erling.
He doesn’t remember falling asleep, but then –
When he awakens, he is lying on his side, looking straight into the eyes (or, rather, eye – where the other had gone was a question Erling was not sure he wanted answered) of a rather large bear. Interesting. He hadn’t experienced this while dozing in the meadow before. This is an odd dream, he thinks as he begins to wiggle and stretch his unusually stiff legs, before hearing muffled cries of “ouch!” and “excuse you, asshole!” and the one he was most accustomed to: “wait, why am I gray?”
“Sorry about that,” he calls back to them, whoever they are, rolling to his other side, falling a short ways to the floor before awkwardly attempting to stand up, “that’s my fault. I don’t know why that – hey!” As he finally manages to get his footing, he realizes he is no longer the dull shade of gray he was born with; instead, he is a bright shade of pink. And he was unusually shiny. At least now he knew this really was a dream.
Looking up, he finds three things standing before him, staring directly at him: a rough-looking grayscale cowgirl, missing her hat and most of her hair, which had been crudely chopped off; a stiffened, gray snake whose tail rattled seemingly at random; and a large, plush, gray-and-white cow. “Well HI!” Erling says excitedly, despite the obvious look of discontent on their faces.
“I guess you’re the new toy,” the cowgirl says finally.
“No, sorry. I’m not a toy,” He replies cheerfully, turning his attention to the large cow, looking it over. They stare at each other for a moment in silence, before the cow lets out a loud, sudden MOOOOOOO, startling Erling. “WELL HELLO TO YOU TOO!” He responds brightly before turning back to the cowgirl. “So, what am I supposed to do in this dream? Get out of here? That doesn’t seem too – ”
“This isn’t a dream, dear,” the snake interrupts, boredly, her tail rattling. “And you don’t decide when to leave. She decides for you.”
“She? What, her?” Erling asks, motioning toward the cowgirl.
“No, dumbass, Her. Nerissa.” The cowgirl responds, rolling her eyes as though it were obvious. The cow lets out another loud MOOOOOO, and Erling grins at it excitedly. “GOOD COW!” He yells back at it, and the cowgirl sighs, her annoyance apparent to everyone but Erling.
“Okay, we really need to get you out of here. Mertise, can you help?” The cowgirl asks, turning to the snake.
“No,” she responds simply, her tail rattling with emphasis.
“Well that is not very nice,” Erling says, shaking his head. “But don’t worry, I can do it myself!” He turns, facing the rest of the sleeping pile of toys – a pegasus, a few Barbies, the large, one-eyed bear, and a few other miscellaneous things.
“You cannot,” The snake hisses behind him.
Erling takes off at a run, getting a few strides in before he jumps up, landing (and falling) on top of a pile of lego pieces. As he scrambles to get up, he hears a thud, and turns around to see the cowgirl landing behind him. “Well HI!” He exclaims, and she rolls her eyes, undoubtedly regretting her decision to help him.
“Okay, we need a game plan if we’re getting you out of here without messing up your beautiful hair,” she says, grinning, poking fun at him.
“THANKS! But I think I’m alright. Bye!” Erling says before setting off, jumping from toy to toy gleefully without much disturbance (other than his turning them all gray), hardly noticing the cowgirl following closely behind him. He gathers himself and jumps once more, landing on the back of the one-eyed bear, who immediately springs to life, flailing upwards, almost throwing Erling off his back. The large bear growls, angered by Erling’s disturbance, and thrashes about, trying to see what was clinging to him. Erling tries to climb up his back, hoisting himself up with every movement of the bear.
Erling finally gets himself halfway up the bear’s shoulder – he is so close to the top – if only he could get it open –
The bear swings his arm blindly, hitting Erling, who slips back. It’s a good thing you always wake up before you die, he thinks, closing his eyes and accepting his fate.
“Come on! Nerissa Almighty!” What an odd expression, he thinks, opening his eyes to see the cowgirl standing on the flailing bear’s shoulder as though it were a bucking bronco she was used to riding every day. She reaches out her arms, grabbing a hold of his two front hooves, pulling him up.
The bear is growing tired, but still more agitated – his full-body spasms have slowed, but he still flails his arms wildly, determined to catch whatever it was that awakened him. One of the bear’s arms swings too high, hitting the top of one of the sides of the box, and the top flies open. “Look! If we can get to the top of the bear’s head, I think you can jump out!” The cowgirl yells at Erling. She begins to climb up the side of the bear’s head – it is easier for her, of course – and sticks out an arm to help Erling. He reaches the top – the bear’s movements have slowed to a stop now as he is discouraged, unmotivated –
“She decides,” He hears the snake hiss from beneath him as he gathers his footing.
“MOOOOOOO!” He hears as he jumps –
“Thank Nerissa he’s gone.” He hears as he reaches the edge and jumps down from the box.
He is free.
When he awakens, he is lying on his side, looking straight into the eyes (or, rather, eye – where the other had gone was a question Erling was not sure he wanted answered) of a rather large bear. Interesting. He hadn’t experienced this while dozing in the meadow before. This is an odd dream, he thinks as he begins to wiggle and stretch his unusually stiff legs, before hearing muffled cries of “ouch!” and “excuse you, asshole!” and the one he was most accustomed to: “wait, why am I gray?”
“Sorry about that,” he calls back to them, whoever they are, rolling to his other side, falling a short ways to the floor before awkwardly attempting to stand up, “that’s my fault. I don’t know why that – hey!” As he finally manages to get his footing, he realizes he is no longer the dull shade of gray he was born with; instead, he is a bright shade of pink. And he was unusually shiny. At least now he knew this really was a dream.
Looking up, he finds three things standing before him, staring directly at him: a rough-looking grayscale cowgirl, missing her hat and most of her hair, which had been crudely chopped off; a stiffened, gray snake whose tail rattled seemingly at random; and a large, plush, gray-and-white cow. “Well HI!” Erling says excitedly, despite the obvious look of discontent on their faces.
“I guess you’re the new toy,” the cowgirl says finally.
“No, sorry. I’m not a toy,” He replies cheerfully, turning his attention to the large cow, looking it over. They stare at each other for a moment in silence, before the cow lets out a loud, sudden MOOOOOOO, startling Erling. “WELL HELLO TO YOU TOO!” He responds brightly before turning back to the cowgirl. “So, what am I supposed to do in this dream? Get out of here? That doesn’t seem too – ”
“This isn’t a dream, dear,” the snake interrupts, boredly, her tail rattling. “And you don’t decide when to leave. She decides for you.”
“She? What, her?” Erling asks, motioning toward the cowgirl.
“No, dumbass, Her. Nerissa.” The cowgirl responds, rolling her eyes as though it were obvious. The cow lets out another loud MOOOOOO, and Erling grins at it excitedly. “GOOD COW!” He yells back at it, and the cowgirl sighs, her annoyance apparent to everyone but Erling.
“Okay, we really need to get you out of here. Mertise, can you help?” The cowgirl asks, turning to the snake.
“No,” she responds simply, her tail rattling with emphasis.
“Well that is not very nice,” Erling says, shaking his head. “But don’t worry, I can do it myself!” He turns, facing the rest of the sleeping pile of toys – a pegasus, a few Barbies, the large, one-eyed bear, and a few other miscellaneous things.
“You cannot,” The snake hisses behind him.
Erling takes off at a run, getting a few strides in before he jumps up, landing (and falling) on top of a pile of lego pieces. As he scrambles to get up, he hears a thud, and turns around to see the cowgirl landing behind him. “Well HI!” He exclaims, and she rolls her eyes, undoubtedly regretting her decision to help him.
“Okay, we need a game plan if we’re getting you out of here without messing up your beautiful hair,” she says, grinning, poking fun at him.
“THANKS! But I think I’m alright. Bye!” Erling says before setting off, jumping from toy to toy gleefully without much disturbance (other than his turning them all gray), hardly noticing the cowgirl following closely behind him. He gathers himself and jumps once more, landing on the back of the one-eyed bear, who immediately springs to life, flailing upwards, almost throwing Erling off his back. The large bear growls, angered by Erling’s disturbance, and thrashes about, trying to see what was clinging to him. Erling tries to climb up his back, hoisting himself up with every movement of the bear.
Erling finally gets himself halfway up the bear’s shoulder – he is so close to the top – if only he could get it open –
The bear swings his arm blindly, hitting Erling, who slips back. It’s a good thing you always wake up before you die, he thinks, closing his eyes and accepting his fate.
“Come on! Nerissa Almighty!” What an odd expression, he thinks, opening his eyes to see the cowgirl standing on the flailing bear’s shoulder as though it were a bucking bronco she was used to riding every day. She reaches out her arms, grabbing a hold of his two front hooves, pulling him up.
The bear is growing tired, but still more agitated – his full-body spasms have slowed, but he still flails his arms wildly, determined to catch whatever it was that awakened him. One of the bear’s arms swings too high, hitting the top of one of the sides of the box, and the top flies open. “Look! If we can get to the top of the bear’s head, I think you can jump out!” The cowgirl yells at Erling. She begins to climb up the side of the bear’s head – it is easier for her, of course – and sticks out an arm to help Erling. He reaches the top – the bear’s movements have slowed to a stop now as he is discouraged, unmotivated –
“She decides,” He hears the snake hiss from beneath him as he gathers his footing.
“MOOOOOOO!” He hears as he jumps –
“Thank Nerissa he’s gone.” He hears as he reaches the edge and jumps down from the box.
He is free.