A beam of light fell from the sky and landed onto the wheat fields in the dead of night. The stars twinkled slowly as a child, no older than one started to cry.
"Waahh!"
The grasses of wheat started to shuffle as a mouse-like snout poked out from the brushes. The snout sniffed the air for a while until it retreated back in.
"Honey! Do you hear that?"
A figure, no taller than 130cm crawled out from the bushes. The figure had ash grey fur covering it's entire body from snout to tail. It wore a simple tunic made from a thin fabric that covered most of its body. Following closely behind was a similar looking figure, this one wearing a simple dress holding a lamp.
"I...Is that a child?! A human one too!"
The female figure carefully picked up the baby and cradled it gently in her arms. The baby cries died down as it curiously tugged on the whiskers of the creature.
"Gah!"
"There there...who's a good...boy?"
The female carefully tore a part of her dress and wrapped it carefully around the baby.
"Channel...sleep child..."
Her sweet voice calmed the baby down as it slowly fell asleep. The cloth glowed slightly as did the lamp she had placed on the ground. The baby's face twitched as she rocked him side to side. She giggled watching the subtle actions of the baby. Standing behind her was the male unsure of what to do.
"What do we do with it?"
The woman glared sternly at her male counterpart. She pulled the baby closer to her chest as she spoke.
"What do you mean 'it'?"
The male glanced at her with a strong sense of uncertainty.
"W...What do you mean?! That is a human. A human! We are beastmen! How can we raise it? We don't even know what they eat!"
"And abandon him here?!"
The woman bared her teeth as her claws extended from her paw.
"How many times have we tried. For a whole 5 months we have tried countless and countless times. And for what! Now if you are telling me a literal baby landing in our fields is not a sign then I don't even know what to believe."
The man took a step back. He seemed mortified at the preposition.
"So you are saying that you'd rather delay the inevitable...You do know tha...."
The man stopped before he he could finish the sentence. He saw the desperate look on his partner's face. He felt that if he had completed the sentence, he would regret it immediately.
"F...Fine...only this one...We'll take him to the burrow."
The woman cradled the baby in her arms as she rubbed her cheeks against its.
"A name...a name...how about...Rei..."
The couple trudge their way into the carefully concealed burrow within the wheat field. Little did they know, their life had just turned for the better.
-
My name is Rei. I have neither a middle name nor a family name. Just Rei. Recently, I have been having strange dreams. At first it seem quite vague but now it is becoming ever so clear. I don't know much but it seemed quite depressing. Today I am turning 5 so very soon, I will mark my existence to this word.
"Rei! Dinner is ready!"
A mouse-like figure enters through the door in an apron. This is my mother. I walked out to the familiar scent of porridge. Sitting by the table is an older figure wearing a pair of spectacles reading the paper. This is my father. He is a much colder man. He has never really done much to care about me but deep inside, I know he is a good person.
"Today is your big day."
I feel a large paw press against my head as another figure walked in. She is around 10 years older than me. She has an appearance closer to me than my parents. She is wearing a tunic with leather padding which covers her waist, just above her cat-like tail.
"Yes big sis Lyra," I call out cheerfully.
Lyra is a adventurer who is staying for a quest. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. As she sat down, mother had just finished cooking.
We had a traditional beastmen dinner. Porridge with a side of goat milk an cheese. As the sun set and the moon started to appear, I felt a ringing voice in my head.
"Wake up!" the voice screams.
"Huh?"
I turn around but I see nothing.
"What was that?"
"What was what dear?"
My mother looks at me in intrigue. Did she not hear the voice? This is strange. I could have swore that I heard something.
"You have to wake up!"
There it is again. I can hear it as loud as day. As I turn around a paw is pressed up against my head.
"A...are you sick? Do you have a fever."
My mother looks worried. I shake my head to say that I am fine however deep inside, I am not so sure. I head upstairs to the entrance of the burrow. The moon at this time of the day is beautiful. Sometimes, I wish I can just go there to escape.
"I wonder how I will awaken..."
Will I become an archer like Lyra or would I become a warrior like father. Suddenly the moon glowed red. No, it did not glow red, my eyes perceived it as so. A searing pain coarse through my body as collapse onto the ground. An image of a large steel object is imprinted to my mind as a familiar voice rings once again.
"Wake up!"
This voice, it isn't the same as the usual voice. It is MY voice.
"REI! Are you okay!"
I feel a pair of warm paws lift me up. It isn't my mothers, that I am certain.
"Is there a different awakening for Humans!? What do we do! We are Beastmen!"
These are the last words I hear as I fall unconscious. What are Humans? What are Beastmen? In the end, my questions were left unconscious as my mind faded to black.