Page 8 of Becoming One
Before Nelson could answer, Orion did. “That’s my Nelson’s fox. I would know those eyes anywhere.”
The fox stared at Orion and tilted its head to the right, then after a few moments, he shifted it the other way and tilted it to the left as if studying Orion.
Nelson got down on one knee and moved closer as he held out his hand, but the fox took a step back as he bared his little fangs and growled, then raised a paw and scratched again in Nelson’s direction.
Orion watched as Nelson’s shoulders dropped in defeat and he released a small sigh of distress. Orion’s heart was breaking for his mate and he had no idea what to do. He moved to stand behind Nelson, then knelt down and placed his hands on his mate’s shoulders. As he did, the little fox began to bark and growl as he scratched and pawed at the ground. His little body jumped around, hopping up and down and spinning in circles.
“What is he doing?” Jewel asked.
“He’s not happy. He’s downright pissed actually. See how he keeps scratching at the ground and his tail has puffed up to twice its size? He’s trying to make himself appear bigger and more menacing. When he drops the front of his body down to the ground but leaves his ass in the air with the tail sticking straight up, then watch out because he’s going to attack.” Nelson replied in a monotone voice.
“But he’s just a bitty thing, how much harm can he cause?” Jewel asked in a sweet little voice that most people used on babies and puppies.
Nelson chuffed. “He can kill you within a blink of an eye if he’s mad enough at you, so don’t underestimate the little hellion, Jewel. Remember, Santorini foxes are pretty powerful beings.”
Nelson looked back to his animal as he sat on the ground and folded his legs in, then began talking to him beseechingly, “Please, my friend, my soul partner, my other half… please don’t be mad at me. I know you’re not happy because I ignored your warnings with Fallon, but… maybe I should have stopped for a moment and talked to you, heard you out… but my heart was so full of rage and revenge… as well as frightened that he would harm everyone that we love and care about… I just didn’t fully think and acted on my shame and anger. You know what he put us through. I couldn’t just let him and his followers walk away. They needed to go so they wouldn’t take anyone ever again and cage them up—or worse, like they did with us. I was just trying to protect us.”
The fox leaned his chest down low to the ground with its ass in the air as it barked, whined, and growled at Nelson. But before it attacked, like Orion thought it would, the little thing quickly turned and took off in the other direction, disappearing in the flowers.
“Well, it looks like he’s not going to make this easy on you, my friend,” Jewel said, as he stood and brushed off the dirt from his knees.
“I know,” Nelson said on a sigh as he stood.
Black clouds began to move in as the wind whipped up.
“Um, Nelson, could you maybe stop this?” Jewel asked nervously.
Nelson gave him an incredulous look. “I may be pretty powerful when my fox and I are on the same page, Jewel, but even we can’t control the weather.”
“You can in a dream.”
“Oookay,” Nelson drew out the word. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
Jewel sighed in annoyance as he rolled his eyes. “Because we are all in your freaking dream, remember?”
Nelson now looked at his friend like he had lost a few marbles. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nelson protested.
Just as Jewel went to move closer to Nelson, his face red in frustration, Orion stepped forward, getting between the two. “It’s obvious he doesn’t remember that, Jewel, so I think we’re going to have to play along with this dream.”
Thunder clapped so loud they each had to cover their ears. The wind picked up speed and was now gusting with force. “I have a bad feeling about this!” Jewel cried out over the roar of the wind.
Lightning began to strike around them, but nothing close, as the sky darkened to almost pitch-black. Clouds rolled violently across the sky and suddenly a downpour began.
“We need to get out of the elements!” Nelson yelled as he frantically looked around.
“Shit! Nelson, this isn’t real. You’re dreaming! Remember we talked about this in Ezzy’s office. We were coming in to find your fox. Please remember and stop this storm before someone gets hurt!” Jewel yelled.
“Look, over there is a shed, we can hide out there until the storm blows over,” Nelson said, as he pointed to a shed that just appeared in the distance. Then without waiting for Jewel or Orion, Nelson took off through the field, toward the shed.
“He doesn’t believe you, Jewel. You go with him and try to convince him to stop this and I’ll keep looking for his fox,” Orion said, close enough to Jewel’s ear to be heard over the storm.
“But it’s too dangerous out here, Orion. What if you get struck by lightning? I have no idea if it will affect you in the real world.”
“You know the old saying, if you’re about to die in a dream, then you wake up.”
“Yeah, but you’re not asleep, Nelson is,” Jewel pointed out.
Orion sighed as he shook his head and wiped the rain from his face. “What other choice do we have right now, Jewel? We need to get Nelson to understand this is a dream and we need to find his fox. The animal seemed to be okay with me, so I’ll go after him while you talk to Nelson.”
“Fine, but for the record, I hate this plan,” Jewel said, then before allowing Orion to respond, he turned and took off toward the shed.
Orion looked up into the tumultuous sky and sent out a silent prayer. He needed Nelson to calm down, so they didn’t get killed in here. He also needed to find that cute little fox, then the hard part would begin. Convincing the creature to trust Nelson again and become one with him.