Muriel first met the strange man years ago in a dream. What augury of fate brought the two together neither could say. He was well built; a toned, athletic body, His muscles were firm but not frighteningly bulging. His eyes shone like emeralds in a handsome face, not the most attractive in the world, but still cute, he reminded her of a young Leonardo DeCaprio. She loved to tousle His spiked hair and scratch at His goatee in a playful way. Though they could not touch, they fell in love quickly. He would tell her of the Dreamland in which He lived, existing as one of the Unborn Dreamers. Muriel loved to hear tales of the holy city of Ulthar, where cats are sacred and any transgressions against them are even more grievous than those against a human. And the fabulous port city of Celephais on the Cerenerian Sea, where strange people from stranger lands would gather to do business. Of Unknown Kadath where the Gods were rumored to dwell.
Muriel longed to be with the stranger and begged for Him to take her away to the Dreamland, but alas He could not and told her she must find her own way to the seven-hundred stairs that lead down to the Gateway. She would wander through her life merely awaiting the next time she could sleep. Though she was an astoundingly beautiful woman with a slim and shapely body she remained single so that she might go to the stranger unattached. She would often talk of the stories He told her; of the war between the cats and the Zoogs, the sad tale of Iranon the bard, the priest Barzai who challenged the Gods themselves; and the people lauded her creativity they shunned her for her strangeness.
For six nights of the week He would leave Muriel free to dream on her own, searching and searching in hope for the Gateway. On the seventh night He would come to her and they would cherish their time together. The longing to embrace each other was torturous, though because they were separated by a thin veil of dream they could not.
The years went by, and Muriel grew weary of the waking world. People were cruel for the sake of being cruel and she could feel the bitterness of life eating away at her. Often times she would question the sanity of her obsession with the dream man, but every time she spent time with him she would feel it was truth.
Finally, one night as Muriel drifted off she found herself atop a great staircase leading deep down into the darkness, and more darkness pressed in on her from every side. She looked onward stunned and fearful. Was this finally it, did she finally find the Gateway. At first her steps were hesitant, she had learned long ago not to get her hopes up, but as she strode onwards she grew more convinced. She counted the steps as she went; 650, 651, 652, suddenly a gleaming copper gate came into view and her eyes went wide. Through the bars she could see spreading wide verdant fields and summer wildflowers. Rushing down the last steps she pushed through the gate and into the land of dreams.
The sun washed over Muriel, bathing her in its warmth and stealing her vision for a moment. When her eyes regained focus she saw her dream man approaching, leading two saddled zebras. His hair was it's usual wildly spiked style and he wore a pair of lose fitting jeans and a dress shirt unbuttoned to show his moderately haired chest and his firm abs.
"Hello there my love," He called out, "My name is Trevor." He swept his hand towards her, a blue rose materializing in it. He tucked the rose behind her ear to adorn her hair, then pulled her forward into a passionate kiss. His lips were full and well suited to kissing and his tounge darted lightly between her parted lips, just barely wrestling with hers before drawing back. After what seemed like an eternity they pulled apart. Muriel was swooning slightly, butterflies dancing in her stomach, and a tingle shooting through her as her pussy started to grow a little moist. Trevor too seemed to be stunned by the kiss, dropping his suave demeanor for a moment, and Muriel couldn't help but bite her lip and give a sly smile when she saw the considerable bulge in his pants.
After a moment of gazing lovingly at each other Trevor jerked his head back, indicating the zebras. "Shall we ride darling?"
Muriel chuckled at the thought of riding a zebra, "Sure thing handsome, where are we going to go?"
"Well I know you are fond of both cats and books, so let's head over to Ulthar and take in the sights there."
They climbed aboard their mounts and began riding off when a disquieting thought occurred to Muriel. "Will I return here when I wake up?" She looked to Trevor as she asked, concern crossing her face.
Trevor laughed, "No worries, once you cross the Gateway you wake up when you want to, and since an eight hour sleep period is a month's time here, you've got plenty of time before you have to worry about your physical needs."
Muriel smiled, satisfied with that answer.
*
A few hours later they arrived in the fabled city of Ulthar and immediately Muriel was swarmed by cats. Word had reached them of the great kindness she showed their kind in the waking world and they truly appreciated it.
Trevor reached out and scratched the nape of a cat that had lept onto Muriel's lap. "Cats are the only creatures with unfettered access to the Dreamland. They surely know you well, you may even run across some of yours here. I'll be sure to teach you their language later." He said with a wink.
Muriel squealed with delight causing the cat on her lap to start to rise before it settled back down and began to purr.
Trevor led Muriel throughout the city, showing her the sprawling market, the grand temple and at last bringing her to the largest building in the city.
"This is the Grand Library. If the people of your world thought the library of Alexandria was something, you'll hafta get a look in there later."
