I slowly open my eyes feeling the cold ground under me, everything's a blur in my mind. I just can't put anything together at the moment. As I slowly lift my head, something catches my eye and I look over quickly to the thing. Sitting there in the open window, is a white faced owl. It has a mixture of dark brown and light brown feather on it's chest and back. It's bright yellow eyes are locked on my figure. I stare confused at it for a little before it nods slightly at me, then takes off from the window and into the open sky. I try to stand up quickly to see it again, but to my surprise, it is not what I expected to happen. When I look down, I see snow white paws. I instantly go into panic mode as I rush over to the same window, not focused on the bird anymore, but my own appearance.
When I look into the clean glass, I see that I have white fur and the appearance of what looks like an arctic fox. My now dark brown eyes narrow at my own reflection, 'How is this possible?' I ask myself stepping down from the ledge of the window. 'This just has to be a bad dream, right? This isn't some joke, but it can't be real! It just can't be...!' I sigh out loud and sit on the cold ground, shaking my head slightly at my own thoughts staring down. "It just feels so realistic though." I say out loud this time, seeing I can talk. This is going too far, what kind of drugs am I on?
I am snapped out of my thoughts when I hear a soft cough comes from somewhere inside the room, I slowly turn and look around. I notice that I am in a hospital, somewhere near my own house. I only know this because I have been here quite a few times. My ears lift up slightly, and damn does it feel weird. I slowly pad over and look up onto the bed seeing a youngish lady lying there hooked up to a machine dripping IV into her veins, I wonder what she is here for.
I slowly start to make my way to the other side of the bed, being cautious in case I can wake her up. As I move with silent steps, a soft groan catches my attention. My head turns quickly as I round the bed to see large cat laying on the floor next to the bed. I recognize it as mountain lion. I back up quickly, unsure and scared of it as the big cat sturrs awake. It seems unsure of what is going on, just like I did. Regardless, I don't want to take my chances to go near it, so I'll just keep my distance. But, why do I feel safe? Is it real or is this just a whole bad dream? I soon feel it's eyes on me and I glance down at it, looking back into it's eyes, seeing something that I remember.
I slowly but cautiously walk towards it, keeping my eyes locked with it's gray ones. The cat seems scared, more than I am, so I finally let out my voice. "A-are you okay?" I ask as it pushes away from me.
"What? How is this possible?!" A girlish voice emerges from it. So, assuming it is a girl, I will go with that.
"Calm down... It's okay, I thought the same thing when I first woke up," I say in a quiet voice as realisation Her expression changes quickly, from scared to concerned. I give the she cat a confused glance.
"That voice, I know it from anywhere! Nick? Is it really you?" My eyes widen as I manage to nod my head at her.
"Bailey?!" I exclaim as I rush over to her, "Oh my god, I don't think this is a dream anymore. Do you know how we ended up like this?" Bailey shakes her head no as I sigh quietly. "I don't understand any of this... it's so strange and I can't comprehend anything that is happening!" I say quietly, sitting down on the ground once again.
"Wait a second... I remember what happened, but I don't know how this has anything to do with it." She says looking up at me.
"I'll be happy to hear anything you got," I say with all my attention on her now.
"Okay here it goes, but don't call me crazy. The last thing I remember is well... dying, and then this happened," she says finishing.
I think back before all this happened, and I too can remember the same fate as her, death. I remember her boyfriend coming after me, and he was still high and he just kept hitting me. Blow after blow, until everything faded. But now I am here, alive I guess? I sigh at the memory, now stuck with me. "Yeah, that happened to me too..." I say trailing off and looking at the ground.
"How did you die exactly?" Bailey asks in a simple manner like nothing is wrong. I look towards her laying my ears back.
"Your boyfriend was drinking and other shit with his friend, and I guess the effects were still on him," I get an angered look from her.
"Well, he doesn't matter anymore," she says as a sigh escapes her lips before she goes on. "I died in a car crash." She gives me a blank stare as if she is remembering the moment. I nod slightly towards her before she blinks and looks at me again with her yellow eyes. "So, what do you think this means?" She asks bringing me out of my own thoughts, but I shake my head.
"I have no clue-"
"You are that child's spirit animal," a voice I have never heard speaks out from somewhere inside the room. My brown eyes glancing around looking for the source. "It's alright, I am just like you. I am Harp, it is very nice to meet you both."
"What are you?" Bailey asks before I could. Out of the shadows of the room, a small mouse like animal comes out. The long legs and tail, along with very short front legs, make it so much different.
"I am a long eared jerboa, but I am Chara's animal. You two must be very confused, correct?" With a nod from both of us, she continues. "When one person dies, another one is born, it is the way of life. I will not give you much detail, but I will give you the basics of your new life. Though you two are a rare sight. I have never saw a child with two animals, you must be special." She says scampering over to us, then resting on the ground.
"Anyways, you both will have to guide them through life, that is what a spirit animal is for. There are some things you need to know though..." Harp says trailing off. "Like you can't be too far from your person. This will cause them to do thing that are not intended to happen. But it's not like you have to be next to them, they just have to be in sight. I think the rest, I will let you learn on your own." Harp says before taking off back into the dark. I gave a glance over at Bailey as looks unsure as well.
"So, this is our new life I guess," she says looking at the ground. "But at least we have each other." She tries to puts a small smile on her face and I do as well. She is right, this is our new life and we just have to adapt to it. Whatever happens, I am just glad I have Bailey by my side.
