For now, Greyness Gideon Farthing blinked as he looked around this strange world he'd been abruptly dumped into. Already that moment of communion vanished as soon as he'd received it. Now he was left with the same confusion he had stricken initially with. "That's a nuisance."

As he blurrily recalled, not too long ago, he'd been sitting in his study and reading a book about some tale. "Bah, so I'll receive no help from the natural spirits. Some ancient moronic human pissed them off." Greyness grimaced because he'd have to clean up someone else's mess from eons ago. How typical.

Now he was in a strange, gray-enshrouded continent about which he knew nothing. This could have been faring better as far as survival concerned him. He sat for a moment and sighed. Had he been isekaied into another world, game, novel, what? He glanced at his surroundings hoping for a clue, and nearly jumped out of his skin when someone appeared to his left.

“Hello, I’m Samira Kelos. I'm your guide in this world, Brilliance." She bowed to him politely.

This world was called Brilliance. Greyness glanced around skeptically.

Samira noticed his expression and giggled. "Well, weird happenings have occurred since you humanoids arrived here." She shrugged slightly. "So, shall we begin our traipse?"

Sure, why not? It wasn't as if Greyness had anything better to do with his time. "Uh, sure, Samira, was it? Or should I refer to you as Guide Kelos?" If he was correct, there usually was some kind of hierarchy, and he wanted to make sure it was casual with this individual.

Samira blinked at him. "Ah, right," She frowned. "You are Greyness Gideon Farthing, correct?"

The fact that she recognized him on sight gave Greyness a pause. "Aye, is that going to be a problem?"

The way she seized Greyness up made him wary. Whenever an incident occurred to him, his natural body was exposed as a centaur, and not only that but a vampire. Although right now, the vampire part of him was sated. He'd dealt with that in a previous dalliance before this event occurred.

Samira hesitated. "May I see your teeth?" She didn't believe he was a vampire because he was a centaur.

This again? He should get the inspection over with before standing up. "Sure," He patiently opened his mouth just enough for the fangs to be revealed. He didn't budge otherwise.

Samira approached him and looked closely at his fangs. She frowned in bafflement before retreating. "All right, I've verified who you are." At last, she said she seemed extremely confused with the situation. "Have you read or seen anything referring to Brilliance?"

Just what was her problem with him? Could it be that he was too calm, and that terrified her? He'd have to tread warily around this place until he learned what exactly he'd been sent here for. Beyond those blurry images, he'd glimpsed from the brief but useless communion he'd engaged in earlier.

At her question, Greyness frowned. Could he read something about it? He searched his memory of books, games, anything of that sort. He pulled on his knowledge about other words. Finally, he shook his head. "Not a thing. This is the first time I've come across it. Granted, I've written short stories, but none featured this world or that term that doesn't fit this area."

*

In all her previous encounters, Samira knew she'd become an unattainable goal for the humanoid males and some females. However, this fellow Grey clearly needed to be in the mood to run afoul of any hierarchal system. She had to credit him for being very cautious in his treatment of her.

On the other hand, it meant she couldn't garner his trust that easily, either. Problematic but relatively easy to get around. She would have to give him clues about how things worked around here. Though admittedly, due to his being a centaur, he had more of an advantage than the other humans.

The fact that he hadn't tried laying hands on her was something else Samira appreciated. The Oracle Reader hadn't been kidding when she warned Samira that this individual had guessed his role in this world.

The problem she foresaw was getting his agreement to work with her. Samira heaved an inward sigh. At least with this one, she didn't have to worry about some man becoming too frisky around her. He hadn't even evinced the slightest hint of arousal or interest in her.

While that hurt her vanity a wee bit, Samira found him very refreshing. She considered that he hadn't messed with her a good sign. Samira asked a few questions to ascertain his identity and approached him outright to inspect his teeth. That was something she hadn't believed until he let her come to him.

She sensed his mild irritation and resignation when he let her look at his teeth. That he didn't snap at her with aggravation was another clue that this wasn't his first go-around when dealing with envoys.

Somehow, she was still going to need to get closer to him. Samira sensed an odd aloofness about him that hadn't surfaced until after she'd entered his personal space. Once she retreated, the aloofness remained, but he'd calmed down enough to begin making some suggestions.

At least he wasn't growling at her. That was something she'd anticipated upon hearing he was a vampire. However, he evidently had that part of his nature under strict control. Samira did have to wonder about how long that would last.

I should have Raj look at him. She'd finally caught sight of where he was wounded. It was a wonder he could speak with such calmness and composure. Such control over one's own nature took time to perfect. That made Samira wonders how old he was.

At first glimpse, he looked to be in his thirties, older than her. However, as she talked with him, she began revising that thought. Could he be one of those ancient beings that lived for centuries or longer? She couldn't wait to find out.

Well, time to get things sorted as far as his knowledge of Brilliance, which turned out to be nothing at all. His casual mention of writing stories and such gave Samira a pause. It was likely he'd written about different histories and scenarios of Brilliance before some being higher up decided to dump him here and provide a solution to this world's problem. How not nice of those creatures to do this to him in that case. She paused and glowered at the skies above.

"What was that about?" Grey regarded her dubiously.

"Oh, nothing." Samira pulled her mind back to the present. "I'll see what I can do to assist you in learning about this place."

Grey grunted. "That would do much to help me understand my role in this world."

So, he had suspicions but wanted confirmation of what he was doing there. Everyone who arrived here did have a role, but whether they would play it correctly depended on how they reacted to the healer Raj. This was going to be fun.

*

Grey was almost sure she had ulterior motives as to why she wanted a look at his teeth and then asked pointedly about what he knew of Brilliance. So far, she'd given him nothing concrete to work with, and he wasn't too pleased. Now she was smiling in a very secretive and crafty manner. He sighed. She was so obviously up to something, and he wasn't impressed.

Samira chuckled and dismissed his skepticism. "Ah, well, don't worry about it. While we walk, I'll do what I can to clear up your confusion." She looked around. "Oh, right. Have you pulled up a status window yet?"

So those did exist? "No, you arrived before I could do anything but ponder the question of 'Where am I?' Which you've answered with the name of this world." Greyness hesitated. "Right, I'd preferred to be called 'Grey' if that isn't too difficult." Sometimes these worlds had odd protocols when it came to names and appearances.

Samira shot him a puzzled stare but agreed. "Fine, I'll call you Grey. I'll also note that in the future, to avoid complications if someone should protest that shortening of your first name."

"Mmm, okay." This place seemed good to Grey's notice. However, he needed to learn how things would progress once he began interacting with people. That was something he could have done better at.

As for his guide, Samira, he regarded the individual with some puzzlement. This person didn't appear male or female at first glance. While the name could be feminine, that was only sometimes the case. There was long black hair, twitching ears, and a black tail. She even appeared to have translucent wings that were slightly gray in hue. She was clad in solid brown robing that covered all the essentials.

"I don't mean to be rude, but are you male, female, or non-gender?" Grey watched Samira warily.

Samira blinked. "Hmm, female." She shrugged, slanted purple eyes glinting with amusement. "Thank you for inquiring. One individual dared to ask if I could engage in a fling with him. I was a female, a cat, and supposedly prone to going into heat."

Somehow, Grey didn't think that ended well. "You are beautiful, I'll grant you that, but I also gain the impression that either you have a mate or soon will be affianced." He had caught the type of jewelry she adorned herself with. Samira wasn't some ordinary female feline. If he wasn't mistaken, she was probably of noble origin or what this world probably deemed noble, aristocratic, or royal. If that was the case, the other person probably wound up dead or wished he was after insulting her so severely.

Samira's eyes widened at his observation. "You are very…keen. As I was warned about." She murmured. "Well, if we may, I'd like to continue this chat while walking." That's when she realized he hadn't stood up yet. "Will you even hear me when you stand up?"

Well, now, that was a good question. Grey stood up with care. He hadn't landed well, and his body wasn't handling all this movement. "I did take a tumble and wound up in this form." He shrugged ruefully. At least he had clothing on that covered all the necessary areas. The last thing he wanted to do was affront an engaged beauty in this world.