My real name is Stephanie, and I was a second-year arts major.
The way I ended up as Arinya is a really bizarre tale that not even I understand.
One moment I was hiking up the cliff during our college trip, and then I slipped.
It was as if the world went silent in that moment, and I could not even breathe. All I heard was the sound of my racing heart.
I thought I was going to die.
I thought, if I didn't die, I'd end up in a hospital bed with a broken neck and broken limb, but to my surprise, I woke up in the body of Arinya, the first daughter of the tiger chief. He was the ruler of the Stormhole tribe.
What made him name the tribe Stormhole anyway?
Oh right, that was the tribe name I came up with in my novel as well.
It all felt bizarre.
The similarities, as well as the huge differences in the plot.
This is not the world of the novel I wrote. This is another world entirely.
And in this world, I am Arinya, an ugly duckling hated by 99% of the tribe, if not a hundred percent.
Arinya's memories led me on the right path... I think. Well, it was more like instincts, her body recognizing every turn before my mind caught up.
But it felt like walking toward an execution ground.
Just thinking about the looks waiting for me—the pitying ones, the disgusted ones, the 'oh look, the ugly sister is back' ones—was enough to drain every ounce of emotional battery I had left.
I already felt tired.
I hadn't even arrived yet.
Honestly, if emotional exhaustion could knock someone out, I'd be flat on the ground right now.
But noooo, apparently fate wanted me to walk straight into the circus.
Lucky me.
"Huff," I wiped my sweat with the back of my palm as I rested my hand on a tree trunk.
I hadn't even reached the tribe gate yet and I was already tired.
The flower field was so far from the tribe. It was no wonder no one went there, even to play.
I looked up, tiredly.
The sun had already set and it was pitch dark. I could hear the cooing of owls and the chirping of night birds and somehow, I could pinpoint their location, thanks to my enhanced hearing as a beastman.
And even if I didn't have a torch, it still somehow looked bright in my eyes.
The pecs of being a beastman, I guess.
As I advanced forward, I suddenly stopped feeling so uncomfortable in my lower abdomen, and took a quick glance around.
"Good, there's no one around."
I felt pressed and wanted to make a quick stop before continuing. I mean, even beastmen have bladders and need to 'go' every now and then.
But as I moved further into the bushes, lifted up my animal skin skirt, and squatted, I suddenly saw something glistening silver under the moonlight. It looked scaly, but I could only see a part of it as if it was hidden in the bush in front of me.
'What's that?'
I couldn't hold back my pee anymore and decided to just let it out first before worrying about what the silver thing in front of me was.
When last did Arinya get to free her bladder?
It felt like she hadn't peed in days.
I had suddenly become a broken tap, rushing nonstop because of it and the satisfaction that came with finally freeing my bladder made me close my eyes.
My urine flowed towards the silver thing, but there was no reaction, so I didn't even pay attention to it.
But just as my muscles loosened in blissful relief, I heard a rustle which made me open my eyes.
Something... moved.
But when I looked, nothing was moving.
Was it a rat or something? I wondered, but then the silver thing I'd noticed earlier shifted, ever so slightly, like a shimmer sliding beneath leaves and the bush rustled.
I froze in place but my bladder was still going.
What... What was that?
It was moving. The thing in front of me was moving!
Was it a wild animal?
Oh wait, I was a wild animal but still... I was still new to this world. I don't think I'll be able to defend myself if something suddenly attacks me.
I stiffly watched the thick mass of scaly silver move and inwardly, I prayed for my bladder to hurry and finish.
I had to run away before it was too late.
Halting mid-pee was a torture I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
The silver thing finally lifted higher, revealing more of itself—a long, sleek, scale-covered shape curled tightly like… a body?
Wait.
It was tail?
No, n-not just a tail.
A… serpentine lower half.
And just at the end of those scales was flesh... The upper body of a normal human being.
Oh no.
OH. NO.
In shock, my stream of urine suddenly hit the silver scales again, and this time, there was a reaction.
A deep, low exhale rumbled from the bush. A hiss sounding like a growl escaped the lips of this creature and then he spoke.
A voice.
"What's warm…?"
It seemed like he hadn't noticed me yet so I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming in fear and shock.
DID I JUST—?
WAS I ACTUALLY—?
—PEEING ON SOMEONE'S BODY!?
My insides screamed in horror. How could I do something like that?
Before I could decide whether to flee or die on the spot, the figure in the bush slowly unfurled, rising bit by bit.
The moonlight finally radiated on him brightly, revealing broad shoulders, a toned torso, and hair so light, it was the same silver shade as his snake tail.
Then the rest of him followed—long, gleaming scales coiling beneath him like a massive serpent.
A serpent beastman.
One of the most dangerous types.
His eyes opened, reptilian slits glowing faintly with a shade of amber, and he lifted his head toward me with all the lethargic menace of something that had just woken from a deep sleep.
I was still squatting, holding my breath like I'd die if I released my breath too quickly or too slowly.
My skirt was still lifted and, welp, I was sure he could see all of me from where he was... Why don't they have pants in the beast world? How embarrassing. But that was the least of my worries.
At least they don't file you for indecency in the beast world.
Still, the fact that I peed on him remained.
Just... Kill me. Kill me now.
The serpent beastman blinked once. Twice. And then he looked at his gorgeous scale, the urine I had sullied him with, and then he spoke;
"Did you," he asked in a slow, deep voice, "...just… relieve yourself… on me?"