The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting, the flowers are blooming...

And I'm cussing up a storm in the middle of the forest.

Why the fuck is this forest so large?! I've been walking for three hours now, and you'd think I'd have gotten somewhere, but nope! Instead I've followed the red man's instructions to the letter: walk in a straight line. I thought I'd come across the ranger's cabin in an hour at most.

But then again, life just loves to play little pranks on people, doesn't it? I've opened the mirror a couple times since I've set off, and something I've learned is that the red man is incredibly bad at estimating distances. He said that I was almost there, but that was two hours ago. So, this cabin could be meters away or a mile away. And more than that, I'm geniuinely not sure if I'm still in a straight line from that hollow. I've gotten lost twice already, having had to reorient myself with the help of the red man.

If I don't come across this ranger person in another hour, then I'm going to take a nap in the nearest tree hollow, ranger be damned.

So, it's a good thing I come across a fairly small cabin in, by my estimate, half an hour. The cabin is made mostly of wood, at least from what I can tell. It's two stories high, and looks fairly normal, save the large iron porch in front of the door, etched with-

The cabin is made of wood, for the most part, and is two stories high. It looks normal, but there's an iron proch in front of the door. I squint. What the heck just happened? Was that the infamous deja vu? But I've never seen this before in my life...

Whatever. I move towards the cabin, fully intent on finding this ranger and... well... getting out of here? The red man never said what to do when I found this ranger person. Perhaps I should ask him? As I move to open the box I always carry with me, I hear a faint whizzing sound, before a burst of pain in my head forces me to bow my head a little before clutching it.

Thunk.

Thunk? Wincing, I turn around, to find an iron-tipped arrow embedded solidly in the tree behind me. I gape for a bit before turning back around. Who the fuck?

Whizz...

Oh, not this shit again. I jump to the side, before an arrow nearly rips through my stomach. I lose my balance and fall, eating a mouthful of dirt in the process. I dust myself off and push my body up into a sitting postion. I quickly raise my hands in the universal gesture of surrender.

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Following were two arrows in quick succession - one to my right shoulder, and one to my left. I scream as I push myself forwards as fast as I can, dodging both arrows but eating another mouthful of dirt. That bitch! I surrendered! Why is he still shooting at me?!

This time, however, I can see where the arrows came from. My shooter should be in the swathe of forest to my right. But what good is that going to be when I'll get shot before I'm halfway there? No arrows have been shot, even though I've been lying on the ground for a good couple of seconds, so I assume I'll be shot if I so much as sit up. I've heard animals appear powerless to make predators less interested in them. Considering I can't move lest I get shot, or do anything at all, this seems to be my only course of action. I bury my head into the ground, and place both my hands near it in the form of a dogeza.

No arrows have been shot.

...

I'm pretty sure I can't speak this person's language, so I can't even talk with him. I'll have to remain like this until-

Until when?

Thud.

Thud.

I hear the sounds of footsteps, coming closer to me. Goldy's here?!- wait, no, it's not Goldy this time. It's most likely the ranger.

Or maybe it's a bear. I don't know, I can't identify footsteps just by hearing them.

"Shalagarshma zeze fironerious."

...Yeah, I have no idea what that means.

"...Um, hi?"

"Shorinara telozen!"

"...I don't know what you're saying..." It's at this point I become aware of tears falling down my cheeks. This is so frustrating! Suddenly, I feel a jolt of pain in my forehead, and suddenly my head jerks up, which is shortly followed by the rest of my body. I raise my hand to my forehead.

Did he just kick my head up? What the heck, man?

However, now I can get a closer look at him. He's brown-skinned like me, except he's a much darker hue. His eyes are green. His face is more ... oh, how do I say this ... aristocratic? High cheekbones, angular features, long nose, the works.

Also, he's pointing a drawn bow at me. Jeez, this guy really does not let up on the threats. But, something's weird.

Ah, might it be the shocked look on his face? Yeah, that would be it. His eyes are dilated, and his mouth is wide open.

"Darioma teluntafi queromas! Ozarina tuero pilonteta mass!"

"...No habla español?"

He frowns. Hey, don't tell me he's actually speaking Spanish...

"Ohh terrri ohhhhmaaaasss?"

Oh hey, he's speaking with clear, drawn out syllables. I think he's getting the memo.

He stops speaking once he sees that I'm not responding to any of his words, and places his hand on his chin. Then, he makes a pointing gesture to himself.

"Ozari."

He points to me, and tilts his head.

Oh, I think he's asking for my name!

"Ken-" No. That's my old name. "Zenith." I am Zenith now. I am not Ken.

"Kenzenith?"

"Zenith."

"Zenith?"

"Zenith."

He points to cabin, then to me, then back to cabin. Is he asking me to go into the cabin? I dunno, guy, your bow is still drawn. He follows my gaze, his eyes narrow, and he points the bow back at me.

What the heck?! I thought we were past this part! Neither of us move for at least fifteen seconds.

...This is so stressful...

Finally, he lowers the bow, and he denocks the arrow, though he keeps it in his right hand. He beckons. I follow.