Chapter 1: A gift at a price.

You were born to be together, and together you shall be forevermore.

Caleb looked around the meadow that he was standing in with a content smile on his face, skimming past the lake and into the forest. He wasn't just idly admiring the scenery, for he had been here enough that the awe it had originally inspired in him had long ago worn off; no, he was looking for the girl that he had often met here, a wolf girl that was very human-like except for the fact that she had a wolf's tail and ears, a snout in place of her normal nose and mouth, and that she was covered in smooth black fur from head to toe, in addition to having a normal head of shoulder length black hair. Said wolf girl was currently hiding from him, in a playful game of hide and come get me that she often initiated with him when she was in a good mood.

Catching a glimpse of black moving through the woods, he grinned and took off running towards his newly found target. Once he broke the line of the trees though, she saw him and took off running in a wide arc away from him and towards the lake. Even though they were both running as fast as their legs could carry them, there was no wind blowing in their face to slow them down, so they were able to circumvent the area with little trouble. Eventually though, as they were passing by the lake, the wolf girl got exhausted and had to sit down to catch her breath, so he slowed down as he closed in on her and sat down beside her.

"Hello again Ashley," he said warmly, smiling at her happily. "I missed you these past two days, what happened?"

The wolf girl - now identified as Ashley - smiled back at him, trying to mask the nervous look on her face, and looked away towards the trees. "I just had some business to take care of with someone I know, and he couldn't wait until after I was finished with you. Sorry that I couldn't make it."

"It's no big deal," Caleb replied, trying to decide whether or not he should ask what happened with the meetings. Before he could finish weighing the options, however, a wind kicked up out of nowhere and started blowing sand off of the ground a couple yards away from the two of them. Quickly, the sand started swirling around and formed into a being, or rather what appeared to be a human. The person looked at least 6' tall, with shaggy dark red air that hung almost to his shoulders. He wore a dark red shirt that almost matched the shade of his hair and loose white pants with a rope belt in them. On his face was a serious look that just dripped with aggravation.

"You don't listen, do you?" the man said, glaring at Ashley. She looked like she was about to say something back to him, but he turned towards Caleb, pointedly ignoring the girl. "Well, since she obviously didn't inform you, I suppose that I will fill you in on what's going on. It has become clear that you two are getting too close to each other, and your kinds aren't allowed to intermix with each other, so it's my job to make sure that you don't see each other from this point forward."

"What?" Caleb sputtered, "but this is just a dream - my dream, none the less - and we've been seeing each other here for ages without anyone saying anything. How can you just come in here and break us apart?"

"I can because that's my job," the man responded, "and just because you got in under my radar for this long doesn't mean that you are exempt from that rule. And the fact that this may be a dream is irrelevant. Spirits communicating in dreams are bound by the laws of the universe just as much as anyone else is." He looked between the two of them, and sighed as he saw the girl crying silently. "I'll tell you what though. I'll offer you a deal, but first you have to answer this question. Are you willing to give up your whole life as you know it just for a chance with her? I don't want your answer now; I'll give you one week to decide, then you must have your answer. If you accept, your life will come crashing down around you, but you will have her by your side. If you decline, you will never see her again from this night forward, but I'll be nice, and if you decline my offer, you'll go from the bottom of the social food chain to being popular, and you will get a good job that will give you as much money as you could need. You have one week from now to decide between life and her." As he finished speaking, both he and the world around him dissolved into sand, and Caleb woke up from his slumber.

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Author guidance for This story

I intend for the plot line to be Caleb and Ashley trying to make it on their own in a world that doesn't accept them, so follow along with that. There should be enough already to go on for their personalities, and any other characters can be brought in as needed later. Two I intend on being brought into the story are a thief girl that takes a liking to them, and a cashier at a local grocery store that has a soft spot for them, as well as many possible minor enemies.

Ideal word count per chapter: 500-1000. Anyone want to jump in and start helping out on this?

updated Jul 5 '09 by Wolvendeer