Chapter 1

Imagine This

The sound of waves crashing into the hard stone of the shore, the spit of the spray on your face. The smooth wave-washed gravel under the palms of your hands as you watch the indigo sky from the sunrise casting a scintillating sheen to the broken waves in front of you. The sound of birds in the woods behind you could barely hear over the crashing waves made loud by the silence between them.

Breath fills your lungs the smell of salt heavy in the air, hints of scents of the forest and animals living their lives behind you follow it. Strength fills your lungs, blood, and body as clarity frees your mind from the haze of hypoxia. You are cold, soaked through. You feel a war in your body as it fights the cold. Pins and needles stab your nerves and pain aches your joints, your flesh screams its agony against the walls of your inconsiderate mind. Gashes flowing cold blood covers your legs, and chest, abrasions smatter your arms you feel the glorious pain known only to those alive the strength provided by energy gathered from the air and the warmth of a mind. Disappointing.

               “This is reality” The words bloom in Solus’s mind filling an empty cold cavern of Consciousness, anchoring it once more to the world after their grave leap into the void.

               Sitting up pain ravages Solus’s mental barrier making no progress for them to register the pain. The wounds lessening in severity visibly closing at an inhuman pace. The once cold blood now warm with energy and the war long since won.

               In a mental check of the damages lessening by the second Solus sighs audibly catching movement in the corner of their eye. Looking over, there is a cat on top of a rock staring at what can only be assumed to be surprise at the walking corpse. Giving the tried and true “PSPSPSP” Solus gestures for the living void with eyes as blue as the deep sea.

               The cat for his part who now looks offended does approach, sniffing Solus’s extended hand the cat's eyes blink while staring at it before running off. Blinking slowly as you stare into the empty space once filled by a void cat. Their eyes drifted over to the sea looking at what was to be his undoing, feeling the cold air and smelling the sea.

               Thoughts of the cat float into Solus’s mind lingering on the way it could express itself in such a human manner. “That cat was weird.”

“Hello!” said a short man from the tree line.

Startled, Solus felt the weight of his body disappear as he jumped up and turned around in a swift motion. “Hi.”

“Are you okay? You are covered in blood.” Says the man approaching still putting on clothes, his shorts now joined by a graphic T with a lemon on it.

Staring at the man's shirt Solus replied, “its paint.” A little to quickly for it to be considered the truth.

Narrowing his eyes the man looks Solus up and down, “Dude… Ma’am.” He pauses confusion showing on his face, “Your clothes are ripped right above big splashes of quote paint. Do you need help at the very least a second set of clothes?” he continues before stopping a few meters away, “You’re not hurt anymore are you.”

“No.”

“Were you trying to go back?”

Confused Solus took a sec to reply “Go back where?”

The man blinks slowly, “… you are from here.”

“I’m from nearby, Tors Cove if you must know,” Solus said slowly as if questioning his origin.

Blinking even slower, the man shakes his head, “My name is Inanis Somnum. What’s yours?”

“Solus Carmine. You are that cat aren’t you?”

“How’d you know?”

“Mannerism, your name literally means void sleeper, your eyes, the fact the cat ran off then you appeared half naked.”

“I get it you don’t have to continue, but don’t say anything about my name yours means lone red, what did your parents see your hair and decide you would be on your own forever.”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

The silence stretched on with both of them looking at the other with scrutiny one now knowing they weren’t alone and the other realizing that he had a lot to explain to the other.  “So,” Inanis starts “How Do I say this without sounding completely insane to you”

               “You’ve already admitted to being an actual cat. Just speak.”

               “Fair enough, so basically I'm not from this world. And I would like to take you with me to my home world.”

“yeah, You sound insane.”

“figures, so are you coming with me?”

“Yes.”

“Really?” Inanis starts while turning and marching towards the woods behind him.

“I have nowhere else to go.” Solus says Following him.

Silence returns filled only by the sounds of the forest and the crunching of duff underfoot. As the distance passes the woods thicken and thin in waves, and the light filters through the canopy casting a net of shadows all around. The sounds of the coast to the south as leaving the nature preserve and head toward the town of Mobile. The gaps get larger as the space clears leading back to civilization. As they approach the tree line Inanis turns to continue following the coastline to the south. After crossing the river and following the road you eventually come to a building with an attached greenhouse.

As Solus recalls, he has stopped by here several times to buy medicine. The sign above the door read Herb pharm, the pun was lost among the locals. The place was known to have just about every Herb and medicine no matter the time of the year. Thanks to its greenhouse it was also known to use way more electricity than what was normally allowed. Recalling several times about how Solus’s Dad had to talk with the quote weird lady who runs the store about rationing energy use in the winter months always riding the line of fines.

Leading the way inside Inanis was greeted warmly by said weird lady, “Greeting, Inanis Did you enjoy your walk? I see you made a friend, Solus if I remember.”

Greeter her back, “Yep, found this one half dead one moment then they were fine the next. I thought they were trying to go back to Theia, but they were a ways off but they said they were from here and I mean look at them, they’re clothes are ruined and covered in quote-unquote paint but they aren’t hurt at all.” Taking a breath Inanis continues, “They also said they’re from Tors Cove and you even recognized them.” Inanis continues talking about what happened with more details then Solus even saw. Looking about the shop is almost exactly as it was about 2 years ago when they were here last, the only thing that’s changed was the pricing. The yellowing white wallpaper with mounted fish and stuffed moose in the corner next to several shelves stalked with raw materials and stone tools behind the counter is several lists of plants and their properties as well as over-the-counter and generic medications.

While they’re looking around the background noise stops. Looking over Solus realizes that they are in fact still in blood-soaked and torn clothes. Feeling a hint of embarrassment they cough into their hand before saying “Do you have a change of clothes?”

“My name is Alexis, Inanis take Solus to your room and give him a change of outerwear.”

“yes’m.”

“Solus I will close up here in a little bit and we can talk. Make sure to grab some food from the fridge I have sandwiches premade.” Watching as she turns to the front door something about her feels off as if she isn’t all there physically. Solus’s father said he felt on edge around Alexis, mentioning how she doesn’t ever leave her property.

“So, Solus do you prefer Jeans or shorts cuz that’s all I got.”

Looking at their ruined clothes. What was once a hoodie and sweatpants and two shoes has been reduced to rags and half a shoe. “I’ll stick with jeans thank you.”

“No problem Dude” hesitating before adding “Ma’am… Okay no offense, but dude or ma’am”

“No,” they replied smirking

“So, neither… Fair enough.” Inanis chuckles before turning down a small hallway and opening a door to the left and heading into a small room filled by a full sized bed a desk and a dresser there is a window looking at a poppy flower bed in the greenhouse behind the wall. The room is sparsely decorated with only a rug to cover the floor and lots of things on the floor with very little on the shelves. Going over to the dresser Inanis pulls out a pair of jeans a belt and a white graphic tee with an apple on it.

Curiosity overwhelmed them, “what's with the fruit?”

“Well Alexis bought my clothes and I mentioned liking fruit when she asked what all I liked, and the next thing I knew…” pausing while opening the shirt door of the dresser which is filled with all the colors of the rainbow and covered with just about every kind of fruit they could think of and then some, there's even a few tomatoes, “this became my entire wardrobe.”

“Wow, I need to be careful of what I tell her.”

“To an extent sure. I’m gonna get you a sandwich while you change, do you prefer turkey or roast beef?”

“Umm, could I get both I'm really hungry?”

“Definitely!”

As Inanis leaves Solus takes a deep breath, feeling awkward during this whole thing but at least some answers are around the corner, and some food, looking forward mostly to the food. Getting dressed, the clothes are very tight, Inanis being almost 15 cm shorter than Solus it is not very surprising but at least the clothes are clean.

As Inanis returns to the room he is carrying two plates filled with turkey and roast beef sandwiches, 16 in total. Blinking Solus says, “That is a good amount of sandwiches.”

“You said you were hungry, and I'm a bit peckish myself.” He replied smiling. Setting down the plates he starts to dig in grabbing a turkey sandwich before gesturing for Solus to join. Grabbing a roast beef and devouring it in three bites before grabbing a turkey and repeating the feat. “You… don’t have to… you don’t have to eat that fast.”

Blinking Solus swallows before meekly replying “Sorry force of habit.”

“It’s Okay take your time I’m only gonna eat like 6 the rest are all yours.” Inanis replied smiling.

After polishing off both plates silence follows. Hearing a knock on the door Alexis’s voice sounds, “Come into the garden when you are ready for our talk.”

Slapping his knees, Inanis gets up gesturing for Solus to follow. Exiting the room followed by the hallway you enter the Lab with metal worktables covered with equipment that holds no meaning to them. Inanis pauses at the door to the Greenhouse. Grimacing before he says, “Keep an open mind, okay? And um don’t scream.” With that, he opens the door. The light blinds for a moment before their eyes adjust.

There is a veritable variety of vegetation in the greenhouse with way more colors than the name of the location would entail. The smell is divine, in a forest the smell of decay is the most prominent from the dead fauna and flora but here the nutrients normally provided by that process are already in the dirt freeing the air from the smell and leaving the pollens and perfumes to dominate the air. Plants dominate every inch of the scenery. Then the air shifts and bends what used to be a slightly plant-obscured glass wall shifts and a mass of crystals layered on top of each other slowly appearing green reflects and refracts off the crystals. Before long the warping approaches the observers, piles of crystals forming limbs and wings then a neck, then a violet eye blinking slowly surrounded by crystals appears. The crystals shift sitting up.

“I am Alekiver Konochis but you may call me Alexis, and I need to explain a lot to you.