@XxLyraxX

Cars rolled by the shop with a gentle hiss from the wet roads. Elly sighed with her gaze looking over her steamy cup of coffee and out the shop window. Over the view of well kept flowers, and across the road, was a small bench with an overhang and a reflective wall that showed a murky image of the shop. She would stare at the vague image almost as if she was looking into a portal or alternate dimension. It would be a place where things would be similar but different. A place where the air would dance like it did in her dreams. With that thought, she slipped into a memory of how her dreams often began. Elly would be either on a high balcony of a classy hotel, a rooftop of a tall business building or another place where she could see for miles and miles. The air would push past her with a wild aggression. It would rush over her again and again, pushing her closer and closer to the edge. At first, she would be terrified and tried to fight against her elemental aggressor, but only to be struck with another power blast of wind. There were times where she would fall backwards and other times where she would fall face first. The first fall of the dream would always seem new and terrible. She would scream and look down at the ground growing closer and closer unable to tear her eyes away. Then, the same powerful gusts of wind would save her. It was like some sentient force was within the wind or perhaps it was a living thing. Elly would rise high into the air and fall like a leaf, but a sign that the dream was about to end would be whispers on the wind. They would first be very faint like the sound of rustling leaves, but they would grow louder and louder. It seemed like each time she had a dream, the whispering was getting closer to actual words. It was almost like someone was trying to tell her something. Elly looked down and blinked seeing she had drank all her coffee whilst in the midst of her daydream. She hurried to the sink in the back of the shop to rinse it out. There was also a notepad and a cordless phone that rested near the counter where they would dress the flowers. There were rows of different ribbons and ties. They kept different vases in another room for fear of breaking them. She looked over the list of orders by the phone and made sure there weren't any orders that had been overlooked. Nothing seemed to be out of place. The high tone of the bell chimed through the shop. She looked around the doorway to see a young man stepping out of the rain and up to the counter. "Hello!" She smiled while walking from the back room to greet him. "Is there anything I might assist you with today?" It was the normal scripted response she told people when they entered the shop. It was so reflexive that she would say it even if someone who worked there walked in.

"That's fine! I understand." She smiled politely and hurried to the back room with the order slip. "Hmmm Perce Perce..." She muttered to herself looking over the completed orders in the refrigerator. The order was a large cardboard box and another small one. Within the boxes were different assortments of spring flowers that were wrapped and carefully placed in order to reduce damage to them during their trip. The larger box was a little heavy for her, so it took a moment for her to heave it up and bring it to the counter. Elly tried her best to let the box down gently on the counter. "You guys paid in advance so, here ya go." She pushed the box closer to him. "Be careful ok? It's getting worse out there." When the young man reached down to take the box from counter, Elly's fingers brushed against his causing a strange tingly sensation to travel up her arm and throughout her body. "Whoa!" She breathed looking up at him. Was her eyes playing tricks on her or did the boys eyes seem to be brighter than before. It was almost as if they were glowing blue orbs resting in his head rather than eyes. "Sorry about that! I didn't mean to zap you." She laughed off the strangeness of the situation and opened the door for him since his arms were now full with his order. Elly's eyes followed the guy as he walked away and disappeared into the rainy distance. So strange, she looked down at the hand that brushed his. She excused it for static electricity but it didn't feel quite like that. It was like a chill that started from her fingertips and rushed throughout her body. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she stepped back into the shop's back room only to spot a small cardboard box. "Seriously?!" She exclaimed taking the box and flipping the sign around to say 'We're closed'. She left a note to one of the other workers saying that she stepped out to take a delivery that had been left behind and would be back shortly. After locking up the shop, hurried after him. Careful not to shake the flower up too much, Elly walked with a brisk pace. Though she was only walking, she passed a couple people jogging which caused them to give her a double take. Her thoughts were on returning the order to their buyer rather than taking notice to how fast she was moving. Spotting the back of the boys shirt, she tried to pick up the pace without running for fear of hurting the flower. "Hey! You forgot the small box!" She called.

Elly gave another kind nod then waved him off again. Looking at the guy made her feel sorry for him. She knew the name of the business and it was very popular. Flower shops only saw tons of people at once for things like holidays, birthdays, prom, weddings or business socials. Plus, it was a Sunday. She would either have small orders or the occasional walk in where someone wanted to grab a quick bouquet for their love or dear family member. The door was still locked and no one was waiting out in front, which simply showed how slow their weekend mornings were. The bell chimed happily, the sign flipped back over to say that they were open. Elly reached out for her apron only to notice that she forgot to take it off. The peace and calm of the flower shop was something she knew she took for granted. There were days where it was tense but it was not near as bad as other places like restaurants or bars. People usually came and left unless they were picking out flowers for a wedding. Glancing over the store once again, she took her place behind the counter and pulled out some scissors and some paper. During slow days like this, she would make paper flowers. To the people who worked at the shop and saw flowers everyday, the act of receiving them as a gift seemed more like an act of laziness. It was always easy to buy flowers from work and give them to someone, but it often lacked a intimate touch. That feeling that the person really put a lot of thought into it before making the purchase. This was what drew Elly to making paper flowers. They required a lot of time and practice to make. Depending on what it was, the process would take days or weeks. Lately, she had been making small paper roses to give to the other people who worked with her. They could pin them to their aprons without fear of them dying or having to bear the putrid fake fragrance that was often put on plastic flowers. Elly placed her iphone into a speaker system and poked at the screen until the internet radio turned on. The shop filled with the soft melodies of some new age song. She was a firm believer in mood music as well as vibrations from either talking or music helped keep plants healthy. The song picked up in beat causing her to hum along happily. What she wasn't aware of was the small bits of freshly cut paper were twitching and moving slowly across the counter. The pieces slid off the edge as if caught by a very gentle breeze, but there were no fans on or air conditioning on at the moment. The breeze seemed to have no origin, but it continued to carry the spare paper petals across the shop. Elly, who was cutting and placing the petals she was currently working with, was too preoccupied to notice the other missing petals.

Like always, more people popped in and out of the shop around the afternoon. Some people were just browsing with excited whispers like, "If I were to get married, I would have this color but in orchids.". These types of conversations affected Elly differently depending on the day. Some times, she would find it funny, but other days, she would find it rather annoying. "Why don't you have any natural aqua colored daisies?" Asked one woman who seemed to be upset. "I'm sorry, they aren't in very high demand and the ones we sell aren't naturally grown that way." Elly explained calmly. "What do you mean they aren't grown naturally? Flowers grow in every color don't they?" This notion that their shop had a secret cache of natural flowers with every color, shade and hue imaginable was something that all those who worked at the shop had to suffer. Not wanting to be rude, Elly explained that they would have to order that particular kind of daisy if she was willing to wait a few days. This didn't seem to go over well either. The woman looked very much like an over decorated bird who had just been ruffled the wrong way. "I know the owner of this shop and she would go to great lengths to see her customers satisfied." She sniffed. Elly raised an eyebrow at her and sighed,"I'm terribly sorry, the soonest date I can get those daisies here for you is a little less than a week from now." "Tcht! You should have had them here in the first place! Aqua is a natural spring color! All the other shops have aqua decor!" The woman began shouting. She wasn't sure what was worse, the fact that this woman thought there was a flower for every color under the son or the fact that her shop not having a her particular color appear out of thin air was a crime. Then the woman mentioned her aunt who owned the place. Of course she would go to great lengths to see a customer happy. She would probably do what Elly was doing now, which was trying to get the flowers sent to them as soon as possible. The door chimed again and a tall thin woman with dreaded hair pulled back with a large rubber band entered the shop while tying her apron on. The stitched on name read, 'Hyacinth'. "Hi Ell!" She smiled then it quickly disappeared when she saw the purple faced woman at the front counter. "Oh boy.." the girl whispered skating behind the counter next to Elly. "Well, I guess I'll take my business to a more competent shop!", the woman roared intentionally being loud so that everyone was watching. "I'll call the owner and tell her what horrible service I received! I'm never recommending this terrible place to anyone at my business social." With that, the woman stormed out. Both Elly and Hyacinth stood perfectly still as well as the couple of people who were still browsing. Several seconds passed, then Elly felt it was safe to breath again. "Yeeesh! It's the weekend, why get your undies in a bunch over plants anyway?" Hyacinth sighed trying to lighten the mood. She gave Elly a pat on the back then spotted the small set of paper roses. "Ahh you made more!" Elly blushed a little and tried to squeeze out a small laugh after receiving a verbal assault from a very displeased customer. "Roses are getting easier to make than tulips." She grinned wiping bits of paper into her hand to put in the trash. "Do you mind if I step out for a sec Hye? I just need to shake 'that' off for a bit." "Only if I get to keep this one!" Hyacinth chimed holding up a particularly well crafted paper flower. "Sure, it's yours" Elly stepped out the back entrance where the dumpster was along with a few storage crates that used to house vases and large wheels of wire. They had already been stored in the back of the shop somewhere. "I know the owner of the shop! I can't believe you don't have any aqua colored daisies" Elly mocked while kicking the dumpster. People did not seem to understand that their shop was NOT this fantastical place where all you could find all of your botanical dreams come true. People like that woman made Elly seriously wish should could get a job that didn't deal with the public. She huffed and paraded around the back alley in an exaggerated version of the woman. The more she thought about it, the more upset she felt. She kicked the dumpster again, but this time a gust of wind cut up against the side of the dumpster and pulled the cover back for a moment only to have it smash back down loudly. Elly looked up the ally way then back down. A freak wind gust? As soon as it came, it went. This was a pleasant distraction though. It had successfully taken her mind of things. "Everything ok out here?" Called Hyacinth. "Yea! I'm coming back in" Not thinking twice about it, she hurried back into the shop.

As the crowd picked up, the water incident was put to the back of his mind as he ran around like a chicken with its head cut off. Thankfully, when Sarah and Ryan clocked in the mad rush died down slightly though it picked right back up as a large lunch crowd spilled through the doors. He didn’t know if it was lack of sleep or simply he was having an off day but Raven found himself messing up orders and almost running into the other waiters as the day dragged on. After nearly colliding with Sal who had been carrying three bowls of soup, Jack finally sent Raven to the kitchen to help with the cooking and the dishes. Raven sighed deeply into the soapy water his arms were currently submerged in, he gazed down at the sink. The accident from earlier crept back into his mind as he frowned thoughtfully. He scooped a small handful of water up and flung it at his shirt before he could second-guess himself. The water hit him in the chest and he yelp as the water soaked the front of his apron. ”You’ll wanna be careful there Raven, nothings more uncomfortable than wet clothes.” Pete, the cook spoke up as he eyed Raven from his station at the stove. Even he had noticed how tired the boy looked but he knew that if Raven didn’t want him to know he wouldn’t get a peep out of the boy. And so he let the lad be and turned back to the orders filing in. Raven gazed down at the dark stain, perplexed. Had he simply imagined what had had happened earlier. His eyes then fell on the bin next to the stove. Glinting at the top of the pile was none other than the broken glass from the mugs that had been dropped. No, he couldn’t have imagined it because that would mean he was having a seriously crazy hallucination. He continued washing the dishes, wondering if he was truly losing his mind. As the day continued to mosey on by, Raven grew more and more frustrated as he kept making mistakes. By the time his shift was over he was ready to punch something. He gave a curt good-bye to Jack and escaped out the door before the man could catch him. He sucked in a lung-full of the air before releasing it slowly and tucking his hands into his pockets as he headed in the direction of his house. After a few minutes he unlocked the door, calling out a greeting. There was a scampering of feet and soon his kitten, Blaze came barreling into the living room and threw himself at Raven’s feet as soon as his shoes had been kicked off. Raven chuckled and scooped up the feline, petting his head. ”Well hello to you too.” Kitten tucked into his arms Raven made his way to the kitchen, flicking lights on as he went. As he opened the cabinet, Blaze perked his ears up; knowing exactly what it was that Raven was reaching for. The kitten was placed onto the floor along with a bowl of wet-food. Raven crouched there a moment, petting his pet’s back. ”Blaze, do you think I’m crazy?” He murmured. The soot black kitten paused in his eating and looked as his master with large blue eyes, giving a meow as he licked his lips and went back to chowing down. The boy smiled as he stood. ”I don’t know if that was supposed to be comforting but I’m going to take it for what I will.” He then exited the kitchen and headed to the bathroom. After a long soak in the tub, a sandwich for dinner and a little bit of TV., Raven headed to bed. He placed Blaze on the bed and the kitten curled up on his pillow. Raven smiled and laid down after shifting the feline over a little bit. He received a disgruntled mew in return and he laughed as he turned out the light, settling under the blankets as his mind started fading away into dreamland. The water shimmered around him, bubbles escaping his mouth and floating to the surface. Like he did every time in this dream, he panicked and struggled to reach the surface before it dawned on him that he could breathe just fine. He floated there for a few moments, soon realizing that his clothes were perfectly dry. He frowned, looking around the crystal waters that encased him. Suddenly, something brushed passed him and he jerked back. His eyes widened and his mouth opened in a silent scream, his mother’s dead eyes staring back on his lifelessly. He floundered back, eyes wheeling wildly as his heart thumped erratically in his chest. In the distance, a black shape was slowly swimming towards him. Already panicked, Raven turned around only to meet the glazed over eyes of his father as the body bobbed gently in front of him. Another scream welled up inside him… And this time it did escape, echoing around the house as he bolted into an upright position. He panted heavily, eyes wheeling around frantically as his heart tried to beat its way out of his chest. ”J-Just…Just a dream…It was just a dream..” He whispered in a hoarse voice, clicking on the bedside lamp. As the golden glow filled the room, Raven felt himself calm. He wiped a hand over his face, feeling even more tired than when he had laid down. He glanced at his phone and groaned at the time. 4:05 a.m. stared up at him from the illuminated screen. Knowing he wasn’t going back to sleep any time soon, Raven swung his legs over to the side of the bed and stood. As he did a hiss emitted from under his bed. Frowning, Raven knelt down and looked under the skirt. Blaze crouched there, spine arched and hair standing on end. It took a few minutes for Raven to coax his startled pet out from his sanctuary but he finally managed it and he petted Blaze soothingly as he made his way to the living room. He laid down and turned on the T.V. onto the news and reclined there. Before he knew it his eyes had slid shut and he fell fast asleep. He woke up a few hours later and with a glance at the clock on the wall and a muttered curse, he jumped to his feet and dressed as fast as he could. He locked up the house and sped towards his work. He received a reprimanding look from Jack when he arrived at last, out of breath but the man left him be as he clocked in. Raven stood there a moment, catching his breath before grabbing his apron and starting the day.

The rest of the evening went on without a hitch. Hyacinth and Elly closed up the shop together, then Elly made sure that Hyacinth got on to her bus safely. After locking the shop up, she made her way to her apartment above. Her cell-phone chimed and it was her aunt. Taking a deep breath, she answered. "I'm guessing that you got a very angry customer today?" Her aunt sighed across the line. "I doubt you guessed it. She contacted you right?" "Yea.." There was a long pause between the both of them. Elly could hear her aunt breathing on the other side of the line. "I tried to get her the blue tinted daisies she wanted but they had to be ordered." There was a tone like she was trying to make some sort of excuse for what happened though she knew she did the most she could with the situation. "Yea, I know. You did what you could. Do you think we should order some and keep them in the shop for a couple weeks? Maybe we can use that woman's aggravation to our advantage." "Do you really think people would buy them?" Elly asked sighing softly while tossing a microwave dinner in for a couple minutes. "We can order a small case of them and see how it goes." The thought that the shop was actually going to have badly colored daisies because of that impossible woman made Elly want to kick something. Trying to stay calm ,she asked. "You want me to order them tonight or tomorrow morning?" "Tomorrow is fine." There was another long pause. It was hard to talk about things other than work. Aside from the shop, there wasn't much to their relationship. "Well," Elly yawned. "I'll text you once the order has been finalized." "That sounds good. Good night Elly" "Night" Pressing the end button on her iphone screen, Elly tipped her head back and let out a loud aggravated groan. After a long hot shower, Elly stepped into her room. It was filled with little decorations that one would see in gardening sections and flower shops. There was a few wind chimes tinkling lightly as she passed, some sun catchers around her windows and a different assortment of stone figures like toads and turtles. Sinking into her bed after a long day was wonderful. Sleep would come rather easily that night. Her dreams where the same as before. She was moving about like some sort of airborne spirit when the whispering started. "oming..." She heard. Then she woke up. The wind chimes were sounded more so than normal and she looked towards the windows to see if she had accidentally left them open. She had not. The shop opened again bright and early but this time Hyacinth was there to help her. Still drowsy, she waved to her co-worker and started a pot of coffee. "You look like she just came out of a coma." Her friend joked while carefully pinning one of Elly's paper roses on to her apron. "Yea. Have you ever had one of those dreams that seemed to last a long time and when you wake up you feel tired?" "Yea?" "I guess that's what it is. I had a long dream" Elly sighed. She didn't want to share this morning though. Getting onto the computer for a moment, Elly clicked for google and typed in the name of one of their greenhouses. "What is it? Did the boss ask you to order something?" Hyacinth had a knack for guessing things like that. "Yea, I have to order a case or two of those horribly colored blue-tinted daisies." "No way. That hag called her?" "Yep, and she thinks we should at least try to see if they'll sell." They both sighed. Elly finished the order and texted her aunt once it confirmed. 'Thanks' was her response. The day moved on at a steady pace. Elly and Hyacinth took turns watching the front of the shop while the other worked on prep. Elly had been preparing vases with different varieties of flowers and decorated them with warm pastel colored ribbon. Spring, thought it was a time for bright colors, there were also more subtle ones like pastels. She huffed thinking about that horrible woman from the day before. It really urked her thinking that they were going to have those horrid things on display just because that woman whined to the shop owner. Thinking about it caused Elly to tie a ribbon too tightly making it pucker in an unattractive way. "Hey Ell! Wanna get some air and grab us some lunch?" Called Hyacinth from the front of the store. "Sure, where from?" "Let's try that Silver Dragon place." Shrugging, she took off her apron and grabbed her phone. "I don't really know what they have there." Elly frowned walking up to the front counter with her friend. Hyacinth nodded. "Just call me when you get there and tell me what they have ok?" "Sounds like a plan." Elly stepped out of the shop and took a bus towards the restaurant. All evidence of rain had been long since dried up. More people were bustling about since it was lunch hour. This now occurred to Elly that the place might be packed with lunch rush people. She was just about to call Hyacinth when she sighed. It would be a nice long break from the shop. Instead she decided that she would text her if it took a long time. Hopping off the bus, she walked a little ways before reaching the restaurant. The thick smell of cooked food filled her nostrils and she smiled. Now she was hungry.

The morning had been a busy one, much more so with people having to go to work and stopping in for a quick coffee and a bite to eat. Raven still felt dead on his feet, another sleepless night weighing down on him. He didn’t know what was causing these dreams and last nights had been particularly harsh. He used to have nightmares about the boat accident when he was younger but they had stopped bothering him. Until last night. He honestly didn’t know why he had dreamed about his parents last night so suddenly. And that black shape had been there too. He wondered why. Gah, so many questions and not enough answers. Raven shook his head sharply, scolding himself. Now was not the time to get lost inside his head. Sal had called in sick and Jack had been unable to get Sarah and Ryan to come in early because they had school or other business to attend to. Jack himself was buried under paperwork and so it all fell onto Raven to wait the tables. And of course it seemed like every person that normally came in for a coffee all decided to come in at the exact same time. If Raven thought he had ran around like a chicken with its head cut off yesterday he was sorely mistaken as he struggled to carry a tray laden with mugs of hot coffee. He had to walk slowly so he wouldn’t spill anything and he was given grief about it when he arrived at the tables. The customers were cranky at having to be up so early and they all seemed to think that they were the only one he was serving. Thankfully after the morning rush was over things calmed down. He was able to take a breather and eat a quick bite to eat since he hadn’t been able to eat breakfast in his mad rush to get out of the house. He then groaned when he realized he had forgotten to feed Blaze. The kitten wasn’t going to let him forget it anytime soon. The last time Raven had accidentally forgotten to feed the feline, Blaze had shredded every magazine in the house as well tear up a pair of his favorite socks. From then on Raven learned to feed his pet or risk the destruction of anymore of his clothing. Hoping his wardrobe would be safe from Blaze’s wrath, Raven threw away the peel of the banana he had been eating and drank a glass of water before getting back to work. The lull didn’t last long as the lunch hour grew nearer and soon Raven was once again running around. Thankfully Ryan and Sarah arrived but the place was packed and so all three of them weren’t given a break. Lunch hour was usually chaotic but Raven didn’t think he had ever seen it this crazy. Did the whole city deicide to come to The Silver Dragon for lunch? It sure looked that way. Thankfully he had yet to run into anyone today and he was hoping it would stay that way and he would avoid getting soaked. Of course Fate always had to get a laugh at his expense. ”Here you are sir.” Raven said as he set a hamburger and a glass of coke in front of a man dressed in a suit with a Bluetooth piece in his ear. The man took one look at the food in front of him then glared at Raven. ”What kind of fool do you take me for? I didn’t order this garbage! I asked for a water and a salad, are you trying to make me fat?!” Raven blinked in surprise because he distinctly remembered this man ordering no such thing. Raven then apologized and said he would take it back. Clearly it was not what the man wanted and so he then began to rant at Raven. The boy’s facial expression into a neutral visage, turning into an emotionless mask as the man continued to explain in great detail how Raven was such a stupid and incompetent child. The man didn’t seem to like the fact that he wasn’t getting a raise out of Raven and so he stood, face very red. He then snatched up his glass of coke and upended it over Raven’s head. His mask slipped, revealing a stunned expression as the man shoved past him and stalked towards the door. Raven stood there, soda plastering his hair to his head and dripping down his face. He slowly turned, aquamarine eyes tracking the man as he headed for the door. Rage, swift and hot, surged through his body and his fists clenched. As he retrained himself from going after the man, the customer passed next to a shocked Sal standing there holding a tray full of glasses of water. Suddenly, the glasses tipped over. The water would have just splashed to the floor but somehow covered the man’s suit. He cried out, staring down incredulously at his soaked clothing. A little boy sitting with mother started laughing, the woman trying her best to quiet her son as he pointed at the business man. Said man’s face grew red and he stormed out. Raven continued to stand there, having no clue what just happened. The water should just have fallen to the floor but it landed on the man. How? He hadn’t been close enough for it to soak him so. Perplexed and confused he jumped slightly upon feeling a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up into Ryan’s sympathetic eyes. ”You okay man? That was rough. I have a spare uniform in my locker if you want to borrow it. You can just give it back to me tomorrow.” Raven nodded in agreement and followed along as Ryan led him to the back. Sarah lent him a pack of wipes and so with that and the uniform in hand Raven locked himself in the bathroom to get cleaned up. Thankfully the coke missed his pants but his shirt was absolutely sopped. He threw it off and it hit the linoleum with a wet slap. He turned on the facet and ducked his head under it, running his fingers through it. He pumped some hand soap into his hand and lathered it through his hair. He knew it wouldn’t work as well as shampoo but hopefully it would help rid his hair of the stickiness the soda caused. After rinsing his hair out thoroughly, he then got down to business of ridding his skin of the rest of the soda. After going through most of the wipes he finally was soda free. He shrugged on Ryan’s uniform shirt and fingered the ends of his hair. Drying it was out of the option unless he felt like trying to use paper towels. Deciding it could just air dry he shoved his soda soaked shirt into a plastic bag that was used for food deliveries, Raven exited the bathroom and stowed the bag in his locker to take home later. He took a deep breath and entered the main room again. He shot Ryan and Sarah grateful smiles, turning to survey the room. He heard the bell over to door chime and he turned to the door to welcome the new customer and show them to a seat. A jolt of surprise ran through him as he recognized the girl from the flower shop. He blinked before mentally slapping himself and running through the rehearsed lines. ”Welcome to The Silver Dragon. Table for one?” He asked, grabbing a menu and some silverware.

Seeing the guy from the day before, she smiled and gave a polite wave. Glancing down at his name tag, she finally got to know his name so it wouldn't be as awkward. "Oh! Umm ...Raven! Do you guys do to-go? I promised my friend I would would call her once I get to look at the menu! I'm sorry for being a bother!" Looking around, she saw that the place was packed to almost full complicity. Now she really felt bad for coming. In a way she was only adding to the workload. More people came in behind her and she stepped forward to make room for them. The place was too crowded and too loud. How could anyone handle this regularly? Elly missed the quiet of the flower shop now. Another couple people came in causing her to step forward again but she accidentally bumped into one of the people standing beside her. "Oops! Sorry!", She cringed stumbling away. Elly seemed to have lost her balance and flailed reaching out for anything that would keep her from falling. Her hand grabbed someone's elbow but suddenly everything changed. It was silent in a way but her ears felt like they were full of something, maybe, water? Actually, even her vision was blurred now. Everything seemed murky, where..what happened? Everything was in a blue tent like she was in a pool. No, it was bigger than a pool. Was she underwater? How did that happen? This she gasped suddenly realizing that if this was water, she needed to get air. In reality, Elly's eyes looked wide and oddly bright. She blinked seeing the restaurant then in another blink of an eye the depths of a watery pool of some sort. Was she hallucinating? That had to be it, but why? Still holding on to someone, she tried to clear the fog in her head. She could hear people asking her is she was ok. Too many people. Too much noise. Elly needed out, she needed..air. It was like she was drowning, but she wasn't. Bits of her hallucination were sifting through. The people around her looked distorted like she was in a fish bowl looking out at them. Still having trouble breathing she coughed and spluttered. Do you need me to call an ambulance? Are you ok? She's going to faint. All these words made her feel like each voice was a body lying against her, smothering her. "I need air!" She cried, and with that gusts of powerful wind burst through the front door and open windows. It was like some sort of invisible serpents were causing table clothes, decorations and napkins to fly about. Everyone was so distracted by the havoc that Elly managed to regain her footing, let go of whoever she was clutching so tightly for support, then stumble out door still coughing and gasping. Still very disoriented, her hand trailed along side of the wall of the restaurant as she shuffle around to the back. Her legs gave out due to lack of air and she fell to her knees in the lot behind the establishment. The same odd wind that had surged through the main dinning hall, seemed to escape and revolved around Elly for a moment. Her eyes began to glow brightly and she got her first clear breath of air. The wind died down shortly after she re-established a normal breathing pattern. Elly began to shakily look up. What the hell happened?

She sat behind the restaurant for a very long time until her cell phone range. With shaky hands, she pulled it out of her pocket and answered. "Where are you? Some sort of freak accident happened at the Silver Dragon and you never called!" cried a frantic voice on the other end of the line. It took Elly a moment to realize where she was. Looking around with glassy eyes and haggard breath, she replied, "I'm behind the restaurant." "Why on earth are you there?!" Hyacinth cried, then calmed herself. "Never mind, I'm closing up the shop and coming to get you. Stay put!" The call cut out and she sat there in the cold ground rather lamely. Everything that happened seemed to have left her feeling numb. The sirens, the commotion going on out front. What happened anyway? She was having a difficult time remembering. All she could think about was how nice it was to be taking full, clear breaths of air. It took about 20 minutes for Hyacinth to find her and even longer to help Elly back to the flower shop. The entire time, she kept asking her what happened only to have Elly remind her that she didn't know. She remembered stepping into the restaurant, it being very crowded then she had trouble breathing. "I guess I just panicked?" she said, while they were both sitting in her apartment now with cups of coffee. Hyacinth put a big blanket around her shoulders. They were sitting in her small living room that also counted as her dining room. The apartment was decorated much like her room. There were little wind chimes and light catchers everywhere. "It sounds horrible." Elly shrugged. "What about the shop?" "I had some people come in early since it was an emergency." This meant she would be receiving a call from her aunt sometime that day. Elly sat there quietly. She knew she felt better but also wanted to rest. Even though her job wasn't very difficult or stressful, she wanted a break. Hyacinth got up and took their finished mugs of coffee. "I'm going to run to the store and grab some stuff. You stay here and rest." As Hyacinth left, Elly went got up to take a shower. The hot steam only made her feel dizzy and smothered so she resorted to opening the window in her bathroom. Her first thought was to soak in a bath, but thinking about that strange hallucination, she decided it would be better to take a shower. Now wrapped in a towel, she began wrapping her hair when she noticed little flecks of dry skin. She scratched at it only to see the skin come off like a scab and underneath was a smooth but hard texture beneath it, sorta like a nail but it was pearly white. Elly found more while she was drying herself. They were everywhere, her arms, legs shoulder and some parts of her chest near the collar bone. Maybe it was stress? She really hadn't been stressed though. Other than the woman from yesterday, she had been pretty relaxed aside from wanting to take a break from the shop. Fully dressed and hair dried, Elly curled up on the couch and plaid around with her cell phone again. The whole apartment seemed stuffy for some reason, so she hopped up and opened all the windows. The breeze was relaxing and it made the whole space breath better. Settling back onto the couch, the apartment door opened and Hyacinth came in with a bag of produce. "I know your lazy butt could use something that wasn't flash frozen." She smiled. This only made Elly roll her eyes while she walked over to help her friend with the groceries. "I don't like cooking Hye you know that." She frowned looking at what she brought. "I'll cook it, you need to rest anyway." Hyacinth seemed determined to fuss over her. Then she jumped mumbling about forgetting to check on the others in the shop below. She ran out the door leaving Elly with all the unwashed produce and other groceries. Turning on the faucet, she started cleaning the produce until she caught a whiff of something that smelled wonderful. Her nostrils flared as she sniffed around for a bit. Her hands seized the delectable treat and she took in a deep breath of it's scent. It was enough to make her mouth water. She slowly opened her mouth and bit in, the texture was tough, but she tore it away and continued to chomp on it hungrily. It wasn't until she heard someone coming up the stairs that she realized that she had just bitten through the husk of a pineapple and pineapple juice was all over the floor as well as her mouth, hands and shirt. As the door was opening, she ran with the pineapple in hand to the bathroom and dripping juice everywhere. "Elly? You ok? Where is the pineapple?"

Quickly closing the bathroom door behind her, Elly looked down at the now half eaten pineapple with an expression that was confusion mixed with fear. What on earth caused her to do that? How could she bite through the husk of a pineapple without even noticing? It didn't even seem hard to chew. "Elly? Did something happen to the pineapple?" she could hear Hyacinth calling from the kitchen. Looking at the pineapple then at her juice covered shirt, she couldn't explain something that she could barely understand herself. So, she lied. "I somehow dropped it and it cracked all over me and the floor. I guess it's rotten or something." "Ick! Well, get cleaned up and I'll cook us some stir fry." After watching off again and changing shirts, she noticed more scaly bumps on her arms. She tried putting on some lotion thinking it was a rash, but it didn't seem to help. Deciding to deal with it later, Elly pulled on a long sleeved shirt and walked into the kitchen. Hyacinth was already cooking the ingredients by the time she came to the counter. "Smells good." Elly smiled leaning over the counter to look. "I'm glad you got all cleaned up. I'm guessing you tossed the pineapple?" "Yea, I'll take out the trash tomorrow so it won't stink up the place." After dinner, Elly began to feel ill and went to the restroom. Her gagging and coughing could be heard from the table. Tapping gently on the bathroom door, Hyacinth winced hearing Elly groan from within. "Are you ok in there?" Then there was a belching noise. "I thought I cooked the fish enough." Elly responded with another cough and the sound of the toilet flushing. "I'm sorry Elly.." "...Its okay.." She whined from her fixed spot near the toilet. "Maybe it's just your nerves affecting your stomach." Hyacinth suggested. Elly hacked again and saw bits of pineapple with stir fry. "I dunno..." She grumbled laying her head on the toilet seat. "I'm going to call your aunt and tell her you got some bug and can't some to work tomorrow. That way you can chill and have a stress free day. Sound good?" After a long pause she let out a feeble 'uh huh'. Her friend left after cleaning up and helping Elly get in the bed. Elly sighed looking at the 'rash' that had progressed more since her after dinner bathroom visit. It was a long and difficult day. She thought back to the restaurant and the host Raven. Everything seemed to happen after she saw him. Then again maybe it was the stress of being around so many people at once. Why did she panic, hallucinate, develop a rash, eat pineapple in its rawest state? Why did all this seem to hit her at once? Could it all just be stress from having the same mundane pattern over and over? Perhaps a day of rest would make all these problems go away. Maybe she would wake up and feel better. She hoped so. Rolling over, Elly fell asleep. Little did she know, the bizarre happenings were just beginning.

Elly wasn't greeted with the same dream that had been repeating each night. Instead she opened her eyes to find herself underwater again. It was just like the hallucination she had at the Silver Dragon restaurant. The same fear of not being able to breath caused her to panic once again. She grabbed at her throat and kicked her legs wildly in attempts to reach the surface. Her eyes pinches shut hoping that she would wake up from this nightmare. Then she felt hands gently take hers away from her throat. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the bright aquamarine eyes of the host from the Silver Dragon. What was his name? Yes, it was Raven. He held her hands gently for a moment then opened his mouth. She saw his chest rise then fall. He was breathing? How could he? Looking to her, he nodded like he was telling her to try. With eyes filled with terror, she shook her head and kicked her legs. Despite her struggles she didn't go anywhere. He seemed to be waiting for her to calm down. Not being able to hold her breath any longer she screamed with a couple bubbles escaping her mouth then she took a deep breath instinctively. She was breathing? Looking at him questioningly, he responded by showing his hands holding hers. For the moment, it seemed to make sense. He was helping her breath somehow, but them again, it was a dream. Right? This couldn't be real. Once he saw she was ok, he started pulling her along towards the surface. The dream changed or jumped forward somehow. She looked around and she was standing next to a small round pool. She was standing in some sort of cave and the only light was coming from the pool. Where did Raven go? Was she in that pool? She couldn't have been, she was completely dry. There was a whistling sound touching her ears. "We're...om.....ng..." she heard the whisper again. Looking around, she saw some stairs leading up and away from the pool. There was a large door. at the top of the stairs. The whispering was coming from there. She seemed to climb the stairs rather fast. She didn't even have to really push the door open. It seemed like it was being sucked open. The wind was no longer blowing out to her, but pulling her in. She stumbled into the door to have it slam shut with a loud echoing bang. Something took her hand again. It felt like Raven's but she really couldn't see very well past the door. He gently led her down the poorly let corridor until she began to see a light at the end. The light helped her see Raven's outline a little better. He didn't look back but kept his face forward to the light. The light seemed so bright that she really couldn't see past it. Once they stepped into the light, it took a while for her eyes to adjust. They were in a a circular room and Raven seemed to disappear again. Looking around there were luminous markings all over the walls of creatures. Some were flying, some were breathing fire. They were all so bright and glorious that she wanted to watch them more, but the whispering came to ears again. She looked around for the source but the gentle breeze seemed to be flowing around her. Something bright glimmered out of the corner of her eye. She saw a small curtain and Raven stood beside it. He looked at her with bright glowing eyes then gestured for her to investigate the curtain. Slowly, Elly stepped forward and moved the curtain away. It was another room but far smaller than the other. As soon as she saw the interior, it was like her legs were moving of their own accord into the center. There was something glowing from above. Looking up, she heard the whispering again. "we're ...o.....ing..." Towards the ceiling was a sheet or some sort of drapery bellowing in the breeze. Something seemed to be shifting beneath the fabric as if struggling to break free. Elly wanted to get a closer look. The fabric seemed to stretch downward towards her with something facing her. It had bright eyes of gold. It opened it mouth and breathed out a thin mist. "We're.....Coming..." As soon as she heard it, a violent tremor shook the room and the ground she stood on. Elly fell to the ground and looked up to see the creature trapped within the cloth move back towards the ceiling, curl up and rest upside down on the ceiling. What was that thing? The ground quaked again. She looked towards the entrance and saw Raven's outline near the curtain. Pushing herself back to her feet, she ran out of the room, but once she stepped past it's threshold, the floor of the circular room was gone. It was replaced with a great big hole and she just stepped right into it. Unlike other dreams, she was really falling this time. Elly flailed and screamed only find herself flopping onto her floor in a tangle of covers. Her head was pounding and her stomach was just as upset as it was before. Crawling to the bathroom, she reunited with her porcelain companion and dry heaved for a few minutes. After she leaned over the toilet bowl with nothing coming out, she concluded that she must have had nothing left. It took her a long time to gather the strength to stand. Once she did she looked into the mirror and gasped. More smooth pearly bumps had appeared on her face. Some were on her cheekbones while other were around her eyes and forehead. Upon further inspection, she found more on her neck as well as the rest of her body. Though she applied plenty of lotion to them the day before it seemed like they were only multiplying. She tried to pick one off but she yelped only seeing that it hurt to try to remove them. The over all appearance was like she was covered in little pearly pebbles. What was going on? She felt more tired than when went to bed and her stomach was still raging though she was sure it was empty. Elly rather mindlessly ran her tongue over her teeth and felt the nasty texture that greeted anyone who just woke up. Sighing, she leaned over her sink and began to brush her teeth. Due to her nausea and irritation, she refused to look up at her oddly textured face. After she finished brushing her teeth, she ran her tongue over them again to make sure did a halfway decent job. Her brows drew close together and she reached up to feel her teeth. They were unusually pointed and sharp feeling. Taking a hand mirror with her, Elly flopped back into her bed. Slowly rolling onto her back she felt a rushing sensation in her head causing her to groan. She laid there for a few minutes then raised the hand mirror to look at her teeth. Her limbs felt unbelievably heavy, so she quickly gave up and laid there. It was like her body was getting more and more weak as time passed. The thunderous headache wasn't letting up. She was in too much pain to even think about her dream, she just wanted to sleep or have something happen to make the pain go away.