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// Chapter 24: Dream Visit Intermission 
// Story: Pandemic: Starting Over 
// by Halira 
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There was a knock at my door, and I opened it. My dad, as a human, was standing there in pain, staring at me.

"Something- something is wrong," he said, then collapsed down on to the ground. 

I rushed forward to catch him, but couldn't manage it. As he lay crumpled on the ground, my sister Kristin came running down the hall.

She shoved me out of the way and glared at me. "You were supposed to be taking care of them!"

I stepped around her as she lifted my dad and took him into my room, and I walked deeper into the hall. My other sister came running up to me.

She looked at me with a frantic expression. "What's wrong? Where is he?"

I feebly pointed back towards my room, and she ran by me. I turned away from my room and was immediately confronted by my mom, also human, stumbling towards me. 

She floundered about as she spoke. "I don't want to take a car ride!"

She then took a tumble into the bathroom, and my heart was pounding in my chest as I followed her. She lay on her back in the tub as she tried to stand back up. "I- I don't want to go away-"

Then a hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me back, as the bathroom door shut. 

I wasn't in the hallway or my childhood home; I was nowhere but a dark abyss. I wasn't human either. Lucidity returned to me as I realized that I was in a dream. 

Tonya stepped in front of me, in her pony form, giving me a sympathetic look. "This is an unusual dream for you. I don't think I recall any point you've dreamed about your sisters and parents like this, or at all. Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "No, it's just my mind distorting things after having seen my parents again and thinking about my sisters for the first time in years."

She sat down in the nothingness. "The mind does odd things when trying to process information, and dreams can be a distorted reflection of that. It is worth thinking about the feelings that warped vision imparted, but if you don't wish to talk about it right now, that is alright."

The serpentine form of Yinyu swam out of the nothingness and joined my departed wife in examining me. "You have had an eventful day, and we won't keep you long," Yinyu said in a neutral tone. "I did want to talk to you about how today went with you and my foals."

I'd been expecting this and was ready for her to start yelling. "I know I shouldn't have struck your daught-"

Yinyu held up a fin. "It's fine- well, it's not at all fine, but I understand. Both of you did unacceptable things today, and I know you deeply regret it. While I never laid a hoof on her, I know I was sorely tempted to do so on more than one occasion. I once lashed out against a family member in anger, much worse than what you two did today, and what I did still haunts me. I am just thankful that today ended with only one blow thrown by each side, and no lasting harm was done."

I blinked. "This isn't the response I was expecting. You should be screaming at me. I hit your daughter. That isn't okay."

Yinyu gently smiled. "If you are the one emphatically insisting you should be chewed out, then there's no need for me to yell at you. Scolding is for those that need to be instructed about what they did wrong, so they understand not to do it again. Scolding is correctional, so if what I hope to correct has already been understood and steps taken, there is no value in scolding."

I shifted position, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. "I just have a hard time believing you aren't ready to skin me."

Yinyu's gaze hardened. "Oh, make no mistake, I'm furious. I just know that there isn't anything productive done by yelling at you. I'm furious with her as well."

"Are you yelling at her right now?"  I asked. "I deserved to get bucked after what I said. It was completely insensitive and cruel. Please, don't be hard on her."

Yinyu sighed. "What my daughter and I discuss is between her and me, unless she chooses to share with you. I am glad you are advocating for her; it shows you care. We will move on from this incident; let's not discuss it any further."

"But-"

Her change in demeanor was frightening fast. Yinyu suddenly grew in size, her teeth lengthened and sharpened, and her colors became darker. "IF YOU ARE DIRECTLY ASKING FOR PUNISHMENT, I CAN GIVE IT TO YOU!"

I cowered in place. Tonya shifted shape to her angelic form, and used her staff to bonk Yinyu on the head. "Enough!" Tonya yelled. "Sunset, drop it. You don't want what she will dish out. Yinyu, heel!"

The Warden of Lust reverted to her usual proportions and gave Tonya a sullen glare. Tonya ignored her and reverted to her pony form. 

Yinyu looked back at me, and I could see her forcing herself to appear calm. "What I wanted to address was two things. First, I want to make it clear that I don't blame Lántiān for what happened."

"Would you have made it if she hadn't slowed you down?" I asked. 

Yinyu's fins and expression slouched. "I do not know. I cannot give the answers to what-if scenarios any better than you can. I know that my distraction did pull away many of those chasing us. We still may have been caught if she had been quicker. I do not know the answer, and I won't speculate about it."

That was no more than what I had told the filly, but I had hoped that Yinyu would say it for sure it didn't matter that her daughter had slowed them. "What about the other options, like running to Russia? She seemed convinced that it was a better idea to go that way."

She shook her head. "I checked into whether we could flee that way and then be given safe passage to the United States from there or at least safe harbor; the Russians said they would consider options once I was there. I wasn't willing to risk without stronger assurances. The only other country that was willing to give us guaranteed safe passage was India, and they would not have been able to help in our escape. There was no way my foals were going to be able to cross the Himalayas safely, and even if we could, there was no way we could cross that much of the country without being caught."

I had expected that Yinyu would have explored all options. I didn't know how bright she was, but I knew that Luna wouldn't have selected a Dreamwarden who was stupid. I still felt better knowing I could refute Lántiān's claims that her mother had made the wrong choice. 

Yinyu bit at her lip before continuing. "The other matter I needed to discuss was Shǔguāng deciding to adopt you as a new mother."

My eyes went wide as I shook my head. "I had no intention of-"

My mouth disappeared; it wasn't just shut; it was taken away. Yinyu stared down at me. "He's a strong-willed colt, and it would be pointless to try to convince him that you aren't his new mother. It was probably going to happen sooner or later if they spent time with you. I'm a little surprised it happened so fast with him, but not completely. I'm still his mother, but I can share him. I wanted to let you know that he will not stop insisting you are his new mother and that you must accept it. His brothers normally follow his lead, so don't be surprised if they do here. Treat them as if they are your offspring. They need their sense of family. Family is essential to us all, don't discourage it."

Tonya stepped forward. "I'm not going to return your mouth just yet. I know you will try to object to being a mother. I'm not going to listen to that nonsense, and neither is Yinyu. What I needed to say is that your parents wanted to let you know they are in contact with me. I know you haven't been able to contact Phobia about them as of yet, and I will be taking care of that for you."

She stepped forward some more and pulled me into a hug. "Your family is growing, and your family needs you. I know how important family is to you, so take care of yourself. We need you; me, Yinyu's foals, Phobia, Phobia's foals, your parents, your brother, even Yinyu herself, we all need you. Never lie to yourself and try to convince yourself that isn't true."

I still didn't have a mouth, so I couldn't verbally reply. I just nodded my head against her shoulder. 

"There is one last matter," Yinyu said as Tonya released me. "Luna will be contacting you soon. I don't know the full details about what, and even if I did, I don't have permission to disclose about what. I was only permitted to tell you she'll be contacting you. Just be prepared for it."

Luna had contacted me previously, although it had been many months since I last heard anything from her. I had rejected her efforts to take me on as a pupil back then. I didn't even know what she could teach me since most of her expertise was in dream magic, mind magic, several forms of combat magic, and whatever crazy magic let her move her world's moon- all forms of magic I had little interest in mastering. While there were almost certainly things outside of those types of magic that she knew that I didn't, the list might not be as long as a person might expect. Of course, magic might not be the focus of my education if she took me on as a student. I was still on the fence about how I felt about it, so maybe she would try to sell me on the idea again, and this time I could bother to ask exactly what she hoped to teach me. I'd never allowed her to explain.

"We'll let you return to regular sleep now, and I'll keep any nightmares at bay," Tonya said gently with a smile. "I am glad you are trying."

Yinyu gave me another unreadable look. "Continue to keep my foals safe. Just because they are far from China doesn't mean they are out of reach of those who'd want to hurt them to get to me. Family is our biggest asset in keeping us grounded to the world, but it is also our biggest weakness."

"And that goes for you too," Tonya said firmly, giving one final hug. "Keep yourself safe. You're my Achilles heel. I love you now and forever."

They faded away, and my mind drifted into a regular dream.