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The world was dark, littered with mountains in the distance, broken rocky and dirt surface under them, black grassy fields nearby shifted and sighed in the light warm breeze. The sky above them was a fiery hue that was more beautiful than frightening. Dolor would wake here in his fully natural form on a warm black scaly object that was, shockingly, breathing. Large, shiney black eyes looked down at his feathery friend, Peregrine waiting for his dearest friend to wake in the Nightmare lands and see his prince in his fully natural form, distinctly larger than the phoera and, more importantly, larger than the form Dolor had found him in.

Covered in bright red feathers, Dolor clicked his black beak, his bird form fully realized. He was so much more comfortable, until he looked up and noticed the creature he seemed to be nested in. Inside the dream, he was much more at ease, not yet realizing the truth, so the creature did not frighten him. But there was something so familiar. "My prince," he said in his thoughts, his beak not moving.

Black eyes of a thousand horrors softened as they looked at the tiny bird. "Dolor.... My dearest friend..." a growling voice greeted him in his head. Peregrine lifted a large hand and used a single pointed finger to stroke his feathers with surprising gentleness. He so hoped Dolor would remember him in this form. "This is home... The Nightmare Lands. And this is me... Prince Peregrine, heir to these lands..." He motioned with his free hand to the land around them, sadly empty now but very similar to the human area of Montana, albeit with a blacker palette. "You would fly over these fields and I could watch you for hours..." A hazy, smokey version of Dolor appeared among the dark, grey clouds, weaving in and out, performing spectacular rolls and loops in a stunning and fluid dance.

"I could fly?" Dolor asked, amazement in his voice. He stared at the form for a moment, his eyes watering because he couldn't yet remember it. Peregrine's form was a familiar comfort, but he couldn't remember and it saddened him.

"You can fly," Peregrine corrected him gently, feeling happiness swell in him as he watched Dolor wonder about things. "You are built exactly the same as you were." He turned his head, watching the ghost bird continuing to fly. "Dolor, as I told you... Your feathers were always so beautiful to me." It was horrifying as the corners of those dark eyes squinted slightly. His mouth full of teeth didn't change, but it was clear, somehow, that he was smiling. He looked again at the real bird on his chest and moved his finger to scratch very gently Dolor's cheek.

Dolor let out a crooning sound at the feel of the finger. It amazed him how frightening this creature was, a nightmare quite literally, but he wasn't scared. He was a child and was happy to be with his prince and best friend. Dolor's body changed into his fledgling form inside the dream as a happy and comfortable feeling filled him.

A deep rumbling sound came from the scales under Dolor as Peregrine chuckled. "You are so cute, Dolor," he complimented with a warm graveling voice. Pointed fingers wrapped around the small bird and lifted him as if in a tiny cage as the prince climbed to his feet. Once he was upright he set Dolor down on his head, safely between his spines and set off walking, using his knuckles as if to walk on all fours as they moved along, strolling through the black grass. "We were always together here. We traveled, slept, played, everything together..."

"Why did you leave me?" Dolor asked suddenly, his voice childlike and innocent, not accusing in the least. "You loved me like I love you, right?" Dolor couldn't understand. His mind wouldn't connect the reasoning as he curled around the spine in front of him.

"Oh my sweet Dolor..." Peregrine's voice was sad even in his head as he walked along. "It's not 'loved', it's 'love'. I love you with all of my heart, I always have and I always will since my father gave you to me as an egg. I didn't leave you, I'd never leave you. You wanted so much to protect me... You left me, to distract a faction of the humans. I told you not to but you wouldn't listen. You insisted." He sighed, his eyes closing halfway with sadness. "I tried so hard, I told you no a million times, but you went anyway. I tried to find you- Dolor I never stopped trying. I wanted to find you again so much. You are my best friend and it killed me to lose you." He stopped walking having come to a lake so clear one could see deep into its depths, looking like black sand. Their reflection was flawless, a tiny fiery bird like a small crown on the massive beast currently crouching beside the water.

Dolor hung upside down over Peregrine's head, looking at the reflection. His bright red eyes were curious. "Did it work?" He trailed one taloned foot lazily alone the scales, watching as the reflection did the same. "Did I at least do something right before I was killed?" Dolor stretched his wings and rested his head on Peregrine's scales.

"Yes, Dolor... It worked..." Peregrine answered quietly, still sad as he remembered that day.

A short distance from them people materialized. A small army of horrific beasts camping on the meadows of dark grass. There was a version of himself and another form of Dolor, an adult bird form, sitting on a wicked looking perch. They seemed to be arguing over something, the prince pointing at smoke fluttering up on the horizon beyond the mountains. Finally, he looked defeated, leaned down and Dolor nuzzled the spot between his eyes before spreading his magnificent wings and flying off toward the smoke, leaving a devastated Peregrine. The vision faded.

"They were led away, but eventually caught you. I tried so hard to get you back." I killed so many... "I thought I lost you forever... But I knew, some day, we'd find each other again. It was longer than I hoped- I hoped to never lose you at all- but here you are. We're together again." His eyes, completely black and pupil-less still somehow showed that he was looking up toward his forehead. "Please Dolor... Please tell me you won't leave me again."

"I'm so sorry. I hurt you." Dolor rubbed the top of his head against Peregrine's, a fledgling seeking to comfort and be comforted. The memories weren't returned, but Dolor knew the prince wasn't lying. "I won't leave you again." His mind was racing, so much going on with what he thought he knew and realized he didn't.

Peregrine's eyes were smiling again at the comfort the little bird gave him. "Thank you." The words reverberated with sincerity. "I promise, I'm going to protect you. You will be safe Dolor. Take all the time you need to remember. I promise to always be here for you." His body shifted back a pace and he laid down in a pose similar to a sphinx. "Do you have more questions? More you wanted to know? I will let you guide this, and let you know anything I think you need to, that you might not think to ask about. If not, then we may return to the waking world. If that is what you desire of course. Whatever you want Dolor... I will do it for you."

Dolor nodded and leaned down enough so he could clearly see into one large eye, having no idea how many times he had taken that pose before. "If you are the prince, what exactly am I? Other than completely loyal and drawn to you?" His odd sense of humor was appearing a little as he watched Peregrine, his bird face tilting slightly.

There was another rumble, like thunder, as Peregrine chuckled again. "Your official title is irrelevant given the current state of things," he answered. "'My best friend' is probably most important. My... companion, of sorts. What you are now.. I suppose is up to you. Officially, you are to be with me, but I will not force you to do so. Your happiness always meant more to me than that you stay by my side. I had simply always been lucky enough that those two things were one in the same." His eyes seemed to shift down again and he dipped a finger in the lake. It rippled but instead of smooth round waves, they were like shattered lines that formed circles and spread out from his finger, dissipating as normal ripples did. "When you were found... your egg was given as tribute to my father- you're very rare, Dolor. He gave you to me as a birthday gift. He himself had a dragon. My sister will have a unicorn. We all have one, and I was incredibly lucky to have you. Not just by my personal opinion, but in general. You are a remarkable creature, and everyone wanted you. I don't care so much about that though. I care that you were my best friend, not what creature you were."

"You have a sister? She's younger than you, isn't she?" Dolor pulled himself up so he could rub his shoulder against the scales, causing a feather to float lazily to the ground. "I'm not so incredible, I cannot even remember anything, apparently can't take my own shape anymore. And I can't keep my feathers from bending." He slid down the scales, flipping in midair to hover there for a moment. It was a dream realm, after all. Dolor knew that he could fly here.

Peregrine watched Dolor hover, seeming very relaxed laying by the lake with one of his favorite people in all the realms. (Let's be honest, his sister would always be number one.) "The fact that you can't take your full shape is my fault, and I apologize for that." He did not elaborate. "But yes, my sister is younger than me. Quite a bit younger. She enjoyed having you for tea parties." His rumble was louder as he laughed. "I did adore you in that bonnet, sticking your beak in her tea cups."

"I bet I looked good in a bonnet." Dolor couldn't really smile in this form, but he was obviously finding something humorous. "I like this form better. Much better." He landed between Peregrine's forelegs, rolling on the ground and wiggling his feathers back against the grass. "I like my form better too. I never realized how uncomfortable that human form was."

Peregrine nodded, watching the little bird enjoy the freedom. He did so love when Dolor was so happy. "I may remove the lock, when we return," he told his friend, implying he was at least able to do so. "But you can not show this form to anyone... and the human form becomes much more difficult to maintain without it." He seemed to smile again. "As far as humanoid forms go though, I find yours rather pleasing."

"As do the humans. Especially the women." The face Dolor made was one of exasperation. He wanted this form, but not if it meant more trouble than he already had. "I do have one question that I'm not sure I want answered...Other than flying and dying, what else can I do? I'm not just a sacrificial chicken, am I?" Although his tone was joking, there was a serious look in his eyes as he stilled in the grass, gazing up at Peregrine.

"You are not a chicken by any means," Peregrine answered, a quiet growl coming out of his actual mouth at the very idea. "I am not sure of all of your abilities... You were trained to fight, I know that much. Your tears heal most wounds. You can lift immense amounts of weight. It was really impressive the way you could lift so many supplies. I remember sometimes, during the war, you would take me into battle and drop me in the center. I thought the humans would have dropped dead from fright that moment. "

"How much do you think phoera tears would go for on the market?" Dolor asked absently. He looked up at Peregrine. "I didn't know I could do all that. It would be worth having the memory of being with the humans if only I could remember what came before." There were so many more questions he had, but he could ask them later.

"Poera tears could fetch a small fortune," Peregrine answered his question, carefully laying his chin on his arm, leaving Dolor beside his neck and just in the corner of Peregrine's inky eye. "If sold to the right customer. But Dolor... You are so very rare, the ones who hurt you before? They are the only ones who have ever had your essence and they are the only ones who ever did." He sighed, the last bit having set his spines up slightly and he was quick to relax to settle them again. "None of your kind have ever been caught, and there aren't that many to be caught in the beginning. And humans have not yet figured out how to duplicate essences, so once what they took from you ran out, there was no more of it in the world."

What Peregrine said left Dolor with two conflicting emotions in his heart. The first was relief that no one had anything of his with the exception of the most extraordinary human he had ever met. The second was a deep fear that if anyone ever discovered what he was they would try to kill him again. It was almost too much to consider, and he blinked as his mind raced. "I don't want to die again," he whispered.

"I am not going to let that happen," Peregrine replied adamantly. "I shouldn't have let it happen before, even if it was you who was insisting." He sighed, obviously still hurting over it. "I don't think they realize what you were, and probably believe your kind to be extinct. They should leave you be, no matter who wants your abilities again. I suppose, all things considered, we must be a little grateful the effects of the essences are only temporary."

"I trust you," Dolor said with a nod. He wanted to feel safe, and Peregrine, especially in this form, made him feel that. "What should I do about my job? Knowing all this, I'm not sure I can go back to it, but I have to, don't I?" He knew that he needed to find Kali again, but the tattoo parlor would survive without him.

Surprise rippled through Peregrine, showing on the outside with raised eyebrows (or the part of his face where they would lie). "You have a job?" he inquired. Well, that made sense he supposed. How else would Dolor have been making a living? In any case, he relaxed again. "No, Dolor, you do not have to go back to it if you do not wish to do so. I would be more than happy to support you. It would be better if you stayed with me but I understand if you would rather stay at your home. If you wish to continue going to work, you may do so as well. If ever you need my help, for anything, I will be here for you. Just because you appear human in the other realm, that you may think and talk, does not mean I don't still want to take care of you. There was a time we took care of each other and although I miss that terribly, I will not pressure you to return to the familiarity that.." His voice softened with a little sadness. "You are no longer familiar with..."

"There is no reason to go back to that life now. I was there only until I found where I belonged." Dolor stretched and curled up, content to just stay there until he woke up to deal with the real world. This was the most at ease he could ever remember feeling. He clicked his beak once and settled down. "How do we know when it is time again to awaken?"

"It is whenever you want it to be, Dolor," Peregrine told him softly and shifted his head do he nuzzle the tiny bird with his forehead. "But I think now is a good time. We've learned enough for tonight. Close your eyes, sweet Dolor. It is time to wake up."

Dolor looked up, his eyes traveling everywhere so he could remember it all when he awoke. This was important to him, and he needed to remember. Looking up at Peregrine, he nodded and slowly closed his eyes, letting go of the dream.

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