Coral cringed as a familiar voice slithered down her spine and made her feel dirty as it touched her. The expected hand fell on her shoulder, but to her surprise, it lifted quickly. She looked behind her and found another familiar, but somehow comforting sight greet her eyes.
"Bob, what have I told you about putting your hand on her shoulder? And I don't care if you have some excuse about needing to get her attention! You wouldn't try to get my attention, or the boss's attention that way, so keep your damned hands off!" The grey haired man spoke with authority, but he was just another worker within the building.
"Hey, you don't even work here!" Bob backed up a step as the larger man seemed to growl under his breath.
"Correction. I don't work for you." He dismissed the slimy man with merely a look, and Bob took the opportunity to leave the area. He looked down at Coral, but was careful to keep his eyes locked on hers, and not let them fall lower then the jawline.
"Thank you." She was about to say something else, but he shook his head.
"Don't. Next time, say no." She frowned.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Fools like that only find confidence in those they feel they can bully, or intimidate. Don't let them. Tell him to keep his hands off. If he becomes agitated, leave the room, and go to your boss. Don't let him gain power over you." He ran his fingers through his hair, a sign of his anger at the situation, and growled lightly. Then, to her surprise, he left the room.
Coral pondered his words for the rest of the day, and since Bob had not shown his face again, she had no way of testing his assertion.
Night came as it always did, and once again, she was deep within the forest, and covered in sweat.
"Why?" She yelled. "Every night and I still come here!" A growl to her left startled her. She turned and saw a face she knew, and sighed. It was her gray furred wolf.
"Finished running? And here I thought I would have some more fun before the night was done!" She turned to the monster, and growled.
The dream took on a life of its own from that point. The wolf stalked up to her side, growled and snarled at the monster in her dreams, and she lowered herself down to all fours. She growled and snarled along with him.
His laughter ran over her, but she shook it off like water, and lunged forward. The wolf kept pace with her and two large bodies crashed into the slimy creature who filled her nightmares with more blackened and terrified cries then any other nightmare ever could.
Teeth and claws ripped and tore the beast apart. Her teeth. Her claws. The wolf snarled and growled while he watched her rip her monster to shreds.
Yes, her monster. She finally had to admit it to herself. She drew the nightmares to her with her fear. For the first night in many years, she had conquered her fears, and her dream was her own.
She wiped her chin and spat out the putrid blood on her tongue. the wolf bounded back and laughed like a hyena again. She jumped off the body that no longer moved, and ran after him. She was still on all fours, and he led her on a chase that made her smile.
The wind rolled over her fur and she saw the forest with new eyes. Rabbits ran here and there, owls hooted overhead as they hunted their prey, and her wolf ran ahead of her, a hyena's laugh that drew her on.
She caught him at the water's edge, and they rolled, a tangled mess of limbs, into the ocean's warm waters. Normally this time of year, they would be freezing cold, but within her dream, they were as warm as bath water.
She smiled as she pinned him to the warm wet sand, and a gentle paw wiped a blood stain from her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into that gentle touch. She growled in surprise as she opened her eyes. Somehow, he squirmed out from under her. Instead of continuing the game, he sat beside her, and pasted himself to her side.
She smiled, followed his lead, and looked to the sky. Together, they closed their eyes, and howled to the moon.
The moon saw her tears every night for well over a decade, but tonight, it saw something else. It did not witness her torment, or her nightmares. It did not see the monster win, or see her relive her agony.
Tonight, it saw her wolf pack dream.
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