There are three things that makes life worth it: science, because science is fun, family, for obvious reason, and cute beasties, ‘cause FLUFFYNESS!

Katarina Ortiz in the midst of a Shrek watching marathon

I opened my eyes to a fog shrouded forest, dewdrops glistening on the blue-green leaves of the vegetation.

Loud cries could be heard coming from the underbrush, but strangely I did not feel intimidated. I was somehow at home in this place, as if I was connected to it in a fashion, and nothing could frighten me here.

The ancient trees loomed around me, their trunks so big that three grown men would be needed to circle them, vines hanging from the lowest branches like so many garlands.

I was wearing my ripped clothes, but I was neither hot nor cold, and didn’t care either since there was nobody there to see me.

I was still in pain from my beating, although it was muted by the dream.

“Why do I feel that this dream is not so simple? I should explore around, see what my mind cooked up.”

I saw a small path meandering through the vegetation, more of a trail really, and decided to follow it for a while.

I picked up the pace as I could sense numerous gazes on my back, the rustling of the leaves on the sides of the path accompanying my walk.

As I proceeded forward, the path enlarged, finally leading into a large clearing maybe a hundred meters wide.

The fog was swirling on the ground, almost obscuring grass unlike anything I ever saw, with short blades almost glowing in a bluish tint. Small white flowers could be seen peeking here and there, the soft petals highlighting the scenery in a fairytale fashion.

The most striking feature of the clearing though was the beast at the center.

It was snarling soundlessly, its deep blue eyes tracking my every move. It was bigger than a full grown horse, standing at about 3 meters high for a 10ish meters length.

If a mad scientist had tried to cross a wingless dragon with a fox, then added some cat features to the mix, it probably would look something like that. By all means such a mix should have been ugly, but this one made it work. It was strangely beautiful, the cat like blue eyes glowing in the fox face, the muscles of the lean but strong body rippling smoothly under the fur.

The fur itself was a marvel, begging one to sink their hands in it, a luminous white with blue highlights as if lighting had been woven into it.

“Good thing the imp is not here, or it would take a team of horses to pry her from this place”

I finally snapped out of my daze long enough to notice the blood and spikes.

Five spikes pierced through the body of the beast, connected to the ground by heavy chains. Rivulets of blood, both old and new coursed through the thick fur, drip-dropping slowly on the soil, staining the grass a dark red color.

“Who can be cruel enough to do something like that?”

Weighing conscience against caution, I hesitated. I really wanted to help an animal in pain, but a little voice in my head kept screaming that I might not like the results if I was hurt in this weird fantasy.

Conscience winning the battle, I walked ahead slowly, whistling softly in reassurance to the creature in front of me while showing my empty hands.

Ears perking, it watched me coming closer, the mouth closing on the dagger sharp teeth. I could have sworn it understood my intentions as it stopped threatening me.

Finally, my hands glided in the glorious fur, firmly grabbing one of the spike.

“Please please please, don’t bite me when I get this out of you…”

I pulled in a sharp motion, the spike coming out of the wound in a spurt of blood. The cat-fox-dragon thankfully didn’t try to hurt me, merely whining in pain.

I gasped as the spike disintegrated in my hand, quickly followed by the chain.

“One down, four more to go”

Patting the shoulder of the creature, I went back to work on the spikes.

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Twenty minutes later, the ground was a slippery mess, blood coating about everything around. The beast was trembling, but I could see the wounds closing at an alarming rate on its body as the last pike turned to dust at my feet.

The fog swirled faster, picked up by the rising wind, and I could hear thunder in the distance as the sky darkened.

Blue white markings appeared on the body of the beast, lining the face and coursing through the back, then creeping down to curl around the paws.

It raised its head, towering over me, before bending down to sniff my hair. I hesitantly raised a hand, stroking the silky fur of its face.

The wind became a gale, howling like a banshee, big pellets of rain smashing on us. Lightning crashed among the trees, the booming sound of thunder echoing in the air.

The being in the clearing took a last look at me, then gathered itself, obviously preparing to run.

At this instant a brighter lightning bolt struck nearby, forcing me to close my eyes for a second. When I could see again, regret coursed through me as it had taken the opportunity to disappear without a trace.

“I hope I’ll be able to see it again in the future. For now, I should seek shelter though”

Crossing the clearing, I trudged the length of another trail, slipping in the forming mud. The rain plastered my hair to my head, dropping the visibility tremendously.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking I stumbled upon what looked like the grandfather of all trees, so big it boggled the mind, with roots coming out of the earth in a maze.

It was standing on a small mound, its leaves so thick the rain hardly came through, keeping the soil almost dry under it.

The bark was warm under my hand, and I could fancy sensing a pulse from where my fingers lain.

I couldn’t resist the impulse of hugging the rough bark, its warmth soothing my battered body. I don’t know how long I stayed there, basking in the tree’s life, before I snapped out of my daze.

Spotting a hole under one of the largest roots, I decided to wait the storm there. It was big enough to accommodate my body with room to spare, and kept dry by the overhanging roots. Best of all, not a single creepy-crawly was in sight. After this day, I don’t think I could have been gentle with a spider, and the imp always yelled at me when I squished them instead of releasing them outside.

“Thank you for this my leafy friend.”

As I relaxed in my hidey hole, I fell asleep without noticing. This time, I didn’t dream.

At this time at the back of the alley

All the way to the end of the alley, movement could be seen in the middle of the biggest pile of garbage.

Cardboard boxes were pushed aside by a well-muscled but incredibly dirty arm. Feint blue-white lines appeared then disappeared as fast as they came to life. Deep blue eyes opened, glowing dimly in the darkness like those of a cat.

What might have been the dirtiest man on earth rose from the boxes, where he had been blending with the trash for who knows how long.

His skin was covered in a greasy, slimy film, mated dark hair tumbling down his back like so many messy cords. His clothing was not even identifiable anymore under the layers of old stains, food remains, and less than savory things.

As he rose to his full height, he looked at the war zone in his sleeping spot, at the small flames still dancing here and there and the people strewn around.

His gaze finally stopped on a smaller figure.

“Is this the one?”

Approaching, he softly brushed the tawny hair aside to look at the face of the woman, bringing a lock of hair near his nose.

Abruptly, the man rose, easily carrying the woman in his arms, before walking out of the alley.

A few minutes later, the faint sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance, coming closer to the spot where the small flames still danced in the rain.