𓋇  𓇗  𓆸 𓋇 ᪥ 𓇑 

“So… Let me get this straight…”

“Chirin. You lived in Terra Firma.”

“But after a certain event, that of which you don’t remember the details of…”

“You were pushed into the Abyss…”

“And as you were falling…”

“...You BLACKED OUT…”

𓋇  𓇗  𓆸 𓋇 ᪥ 𓇑

Chirin: “… Y-Yes Ma’am. You pretty much got it all right.”

Chirin : “Sorry… I wish I could tell you more, but I really can’t remember anything else no matter how hard I try to think about it…”

Chirin : (I couldn’t even bring myself to get up when Python found me. She shook me awake, had to get muddy just to dig me out, and she had to carry me because I couldn’t walk. I’m not in a great state right now.) 

Everything in the boy's body hurt. He was battered and bruised. His muscles ached so badly that simply moving was enough to draw a slight whimper from him. His left knee, that of which was tightly wrapped around a blood-stained cloth, was dark and bruised. He thinks he may have broken it, but he doesn't remember how.

Chirin's mind was a drifty haze, his memories incoherently scattered within a seemingly unreachable portion of his subconscious. Whenever he tried to think about it- to try to reach the memories lost to trauma- a sharp stabbing pain in his head would kindly introduce itself, and Chirin would curl into himself to endure yet another migraine.

He quickly learned that it wasn’t worth the effort.

He stared hard at his feet, a free hand rubbing a particularly painful area as he strained to keep his legs from shaking. He wasn't sure whether the shaking was due to pain, fear, or both. 

Between himself and his savior sat a small fire: A sweet source of heat in this soulless forest of enormous, leafless trees. Instead of leaves, these trees sported multitudes of vibrant, glowing crystal-like objects that hung loosely from dark mahogany branches. 

The occasional breeze that whispered through the hollow breathed life into these crystals: their glow would intensify, and they would dance from their deciduous upbringings, forming a splattered array of thousands of tiny, star-like lights that rippled through the forest. 

Mesmerizing. Eternal. One could witness this cataclysm of varying shades and sensations and never bear witness to its end.

Had Chirin not been so abruptly dropped here– had he decided to come to admire this mystic domain on an occasion of his own choosing, Chirin would have gladly taken the forest’s offer of quiet resource. But reality was a disappointing thing. No amount of ideation would spare Chirin from the consequence of his fate.

Chirin: “Th… Thank you very much for helping and listening to me….”

He carefully brought his gaze to his savior: Python. A tall, dark-skinned woman who wore a giant, face-covering snake-like mask that left only the lower section of her face to be distinguished. She nonchalantly twirled a coin in her left hand, that of which she always seemed to have on her person. Judging by the amount of gear she carried on her person, she was an individual well-versed in the routine of travel. 

However, despite that, she wore garb that Chirin could only describe as peculiar: flowing, intricately patterned garments that exposed an almost immodest amount of skin, revealing thick, powerful muscles that coiled tightly with restrained, explosive energy. It was almost as if she were in a constant state of alertness: a serpent tense and ready to strike at any given moment– at any given opportunity. But what appeared most out of place was the unusually sophisticated-looking key which sported a gem whoose color Chirin could only describe as distractingly different  hung from her belt.

She sat across from Chirin, the small fire being the only thing providing ample distance between them. The snake-like woman had a hand on her chin, and judging by her apparent posture and the way her lips seemed to be pressed into a thin line, Chirin could only assume that she was deep in thought.

Python: “Chirin… If what you are saying is true, you would have fallen from Terra Firma, through the Null Stratum, and the rest of the seven stratums…”

Python trailed off and leaned forward. Her left leg bounced fanatically as she processed this newly acquired information. After a few moments, she looked up, plopped both of her hands on her knees, and leaned back.

Her next words came with a disturbed sigh. 

Python: “ Sweet Monarchs … You must have been falling for a while.”

Python: “And a fall from that far up… To survive such a thing is an impossibility, and yet here you are,  absolutely unscathed.”

Python’s whole body began shaking.

Chirin : (It’s impossible to see what kind of expression she’s making under her mask… Is she unsettled…? Is she excited…? The lack of facial visage is unnerving when all I have to look at her creepy snake-helmet!) 

Python : “ How…? ”

Python: “...How are you even alive?”

Chirin: “I don’t know.”

Python doesn’t say anything for a long moment.

Chirin : ("Did I say something wrong?") 

Chirin : “...M’ sorry, ma’am.” 

Python: “No, no. Don’t apologize.”

Python: “What you went through was horrific.”

Python: “But… you came out of it alive and in one piece. That’s nothing short of a miracle.”

Python: “Finding you alive, though…” 

Python: “I don’t know why I find that more disturbing than finding you dead.”

The uneasiness of her tone wasn’t missed by Chirin, but before Chirin could inquire about it, Python coughed and waved a hand dismissively.

Python : “ Ah.... But don’t worry about that… I’ve pratted on for too long.”

Python unhooked a canteen from her bag and shook it as if testing to see how much water was left inside. The sound of the liquid brought with it a reminder of how utterly dehydrated and hungry Chirin was.

Chirin : ("How long has it been since I’ve eaten or drank anything?") 

As if sensing Chirin’s thoughts, Python chucked and offered the canteen to him.

Python : “Water? ”

She didn't need to ask.

She tossed the canteen to Chirin, and he lunged for it, catching it and clutching it momentarily as if it were the most precious thing in existence before pulling off the cap and chugging it with a long, relieved groan. As he drank, he could hear an amused Python gently chiding him.

Python : “Woooooah now– don’t drink it too fast or you’ll end up choking–”

But the warning came too late. Chirin pulled the canteen from his lips, and doubled over coughing. A mouthful of water fell into his lap, soaking his dirty clothing. He stared at his lap, drooling and breathing heavily for a moment before apologetically looking at Python.

Chirin : “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to- I-I can clean it up! Pleasedon’tbemadIdidntmeanto–! ”

Python : “Woah! Chirin! Sheesh. Don’t lose your coins over it. It’s no big deal.”

Chirin: “Sorry–!”

Python: “Stop saying sorry. You say it too much.”

Chirin : “ S-S–” 

Python : “Hey-” 

Chirin: “Sorry Ma’am! I can’t help it!”

Python: “Then stop saying it.”

Chirin: “ Wh–? Why?”

Python : “Sorry is a word for pathetic, native people who think that one stupid little word will fix all of their faults and mistakes. And you, Chirin, have done neither of those.”

Chirin : “Haah? Isn’t it rude not to apologize?! If I shouldn’t do that, then what else should I say?!”

Python : “That it’s just your bad? Or better yet: nothing at all. What reason would I have to be mad at you for spilling a little bit of water on yourself? That’s nothing to be apologetic for. Your clothes are already messed up anyways. Pointless apologies aren’t going to fix that. Pull yourself together.”

A piece of wood from the campfire that sat between them cracked and split, causing the small fire to burst out momentarily with a whoosh before returning to its normal size. Despite the innocuousness of the happening, the sudden sound had caused Chirin to flinch and shrink into himself, staring at the fire with wide eyes before bringing his startled gaze to Python.

Python: “You’re in a new place now. It’s scary and…”

Python trailed off for a moment.

Python : “... I get it. ”

(As Python said those three words, she had lifted her head– just barely enough for the sharp, bright glow of the fire to illuminate the upper half of her face: once previously concealed by her snake mask. And from under that mask, under the light of the flame that rested below, her silvery eyes almost seemed to glow.) 

(In the first half-second of that moment, their eyes had met. At the time, all Chirin could observe was the vividness of the bright color that accentuated the darker shades of her gaze, and the trivial observation that her pupils were slitted, like a snake’s). 

(But the moment was gone as quickly as it had come. When Python had tilted her head downwards, Chirin only had the glassy, soulless eyes of her snake-like mask to look at). 

(What he hadn’t seen was sympathy in her gaze). 

Python : “...Your body clearly hasn’t caught up with your mind yet. Your mind’s running at a million meters per hour and you don’t know where you're going or what you're gonna do next. But here’s what you need now : You need to slow down, get some meat in your bones, and juuuuust take however much time you need to process. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m gonna share some food with you.”

The snake-masked woman offered Chirin a few pieces of dried meat, and the boy wordlessly accepted it, watching Python quizzically as he ate. She sat quietly, flicking her coin in the air, catching it, and then repeating the same movement. She then began flicking it side to side, the coin clinking with every flick of her wrist. Watching her perform the same action so fluidly and repetitively was almost mesmerizing. 

Despite the harshness of Python's earlier words, the silence that followed was comfortable. With exception to the sting of shame he felt following Python's brief lecture, this was the most relaxed Chirin had been in what seemed like an eternity. He reveled in her company's comfort and the fire's warmth, his previously shaking body slowly yet steadily falling into a peaceful standstill, though the ache from his descent into the Abyss still remained.

In this moment of tranquility, he had nothing to do other than take Python’s advice and process.

Her words were the first to come to mind.

( Python: “... Finding you alive, though…” ) 

( Python: “I don’t know why I find that more disturbing than finding you dead.” ) 

Chirin : (Python… I feel like there’s something she isn’t telling me. I’m sure there’s a reason behind that, but I feel like I should ask her later.) 

Chirin : (Right now, I have to figure out how to return to Terra Firma.) 

Chirin : “...Excuse me, Ma’am? Earlier, you mentioned that I fell through a bunch of “ stratums ”… What’s a stratum? Where exactly am I?”

Python : “Hmm… curious. You don’t know anything about where you are?”

Chirin: “Yes Ma’am. I really don’t. But anything you can tell me would help.”

Python: “Help with what, exactly?”

Chirin: “Me going home… To Terra Firma”

Python: “...”

Python: “You intend to travel all the way to Terra Firma?”

Chirin: “Yes!”

Python: “...Why?”

Chirin: “Because I have to go home! So please tell me how to go to Terra Firma!”

Python stayed quiet for what seemed like an uncharacteristically long time.

Python : “...I know you don’t understand it, but: When a little guy like you says something like that without even realizing just how crazy impossible it is, well… I can’t help but marvel at how peculiar you are.”

Python : “I meaaan… You claim you're not from here… You survived a fall probably close to 70,000 kilometers, which, by the way: Is extremely long… and now you want to go all the way back up…”

Python: “You really don’t know anything about anything, do you?”

Chirin : “N-No Ma’am… ”

Python: “Very well then–”

Python leaned forward, propped her elbows on her knees, and leaned on her hands.

Python : “ – An answer for an answer? ”

Chirin: “Huh?”

Python: “I like to think of myself as a transactional woman—”

She pointed to Chirin with her coin.

Python:” —I’m not going to give or offer you anything if you don’t do the same in return. I didn’t survive this whole time alone by just giving free handouts and being all self-sacrificial. Also, I have some questions for you as well. Am I understood?”

𓋇  𓇗  𓆸 𓋇 ᪥ 𓇑