Warm breath washed over his face, tickling his nose and fluttering his eyelashes. He stirred, rising towards the sensation through the blackness engulfing him from all sides.

Wake, rumbled a voice deep inside him.

The blackness drew back like a sheet and, slowly, he peeled his eyes open. Sandy golden hair filled his vision, thick and warm. He blinked and the fur drew back until he could see deep brown eyes and a soft black nose.

The Lion whiffed breath over him and moved to the side with a rumble. Wide, blue sky stretched out In the Lion's place, large fluffy puffs of white drifting in and out. Green and yellow shimmered in between the clouds, outlining the shape of wings every once and a while. On his left, white caps of mountains lined the sky.

Mountains...? Fralith blinked again, commandeering command of his limbs from the heaviness of darkness and sitting up. Graceful craggy peaks blanketed in snow brushed the sky, green dotted with yellow sides sloping down into a wide valley bowl.

A rich, towering canopy gathered on the valley's foot, supported by hulking trunks and branches. Just past the ginormous forest, every shade of blue in existence splashed in the rolling green field like a lake or a piece of the sky from every time of day.

He sat on a mountain side, soft grass waving their blades in greetings to the breeze ruffling his hair. Yellow flowers sprinkled in the grass fluttered their petals, as bright and vivid as if he was seeing them for real.

All of it looked like as if it was real. The mountains, the fields, the trees, even the HomeKin field looked real. Smelled real. Felt real. But it couldn't possibly be real. Couldn't be because this—these mountains, this valley—was SecondHome.

SecondHome. This was his homeland—the one he couldn't get back to. The one he ran away from. How could he be here? It couldn't be real. He had to be dreaming. But...had he been asleep?

Shadows reached up and sunk their teeth into his shoulder, rivulets of fierce, blazing hot pain slicing through the peaceful atmosphere of the moment. He yelped and slapped a hand to his shoulder. Hot, sticky liquid slid between his fingers. What— The shadows sunk deeper and everything rushed back.

"ZANDER!"

Thunder roared. Pain exploded in his shoulder. Blood gushing from the wound. Darkness. Fading. Leaving. He gasped, jerking back from the memories.

He was dying. Dying. Bleeding out. Maybe...maybe already dead.

It is not your time yet. The words settled in his stomach, real and just right. The sensation of blood between his fingers vanished, along with the pain and shadows.

The Lion sat down beside him, head turned towards him and dark eyes filled with more knowledge than the mountains themselves. You have much left to do.

Flicking his gaze to his clean hand then to the Lion, he furrowed his brow. How am I here? His voice came not from his mouth, but from...from somewhere inside of him, like a thought, but louder. It was strange, speaking without opening his mouth, but it felt right somehow.

I brought you here. The Lion flicked his tail over his paws, ears swiveling towards him.

So he was really in SecondHome? Why?

Do you wish to return to SecondHome?

He looked out, the breeze playing with his hair and bringing the scent of wild, mountain air accented by sweet flowers and warm grass to him. I...don't know.

Did he want to return here? Did he want to see the mountains every day and breathe fresh, clean air born of wild places? To wake to the song of a thousand birds and run along the bridges strung between the great tree trunks? To live in the canopy, free to frolic in and out of spots of rain sneaking through the leaves?

Did he want to mingle with the people and chatter with his whole body, not just his mouth? Did he...want to see his family again? His friends? Memories arose from the corners of himself, some filled with laughter, with warmth, with adventure and play, with gentle camadree, with nostalgia and just...him as himself.

Did he want that again? An ache started in his chest, pulling strings taught in his belly. Yes. He wanted to feel free and happy and loved and safe like that again. And he did, with BlueShirt's family. Just...he was missing something. Someone.

Davith's face, softened by a smile, flashed across his mind, followed by Drao's ever deep, kind gaze. I want to see Davith and Drao again. Davith's expression twisted into a snarl of rage. But I— I don't—

Do you wish to stay where you are?

He dropped his gaze to his hands. Yes. But...shouldn't he want to go back to SecondHome and his family? It was his...home. Or was BlueShirt's home home now?

Are you willing to learn everything they have to teach you?

The image of the book BlueShirt had read the part about the Lion from flashed across his mind. Yes. He was learning every day, though the Rectangles still made his head hurt.

Seek me where you are and seek me where you will go. The Lion nudged his shoulder. I am with you always.

He looked at the Lion, brows furrowing. 'Seek me where you are and seek me where you will go'? What does that mean? The Lion...was with him already. Why did he have to look for the Lion?

I am with you always. The Lion stood and padded in front of him, the breeze—now a stiffer wind—ruffling his fur. Flower petals and bits of grass blew past as the wind became stronger.

Sitting straighter, he glanced around him. At the edges of his vision, the scene faded, carried away in bits and pieces by the wind. The darkness behind the scene crept forward with each second, growing closer and closer towards him and the Lion. A fist clenched in his stomach and he turned to the Lion. If you are, why did I have to seek you?

The Lion lowered his head and breathed warmth over his face. Seek me, my child, and you will see.

The wind picked up to a gale, streaking blackness across the sky and whipping grass and flowers and gray streaks past him. It howled a mournful note, the end of it turning to a sound like a wail that wasn't from wind. Just as the darkness took over the last streaks of color, a voice rumbled inside him.

Rise. Wake.