My World Torn Asunder

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Fire & Stone

~ CHAPTER 2 ~

<< My World Torn Asunder >>

[BEGIN]

Unknown Place

Unknown Date

Unknown Year

There…I lied, splayed and relaxed, cold water rushing gently at my body, softly babbling.

I could hear…leaves rustling. The gentle roll of wind.

The air was…very cold. I could feel it hang upon my body…though something felt as though it covered my skin.

…I let my eyes open once more, for the first time.

The cool water that grazed my edges was… something of a relief. No longer an abstract space of torment and the unknown- I could drown in it, and I would find solace in that physicality.

After some seconds, a mite of panic took hold of my psyche- I was alive, I breathed air from a world, not some black inferno of endless time.

I pushed myself from the watery space, staring down at the liquid… letting my gaze wander to the sides, perhaps hoping I had stumbled from my bed in the dark of night, and fallen mindlessly into the bathtub.

No bathtub here.

I was instead greeted with the sight of a shallow river, in which I now sat. The water splashed and played around the stones and broken chunks of mud and soil that spilled from the forested hill. Cattails and other plants joined me sparsely in the shallows.

To my left was a bridge running over the river I sat in. I could see its stone underside, and the discolored section showing the river’s usual height.

It was now I noticed the steam rolling from my breath. It wasn’t just the water, a winter’s chill swirled around me. Though I sat surrounded by evergreen trees I could see much of the bramble was without leaves, with leafless poplars decorating between the firs.

A dreary grey blanketed the world, as befitting winter. Indeed, I could see frost here and there. Parts of the flowing river sparkled with ice carried from upstream and small snow patches littered some of the ground and even the leaves of the trees, though it didn’t appear to be a total covering, as though it hadn’t snowed in weeks.

It was nice, perhaps, to take all this in. Anything was better than the black void.

But…it was still curious. Was that real? Had I been talked to by God? Or a God? Where…was I?

…I turned my head, here and there, taking in this frigid environment with a weakening curiosity.

No river ran past our dormitory, and the sheer density of the forestry surrounding rang no recollection in my mind. Once more, the piercing sensations of my own existence pushed me onward to the water’s edge. What I could draw forth of my mind was put towards discerning what had befallen me…

A kidnapper. Some cruelty of a sinful man, who had absconded with me in the dead of night. Such struggle and turmoil would no doubt rend my senses from me, as in that endless void… speaking to me as though a God, whispering sweet promises of a task to perform- before by intent or circumstance I had tumbled into the river. None else would render such pain onto a girl- dearest Piera would never stoop to trickery and amusement so heartless.

My legs dragged against the slow current, like a trout-gutter returning to the riverbanks empty-handed. I’d catch my death in this weather, if it had… not already befallen me, as I once thought.

I gripped at my arms, kneading the flesh to retain what little warmth was left in me- and my steps slowed. Even freed from the wretched dream, even as I rose the waking world, my form lingered with a disgusting wrongness. The wrong weight of my limbs, the wrong texture of my feeble skin… even the shallow breaths I took through my nose sent shivers through me. The stranger had… done something to me, and it sickened me at even the twitch of a muscle…

As my fingers brushed against my flesh, however…I felt not skin…

…but fur.

As though I were draped in a massive fur coat that clung to my body.

Yet…it was not quite that. No, for it wasn’t just my fingers that felt the hair. I could feel the hair being brushed. I could feel the tickle, the tingle of the hair on my arm moving…slick with water but not dripping.

My footsteps sloshed in the rushing cold water. But these too felt…different.

Something felt bent. Out of place. Some sickening wrongness as joints so naturally bent at incorrect directions. Limbs felt heavier or lighter than they would normally. A heavy counterweight pulled back at me. Something…soft and heavy was affixed to my neck.

But what as most frightening…was that all of it felt…

…natural. Or, I felt sufficiently experienced in a mangled body that should have made me sick to even walk in, yet walk in this gnarled and twisted body I did, as though it had been this way all my life.

…I could move no farther. No matter how naturally my form behaved as I willed it to walk, the pressures of tendon and bone in new places, in wrong places cried that muted abnormality to me. All at once, my mind raced with fear, and my steps ceased amidst the wintry stream.

Something shimmered in the river at my feet. My visage…

…and even at a glance…I could tell something was horrifying, inhumanely wrong.

I let my gaze fall to the river. My spine had locked itself in place, allowing me no leeway to bend down to the water’s surface… but, I stared. I watched that refracted shape flicker in the ripples where I had walked, pausing for them to clear- my breath catching my throat while I waited to see myself.

The rippling water soon calmed, evening out with the natural current of the rocks and dirt mounds.

And there, framed by a canopy of leafless limbs and blue sky, what stared back at me was…

…not I. But surely it had to be. For it blinked. It breathed. It moved with me. It opened its mouth when I did.

But this wasn’t me. I knew myself. But I was not…whatever it was that stared back.

For what stared at me was some manner of…weasel or otter with a sickly orange color, small black markings on its cheeks. Two crystal blue eyes sparkled in the muted sun and a puffy tuft of hair came from the top of its head with a little sky blue highlight right at the end of it. Above that was what seemed to be an elongated fin sticking out of its head. Around its neck was…some orange, puffy ring, like a collar of some sorts.

I’d never seen any animal or beast like this before. No man had ever brought back a creature as this from a hunt. I’d seen it in neither book nor art or otherwise.

It was simply just…some creature that wasn’t me.

But it was…as much as I might try to deny it…indeed me.

…a cold sweat came over me. It dripped profusely from pores beneath those- those horrid strands of fur on the beast’s face. I took in a quivering breath, and watched the beast gape for air- I pressed weakly at the protrusion below my chin, and the beast moved in unison to grope its bulging throat. Even as I grasped for my heart, its rhythms wild and pained, that monstrous thing clutched the fur on its chest, as though wounded from a hunter’s rifle.

I clutched at my furred arms, wincing, hoping to disperse the chill that was accumulated on my soaked form- by accident, I laid my hands upon those fins, and recoiled from my own touch. I suppressed an urge to wretch.

Agony crept through me- my head shot up towards the hill at the river’s edge, and my misshapen feet kicked at the icy water to launch myself forward.

I stumbled and slid against the unstable terrain on the riverbed, even crashed down against the current and the chunks of ice… and still, I scurried forward like a thing possessed.

Food, clean water, a warm bed, her arms and her words- something would set this right, I would awaken from the beast’s nightmare and return to the world of the living.

The hill was cold and muddy as I scrabbled up and away from the visage of that beast. Yet I could see the undeniable truth as I ran, as my arms, covered in orange fur with blue fin-like protrusions affixed to the forearms, came into my view, obeying my commands to grip and climb.

I clawed up onto the ground above the river, finding a path running over the bridge I’d lied beside. I was dripping and covered in frost.

The path here was cobblestone with wooden beams laid on either side of the path. Thus, civilization did exist, in some capacity, in this place.

But there were no words here. No Piera. No bed or food. Just me and this strange forest path.

But where was there to run? To get away from all this?

Down the path, deeper into the forest…in that direction I could see a massive mountain towering over the trees, with twin snow-topped peaks. Across the bridge, away from the forest, there seemed to be nothing at all. A great void of grass with no trees as the hill turned downward.

It was perhaps both fortunate and unfortunate I was completely alone out here.

What if someone were to see me like this?

Were someone to witness me, amidst the open plain beyond that bridge, there would be no salvation. Seen, known as a beast with nowhere to hide- awaiting a fateful bullet in my stomach. Surely a beast so peculiar would be a fine display on a mantle.

I couldn’t expose myself so carelessly. Nor could I ponder the flow of the river, with the ever-present threat of hypothermia, nor fighting upstream, and thrashing about like a fish to be set upon by a bear.

There was no choice for a thing such as… such as myself. Wet paws thundering on the cobblestone, I ran towards the forested lands nearest the mountain.

I hardly stumbled or lost my footing. Alien muscle memory burst forth to guide me, muscle memory that was not my own but was nonetheless entirely unconscious…and even noticing this fact did not cause that faux muscle memory to falter.

My…paws crunched in the gravel of the cobblestone pathway as I made my way toward the mountain. The winter air flowed betwixt the trees, brushed my newfound fur, rustle the nettles of the pines. Patches of ice sat frozen in small ditches off to the side.

As the trees around me silently rustled I also noticed that no birds chirped. No crickets or bugs fluttered.

A gust of wind billowed from behind. The fur upon my body held my warmth, sparing me partially from the buffeting wind which now had my back as I approached the looming mountain, deeper into the dark forest.

I shut my eyes tightly. The disgust of my form, the ache of gravel kneading into bare paws, the wind beating against my back whilst the darkness of the forest drew closer, the broiling panic…

No, too morose, Adelaide, too weak…

All at once, I dispelled it.

It served me no purpose.

I had been twisted, taken, made by another. Not the Lord, only some force beyond myself. Thrown to the wilds of an empty landscape, like a pup turned to the streets by a cruel breeder’s hand.

And it mattered not an ounce.

The forest and the mountain, the path that my steps quickened upon- they were all that mattered. Separation from my dormitory, from Piera- from the task if it must come to such obedience-

I would eliminate it all. Somewhere beyond the wilderness, no matter how far, my home awaited.

I rushed onward, wasting no time in my return.

I weaved through the forest path, down the endless cobblestone, closer and closer towards that towering mountain, stepping over frozen puddles and mounds of still yet unmelted snow…I saw the trees begin to thin.

More and more, something ahead could be made out betwixt leafless trees and hibernating bramble and yellowed grass. A grey, stony formation right at the base of the dizzyingly tall mountain. I trudged on through the chips of ice and snow, shivering paws kicking aside bramble where needed…and, I stared.

And as the cobblestone path rounded a final bend and passed a final line of trees, I was able to see it clearly:

Into the very stones of the mountain was carved a path leading up to a small inset cliff, with a wood fence to act as a railing. Even here was surrounded by light forest foliage.

But even more than that were the signs of life. What clearly looked to be signposts sat by the little mountain path. Smoke seemed to roll from out a small cave at the top of the path.

And faintly…so faintly…I could make out voices.

The faint smoke and quiet rumble of voices- I was in good fortune, as much as this could be fortunate. I hadn’t expected to find others so quickly… I had yet to consider what I could do to avail myself to them. I thought not of it.

I slinked past the worn signposts, up the frosty hillside… paw gripping into the wooden fencing for support. I circled myself around the sound of voices- to study them from afar, gauge their kindness as much as one could… it would be safer than exposing the beast at their doorstep.

Wood blocks lie buried in the rock and gravel path, steps for my ascent. One might note, curiously, the spacing and gradient were well-suited for a creature my size.

But as I approached the smoky cave, I could feel the tempting warmth within. The smoke that curled around my feet banished the cold air, beckoning me on.

But the entrance the smoke spilled from hardly seemed a cave entrance. No, it was neatly cut, with spiral and floral patterns carved onto the rock, smoothed down and cooked and painted evenly with a gold trim. The path leading into it was smooth, and lanterns decorated the wood beams of the fence, making it all the more inviting.

By that doorway stood a large wood sign, painted in beautiful colors and written in perfectly written letters…

…or, I had to assume. For the markings on the sign…were totally unfamiliar to me.

No time for that. The voices with were getting louder as I approached. A part of me wanted to linger on those carved patterns, indulge in some semblance of beauty and normalcy at the first sign of it… but my body pulled me back.

There…within the smoke.

Two figures stood. Talking. Their voices echoed but it was hard to make out any of what they were saying. My eyes were affixed to the figures in the shadows, tails raised and quivering- as I pulled myself in trembling steps, scanning their shapes yet closer, an ear perked to hear them yet clearer…

But the shapes…the shapes of the figures. Burly and odd. Were they wearing some kind of clothing? I could make out naught amid the smoke that rolled from the entrance.

…these things- were they not-?

No- perhaps miners and coal-diggers, weighed and misshapen from equipment- why were they here? What purpose had they to erect signs of an errant and empty language…?

Slowly, the two figures began to move…lumbering forward.

Slowly their features began to become clear. I saw…misshapen limbs, grotesque heads, unnatural postures.

Their eyes were next. Shimmering in the light, totally unlike a human, seeming to glow against the sunlight. Their huffing breaths and voices seemed to rumble hollow, like dogs or wolves speaking the tongue of men.

And they were laughing. Sickening guffaws pierced my bones. Their footsteps seemed to tremor the ground.

And at last, these creatures, these…monstrous inhuman abominations crawled from the dark cave.

The first was a pale blue, as blue as the drowned dead, with fin protrusions stuck up from its head and yellow spikes from its cheeks, crawling on its fours like a gorilla, towering over me, yellow eyes glistening in the sun.

The other came forth on two legs like a man but with long and burly arms like an ape. Its fur was a bright yellow, jagged black patterns festooning it. Its head sported antennae like a bug but its frightening face suggested they be more akin to horns upon a devil.

“And, see, I told Terizan, right?” The blue monster said in a low, growling voice. “What are you going to do with metal as impure as that? Sell it for soil?”

The yellow demon laughed, a sickening, howling laugh like a thousand damned come to take another for the pyre.

“One of these days that boy is going to learn…or the foreman’ll get to him, I tell you!” It spoke.

For, somehow, shockingly…or terrifyingly…

The creatures spoke perfect Lombard.

…no. No, this-

Had I deluded myself? A task from a higher being, freedom, mercy… were they sweet lies to satiate my shattered mind? Beasts and demons did not stroll so brazenly through the streets of Bologna, speaking man’s tongue as though they had ripped it themselves from a sinner’s maw. I had…

That fall- the descent of a lost soul into the first Circle of Hell, the ripping and breaking of myself until only a beast remained-

I reeled myself back from the two, breath hissing between sealed fangs. I recalled.

‘Lippi’.

There was another beast to find, that ‘Lippi’ the higher being named. She was that which could free me. Before any blood would be spilled, I would pry from the beasts what information I could.

Anything.

“Hh…” I spread my maw open wide, tongue lashing against my foreign teeth. “Halt…! I need… I yearn to speak with the both of you, and I mean to bring no harm…”

Naught else came to my mind. It would have to do.

The two gangling, grotesque beasts…perked up.

At once, I was heard. Though my tongue rasped and slurred, I was perceived.

The pair of turned their heads, their eyes falling upon me. Both of them were taller than me, mightier than me, staring at me like one would a curiosity left on the side of the road…for the taking.

There was a pause. A terrifying pause, smoke rolling between the beasts at they stared me down.

Until one spoke.

“Uh…excuse me?” The yellow one spoke in…confusion.

It was confused?

No look of predation crossed the faces of either the beasts.

“What’s wrong?” The blue hairless gorilla spoke after another pause. “S’there somethin’ going on?”

“She the Ironworks Guild auditor?” The yellow one murmured.

“Nay, they said to expect a Liepard, not a Buizel…” The Blue one muttered back, neither of them taking their eyes off me. It…he turned his attention back to me. “Pardon, miss, we’re expecting someone in a bit. What was your name?”

For demons they were…

…oddly…polite.

I was… taken aback, in no small amount. They bore no gnashing teeth and sulfuric stench, no gross hungers of unfed fiends.

They were… civil.

…perhaps such was the state of Limbo- souls free of torment and sin, and yet no less trapped within the folds of Hell. Such was natural.

The weight of my psyche shifted- no less unnerved, but now unable to render a cruel gaze on the strange beasts. I coughed as my words resumed.

“I am… Nobildonna Adelaide Imperator de Milan.” The calm emptiness filled my complexion- it was only proper to offer a name with calmness and grace. “I was… I find myself lost, in all senses beyond the physical. Could you let me know where, if any, is a route to Bologna? And…”

My confidence restored, I acted on the strange being’s words.

“Could you tell me where would be a woman named ‘Lippi’?”

The neutral expression on both of their faces contorted a bit, a confused sneer and cocked eyebrow for both.

“No…buh…duh…something, what now?” The blue one asked, scratching his head. “What’s that mouthful yer jabberin’?”

“Bologna…is that a village somewheres abouts? No ‘Bologna’ here, I reckon.” The Yellow one added on. “There here’s the Windscorch Forge Co. Closet village’d probably be something like…Kul’Tor or, eyy…”

But it was the last question that brought them both pause. They glanced at each other in yet more confusion.

“Wait…now…when you say…’Lippi’…are you referrin’ to the Conduit Lippi or are we talkin’ another ‘Lippi’?” The Blue one asked.

“Don’t think that’s even allowed, is it?” The Yellow one put in. ” I don’t think you even can have a reserved Conduit name…is that right?”

“Yeah but ‘Lippi’ weren’t one of them, I don’t think…”

“Wait, we got off topic, what was it you were askin’ again, Miss, er…whatever it was you said.”

A single eyebrow twitched on my face, but nothing else changed amidst my expression. I had overestimated- the beasts were exactly as dull and dimwitted as they looked, if only less violent than expected. I exhaled slowly through my nostrils.

“A single Lippi would be better than none at all… you may call me Nobildonna Imperator. Where could I find this ‘Conduit Lippi’? I had been told that she wished to meet me.”

I left unanswered the question of the nearest way to Bologna, I nary trusted the beasts with the direction to their own hives at this point. They seemed privy to knowledge of the woman, at the least.

The both of them…snorted. Blustered and…laughed at me, in that sort of way rude people did when they were exceptionally bad at holding in their laughter.

“You’re talking to us like we go out to drinks wit’ her come evening! Us, a pair of roughneck metalworkers!” The Blue one chuckled.

“What’re you doing out this far, if you’ve an appointment with the Conduit? I’d figure esteemed-ish folk like yerself wouldn’t step foot out so far from Arceliaze.” The Yellow one put in. “Surely you can’t be lost, there’s no other path between here and the city, we-“

A shout interrupted the two.

“EY! Dute tvevi gedipfu wuo fai?! Me vae qeate i gopove!”

The pair of monsters jumped, all at once looking frightened as they looked back into the cave.

“Ohhh, cack, that’s done it, Foreman’s skeeved.” The Blue one said, patting the yellow one on the shoulder.

A loud, piercing clanking bell echoed from within the cave. There was the sound of creaking wood down the path where I had come from as the blue and yellow monsters began retreating back to the cave.

“Apologies for all the inconvenience, love!” The blue one shouted as he scurried inside. “Shouldn’t have any trouble finding Arceliaze from ‘ere!”

I turned up my nose- which was a mite difficult when I already had to crane my neck up at the creatures- but I reached my hands forward, stuttering.

“Y-you can’t just- I hadn’t dismissed you, and this is important you dense piece of-“

My frantic words dribbled out of my mouth, unable to stop the duo from absconding back to the smoky depths. With my efforts abandoned, I turned towards the creaking sound, hoping to find someone, something that I could hold responsible for this grave mistreatment of a noblewoman.

There, down by the path, below, was a stable and shed, tucked a little ways into the wood. Tools and wood littered the area, along with several stacks of iron beans bound by steel, threaded wire.

But what caught my eye was a carriage, with dark wood, doors on the side and hitched to what looked like a strong horse with brown and…orange fur, oddly. Frankly, the horse looked a bit dirty, but perhaps it was to be expected considering I seemed to be in some laborer’s area-

I felt a bump.

“Pardon.” A voice grunted behind me, footsteps and shuffling sounding off as…

…oh gracious, more beasts came spilling from the cave.

An enormous fluffy dog of red and orange fur. A bizarre yellow creature with pitch black eyes, massive claws and brown spikes on its back. What looked like a turtle with red holes on its ebony back that were smoking.

More and more of these creatures, in single file no less, were parading out of the cave as though it were all just a grand display of bewilderment just for me.

There, trailing just behind a manner of creature I know not how to describe, was yet another creature, the most frightening of all.

Hovering over the ground like a specter but with more of a body akin to a Banshee. Wings like a bee, black arms, piercing red eyes, dangerously sharp mandibles, and a lower body that appeared to be a massive honeycomb that made it look like the creature was wearing some facsimile of a dress.

This new, bee-like beast glared down at me, its hands on its hips, while the other creatures continued on down the path.

“Pup tincso meafovus.” It spat in a language…totally alien to me. “Djo tio?”

My skin began to crawl- indeed, my fur stood on end, and the feeling of such shifting across my entire body was unpleasant. It was the only response I gave to the entourage of wild creatures-

“I cannot…” The words trembled. Had my mind finally failed me? Did the insectoid monsters of this realm speak in tongues, as they seemingly should?

I tried to collect myself…and spoke…

“Ich brauche Ihre Hilfe, Ma’am. Ich bin verloren in diesem… neuen Land, und ein Freund sagte, Ihr ‘Lippi’ könnte helfen…?”

The harsh R’s and E’s of my German were nowhere near fluid with this new tongue, but I kept my back straight and eyes locked on the beast as I spoke. If one foreign tongue would not suffice, then another could do no worse.

“Eh dji debbu…” The floating creature rasped harshly. From its voice, though it was in another language, I could hear a feminine lift. It folded its arms, its piercing red eyes looking aggravated. “Do not speak gibberrish to me. Do you mean to insult cimmottonu Illamini? Do you speak Arcean? Ar-ce-an? Ahmozii Myovz Ko Quazoffi?”

There, just a moment! It spoke Lombard, like the others! Though it seemed as though it did not speak German at all…

I huffed with some worry and some relief- the Lord still had mercy, even here.

The insect seemed to be… the leader of this congregation, somehow- valuable, yet already at risk from my misjudgment.

All this shock, these surprises and this strangeness that surrounded me…

I wouldn’t be left in the dark any longer.

If these beasts spoke the words of man, then…I would simply talk to them as I did those that surrounded me back in Milan.

Such as with nobles of Milan, I knew I must be careful, especially in an alien body. Every tone of my voice would be measure, every facet of my posture examined, each word I spoke scrutinized.

But though I may have known nothing of where I was nor of the nature of these beasts the one thing I did know for certain was conversation.

Her Advantages: Power Position, False Start

My Advantage: Young age

Current State:

Disgusted
Offended

Slights thus far:

Trespassing
Perceived Insult to Language
Forcing to use non-native language

Inferences:

The woman is someone of class and respect
Appears to command the other beasts
‘Ironworking?’
Woman proud of native culture
Based on the fact she has been the only one to speak this unknown language this land may not be her native country

Thus, due to already incurred infractions:

She may find me a suffering child to be protect…alternatively she may find me to be a wretch she wishes to see off as soon as possible.

Test: Is this woman charitable or will she simply want me gone?

Difficult. I mustn’t lend myself into the state of being a wretch- she’ll only see me as a lesser beast, meriting only a discarding. I need to stand strong.

My gaze softened, as though offended- no, scared. I sent the already-soaked and miserable patches of fur on my body into a storm of shivering, letting the insect witness what more I’d endured just to arrive here.

Combing of my fur, grooming myself as though to make myself presentable. Offsets disgust by showing this is abnormal for me.

My paws gripped at my fur suddenly, combing out the tangles of water and ice fragments- making myself more presentable and showing a relative lack of dirt, as though realizing this woman’s importance now that I’ve been spoken to.

Scared look augments conversation in my favor.
Filth may contribute to positive outcome. She may find it pitiable…or just disgusting.

With a quiver in my voice, I resumed.

“Ach, I-I… I am sorry, to offend… Archean still, sits wrong un my tongue…”

I would straight out my spine-

Accent brings with it camaraderie of foreigners in lands not their own. If this IS her native land, however, this approach could have disastrous consequences.

Voice tremble appeals to maternal nature.

Still shaking, still so weary, but doing my supposed best. Each failed syllable of German-immigrant Lombard had been plucked out from the dialect of my German language tutor from years past.

“Conduit Lippi, she ist… woman of Arceliaze. I-I am told she needed to see me-“

Add a little more.

“-und, I need to make sure she ist well.”

My voice trembled yet pleaded, like a mother desperate for her child. My eyes stared with exhaustion, hoping to show I don’t wish to force any aid, other than finding my way.

Final result:

Worst outcome: Sent away, responsibility offloaded to another
Best outcome: Forgiven. Actively helped

The insect beast affixed me with a hard stare only a moment longer…before she sighed, gaze softening.

“Oh…it is quite alrright, I suppose.” The beast conceded, folding her arms, keeping an appearance of some sternness even as her heart visibly melted. She seemed to have an accent of her own, emphasizing certain syllables oddly.

Success. The hierarchy between us was established now. She was above, I was below.

“But what is all this about you wishing to meet the Conduit? My dearr, do you not know how very busy and imporrtant the Conduit is?” The beast asked.

She was talking to me like a child.

Advantageous.

“Why, the Conduit would not even see the likes of me…do yourr parrents worrk at the castle orr…arre you to be an attendant? My goodness whateverr are you doing out herre in that case?”

STATE UPDATE:

Pitying
Consoling
Questioning why I want to see important figure

Infractions:

Previous infractions forgiven
Casually asking to see extremely important person even beyond this woman

Possible windows of opportunity:

Perception of me as a mere child
Parents work at ‘the castle’? (Will this reconcile with me being out here and filthy?)
Working as an attendant? (What am I doing out here?)

Inferences:

Conduit Lippi is an important political figure
This implies ‘Arceliaze’ to be an important city
Arceliaze may not be far but this location is out of the way from Arceliaze. This presents a possible logical disadvantage.

Strenuous. I need to imply some knowing, some belonging with this important woman- but any fabrication runs the risk of outright disbelief. I can’t feign power as an official, or purpose as a servant.

…and yet, there’s pitying in the beast’s voice all the same. As if she is witnessing a runt turned from the litter. Does this new form portray a more feeble, childish persona?

I thought I might, perhaps, give a whine, like the sound of a pup or a stray.

Whine has high chance of garnering more pity. But I must do it correctly or else it might be an annoyance. Give it more dignity.

I shifted strategies and let out the whine, a feeble noise, but one with a semblance of manners and more concern than fear. My paws clenched tight with resolve, and without harshness towards the woman.

The woman seems to be well-versed in multiple languages. If she doesn’t recognize the German words, would she take more offense and think me a liar, assuming my German a made-up language?

I struggled to reconcile what I had already done with what I needed to do from here- I couldn’t back down from the German I had already spoken, such would betray good nature, if not portray madness.

But… I could work with this.

Capitalize on parents angle. Every motion and word would appeal to this woman’s charitable nature, which she has displayed despite a stern mask she had to keep with laborers. Likely has children of her own.

“Mein mother, she ist- ist herbalist, works with ze Conduicy…” I could only hope that word held meaning. “I hast helped collect medicine from ze outlands, mother said zer vast illness to treat in ze Conduicy. I-I must hast fallen into ze river-“

Reason for being out here: established. Used as vector for further pity.

I winced and placed a paw to my head, one eye shut, one fighting through the supposed stress and pain to maintain eye contact.

“Please, I… I can work und stand no longer. Is zer some way to return to Arceliaze, t… to Mother? She would be returning to ze Conduit now…”

Carriage below seems to be easiest vector for the beast to render assistance.

Finally my eyes wandered to that carriage, as though considering, but polite enough not to ask or impose.

“Oh, my darring, please, therre is no need for the whining.” The woman scoffed, putting an end to the noise…though she was, at least, still smiling. “Please trrust that I will help you away from this drreadful place. A girrl of the castle, even if a commonerr, should harrdly be away frrom Arrceliaze and rrolling in the mud. Why, the indignity of it…!”

Yes…what indignity indeed.

“Now then…” The beast-woman said to herself, clasping her hands together. “Let us get you home rright away. Werre it I could go with you. I should love to worrk in the castle rrather than these…mh…filthy ironworks factories. But, ah, there is opportunity and money to be made with the operrating rrights. Ah, not that a child would know of such things.”

She gave a haughty laugh, as though simply…rubbing her condescension in.

…indignity in the highest. Younger Nobildonna Imperator, lady of a finer caliber, student of one of the finest universities of her realm… playing a mockery of a beast-child, to earn the privilege of a layman’s transport. Something shuddered in my gut, but it was quickly stifled. A desperate part of me wanted to take another pause, and assure my façade- but I had neither the time nor the energy to waste, as I seized on the moment.

“I know it- it is an imposition,” I spoke quickly and gently, hands clasping at the front of my body. “Mother is strict to ze work, I only wish to help as ze Conduit needs… I do not wish to intervene on ze work, only- only to return to Arceliaze, to Mother.”

Thankfully, I would not need to suffer this beast and her sly insults long. The massive insect clapped her hands together, looking down at one of the beasts below.

“Ay, ay! Siranini! Pup tveo gedipfu poipvi! Woipo rao!” The bee-woman shouted down to what looked to be some plump, pinkish creature. It turned around, looking up at the two of us…and sighed.

“…Foreman Yulvae…my parents were Illaminian…” It said with a feminine voice. “I’m a 3rd generation…”

“Ah, a pity. I always say you should holiday to yourr old countrry! But neverrmind, Siranae.” The bee-woman, Yulvae, shouted down. “You aren’t doing anything. I have a poor soul that needs to return to Castle Arceali at once. Do you mind accompanying her there?”

“…um…is that part of my duties…?” It seemed to ask…sheepishly.

“Siranae! For shame! She is a Conduicy Herbalist’s daughter!!” Yulvae gasped. “High borns need the help to be there, or else what’s to become of them? Take her at once!”

The pink creature squirmed a little at that. I looked down at the other beast, a hopeful glimmer cast upon my eyes.

“S… Siranini and, Foreman Yulvae, yes…?” I said, my warbling voice saturated with thankfulness. “I will tell Mother, this- it is a kindness overwhelming…”

“Do emphasize Foreman Yulvae of Dsitdove! See there, Siranini, that is charity, and that is how you go places in Arcea!” The foreman said with all pomp and, to not mince words, arrogance.

The pink creature sighed visibly as it walked back up the steps to me, fidgeting a little.

“I don’t doubt it, Foreman…” She muttered quietly, shifting a little.

There was an awkward pause. The pink creature averted her eyes, face totally neutral, as though she didn’t know to talk.

The Foreman gave a gruff sigh of her own.

“Well?!” She bellowed, making the pink one, Siranae, jump. “Take the poor castle girl to the worker’s carriage! On your way! Off, off, and forget not my name!”

“R-right!!” Siranae stammered, only briefly glancing at me before waddling away…clearly presuming I’d follow.

“There, that is a good girl!” The foreman, whose name I may have already been making sure to forget, waved. “Goodbye, Miss Adelaide! And I do hope to see you at the castle soon~!”

‘…yes, yes. Quite good, make your gestures of grandeur in the fleeting moments you are owed.’ I had thought, internally flared with aggravation. ‘You’d have cursed me back to those woods were I known as my truer self, Foreman.’

I kept my scowl down to a mere huff, as though ‘relieved’ to be shown such ‘kindness’.

With a near-cartoonish lilt of joy, I raised a hand- a paw, its damp fur lingering in my view tauntingly, to wave at the foreman while I trailed after Siranae.

“It- it would be my pleasure, and I wish you only brighter days, dear Yulvae…!”

I turned my head from her, almost gagging at the sheer depravity I had enacted upon my name. Some commoner’s daughter, drowning in the wilds for herbs to serve a ‘Conduit’? My only solace was to know I could discard this dreadful concept of myself once I was free from prying eyes.

Siranae quietly sighed under her breath again as she made her way to the carriages below by the shed where many of the departing workers were already boarding.

The brown and orange stallion attached to the carriage turned its head and…

…spoke.

“Five minute call, ’tis!! Out tae Gur’Don!! Don’ nonye dawdle now, if’n you be’in so kind!”

Some of the monsters grunted in acknowledgement as they stepped in the cart. For the size of the cart…it seemed like it’d likely be a bit of a tight fit.

I certainly wasn’t looking forward to it, but with no other choice I followed the pink beast that was now my guide all the same.

“Ah, um- I shall follow, Siranini… Siranae?” I trotted along behind the pink-furred beast, even wringing my paws in a faint show of dismay- but, whenever she could not see me, my gaze was affixed to the carriages. I would simply board, and find my way to a civilized set of beasts, should one exist in this land…

This beast, this ‘Siranae’, hardly acknowledged me. She only turned her head a little, face still neutral…and nodded with a little grunt, continuing to lead me down to the carriages below. Several other monsters were here, boarding different carriages, opening the side doors for one another.

Siranae moved to the back of one of the lines, glancing back at me briefly before turning back. Presumably just to check if I were following.

Well. All the better, that I’d not make acquaintance with a beast. Even if, with that horse-demon’s words, I’d… be sealed in a carriage of them for my transit.

A medical condition, the wetness of my fur, some urgent matter… no, I had neither the resource nor the patience to fabricate some reason why I’d need a separate carriage. Nor did I wish to jeopardize my rightfully-earned safe passage.

“Where…” I spoke up, adding a crackle of strain to my voice, before clearing it. “Where shall we be deposited, once the cart arrives at Arceliaze…?”

The pink beast looked back at me again as I spoke up. Its eyes were wide and it did not flinch at me…but didn’t emote at all. Not annoyance, not aggravation, nothing, just…

…a blank face.

“Um…”

That’s all that was said. There was a grunt and a huff, making Siranae perk up to look at the horse pulling the carriage.

“Din’yai say no dwadlin??” The horse shouted. “On the carriage!”

Siranae looked toward the open door, seeing that everyone had gotten in before her in her brief hesitation.

Without a word, Siranae jumped inside, looking back at me with that same blank stare…and not even offering a hand to help me inside.

Honestly, did any of these beasts have any sense of manners?

Siranae’s lack of vocalization and straight face made her a…frustratingly impossible read. Was she burdened by me? Shy of me? Sick of me? Hated me?

This pink monster, somehow, betrayed nothing. But she did, at least, not seem to want to just abandon me considering how often she checked on me, glanced at me.

The frequent glances were a blessing as much as a curse… I appreciated thoroughly that they wouldn’t throw me to the wind soonest I’d left the foreman’s eyes, but the surveillance meant I couldn’t find a moment to return to myself.

No matter. Seventeen years a façade- a day longer, a day worse meant nothing at all. I gripped the lower edges of the door frame, pulling myself up and into the carriage- I kept my eyes to the flooring.

Just as I figured, the cart was extremely cramped. Most of the beasts inside, all of varying colors and sizes, sat shoulder to shoulder. Many kept their eyes averted so as not to stare at whoever entered.

The cart itself was fine enough. Soft, padded seats and polished wood insides, even for it being long enough to have somewhere about 10 or more of these multi-sized creatures.

I had to shimmy between rows of tightly packed legs to get to where Siranae was, the wood of the carriage creaking with every step. The occasional coughs and snorts of some of the passengers was very…distracting.

There, Siranae pressed herself against a large bear-like beast with odd circular markings, just enough to make room for me to, quite literally, squeeze in.

“I hope to find a comfortable ride with you all, and…” I said with a light huff of resignation. “You shall be free of this imposition in due time.”

As I spoke, the pink beast seemed to…relax.

“Hah…it’s not an imposition. Or…it’s an imposition on my foreman at worst.” She said, suddenly…more comfortable. That was odd. What changed? I could even now pick out little details in her face.

A warm friendliness, that was good. Accommodating. Happy to help and unbothered. It put me a little at ease but…what was with the odd blank stares before??

…peculiar. Perhaps being free of her superior meant she wouldn’t fear a lashing, be it tongue or whip.

I shuffled through the rows of monstrous strangers, fur crawling at the proximity to the beasts… every civil instinct in my misshapen form was suppressed, as I pressed into where Siranae had invited me.

“I… see.” I stared forward at the ground, only briefly letting my eyes wander to her side. “…could you tell me where- where we shall arrive? The approach to Arceliaze, or… nearer the castle- I should hope to return home soon…”

A singular truth past my lips, and it stung all the more within.

“Oh uh…” Siranae grunted as she was interrupted by the shouting final call of the horse-beast, the carriage coming to a shuddering, creaking start. “This carriage stops at Gur’Don. It’s a fair distance to my village from the depot…but you can see Arceliaze from there.”

She was quiet a second. The carriage lurched as it hit a bump in the cobblestone, rattling the both of us together. Already it was getting rather hot and uncomfortable in here with so many other passengers all crammed into such a small space.

To say nothing…of the scent, good god. A metallic, muddy, smoke scent of filth and labor. My noise quivered and twitched from what it endured. I’d cleanse the odors and diseases of the wretched, soot-stained beings in due time.

Thankfully, any ruminations on the lack of sanitation would be interrupted by Siranae.

“So…um…if I may ask.” She said, voice lower. “Why do you really need to go to the castle…?”

…why did she phrase it like that?

My gaze focused on her- and my voice lowered in turn. My faint accent grew ever fainter.

“It… it was not said?” I pressed at the fur on my thighs. “I am… to see Conduit Lippi. And, I am to return home… is a purpose any higher needed?”

“Oh I see…I just didn’t…understand why you were doing all that lying…” Siranae nodded. “Apologies, I…just stop talking when someone’s lying, I get scared they know something I don’t so-“

Oh.

Apparently this Siranae saw right through that façade…

“So…why do you need to see Lippi to go home…?” Siranae asked, leaning forward…speaking perhaps a little too loudly, making the others grunt and begin…

…staring.

“Do you not have any money to take a carriage?” She continued. Asking such a question…in public…!!

“Wha—“

Had I my wits about me, and less exhaustion in my skin, I’d have not let slip that errant noise of disbelief. My eyes darted between her and the other creatures— eyes, far too many eyes centered on me by her mindless cruelty— I could hardly stand to study her when I remained under such scrutiny myself…!

“You would do well to keep your voice down… ‘tis unladylike to draw a crowd by volume alone.” My eyes shot away, to the wall nearest me. “I have said what I must. It little behooves me…”

A weak sigh escaped between my breaths.

“…if paltry lies serve the place of a simple truth. I am told Lippi wishes to see me— I find myself indisposed, and what wealth I should lay claim to is not within my reach— so a simple story is my travel fee to meet Lippi.” I glanced at Siranae once again, still at a whisper. “…in earnest, I cannot say more. I hope such will suffice.”

Siranae stared at me blankly.

But this wasn’t the same neutral, unreadable expression. No, this expression was quite readable.

A dull-witted, gormless stare.

“…huh?”

Oh dear…mother would often say it wasn’t polite to talk down to the poor but…

…well…

“What does ‘unladylike’ mean?” She asked, as if missing the rest. “Don’t worry, I’m a lady, you didn’t get it wrong!”

A cough from across the carriage. Was that directed at the both of us or…?

The carriage bumped. It was very hard to really focus on-

Oh gracious that beast sneezed into his hands and…oh, no no, look away, quickly, banish the fact he wiped his hands on himself from my mind.

It had to be those disgusting fiends around her, clouding my mind with thoughts of illnesses yet to be discovered, but my perception had failed me twice over. I had thought so briefly that I’d been cornered by the keen eye of a beast— a single faulty step from returning me to her foreman and sentencing me to those smoky depths—

But, no, no. Somehow, Siranae found herself more clueless than a noblewoman discarded in a stream. There was something pitiable about seeing the common intellect so close, so personally.

“I meant… it demonstrates poor manners. Speak delicate and fair, as though you wished not to wake an infant.” I stared into her, a mite of sweat on my brow for the strain of expanding a girl’s lexicon. Siranae, for her part, only nodded but clearly did not understand.

“Okay…but what about you wanting to see Lippi…?” The pink beast asked, leaning a little closer and thus prompting me to lean a little back away from her. “I’ve never seen Lippi, myself. She doesn’t do communions like Conduits are suppose to. Are you friends with her?”

“Mmhh…?” Another beast grumbled, side eyeing us both.

“No. I was… given a task to meet her.” I said, quietly, trying to get Siranae to match my volume. “Is there some reason I should not be allowed to?”

I hadn’t wished to gift that detail, that unknowing of what seemed common knowledge, unto her— but she seemed harmless with such crucial things. Better that she hear it honestly, rather than shout any louder of lies and Conduits.

There was a snort and a laugh from a nearby beast, though he didn’t say anything. Siranae only blinked in confusion.

“Well, Poke’mon don’t usually just walk in the castle and talk to the Conduit I don’t think…oh! Unless they’re a noble or businessowner!” Siranae blurted merrily. “Are you a noble?”

“Mucked up in filth n’ shite as she is? Bloody well doubt it.” A voice laughed, eliciting a few giggles. Siranae furrowed her brow.

“Hey!! I’ve seen nobles covered in dirt before!”

“Where?”

“Agriculture Guild!”

“You ditz, those’re Overseers not nobles. The nobles don’t hardly even see the farms they own.”

“Oooh!!” Siranae nodded. “So you’re an Overseer! Who tasked you to see the conduit? Are you delivering something? I’m sorry you got so lost…!”

The pink beast, to her credit, did not say a word mockingly. Every syllable dripped with earnestness and purity.

That hardly made it better.

Blessed be this demonic fur, for it obscured the veins that protruded from my brow. The monsters of the coal-stuffed mines- the heathens of blood and steel… they speak of knowing nobility? They drench themselves in dirt, in filth of their own making, stuff a carriage with more noise than worth, and they laugh down a lady for demonstrating her grace?!

“Aha…” I choked down a laugh. “I do not… oversee. A lady does not stroll into the fields, muddying her shoes and straining her legs. A lady refines herself like the finest gold. I am not a noble of Arceliaze- I do not associate with such… creatures. I come from elsewhere, and you would be wise to know this.”

I smiled weakly, skin trembling.

“You are-” My words called out to the mocking voice. “Quite keen, are you not? Parsing nobility from leadership, kings from queens… an Overseer beyond a commoner.”

I reclined in the carriage seat, stroking down some of the ruffled fur on my arms.

“It is quite helpful for the masses to know their superiors, lest they squabble and find themselves reined back into their place. I applaud you, so, so thoroughly.”

My paws held up next to each other, offering three claps, before glancing away- there was little dignity in such vitriol, but they did not deserve my dignity, they would not accept it…

“Hm…” Siranae stuck her lip out thoughtfully as I finished speaking to whoever had mocked me. “…you’re a bit…rude. I suppose you are nobility, then…”

Another round of laughter sounded off in the carriage, though Siranae only looked clueless as to why they were laughing.

“Ah, but! It’s okay! I’ll take you home to the New District where all the other nobles live!” The Pink creature said, almost sound as though she’d found a lost cat, though her voice was hard to hear amid the snickers and rough shoving. “So if you’re not from Arceliaze are you…from Illaminamo, like the foreman?”

“Oh cack, more Illamini nobles.” Yet another voice gruffed. “Regular folk, fair’nuff but the stuffy’uns, we’ve plenty!”

They laughed. They laughed? My damp figure pressed into Siranae for stability, feeling a beast’s fur tingling betwixt that on my own skin. It all only fed the flame lashing at my innards.

The carriage bumped again. Every beast lifted a hand to hold onto a rope that ran off the carriage ceiling, running along the whole space. Before I could ask what they were doing the carriage tilted forward, making me lean and fall towards Siranae. I frowned, trying to push away from her.

“Not Illamini, no, no… I tried to explain myself to your kin before- it seemed to be… beyond, your capability to understand?” My posh, powerful scoff came as a trembling laugh instead, my eyes darting across the beastly faces as if to pin down a single cruel speaker amidst them. “I am Nobildonna Adelaide Imperator de Milan-! I am Lombardi, you all understand? The birthland of your own tongue runs in my veins, and yet it seems… difficult for the creatures to understand that.”

I looked back to Siranae who was only giving me an overly warm smile.

“I would never be unjustly rude, I apologize for you coming to that idea. I have simply had… an ordeal of a day, seeking to come home. So lovely, this place, so lovely.“

“Yeah, it is a really nice place…!” Siranae said, looking down at me with such a genuine smile as I lied on her, even as her voice was partially drowned out by all the snickering laughter of the other carriage-goers.

The carriage JOLTED, pushing me further into Siranae. The girl looked up as the carriage stopped, a few workers outside opening the doors. Already, a few of the beasts in the carriage were getting up and shimmying their way out.

“Gur’Don! Out ya’lot!” The voice of the horse beast bellowed up at the front of the cab as beasts shuffled past us, some of them flashing wicked, sharp-toothed smiles at me.

I looked up at the passing beasts, trying to pry myself from Siranae. The larger, lumbering figures laughed and insulted me as they exited.

“See you ’round, Nobbly Donny.” They mocked, shoving past. Siranae, meanwhile, took no notice, gathering up a large canvas satchel with a large heart-shaped clasp.

“Here’s our stop, Adeliade!” The pink beast said, standing up with a little bounce to get off behind the others that disembarked.

…my body could not move. No longer was it the crushing abyss or the wearing realization of this form, only- sheer flares of righteous fury in the pit of my stomach, leaving me stunned. I fell partially to my side as Siranae left me, before scrambling upright again.

What- what right had they to-??

“I… I understand, but-” I huffed and panted, moving onto quaking legs while I tried to keep pace with the pink beast. “You understand, yes? One of you must understand Milan, or- Nobildonna, any of this-“

As I stumbled from the vehicle’s doorway, my weakened state almost led me to collapse from the sudden descent.

“Why are these… things of Arceliaze ignorant of all class and culture-?!”

Siranae looked back, watching as I nearly stumbled to the cobblestone. She stepped back a little, as though ready to help me up if I fell. The others that disembarked completely ignored me, going on about their way.

“You’re saying a lot of strange words…” Siranae frowned. “Are you okay? Did you get hit on the head when you fell in the river…?”

Behind us, the workers closed the doors again, the horse beast giving a final call before setting off in a flurry of dust and creaking wood.

And as we both stood there, I was able to get a good look at the world beyond.

The both of us stood on a cobblestone square, a statue of some beast or another holding what seemed to be a spear sitting in the center. All around the square were planted flowers of several colors, certainly odd considering the time of year. Flags of reds and blues fluttered in the cold winter air, hanging above and running from the statue to a few of the buildings.

For indeed there were buildings here, not merely caves. Buildings of brick and clay, pillars painted in spiraling white and blue. Gold trimmings gave a dull sheen in the overcast light.

But strangest of all was the fact it was all on an incline. And when I looked behind I saw why:

For we stood on a hill, on the side of a valley. A deep valley. A vast valley.

Like a collossal bowl, stretching far into the dizzying horizon.

And there, I saw it immediately: at the bottom of the bowl was a city. Spread the entire bottom of the Valley. Red roofing shimmered. Puffs of smoke billowed from various locations. And all of it surrounded what looked to be a gargantuan castle with a golden dome.

From this vertigo-inducing vantage I could see paths upon paths snaking from the city, up the hills of the valley, where tiny collections of buildings could be seen dotting the hillsides, one of which I no doubt found myself in.

I heard a footstep by me, Siranae stepping up.

“See? I told you! You can see Arceliaze from Gur’Don!” She said with a soft smile.

I stared out from my feet, up and across the declining terrain- clear reflections of an eerie facsimile of the real world glazing across my eyes- quivering at the visage of flags, of identity and creation that could not belong to such monsters- burning with the gleam of a golden structure at its head, like a razor of luxury bleeding the soul from my weary eyes.

This was some… civilization. They did not dig for charred stones and meat in a hole, they did not simply clamber off to dens laden with dirt, they occupied castles with nobility-

This was not… Lombardy. Not Bologna, not the well-trodden lands of the Kingdom of Italy. Not the land of a fair Nobildonna.

Arceliaze. Land of that… ‘God’, and its ‘Lippi’. And I was some filthy, forgotten part of it.

“I-” My voice fluttered. “I did not think… to find myself in this place. Peculiar.”

My eyelids shook, burned.

“Where would one… find a map? Or, an inn- a parlor, perhaps…”

“Hmmm…where do you get a map?” Siranae hummed to herself, fidgeting with the strap of her satchel. “I’ve kind of lived here all my life so I never really needed one.”

She cast her eyes around the surrounding buildings, looking at the signs. Here, too, the language was unknown to me on the signs. In fact, the letters themselves were completely alien, like nothing I’d ever seen before.

“Umm…do you see a bookstore or visitor center around here?” Siranae asked. “Gur’Don gets lots of Poke’mon from up north touring Arceliaze. Bookstores usually have everything needed, though.”

“A-a bookstore, of course… although I seem to- to be unfamiliar, with the… dialect…?” I stepped forward, moving to nowhere in particular. “My eyes are still… sore, from the river. I might rest them a while, and ask for a guide…”

I gripped a paw into a fist, swiping away some… uncouth, improper wetness on my cheek- on the other, too-

“I’m not seeing the r… railways, the steam engines would be a more expedient route home…”

Indeed, no railways. No train’s whistle. Though there was indeed culture here, so much of it seemed…rather…primitive.

The pink beast turned, her sky blue eyes looking at me curiously. The curled…things hanging from her ears twitched and tingled.

“What do you mean by dialect? What’s a…rail…huh?” Siranae shook her head for what seemed the umpteenth time. “Adelaide…you keep making stuff up as though all of it is obvious…”

She paused, tilting her head a little and looking…very intently at me…at my chest, strangely enough.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Siranae asked, furrowing her brow. “Your heartbeat is going crazy…it’s really loud. Are you okay? You don’t need to worry, I’ll help, I promise! I can guide you if you need!”

Thump. Th-thump.

“What?” I whipped a glare over to her. “You aren’t-“

Th-thump, th-thump

I reeled back, harsh breaths coming from my words.

“Y-you can’t hear my heartbeat, you- you fiend-” A disgusting paw laid across my upper body, trying to shield my chest from her cruel invasion.

Th-thump- th-thump-

“You beasts just want to trap me here, don’t you? There is no Lippi, you-” I stumbled backwards, my vision shaking as I tried to fixate on the monster. “You’ll loop me ’round this stone forest until I expire, never once nearing Milan- isn’t that right?!”

“Ah!! Oh no! I said a bad!” Siranae blustered, now also panicking as she tugged at her ears. “Don’t, um, panic! You’re going to be okay! Look, the castle is right there, see?”

The pink beast shifted her feet anxiously, clearly distressed, not helping whatsoever even as she tried.

“I don’t want to trap you, please don’t say such mean things!!”

The altercation, once again, was starting to turn some heads of passerby.

Th-thum-th-thump-

I didn’t heed that taunting instruction. That pyrite-clad monstrosity meant nothing, it was only a distraction from those- those wretched eyes latching to me. Beasts, birds, scales and claws- watching, waiting–

“And what’s to happen when I arrive there? Another chance to spit upon this girl, to scrutinize her scruffy, mangled fur and treat her a commoner?” A weak laugh. “I should think not. No, no, Lippi shall come to me if she yearns to make my acquaintance. I am not her plaything, not her vassal– not some beast of Arceliaze, come to heel-“

I turned quickly, staring down the road at empty space.

Th-thump-th-

That dreaded pulsation rang in my ears, and I felt myself begin to walk, paw aching on the hard stone below me, aching, quaking-

“H-wait…! I thought…” Siranae whined, looking over her shoulder towards the city, then back to you as you walked down the cobblestone road. “I…I don’t know. I’ve never been to the castle, I…”

The pink beast was silent as I left her behind.

“D-do you still need help…?” Siranae stammered, wringing her hands together.

“Yes, you can help! You can tell me what road goes to Milan!!” I spat back out, throat growing raw from frustration. “Or Lombardy, or the Kingdom at all- or why I’m here, amongst these- these monsters and creatures that walk the streets-“

I tried to glare down the pink beast, but… my eyesight had faded. I stared only upon a pink-and-cream tinted fuzz, flowing in and out of focus, as my heart pounded at the edges of my skull. My cheeks wettened again.

“I don’t know! I don’t know any Lombardy or Milan! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!!” Siranae shouted back, devolving into a panic, unable to figure out what to do.

She waddled forward, but held her ears down, as if trying to block out the ROAR of my heartbeat.

“You stare me down like I am mad for witnessing a land of madness!! You can’t, you can’t, you can’t, y-yhh-!” I huffed louder, yet louder, feeling the strength draining from my bones. “Hha- hh-“

“You keep being mean and saying weird stuff and getting mad and I dunno what to do!! I-!!”

My legs buckled beneath me- and the blurred landscape thudded into the dirty grays of a roadside.

All of my fury, all of that righteous disgust, it fell to black within my mind. My hissing breaths rolled across the cobbled ground.

Against every thrashing urge in my body… I passed into unconsciousness, mind adrift in dismay.

The last thing I heard was a horrified gasp before darkness enveloped me.

~ CHAPTER 2 ~

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