Ellette had never considered what could happen if she’d gotten stuck in a dreamwalk. Though she’d occasionally had reminders that her dreams were not natural, she’d never worried much over it. She’d always awoken the next morning, safely in her own body. Being disconnected from her body had never been an issue. She shuddered at the thought.

“Where are we?” The faintly raspy words brought her out of her reverie. Rand was calm, as always, dark brown eyes blinking over the scene before him. The misty puffs of his breath joined the fog swirling about them as he spoke.

She blinked back tears as she watched him take in the dark, mist filled world they somehow had come to inhabit. He sat up straight, an almost bemused expression on his dark features. “You’re in black leather... head to toe.” He observed. “Like the first time we met.”

She glanced down at herself and rolled her eyes. “Yes, for some reason, my teen-aged biker aspirations still hold true in the dream world.”

His eyes widened, ever so slightly at that comment. “We’re in a dream?” he asked, his gaze sliding away from her to search out their seemingly surreal surroundings. “It’s a lot colder than I would have imagined," he said, releasing her hand and rubbing his arms.

She climbed slowly to her feet. “Because it’s not a dream. Well, it is... but where we are is real, and so are we,” she explained. Surely he, of all people understood the strange dual reality of her dreams.

He stood as well, staring down at himself, his attire. “Strange,” he muttered. “I lost this sweater ages ago...” His tone was distinctly somber, and she wondered at the relevance of the clothing.

“It’s like the Matrix," she said with a smirk, her attempt to lighten the mood. “Residual self image or something.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “Right,” he quipped as he dusted himself off. “And you know this because you often take others with you on these dreamwalks of yours?” He chuckled, but the sound died in his throat as he caught her stricken look.

“Rand, I’ve never...” she said, softly, betraying her anxiety. Her stomach twisted and she continued, her voice strained. “I don’t know what will happen to you here.”

He shrugged. “I’ll wake up. Like you do.” He stretched his shoulders, and caught her hand again, tugging her towards the river.