Chapter 2 (J) - First Meeting

“...ey…”

...I hear… a voice…?

“Hey… up…”

Someone is… talking to me…? And… shaking me. Incessantly.

“Come on… wake up…”

Slowly, I open my eyes. Little changes. All I see is darkness, save for the blue glow of a pair of feline eyes uncomfortably near to my face.

“Hey, you’re awake! Phew…”

“...What’s going on…? Why’s it so dark…”

“Oh, right. You can’t see, can you? Hang on, gimmie a sec.” The eyes vanish, and I hear rustling for a few moments. Something is moving nearby. “Alright, there we go! And… there!” I hear a snap, and as if from nowhere, I see a spark of electricity, and a collection of sticks bursts into flame, lighting the area. I’m still in the forest. Given the darkness, it must still be in the middle of the night. Standing near the small flame is a girl, likely of a similar age to myself. Judging from her glowing eyes and the inhuman ears atop her head- also feline in nature- she must be a chimera. Her hair appears to be some light shade of blue, which I can only presume is the result of some sort of dye. While relatively tall, her frame doesn’t appear to be very sturdily built. That said, the structure of her arms reveal her to likely be stronger than her frail appearance implies.

“So, you alright? You had a bit of a nasty fall.”

“...Where is this…?”

“We’re in the forest near Mariville. So… what happened to you? I saw you at the top of a cliff with a bunch of fire. Then you fell off, and someone flew away on a wyvern, or something.”

I can’t tell her the truth. They’ll target her life as well if she were to know. She doesn’t deserve that. But I can’t tell an outright lie, either. “That’s what happened. Past that… I can’t say.”

She frowns thoughtfully. “Can’t say? What, did you hit your head? ...Actually wait, you probably did, with all those trees you fell through. ...You, uh… don’t have amnesia, do you?!”

“I… doubt that. I’m just… confused.”

“Uh… About what?”

I look around, searching for an acceptable response to her question. “...I don’t see the cliff anywhere in sight. How did I get here?”

She grins. “Oh, that? I figured it might be a bad idea to stay near where you fell, so I carried you a ways away, in case whoever attacked you came back. I can handle myself just fine, but trying to defend someone out cold and half dead too? Don’t really like my chances.”

I look around again. There’s no visible traces on the ground indicating I was dragged. This girl must have meant it literally when she claimed to have carried me. It would seem she’s stronger than her appearance lets on after all. Furthermore, she appears to be wearing a pair of knives at her waist. Knives clearly designed for combat as opposed to wood carving, or some other hobby. This girl is no stranger to fighting, just as she claims. However, a pair of daggers would be of little use were she to engage a wild animal such as a wolf this late at night. Her electrical power must be significantly more potent than the spark she cast to ignite the nearby fire. Despite the cheerful, carefree nature she seems to put forth, this girl is a potential threat I cannot afford to underestimate.

“Anyway, my name’s Tessa. We should probably get you to town so you can get those injuries looked at. My dad’s a doctor, I can take you to him. Do you think you can stand, or do you want some help?” She reaches out an arm, indicating her offer to be legitimate as opposed to some childish taunt. After a moment’s consideration, I accept her offer, taking her hand and allowing her to pull me to my feet. To my surprise, it only takes a moment to find my balance. I can only presume regeneration took effect while I was unconscious, as I’d likely be unable to stand under my own power otherwise. I inspect the belongings I still have on my person. I let slip a sigh of relief upon noticing Calypso rests undamaged in my pocket. My other devices appear to be luckily undamaged as well, though their batteries are bordering on empty, and my mask and glider are missing. I can only presume they were scattered when I fell.

“Oh yeah, here. This was on the ground near you, so I’m guessing it’s yours.” The girl hands me a familiar sword. The sheath it rests in is visibly damaged, but not so badly that it fails to continue serving its purpose.

“Oh. Thank you.”

“No problem! I didn’t really take a good look at it, but it looks pretty well made.”

“...I see.”

She grins again. “Anyway! Let’s get going! Dad’s probably staying up late to get some paperwork done, or something. If we hurry, we might catch him while he’s still awake! Let’s go!” Confidently, the girl turns and strides off, before turning around and coming right back. “Oh yeah, you can’t see in the dark, huh... You should probably stay close to me. Just... call out if you lose sight of me or something, alright?”

“...Alright.”

“Oh yeah, what’s your name? I told you mine, but you never told me yours.” ...There shouldn’t be any harm in her knowing my name, should there? And it would be more convenient than having to remember a false one...

“...My name is Jay.”

“Great! Nice to meet you, and all that other formal stuff. Now, let’s get back to town!” Without another word, she turns back around once more, and strides off into the darkness, leaving me with little choice but to try and follow close behind.