"What beautiful scales you got," I softly whisper to the pale green snake slithering over my shoulders. It's nice and plump from a recent meal, it's scales clean from a recent shed. Maybe if I'm lucky I can find it's shredded skin. I pet it, as it slips back into the tree disappearing into its branches. 

The storm that took me and my siblings has completely disappeared leaving behind a rather lovely warm sunny day. Across dark blue skies white puff pastry clouds bounce up and down like happy pies. They drift along a cooling breeze carrying a scent of salt and fresh pines. 

The forest around me is teeming with life, animal trails break the monogamy of trees and leafy bushes. While berries, fruits, and nuts dot the floor being picked up by squirrels and birds alike. A pair of brown rabbits hop over to the bush next to me nibbling on the strawberry-like berries. A shadow flashing overhead panics them and they dash back to their den. 

I grab a handful of berries nibbling on them as my thoughts roll around like a bouncy ball. When I was young mama and daddy told me if I ever got lost I needed to stay in the same place. Jack and Jill will always find me, but we all are lost... Will the same logic apply here in this situation? If it does how long do I wait? Until it's cold and dark, or when I'm hungry and thirsty? If only I had a clue as to where I am. What I do know is that I am nowhere near home. I'm not on the mountains, or the plain farmlands with sparse forests. This is also no city. 

I toss some chicken feed for the small birds to eat, watching them play. I wait, the sun moving across the sky illuminating its clouds in orange and yellow light. The berries are no longer doing their job of filling me, and the air has this prewarning chill. I don't think Jack and Jill are nearby, if they were they'd have found me by now. 

I wonder about the animal trails, stopping occasionally to watch something interesting. Be it a bird, a bug, or even a patch of nice-smelling flowers. Everything here is brightly colored from the bugs, birds, frogs, and snakes. Besides rodent-killing predators, I don't see anything larger than the snake from earlier. I guess this land must be decently safe or at least without any huge predators like big cats or wolves or bears... I hope. 

While walking, I spot smoke in the distance. Smoke equals people, people means civilization and civilizations equals siblings. I follow after it, pushing past the forest edge line right up to the slightly worn-down dirt path. It's bumpy and not used, but created by people with animals of burden and vehicles. The dirt road stops at a dead end towards my right, and my left curves past a forest edge and disappears. 

The smoke is past the road and into the other side of the forest. Pushing through, I wiggle into view of a campsite. It's lovely with seven large camping tents and two unfinished ones lying unpacked but limp on the ground. It looks like someone stopped halfway through. In the middle of the camp is this nice fireplace dug an inch down and surrounded by stones. A metal grill pan sits on top of the fire and sizzles with meat and fruit on one side and the other side a boiling pot of water thick with seasoning and vegetables.

Several people wander around the camp. One person is by the folded table chopping up vegetables and seasoning thick slabs of meat that must come from the dead deer hanging on a tree a little bit away, still being carved by another person. Sitting in foldable camp chairs drinking some canned stuff are three people chattering away with one another.  The last two people in the camp are talking to one another leaning against a tree keeping an eye out. 

One of the lookout women shoots forward her doe brown eyes immediately turning to me. She's not a human like me, but a humanoid. She's eight-plus feet tall, with a strong muscular upper torso and a set of huge breasts. Her lower torso is that of a goat with sharp-toed hooves. She's not wearing clothes, instead soft fuzzy kiwi-collared fur covers her head to toe.  On her back is a crossbow, next to her pike, and at her wide hips is a short sword. 

She stares at me eyes widening in surprise. She nudges the man beside her and points at me.

He's not a human like me. But this seven-foot-tall person is so slim and bird-like that the wind looks like it can pick him up and toss him to the side. There's no meat on his bones to protect him against the cold. Even his oval face is hollow and slim with sharp features. His brown hair is pushed back by two-foot-long ears dipping behind his head. He's wearing brown leather armor and weapons all over including a special-looking bow and spear. His light-colored green eyes widen just as big as hers. 

The goat woman shouts a warning, reaching for her crossbow. Everyone else at camp turns to stare at me. Um... I don't know proper manners, here. Should I bow, or shake hands, or is it something else? If I can't greet them, they may think I'm being rude and aggressive. 

As I'm pondering what to do, a chair topples over as a man with the palest skin I have ever seen rushes over to me. Soft rose petal pink eyes flutter like butterfly wings. His pale white hair is plush back by pink clips, revealing his long pointed ears. He's dressed just like Jill. He has on a black crop top with a white skull on it. Cargo pants looped with belts holding pouches, bells, chains, ribbons, and keychains. Protecting his stomach is a chain mail undershirt a match to his chain mail bracers clinging to his forearms. 

He reaches for me pulling at my chubby cheeks with his sharp-clawed hands. He's talking fast, too fast for me to assume his tone and attitude towards me. But I guess from experience he finds me adorable. He's hugging me, patting my head, and squeezing my cheeks like an old grandmother. 

Another person appears, also wearing some punk style. A baggy t-shirt with strange pictures of skulls and drums and a written script. And pants much too big for her but kept in place by several belts with pouches, bells, ribbons, and keychains. She has soft lilly pink eyes and loose-flowing white hair as shiny as sugar-spun cotton candy. Her skin is somehow even paler than her... brother... and she has a full figure of breasts and butt. 

She takes me away from her brother and pinches my cheeks. The two of them squealing and chattering amongst themselves. 

If I'm cute will they feed me? Giving them my best pouty eyes I point to my mouth and belly. They fall under my cuteness spell letting out twin squeals pulling me to their foldable chairs and sitting me down to hand-feed me fruits and meat. It's delicious! I wish I could show my appreciation to the cook, but I doubt they will be able to understand me. 

The girl pulls out from one of her pouches, an alchemist set. Strange because all the things she's pulling out should not fit inside such a small pouch, but they do. She barks a few orders to her brother who rolls his eyes and pulls from his pouches several items. She took them grinding or cutting and pressing them into a paste-like ball. 

The super tall goat lady looms over me, watching and growling something. I look down at my meat and then back at her, maybe I'm to share? I gave it to her saying, "I was hungry, I didn't think to share. I apologize for my rudeness." I don't know what she's thinking but she does swipe the meat sniffing it and chewing on it angrily storming off somewhere. 

The person cooking is now looking at me too. She's a nice simple-looking woman with long black scarlet streaked hair and round brown eyes.

 "Thank you for the food, it's really good." And give her my well-practiced smile. People like smiles, and it makes them happy. I don't think it worked because she turned around and kept chopping.  

The Flower siblings keep stuffing me with food and I happily accept. There's a mummer as the goat lady returns with two others. 

A low feminine voice rumbles over us. I noticed that a few people flinched at the sound of her voice. The Flower siblings, Goat Lady, and The Shadow all did not. A tall person steps forward, their shadow looming over me. I look up and up to see who this new person is.