Vanilla {Twilight} -June-

[::Fox::]

Storm felt weird, beyond weird in fact. He was laying under a tree in the Harthorn park in a sphinx pose, the summer breezes wafting over him, humans walking the paths with relaxed ease around him. The husky made no move to acknowledge or avoid the two-legged monsters, simply staring into nothing as blind dogs tended to do. His mind was in a whir of panic, worry, dread and a sickness he couldn't quite identify. Storm had had a vision the day before in the presence of a Paladin that had sincerely pissed him off. The vision had made him succumb to her treatments of wounds he'd gotten in a rather embarrassing fall in exchange that she take a message to another Paladin. The Paladin Storm had sought was named June, one of the fine summer months humans loved so much but Storm dreaded for its sickly heat. Heat was something a husky valued in the winter but dreaded in the summer, Storm was no different. Either way, he was panicked by his vision and in his panic had given the Paladin a message for June that was "there's howling in the night and fire in the day before the storm breaks." He'd also told the fae to tell June he'd wait in the park for her, every night if necessary.

His words had been ominous but, since then, Storm couldn't stop thinking about the vision. All he had seen was black smoke and creepy flickering orange light. The wailing of pups had filled his ears and eyes had appeared in the smoke, more fierce and savage than any Storm could remember ever seeing. A shape had lunged at him through the smoke, a pair of blue eyes. Even now, safe and out of the vision, he could feel the fangs at his throat. Why did this scare him? Well, Storm had never been attacked in a vision no acknowledged, nor had he ever remembered a vision in such detail. Now Storm was at his wit's end.

Had he foreseen his own death? How could he figure out what it meant? Was a street gang trying to oppose one of the packs? The words Storm had told to Neu had come without a second thought. To a normal dog they had no meaning and Storm hadn't planned to say them. Now he pondered their meaning. Did his subconscious know more than he did? Probably.

Groaning softly, the husky stared into his black world. Occasionally an aura would flit by as a housept jogged alongside its human but, none were familiar. He didn't expect there to be any. The evening was fair, twilight just on the horizon. Humans strolled here and there in pairs and packs, occasionally with a dog lopping along next to it. Storm tried to let himself get lost in the mindless noise. It wasn't working. The more he tried to let the vision go, the tighter his stomach wound and the more his head spun. He felt off balance and ready to be sick. Storm dreaded telling Mercy his vision so, he kept his mouth shut. He didn't like sharing his visions but, this one felt important. It stuck in his mind, a little alarm going off in his head. Someone needed to know in case something went wrong that he couldn't stop or...wasn't around to stop.

Swallowing hard, Storm shifted and thumped his tail on the prickly grass. Laying his head on his paws, the husky laid his ears flat against his skull and stared into his dark world. Everything felt so wrong...

[Mercy``]

{Let's watch this city burn,
from the sky lines on top of the world,
Till there's nothing left in her,
Let's watch this city burn the world}

June

"There's howling in the night and fire in the day before the storm breaks." Speaking aloud as she trotted down yet another unfamiliar street, the collie fae wondered what the words meant. Surely Neu hadn't mistaken his words for something else, but maybe she had forgotten them and only given her best shot at attempting to remember the message. Either way the fae was baffled by the unusual sentence that had been sent to her by the blind husky brute. Whether she understood any of it or not she didn't care, but she knew they meant something because they were coming from the one canine she had ever actually understood. Storm was unlike anyone she had ever met and to her that made him someone special. Sure he had a default just like her but he showed the world that he was better then them all and he did it in a way that not even he noticed on a daily basis.

Turning onto another street, June glanced up at the faded green sign that held the names of the avenues she stood on or was near. He had told her to meet him at the park but her brain had wiped out all memories of the human places in Harthorn. Surely the area was nearby seeing as she could smell the fresh water. Picking up her pace, the collie began to lope towards a large parking lot filled with people moving back and forth. Left ear ringing as she ran, the faint sound of the wind as it washed over her body was only heard by that particular ear. Today was a good hearing day for her surprisingly but that was most likely because the late summer showers were over for a short period of time and the skies were once again clear.

Gliding gracefully behind a large vehicle, the sable marked dog looked out over the area connected to the pavement covered ground. Grass covered rolling hills filled the background along with a large open pond and several odd looking human play sets. Was this the park that she had been told to go to? Hoping she was at the right place, the collie fae jogged down towards the scarcely planted trees and faded grey curved sidewalk. "Oh Storm." She whispered under her breath, paws hitting the soft soil below. How long had it been since she had gone outside? Surely it hadn't rained all week, but the days that had passed seemed longer than before. Hopefully Storm had sent his message only a day ago and had not been waiting for her for long.

The last time they had met, the fae had felt as if she was a bother. She had even fallen asleep and dragged him into her dream. That had frightened him out of his wits it had seemed but then again her dream was odd and would most likely scare others to death if they saw what she did. Jumping off of cliffs and willingly drowning was not something others enjoyed to endure. It wasn't that she had a death wish, it was only that what would come out of the woods behind her if she didn't jump off the cliff was more frightening than the waters below. Even being surrounded by water wasn't as bad as it seemed, due to the fact that she could hear nothing and feel nothing. There was no pain when the water filled your lungs and no odd sensation when you finally passed over. Following the sidewalk, the collie came out of her trance and began to look for the silver husky that had been on her mind since their meeting.

[::Fox::]

Again and again the scene rolled through Storm's mind like film left on replay. This was getting ridiculous and Storm knew he wasn't doing himself any good by way of health by worrying about it. He didn't even know why he was so troubled. Fire was natural, it happened. Death happened and time and time again Storm claimed to not be afraid of death but, now that he'd stared it in the face, he was terrified. He felt like panicking but somehow couldn't let himself sink that low. Terror only bred more terror but for once, Storm wanted to give in to it in a way he hadn't done since the traitor had abandoned him. He wanted to panic, run in circles, struggle, snarl, be angry, anything, anything but the sick feeling he had right now. The thing was, he couldn't make himself let go like that. For some reason he resisted the panic as much as he longed to embrace it. Even though he felt shaky, he wouldn't fall. Even though he felt horrified and scared, he didn't let Mercy or the Celes see it. It wasn't for them to see.

Some part of him felt mild acceptance. If he had foreseen his own death, okay. It was about damn time. How often had he wanted to let go and die? If this was how it happened, okay but, he couldn't let himself panic until it happened. Something more lurked in that vision and it scared him as much as energized him. There was a purpose to the vision, something Storm was meant to see but, in his panic, wasn't seeing it. If he died, okay but somebody needed to know. There was importance to what Storm was seeing and experiencing. How close it was, he had no idea, only that it was a strong possibility because it hadn't faded from his mind yet. In fact, the vision had ripped his mind open and he'd be struck with another vision but, that one had been tended to already.

Taking a deep breath, Storm rolled onto his side and sprawled out on his side. The grass was prickly but cool in the pre-evening cool. Now that the sun was sinking, the earth was giving up its heat and letting a few breezes soothe it's burns. Storm closed his quicksilver eyes, even if his view didn't change much. It was more of a habit than anything. He didn't necessarily need to blink or close his eyes but, he did because he'd done that for years before becoming a blind freak of nature. Storm was a stubborn thing so, he wasn't about to let go of an age-old habit.

Forcing himself to let out the breath he'd drawn in, Storm pressed his ear to the earth, still warm under him. He heard the muffled footsteps of humans and dogs, the hum of cars on the road nearby, the lap of water near the lake. Storm had chosen his perch on a hill over the little lake so he had no chance of falling in. The last thing he needed was the irony of having a vision about fire and fangs only to die by rolling into a lake and getting disoriented. Lord he hated water. It was the most vile substance on the face of the earth, the most dreaded of all states of matter.

Water robbed Storm of the feelings he had left, leaving him helpless. It took feeling from him, air, hearing and smell. Smell and hearing were how Storm lived. If he could not hear or smell something, he might as well lie down and die. Feeling was also important. It reminded him he was alive, even pain. Pain reminded him he had survived, that he was stronger than all that, that he could keep going. It was hard to remember at times but, it helped. Storm often welcomed pain in its various forms, emotional, mental and physical. Physical numbed his mind, mental numbed his body and emotional numbed both. Sometimes his savior from pain was pain itself.

'I hope nobody ever finds that out. They'll lock me up for sure, call me insane,' Storm thought sourly, eyes still closed as he laid on his side. 'What they don't know won't hurt them.' The words he lived by. Mercy didn't need to know he might die, neither did Romeo. Anona, Neu, all those dogs he knew. They had no need to know but, just in case, one dog did. One that would understand it.

[Mercy``]

Trekking her way up the large sloping hill, June gave no second thought to the fact that her hearing instantly became unusable and that she could barely see anything but the ground she stood on. Claws digging deep into the rain washed soil, the fae stopped at the top of the hill and listened to the silence that caressed her world. Heart beating faster than normal, she feared a vision would come to her but quickly put the thought out of her mind and searched the area around her. Eyes flashing back and forth, the fae took what seemed like an eternity to spot the single spot of silver amongst the dark green and brown ground. Giving a loud sigh of relief, the fae bolted down the hill feeling her paws roll out from under her body with ease.

Tumbling to the ground, the fae rolled the rest of the way down the slope until she reached the low middle and about crashed into the body of what seemed like a sleeping husky. Attempting to catch her breath as she laid with her limbs stuck underneath her body, June glanced up and gave a ragged smile. "See what you do to me? You're lucky I'd do anything to talk to you again." Grumbling as she stretched her thin legs and allowed her body to go into a sitting position. Wondering what she looked like after falling down a hill full of damp grass and muddy soil, the fae remembered that Storm couldn't actually see her, only her aura. Even though he was blind she didn't refrain from shaking out her pelt to get any dirt or blades of grass out of her loose fur.

"You sent a messenger to me? Whatever you had a vision of sounds more like war than anything else. You're lucky you're even having visions. The rain has been messing with mine all week and I feel like I might keel over any minute." Rambling on in her good mood that she instantly had when around the husky, June gave a bright smile and nudged his shoulder with her muzzle. "Nice to see you again." She whispered, her voice warm but quiet. Of course she had missed him, in fact she couldn't get him off her mind. Sure other's thought they understood him but none of them would ever understand him like she did. No she didn't know what it was like to never see the sun shine again or to watch the stars at night but she could imagine it. Whether he was blind or deaf like she was, it didn't matter. He was still the Storm she'd always know and secretly dream about.

[::Fox::]

Movement, more like sound movement, roused the grey and white husky from his heavy daze. From the ground, his ears picked up the thumping of dog paws on the heated ground. Excitement jolted through Storm, thoroughly surprising the husky. Normally he wasn't easily excited or even happy by someone's presence. The presence of another was a threat, a danger he couldn't tolerate that might just send him tumbling into his second-fast visions that left him nauseous. This time though, he felt excitement, even though he wasn't really willing to delve into why he was excited. Raising his handsome head, Storm intended to get up and face the dog coming toward him, hoping to catch the scent or see the aura that would promise him its June. Even though auras constantly changed with the moods of a dog, it also reflected their soul which was much harder to permanently change or change beyond recognition. Outer colors around the rim of an aura usually told Storm their current mood while the colors closer to the body of the dog told him what they were usually like and were like a fingerprint on humans. There were no two auras the same and Storm had an uncanny memory for them.

Before Storm could get up and face his newcomer, something solid and warm thumped into his back. Storm had been laying facing down hill toward the lake so, someone had rolled down the hill and used him to stop their tumble. Clenching his jaw to turn and snap at the clumsy canine, Storm's silver eyes rested on the aura. It flared, filling his vision completely due to its closeness, chasing away the blackness that was Storm's everyday view. There was no escaping the smoothly blended pastels that created June's aura. Like all daemons, her aura was jagged around the edges, like glass that had been broken and glued back together with the sharp edges pointing outward. Even with this daemon break, her aura was like a caressing ocean breeze, soothing to his eyes and soul. Every other dog that Storm met was either high strung or furious, harboring a dark burning rage that made their auras ugly and too potent to bear looking at.

Wrapped up in the welcoming aura, Storm almost missed what June said. He twitched his ears in mild amusement when she mentioned doing anything to see him. He wouldn't admit that gave him a little thrill. The brute couldn't tell if it was the same excitement as earlier or something a bit more potent but decided to focus on that later. The thrill was quickly stomped on when June mentioned the messenger he'd sent to her. Thoughts of the vision he'd had floated over him as well as the constant feeling that he was walking on that fine edge between full vision blackout and being normal. It was like tasting lightning in the air before a really big storm hit, feeling the heavy electricity zig zagging through his fur and sparking in his mind. It was the most annoying sensation but one he couldn't ignore. Darkness clouded Storm's quicksilver eyes, like someone closing the shutters on a house. Outwardly, his eyes darkened nearly a full shade from smooth sterling to smoky iron.

Leaning forward, he pressed his muzzle against her shoulder, his whole body slumping as if someone had dropped a too-heavy weight onto his shoulders. The husky sought comfort in June's soothing presence, her aura, her voice, her understanding. It eased the ache but the pressing weight was still there, too heavy to discard but impossible to carry.

"I haven't slept in two days. One vision has never...never done this to me before," Storm admitted, his voice shaky, still leaning his head against her shoulder, eyes closed. "I don't know what it means but...some of it's already passed. Fire, there was a fire in the forest and wolves howling. There's a part I can't figure out and I can't shake the feeling that I'm standing on the edge of another vision but it won't come. I can't think of anything else, I've even tried inducing a vision, trying to force it but it won't come. I don't know what to do."

June was a lucky fae. She was probably the only dog to ever hear Storm admit real weakness or an inability to know what to do. Even as a pup he'd always been the sort to figure things out for himself, good and bad things. He didn't mind a challenge now and then but this one scared him, really scared him. It was linked somehow, the wolves attacking him and the constant sensation that there was more to it, more he couldn't see like it was all covered in heavy fog. He was tired and stressed, wary of the rest of his vision. If it didn't mean his death then what did it mean? There had been the fire and wolves howling but he hadn't died. No wolves had mysteriously shown up to kill him. What else could it mean? Someone he knew? Or was it just a fluke? Was that part not even relevant?

[Mercy``]

About ready to make a comment on how tired the husky looked, June was surprised as Storm rested his head and weight on her then started talking about his worries. Never before had she been trusted with someone else's problems and it made her heart silently skip a beat. This was the stoic dog she met in secret and thought about every hour of the day. The warrior that stood with his head held high and never admitted to being weak. Now as if her presence had triggered some sort of new soul to float to the top, he was showing her a side of himself that she'd never believed was there. Lightly putting her muzzle on his opposite shoulder, the femme inhaled silently and wondered to herself as the scent of the musty Underground wafted into her nose.

"I can help you figure it out. I'll sit here for days and try and fit the puzzle pieces together if thats what it takes. I can help you induce the vision too, it's what has kept me alive all these years. When the rain bothers mine, I sit for hours and force them to come. I can't promise you it won't hurt worse than normal, but I won't leave you and that I can garuantee." Rambling on in a comforting tone, the fae ignored the fact that she knew her voice most likely sounded broken and unusual as always. It was something that she got use to after awhile and although it was getting much better, it was still there and making itself present. Finding herself pulling back to give a gentle lick to his jaw line, the fae blinked several times then mumbled under her breath. His weight still pressed against her, she felt happy knowing she was the one he leaned on.

A fire had occurred in Fen Forest only a few days ago and it had spread easily to the nearby Greystone Park, which was what he was speaking of. Whispers had gone through Harthorn about a pack of wolves being forced into the city because of their home being destroyed, but not many had believed it. June had been trying to force visions about it ever since and had come up empty so far. The only visions she saw were of the city covered in blood and so many deaths that she often became confused and was forced to pull away. Storm had been lucky to get such information and maybe he could help his pack survive the war. "I think before we work on this, you need to get some sleep. You must be disoriented as it is, we don't need you getting sick. Oh and I promise that I won't go jumping off of cliffs either." Giving a wry smile as she finished talking, the fae once again remembered her reoccurring dream and how badly it had frightened him.

[::Fox::]

June was a saint. Simple as that. She had to be to put up with a half-crazy, sleep deprived blind guy. A strange warmth wriggled through Storm when June said she'd help him, help him figure it out no matter what. He didn't want to see his own death, hoped against hope it was anything but that. He didn't know what everything meant but he knew he was done with sitting on the edge of a vision but being unable to make it happen. It was like how during a storm, you could taste lightning, the energy of it, before you were struck. Storm felt like that, had felt like that for two freaking days. No sleep, no nothing, just constantly on edge. He had freaked on Vegas earlier, nearly rippling the shepherd's ear off in his agitation. He couldn't keep living like that. The visions needed to happen. June said she could do it, that it wouldn't be pleasant. Storm didn't care about pleasantries. Pleasant wasn't something he was used to anyway. He was used to the constant pains, emotional, mental and physical. Let them come. It wouldn't be the first time he'd faced them. If he didn't induce his visions, he would go insane, truly insane. One more night without sleep, one more dog asking him if he was okay or telling him to shake it off. He was going to kill somebody.

His ears twitched when June mentioned trying to make him sleep. Storm leaned back and shook his head. "I can't sleep. I wouldn't sleep. This is like the worst sickness I've ever seen, it wouldn't let me sleep. My mind's on edge, ready for the vision but it won't come. I think it might be more than one. I don't have time to sleep. Something big is going to happen and I need to see it. How do you induce the visions?"

Never in his life had Storm been able to induce a vision. They came out of the blue throwing him way off balance, always catching him by surprise. Some of the weaker ones he could sense and dodge, get out of situations with the potential to cause a vision. That was why he didn't meet many new dogs. They usually had some big future that Storm couldn't avoid seeing. He always thought of it as an invasion of privacy, the ability to see someone's future without their consent. Never in his life had he welcomed a vision or tried to make it happen. Over the past few days he'd tried everything, dreaming, focusing on certain dogs, focusing on wolves and fire, going near the Fen Forest while it burned, visiting it afterward. Everything he could think of. Mercy and Romeo were both starting to notice his odd behavior but, Storm didn't want to share his problems with them yet, not until he had a firm answer.

[Mercy``]

It was a bad idea to induce visions without sleep, it would hurt twice as hard. She could help but that didn't mean it would work. Staring silently at Storm for a minute, the collie fae debated whether to force him to sleep or to just do what he said. When visions didn't come, June thought about the worst possible things. What happened in her past, the ones who had hurt her, and she excepted all of it. She focused her energy purely on what she wanted to see, the glimpses of what she had seen recently, and what the past had taught her. Sometimes they didn't come or they'd slip away from her but if Strom was as close to a vision as he said then it wouldn't be hard to make him go full force. He pushed visions away, made them feel like a curse and something wrong. She welcomed them and treated them as a gift and something that came in great use.

Blinking several times before deciding how to explain what to do, June truly wondered if it would work. She knew how manipulate energy but it was hard to teach someone. "You fear something bad is going to come to you in your vision and you deny it, hope it isn't true. I want you to believe what you're rejecting. Understand that what happens will happen, and visualize what you fear the most. Let the worst come to you and welcome it." Although she knew this was the basic thinking of what she did, it was harder to explain than just telling someone to take what they were given. Fearing something was useless and his fear for the vision made it harder to come through. It may not make sense but she had seen it several times before. "The glimpses you saw in your last vision, I want you to look at them again but not worry about what they mean. Just let them play over in your head whether you're frightened by them or not." Voice clearing for once, she barely noticed the way she felt herself becoming calmer.

Before when she had been fearing the rumors of the war, she had received a small vision with only clips of information. Blood and lots of it, the city set in flames, dogs and humans fleeing from their homes. Wanting to see the full view of it, she sat for hours on the altar forcing herself to face the worst. She wanted to see death, she wanted to see burning, and she wanted to see pain. The vision eventually came and a bit too strongly for her. No she hadn't enjoyed what she saw, but she had visualized what she wanted before seeing it. Whether it would work for Storm she didn't know, but it had worked for her. It was all complicated, and what the labs had done to them was horrible. They were no longer normal, and no longer what they were meant to be. Seeing the future didn't seem natural and forcing it didn't seem natural either but what else was their to do? They couldn't sit around and wait for it all to happen. Watching closely with dark shaded eyes, the collie waited for a moment while holding her breath.

[::Fox::]

June wasn't far off. Storm hated his visions, hated them with a passion. They set him apart worse than his blindness ever could. When he had been fresh from the lab, Storm had come to a bad habit of isolating himself completely to avoid dreamwalking and seeing things he didn't want. His visions had caused him so much emotional and mental pain that he'd nearly let himself waste away into madness. It had been oh so tempting. It wasn't like he had had much to lose anyway. His own kin had turned away, he couldn't see the sun or stars, couldn't navigate without running into something, peered into the souls of others, pilfered their futures and tainted their dreams. It was second nature to push away a dream or vision, lock it away and try and forget it ever existed. It wasn't natural to be privy to such things so, Storm had tried so so hard to ignore it, make it go away. Now June was telling him to not do that. Don't fear it, don't even think of a meaning for it all, just look at it, let himself see it.

Getting up, Storm moved a few feet from June's comforting aura. He knew how he was in his visions from a few dogs that had described it. It wasn't pretty and he was prone to lashing out. He didn't want to hurt June so, he put distance between them before laying down in a sphinx pose. His quicksilver eyes closed and the vision swam to the surface of his mind. It was hard not to look away from it, make it go away. His whole body was tense as he saw the thick smoke, felt it filling his lungs, saw the flickering firelight, heard the haunting howls ringing in his ears...

The husky's body started shaking, his head lulled, legs twitching, fur on end...

He was running. Had and fast, frantic, panicked. Darkness was all around him, like a night with a new moon. No moon, no stars, no sun, nothing. The path he ran on was narrow, crumbling at the edges and looked like the same stuff humans used to make sidewalks. Bloodstains appeared under his paws as he ran, large pools still shiny and wet, groups of patches old and dry. Storm couldn't stop running until...

BANG!

A shotgun blast.

The husky yelped and nearly fell from the path, skidding to a halt as something fell out of the blackness. Not one thing, many things. Feathers. Silver eyes widened as a feather floated in front of his face. Black tipped with burnt metallic orange, wet with blood. No. Nononono...

The blackness disappeared, the path Storm was on ripped from under him like a carpet. The husky tumbled, falling through the darkness until...

He hit something, ground, prickly grass poking his pelt. Blinking, the husky pushed himself to sit up. He was laying on a field outside of Harthorn, the city's buildings visible in the distance. Dogs with bat wings, violently colored eyes and fangs bright with blood were ripping at dogs with brown eyes and normal bodies. Daemons and normal dogs. Fighting. Killing. As Storm watched, horrorstruck at what he saw, a dalmatian's throat was ripped open by a snarling daemon. Dogs howled and wailed in pain, howling war cries and charing senselessly at their enemy. Without thinking, Storm leaped to his paws and started running, ducking and dodging through the bloody war.

Coming up on a ridge in the field, Storm's eyes scanned the warring dogs. None of them saw him but Storm's eyes landed on a pair of dogs. Mercy and Romeo. His eyes widened.

Romeo's back legs looked badly broken but the saluki mix had his jaws fixed firmly on the throat of a tri-colored shepherd. Mercy was bounding toward him, wings spread and wet with blood, running until she pounced, her own jaws also grabbing the shepherd. The shepherd gave one gurgled howl and...fire blossomed, swallowing the Celes alphas and the shepherd.

Without thinking, Storm jumped from the ridge, half running and half falling toward the burning trio as the fighting stilled. Dogs were staring but Storm didn't care, they couldn't see him. He had to know, this was important...

Before Storm could reach them, the two figures of the Celes alphas toppled sideways, landing side by side, still burning as the shepherd fell as well. He had to get to that shepherd. The fire couldn't hurt him...

Storm leaped...

The battlefield dissolved.

Storm's jump landed him...in the Underground? Blinking in surprise, the husky looked around. Nobody was there. He was near the entrance at the bottom of the stairs. Since he'd never been here without counting his steps, Storm counted his steps to the infirmary area without thinking. Poking his nose in the door, he pushed it open to the office where sick or wounded dogs were nursed back to health. June was there, much to his surprise, her familiar figure looking down at a nest of old blankets and rags. Frowning, Storm picked his way toward her, moving up behind her. His eyes widened.

It was him laying in the nest. Limp, eyes closed, breathing shallow and slow. June looked ready to cry but Storm noticed that beyond her, there were more nests. Warily, Storm picked his way toward them. Dogs he didn't recognize occupied the nests. Curious, Storm leaned forward and touched one. Its body was hot. A pyro. He touched the shoulder blade of another. He could feel the muscles made for retractable wings. Moving to the third, he leaned in to touch it. Before he could, the dog's eye snapped open. Storm's eyes widened. Pearly white. Unnatural. Blind. The dog's head snapped around, fangs snapping just a hair's width from Storm's muzzle. Surprised, Storm leaped back and fell into blackness.

A shuddering gasp rippled itself from Storm as his mind was slammed back into his body. His whole frame convulsed roughly as though he was having a seizure. He toppled sideways, smacking his head on the ground, claws ripping at the grass as if he was trying to run. Pain blossomed through Storm's skull as if someone had hit him with an iron skillet. His eyes were screwed shut, whole body trembling from ears to tail tip. Half conscious and half out of it, Storm jerked again. His stomach turned itself over, dry heaving onto the summer grass. Nothing but bile came up because Storm didn't eat much on a good day and hadn't eaten before he'd gone to find June. Quicksilver eyes snapped open as the husky let out a low keening wail and went limp, paws shaking and eyes once more foggy and clouded, staring at nothing as if he'd just seen the most horrifying thing of his life. He couldn't think, his skull was splitting open...

Another low whine dragged itself from the roughed up husky, eyes closing as he curled in on himself, stomach churning, head consumed in agony.

[Mercy``]

Warily eying the husky as he moved away from her, June couldn't help but cringe as Storm went into convulsions. Her visions were never as bad but then again she had never felt bothered by her powers like he had. Watching as the vision filled the brute's body, the collie couldn't help but let out a small whine of distress. She shouldn't have let him induce it, she should have just lied and told him there was no way to make the visions come unnaturally. Knowing she could never lie to him, the fae attempted to ignore the sound of Storm's body wringling on the ground. She was so foolish, so stupid, and yet he had come to her for an answer. Fate was using them like puppets to play it's sick game and yet here they were going along with it all. Could they ever really deny what they were given? Although going to the labs hadn't been planned for either of them, their meeting had been. Something in the back of her mind told her that their being together wasn't just a coincidence.

Having closed her eyes for a long moment, June jolted forward at the sound of a painful low key howl. Eyes blinking several time to see clearly, the fae quickly made her way to the huskies side and laid down protectively. Heart racing in panic, the collie grimaced as Storm's body began to shake violently with distress. "I told you it would hurt. I'm so sorry, Storm." Letting out a small whimper as she rested her head on his neck as she had done the first night they met, June felt helpless once again. Knowing his vision was over made it worth the while but the pain afterwards always made the most damage. Closing her eyes for a moment, the collie allowed her senses to take over. Feeling the heat of another dog's body close to her's wasn't unusual but feeling it riggle and move out of pain was like being stabbed in the heart. She had done this to him, she had made him go through this pain.

Whimpering once more, the fae glanced up at the skies above them and wondered how long it would be before the pain would fade. Already the sun was close to setting and the once baby blue sky was now casted with light pinks and oranges. White clouds floated lazily along their usual paths and ignored the fact that below something unnatural was occuring. "It's going to be okay." June whispered softly, before turning her bright gaze back to the husky. Soon enough he would wake up but she would never forgive herself for letting him go through what she had. Was she lying when she said things would get better? Maybe she was but she wasn't about to let him know that. If anything, he needed comfort right now and that was what she wanted to give.

[::Fox::]

It hurt like hell, ten times worse than anything the lab had thrown at him. Closing his eyes, Storm tried to will away the throbbing ache. It felt like his brain was being stabbed by knives heated until they were white hot. Never again would he induce a vision. Not unless there was absolutely no way around it and the world would come to an end with the sky falling down if he didn't. Even then he'd seriously have to debate it. Hell. June had said it would hurt, hurt worse without sleep but Storm hadn't expected this. What had he expected? That it would be easy and she was just exaggerating? Ha! Last time he ever thought something that stupid ever again. Never never never never.

For a few moments, Storm's body shut down, blacking out. He went in and out for a while until after what seemed like days to him, the pain settled. It's iron grip on his skull and brain seemed to slowly, reluctantly loosen. The throbbing receded a little but didn't vanish. It was best described as how a human felt when thoroughly hungover and then hit by a truck. With a low groan, Storm dragged his way back to full awareness, opening his eyes even though his world was still black, or at least, he expected it to be. He was surprised when smooth greens and blues washed over his vision, the sweet warmth of a welcoming aura encasing the husky. His muscles unwound as he leaned toward the comforting presence, finding intense relief in the calm aura. In her dream, Storm had seen June, a burnt sort of goldish-reddish color set her apart from the border collies he could remember seeing before he'd gone blind. Her physical body looked nothing like her soothing, mellow aura though her manner suggested it. Seldom did the physical match the aura. Storm had never doubted his aura would be an ugly thing, tainted by self hate and pity while faes always said he was handsome even with no pupils in his eyes.

His tongue felt heavy but Storm managed to get himself together enough to say something. He could see the worry plainly in June's aura, tainting the outer reaches of the beautiful glow, hear the pattering of her frightened heartbeat. He brushed his muzzle tiredly against her soft fur and breathed in the soothing scent, tinted faintly with incense from the church. It was a sad reality that she was a Paladin but, Storm's mind drifted to his vision of the sick dogs. They had to be sick, they had had no physical injuries he could see, himself among them. She had been in the underground. Why? Frowning slightly, Storm brushed his fur again against June's fur, willing his mouth to catch up with his mind and reconnect.

His head throbbed in protest but did as ordered.

"June...y..you're happy as a...Paladin right?" he asked, voice soft and raspy, barely a whisper. "You...wouldn't leave them right?"

Sure, Storm had recruited plenty of dogs for the Celes without even trying but, turning a Paladin away from their loyal following? That seemed a little outside of his realm of abilities. He could speak the language of the common loner but not someone already sitting pretty in a high ranking spot with the Paladins whom probably treated her well and didn't make her sleep below ground. That seemed a little unlikely. Storm refused to think his friendship or attraction to June would have anything to do with it. June would probably be freaked out by Anona anyway, the beardog really was a pest, a flea Storm couldn't scratch. But if that was the case then...why was June in the tunnels? Even if she was there on diplomatic business for the Paladins, the Celes would never let her near the ill or injured. Not in a million years, not unguarded as she had been if they let her in at all.

What other explanation was there?

[Mercy``]

Suddenly feeling tired, the fae refused to allow herself to sleep at this moment. The last thing Storm needed was to get pulled into her dream, and she knew that would only hurt him worse. Keeping her eyes wide open, she stared aimlessly at a nearby tree until her vision went blurry and she had to blink several times to regain her strength. Feeling his hear rate slow and his body relax, June realized he was awake and quickly lifted her head from his shoulder in fear that she was causing pain. To her surprise, Storm began to speak rather than whimpered in response. Gazing softly at the husky, she thought about his question. Of course she loved her pack and was loyal to them but there was no doubt in her mind that she would leave them with ease if ever asked by him.

Although she ranked high in the pack, she often felt disconnected to them. There were only two other daemons, a brute with wings that was once a Demeron, and an Omega fae with wings. Among them all, June was the only canine able to see visions and that was most likely why she had been put as an adviser. The pack family was mostly related and that was one of the reasons she often felt like an outsider among st them all. The Paladin's were the light pack, the one's who accepted everyone with open arms. She had gone to them seeking a home because she had been afraid no one else would accept her. The Demeron's were cold hearted, the Morg's hated daemons, and the Celes had seemed nonexistent to her. Her choice had been made only on the fact that she wanted a home that would love her and not care whether she had defaults or whether she wasn't normal like the rest of them. The Paladins had showed her that but they still felt too pure to her and she was the odd one out.

So what was she going to tell him? The truth was that if it ever came down to it, she would up and leave just to follow him. Just like she had dropped her work today, she would drop it again if ever needed or wanted. Storm had become the only thing on her mind, the one that made her smile even in the worst times. His blindness only made her love him more and she wouldn't have him any other way. "My pack is my family, and I love helping them with anything I can. I mean they've shown me kindness even if I don't really fit in with them. Benji gave me a high rank even though he didn't know me, he gave me a home. I learned that even in a world like this, there are still dogs with hearts. To tell you the truth though, I would give it all up if you asked. My rank, my family, my home, I'd leave it all behind. The Paladin's have taught me all they can but they haven't shown me what you have." Realizing just how much she had just blurted out, the collie fae closed her eyes for a moment and re-winded her words. Replaying them in her head, she wished someone would just shoot her already and be done with it. It was bad enough that she had just caused him the worst pain he'd ever feel in his life, but now she had practically blurted out that she was officially in love with him. What was wrong with her?

[::Fox::]

Storm was amazed at what June said. It sounded like she had a nice setup with the Paladins. He'd heard all about their acceptance of anyone, their open arms and cheery personalities. When he'd been debating packs, he had turned away from them because really, that tolerance sounded too much like pity. He didn't want a pack that walked on glass around him because he was blind or because was a daemon. Sure, it took a lot for words to really affect Storm but, even he had a point where he couldn't stand it anymore. Pity, sympathy, whatever they called it, he wanted no part of it. It seemed June felt similarly, isolated and uncomfortable around the Paladins, something Storm had not expected. With her soft personality and gentle mannerisms, Storm had expected her to be the ideal Paladin. Now she was telling him...she would drop it all if he asked her to...That sort of devotion shocked Storm, absolutely blew him away.

His mind wondered to the vision he'd seen of June in the tunnels, looking sadly at his unresponsive body while three others lay in a similar state nearby. It made sense, if what she had just said was true. But, could he ask her now that he knew? He'd seen the pain and sorrow in her eyes as she watched his body in the vision. Could he ask her to come with him and feel that? At least with the Paladins she would be sheltered from any news of him being injured or falling ill, whatever plagued him and the others in the vision. Could he really ask for that?

Closing his eyes for a moment, Storm rested his head on June's foreleg, feeling tired and thoroughly confused.

"I...saw you in the tunnels," Storm admitted. "If that had been the end of the vision, I'd probably be a pretty happy dog right now but...not everything was right in the vision. I don't know if I could ever ask you to follow me there if it would hurt you, even if the hurt was temporary."

Storm took himself by surprise, saying the last part. How had he known it was temporary? Remembering the last dog he'd reached out to, it had woken and snapped at him. He'd never forget the milky white eye he had seen. Was that what his eyes looked like to others? Horribly empty, hollow, confused. If so, Storm had to wonder why dogs didn't run away at the sight of him. The point was though, that dog had woken up. Of course it meant he and the others would too in the vision. Still, the pain in June's face...could he really cause that?

Raising his head a little, he leaned his muzzle against June's, his reach cautious until he found her muzzle. When blind, everything he reached for, every motion for the unknown, was cautious. June had to be one of the very few dogs Storm actually reached out to touch. Most of the time he avoided it because touch sometimes triggered visions or their auras stunned him for a moment if their emotions got out of control.

[Mercy``]

Heart racing as Storm mentioned seeing her in the Underground, June almost jumped out of her fur. If he had seen her in the tunnels then that meant she had been there for him. They had been together, the way she had been hoping they would. Not just friends but companions, and companions for life. "I'd follow you anyways. Whether you wanted me to or not. If you saw me there then I'm going." Staring intelligently into the huskies bright white eyes, the collie put on her stubborn look and allowed herself to hold her ground. If he wanted her to, she would jump off a bridge. No, it probably wasn't suppose to happen that way but at the moment she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to want to follow cause and effect. Her pain was nothing compared to his and she would gladly take his place if she could. He told her it was only temporary which allowed her to breath once again. They would get through this, and they would do it together.

Maybe they had never been meant to happen but they were here now and she wasn't denying the fact that her heart wanted to reach out to him. Feeling his soft muzzle against hers, the collie fae let out a small whine as she remembered to get her point across. "I'm coming with you. I'll go back tonight and tell Benji I'm leaving, so you can tell Mercy that I'll be asking for acceptance." Firmly stating her words, the fae couldn't help but give a soft laugh at the end. Never before had she really set her mind on something and meant it. She usually got distracted in some way and ended up forgetting. This time was different and this time she meant it. Finally allowing her usual expression to slide onto her face, June gently licked Storm's jaw before sitting up.

Fur mingling lightly, the red and white border collie stared calmly down at the brute. "Are you feeling any better?" She whispered softly, reaching down to nuzzle his shoulder. Straightening herself back up, the fae sat proud and determined. This was what fate had planned for them, this was what her life was meant to be. She no longer had to worry or feel like an outcast in her own home. The Celes were going to be her new family and even if not all of them accepted her, she would still remind herself that she was there for Storm. Once again glancing down at the husky brute, she smiled to herself and wondered what the rest of their life had planned. The war would come, but she would fight beside him. Pain would follow but she would always endure if it meant waking up to him. This was what she wanted.

[::Fox::]

June's aura colors shifted shades a little bit, colored with determination and certainty now, more than Storm had ever seen in her. It amazed him, what she said about leaving her pack, following him no matter where he went. How could she be so sure things would be alright, that this was a good choice? How could she follow a blind dog? He couldn't even see where he was going! His own future. Even the vision he'd just seen, it wasn't certain. Was he dead or was he asleep some how? Why were the other dogs there? Were they connected? Storm had no idea. He didn't know if he could give June the stability she needed, even if he could give her the sensitivity. He could give her the comfort of someone else knowing her struggles with visions and a physical handicap but what about the war? Being blind and all, Storm doubted Mercy would send him to the front lines even though he was a sentinel and that was his job. She'd keep him close for his visions, to try and get a tactical advantage.

Storm leaned back against her touch, silent for a long while. His head told him it would be stupid to ask her to abandon everything for him, even if a vision dictated it. Surely the future wasn't set in stone? The Paladins could give June so much more than he could, even with his family among the Celes. But, another part of Storm griped that he was being stupid. He wanted her company. She wasn't clingy like Anona or soft-bellied like Rose. She would be someone that understood his struggles with visions and a physical handicap. They could balance each other. She knew how to soothe his after-vision shocks. Plus...Storm just wanted her. He wanted her company, hear her talk, have a safe place to land when the pack demanded too much or his powers got out of control.

Her question about his wellbeing shook the brute back to reality. Sightless eyes flicked to and fro until he found her aura, sitting beside him like a watchful guard. Stiff and slightly unsteady feeling, Storm sat up. He had to swallow several times to keep from vomiting again. It wasn't like there was anything to give up.

"I'm alright," Storm assured June. "Go to Benji and Delph if you want, tell them whatever you want but I'll be waiting in the underground, with Mercy if I can find her. I have some...news to give her but she'll know you're a friend when you come," Storm told her, resting his head against her soft fur for a moment to stabilize himself. "I want you with me, even if the future's dark."

Pressing his muzzle assuringly to June's neck, Storm pushed himself up to stand. It took a moment for the ground to stop tilting, Storm found his equilibrium again. He had dark news to give to Mercy, news he didn't even think he could speak. Rave was gone. He knew that, some part of him was absolutely certain. She had gone, running away to find adventure. That was what he would tell Mercy. He knew it wasn't true but...Storm didn't want to think about what he'd really seen. Mercy wouldn't be able to deal with it, he knew that. Romeo wouldn't either. He had to find his alphas...