dreamland: dreamland

It was noon when Snowsparkle closed her eyes, laid in the grass, and drifted off into dreamland.

But this dreamland felt... special.

She walked, softly, across the clouds, until she saw brown laying in white, and walked over...

It was noon when Groff decided to take a nap in the yard.

... He awoke in a world of clouds and mist, where the night sky was eternal...

... and the very first thing he saw... was a cat much like himself, one gray with a darker gray marking on her face, yet white at the ends of her dark grey paws and tail.

"... Did I fall into another hole in reality?" He sweatdropped.

"This is... the world... of dreams..." The cat-  was it a cat? spoke oddly, moving to sit. 

"I guess that's a no?" Groff smiled. "I mean, I don't know how I could ever balance adventuring and playing with my friends and whatever new thing that would come from this!"

The cat-like creature did not respond, merely moved to a loafing position.

"...What are you?" He asked. "The cat version of an elf? But instead of pointy ears you have thumbs like humans do?"

"...My name... is Snowsparkle..." She spoke. "...I am... a not-cat..."

Groff paused, tried to imagine Martus calling himself a "not-human" and chuckled, before freezing. "Wait- wait, don't get the wrong idea-!"

"...Nestor named us..." Snowsparkle deadpanned. "...I admit... it's not... the best... but it's ours..."

"Yeah, yeah, it is!" He sweatdropped. "I mean, one of my friends is named Cream after cookies & cream ice cream and the only reason I'm not named 'Chocolate' or something is because the girl named me after a Wildfrost character!" He paused. "...I never told you who I am! My name's Groff! I have fire powers!" He swiped at the air to show off the sparks.

Snowsparkle's eyes followed the sparks in what Groff could swear was... wonder? "...Magic..."

"Something wrong?"

"... My world... lost its magic... long ago..."

"... Uh... should I... stop-"

"...No need..." A ghost of a smile appeared on Snowsparkle's face. "...It is... a delight..."

"Oh! Well, you should get me a dead mouse next!"

"... Cooking...?..."

"Hey, how'd you know?!" Groff then realized something. "With those thumbs of yours- you not-cats are more like humans than cats, huh?"

"... So it seems.... Your life... the Old City eternal... but mine... I used to... live a life... as a stray..." She tenderly put her paw on Groff's cheek, and Groff flinched. "...Do you know?... Human cruelty... Human kindness... both... have yet... no bounds..."

"...Uh..." Groff sweatdropped. "... I..." Truth is, he really didn't know anything of human cruelty outside of getting hit with the occasional shoe. "...Can you... get your paw off my cheek?"

Snowsparkle's paw then slipped back into the space between her stomach and the clouds below.

"... I'm guessing you've probably seen... stuff?"

Snowsparkle nodded. "...But... the child... grew to learn... even if... his brother... never did..."

Groff decided not to ask her to elaborate further. "So... uh... Wanna play?"

"... With paws?... No thanks."

"Then what do we do now!? I guess talk about our lives..."

"... The Old City... was always... kind... to me... perhaps... as a sorry..."

"... Me and my friends knew each other since we were kittens." Groff fiddled with his bandana. "And the girl really likes us."

"As you... have companions... so... do I..." A spark of fondness. "... Fate... Dryn... Dylan... Oxbaren... Timber... and Oceane..."

"Mine are Cream, Reeses, Strawberry, and Chip!"

"... We are... not so different...and yet..." She extended a paw, showing off the thumb. "...Worlds apart..."

Groff put his paw in Snowsparkle's and used his other front paw to generate sparks. "So we are! Humans are, too!"

Snowsparkle closed her eyes. "...Indeed..."

"Martus!" Groff, now awake, yelled. "How cruel are humans? This cat version of an elf I met in a dream said their cruelty (alongside their kindness) has no bounds!"

"...You don't want to know."

"Ok!"