The fluffy face rolled again, this time right side up.

"Do you have a name, little one?" [Furry unknown beast]

"Um...."

Do I? Wah, I don't know my own name?

Oh, I think I remember it...

"Enaidmelys... but dey just call me Enaid. (Enaidmelys... but they just call me Enaid.)"

"Ah Enaidmelys is very fitting, very fitting, it is." [Furry unknown beast]

"Whadsh youw name? (What's your name?)"

"Hm... I don't really remember. It has been a long time since anyone called me by a name..." [Furry unknown beast]

"Oh... sad."

The fluffy fluffy reached out a furry paw and patted me on my head - it felt as if a cotton ball was patting me - sooooo soft!

"Is it? Do you want to give me a new name?" [Furry unknown beast]

Oh oh - a memory from my past life interjected - I know where this is going - isn't this where an isekai'd hero makes a magical contract with a holy beast?

"Awe you a ho-wy beasht? (Are you a holy beast?)"

The fluffy fluffy face leaned over the table edge to get closer to me - I still could not see any mouth but the purple eyes gleamed as if laughing.

"A holy beast you say? Oh I see... no, I'm afraid you cannot make a contract with the amazing likes of me, no no." [Furry unknown beast]

The soft warm breath of the fluffy beast reached my face - it smelled sweet, like fresh cut grass.

"Aye can't? (I can't?) Awe you a demon beast, den? (Are you a demon beast, then?)"

The fluffy face rolled over and turned upside down again - the large purple eyes stared at me for a moment, the fluffy round paws wiggling in the air above as if walking.

"Haha. No. I see your line of thought, though. Give the wonderful me a new name - I'd like that, you know." [Furry unknown beast]

"Wehw, I wihw cahw you Blewog, den. (Well, I will call you Blewog, then.)"

"Blewog... Blewog... yes, I suppose I am at that, haha, how droll!" [Blewog the furry beast]

The newly named Blewog rolled right side up before hopping nimbly off the table down to stand next to me.

Blewog was about the size of a dog - I recalled having a husky in my past life of about the same size.

But this fluffy beast looked more like a fluffed out white bear - with short stubby legs and a round puff ball for a tail.

What sort of jarred the mind was the way Blewog moved - the cautious way it put down each paw very much reminded me of a large fat cat.

"Do you wive hewe? (Do you live here?)"

Blewog walked around me, sniffing at my back, my arms, and finally my face - ah, that tickles!

"I live here, I live there, I live everywhere!" [Blewog]

"So you awe homewess... wanna wiv wif me? (So you are homeless, want to live with me?)"

Stupid short tongue... I wonder if there is magic to make me sound more grownup?

"Oho! Well, if you give me food and a bed, I will consider it! But what will you get out of it?" [Blewog]

"Fwuff!"

I wrapped my arms around Blewog's neck and indecently buried my face into its side - and I could not help myself - I went PFFFTTTTT and BRRRRR into the warm warm fluffiness.

The beast seemed to be unperturbed by my attack.

"Haha! Fine! That is a fair trade! So be it!" [Blewog]

And then it hit me - how was I communicating with Blewog?

Were we talking in the local language, or was this a special language that magic beasts spoke?

So let's go find someone to see if I could understand them, too - and I was starting to feel peckish, maybe I could get a snack if I used my puppy eyes.

"Hungwy (Hungry) - wet's find food. (Let's go find food.)"

Blewog lay down.

"Hop on! I can carry you, that will be faster. Don't worry, you can't fall off, even if you wanted to!" [Blewog]

With a bit of effort I clambered onto Blewog's back, and it stood back up, trotting towards the open French doors that I had exited.

I tried to sway left and right a bit but something pushed me back upright each time.

Eh? A magic to keep me from falling? 

"See? You are safe on most wonderful me! I am the best at what I do, and what I do I am the best at!" [Blewog]

We reached the fancy carved bedroom door - with me riding Blewog the handle was easy to reach, but it was one of those large round knob affairs, and my tiny hands could not grasp it hard enough to turn it- ah poot, this might be as far as we go...

"Ah, a daunting portal indeed! Are the delicacies that we are searching for beyond this impassable wooden barrier?" [Blewog]

"Yeth... can you open de doow? (Yes, can you open the door?)"

"Sadly, not with these paws... but! Close your eyes tight for a moment, please." [Blewog]

Well, I suppose I can trust the fluffy fluffy beast - so I shut my eyes tight.

A weird feeling of being squeezed tightly overcame my whole body - just as I wanted to open my eyes the beast spoke again.

"You may open your eyes again Enaidmelys." [Blewog]

Eh? We were now in a long corridor or hallway - behind me was my room's door, and along the same wall I could make out other similar doors.

The other wall of the corridor had windows every so often.

So... left or right?

"Can you smeww any food anywhewe? (Can you smell any food anywhere?)"

Blewog did a funny dance while turning on the spot, first left, then right, then left again.

"My most trustworthy nose detects delectibles in this direction! Tally ho! Hold on tight sweet soul!" [Blewog]

And off I rode down the hall at... about the same speed as when I would have been toddling along.

Blewog's stubby legs were moving quickly though - so it was trying to do its best.

After a while we came to a corner, which Blewog rounded.

Another corridor, again one wall sporting occasional windows, and the other, doors.

"Weiwd... why nobody awond? (Weird... why is there nobody around?)"

"Is that strange for this habitat? Well, I do hear some faint voices from beyond, so we must be on the correct track. Hold on!" [Blewog]

So on-wards Blewog ... toddled on its cute but stubby furry legs - I really did not have to "Hold on!", and certainly not with an exclamation mark.

"Ah, I spy a stairwell downwards! And the most gratifying scents of warm pastry are wafting upwards from below! We are close, brave warrior of mine!" [Blewog]

"Good job, fwuffy fwuff! Whad you said: Dawwy Hoe! (Good job, fluffy fluff! What you said: Tally ho!)"

We - eventually - arrived safely at the top of the stairwell, and a new challenge greeted us.

The stairs.

They were wide, and hardwood, and went down not one, but two whole floors without a break.

Luckily an expensive runner had been fastened to the middle of the stairs, but how could we safely descend without tumbling down?

"Cawful - I dhink we might be stugg up hewe. (Careful - I think we might be stuck up here.)"

Blewog dangled a front leg experimentally over the top stair.

"Ah... I see what you mean sweet soul - my normally trusty legs are too short to reach the next step down. Oh but that smell!" [Blewog]

Blewog toddled twice back and forth along the top step, periodically trying to reach the next step down - and failing.

"Hmph. I suppose I'll just need to use THAT. Enaidmelys, do you trust me?" 

I scratched my chin - I suppose up to now there was no reason not to.

"Yeth."

"Then are you afraid of heights, perchance?" [Blewog]

"No."

"Dandy! Please move your right hand and left knee a wee bit back... yes that's it.... excuse me, then... Brrrrrrrrrrup!" [Blewog]

Two furry lumps grew just behind Blewog's shoulders and suddenly white feathers erupted into my face.

"Haaaa-tchi! Hahhh? So thowt! (So short!)"

Each side of Blewog's shoulders now sported a pair of very soft, but also very stubby, wings - they were shorter than my arms, even!

"Tch. Madam, the older you get, the more you will realize that it is not always - again, not always the size of the appendage that is important, but how said appendage is used!"

"Sowwy... was not an insuwt - Aye was just supwised! (Sorry... was not an insult - I was just surprised.)"

"That's fine - they do look rather silly, don't they, I will be the first to admit. Any-who! You might want to close your eyes  - I don't have any goggles to protect against wind pressure, you see. And use both hands to hold onto my fur real tight even if you can not fall off at all - tell me when you are ready!" [Blewog]

Ah, if we are about to do what I think we will, it might be a good idea to listen.

I grabbed two fistfuls of fur and squeezed my eyes shut.

"I wedy. (I'm ready.)"

"All passengers, please fasten yourselves and stop polluting the environment - thank you for flying with Air Blewog. Commencing take-off!" [Blewog]

The next thing I felt was first a slight hop into freefall, then the wind whooshing across my face - good thing I had my eyes shut!

My inner ears informed my brain I was descending downwards, but very smoothly.

At the same time something soft occasionally brushed my knees - the stubby wings.

"Hold tight, coming in for a landing, tower please advise wind speed and turn on landing lights! Oh never mind, I'll just land manually, over and out!" [Blewog]

And with that there was a slight bump and I could hear a faint scrabbling of claws on hardwood before all movement eventually stopped - it felt exactly as if we had landed well in a small plane, a feeling I had enjoyed several times in my past life.

And Blewog's strange commentary made me wonder what the exact nature of this beast was - the words had sounded similar to a parody of a pilot about to land.

Did they have airplanes in this world, too, and Blewog was copying that - or was there something even more unexpected going on here?

A slight rustling to both sides of me as Blewog lightly shook itself before speaking.

"Passengers may now open their eyes! We are close to the mouth watering goodness that I smell!" [Blewog]

I opened my eyes and Blewog's wings had vanished.

Looking around, we were in a sort of huge foyer, the wide stairs rising behind us, the ceiling two stories above.

A floor above surrounding the large open area on three sides was an indoor balcony with an intricate wooden railing - I could make out doors on the three walls. Two stairs on each opposite wall provided access to the balcony from the floor we were on.

And on the floor that we had arrived on - opposite the grand staircase we were facing - a large double door that probably eventually led out of the manor.

Finally, along both walls left and right of us, there were many doors, all ornately carved.

"So many doows... whewe now? (So many doors.... where to now?)"

"This way, Captain! We are close to our treasure!" [Blewog]

Blewog did its funny tap dance on the spot while turning around before "racing" away towards a door near the back.

This door was luckily slightly ajar and as we got closer to it, even I caught the heady smell of baked goods.

Blewog nudged the door open and stood in the doorway triumphantly, with me still clinging to its back.

We were not noticed by the bustling cooks and maids.

"Ahem... We wouwd wike some food, pwease? (We would like some food, please?)" 

A maid close to us turned around, and when she saw us she let out a sharp yelp, almost dropping the jug she was carrying.

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