Waking up, I found myself somewhere.

New

Staring up at a stone ceiling.

Lights dotting it, depicting a starry night

And surrounding the starry night, was a bubble

A bubble of endless nothingness.

Trying to focus on it made my eyes wander away

Trying to remember it brought up nothing

Trying to see it in the corner of my eye brought nothing.

Nothing

“Ah, you are awake, young human”

Not turning to the voice, I continued trying to see the nothing

“Hmmmm, yes the void, fascinating subject. An painting from the times of dragons, few knows what it is, even fewer know who made this marvel of an artwork.”

Finaly turning my head toward the voice, I saw an old faun

Very wrinkled with stubs for horns, looking ground down, shaven off.

As she got close, she sat down on the bed I was lying on, sitting by my feet

“Most think the void is the place between our world and the gods, that this artwork was made by gods to show us Fauns where the border lay”

The old faun leaned closer to me

I leaned back, nostrils widening, breathing getting harsher

The old faun gave me a knowing smile, still leaning towards me.

“But do you want to know what I think?”

Smiling brightly at me, eyes sparkling grey, moist and a bit red

I gave her a small nod, nostrils still wide, but posture more relaxed

She smiled brighter

“I think this is an artwork made by one of us Fauns, created for the purpose to help the dragons kill the gods. For you see, I knew one dragon who fought the gods, and he travelled through the void.”

Leaning away from me, she looked to the exit of the stone house.

Then back to me, a conspiratorial expression painting her face

“I think that we Fauns used to worship the dragons in the hopes that they would take the place of gods and make us a higher being in return.”

Expression turning more soft

“But don’t tell anyone this. Most Fauns today are true faithfuls and would burn me if they knew I had said this.”

She then started chuckling, eyes drawn to the void, staring directly at it.

“Hoho, it would be fun to see them try.”

A moment later, her body started shining, hand reaching for me

I screamed, flailing my arms, eyes staring in horror.

Another faun made his appearance, or rather, came out of hiding

In response to my scream, he had jumped back

Seeming

Scared?

I stopped screaming, arms calming, staring at the scared faun

Gears turning in my head,

Quickly, I recognised him

It’s the faun with the cut horns

Why is he here?

The old faun looked between me and the cut faun

Eyes focused, but her smile still soft

Still glowing weirdly bright

...

The silence was loud.

Me and the faun staring at each other

He, in what looked to be fear

And me, staring as if I was...

I don't know

I don't wanna scare him

I think.

The old faun still had her hand outstretched, glowing

“Come closer.”

The old faun broke the silence, waving in the cut faun

He hesitantly moved closer. Obviously not wanting to but persuaded by the old faun

Higher ranking?

A feeling of obligation?

Is he some sort of slave, maybe?

He got closer, shaking slightly as he neared

Once he stood by the bed, he let his hands rest behind him, looking up to the ceiling with his back straight.

The only thing breaking his glorious pose was him shaking slightly, eyes darting up and down to look at me

When he met mine, he looked away.

“You may be wondering why he is here, and I assure you, he won't do you any harm. In fact, he is gonna be the one repaying what we have done to you. See him as your personal, I think you humans call them butlers”

“Repaying me?”

I took my eyes away from the cut faun to look at the old faun

One eyebrow higher than the other

“Yes, we.... Hurt you. And for that we must pay back wh-”

I winced, remembering pain

Shuddering, eyes closing

Fingers clawing at my body

Blood creeping

Then something warm touched me, healing my clawed wounds, mother embracing a hurt child.

I opened my eyes, seeing a glowing hand and a worried expression.

Staring deeply into her grey eyes, I found comfort.

Then she lightly pushed me down, making me stare up at the ceiling.

Seeking the comfort of the stars

Noting the void

Trying to look at it

Failing

Then the warmth left me

“We will leave you to yourself. Just yell if there is anything you need. Food will be brought in a few hours and water can be found in the room next door.”

Pointing to a door opposite the exit

Then she pointed to the cut faun

“He will be guarding the entrance, making sure that no one enters without your express approval. Once again, I assure you, no one will enter without your express permission.”

Then she stood up, walking towards the entrance with the cut faun closely behind

Opening the door, she peeked over her shoulder, waving at me with a bright smile.

The cut faun staring sheepishly behind, quickly looking away as our eyes met

Then it closed, leaving me alone.

And I looked back to the ceiling.

Eyes watering

Flowing

I bundled up, bringing the small blanket around me.

Into a small ball

Thoughts forming

Missing simpler times

Hours passed, eyes red and swollen

Hehe, I look like a mess

I stopped crying long time ago, but the comfort of the stars and bed made me unwilling to leave.

But after a while, nature called

Forcing me to either shamefully mark this wonderful bed

Or explore

After thinking for a while, I decided to find a place to relieve myself

I’m not uncivilised so I, of course, chose exploration.

And I did not contemplate pissing the bed!

Absolutely not.

No way…

Like the old faun had said, the next room had running water, coming out of the wall from a small stone pipe. The water ran down to a small hole in the ground, looking very clear and drinkable

And beside it sat a toilet.

Wow

A toilet

This is a first, I’ve never seen one in person

I could never have imagined fauns having toilets

I’ve only seen pictures of them before

And heard that people in big cities have their own personal toilets in their houses

Such pompous bastards. I also want a private toilet.

Anyway, after being a complete genius and figuring out the toilet by myself

I totally missed it

Pissing over the floor

Panicking, I pissed on my own legs and over the seat of the toilet.

But somehow, not in the actual toilet

I’m an idiot.

After using the cold running water and my two hands, I cleaned myself and the room, after some finessing and splashing around.

And as I finally stopped gawking at the toilet, I saw my reflection

Freaking out at first, I managed to stumble into the running water.

Making me more wet,

A frown forming on my face

A frown in response from my reflection

What the heck?

I can

See myself?

Carefully, I stepped closer to my reflection

Which I soon realised was just a mirror

...

I’m really stupid today.

And there I could see what a wreck I was

But, to be honest

I look good

And I mean in a healthy kind of way

I even got some normal clothing for once, fitting me nicely.

It seems they have a sense of fashion here.

After what I’ve been through, you would think I look wors-

No...

Just..

Don't think about that.

Anyway, I look good.

Better than long, I think

I think.

Have I been healed?

Looking down at my legs, I quickly realised that I had been walking around normally

Holy crap

I can walk again!

Hahahaha I can walk!

I then started jumping around the small room

Bumping into the toilet

Splashing around water from the small stream

Smiling at my own reflection

Yes!

This is awesome.

Holy crap

I did not think it would feel so good to walk again

This is heaven.

A few minutes passed

Only stopping when I got tired

Hihihi, now I’m hungry

I wonder what’s for dinner?

Opening the bathroom door, I peaked in

Seeing nothing but my bed and the artwork in the ceiling

I guess the food is not ready yet.

Hmmm

Should I ask for some?

“Heeellloooo, where-“

But before I could finish, the cut faun swung open the door

Practically blowing it open

Wide eyes, staring at me

Wooaah dude, take a chill pill.

“Eeeeh, eeer... Hi?”

He kept staring, hand holding the door firmly, the other awkwardly hanging on his side.

No words where spoken

“Okaaaaay... Well, I’m hungry, when is food ready?”

His eyes looking away from me, seemingly in thought

Then he wordlessly closed the door behind him.

Loud steps beyond the door, quickly fading as he got further away from the door

What’s his problem?

Is he not supposed to like

Be my butler or something?

And why the heck is it him?

I got no problem with it, but I mean

...

Why him?

Hopefully, he’s running to bring me food

Or maybe he got nervous because they forgot about my food?

Oh haha that would be hilarious, I wonder what kind of expression that old faun would have if she knew they had forgotten about me

Forgotten

About

Me...

Slapping myself hard, I jumped in surprise

AOW why did I have to hit myself so hard

Aow

Holding my cheek, I jumped back to the bed, head faced down.

At least the bed is nice.

It’s very nice, actually

Compared to everything else, I think it’s the only thing that is not stone.

Everything else is some kind of stone material.

Except for the mirror and this bed

Maybe the toilet, I think I saw some metal on it, maybe it was some sort of stone to?

I don't know how a toilet is supposed to work, and from my inspection

I did not manage to figure it out.

A courteous knock

“Come in.”

Door opening slowly, and in came

A new faun

“Hello”

A slight bow, then he, maybe she?

Moved into the room, putting the food on the floor a respectable distance away from me.

Then another slight bow, and she turned away and moved out

Closing the door behind her

..

Like, is no one except the old faun going to talk to me?

I mean like, I know that the cut faun can talk

But now that I’m friendly, no one is talking to me.

Like, are they not supposed to be friendly to humans?

Okay, I guess they are friendly, but I mean

Are they not supposed to trade with us or something?

Hmmmm

Eeeh, don't think about it

Nothing like the present!

Jumping out from the bed, I bent down to pick up the plate of food

And to no one's surprise, the plate was made of stone

But to my surprise, the food was not

Hehe, yeah, obviously the food would not be stone

But I would not have been surprised if it was

The food in question looked normal

Some potatoes with vegetables and sauce

Looks very normal

To normal, what the heck

How did they get potatoes and vegetables out here?

Like, there is only rock, how do they plant stuff?

Hmmm

Something to ask later I guess, maybe

Eh I don't really care

Let’s dig in!

Mmhm, it’s good.

But it’s pretty...

Normal, nothing special about it, just normal food

Normal

This is nice.

As I continued eating, the door opened, and in came the old lady.

“Is it to your taste?”

She asked before closing the door.

The cut faun following close behind

“Yes, it’s good, thanks!”

“No worries young one. Now tell me, how do you feel?”

“I feel great! It’s like I’m young again. Look!”

Saying that, I jumped from the bed, jumping in circles and running from one side to the other.

The cut faun moved further behind the old faun, peeking over her shoulder.

“Haha yes I can see that, but you know, you're still very young”

“Well yeah, but in mind I’m totally your age”

“I very much doubt that, young one.”

“Hrmpf, you're just saying that to tease me”

“Yes”

“Aowch, why so blunt?”

“Because it is the truth. Now young one, would you like a tour of our city?”

“Why yes! That would be absolutely amazing!”

Walking towards the old lady, she gestured to follow me.

As we made it outside, I was greeted with the sight of small stone buildings, painted in wildly different colours.

Only slightly taller than me, but the perfect height for the fauns, as they were about the same size as the rat people.

Maybe. not that short, a little taller.

The houses took the shape of rounded domes, but only having doors and small chimneys as their decorations.

Some had windows, but they lacked any glass, looking more like rounded holes in the wall.

And when I looked closer, all the buildings lacked doors. They only had door frames

Maybe they call it rounded openings?

Looking back to the house we came out from, I noticed that it held a more rectangular shape.

And was the only house in sight that had a door

“Hey, old lady, why is my house the only one with a door?”

“Haha, it is always interesting to hear the first question. Usually it gives a view into the psyche of the individual talking”

Huh, wait, is she like some sort of mind reader?

Body reader?

That’s creepy

“I have been asked many firsts in my day. Why we only use stone, or how we use the stone. Some ask where we get the food and some ask us for secrets of magics”

Turning to me, her smile glowing up to her eyes.

“But you, you ask about a door”

“Well, I do wanna know about those other things too, but you know, why am I the only one with a door?”

“Haha, oh young one. To answer your question, we don’t see our neighbours as threats. So why have doors? Few, if not none, would willingly hurt one of our own.”

“I don’t believe you”

“Haha, good answer”

Then she got silent, moving forward and waving at me.

...

Stupid old woman with stupid answers

You did not even answer my question properly!

Jogging to catch up, I found myself to her right as the cut faun walked to her left.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Where do you want to go?”

Thinking for a second,

My eyes lit up

“TAKE ME TO WHERE YOU GUYS POOP!”

The cut faun leaned over the old lady, staring wide eyed at me.

The old lady just smiled

“Follow me.”

Walking for a while, I noticed many things.

For one, most people here don't seem to care for me, some just glancing at me

Although, some would stop and stare, walking far to the side as we passed

Looking scared?

Maybe it was their way of showing respect?

The path we took was smoothed out, almost reflecting the sunlight, looking like some sort of marble.

The path also seemed to be the main walkway.

But the way it was built made it feel more like a snaking side path.

Going around houses and never really going straight

Sometimes going up and down into stairs

Weirdly enough, there were even houses on the slopes, built with supporting stone to keep it straight

Very cool.

Sometimes fauns would run up to the old lady and speak to her, not in a language I could understand tho.

She is probably some sort of leader, maybe their..

Queen?

No, the queen would not walk with me to their poop hole.

Maybe some sort of, embassy person?

A diplomat maybe?

And one thing that bothered me, maybe the only thing

Was that the cut faun was totally avoiding me.

As in, keeping distance, always having the old lady in between us and never directly talking to me.

I know because I asked him, which led to silence, and then to the old lady asking the exact same question and getting an answer in turn.

So frustrating

I even notice him glancing at me, which always turns to him quickly looking away when I try to catch his eye.

Stupid

Faun!

Hrmpf

“Old lady, why is he avoiding me?”

Pointing at him, he looked down, taking a step further away from us.

“Dont be too hard on him. He is coping in his own way.”

Coping?

What?

“What do you mean?”

“Well young one, that is not for me to tell”

What the heck?

Why do all the old people have to be so cryptic?

Even mister dragon is cryp-

...

“Hey, when are we at the poop hole?”

“We are not going to a poop hole.”

“But you said you would take me to the poo hole”

“We don’t have one, and you asked us to take you to where we poop”

“Well yeah, you have to poop at a poop hole.”

“Hihi, then this will be a pleasant surprise for you”

And as she said that, we turned the corner of a house.

Being greeted with the sight of a huge stone building

Built like a dome with six pillars adorning it

The top of each pillar looked, broken

As if someone had used a sledgehammer to break the top of each one

“Inside we have our public toilets, but we rarely use them as all Fauns have their own at home. Mostly used during a heavy night of drinking. ”

Huh

Is she saying that

There are toilets that anyone can use?

How rich are these guys?

“How is that even possible?”

“It is actually humans who taught us how.”

“But those humans must have been filthy rich!”

“Yes, what you humans call wealth, these humans possessed”

“Holy moly, but what could you guys have given them to get such valuable information?”

“Mostly magic, but sometimes sharing our own knowledge. It was long ago since we shared this specific knowledge. I don’t remember what we gave for the information on toilets”

“Do you guys live in an utopia?”

“Haha, well, if toilets is such an amazing thing for you then yes, we live in an utopia.”

Holy moly

This place is the bomb.

“Young one, if you love this, then I promise you, you will love our bath houses.”

“You guys have bath houses too?! Where?!”

“Hahaha, aah the enthusiasm of youth, follow me, young one.”

“Aaaaa yessss!”

I take back what I said.

This isn’t just the bomb

This is paradise!