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((Hi everyone who is reading this. I got a bit lazy this weekend and didn't write anything on saturday or sunday so I'm going to try and power write for tonight and see if I can get the 13,334 words I need to be back on track. I may end up splitting this entry into two parts as a result if I do end up writing the 6668 words I need by the end of the day. I ended up making it to 10,262 words today so I'm still a little behind. Hopefully I will be able to catch up over the next few days if I keep up the pace I'm at now.))

Dream World Mirau by Josephina Mari
Day Six, Seven, & Eight of NaNoWriMo

I sat down to eat with my new friends who said very little during our meal together. Karou was on this third bowl of stew by the time I had finished my first and it seemed like he still could stomach more. At the same time Claria and I got up for seconds and to my surprise there was still plenty of stew left over for maybe five or six more bowls. Claria was probably use to cooking a lot for her bottomless pit of a brother. Once I was done eating I thanked Claria for the meal who in turn smiled at me before she said “Thanks for your help Mari. After your training is over with you should come have stew here again. I’m not sure when the next time we will get to sit down like this together will be since it’s going to get really busy around here and for you as well. I do hope it isn’t too long before we can do this again.” Claria said referring to the fact that most of my training would be done away from the village according to customs established by warriors of the past. “That’s certainly true Claria. I think we will start our training in Aloen. It’s a two day ride on horseback from here, but it is well worth the trip. Aloen is the founding city for Alchemy and magic arts. Aloen’s alchemists are well known for their skills in making potions for all kinds of uses. Their magical academy is the best in all of Mirau as well. Weapon training I will teach you about myself. Once we get to Aloen I’ll get you some basic armor and weapons. I think it would be best for you to start with a long bow and mid-weight short sword. After you master those I’ll let you try my crossbow and see how you like it. We will start hunting the lesser Akuen around Aloen and move on from there.” Karou said sounding a little too excited over all the training talk.

I smiled and tried to look like I was as excited as Karou and then I heard Claria speak in a quiet voice “Your journey doesn’t begin until tomorrow morning. For tonight try not to think about it too much and get some rest. You want to start the day off on the right foot. Meanwhile Karou and I will clean up here and pack up some things you will need on your trip. Please feel free to rest in my brother’s room. You can find it at the end of that hallway on the right. I’m sure you will recognize it when you see it since that is where you woke up at when my brother brought you here on his back from the desert.” Claria said to me hoping that I would take her advice and go to sleep early. “Thank you for everything Claria and Karou. I know what I would do without with out you two.” I said before I excused myself from the table to retrieve my backpack from where I had left it by the doorway. I slung my backpack over one shoulder then I made my way into Karou’s room. Once inside I placed my backpack down on the floor to the right of the doorway so that I wouldn’t trip on it in the morning. This wasn’t my room or my house, but I felt safe here. I knew Claria and Karou would look after me and make sure nothing bad happened. As long as I had them I felt like I had the courage to face anything, even the Akuen although I still knew very little about them. I knelt down and unbuckled my backpack and then I took out my English textbook and walked over to Karou’s bed. I laid down on Karou’s bed and opened up the book deciding to read ahead in the story we were analyzing for our class. “Of course when I finished reading it I would have to write an essay about it and talk about the morals in the story and how it relates to our life. Writing out the essay is always a difficult thing for me, so the sooner I get started on it the better. Wait how could I even think about homework at a time like this?” I thought to myself as I tried my best to focus on my English book before I fell asleep.

In the meantime Claria and Karou remained in the dinning room to clean up the dishes. Claria put what was left of the stew in a medium sized bowl then she walked outside of the house into the back yard where she set the bowl down in the grass. She took a few steps back away from it as she saw a pair of green eyes staring at her from some shrubs near by. “Ben you should just come inside and eat with us. My brother isn’t mad you know. I know it’s not your fault...” Claria said then she waited a few seconds to see if he would come out of hiding. When Ben remained hidden in the shrubs Claria sighed once and then went back inside. She knew he would come eat after she was out of sight like he always did. Claria returned to the dinning room and noticed Karou had washed all of the dishes and was in the process of drying them so that they could be put away. Claria walked over to Karou and helped him dry the remaining dishes and after all the dishes were clean and put back into their proper place Karou and Claria took a seat across from each other at the dinning room table to talk about the uncertain future ahead.

Will you be alright Karou? So many have walked the path your on now and did not return. I don’t want to lose you too. It was hard enough when we learned that dad was killed in cypress when the Akuen came and destroyed the city suddenly over night. If I knew that was going to happen I would of made him stay. That was over ten years ago, but I still remember it like yesterday and I know Mom hasn’t ever fully recovered from it either. Now bringing down the Akuen is all she thinks of and nothing else. I’m afraid you will become that way too Karou. I know the world will be a safer place without the Akuen here, but peace obtained through revenge will never last long. I hope someday you and Mom realize that before I lose you both...” Claria said worried that her brother might not return. “I want the suffering to end for both us and the world. This isn’t about revenge anymore Claria. It’s about saving our world from an evil that until it is destroyed will bring chaos and destruction everywhere it is allowed to spread to. Mom sees that now, and I will fight with her as long as it takes. You will see a peaceful world after all the fear and malice are erased from this world with the Akuen. On that day, we will come back, have some of your stew, and tell you about our heroic battle to save the world. All of us will sit together at this table; you, me, Mari and Mom.” Karou said and then he noticed Claria begin to cry as she wrapped her arms around him. He stood with her silently for about three or four minutes to let her get it out of her system. He didn’t want anyone crying for him when he left with Mari tomorrow.

“Promise me Karou that you won’t do anything foolish and that you come back okay?” Claria said in a partially muffled voice due to the tears still rolling down her cheeks that were now red from crying. “I promise I’ll come back Claria. Until I return please take care of everyone, especially mom. I’ll trust Ben to look after you just this once since he’s gotten a little stronger. You know he will always be a jerk no matter how strong he is. If you get hurt while I’m gone I’m going to come back one way or the other and torment him for the rest of his days. Please tell him that I said so and that he’s still just a pup if I can beat him when he’s bigger then me.” Karou said smiling as he took one last verbal shot at Benjamin, who unknown to Karou was right outside finishing up the bowl of stew Claria left out for him. Benjamin is the leader of the pack of Kageru wolves that attacked Karou and Mari in the forbidden forest, but he is also Claria’s boyfriend who she has gone though a lot with. Karou and Benjamin had been at odds with each other ever since Claria and Ben started going out despite the false accusations against Claria’s people by the leader of the Kageru and his Council of Advisors. Ben and his small pack of friends want to find out the truth behind what the Council told him about the village just beyond the dangerous Carson Desert. Ben’s pack decided to sneak out around midnight and travel to the village and speak with its leader to find out what really happened.

Ben’s pack met with Angela, her daughter Claria, and her son Karou, the next morning after running through the near freezing desert at night in their wolf forms. Angela’s truth was hard for them to believe at first since it contradicted everything the Council had told them and their entire clan. The Council had been deceiving them all along into hating innocent people and Benjamin felt horrible for going along with their lies. Ben and his friends thanked Angela for her side of the story then they returned home as fast as their wolf legs would take them. Upon return they met with the Council to tell them what they had learned from Angela. The Council turned their back on them, calling them traitors for going against the clan leaders judgments and leaving the clan on their own without warning to speak with their rivals. Ben and his friends were put under house arrest while the Council debated the validity of the information they received. Days passed like minutes and still no answer came so Ben decided to return and ask Angela to speak to the Council herself. They couldn’t deny it if the information came directly from her right? Benjamin made the journey across the desert alone this time after he was for sure the other clan members had gone to sleep. Benjamin explained to Angela what was going on and that he needed her to come back with him to convince the Council that he wasn’t being untruthful. Unfortunately Angela was not able to leave the village since she was now the acting leader after her husband was killed. Instead Claria, the next in line to be leader, volunteered to go in Angela’s place.

Claria was gone for half a year while she lived with the Kageru and during that time her and Benjamin became very close and fell in love. Even after all that time passed the Council still remained unconvinced despite Claria meeting with them over and over again to tell the same story of what happened a thousand years ago according to what her ancestors had passed along to her mother and then her mother told her. Claria decided to return hope after no more progress had been made then when she had arrived there and she was also starting to miss her family. Claria’s hope that someday her people and the Kageru could become friends and throw away the lies the Council was spreading would not die out even if she was far away from the wolf tribe now. Her hope was still alive thanks to Ben and his friends acting as go-between representatives for the two groups of people. Benjamin and his pack had to obey the Council’s old rules which brought about the fight in the woods between Ben’s pack, Karou, and Mari. The Kageru had strict rules against humans since their enemies were human’s with some kind of evil magic that they had never seen before according to Benjamin. Claria could understand why what happened then did after a flood of memories came rushing back to her from her brother’s comment. “I’ll tell him if you really want me too, but I think he heard you loud and clear already. Try to get some rest Karou. I’ll have the horse ready for you in the morning and your supplies as well. Sleep well.” Claria said then she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled trying to remember the reason behind what her brother was trying to do. “Get some rest too Claria...Do me a favor and tell the dog to go home to his owners.” Karou said then he yawned and transformed into his rabbit state before he scampered off into his room to find Mari already in an oblivious sleep. Karou jumped onto the edge of the bed close to Mari’s feet then he curled up into a ball similar to how he was on the couch earlier and then he too fell into a deep sleep.

Claria walked outside into the backyard again to see Benjamin in his human form sitting on the grass staring at the stars. In his human form his hair was midnight black like his wolf form, and his eyes were a light shade of green. He had somewhat darker skin tone then Claria that was often common with the members of his tribe. “Hey Ben...shouldn’t you head home soon? The Council will yell at you again if you’re gone for more then two days. I don’t think the excuse of an ‘extended hunting trip’ will fly this time.” Claria said as she sat down next to him then she put her head on his shoulder looking like she could fall asleep right there after hearing his response. “Do you think I care about anything the Council has to say? I can’t trust a word that come out of their mouths anymore...I still don’t understand why our leader trusts them. Who’s to say what other lies they have been feeding us over the years. Besides I want to be here to see your brother and his friend off. You know I wish them the best, even though your brother can be a jerk sometimes. I won’t hold it against that friend of his. You should get some sleep Claria. Tomorrow will be a big day, you don’t want to oversleep and miss it. Don’t worry I’ll keep watch over you while I’m in town. It’s been quiet around here lately. Maybe the Akuen are in hibernation or something...yeah right but it’s wishful thinking right?” Ben said as he stood up then he helped Claria to her feet. After that he kissed her on her forehead before he transformed into his wolf state. He waited until Claria had gone back inside before he began his patrol of the city to see if anything suspicious was amiss. Claria went straight to her room and after a quick change of clothes she fell asleep in her bed wondering what tomorrow would bring.