Arin collapsed onto the uneven ground, gasping for air. The cold wind from the forest filled his mouth and lungs, harsh and painful, like freezing water submerging a drowning man. His heart hammered in his chest, and his entire body ached from injuries, old and new.
And yet, he couldn't afford to rest here. It wouldn't take long for the scythe-wielding man to tear off those vines and follow him though the collapsed wall. Arin knew he had to keep moving. He had put some distance between them. He had to find a place to hide.
He couldn't help but groan as he pushed himself off the ground. With what felt like the last of his strength, he scrambled to his feet, then glanced over his shoulder to see –
Nothing.
His legs were already poised to run, but he stumbled to a stop.
Wait… what?
Arin blinked hard. Then, squinting through the gap in the wall, he blinked again.
Was the dim moonlight playing tricks on his eyes? Was it the angle?
…Was that terrifying man hiding off to one side, scythe held aloft, hoping to take him by surprise?
…
Arin quickly took a few steps back, eyes still fixed on the broken section. He listened intently, hoping to pick up on some sound – any sign that would tell him where his attacker was. Heart racing, he waited.
Still, nothing.
Arin remained there in silence, rooted to the spot. There was a strange sense of unease unfurling in the pit of his stomach, different from the fear-fueled adrenaline of the last few minutes. Eventually, he steeled his nerves and took a small step forward.
'Sir… Sir Garan?' he called out cautiously. He didn't know that hulking figure's name, but at this point, he might as well have called that too.
In any case, there was no response forthcoming.
All of a sudden, Arin let out the breath he'd been holding with a whoosh. He walked right up to the gap in the wall and looked straight into the village. He could see the twisted posts and decaying buildings in the distance, exactly the same as he'd seen from within. Aged trees dotted the scene, and overgrown weeds throttled the ground.
There were no other signs of life.
On an impulse, Arin turned on his heel and ran towards the rusted gates at the front of the settlement. His sandals thudded on the ground, kicking up bits of gravel that clattered softly in the night. Panting slightly, he skidded to a stop before them, and gazed at the scene before him.
There was no movement. No clamoring of angered villagers. No sentries awaiting his arrival. No friendly faces looking out for his well-being.
All he saw was an abandoned village, reclaimed by nature and weathered by time.
It was quite apparent that no one had lived in Lullwater for a very long time.
Still panting, Arin dropped to his knees.
*
At some point, the deep black of the night sky had started taking on the slightest hint of a very dark blue – a barely perceptible suggestion of the daybreak to come. Arin sat slumped against the outer part of the village's boundary wall, knees pulled up to his chest.
He kept his eyes closed, breathing deeply. The cool air filled his lungs in a steady rhythm.
Despite his troubled night and the exhaustion creeping through his limbs, Arin had been unable to fall asleep. Even so, he stubbornly kept his eyes sealed shut, hoping to recharge some of his strength.
His first night in this strange world had been harrowing, to say the least. Arin didn't know how many more such nights he'd be able to take. He didn't know when he'd be able to return home, but he hoped vehemently that it wouldn't be too long.
He didn't know how exciting Rin's life usually was, but part of him was worried he'd have worn this body through by the time it got back to him. The things he had experienced would've been enough to raise anybody's blood pressure to the extreme.
And who knew whether this world had diuretics.
And so, listening to the soft rustling of the wind in the trees, Arin remained where he was.
At the first hint of daylight – the palest trace of silver emerging over the treetops to the east – something finally changed.
Arin felt the small, cool body of the lizard twitch under his sleeve. Cracking open his eyes, he peered down to see the tip of a slender, silvery tail peek out as it slowly unwound from around his arm.
He pushed back the fabric, and couldn't help but smile as the lizard sluggishly crawled onto his open palm and widened its tiny mouth to yawn.
'Finally awake? Took you long enough, lazy thing.'
Almost immediately, the creature stilled, its relaxed demeanor melting away. Something in its gaze sharpened, and it twisted its body to bite at the tip of Arin's forefinger.
'What the – ! Ugh, never mind. I'm not gonna argue with a damned lizar – hey! Ow! Stop it! Let go!'
Arin rolled on the ground, fighting off the lizard that had suddenly multiplied several times in size to take his entire hand into its mouth.
'This isn't my body! You know this isn't mine! What's Rin gonna do, when he gets back to find his hand missing, huh?! Idiot!'
'Hiss!'
A few more rounds of wrestling followed, during which the lizard simply kept growing in both size and strength. In view of this unfair advantage, and given the fact that his injuries were starting to protest again, Arin had to finally concede defeat.
Lying there, panting, as the lizard smugly declared victory from atop his chest, Arin watched as the color of the sky gradually lightened. The moon, still visible, was now starting to fade as sunlight took its place. There were even a few early birds already dotting the horizon.
On their way to terrorize some early worms, no doubt.
Arin sighed deeply.
'I'm glad you're up, little guy.'
??
The lizard was clearly stunned by this sincere confession. As Arin finally moved to sit, it obediently crawled off his chest and onto his shoulder, even re-adjusting its size in its daze.
Arin stood up, bending to pat off the dust on his clothes. 'Are you feeling well enough to fly back?' he asked.
The lizard blinked… in affirmation?Probably.
Shaking small pieces of gravel loose from Rin's curly hair, Arin chose to believe he was correct.
'Perfect. Then let's get out of here.'
With slow steps, he walked in the direction of the orchard. He hadn't forgotten about picking an apple for the white-haired man's test – that was why he'd come here in the first place.
When they finally took to the sky, the lizard now a winged horse, Arin couldn't help but glance down at the village behind the boundary wall. Far below, he could see the familiar patchwork of roofs, clusters of buildings, and dirt roads threading through the scene.
It was what he'd first seen.
An empty village.