Slipping Between Dreams 3

As soon as Iridethia sat down with her glass of ice water, she heaped a huge piece of lasagna onto her plate and began to inhale it. Seth sighed, and went to get a plate and fork for their unexpected guest. The small boy had scooted his chair as close to the female Nekonikai’s as possible without actually sitting on top of her. His silver eyes watched her constantly, as if afraid she’d vanish at any moment.

Seth filled the plate with lasagna and placed it before the silver eyed Nekonikai boy. “I’m Seth. What’s your name?”
The boy looked up at him warily. “Lester Snowhart. Are you REALLY Thia’s brother? You look nothing alike!”

Thia glanced up at Seth and smiled, grabbing her glass. “He’s cute, isn’t he?”

Lester blinked, and Seth looked like he wanted to pull out his long white hair. “We are related. Our parents just looked vastly different. That’s all.” Sitting down, he started eating his own lasagna. “You’re from the snow leopard clan, right?”

Lester swallowed a bite of lasagna and then nodded. “Yeah. We lived near Lullaby before the expedition to the Wastelands. My parents studied ancient magic.”

Seth’s green eyes were dark with remembered pain. “Our parents too…”

Iridethia scooped another huge piece of lasagna onto her plate. “If you guys want any, you’d better hurry…” she muttered, and began eating as if she hadn't just eaten a piece as large as her plate.

“Thia, slow down a little. It’s not going to run away, you know.” Seth reprimanded, filling his plate with another, much smaller piece. “Do you have any family left, Lester? Someone who could take care of you?”

Looking down at his plate, Lester’s white hair flopped over his eyes, and he shook his head mutely. He held out his tiny right hand, which had a large, pink scar on the palm. “I belong to Thia now, see?”

Seth leaned over the table to get a better look at the mark. Touching it gently, he probed the nature of the wound with his magic. His eyes blazed an angry green when he released Lester’s hand. “Thia…” he began in a low, very controlled tone. “You used the wrong bonding spell on this boy! I know I told you there were several different types. You should have used the temporary one, and used something other than the amulet! You’ve permanently bound this boy to your dream walking self! Now, whenever you sleep, wherever you go, you’ll take him with you!”

Iridethia cringed and choked on her water. “Sweet merciful gods! I did what?” she exclaimed when she could breathe again. Her violet hair framed her stunned silver eyes, making them seem larger than usual. She flexed her left hand, where her matching mark stood out.

Clearing her mind, she hummed a jaunty little tune, and then paled considerably. She gulped, and looked at Lester.

He stared back with an unbothered expression. “You’ll take care of me, just like before, right?” His silver eyes glowed with trust.

Iridethia gave a sickly grin, and started crying. “I’m SO sorry!” she sobbed. “Now you can’t go back to your people…”

Lester patted her arm comfortingly. “It’s ok. They wouldn’t want me anyway. Orphans don’t do well in the clan. I’ll be really good! I promise! And you can teach me magic, so I won’t be a bother. You don’t hate me…do you? Are you crying because you hate me?” he asked in a quavering voice.

Iridethia looked up at his fear filled face, and scooped him into her lap. Hugging him close, she whispered, “Of course not! I’m just worried, because everyone says I’m a trouble magnet…and I’ve never taken care of a kit before…”

Seth cleared his throat loudly. “Thia…I did a scrying before dinner. It seems that Shades are just the beginning of the troubles Kesseth is going to face. Darkness looms in our world’s future, and you will be constantly entangled with it. Because of your dream walking, you-and now Lester as well-will be in constant contact with the disturbances we will face.”

“But…what should I do? I’m not exactly someone anyone would listen to. I won’t even be 21 seasons until next summer! Isn’t there something you can do?” she begged, holding Lester close, and snagging another bite of lasagna.

Seth sighed. “The vision wasn’t very clear because you’re my sister. I’m too emotionally involved. The most I can do is try and teach you all the spells you might need. Try and prepare you to face any kind of danger. Lester will have to learn too.”

“Mama said I have a healer’s touch.” Lester said proudly.

Seth nodded his approval. “Good. I’ll see about having my friend Marian give you lessons. She’s the best healer I know. She’s wolf kin. You’re not scared of other races, are you?”

“Nope! I like meeting new people!” Lester said excitedly.

“That’s refreshing…Lester, come here a moment please. I need to establish a link with you. Not like Thia’s link. This one will just allow me to keep tabs on you, and know when you’re in danger.” Seth beckoned the youngster over.

Lester squirmed out of Iridethia’s lap and scampered over to Seth. While he was undergoing the ritual, she cut the last piece of lasagna out of the pan and put most of it on her plate. In mere moments, it too, was gone. She’d eaten 3/4ths of the pan of lasagna, and she was still hungry.

Before her hand could touch the fridge door, Seth shot her a warning look. His gaze promised she’d regret it if she took anything from the fridge. Sighing, she grabbed a loaf of bread and some peanut butter.

“Thia! We match! Our magical auras match!” Lester exclaimed excitedly.

“You can see magical auras? How old are you?” she asked, impressed.

“I’m three seasons old! I’ve lived nine summers! Papa said I’m surprisingly gifted, whatever that means. It’s so cool! You glow blue, just like your magic! And now I do too!”

“Blue, huh? Well, blue is the color of protective magic, so that’s good. If we glowed red or orange it’d mean that we were using attack magic, and green means we’re sick or injured…”

“I know Thia! And if someone glows black, it means they use icky magic, like Shades!” Lester shuddered. “Shades are scary…”

Iridethia nodded. “Yes they are. Did you want any more food? I finished off the lasagna, but I could fix you a peanut butter sandwich.”

Lester shook his head. “I’m tired…I ran so much today…and it was so scary! A lot happened.”

Licking her fingers, Iridethia put away the bread. “Well, I’m pretty wiped out too. I have to work in the morning, so lets go get some sleep. You’ll share my bed, ok?”

Lester looked at her uncertainly. “Are you sure? I kick when I have nightmares…”

“It’s fine. I’ll protect you, and sing you a lullaby. You’ll be ok, and tomorrow, you’ll hang out with Seth. He’ll introduce you to Marian and buy you some clothes… right brother?” Iridethia gave him a pleading look.

Seth walked over and gave her a huge hug. “Of course. It’ll be fun! I always wanted a brother…” he teased, scuffling Lester’s hair.