The Caun By Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters. You have been warned.
``May the leprechauns dance over your bed and bring you sweet dreams.''
-Irish Proverb
A thought...A vision...An epiphany...the very recollection of recurrent and sometimes distant memories that are often forgotten. The dream world is a place where many live the fantasies of life which cannot be perceived as a reality. A constant remission that comes with the coming of sleep. It is often in these thoughts that we see our true selves and experience facets of life that they may or may not want to relish.
This is even more so true for the youth of the world. It is very well known that the imagination of kids is one of a wide expanse. Each and every child's previous night may end up being forgotten but sometimes lead to an indelible impact on the person's life. They must also learn to deal with the nightmares just as they must deal with the nuances of real versus fake. This is even more true for the youngest in the group when the kid is in more formative and influential years.
Nait was a young cub who lived in the outskirts of the Mexican capital. The big city life was all he had grown up to know. He was a typical boy who very much liked going out to explore the Mexican wilderness. He was an artistic type who enjoyed taking in the sites and then drawing whatever he witnessed. He was of growing talent and his artistic abilities had generated from simple linework and sketches to more detailed paintings and digital art.
Over the last few years, he had also become more imaginative, even having make-believe friends beyond the ones he had in school. Recently he had begun creating more fantastical worlds in which he featured more unrealistic beasts than the typical species of furs that he associated with. He was becoming increasingly fond of imagining himself flying through the sky on the backs of various mythical creatures to places in which he had only ever heard of.
Often times he went to bed imagining himself in other spectacular situations. Some times it was as a glittering knight in shining armor and others it was as a star sports player in some championship game. No matter the situation, he was never at the center of things as he was not one to enjoy a tremendous sense of attention. Regardless whenever he remembered his dreams, he always did so fondly.
One day after a long at school, the lion kitten was keen on getting home. His most recent drawings had received rave reviews at the hand of his junior high art teacher. He was going home on an emotional high and he didn't think it could possibly go wrong. When he got home his parents were yelling and screaming at each other, seemingly having some sort of fight in which he wasn't entirely sure what was the cause of.
When he walked in he looked around to see where it was coming from, but it was loud enough to be heard anyways and he decided it was best to just avoid it. The lion cub made his way back to his room which was decorated by many of the drawings that he'd drawn over the past year or so. It was his place of respite and rest as he couldn't hear much of anything as he shut the door behind him and walked towards his bed.
Nait shuffled off his shoes and jumped right on the bed causing his body to bounce on top of it as the surface of the mattress ejected his form ever so slightly. He allowed his body to rest a bit, it had been a hard day for him and he wanted nothing more than to relax. The kitten rested his head on his pillow. His mind was already in a distant place wondering what fantastic places he could conjure so that he could draw something new and exciting.
He closed his mind and allowed his thoughts to take over. He began to think of a place of wonderous designs, an alternate reality where his parents didn't yell quite so often. A harmonious house in which his idea of utopia ruled. He allowed himself to explore outside of his room, bringing himself outside. His entire body levitated as if he were a creature of magic transporting itself to the realm of ether.
The area outside of his house was vacant of any other house, instead replaced by a field of infinite green pasture as far as his eye could see. On the horizon he envisioned the sun was just rising on a new day, basking the newly born day in its omnipresent radiance. He began to walk in the direction of the sun, as he did his hopes of a better world increased. Nait looked around as there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
As he entered into the mid part of the field, he took a second to take in the sights. Bending over he picked up one of the many dandelions that dotted the field. He brought it to his nose and smelt it. His strong sense of smell could sense the dander on the thing and a small bee flew off of the top from the inside of the bud just past the outer part of his snout. He giggled as the bypassing insect tickled his nose ever so slightly.
Nait pulled the thing away and allowed it to flow from his hand along with the wind. The day was a breezy one as the trees in the distance swayed along with the fervent gusts that prevailed through the open area. The lion's tail swayed behind him as he idly stood at the center of it all, relishing in the sights before him. A moment later a light rain began to drizzle down from the seemingly open sky despite the obvious lack of clouds.
Nait peered upward at the sun, strangely it did not cause him to squint at all. The light was inviting and the little drops of water peeled down his fur onto the skin, reducing the somewhat hot nature of the environment. As he glanced before him, a rainbow began to appear and a small figure at the base of it. Its silhouette contrasting against the bright hues of the pillars of radiant color.
He looked closely at the figure and it appeared to be waving towards him. He blinked and the little creature seemed to be even larger when in comparison to the tiny arch of highlights behind him. Nait began walking, his steps seemingly taking him in longer strides than he elsewise expected. His hole gait was weightless and each step he took seemed to lift entirely off the ground. Without much of a mind to where he was going, he let his body carry him.
The figure in the distance remained within his fixed gaze. The enigma of its show became more defined and eventually Nait could make out what it was. After a few minutes, the lion cub determined that it was a Leprechaun. The thing was mere meters away from him and it held its small arm out to the larger cub, a small clover in its hand. As Nait tried to take it, the thing closed its grip making it disappear like magic. Its diminutive stature was small enough that the kitten had to bend over to get a good look at it.
Even on his knees, the small gnome-like creature wasn't very noticeable. Its hand remained extended out, expectantly waiting for whatever was on its mind. The creature was wearing a rainbow-colored robe that almost made it blend into the transcended rays of light that poured upon them. Nait reached out intent on making contact with the small being but as soon as his paw reached far enough to touch it, the figure disappeared chucking in a small fit of laughter.
The lion blinked a few times, wondering where the creature could have gone. Looking around, the rain seemed to have picked up in frequency. Yet Nait was not soaked yet in fact, the area just around his person seemed to be just as light in rainfall as it was just moments ago. The cub looked before him once again, a lane of yellow bricks had formed before his eyes seemingly trailing off into the distance with no visible end as far as the eye could see.
Nait could still hear the faint sound of laughter coming from the distance and wondered if the Leprechaun was still around. He picked himself up and began walking down the cobblestone-lined pathway. As he made his progress the sound of laughing grew ever louder. With exception of the walkway in which he was treading, the entirety of the area around him was but a grassy plain.
There wasn't much else visible in fact, the place lacked much foliage outside of the grass itself. Nait continued walking and thought to himself, believing that he was making no progress. The road before him still stretched on endlessly and it didn't seem like the environment around him was changing at all either. He brought himself to a stop and considered his options, not really coming up with any sort of realistic solution.
Nait decided to take a step off the road onto the grass. Both of his feet left the path and the moment he did, the yellow road dissipated. The area began to rumble and the lion felt his feet beginning to stumble. He suddenly fell to his bum, the ground beneath him shifted and began to rise. The cub felt watched around him as he was elevated ever so gradually above ground level, the boy trying to maintain himself by clutching whatever grass and roots he could find.
Eventually, the rumbling ceased and the ground below him became more stable. Nait rose to his feet once again, Looking around him, he could now see that he was closed in by four corners of plush hedges. The height of which, he could not see above. The cub began treading down the curved hill of the upper portion of the risen ground. The sudden change in decline caused him to lose his footing and he slid down the side of it, till his body was brought to a stop by some stone facing along the edge of the end of the surface.
Nait got up and looked over the edge. It was already apparent he was higher than ground level, though the drop to the floor didn't seem to belong. Slowly he lowered himself down and then eased himself so that the jump wasn't nearly as dire as it would have been otherwise. He landed on the floor easily and looked before him. A large stone entrance stood before him with a small passage opening towards the center.
The lion figured this is where he needed to go. He looked around to be sure he wasn't being followed and heard the familiar chuckle once again, this time much more close and even omnipresent. He turned around and headed into the side of the stone passage. Once he was inside, there wasn't as much lighting. There was an occasional torch on the wall and every so often he heard the same laughter beckon through the chamber.
Nait continued to walk until he came on a bypass. A split in the rocks occurred with two distinct passes in opposite directions. The cub wondered which way he should go. The laughter repeated again and he tried to make headway of where it was coming from but couldn't quite tell. The cub decided to roll with going to the right, hoping that it would lead him to where he needed to go.
He continued down the path, watching as each of the torches passed by creating various versions of his shadow on the stones behind him and path beneath him. Before long he came to an area that looked like a dead end. It was darker in this part of the path and the only lighting came from behind. Nait crept forward and kept his paws to the wall, feeling his way along just to be certain there was no way through.
Just as he was doing so, there was a loud popping sound. A rush of air passed by him, for the first time since he entered the corridors of the tunnels. His body fell quite abruptly as the floor beneath him gave way. He collapsed below as the trap door caved in on him, sending him careening down a void of infinite darkness. Nait wanted to scream but he was such in a mode of panic that his body didn't allow him.
A few moments later his body finally came to a stop, his frame crashing into a gooey ravine. His form feeling colder and without as much warmth as he struggled to move. Nait struggled as he tried to gain sort of footing. No matter how much he moved, he made no progress in any direction. A few seconds of this fight and he overheard a disgruntled grunt echo through the chamber.
Nait's movement became more frantic and desperate as he heard the sound a second time, whatever substance that was keeping him in place remained restrictive. A few seconds later, the substance took on a neon green glow. The light was so bright that it actually illuminated the crevice and showed the lion what predicament he was in. A single eye peered at him from above.
The slime made a single movement pushing Nait out of its body. The sludge-like creature moving on with its life, not so much as caring for the excrement it left behind. When Nait finally recovered from his ordeal, his entire body was covered in grease and gunk. He definitely felt as if he needed a shower. A recall of another utterance of laughter reminded him that he was getting close.
Nait followed the slime since the thing was now the only evident source of light. It led down a pathway of a thin trail of water, that it replaced with perpetual neon-lighted green ooze. Before long the thing dissipated into a much larger pool of water. Its light did not completely die out as it left behind some remnants of its presence around a small grate that allowed the water to filter out.
At the center of the room was a small pedestal. The cub could make out a small figure atop of it. The thing seemed to be pointing at him, its laughter much more obvious and echoed through the small room. Nait wasn't about to give up just yet, after all the little creature had toyed with him to this point so the boy wanted to get even despite not really knowing what that entailed at this point.
As he approached the little leprechaun, the thing held its small hand out.
``Stop!'' Its voice was powerful and made it sound much larger than it actually was.
Nait felt his body stop abruptly as if he was being controlled by some magic that he did not yet understand.
``Three Questions for me, Answers for thee.'' The small gnomish creature made a waving motion with its hands in the air.
The boy thought for a second trying to understand what they were talking about.
``What rock is as light as a feather?'' The figure folded its arms waiting for an answer.
The cub was still confused but it was obvious enough he was answering a question. He thought about it a second, considering what things could answer the riddle before coming to something he considered silly.
``A shamrock?'' The lion smirked as he was confident in his answer.
A bright green light emanated from the gnome as its figure grew ever so slightly in size, making its silhouette even more apparent.
``Ahah! What type of bow can absolutely never be tied?'' The thing began floating around the room coming closer to where the boy was standing.
Nait pondered for a moment and remembered the incident that had led him here in the first place.
``A rainbow?'' The boy felt absolutely confident that he was up to this little question game now that he knew how it worked.
``How many gold coins have I fit in this here empty pot?'' The leprechaun conjured a small pot that floated around with it.
Nait thought about it once again. The pot looked small enough that it could fit nothing but the fact magic was involved made him even more curious. The mention of empty gave him his final answer.
``None, because it wouldn't be empty anymore.'' The boy beamed with pride.
A second flash of light emanated, this time from the pot, making it large enough to actually get a good look at. The thing plowed to the floor and a bright yellow light projected from it.
``Now take yer reward and begone with ye!'' The critter snapped his fingers and disappeared in an instance.
The boy thought it might be a trick but he heard no laughter now and considered that he might have won the game. He carefully approached the pot and reached out to it. As expected it was cold as an unused metal should have been. He peered inside and saw only a single gold coin. The lion reached inside, shuffling his hand around searching for the tiny doubloon. It took him for a second to locate it since the mouth of the pot wasn't big enough for him to both look and search inside.
He fished the thing out and looked at it. The thing was not even the size of his inner paw. It glowed faintly and it was fairly dainty in weight. He poked at it, thinking it to be faint. When he did, it glowed once again a familiar insignia adorning the face of the coin. He looked at it closely. It appeared to be a happy face and the engraving of it was brighter than the rest of its body. He took it to his chest and held it close to his heart, closing his eyes.
A banging rapped on a nearby door, he awoke from his state of semi-slumber. Nait slowly got up from his bed, feeling drowsy from his nap. His parents stood at his door, smiling at him. His mother had her hand around her husband's back and vice versa. Both seemed rather happy and content in comparison to earlier. The woman beckoned to him so that he would come to them.
Nait joined them at the door and the three shared a family hug for a moment. Once it was over, the three of them joined in the kitchen. The cub realized what they had planned, a large cake was at the center of the table with just the right amount of candles.
``Happy birthday, kiddo.'' Both of his parents kissed him on the head.
It seemed like everything was going to be alright after all.
