|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 11, 2010 22:50:41 GMT -5
Haruka, on account of being so dense, didn't seem to take in the threat. "Oh, what a cute doggy!" she cooed as she reached over to try to scratch its cheek. She also seemed oblivious to its abnormal size, but given that it was Haruka, that probably didn't have anything to do with the dream ...
|
|
Alex-065
Full Member
Contents Under Pressure
Posts: 408
|
Post by Alex-065 on Mar 11, 2010 23:16:01 GMT -5
"Boomer, no growling," Jerry said to scold the massive hound that was trying to save him.
Boomer growled.
"Boomer," Jerry repeated sternly. "No. Growling."
Boomer growled.
The monstrous dog bristled as Haruka ignorantly reached out to touch him, bearing a mouth full of sharp and yellow teeth. They came down on the treacherous girl's wrist like a guillotine. The bite had been a snarling and lightening fast cobra strike. Boomer had drawn first blood.
Jerry opened his mouth to scream and he couldn't.
|
|
|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 11, 2010 23:48:13 GMT -5
Even as the boy awoke in his own bed, there was a pigtailed girl limping down the street while holding onto her bloody wrist in pain, swearing about dogs and how it probably was really a girl dog and it had to have been "cycling."
|
|
Alex-065
Full Member
Contents Under Pressure
Posts: 408
|
Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2010 0:04:53 GMT -5
Jerry bolted upright in bed, panting and shaken. Slowly reality settled in around him and he realized where he was. Back in Mr. Fukaida's bedroom, safe, but alone and very dissatisfied. The digital clock on the dresser read 5:42 in glowing red numbers. It wasn't even dawn yet.
Jerry groaned as he rolled out of the sheets. He figured he mind as well get the day started an hour early, despite wanting to return to sleep and try to recapture the tantalizing potential his otherwise dream that had been spoiled by the ghost of his long dead dog. "A wet dream turning into a nightmare at the last second," Jerry grumbled. "Just my luck...
|
|
|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2010 0:13:09 GMT -5
Sonra noticed him in class that morning as they were all filing in. She looked at him with concern, though the vibe wasn't there today. "Are you okay, Jerry?" she asked him. "You don't look so good."
|
|
Alex-065
Full Member
Contents Under Pressure
Posts: 408
|
Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2010 0:23:07 GMT -5
Jerry took his seat as the final bell chimed, smiling cordially at Sonra. It was actually nice. He opened his notebook to retrieve the homework assignments he'd completed only minutes earlier on the subway ride into town. His American bravado let him shrug off her concern, as well as his own lingering anxieties. "Nah, I'm alright. I just had an odd night last night... And some weird dreams." He chuckled at the absurdity of it all and added jokingly, "Say, does Haruka usually get along with dogs?"
|
|
|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2010 0:26:53 GMT -5
The girl blinked in surprise at the question, like something about it actually set her off-kilter. "Um, usually. Except golden retrievers. Animals usually love her. Why? Did you have a dream about her?"
|
|
Alex-065
Full Member
Contents Under Pressure
Posts: 408
|
Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2010 0:35:07 GMT -5
Jerry turned around to face her and let one arm casually rest on the back of his chair. "Yeah, you know, I really did." He smirked and rolled his eyes, deciding to give Sonra the sort version by leaving out how good Harurka had looked in that uniform. Only in his dreams could she ever squeeze into an outfit that tight. "It was a good dream too. We were here in class, cleaning the place up and having a good time... Right up until a dog I used to have appeared out of nowhere and bit her hand off!" As horrifying as the sight had been, Jerry was laughing about it now.
|
|
|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2010 0:42:01 GMT -5
"Oh my," Sonra gasped, "that's horrible! Surely you don't mean literally bit her hand off?" Then, after a moment, "Your dog wasn't a retriever, right?"
|
|
Alex-065
Full Member
Contents Under Pressure
Posts: 408
|
Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2010 1:02:02 GMT -5
"Hell yeah! It came right off. He just chomped on her." Jerry discovered he enjoyed getting a rise of Sonra. It was fun to see her usual grace and cool-headed composure breakdown over something as harmless as another person's strange dream. But enough was enough. Other students were looking up at the spectacle the American was making. He waved their dirty looks and the grisly imagery away. "But no, this was a really big bulldog I remember from when I was a kid. His name was Boomer. Never liked strangers getting near me."
|
|
|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2010 1:19:23 GMT -5
At the slight change of subject, Sonra seemed to be able to regain her composure. "He must have been a very protective dog and a close companion for you."
|
|
Alex-065
Full Member
Contents Under Pressure
Posts: 408
|
Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2010 12:44:17 GMT -5
"Yeah, he was..." Jerry sighed with nostalgic melancholy. "He died from cancer. Canine Leukemia... Can you frick'n believe that? I didn't even know anything like it existed, or that it could beat Boomer. You know, he got hit by a car before. Twice. And he made it through both surgeries like it was nothing. He was one powerhouse pooch..."
|
|
|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2010 14:55:26 GMT -5
"Sounds like he's still with you," she suggested, "in his own special way. In Japan, traditionally great emphasis is placed on dreams. When animals loyal to us die, they don't stop looking out for us. They stay with us. When you're walking down a back alley and feel a chill, listen to it and leave, that's a spirit telling you that you shouldn't be there. And when they show up in dreams, that's of particular importance."
|
|
Alex-065
Full Member
Contents Under Pressure
Posts: 408
|
Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2010 15:34:47 GMT -5
At first, Jerry took Sonra's little exposition at face value. He grinned and nodded, showing genuine interest. Then he started to connect the dots. In a strange way, Sonra was making sense in a way that resonated with something in his intuition. A feeling of dread crept up into the back of his mind. Jerry's smile slowly faded and was replaced by a look of growing concern. Sonra made him wonder. Was there something at work here?
Jerry didn't know much about the supernatural, but he believed in it. The jury was still out on aliens and Big Foot. But ghosts and spirits, the good and the bad? His gut told him they were out there. Could Boomer really be one of them? Had he been watching over him like Sonra said?
"So... What does that mean?" Jerry asked, his gaze wondering the room as he searched his feelings. "I don't remember ever having a dream like this before. Not since I came to Japan... This is kind of creeping me out."
|
|
|
Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2010 15:41:46 GMT -5
But Sonra just grinned. "Japan is an old country, American. You've only got a few hundred years of ghosts back home. Think of all the ones we have packed into a little island over twenty thousand years." She patted his desk in a motion to relax as she headed on to her seat.
|
|