Chapter 12

The deer observed me with curiosity, wondering what I would do with all the little sticks I was holding. There wasn't a place suitable for me to start a fire in the glade unless I wanted to do it in the cave. Not knowing if the deer would approve of that left me standing in an awkward spot. I turned back to look at the deer for a moment. Then back to the entrance of the cave and found that if I actually put a campfire there the deer would not have space to get in and out.

The problem now is what to do with the raw meat I was holding. While I could just put it inside several pouches, that would not solve the problem, the meat would still attract flies and become bad. Not that I have any other option, but it is still a bad solution. 

As it was already pretty late I decided to warp up everything and just wait for a while before the deer came into the cave. The wait wasn't long and soon enough we were sleeping.

I woke up in a strange and empty space, there was no source of light, but I could see perfectly fine my surroundings. I was in a plain, there were no signs of life nearby, not even a blade of grass. The only color in this place was grey. The scene looked like a black-and-white movie.

The plains extended to infinity without end. And I stood in the center of it. From time to time a little green wind makes its presence known. I stood there, observing the changes made to the never-changing grey scenery

What a weird dream. I woke up feeling weird but energized. Even dreams have powers in this place. What a convenient way to know about such a thing. The first thing that stood out after I opened my eyes was the fact that I could still see those green winds. They were not little anymore and were instead filling my vision. They were everywhere. Permeating everything but me. Out of curiosity, and maybe even instinct, I tried to see if I could direct some of the essence into my body. If it was permeating everything then it would not be something harmful, right?

I failed in the first tries, but after some time the first strands finally made their way into my body. And, oh boy, what a surprise. It felt as if pure energy was coursing through my entire body. I didn't experience any discomfort, on the contrary, I experienced pleasure. Pure and unadulterated pleasure. It was phenomenal and I fought with myself to not move and wake up the deer. 

I didn't want to move, so I just laid there, using the deer as a mattress and wondering if absorbing more strands would have the same effect. After a while, the deer finally began to stir and it marked the end of my little break. 

My vision came back to normal. Or should I say that my vision was always normal? I could see the green winds thanks to a, let's say, sixth sense. One that I could toggle on and off at will. I don't know how or why I have it, but it is useful. I could see in 360 degrees, I could see everything surrounding me. The only downside is that it made my head ache horribly for a while. An overload of information was the culprit.

The deer licked me on the cheek before standing up. It developed some weird habits in the two days we've been living together. I just scratched its back to return the gesture. I like the amount of contact we have, but it would be better to have someone to talk to.

- Weird, the taste changed since yesterday. Was it less fruity?

Suddenly some voice made its way into my head. It was feminine, clear, and with a hint of maturity. I turned my head towards the deer with such force that I may have broken some muscles in my neck.

- Why is it looking at me in such a weird position? Maybe it wants some fruit? But it didn't like the one I bought yesterday and it is still sitting in one corner.– The deer tilted its head and walked towards me.

I was still processing everything, the deer could talk somehow. A welcome change of course, but why now of all times? Seeing as the deer made its way toward me I tried to appear calm and turned my body in a comfortable position. 

- Silly thing, if only it could communicate.

Now, that was hurtful and weird. I spend the last two days trying to communicate with the deer by all means available. I would understand if my native language was not understood, but to think that even all the signs made with my body were incomprehensive rubbish.

- So, what do you want? Would you make me guess again?

- What do you mean by making you guess? If I could communicate normally I would have done so long ago.

My thoughts transformed themselves into words automatically. I knew the meaning of what I was speaking, but the sounds and pronunciation were foreign yet familiar to me. The deer looked at me with amusement, I think, it's difficult to read its facial expressions.

- Mmm, so you do know how to communicate. Were you shy when I took you in?

I just gave it a deadpan look. By chance, I noticed a tiny glint of amusement in its eyes. It was toying with me. That made me a little angry and relieved that it wasn't holding a grudge.

- No, I tried to communicate with you in every possible way, but until today I couldn't even hear you inside my head. Much less knowing this strange language in which we are communicating.

- How strange, indeed. Maybe it's because of that little glowing spot on your shoulder?

It directed my attention towards my left shoulder. There, I could see some light shining through the clothes. That is right, I still have my clothes, they are not clean or sometimes still in one piece but they do their intended work quite well. Back to the matter at hand, I took out my sweater and shirt. There was a tattoo of some sort, maybe a rune, etched in my entire arm all the way into my shoulder. The lines were faint, except for the section that was glowing. That certainly was not there this morning.

- Oho, it certainly is interesting. Why does your skin come off? I've seen spiders molting their skin, but they just left it to rot in the wild. You just wear it time and again.

I let out a chuckle, it was an innocent question, but to me who is used to wearing clothes, it sounded almost silly. I spent the next minutes explaining why it wasn't my skin and why I always use it.

- So, they are for comfort and warmth? Because you do not have any hair in the rest of your body?

That was exactly why I wear it. A nice little summary of clothes history.