At dusk, Howard was woken by a man with lavender hair and honey eyes. It was someone that Howard had never met before. The hair was a very light shade and stood out almost as much as Howard’s. After the night before, the thought of light-colored hair irritated him.

{It is a pleasure to meet you,} the man introduced when Howard was clearly awake, {I am Dorian, your fellow apprentice.}

So this was the apprentice the Sage had mentioned. He didn’t seem like a bad person but something about him felt out of place from the other natives.

{I am Howard.}

{Would you like to settle your new home now or would you like to go back to your old one to prepare?}

{Settling it now would be easiest,} Howard answered.

Dorian led him back to the fountain and stopped beside it. {Ask the fountain and it will tell you. I have found it is the best way to share your Wisdom with the fountain.}

With that sentence and his tired mind, Howard realized once again how outlandish his situation was. He stared into the water of the fountain and tried to imagine asking it for a house. He had barely begun when the water he was staring at began to glow a soft green and flowed down a canal to guide him and grow his new house.

Growing a house… Howard still wasn’t used to that concept. He followed where the light and he didn’t have to go very far before he found a house enclosed in a small group of trees. When he made it to the house Howard paused. Why did it look like an artichoke? Was this because he was thinking about how silly it was to have a house made of a flower? He had thought food would be better, but this was not what he had in mind.

Dorian had followed and also paused in surprise. {This is a flower colony by the will of the Sage, but I have never seen a flower quite like that here before. It must be because your will is strong.}

Howard did not know how he felt about having a strong enough will to make an artichoke house. He may as well go inside to see what he was dealing with. He was satisfied to find the house was about the same size as his old cabin, and the inside was surprisingly close as well. It was a nice, comfortable feeling.

Dorian looked around as if surprised that the inside was normal. Actually, wasn’t it still abnormal with its corners and edges and overall lack of design? The other buildings Howard had been in here looked more like what you would expect to find inside a flower. Some even had a fluffy yellow pollen carpet.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

There was another thing that stood out. His artichoke was green, a color found surprisingly little in nature here. Howard finished checking out the surprisingly familiar interior and walking out the door which was an artichoke petal that fit snuggly in place.

{I should grab my stuff and move,} he told Dorian, {Do I need to go anywhere particular with my new position?}

{Today I was simply told to help you move,} Dorian replied.

{How considerate.}

{She is,} Dorian replied with a bright smile, {Veda is always thinking of others and working hard to keep everyone safe.}

Howard had not been expecting that overenthusiastic response to his remark. {You must like working with her then.}

{It is like a dream come true, but I don’t have nearly as much potential as you. I have to admit I am jealous.}

This time it was perfectly clear that Dorian had more than admiration for the Sage. Feelings were easily conveyed in telepathy, and the feelings Howard was receiving from Dorian were a hopeless crush on the Sage.

Whatever that meant, Howard hoped he would not be involved in the aftermath. They made it to the tiger lily house.

{I don’t have much so it should only take one trip,} Howard told Dorian.

“Howie! Where have you been!” Selina exclaimed, “Guess what I did while you were wandering around yesterday.”

Howard had to stop or he would have run into Selina’s eager approach. Howard noticed immediately that she had changed into native clothing because her height matched Howard’s now. The only difference in her hair was that her blue highlights were now gradient.

{Good, you are here,} Dorian broke in, {Howard, she will also be working with us.}

{What?} Howard asked, unable to stop his desire for an instant retreat from seeping through.

“I spent the morning packing and fell asleep around noon so I can help you,” Selina told Howard.

Was there a reason she was speaking normally? Telepathy was difficult to control but Dorian was clearly confused. Or perhaps that was the point. Selina did not want to lose the habit of speaking a language the natives could not understand.

{I would rather you did not,} Howard told her. While he agreed that might be a good idea he did not want to have her as a conversation partner if he could help it.

Selina pouted. “Okay, but I could at least help you move in.”

{I can handle it,} Howard told her and managed to get past her to the stairs.

Dorian followed him looking all the more confused. {You can understand the spoken tongue?}

{Only that one,} Howard replied and paused. {There is spoken language here?}

Dorian stiffened. {No. I guess I might as well be honest. I am not from this world either. I arrived here a few hundred years ago, but I honestly can’t remember too much of where I came from or when I arrived here.}

{Was it a planet called Earth?} Howard tried.

{I am fairly certain that is not it,} Dorian turned down, {We must have come from different worlds.}

Howard tried to ask about Sanders’ world before realizing that he still knew nothing about it. Had Sanders even returned since the sunburn incident? He decided it was best not to worry about those things and packed up his few belongings and moved them with Dorian, taking the time to shake off Selina so she hopefully wouldn’t know where his house was. He did not need to see her at work and at home.

{Does Selina also have great potential as a Sage?} Howard asked.

{Yes but in the opposite way of you,} Dorian answered, {Your potential leans almost entirely to nature and hers does not. Wisdom is based on the knowledge you already have since knowledge is needed to use it. The rest of Wisdom is instinct.}

Even in another world Howard and Selina were destined to be opposites. Howard wished that would somehow make her less attached to him.