Chapter 4

A New Reality and a New Companion

Waking up that morning was a little surprising, everything that had happened the day before felt truly like a dream and it wasn’t until I saw Hatenna come running over when she noticed I was awake that I knew that things were real.

Yesterday was just so stressful, the fantastical environment, those threatening yellow bugs, and the knowledge that magic exists here weighs upon my mind. It took Hatenna shaking my leg for me to snap out of the small panic spiral I was going down.

“Sorry about that Hatenna, everything that went down yesterday just hit me. It is all just so new.

I had never had to deal with magical creatures where I am from.”

**Curious**

“Where I am from there are no small yellow bugs that shoot electricity or beings that can speak into your mind.

I don’t know what I am supposed to do; my best idea is to try and find a new place to live. It really helps that I have you I can trust.”

Hatenna gives off the strongest joy I have felt from her yet and nestles into my lap.

“If I have you by my side I am sure things will be fine.”

We stay like that quietly for a while, just laying at the center of the grove under a particularly beautiful tree, until Hatterene comes to check on us.

**“valorous, thou art awaketh. cometh 'long we has't a lot to do today. I shall not alloweth thee two to go off by yourself. So, i shall sendeth thee 'long with an esc'rt. 'twill stayeth with thee at all times and protecteth thee from all the dang'rs thee shall findeth on thy journey. then I will point you in the direction of a small human town near the edge of the forest. From there you will be on your own. Thou art did allow to taketh some of the fruits with thee, 'twill s'rve as food and thou art able to tradeth t f'r currency at the village. now cometh”**

She turns quickly and begins to glide away. I scramble to my feet and bring Hatenna into my arms before jogging to catch up with her.

She brings us to the edge of the globe where a small doll is lying on the ground. The look of the doll instantly reminds me of something but it lingers on the edge of my mind before it is immediately put aside as the cloth slowly turns towards us. Every movement is a little jerky and wobbly to feel like a normal creature and this feeling is instantly doubled as the “doll?” turns to look at us. Shivers run up my spine as it starts to look towards hattarene and makes an echoey cry. Hattarenes presence increases in kind and thankfully it is targeted at the doll who is stunned. It quiets before giving off a bow first to Hatterene and then to us.

**“His previous l'rd did hate humans with a passion, but that lord did owe me a favor so he will serve you for me. that gent is compatable with thee and certes proveth useful on the road ahead.”**

I give him a nod back. “It is a pleasure to meet you, My name is Reed O’Hearly but you may just call me Reed. It is good to know that we have someone to watch our backs.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The doll gives another bow and cry before shifting over near us and disappearing into my shadow.

**“Anon thee shall headeth in yond direction, points to the south, approximately half a days journey in yond direction is the village. Thee shall not beest both'r'd by anyoth'r beings until then. All oth'rs in the f'rest shall knoweth thou art mineth”**

She turns and starts to leave before stopping for a moment

**“Good luck”**

And she proceeds further into the grove.

“Well Hatenna, we should grab some of our favourite fruits and head off.”

It takes some time and a medium-sized old and slightly ripped blanket before we have enough to feel comfortable setting off.

You could barely see the sun peeking through the treetops of the forest but the path was brightly lit by the numerous luminous plants that are all throughout the forest. Haterenes “Mark?” proved to be true as well. Quite a few times we see figures watching us in the dark before they move away clearly repulsed by the idea of angering the “witch of the forbidden grove.”

It doesn’t work for everything, however, when we are almost out, about 5 hours into the hike’ a large six-and-a-half-foot tall bipedal creature walks towards us. With a cocky grin on its goblin-like face, it swaggers towards us.

Giving off a similar feeling to Hatterene, It looks us up and down slowly and quietly before letting off a peal of loud laughter. When it stopped laughing it looked at Hatenna and my shadow where the doll is before waving us away and walking off.

Whispering, I start speaking, “Do you know who that is hatenna?”

**Yes, strong, Friend?**

The doll grabs my ankle which spooks me before I look down and see it crackling and nodding its head.

“I suppose I shouldn’t think too hard about it then.”

Hatenna nods again as the doll returns to my shadow. I notice that when it does I feel like the load I was carrying feels the tiniest bit heavier.

Continuing on the rest of the journey is peaceful. As we are approaching the edge of the forest it starts getting less dense. The sun starts to shine through the leaves and the number of glowing shrooms grows smaller and smaller before we stop seeing them altogether.

Stepping out from the tree line I am finally able to get an unbroken view of the area since I have come to this world and it is just as picturesque as the forest. Stretching out in front of us and to the right are scenic rolling hills dotted with sparse trees. To our left and slightly north in direction is an impressive range of mountains that follow the curve of the forest out of sight.

It is there on a nearby hill that we stop for a break and to eat lunch where both me and Hatenna enjoy the same sweet fruit that was yesterday's dinner. While we are eating the doll comes out to hang out with us.

“Hey, do you also want something to eat?”

It contemplates, leaning from side to side before nodding its head.

I bring out one of the fruits in the tied-up knapsack and hold it out to the doll.

It moves forward in the same drifty way before a shadowy hand reaches out from under the cloth. It grabs the fruit and drags it under the cloth where it disappears.

This slightly spooked me, especially because the hand that touched me felt so cold. I do my best to shake it off though.

“Is there anything that you would like me to call you?”

“Mi mi mi Mimikyu”

“Mimikyu?”

It nods.

“Pleasure to officially meet you Mimikyu. If there is anything you particularly need feel free to ask me. It is only fair that if you are looking after us I should do my best to look after you.”

It looks a little taken aback before giving me a nod and dropping the slightly standoffish attitude that it has been giving off since we met.

We continue the walk, traveling through the hills is much nicer than the forest, there are other creatures in the surrounding hills most commonly I see very round white sheep, even more of the small blue birds as well as their slightly larger counterparts, and more floating/flying cotton balls. There were many other birds overhead and other miscellaneous creatures around but it was nowhere near as concentrated and scary as what it was like in the forest.

It is in this manner that our hike continues until around 3 in the afternoon we come across the first trappings of civilization, well word paths, and the signs of agriculture. It isn’t long before the fields grow ever present with a few individuals out working them. Then, in a short amount of time after that, I see a well-constructed wooden palisade that denoted that we had finally made it to the village.