Arin didn't think he could stand up just yet. Instead, he slowly crawled over to the sleeping lizard. He picked it up carefully, although he was pretty sure it wouldn't have reacted even if he'd swung it around by its tail. It clearly wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon.
After looking at it for a moment, he decided to tuck it into his roomy left sleeve.
Without waking up, the lizard settled its small body in the crook of his elbow, its slender tail drooping to wind around his forearm. After a brief pause of surprise, Arin let it be.
Looks like he was just going to have to make sure he didn't accidentally crush it by flexing his biceps too hard or something.
Slouching forward to rest his arms on his knees, he took a deep breath. The air in the orchard was pleasant, smelling of the earth and sweetness, with just a hint of rot. The warm sunlight of late afternoon filtered through the canopy and dappled the dirt with specks of gold. Arin could see dust swirling like golden fairy dust in those spots.
It would've been a perfectly relaxing moment of respite if not for the burning pain on his right side.
Arin huffed, then reached up to toss Rin's stupid cloak off his shoulders. He shifted to unbutton his shirt with one hand, hoping the action wasn't squashing the lizard. It didn't seem to mind either way.
Finally managing to successfully shrug the fabric off his right shoulder, Arin twisted around to assess the damage that had been dealt by the lake's furious swipe.
There was a long, shallow cut just below his right shoulder blade. Small specks of dried blood were visible around the broken skin. In the area surrounding it was an angry, red bruise that spread from his shoulder, down his back, to the side of his chest.
Damn it. This world seriously needs more habitat-destroying industries - those that specialize in draining lakes especially…
After cursing the lake viciously in his heart for a few minutes, Arin finally calmed down a little. While painful, the injury definitely wasn't as bad as it could've been. After all, he could still move his arm, and his ribcage and spine seemed to have fully escaped the worst of the damage.
He had to acknowledge that this was all thanks to both luck and Rin's exceptionally well-maintained physique. The same blow on his own, weak, office-drone body might have left him bedridden for a few days.
Arin stretched as much as he could to relieve some stiffness. After clothing himself again, he finally stood up and walked over to an apple tree nearby.
Hesitantly, he reached out a hand to touch its rough bark. Then, all of a sudden, he jumped and reached up to pull a fruit off a low-hanging branch. Missing the first time, he tried again, and this time, successfully picked the reddish-yellow apple he'd set his sights on. And then -
Nothing.
There was no unholy lightning or sudden earthquake. No guardian beast or raging spirit appeared to fight him for the fruit. It seemed that the white-haired man truly hadn't had any hidden intentions when he'd sent him here.
Arin almost couldn't believe it. He looked down at the firm, sweet-smelling, and perfectly ordinary apple he held in his hand. It could've appeared at a random fruit stall in his own world, and he would've been none the wiser.
Huh.
It really was just low-hanging fruit.
Then again, it wasn't like he was breezing through the white-haired man's errand. After all, he had asked him to return to the tower the same day, before sundown
And the sun, indifferent to his needs, had long since started its descent towards the western horizon.
Keeping at their earlier pace, the horse-dragon-lizard might have still been able to make it back to the tower, with minutes to spare before nightfall. However, with the creature as exhausted as it now was, Arin didn't think it would be in any shape to fly any time soon. He doubted whether it would wake up before the next day.
Deep in thought, Arin tossed the apple up and caught it. He then brought it up to his lips, and took a bite. Sweet juice flowed into his mouth as his teeth tore through the crisp flesh.
It looked like he was going to be spending the night, so it made sense to fill his own stomach for now. He might as well make a fresher pick for the white-haired man before setting out again the following morning.
Mind made up, Arin helped himself to a few more apples from the orchard. After that, he followed the footpath leading towards the village he had seen earlier.
He didn't exactly want to spend the night at the orchard, after all. He also hoped to be able to find something besides apples to fill his stomach. He didn't know what passed for currency in this world, so everything depended on whether he'd be able to find someone kind enough to feed him, and maybe give him a place to stay for the night.
He didn't encounter anyone else along the way. Walking out from under the cover of trees, he could see a low wall that marked the boundary of the settlement. A weathered contraption of mud and stones, it lay in a state of disrepair. Parts of it had even collapsed entirely.
To Arin, it didn't look like something capable of keeping intruders out; its presence was decorative at best. As he continued onward, he noticed that there wasn't a single person standing by the rusted gate that opened into the settlement, let alone a guard post of any sort.
Sandals crunching on the gravel with each step, Arin slowly walked up to the gate. It suddenly struck him that he hadn't noticed any activity when he'd seen the place from the sky. No people bustling about in the fields, nor any animals making their way back home after a day of grazing. But even as the thought came into his mind, his footsteps had already taken him past the gates.
He had entered the village.