Kai and Maomao made their journey back out of the cave, with the spirit pendant chiming in every now and then, with statements such as {Oh so that lantern artifact is called a flashlight!} and further annoying statements like {Well, you do look like a kit cub because your sooooo small. A small frail human is just small fry in our tribe.}

Maomao snickered at some of those statements and sneaked a peek at Kai’s face, seeing irritation and annoyance clearly plastered on her features.

Kai kept silent for most of the ghosts’ prodding comments, only interjecting in some moments to say, “Shut up” and “that’s rude”.

She was cold, tired, and hangry, which is a combination of being angry and hungry at the same time. It seemed like the pendant did not have an off switch, but she was able to endure its annoying questions after quietly munching on the prepped snacks. It was an arduous trip back through the cave, especially to the end with the tiny crab walk entrance, but she was really looking forward to getting home as soon as possible to have a hot meal, shower, and a bath to wash the filth off and soak all the fatigue away.

They finally made it to the forest and Kai’s legs cramped up near the end, willing herself to push to her limits to get out of that dank space. She heaved a sigh and took the last swig of the water in her pack, desperately trying to scrape any energy left to make the walk home. Maomao was fine because he didn’t have to carry a backpack with pots and various utensils nor squat in awkward positions while shuffling through the rocky path. Kai originally wanted to build a little campfire during the day and brew some tea and make a hot lunch however with this adventure, she did not find a moment to do so. Now it was late and dark. Her sore muscles were screaming back at her, tired and worn out.

“Come on Maomao, lets get home. We have a lot to talk about.” Kai said to Maomao, who nodded in agreement.

Kai was mentally drained. She spent the first half an hour in their journey back trying to practice the unknown language and switch between beast talk and English. Following that, mental training, attempting to speak to Maomao telepathically, as Kapt’n assured her that it was possible but with a lot of work. He was a proud creature and confirmed that he indeed passed on a valuable skill that was necessary in Aria.

Kapt’n also described the land he knew from when he was alive. Apparently, it was almost like a jungled landscape like a rainforest in Vietnam or China, with certain areas of rocky craigs like a desert. This certainly piqued Kai’s interest, as a chef, she was interested in hearing about the micro-ecosystem and the types of foods that were in abundance.

Based off Kapt’n description so far, the Vida clan was an early established hunter-gather type of archaic society. They did not build with metal, concrete or steel like Kai’s city. They traded for items or made them if necessary. Most importantly, they were hunters and warriors. They honored the fallen, the prey, and the enemy. The Medallion? Kai asked telepathically while on route nearing her home, how did you get that?

{Well, our goddess gave it to us.} Kapt’n replied, following with {It was her will for us to survive in the coming future.}

Kai, organizing her thoughts basically summarized the contents of the conversations they had today.

First off, there is a land that the beast-clan Vida know of called Aria, but they did not travel outside of that territory.

Secondly, a lot of time has passed since he was trapped in this world, unable to get back and succumbed to his injuries. The medallion was the medium for which he travelled worlds.

Third, there is a killing force called the others which have no other name and must be fought for peace. Their goddess provided a tool to fight these creatures however they had no idea on how it works, given with no instructions.

Fourth, Kapt’n was intercepted with the tool while trying to figure out how to use it. Coincidentally, he was able to use it as a container to hold his spirit.

Fifth, Kapt’n had hope that his clan was strong and would be able to persist until now, albeit generations after…

All this information started to sort itself out for Kai however she was unable to think much longer as she reached the stairs leading up to her apartment. She reluctantly dragged her tired assed legs up the stairs and made a beeline to her door, Maomao in tow.

She fumbled with her keys, after fishing them out of her pack and finally managed to find the one to open the door to salvation.

With the door finally unlocked, it swung open anf she flicked the lights on, trudged in, threw everything off, and swan dived onto her couch, knowing that she was so drained that she could no longer hold onto her consciousness and make it to the bed. It was optimistic to think that she could do all the things like wash up and eat however at this specific moment, only fatigue won this battle of wills.

Kai immediately passed out.