"So...you can't talk?" The cat person shakes his head yes. All the while, he's just staring at Kojo. His pupils seem dilated in either intense fascination, or perhaps fear? I mean, I get the last one, but am I reading the first one right from his facial expressions? Is Kojo...rare or something?

"Look, I understand that Kojo's a little big, but he can't help that. It's just who he is." Kojo's eyes open at my words and he gives a nod at the almost miniscule, in comparison, cat person before closing them back up and falling asleep upon the floor, basking in a particularly nice moonbeam. I'm kind of still a little confused at that little bit at the end as well. I could've sworn not much time had actually passed, but by the time we had actually found someone on this road, the sun had long since set and my stash of berries has long since run out. However, I briefly shake the thought from my head as I focus on the more important aspect of that sentence. I don't actually know if Kojo is able to sleep anymore. It's difficult to say if plants actually sleep or not. I know that winter causes plants to hibernate, but I don't think that's the same thing as sleep though. A little scuffle shakes me from my head as my attention is brought back towards the tiny cat thing. The little guy had been kicking at the dirt road for awhile when he suddenly stopped, shook his head and began frowning quite a bit. I feel the ground shake under me, as words are once again spelt out from the soil. Still a little cool that the first person I found to talk to is an earthbender. Is the world based upon the four or five aspects of Chinese theology? Wait. No. Got to focus on the person in front of me. Now that my medication is gone, I have to make doubly sure that I'm doing what I need to and not what I want to. I'm at least somewhat thankful that none of the particularly...bad symptoms have shown their heads yet.

'It's not that. Well, maybe partially that. I'm just wondering how you keep him around. You say you haven't tamed him, and yet I cannot think of an animal that's stuck around a specific person for this long, unless they raised it.' The words spell out in my head as I stare at it. I'm somewhat thankful that the language skill also works for writing. At first, I had thought that perhaps it wasn't even working at all, considering that this person never responded when we began taking to them, but thankfully they had been able to understand me. They'd just been mute, so there was at least a little bit of relief at that piece of information. However, I've got to think of a response to this. Don't want him to think I'm either illiterate or horrible at talking to people. I at least know that I'm definitely not part of the first group, but I do not want to be put into the second again. I turn my head away from the ground and have my eyes focus across the campfire towards the short person somewhat blocked by flames.

The cat person, because that was basically what he was, was a bit shorter than I thought they'd be. I mean, I didn't expect cat people to exist, but I figured that with most depictions of sentient cats in fiction they'd at least be as tall as a regular human. That was not the case with this one. It had only managed to come up to my waist in height, and only because of their slightly brown tufts of ears were resting atop its head. The rest of their body also somewhat surprised me. They had clothes. Actual clothing on its body over the somewhat brown and black splattered fur. I had figured that any sentient species which had fur would just forgo clothing entirely to better equate themselves with the environment. I mean, it is just a jacket, pants, shoes, and fingerless gloves, but it's still a lot of clothes from what I can see. Its hands and legs didn't necessarily surprise me either. They were definitely catlike in nature, considering their hands were literally just more flexible versions of paws with thumbs. They still had some pads, from what I can see protruding from the fingerless gloves, and are just slightly bent backwards while they're sitting down. Wait! What am I doing? I have to respond! They're staring at me while I just roam they're body like a leacher.

"Well, turns out since I saved his life, he feels like he has some sort of life-debt thing he's got to pay back. I personally don't understand it all that well, but I've accepted it." The cat nods before once again gesturing to the ground next to me causing my head to bear witness towards the changes in the earth.

'I won't ask about it, in accordance. If you're willing to tell me, I'd bet it'd be quite the story.' I look back up to find its eyes shining in the campfire's light. A question hung on the forefront of my mind. What would I be in accordance with exactly? Is there perhaps a cultural thing I'm unaware of right now? It would probably be in my better interest to ask the cat rather than live in ignorance to anything I might accidentally push myself into with my actions. I could ask Kojo later on, but I doubt he'd know about civilization kind of things. He's more akin to a barbarian tribe that's just been in the woods for generations.

"What do you mean? In accordance with what? Is there some sort of 'Law of the Road'?" At my question, I can noticeably tell that the cat's fur bristles slightly around the edges. Its head tilts up towards the still somewhat lit sky as he sighs somewhat raspily. The ground shudders under my feet much like ants have started burrowing out of their tunnels. My head tilts downwards to catch the new words from the cat.

'Then either I'm your first contact outside of your own tribe, or other people have been quite distasteful towards you.' Huh. That's...quite a unique spin on it. I mean...if they mean species by tribe, than I believe that it would probably be safe to answer in the affirmative.

"Well, you are the first person I've met since I escaped the caldera." As my words are put out into the air, I try to act somewhat lackadaisical about the fact, while watching the cat out of the corner of my eye. There doesn't seem to be any apparent change in them other than the slow tilt of its head downward. Soon though, its head is brought back upwards as it meets my eyes, theirs becoming noticeably thinner and shinier from the light of the fire.. I can feel a shiver in the earth travelling up my back like goosebumps. Hesitatingly, I bring my gaze back downward, wary that something might set off this person, who I've just realized is probably more in tune with their predatory instincts than I would be.

'Are you a monster?' Monster, huh. Guess that might be what they would call those weird and dangerous animals in there. Did Kojo ever say they were monsters? I pull the conversations that we've previously had, but I can't seem to find anything in there regarding that fact, so it might just be another word that civilization here has for those...things in the caldera. Is he worried I might be from there?

"You don't have to worry about that. I was not born there, simply brought." At this, its posture relaxes before their bushy eyebrows tilt in confusion. There are more insect-like sensations beneath my feet, and my head has gotten used to the motion of bobbing back and forth between the ground and the little cat, that there exists no further strain from the motion.

'You were brought there?' The words quickly go through my brain. The instances behind my arrival replayed themselves back in my mind.

The day of mundane work flashed before my eyes, broken up my instances of talking to my colleagues. A lunch date at an italian place comes to mind as I try and connect with someone, anyone other than myself. To look for someone who might get what I'm about, or at least understand who I'm trying to be. But unfortunately, my boss wasn't one such person, or at least not as of yet. It was mine and Jennifer's second date after all and there were still more to come. However, work still had to be done. Things still had to be taken care of. So, I went back to work, and once it was over, I went to a bar and drank something.

It was one of those little drinks with an umbrella in them, because I was feeling in the mood for something high in alcohol content and fruity. Literally those were the words I told the barman. After that, I went back home, driving in the rain. I lived fairly far away from the city, mainly because prices just seemed to go up the closer you got there. It took me about two hours until I got home due to the traffic on the highway. However, by the time I got back, I was just too tired to do anything strenuous for the rest of the day, so I cuddled my dog while watching Netflix and eating a fancy mac and cheese dinner because I still had some leftovers from lunch I wanted to take care of. Then I went to bed, and woke up with a splitting headache from the hangover.

I brought myself up from the bed and towards the bathroom door as I heard my dog barking. Well, it was either Bradley barking or just the pounding happening in my head. I put my head in the toilet and upchucked for a good long while. And then I was here, like a jump cut happened in my head...Why...why did my brain go through all of that again and in such clarifying detail? Is it because of [Remembrance]? I didn't have it before whenever I just looked back on something...Yeah. It has to be. Don't...don't think about the implications within your brain Dave, just...focus on answering the still waiting cat.

"Yeah, I was sleeping in my bed after a bad night out drinking. Next thing I know, I wake up in a cave with growls in the distance wearing nothing." It nods slightly at my words bringing up to its face, massaging its chin in thought before it 'speaks' once more.

'It seems to me like you were a part of an elaborate prank to me. Some life-friends tend to do that.' I chuckled a bit before shaking my head.

"Nah. Most friends I've had all left me a while back. Those who didn't mostly keep to themselves." It's forehead creases slightly as it tilts its head back towards the now completely black sky, interspersed with sheaths of light while the two moons overhead bath the earth below in their glow. My head follows his gaze towards the sky, it's auburn glow having long since faded. I can't help but think that the one thing that could be a highlight of my stay here is the sky. There's nothing in terms of light pollution whatsoever around here, letting in more of that natural wonder the sky should have. You'd have to go to your local elevator to even see a remnant of this, and even then you still can't escape the light from it itself. However, my ponderings on the night sky and its similarities are brought short as a sentence formed beneath my feet.

'Hmmm. Quite a conundrum. If I had any suspicions, I'd say it was the work of the gods.' Gods, huh. So appearing out of nowhere isn't common enough that a merchant knows tales of it like those fantasy stories of hero summoning and whatnot. Seems to me like asking him questions might be my only way to get somewhat true answers around here considering his occupation. At least, I think it's their occupation, judging from how many items I can see through the flaps of its carriage. Nobody would bring around that much stuff unless you were selling it someplace.

"Well, if it's the work of the gods, I better get some answers to that. Do you know where a temple or church might be around here?" The cat person points back the way I came before turning their head my way.

'Around 3-4 days travel that way to get to the nearest city. Might be a village or two along the path, but otherwise nothing else. I could accompany you, if you'd like.' My suspicion rises to meet the occasion. I had just met this person after all, why would they do something like that for me? Something strange is going on here.

"Why would you do that?"

'Call it a moral obligation or simply tradition.' Stranger and stranger. Wait, I could ask all my questions! No! Stop, work your way to that. It's not like you're going anywhere. Plus, it probably wouldn't be like they had a wealth of knowledge.

"So, you are a merchant, correct?" The cat nods at my words, which causes me quickly to go to the main question I wanted to ask. "Would you happen to sell any clothes?"

Their eyebrows furrow before it begins to stand upon its feet and walks over towards their cart. I wonder. [Analyze]

Name: Marwall Cregain (Male) Race: Bast Class: Merchant; Lv45 Level: 55 Titles: Mute Man of Character Forlorn Forsaken HP: 4675/4675 MP: 756/756 AP: 10000/10000

Ok, so it says he's male in the status. That's a new thing. Honestly didn't know what kind of gender he was, but putting that aside quickly, Holy shit! Why does he have so much HP and AP? Damn. I'm a long way away from even reaching the standards of a normal person, aren't I? Umm...crap this is bad. If I get into a fight with him I'm done for, even if he's lower leveled. It's a good thing I figured out he was a guy, though. Otherwise that would've been awkward to ask. I hear a rustling from his cart. I look over to find that the armadillo cow was woken by the noise too, but he just puts his head back down and munches on the grass. I'll be honest, the first time I saw what was pulling the cart, I had thought that they had domesticated rhinos or something. but this thing's face was just simply too bull-like for that to be. Then the cat, Marwall, emerged.

His return almost seemed holy in a way. Maybe it was my lack of decent communication. Maybe it was just me being away from civilization. Maybe it was because I had been stuck in a leafy loincloth that chaffed considerably, but seeing those clothes he brought out almost made me believe that there was such a thing as a good god again. I was brought out of his musings when I felt a tapping on my foot. I looked down, finally noticing that he had put down yet another message.

'I got an extra pair of pants, a shirt, and a satchel. Must be better than leaves, eh?' Believe me you have no idea. I'm just lucky I didn't make anything containing plants like poison ivy. I wouldn't know what to do if I had perhaps done something like that. I doubt that the magic moss would've helped at all, considering magic might make dangerous plants more dangerous due to environmental competition. As I threw away my leaf modesty to the floor, and started getting dressed, a passing though went through my mind that I deemed very important.

"Thank you. Just...thanks. How much?"

'No. I shouldn't accept anything of the sort from you. Especially since you-' The ground shimmies a bit, burying the sentence while I was reading it, causing new words appear.

'How do you have money if you lost everything?' Uh.....Wait a minute. I think I-No! I have a way out of this.

"I got it from the gods when I escaped the caldera." He noticeably thinks about it for a second before nodding. He walks over to me and hands me the clothes. Wait...there's no underwear. Shit. Better than nothing I suppose, but it's going to still chafe like hell. At least it would be better than leaf loincloths. Anything is better than leaf loincloths As I put on the clothes, I find that the pants are a tad tighter than I'd like, but I'm pulled out of my musings by a...you know what. I'm kind of tired of trying to make dirt writing interesting, even if it's by magic.

'So, where are you from? Don't think I've seen your kind around here.' Ehhhh...should I...no. Definitely not. If what I'm thinking is happening is happening then...no. I can't tell him.

"Don't particularly know all too well. I was part of a small tribe that interacted with..." Ummm. Think stupid. What's a typical fantasy race? "Dwarves." Seriously. Seriously! You picked DWARVES! Why? Why am I stuck inside your brain?

'Can't say I've heard of that race, but then again I've never seen yours before either.' He is noticeably staring at Kojo. 'So how did your friend evolve?' Evolve?

"I think he ate a weird plant or something in the caldera or maybe it was my magic, I don't know." At this, his eyes tore away from the green wolf to stare sharply into my own. The ground feels like wriggling insects with how much the dirt is being overturned.

'You are a magician? Who taught you?' Oh. He's worried about my magic? Don't see why I can't just tell him the truth about its origins, since he doesn't seem to upset at the fact I can use magic.

"I'm...self-taught." His eyes widen considerably as his face morphs to form a grin. I could tell that he was trying to laugh, but no air escaped his lips, so it was more like the silent throes of a seizure than a gesture of joy.

'Dang...You must either be the most courageous or the most stupid person in the world.'...What? Why would I be stupid to have magic? It's probably the greatest thing about coming here, at least if magic exists back home.

"Why?" At this his throes seem to almost silence themselves, leaving him unnaturally still, staring far past my form into the grasslands and woods surrounding us.

'Well, guess that means it's the latter. Were there no magic users in your town?'

"No. We mostly dealt with the physical side of things."

'Ahh. Reinforcement then, same as me. Well, let's just say if you did magic wrong, you wouldn't be here at all.' Reinforcement, what is-Wait. I would be dead if I did something wrong? What could have possibly gone wrong? I mean, my soul still stayed with me once I broke it from its confinement, so it couldn't have been something like it leaving me body. What more would he be talking about in this instance?

"What do you mean by...dead?"

'Most magic users must do one thing before they're even able to use magic. That would be breaking the mind sphere. Any wrong move when doing so would leave a brain dead husk set to explode at the slightest provocation or worse.'...So, that sphere wasn't my soul, but my head!!! Dear lord why am I always so close to death when I don't even know about it? Now I don't even want to use magic. If it was my soul, I figured it wasn't all that bad, but now that it's my head, I think that's quite dangerous. However, it at least it kind of explains why dual thinking allows the using of two spells at once earlier where I was able to cast spells while also casting a continuous 'cast'. Probably just a self preservation instinct that got put inside that...mind sphere? Is that the technical term he gave me or is my translation just not too good.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not dead, right?" He laughs silently once again before pulling some raw meat out of his pack and cooking it over the flame.

'I'd say so. What magic did you use, by the way? I'd assume plant type ones, yeah?'

"No, it was healing." He freezes. Where before his posture was loose and he was always slightly moving, now his posture is rigid. He doesn't even seem to notice as his little piece of meat falls into the fire. I hear his labored breathing, almost like panting, as his method of communication was set up once more a little more ragged then before.

'Are you...are you a priest?'

"No. Not really. Just got an affinity for it."

'Oh! I see.' A pause occurs in the conversation as crickets click in tandem within distance.

'So I assume that this is not your true form?' Form? Oh, yeah aspects change your body right.

"I mean, besides becoming a bit paler than normal, I'm kind of about the same." His eyes seem to furrow as he stares into the fire and sighs.

"You sad about the meat?"

'Yes. I usually keep it in storage until I meet someone on the road. Although, is is best to share a nice meal between others, yeah?'

"Yep. I getcha. So, if you're a merchant, what kinds of things do you sell?" With that said, the merchant got up and tore through his papers while the ground rumbled like an earthquake. Dear lord what did I just unleash?