Welcome to the Guardian

[Meera Alam]

Eiji sniffed the air. It was the smallest action on his part, but as a student of Psychology, Meera had been trained to watch ever slight movement on her patient’s part. Perhaps he was smelling the mildew the permeated this building, but she had doubted that very much. Upon taking up residence within The Guardian, Meera had commissioned a professional team to scrub this room clean. Uncleanliness was a very afront to her virtues. This office was one of- if not the only- room in the entire hospital that was sterile. A shame, really. The operation rooms surely should have seen the same care, but the staff here had apparently paid little mind for such standards.

                Curious, Meera thought to herself.

                The man ran his mouth more before launching into a description of the dreams and nightmares that had plagued him. Meera held on to that warm, concerned look that she had adopted for the man, making notes on her tablet of paper… Until he brought up wolves. And what was that? Something about sharing eyes? Meera brought her own eyes up from the paper and gazed deeply into his. They were not golden, not even hazel. The files on the so-called ‘Wolf-kin’ had spoken of one tell-tale sign that identified their affliction: Goldeneyes. Was the man wearing contacts? The file had also spoken of lucid dreaming and visions… Could he…? And then a mention of the Atharim brand? Oh, this was too rich.

                Meera suppressed a smile.

                She suddenly found herself writing furiously upon the paper, noting every single word that Eiji had spoken of his dreams. If the files were to be believed, this was a vision- perhaps a prophecy- and the Atharim had been at the center of it. She no longer questioned why her superiors might pass along this young man to her. Oh, they would be so pleased to read this report… And perhaps they might even let her indulge a little…

                The young man finished and so did Meera. She placed her pen with a delicate grace upon the pad of paper and brought her fingers up into a steeple beneath her chin. She considered the young man for a few moments, taking in every detail of this wolf-kin- for that is what he had to be- before she spoke. When she did, it was with motherly concern.

                “There could be many reasons, Eiji-chan. Although I have many questions before I may answer your own… Do you dream of wolves often? In dreams, they tend to symbolize the ‘guardian of our life force.’ It can also indicate that you have the durability to progress in life, which you may find yourself doubting… Freud had a case involving wolves, although I am not sure it applies to this situation… This man in your dreams, though, the one with the snake tattoo… Eiji-chan, have you had to fight Channelers? His behavior, in your dreams, has all the hallmark traits of the… witches… that seem to have emerged in our Era. Is this a reoccurring dream? And you have harmed yourself during this dream? How? With your nails? Or perhaps your teeth? I would like to think that this is nothing more than stress related to your PTSD, but something about it troubles me… Something is… off…”

                Meera took a moment to change the record while Eiji formed his response. She just so happened to have a recording of the Japanese Orchestral Favorites on hand. Perhaps Rhapsody for Orchestra performed by Yuzo Toyama and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra would suit the mood. It was a piece that started out gentle, but evoked a certain feeling of adventure and grandeur that may prove useful in bringing out Eiji’s memories of this ‘wolf-dream.’