…

 

*yawn* The long-eared man woke up, stretching.

 

 “Ahh… Nothing like a good night of sleep.”

 

It was a calm morning, he stood up and leisurely went around camp, taking all the sweet time to organize and pack up everything, disassembling the tent… rolling up the sleeping bags… checking the inventory… preparing breakfast… disarming the traps that were laid the day before… deliberately going as slow as possible and being unnecessarily meticulous.

 

After leaving some water to boil, the elf went to disarm the last trap left, out of all of them it was the only one that had been sprung while he slept.

“Hmm… Hmm?… *chuckles* oh my… It would seem like I have gotten myself quite the large catch today, do you not think so too?” He said, sarcasm and ridicule oozing from his voice. “brat.”

 

The angsty brat in question could only glare back at the elf with pleading eyes, hanging upside down uncomfortably inside the camouflaged mesh of ropes covered in leaves that were left hidden near the food case.

He looked closer, behind the tearful visage the child had. It did not seem like she had reflected on her actions at all… The man sighed, wondering what went wrong and regretting his choice to partake his prized sweets with her.

 

Eating the same block of tasteless food rations everyday could become very stale when the ranger went on lengthy missions, so he developed a habit of bringing some extra  ‘flavor’.

With an extra mouth to feed, necessity forced his hand and he begun foraging and hunting occasionally in the forest, a skill he has long since mastered, and he customarily used honey or a sweetener along with the food, but he made the mistake of letting the girl get her hands on them and locate where he stored it, and she, that was scraping eating dubious foods and borderline poison around the forest just to not die instantly became infatuated with the comparably heavenly ambrosia…

 

The elf poked her cheek and pushed slightly, the ropes holding the girl in place groaning loudly as she swayed back and forth.

 

*grumble* A familiar noise sounded nearby.

 

The man paused, giving her a raised eyebrow. “*sigh* let’s get you out of there…” He said while pinching his brows. While helping the creature get untangled from the whole mess, he declared: “...Also, no more treats for you until we arrive at the village.”

 

*whimper*

 

“Yeah, yeah… you brought this upon yourself.” He said, wondering if she understood what was said for a moment as the girl put on a pitiful face, then promptly ignored her.

 

“Fool me once with cuteness? shame on me. Fool me twice?... you don’t.”

 

——— –– –– -- - -

Two people traveled along the hidden roads of the forest, small trenches and pathways created by small creatures and people alike, weaving in and out around the countless trees, avoiding predators, crossing rifts and hills, slowly and steadily making their way to safety, towards their destination…

 

*step* *step* *step*

 

“...”

 

…They threaded through winding paths of uprooted roots and valleys of stone, through old and forgotten bridges and dilapidated structures left by the lost and the adventurous, crossed paths with unsuspecting denizens of the forest and mystical flora, day in and day out the two journeyed together, one pair of quiet footsteps being their sole companion along with the nature’s ambience as they traveled in silence…

 

*step* *step* *step*

 

“...”

 

The birds were singing, the flowers blooming, the insects buzzing, and the quiet wildlife spoke not in sounds, but with the signs they left on their wake: burrows, tracks, footprints, nests, droppings, feathers, and territorial markings.

 

*step**step*— He suddenly stopped.

 

“...?”

 

“...*grunt* Alright, enough.”

 

“hmm–mMWAAH!?”

 

At that moment he unceremoniously threw off the girl that was mounted on his shoulders.

 

*thump* “HEY!”

 

Thankfully the ground was soft with a thick layer of grass to cushion the fall… whether that was intentional or not she didn’t know. Before the girl could protest he said:

 

“Under normal circumstances, I would take our time leisurely, but with our…” He took a moment to search for the right words “...particularly peculiar situation.” He said, recalling the mess that had gotten himself scouring the forest in the first place, the subsequent occurrences and their meeting,

 

“We must make haste, with urgency. Carrying you all the time not only fatigues me but considerably slows us down.” He explained “This forest is dangerous, even for someone as experienced as me, and even more so after that disaster… I have a vague understanding of what happened… but not why, And I would rather not leave fate in the hands of uncertainty.” The elf said, mostly to himself.

 

“It is clear as day that you have already recovered from the wounds you had… somehow. At an unusually quick speed.” He said, looking her up and down.

 

“You are more than capable of walking for yourself now.” Although he resolved himself to escort the mysterious little girl to question her back at the village. At the speed they were going, his travel supplies that they were already carefully rationing together with nature’s bounty would not last, and if– when they run out, hunting, foraging, properly preparing and processing food, and finding shelter takes time, and would slow them down even more. “You are heavy for your small size.” He huffed, massaging his 

shoulders.

 

The man saw the small girl stare at him for a moment, tilting her head in confusion, and then after a minute sending him a glare. Though, everything she did was small to him, so it was hard to take her seriously.

 

Seeing that her confusion was apparent he reminded himself that they had yet to hold a conversation, due to the language barrier. Sighing, he began:

 

“*sigh*... YOU.” he pointed at her.

 

 “ME.” he pointed to himself.

 

 “WALK.” He said loudly and clearly, gesturing with his hands using wide motions so she could understand, and turned around to continue their trek.

 

Seeing him going away without her, the girl followed begrudgingly, muttering something he couldn’t understand, and from the sound of it, she wasn’t particularly happy.

 

He didn’t pay much attention to it, only giving a brief thought to what could have upset her.

 

——— –– –– -- - -

*huff huff*

 

Hmph, heavy and small… heavy and small– I’ll show you who is heavy and small!... I think as I glance… up. I have to crank my neck back just to look at the back of mister elf’s head as I jog behind him.

 

–*sigh* Well… not really, I guess, not anymore. I look down, clenching my… tiny hands. Am I really that small? Or is everything else big?... I don’t know, this whole forest is oversized, plants… animals… my sense of size has been off for a while, ever since I woke up weeks ago… is he actually also very tall and big or just normal-sized? What age is this body even?  Is it even worth it trying to go back? Considering that I… died, back then.–

 

*huff huff*

 

–It’s not like I could complain too… He… It’s embarrassing for me to say it and even more to remember… But, in a way, he saved me. My memories from then are foggy and full of pain and adrenaline, just thinking of all those spiders makes me shudder. When I met him, it was the first time I’d seen a living human– well… elven face in weeks, maybe more. I have lost count of how many days I passed going from place to place and scraping together whatever I could find just to live another day. Finally being able to interact with someone who could help broke all the pent-up frustration and despair I was storing all at once… in a less than dignified way. *sigh*–

 

*huff huff*

 

–Not only that, I have almost no idea where to even start learning whatever language he speaks. Some basic names and verbs are easy enough, from the things he pointed out as we traveled, which are basically “food”, “not food”, “dangerous” and the like.– I note as he crudely explains how the plant he picked up on the way is bad, not being able to go into details due to being only able to explain in broad terms from the small selection of words they shared. I assume he does this so I can either look out for myself or help him gather stuff, though he never quite explained himself why and just started giving lessons without any prompting.

 

*huff huff*

 

–And, other than that, It’s like trying to translate some sort of bizarre thing that feels like soviet Japanese with an Indian accent. I guess it's reasonable, another world and all that. It could be a language with an entirely different and new structure compared to what I know, that trying to decipher what rules dictate it by basing off earth’s languages becomes essentially useless, so I'm stuck on slow memorization of single concepts and going from there.–

 

*huff huff* I start to tire out and wobble from the fatigue accumulated from hours of power walking. Feet sore from walking barefoot and legs strained from the constant effort without rest.

 

Before when I was all by myself I could go on a whole day walking at a comfortable pace at my leisure, but trying to keep up with this long-legged man with looks that could kill is damn tough, while he looks to be marching like he was going to do grocery, I have to keep up at an almost running pace since for each of one of his steps I have to take practically 3.

 

Just as I am about to complain he pauses, looking up to the sky behind the thick canopy, and says something along the lines of resting and stopping for the day.

 

“Haaaahh…” I exhaled in relief, falling down on my butt. –Finally, some rest.– I thought, looking over at the man going around setting up camp high up in the trees, climbing all the way up there in moments and placing everything down with quick and clean speed. –Thinking of it, I don’t remember ever getting his name, we both forgot about introductions I guess…–

 

–…Though, other than the word “you” or at least I think it means that, I don’t really have a clear way to ask… and…– Casting my gaze down to the floor, I fiddle with the tips of my hair and tail, new and strange changes from what I was used to from before.

 

–…I am not… should I even use my old name? a dead name?...– I flashback to the crushing weight and the taste of concrete, metal, and asphalt. –From someone else that lived another life in another world... I am still me, my body is not, and I can’t even start to fathom if my soul is too.– I wondered, debating with myself if it was worth it to adapt, and embrace a new identity, a new life, given to me, paid with an unknown price, or to desperately keep holding on to the last vestiges of my former humanity, hoping for the impossible dream of returning through the unknown powers that reside in this fantasy world, to make everything be like it once was.

 

I pondered and thought about thoughts, losing myself in self-introspection and doubt, I had so many things, family and happiness back there, so many… expectations and responsibilities too. Did I even want to return? To that rotten, self-destructive society where I was nothing more than a number, but also where everything that I know and everyone that I love are?

 

On the other hand… In this place, while dangerous and full of peril…

 

I am free.

 

Free from anything that held me back, from the expectations placed upon me, unbound, liberty to do anything I want and to flourish in whichever direction, an entire world unknown, unexplored, with magical mysteries and amazing creatures and people to meet.

 

It hurts… the guilt, the sorrow, the longing, abandoning all that I had and was for the sake of my own selfish curiosity. I feel like a child inside, innocent, curious, and full of wonder. Scared and alone. And at the same time I feel like an adult, the responsibilities and duties entrusted to me pulling me, the pride and love I have for the people that I will probably never meet again, pragmatic and critical of my future decisions.

 

The strange dissonance between mind and body, between two clashing perspectives and identities, had always been grinding my mind ever since I began walking this world. Incessantly grinding and scraping the corners of my thoughts even when I tried my best to ignore thinking in favor of continued survival. Even after all this time, I still doubted and remained uncertain, the mass of internal debates and emotions giving me a headache.

 

I shook my head away from the bad things, clearing my mind and opting to listen to the small sounds of the forest… The usual sounds of birds in the distance, buzzing of insects however small, I normally would be able to hear it all, even the very faint presence of animals from far away… However, the forest was quiet.

 

–The sounds… of…?– Too quiet.

 

I began feeling a bad premonition –…Why is it all so silent? Shit, and where is that damned green uncle?–

 

As I opened my mouth, intending to shout out to look for him, something jumped in at the corner of my vision. Instead, I screamed.

 

——— –– –– -- - -

A lithe, yet imposing silhouette sat in a dark room. The lights exhaled from the numerous small glowing orange flasks lighting up the darkness like a canopy of orange stars, the sound of fluttering parchment and rustling trinkets filling the ambience.

 

“Chief.” The chieftain recognized the voice, and voiced her permission.

 

Someone entered the room by the curtain entrance, a despondent expression on the person’s face.

 

“…Gaviel still hasn’t returned?” She asked.

 

“Yes…”

 

”*sigh* You know as well as I do that he is one of our best and fastest rangers, disciplined to a fault, and dedicated. Gaviel would not delay for any trifling matter… but considering recent events, I fear for the worst.” She sets down a trio of glowing engraved cubes, mystical light dying down as they become inactive.

 

“Fortunately…” She looks over to the far wall covered with a warm glow. Dozens of receptacles, baubles, and statuettes shining and pulsing with varying degrees of light. One particular trinket that hung above the rest glowered with vitality “It seems he is safe…” The light flickered, and she frowned “...For now.”

 

Turning back around, she settled deep into her seat and took a deep breath. “He was responsible for reconnaissance in the far eastern direction.” She cast a second glance behind her, the glow flickered again “Tsk, send 4 people for a search mission…” She gazes to the side, a large latticework of dreamcatchers and opal branches that interconnect with the enchanted wall of items behind her jingled ominously. “...And just in case, also prepare for a rescue mission. I have a bad feeling about this.”

 

“Yes ma'am!” They thumped their chest and headed out.

 

A moment passed, before the woman clad in regal garments that folded in and out in colorful intricate patterns relaxed, the chieftain.

 

The hard visage left and gave place for furrowed brows of worry “*sigh* Gaviel… what are you doing?”

 

——— –– –– -- - -