My productivity has been horrible the last few days, so instead I'll write a blog

Sounds like a JP web novel title right?

I bet that's how most web novelists start their stories.

Incidentally, since I am writing a blog already, I might as well share with you the dream I had last night.

It's nothing altogether that special, but you know, dreams are like that after all.

Even if they are strange, they are dreams nonetheless.

Well, let us begin.

~ ~ ~​

Flash 01

It seems like I am not human.

Yes, that's 「Me」. Since it is my dream, it is natural that the main character is「Me」.

Incidentally, I cannot see myself either, because ordinarily it's not possible to see your own face without a mirror. Hence, it probably is not surprising that I cannot describe how I look like.

I simply do not know.

Flash 02

How do I know I'm not human then?

Well, there are several reasons why it is natural to come to that conclusion.

The first is that I am not behaving like an ordinary human from earth might.

Sometimes I am on two legs, and some times I am on four. I walk and I run and transition easily between the two. It seems I am not sure why some times I prefer walking on two legs, and why other times I prefer four.

It seems I must be some kind of animal. A humanoid animal? Not a shapeshifter -- because my appearance isn't changing -- I guess the most accurate description would be that I'm a demi-human.

As for what kind of species of demi-human, I have no idea. It seems 「Me」 doesn't really care either.

All of this is natural to 「Me」, so I don't question it.

Ahh, I'm not wearing clothes either. I know this because I can feel the sun on my bare back, but it doesn't seem to bother 「Me」, so it must be the case that my species does not normally wear clothes.

Does that mean I have fur then? Fur?

Huh... well, it seems like there's no way to tell because 「Me」 is not thinking about it. It's not like humans from Earth think about their body hair every waking moment of the day either, so that is understandable. For now, 「Me」is not thinking about what I look like, so the details of my appearance are unavailable.

My instinct is that I have both skin and fur, and my skin is pale.

Flash 03

It appears I do not like humans.

That much is obvious because I can feel it inside of 「Me」.

The emotion can be described as a mixture of 「Fear」and 「Dislike」.

Strong dislike. Very strong dislike. Nearly to the point of 「Hate」, but not quite that extreme.

I am not quite sure what the humans have done to make 「Me」 dislike them so, but it is clearly evident that I wish to stay far away from them.

In fact, I am running away from them.

The image is rather like a raccoon that is trying to slip by unnoticed at the fringes of human civilization.

Though, I am much bigger than a raccoon.

The time of day is sometime in the afternoon, and the sunlight is strong.

Flash 04

I actually have a younger one with me.

By a "younger one", it probably means that it is a younger one of my species -- about half my size or so. In human terms, it is most certainly a child, probably the equivalent of 7-8 years old. Presently, it was at that size that I could just barely still lift it if necessary, though I would probably struggle running with it in my arms because it is too heavy.

The term that 「Me」 thinks of it as is a "Pup".

Unfortunately, it seems I cannot tell what my relationship with that "Pup" is.

Apparently it is so obvious that 「Me」doesn't even need to think about it.

All I know is that the "Pup" is extremely important to me, and I absolutely have to make sure that I bring it to someplace safe.

Was it my child? A younger sibling?

Who knows. In either case, it probably wouldn't have made a difference either way.

It is probably similar in the sense that 「Me」 doesn't actively think about what gender the "Pup" is, so therefore I cannot tell you whether it is male or female.

Details of that level apparently are irrelevant to 「Me」, and thus irrelevant to the contents of this dream.

Flash 05

The "Pup" is very quiet and well behaved.

Now that I think about it, "Pup" hasn't even spoken a single word.

For that matter, I haven't either.

Is it because the situation is too tense?

Am I even able to speak English?

I guess it shouldn't be surprising if I can't -- I'm not human after all.

It appears that "Pup" and I instinctively understand each other.

We communicate with a glance, and the other understands.

I guess this means we speak some kind wordless language, though maybe it isn't really accurate to call it a language because there are no words or symbols, or even telepathy for that matter.

We just know by seeing each others eyes.

Flash 06

"Pup" and I are on a white concrete pillar, about 1.5m in diaeter and about as high as a two story building. It is about as high as the trees on the other side of the street.

Because the pillar is narrow, we are curled and huddled against each other, minimizing our profile so that our feet do not stick out in the air.

We are trying to minimize every chance we may been seen from the ground.

The sun bears down on my naked back and the radiated heat is hot. "Pup" is curled up in my arms with its eyes closed, perhaps sleeping or resting.

Or maybe because it is afraid.

In truth I do not know what the "Pup" feels, though I do in fact know for sure that 「Me」 currently is feeling an emotion that is somewhat akin to 「Fear」.

I hesitate to use the word 「Fear」 because it is not quite the same as human fear. It is a greatly toned down version, probably more similar to an extreme form of 「Alertness」 or 「Tension」 or 「Anxiety」.

If I had to guess, it is probably impossible for me to feel 「Fear」 in a human sense. It seems that my species does not feel 「Fear」 in that way. So perhaps it would be most accurate to say that my senses are 「heightened」, and I am more 「sensitive」 to outside threats. I am afraid, but it is necessary for me to be afraid. Fear helps me. I am afraid, but not paralyzed.

There are goosebumps on my skin, because my tension is so high.

I am so watchful, on this pillar, that it is almost as if I do not even blink.

It seems I know which direction our pursuer will come from, and I am staring intently in that direction.

I am afraid, and I feel "Pup" curl into my body tighter, the human-equivalent action of squeezing my hand tightly.

Now that I think about it, "Pup" is most certainly 「afraid」 too, but it is saying that even if we are afraid, we need to depend on each other.

"Pup" is a very sweet child.

Flash 07

The Pursuer has a name.

I know exactly who he is, because it is an acquaintance I know from 「Real Life」.

Actually, I do not know why he as appeared in my dream, or for that matter why even he is the antagonist of it, because we have no issue or qualms with each other in 「Real Life」. The real me hasn't even seen him in more than a week now.

His name is □□□□ □□□□□.

All I know right now is that 「Me」 is afraid of him, the human Pursuer.

He walks slowly, almost leisurely, taking his time.

It appears that he is in no rush.

However, he is indeed looking for us.

I cannot read the emotions on his face. I do not know what he is thinking.

It doesn't seem like it is 「Anger」 or 「Concern」.

The best word I can use to describe his neutral expression is that it is 「Merciless」.

He knows that we are running from him, and perhaps he knows that we fear him.

But he does not care.

All he is here for is to find us, capture us, and take us back.

My instinct tells me that he is taking his time because he knows we cannot truly escape.

In fact, 「Me」 seems to know that too.

No matter where we run, he will find us.

Thus, our only choice is to keep running.

When he finds us, then we run again.

Flash 08

He looks left.

Then he looks right, his eyes scanning the environment.

Then he looks up.

I am not sure if he has seen us.

I pray he hasn't.

In fact, I am 80% positive he has not actually seen us.

But he begins walking towards the pillar on top of which we hide nonetheless.

My heart stops and I hold my breath.

My wishful thinking is that he is merely mistaken.

However, truthfully I know that he has found us.

It does not actually surprise me, because it is a given that he will find us.

Flash 09

I hear the clatter at the bottom of the pillar.

At this point, he has begun to climb up the rusted iron rungs embedded into the pillar.

He is coming.

It takes a few moments before I decide what to do.

All that my thoughts are filled with is that I must protect "Pup" no matter what.

When He is nearly to the top, I slip down the side, begin descending at approximately a 60 degree from where he is ascending.

It is within his arms reach, but that is intentional.

I will be the closer one, therefore he will focus on me.

"Pup" will slip down on the opposite side of the pillar when I have his attention.

As expected, I feel his fingers wrap around my left ankle.

Immediately, I buck with my leg, trying to ensure that his grip does not become too secure.

He manages to hang on despite my sudden kick. However, that is not a surprise. That much is to be expected. □□□□ □□□□□ is a strong guy that drinks several protein shakes a day.

However, at this point he only has one hand on the ladder, and he is positioned awkwardly because of my sudden kick back several feet into the air. He is not stable.

I fling myself off the pillar and throw all my falling weight onto his remaining hand on the iron rung, with the objective of wrenching it off the handle.

Gravity is on my side, and suddenly □□□□ □□□□□ is tilting backwards as neither of his hands are supporting his weight on the ladder rungs.

At this rate, we will both fall to the ground from two-stories high, though my Pursuer has the troublesome problem that he is falling head first.

Unsurprisingly, he finally lets go of my leg to free his hand to find something to grab to break his fall.

This was what I was counting on.

Instants later, I feel I disgusting jerk and the recoil of a yank.

Only someone who has used rock-climbing gear before would have an idea of what that feeling is like, when the spotter uses the emergency brake to stop a imminent fall from the climbing wall.

I wince, because I know it must have hurt.

I am not light, after all, and the sudden change in velocity combined with the two of our weights is not an easy burden for a human limb to bear, even if he is a fairly strong guy.

Perhaps he may have even torn a ligament or sprained his shoulder at the very least.

However, that is not my concern for now.

I had expected him to break our fall to the ground, and now I was at a low enough height that I knew I could drop to the ground confidently without injury.

One story was no problem at all, and I knew from experience.

Perhaps it was underhanded and a bit reckless to count on my Pursuer as an expendable parachute, but for some reason I knew him well enough that I was absolutely sure that was the action he would take.

I wonder if that was the so-called, 'predator and prey' knowing each other best.

In either case, I was as quick as a fish with my reactions as I released my grip and slipped to the ground before my Pursuer had a chance to cry out from the pain.

All of this had perhaps happened in a second or two.

We probably only had a 5 or 10 second head start running before He recovered from the shock.

Perhaps if we were fortunate, He might even give up today to tend his injuries.

However, neither I or the "Pup" bothered to look back to check.

I pulled on "the Pup"'s hand and pulled us in a direction out of the immediate line of sight from the White Pillar as we ran.

Flash 10

We are stopped by a suspicious short man who slips out from the underbrush.

It seems that 「Me」 is familiar with this individual, though I do not recognize him.

He is a "Fairy" -- or at least, that is the term in 「Me」's thoughts -- though frankly he looks more like a little elf or imp. He is approximately the same height as "Pup".

He is even dressed in green.

「Me」's impression of this Fairy is not good.

The details are not clear to me, but I can only assume that we are acquainted from the past.

He grabs my shoulder and points to the forest towards the left of our current trajectory.

"Try that way, into the desert forest hills of □□□□□□," he says.

His words are definitely not in English, though I seem to understand it anyways.

The first thought that flashes through my mind is "desert" -- so presumably something like a cold tundra that is called a desert because it does not receive much rain.

I frown, because even though there are trees, if it is a desert, there will not be food or water.

The pup and I still need to eat.

"I do not think that is a good idea," I say.

Oh, it seems I can speak, however it is not in English.

The fairy makes no comment, and only smiles.

I do not like that smile. In fact, I have never liked it.

My next thought is that our Pursuer also needs food and water, so perhaps it isn't a bad idea to run into a desert forest. In a sense, perhaps this idea that was more sensible than fleeing from human settlement to human settlement, where our Pursuer could easily reach us.

Wordlessly, I pull on the Pup's hand and we leave the human road, and I swiftly lead us running towards the tree line where the fairy pointed.

It was a densely wooded forest, with fairly a foot a space between a thick mesh of trees each as thick as a person's thigh. They were trees with white bark, perhaps like birch trees, though I do not believe they were birch trees. This dense forest of trees all sat on a slope with a steep incline. It would be a rough arduous uphill hike that would surely be tiring for ordinary humans, but thankfully it seems that my species has a slight advantage in physical endurance.

You see, I hate people who can change my mind with a single word.

For example, my mother is that kind of person. Even though I disagree with her the moment she says it, weeks later I find myself deciding after a lot of brooding that in the end it would be best to do as she says.

The fairy is following us from behind.

I find this to be strange, because by all proper regards, it should be the Fairy leading the road.

After all, our destination is the Fairy Road.

I am not quite sure why 「Me」 knows this, but it seems to be within my existing knowledge.

「Me」also finds it strange that the Fairy is not leading the path. After all, I do not know which is the right direction to travel in. I do not know how to navigate the forest.

I almost open my mouth to remark that 'I do not know the way', but then moments later I realize that the path I am currently on does indeed feel like a trail, even if I did not notice it before.

Albeit, an old and completely overgrowth trail, but my instincts say it is a trail nonetheless.

And to follow the trail, it would be a left here. And straight ahead there.

I see.

So this is why the Fairy felt it was okay to leave me in front.

Flash 11

It is nightfall, we have reached the Fairy Road.

I actually did not know it was the Fairy Road at first glance, but it was clear enough that it was the case when you thought about it.

It is a wide flat road of dead leaves in the middle of the forest. It was about as wide as two-lane highway. Frankly, it easily could have been mistaken as a very long clearing, since it was completely empty.

The emptiness only felt more severe as it was chilly, and wind blew eerily in this ominous place, now that the sun had set.

I look further down the road, and there is an Inn with a single lamp hanging outside.

It was as you expect from a Fairy Inn -- it appears when travelers most need it.

I feel this is fortunate because the Pup and I are still demi-humans, and we lack the fur and fat to protect us from the bitter cold in a cold desert forest. It would have been most miserable if we were forced to find some kind of hole in the ground to cuddle together, while shivering.

My instincts told me that we probably wouldn't die if we remained outside with the current weather -- the benefits of being a sturdier species, it seems -- though it would definitely be very very unpleasant to spend the night in the cold.

It didn't hurt to give it a look.

We enter the Inn, and I crane my head around the receptionists desk to take a peak inside.

It looks warm and cozy.

"I expect you will pay, correct?" A deep voice sudden speaks with skeptical annoyance.

I look up, and it is a tall bear-like individual dressed in a frock at the front desk. It is a female, by the way, even though the voice is low.

I feel slightly ashamed because my desires must have shown plainly on my face.

Additionally, I have no money, so I had no idea what I was thinking when walking inside the Inn anyways.

Of course there would be fee to staying there.

What kind of Inn didn't charge money?

Shopkeepers are the kind of people who can tell at first glance which customers are only there to window shop, and which actually plan to spend.

Since we were clearly the former as paupers, it was obvious that the receptionist would be annoyed at our intruding behavior.

"How... how much is it?"

Those words venture out of my mouth nonetheless.

I have no idea why I still asked, because no matter the price, I couldn't pay it.

Perhaps subconsciously wanted to stay here desperately, and I was unwilling to let the idea of a warm bed escape with just a single sentence.

At that point though, the male Fairy interrupted.

"I will pay for them. Do not worry. Two rooms please."

I looked at the fairy again, and saw the smile on his face.

Again, I remembered how much I disliked that smile.

"Thank you..." I say after a few seconds, though it is barely sincere and hardly audible.

Flash 12

As I lay back on my bed in the Inn, I suddenly remember that we did not try hiding our tracks during our flight through the forest during the day.

Our pursuers are skilled trackers, so it is without question they will be able to follow our trail.

I briefly consider for a moment whether I should go outside and try concealing them a little, but quickly decide against it because it is night, and furthermore dangerous.

Tomorrow I will ask the Fairy if there is anything that can be done about it.

While I did not wish to capitulate to the Fairy so easily...

...if I thought about it more, it wouldn't necessarily be a horrible outcome if I sold myself to the Fairy. If it could guarantee a safe place for the Pup, perhaps it would be worth it.

We could not stay running forever.

But that was something to consider again after a night's sleep.

Good night.