn’t want to come home?”
“They, what do you mean?” her mother asked looking down at her.
“Donovan and Sonnet,” Katie said. “They are so happy together, what if he doesn’t want to come home?”
“Katie, listen. You father talked to some of the deacons at the church,” her mother’s tone changed as she started to explain the sudden shift in her father wanting to look for Donovan. “One of them used to live in Prairie Flats, a town not far from Winter Creek. He said that the town is secluded in the mountains and run by a tightly knit pagan cult. He said that every season they have huge pagan rituals and summon demons to curse people. If your brother got caught up in that, we need to help him, bring him home and get him back to God.”
“Wha.. what if your wrong?” Katie said as tears formed in her eyes. The dream seemed so real, she could feel him, and he didn’t look like he was in any danger. “What if he’s just found what he was looking for, his calling? What if that’s where God wants him to be?”
“That’s what we have to go and see,” her mother told her. “Now go shower up and come on down, dinner will be ready soon.”
“Okay mom. I’ll be right down.” As her mother closed the door behind her, katie touched and licked her lips again. The taste of the cinnamon was still there. The dream of her brother was so real, so vivid, that she couldn't ignore it. Had he joined a group that was able to do such things? To use magical power to come visit her?
(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Questions_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)
“What… what was that?” Donovan asked as he sat up.
“Someone woke her,” Sonnet said As she rolled onto her side, draping her arms over him.
“That.. that’s not what I meant,” he said as she wrapped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in. “There was something wrong, something different. It… it felt real, but she…” he trailed off as he tried to piece the dream together. “”I know you think these things are real, but it was just a vivid dream. The things she did… that you did with her… they just… it wasn’t right.”
“She loves you,” Sonnet told him as she snuggled into his thick chest fur. “She looks at you and longs for you in ways that are deeper than you know. And She is beautiful.”
“Yeah, what you saw was a dream of her, based on the picture I showed you,” he said as he looked up at the ceiling of the earthen hut. “It’s not like we had the same dream or anything.”
“She was lost, and you found her, pulled her to you,” the doe said while her paw ran over his chest. “She kisses you. Not like a sister would, but like a lover.”
“You…” he started to speak and shifted to look her in the eyes. “How… was it really… did…”
It was real, as real as the astral plane gets. Her spirit, her soul is looking for you, and… and you are looking for her too. Just as you are running away from it.”
“That’s.. not why I left. I left to get away from my father and his overbearing principles.”
“And you left your sisters,” Sonnet said softly, “who love you, and miss you. She wants to be with her brother so badly, she is in pain.” She looked up at him as she said, “Perhaps we should go to see them.”
Donovan ran his fingers through her auburn hair as she spoke softly, “You don’t want to go there. It will be a long time before you are ready to venture that far into my world. To be honest, if it wasn’t for my mother and sisters, I wouldn’t want to go back. For the first time I feel like everything make sense.”
“Sure,” he shrugged, “sometimes you throw me for a loop with how you do thing, and some of your… abilities, but you show me everything. You’re so honest and straightforward its frightening. I’m not used to that. Everyone I remember back home would… I don’t know. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get a straight answer on anything, like they didn’t really know. Life with you is so simple. I don’t want to inflict that world on you, I love care about you too much.”
Sonnet smiles as she cuddled close to Donovan and pulled the fur and wool blankets over them. “I love you Donovan. Maybe they will come to visit us.” She kissed him on the cheek before she setting in against his body heat again.
“God, I hope not,” the lynx boy muttered quietly. “The next time I see him will be too soon. Especially with the way our lives have been going.” She smiled as he pulled her closer to him, cradling her under his arm.
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