Open;; As I start to run I stop to breathe

[Paint]

And honestly, I have been begging for answers
That you and only you can give to me
A voice crying loud, it's been crying for days now
And as I start to run I stop to breathe
'Cos I was nearly scared to death
Yes I was nearly scared to death
At why you left in paragraphs
At why you left in paragraphs

It was beautiful, it was bright. Everything was in perfect clarity- she could count the off-colour hairs on his dark muzzle in the radiance of the sunlight. She could smile and inhale his scent as he leant in and pushed his nose into her fur as she did to him.

Yes, it was all in perfect clarity.

She could sense it now, this lazy happiness, how easy it was. Of course she was not alone. She was padding along with Raiden, their embrace now ended but still she felt tied to him as they padded alongside each other, fur brushing together. The mixed heat of the sun and his body were intertwined, she could not tell one from the other. She could see his bright yellow eyes, and his single white paw. Front right, she could see it.

She could see everything.

Then she looked up as they were walking, travelling to somewhere she didn't know, and ahead of her they were loping. Bion, Blake and even Tammer. She was the beautiful one- not that her boys weren't beautiful, but Tammer was her little girl. She was the truly beautiful one. And just like Rose had predicted, she'd grown out of her twisted legs and was more graceful than any other wolf now.

So they ran.

She wasn't sure where they were going, but the sun kept shining and the ground beneath them would change. Sand, to rocks, to grass, to woodland, and finally it became desolate and pebbly. Raiden was talking to her in his beautiful voice, telling her this was where they would stay now. The lights were out now and she looked up, confused, tilting her head at him. They were in a cave.

He was glowing, it was beautiful. She looked around, Bion was staring at her with the saddest expression she'd ever witnessed her happy son have. Blake was staring at her in a suspicious, angry way which made her heart hurt. And Tammer just looked lost, not even looking at any member of the family. They were all glowing. Rose turned back to Raiden.

"This is where we stay, now, Rose."
"You have to come with me. You're alive, Raiden, so are they, come on, come with me to Caden Valley," Rose pleaded.
"We'll have to stay here with the other spirits now, Rose."
"You're not a spirit! You're alive!" Rose was crying now, she could feel the tears running down her face as she screamed at Raiden. He was backing away, she didn't like the space between them.

"I'm dead, Rose. But you're alive, you're alive," he soothed her, but it didn't work and Rose ran towards him. "Don't! Don't touch me Rose, I'll disappear. Don't touch our pups. You'll ruin the tie between the two worlds."
"Raiden, I'll die. I'll kill myself here, so I can be with you," Rose pleaded hysterically.
"You can't, Rose. Only those who died in Empyrean Valley are spirits here. You'll become a spirit of Caden Valley if you die, that's your home now."
"If I die, if I kill myself, even then I can't be with you?" Rose's voice was barely a whisper.
"No, Rose. We can never be together again now."




Rose woke up screaming and sat bolt upright in her den, curling herself tightly into a small huddle. She let the tears roll down her face. She was alone. She was totally alone.