Hetalian Protectors

Dreams vs Reality

I pulled myself back to the present as her voice continued, realizing I had missed part of her 'conversation'. Luna's words made me freeze, my blood turning to ice in my veins, "I was glad he hadn't changed much since the Mansion."

My mind dropped away immediately, images of a ghostly smile consumed by fire running through my head. 'Mansion' reverberated through my mind, going round and round till I couldn't even pay attention any longer, even as she stood and ran off, leaving me alone in the steadily darkening forest.

Fear crashed down over me, uncertainty joining it. Just what was going on?

Who are you Luna?

*****

Luna's POV:

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other."– Douglas H. Everett

The Dream was a silent place, as always. There was no wind, no distant voices, no people. Just me and whatever I wanted the landscape to be. This time it was a small town, only a single, cobbled street long, with a total of six houses. Each looked very different from the last, all sporting a very separate style and culture.

Shaking my head and not bothering to focus on any particular house, I choose to walk over to the one that seemed the most familiar. Or in reality it was the first house on the 'block'. I strode over and peeked in one of the arched windows, spying pasta and an over abundance of cats on the inside, the occasional tomato making an appearance. It wasn't difficult to figure out that these were the dreams of the Vargas brothers. Who else would dream of such a combination? Yet, a sweet pang of laughter bubbled up into my chest at the ridiculousness of the blend, and I giggled. I knew I couldn't stay though. This wasn't any of my business.

Walking away, I didn't bother to glance in any of the other houses, now that I knew what they were. I felt almost like an intruder. These weren't my dreams to see.Even if I didn't step completely into their dream-spaces I was still breaching a form of privacy. There was a reason I didn't use this ability very often, especially when I couldn't control it very well. That was probably how I got here in the first place.

An ample example of this fact was that as I moved away from the 'houses' my surroundings changed, a lush forest replacing the 'town'. This was a familiar place. The environment of my island nation never seemed to change, even through out the years. The laws protecting the woodlands were a sure reason for this and though this wasn't my actual island, it looked exactly the same as my home.

Smiling to myself, it wasn't long before I lost track of time, what little of it I had actually been paying attention to. The next thing I knew, I was standing before a small clearing, a horde of butterflies in the very center of it. These were no ordinary butterflies though. Their wings glowed a light, florescent green and they were about the size of my hand, making them pretty large. Stepping forward, I stretched out my hand to reach for one when I felt a tugging in my gut. A frown covered my face as I attempted to push the feeling away, only to have it return stronger.

I wanted to stay a bit longer. Ignoring the sensation, I pushing into the very center of the crowd of insects. Laughing joyously, I watched pleased as one of them landed on my out-stretched finger, grinning like a fool.

The sound of knocking made my eyes snap open. Rolling over, I buried my face in my pillow, disappointment and a slight twinge of fear building in my throat. "Luna? Are you awake Bella? Germany has made breakfast~"

Sighing, I barely raised my head enough so that my response wasn't muffled, "I'll be out in a minute Feliciano! I've gotta get dressed!" I heard a happy hum on the other side of the wood.

"Alrighty~ See you in a few!" His retreating footsteps were the sign of his departure. Groaning, I turned back over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. Instantly, a flash of green caught my eyes, a tiny tapping sound coming from my window, and I glanced over, already knowing what I would see. A large, florescent green butterfly was trying to escape the confines of my room, ramming itself repeatedly into the glass.

Shaking my head, I got to my feet. "Not again..." I muttered under my breath as I reached the window, unlatching it and opening it enough to where the insect had no problems getting to the outside world. A cold, winter breeze blew through the new gap, making me shiver as the green grew ever more distant in the light blue sky.