Arrival: Hello!, Konichiwa! Bonjour! and Ciao!

Gasping for delicious gulps of air, Jing swiped strands of hairs out of his eyes. He'd materialized on the stony beach of a lake with gentle waves lapping at the shore. Gone was his brown suit and leather loafers. Instead, he was dressed in the same creamy, silken fabrics that floated lightly on his body, that he had been wearing in front of the Being. Daylight highlighted the sky blue of the robe, intricate cerulean embroidery gleamingly overlaid several layers of white silk underclothing. Angling his head down, he noticed soft kid leather shoes with a firm sole on his feet. They were surprisingly comfortable over the uneven stones underfoot at the beach.

Despite his previous struggle in the puddle, Jing's clothing remained bone dry. Wonderingly, he reflected on the Being's words. The encounter which had taken on a dream-like quality, was easily relegated to the back corners of his mind. The Being had said something in parting which sounded vaguely important. Something about his heart being an object of desire, a spark to ignite the world around him?

Lips curving in amusement, Jing shook his head. Desire wasn't an adjective that resided on the same planet as his. In fact, desire probably turned tail and ran in the opposite direction whenever Jing made any moves in its direction.

Yet, the Being's words couldn't be cast aside so lightly. Their reference to his heart meant that something about him was different. Pressing a pale, shaking hand to his chest, Jing sighed with relief at the steady thumping of his heart beating soundly against his fingers. Feeling the luxurious material of his clothing, he became curious about his appearance.

Heading to the calm waters, he peered at the gently rocking surface of the lake. A pair of wide brown eyes within a round face stared back at him. Jing couldn't discern any noticeable difference between his previous self and the body he currently inhabited. Except for the hair of course. Jing was currently in possession of a beautiful head of hair that would not be out of place in a shampoo commercial.

Fingering the long wavy black locks that ran past his waist, he tilted his head at different angles, admiring his reflection. There was a simple brown bamboo hairpin that cinched a knot atop his head, with the rest of his hair flowing gracefully past his shoulders. He grimaced at the sudden thought of how long the hair upkeep would take him in this new life.

A crack sounded like thunder across the beach interrupting his ramblings. Jing spun around, eyes wide with fear, hand pressed against his chest. Thoughts flashed across his mind of rabid wolves or hungry bears hiding amidst the autumn trees. He couldn't see anything around the narrow beach but there could be anything hiding in the darker recesses of the shady tree-line.

Scrambling forward, he grasped a hefty dead branch that he had a bit some difficulty holding up. With a two-handed grip on the makeshift wooden club, he swung it around eyeing the trees for the source of the sound.

"Ahem", a soft throat clearing sounded to his left. Spinning back, Jing almost lost his grip on the branch as a man walked towards him out of the tree line.

Dressed in black robes, the man looked like he'd walked off a magazine cover. In fact, this assessment wasn't far off since Jing realized with a start that the man greatly resembled the singer on the convenience store poster. With high cheekbones, piercing, upturned eyes and pouting, full lips, his appearance was alluring but surprisingly austere. Each step towards Jing spoke of the man's vitality, his eyes sharply observing Jing's movements. Freezing in place, Jing felt a sudden panic at encountering another human being, especially one as beautiful as the man in front of him.

Feeling rather like an imposter, guilt rushed through him as he wondered if the person whose body he inhabited knew this man. What should he say? Did they even speak the same language? Was this the singer reincarnated just like him?

Simplicity seemed to be his best bet so he went with, "Um, hello", lifting his left arm in an energetic wave while deftly moving his right foot out of harm's way as his right arm collapsed downwards under the weight of the heavy branch.

The black-robed man remained silent as he came to a halt a few feet, out of arm's reach or more importantly, out of branch-swinging reach. His piercing gaze was unnerving and Jing couldn't help being distracted by observations of the man's well-proportioned, lithe build. Taller than Jing by several inches, his stare pinned Jing to the spot as he tried to find something else to say.

Would he think Jing had lost his mind if he asked him what this country was called? Or whether they had inventions like coffee or toothbrushes? Questions, increasingly inappropriate, raced across his mind but he was hesitant to voice them to this grim-faced man.

The man was still participating in a one-sided staring contest so Jing took the initiative to speak up. Intimidated but determined, he began with the classic, "How's it going?".

Unsurprisingly the man continued his mute journey leading Jing to wonder if there was a language barrier that was preventing comprehension. So he decided to try his hand at the many languages in which he could claim kindergarten-level proficiency.

"Hello", he exclaimed loudly and unsuccessfully. His "Konichiwa!", "Bonjour" and "Ciao", were all met with stony silence.

Bemused by the mute, glaring, attractive man, Jing's confusion materialized in a tomato-red blush that bloomed across his face.

"Well if you're going to stand around staring at me, I'll just get going then", he blurted out finally.

Skirting around the man, Jing attempted a quick escape. As always, luck was not in his favour. Walking around the man, Jing also tried dragging his branch alongside him. Stepping on an uneven stone and thrown off balance by the weight of the branch, Jing stumbled. Arms flailing windmill-like, eyes wide with panic, the world was a blur of colour before he found himself eagle-spread face first on the man's black silk-covered shoes.

"Cough, cough", the man above him suddenly had a coughing fit that suspiciously sounded like bursts of laughter. Angrily, Jing lifted his head, top knot askew.

The man quickly raised a wide sleeve to hide his lips and straightened his expression. Jing stone-facedly pushed himself up. He busied himself with brushing down his now dusty robe and hiding his beet-red face.

"What are you doing here?", a husky timbre interrupted his motions and sent an inexplicable shiver across his spine. He looked up into a captivating pair of black eyes that were narrowed in concentration upon him. Those eyes were tilted at the corners, lending charm to the otherwise stern face.

"The entire guild has been looking for you for the past three days", the man continued, gaze finally shifting from Jing to the calm lake behind him. Eyeing Jing's dry clothing, his gaze took on a suspicious glint as he scanned the surrounding beach.

Swift realization dawned on Jing as noticed the man's wandering eyes. If he'd seen him flapping about in the lake before the Being intercepted him, and then suddenly appeared on the beach, it would be too suspicious. How could explain away his instantly dry clothes?

But more importantly, he was obviously acquainted with him. Or rather the 'him' who'd kindly donated his body for Jing's future use. This would explain the surly animosity with which the man had treated him thus far.

Recalling the Being's mention of a drowning accident, Jing sent up a swift prayer for the poor soul.

An annoyed "hmph" was all the warning he got before the man turned on his heel, striding back towards the tree line.

"Wait!", cried Jing to the already distant back.

He had no clue how the man knew 'him' but based on his words, he knew people who were looking for 'him'. Following him may be his best option in the current situation. He had no idea who he was, where or when he was and why he was dressed as if he'd leapt off the pages of an ancient novel. Also, he was growing hungry and as Jing patted his growling stomach, he figured a guild sounded like a place where he could scrounge some food.

Mind made, Jing lifted the skirts of his robes and hurriedly stepped after the man. Entering the woods, he almost held his breath at the muted world within. The red and gold trees provided a shady, colourful canopy with leaves steadily drifting in the downward march to winter.

Despite the autumnal colours, the breeze didn't hold a chill yet and Jing estimated it was still late September wherever he was.

Jogging along the dirt lane he could make out the faint outline of the black-robed man floating ahead of him. The black robes seemed to blend in the shadows cast by the overarching trees.

Working hard to keep him in sight Jing called out "Hey wait! Slow down."

Clearly ignoring him, the man maintained his distance progressing through the woods at a steady clip.

Jing finally got within arms reach but as the silent man clearly didn't wish to associate any further with him, he decided to keep pace behind him and not disturb him. No need to further aggravate the only other living person he knew in this new world.

The fast walk, practically a jog for poor Jing's shorter legs, had him breathing harder in the hushed amber light of the woods. Sunlight weakly streamed through the thick canopy overhead, highlighting the muddy path upon which they trekked. It had rained recently since there were small puddles dotting the path.

Given his recent adventure with puddles, he was careful to sidestep each one, trekking cautiously through the muddy terrain. After what felt like a lifetime behind a desk and living in an urban sprawl, this was the most outdoorsy activity he'd undertaken in years.

When he wasn't watching his step, Jing was gazing admiringly at his surroundings, dazzled by the amber and honey hues painted everywhere he turned. The man ahead was still in sight and hurrying after him, Jing just managed to catch up before sharp sunlight bloomed across his vision.

They'd entered a bright clearing and it took Jing a minute before his eyes grew adjusted to the light after his jaunt through the shady trees. Blinding light glinted off the man's silver hair ornament, the only adornment gracing his otherwise simple appearance.

Eyes slowly focusing, Jing realized they had entered a small grassy knoll and some hundred yards away lay an enormous brick wall. Smoke and a hubbub of human activity echoed from beyond that wall. Gazing about in shock at the sudden appearance of humanity, Jing barely noticed the black-robed man making his way toward the large iron gates that were firmly shut. The gate appeared to be vigorously guarded by stern-faced men armed with swords that lay at their armoured waists. Men who were currently staring hard at him and holding the hilts of those rather sharp-looking swords.

Gulping, Jing fought the urge to run away. Stomach rumbling in hunger and palms sweating with fear, he clutched hard at his branch. Forward seemed to be his only option unless he wanted to be a lake hermit in this new life, so forward he went.