Tossing and turning, the first relaxation found on the comfortable bed seemed to flee amid the onslaught of the dream. Taryn fought back the screams that had been her personal torment for years. In the barracks there had been no comfort given and no understanding offered for a coward who would cry out from the terror of a dream. Sleep could never be deep because of the dream.<br/><br/>Cold, teeth rattling shivers wracked her body from the ice pelting her in the dream. Piercing sleet, burning with acid moisture and there was no place to turn. Children lay dead around her, some grasping one another to ward off the deadly cold. Sightless eyes stared at her, feeble after shocks of movement struggling in vain to survive. That moment when the pain was too great, her Talent had emerged and Taryn ran like water in the street. Water that did not freeze and that was tinted by the shade of hair on her head. That night, she was permitted into the Tunnels. She had proven to be a Talent. and these many years later, the dream haunted her.<br/><br/>Tonight, the dream had her in its jagged teeth but warmth engulfed her. A soft hand or was it fur, petted back the hair from her face. A low rumbling purr seemed to vibrate through her body. Taryn snuggled closer to this comfort and for the first time, comfort came to her. She clung to the warmth, rubbed her face against the heat, never waking, reveling in the peace. Dimly she was aware that the dream couldn't hurt her and for the first time in her life, she fell into a deep restful sleep.