"Ma, I love you and all but this better be a life or death situation or I WILL hang up and call you back later." Eithen hated the fact that he had to interrupt what River had been doing to his body, but his mother only called if it was important. There was no way he could ignore it even if he had wanted to.
"Don't you take that tone with me Eithen Alexander Donovan! You know darn well I wouldn't call you unless I really had the need to."
"I know Ma, I'm sorry. What can I do for you today?" Eithen asked as he watched River get up and start to pace. This call needed to be quick. He really wanted to pick back up where he and River had left off at.
"Eithen, ever since I realized River and I were sharing dreams I started thinking," she hesitated for a few seconds. "There is a part of our family history that you never knew about and it was never recorded in the Pack archives for certain reasons. I promise to tell you about that later though. If what I think is going on is right, then you need to make sure that you really listen to River when he has an episode or even talks about one of his dreams. It is very important that you get any and all details that you can Eithen."
"Ma, I already have my own ideas when it comes to you and the dreams. As far as listening to River, I already do Ma. He has told me about his dreams in vivid detail and from what he has told me, well, let's just say that there is no way that I couldn't pay attention. Whatever it is that is causing him to see what he does is hurting him Ma. I need to find a way to make it stop. I can't stand to see him in pain like that."
Eithen glanced back over at River, he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of the man for more than a few minutes. When River moved, it was with an elegance that made his eyes follow all the curves and lines of his body. The thought of seeing all of that beauty and grace vanish in a flash and be replaced by pain and suffering was something Eithen did not want to endure if he could help it. He would give anything to take the pain and make it his own. Eithen tuned back into what his mother was saying as he pulled his eyes away from River and what he was doing.
"Eithen listen to me, I'm thinking that I may be connected to River's little girl in some way as well. My main purpose for calling you has to do with her. I fell asleep earlier in the chair waiting for your father to get back and I had a dream not too different from the ones I have shared with River. This one was a little different though."
"What did you see Ma?" Eithen was worried now by the way his mother sounded. "You sound scared."
"I dreamt of a little girl, she was around 3 or 4 and had long black hair. She was hiding in a house that looked to be empty. I could see everything that was going on around her along with what the others in the house were doing. If it is Raivyn that I truly saw then you need to find her and do it fast son. From what I saw, she is safe... for now. I was able to see and hear things she couldn't and I tried to lead her out. She's in danger Eithen, the ones that hold her plan to sell her to some man. If he arrives to collect," her voice seemed to falter, "I am afraid that she may be lost to us forever."
Eithen could hear his mother trying to muffle her cries on the other end, whatever it was that she saw...he didn't know if he wanted to think about. "What else can you tell me Ma, there's more isn't there?"
"No son, at least nothing else that I saw, just a feeling that I have. You need to promise me Eithen, promise me that if River has another of his episodes or he has anymore dreams that you get him to give you as many details from them. I know his episodes are painful son, I know it hurts you to see him like that, but you need to talk him through it. Hold him tight, support him, but ask questions.
"River and his daughter have a bond between them Eithen. A bond so strong that I think she is the cause of his pain. She is trying to reach out to River and he doesn't know what it is or how to control it. I guarantee you that he will have another one soon. Raivyn was talking to her daddy in my dream. Keep an eye on him son. I need to go now, just remember that your father and I are here for you and your future mate. We love you Eithen."
Eithen stared at the phone in his hand after his Ma hung up, he had so many questions, but they had to wait. Right now, all he wanted was to feel River in his arms again. Just as he was about to go pull River back into what was interrupted he heard River start to moan and then fall to his knees. He was by River's side in a matter of seconds. Eithen held him in his arms, stroking his hair and rocking him gently as the attack ran its course.
Eithen whispered softly, "Hey baby, I got you. I'm right here, I'm not letting you go. Can you talk to me baby? What are you seeing? Is it Raivyn, is that who you see?"
River shook his head. "Not seeing anything. It's dark, so dark, I can hear her, my baby girl. OH FUCK Eithen, make it stop please. The pain, make it stop."
"If I could baby, I would take it all from you. Talk to me River, share with me what you're hearing. What is she saying, can you make it out?" Eithen continued to hold River tight in his arms while trying to get him to describe what was happening to him.
River tried his best to speak as the pain raged through his head. Whatever it was about Eithen, it helped to be wrapped up in his embrace. He felt the strength and security of Eithen's arms as they held him, like a protective barrier blocking out the worst of it. This time he didn't see anything, it was just a voice... her voice.
"Just a few words here and there... it's like being in a tunnel... it's faint and distant sounding. She's calling for me though. 'Daddy...love...need... the rest is just jumbled up." River tried to make sense out of what he had heard. "Something about a lady and being told it was ok to runaway. I need to find her Eithen, help me find my baby girl."
River buried his face into Eithen's chest and just took comfort in knowing that he had someone there for him. Someone that believed what was happening and didn't think him crazy. He knew that his life would never be the same again, but he didn't let that bother him. All he wanted was his daughter back safe and in his arms while he was in Eithen's.
Eithen listened to what River said while he thought about everything his Ma had told him. He couldn't dispute any of it. What River said he heard and what his Ma told him fit together perfectly. Maybe he had been wrong to take River away from where he had gone earlier. He had been trying to talk to Raivyn and it had been his dreams that led River to the edge of town. But how could that be, it was Eithen that had dreamt about the park and the trail and the abandoned house, not River. He never told River about that dream because it had been so real, 'Unless... Oh shit.' he realized that they had shared that dream, both of them, together.
"River, baby, do you remember the dream you had about the park and the trail and the wolf? Was it because of that dream that you went to the edge of town earlier?" Eithen tilted River's head up to look into his eyes as he asked and watched the confusion cross River's face. Eithen saw the slight nod of River's head before he continued. "Did you feel her there River? Is that where you think Raivyn is at?"
Again, he saw a slight nod of River's head. If they had shared the dream, then he needed to trust in what they had both seen and felt. Eithen had just dismissed it before, he should have known it wasn't just a simple dream. "River, I'm sorry I brought you back here." As soon as he said it, he knew it had come out wrong. Especially if the look on River's face was anything to go by. Anger, pure and simple.
