"Eye of the Beholder" - Chapter 4

A Dinosaucers™ fanfic by Sabrewing

Umm, the Dinosaucers, every character that appears in this, and so on and so forth are the property of Coca-Cola©, and this is an unofficial fanfic I wrote (meaning I took a lot of poetic license with it) that contains elements of an adult nature between humans and large reptilians, so reader discretion is advised. Oh, and enjoy. :)

Inside her bed, in the late hours of the night Sarah began tossing and turning a little bit, and then the band took full effect. Leaving her brain active and receptive, her motor functions began to die down, prohibiting any possible injury, until the only things that moved were her lungs to breathe and her heart to pump her blood through her arteries. The dream came slowly at first, then grew until it was a giant whirlpool in her mind, drawing her in.

"What's going on? I'm scared . . ."

"Don't be, Sarah. Just let it come."

Allo's reassuring voice calmed her down, and she accepted the feelings pouring over her, like the weightlessness of outer space. Oddly, it went away just as soon as her fear diminished and died. All she was left thinking about was a lifeless, black void. She was very alone . . .

"Scared?"

Sarah turned frightenedly around and saw Allo approaching her, his familiar armor glimmering in some unplaceable light source.She looked at herself and saw she, too, was dressed in her street clothes.

"Allo, where are we?"

"Wherever you want."

She looked around in bewilderment. He continued his slow stroll and said, "This is a dream which you and I are sharing, so you can put yourself in any place you desire."

"Sharing? How? . . . Why?"

"With these." In the dream, Allo lifted his hand, into which replicas of the telepathy bands appeared from thin air. Sarah was so startled that she stumbled backwards and tripped over her own foot. To her further shock, she landed in a large, soft chair. "Careful," said Allo with a smile, "you don't to get hurt on your own special night."

"My special night? What do you mean?" She eyed the dinosaur with every intent to call him crazy.

"I thought about what you'd told me the other day," he replied softly. "I thought about it a lot. There wasn't any way I could leave you as you were, and since anything physical is out of the question, nothing will happen. It'll just be the two of us, up here . . ." -- he reached up and tapped his forehead with a finger -- ". . . in our heads, and you can choose whatever you would like to do."

Sarah gazed in wonder at Allo as this story soaked in. "Wow . . . Allo, I, I don't know what to say . . ."

"Well, how about we liven up our surroundings first? Do you like sunsets on a hill?"

She nodded silently, so Allo turned around and waved his hand towards the distance. With the speed of a cheetah, a stream of colors ran past them and under their feet, painting a background like the infinite blackness were a canvas. When the chaos cleared, they were left looking at a beautiful landscape at dusk, the clouds, grass, and sky drawn to perfect detail. Sarah gasped in awe and rose from the chair, running towards the top of the hill, kneeling down to feel the grass. Each blade caressed her palm like the real thing, and she looked back at Allo, who was smiling with his arms crossed over his chest.

"How did you do this?" she asked with disbelief. He chuckled a bit and tapped his head again.

"Really? Your mind? . . . Can I try something?"

He made a go-ahead gesture with his arms and re-crossed them, seeing what she would do. The girl looked back up to the lovely landscape and, closing her eyes, lifted her arm up to her shoulder level, fully extended. At first, nothing happened, but out of nowhere, a beautiful white dove flew up past Allo, around him once, and landed neatly on Sarah's hand, cooing gently. Sarah's eyes open and another quiet gasp came from her agape mouth, followed by joyful laughing while she stroked the bird's feathers and raised her arms up, flinging the dove into the sky to fly off into the distance.

"It did exactly what I wanted it to . . . Incredible . . ."

"That was lovely, Sarah, very picturesque," the saurian behind her beamed, ever the perfect joker. "However, I'm feeling a little empty . . . care for dinner?"

She turned to him and nodded more boldly than before, thoroughly enjoying this frolic her brain was taking her on. Allo took her hand and led her to the lower crest of the hill, where a small table with two chairs, a candle, and two empty wine glasses waited. Nearby, a bottle of champagne was chilling on ice.

"But, Allo, I'm still a year too young to drink."

"Did you forget already that this isn't real? If you're worried about the taste, just make it taste like whatever you like."

He held out a chair for her, then looked down at himself and frowned. "I should have gotten dressed first. Not to mention I'm too big for this table. Well, I'll fix both things in a jiffy."

He stood back and closed his eyes, and a strange glitter surrounded him, its glare so strong that Sarah had to shield her eyes. Before her, she could barely make out Allo's shining form . . . and it was shrinking! It was a very small change, only a couple feet in height, but it was still proportional to what his size would be as a human. When the bright flashes faded, she laughed as she looked upon him, for he was dressed in a tuxedo, his tail swishing out a hole in his trousers. He looked himself over, adjusting his tie.

"There, that's better. Would you like to change?"

Well, there wasn't a chance in hell that Sarah would let Allo stand her up, so after some swift thinking, she nodded, held her finger up to tell him to wait a moment, and began spinning on her toes. As she spun, her shirt and vest seemed to grow in length, turning a uniform sky-blue in color, and her tennis shoes shifted and changed into high-heels of the same color. Her blonde hair, somewhat puffy in its normal style, straightened out and came behind her in a cute feminine ponytail, with a white ribbon to hold it. Her newly-formed dress billowed around her as she stopped spinning, her transformation complete. She gazed over at Allo, seeking approval.

"Well, what do you think? Pretty classy?"

"It reminds me of that time you went to your school dance. You look just as wonderful as you did then . . . and always do."

She whispered a 'thank-you' and took the offered seat he held for her. After pushing it in, he took his own seat across the way, the candle lighting of its own accord. Looking around, Sarah felt they shouldn't be dining in such an isolated place. As the thought fled her mind, the swarm of colors appeared again and went to work. Hastily they painted until the scene had changed from a sunset hill to the nighttime deck of a cruise ship, other guests eating and chatting around them. Allo glanced to his left, looking up at the full moon. "It's very nice," he said, smiling. "Wish I'd thought of it."

"Well, I've always wanted to go on a cruise," she confided, taking the bottle out of the ice. She eyed it warily. "Since I've never had this, I'll make it something I know I like." She waved her hand over the label on the bottle and poured its contents into her glass. The sparkling cider bubbled fiercely, the gases within escaping. She handed the bottle over to Allo, who repeated her gesture, only when he poured, a light green fluid came out.

"What's you 'order', Allo? I've never seen a drink like that." He handed her the bottle back, and she read the label. It said "Mint Julep."

"Hmm, I'll have to try that sometime if you like it," she said, returning the bottle to the ice container. She then turned to the empty table, looking around for a waiter. After feeling a bit discouraged, she looked over at Allo's wry grin and got the picture. "Well, I guess I'll get my food now," she announced under her breath. She stared at the tablecloth before her, on which materialized a plate of ranch dressing-covered salad with tomato, another plate with a slab of filet mignon, and a small dinner roll. She'd as sooner wondered where the silverware was when a fork and knife appeared on her napkin. Sarah giggled heartily.

"This is too good, Allo; I'm so used to rude waiters and lousy service that I'll be spoiled for normal restaurants."

The allosaur smirked. "To make things worse, you're not really eating, so you won't gain any weight." They both laughed at that notion. "That's true, so I guess I'll have some cheesecake later," she chimed.

Allo calmed down and rubbed his hands together. "Okay then, what do I want . . .?" He thought for a while, then placed his hands on the table as a plate of some beast unknown to Sarah -- probably a Reptilonian animal -- and a large bowl of soup appeared before him, utensils following shortly. He eyed Sarah putting her napkin in her lap, and he figured he should do the same to be a good host; so he grabbed one from nowhere in particular and laid it across his lap. The dinner officially begun, the couple commenced eating.

At first, neither said anything, both enjoying their soup and salad immensely. However, Allo figured that formal dinners were both for eating and conversation, so after he had devoured the soup from his bowl (it was Libixx stew, a traditional dish he liked very much), he wiped his snout with his napkin and asked, "I have to know . . . what is it really that you see in me?"

Sarah looked up from her salad. "Uh, I thought we discussed this already."

"You were around other people then, and afraid. I'd like to think you're a bit more open now that we're alone."

"That's true . . ." She put her fork down and leaned her arms, elbows down, on the table while looking at him in apprehension. "Well, to be honest, Allo, I can't really describe it. There's something about you that makes me feel really glad I can be around you. I look at you, and instantly, I feel safe, protected, that I can depend on you . . . in addition to what I've already said. You're a very handsome creature, Allo, I mean it."

Allo nodded in understanding. His tail slithered behind him slowly as he looked at her from across the table. "That is very flattering, Sarah," he said lowly, "and I can safely say that I feel the same way about you."

Sarah gasped, taken aback. "Really? . . . Thank you . . ." She brushed her hair aside as they gazed into each other's eyes. For being reptilian, Allo had very humanesque eyes that were a chocolate brown in color, a shade darker than his scales. "It's been a long time since I've ever gotten a real compliment like that."

"Well, you deserve it, Sarah," spoke the allosaur as he reached across and took her soft hands in his own, squeezing them gently. "I know from experience that you're a very pretty human, and more importantly, one with a good heart. Don't ever let anyone say otherwise and let it get to you."

"You're so sweet, Allo. Like a big puppy dog," she chimed, giggling. Allo snickered, then said in a John Wayne-style voice, "Well don't even think of keepin' me on a leash, pardner, or Ah'll hafta round ya up and . . . hog-tie ya down!" They bothed laughed heartily, until they were left catching their breath. Sated for the moment, they returned to their awaiting main course.

They finally settled back and marveled at how good their minds were at creating the sensation of high-quality food. Sarah also had her cheesecake, complete with raspberry sauce and a touch of whipped cream on top, while Allo sat and partook of some kind of after-dinner beverage. "Korchen`Ta tea," it was called, and when Sarah tried a sip, she felt it had an annoying bitter flavor. "Makes me feel a lot better," retorted Allo, shrugging, and in they settled to finish the meal. While Sarah certainly liked to look at Allo in all his glory, it wasn't what she wanted to do all night. Therefore, to set up a plan, she feigned hearing a noise of some sort. "Hey Allo, can you hear that? It's so sweet . . ."

Allo looked astonished and confused. Had Sarah made it so that his mind couldn't enjoy some of the experience that she was? Still, she insisted to him to the reality of the sounds, and he searched in vain both for the sound and its source. That is, until Sarah let loose her plan.

Before their eyes, an orchestra materialized, consisting mostly of violinists and harpists among other assorted strings players. From their bows and hands came a hauntingly beautiful melody that had the tempo of a waltz, yet the ferocity of a symphony. Such a combination would not be feasibly possible in real life, but within the dream-scape, Sarah made the players' bodies and limbs move fast enough to make it so. And it was good.

Allo smiled wistfully as he watched the accompaniment work the cords of their instruments in smooth, quick strokes. "You're making this evening better and better, Sarah," he spoke, entranced by the notes emanating from the cellos, violas and harps. "I don't know how I can even hope to improve it."

"You don't have to," said Sarah, standing up, "because I want you to dance with me."

Allo nodded, staring straight into her eyes, and he rose to his feet, his tail maneuvering out of the chair's open backing. He offered his arm out to her in true gentlemanly conduct, and the girl took it, beaming from ear to ear. He escorted her to the newly-formed dance floor of the ship, with the other dining couples following suit to offset what embarrassment Sarah may have felt being the only one dancing. The stars above seemed to glow a little brighter, covering the deck of the ship in spots of light. Reaching the center of the floor, the pair turned to face each other, Allo bowing as Sarah gave him a timid courtsey. The formalities out of the way, they put their hands together and around one another, and their feet began to move in tandem to the music.

It was a waltz being played, and where Sarah and Allo's varying foot sizes may have hindered them in real life, they moved perfectly in their dream. Their fingers were interlocked as they swayed and twirled to the song's airy rhythm. Sarah was in awe at the grace and precision of Allo's waltzing, and she rested her head on his shoulder blissfully, eyes closed as they danced for what seemed like hours. Allo said nothing, smiling back to her and sweeping her relaxed body through lal the motions of the dance, a soft rumble emanating from his chest. Sarah listened to the ragged sound of his saurian heartbeat through the material of his tuxedo, so similar to her own, and it calmed her even more, and she sighed in happiness. Fireworks shot into the sky from the deck of the cruise ship, setting the hazy sky ablaze with their showers of silver and gold.

All too soon, the song came to an end, and everyone on the floor applauded the orchestra and returned to their tables on the edge of the dance floor, only to fade from view like a mist, leaving Sarah and Allo sitting in their chairs alone once more. The wind billowed through Sarah's hair and dress, and she threw her arms around herself with the chill. "Brrr," she whimpered, rubbing her arms to warm them up, "it's getting cold out." "Want me to make it warmer?" the allosaur asked, scooting his chair closer to her. "No, I'll live with it. If you made it daytime temperature now, I'd keep remembering that none of this is real, and that would spoil the memory for me." "Well, I can at least do this," he reassured her as he wrapped his arm around her and drew the girl close to himself. Seeing as his race was naturally cold-blooded, his scales were cool to the touch at first, but they soon warmed up to a cozy level of heat as Sarah's own body heat had an effect on him. She nestled her head on his shoulder again as she had during the waltz. "This is probably the most wonderful date I'll ever go on," she whispered. "I don't know how I'll ever thank you enough for it."

The stars twinkled quietly overhead, as if in sympathy of the pair whom they had crossed. Sarah was even more concerned now, locked in the reptilian's embrace as she was, about just how far this enchanting dream was planning to go. Her rational mind fought it desperately, while the fluttering thoughts deep within her subconscious reminded her that this was merely an exchange of thoughts with Allo, with no impact on the real world. Again and again, she told herself that they shouldn't do what she ached for, but that one pestering wish said that they should. She looked up at him, feeling both defeated and rather nervous inside.

"Would you like to go somewhere else?"

Allo cocked his head. "I don't know, what did you have in mind?"

Sarah looked around, and the swarm of colors returned once more. Visciously they redid the landscape, carving out little details in what appeared to be an indoor scene. As the imagery neared completion, Sarah looked more and more disturbed, obviously very unsure if what she was doing was right. As suddenly as it had begun, the painting was done.