ForestOfDreams

    You land hard on your feet, knocking the air out of you. Sitting down in the sand, you breathe heavily, trying to recover your breath. Where are you?
     Looking around, all you see are huge trees. They look tropical, like some of the rainforests you've seen pictures of. Nearby, the sound of seagulls creeling can be heard. The air smells of salt, and you can hear distant waves crashing against the sand. You get unsteadily to your feet, and begin to walk towards the ocean. At least you'll be out in the open there...
     After several minutes- you guess about fifteen- you reach the shore. The forest ends about a hundred yards from the ocean, which seems to be at low tide. Ornate seashells are strewn along the enormous streach of beach- one yo can see seems to be made of some sort of crystal. The sand and sea stretch down for miles, lined further up by sharp cliffs that rise allmost to the few clouds. In the distance you see mountains, a misty blue in color. In the opposite direction, the forest goes on for what looks like a mile or so, then ends in a wide field. The ocean itself streaches to the horizon ahead. This is definately NOT your room...
     *Blink* Is that a person? Yeah, it looks like a girl. She's coming out of the forest farther up the beach. You hesitate for a moment, then call to her."HEY! OVER H E R E!! HELLO??" She looks around, suprised, and spots you. She waves back, then jogs toward you. Finally, someone to tell you where you are!
      As she draws near, you can see her better. You were right about her being a girl. Her red hair is loose, and bounces above her shoulders as she runs. She's rather short, maybe 5 foot 4, and looks to be about fifteen. She smiles at you as she stops in front of you.
       "Hi! My name's Ranga, by the way. How'd you get here? Most folk come from the other direction-" She points over her shoulder to the mountains- "Not through the Forest of Dreams. It's rather dangerous, you know, without an escort. What's your name?" The girl speaks with a strange lilting accent... You blink. She has pointed ears. And a striped tail. Okaaay... She notices your strange stare, and returns the odd look. "Whaaat?" You open your mouth to introduce yourself- or perhaps to explain that you're not used to meeting elves with tiger tails, you aren't sure which- when a musicle bugle drifts out of the forest. Ranga turns towards the forest, as do you, just as a huge white creature bounds out! It lopes towards you, and stops between you and Ranga. The horse sized creature-which has a sickle-like horn- turns towards you. You do the only thing that could realistically be expected- you pass out.

    Ouch... you have a baaad headache. The throbbing between your ears is the first thing you become aware of as you regain conciousness. Where are you? Suddenly, your memory comes back... You sit up quickly, looking around for the monster-dog thing. It takes you a moment, but it sinks in that you are no longer on the beach, but in some kind of small house. The walls are made of wood.Outside, it's midday, judging from the blinding light shining through a nearby window. Your head is bandaged- you must have hit it. Supposedly, this is where Ranga lives, then. A small bag of shells- Which, you recall, Ranga was carrying, is laying on the nearby table. The only furnature are two strangely carved chairs, the table, the cot you are lying on, and a tall bookcase covering one wall. There is a single door opposite you.
     The sound of footsteps draws near to the door, and it swings open. You look up, expecting to see Ranga, and allmost faint again. Something very strange walks into the room, carrying a bag of bandages and medicine- it is built like a girl, with the face of one, but has pointed ears, a pair of wings, and a cat's black legs and tail. On closer inspection, a black panther's back legs and tail- you can barely make out darker spot on the fur. She gives a start, noticing you staring at her, then smiles. This shows somewhat sharp canine teeth, and is not very reassuring.
   "Oh, good, you're awake. That was quite an awful bump you got, you know. You really should be more careful." The creature sits on one of the chairs, and props her chin up on her hands. "I'm Fleetwinter. What's your name?" You shut your mouth quickly, and tell her.
     "So, where am I?" You ask, getting over your initial shock. This is evidently a strange place. Fleetwinter smiles.
     "You're in Tiruveil. To be specific, you're at Ehcora Adoptions, in the Forest of Dreams, in Tiruveil. I take it you're from the other world?" You just stare. "Well, that's as good as a yes... Anywho, you can call me Fleet. I began the Ehcora Adoptions, and my freind Ranga- whom you've allready met- runs it with me. An Ehcora is something between a pegasus and a wolf, I suppose. The creature you fainted at the sight of, for example, was an Ehcora." She gives a wry smile, and you blush. "So, now that you're here, how about looking around? None here are for adoption, but their kits are. We send out notices whenever a litter is on the way. Would you like to meet the parents?" Well, there's not much else to do. Why not? You nod, watching the griffen-girl's green eyes light up. "Great! You can visit any of the six here now, unless some are out for the day. They're not allways in the same place." She leads you through two more rooms and then to the outside, where Ranga is sitting crosslegged. She seems to be concentrating on weaving some sort of bag. Fleet taps her on the shoulder, and explains what's going on. After a moment, they both approach you. Ranga speaks first. "We decided that I'll show you MY Ehcora, and Fleet will show you hers. Okay?"