A lonely young man was sitting on top of a boulder in the middle of a gently-flowing river surrounded by a vast rainforest, holding a pointed stick over his head while glaring towards the water like he was expecting to wait before catching a bigger fish. As much as he wanted that to happen, the only thing he could catch were small fish swimming calmly down the river, but still, it was better than nothing.
Just when one of the fish was swimming closer to him, Darby Wyatt thrust the pointed stick with a blinding speed and stabbed it in the head, as the other fish scattered away. Taking the stick out of the water, Darby looked at the fish he caught with a smile. Feeling he had enough fishing for today, he picked up a string of wood and slid into the fish, pulling it all the way down to the rest of the fish he caught.
He stood up while cracking his back, before he picked up the collected fish and climbed off the boulder, watching his step until he crossed the river and went through the forest, on his way back to his campsite not too far from here.
Darby was not an expert on the whole survival thing, but even if he was, he wouldn't have come prepared for this kind of scenario. In fact, somehow he felt like he was being followed. Nevertheless, he kept strolling while swaying the elephant-ear leaves while trying to ignore the disturbance.
Suddenly, he froze when he heard some sort of growl from behind, prompting him to look around, dropping the fish and holding up his pointed stick. He saw some bushes rustling loudly and he began to feel alarmed. Right now he had two choices, fight or flee.
Before he could make a choice, a big blue beetle suddenly jumped out of the bushes, yet it seemed pretty harmless as it flew away.
Darby blinked twice before sighing in relief, though a little annoyed because he almost got scared to death by just a beetle.
He turned around while picking up the fish and was about to continue his way - Suddenly, he found a giant water bug standing in front of him before it screeched at him.
"¡AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Darby screamed in fear as he stumbled back. As he knew this wasn't the right time to ask how the blazes this insect could sneak up on him, he held his spear tightly and stood still, waiting for the monster to make a move.
However, the water bug seemed to pay attention to something else, and it was the collected fish he just dropped. The bug crawled closer to the fish and began to scoop them up with its front legs.
"Oy! That's my food!" Darby shouted before lunging and he tried to attack the water bug with his pointed stick.
No matter how much he tried to stab its head, the tip couldn't pierce its hardened chitin and only made the creature mad. And before Darby would thrust the pointed stick once more, the water bug leaned its head to the side and dodged the attack, before whacking Darby away with its front legs with an incredible strength that sent the young man flying away.
"GAH!" Darby was slammed against a large trunk of a tree before sliding down to the ground. With the back of his head throbbing in pain, Darby groaned as he looked up and to his dismay he had to watch helplessly as the giant insect was eating all the fish he worked so hard to collect, until it ate the last one and left.
Getting on his feet, he approached the spot where he saw the bones scattered around, and to make matters worse, his stomach began to grumble out of desperation. Darby let out a sigh as he clutched his stomach, he had no time to catch the fish again and right now he's starving.
As he looked around to find something that could be edible, he spotted a worn slouch hat next to the tree he crashed into. Darby picked it up immediately and dusted off gently before putting on his head. Taking a deep breath, he proceeded to look around for fruits or berries.
It took him all day to find some food that couldn't attract the giant bugs before the sun settled, so he had to go back to the glade where he settled a campsite.
After he made a bonfire, he started consuming all the berries and mushrooms he could find around the forest. While it did satiate his hunger a little, it still wasn't enough to be well fed without nourishments. But right now that wasn't the one thing he was worried about.
Because it was now night, all the surroundings were completely dark and only the bonfire was the source of light. Because the skies were cloudy, there was no moonlight. Not to mention that he could hear unsettling noises around the woods from grumblings and even growls.
Clearly, his nerves were getting the best of him, so he pulled out his cellphone to check the signal, hoping for at least a bar so he could call for help. Unfortunately, there wasn't.
Sighing in defeat, Darby put the phone back into his pocket, but the moment he slid his hand inside, he felt something touching the back of his hand before he grabbed it and took it out. It was a photograph of him standing between a group of friends while smiling in front of the camera.
One of them on his right was a light-browned skin girl with messy auburn hair. The second girl on his left was around the same height as Darby, fair-skinned with blonde hair tied in a ponytail with a long bang parted to the right side of her head. The last one next to her was asian with olive skin and short, shiny black hair.
His eyes grew somber just by looking at this picture, as he recalled that it was taken six years ago back when they used to go to Saint James Middle School together in Los Angeles. It was at the time when they thought they would be together until the end.
Or at least that's what he thought…
"What happened to us?" Darby muttered solemnly as he couldn't bear to look at the picture any longer.
He put it back into his pocket before he laid on the ground and tried to get some sleep, though he could hardly close his eyes as he couldn't shake the thought of someone or something watching over him in the shadows of the rainforest. As far as he's concerned, the fire was the only thing that would keep him safe.
On the next day, Darby was back to hunting, but this time he was now looking for something bigger. And to be able to catch it, he needed to create a trap. While this one was considered the oldest trick in the book, it could still work if it's done correctly.
He was hiding behind the bushes while holding a stranded vine in his hand, while looking straight at a small clearing with a giant sized tree that was shedding leaves each moment. He's been sitting here for almost an hour and so far not a single creature has shown up. Furthermore he could feel his stomach growling even louder that it could explain why.
Even so, he still waited.
And waited… And waited…
A hog suddenly reached to his ears before a wild boar was approaching. To Darby's surprise, it seemed slightly bigger than the average-sized boar, but also had quills on its back. It seemed like he just found a wild boar-porcupine hybrid. But that didn't matter to Darby at this moment because he's gonna make sure he will catch that creature and he will have a feast for himself.
Holding his breath, Darby gripped the vine on his hand as he watched the hybrid boar coming closer, towards a large piece of pear that was conveniently lying on the ground, and it was intended to eat that.
His face started sweating as a hopeful smile grew on his face, his tongue slowly ran over his lips as he could imagine eating a delicious roasted board. He just had to pull the vine when the time was right.
The boar was now standing on the leaf-covered spot as it sniffed the pear, before starting to eat it.
Darby's smile widened as he prepared to activate the trap. But then his smile disappeared when he noticed something moving behind the tree and to his shock, someone else had the boar on sight.
"NO!" He shouted and stood out of the bushes.
Before the boar realized it, a giant praying green mantis came out of hiding and stabbed the boar with one of its front legs, killing it instantly before bringing it to its mouth and started eating it, in front of the starved young man.
Once again, Darby's efforts and hopes to be well fed was foiled by another giant creature. But at that moment, he began gritting and clenching his teeth, his body began trembling as he felt something boiling within him, a feeling that he can't remember the last time he felt that.
Anger.
All the days of pent up frustration and rage was too much to endure. Darby just had enough. So he pulled the vine.
The moment the trap was activated, the noose caught one of the mantis' hind legs and pulled it up, although the trap couldn't lift it up off the ground, but it was enough to catch it off balance. After catching the giant bug by surprise, Darby picked his improvised spear and bolted out of the bushes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared at the top of his lungs before charging. Right now the rage clouded his senses that he didn't care if he's not going to survive fighting against a monster.
Darby thrust his spear with all his strength and stabbed the mantis in the abdomen as some green blood sputtered to his face. The mantis screeched in pain as the dead boar fell out of its mouth. Iit tried to cut the vine with its front leg, but Darby used the chance to keep stabbing it with its spear.
Nevertheless, the bug managed to cut the vine trap and was now free, before rising up on its hind legs and launched an attack upon the young man, but Darby jumped back before its front legs slammed on the ground, making the bed of leaves scatter in the air.
Darby panted as he kept the distance, taking a moment to feel his anger simmering down before realizing what he just did. Unfortunately, he didn't have a moment to process when the mantis lunged at him as he jumped to his side before the creature would slice him in half.
Now aware that it was too late to flee, Darby had no choice but to fight for his life. After dodging the attack, he charged towards the mantis and thrust the spear into one of its hind legs. The mantis screeched again as he pulled the spear and backed away, as he was about to thrust again.
However, the giant mantis reacted quickly before spinning around and then swapped him with its front leg, sending him flying a few feet away before rolling across the ground.
Darby groaned as he struggled to get up, feeling something running down the side of his head. But as he looked up he saw the mantis was about to crush him with its praying legs. He crawled away just in time as he felt the ground trembling by the impact. As he stood on his feet, he gripped the shaft of his spear with his hands as he glared at the monster to wait for another attack.
The mantis crawled towards him with its head reared back before diving down with its baring fangs. Darby however sprung back before its face crashed on the ground. This gave him a chance to thrust his spear into its head.
The green mantis shrieked before standing back up, along with Darby who when he was still holding the spear on its head while the creature began thrashing its head around wildly as if it was like holding the bull by its horns.
"Whoa! Oohh-Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Darby screamed as he tried to hold himself for his dear life, trying to pull the spear off the head but it got stuck, probably because it penetrated the skull.
It was just a matter of seconds before Darby lost his grip on his spear and went flying and bouncing to the ground. Letting out a groan of pain, he stood on his knees before noticing the mantis lunging at him, and before he could do anything, the giant bug struck him with its front leg and sent him crashing into another tree.
Darby gasped out in agony as he clutched his sides, feeling like one of his ribs just cracked. Cracking his eyes open, he saw the mantis coming closer to him slowly, with his spear still stuck on its head.
Feeling too hurt to stand up, not to mention he was now unarmed, Darby had no choice but to close his eyes and hoped that his death would be painless and swift.
The mantis let out another screech and readied its front legs to finish him. But suddenly, a small group of cloaked figures emerged from the bushes and surrounded the mantis, one of them drew a sword and slashed its back. The mantis let out a shriek before turning around, as Darby opened his eyes before witnessing a stroke of luck.
"What?" Darby muttered with a stunned look as he watched the strangers taking on the mantis with swords.
"Watch out!" One of them shouted with a gruff voice as the three jumped in both directions before the mantis' legs dug into the ground.
"Now's our chance!" The other one, whose voice sounded younger, spun around and cut one of its front legs with the sword. The creature shrieked in agony as the green blood squirted out of its severed leg.
"Hragh!" Another cloaked stranger roared as he shot his hand forward and suddenly released some kind of telekinetic thrust that pushed the mantis, only to leave it stunned for a moment.
The third one who was standing between Darby and the praying mantis, ran forward before jumping into the air, higher than anyone could ever do much to Darby's surprise, and when the swordsman reached to the face of the mantis, he swung his sword and cut its head off.
The headless mantis stood still for a moment before falling lifelessly to the ground as blood began to pool around it.
Darby couldn't just believe it, not only a group of strangers apparently saved his life in a nick of time, but also they could kill that monster with only swords and… some kind of magic it seemed.
The cloaked figures then turned around and approached Darby, as the young man couldn't help but feel nervous at their ominous presence.
"Are you okay?" The stranger in the middle asked as he pulled the hook off his head, before the others followed his lead.
"Y-Yeah, I think I - W-W-W-What?!" Darby shouted the moment he got a clear look of their faces.
They turned out to be salamanders, but not just that, they're actually anthropomorphic salamanders. He already got used to finding giant bugs and hybrid creatures, but this kind of race who not only are capable of talking, but also to fight with swords and use magic was very new to him.
The one who just spoke to him appeared to be an old salamander with dusky skin, wrinkles under his eyes and a gray horseshoe beard. He had long hoary hair that reached the back of his neck. He was wearing gambeson armor with chainmail-covered leather pauldron, a pair of gauntlets covered with metal studs, brown trousers with poleyns on his knees and a pair of leather boots.
The second salamander standing on the left had dark-green skin with black markings over him, with flowing brown hair with a knot behind his head. Scars ran down the side of his face as if some beast almost ripped his face off. He was dressed in a dark leather patched red gambeson, a reinforced angled plate on his biceps, dark chausses with poleyns, and dark brown boots.
The last salamander appeared to be the youngest of all, not to mention slightly shorter, with reddish-orange skin with black spots and a short dark blond hair. He was wearing a hardened dark leather vest over his blue gambeson, leather gauntlets and gloves with metal studs, a pair of leather padded matching chausses and leather boots.
"You… You're salamanders… And you're talking!" Darby said while pointing his trembling finger at them, still in utter disbelief.
"And you're the ugliest frog I've ever seen in my entire life." The salamander with scars retorted.
"Hey, lay him off! He just almost got killed if it weren't for us!" The younger salamander replied with an indignant tone.
"Enough! This is not the time to bicker with each other!" The oldest salamander snapped as he approached the young man. "You are not supposed to be there, but I assume you were lost. Can you stand up?"
Darby blinked before he struggled to get on his feet, feeling his body aching in pain, but he fought it back until he fully stood up. He noticed that the salamanders were around the same height as him, excluding the young one. "Y-Yeah, I think I can." He grunted as he stumbled forward, but the pain on his ribs made him lose his balance as he was about to fall again.
"Whoa! Got you!" The young salamander jumped in and held him on, Darby suddenly flinched, but the young salamander gave him a smile that managed to calm him down.
"You should come along with us, this place is not safe for a vagrant. We can take you to our place so we can check your wounds." The old salamander with his arms crossed.
"Thank you, thank you so much! Um…" Darby trailed off as he didn't know what their names were.
"Name's Gunther." The old man introduced himself with a nod. "This is Duncan." He pointed to the scarred salamander, who just grunted. "And this is Filip." He pointed to the young one who was holding Darby.
"Hey, nice to meet you. You were so crazy to take on that mantis by yourself." Filip said with a chuckle, probably to lighten the tension.
"I know…" Darby looked away, feeling embarrassed for being reckless.
"Let's not waste our time, we should move out before another mantis or a bigger bug chases us." Gunther said as he walked around the beheaded green mantis as Duncan and Filip followed him.
"So what's your name, strange creature?" Filip asked as he helped Darby to move forward.
Darby looked at him with a raised eyebrow when the young salamander called him that nickname, but at the same time he understood why. If the situation were reversed he would ask the same question to him. Nevertheless, he thought that it would be best to answer the question as it would be the first step forging a trust, he was saved from a certain death after all.
"Darby… Darby Wyatt." He smiled as he raised his hand for a handshake.
Filip blinked at the gesture, but he smiled back at Darby as he shook his hand. Although, Darby had to restrain a grimace when he felt like someone barfed in Filip's hand.
After the salamanders took Darby out of the forest, they led him to a path that Darby couldn't believe was just a few miles away from where he was lost, but at least he was now relieved to be out of that dense jungle. As they strolled across the flattened dirt road, Darby looked in amazement at the extensive meadow with ponds of crystalized water and the incredible giant scindapsus plants.
Though this moment was interrupted when his stomach growled loudly that almost alarmed the salamanders. When they looked straight at him, Darby averted their eyes bashfully that he didn't want to say what's wrong with him.
"Oh, you're hungry?" To his surprise, Filip asked before fishing something out of his pocket. "Here, have a piece of my snack, I always carry it when I'm hungry."
Darby looked at what appeared to be a piece of candy bar in Filip's hand, but then his face twisted in disgust when he saw a bug in it, seemingly lifeless. "Huh… No thank you, I'm fine, but thank you though."
"I insist! We can't have you walking with us with that empty stomach!" Filip replied with genuine kindness.
Darby glanced at Gunther and Duncan as they're eyeing him cautiously, as if they're warning him not to refuse the young one's generosity. With a sigh, he took the candy and without thinking twice, he took a bite. He tried not to cringe as he began chewing the bugs, trying to imagine they're just nuts. But then he blinked twice as he began to taste more of the candy. Maybe his uncle was right about eating bugs after all.
"Wow, thanks, mate." Darby said with a genuine smile.
"We're not far from our estate, once we reach there we'll provide you with some of our food you need." Gunther said as he continued leading his group.
"You three live on an estate?" Darby said with a surprised tone as he continued eating the bug candy.
"I think it's better you should see for yourself." Duncan said bluntly.
Moments later, as they led him across the riverside and further up a hill, Darby spotted a two-story timber-framed house nearby with fieldstone surrounding it. While he was amazed to see the salamanders live in some kind of a mansion, the house seemed old and damaged judging by the peeling paint and some chunks of wall were demolished. At that moment he wondered if they owned this property, but he decided to save that question.
Darby and the salamanders went up a couple of stairs leading up the hill until they reached the stoop, Gunther went ahead to open the door and was the first to go inside before the rest followed him in.
Once inside, Darby looked around to see they had just entered the hall, though the entire room looked dark and soiled, with some walls covered in vines. The paintings hanging onto the wall were in such poor condition that it was hard to tell who were those salamander people in those paintings. A broken chandelier hung loosely on the ceiling that Darby couldn't help but cower at the possibility of collapsing.
"Um… Nice place you have here." Darby of course lied, but he didn't want to say anything negative that could offend them.
"Thanks, we're making sure this place won't fall apart." Gunther replied with some humor in his tone. "Come with me, let me take you to the lounge room. Duncan, Filip, go to the kitchen and bring some food for our special guest."
"Sure!" Filip said with a smile, as Duncan only grunted in response before they went to the right hall.
"This way please." Gunther led Darby to the other side of the hall.
"So… Are you guys from an important family or something." Darby asked to break the silence as he glanced at the infrastructure of the corridor.
"You could say that, but actually we're not nobles whatsoever. It's much of a long story that we might tell you, if you can tell us much more about yourself." Gunther replied, earning a puzzled reaction from Darby.
Gunther and Darby reached the lounge room as the old salamander gave the human a chair so he could sit at the table.
"Thank you." Darby said as he looked around the room which surprisingly looks cleaner than the last room he was in.
He waited for a little while before Duncan and Filip met them with food they could carry, such as fruits, bread, water, and even some roasted chicken. At that moment Darby felt like he was about to devour all that food they're bringing to him, which he didn't hold himself back the moment they put them on the table.
"Whoa, you sure are very starved, huh?" Filip stated as he and the others watched the young man eating nonstop.
"Let's give him a moment, poor bastard must have had a really bad time back in the forest." Gunther said with compassion as he took his own seat.
Darby chomped big pieces of bread and roasted chicken, he also didn't hesitate to bite a bug leg that tasted like a lobster. One moment he almost choked before drinking water and continued eating without worrying about a giant bug stealing his food inside. It took a little while until Darby finally calmed down and leaned against his seat with a satisfied sigh.
"Well, not that you're well fed, tell us about yourself. You said your name is Darby, correct?" Gunther inquired.
"Yeah, it is. I'm also a human if you're wondering." Darby said, still feeling overjoyed, that after days of dealing with the hardships of the wildlife, he finally met some new faces. "Again, thank you so much for saving me. If there's anything I can repay you for, I will."
"How about you tell us exactly what are you?" Duncan responded with a glare, walking around the table.
"I'm sorry?" Darby blinked, clearly confused at his question.
"We don't know what kind of a creature you are, and that can't be a coincidence that we found you in that forest. You're not a monster, that's for sure, but what exactly are you? A frog? A newt? Some kind of an ancient race, maybe?" Duncan pressured on as he came closer to Darby, as the young man was about to stand up when he felt threatened.
Suddenly, Filip stood in front of Duncan and pushed him away. "Hey, leave him alone, Duncan! What has gotten into you!" He snapped.
"Enough! Both of you!" Gunther slammed his hand on the table, before scowling at the scarred salamander. "I know you want answers, Duncan. But that's not helping. Give Darby a chance to explain." He turned back to Darby. "Please, forgive my grandson, he doesn't trust anyone outside his family. But please tell us, how did you end up in that forest?"
Darby looked down at the table thoughtfully as he took a moment to recollect his memories. "I… I don't know how. I just woke up and had no idea where I was."
"You're not from around here, are you?" Filip inquired with a look of surprise.
"Heh, I'm sure as hell I don't belong here. No offense, but where I come from, you're one the smallest creatures on the planet. You couldn't walk or talk, you don't even have hair." Darby answered as his tone grew more confused.
The salamanders exchanged their looks with mixed reactions. "Are you saying you're from another world?" Duncan asked with a stunned look.
"Now that you mention, I guess I am. This is not Earth, right?" He asked the oldest salamander.
"No, this is Amphibia." Gunther responded with a conflicted look, as Darby was bewildered at the name. But before he would ask, Gunther raised his hand. "Wait, do you remember what happened or where were you before you woke up in that forest?"
Darby was still overwhelmed at the fact that he's not on Earth, but he tried his best to think harder until he started to recall the past events. "Wait, I think I got it. I was meeting with my friends at the park. We were… arguing about something, can't still remember what it was. But one of them opened some kind of box and then there was a flash of light, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in that forest."
"I think that box has something to do with it!" Filip concluded with a hint of disbelief.
"Do you remember what that box looked like?" Gunther asked with a deep frown, clearly intrigued to know more about it.
"No, I wasn't even paying attention to it while me and my friends got into an argument." Darby said apologetically, but then his eyes widened when something just hit him. "Wait… That means my friends are also somewhere in your world! They might be in danger! You have to help me find them! I'm begging you!" The chair flipped when he stood up abruptly, his breath became erratic as he was starting to panic.
"Young man, calm down!" Gunther stood up and with a flick of the finger, he cast a spell that suddenly made Darby feel less agitated, though he seemed also dazed. "Now you sit down and wait here while I have a private talk with my grandsons, okay?"
"Yeah… Got it." Darby slurred as he picked up the chair and sat back down.
Gunther sighed before gesturing to Filip and Duncan to follow him, as he walked towards the corner before the three gathered around.
"He can't stay with us, we don't even know how to look after him." Duncan said under his breath.
"We can't just kick him out, he won't survive out there by himself!" Filip argued as he glanced at Darby in concern.
"We'll put him in more danger than he was before." The scarred salamander said with a serious tone.
"Didn't you just hear him? He said there's more people like him and they're probably lost as he was, or maybe worse! We have to help him!" Filip almost exclaimed that Darby could hear the argument.
"He's not gonna last long with us!" Duncan almost shouted as he and Filip glared at each other.
"You both bring up good points." Gunther spoke bluntly, which not only silenced his grandsons, but also gained their full attention. His eyes were closed in deep thought. "We can't just leave him to his own luck, yet it's too risky for him to join us. Hmm, there's one thing that concerns me, he said his friends had a strange box that teleported them to our world."
"You think they might know something about that box?" Duncan asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe they do, maybe they don't, but we can't be too sure unless we find them and ask them how they got their hands on that box." Gunther said while rubbing his chin.
"Wait, are you saying we're going to help Darby?" Filip asked with a hopeful tone.
"You can't be serious, grandpa. Taking contracts is one thing, but we don't put our nose into other people's business." Duncan protested with a frown.
"You're right, but I believe at this point that whatever is going on, it's something which not only concerns us, but maybe the whole Amphibia as well." He cast a glance at the human with a hint of pity on his frown. "Moreover, this young man doesn't have anywhere else to go and right now he needs us looking for his friends. After all, we're Venators, and our job is to protect our people, and that includes him."
"That was just a long time ago, everything has changed!" Duncan's voice was taut with anger as he pointed his finger down.
"Maybe you're right, but we're still the same." Filip responded with full resolution on his face.
Duncan stared at his brother and his grandfather vexedly, but at that moment he knew there was no point of arguing with them anymore. With an exasperated sigh, he nodded in resignation. "Alright, fine. But I won't be responsible for whatever happens to that creature."
Pleased to hear the answer nonetheless, Gunther sauntered towards Darby as he was still sitting with his face contorting into a mixture of anguish and fear. When the human noticed him approaching, he bit his bottom lip.
"We will help you." Gunther made an answer with a gentle tone.
Darby's eyes went wide open before his face brimmed with joy and relief all of a sudden. "Y-You mean it? T-Thank you! I-I wish I had something to repay you, but…"
"There's no need to. We never expected to find a stranger who just got teleported to Amphibia, but that doesn't mean we had to leave you in that forest while you're trying to survive on your own. The truth is, you wouldn't have made it if it weren't for us." Gunther replied with his voice full of comprehension.
A soft smile grew on Darby's face.
"One more thing, can you tell us what your friends look like?" Gunther inquired with his hand out.
"Oh, actually, I have a picture of them right here." Darby said as he searched through his pocket and then took out the same photograph. "That was taken when we used to study in middle school together, so they would look different than what you see in this photo."
The salamanders looked closer at the picture of Darby and the girls together. "Fuck, they even look uglier than him…" Duncan groaned with a grimace, as Darby couldn't tell if he was just jestering or not.
"Anyway, I think that should do it. It's not gonna be easy to find your friends, but if we're lucky, they might be among the amphibians or at least they're away from the wilderness." Gunther added before he cracked his back. "Well, I think that's all for today. Tomorrow we're gonna start looking for clues that could lead us to their whereabouts. In the meantime, you should take a rest, that giant mantis laid into you real good that it's a miracle you survived."
"Yeah… I guess you're right." Darby said as he rubbed his rib which was still aching in pain. "Is there a place where I can rest?"
"Oh, you should come to my room! I have a cot to spare." Filip suggested with a cheerful smile.
"Are you sure?" Darby couldn't help but ask, still hesitant to accept that kind of offer, especially because they just met.
"Of course! Now come on, while grandpa is gonna prepare a healing brebage that should help you with your injury."
Darby smiled before he stood up and followed Filip out of the lounge room, as Gunther and Duncan exchanged a look before watching them leave.
"We're here!" Filip opened the rustic wooden door and showed the guest his bedroom.
"Huh, this doesn't look so bad." Darby commented as he looked around the small room with only a straw tick bed and a wooden desk sitting in the corner. Furthermore, the place also looked clean compared to the hallways he came across. "I don't wanna be rude, but have you and your family thought about making a makeover to your house?"
"I asked the same thing to grandpa, but he said it's too expensive and we can only afford to keep ourselves from starving." Filip said solemnly until he regained his optimism. "But I'm sure we will, someday! Anyway, that's where you can rest." He pointed to the straw-covered cot hanging on the stone wall, facing next to Filip's bed. "I was going to get rid of it because it was taking up space, but now I'm glad I didn't."
Darby walked towards the cot before taking a seat, fidgeting on the canvas to feel it wasn't that comfortable, but at least not the worse thing he has to lay on. "You know, I almost didn't have the chance to thank you for standing up for me. I never thought someone would care about my situation." He said with a soft smile.
"Don't mention it, fella. You might be the weirdest looking creature I ever met, but I don't think you're a monster." Filip chuckled as he sat on his own bed.
"I could say the same thing to you, salamander." Darby jested before they both shared a laugh. "So you call this world Amphibia, huh? Are there more people like you?"
"Yeah, but I'd say you got lucky you bumped into us because I don't know how they would react if they saw you, probably they would freak out and start hunting them down." Filip then flinched when he noticed the apprehensive look on Darby's face. "B-But I'm sure your friends are okay! We just have to find out where they could be and we'll find them!"
Darby only sighed as he rested his back on the wall, facing up towards the ceiling with a conflicted expression.
"So… What's your world like?" Filip asked, after feeling a little awkward by the silence filling the air.
"I'm sorry?" Darby said while quirking an eyebrow.
"Your home, Earth. You said that the salamanders like us are the smallest creatures, but is there anything else that you don't find in Amphibia?" Filip said with a piqued curiosity.
"Well… not only it's you salamanders, frogs and bugs are also small in our world." Darby responde while rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh… Also I lived in a place called Los Angeles, and it's a pretty big city with buildings that reach to the sky."
"No way! Buildings that reach to the sky?! For real? What else!" Filip exclaimed that startled the young man. But then the young salamander blinked when he realized his outburst. "Oh, sorry, sorry! It's just… I always get excited because I never thought you'd be from another world, and to hear how different it's yours from mine, it's something that I'd love to know more. B-But we can drop this subject if you want, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable because of me."
Darby didn't know what to say after that, he would feel very awkward to talk about his home planet, but considering the fact that he and Filip are different, he felt like he would love to talk to an amphibian like him. "Well, I can tell you more if you want to." Darby said as a smile grew across his face.
Filip blinked in surprise before gasping in enthusiasm. "S-Sure! I'm all ears!" He sat on the edge of his bed like a child who's about to hear a tale.
Darby chuckled as he shifted "Well, it's true that I was born in Los Angeles, but one time I stayed in a country called Australia for a while. When I turned eighteen, my uncle gave me this necklace as a gift." His hand grasped around the silver salamander medallion.
"Wow, I didn't notice you were wearing that, that looks beautiful." Filip replied, amazed to see the image of his own kind on that medallion.
"Thanks. Oh! And he also gave me this before I returned to LA." He reached the slouch hat hanging behind his neck and handed it to Filip.
"Heh, that's a nice hat." Filip said as he looked over it with great interest.
"Thanks, it belonged to my great-grandad, but my uncle wanted me to keep it." Darby said with a fonded smile.
"Hey, tell me something more about that… Aaaauuuusssstralia? That's what you call it?"
As Darby began to tell more about himself and his home back on Earth, he never felt so relaxed and calm. While being welcomed by a group of walking salamanders was still something Darby still had to process, he was very grateful not only to be still alive, but also having someone to talk to after days of being lost in the forest for days, without any hope that he would survive by himself.
However, he was still concerned about the whereabouts of his friends, but he trusted that the salamanders will do everything they can to find them and maybe find a way to get them back to Earth.
One thing he had to wonder though, how big was this Amphibia? Maybe he'll find out soon enough.
