*Drip, Drip* Ari slowly opens her eyes as water drips onto her face. Although still blurry, she saw a shadow looming above her. Because her mind was still fuzzy from just waking up, she paid no attention to the shadow above her until she noticed the hot air enveloping her face. She came to her sense =s and looked up. There was a baby animal sitting there, and it stared at her wagging its tail. She sat up and stared back at the cub, completely nonchalant because of assuming the cub was a funny-looking dog.
"Doggo"
"Woof"
"puhahaha, cmere doggo"
Running into her arms, the cub licked her face, and they happily frolicked in the tall grass. After a few minutes, they both laid back on the grass, worn out from playing. Ari had forgotten all that had transpired in the hallway and was peacefully dozing off.
*BANG, CRACK*
She was alerted by the sound of trees tumbling down in the forest. It was until now that she realized that she was in a forest and was unfamiliar with her surroundings. But she decided to act upon her instinct rather than fear, and she brushed off her clothes and headed towards the noise coming from the depths of the dark green forest.
The cub sped along, following near as she trotted through the trees and curves of the maze forest. There were still loud crashing noises, so it was easy for her to determine a direction to follow despite the dark forestry. As they trotted along, there seemed to be more and more light entering the forest, and soon they came to an opening somewhat like a clearing. However, this clearing wasn't made naturally. The sudden light from the clearing shone in Ari's eyes and momentarily blinded her. She re-opened her eyes and saw a boy around her age brandishing a sword whilst fighting what seemed to be a man with a dog's head. With her curiosity piqued and interest in the dog-man rising, she unconsciously edged closer to the battlefield. The boy, still unaware of the intruders, merrily battles the dog-man.
"Hey ugly"
"Insolent human, how dare…."
"There's a bone over there."
"WHERE?!!"
"Heh"
He pounced on the distracted dog-man and laid a heavy blow to the nape of its neck, consequentially killing it.
"Nice. That's one kobold added to my…."
"KYAA!!"
He spun around to the sound of the scream, and his eyes met with another kobold who was holding little Ari hostage.
"Hehe, Boy, surrender if you want this little girl to live."
'Tch, what a pain. Who is this girl anyway, and where'd she come from?'
"Fine, I surrender."
The boy laid down his sword and put his arms up. Gloating in victory, the kobold began strolling towards the boy. He then stopped, staring intensely at the boy.
"um…" The boy began while fidgeting and taking off his shirt.
"I've…. I've never really done it with a guy before.. So please be gentle with me."
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TAKE ME FOR, HUMAN!!!"
'heh chance'
The kobold had momentarily released Ari in a fit of rage, so the boy took his chance and pulled out a hidden knife.
"Checkmate"
Before the kobold knew what had happened, he had been struck clean in the head.
"Blegh, Jeez, I hope I never have to say that again."
The boy took note of Ari, who had been crying the entire time.
"Oi, little punk, who are you anyway?"
*Sniff* Who me?
They stared at each other as if they had been acquainted for a very long time…