Chapter Two / Red

The breeze was playing with her long hair and she caught the sound of waves crushing into rocks.

She opened her eyes and found herself standing in the middle of an ocean cliff;  far from the edge- okay, that was a good thing.

The sun was setting and its golden-red light colored everything around- from the green grass surrounding her to the ocean water in the distance.

It was still warm and she inhaled deeply when she made a step forward.

And then she saw Him.

A boy around her age was sitting at the edge of the cliff with his back turned. She couldn’t help noticing he had the brightest, dark red hair she’d ever seen. The setting sun was making it look even brighter, with the light sprinkling it's crimson dust all over him.

Then suddenly came the next thought.

“On, no“

she whispered and rushed towards him as quietly as she could manage, as she didn’t want to startle him.

Her Dream Catcher clothes fit her perfectly, so she could run and fight when necessary.

The uniform she had was a full body costume without sleeves in the colors of black crossed by golden threads.

The red gloves she wore reached above her elbows and were a reminder of that dream she had years ago.

Each dream catcher had their own costume and they could choose whatever they saw best for them. It wasn’t always something connected to their Animal.

Eadan’s of course was black, but Ryker’s was made of different leathers, even though his Guardian was a snake, and Felix's was mostly in the colors of Nature.

All healers were directly connected to the Mother. 

She was now closer and noticed he was wearing something around his neck.

“I was waiting for you”

he said without turning around once she’d approached him enough to hear his voice over the sound of waves.

His voice was beautiful, she had to admit.

She paused, confused.

Then Candice slowly sat next to him and he turned around to face her.

His green eyes caught her brown ones and that stopped her breath.

'Wow, okay'. She thought.

That was way too real, and why was she suddenly nervous.

A slow smile spread on his handsome face and she felt her pulse hammering in her throat.

His white skin made his eyes look even brighter and she realized she'd unconsciously moved closer to him. 

She felt disoriented.

What was happening?

Wasn't he trying to jump? What was this all about?

“I…” she stuttered. "Are you all right?"

"Are you?"

Another mischievous smile and Candice felt her heart beat in her ribcage.

The boy leaned towards her and extended his hand to push a stray lock away from her face.

She froze.

“I’ve always wanted to do this. I wish I could actually feel it.

His eyes trailed from where his hand was touching her hair then to her lips.

Candice opened her mouth to say something, when he leaned even closer and his breath danced over her face . She felt pinned- like any small animal the moment it realized the wolf had approached way too close and it was too late for an escape.

No, she realised- this was something else.

Something much stronger and older, a feeling she'd kept locked inside her and now had to be unleashed.

Something whispered, something in the back of her mind, that there was no way turning back now if she did what she wanted to.

The only thing she wanted to, in fact.

Candice stopped thinking and just let go. 

She closed her eyes and then the distance between them and kissed him. Sloppily and hesitantly, just a light brush, because she was afraid of the blossoming feeling inside her chest.

She felt the warmth of his lips touching hers and she moved even closer.

And then the touch was gone.

Just like that, it had been only seconds and...

Candice opened her eyes and almost sat up on the bed. 

She was breathing heavily, but it was different from the times she had woken up from the scariest nightmares. 

She shook her head.

 “Damn, that was…” 

Candice ran her hands through her hair and leaned back.

"What was that?"

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