It was nighttime at The Yon Shishi Manor...and all was quiet. Yumeko was asleep in her bed, but she wasn't sleeping peacefully. For the past few nights, Yumeko has been having nightmares about a dark, swirling cloud engulfing the manor, and a woman cackling in the background. What her dreams were trying to tell her, Yumeko didn't know, but she was scared nontheless. The dream had occurred many times...and yet...Yumeko would wake up with her heart pounding and sweat dripping down her face. Tonight was one of those nights. "STOP!!" Yumeko exclaimed as she awoke and sat up in bed. She trembled as she hugged her knees close to her chest. 'That stupid nightmare again...' She thought with a sigh. Yumeko looked around the room. It was too dark to see her pet so she mumbled,"Shuhi? Are you awake? I had that dream again...I'm scared." Yumeko is usually quite brave about everything, but that dream was too much of a shock to her...she couldn't take it.

The little phoenix slumbered on his lavish pillow at the foot of his master's grand bed. He'd taken quite the liking to the simple pleasures of life, and this expensive pillow was one of them. In his current dream, he flew amongst birds of a like feather before landing in a classroom to give a lecture on symbolism in The Tale of Genji. In his dream, none of the students fell asleep.

"Shuhi? Are you awake? I had that dream again...I'm scared," one of the students in his class spoke up, her glasses nearly as magnificent as Shuhi's. Her voice sounded vaguely familiar. Too familiar. Oh no. The dream world shattered around him, and he found himself curled on his beautiful pillow, staring through the darkness at his master's face.

He stretched his feathers and picked himself up, yawning through his beak. Then, he moved a wing to his nose, adjusting glasses he didn't have, and turned to fully see the distress on his master's face. He could barely see anything, but he could pick up that she had sweated in her sleep, more than usual. Nightmares'll do that to humans.

"Yes, master," Shuhi said, his voice high pitched, "I'm here." He inched closer, yawning again, until he had his soft talons on her belly.

"Would you like me to prepare the remedial tea? Or perhaps you'd like to talk about it?" Shuhi asked, trying to make his voice reassuring. He'd dealt with this before - she did seem to be having this dream a lot. Was it a premonition, or simply bad memories? He wished that he could take away his master's worries, but there were only so many things he could do.

Despite the late hours, Akina walked the halls with a candle in hand to light her way as she made sure each of her sisters was safe and sound in their room. True, she was over protective and she knew it, these nightly checks were just her being paranoid but they made her feel better before she actually got any good sleep herself. Of course she never patrolled herself, her best friend Drake was always at her heels or right beside her, never questioning her obsessive motherly checks.

Turning a corner she shivered a bit, pulling her robe tighter about her as she came to Yumeko’s room just about to peek in when a sound caught her attention and she yanked back, thrusting the candle forward to get a better look. “Hello?” Her eyes searched the darkness but not seeing anything she looked back to Drake. “Did you hear anything?”

Reina stepped out on the branch as gently as she could, not wanting to make a sound or downpour of leaves to let anyone on the lower levels of the house know she was up there. With her bedroom window in sight, she balanced out her weight before leaping for the ledge; catching the window sill and pulling herself up to sit in the frame. Sure it probably looked like a stupid act being on the fourth level of the mansion; but when you always landed on your feet, heights wasn’t much of an issue. It also came in handy when you wanted to take a short walk outside to help you sleep…even if it was a tad too late to be a reasonable idea for most. ‘Most’ not meaning herself in her opinion, of course.

Opening the window enough to slip inside, Reina happily discarded her shoes and was ready to head to bed. “Nya!” A sudden tug around her neck nearly knocking her back towards the window, the girl grabbed at her throat and twisted around to see the culprit… only to see her hood got caught in the window latch. Trying to undo the tangle by reaching behind her back, Plan A was a complete failure. “Ok… Plan B.” Twisting around once again and trying to slip out of the hoodie all together, Plan B went from failed to disastrous. Standing half bent with her head stuck in the hoodie which was stuck to the window, she simply couldn’t believe her luck. “Brilliant! How could this possibly get any worse?!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth, she could faintly hear someone in the hall; then remembered her eldest sister's nightly checks. Eyes wide, Reina started tugging trying to get loose before she realized she was on the fourth floor…Which meant Kanon might be on the floor to. “Kanon…Kanon!” she tried to call silently, all the while hoping she wasn’t talking to herself in her bedroom while attached to a window.

Kanon’s ears twitched and his large cat eyes blinked open as a familiar voice filled the room. He wasn’t sleeping all too peacefully, anyways. The comforting sound of her breathing (and occasional mumbling) was what he was used to falling asleep to, but all night he had been pondering where she was instead. When she had first left, he fought the urge to follow her (as he had often done without her knowing). The sisters, however, seemed to be a little edgier that day than usual and he had to stay in the mansion to cover for Reina, again, which was okay with him. He was used to it and he was more than happy to cover for her (despite the occasional guilty feeling for beguiling his friends) if it kept her out of trouble. With a happy purr, he stretched out his legs and stood up from his resting place between Reina’s door and her bed. Quietly he padded over to where he had heard her calling from.

“Gotten yourself stuck again?” He asked, amused, as he observed the situation his master was in now. He circled around her, silently purring. Haha, it was so funny. And she couldn’t see a thing! Not even how he was enjoying her awkward and cute predicament. But no, no, right now wasn’t a time to be laughing. She needed his help, after all. Balancing on his back paws, he stood up on his haunches and plucked her hood free, from where it had draped itself ever so loosely across the window latch— so much for feline grace, Reina. When he sat back down, his tail swooshed back and forth across the carpet like a puppy’s. Good boy Kanon, good boy. “Now you better hurry up if you don’t want to get caught Reina,” he told her, with a kitty-cat grin, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight, “Akina might be coming to check on you any minute now.”

Drake had been following Akina on her daily 'patrol', but he didn't mind. After all, thanks to her and her family he had a home and friends, so this was the least he could do. Unlike most of the other pets, Drake was in his human form this night, having discovered that moving around through these halls as a dragon made everything much smaller, and much easier to break. When Drake noticed that Akina was cold, he switched his heater on, so to say. The dragon had been so happy when he had found out that he could do such a thing. No destructive flames, no claws smashing things, no, just a simple warmth that kept everyone around him on a comfortable tempature.

"Yes, master, I thought I heard something," he replied, a kind smile on his face. Drake thought a few moments and pushed the door open slightly, allowing more light from the candle to go in the room. "Is everything okay here, Shuhi?" Akina's pet asked quietly, rather waking Shuhi up than Yumeko. Drake glanced at Akina for a moment and gave her a reassuring smile, opening the door a bit more if it was necessary. Suddenly Drake turned away, yawning right afterwards. The smallest of flames appeared and the darkness in the hall got chased away for a moment. The dragon turned back and scratched his head slightly. "Sorry for that, master," he mumbled. Drake wasn't yet used to his powers in this human body, and no matter how much he trained, every now and then, accidents happened.

Yumeko was glad that Shuhi was by her side. She smiled at him and said,"Thanks for your concern. Some tea would be nice, please." Yumeko wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She was surprised to see her older sister's pet, Drake, asking if they were okay. Yumeko smiled at him and said,"We're fine. I just had a bad a dream." She flopped back down on her bed and let out an exasperated sigh. The night was long...and Yumeko wished she could just have a peaceful sleep for once. Yumeko began talking,"That dream. It was always a dark, swirling cloud engulfing the manor and a woman's evil laugh. Why? What is this dream supposed to mean? Are we going to be attacked?" She shivered and pulled the blankets over her shoulders.

His master compliant, Shuhi prepared to craft some tea. However, Drake stood at the door, belching fire. Shuhi laughed through his beak and waddled off to his closet. He could never get a hang of conjuring clothes on himself while transforming, so he always became a human when he had something to wear nearby.

Shuhi began to process, closing his face-flanking eyes. He felt a warmth inside of his body, then the pain of bone reconstruction. He focused on the shape he wanted to take: Tall and nearsighted. Within a few seconds, his body raised up, with arms sprouting from his torso, and his talons becoming feet. Eventually, he stood tall, cold and naked. The whole process always left him a bit queasy, but he figured he'd get over it eventually if he could perfect the spell.

Looking around his closet, Shuhi found his favorite Chinese garb and threw it on, robing himself in .3 seconds faster than his normal best time. He smiled, pleased with his tiny achievement, and left the closet. Yumeko now sat up in her bed, talking about her unfortunate dream. Shuhi doubted it was a premonition - baseless superstition, he thought, even as a talking phoenix - but it kept coming towards her, unsettling her nights. The books Shuhi read on psychoanalytic theory suggested childhood trauma, but he doubted it.

"I doubt we'll get attacked. Your subconscious mind is likely melding together stresses and issues from your day to day life - are you stressed, lately?" Shuhi asked, leaving to make tea after her reply.

Miyuki sat on the deck. She had decided to ignore all things happening around her like the faint sound of Reina getting stuck as usual. Miyuki was used to staying up late and liked to tend to herself in this way. This was her time to relax by the koi pond. She let a hand swoop over the water silently before she smiled and reach into her robe pulling out a snack.

"Oh this is so delish!" She plopped the small meat bun into her mouth and smiled ecstatically. She always did love food and pastries. She munched on the bun for a while enjoying her time there. She was even more pleased that her pet, Hebizuka, was around. He though was probably sleeping to keep warm.

She readjusted herself and spread out her robe. "Hebizuka? If your still here in this darkness you may lay on my robe for comfort." She looked around before giving up on trying to see too much. She could see outlines and shapes but not to many colors and not enough to where she could spot a human or snake crouched in the garden. She ate another bun and wondered where Akina was. She usually came by but maybe she had found one of the other girls in a predicament. She shook her head dismissing the horrible thoughts. She reached over once more and gathered her disk of water. She sipped at it gracefully, staring off into the pond, thoughts running across her mind. She watched a koi swim up to her and she stretched out her other hand to stroke it but it darted away.

"So frail and fleeting. Don't you think Hebizuka?"

Yumeko let out another tired sigh before saying,"I haven't been stressed lately, Shu-kun. This place is so quiet and calm that there's nothing to stress about." She pulled her knees closer to her chest. "If it was just stress...I suppose the dream wouldn't have lasted for so long. It's been a month. Isn't that long enough?" Her sisters didn't seem to be having the same dreams as her, and even with Shuhi trying to tell her it's nothing...she just couldn't be convinced. Something inside of Yumeko was telling her that something isn't right. Telling her that the peace at the manor will be long gone. "A good night's sleep isn't so hard, is it?" She muttered to herself.

Reina froze when she heard someone in the room, but sighed in relief as she heard that it was Kanon.

”Gotten yourself stuck again?”

“No, just doing yoga… mind helping me out?” Still trying to tug her way out, she couldn’t help but glare at darkness infront of her as she heard Kanon purring. He better not be enjoying this! As soon as she felt the hood loosen from the window latch, Reina flopped down onto the floor and successfully got the hoodie off, only to laugh at the puppy dog look in front of her. “Yikes! I almost forgot about that! And thank you so much.” Standing and giving Kanon a quick peck on the head and scratch behind the ear, Reina crept to her bed and tossed the troublesome garment under her bed. “Tell you what, I’ll stay in tomorrow night so we can get some sleep.” Smiling, she curled up under the covers and pulled a blanket over her; only to realize how cold the house must have gotten tonight. With pillow fluffed and curling into a tighter ball, Reina peeked her head back out before feigning sleep before her sister showed up. “Night Kanon.”

Akina raised her brows in surprise at the sudden flames, a small smirk then appearing on her lips before she peered into her sister’s room. It seemed as though Shuhi had the situation under control, more than likely just another one of her sister’s nightmares, with a nod to the pet she closed the door then jabbed Drake in his ribs with a poke. “How many times must I tell you to stop calling me master? Honestly Drake, just call me Akina. I apologize we’re up so late, we’ll soon be in bed though I promise.” Grinning at her friend, she turned her attention back to the dark halls, remembering the clatter that had occurred above them earlier. Only one thought crossed her mind then, Reina, probably trying to sneak out again with the help of Kanon. Honestly, sometimes she didn’t know what she would do with those two. “I have a feeling that Reina is up to her old ways of sneaking out. I swear I’m just going to tie a boulder to her ankle! Then again, knowing her bull headedness she’d just drag it right out the window with her.” She chuckled a bit, drawing closer to him for his warmth.

"Okay, sorry to hear you've had another nightmare," Drake replied to Tumeko, nodding his head in the smallest of bows before Akina closed the door. Suddenly he felt something jab his rib, causing Drake to squirm away in suprise. No one could understand how glad he was that the door was closed before this happened. He! Squirming! A squirming dragon! But Drake shook it off and grinned at Akina. "Sorry, ma- Uh, Akina. It's just a habit of mine," Drake admitted. He had always done so, like the other pets did, since they were young. "Oh, you know I don't mind your regular patrol, though I miss flying about in the evening." Drake let out a small sigh, thinking about the last time he had spread his wings. But, he decided not to dwell in the past too long and his face brightened up. "Good, but before we do... Kanon and Reina?" he asked,gesturing down the hall to the stairs. The dragon knew how many times Akina had told the two to stay inside during the nights, but the two just couldn't seem to get it. But Drake couldn't get mad at Reina, seeing that she was his master's sister, so when Akina lectured her, Drake was ready to lecture Kanon. Although Drake's lecturing was a lot less lecture like, he only did it to keep Akina happy, but the cheerful Kanon always managed to convince Drake how much fun it was outside, almost persuading him to come along the next time. "Let's get going then," Drake commented, smiling when she moved closer to him. Luckily the 'heater' was an ability he did control. He turned it up the slightest bit and offered his master his arm, a polite smile decorating his face, before he walked along to Reina's room.

"I suppose it wouldn't be that long. I'll look into it," Shuhi said, giving her a reassuring smile - or, at least, tried to. Genuine smiles came difficult to him, so he tried to twist his facial muscles into happiness for a good ten seconds before succeeding with one. He bowed and left, passing by Drake and Akina. They got along well, and it added some peace to Shuhi's mind. He gave them a solemn nod and headed into the kitchen, putting some water to a boil. As he pulled out the tea bags (Did he want Glorious Green or Bodacious Black? Shuhi hated consumerism) his thoughts wandered to the cause of Yumeko's dreams.

Suppose, for instance, they were premonitions. Anything was possible, the phoenix supposed, but not everything was likely. In any case, if the mansion were, indeed, attacked by a maniacally cackling sorceress - or an alluring enchantress - or regular sorceress who just wanted their heads - the residents were more than capable of defending themselves. It would just be a matter of alertness and organization. Although, to be fair, Shuhi hadn't been in any life and death struggles before. He couldn't use his power on regular humans(well, most of them) on principle, so he avoided conflict with the few, few people he had met. Yet, to use that untested power on an actual, living creature...

The kettle whistled, interrupting thoughts he didn't want to think. Shuhi put the kettle on a tray along with a set of four ornamental cups and hauled it up to the room again, laying it gently on the bed, where its supports kept it in place. He poured them water and put the tea bags both of their cups, offering Yumeko hers.

"So, is the Child of Dreams feeling any better with the tea of life?" He asked, in between warm sips.

Yumeko took the cup into her hands, took a cautious sip, and gave Shuhi and big smile. "I'm feeling much better, thanks." She said as she felt the warmth of the tea course through her body. Hopefully, this will give Yumeko a better night's sleep, but something deep inside her is telling her that a cup of tea won't do her much justice. "I'm sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night, Shuhi." Yumeko apologized sheepishly. She had just realized how inconsiderate she was when she woke him up, but the dream was just so frightening that Yumeko didn't have time to think before calling out to him. Despite being surrounded by the people she loved, the mansion gave her a lonely feeling. Yumeko felt like she was missing something...but she just doesn't know what.

"No trouble at all, Master. It's what I'm here for," Shuhi said, extending a hand forth and patting Yumeko's head. Then, he put up his tea and placed the tray on the bedside table. Shuhi didn't feel tired, and knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until Yumeko felt better, anyway, so he sat down next to her, resolving to watch over her until the danger passed. He wanted to meditate, but he could do that when she went to her name's sake.

Something bothered him, though. It was completely irrational, but what if she was being sent a message? Some form of premonition? If regular psychoanalysis failed him, perhaps he had to turn to darker arts.

"Tell me again about your dream, Yumeko. Have the details changed at all?" Shuhi asked, crossing his legs.