Atrios and I snuggled together in silence. I felt the Atronach's heartbeat against my chest; my own was still racing a bit from my dream earlier. I felt warm and safe in his arms; it was just what I needed at the moment.

"How feeling?" the Flame Atronach asked, still gently stroking my hair. A sheath of it fell across my shoulder: dark ashy brown with lighter brown and silvery streaks throught, just as I'd recalled. For a moment, I was struck by how dull it seemed in comparison to my hair before. I'd dyed it various shades of red since I was sixteen, and it would take me time to get used to my natural coloring again.

I sighed. "What am I not feeling, Atrios? Right now, I'd have to say...stunned. Disbelieving. Part of me wonders if this is a dream, or a death induced fantasy of some sort. A little scared."

"Not dreaming," Atrios assured me. He hugged me closer, letting his body's warmth seep into me. "Here with Daeinde and Atrios. Handssome Dremora and Sharr brother sssoon, too."

"I'm afraid that I will wake up and it will all go away." Tears stung my eyes, making me sniffle slightly. "Oww! Atrios, what'd you do that for? You pinched my bum!"

"Pretty Rae'vn fusssess. Atrios pinch to show real."

"Okay, point taken," I grumbled, rubbing the aggrieved spot. Atrios hissed his amusement. "I'm going to miss my friends. I mean, when it all finally sinks in that this is real--don't pinch me again, I need to sit on that!--I'm going to miss them all terribly."

"Ssome come home," he reminded me.

"Yeah, that's true. One day." I sighed. "I know I worry about silly shit too much."

"Not sssilly, but too much." He gently massaged my shoulder for me. "Iss tensse."

I chuckled darkly. "You would be too, if you just died and returned to a place you hadn't seen in more than forty years. I mean, I know that forty years is nothing to you, and at one time, it was nothing to me. But I just got done living out half of a mortal lifespan in a mortal body. Time is so... so finite for them."

"Undersstandss," Atrios assured me. His warm fingers slowly worked out the kinks in my shoulder.

"There's a poet back home--on Earth, I mean. Oh hell, Earth was my home too, but never mind. Stephen Dobyns. I don't remember it all, but the beginning was something about people rushing through everything that they do so that they can do something else. Pretty much sums up mortals. That feels good."

Atrios hissed softly in reply, and went to work on my neck. "Sso little time."

"Yeah. So much I didn't get to do while I was there." I grunted as Atrios hit a sore spot. "I always used to joke to Kikai and a few other friends that the day I get my life straightened out and down the path I want it to go would be the day that I die and go home."

"How long ssstraightened?"

"Oh..." I pondered. "From the time it started going right, or the time where all the good stuff really started happening?"

"Good ssstuff."

"Four months and eighteen days."

"Isss better than never."

"Aye, that's true. Why couldn’t it have happened, say, back when my life totally sucked? Like when I was living in a homeless shelter, or when I was severely depressed back in 2006?”

Atrios’ shoulders moved against my back as he shrugged. “Not know why. Not time yet maybe.”

“I wonder what makes this different, though? I mean, I don’t really think it was a case of “Hey, Sheila has her life together finally, so let’s make it a moot point and send her home!” I think there could possibly be something going on. Or sometimes an accident is just an accident.”

“Tellss Atrios?”

I thought about it. It couldn’t do any harm to tell him my dream about Azura right before I decided to pull over. “Well, you know about my accident, and how tired I was. One of the times I dozed off…I would swear that I had a dream about Azura. She was saying something about me, the Guardian, and something about ‘wrong timing being the perfect time’. It was pretty weird. I just chalked it up to too much time on the computer and too little sleep.”

Atrios hissed softly as he contemplated this. “Maybe dream, maybe not. Perhapsss tell Daeinde?”

“Maybe I should,” I answered, though the Atronach seemed lost in thought now. I lay quietly in his arms, turning over my own thoughts in my mind.

Perhaps it was just a dream, I thought. If it was, damned if it wasn’t one fine coincidence. Perhaps Azura does have something to do with this. Or perhaps not. It all depends, as my old friend Perry used to say.

“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar,” I muttered absently.

“Hmm?”

“Old Earth saying. A psychologist named Sigmund Freud had a lot of theories on dreams and their symbols, most of them sexual. However, he did also believe that if you dreamed about a cigar, it could also be exactly that, and not a phallic object.” I considered. “He had some rather strange theories. The point is, what I muttered means only that sometimes are merely mundane and we shouldn’t read to much into them.”

“Ahh.”

I shifted and turned over in Atrios’ arms. Sensing his curiosity, I said, “I want to look at you. I’ve missed you, old friend.” I reached up to gently stroke his orange, tufted hair. He reminds me of Sharr, and Sharr of Atrios, yet they are obviously very different. I’d almost forgotten how loving he is.

“Atrios misssed Rae’vn.” He held me closer, pressing his mask against my face. We stayed close like that for a long time.

****

Daeinde returned some time later. “Well you two are very quiet,” he teased. “I left the room so that you could mess around and not feel awkward, Rae’vn.”

I shrugged. “I just needed to be held, and we talked. I don’t think I’m quite feeling up to more than that just yet, despite the dream that I had.”

He chuckled and sat down on the bed. “Well, Atrios isn’t going anywhere, and neither are you. Also, there’s any number of old friends waiting to see you again, not to mention those lads of yours.” He grinned. “Though they might be a bit…delayed. Debriefing, you understand.”

Feeling bolder, I grinned back. “Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

Atrios hissed his amusement, but Daeinde only continued to grin. “Sassy as ever. Watch it, or I might ask two of them to come in and give you a good…talking to.”

“Oh, dear.” I hid my red face in Atrios’ shoulder. I had a good idea of who he meant, though it still astounded me that this, too, was as real as roses. I wonder if Slof knows? I thought with a grin.

“Musssn’t hide,” Atrios chided, gently pulling my head up.

“Though it is terribly cute,” Daeinde added. “We told you long ago, and told you when you were mortal: there’s no secrets around here. One would think you’re used to it by now!”

“Aye, one would,” I agreed. “Well, it’s just one of a million little things that make me who I am.”

“Tell about dreams,” Atrios reminded me.

“Oh! Yes. I didn’t mention it earlier, but during one of the times I dozed off behind the wheel, I had a dream about Azura.”

Daeinde was all business now. “Do tell.”

“Well, she was talking to me, and all I recall was her using my title, and telling me that ‘the wrong time was perfect timing’. That’s all I got of it…the rest is lost and garbled somewhere in my mind.” I shrugged against Atrios’ shoulder. “As I told Atrios, it’s probably just random dream crap.”

“Maybe. It’s hard to tell. Still, I’ll keep it in mind. If Atrios felt you should mention it to me, then it could be something.”

“Or you could, maybe…well, this is a wild idea, but why not ask Azura herself? It just occurred to me: you and Atrios and many others spoke with me on Earth. Why not Azura? Maybe she really did have something to say. Maybe not. But we won’t know unless we ask.”

Atrios and Daeinde exchanged glances. I sensed that they were speaking with each other telepathically. Occasionally a slight smile would flicker across Daeinde’s face or his eyebrow would raise slightly.

“The direct approach. I like it. However, we should first find out if whether or not it truly is a dream in the usual sense, or if she has really spoken to you.”

I nodded. “Makes sense to me. It’d hardly do to just walk up and knock on her door and say “Excuse me, ma’am. I’m the Guardian, and before I died in the accident that brought me back to Nirn, I dreamed that you were talking to me. Is there something going on that I need to know about?””

Both Daedra seemed very amused by my remarks. “You always did have a certain wit,” Daeinde said. “I’ve missed it.”

“I do get rather acerbic at times, though.”

“Makes things interesting, is all. I’d let you know if you truly offended me, as would Atrios, and I am sure that neither Shal’ir nor Sharr would hesitate to put you to rights.”

My stomach growled. “Any chance of getting some food around here? And some clothes?”

Daeinde gave me an arch look. “Were you planning on going anywhere? We don’t mind it if you don’t. In fact, I think Atrios rather enjoys it!”

“Yesss.”

I smiled sheepishly. “I’m—I’m still adjusting. I was just getting used to the body I had back on Earth, weight and all. Now I’m getting used to this body all over again.”

“If it helps, neither Atrios nor myself find anything wrong with you. We didn’t when you were living on Earth, either. Nor, I suspect, do your loves.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I appreciate that; it helps.”

“Food, on the other hand, yes, it might be a good idea.” He chuckled mildly. “I’ve seen you when you’ve been without food. Not a good thing.”

“Daeinde?”

“Mmm?”

“Is it weird of me to think sometimes that I am going to miss Earth? Considering how much I bitched while I was there and got so terribly homesick?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s weird at all, Rae’vn. It means that there are aspects to it that you enjoyed very much. Also, I know that you miss your friends terribly. Now. Just snuggle with Atrios as long as you like. I know he doesn’t mind. I’ll see if we can’t find something for you to eat.” With a meaningful glance towards Atrios that I couldn’t interpret, the Prince left the room.

I have a different plot in mind. I'm keeping the previous one for an idea for a novel, though. The one I want to do for NaNo is still Elder Scrolls fic, but it's totally author wank. Self insertion, even. No need to read if you don't want to :)

Move along :) I won't officially be posting here until after Midnight on November first. Then the fun begins, haha.

The actual writing will be friends only. So if you really want to read my random crap, let me know, and I'll add you to the special list. :D