𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐒 {spirit animals}

𝟫. A Rival's Dreamland

Rae was in a dark corridor of Greenhaven Castle, standing in the shadows. She was alone, for some reason, and she realized she wasn't exactly sure why she was there.

It must have been the middle of the night, and she had decided to go on a walk to clear her head. She headed down the corridor, passing tall doorways and softly lit hallways.

"Rae," A low voice spoke behind her, "I thought I'd find you here,"

She turned around, and saw Ikaito walking towards her. The sleek fur of the black dog illuminated by the cold torches lined by the walls.

"Kai?" She tilted her head uncertainty, "Are you...Talking to me?" Rae wasn't aware spirit animals could talk to their summoners, with the exception of Talona's annoying rabbit.

"Yes, as I have been wanting to for a while," The dog joined her side, and Rae sat down in the stone corridor with Ikaito, "Welcome to your subconsciousness, Rae,"

"You mean... This is a dream?"

"Dreams are a way for us to communicate freely, without the limits the outside world places on us," The usually ferocious animal seemed strangely quiet and gentle, something Rae wasn't very used too.

"It's been quite the adventure ever since coming to Greenhaven," Ikaito continued, glancing around, "I'll admit it's been great seeing my old friends and all, but their summoners aren't exactly as impressive as I'd hoped they'd be."

"Well, one of them did summon a rabbit and another ended up with a white parrot,"

"Conejo's not that bad once you get over the annoying part," Ikaito muttered, "Trust me, I've had to put up with him for hundreds of years. And Varuna is more powerful than she wants the world to know...I vaguely remember her fooding half of Amaya once because that jackalope got into a rather heated argument with her,"

The two stayed there in silence for a while, until Ikaito broke it once again,

"So you've learned the truth about Jasmine, haven't you?" He said,

"Yes, I have," Rae gritted her teeth at the reminder, "You were there, about to rip Ylva apart unless I'm mistaken,"

"A reckless move on both of our parts," The dog said, "Pegasus is not one to anger, kill his summoner and we'd both have that horse to answer to," He looked up at Rae, fiery eyes meeting her own, "Conejo has been sharing thoughts with me, and I figured you'd like to know the girl does feel remorse for your sister's death,"

"That doesn't change anything," She responded coldly, eyes downcast, "I swear, it's almost worst knowing who did it, and at the same time knowing I can't do anything about it,"

Ikaito nuzzled against her, offering her a kind of comfort that Rae hadn't had in a long time, his snout resting against her shoulder.

"You know I'd protect you against anything, Rae," Ikaito said, "Legendary beasts and their summoners included, anyone ever wrong you, I'll be there to rip their throats out,"

Rae smiled, running her fingers along the ebony coat of her spirit animal. Talking to Ikaito had brought her a sense of peace, a sensation that maybe not all was lost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Greenhaven gardens, Ylva stood still as she watched the sunrise, clouds of red and orange drifting up to replace the deep blue in the skies.

She didn't know how she ended up here, but she didn't care. The sight was astounding, a gorgeous sight to behold, the rising sun illuminating what used to be darkness.