Nati

The shell inherited by me was in danger again.

Happy I felt moments ago, now melted like snowmen.

Even as I celebrated, finding the tribe's lost girl.

Before I could hug her, I was caught up in a big whirl.

Alexandra's voice appeared: "Hold on Nati and don't go."

Not like it was my choice, I wanted to return pronto.

In the meantime, something fought me to drag away my soul.

Screaming inside, I attempted to counter that weird scroll.

Hopeless maybe my future seemed, I refused to give up.

More than anything, I needed a plan to develop.

Eager to meet her again, I held onto that voice now.

Never wanted to let her go, once I heard it somehow.

Terrified of dying again, this gave me a new shove.

Optimistic, that I could meet the one I fell in love.

Forsaken I felt before, but she was ought to return.

"Told you I would look out for you." Said the voice that I yearned.

"Hold on, you already left me, where were you anyway?"

"Ehem, I was rather busy, but I will come your way."

Despite the strong force that pulled me, I managed to resist.

I did not want to miss my chance, I needed to persist.

Vibrant colors filled my life as she promised to meet me.

Instant resolve formed to ensure I could return safely.

No magic of this world could prevent me from seeing her.

Everyone who stood between us only made me fiercer.

My arms were spread out for some reason but I've been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true. Memories came flooding back as if time itself was a lie. I had to backtrack to understand, how I got here in the now.

Yesterday I met Gitaut, he was an awkward shaman. If this world had emo music, he must have been a fan. That was my first impression, and he became my stalker. As Charlotte explained we had some history together. By we, I mean him and Goddess. I couldn't convince him, that we were two different people, but I could understand him.

I was properly introduced to the witch Omerta, the one we saved the day before. She turned out to be Hana's little sister and thanks to her telepathy, I was able to cast magic. I had ambivalent feelings about firing my laser at the first human I ever met here, but come on.

I was doing actual magic, like, for real. On my own... Almost. Sort of. But in any case, I was closer to it, than ever before. We had lengthy discussions, and I shared my plan of crossbow making.

When I complained about the difficulties of forging spring steel with the right carbon content, she used her magic to manipulate it into a perfect mixture, down to the last atom. The blacksmith looked jealous.

Especially after she transformed it without touching a hammer, I had her promise to help me later. Life got busy in the village though when I met my second human, carried by a wolfman. They got chased here by a pack of actual wolves. Omerta and our hunters rushed in to save them, and they turned out to be comrades, with complicated relationships.

One of them looked like an orc child and got badly injured. He was a goblin though, and made it through thanks to awkward Gitaut. The human they brought was some sort of royalty, and her long dark purple hair curled up like crazy. The colors in this world were surreal. Her name was Elizabeth and she said, those monsters took her hostage. She acted like she owned them though, confusing me deeply.

She displayed textbook tsundere behavior.

I finally remembered, what I was doing here too. I escorted kids this morning, looking for some good wood. That's when the strange, huge yellow bird showed up, chasing us back. But Mabel got separated. We formed a search party, but before we set out, she returned home safely. It was a big relief, although I still didn't know what happened.

She returned with three other guys, coming in all shapes and sizes. One was huge and green, and the others were humans, but their hair had different colors. A female with a dark blue bobcut and a nice, pretty face held up an enormous sword covered in blood. The other was on his knees now and looked a lot more plain. And the gigantic bird I have seen was already slain.

With a blinding flash of light, the Goddess now just appeared.

"Which one of you tried to banish Nati? Quick, explain it." She sounded rather ominous, and her body shook. Luminous, yet featureless, she broadcasted terrifying images, that flooded directly into my head. Everyone else in the village suddenly stopped.

"Alex? Where have you been?" I asked, releasing Mabel. I hold her for quite a while. But now my heart rate suddenly increased.

"I spent the week looking for clues but felt a disturbance and came rushing back." She claimed, hovering just above the ground. I almost forgot about her strange, mannequin-like shape by now. "It was him, wasn't it? Who are you, people? Oh, I remember you, Bastion, right?"

The big green creature bowed his head.

"This is Cath and Lambert." He introduced the others like it was the most obvious thing to do. "We ran into this child, chased by a thunderbird. We saved her with a combined effort, then she led us here."

"Is that right?" Alex seemed a lot more scary than the last time I saw her. She was upset, but looking at the young orc girl, I could tell she was softening, just a little. "Did your tribe take in Nati, little one?"

"Yes, she's my good friend," Mabel claimed bravely. She didn't miss a beat to satisfy her curiosity either. "Do you know her too? Are you maybe the Goddess of Luck? You gave her your old body for real?"

"You are a sharp one." She grinned. At least, that's what it felt like. Her body was still featurely challenged, and I kept my tail between my legs, confused about this situation. "Well, I'm glad you're safe, and your friend too. It's not nice to try and banish someone for no reason though. So how did the negotiations go? Are they the representatives?"

"Negotiations?" Now all of them seemed confused, not just me.

"Wait, so you teleported them to our camp?!" Cath yelled, raising her sword at the Goddess, a questionable idea. "I don't know what they told you, but they came to attack us, not to negotiate."

"Just a moment, everyone calm down," Alex demanded, pointing her mannequin fingers at them. "Is it true, your goblin friend lied to me? And you, from the Inquisitorias, did you order that boy to banish Nati?"

"I'm a paladin, I merely follow orders, not give them..." She looked intimidated but tried her best to sound confident. "But if you are the Goddess of Luck, I demand you leave this realm."

"So that's what happened?" I asked, still a bit slow, but started to put the pieces together. "I saw some flashes... I'm still dazed a bit."

"So you don't remember anything? Well, that might be for the better. It can be traumatic if you are not used to such things." Alex mumbled, but it made no sense. She looked at the human boy, lying on the ground now. "He used up all his mana, huh?"

With some sort of telekinetic power, she lifted his body to inspect his face. The paladin took a step but probably felt the same dread as me. My heart still beat like crazy when I was near the Goddess, even in this shell.

"I expected them to try and hunt me down, but they were quicker than I thought." She concluded, finishing her inspection. "They got the wrong person though. I'll get rid of them before they fix their mistake."

"Wait, can you not?" I asked all of a sudden. Again, I know she had no actual eyes on that face, but I could see her surprised glance.

"Hmm? Why not?" She asked, levitating him down to the ground.

"They most certainly work for the Inquisitorias but aren't bad people." Bastion came to my rescue. "They saved this child, and my life as well, even after we brawled with them. He's a great cook too..."

"Your friend lied to me, ogre. Not in a great mood..." She fired back, but that wasn't all. "Trying to banish me is one thing, but attacking Nati... He'd have to be the most excellent chef, to get away with this."

"I vouch for his skill, your Grace." The ogre kneeled, another race I encountered which explained why he was so huge. The discussion started to become surreal though. So revenge wasn't as important as food?

"Fine. But I'll be the judge of that." She noted and glanced at the paladin next. "Try something funny, and I'll disintegrate you both."

Cath looked rather pale but nodded, gulping down hard. She dropped next to the one called Lambert. He was out cold this whole time, and it was probably for the best. I felt sorry for the guy until I realized he attacked me. The tribe was at a loss, what happened too.

"I welcome you, Goddess of Luck, in our humble village." I heard Charlotte, who just showed up. This wasn't even her first time saying this, but now she addressed it to the actual person. I had a real deja vu feeling when she bowed her head, but it didn't last long.

"So you are the Goddess of Luck." The Princess suddenly emerged as well. She acted confident and pointed her finger at the floating deity to make a theatrical announcement. "Now that I'm reunited with my servants, you'll pay for your crimes against humanity."

This was when she noticed her so-called servants passed out or shaking in fear, not to mention the huge ogre. She stepped back, but the Goddess seemed amused, her grin appeared in my head. She floated around the Princess, taking a good look, then landed beside me.

"All right, you just wait in line." She giggled. "First of all, your wizard needs some rest, then he'll be my chef. Until then, I'm looking for Dioneras. I think he also owes me an explanation."

"He is in Gitaut's hand, your Grace, I can lead you to him." Charlotte offered, bowing once more. "They are just outside the village in his hut."

"Gitaut? That Gitaut?" She suddenly stopped. "Just how small this continent is? All right then, I guess it can wait."

"What do you plan to do with these people?" I asked, a little worried.

"Me? Nothing." She raised above our heads. I could feel, her mood got much better. "You seem to be fine with them being Inquisitorias. If he cooks that thunderbird right, I don't mind leaving them alive..."