Lilith’s vision changed rapidly. One second she knew infinite nothingness, the next she was free. Free, as in free-falling. The wind rushed around her as she plummeted to the ground. She turned her head upward, but was met with only a limp parachute.

The numb feeling grew as she disengaged her main chute. It flew backwards away from Lilith as she yanked down on her reserve. Lilith struggled to pull the cord free as her body started to turn more lifeless. The blast had harmed her in some way.

‘I'm not dying am I?’ she thought.

With one final yank, her body jerked and went limp from the open reserve. Lilith tried turning her head, but her body wouldn't listen to her. Her eyes scanned the horizon, looking for a safe place to land, but there was not a light to be seen. The moon illuminated little.

The dazed feeling grew as Lilith struggled to keep her eyes open. She was rapidly approaching the ground.

‘At this point, all I can do is hope for the best.’

The closer to the ground Lilith got, the more she could see. Vague images of trees started to appear across the horizon.

‘There shouldn't be this many trees’ she thought.

Lilith scanned the area. All that mattered now was landing, she cast all doubt aside. A small area devoid of trees appeared below her. She pumped her legs. Lilith was going much faster than she would have liked, but she would deal with it.

Lilith skimmed the tops of the trees, gliding into the clearing.

Her vision started to fade as her body froze up. She eyeballed the distance to the ground that was rapidly approaching.

‘15, 10, 5, Now!’ She screamed internally.

One foot touched the ground quickly followed by another. The landing sent shockwaves up her body as it struggled not to collapse. Her head felt light as another step to slow down was taken. The next step found Lilith’s consciousness slipping. Her leg shot out again as her entire body followed after it. She crumpled to the ground unconscious.

***

The sun peeked over the tops of the trees, heralding the start of a new day.

Bushes, moss, and shrubs danced with glee. The wind rippled through the clearing, sending leaves left and right. One particular bush shook much more vigorously. Connected to it was a head. The small monkey moved through the underbrush. Its large green ears listened for any movement around it.

Pansage grappled up a nearby tree to scout the area. Its large black eyes quickly settled in one direction.

He leapt from one tree to another, only stopping until he stood atop the outer reaches of the gap between the trees.

A large bundle of fabric covered the small clearing. Neon yellow and white stripes scattered the sun all throughout. Connected to the parachute was Lilith. Her tiny body was hidden by the large cloth and the parachute that covered the lower half of her body. Not even the glare of the sun beating down could wake her.

Curiosity overtook the small monkey. Pansage stuck to the outer trees while investigating. No malice was felt. Once deemed safe, he slowly crept up to the strange object that rustled with the wind.

With one hand, Pansage reached out and poked the strange yellow object. The parachute fabric gave way, sending a giggle through Pansage’s small body. He slowly danced around while poking and prodding his new discovery.

While moving around the parachute, he made a new discovery. Something was underneath.

Pansage crept closer. He felt weird laying eyes on the small child. He knew instinctively what she was, even without ever laying his eyes on another of its kind before. New feelings swirled around him as he crept closer.

Repeating the parachute experiment, Pansage nudged the small girl. Upon no reaction, he grew emboldened. More dancing and poking ensued until he pushed the parachute aside to explore further.

“Pan!” he exclaimed.

Pansage lept back in freight as the small body twitched. He raced around to hide behind the side of the parachute. Pansage occasionally peeked out behind it to glance at her. Further emboldened by the lack of movement, Pansage inched back towards the unconscious girl. Curiosity grew as Pansage wreaked down and poked her face. Pansage lost himself in his fun.

Once Pansage got bored, he decided to try something new. He crouched down and decided to lick the small girl's cheek. More feelings of the unknown crept up on him as Pansage decided he liked licking her face.

The stimulation proved to be too much as Lilith started to twitch and slowly open her eyes.

***

Darkness enshrouded Lilith. She could feel herself floating in nothingness. It was warm and comforting. An otherworldly experience.

No thoughts came to mind. Everything seemed to happen on a subconscious level.

Small stimuli lazily appeared. A nudge here, a poke there. Something was calling her, beckoning her to awaken. Lilith reached out her metaphorical hand to grasp at something, but nothing happened. The sensation was lost amidst the fog. Unknown frustration grew as a new sensation called to her. It reminded her of a dog. An overly excited puppy, licking her face.

Not wanting to miss the chance, Lilith tried to open her eyes once more.

Grogginess and confusion overwhelmed her. Lilith tried to sit up while pulling her arm to her face. She coddled her forehead, trying to shake away what had hold of her.

“Eapp!” A yelp brought her back completely.

Lilith's brain re-ran the entirety of events. The plane, the fight. The fall. Everything could have been brushed off as some sort of hallucination if not for the picturesque image of a Pansage burned into her eyes. The small creature tried hiding behind her reserve chute, the one she hand packed.

Lilith’s jaw went slack for a second. With no other option coming to mind, she beckoned to the curious creature.

“Hey…” The pitch in Liliths voice came out unusually high.

Lilith brought her hand to her mouth in shock. The Pansage stayed away.

‘Why are my sleeves so big?’ she thought.

More thoughts were put together as her mind processed her chaotic thoughts.

‘Or am I just small?’ Lilith checked her surroundings, and tried to stand up.

It wasn't just her shirt that was too big, but everything she wore. She didn't fit into anything. Her shoes jostled as she tried to stand.

Motion brought her back to reality. Pansage walked up to Lilith as he pulled an Oran Berry out of his pouch. He stared at it for a second before sticking his arm out to her.

The awkwardness of the situation confounded her. She reached out and took the berry with an awkward smile. Her tummy rumbled.

“Ah, thanks,” She said.

Pansage jumped up and down with glee. His infectious charm almost put a smile on her face. He then motioned in a direction to her left. Pansage ran to the end of the clearing, turned, and then motioned for Lilith to follow.

Not fully understanding her new reality, Lilith stood and trudged along behind Pansage in her overly large jump-suit.

Nothing appeared out of the ordinary not considering the small grass monkey with a bush living on its head. The trees appeared to be trees, if not a little bigger than she was used to. Lilith was no expert in forestry.

No more than a handful of minutes passed before the foliage grew less dense and the sound of running water could be heard. Pansage stood at the bank of a river about 10 meters wide.

He jumped up and down in triumph as he pointed across it.

Lilith followed what he was pointing at with her eyes. On the opposite bank stood a large tree that grew out over the river. Green vines hung down and pale orange flowers dotted the tree. The color blue jumped out the most.

Lilith looked down at her hand holding the Oran berry, and then back at the ones hanging on the tree.

Lilith looked back and forth between the two before something else caught her eye.

Lilith almost dropped the berry in her hands as she scrambled down on her hands and knees, her face inches from the water.

The reflection that stared back at her was that of a distant memory.

Lilith’s distinctly Asian chin and rounded forehead with healthy pale skin stared back. Her Jet black hair combined with eyes so brown she swore they were black. It was Lilith’s face, but she appeared far too young.

The reflection of a 14 year old Lilith stared back at her.