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Leo

“FUCKING MAGIC!?” The words left Leo's mouth as soon as the necklace started translating, and the outburst caused the woman in front of him to tense up a bit.

Leo realized that he still had a sword pointed at him, and came to the conclusion that 'self preservation' trumped ‘nerding out’, so he calmed himself and decided to think about the possibilities later.

Leo’s arms raised a little more as the woman pricked his neck with the tip of her sword, just to remind him of his current situation. “Uh, apologies for the outburst. My name is Leo, and I have been lost for the past two and a half days.” He introduced himself with a slight unease in his voice, but tried his best to show proper composure.

The woman raised an eyebrow, or what would pass for one on a snake woman.“Hm... My name is Elaria, border guard in Selarias royal army. You are trespassing on her majesty's soil, so Identify your race and affiliation.” Elaria demanded with a wary stance, but Leo could swear that her eyes looked almost hungry, which made him pray that they didn't eat sentients.

Leo winced slightly, as Elaria pricked his neck with the sword to provoke an answer. “Well my race is human, and as for affiliation, I guess I don't have one anymore.” He responded with a slight frown, realizing that he might be the only human on the planet.

Elaria cocked her head, while her eyes studied Leo with a sharp intensity for a few moments, as their glossy shine caught the light while they traced over him. “Then what land did you hail from?” She asked him with a little more of a relaxed tone as the light green scales on her body untensed.

Leo slightly cringed at the question, knowing that the truth might sound completely insane, which would definitely prompt a negative reaction if she didn't believe him. ‘Should I be honest? Probably, pulling a story out of my ass might complicate things if I'm pressed for more information. That and I am a terrible liar without anything to back it up.’ He thought with a mental sigh as he hoped for the best.

Taking in a deep breath he resolved to answer truthfully. “It's on another world as far as I can tell, I simply popped onto this one two days ago.” He responded with as straight a face as he could manage, not wanting to show his slight fear toward how she might take the information.

Elaria stiffened as she stood motionless in front of him, and her head tilted down a little while her eyes shifted around slightly as if she was deep in thought. With a twitch of her tail every so often, the minutes passed by, and he decided to try and snap her out of her trance. “Hello?... Hey? ... Elaria!” The loud shout jolted the dazed woman out of her thoughts, and as she flinched she almost swung the sword across his neck.

“Eh!.. Oh, um… Sorry...”Elaria stammered, then audibly gulped.

Shaking the near terror of the accidental swipe at his life, Leo’s curiosity pushed himself to ask the obvious. “Is there something wrong?” He inquired, while a bit concerned by her reaction.

‘She didn't seem to be surprised, nor did she call me a liar. I wonder how common my situation is?’ The thought floated around with a tinge of hope, that maybe there was a way home, but the opportunity to explore this alien world would most likely make him choose to stay if given the option.

Elaria further relaxed a bit, leveling the sword away from him to point toward the ground at her side, probably not wanting to kill him by mistake, which Leo very much appreciated. “How do you know this is another world?” She asked cautiously.

Leo released a relieved breath, and glanced up at the sky. “Well... One, my world only has one sun. Two, there are only humans on my world. Last but most certainly not least, this one seems to have magic.” He stated with certainty.

Elaria seemed like she was about to go into another trance, but Leo quickly asked a question before that could happen. “Is it common for people to appear here from other worlds?”

Her head jerked up to look at him, and Leo could see her tremble ever so slightly, like she was in front of something that she wanted desperately to get away from. “Well, objects and items can be summoned from other worlds in a ritual that is only known to arch mages, but it's apparently a very expensive process. Rumors say that it's only achieved every few decades, as the process has to be very precise. One mistake and it just fails.” She said with a furrowed brow, or what could pass for a brow.

Leo raised an eyebrow at the term ‘objects’. “And people?” He inquired with a bit of concern written across his face.

Elaria was obviously avoiding direct eye contact, which definitely flew a bright red flag that screamed that she didn't want to say anymore. “Well… I only know that an adult dragon is sacrificed, but that could just be a rumor. Also three of the last twelve eras started with the summoning of a person.” She told him with a slight tremble.

“And how much time does an era last?” Leo probed, not liking the prospect of having to kill a fully grown dragon to get home, but it was just another reason not to go back, and one that sounded ‘very’ valid.

“About sixty to seventy thousand years.” Her reply sank like a rock to the pit of his stomach.

‘Well any info regarding them is probably dust, so it looks like I'm not getting home any time ever.’ Leo thought as he pretty much permanently shelved any prospect of ever seeing earth again.

A moment of awkward silence hung between the two, before Elaria spoke up. “Um, well I should take you to Telnar, that's the town that I am stationed at, and bring you to the head of the guard there.” She remarked, while she gripped the sword at her side a little tighter.

Upon seeing the small tell, Leo immediately agreed, not wanting to get into a physical conflict with an armed soldier, and she gave him a few rations while they started toward the town. The food was just some berries and dried meat, but after eating bark strips and bush leaves, out of fear of eating something poisonous, the taste was a god send.

The two of them walked in relative silence for about twenty minutes, before Leo decided to start up a conversation. Since Elaria was no longer trembling, having relaxed her posture considerably, he asked about the other times people were summoned.

Leo immediately regretted it, as she stiffened slightly while regaining some alertness. “Well they were era’s ago, so only the general information is known, with stories and fables mixed in. Each summon was ordered by a kingdom's ruler, with a dragon sacrificing themselves for their ruler, the dragon bit said to be just a rumor. And each summon brought with them the knowledge and power from their world, giving that kingdom the ability to conquer and enslave the other races within only a few years...” She explained with a hesitant tone, while wearing that same look that told him that she didn't want to discuss further, and he took notice that her tail twitched slightly as she finished.

‘Well fuck…’ Leo thought, suddenly not wanting the infamy that was associated with being from another world.

“But what happened to the summons after the conquests?” He questioned further, not expecting a happy ending.

“I don't know about the two before the previous one…” She paused, and grimaced as she continued, her tail giving off another slight twitch as she started. “The last one was an era ago, and the dragons put their differences aside to unite and wipe out the entire kingdom, race and all. They also banned that specific summoning practice.” She finished.

“Oh…” Leo voiced with a bit of dread, noting that he was ‘really’ not supposed to be here, but his thoughts paused for a moment, realizing that there was a crucial bit of unanswered information in her story.

Leo turned his head to Elaria and narrowed his eyes a bit, believing that he may have found the bit of information she wanted to avoid. “But what happened to that summon specifically?” He asked her directly, and she immediately stopped walking, her eyes incapable of looking him in the face as she stared off to the side.

Elaria pursed her lips, and appeared to be taking a few moments to consider her words before speaking. “Um, well.. Their body was destroyed… And their soul was put in an infinitely looping spell that… Tears it apart and reassembles it….” She answered slowly and a little quietly, while each word was filled with a tinge of fear and sympathy.

Leo’s eyes widened, and his brow arched farther than he thought it could. “Uh, but that bit could be a fable, just another rumor… Right?” Leo asked with a hint of desperation that was very much evident in his voice.

Leo noticed that Elaria now had a hand on the hilt of her sheathed sword, which in no way relieved his worries, and he took a slightly cautious step back. “Well, no… The dragons fixed the spell at the base of the destroyed capital, as a monument for everyone to see….” Elaria said, now staring at his face to further gauge his reaction.

“Nope.” Was all Leo said, before he ran at a dead sprint into the forest.

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Elaria

‘Damn it! What did you think was going to happen, telling him all that crap.’ Elaria’s thoughts continued to scream at her as she chased after the fleeing man.

‘The first potential fuck in nearly a year and I had to say, hey if the dragons find out who you are then you might be tortured for all of eternity!’ Elaria knew that, that reason for wanting to get him back wasn't the main one, nor was it even close to being an important one, but her emotions tended to override reason when she was stressed. She was after all walking with someone that could possibly kick off a new era, so her feeling stressed could even be considered an understatement.

Elaria thought about pulling out her sword, but harming him that much would anger her superior. She also didn't know how durable he was, so trying to knock him out could cave in his skull for all she knew.

Leo was running in front of Elaria, just out of arm's reach as she took a few swipes at his shirt to stop him. ‘Ah! I could have jumped multiple ranks if I just kept my mouth shut and brought him back peacefully.’ Her thoughts rang around in her head as she leapt up onto his back, which sent them both rolling down a brush covered hill.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the hill, while spaced apart by four or five feet, the two of them looked right into each other's eyes. They both panted on the ground as they were winded from the short, but vigorous, dead sprint that tired them out little.

Leo looked to his left, and Elaria traced the gaze of his dark brown eyes to a flat and visible clearing, and looking back she saw that he was readying to fling himself up and start running again.

Elaria placed her palms on the ground, readying to also push herself up to give chase, while her claw-like fingernails dug slightly into the dirt in frustration. “Don't you fucking dare…” She growled, not wanting to have to run him down again.

Leo smirked at Elaria’s irritation. “You smug bastard.” She snarled in low annoyance as he launched himself back up for another sprint.

Elaria tried to do the same, but screamed out loudly as a jolt of pain traveled up her leg, and she looked down to see a very twisted ankle. She started cursing to herself, while she began tearing up from a swirl of emotions that crashed into her when she considered the consequences of the injury. Her post was the bare minimum when it came to maintenance, so she was probably in the least paid bracket of the army, on top of being somewhat fresh from training. So getting an injury under these circumstances, even a minor one, would basically cripple her new life before it even started.

‘I'll be off the guard for weeks if not months without pay, just so this could heal properly. I have enough saved for maybe a week at most on my own. Getting a job for anything physical would be out of the question and healers are damn expensive, I have nowhere near enough for it. And if I go back to… No I won't!’ Elaria’s thoughts crushed her further as she started to break down from her disastrous situation, sobbing heavily as she was overwhelmed by a rush of emotions.

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Leo

Leo heard a scream from behind him as he began to sprint through the forest again, but It wasn't angry or commanding, it was the kind of pained scream that sent a shiver up his spine that made him wince.

Spinning around to look back at the source, he saw Elaria with a very obvious injury, and his conscience started to creep up on him. ‘No... This is your way out Leo, just turn back around an-’ The thought was cut off as she began to cry, and with a resigned sigh he walked back over to her, knowing that if anything she was just doing her job and it was his fault that she was even chasing him in the first place.

As Leo knelt down over Elaria, she seemed oblivious to his presence, her eyes closed and fists clenched as she cursed at herself.

Leo looked at her with a mixture of deep guilt and pity. “In for a penny…” He sighed out, and the words shocked the weeping wreck out of her breakdown.

Elaria’s eyes narrowed while her face scrunched up in indignation. “The hell do you want?” She snapped.

“Get on my back.” Leo commanded as he turned around in a crouch and gestured for her to mount him.

Elaria scoffed. “Is this some kind of-” She was cut off by Leo.

“Shut up and get on my back so we can head to this Tellar, or whatever.” He ordered with an annoyed tone, and she stared at him for a few moments before hobbling onto his back.

Elaria sighed as she got a good grip around his shoulders. “It's called Telnar.” She said with hollow irritation, but as he stood up she winced and let out a small pained cry.

Leo winced at the sound, and made an effort to be more delicate with his passenger. “Hurts that bad huh?” He remarked a bit timidly, while punctuating his words with an apologetic tone.

Elaria huffed, and tightened her grip around his shoulders, her nails making him let out his own hiss of pain. “You were so desperate to get away, and you had the perfect opportunity. Hell you could have killed me and looted my gear. So... Why give it up and help me?” She asked with genuine interest.

Leo groaned at the question, knowing that there could be a multitude of reasons. “I would say it's a human thing, helping the injured despite the consequences, but most of my kind would see you as a monster and bolt.” He responded bluntly.

“Monster?” Elaria challenged incredulously.

Leo shrugged slightly, knowing that it was probably a fifty-fifty chance of someone bolting, or at least a sixty-forty. “Humans are the only intelligent life on my planet, so yeah, you would be seen as a freak to most of them.” He bluntly answered once again.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment as Leo realized he just insinuated that she was a freak. ‘Good job dumb ass.’ He mentally kicked himself for insulting a race that he probably would shack up with, especially if his search history was anything to go by… If not for at least ‘science’.

“But if I'm a freak, then why did ‘you’ help me?” Elaria asked with a bit of a sullen, yet hopeful, undertone.

Leo smiled slightly, as he thanked whatever god was watching for the lifeline presented to him. “Well that's just it, ‘I’ don't think of you as a monster or a freak, but it's probably what most of my race's reactions would be. I only saw a person, one who was in pain and needed help… And just so you know, I personally think you are quite beautiful, as well as a little alluring.” He explained, making sure to put as much sincerity as he could manage into the last bit, just to make up for his earlier comment.

They were already walking along the river when Elaria decided to speak up again. “Well...thank you,” She said as she pressed against his back, and both actions caused him to become very flustered, while prompting a question that really didn't need an answer to.

‘Why does a lizard woman have breasts?’

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