Chapter 65Of Caves and Cares

It was warm and stuffy all around me. I could feel fur against my face, my hands and arms. It was rich fur, rich of smell and warmth. I tried to feel beyond the fur and felt strong muscles and slow breathing. I wasn't quite sure what kind of animal it was, but I had a feeling most creatures don't usually cuddle up with humans.

I tried to open my eyes.

While I was half expected to see white, the fur in front of me was a darkish brown. It moved away when it felt me move and soon I could look up and see. A bear moved away calmly, just glancing at me to see if I was alright. This was very unusual. I started to look around.

I was in a small cavern. Somewhere underground, I presumed. It was wet, cold and fairly dark. There was some light coming from lines in the wall. A soft fluorescent glow that gave off a pale hue. There appeared to be some water running through the far end, but I couldn't quite see it. Just hear and smell it.

Besides the cold and the lack of light, it was quite decent in here.

I was happy to find Deirdre not far from me. She was still asleep, but she had a smile on her face. I was tempted to let her sleep, but decided against it. If there was something happening, I preferred to have her at my side.

"Deirdre, wake up..." I shook her softly, waiting for her to react.

She fluttered with her eyes and woke up, her thoughts racing quickly. "You smell like dog."

I smiled. "Bear. He kept us warm, it's quite cold here."

She looked around. "Cavern?"

"I think so."

The bear had lied down on the other side of the cavern. He, or she perhaps, looked quite comfortable and undisturbed by our presence. In fact, I got the impression that he had simply been guarding us and decided we would be alright on our own. I wondered how big the cave really was. There was not as much echo as I expected. But now that my eyes were much more adjusted to the low light, I noticed moss growing over some of the walls. It couldn't have been that deep then.

"I don't know where we are. Underground but not too deep... I think."

Deirdre looked at the walls herself. "We were brought here with a reason." She concentrated. "I remember Eavan talking to us."

"Do you think she took us?"

She squinted. "I think she orchestrated it somehow. She said something about she wanting to speak to us. But it's hazy."

I got up, yawned and stretched. My muscled felt reasonably stiff. I wonder how much time had passed or even what time it was now. My head couldn't tell me. I still felt quite displaced. I had no idea where we were, when we were. And I could only guess on how we got here.

Deirdre interrupted my thoughts. "Did you dream?"

I nodded. "Yes, I had another dream."

She blinked and looked back at me. "Fire to air?"

I gasped. "How did you know?"

Another voice answered. Abundantly womanly. "Because she knows her elements better than you, Taran."

Maeve.