My legs were aching in pulsing waves as I swiftly crunched through the autumn leaves blanketed across the ground.
"You can't run forever," a screeching voice yowled in the lonely, black distance behind me. "We're coming for you!"
I huffed harder trying to escape the territory. The gigantic full moon was almost completely covered by clouds with only a few specks of white light shining upon the ground. As soon as I was outside of the enemy line, I continued sprinting toward my lands as fast as my short legs could take me. To my horror, still, lifeless bodies scattered the area. I scanned through them with my heart pounding, finally able to find my mother with a large bleeding gash on her side. I kneeled on the moist ground and grabbed her hand as my tears plopped onto her stomach. When she saw me, she smiled.
"Kitsune..." my mother mumbled, weakly and slowly taking my hand as well.
"Mother!" I exclaimed with a clogged throat.
"I leave the Aki tribe to you..."
"No! Mother! There is no one left! I'm alone! I'm scared! Don't leave!"
"I must leave..."
"No!" My eyes tightened shut and I gripped her freezing hand harder, quivering from the bitter cold with more tears rolling down my freckled cheeks.
"Take care of our people... and... don't let the legend die..." she said hoarsely, and her hand thumped limply to the ground.

And then I woke up.

I groggily limped down the stairs with my orange tail dragging on the ground, ignoring my blurry vision of the kitchen and my Mother, Ayaka, sipping tea calmly at the table.
"Ohiyo, Kitsune. How did you sleep?"
I rubbed my eyes.
"Ohiyo gozaimas, Mother. Well, but... I had that dream again." I replied, removing my hands from my dark green eyes. Ayaka's ears twitched.
"Dream?"
"About the Aki, Mother." I said taking a seat next to her and accepting the cup she offered me. "Where someone was chasing me. And I couldn't get away, and I was alone and..." I paused when she put her hand on my shoulder, gazing at me with her lovely red eyes.
"Your an Aki descendant, Kitsune-san. You must understand that to have those dreams--"
"Nightmares," I corrected her.
"--Is perfectly normal."
"What you call normal, I call frightening." I said, swinging my school-case over my shoulder and heading for the door taking the last sips of my tea.
"Have fun at school!" Ayaka called to me.
"Fun is no option!" I yelled back as the door slammed shut.