Allegra was walking through a large green field.
She would not return to camp tonight or sleep in a proper bed, unfortunately.
The Forest Mother offered her the location she needed to head towards for this plan of hers, and after Heru left, she began heading in that general direction.
She was in no hurry, since it was pretty close by, so she decided to enjoy the silence that came from this short walk.
It brought her peace, a peace she lacked these last few days.
A peace she craved, a peace where dreams could come forth and take her mind away.
She was still considered young by her clan, yet her mind was heavy and old.
She was almost fifty now, half the lifespan of a human, but not even a tenth of her clan's.
The Spirit Bears lived long lives, and their coldness and wisdom that came with their long lifespans made them one of the most important and influential clans among the Metamorphs.
Many would kill to leave that long and have that much influence.
But she would give all that in exchange for a good night's sleep.
Yet despite her heavy mind, full of decades of memories, she was now walking towards a decision.
A decision that, if she succeeded, would give her more to deal with and less time to sleep, to dream of worlds far, of stories yet discovered, of possibilities unreachable to the awake Allegra.
Yet, she pressed on.
Not for her, but for the rest of Metamorphs out there.
Metamorphs who refused to see what she was seeing.
Yet, despite their foolishness, despite their words to her, she pressed on.
She casually walked for another hour before stopping for the day.
The sun was setting, and she did not plan to get to her destination tonight either way.
And once she managed to find a good hiding spot, she filled it with some grass and went to her favorite place of all places. Sleep.
She did not feel the need for food or water. All she wanted was the next dream.
And as the night began setting in, the dreams followed.
She woke up on a comfortable, large bed, surrounded by rock walls.
She felt rested, a weird feeling as of late, so she chose to lie there for a bit longer.
She looked around the room, which was simple in decorations, but with just a wish, the room began switching.
The drapes were now of a deep violet velvet.
The table and chair in front of her were now of pure marble.
The floor was filled with carpets from all over the world.
She felt hungry, and a tray filled with exotic foods and sliced beef appeared next to her.
As she ate in bed, she felt thirsty, and when she turned to look to the other side, a glass full of a golden liquid stood there.
She took a sip.
It was wonderful, sweet like honey, yet it carried the pleasant sting of alcohol.
The glass was done before she noticed.
She blinked.
It was full again.
She continued like this for what she felt were days.
Changing the room, reading books, eating, and drinking things that she imagined.
It was wonderful.
As she was deciding on what type of wood would work best for the table to match the rest of this new room of hers, a knock came at the door.
She froze in place.
A knock came again, a little bit harder on the wood that acted as a door.
"Who is it?" Allegra asked.
"It's me," said a manly voice on the other side, "You need to wake up."
"I am awake," Allegra replied.
"Are you?" asked the man behind the door.
Allegra looked around the room. She raised her hand, and all the furniture in front of her eyes rose from the ground.
With a thought, she pushed all in front of the door, blocking it.
"What do you think blocking the door does in a dream, Allegra?" the man asked, pushing the door wide open with a loud crash.
"Leave me be," Allegra wanted to say, but her voice did not reach her lips.
She tried again, but the most she could manage was a whisper.
"Shhh, don't make too much sound," said the voice of the man… or was it a woman now?
She couldn't tell.
She tried to speak again.
And once more, nothing came out.
A step could be heard as it walked on the marble floor of her room.
"Move, move, quickly, get the kids to safety," said the person.
Huh? Allegra muttered to herself, realizing that the voice did not make sense in the dream.
But maybe it made sense in the real world.
She opened her eyes.
Not ten feet away from the place she used as a hiding spot between a bunch of brushes, she saw torches lighting the night.
There were at least thirty or so moving quickly towards the green field she traversed earlier in the day.
There were many young and old women, most of them with nothing more on them than a night gown, bare feet, and a torch in hand.
They also had with them maybe just as many children, dragging them by their hands or carrying them if they were too young to walk just yet.
"Come on, we need to leave before they catch up to us," said an elder lady.
"And go where?" a younger one cried out, "We have barely any food, and the kids would starve before we reach another Domain."
"Then we walk faster," replied the elder, "But we have to keep walking or we would all die raped and eaten by those beastmen."
To which the younger women who wanted to argue fell silent.
There was no argument to be had there, so they began walking again, passing near the staring eyes of Allegra.
"What are the chiefs doing to these poor souls?" whispered Allegra as she made the correlation between the beastmen and her people, the Metamorphs.
She wanted to ask more, but she refused to move.
She wanted to care more, but she refused to care.
But the night was still young.
So, as the voices of the women grew quieter, she returned to sleep, happy that at least the nightmare she thought she had was all but an interference.
It was a pity for her not to enjoy some sleep tonight.
She will attempt to change the situation tomorrow, and she will either sleep for the rest of eternity, in peace, or become the chief of all Spirit Bears.
For tomorrow, she will invoke the Pagnum Sacra and kill her own father.