9 The world beyond

The veterinarian suddenly opened his eyes, back in the world of humans. The air whipped his face and the sunlight that came from above dazzled him. He was always falling ! So was the time stopped during the [pet pact] ?

The ground was approaching at breakneck speed, and he noticed that his customer, whose hand he still held, Mrs. Shantura, had fainted because of fear. It was definitely not her lucky day.

Arun closed his eyes, also frightened by the sight of the asphalt on which he was going to crash. Where was Astera ? He thought the [pet pact] should have helped him out of this situation...

The vet and his client finally crashed, ending their fall... on something sweeter than the concrete below. The young man opened his eyes, discovering the bed of black feathers that had saved him from death.

"Astera!" The black vulture had managed to graze the ground to recover her mistress and the vet on her back, and was recovering altitude.

"Excuse me for this fright, I should have been more understanding. It's not the best first impression I could have given you." Apologized the raptor, who understood her mistakes. Especially since she almost killed her owner at the same time .. She would have regretted her act for a long time, if Arun had not been there to open her eyes.

The vet sighed with relief, feeling safe again. He had tried to stay as calm as possible, but he felt his heart was beating faster than ever. When he had just been reincarnated, he had not planned to die yet...

Clinging tightly to the feathers of the bird so as not to fall, he also made sure to place Mrs. Shantura next to him.

"Are we going to the clinic?" Asked the veterinarian, seeing that Astera continued to gain height when she was already above the tallest skyscrapers in the city.

"No, I'll take you to my nest." Answered the vulture without hesitation. Changement of program, so he might be a little late for his next customer... As soon as they had landed, he would call Myako to ask her to take the consultations in his place. For her too, it must not have been a pleasant day.

As they began to move away from the city in which the clinic was located, Arun could see for the first time the gigantic size of it. He could not even see the small buildings, as there were big towers in some neighborhoods.

He had not yet had time to venture far, because since he had woken up for the first time, he had spent his time on the clinic. However, he thought that going for a walk in town one of these days could be useful.

And as he watched the city pass below, the sea suddenly appeared beneath them. Was the city so close to the sea? Where was Astera's nest, if it was not in town?

"Human, you seem to be unfamiliar with how the city works, do you?"

Arun almost jumped when Astera's voice surprised him in his thoughts. He had forgotten the bird's ability to read in his head...

"No, indeed, I've never left town, so I don't really know what's around." Replied the young man hoping to have some additional explanations.

"It's normal, the vast majority of humans who live in this city have never left either, and very few know what is beyond the sea. Consider yourself lucky, human." Astera said, continuing to fly over the huge blue surface underneath them. In the distance, the city became smaller and smaller.

"This city is actually built on an artificial island in the middle of the ocean, and from what I've seen in recent weeks, flying often to my nest, it's the only city for miles around. I do not know the origin of the construction of this city, I am too young for that. I only share what I observed, human." Arun listened attentively to the explanations of the black vulture, which continued to crack the air with its majestic wings. Really, he would have to investigate the functioning of this world and this city, because it was more and more intringuing.

"We will arrive soon." declared Astera. Squinting, the vet could see the dark silhouette of a new island in front of them. It was surely on this one that the raptor had made her nest. Looking behind him, he could see no trace of the city they had left only minutes earlier.

"You fly really fast, Astera." Remarked the veterinarian. In theory, a bird of this size could indeed travel phenomenal distances in a very short time. But seeing it in practice was far more impressive.

And in a few minutes more, they were flying over a landscape that had nothing to do with the city. A large expanse of dry grass with some trees scattered here and there. Not many reliefs either, except for a few mounds of earth standing a little high, which allowed to have some shade.

The climate had also changed dramatically, and the vet had to remove his blouse because of the heat and the sun. It was the kind of environment that resembled the savannahs of his old world.

Astera's speed of flight decreased rapidly, and it stopped at the foot of one of the mounds of earth, landing heavily. Mrs. Shantura's body nearly fell from the back of the bird because of the impact, but fortunately Arun managed to catch it in time, and descended it more delicately.

"Here is my nest." At the foot of the mound of earth was a wide cave entrance, and the vet could not see the bottom. It was true that black vulture like Astera did not build a nest, but instead used cavities like this to lay their eggs.

"Wait here, I'll check if 'he' is there or not." Foresee the bird of prey by walking slowly towards the entrance of the cave. Flying so quickly had to ask a lot of energy...

"Who is 'he' ?" Asked the young man curiously.

"Human, as a veterinarian, you should be the first to know that eggs do not make themselves alone" Astera answered Arun's question as she disappeared into the cavern, while he understood what she was talking about.

If Astera was a pregnant female, the male should not be very far, indeed. And the young man preferred to avoid being attacked again by a giant bird.

Mrs. Shantura, who was in the veterinarian's arms, woke up softly, shielding her eyes from the powerful sun of the savannah. She then realized where she was, and stumbled away from Arun blushing, a little lost.

"E-e-excuse me, I didn't want to cause you any inconvenience, and..."

"It's nothing." Arun simply replied with a crisp smile. Mrs. Shantura froze for a moment, and looked away, trying to hide her face.

"Where are we ? And then what happened ? I just remember when you took me to the skies with Astera, and after that, nothing..."

Arun summarized the situation to his client quickly, without saying anything about the [pet pact]. Mrs. Shantura sat cross-legged in the yellow grasses, digesting all this new information.

"I didn't know there was something beyond the sea... I was never taught anything about..." She looked around, pointing to this environment, entirely new and unknown. "About all this."

"I was not aware either, but I guess we'll have to adapt." Arun stood up and approached his client with a friendly air, holding out his hand. "Since we're here, my name is Arun. Can I know your name, Mrs. Shantura?"

She looked a little surprised, and smiled back at the vet. She had not planned either to find herself in such a place... But knowing that she was with Arun reassured her a little. After all, he had already saved her once, even if it was him who put her in danger...

"My name is Naal. Naal Shantura." She gave the young man a smile, and squeezed his hand.

A terrifying hiss tore the calm of the savannah, and made the poor Naal jump once more. Arun turned around, just as surprised, recognizing the noise he had heard earlier in the day. It was the hissing of a black vulture. But what was not reassuring was that it did not come from Astera.

Looking up, he saw the huge bird approaching them quickly. He was even bigger than Astera!

"Naal, go meet your pet in the cave. I think her mate has arrived." The young woman complied and ran inside the cave. The black vulture landed in front of Arun, with a threatening gaze. To see a human so close to his nest did not please him at all.

"Who are you, miserable human?" The powerful, icy voice of the raptor echoed in the veterinarian's head, who stepped away.

"A human ?" A softer voice this time reached Arun's ears. A boy jumped from the back of the bird and landed in the grass flexibly.

He was lightly dressed, with a simple azure fabric that covered the lower part of his body and left the top almost naked. He held a spear in his right hand, and a raven-like skull covered his head.

"Things are getting more interesting than I thought." A smile appeared on his face as he stared at Arun as he approached.