Alex in Haremland Chapter 5

Havenwood was spectacular, and I took a moment to appreciate the view, but my feline companion didn’t pause. While I stared around at the surrounding landscape, Una and the furbae thing bounced across the rope bridge attached to the top of the stairwell, and I had little choice but to follow behind them with the sloth-person in tow. I craned my head around trying to see everything all at once, and I almost fell over the side of the rope hand railing.

It reminded me of something from Neverland, or maybe the Jungle Book, but either way, it was incredible, and I couldn’t wait to explore every inch of the treehouse city.

“Careful with your feet, Alex,” Una warned. “We are not planted with roots in the ground.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, but I was still too distracted by everything going on around me to pay too much attention to my feet.

Flying through the air were several schools of birds, but they separated in a flurry of wings and flew toward different structures built into the limbs once they approached the tree-city. I saw tiny mushrooms running around with baskets in their hands, but they all had the curves of a woman despite being a walking fungi. Squirrels with feminine human faces scampered past me, and they muttered ‘excuse me’ before they dashed ahead of us.

The voices I heard so far all sounded female, and I remembered what Una had said about most of the men going off to war long ago. I was surrounded by women, it seemed, and I glanced down at the sloth-person curiously. I hadn’t really taken the time to get a good look at my new friends, so I flashed the sloth-person a friendly smile.

“I’m Alex, by the way,” I said. “What’s your name?”

The sloth-person slowly blinked its large eyes at me, and its eyelashes fluttered like they were moving in slow motion. “Some… call… me… Lena.”

“Nice to meet you, Lena,” I said. “I’m glad we ran into each other when we did.”

“Me… too…” Lena formed each word with painfully slow movements. “I… was… almost… night… mare… bait.”

“Are you… Are you a sloth?” I didn’t want to assume its species or gender, but there was no mistaking the feminine quality to Lena’s voice, and the similarities to the slow moving animal from Earth was hard to ignore.

“Yes… and… no…” Lena answered.

While her answer left me with more questions, I wasn’t sure if I had the patience or the time to give her my full attention. Now that we were safe, though, I was sure I’d be able to get all the information I needed from my new friends.

Like whether or not I was dreaming or tripping.

Una led me to a squat, wooden walled building with light shining out the windows and open doorway. I could hear music coming from inside, and I smelled something delicious. A lavishly dressed older lady brushed past us and entered the structure, and she was wearing a teal and purple breasted coat.

“This is the meeting place,” Una explained as she beckoned me inside. “I will take you to my dwelling later, but I wanted to give you food first.”

“Sounds good to me.” I gave her a tired grin. “I’m pretty pooped from running away from the nightmare.”

A collective gasp swept through the tree around me, and I turned to see every inhabitant of Havenwood staring at me in shock. Several squirrels flashed each other worried looks before scurrying away, and the birds all took flight at once.

Had I said the wrong thing?

“Yes, we saw a nightmare,” Una said to the crowd of animal-like ladies. “But it didn’t touch any of us.”

“What happens when they touch you?” I asked. “Don’t you just die?”

“It depends.” Una shrugged, and she took a seat at one of the tables. “Everything they touch begins to wither and die, but sometimes it happens slowly. The touch is contagious, though, so once you’re affected, everything you touch also starts to wither.”

“That sounds awful.” I shuddered. “I’m glad it never got close to us.”

Una waved her hand above her head, and I could only assume she was signaling to some kind of waitress. Lena slid off my chest to plant herself on the bench beside the beautiful cat-girl, and I suddenly realized the sloth was wearing a bikini. The furbae hopped up onto the table, and it wiggled in my direction, but I had no idea what it meant. Its face consisted of two large eyes nestled above an orange beak, but the long eyelashes definitely had me thinking it was a female.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “I don’t understand.”

“Who are you?” the furbae squeaked out in a high-pitched tone.

“Shouldn’t you have asked that before you hitched a ride on my pants?” I chuckled.

“Life or death, buddy!” the furbae countered. “Answer the question.”

It was hard to believe that a bouncing ball of fur was talking to me, but there we were.

“I’m Alex,” I said with a friendly smile.

“Thank you for saving my life, Alex,” the furbae said. “I am called Ziti because I’m itty bitty.”

“Hi, Ziti,” I chuckled. “Are you from Havenwood?”

The furbae bounced up and down, and I could only assume it was nodding.

Before I could ask another question, a horde of bouncing furbaes flooded the meeting place, and a storm of squeaky voices filled the air. Ziti’s name was chanted over and over again, and the tiny fur ball was hoisted up by the others.

I clapped my hands at the odd sport, but I had to wonder if someone had let some gremlins multiple. These furbae things were a much cuter version, and for that, I was grateful.

“So, Una, did you know Lena and Ziti before they jumped on me?” I asked.

“No.” The beautiful cat-girl raised her eyebrows. “Who are they?”

I gestured to my new friends. “The hitchhikers?”

“What’s that?” Una asked with a curious tilt of her head.

I wasn’t about to go down that path again, so I shook my head with a smile. “I’ll take that as a no.”

Una opened her mouth to reply as her purple eyes crossed, so I knew it was going to be nonsense, but suddenly, a rotund pig-woman appeared at the end of the table and oinked at us. She wore a blue dress and a white apron, but both were smeared with food stains.

“Oh, Miss Maggie!” Una gasped, and her purple eyes filled with joy. “I brought someone to see you!”

The cat-girl proceeded to grab my arm and pull me even closer to her as if she was presenting me to the pig-lady, and I waved awkwardly. Una grinned wide as she bounced up and down with excitement, and she looked at me like I was a prize she’d won at the fair.

“Hi, I’m Alex,” I said in a timid voice, and I gave the pig-lady my most charming smile.

I’d never met or even imagined meeting a pig-woman before, so I took a moment to soak in the view. She had curves in more places than I could ever imagine, but she was sweating from every pore, and it made me think of bacon grease. Her tiny pink triangle ears jutted from a blonde curly head of hair, and the snout curling out from her face had its own dusting of blonde tendrils. The smell radiating from her reminded me of a McDonald’s, and I wasn’t sure if I loved it or hated it.

I hoped she was a good cook.

“This is the Dreamer, Miss Maggie!” Una insisted, and she swiveled around to squeeze my cheeks like she was pulling a mask off. “He is the one from the prophecy!”

The woman Una called Miss Maggie froze in place, and her eyes widened to an impossible degree. Her snout fell open in surprise, and she staggered backward a couple of steps. Then a look of intense hope flashed across her face, but it was gone an instant later, and a scowl took its place.

“Hogwash,” the pig-lady scoffed. “Them tales are just bedtime stories, Una. You know better. After everything you’ve been through… Did this fancy pants human-looking thing spring you from the Clover Queen’s fortress? Is that how he tricked you into thinking he’s the Dreamer?”

“No,” Una said, and she cast a guilty look down at the table. “They forced potions on me, Mags, but I used it to my advantage. Alex saved me from a Sniffer Snatcher out in the Happy Fields.”

“Oh, did he now?” The woman called Miss Maggie scrutinized me closely with her beady black eyes, and her long snout shivered as she sniffed the air around me. She wiped her hands on her apron as she analyzed me, and I could see her weighing Una’s words behind her steely gaze.

“I did,” I said, and I cleared my throat. “Miss Maggie, is it? It’s lovely to meet you. Any friend of Una’s is a friend of mine.”

“Where are you from, Alex?” Miss Maggie asked in a cautious tone.

“Earth,” I said, and I made sure to meet her gaze confidently.

“How did you get to All-the-land?” The cook released her apron, planted her hands on the table, and leaned forward to look at me even closer.

Despite her stern countenance, I realized she’d referred to this weird dream world by the same name Una had used. Maybe I had been the one confused, after all. It was a strange name, but the residents of this world were even stranger, so who was I to judge?

“I-I don’t know,” I stammered. “I just woke up here… Well, in what Una calls the Happy Fields. Why are they called that, by the way?”

I shot Una a questioning look, but she shrugged, so I turned back to Miss Maggie.

“That’s a long story,” the pig-lady sighed, and her shoulders slumped as her voice became a dry monotone. “All-the-land was founded many, many years ago…”

“Does it have to start there?” I asked. “Just tell me about Happy Fields, if you don’t mind.”

What was with everyone wanting to tell me the entire history of the realm right off the bat?

“Very well,” Miss Maggie said with disappointment written across her face, but she tapped her snout with a short finger as she thought it over. After a few moments passed, she snapped her fingers, and a smile actually stretched across her face as she turned back to me. “During the Great Turmoil, a great many men went out to face the Dark King. They drank all the potions we had on hand, even combining multiple potions to create new effects.”

“That actually sounds really cool,” I pointed out, and I thought about what that would mean for me if what Una said was true.

Was I really immune to the negative side effects the rest of the people here were vulnerable to?

“The end result was catastrophic,” Miss Maggie continued with a stern look. “The Dark King’s forces were stronger, and a lot of lives were lost, but during the conflict, the Dark King’s sorcerers spells left a residual haze over the battleground. Anyone who lingers will eventually succumb to the life of a laughing flower.”

“The smiling trees are also soldiers who were turned during the fight,” Una reminded me. “It’s a terrible tragedy.”

The irony of a place named the Happy Fields being the location of a horrendous battle was not lost on me, but it made me wonder yet again how I had come to wake up there.

Had someone done this to me?

I quickly dismissed the idea since the last thing I remembered was eating mushrooms with a hot delivery girl in my apartment, so the likelihood I was tripping was gaining ground. However, the theory didn’t explain all the weirdness I could never have imagined, even in a hallucination.

For example, the talking animal-like people I was surrounded by. They didn’t seem to represent anyone I knew on Earth, and they were more realistic than any dream I’d ever had. If it was just Una, sure, I’d believe my brain could come up with a hot cat babe, but as far as the rest of it went, there was no way in hell I could have made it up if I tried.

“Stay… Away… From… Happy… Fields,” Lena murmured in a warning tone. “Laughing… is… only--”

“No one has time for your nonsense, Lena,” Miss Maggie snorted.

“I do,” I said with a wide smile, and I turned to the sloth to let her finish. “Go on.”

“Laughing… is… only… good… for… so… long,” Lena inched out, but her eyes were bright with gratitude for every moment of her incredibly slow speech.

“True,” I said as I flashed her a wink, but then a thought struck me. “What about the flowers we met inside the waterfall tunnel? Was there a battle there, too?”

“Those flowers were relatives to the citizens of Havenwood,” Miss Maggie explained in a patient tone. “They were replanted close to their home long ago.”

“It seems like everything around here happened long ago,” I mused. “How long has it been since the Dark King arrived in All-the-land?”

“Many, many years,” Miss Maggie said with a solemn wiggle of her pig ears.

“Before I was fully grown,” Una explained.

“Well, how old are you?” I asked.

“A great many years old,” the cat-girl replied cryptically.

“Alex is the Dreamer?” Ziti squeaked in the highest pitch yet, and she practically vibrated with excitement. “Does that mean he will heal all the sick?”

“I don’t know how he will save us,” Una said with a confused shake of her head, but then her eyes locked onto my face, and her lavender gaze filled with adoration. “But I know it will be fantastic!”

“The prophecy says the Dreamer will be immune to the negative side effects of the potion,” Miss Maggie argued, and she crossed her arms across her broad chest as she snorted in amusement. “There’s no way you found some male who isn’t vulnerable to the opposition effect.”

“Alex is!” Una insisted, and she bounced up and down on the bench as her tail swayed wildly behind her.

“Is that what’s wrong with your speech, Lena?” I asked the sloth-lady. “Or were you born like this?”

I hoped it wasn’t a rude question, but I figured everyone would understand I was new to the area and give me a break. At least my social discrepancies were few and far between, but I was entirely aware of the tattered remains of my clothes as they hung from my form. I was basically half naked in a room full of women, but they didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes…” Lena nodded slowly. “I… took… a… fast--”

“Potion, a fast potion,” Ziti finished for her. “I assumed as much!”

“What about you, Ziti?” I asked. “Are you suffering from this opposition effect?”

“No!” Ziti giggled. “I have always been this cute.”

“You are awfully adorable,” I agreed.

“The Dark King’s minions hunt me down all the same,” the furbae complained in a high pitch voice. “No one is safe.”

“What does he want from a furbae?” I asked. “This Dark King? What could he gain from arresting a ball of fur?”

“Besides ultimate dominion over all living things?” Miss Maggie snorted again.

“Women,” Una murmured, and her chin quivered. “He takes all the women his terrifying minions can get their hands on.”

“Why?” I glanced around at all my new friends, but I could already tell there wasn’t a clear answer.

“Why does any man do anything?” Miss Maggie huffed.

“Why does a woman?” I countered as I cast the pig-cook-lady a sideways glance, but she merely shrugged.

There was a tension in the air, and it radiated from the pig-lady like fumes from an stinky bus exhaust. I never intended to make waves in Una’s hometown, but I didn’t like the way the pig-lady looked at me.

It seemed I had a skeptic on my hands. I’d win her over, though, it was only a matter of time. I could understand how she’d ended up being so hostile toward men after what these women had been through, so I would just need to be patient and prove to everyone I was different. Miss Maggie would realize how awesome I was soon enough, but she obviously held a position of authority in Havenwood, so I’d have to go about it carefully.

“Alex saved me,” Una reminded the chef. “The least we can do is feed him and get him some fresh clothes.”

“Fine,” Miss Maggie sighed. “I’ll bring out the specials.”

“What’s the specials?” I asked, but Una shrugged.

“It could be anything you want it to be,” the cat-girl said. “What is your favorite food, Alex?”

I thought this over for a moment, because her intense purple eyes said this was a serious question. Pizza and wings had been my go-to ever since I’d moved to Denver, but I wasn’t sure if they were my favorite. The spaghetti and meatballs we’d harvested from the noodle tree had been delicious, but I knew I could do better than that.

“Well,” I said. “I grew up in the south, so a good old fashioned fried chicken is probably the easiest answer. The weirdest thing I could picture, though? Lobster thermidor!”

I crossed my arms and nodded like a genie, and Una giggled with delight.

“I’ve never heard of this before,” she said, and she bounced up and down on the bench. “I would love to try it.”

“What’s your favorite food, Una?” I asked with an encouraging smile.

“Fish!” The cat-girl grinned extra wide.

We discussed different food dishes, and I made sure to give Lena and Ziti their turns to chime in as well. A short while later, Miss Maggie returned with two plates in her hands, and she placed the dishes before Una and me.

Mine was lobster thermidor.

Plump, cooked lobster shells lined a silver platter served with greens and lemon slices, and a small dish on the side held a creamy sauce.

“Wait, how did that happen?” I asked, and I glanced at Una’s plate full of rainbow trout. “Is it… Magic?”

“What’s magic?” The cat-girl titled her head to the side mid-bite, and the tail of a fish dangled from the corner of her mouth. “Is it something you have or something you are? Are you magic, Alex? Is that how you are going to save All-the-land?”

I had to hand it to her, she could sure take a question and run with it.

“I don’t think so?” I said. “But who knows.”

“I do,” Una breathed, and her purple eyes filled with hearts as she gazed up at me with a mouth full of fish.

“I’m starting to think you may be onto something,” I chuckled and flashed her a wink.

“Alex can’t be the Dreamer,” Miss Maggie interjected with an adamant shake of her head as she returned to the table. “He isn’t immune to the potions!”

“Alex is!” Una repeated. “He drank a ‘big’ potion, but then he stayed normal when it wore off! I am telling you the truth, Miss Maggie!”

“I’d have to see it for myself,” the pig-lady argued. “How many more potions do you have, Una?”

“None,” the cat-girl sighed.

“And your mission?” Miss Maggie placed her hands on her hips as she scrutinized the squirming cat-girl. “I don’t see Livia with you, so I assumed you failed again.”

“I couldn’t save Livia.” Una looked dejected, but she maintained eye contact with the imposing chef and kept her chin raised. “But I got the recipe!”

The pig-lady seemed to be an authority figure for my adorable feline companion, but I didn’t like her attitude. It almost made me want to drink another potion just to prove her wrong.

“What else does the legend say about the Dreamer?” I asked, and I glanced around at all my new friends. “Maybe there’s a test or something I can take.”

I was finally ready to confront the issue of being this prophesied savior, thanks to the skepticism of the pig-lady.

One way or another, we would all find out soon.

“The Dreamer will come, and his very presence will shake up the system of power,” Miss Maggie said, and what I could only assume was a pig’s tail wiggled the back of her dress. “He will be able to fight through the minions with the unleashed power of the potions.”

“The Dark King knows this,” Ziti squeaked as she bounced up and down. “Which is why he outlawed the making of mixtures altogether. Anyone who could help the Dreamer is arrested for treason upon mere suspicion.”

“Most importantly,” Una interjected. “The Dreamer is a stranger to All-the-land, and you’re the first stranger I’ve ever known.”

“If you know him,” Miss Maggie pointed out. “Then he isn’t a stranger.”

“Is too,” Una argued with a stubborn jut of her chin.

I admired her tenacity in sticking up for me, but there had to be an easier way to decipher whether or not I was this savior she continued to insist I was.

“So, the Dreamer is supposed to be able to stop the nightmare creatures?” I asked, and I thought about how my only defense had been to run as fast as I could in the other direction when faced with that black-hooded monstrosity.

“It is unclear how the Dreamer will save All-the-land,” Una said. “We will follow your lead, Alex.”

I let out my breath in a low exhale, and I turned to my lobster thermidor. I didn’t know what to tell the beautiful cat-girl, but I honestly didn’t think I was the savior she thought I was, so the best choice I had in the moment was to focus on my food.

I cracked open the shell, and steam escaped, so I inhaled the buttery aroma. I dug in with a voracious appetite until I’d cleaned the plate, and I thought about my new friends’ plight as I ate. There weren’t a lot of options for the women who’d managed to survive the plague of the Dark King and his Deck of Cards, but I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to help them. I wasn’t the biggest or the strongest human, or even the smartest. I excelled at being average, but I felt a sense of determination growing in my gut.

I would do whatever I could to help the people of Havenwood.

A few moments later, the others finished their food as well, and everyone pushed back their empty plates with satisfied sighs.

“It is good to be home,” Una said.

“It was nice to meet the two of you,” Ziti squeaked, and she bounced away from the table.

“Dinner… was… lovely,” Lena murmured as a twig dangled from the corner of her lips.

“I want to experiment with the specials now,” I said. “But I’m too stuffed to eat another bite.”

I patted my bulging full stomach for emphasis, and my feline companion giggled.

“I see more hair on your belly,” Una said as she pointed a finger toward my exposed chest. The buttons of my shirt had popped off when I’d transformed into a giant, so my chest hair was visible.

If she liked that hair, she’d love to see me naked.

“I finished getting your room ready,” Miss Maggie announced as she approached the table once more.

I was grateful for the distraction. The cat-girl’s inspection of my body hair was a little awkward, and I’d almost explained to her where I had the most curls.

“Thank you,” I said. “Any chance you have some clothes I could wear?”

Miss Maggie inspected my clothes closely, and she gestured for me to hold out my arms. It was like she was measuring me with her eyes, and at long last, she nodded in satisfaction.

“Yes, I have some clothes that will fit you.” Miss Maggie grabbed the empty plates from the table and stacked them up on her arm. “I’ll bring them to the rain house.”

“Rain house?” I asked with a lifted eyebrow.

“Oh, you will love it!” Una gushed. “You pull a string, and it rains inside!”

“Like a shower?” I asked.

“You can do that,too.” Una cocked her head, and her cat ears swiveled like periscopes. “You can also set it to downpour. But not a storm.”

A shower sounded perfect after I’d been trampling through the woods all day, and I followed eagerly behind Miss Maggie and Una. I waved goodbye to Lena over my shoulder as we left the dining hall, and the sloth-lady smiled slowly in farewell.

Then the two women led me around the maze of rope bridges and pathways through the branches until we arrived at a square structure nestled into the leaves. Part of the tree grew up through the middle of the floor, and a hole was carved in the planks to accomodate for its growth. The only other thing in the room were two low benches along either wall, and a long wooden handle attached to a rope which hung from a hole in the ceiling. As I gazed at the ceiling, I noticed the bamboo chutes running from the roof to a spot among the branches of the limb occupying the center of the room.

It was pretty ingenious the way they’d harnessed the power of nature to make a somewhat modern shower, and I was eager to try it out, so I turned to the two ladies with a broad smile.

“It looks great. Do you have any towels?” I asked.

“I will return shortly with clean clothes and fresh linens,” Miss Maggie explained.

“Cool.” I grinned, and I rolled onto the balls of my feet as I waited for the two women to leave.

“Oh, apologies,” Una murmured as a blush darkened her cheeks. “I have gotten used to being with you, Alex. It is strange to say goodbye.”

“Come find me later?” I requested with a soft smile.

“Absolutely.” Her entire face brightened, and she nodded emphatically. “Enjoy the rain house!”

Then Una and Miss Maggie left me alone in the bathroom. I stripped off my ruined clothes and tossed them in a pile before I pulled on the wooden rope handle, but then warm water gushed from a spigot above my head. I even found a bar of soap wrapped in a huge green leaf nestled among the branch, and I worked up a thick lather before I scrubbed my entire body.

The sensation of the surprisingly warm liquid washing over me felt amazing, and I was lost in bliss for several moments, but after a while, my thoughts began to wander over everything I’d experienced in this dream so far.

I’d woken up in what was basically a cemetery only to hear a cry for help, and when I’d rushed to save the damsel in distress, I’d found a half-cat absurdity fighting an even odder half-dog, half-lizard creature. I was lucky Una had dropped the ‘big’ potion since I had no idea how I would have fought off the Sniffer Snatcher otherwise, but that was neither here nor there. I was safe now, but I was in a strange treetop city full of half-animal, half-people creatures, and they wanted me to save them from certain doom.

How was I going to do that?

I half wanted to wake up, and I half wanted to run around this crazy dream world exploring everything, but I was torn between the two. It didn’t seem like this dream was ending any time soon, so I might as well lean in to it.

I finished cleaning myself off, and I pulled the handle again to turn the stream of water off once more. Just as I was flicking water from my extremities, I heard a knock at the door, and I crossed to the portal in a couple of steps.

It was probably Miss Maggie with my clean clothes.

I pulled open the door to reveal Una standing before me with a pile of neatly folded clothes in her arms. Her gaze travelled down my naked body, and her purple eyes widened when they took in my complete form. Then her face returned to mine, and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

“I-I brought g-garments,” the stunned cat-girl stammered out, and she shoved her armful of fabric into my arms. “Y-You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to.”

“I’ll consider all my options.” I smirked. “Thank you, Una.”

“Y-You’re welcome.” The cat-girl dipped her head, and her striped ears twitched.

I closed the door again, and I looked down at my hard cock with a wry grin. I’d really enjoyed the shower, but Una’s reaction to me was the icing on the cake.

Then I turned my attention to the bundle of clothes I’d been gifted, and I inspected them quickly before I started to get dressed. I pulled on the baggy cream colored pants with a sigh of relief. They were cinched around the ankles and the waist, but the fabric billowed around the legs, and they hung comfortably from my hips.

The shirt was basically just a vest that hung almost to my knees, and it was a soft green hue that complimented the pants nicely. A wide belt completed the ensemble, and I used it to hold the shirt-vest closed across my chest. A spattering of chest hair was still visible around the neckline, though, so I knew Una would be pleased.

I finished by raking my hands through my shaggy black hair, and then I opened the door once more. Una waited patiently on the edge of the rope bridge, and she stood with her back to me and her tail swaying as she gazed out over the clearing toward the waterfall.

“Havenwood sure is a beautiful place,” I said as I came up behind her.

“Oh, yes,” Una gasped as she spun around, and she couldn’t hide the flash of disappointment in her eyes when she saw me fully dressed. “Havenwood is very special.”

“You’re even more special,” I said in a soft voice, and I took her hand gently in my own. “I’m glad I dreamed you up, Una.”

“You made me?” The cat-girl tilted her head to the side, but she didn’t move to take her hand back. “I was told a different tale.”

“Oh, yeah?” I chuckled.

“Indeed.” Una nodded, but then her violet eyes turned earnest. “How do you feel, Alex of Earth?”

“Much better,” I sighed. “That rain house is magic.”

“So that is what magic is.” Una’s face brightened.

“Sometimes,” I allowed with a shrug, but then I turned my eyes out to the view. “Care to show me around a little?”

I really didn’t want the dream to end before I got to know the beautiful cat-girl in the best way, but even in my wildest dream, I had a hard time just announcing that I wanted to fuck her. Better to go the gentlemanly route and know for sure she was open to it first.

“I would care to do so,” Una replied. “It would bring me strong feelings of joy.”

“Good.” I grinned. “After you, beautiful.”

“I am Una, remember?” she giggled.

“Beautiful means cute, adorable, or pretty,” I explained. “To me, you are better than all the flowers in All-the-land.”

“Flowers cannot accomplish much so rooted in one place,” Una pointed out. “I am not known for sitting still.”

“I’ve noticed,” I chuckled.

The cat-girl smiled a wide, toothy grin, and she squeezed my hand warmly. “I will show you Havenwood, but you must watch your step. I almost fell on the way to the rain house.”

“I’m not the one suffering from agility opposition,” I said with a raised eyebrow. “But I’ll be careful, and I’ll try to catch you, too.”

“This way,” Una said, and she pulled me down the rope bridge.

We spent the next few hours exploring Havenwood hand-in-hand, but I was much more interested in giving Una sideways, flirty glances. We traversed the rope bridges and climbed the many ladders to see the sights. The branches reached into the air, and everywhere I looked was a little hut or structure of some kind.

We met several animal-like people, and Una waved in a friendly manner to each one, but I didn’t catch their names as she called them out. There were a variety of bird-people of every color flying through the air as we watched the sunset from the topmost bridge in town. The brilliant orb illuminated the rainbow sky with bright streaks of light, and I sighed with contentment.

It was a perfect end to a long day.

“I have one more thing to show you before we retire,” Una said, and she took my hand once more. “We’ve been to the upmost of the top, but now we will go to the downmost of the bottom.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I was happy to follow along wherever she would lead me, and I flashed her a cheeky grin as we walked toward the center trunk of the massive tree.

“Thank you for today,” I said.

“The day has yet to end,” the cat-girl pointed out. “Come, down to the bottom.”

Then she led me into the stairwell of the tree trunk, and we climbed down to where the hidden doorway opened to the clearing below Havenwood. Una kept going downward, though, and suddenly, stairs appeared below her feet. She walked purposefully down the steps, and I followed along, but I cast an anxious glance at the glimmer of light above me before it disappeared from view.

“Where are we going?” I asked in a curious tone as I looked around the dark stairwell.

“Down,” Una said simply.

“Obviously,” I snorted. “What’s at the bottom?”

“Sadness.” I couldn’t see Una’s face in the growing darkness, but I could hear the solemn tone of her voice.

“Oh,” was all I could say.

We walked down a few more steps, and then we came to a halt. Una opened a door, and the landing was bathed in light, so I had to blink away the temporary blindness before I could peer inside the room. When I managed to refocus my gaze, I saw rows and rows of beds divided by sheets of fabric. Laying on the beds were men, and even from the doorway, I could tell they were all in bad shape.

Una pranced inside, and she tossed a sad smile over her shoulder at me. I returned the expression as I followed behind her, and I pushed the portal closed behind me. The feeling of sickness overwhelmed the space, and a part of me wanted to bolt for the door, but I kept my feet planted firmly in place. The air smelled of antiseptic and an earthy aroma I could only assume came from being so far under ground. This room had to be nestled among the roots of the giant sequoia Havenwood was built into, and I glanced tentatively up at the ceiling. Sure enough, it was raw dirt, and white roots poked out at various intervals.

“This way, Alex,” Una urged, and she took my hand as she pulled me past the rows of beds.

Moans of pain and whimpers filled my ears as I passed by the injured and sick, and my stomach twisted with sympathy. I nodded at those who I made eye contact with as I followed the cat-girl, but I only received a few nods in return. The lack of polite greetings didn’t bother me though, since I’d hate to be stuck in some hospital bed while the world was being conquered by an ominous Dark King.

Were these men suffering from potion withdrawals?

Una led me all the way to the back of the room and up to a woman with long gray-streaked brown hair standing with her back to us. The woman was wearing a long white tunic with a gold-colored belt cinched around her waist, and her feet were adorned with rope sandals.

My feline companion tapped the woman on the shoulder, and the brown-and-gray-haired lady spun around with a frown of concentration still furrowing her brows, but her face brightened when she saw Una standing before her. She looked like a normal human except for the mouse ears twitching atop her head, and the tiny pointy nose definitely reminded me of a mouse. Her eyes were the color of hazelnuts, and the wrinkles around them indicated her age. She looked like she was in her mid-fifties, but it was hard to judge off first glances alone.

“Doctor Kria,” the cat-girl greeted with a dip of her head. “I have brought someone to meet you. This is Alex.”

“Oh, Una! You made it home safe!” Doctor Kria rushed forward to seize the cat-girl in a hug, and the feline beauty wore a gentle smile as she patted the doctor’s hair softly. “I’m so glad to see you!”

When the doctor finally released her, Una beckoned me forward, and I plastered a friendly smile on my face as I stuck out my hand to shake the doctor’s.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, and then my smile turned sympathetic. “I didn’t realize there were so many sick and injured people in Havenwood. Are you the only person taking care of them? It must take a lot of energy to give so much of yourself.”

Doctor Kria blinked down at my offered hand with a confused expression, and then her gaze returned to Una. “I’ve told you, Una, this is a place of healing. You can’t play down here right now.”

“No play will take place,” Una assured the doctor. “I wanted to introduce you to the Dreamer.”

“The Dreamer?” Doctor’s Kria’s hazelnut eyes widened, and her gaze returned to my face. “Impossible.”

“Many things are impossible,” Una said. “But this is not one of them! I saw him with my own eyes. He is here to save us, Doctor Kria!”

“Hmm.” The doctor tapped a petite finger against her dainty lips as she narrowed her eyes at me. “Could it be true?”

Doctor Kria let the question hang in the air for a long moment, but I didn’t try to argue my case. I had a feeling a long winded explanation would only make me look like I was trying too hard. If I really was the Dreamer everyone kept talking about, then it would be known for sure soon enough.

“It’s true!” Una insisted with an enthusiastic nod. “I came to ask if you had any potions. Alex is immune to the opposition! I want to show everyone he is the Dreamer.”

“I have none.” Doctor Kria frowned. “How was your mission? Did you manage to steal any potions with the recipe?”

“Alex drank it,” Una sighed. “But that’s how I know he is the Dreamer. He saved me from a Sniffer Snatcher and a nightmare. He’s amazing, Doctor Kria, I am eager for you to agree.”

“I will agree with what I can see,” the doctor replied cryptically. “Unfortunately, until we have another potion, we will never know, but the important thing is you are safe, Una.”

“That holds the least of the importance among the things,” Una argued, and she planted her hands on her hips.

I had to chuckle at her level of sass, but that earned me a swift glare from the doctor, so I cleared my throat and looked awkwardly down at the wooden planks of the floor.

“I apologize, Una,” Doctor Kria said in a soft voice. “I don’t have any potions for you. Even if I did have some, I’d have to use it sparingly for my own research purposes. We can’t waste any with experimenting on some strange male.”

“Alex is from Earth,” Una informed her in a proud tone, and she lifted her chin at a stubborn angle. “He is not just a stranger to us, but to all of All-the-land. He is immune to the opposition, and he saved me. You’ll see. He is the Dreamer, and I can prove it.”

I wondered why this meant so much to the cat-girl, but then again, if my entire world was in danger and I thought one man could fix it, I’d never let him out of my sight until he completed the task. I couldn’t blame the cat-girl for her eagerness to save All-the-land any more than I could blame myself for not being able to wake up from this crazy dream.

The illusion or dream or whatever it was had started to feel more and more realistic by the minute, and a nagging doubt over what reality really was hovered at the edge of my mind.

I didn’t want to voice these thoughts out loud for fear of sounding insane, so I pushed them away and refocused on the conversation between the cat-girl and the doctor.

“We’ll have to launch another mission,” Doctor Kria said.

“Alex and I will go,” Una volunteered immediately.

“Whoa, where are we going?” I asked. “I haven’t agreed to go anywhere just yet.”

“The destination is still unknown.” Una shrugged. “But we simply must get our hands on another potion! I’ll ask around for some ideas. Alex, are you feeling prepared for rest?”

“I could rest.” I smirked, and then I nodded to the doctor. “It was nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“We shall see if the same is true for you,” the skeptical doctor said, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her petite lips all the same. “We will reconvene once we have some ideas.”

The sun had completely set by the time we returned to the branch city hundreds of feet above the ground. Una led me to a circular domed structure, and she gestured for me to go inside.

“This will be your lodgings while you’re in Havenwood,” the cat-girl explained. “My dwelling is nearby, close enough for me to hear if you call my name.”

“Thanks,” I said with a grateful smile, but I stayed frozen in place outside the doorway.

Una tilted her head to the side with a silent question in her eyes, but her confusion was the only prompting I needed. It wasn’t the right time to invite her inside, but I was seriously going to regret my choice if I woke up before being able to at least kiss her.

“Goodnight, Una,” I said as I dipped my head beneath the door frame.

“Rest thoroughly, Alex.” The cat-girl grinned impossibly wide, and her teeth sparkled in the starlight. “I will fetch you when the sun rises.”

Inside the dwelling stood a platform bed, a round, clay wood stove, and a small table with two chairs tucked beneath it. The floor was made from wooden planks, and the gaps between them were wide enough for me to see moonlight through. It was a little unnerving, but I told myself it was just like the treehouse I’d had as a kid.

I stretched out across the low platform bed and yawned. I didn’t know what would happen if I fell asleep, but I was exhausted after the long day I’d had of running, growing, fighting, and shrinking. I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I slept like a log for hours. I didn’t know what time it was when I felt a weird weight on my chest, and I blinked open my eyes.

Una straddled my chest and gazed down at me, and the predawn light coming through the open window illuminated the depths of her purple eyes. My breath caught in my throat as I stared up at the beautiful cat-girl, and I had the urge to stroke her cheek. Fortunately, her legs were holding down my arms, so it was easy to resist the temptation.

“It is dawn,” Una informed me. “You were still asleep. That is strange.”

“Does everyone in All-the-land wake up at dawn?” I asked.

“How would I know?” Una tilted her head to the side. “I have not met everyone.”

“Okay, so do the people you know all wake up at dawn?” I chuckled.

“Everyone wakes up when their eyes open,” Una said. “That’s how you know they’re done sleeping.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I conceded. “Care to let me free?”

“I have not imprisoned you here, Alex,” Una assured me, but she didn’t budge from my chest either.

“I can’t move,” I pointed out as I glanced down at her muscular, striped legs, but she didn’t seem to get the hint.

“Where else would you live?” Una asked in a curious tone. “This dwelling is close to mine, and it was empty. Were you unhappy with your stay last night?”

“No, I meant literally, right now, I can’t move my arms,” I explained with a smirk. “Your legs are pinning me down.”

“Oh,” she said, and she hopped off me in a clumsy tumble of limbs and tail. “Will you get up now?”

“Yes,” I chuckled, and I pushed myself up to a sitting position before I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. “I’m up. What’s going on?”

“In All-the-land or with me? Either way, I suppose it’s the same answer. I’ve been dying of impatience while you slept. I’ve been waiting for so long to tell you about how I was talking to our new friends and some other people I know here in Havenwood.” Una’s words came out in a jumble as her eyes lit up with excitement. “Several people saw our enemies moving through the woods, but only Lena saw Clover Cards with potions before we ran into the nightmare and she jumped on you. They were hauling a wagon full of potions! I figured if we hurried we could catch up to them before they made it back to the Clover Queen’s fortress, but we’d have to go at full speed.”

I processed her words as quickly as I could, but when I realized she wanted me to run off after the people who had previously captured and imprisoned her, my stomach twisted into an anxious knot. I took a few deep breaths to steady myself, and the beautiful cat-girl eyed me curiously.

“What will we do once we catch up to them?” I raised one eyebrow and crossed my arms. “I don’t exactly have claws or any weapons to help me fight them. Hell, I’ve never even held a sword before, but I have shot a gun a few times. That would be helpful… Do you have any guns?”

“So, you’ll do it!” Una squealed with delight, and she jumped into my lap as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I couldn’t tell if that was an affirmation to the gun question or not, but I was quickly distracted by the up close view I got of the beautiful cat-girl and by the warmth of her body against mine. I felt a reaction stir in my loins, so I hastily placed her on the bed beside me.

“I’ll do my best,” I muttered. “First things first, I’ll need a weapon.”

“Second things secondly,” Una giggled as she bounced up and down on the bed, and it seemed she was completely oblivious to the effect she had on me. “Thank you, Alex.”

“I haven’t done anything yet,” I said. “You can thank me when it’s over and we have the potions we need.”

“Then everyone will see for themselves that you are the Dreamer,” Una breathed, and her purple eyes filled with intense hope. “And all of All-the-land will be safe from the Dark King’s control.”

“We’ll see,” I said, and I swallowed down the lump that rose in my throat.

Was I really going to help her?

It seemed as though I’d already made up my mind, and I raked a hand through my hair as I wondered if I’d gone absolutely, completely bonkers. Una and the other women weren’t capable of fighting off much, and I was the first able bodied male they’d seen in a long time

I had to help them.

Maybe then I’d wake up?