When she’d passed out from the pain, Lenore had almost assumed that she wouldn’t be waking up. What she hadn’t expected was to wake up on a moderately comfortable cot inside a tent with a green-skinned Orc woman looming over her with a concerned look on her face. A few cogs in the back of her mind started turning and the events prior to her passing out gained some context.

“Hi, Kila,” she said carefully.

Kilareth Bloodsipper, known to friends, acquaintances, and pretty much anyone who happened to be within ten feet of her simply as ‘Kila’ wiped tear streaks away from her eyes and collapsed on top of the wounded Dark Elf.

“Oh gods, Len! I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how badly hurt you were. I was just so happy to see you win!”

“It’s fine,” Len managed to say when her (sort of) longtime friend paused for a breath. “I was probably due to pass out about that point anyway. Thanks for coming to see me. Wait, how DID you get down there, anyway? Aren’t there guards and whatnot?”

“Bah, those guys were pushovers. Just batted my baby blues at them and they let me on by.”

Len stared flatly at her friend.

“Well, they let me go after I explained how important you are to me and that I really needed to see you.”

Len raised her right eyebrow, but otherwise remained impassive.

“Fine… I knocked ‘em out. They were being rude.”

“Kila, you can’t go around assaulting guys who’re just doing their jobs. You could’ve waited a little longer to see me.”

“Hell no,” the orc replied firmly. “You were amazing out there! Where did you learn that thing where you tripped the guy up? You HAVE to show it to me again, I want to try it.”

Len paused, guilt creeping in. She had all the memories of the Lenore that had lived her life here, knew damn near everything about Kila, but she wasn’t the Orc’s friend, she was a stranger.

“That’s… a long story. I’ll tell you some other time. Anyway, what happened after I passed out?”

“Well, the official guy went on some long spiel about how it was highly irregular for me to be there and that the only reason there wouldn’t be serious repercussions, his words, for it was because the fight was already over. He said you’d qualified for the Grand Proving, how exciting is that?! Anyway, after that we got you into the medical tent, had one of the clerics heal you up, and then I just waited here, completely composed and not sobbing over you every couple of minutes at all! I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Again she grabbed Len up in a massive hug, sobbing slightly as her worry was able to give way to relief. Len just patted her head and tried to think about her next move. The smart thing would probably be to just keep up the act. Kila was a good friend to have, she knew that much. It’d hurt lying to her, but telling her the truth would hurt more. She needed to figure out what was going on here if she was ever going to find her way back, and she couldn’t have people start thinking she was insane.

And yet…

Looking into the eyes of the friend of her memories, she just couldn’t do that. She glanced around to make sure that there wasn’t anyone else in earshot and took a deep breath.

“Kila, something’s happened.”

Kila looked up at her, confusion plain on her face, and Len told her everything. About how she was really someone else, about how she had no idea how she’d gotten here, about where she’d learned a martial art that was completely foreign to this land. It didn’t take long to get through, as she really didn’t have much of a clue what was going on herself, but all through it, the orc just listened.

“So…” she said when Len had finished explaining things. “You’re telling me that you’re not my friend Len, but you have her memories. That you’re this other person but you don’t even know your real name and you’ve got no idea what happened to Len.”

“You don’t have to believe me, but it’s the truth.”

“Huh. that’s a weird one but sure, I’ll believe you. What are you gonna do about it?”

“Wha-?” Len blurted.

She’d pretty much resigned herself to destroying the only friendship she was likely to find in this strange new land but instead the Orc had just accepted it without question?

“Hey, the way I look at it, you’ve either gone a bit loopy from the beating you took out there and you’ll be back to yourself in no time,” she held up a hand to forestall Len’s objections to that idea. “Or you’re telling the truth and we’ve got ourselves a hell of a problem to solve.”

“We?” Len asked, more plaintive than she’d meant to.

“Of course, ‘we’. Even if you’re not my Len, you seem pretty all right. You didn’t have to tell me any of this after all. And if I ever want to get my Len back, you’re the person to stick close to make it happen. So, you were really a human, huh?”

“That’s the part that you’re stuck on?” Len quirked an eyebrow.

“Well yeah, we are at war with them. Though I guess not at war with the humans from where you’re from, so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to worry about them as potential enemies.”

“You’re an odd one, Kila,” the dark elf said with a smile.

“Yup,” the orc replied without a hint of concern.

“But if you’re at war with the humans, why was one fighting in the proving?”

“Huh? Oh, you mean Ned? He’s not a human.”

Len looked at her… dammit, yes her friend, how could anyone know this girl and not want to be her friend? Len looked at her friend in confusion.

“Well, I suppose that whatever he is, he’s dead now. Still weird.”

“Oh, right, you were out like a light when he got back up. Ned’s a zombie. Strange for one to actually register as strong enough to be in the first match, but he only got one win, so he can’t be that tough.”

“A… zombie.”

“Yup, a little thing like a broken neck isn’t gonna keep a guy like him down for long. Still took him out of the fight, though. A shame.”

“I… think I’m gonna go back to sleep for a bit. Can we talk more about this later.”

“Sure thing… guess I’d better just keep calling you ‘Len’ for now, huh. Sure thing, Len. Safe dreams.”

Len was surprised at how comforted she was that the Orc didn’t leave her side as she drifted off.