to dream, to sleep no more *

When they had asked her to come down, Katherine hadn’t anticipated that she was going to end up needing to treat a child that small. She was barely four years old, clearly malnourished...and absolutely terrified of everyone around her.

The coordinator of the orphanage had explained to Kate that the little girl was a new arrival, recently orphaned due to sickness. Her father had bolted not too long before she had been born, and her mother had never truly been healthy. And after giving birth to a little girl with partial lycanthropy, her health had taken a turn for the worse. There had been no other family members to care for the child. So she had been brought to Eve’s House with the hope that she might one day be adopted by people who would show her the love and affection that she deserved. The only trouble with that was the idea that she was part werewolf. Not everyone was open to the idea of loving a child like that.

When Kate had entered the room, the little girl had been curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging the pillow to her chest as she stared up at the stranger with wide eyes. She set down her kit, tucking it out of sight so that the poor girl wasn’t going to be distracted by it. ”Hello,” Kate murmured gently, offering her a small smile as she knelt down beside the bed. ”My name is Kate. I’m here to help you.”

The little girl didn’t respond, but nor did she move. And the fact that she hadn’t pulled any further away had to be a good thing, right? So Kate continued. ”They told me that your name is Ava...and that you’re four years old? Is that right?”

That got her a small nod, which made Kate grin just a little bit more. ”I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to help. Because you’re in pain, right?” That earned her another small nod. ”I’m a healer...it’s my job to help make people feel better. And I’m really good at helping people who are different...people like you.”

”Like….me?”

”Yes, dear one. Exactly like you. Because this isn’t the first time that it’s happened, is it? It happens a lot?” Ava nodded again. ”I have something that can help. It doesn’t taste very good...but that’s why we always give you chocolate afterward. Is that okay?”

Bright blue eyes looked up at her, her grip on the pillow beginning to loosen. It was beginning to look like she was going to accept Kate’s help, like she was ready to allow someone else to accept her for who she was. But then the little girl’s face fell, and her eyes began to cloud over. ”Be careful,” she suddenly pleaded with Katherine. ”The danger is coming.”

Kate bolted awake, sitting in her bed with a fine sheen of cold sweat covering her skin. She pressed a hand against her face, finding that her cheeks burned fiercely while the rest of her shivered. That was the fourth time this month that she had had this same dream...a dream about a little girl with blonde curls and blue eyes who warned her of danger. Danger that confused the hell out of the healer because she didn’t have the faintest clue of what she was being warned about. She had never been to Eve's House. She had never seen a little girl like Ava before.

She leaned forward, pressing her elbows into her knees as she took her face into her hands. What was it all supposed to mean? Was there something terrible awaiting her around the corner that she didn't yet know about? Or worse...was it somehow meant to be a warning about someone else? Her stomach lurched at the idea. The guy that she was sort of seeing was a werewolf. But he had never shown her anything aside from kindness. Perhaps too much kindness. Flowers on her desk almost every day...little notes tucked away where she least expected them.

Katherine groaned quietly. She certainly wasn't going to be able to sleep now.

WORD COUNT: 717
TAGGED: OPEN