One night, not long after their departure from the city, Timra dreamt. That in and of itself was not a strange occurrence, but the fact that all three shared the same dream, and remembered it, was unusual.      They flew through the night sky, three points of bright light that were completely disconnected from each other, as they had been only a year previous. They each gloried in their rediscovered freedom, swirling around each other and away as the dream higher and higher. Or maybe it was the three faint white sparks circling eachother, dragging them up and up and up, leaving a comet tail that seemed to connect them to the brighter lights.      Soon they were so high that they could see their continent, then the whole of the realm and its moons, and then those too were just a point of light in the starry sky, circling a brighter sun.      Blaze, a bright yellow-orange wisp in this dream, watched with wonder, streaked closer to a star, then decided against it when something told him that might not be the best idea. But this was a dream, what could hurt him in a dream?      Maybe it wasn't a dream, Kei thought, and paused. A moment passed, and he forgot what he was so worried about and resumed his frenzied play, his green light streaking across the sky.      'Sahshen was just as pleased about being free from those two nuisances, but he didn't waste his time and energy swirling around in silly displays of glee. He looked around, his red glow spiraling slowly in the same direction as the other lights in his constellation.      He was the first one to notice the other three essences, spiraling about one another some distance away. He didn't bother calling to the other two, even if he could, he wouldn't have, and headed off towards the lights. A blue, a brilliant silver, and a burgundy who's glow was so deep that it was almost invisible against the blackness of the universe. When he looked back, the others were following in his wake. He swore mentally. So apparently they weren't as separate as they might have thought.      I heard that, Kei muttered darkly, and Blaze giggled.      The three other lights were heading towards them, they too seemed to be curious. As the two groups drew closer, something odd happened. Then again, this being a dream, odd things were bound to happen. As though flying through the universe as points of light was normal. Each group of three drew together, swirling closer and closer, even though the individuals of each pulled away from eachother desperately. The three fiant lights circled the two groups, drawing their commet-tail closer and tighter about them, as though it were a rope that could tie the two together.      The dream was reaching it's climax, coming to an end. Six voices sounded, a chorus of harmony and dischord, and then the dream faded off into darkness.      Timra woke with a start, breathing hard. He shivered, even though this was the warm season and the night was all but smothering.      "I knew thosssse plantsss were bad for usssssssss." 'Sahshen hissed softly. Blaze and Kei rolled their eyes. The miir shook his antlers, rustling them against a branch hanging low over their shelter. Leaves fell from the branch, fluttering to the ground around them, sliding off their fur and hide. Blaze shivered again. That was the strangest thing he'd ever dreamt.      For a moment, there was silence, then another rustle, completely unconnected with their shelter.      Instantly, all three were on the alert, and Kei wished for the first time in his life that this had been the shedding season, and he'd not had his antlers. 'Sahshen agreed, and mentally offered to remove them for him, which offer received a glare from both Kei and Blaze, and a curious mental chirp from the three NC.      But none of that was helping at the moment. Blaze and Kei, the two prey animals, were terrified, since there could be any number of dangerous beasts beyond their thin curtain of foliage. 'Sahshen, on the other hand, was pumped with adrenaline and rearing for a fight. ***      Three pairs of eyes opened and blinked sleepily. Ugh. That was the strangest dream ever. Avalon propped herself up on her one good paw, trying to get comfortable again and shake off that dream.      *Why me?* The blue terran bishen complained to herself softly, only to be snapped at by her black sister.      *Shut up, idiot, you're not the only one in this predicament, you know.*      *Knock it off, both of you. I need to listen.* Raieil hissed mentally at them, keeping stock still, eyes locked on something just ahead of them. There it was again, a rustling in the bushes just ahead of them. They tensed, all three, and Raieil whispered to the blue. *Lon, you hear it? About three feet.*      Avalon nodded ever so slightly and stuck her head forward a little, breathing out softly.      At first nothing seemed to be happening, and the black snorted mentally. *I knew it. She was bound to go soft on us one day. Can't even use her stone properly. Pathetic.*      Raieil gave Kali a mental glare to silence her, and rose up a little, spreading her one wing assertively. That black was nothing but touble, she wished she could just leave her behind somehow.      Kali smiled impudently, hearing Raieil's mental wish. She knew how to push the white's buttons by now, it was fun. Much more fun than messing with that stupid blue, anyway. Though admittedly, Rai did fight back... she wasn't sure if that was better or worse than Lon's gentle meekness and depression.      However, before either could do anything else, Avalon's breath weapon appeared, creeping along the ground toward the bush that had been rustling. The thin black fog surrounded the small prey on the other side without it realizing anything at all was happening. The blue bishen concentrated, slightly thickening the fog that the creature breathed in, so that it gradually became sleepy from lack of oxygen and curled up in a ball, unconscious.      It was the slow way to do things, but it was more precise and effective than Kali using her lava stone, or Raieil her ice stone. Less destructive to the surrounding foliage, if nothing else. The three had tried hunting the normal way before, stalking and pouncing, but that was entirely too much trouble, and more often than not, their prey heard them coming and fled. This had turned out to be the one way that guaranteed them a meal every time they hunted, which freed up traveling time.      As soon as their breakfast was safely asleep, they crept forward, and the black marine dealt the killing blow with a sharp bite to its neck, since Avalon refused to take a life, and Kali complained that Raieil always took too long deciding where to strike, a talent instinctive to the black.      Their prey wasn't very big, and it was pretty fluffy, but Kali could take care of that little problem, too. A quick blast of hot air later, the three sat down to a quick meal of steamed-critter before continuing on their way. ***      Kei knew that sound. As did Blaze and 'Sahshen, he could sense. That was the sound of a predator eating breakfast. It was not a pleasant sound to prey animals. They refused to move, even when 'Sahshen managed to take control for a moment to try and steal a piece of the kill he knew had just taken place. He sulked darkly and muttered to himself about stupid animals only meant for dinner. That didn't help the situation much, but it made him feel a little better to sense their increased fear and unease about being trapped with a being that would have, and had actually, dined upon their kind as often as he possibly could.