Red roses

Teyat stared in astonishment at the person standing in front of him, who wore the same brown-black fabric clothing as him, with brown, slightly curly hair and striking red irises.

"What?" he exclaimed.

With narrowed, cold eyes, the person looked back at Teyat.

"I'm saying, why are you looking around so foolishly? Don't you understand?"

Teyat, still shocked, continued to stare blankly at the person with the cold, red eyes, even though part of their face was illuminated by the fire, and their curly hair framed the other side.

The curly-haired one sighed deeply in frustration, turning their focus from the bewildered Teyat to the fire.

For a while, Teyat continued to stare at the four individuals, who occasionally glanced at him, only to quickly return their gazes to the fire without much care.

And once again, Teyat glanced around in confusion. This time, as he took in his surroundings, a detail he hadn't noticed before when his soul first entered this body caught his eye.

The detail was a long, slender vine, wrapping around the trunks of the trees and up to their highest green leaves. The vines were covered in vibrant red roses. The roses clung primarily to the trunks of the trees.

And, of course, there were thorns.

Even as night approached, the brilliant and lively appearance of the roses stood out, glowing vividly against the backdrop of the few stars visible in the night sky. The roses, wrapped around the trees, swayed gently in the light breeze, their small, red petals falling softly to the ground.

It was a stunning and beautiful sight, and the amazement in Teyat's eyes reflected how captivated he was by it.

Still dazed, he looked down at his hands and examined his own body.

'Wait, hold on a minute. Wasn't I supposed to be a baby? Did my soul transfer to another body after all?'

He opened and closed his hands twice, and suddenly, his eyes widened in fear.

Slowly, he glanced down at his feet. He saw that he was wearing boots similar to those worn by the other four individuals, brown in color. But that wasn't why he was looking at his feet.

'No, no, please, no. I hope it's not what I'm thinking. Please, please.'

His mind raced in panic.

He slowly moved his hand downward, and then, a wave of relief washed over his previously anxious face.

'Not that I care much about gender, but I'd rather be a man. Thank goodness, I'm male.'

He sighed with relief.

•

His face, now calm from the relief, turned back to the four people staring at him with expressions that seemed to say, "What is this fool doing?"

At that moment, the person sitting just above the fire, with white streaks running through their black hair and similarly red irises, appeared slightly older and gazed at Teyat with a calm, expressionless face. In a monotone voice, they asked:

"Why did you just do that strange thing and suddenly relax? And what's with these behaviors? And why are you looking at us like you've never seen us before? Damn."

Teyat forced a smile, trying to hide his confusion, and began to make up lies to fit the situation.

He used his skill.

"Ah, uh, sorry, but who are you? Where are we? Why are we all wearing the same thing? I don't get it. My apologies, sir, but I've been experiencing frequent short-term memory lapses recently. I'm sorry, but I need an explanation of what's going on."

He asked, faking an innocent expression.

After his question, a silence fell over the group, not because they were pondering his words, but because they simply continued to stare at the fire, ignoring him.

"U-uh, once again, I kindly ask that—"

The man with the white streaks in his black hair cut Teyat off with a sigh.

"You said your memories will return soon. Fine, we don't know when. Aaron, start from scratch with this one."

The brown-haired, curly-haired person, Aaron, maintaining a neutral expression, though tinged with a hint of sadness beneath the coldness, stood up from the stone he was sitting on to the left of the fire and looked at Teyat with cold eyes.

"Come with me."

Teyat shivered slightly at the chill in Aaron's voice but did as he was told.

'I really don't know what to do. First of all I need to understand what is going on and act on what I understand. Something tells me I need to get out of here as soon as possible. Tsk! Who asked for this inheritance? If I don't accept this damn inheritance, there will still be pain at the end. Bastard beings!'

He followed Aaron, sweating profusely and at panic speed, not letting the rebellion and anxiety inside him show on the outside.