Chapter 37: Weird boy
""Uhhh..." Arora's eyelids fluttered open, her consciousness returning as she slowly got up, drowsiness clinging to her.
"Where am I..."
She looked around as she took in her surroundings. She was in a forest of some sort, but the leaves were all blue instead of green, while the trees themselves were as dark as the night. It looked rather mystical, almost like something from a dream she had once.
Her gaze drifted upward through the canopy, as she gasped. There were two setting suns in the sky above her, one yellow like on earth while the other was red.
Arora finally remembered that she was probably in her new world now. The reality of her situation hit her like a wave. she was truly no longer on Earth, no longer in the universe she'd known her entire life. She had truly been Reincarnated.
After several seconds, her hand flew to her face as she realised she was missing something.
"My glasses!" she screamed In panic as she scrambled on her hands and knees, searching the soft, moss-covered ground. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally found them laying under a branch nearby.
She put them on as she came to a realisation.
"Huh.."
She removed the glasses and put them back on again, her eyes widening with each test. Everything remained crystal clear regardless of what she did.
I can... see. I can see normally," she whispered in amazement. Now that she thought about it, her vision had been perfect ever since she'd arrived in that cosmic void with the Primordial. She'd been too overwhelmed by everything else to notice such a change.
She held back her tears of gratitude as she slowly got up. "Thank you again Primordial" she shouted with glee into the empty air.
"Interesting. Who exactly are you screaming to?"
Arora froze up as she suddenly heard a voice behind her. She spun around slowly as she saw a weird young boy about her age watching her from the top of a tree with an intense expression. The boy had red skin, crimson hair, and striking emerald eyes that she seemed to find herself lost in for a few moments.
After a moment, she realised that he had probably been watching her unconscious form for awhile, and then saw her get up and thank the primordial. She blushed slightly at her actions.
'He probably thinks I'm some crazy girl or something' she thought miserably.
The boy's eyes narrowed.
"Hmm, are you deaf? I asked you who you were screaming to." The boy repeated with an annoyed expression.
Arora coughed lightly as she regained her composure.
She knew she couldn't tell anyone from this universe about her connection to the primordial, considering what she saw before.
"Um, sorry," she said with an awkward laugh. "I was just talking to myself. People always say I do that a lot."
The boy frowned, clearly displeased by her answer. He studied her for several moments before simply sighing.
"Is that so... I guess you're just a weird girl then." He said as he jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully.
He casually tossed aside a sturdy stick he'd been using as a makeshift weapon.
"Follow me" he said simply as he started working towards North of the radiant blue forest.
Arora stared at him with a puzzled expression.
"Why exactly would I do that?, I don't know you."
The boy stopped mid-stride then turned back with an annoyed expression. "Alright then, tell me exactly where you're planning to go?"
Arora stood in stunned silence as she came to the sudden realisation that she was in a terrible position. She had absolutely no way to explain her presence here without revealing the truth about her reincarnation. She hadn't asked about how she would be Reincarnated into this new universe. From the primordial's words, she had simply thought she would be Reincarnated as an infant, not dropped randomly into it.
"Um, I..." she mumbled, her voice barely audible. "I don't remember."
"Hmm, what was that?, "I couldn't quite hear you." The boy asked with a faint smile.
"I don't remember!" She said louder in exasperation.
Arora realised she had no other choice but to act like she had lost her memories. There were too many things that she couldn't attest for.
The boy feigned a serious expression as he nodded.
"Hmm, Really? How terrible for you. So tell me, where did you come from?"
Silence stretched between them as Arora realized she was in a precarious situation.
...
...
"I... don't remember."
"And how exactly did you get here?"
...
She paused again. "I don't remember."
"Why did you come to this particular forest?"
...
she gritted her teeth. "I don't remember."
"When did you arrive here?"
"I don't remember anything, okay?!" She screamed, annoyed by the weird boy's constant badgering.
"I lost my memory when I fell, I think." She said, her expression turning somber.
The boy's smirk widened with amusement.
"How do you know you fell, and where exactly did you fall from?"
"I'm just guessing! Geez!" she shot back defensively. "Is this really any way to treat a random stranger you just met?"
"For me, yes, it absolutely is." He said as he turned North. "Now follow me like I suggested, unless you'd rather stay here and get eaten by the Taears. Nasty creatures really. They hunt primarily at dusk, and the suns are already getting low."
A chill ran down Arora's spine at his words. She had no idea what a Taear was, and from his tone, she had no desire to find out. Despite his abrasive personality, he was clearly her best, and possibly only chance for survival in this alien world.
She reluctantly followed him while simultaneously keeping some distance between them.
After several minutes of walking in relative silence, the boy glanced back at her with the same irritating grin. "So, weird girl who fell from the sky with such a convenient memory loss, do you at least remember your name?"
Arora gazed at him annoyed. Despite his mocking tone, Arora felt some gratitude towards him. He had no obligation to help a complete stranger, especially one with such an obviously fabricated story. She suspected that multiple creatures had already discovered her unconscious body at some point, but were driven off by this strange boy's presence.
"Arora. My name is Arora." She said simply. "It's uhh, one of the only things I can remember. She paused hesitantly, then added. "What's yours?"
The boy simply smiled as he kept walking.
"Sure, sure. It's nice to meet you Arora. I'm Arbus, I hope we get along well."