The Temple of Coma

Cammie only registered brilliant swirls of color shortly after being swept off the ground. Am I dying? she wondered before things went quite bright and fuzzy. She was aware that she had stopped moving. Things faded into dark. Her eyes were closed. She breathed slowly for a moment, trying to get her bearings. She seemed to be all right... she was lying on something solid, at least.

"Um... hello?" a female voice asked, somewhere above her. Cammie opened her eyes, wincing a bit as the light poured in. She saw a very odd girl standing over her. The girl had bright orange hair and little furry cat ears sticking out of her head.

This can't be real... am I dead? Is this heaven? Cammie wondered. Why does she have kitty ears?

Cammie slowly got up and brushed herself off. Her clothes, although very muddy, were completely dry. She looked at the cat girl, who was examining her in a worried manner.

"Are you... all right? Why were you on the ground?" she asked Cammie.

"I just got here," Cammie responded, as though that explained everything. "Is this heaven?"

The cat girl's worried look became an odd one. "No, this is the Temple of Dea."

Dea? Who's Dea?! That's not my God! There's no God?! Cammie thought in worry, then blurted it out loud. "There's no God?!"

"Of course there are gods," the cat girl said, still fixing Cammie with a wary stare, "just not here. This is a temple for Clarus Dragons."

"Dragons..." Cammie echoed. Of course... it all made sense now. I'm not dead, I'm dreaming... or in a coma of some sort... I must have been injured in the tornado. This isn't real, it is just a figment of my imagination. Everything explained, Cammie relaxed a bit. "I'm Cammie. What's your name?"

"I'm Tiria. Pleased to meet you," the cat girl answered. "Are you here to adopt a dragon as well?"

"Uh... sure," Cammie said. Since this was a dream, she could do pretty much anything she wanted. It would be interesting to see what her mind could create. She'd never been a very lucid dreamer, so this must be a side effect of the coma she was undoubtedly in.

"Well, let's get to the Temple then," Tiria said, still glancing at Cammie as though she were some odd bug.

Cammie brushed down her jacket again, and this time, her hands discovered a hard lump. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a large, orange marble. "What's this?" she asked Tiria, holding it up. The marble seemed to have an unusual glow to it.

"I don't know, what is it?" Tiria questioned.

"No, I was asking you," Cammie clarified.

"Oh, well, how should I know? It was in your pocket."

"Right."

Cammie stuck the marble back into her pocket. Dreams were strange sometimes. She trailed Tiria to the doors of the temple, which was a large and beautifully designed building. Good show, brain, she thought. This dream was very realistic, down to the small insects buzzing around the shrubs along the walls. After Tiria knocked on the door, they were shown in by another girl, this one more human in appearance, except for the blue hair. It was inside the temple that Cammie encountered her first dragon.

It was a rather small creature, with smooth, human-like skin that swirled with reflected colors and could almost have been transparent, like glass, if it weren't for the fact that she couldn't see the dragon's internal organs. The dragon had two beautiful wings and a set of back legs. Very pretty... if a bit small, Cammie reflected, wondering why her mind had created something so far from the traditional Western dragon image. The small dragon gave her an odd look.

*Are you feeling all right?* it asked her, its voice projected into her mind rather than spoken.

Of course, this is all in my mind anyways, Cammie reminded herself. "Yes, I am just a bit tired out from the walk," she said, easily making an untrue excuse.

*Very well. I am Kippling. If you need any help while you are exploring the Temple of Dea, please just call me. Some of the other dragons will help you learn the basics of Clarus Dragons and dragon caretaking. Make sure you visit all the areas of the Temple.*

With that, the dragon bobbed his head, obviously through with his speech. Tiria immediately wandered off. Cammie thought about following her, but then remembered that this was a dream, and there was nothing to be afraid of in it. She looked around and headed down one of the corridors.

In a room off the corridor, Cammie found a beautiful black dragon with feathered wings and a gemstone embedded in her forehead. The dragon gave her a book to read. To Cammie's surprise, the book had a list of many different dragon colors and the characteristics of each. Wow, you wouldn't think my dream would be this detailed, she thought as she read about the Ventilo dragons, which apparently loved to fly. When she had finished the book, she nodded a thanks to Rauha, as the dragon was called, and continued her wandering.

In another room, she found a second dark dragon. This dragon, who introduced himself as Burakku, lectured her about the history of the Clarus Dragons. Also, he told her about the many forms of magic that the dragons used.

Well, if they aren't large, at least they are very magical, Cammie reasoned, still amused by her dream. She had no idea why she might be dreaming about dragons and magic, but she supposed there were worse ways to pass the time.

As she continued exploring, she found a hall of records, a stash of toys, and a "dragon personals" area run by a pink and blue dragon who called herself a "matchmaker". Well, that must say something about my subconscious, Cammie thought wryly.

Finally, after wandering for quite some time, she found herself facing a list of rules for adopting dragons. That part was a bit fuzzy for the first time, but the general message her brain was giving her was that she needed to take good care of any dragon she bonded with and not abandon it. She stumbled out of that room, still feeling blurry. She stood against the wall until things cleared again.

What was that? she wondered. I hope nothing's wrong with me outside. Maybe I should start trying to find a way out of here.

Although the temple dream was amusing, she didn't want to be stuck here, comatose forever. Where haven't I been? she pondered, suddenly convinced that if she explored the entire temple, this dream would end.

After walking up and down the corridors a few times, she finally found a room she hadn't visited before. There was a very odd girl with blue eyes and purple hair there, waiting for her.

"Are you ready to adopt?" the girl asked. Cammie stared at her, unable to shake the feeling that something was up here. "My name is Rabukome. I am a Mirror dragon."

Oh, right. Mirror dragons can change form at will, Cammie remembered. That was why the girl struck her as odd. Rabukome went on the explain rules about naming dragons. Cammie listened and nodded.

"Right, no naming him John," Cammie agreed. "After this, I can leave, correct?"

"Correct," Rabukome answered. "Just fill out this form..."

The Mirror dragon gave Cammie a piece of paper on which Cammie wrote her name, address, and other information. Cammie then passed the sheet back to Rabukome.

"All right, you are all set. You may want to stick around while we review your application. Please enjoy the courtyards outside. I believe there is some food arranged for visiting adopters."

"Thanks," Cammie said. Stick around? Is that my mind telling me that I can't wake up yet? she wondered. I hope I'm not permanently stuck here... at least they didn't say I couldn't leave ever.

Cammie wandered outside, enjoying the realness of the sun and the pleasant courtyard. Well, I guess I can only wait and see...

Cammie spent what must have been most of the day wandering the courtyards around the Temple of Dea. True to what the Mirror dragon had told her, there was food laid out in one of the gardens. Cammie tried some of the fruit and was surprised at how good it tasted.

Do you get hungry in dreams? she wondered. Maybe I am hungry outside the dream, and it is translating over...

She didn't know how long she had been there, but some time later in the day, Kippling approached with a strange woman next to him. Her hair and eyes were relatively normal colors compared to some of the people Cammie had met. She had a set of wings growing from her back, however—one angelic and feathered, the other dark purple and draconic. The winged woman was carrying an egg.

*Hello, Cammie,* Kippling greeted her. *This is my lovely bondmate, Hjördis.*

"Nice to meet you," Cammie said, eyeing the egg in the woman's arms.

"As you may have guessed, you have been trusted with a Clarus egg," Hjördis told her with a smile. "As you can tell by the color, it is a male egg." She held the egg out for Cammie to take. Cammie did so, feeling the odd weight of it in her arms.

"Uh, thank you," she said hesitantly, looking down at the Clarus egg, then looking back up at Hjördis.

"Here," Hjördis said, removing an empty shoulder bag and holding it out to Cammie. "Perhaps you can use this to carry him. It is safer and will leave your hands free."

"Again, thank you," Cammie answered, slipping the egg into the bag and then slipping the strap onto her shoulder. The bag seemed to be made of lightweight suede or similar material. It was dark tan in color. She shifted the bag until the egg rested neatly on her hip. "So... how do I get out of here?"

"You can see Tsuyamono about that," Hjördis answered.

"The matchmaker?" Cammie asked incredulously, remembering the odd pink and blue dragon.

"Yes. She will be able to get you home," Hjördis assured her.

"All right... thank you," Cammie reiterated.

*Good luck,* Kippling added, bobbing his head.

Cammie walked off to find Tsuyamono and get out of here.

Cammie found the dragon, who asked her to stand still and close her eyes. The next thing she knew, she was spinning out of control, flying through a bright space of some sort. She squeezed her eyes shut. At one point, she felt the strap slip off her shoulder and held onto it stubbornly with her hand. Then, things went dim and she felt her back hit wet, soggy ground.

She must have passed out, because she was brought back to consciousness by someone called her name. "Camilla? Camilla?" the voice asked. She felt herself being shaken gently. She winced and opened her eyes.

"Cammie," she corrected the person, a young woman in FEMA gear. Cammie took a moment to take in her surroundings. She was in a field, covered in mud, and soaking wet. She tried to sit up, but the worker put restraining hands on her shoulders.

"Wait until the paramedics can take a look at you," she insisted. "You've been through a lot."

The truck... the tornado... Cammie thought, gathering what must have happened. It threw me... but I'm all right. I'm in Mississippi, in a field.

"The truck? The driver?" Cammie asked the young woman. The woman shook her head, her eyes showing sadness.

"We haven't found the driver. The truck was totaled. It's a bit away from us, over there."

"I can't believe I'm alive. I was thrown by that tornado," Cammie told her.

"You were lucky. You don't seem to be hurt at all. Even your bag is all right. Just wait and let the paramedics check you over. Oh, there they are." The woman stood up and waved them over.

"My bag?" Cammie asked her, but she wasn't listening. "I don't have a b—" A wave of horror hit her. The bag... THE BAG... The Bag is HERE. Oh my God, The Bag is still here?

It was true. Turning her head carefully, Cammie saw her hand clenched around the dark tan strap. The bag was covered in mud, but inside she could see the bulge of the dragon egg she had received in her dream. Cammie tried not to panic.

The Bag can't be here. The Egg especially CANNOT be here. I am still dreaming. I must be. She rationalized as the paramedics began checking her.

"Do you remember your name? Do you know where you are?" one asked.

"Cam—err, Camilla Jane Murphy. Mississippi. I feel all right, just wet," Cammie answered, lying.

I am NOT all right. I am not actually in Mississippi. There is a DRAGON egg next to me. The BAG is HERE. How is The Bag here?!

The paramedics finished their examination by strapping a neck brace on Cammie's neck.

"We're going to take you to the hospital for some x-rays," the other paramedic explained. They prepared to lift her onto the stretcher.

This is so real, Cammie thought. It seems perfectly real. But then again, so did the other dream...

Maybe it wasn't a dream, a voice at the back of her mind interjected.

NO. It was a dream. It MUST have been a dream. Dragon eggs do not exist. This is not happening. This is NOT happening.

But it was. As crazy, illogical, and absolutely nonsensical as it was, this WAS happening. Cammie closed her eyes as the paramedics lifted the stretcher to carry her to the ambulance. This was not happening. This was happening.