[COMPLETE] R E V E R S E #NaNoWriMo2k17

Chapter 9

He has no perception of time. Everything was white, a welcome oblivion. The void stretched on forever, and he floated along with it with no resistance. Everything was quiet and at peace.

Then the scene shifted.

He was floating in an ocean, a manifestation of his grief. Lightning crackled above him, briefly illuminating the water before plunging into darkness once more. He was struggling to swim as the tide threatened to pull him down. The water was salty - salty with his tears. A tsunami wave suddenly slammed into him, and he was pulled under the waves.

Wake, voices whispered urgently​. And the dream changed again.

He was in a forest clearing. Wind blew through the canopy, spreading the scents of the forest - pine trees, flowers. And rain. Lots of rain. The smell hung to the trees constantly, as if it were a reminder that cloudy days would never go away.

A blurry figure stood in front of him. He squinted blearly, trying to make out a shape, a form anything.

Ajax, it whispered. The entire shape flickered​ like mist in the wind. Ajax.

"Tas," he muttered thickly. "Is that you?"

The mist wavered. Move on...

An earthquake shook his dream. The landscape started to fall apart. The fog was sharpening. He could see Tas' face now, heavily burred but still there. He was crying. Wherever his tears fell, the grass would wither and turn black, smoking. Red stained the floor. Blood.

"Tas!" He shouted more forcefully. "I'm here! Tas!"

Move on!

The earth was breaking apart in earnest. Chumps of land fell away and collapsed into a never ending ravine. The edge was drawing closer and closer.​

"I'm not leaving," he answered forcefully. "I'm not leaving you."

You must go!​

"I can't, Tas. I'm not letting you get hurt again."

You don't understand! Red was bleeding into the sky like ink, and he had a chilling sense of deja vu. Get out! Get out!

"I'm not leaving you! I'm not losing you again!"

You've already lost me, he whispered. His figure suddenly sharped into focus. Bruised and battered. A hole in his chest, right where the Raptorik hit him. Wings practically torn to shreds. Eyes crying blood. He was mutated, horrified. As he watched, the ice blue of his eyes started to turn black.

"What's happening? Tas! What's happening to you?"

Seek the stone. The entire dream lurched, slowly fragmenting apart. White cracks pushed through Tas' figure, spreading out like a spider web from his heart, but he lunged forwards, grabbing onto Ajax's arm. Cold, slimy scales slid over his hands. He recoiled at the touch. Tas was visibly starting to melt, but he still grabbed on. The fire still burned in his eyes - the courage and respect he'd grown to know and love. Seek the stone! When all has perished and the land is barren, the stone will still stand...

"Tas?" He asked fearfully. "Tas?"

The cracks were wider now, almost touching the edge of his figure. Don't look for me. Whatever you do, don't look for me. The Harpy knows.

"Knows? Knows what?"

The cracks reached the edge. The Wildclaw let out a blood curdling scream, the ground shattered at his feet, and his dream was ripped apart.

***

"Ajax."

Cold air blew above him. There was something sticky and uncomfortable plastered onto his face. His bones ached wearily.