Raine had just finished talking with his friends when the revelation of Narati’s plight happened. He didn’t hear most of the conversation, though. Nevertheless, Hima gave him the rundown of what happened while he sat and enjoyed the food.

“Possessed?” said Raine. “Possessed, as in evil spirit possessed? Is that a thing because I’m pretty sure it’s one of those horror stories.”

“Yet there are stories, so it is not complete fiction,” said Hima’s father. “Perhaps if you pay attention to my lectures, you wouldn’t be so surprised.”

“And what good would that do?” Raine shrugged. “Just because I’m a Knight, doesn’t mean I’m trained in exorcism, you know.”

“But in your travels, you must have faced demons from the depth of hell.”

“Faced it and sent it back to where it belonged,” boasted Raine. “And kiddo over here’s already part of the team.”

Narati wanted to add that the job also involved fox people, although not nine-tailed foxes. Before he could add that, though, Hima started talking.

“Nevertheless, his possession is real,” said Hima. “Narati said that he has been plagued with a dream about a white wolf with blue eyes. Now, he saw the apparition in his waking hours.”

“Huh? You never told me that,” said Raine.

“I, uh…didn’t think it’s something serious,” said Narati.

“Well, of course, it is! Since we’re talking about ghosts and spirits, don’t you think we might have someone we both know possessing you? Someone who happens to be a wolf?”

“But Jacques’s fur not white.”

“It’s a ghost, Nara. You know? White, spectral being that’s see-through?”

Narati shook his head.

“Oh…right. I never talked about ghosts, huh?”

“The point is,” interjected Hima. “We need to rid him of the possession before it became worse.”

“But it could be Jacques!” reasoned Narati. “You mean you wish to get rid of him? By killing him again?”

“By helping him move on, Narati,” replied Hima. “He’s dead, and it’s time for him to pass on. A lingering spirit can turn malicious, and you would not want to see your possible friend die another horrible death again, because that’s the only fate that awaits a spirit that refuses to move on.”

“But….” Narati groaned. He was clearly out of his depths here. To think he’d be possessed by Jacques, of all people.

Yet, he somehow felt that it wasn’t Jacques. White fur aside, the wolf in his dreams felt like something else. He couldn’t tell if it was a sinister being or the ghost of a friend who refused to move on, but there was something wrong with it. Maybe it was his instincts telling him that it was inappropriate for a ghost to invade someone’s dream (if that was even possible), but that wolf…it felt like it was something more, yet familiar. He wasn’t sure what. It’s like the feeling of having something you had cared for your whole life, yet you weren’t aware of it until it made its presence known.

“So, what do you say, Narati-kun?” asked the old kitsune, sipping his tea. “This is entirely your decision. We can only help, but we can’t force it. This spell needs consent, after all.”

Narati only needed to contemplate for a moment before he decided.

“Just…give me the ability to speak to it,” said Narati. “Don’t make it pass on just yet.”

“Nara, the ghost can be dangerous,” reasoned Raine. “What if it ends up tricking you?”

“It hasn’t done anything to me yet, so I believe it has something to say,” said Narati. “Even if it was a trick, you’d be able to pull me out, or force it to pass on, even if it was a regrettable decision.”

“It is risky,” said the old kitsune, though he chuckled. “But I admire your spirit. For a Fa’ar, you have quite the courage.”

“It is a risk I need to take,” said Narati. “But…what am I supposed to do? We talk about convincing the spirit to move on, but we haven’t talked about how we’re supposed to do that.”

“Since it appeared in your dreams,” said the old kitsune. “I’d say you find it in your dreams. Except this time, we, or rather, Hima’s going to accompany him.”

The decision surprised the assembled group, especially Hima.

“Me?” she asked, bewildered. “But father, I can’t dream walk! I am not even aware of that exorcism technique!”

“Leave that part to me,” said the old kitsune. “I learned it from a traveling friend, a Vulpin who helped me learn inner peace. He was the spiritual healer of his tribe, and of a dwindling number of people who learned the dream walker spell. He believed I was more capable than he was due to a kitsune’s sensitivity to the spirit realm, but I joked that it’s probably because I have eight more tails than he was. In fact, we’re both 80 back then, but I looked like 30!”

As Hima’s father chuckled while reminiscing about his old friend, Hima snapped him back to reality.

“Dream walking is not going to help him, father!”

“What would you try then? Purifying his soul? I’m sorry to say this, Hima, but young Narati’s soul is as corrupted as his kind’s creators. The moment you tried it, he’d burn. Sure, the evil spirit’s gone, but so will his soul. Foxfire won’t hurt a kind soul, but even if Narati-kun is a kind soul, he is technically evil.”

“I can’t pretend I’m not offended by that,” commented Narati.

“Yeah. That was uncalled for, old fox,” said Raine.

“Hey, it’s the facts, kids. Sometimes, you have to accept that some methods are not going to work for every problem.”

“Look, all of you,” interjected Kaz. “The faster we deal with this, the better, alright? Do what you need to do, elder.”

“Hey! Do I get any say on this?!” asked Hima, before Narati grabbed her fur-covered hand.

“Hima, a word?” said Narati. Hima was mildly irritated, now that Narati was in on their plan, but when they got away from the others, hopefully beyond Raine’s earshot, he whispered, “Consider this a chance. Maybe this is the best way to deal with the real reason I was brought here.”

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The discussion made Hima almost forget about the original reason why they were there. It was a good thing Raine did not suspect anything other than the possession, though she personally admitted that when her father said something about the possession, the whole conversation turned that into a priority.

“Maybe diving deep into my dreams can help me learn about that potential,” said Narati. “Maybe you can help remove that potential so I will never become the person I never wished to be.”

“That’s a lot of maybes,” said Hima.

“Because I don’t even know if this is going to work or not,” said Narati. “This whole business of magic and spirits and ahnut (ghosts) and Asran…it scares me. I personally think Raine’s a better choice, but even he has his limits on what he wanted to believe. To him, I’m just a child who needs love, but he’s a human. I have experienced how humans can easily dismiss something they don’t want to believe in, both good and bad. I just want to live as a better Fa’ar, not to fear what I can become. I don’t want Aranis to look at me in disgust, or even my friends. I have had enough of that in a lifetime.”

Hima looked at him with an expression that silently said, “You serious?” which, frankly, intimidated Narati. Her glaring vulpine eyes were scary, especially when she was agitated. Like a cat, her pupils narrowed into a slit, and it was very prominent, given her bright yellow eyes.

Narati tried to look away, which was hard to notice on Hima’s part due to his black, beady eyes. After a while, Hima sighed. Narati was right. He agreed to this because he did not wish to hurt anyone. The fact that he felt responsible for his friend’s ailment, as Aranis explained to her, was enough to convince her to agree to this plan, even though there was one thing that was bothering her.

Without skipping a beat, she silently returned to her father, let out a long, exasperated sigh, and said, “One question, father. Why me? You’re the one who knows how to dream walk.”

The older kitsune chuckled once again. “The one casting the spell cannot enter the dreamscape. The best he can do is observe.”

“Of course, that’s the case. But why me?”

“I have but a simple answer. You are my daughter by blood. If I want someone to accompany a dreamer, it has to be someone who’s related by blood. No one can accompany someone in a dreamscape. It is a journey of self-healing, after all. But a little spice of kitsune magic, and poof! Now a companion can join the journey. Of course, it also includes someone you cared so deeply, like your mother, for example.”

“Father….”

“Oh, go on, make yourselves comfortable! We’re wasting time talking nonsense and acting so dramatically! What’s worse that could happen?”

“Are you sure you’re not taking this too lightly, Haku?” asked Raine. “If the spirit’s dangerous….”

“Then Hima’s going to deal with it! Also, what did I tell you about calling me Haku? Hakumen’s a perfectly good name.”

“Too long to my liking.”

He scoffed. “My late wife is the only one I feel comfortable calling me Haku. Don’t get it over your head. You’re not even with Hima anymore.”

“Okay, okay!” said Kaz, who by this point was tired that they spent their time arguing and talking about mundane topics. “Can we get this over with?”

“Ah, right, right. Young Narati, Hima, lay down and make yourselves comfortable. We will begin.”

Narati and Hima gave an understanding nod to each other, with the kitsune silently assuring him that she would be in there with him as comfort. Hakumen, her father, then put his hand over her, doing the same thing to Narati with the other hand.

“Ready?” asked Hakumen.

“I am,” replied Hima.

“Yes,” said Narati.

Hakumen gave an understanding nod, then started murmuring the chant for the spell. Both Hima and Narati felt a sudden drowsiness that kept getting stronger until they fell asleep almost immediately.

***

Narati found himself in a strange place but became immediately agitated once he realized where he was. He had nightmares of these moments whenever he was stressed out, but seeing it so vividly made him sick.

Hima was standing beside him and saw what was about to transpire. She, like Narati, saw another Narati, or rather, a younger version of him when he was a slave, put under a yoke, full of bruises and whip lashes on his back that started to dig into his flesh. He bit into a wooden bit that forced his maws open uncomfortably, crying and in considerable pain. His legs were shaking and wobbling, struggling to stand, which was made even harder when they were being forced apart by a spreader bar.

The kitsune couldn’t hear anything concrete; the whole scene had a muffled sound to it. She soon realized that it was for the best when she noticed someone approaching the suffering Narati, said something unintelligible, and started removing his belt. Hima immediately went to Narati to cover his eyes and ears, realizing what was about to happen.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t close her ears. Worse, Narati’s muffled pleads and screams were very clear to her. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She felt sick and disgusted. It’s like she stumbled upon a dark, personal secret Narati never wished to share.

Before she could become enraged and confront them, a voice suddenly replaced the traumatizing noises.

“Oh, dear,” said the voice. It wasn’t just one voice, but rather, several voices, both males and females, overlaid with one another. “Forgive me. I didn’t think you’d be in here. You can open your eyes now.”

Hima was reluctant, but in the end, the voice reassured her, and she slowly did. True to Narati’s words, a white wolf with blue eyes sat in front of her. But then, she noticed something strange. Its features started to shift from being canine to something different, but still mostly canine, especially its nose, which changed from a canine one to something resembling a reptile. Its maws and rows of teeth were also reptilian. Its eyes turned vulpine, or rather, reptilian. A pair of black horns grew from the top of its forehead, complementing its ears. Its tail grew in length until it no longer resembled a wolf, partially covered in fur, but mostly covered in white scales

By this point, Hima took her hands off Narati’s eyes. It was a wonder that her claws did not poke his eyes out. Once he saw the new, more tranquil, yet hard to describe, environment, he immediately noticed the ‘wolf’. He noticed the resemblance to something.

“You’re…not a wolf,” said Narati. “More like—”

“A dragon?” said the ‘wolf’ with a grin, showing its row of teeth. “If that’s your answer, then yes. Of course, I do not resemble anything you’re familiar with, especially those unfortunate dragons you encountered. It’s quite a debacle, knowing that you can only help them within their dreams to give them peace of mind. If you want to feel okay with your choice, Narati, what you did was ending their suffering.”

“But I didn’t…I didn’t end its offspring’s.”

“That’s on me,” said the wolf-dragon, whose voice started to stabilize from a mix of male and female voices into a singular, rather androgynous, voice. “With its mind overwhelmed with grief, I managed to take over and shut his brain off. Painless and in a discreet place, of course. Wouldn’t want you to turn him into another monument. It’s what I do as thanks for letting them have me as company.”

“What are you?” asked Narati. “And company? So, now I’m your company?”

“The answer to your first question might not make sense,” said the wolf-dragon. “But to put it simply, I am an Oneirosomnus draconis. If taxonomy’s not a thing in…I mean, not your thing, then I’m a dream dragon.”

“A dream…dragon?” said Hima, confused. “I never heard about a dream dragon before.”

“No one’s going to be able to document their dreams without some assistance, right? And even if they have ever seen me, I don’t necessarily give them permission, so they will forget ever seeing a dream dragon once they wake up, lucid dreaming notwithstanding. I can talk like this because I am letting you, and because I have a certain connection with Narati.”

“Connection?” asked Narati.

“To put it simply, you chose to take care of me. Sure, you think you’re unqualified to raise an egg like a reptilian would, so you let the Lizan doctor help. Nevertheless, you made the choice, and then, the connection was established.

“Wait, you’re the dragon from the egg?”

“The very same, although my conception was rather…complicated. You see, the egg was never fertilized, so the egg would never hatch. Whatever is inside the egg is just an undeveloped embryo. However, I hatched within their dreams, a dying hope for the dragons that adopted me.”

“How are they adopting a dragon that hasn’t even existed yet?”

“Hey, I’m a dream dragon. Technically, I never existed, but let’s save that talk for next time, alright? In short, I’m not an evil spirit.”

“Oh, so you’re not an evil spirit,” concluded Hima. “That’s usually what an evil spirit claimed to lull their victims to a false sense of security, so I still don’t believe that you do not mean us harm.”

“I knew you’d say that,” said the dragon-wolf with a sigh. “So, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“As of now,” said the wolf-dragon. “You…are trapped in my realm.”