Several days went by since her birth. Like any newborn, she slept more than she was awake, and the only sounds she could make were baby noises. She enjoyed the warmth of a loving mother who spent every waking hour with her. The part within her named Shizuru remembered only fragments of her previous childhood, but her mother had been quite distant. She grew up in a cold household with servants but absent parents, so being able to experience a different environment like this nourished her soul.

She quickly began to grasp basic words and learned her new name was Viyal. It was the word she heard her mother say the most when looking at her. Be it because she retained the memories of her past life or the nature of the species she became, she learned this world's spoken language faster than any human baby could.

Viyal's twin elder brothers, Noro and Saro, visited every day. Their appearances corresponded to ten-year-old human children, and they had personalities to match. Although they teased her by poking her all over, they evidently lovingly welcomed their new family member in their own childish way.

Days turned into weeks. Viyal's mother did not breastfeed her; she was no human, after all, and was as flat as a board. Instead, she was given chopped raw meat, which her feeding instincts forced her to devour despite her mental inhibitions. That likely contributed to her quick growth.

Her tail underwent molting twice and grew by one entire segment in that time. It was still too short to reach her shoulder blades, but after two more segments, it would be long enough to use as a weapon. At the same time, Viyal noticed that her limbs grew strong enough for her to flip herself over and crawl in her crib.

It was unthinkable for a human baby to do this only a few weeks after being born. But given that she had fully-formed teeth at birth, it was safe to say that children of this species had to grow up quickly to survive. Perhaps she was lucky to have a loving family to keep her safe.

Viyal's father only came back into the tent again after a month. When he did, she felt a strain in his rugged features. He discussed things with his wife while glancing in Viyal's direction with his brow furrowed. Even though she did not understand what they were talking about, she picked up on the fact that there appeared to be something wrong with her.

An elderly woman dressed in a dark robe with her face covered in an elaborately painted paper mask came to examine her. She burned incense and spoke as if in a trance, marking her as a shaman. Viyal's parents listened to her respectfully, showing she had some authority as perhaps a religious figure. Their conversation contained countless words she did not understand. Still, the overall meaning pointed to one thing: They had to take their daughter somewhere.

The next morning, Viyal's mother carried her outside the tent she was born in for the very first time. She was greeted by the vast blue sky of this new world over rolling green hills as far as the eyes could see. They were in the middle of a gathering of perhaps a hundred tents. Countless people, not one looking human, were busy packing up.

At the edge of the gathering was a fenced-in area teeming with quadrupedal animals featuring elaborate antlers and bushy tails. One man used a long staff with a feathered tip to guide them toward an opening where people put harnesses and cloth saddles on the creatures. The entire camp looked like it was in the process of getting ready to move.

Her father approached wearing a feathered band holding back his mane and a padded vest embroidered with a stalking lion-like animal. He was followed by an entourage of warriors led by two from the same species of blue-skinned and pointy-eared humanoids as Viyal's midwife. They wore similar but far less decorated outfits and carried spears. Short bows rested in leather holsters on their hips.

Viyal had been born into a nomadic tribe living on a steppe, and judging by this display, her father was the chief.

He glanced at his daughter, then spoke to his wife carrying her. Viyal could not understand the meaning of his statement or perhaps order. Her mother nodded silently and turned to look around.

"Where are Noro and Saro?" she asked, speaking a complete sentence Viyal understood for once. It was a common phrase, one her mother used almost every day. The twins were incredibly active and mischievous, bothering everybody with their rough play.

"They ride with me," her father answered tersely, pointing at the paddock. He was a man of few words at the best of times. Viyal peered in the direction and spotted her two brothers waiting at the exit in full gear, gnawing on a roast rib each. They likely stole those off somebody's grill.

Her mother shook her head in disapproval, but she clearly had no say in how the future heirs to the tribe were trained by their father. Instead, she looked across her husband's entourage and furrowed her brow. "Has your brother returned?"

Viyal was not surprised to learn that her father had a brother, likely a twin.

"No." That was all he said before turning aside and raising his palm toward his wife without looking. Viyal blinked in surprise when her mother smiled warmly at the gesture and took the offered hand. From their previous interactions, she had thought her parents were only together out of obligation. But she could tell they were in love, even if they barely showed it.

Her father guided her mother down the slope toward a canopied cart drawn by a pair of the reindeer-like animals the tribe herded. He helped his wife onto it and nodded with his usual firm expression before turning away and leaving with his entourage.

Viyal watched from her mother's arms as the tents were taken down with expert movements, and the entire tribe was ready to go before noon. It set out in a long procession and traveled in the direction of the sun's movement across the sky. Six-wheeled carts carrying the tribe's belongings rolled in the center, flanked by riders on both sides. They were prepared for an attack from any side.

The ride across the steppe had Viyal's three rows of teeth clattering. She could still vividly remember the smooth car rides on paved roads, so this was a truly otherworldly experience. Having grown up in a modern city with all its convenient amenities, life in a nomadic tribe was hard to accept. Still, she was the daughter of the chief. Once she grew older, she would use her authority and the knowledge from her past life to improve everybody's living conditions.

Noro and Saro came by on their reindeer mounts to wave at Viyal. She raised a hand and returned the gesture, causing the twins to raise their eyebrows in surprise. They broke out into beaming grins, and Viyal felt warmth spread in her heart. Her mother smiled at their interaction, and the world was at peace.

Days and weeks traveling on the steppe blended together in Viyal's mind. She learned more of the language everybody around her spoke as there were now more voices to listen to. It was almost a magical growth as she began comprehending abstract words such as numbers and concepts even without being taught directly. She quickly began to piece together the meanings of increasingly complex sentences.

At one point, the tribe met with another traveling procession, and tension hung in the air. Viyal's father met with the other chief and exchanged gifts, and the two sides became best friends for the day. Members of both tribes took the opportunity to mingle and barter for goods. Nomadic steppes were not entirely lawless and full of marauders as she imagined after what she learned in history class in her previous life. Even in a world without technology, people could be civilized.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Viyal noticed an assortment of wicker cages on one of the other tribe's carts. They housed birds and small mammals, likely kept for food. A few of her tribesmen presented goods to barter for them and asked to get a closer look at the animals. When some cages were removed, a larger one at the bottom was revealed, and Viyal's eyes widened.

A small girl, roughly the same apparent age as her, was curled up into a ball inside it. She had roughly cut short, flaxen hair, but two longer patches covered her ears and twitched at the sounds of the people surrounding her. Was she a slave, or did the nomads treat her species as food?

Viyal shuddered at the memories of what she did inside her mother's womb. She ate her unborn siblings, so perhaps it was considered normal to consume sentient humanoid beings for her kind. But she could not abide by that; her morality from her past life did not allow her to accept such barbarity.

"What is it, Viyal?" her mother asked when she stretched an arm toward the cart.

"Want," Viyal declared, then blinked in surprise at her own voice coming out. Her throat was not yet developed enough for speech, so she could only approximate the noises to form the word. When she tried to say more, her voice came out as meaningless babbling. She could not yet say anything complex that required finer control over her vocal cords.

Her mother stared at her in confusion. The girl had spoken her first word, and it was one filled with selfishness. Surely, she would be disappointed.

"Amiro! Call for Amiro!" she cried out instead and waved at one of her cart's guards. The man rode off and returned with the chief after a few moments. Viyal was shocked to learn her father's name this way.

Chief Amiro rode high on a stag with richly decorated antlers and towered over his wife and daughter's cart. He furrowed his brow, wearing an expression implying he better have been called for something important. His wife picked up Viyal and raised her toward him. "She spoke!"

"What did she say?" His cold expression melted at those words, and he stared at Viyal expectantly. She noticed the cart with the cages starting to move away from the corner of her eyes and twisted her body to point at it.

"Want!" she yelled and struggled. It took her father aback since he likely expected a baby's regular first words like mama or papa.

"Want? What does she want?" Instead of following Viyal's gesturing, Amiro asked his wife.

"Maybe she wants to eat something living?" her mother wondered, turning to the departing cart.

"Stop them," the chief ordered one of his men before getting off his mount and taking Viyal out of her mother's hands. He carried her to the cart with the caged animals and examined the merchandise. "Which do you want?"

Viyal gestured at the cage housing the girl with the dog ears, who had opened her eyes and stared up at Amiro with a terrified expression. He made for an imposing figure, towering over most of his tribesmen by a head. But her fear was so pervasive that perhaps she associated him with a predator.

"You want to eat this one?" Amiro asked Viyal with a rare smile that showed off his sharp teeth. She shook her head and denied that notion vehemently.

"Not this one? Which then?" Not understanding Viyal's intentions, Amiro pointed at another cage. It was filled with hairy rodents with their mouths tied up so they could not chew through the bars. The very idea of eating those alive caused her to recoil.

She struggled and slipped out of her father's grip, causing her to fall onto the cart's loading bay face-first. Her mother, who had followed them quietly, gasped and rushed forward, but her father stopped her. Viyal pushed herself off the wooden surface and rubbed her face, but she did not cry. She crawled forward and grabbed the bars of the cage with the little girl inside, who pressed herself against the opposite side, trying to escape.

"So it was this one." Amiro scratched his beard thoughtfully. Then, he waved over the owner of the cart. "I'll give you a Shinoon leather belt for it."

Shinoon was the name for the reindeer-like animals his tribe bred. Their leather was of high quality, both soft and tough at the same time. The tribe used it to make clothes, equipment, decorative items, and more. Viyal's mother busied herself with such handicrafts on the cart when not taking care of her.

"That is too little for one so precious," the man argued, speaking with a distinct accent. He rubbed his hands together and grinned expectantly. It appeared to be a universal gesture for greed, even in another world like this.

"What makes it so precious?" The chief peered past Viyal into the cage. The terrified girl hissed in a panic but had nowhere to escape.

"Nokkoy, last of her kind," responded the trader. Perhaps that was the name for her tribe or her species.

"You ate them all?" wondered Amiro with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh no, tribe was destroyed. Mother was vooru but died in birth," the man explained with an expression of feigned sadness. Viyal did not understand the word vooru but had a few ideas about what it could mean, judging by how this girl was treated.

"So, is it tasty?" Amiro ignored the part about the girl's tribe having been destroyed and focused on what was important to him.

"We... we never ate them." The trader seemed confused and glanced around as if looking for an explanation.

"Doesn't look like much meat. You didn't fatten it," the chief continued with an expression of disdain. "A Shinoon belt might be too much."

The man's expression changed when Amiro did not relent and even appeared ready to retract his previous generous offer. Clearly, Shinoon leather wares were more valuable than a baby, which only cost resources to keep alive and did not contribute to the tribe. Thus, the trader reluctantly caved to the initial offer but demanded to be allowed to choose from a selection.

Amiro picked up Viyal with one hand and opened the cage with his other while one of his men went to fetch their tailor to bring the goods. The little girl inside hissed, pressing herself against the bars opposite the door. "Your father will butcher it for you."

Viyal froze at those words, and her eyes widened. Then she turned around and pulled on his beard to scream, "No!"

"Another word!" her mother was delighted that her daughter was developing so quickly.

"You want to do it yourself?" Amiro stopped his hand at the cage door and wondered. He then turned to the trader with a concerned expression. "Is this Nokkoy dangerous?"

"Good fighters, but nothing like you Mosyvvi. This one is still a baby. No teeth," the man assured him. He glanced at Viyal, who had a mouth full of sharp teeth that could rend even a fully grown Shinoon's tough hide and suppressed a shudder.

"Go on then, Viyal." Knowing his daughter was in no danger, Amiro lowered her onto the cart in front of the open cage door. The girl inside stared at her with eyes as large as saucers. They were a bright amber, but their beauty was marred by the fear emanating from them.

Viyal began to crawl slowly inside the cage so as to not startle her. From up close, the Nokkoy looked almost human, but her jaw was slightly elongated into a snout with a button nose. At this distance, she could see that the girl had a faint hint of blonde fuzz covering her face, although it was not on the level of fur.

She tried to smile, but it only caused the dog-eared girl to hiss in response. That was when she remembered that her sharp teeth doubtlessly gave her an intimidating look like her family. Seeing this, she stopped and sat on her bottom to signal she would not get any closer. Then she opened her palms in an attempt to appear non-threatening. She did not know if this world considered raised hands a gesture of peace. Luckily, it seemed to work on the little girl, as her expression changed from pure terror to confusion.

"Viyal," she introduced herself, eliciting another excited gasp from her mother, coming from surprisingly close. She glanced back and found her parents crouching in front of the cart to watch their daughter's work. Suppressing the urge to shake her head, she looked at the dog girl again and extended a hand toward her. The gesture caused her to shy back, but she raised an ear slightly and tilted her head.

She was unsure how intelligent the Nokkoy were, especially one this young. Perhaps the little girl did not understand words yet and was too scared of the world to accept a stranger, even if they came in the form of a child her own age. Still, Viyal sat there with her arms extended and blinked slowly to avoid startling her.

Finally, the dog girl began to move and slowly crawled forward while sniffing the air. She glanced past Viyal, afraid her parents could suddenly pounce. But they watched the cage silently, waiting to see what their daughter would do. Surely, they were not still thinking she would eat the Nokkoy, but she was unsure about her father's thought process.

Viyal extended her palm forward to let the girl smell it. Her claws had yet to grow out, so it did not appear threatening. The Nokkoy gingerly sniffed her fingers, then looked up with puppy eyes filled with a glimmer of hope. Viyal only nodded; she would not betray that gaze. The dog girl understood the gesture and slowly crawled up to her, nuzzling into her chest.

"No food," Viyal turned around and spoke to her parents, who raised their eyebrows in surprise. She squeezed the Nokkoy tightly. "Fwend."