Carl lounged back on the sofa, making an effort to appear completely relaxed. He slouched back far enough to lean his head back against the soft, cushioned sofa, and let out a long, slow sigh. His feet followed next, lifting to cross at the ankles and rest on the large wooden chest he used as a coffee table. As he relaxed, he watched her work, listenning to the sound of water sloshing as she scrubbed. There was something off about her behavior. He could tell she was either mad at him, or she didn't trust him. Or worse, she didn't love him any more and was planning to abandon him as all the others had done. He watched her scrub, his thoughts racing as he planned how he could make her love him and stop her from leaving.<br/><br/>As she started drying the dishes and putting them away, his racing thoughts finally began to carry him away. He'd been awake for so much of the night, waiting for her to call for him, that he was extremely groggy this morning. The days spent traveling to town, then hauling the supplies up the mountain had been tough. He'd strained himself as he had not done for years. His muscles still ached from the work, and he felt drained of energy. Finally, as she was half way through drying the dishes, his feigned display of relaxation became genuine and he began to slip into dreams.<br/><br/>At first, he didn't know it was a dream. He was running through the forest. It was a chase much like the ones he'd experienced before, but this one was different. Instead of the anger or excitement as he'd felt on previous occurances, he felt something different. something that caused him to jerk and spasm as he awoke with a start and blinked around himself.<br/><br/>Where was she? He'd dozed off. He hadn't meant to do that. It was careless and foolish. Where was she? He blinked his eyes to clear them, shook his head to cast aside the effects of the dream, and looked for her again.