Chapter 2: Little fox

After he got a few hundred meters away from the city, he recalled what he knew so far. In a game, or even in real life, the one who holds more answers will be able to strive more. In the words of a gamer like Lu, "information is king".

He thought that since he has feathers that work the same way as they did in Monitum, the new world might just work similar to how it did in the game.

"In that case, I should have that too..." He told himself, stretching his right palm forward, and his left held on to support it. A golden cloud puffed out of his hand and gradually dissipated after a short while

There were three types of hex in Monitum. Body hex called life which is, unlike in most videogames, not represented in a green bar. It is instead felt, similar to how it worked in real life for the immersion.

Mind hex is called mana, which is used to summon and control feathers. Once depleted, the player no longer has access to the feathers. Again, it is not shown, unlike in most videogames where it is fepresented in a blue bar.

The last is spirit hex called animus. It is used for breaking the laws of the universe. The only certain thing about it is that its forms vary from person to person, and can be used three times, then in case of emergencies, once more. The last use has more powerful effects than the first three, but will make the player faint from exhaustion.

Lu shook his head. He couldn't figure out what his animus can do. "So much for info is king" he thought.

He sighed and walked forward. The more important problem to tackle on is his survival. He walks forth headstrong, not looking back.

***

Lu wanders aimlessly through three days and nights without any food or sleep or even a simple break. Not seeing any impending danger does not mean there isn't any.

Some moments he would wonder if he should sleep for a few hours, but the thought of being eaten alive by who-knows-what while helplessly dozing off prevented him from doing so. For the past three days he hasn't encountered anything, and the more time passes by the more he thinks he's safe. However, when your life is on the line, you have to dismiss any other idea that has less than the highest chance for survival.

His heavy eyelids closed for a brief second involuntarily. In that short time, he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"Lu..."

His eyes instantly opened when he heard it. He looked around to look for the source of the sound, but as he expected, there was nobody else around.

He was in a location where trees appeared only every thousand steps. Had he been walking in a rainforest, he'd build himself a secure shelter, even if he would just pass by one. However, he wasn't lucky enough to encounter any, and carrying a trunk to the other until he could build a shelted didn't seem so wise. Not even if it only took two trees.

"Lu", he heard it again.

He turned round and round, spinning until he was dizzy enough. That was when he saw the woman with black hair in the distance. He wanted to tread over there and take a closer look, but he soon realized who it is, or rather, who it was supposed to be.

"Leila..." he whispered in his soft, shaky voice. He almost shed a tear if he didn't know any better. At the exact moment she smiled at him kindly he knew he was hallucinating, just as how it felt like when oneself realizes that they are in a dream.

She got closer everytime he blinked. He decided to get away from his delusions and turned around, only to find the same smiling woman behind him only a few inches away. He suddenly lost all his will to fight it and fell down on the soft grass, instantly snoozing off.

***

Lu slowly peeled his eyes open and witnessed a beautiful night sky painted with small dyed dots and streams of multiple colors. He almost lost himself stargazing and shook his head to snap himself back to reality.

It was nighttime, and he slept through daylight, but if it was only one or two days, he had no way of knowing. He believed he was still hallucinating when he saw a little girl with fox ears about six years of age, staring at him intently. Her body was semi-transparent, and he could see some stars through her. Red-orange hair swayed in the night wind, and yellow fur covered her ears. Her eyes were also red-orange, and she was dressed in a shrine maiden clothing of some sort.

"Poor fellow", she said. "If only he headed toward the next tree, he would have lived".

Lu pondered her words and trailed his eyes to the next tree. It bore wild red fruits and next to it is a clean pond of water. He wonders how he hadn't seen it beforehand, and perhaps it was because he was barely even half awake in his last few hours before fainting. He couldn't stand up, but he was able to get himself on his knees so he crawled in the direction of the next tree, slowly but surely.

"Ooohh! This guy's not dead yet. Go fella! Yes, yes! Go to the tree!" The little girl said. Lu had so many questions in mind, but he was already starving, and he thought that talking with a very dry throat was meaningless.

The little animal-person walked beside him cheered him on each and every step of the way, or rather every pull in his case. "Go dying person", she would say, and "You can do it! Or you won't, who am I to say?" she' laugh.

Once Lu had finally reached the damp soil near the pond, he drank from it so much he nearly drowned, and was breathing heavily afterwards. He coughed a few times because of a few water droplets that somehow made it into his lungs, then he stared into his tiresome reflection in the water. He had never seen such a clear body of water in his whole life. Not to mention, a night sky so bright he could see a little far away.

Feeling refreshed, he had the strength to stand up with a little help from the tree trunk beside him.

He reached for the a few red apples and threw them down each time he got his hands on one. A few apples later, he sat back down lazily in a thud, then reached for the one of them with his weak arms, washed them in the pond, and started wolfing down on his meal.

Wild apples sure are sweet, he thought. Although, he wasn't actually sure if the reason was that it was wild, or because everything just seems tasty when you're hungry, much more starving.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" The little girl smiled and sat in fromt of him.

Lu smiled and swallowed the bite that he could barely chew, "Thanks, little fox" he said and took another bite.

"Sure thing~... YOU CAN SEE ME!?" She jumped back, a flash of shock evident in her expression.

Lu raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be the one with that reaction about you? I mean, you might just be another hallucination, but I've never seen such a helpful hallucination, not saying I had many though".

The little ethereal foxgirl jumped up and had a shine in her eyes."I don't know what you're talking about, but you can see me! Can we be friends?" she asked, wagging her tail in a flutter that would match a hummingbird's flapping speed.

Lu giggled silently. He wasn't very convinced that his mind was playing tricks on him. After all, if anything was out of place in the world, it would be him. "Sure... I guess" he shrugged.

"Oh boy! What do friends do again? Right... Uh... Oh, right! What do they call you?" it asked.

"I'm Lu. How about you?" Lu returned the question.

"I'm Esther, nice meeting you, friend!" She sat down on her legs, and suddenly she seemed so well-mannered.

While Lu paused to think of what to say next, he heard her sniffing. When he turned to her to find out what it was about, she found her crying, but with a smile from ear to ear.

He panicked, "W-Woah why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?"

Esther shook her head and covered her eyes with her right arm. "No *hic* I just thought *hic* I'd never be able to *hic* talk to anyone *hic* ever"

Lu felt relieved that it was tears of joy. However, it does bring a question to his mind. "Am I really the only one who can see you?" he asked.

Esther stopped crying, but her sniffles still persisted. "I don't know why, but other people can't see me. I don't know where I come from either. I don't know why I'm here. I only know that I had a family, and I'm lost" she explained.

"Huh. Well isn't that rough" Lu said. He thought that except for the first part, he was the same as her.

"Can you help me?" Esther asked.

They stared into each other's eyes as she waited for Lu's answer. He had other things to prioritize, and moreover, what sort of help could he give her if he does not even know how to live in this world himself?

He considered many other factors that go against the idea of helping her, but the look in this little girl's eyes reflected his own when he and Leila was abandoned by their parents. He just couldn't say no.

He sighed and nodded slowly, and her face lit up into a smile as bright as the sun.

"Just so you know, we're looking for a needle in a haystack, so don't expect too much from me, okay?" Lu said.

"It doesn't matter. If we never find them at least I did it with a friend, hehe"

"I have my own problems too. I don't know the way to the next town or city or whatever. I don't even know if they will accept me because I don't look like them" Lu explained.

"Ah, if that's the case then I know a nearby city with a lady that looks like you. Black hair and all" Esther said simply.

Lu was just as shocked. "What? Where? That's impossible!" he said. There was no other person who has black features other than him. At least so far. Still, it was among the many, many people he saw in the city of Keirah, and when those people did show, they did not seem to be very welcome.

"She's in an open area and people come to throw some iron in the pool under her. Follow me! I'll lead you to her!" she said and started walking.

Lu was still in disbelief. His heart raced at the thought, so he had to calm himself down by breathing slower than he should be. There was something fishy about how she described the woman's state. He feared that Esther was too innocent to see it, but she's hanged and bled publicly while people threw items like darts at her for obvious reasons, like some brutal execution of a witch in the old ages. Lu recalled how he was persecuted without credible reason in Keirah, and it wasn't too far off if that was the case with the black haired lady.

They travelled the span of the night, with Lu consuming the apples he brought with him to calm him down. He couldn't shake off the dreadful idea and started coming up with excuses to tell Esther to preserve her innocence once she takes in the sight once more.