In skies lit up by a single moon, a star seemed to fall from the sky. At first it glittered like a gold leaf, slowly moving downwards. The star grew larger and fiercer, transforming into a ball of fire that illuminated the night sky before crashing into the lake.
His body was screaming in pain. Trying to sit up, the young man used all his remaining strength to shrug the brown blanket off and prop his body against the head of the bedframe. On the drawer to his left, underneath a swim cap and a pair of goggles, was a mirror. Through the glass, a pair of scarlet red eyes gazed back underneath snow white bangs.
"Checkin yourself out the second you wake up huh?"
The door to his left was opened and a tanned young woman entered the room. While drying her hair with a towel, she maneuvers her way through a heap of clothes towards him.
"Took quite a fall there, if it weren't for the lake you might've ended up as ashes. First time I've seen a person dive into the lake via fireball, and I hope it's the last."
"Fireball? Wait, who are you?"
The man replied, puzzled by her words.
"Names Haiyang, I'm a part time lifeguard and I make sure children don't end up sneaking off here and drowning themselves."
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She ties her hair into a ponytail before plopping herself down on the foot of the bed and chuckled,
"Children and fireball people apparently."
"In that case, my name's Salus and..."
Salus closes his eyes and wrinkles his forehead, trying to come up with any information, yet betrayed by his brain nothing appears.
"and that's all I know."
"Well, don't worry too much about it!"
Haiyang smiles reassuringly and pats him on the shoulder,
"I'm not gonna ask you for an ID or anything, but lets check with the village chief and see if he knows anything."
She gets up and offers Salus a hand. Salus gladly takes the callused hand, escaping the clutches of the cushy mattress.
"Oh, I almost forgot!"
Haiyang slaps herself on the forehead before reaching into her pocket, pulling out a silver circular pendant with an embedded piece of cracked white jade and handing it over
"I found this on you when I fished you out of the lake. Held onto it since the chain was broken, maybe stop by the blacksmith later to get it fixed up?"
Salus runs his finger across the crack, feelings of familiarity and sadness wash over him. Pushing those aside, he pockets the pendant and mutters with a sad smile,
"Thanks."
"No problem, now lets make our way to the village shall we?"
Haiyang returns with a cheery grin and opens the door. The sunlight brightens the room, causing her sea blue eyes to sparkle while her sleek black ponytail whipped in the wind. As Salus took in this sight and walked towards the door, he couldn't help but think how the sun paled in brightness when compared to Haiyang's personality.