||???'s POV||
{Pant~ Pant~ Pant~}
It hasn't even been 5 minutes, but I'm already tired and my body feels numb and cold. As I endure the aching and sluggishness state of my sorry body, I fell face-first towards the floor of this disgusting smelling nest, forced again to sniff on the smell of manure.
I flipped myself over to comfort myself, still panting from fatigue.
This sky never ceases to amaze me. I don't know if it's dusk or dawn, but I don't care if it's neither. This golden sky looks astonishing, it makes me forget the pain in my body, even if just for a moment.
If I were to be honest to myself, I don't want to die here. Unfortunately, my body won't move anymore even when I forced it to. If only someone, anyone helped me. I prayed on my mind but no one came.
Since when did I learn how to pray? Pretty sure I was the atheist type of guy because I hate God. If there ever was one, I will be hating Him, blame Him for abandoning me like this. Well, it's not like there was a God, nor should I be blaming him for being in this sorry state. However, who else besides God can make something like this?
All that talk made me feel cold and uncomfy. The rough texture of the nest is not comfortable to lie on.
Sleep. If I sleep, all of this will go away.
Slowly, I closed my eyes. I felt regretful that I would die, since I still feel something deep within me that's forcing me to live, but it's hopeless.
{THUD!}
Oh, there's someone who came.
He's strong, he's defeating the bird with just his fists.
But it's too late. I- feel sleepy...
My consciousness drifted away with the pain and uncomfortable feelings.
Finally, some peace.
{Whisper~}
Huh?
{Whisper~ Whisper~}
Who is this?
"Hey, don't you remember us?" A familiar voice spoke to me with sorrow. It was a girl's.
Who-
"Man, I'm disappointed of you. You forgot US of all people?" Another familiar one spoke. It was a boy this time.
These people, who are they? They are familiar, yet I have no recollection of them.
"Hey boy, wake up now. You've slept for too long-" Yet another familiar voice spoke. A deep and raspy voice, it must be someone old.
So I was dreaming all along? This is one messed up dream. I'm glad it was just that.
Suddenly, a light shone in the middle of the darkness, revealing a silhouette of three people. They are asking me to wake up. I don't know why, but I miss them. I should go-
"Hey, wake up-"
"Yeah, I will just wait a-"
{Giggle~}
"Hey! Hey! Wake up!"
"I said wait, that hurts you kno-"
{Giggle~}
"WAKE UP!"
{SLAP!}
"OW!" I yelled reflexively due to the sharp pain I felt from my cheeks. I feel a soft and warm feeling. This bed is nice, but this pain is not.
"Oh, he woke up (he was talking in his sleep, weird)." A little girl said as if her toy just broke. The girl that had side tails for her black hair and face with freckles- looks like the sassy, annoying type of girl. Oddly enough, she had a wolf's pair of ears standing out from the sides of her head. Is she a werewolf?
"Told you I'm the strongest among the three of us!" A little runt yelled proudly. He had a ponytail for his white hair, long ears, fair skin and a wide-ass mouth- the crass and dense looking type of kid. So he's an elf (Too tired to be surprised). Still, another annoying little runt. "Look at him, he's really fat and ugly! HAHAHA-"
"I-I think he's cute and cuddly though." A girl with short blue hair shyly mumbled. She's hugging a teddy bear, fidgeting around before avoiding my gaze. There's no reason to be annoyed by her since there's nothing special about her.
I sat upright in a sluggish manner. My legs would ache horribly whenever I attempted moving it, but I can endure it and stand up. Still, I didn't because I feel lazy. My left shoulder is bandaged and tended to, along with my entire torso all the way down to my feet. Looks like they patched me up.
This room, it has crooked and uneven walls with stalactites forming on the ceiling. The smell was musty and earthy, the ground was damp and the air was warm and humid accompanied with the constant sound of dropping water. Is this a cave?
The kids called for an unknown person by the name of Estrid, shouting like crows and reporting that I just woke up. These kids are too loud, especially the elf and wolf kid.
Moments later, a tough, expressionless-looking lady came up to me after gesturing the kids to leave the room.
She had an eyepatch on her right eye and a bright green eye on her left. Her hair was dyed with maroon with a tint of crimson red and her face reminiscent that of an angel if I would ever describe one. Her physique was tall for a woman, no she's just plain tall. Humongous. Reminds me of someone I knew but I forgot who. She's also muscular but not bulky and- OH MY GOD 'THOSE' (pertaining to her badonkers) ARE HUGE!
I shouldn't get distracted by that. Something about her air is different. The feel around her was chaotic and dangerous. Despite my interpretation of her, I couldn't help but get bewitched by her angelic beauty. I have no recollection of my past but I can confidently say that she is the most beautiful woman I have seen.
"Don't look at me like that kid, you're like 13 years old." she spoke with a boyish demeanor. Her voice was a little deep for a girl, yet still feminine and soothing like an angel's.
Nervously, I snapped back to reality and sat uptight. Wait, how did she got my age right? Wait- I remember my age? Well I'm goddamn young then!
"Anyways, are you fine now?" she asks.
"Ah, y-yes." I replied nervously. Why am I nervous? Damn, her chest has so much mass that my eyes are gravitating into it.
"Good. Now, can you tell me your name?" she gave me a cup filled with a drink that I've never saw before. "Give it a sip, it's good."
{Sip~}
This drink... it's refreshingly zesty. I like it.
"T-thank you-" I replied, still shy from all the hospitality despite me ogling at her earlier (I even take peeks every now and then). "-I cannot remember my name though (but I do remember my age)."
"How did you get here?"
"I don't even know. I just woke up at some weird place then got dragged away by a huge bird for breakfast." I said while caressing my left shoulder.
"Hmmm. Do you remember anything that happened before you woke up at this place?"
"I-"
I tried to dig my brain of my earliest memories, but to no avail. All I could remember was scraps and fragments of random moments in my life, such as reading a book, writing assignments, watching birds in the garden, spending time with friends-
Spending time with friends?
"!!!"
That's right! I was with my friends! But what were we doing? Before that, who were my friends? Damn it! I can't remember a single thing, not even their faces!
Somehow, an unpleasant feeling, both relieved and uneasy dwelled unto me. My feelings were mixed, but why?
"Did you remember something?" she asked me, presumably concerned based on her voice but I couldn't tell since her expression remained the same. What a truly stoic woman.
"Nothing important. J-just... fragments, of some moments in my life." I wiped my tears off and smiled to feign stability. That feeling again. I'm worried.
She drew the distance between my face and hers closer to stare at me earnestly, as if she's looking through my soul before sighing.
{Flushed~}
"Umm-"
"Try to remember later. You must be starving, I'll go fetch you something to eat. Stay there and rest." she told me before leaving, still having the same tough expression.
"Thank you." I smiled at her genuinely this time.
She took one final gaze at me before leaving.
Finally, I gained some leisure time. Surprisingly, I'm alive.
I'm... alive...
{Clench~}
My chest ached and I got lost in thought. I really survived. I don't know if I'm supposed to be relieved, happy, nervous, worried. There's a lot of things to process.
The events earlier were not mere dreams. The dragons and creatures I encountered were reality, and so is my amputated left arm.
Slowly, I tucked myself back into the bed. It took some time for me to snap back into reality and rest. It will take some take some time to digest all of this. I need some rest. Really good rest.