Some of the children looked astonished. Others didn't seem to grasp what was happening at all, their faces blank, unbothered. Lunet noticed a few of them leaning toward each other, whispering. Some were even laughing.
When the introduction ended, the angry man was the first to leave. His clothes were a cut above the rest of the tribe's, just barely, which made Lunet think he might be the chieftain, or something close to it.
Lunet wasn't sure what to do with himself. He didn't really know anyone here, and the thought crept in on its own: disappear back into the forest. The woods weren't safe, he knew that much, but alone, he figured he stood a better chance out there than surrounded by all these people.
He glanced left, then right. No one was watching him. That struck him as strange, considering what had happened only minutes before. Every eye in the camp had been on him then, everyone curious who he was and where he'd come from. Now people had gone back to their own business, like he'd never existed at all.
A small wave of relief settled over him, though something else ran underneath it too, that odd feeling that comes right before you make a run for it. He was a careful planner by nature, so the pressure didn't get to him much.
He turned the problem over in his head, working out the cleanest route out, the one least likely to get him caught. It didn't take long. A plan formed, and it seemed solid enough. He smiled to himself, a little impressed with his own cleverness.
He took his first step, and then heard his name called out. Clivern was waving at him from across the way.
"Follow me."
Lunet cursed his luck. Then, for good measure, he cursed himself too. What actually came out of his mouth was quiet and fairly tame, nothing close to what was running through his head.
He didn't really have a choice. He fell into step behind Clivern, thought about saying something, then decided against it.
All that thinking and evil smiling just to get caught in the end, and you didn't even move.
Can you please shut up about it? This isn't the time for your jokes.
Clivern glanced back at him while walking, a strange look crossing his face.
"You're talking to me?"
Lunet snapped out of his own head, realizing only then that he'd said some of that out loud. His face went red with embarrassment.
"No… I don't know what you're talking about."
Clivern didn't push it. He just laughed a little and kept walking. Lunet, meanwhile, kept replaying the moment over and over in his head, certain he'd never been more embarrassed in his life.
Clivern stepped into his house and left the door open behind him until Lunet followed inside.
The house was simple, one room with a wooden table in the center and a few tools hanging on the wall. Nothing about it felt particularly comfortable, but it was clean and well kept.
Clivern set his weapon aside and said,
"Stay here."
Lunet looked at him without a word.
Clivern added, calm as ever,
"I'll go see if Frain the wise man is ready to meet you. Don't leave the house till I'm back."
Lunet nodded slowly. He was tired, and had no interest in arguing or asking questions.
Clivern walked to the door, paused for a moment, then said without turning around,
"I won't be long."
He stepped out and shut the door behind him.
Lunet stood there for a few seconds, then sat down slowly.
After a while he got back up and started looking around. The house wasn't big, but it was full of small things that showed someone had lived there a long time: hunting tools, old pieces of metal, clothes folded neatly in one corner.
He walked toward the wall and stopped at a picture hanging there. He reached out and picked it up carefully. It was an old photo showing Clivern and Luka, along with a third person, someone with gray hair going white, worn clothes, and a tired face.
He studied it closer. The image didn't look anything like the drawings or carvings he'd seen around the village. It had been taken with an actual camera, and that thought froze him in place for a second.
He whispered to himself,
'This place… shouldn't have anything like this.'
He looked around again, then back down at the photo.
Either this world isn't what it looks like, or Timo messed something up in the ritual. I remember the word had a lot of glitches. Maybe this is just one of them.
His head felt heavy. The exhaustion he'd been ignoring since he got here came back all at once. He set the photo back where he'd found it, then lay down on the bed.
'I'll ask about it later' he thought.
His eyes closed without him meaning them to, and moments later, he was asleep.
Lunet slowly opened his eyes. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was. When he lifted his head, he found Clivern standing in front of him, dressed in old, worn warrior clothes, his weapon fixed at his waist.
Clivern smiled.
"You're awake. You look like you came back from the dead."
Lunet sat up and rubbed his face, trying to shake off the sleep.
"What time is it?"
Clivern answered, pulling the window curtain aside and letting sunlight spill into the house.
"Morning. You slept the whole day."
Lunet was surprised, but said nothing. He could barely remember who he was without his usual morning tea.
Clivern added,
"By the way, Frain the wise man doesn't want to see you right now. Seems he's busy."
Lunet felt surprised, but also a little relieved. He didn't know what kind of man the wise man was, and in the end, that man would be the one deciding his fate. If death was on the table, a delay sounded better than not.
He noticed the weapon Clivern carried and asked,
"What's all this? Where are you headed?"
Clivern answered, holding onto his old sword, the one he clearly cared for.
"We're going hunting."
"We?" Lunet said, caught off guard. "What do you mean, we?"
"Don't you want to learn how to hunt?" Clivern shot back. "Shame. I thought you were a man. Guess I was wrong."
Lunet got up from the bed at once, washed his face with the bucket of water, then turned back to Clivern, knowing that whatever he was looking for in this story, it had to be waiting on this trip.
"I'm ready!"
Clivern laughed, pride in his voice.
"Ha! That's the spirit!"
He turned toward the door without another word. Lunet followed close behind.
Out in the yard, a small group had already gathered, getting ready to leave. Luka stood checking his weapon, two men Lunet didn't recognize beside him, and a woman stood firm, the kind of posture that came from years of doing this exact thing. The rude man from before stood off to the side, arms crossed.
The moment he spotted Lunet, he frowned and turned to Clivern.
"You're bringing him along? Have you lost your mind?"
Clivern let out a short laugh and didn't bother answering, focused on finishing up his weapon.
The man turned to Lunet instead, looking him up and down before speaking with a mocking edge.
"You must be stupid if you think this is some fun little outing. If you can't run, can't fight, you'll just slow the rest of us down."
Lunet didn't answer. He just stood there quietly. The insult didn't land, he was used to people like this and their comments by now.
The woman stepped forward, glancing between Lunet and the rude man, a grin on her face.
"Ooh, looks like old Samit's really worked up."
Lunet looked at Samit for a moment, then said, flat and calm,
"And it looks like you think too much. That's why your head looks like a baby's butt."
Silence fell for a second. Then Clivern, Luka, and the other two men burst out laughing. Even the woman laughed loud, pointing at Samit's head like she needed to explain the joke herself.
"Get it? Baby's butt, because you've got no hair!"
Samit's jaw tightened, and he shot a glare at both Lunet and the woman.
"It's genetic. And you, you rude woman, I'm not old."
He turned and walked off without another word.
Once the laughter settled, the woman stepped closer to Lunet, her voice softer now.
"Don't mind him. He's just lonely."
She pointed to herself.
"I'm Elara."
Then to the two other men.
"And this is Moliran, and Silver."
Moliran stood medium height, built solid, with short dark hair and simple, slightly worn clothes.
Silver stood a bit taller, light brown hair, dressed in old, practical clothes made for quick movement.
Moliran gave a brief smile. Silver just nodded, saying nothing.
Once things settled, Luka turned to the group and raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"Alright, everyone. Let's go get some food!"