Rest and Familiarity

Rin’s POV

I went back to that forest, sitting under a tree
I gaze at that blue sky that feels so familiar
to think this is an alien world
and not even close to my homeworld, is surreal

I touched the wolf necklace
the one Argo had given me countless years ago
then, my eyes wandered to the friendship bracelet
I had gotten it from my best friend so many ages ago
like Argo, they were someone who won my heart
I will search for them too in due time

My gaze softens as I recall long buried memories of my wolf
we had a whole life that nobody remembers
not even you, the reader of these events.

“I will find you.” I say to their spirits, hoping that my voice reaches them.

* * *

Rin stares at himself in the pond
changing his appearance to that of his younger self
he was always comfortable in this form
it was from the days he met Argo, whe he was twenty one
now he is centillions of years old
but that 21-year-old self was still prevalent

“This will do,” he nods.

Later that afternoon, it is time for Naitoti to close his booth and go home
with excellent care, he loads the unsold fruit in a wagon, the heavily fragrant scent of mangos causing him sniffles

He didn’t notice Rin, peeking from behind a building
silent but ever-present with eyes fixiated on him
When Naitoti slips away into the forest, Rin followed carefully
It was easy for Rin to be silent
all he had to do was levitate off the ground

The merchant veere onto a narrow path taken by an overgrowth of bushes and small plants
Rin hadn’t noticed this path in his wanderings through the forest

The route wound through the trees
eventually leafing to a quiet clearing where a quaint one story home rests
its thatched roof drying in the sunlight from yesterday’s rain

Outside, three young men sat outside at a table—Naitoti’s brothers Lemuria, Mattia and Vitale
they were enjoying tea and pastries
From behind the house, Edvige emerged
her arms full with a bundle of corn freshly picked from the garden in the back.

The sides of Rin’s mouth lifted in a sweet smile
faint but warm
a smile born not of joy, but of solace
before him stood the grandchildren he never thought he’d encounter ever again in another universe
bits and pieces of his son’s legacy are now here, living
like embers glowing in burnt firewood
it comforted him seeing his grandchildren—the remnants of his precious, precious son

He questions Alessio’s whereabouts to himself, but mutters, “I will find him in due time.”

If they are all here, Alessio can’t be far behind.

Rin gathers the courage to approach
“for now I can’t go around telling them everything about myself. I must figure them out to see how they react to things. I can’t lay so much info on them.”

Wait—

“Wait… why am I talking to myself again, I thought I was over this.”
He chuckled dryly, he’s too sleepy for this.
How many centillions of years had he wandered to cause the start of this? How many thoughts were said aloud because he had been bored to death?

“Old habits, I guess,” he sighed, “Eternal ones, perhaps.”
“Damn it, I did it again.”

Being alive for googols of years can do that to a person.

He stepped forward at last, hesitant but unable to stop now, crafting his backstory as if it were the most important dress he would wear to a gala.

“Hello!” he waves, “I am new to this world,” he told them.

“I’ve nowhere to stay. If it’s not too much of an issue—may I rest here? I’ll be gone during the day! I promise.”

He’s nervous with it, not making direct eye contact
but he ends it with a cute smile.

Edvige's eyes narrowed—suspicious about this stranger.
Naitoti, on the contrary, had no objection, just curiosity
but it was Mattia who spoke for them all:

“Our father decides. Always. I’ll go get him.”

and off he went to fetch him!
Rin waited, rocking back and forth on the ball of his feet
looking around at the surroundings to try and guess things about them.

‘Farmers. Unexpected. The way Vitale hated work, I think being a Custodian fixed him up.’

Then—he saw him.

Alessio, the son he had with Argo. Alive. Whole.
safe, sound and embracing a fully grown body on this world
yet he was cloaked in mystery
a blindfold tied across his eyes, hiding something mysterious
or shielding the outside world from his gaze

Rin inhales sharply, not out of sadness
but disbelief, relief and proud feelings mixed into one breath.

Alessio tilted his head, reading Rin’s aura.

“His voice is familiar,” he said, “have not received any bad feelings from him. He may stay.”

Rin doesn’t know if it is their innate telepathic connection sending okay signals to Alessio, or if somewhere in Alessio’s soul recognizes his father.
With a simple gesture, Alessio beckoned him into the house
the others followed, as did Rin.

“You must be hungry,” Alessio said, disappearing briefly into another room.
“I’ll prepare something.”

Rin, without thinking, blurted out with a sudden spark of remembered comfort food:

“Gnocchi?”

“What?” out came the puzzled reply.

Rin’s expression quickly shifted, brows drawing together.
saddened that the cuisine of his old world isn’t a thing here,
the name, the taste, the small tasteful details of that dish, gone.

He smiled faintly, a little sad now.

“Oh… nevermind.”

He glanced around
wondering if pasta even exists at all.

‘Did it survive the voyage?’

It should, if his family successfully settled here with the Terragon council and the arks containing earth materials.

Rin watches as Alessio cooks with Mattia and Naitoti
They cut noodles that seem to be pasta
they chop leaves, pour spices into the pot, and make a nice thick, cheesy sauce.

Rin’s stomach growls loudly
and he is taken aback by the sound and blushes out of embarrassment.

“Hungry, are we?” asks Alessio.

“Maybe…” mutters Rin, looking down out of shame.

“The food will be done shortly.”

“What is it?” he asks, his tail tapping the ground in anticipation.

“You’ll see.”

When his plate is fixed, Rin is surprised to see a cheesy alfredo pasta.

“Oh. My. GOD!”

Alessio takes his seat, “It’s not Gnocchi, but it’s still Italian.”

Rin blinks twice, “you remember Italy?”

“Remember?”

“I mean—you know what Italian is?”

Alessio’s eyebrows furrow, “when the Ancients arrived on this planet, they brought with them recipes from another world.”

“I see.”

“I figured you must be from that world, considering you asked for Gnocchi and mentioned you just arrived here.”

“Ah…” Rin mutters to himself, “I gave away too much.”

He takes a bite and cries
as memories of his childhood and early teens flood his mind
His mama, his papa, his brothers and sisters,
running around through the streets of Italy,
all of those happy and forgotten memories came flooding back.
The taste of pasta recalled the happiest moments of his life.

“Are you o— why are you crying?” asked Alessio.

“I’m just… this reminded me of my home.”

“That’s good, that means I achieved a rare feat with my cooking.” Alessio nudges Mattia and Naitoti, shooting them a smug smile, “you lot take my cooking for granted.”

Naitoti grimaced, “I do not.”

Rin smiles as he listens to them bicker
his heart warmed at the familiarity
no longer was he alone
he was finally home, with his family, even if this isn’t all of them
that’s all he ever wanted, to be with his family and his beloved Argo and best friend.

Oh… Argo
he immediately swallows that sad feeling before it bubbles inside him.

The TV is on and Edvige is watching it from the couch. “That group is at it again.”

Alessio looks at the TV and sighs, “young people these days.”

Rin watches for a moment
but he drops his fork when he sees a white-haired wolf that looks like Argo.

“No way…”

“What is it? You uh, dropped your fork.”

“OH! My bad.” Rin picks it up but keeps is eyes on the TV
He bumps his head trying to get back up, dropping the fork again.

“Ow ow ow ow ow.”

“it’s just the news. You can find out more about this online.” Said Alessio.

“I can? How do I do that?”

Vitale snickers, “homeless and internet illiterate.”

Alessio shoots him with a cold glare.

“Sorry.”

Alessio lends Rin a tiny, smooth aquamarine.

“Hold it and say in your head ‘internet’ and it will load for you.”

Rin closes his eyes and turns the rock around in his hands.

Alessio mutters, “You don’t need to be that dramatic…”

A hologram of the internet loads from the aquamarine.

“Hm. I’ve seen more advanced tech,” he says, tilting his head as he tries to transcribe the language on the homepage.

“Is this dragon tech?” he asks.

Alessio nods.

“Hmm…”

Rin thinks to himself, ‘no way the original language persisted for centillions of years. This must be an offshoot. Maybe it’s Hynnodi.’

Vita leans over to see the hologram. “Need help?”

“No.”

It’s a good ten minutes before Rin picks up on most of the language.
he consults his extensive memory of languages he learned over the years
recognizing patterns and distant familiarity among the words
finally he can navigate to the news section.

Rin learns the names of everyone in the group Mythures and reads headlines like:

Protests against hunting restrictions

Legalized dragon hunting: crime or control? Interview with the leader of Mythures

A Drecho of Dragons on Trial For Brutal Killing of Human Judge

Rin finds their website and reads about their next rally.

He asks, “has anyone here been to their events?”

Alessio’s voice is cold, like a warning cutting through the silence. “You land here in a new world that you know nothing of, and your first act is to get involved in its politics?”

“Well…” Rin was taught to be honest and communicate
hiding things from them could bite him later
“there’s someone… I recognize…”

Alessio’s eyebrows furrow, “How? You’ve never been here.”

Rin twiddles his thumbs, “I haven’t… but… it’s hard to explain. I… ah… can I talk to you privately?”

“I suppose.”

In a shed outside, Rin can finally present all of this information privately.

Rin sighs, out with it already, “do you believe in past lives?”

“I do.” Alessio crosses his arms, still suspicious.

Well…” Rin’s gaze is downcast again.
“I come from another universe. You and I were Custodians, but you died sooner so you could go into the afterlife. I was supposed to join you, but…”

Alessio’s arms fall, lax
with a sigh, he takes off his blindfold
letting Rin have a glance at his starlight eyes

“OH—since when did you regain your Custodian power after death?”

“I never left it, father.”

Rin stood there in complete, utter shock
what does he mean FATHER?
he remembered and didn’t say anything???

“You let me walk in here like a chicken without a head but this whole time you knew?”

“Yea. I just wanted to see how you would react.”

“I oughta whoop you.”

Alessio giggled so hard he could barely get the words out
“Wow! That’ll be! my first whopping ever! HAH!”