She shivered softly, all curled up. It felt colder than when she went to sleep. Colder, wetter and harder. Definitely not the pillows she fell asleep on. What was that thing? It felt like a parchment, but harder and slightly rougher, and it surrounded her. It looked pretty much like a box, but it wasn't made of the wood she was used to. Besides, it smelt like someone had relieved themself over it. That, and it was raining. Way to ruin a morning.
With a sigh, she slowly crawled out of the box. It felt funny, used as she was to the smooth chiseled stones of Hydlaa's pavement. It felt colder, rougher, and it was of a dark grey, almost black color. Slowly, she stood up, curiously padding over it. Her bare pawpads explored the new, unknown texture before finding a nigh to invisibly shard of glass, cutting herself with it. Letting out a loud yelp, she quickly hopped on one paw towards the end of the cul-de-sac she woke up in. Used to worst injuries, she was soon able to step on both paws again, even if she'd limp just a little every now and then. After making sure her foot didn't hurt as much as it did at first, she took a glance at her surroundings.
The red-colored buildings stood tall in front of her. "This doesn't look like Hydlaa," she thought. Nude trees let their branches sway around slowly with the cold breeze, which made her hug herself to try and get warmer, looking around for someplace warmer and definitely not as hostile as the small alley she had just left. Slowly, she walked along the seemingly deserted street. The ground felt smoother, with some cracks every now and then. Her small vest and thin white blouse, tailored in the traditional Ojavedan fashion, weren't enough for what seemed a weather typical of autumn. It looked like it was about to rain, even.
After having walked for a few minutes, lost as she was -the surroundings, so different from Hydlaa, were captivating-, a small kid walked up to her, a Clamod, like her. His clothes were strange: they looked like silk, but at the same time she knew it wasn't silk. It was some sort of a jacket with a strip of small teeth in front of it and a small piece of metal, biting each other to close the jacket around the small kid's body. The only thing she recognized were the scarf and the hat, which had two small holes for his black ears, both of them hand-knitted, and the pants, or trousers, even if she couldn't tell what was the fabric used to craft them. The two stared at each other for a good while, one freezing to the bone, and the other warm and cozy, blinking in surprise. Suddenly...
-Matt! Matt, what are you...? Oh, hello miss. I hope he wasn't bothering you.
A rather thin Kore rushed up to them, picking the kid up. His square glasses looked so minimalistic and clean compared to the girl's golden-rimmed glasses, with notches and burn marks. His entire body was covered in a long, black trench coat, buttoned up to his neck, but it's not like she'd know that strange long jacket, which looked like a cape or cloak to her, received that name. He raised an eyebrow at the female's appearance, tilting his head a little.
-Are you from the medieval fair? We were going there. Do you mind if we tag along?
-W-what... -she looked down at her clothes, blushing at how revealing they were in a world where almost everyone was covered to their eyebrows, and almost literally, in clothes- What's 'medieval', if I may?
The man seemed surprised, possibly wondering where did that strange girl come from. Shaking his head a little, he offered the seemingly lost female a charming smile, which made her blush even more (while giving thanks for her fur covering her reactions), reaching out a paw, the paw connected to the arm not holding his kid, who had now lost interest in the female.
-Sorry. My name's Tom, well, Thomas. Everyone calls me Tommy, except... well, nevermind, you can call me Tommy.
-M-Mishka... -her paw took his hesitantly for a pawshake. An Ylian in a suit rushed past, looking at some metallic device tied around his wrist. She couldn't help but stare at him for a long while, before turning back to Tom - Who... where... what's this place?
-This? -He looked at the building on his left- Oh. My home. Pretty, isn't it? But I guess you weren't asking about that... This town is called Hyde-upon-Irifon.
-Hyde? Irifon? -The names sounded similar to her. Irifon was, of course, a river she knew very well. But Hyde... looked like a corruption of some name she used to know- Does this city happen to have any other name?
-Another name? -He closed one eye as the child he was holding, most likely his son, pushed his muzzle away in protest, putting him down on the ground afterwards and keeping an eye on him- I think this town used to be called Hydlaa a thousand of cycles ago.
-Hydlaa! Wait. A thousand of cycles ago!? -Her eyes grew wide in astonishment- What might today's date be, then?
-Ah! It's the 5th of October of 1994! What's the matter with you? -He stepped back at the outburst, pushing his son behind himself gently, ears perked up as he stared intently at the female.
-Oc... tober? 1994? Where on Yliakum am I... -Mishka dropped to her knees, hanging her head and muttering softly- All my friends... dead...
With a careful demeanor, Thomas leaned down, slowly reaching to rest a paw on her shoulder. She simply winced at the touch, slumping onto her rear, and wiped her tears away, still sobbing. He offered her his paw, which she took gingerly, as if unsure, and helped her stand. Taking his trench coat off, he put it over her shoulders. The female simply nodded her thanks as they started walking towards his house. As they entered, she was greeted by a wall of warm air, possibly heated from the chimney across the salon. She couldn't recognize the furniture except for the chairs: other than that, it looked cozy and nice. After having explained how the shower worked, and having provided her of clean underwear and clothes for when she was done -surprisingly enough, they were of her size-, Tom offered her to sit down beside him in front of the couch, while Matt -who turned out to indeed be his son- played with his toy dinosaurs on the carpet. The female Clamod, now wearing a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of jeans, which were comfortable enough not to make her try and rip them off, sat down beside the Kore.
-Tell me who are you, Mishka. You come from far away, it seems.
-Actually... I used to live here. Tsk, you'll think I'm mad. Leave it be, please. -Tom stared intently at her, which made her sigh deeply and curl up on the couch. It was far more comfortable than the pillows she used to have at home- Fine. I used to live here, yes, Hydlaa or however you call it now, in the times of the Octarch Iragdun Salikarios. One day I went to take a nap and... I woke up where you met me. Things have changed a lot... A whole lot. But it's your turn now, Tommy.
-Eh? My turn to what? Oh, right... Well, you see, I live on my own with Matt here -he pointed at his son, who had the same fur as Mishka- since his mother, well... Since she passed away. Her name was Martha, and she looked -he turned to stare at her directly- like you.
The fenki started feeling warm, getting strangely attracted to him, asif what he had just said triggered something inside her mind. When their lips were about to meet...
A thunder boomed outside, and Mishka gasped sharply, waking up. She stared at the pillow underneath her, realizing where she was again. Angrily, she punched the pillow a few times. A nice dream, and it had to end! Looking around, she realized what she thought was a thunder, was actually a bookshelf that fell down, hitting the ground rather hard and scattering its contents all over the floor. With a sig, she tidied up the mess and left, looking back at the pillow treasuring the most beautiful dream she had ever had.
