Hey, this is a story I wrote for Niala, in exchange for my avatar. She posted it on the "short stories" thread, but I thought I'd post it somewhere where it could be seen... because I'm egotistical... lol. But, anyway, here it be!
Sweet dreams are made of these
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something...
-"Sweet Dreams Are Made of These", The Eurythmics
Lucy opened her eyes. Something was odd, though she couldn’t quite put her paw on it. She blinked. Wait, why did she think “paw” instead of “finger”? She pondered this for a moment, idly twitching her tail. She blinked again. Tail? What tail? Lucy looked over her shoulder, and, sure enough, a white and black striped tail was idly tapping the floor behind her. A sudden realization dawned on her.
She wasn’t Lucy anymore, at least not in the technical sense. She was Niala, her fursona. The realization didn’t startle the human-turned-tigress. Lucy/Niala just shrugged and stretched herself, purring. Then she looked down, and, finally, she WAS startled.
She was standing on a window, looking down through it into the room on the other side. The feline stared, transfixed, then looked around her. Where was she?
All around her were stairways leading into nowhere, doors that opened into walls, windows that only reflected more windows on the other side, floors with light bulbs and chandeliers standing vertically from them, ceilings with tables and chairs hanging suspended, as if they would fall at any second. In the distance, Lucy/Niala could hear what sounded like an orchestra or a band playing, but the music seemed to be moving forward, while at the same time backward, like two recordings of the same song played at the same time, with one being played in rewind, while the other one was played normally. The effect was chaotic, but somehow soothing. Where was she?
The feline lifted one foot/paw and stepped forward. She giggled a bit. She was walking on a WALL, of all things. She took another step, and then another. Whatever this weird funhouse was, it had a good vibe to it. It felt… FUN! Niala suddenly jumped, and, wonder of wonders, she didn’t fall. She just floated, moving toward what appeared to be a ceiling, all the way on the other side of wherever she was. The feline hummed to herself and tucked her paws behind her head as she floated. The ceiling, her destination, didn’t seem to be getting much closer, though she was passing countless windows and walls and tables and other assorted décor. Trees and shrubs planted in walls and stairways seemed to wave at her as she passed, and the feline couldn’t help but wave back.
Niala looked ahead again, and the ceiling she was floating towards was suddenly at hand. She straightened out, and landed smoothly, the surface cool on her footpaws. She laughed. This was almost too much fun! She launched herself out into the open space in the center of the room, angling for a distant stairway, which seemed to be climbing along a floor before extending straight down onto a ceiling. Hmm… but, something was missing. What was it?
Suddenly, the world blossomed into color. Anything she looked at changed to a new color, forming incredible washes of vibrancy that she thought impossible. Yeah, that’s what had been missing; colors! The feline laughed as the shades and hues shifted and blended together. These colors could never exist, but here they were, right in front of her!
The tigress pulled a cartwheel as she floated through the air. She touched down on the stairway, and began to climb it up the floor. The distant music began to become louder, as if she was moving towards it. She began to run faster, seeking out the source of the sound, but the faster she ran, the slower she climbed the stairs. She slowed down her pace, and she suddenly began to move faster. She laughed at the disorienting effect, and slowed down even more. Before long, she had reached the top of the stairs.
In the room beyond was a concert hall. On the stage was a jumble of assorted instruments, arranged in piles and stacks. The music, which had sped up considerably, though seemed to be moving slower at the same time, was originating from the stacks of instruments, though none of them seemed to be playing at all. Niala kept moving, going through an inverted door at the far side of the hall, and emerged in the air above a shining beach. Nothing here seemed backwards or out of the ordinary. The tigress began to slowly descend towards the sand, and then let herself drop the last few feet. She fell for a moment, and then… sunk. She gasped in surprise as she sunk chest deep in the sand. She threw a paw up, and when she brought it down onto the sand, it splashed, like water would. Niala lay on her back, floating atop the liquid sand. She stroked backward, laughing. The sand-water was pleasantly warm, and, before she knew it, she was approaching the blue water of the beach. She reached out, and the water was solid, yet grainy and coarse like sand. She pulled herself up onto the blue shore, and lay down, watching the sky, where a flock of dolphins was flying. Looking at the sand-water, a shoal of seagulls was idly swimming below the surface. She chuckled at the thought of flying dolphins and aquatic birds, and then stood. Behind her was another doorway, this one turned sideways. The tigress ducked through it.
On the other side was the concert hall, though this time, she was on the ceiling. She walked across, humming along with the chaotic music. Through yet another door was… darkness. The whole room was dark. Niala took a few tentative steps forward, and suddenly felt herself falling upwards. When she stopped “falling”, the tigress was in a brightly lit room, with a golden spiral stairway in front of her. The music began to speed up again, as if urging her forward.
Niala began to climb the stairs, going around and around. At the top was a wooden door. Curious, she pushed it open, and…
Lucy woke up.
Sweet dreams are made of these
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something...
-"Sweet Dreams Are Made of These", The Eurythmics
Lucy opened her eyes. Something was odd, though she couldn’t quite put her paw on it. She blinked. Wait, why did she think “paw” instead of “finger”? She pondered this for a moment, idly twitching her tail. She blinked again. Tail? What tail? Lucy looked over her shoulder, and, sure enough, a white and black striped tail was idly tapping the floor behind her. A sudden realization dawned on her.
She wasn’t Lucy anymore, at least not in the technical sense. She was Niala, her fursona. The realization didn’t startle the human-turned-tigress. Lucy/Niala just shrugged and stretched herself, purring. Then she looked down, and, finally, she WAS startled.
She was standing on a window, looking down through it into the room on the other side. The feline stared, transfixed, then looked around her. Where was she?
All around her were stairways leading into nowhere, doors that opened into walls, windows that only reflected more windows on the other side, floors with light bulbs and chandeliers standing vertically from them, ceilings with tables and chairs hanging suspended, as if they would fall at any second. In the distance, Lucy/Niala could hear what sounded like an orchestra or a band playing, but the music seemed to be moving forward, while at the same time backward, like two recordings of the same song played at the same time, with one being played in rewind, while the other one was played normally. The effect was chaotic, but somehow soothing. Where was she?
The feline lifted one foot/paw and stepped forward. She giggled a bit. She was walking on a WALL, of all things. She took another step, and then another. Whatever this weird funhouse was, it had a good vibe to it. It felt… FUN! Niala suddenly jumped, and, wonder of wonders, she didn’t fall. She just floated, moving toward what appeared to be a ceiling, all the way on the other side of wherever she was. The feline hummed to herself and tucked her paws behind her head as she floated. The ceiling, her destination, didn’t seem to be getting much closer, though she was passing countless windows and walls and tables and other assorted décor. Trees and shrubs planted in walls and stairways seemed to wave at her as she passed, and the feline couldn’t help but wave back.
Niala looked ahead again, and the ceiling she was floating towards was suddenly at hand. She straightened out, and landed smoothly, the surface cool on her footpaws. She laughed. This was almost too much fun! She launched herself out into the open space in the center of the room, angling for a distant stairway, which seemed to be climbing along a floor before extending straight down onto a ceiling. Hmm… but, something was missing. What was it?
Suddenly, the world blossomed into color. Anything she looked at changed to a new color, forming incredible washes of vibrancy that she thought impossible. Yeah, that’s what had been missing; colors! The feline laughed as the shades and hues shifted and blended together. These colors could never exist, but here they were, right in front of her!
The tigress pulled a cartwheel as she floated through the air. She touched down on the stairway, and began to climb it up the floor. The distant music began to become louder, as if she was moving towards it. She began to run faster, seeking out the source of the sound, but the faster she ran, the slower she climbed the stairs. She slowed down her pace, and she suddenly began to move faster. She laughed at the disorienting effect, and slowed down even more. Before long, she had reached the top of the stairs.
In the room beyond was a concert hall. On the stage was a jumble of assorted instruments, arranged in piles and stacks. The music, which had sped up considerably, though seemed to be moving slower at the same time, was originating from the stacks of instruments, though none of them seemed to be playing at all. Niala kept moving, going through an inverted door at the far side of the hall, and emerged in the air above a shining beach. Nothing here seemed backwards or out of the ordinary. The tigress began to slowly descend towards the sand, and then let herself drop the last few feet. She fell for a moment, and then… sunk. She gasped in surprise as she sunk chest deep in the sand. She threw a paw up, and when she brought it down onto the sand, it splashed, like water would. Niala lay on her back, floating atop the liquid sand. She stroked backward, laughing. The sand-water was pleasantly warm, and, before she knew it, she was approaching the blue water of the beach. She reached out, and the water was solid, yet grainy and coarse like sand. She pulled herself up onto the blue shore, and lay down, watching the sky, where a flock of dolphins was flying. Looking at the sand-water, a shoal of seagulls was idly swimming below the surface. She chuckled at the thought of flying dolphins and aquatic birds, and then stood. Behind her was another doorway, this one turned sideways. The tigress ducked through it.
On the other side was the concert hall, though this time, she was on the ceiling. She walked across, humming along with the chaotic music. Through yet another door was… darkness. The whole room was dark. Niala took a few tentative steps forward, and suddenly felt herself falling upwards. When she stopped “falling”, the tigress was in a brightly lit room, with a golden spiral stairway in front of her. The music began to speed up again, as if urging her forward.
Niala began to climb the stairs, going around and around. At the top was a wooden door. Curious, she pushed it open, and…
Lucy woke up.
