Lian grabbed the baby in a panic, not knowing what kind of person or creature would be behind the next set of voices he heard. However, Lian was careful enough to gently lift the baby from with its bed of shrubbery. He cradled the child with his arms defensively locked and searched anxiously for the voice above him. Instead, he heard a rumbling pitter-patter and a disembodied whimper above. Lian squinted his eyes towards a dark balcony and focused his vision on a tall shadow descending down a metallic ladder holding some sort of sniffling creature. The figure bounced from balcony to balcony until it's gaze rested just above Lian's reach.

"Should I introduce myself first?" Asked the stranger.

The mysterious presence jumped from the balcony above into the comforting light of the fireworks to greet Lian. There stood a very well presented boy no older than Lian himself. The colorful blaze in the sky had revealed a relatively taller individual who wore a thick gray robe. He stood there smiling, brushing his thighs of patted dirt and adjusting his red headband. Lian grimaced at his very strange appearance, wondering if he was something of a mix between a pilot and a classic pirate. The boy wore dusty beige pants, crinkled brown work boots, loose hanging goggles around his neck, and red gloves with glistening metal fingertips.

“Are you some kind of engineer? Do you work on planes?” Pondered Lian, clutching the baby tightly.

"You know what...you seem scared, I mean even in this darkness I can see your face is pale white. So let me back away a little and introduce myself. Yeah? My name is Taylum, Taylum Orsivellos, and I believe this is your puppy. Or at least I'm hoping you could take it. Maybe I should say please… TAKE THIS!" Explained Taylum, pointing his finger towards Lian in what could be described as a dramatic pose.

Lian was taken aback by the boy’s forwardness, admittedly far more than he’d like to admit. The boy was clearly trying to dump some sort of additional responsibility on Lian. However, the boy seemed confident and even...some kind of friendly. Lian took a couple of careful steps backward and continued to stare at him, assessing the situation with extreme caution.

"Look, man. This pup found a way into my um... seeding sessions. Which is crazy because usually, these kinds of dogs can't wander up balconies. At least I don't think this kind does. It doesn't have those crazy sticky paws. Right?” He wondered aloud.

It was yet another confirmation of the mysterious man's plan coming into light. Lian began recalling the "gift" mentioned by the mysterious man before he completely blacked out. It was a “gift” from his parents. One of which made the mysterious figure empathetic. "Gotta be a dog huh..." Muttered Lian. Had it not been for the "emotional sedation" the mysterious man had inflicted upon Lian, he would certainly be on his knees, begging for his parents well being. Still, staring at the pup was no easy feat as memories of his father and mother clung to him like an uncomfortable static.

“I-” Tried asking Lian.

"He talks!" Shouted Taylum.

" Yeah, I do." Smiled Lian with tears rushing down his face.

Despite the "emotional sedation", Lian knew that his emotions for the more positive things in his life remained intact, therefore seeing something so closely connected to his home and his parents allowed him to feel a semblance of his parents once more. He quickly found comfort on definitively knowing that they indeed existed and he truly was embarking on some strange quest, insanity and all. Lian boiled in a strange happiness, somewhere between lingering grief and sheer joy, the happiest he had ever been in what can only be described as an eternity. Tears trickled down Lian’s cheek life never before.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! The dog's not that big of a deal! I won't report you or it. I'm not even sure this is yours. I'm one of the good guys around here. I'm sure it just has a...a way; Heck! It outsmarted me too!" Reeled Taylum in an effort to calm Lian down.

"Don't worry about it. It's not the dog." Mumbled Lian.

"Oh. Well. Even so, I wasn't going to report you...so don't worry." Replied Taylum happily.

"Report me?" Asked Lian, his body perked up in caution.

"Well seeing as your not in the festival or with a legal guardian AND WITH A UNSUPERVISED BABY, AND A WALL CLIMBING DOG, you're breaking like five laws man." Consoled Taylum.

"Five laws!? How strict is it here!?" Interjected Lian loudly.

"Ah, so this is your dog!" Shouted Taylum as if he solved a murder case.

"Yes, it uh...is." admitted Lian hesitantly.

"Ok, well I'm not going to just hand this dog to you. What's his name?" Taylum asked suspiciously.

"GOAT! Goat is his name!" Smiled Lian with a burst of fleeting confidence.

"It's yours alright. I was looking at his little dog tag and I was thinking I'd like to meet the person who named their dog Goat. They must be interesting. I just thought I wouldn't meet you so soon...or at all." Laughed Taylum aloud. “I kinda thought he was yours because these bad boys are rare, and you were the only person outside round these parts and… I saw you looking around for something before; before… you got shocked of course. What was that about?” Said Taylum, his tone now softening.

Lian fumbled around in his thoughts, wondering how he came about the dog’s name so quickly. Maybe the mysterious man had once again intervened and maybe his thoughts were no longer his own. He felt as though something took control for a moment and blurted the first thing on his mind. Panic set onto him like a bitter cold.

"YES! Goat. He just uh, sounds like a goat sometimes, so that's the name I chose." Blurted Lian, trying to compose himself with patchy confidence.

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"Ok. I could see that. So...how did he get up i-" Tried asking Taylum.

"Anyway Taylum. What laws am I breaking?" Interjected Lian quickly.

"Oooooooooooh!?" Grumbled Taylum in a deepening tone.

"Oh?" Probed Lian.

"No. Oooooooooh. Like you're not from here are you?" Asked Taylum in a very concerned tone.

"I-I don't remember," replied Lian somewhat defensively.

"You don't remember?" Said Taylum.  

While friendly, Lian wasn't entirely confident in the newfound stranger he had just encountered. Not knowing of the consequences of the mysterious city, Lian tried avoiding the nature of his origin in favor of the more believable amnesia.

"My names Lian by-the-way, that is the only detail I know." Said Lian in an effort to divert the subject.

"Well. You don't know where you're from and your smack-dab in the middle of the festival so I'd say your conditions warrant my help. As on Aeronean, it's my duty to guide you in your time of need." Preached Taylum with an upstanding sense of pride.

"Aeronean? Is Aeronean like the police? Lian asked in a small fit of panic. Is this guy going to follow me now?" Lian rushed into his thoughts.

“No. Not at all. That robot thing you saw earlier was pretty much the older more broken version of the police. This weird homeless guy works on that unit every now and then but it seems to run away from him every other week. Layton is not really anything anymore. It can’t be. It’s got so many parts from who-knows-where and… it’s kinda crazy. Still, units like those, don’t normally shock children or teens with the REV shock. It kinda kills people sometimes.” Explained Taylum rather casually.

“DWEUEHUHE I love buildings! Remember?” mocked Taylum.

“Yeah...I remember.” Sighed Lian, rubbing the area around his heart.

“Police units kind of look like Layton. I mean, essentially they have Layton's frame but they are much more put together and they normally boast some impressive blackened armor. Layton has definitely been stripped of most of anything that would be deemed valuable. Moral of the story? Don’t steal.” He continued explaining while approaching Lian, suspicious of what he was holding.

Lian tightened his grip on the baby just in case Taylum would prove to be an issue. He couldn’t help but look down on it constantly, checking to see if it was still sleeping and OK. The baby had soft white skin and long strands of silver hair. Aside from some sniffling and kicks, the baby was peacefully asleep, comfortable in the soft green shrubbery like a blanket.

"Anyway, about the dog. The dog didn't do too much, he's honestly too young to do any damage. I caught him before it got any kind of messy in there. What kind of puppy sleeps inside a box of bread loaves!? But not to worry now, this little guy is in your responsible arms... riiiiight?" Taylum said with a burst of sarcastic laughter. “Right.” Nodded Lian.

“So are you going to tell me why you have a baby in your hand?” Demanded Taylum, his voice stern with conviction.

"Yeah. The baby and dog are mine. They are uhm, very close to me and are...the key...to figuring out my amnesia." Said Lian in a spill of confidence.

"Yeah, the baby's arm has that same birthmark you have on your arm. Kinda odd really but pretty one-to-one. You some sort of Runeweaver family? Even has those same silver eyes you have. Well...one of em." Continued Taylum, walking just in front of Lian.

“Your not sick are you? What kind of person has two different colored eyes? Let alone one silver and the other blue." Joked Taylum with a wide smirk.

“Silver eye? Birthmark?" Thought Lian to himself, rubbing his face lightly.

Lian had not taken much time to examine his own body and to his surprise, the birthmark Taylum was speaking of rested atop the center of his forearm. It was a simple half triangle only its tip was hovering just above its body. Lian suspected this "birthmark" was another ploy of the Creature. Perhaps a symbol was made for just such an occasion. As for his eye, he had no way of confirming its color.

"Anyway, do you have one of those fire breathing dogs? Oh! Wait wait! No! Those don’t know how to fly! Yours is a digging type? Those have sticky paws that climb anything! Right?" Asked Taylum suspiciously.

"Look Taylum, this amnesia really has me feeling upside down. I don't remember much...but I do remember my name...and that both the baby and dog are very dear to me. It's something that I can't explain even if I wanted to." Said Lian in an effort to lessen his suspicion.

Taylum looked at Lian for a couple of seconds before relaxing his gaze. To Lian’s suprise, the amnesia act appeared to be working.

"Well...I can't say I entirely believe you but....there is no one around here except you and maybe that old man who fixes things somewhere in a sewer. Everyone else who can walk freely is at the festival so...I'm going to choose to go with your story. For now. But, you're going to stick with me until I can confidently say that you're clear of suspicious suspicion." Admitted Taylum.

Lian pondered deeply against being followed, let alone supervised. However, he understood the only way of getting through this mysterious city is through the eyes of someone who lives here, so he nodded his head and agreed to Taylum’s spontaneous request.

“There is something I gotta ask though.” asked Lian, clutching the baby.

“W-where... am... I?" Lian tried asking Taylum. However his voice soon fell into a whisper. His energy seemed to be sapped from him instantly.

"New Dwarden…. You’re in New Dwarden. Hey man are you OK? You look like someone is draining your blood." Taylum explained while backing away slowly.

"Yeah just feel super tired… all of a sudden. So New Dwarden?" Said Lian losing his breath

"OK I think I know what’s going on. Remember the REV shock being temporary. I think you just ran out of borrowed time. So...give me the baby in your hand quick! Quickly! Before you fall over!

Without thinking, Lian hobbled his way towards Lian and quickly handed him the baby. It was like an instinct. Lian felt as though he had no choice.

“You're going to go to sleep for a while now. The REV usually lasts for maybe 15 minutes but seeing as you're probably a teen then I guess it was a little shorter." Recalled Taylum.

“Yup. I’m in hot soup now.” He admitted in defeat.

Lian began wobbling back and forth, his composure crumbling as if he was melting. Before he knew it, Lian lifelessly slipped onto the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

Now in the hands of a stranger, destiny began its due course, and as destiny deemed it, Taylum was a boy who believed in a special kind of it; A destiny dubbed Aeronean, one that helps individuals altruistically under some conditions, albeit none Taylum seemed aware of.

"It's my duty to get this boy to safety." Mumbled Taylum hesitantly, laying Lian gently on some protruding green shrubbery.

"I don't want to leave a baby and a dog in the hands of a stranger...right?" He thought to himself as he gazed nervously at Lian.

Taylum emptied some clothing from a nearby weathered wheelbarrow and gently placed Lian and the baby within it and with a huge sigh, he had made up his mind.