She was flying, or rather she felt like she was.

But it must have been real as she gazed down at the tree canopy below her, hundreds of feet away. The world was a lush green expanse, and as she looked into the distance, she saw the forest expanding towards the edge of the horizon in every which direction.

The sun had been setting, its bottom kissing against the horizon line and casting a pink and orange hue against the surroundings. She had seen the sunset from the forest many times, but she realized then that its beauty could only be truly admired from up where she was. It was another world, one she had dreamt to see so many times in the past. There were no bars between her and the world, no cages to hide her from the truth.

Was this how it truly felt like to fly? Like an uncaged bird that could finally unfurl her wings?

She felt so breathless, as she hovered over the trees almost motionlessly. Looking up at the sky, she felt as if she had become one with it. A smile graced her face and she breathed in deep, smelling the fresh almost stinging breeze that brought the cool feeling into her soul. She felt free, so free. But was she really?

She tried to move then, wading her arms in effort and employing a swimming motion to no avail. It was as if she was dangling from hidden wires, bound tightly to keep her remaining still.

The panic seized her then, and she started to flail about in the air as she watched the blue of the sky slowly slide into the background, replaced by the ominous dark of night. But no matter how hard she pushed herself to move, nothing would budge. She was in place, trapped in the air, just like she was trapped in her old familiar cage.

Then that warmth overtook her, that oh so searing and painful warmth that slithered up her leg and seized her knee. She looked down, panicked, only to find nothing, but she knew that feeling. She knew not of what it came from but knew of who had given her that feeling time and time again.

The warmth roughly seized her ankle, and she screamed into the sky plunged in darkness as she was dragged into the world down below. The air shrieked into her ear and she plummeted, the air bidding its final goodbye.

She awoke, her sweat like a second skin that dripped off of her in earnest. Gasping for breath, she sat up and clutched at her chest trying to catch herself before she went into full panic mode. But that effort was fruitless when her mind had started to shed the remains of her dream and realized that she did not know where she was.

The room was large, much much too large and much much too white. The walls were all a solid white and the ceiling and floors were very much the same, though the floor was a shiny unfamiliar material, but she knew that it wasn’t metal. It was mostly empty and devoid of many things, other than the door on the far corner, the large window to her right that almost touched the floor, and the bed she was in. A bed….

God, she was in a bed, a very comfortable one. It must have been a real bed, she could only guess. The sheets were soft and about her were fluffy things, pillows? God, were those pillows? They were all white as well, and she felt so out of place as she sat there in the middle of the almost blinding white.

She looked outside, and she could see the forest, the trees being quite thick and densely packed. She was most likely deep into the forest then, somewhere unknown and foreign to her. The sun was also extremely bright in the sky, shining onto her face and warming her cheeks.

She sat there somberly for a few moments, trying to make sense of her jumbled thoughts, before she jolted when that panic started to seize her again. She started to examine herself, chucking away the blankets and pillows that covered her form onto the floor. She did not mind the mess she had made as she surveyed her now exposed self. She was amazed to find her arms and legs wrapped in neat white bandages, and as she felt her neck, she could feel it wrapped with one as well. She felt... clean... and cared for. Had someone healed her then? How come she could not recall how she had gotten there?

She could only remember entering the Infierno Pack, the chaos and outrage, then those red eyes…. So beautiful and deep…. The eyes of-

She was startled when the glass on the window started to rattle loudly, almost violently. It stopped for a few moments then started again with even more ferocity. There were loud sounds from the outside as well, like thumps and rustles that were somewhat muffled. From her position, she could see no one outside, but she was starting to feel terrified. It was as if the voice in her head told her that there was something wrong outside those windows, an evil she was very much familiar with.

She observed the window and was able to find a latch on the side. It was left unlocked, from what she could tell, and she panicked. Someone could get in that way… Deciding that she wanted to keep her haven, even just for a few moments, she resolved to lock the window.

She shimmied off the bed and stood on her bare feet, feeling the biting cold of the floor that made her shiver a bit. Fighting away that growing dread within her, she slowly edged towards the window, eyes darting from the latch to the glass in case someone should pop up. She was a few inches away from it now, and she quickly shot her hand out to latch the window.

All was silent, as she waited a few moments only to be met with nothing. She let out a deep relieved breath then, turning to walk back to the bed and revel in its comfort again. But that facade of peace was shattered when a loud crash sounded from behind her, piercing the silent air. She whirled around in terror as she was met face-to-face with a painfully familiar face. She could only watch in sinking horror as Jan’s figure loomed over her, leaving the shattered remains of the window behind him.

The sun cast a harsh glow against his large form, outlining the harsh edges of his joints and shoulders. He stood frighteningly taut as if he had felt triumphant and unbeatable at that moment, her monster finally come to save her, her avenger, her guardian angel.

The maestro had come for his songbird.

What terrified her more was the look in his eyes, the wild look on his face as he devoured her with his gaze almost frantically. Her wide honey gaze only served to please him more, as if her surprise was something he had wanted... no, craved. It was then that a wide grin of relief split across his face, and he approached her slowly, those same movements he always made when he visited her in her cage.

Like the hungry wolf, he hovered over her and brought his hands to graze against her cheeks in an almost unsuppressed awe.

“I got you, my songbird.”

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