Chapter 1 - Feathers and Teeth

I came to with the ache in my head just starting to fade, horizontal on the ground. I blinked in the bright light and sat up with a groan, slowly, getting my bearings. I was laying on a patch of grass, surrounded by trees, a hole in the canopy letting in the rays of sunlight that were nearly blinding me. As I slowly climbed to my feet, careful to not stumble, I took note of the birdsong and the light breeze filling the air. I took a long breath in, and was amazed at just how fresh the air felt in my lungs. A quick glance about as I brushed dirt off of my slacks revealed no signs of civilization, just thick, lush forest.

“Ok Adele...you’re in the wilderness, supposedly a completely different world, what do you do?”

I thought back to my childhood, when I’d gone camping with my family. It hadn’t been true wilderness, since the campsites had many others there, but my dad had been a bit of an outdoorsman. I thought back to the little lessons he’d taught.

“First...shelter? That won’t help me much if I need to find civilization...but after that, water, right?”

I strained my ears, listening hard...and heard the tell-tale burbling of running water.

“Yes!”

I used the sound to navigate, carefully picking my way over thick tree roots and loose stones. The stream was not far at all from the place I woke up, and I didn’t bother caring about getting mud on my slacks as I knelt down at the bank to take a look.

The stream itself was running lazily enough that I could generally see my own features in the reflection. My chin-length light brown hair was a mess from where I’d been laying on the ground, and my chestnut-colored eyes looked wide and scared. Was I scared? I reached up to touch my rather plain face and felt the tremble in my fingers. It was all starting to hit me, rather suddenly. I was, for all intents and purposes, dead. As far as my old world was concerned, at least. And now I was lost in a terribly unfamiliar place. The tears welled up in my eyes unbidden, and a sob left my throat before I could stop it. And with that one sob, The floodgates opened, and I cried, hard, on the bank of the stream. The grief from knowing I wouldn’t see my friends or family again, the still-raw loss of Harold, the fear of having to start over somewhere unfamiliar, the bottled-up rage and exhaustion from having been mistreated by my boss for years…

For minutes on end, I cried out all the grief and fear and stress. And it hurt, yes, but it was also freeing. As I finally began to calm, throat a bit raw and eyes puffy, I remembered that Harold had said something just before I’d passed out.

“Wasn’t it something like...’store’?”

The moment I said it, a lit up box appeared in front of my eyes. I jumped, startled, and it moved with my vision, reminding me of the few times I’d worn VR goggles.

It resembled a webpage, with a cartoony logo of Harold’s face and the title ‘Harold’s Sock Drawer’. The bemused chuckle that drew out of me sounded strange and a bit like I’d start crying again if I gave it any thought, so I focused on the screen. It seemed like a shop, with pictures of products and names below them, but no prices.

Mouse toys, a Churu, bone-shaped dog treats...as I reached out, I found I could use my fingers to scroll up and down, like on a tablet screen. It only took a few scrolls to realize that this shop sold pet supplies, from common to exotic.

Wondering about the pricing, I selected a tin of dog food, but the screen suddenly disappeared and in my hand was that very tin.

“Wait...I can just...get these things whenever I want? Isn’t that too overpowered?”

I would have considered exploring the shop more, but I was very suddenly taken out of my thoughts by a low, rumbling growl coming from behind me. The hair on the back of my neck stood and my heart began to race. Slowly, so achingly slowly, I started to turn around to face the danger at my back.

Three four-legged creatures had stepped out of the treeline in my direction, one directly behind and two moving in diagonally towards my sides. They were the size of large dogs, though only appeared like them at first glance. Their snouts, wrinkled in snarls, were still filled with sharp, carnivore teeth, but were wider, with flared nostrils, more like a crocodile’s. Along the length of their spines were feathers, in a variety of colors, leading to tails that flared at the tips, almost like peacocks. The rest of their bodies were covered in short fur save for their legs, which had dull scales along the fronts and sides until they reached wide paws.

I swallowed hard as these creatures advanced, moving in a pincer formation around me, leaving me only the stream as a method of escape.

‘Intruder. Defend territory!’

What I heard, or rather felt, wasn’t quite words...but as I watched the creatures, it was like I could understand them. I could tell when the leader, the one in the middle, subtly flicked his tail that he was signaling to the one on the right that it was too far out, and saw that same one adjust to tighten the formation.

‘Defend. Drive it away.’

I was in their territory. I was a threat. How did I get away from obviously dangerous wild...animals?...determined to ensure I no longer was?

I tensed, and felt the shape of the dog food can in my hand. Was it worth the risk? Did I really even have a choice?

The snarling grew louder as I slowly lifted my arms to hold out the can, their defensiveness and fear spiking, and I carefully slipped my finger beneath the tab.

“Easy...it’s ok, see? I just need to…”

The sound of the can opening made all of us jump from the tension, and the one on the left snapped at the air.

‘Noise! Danger!’'

For half a second, the creatures were hellbent on attacking, but then the scent of the canned food hit their noses. The leader signaled for them to halt as he sniffed the air.

‘Food​?’

“’That’s right...I’m not a threat, see?” I kept my voice calm, despite how scared I was, and carefully set the can down, and carefully pushed it forward. “I’m a friend, it’s ok…”

The leader took stock of the situation, considering the risks and the potential rewards. He took one step forward, then another, eyeing me suspiciously with each one, until he reached the can. He sniffed at it, then took a lick with his long, broad tongue.

‘Food!’'

The leader, upon tasting the meaty concoction in the can, greedily attempted to shove his entire snout into it, and when that didn’t quite work, used his tongue and his paws to manipulate the can as needed. The other two watched with curiosity and hunger, not daring to approach but certainly wanting to see what the fuss was about.

I probably should have taken that moment to sneak away, but I was fascinated, and instead used the time to observe them closer.

The leader was the largest of the three, his coat a dark grey and his feathers a brilliant, crimson red. The one on the left had an even darker coat, bordering on black, with feathers a brilliant white. The one on the right was the smallest, with a more unique mixture of white and orange spots, its feathers mimicking its coat in a way that reminded me of koi fish.

And then the leader looked up at me, his ears perked with the tips flopping forward, and his tail wagged.

‘More?’

It hit me, just then. Floppy ears, highly varied coats, the wagging...I realized that, unless the rules of this world were very different from my own, these weren’t wild creatures.

They were domesticated. Feral, maybe, but not wild.

The leader was staring at me expectantly.

“Umm...ok, maybe...maybe this can work...’Store’.”

The shop popped up in my vision again. The beasts didn’t react, which told me only I could see it. I carefully scrolled down to the dog food again, changed the quantity below the image to ‘3’, and selected it. Three stacked cans appeared in my hand, and the beasts jumped in surprise.

“It’s alright, good...puppies? Yeah, good puppies, stay calm.”

I continued to speak as I opened the cans, one by one, then pushed them in front of me. The leader did not hesitate to dig in. The spotted one was next, approaching with caution, but it too was soon very distracted by the food. The darker one was last, keeping a watchful eye on me the entire time, even as it ate.

‘More? More?’'

The leader had finished, and moved closer, licking his chops and wagging his tail. I didn’t even think before reaching out, only registering what a foolish thing I’d done after my hand was already touching the side of his head.

All of us froze, me in sudden realization and then in shock, anticipating violence. No turning back now.

I scritched.

He didn’t move, confusion in every inch of him. I scritched more, and watched as the realization came to him that the scritches felt good. He leaned, hard, into my hand, and his wagging tail began to go a mile a minute.

‘Good! Yes, more!’

He leaned in so hard that he tipped over, rolling onto his back. The other two were startled by this, but the leader just wriggled excitedly beneath my hand. When I finally took it away, he stayed down, tongue lolling out of his mouth. The other two stared at me, the spotted one with curiosity and the darker one with suspicion...but there was no longer a hint of aggression.

“Well, um...I’ll just...get out of your territory, then.”

I backed up, hands up, and slowly backed away along the bank of the stream, following its current. The three watched my retreat until I was no longer in view, and then I turned and took off at a brisk walk.

It was only a minute later that I heard a huffing noise behind me, and glanced back..there they were, following close behind. The leader tilted his head.

‘Friend, where going? Food?’'

It seemed I wasn’t going to shake them so easily.