Anastasia

Saturday September 7th 2024

Anastasia adored sleeping. Not because she was lazy though, she just really enjoyed the dreams she had. There was one where she made friends with a rabbit and instead of eating him, she let the rabbit show her his cave which he called a warren. There was another where she had blue fur peeking through her white patches, there was weird blue dust on her, and she actually flew! Past Cheesecake and her mother and everyone else, past the mountains and into a really cold place where there was snow! That might've been her most favorite dream of all. Cheesecake didn't get it though, she was such a silly scaredy-mouse! She'd still listen anyways though. And mother too;

"Such a wild imagination, huh?" she'd said, licking between her ears


Wednesday 20th November 2024

Tw for: nightmares and simulated depiction of death

Spoiler
After a wonderful day of training, Anastasia was all tuckered out. She dug out the small bits of debris that had fallen into Cheesecake's sleeping spot and made sure the moss was still good, then did the same to her own nest. Cheesecake always came in slightly later than her, having to store away all those herbs at the end of the day.

Finally, Anastasia's spot was ready. She circled it a few times and curled up into a ball, feeling her sister's warm fur beside her some time later.

Then she was suddenly looking up at a purple sky.

Strange... she thought

Until she remembered it wasn't strange, she must've ended up dreamwalking again!

Her tail fizzed with excitement as she moved her paws to explore whatever her mind had created for her this time…but…

Her paws refused to obey her. They stayed. Her breathing quickened, now knowing what type of dreamwalk this actually was.

Anastasia was forced to look down upon her pack. She saw everyone happy and going about their day.

"But they won't be for long" she thought

The still purple sky moved her closer and closer towards Skies Beyond while still letting her float above. Soon, she was staring at the herbalism den a lot closer. Where Cheesecake was.

She desperately began to try to squeeze her eyes shut, or maybe move her paws so she could cover her face..? Anything! But try as she might, it didn't work, like always…

So, she had to watch Herbert, Cheesecake and Crescent mix up herbs and store them away. Anastasia didn't know how her sister did it, even seeing it in her dreams, it all looked so complicated and complex. She almost started to enjoy herself and forget her fear, getting into the rhythm of seeing the herbs transform into medicine. That's when Anastasia noticed Crescent dropping the herbs he was holding. And falling to the ground. With his breathing quickening. And foam appearing around his mouth. With Cheesecake coming to his side. Only for him to stop breathing.

The grey speckled wolf awoke with a jolt. Cheesecake was awake too, patting her back.

''I heard you howling in your sleep, are you ok?" her sister asked

"I…guess. I had a nightmare" Anastasia said uneasily

Cheesecake kept patting her, just as Anastasia always did for her when she had nightmares.

It occurred to her just then that while Anastasia had listened to many tales of bears chasing her sister, or a dark scary void from Cheesecake, Stasia had never told her sister of what happened in her nightmares.

Maybe it would help me get it out of my head? The grey speckled wolf pondered

"Can I tell you what happened?" she asked

"Yes, maybe then we can at least be scared together?" Cheesecake commented

So Anastasia told. She got confused when Cheesecake started shaking as she got to the Crescent bit.

"Hey…It's ok. It's not real" she said, now reversing roles and patting her sister

"These types of dreams just happen sometimes, and they never come true, even if they're scary. I'm sure they happen to everybody" she added, hoping it would help

"Normal?!" Cheesecake exclaimed in a high pitch

Anastasia put a paw over her mouth, it would be rude to wake the other sleeping wolves. She took it off when Cheesecake calmed down.

"Stasia" she said with a serious voice

"You know how many nightmares I have, don't you?'

She nodded, if anyone was an expert on nightmares, it was Cheesecake.

"I don't think it's normal to have dreams like that…I mean, the one you told me sounds so unusual, the fact that everything looked exactly as it's 'supposed' to, except for the purple sky. And…you've never even seen a heart attack. So..How did your mind…Know what it looked like?"

"Oh..is that what Crescent died of, a heart attack? Also, why would it be weird for my dreams to show me stuff I didn't know before? That's what they're supposed to do, aren't they?"

Cheesecake sighed deeply.

"What other dreams have you had?" her sister asked with concern

Anastasia, now with worry about what could possibly be going on, told her. She told of the dream where Gemsbock ran away from their pack, because…one of his mothers had passed, and his other mother was best friends with Pebble, who used to be his mate. She told the dream where Dune had passed. She did not mention how, however, worried it would re-open memories of how Moss had passed.

"I've heard enough, Stasia-

"Before you assume anything, whenever I get one of these dreams, they never come true. And they never have. I think…I think I just have a good imagination" the grey speckled wolf said, again trying to reassure her about the dreams

"Well ok, If you say so…" Cheesecake said uneasily

They resumed sleeping once again, the two side by side.

Over the next few days, she'd notice Cheesecake coming into the den later at night than usual and eating her prey in the herbalism den instead of with her.

Saturday 23rd of November 2024

Tw for grief and existentialism

SpoilerAnastasia faced her distraught sister that day...The day her nightmare came true… Her tail was shaking with guilt, but that stuff wasn't important now. Cheesecake was. And if Cheesecake didn't hate her for not warning her of the possible future, then Stasia would be there.

So she walked into the medicine den and saw her sister organizing everything.

"Hi-" Stasia began

"Can't talk, I need to sort these herbs and then make more cure-for-alls"

"But…you have been making more cure-for-alls. You've been making them since before.." she trailed off as Cheesecake zipped around the herbalist den

"You're just trying to make me feel better, I haven't made any at all" Cheesecake replied

"Cheesecake..no. Maybe the grief is making you remember wrong? I..thought it was crazy and unnecessary for you to make so many…I didn't know, Cheesecake, even though I literally saw the future. I'm so stupid, I'm sorry" Stasia said between sobs

Cheesecake continued with her work, flinching a bit at the sound of her sister's crying. She did not go over to her though.

"I don't know what you're doing, Stasia. Lying to me about my own memories…When Crecent was…there, I was focusing a lot on making open wound salves, see?!

Her sister took a moment to gesture erratically at a pile of open wound salves.

"I..must've gotten confused about what medicine you were making…? I'm positive it was cure-for-alls though…" Anastasia said, remembering how her sister used to recite the ingredients for cure-for-alls in her sleep, and talk about them, constantly

"Stop lying to make me feel better...I can handle the truth. I can handle everyone thinking I'm irresponsible for not having any cure-for-alls on hand. Now, get out if you're just going to be condescending like everyone else." she continued

"But Cheesecake, I-"

"Leave me alone." Cheesecake said, quietly and with contempt

So..Stasia did.

Something was definitely wrong. Did grief erase Cheesecake's memory? Or..Did Stasia simply imagine Cheesecake making so many cure-for-alls? An anxious feeling stirred in her stomach.

She resolved to tell her leader and kin, Ilmenite. Anastasia would tell her everything, including about the dream, despite the risk of seeming crazy.

The grey speckled wolf walked along the grass and pebbles until reaching the entrance of Ilmenite's den, where Manuka stood guard. She spotted Stasia immediately:

"I need to talk to Ilmenite" she said

"Can't you see Leaf-crunch instead? Ilmenite is…well, sick"

Leaf-crunch had been temporarily appointed as a leader, until Ilmenite had finished grieving her herbalist and son.

Despite this, Anastasia paused and remembered what was at stake.

"It's really important, I promise"

Manuka sighed and poked her head into Ilmenite's den to relay the information, then Anastasia was beckoned in. It was almost surreal to be invited into the space she'd never been before; a space that looked just like any other den, save for a pile of silver pinecones, and glowing flowers and sparkling gems and all manner of other strange things

She had only ever seen her leader up close as a small pup, when she'd visit the nursery. Ilmenite seemed so huge back then.

Now her leader lay shrunken, curled up in a nest with disheveled fur.

"Well?" Ilmenite said impatiently

"I-I think I might know what caused Crescent's death" she said immediately
Ilmenite shot up from her nest immediately and stared deeply into her eyes.

"Please inform me" she said

So Anastasia did, telling her of her weird dreams. As well as..the one dream that came true.

"I didn't really tell anyone about them before, I thought those kinds of dreams where normal" she explained

Ilmenite paused. She walked closer to Anastasia.

"You and I possess something. You and I can see what others cannot. It seems that whoever controls us wanted to give you dreams"

Stasia's breathing quickened at the new information. Her eyes widened.

"Umm…who..?"

They had always been a secular clan, Ilmenite had never told them of any deites of any kind.

So why did she keep this a secret?

"It's ok, Anastasia. You are ok. If they gave you dreams, that means that they like you, you're safe" her leader said, attempting to comfort her

"But..safe from what?! Who?!" she said, backing away

"Hush, please. No one else can know. Only us, and Raincloud"

Stasia stopped and listened.

"There are two out there, controlling things. One of them has the name of Arengee, the other…I'm not so sure, it hasn't revealed its name yet. It's capable of…so much though" Ilmenite explained, her eyes watering slightly

"What do they control?"

"Well..I've determined that The Nameless One is able to choose many things; it is able to choose who…leaves. Who falls off a cliff, who gets a heart attack..Who…" she paused

"Who disappears, without anyone remembering them" she finished saying

"The other is Arengee. Arengee decides how many pups a pregnant wolf will have, or when a very old wolf passes…But..It is also the one who carries out the decisions of The Nameless One, and erases wolves. Arengee can even erase the memories of other wolves, at The Nameless One's request"

Like Cheesecake..? She thought to herself
Anastasia would spend the rest of the morning in that den, her outlook on life changing permanently.