Dreamwatch : Running the Wolf's Path
I was dreaming. I knew I was dreaming, and so did those I was with.
I asked whether it was worth beginning the run, as I was unlikely to be able to complete it before I awoke.
The heavy-set, bearded man assured me that any time gained now would be good, that even if I awoke, as we knew I would, when I returned the next time I slept, I would return to the path at the point I left it. He went on to tell me things that I already knew, perhaps he meant it to be reassuring. He told me that while I wasn't wolf, I had been marked by them.
At this point I saw in my mind an image of he who had marked me, a thin tall man, short black hair, wearing what seemed to be a monks habit, bare, sandalled feet.
My instructor continued on, telling me that though some of them would growl at my usage of their path, and some might even try and scare me from it, none would dare break the compact. He pushed an image into my mind, a woman with black, close-cropped hair, looking like Eden from Heroes. She would guide me through the later stages of the run. I was to meet her just beyond the pass, where once, in an earlier dream, a small group of us had held off an army.
I began to run the Wolf's Path. It was not enough merely to run and follow it, one had to run it right. Like an aborigine singing the song lines, the Path had to be run with the correct steps. Thus I found myself leaping from side to side of the actual path and bouncing off the gully walls around it. As I ran I realized that the Wolf's Path ran around the human one, always following it, often jumping across it, but never actually touching it.
I ran over a ridge following the Path, and saw a dark haired man in rough trail clothes, straggly greasy hair, and a blade over his shoulder. He looked at me with distaste as I ran. He was wolf, and he watched me as I approached him. I began to gather my strength into myself, in case he planned to do anything. Not that I could take a wolf, but I might at least manage to avoid him. The tension in me grew as I got closer. I saw him open his mouth, sharp teeth glinting.
"You run well for a human" he said, begrudgingly "Here, let me help you feed."
He ran along-side me, not following the Path, but paralleling it, so as not to interfere with my run. It was easy for him, but I was grateful as he passed me pieces of food at carefully chosen points when I could spare the concentration to take them. Finally, over several miles, and without breaking the pattern that was the Path, I had eaten a good trail meal
I thanked him as he spun off the path, crouched on a rock, and waved me luck.
I ran on.... until I could feel that the short haired woman was not far off, but, damn I was going to wake up now. I sent a thought in her direction apologizing, and felt myself swooping up off the Path toward my world and bed.
This was Thursday night. Unfortunately I can't remember any dreams from last night, so don't know whether I ended up back on that path.
I asked whether it was worth beginning the run, as I was unlikely to be able to complete it before I awoke.
The heavy-set, bearded man assured me that any time gained now would be good, that even if I awoke, as we knew I would, when I returned the next time I slept, I would return to the path at the point I left it. He went on to tell me things that I already knew, perhaps he meant it to be reassuring. He told me that while I wasn't wolf, I had been marked by them.
At this point I saw in my mind an image of he who had marked me, a thin tall man, short black hair, wearing what seemed to be a monks habit, bare, sandalled feet.
My instructor continued on, telling me that though some of them would growl at my usage of their path, and some might even try and scare me from it, none would dare break the compact. He pushed an image into my mind, a woman with black, close-cropped hair, looking like Eden from Heroes. She would guide me through the later stages of the run. I was to meet her just beyond the pass, where once, in an earlier dream, a small group of us had held off an army.
I began to run the Wolf's Path. It was not enough merely to run and follow it, one had to run it right. Like an aborigine singing the song lines, the Path had to be run with the correct steps. Thus I found myself leaping from side to side of the actual path and bouncing off the gully walls around it. As I ran I realized that the Wolf's Path ran around the human one, always following it, often jumping across it, but never actually touching it.
I ran over a ridge following the Path, and saw a dark haired man in rough trail clothes, straggly greasy hair, and a blade over his shoulder. He looked at me with distaste as I ran. He was wolf, and he watched me as I approached him. I began to gather my strength into myself, in case he planned to do anything. Not that I could take a wolf, but I might at least manage to avoid him. The tension in me grew as I got closer. I saw him open his mouth, sharp teeth glinting.
"You run well for a human" he said, begrudgingly "Here, let me help you feed."
He ran along-side me, not following the Path, but paralleling it, so as not to interfere with my run. It was easy for him, but I was grateful as he passed me pieces of food at carefully chosen points when I could spare the concentration to take them. Finally, over several miles, and without breaking the pattern that was the Path, I had eaten a good trail meal
I thanked him as he spun off the path, crouched on a rock, and waved me luck.
I ran on.... until I could feel that the short haired woman was not far off, but, damn I was going to wake up now. I sent a thought in her direction apologizing, and felt myself swooping up off the Path toward my world and bed.
This was Thursday night. Unfortunately I can't remember any dreams from last night, so don't know whether I ended up back on that path.