Chapter 325

325 Foreboding Dreamscapes

When Skye and Tidas had returned to the RMC bunker, they saw that they hadn’t been missed. Most of the soldiers thought that they’d simply gone to bed. It was nearly four-thirty in the morning, but many of the RMC members were still drinking and playing games with the Highlanders.

Apparently some of them had brought games from their homes to play. There was an angled board with several holes cut out, and one had to throw small bags full of beans or beads at it. Each hole was marked with different numbers, and the person to reach a certain amount of points first, won.

They had also brought a dart board, a ring toss game, various decks of cards, and were having drunken wrestling matches near the door to outside. Tidas and Skye shared a small chuckle at the randomly passed out RMC and Highlanders scattered everywhere on the floor and furniture.

As they looked around, jovial voices called out to them from across the room to come and play a game with them. Petrie waved them off as he left to go get some sleep, and Arthur Tanner called out to them with Ralph to came play.

Skye did wind up dethroning Arthur as the beanbag champion, and Ralph lost his title as ‘Master of Darts’ to Tidas. As the two drunkenly sulked after several games, Skye and Tidas finally turned in for the night.

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As they approached their bedroom, the couple got a good chuckle out of seeing Klaus, Ronnie, and Kari all passed out together against the wall next to their door. Klaus was in the middle with Kari leaning against his shoulder.

His head was leaned against hers, and they both had small, sweet smiles on their faces. Skye didn’t know if Ronnie had fallen over, or just fell asleep how he was, but his head was in Klaus’ lap. As she opened the door and stepped in, Tidas had a hard time not laughing at the thought of Klaus waking up and seeing Ronnie’s head there.

After shutting their door, Skye and Tidas helped each other out of their armor. They had shower time later, which made Skye excited because she Desperately wanted one. Going from bathing daily to Maybe a few times a week was making her skin crawl, but it was still better circumstances compared to what they should be dealing with.

The Highlanders giving them a bunker to use was a life saver for most. Many of the soldiers with them had been in previous northern raids with the prince, and were elated to have a dry, warm place to rest their heads. The winter time in the Highlands was usually brutal, but with proper shelter and no one trying to kill them; it wasn’t bad.

.....

As they crawled into bed, Tidas attempted to see if his wife was still ‘in the mood’, but she was clearly tired. As a welcoming, but exhausted smile appeared on her face, the dark circles under her eyes were made temporarily more prominent.

Sighing with regret, Tidas got up, and flinched the light switch off. Once back in bed, he snuggled up to Skye, and whispered; “We can have some time together after we shower.”

“Aye. That would be preferable, ta be honest. I feel kinda gross right now,” she replied as she adjusted her arm under the pillow to hold his hand.

Tidas chuckled lightly; “You know, your speech has gotten much worse since we’ve been here.”

Skye blushed lightly in the darkness; “So? Tis easier ta speak plainly here. Peggy, me Da, hell: even you. Ye all have been tellin’ me ta ‘speak properly’ most of me life. It feels...natural here.”

Skye could feel Tidas’ body tense lightly at her words, and she wished that she could smack herself; “I didna mean that I wanna stay here! I just meant that the Highlanders are a bit easier fer me ta talk to.”

Tidas smirked as he stuck his face into her hair; “I know what you meant, love. It’s just fun ta tease you sometimes.”

Skye huffed; “See! Yer doin’ it too! I’ve heard ye slip up a couple times, don’t lie ta me husband..”

Tidas outright chuckled this time; “Aye, I admit that I’ve slipped up a few times like when we were kids. Just make sure you don’t forget how to talk when we see my father in the spring.”

Skye lightly kicked her husband, whom then proceeded to act like she’d stabbed him. After a bit of playful banter between them, they decided it was best to fall asleep before the sun was up. Snuggling together under their covers, the wind outside kicked up as the storm raged...

************

Skye wasn’t sure when she’d fallen asleep, but she knew that she was dreaming. The place where she found herself was miles away from where she’d laid her head: the boarder village that they’d first stopped at.

As the building snow crunched under her feet, people went about with their daily lives until an obvious Southerner entered the town. He had appeared out of no where, and had several wounds on him. He carried a darkened spear that gave everyone around him the creeps.

When he passed out in front of everyone, they were going to leave him where he fell, but one woman came forward and helped. She had several men help her take the man to her small hut, then she gingerly fixed him up. They left the spear where it fell from his hands, and let the snow cover it.

Skye knew right away that the man was Richard, even though she couldn’t see his face. He had been covered in facial hair, dirt, and blood; obscuring his features. But the spear was unmistakable to her.

The sun lapsed the horizon several times, indicating the numerous days that had passed. The woman came and went from the hut, but never the man. When time slowed and went back to it’s normal pace, it was dark outside, and Skye could hear a woman crying out.

Shortly after the screaming had stopped, Richard came out of the hut looking disheveled. He almost looked like a zombie as he stalked towards where the spear was. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he fell to his knees in front of it.

As he reached out for it, he muttered; “I did’t want to..Oh, Please, gods, make it stop! Maria, I’m so sorry.. Please, Just kill me now, please..”

As his hand touched the spear, all of his muttering stopped. All of his emotions drained from his face as his eyes turned black, and he looked over at Skye. When she moved, his eyes followed..

“Catalyst..”

The once human man began to make gagging noises as he stared at her, and black sludge began to ooze from his mouth. As he coughed and choked, the black muck started to cover his hands and legs. As Richard continued to stare, he repeat the same thing over and over...

“Catalyst, Catalyst, Catalyst, CATALYST!”

On the final scream, his voice changed to something inhuman; monstrous. Like a cross between a bear and a dying animal. Fear shot through Skye, and she wanted to run, but she stayed to see. As the roar pierced the night, several Highlanders emeraged from their huts with weapons drawn, but nothing stopped the creature.

When an elderly man ran at it with fire, it flinched. The oil used smelled funny, yet familiar to her as the dreamworld wafted the smoke her way. Seeing the flame, the monster roared again, then took off towards Skye.

Right as it jumped at her, it said; “He’s MINE!”

************

Skye shot up in bed, completely soaked head to toe in sweat. Tidas had jumped up with a dagger in his hand that he had pulled out of nowhere. Looking around and seeing no one, Tidas turned to her and asked; “Bad dream again?”

When all she did was nod in response, Tidas crawled back into bed. He tried to pulled her into his arms, but she wouldn’t let him since she was so sticky from the sweat. Instead, she told him about the dream..

At the end of her tale, Tidas wasn’t sure what information she was supposed to get from it.. ‘Why show her the moment he lost his human side? What was the point?’

As he questioned it, Skye said; “What if it wasn’t completely yer uncle? What if the Ethereal Spear influenced him because he has no magic ta resist it with?”

Tidas’ eyes turned hard; “He could’ve asked for help. He could’ve told my Father what he was dealing with, or my Aunt Marie, but he didn’t. Even if the spear influenced him, he still had to make certain choices in the beginning. I can’t forgive him for that.”

Skye nodded, knowing not to broach such a subject to a cranky husband. They had only gotten about three hours of sleep, and he was clearly tired. Instead of continuing their talk, Skye patted the bed, but told him no full-on cuddles until she bathed.

After about five minutes, Skye had passed back out, but Tidas was awake now. Hearing his wife yelp as she’d suddenly sat up in bed had fully awaken him, ready to fight. After fidgeting with her hair for a few minutes, Tidas kissed her cheek, then got up to start his day..

When Skye awoke again at ten-thirty, she nearly ran out of her room in her undergarments. Her shower time was slotted for eleven o’clock, and if she was late, she would miss it. Not to mention that she hadn’t checked Zazzy yet.

Throwing her under suit on, Skye left her actual armor in her room. Many of the soldiers had removed their armor last night, and most were walking about their bunker in their body suits.

When she flew out of her door, she nearly ran into Kari, who was about to knock on her door to wake her. They had the same shower time scheduled, since Kari was one of her bodyguards. She, Klaus, and Ronnie were still under their same orders, so someone had to be with her if Tidas wasn’t.

“Oh, you’re up, good. The Highlander King and High Councilor Amara are here for you. They say that they have a request-what’s wrong? Why the face?”

Skye sighed as her shower seemed farther and farther away; “Nevermind my face. Where are they?”

As Kari led Skye over, Tidas was no where to be seen. Murdoc and Amara seemed to be talking about how the Alconians were dressed..

Amara smiled; “I don’t see the issue. Reminds me of ‘Star Trek’ a wee bit. Or that one part in ‘Time Machine’ where he travels to the future the first time, before them moon explodes.”

Murdoc took on a mocking expression as he added; “Or a pajama party.”

Amara flashed him a smug expression; “And how would ye know that? Only chick flicks reference those.”

“...I don’t need ta justify me movie tastes ta you!” Murdoc bellowed as his cheeks flared red.

“Uh-huh,” Amara stated flatly as she turned her attention away from Murdoc, and towards Skye; “Anyways, good mornin’, dearie! I know that ye probably have things ta do, but we came ta ask ye fer yer help. The hospital is bein’ overwhelmed, and we need every Shaman we can get..”