Don’t call them things

They both look at me, expecting my answer.

No matter how you look at this we aren’t the same at all.

“No, we are not.” I’m so confused I just blurted it out without thinking.

“What?” The wolf man says in an annoyed tone.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean anything bad by it! It’s just, well, you know.” I point at my teeth and then at the top of my head.

“Actually, I don’t know.” I think I made him mad.

“What you mean by it?” He takes a step towards me.

“Hey now! He’s injured y’know? Take it easy.” The orc girls gets between us and starts looking around.

“Where’s that girl anyway? I know we kinda took of running but still…”

I hear more footsteps coming towards us.

I see another girl running towards us. As she gets to us, she’s completely out of breath.

“Geez you guys! Why did you take off like?! You know I can’t keep up with you guys when you transform!” She says pouting.

This new girl is a lot shorter than the rest of us. She has deep green skin, long silver hair and big pointy ears. The more I look at her the more it reminds me of a goblin monster. She’s wearing a long dress with the same orange and purple palette as the other two.

“My bad, my bad! But the way this guy was screaming his lungs out we kinda had to hurry.” The orc girl says pointing at me.

(Well sorry for not having the most harmonizing scream. Little hard to do when being chewed alive…)

“Oh my goddess!” The goblin girl crouches next to me and starts to look at my wounds.

“You poor thing! What happened to you?”

“I was attacked by this crazy wolf creature inside that cave. It was covered in injuries and had these eyes with no pupils, just all white.”

The three of them look at each other.

“There’s one of ‘em here? This just gets worse by the day.”

“I’m going.” The wolf man says, heading towards the cave. “You two stay here an treat him.”

“Wait, going alone is dangerous! We should stick together!” The goblin girl pleads.

“She’s right.” I butt in the conversation. “That thing was relentless! Plus, it was already half dead when I got away, it’s probably just going to die by itself anyway.”

“That’s exactly why I’m going.” He looks me straight in the eyes “And do not call them a thing.” He enters the cave without looking back.

“Ouch!” My pain tolerance is really being tested today.

“I’m sorry! It’s going to get better now, I promised” The goblin girl puts her hands together.

“Holy dream blessing: Full night's rest.” Her hands glow with an orange light, and she puts them on my wounds.

A warm feeling envelops me, and my injuries start to heal.

(Magic! I really am in another world!)

Some time passes, and the wolf man returns from the cave. He has a couple of scratches, and his eyes are red.

(Was he crying in there?)

I’m not completely healed but I’m way better than before. However, the dizziness from all the blood I lost is getting worse by the second. I’m having a really hard time staying awake.

“You good?” The orc puts her hand on the wolf’s shoulder.

“Yeah, let’s get this over with.” He says, wiping his cuts.

“Let’s do the chant together for these two outside, ok?”

The three of them arrange the bodies of the dead wolves on a spot with no cover from the treetops. As if all of them are basking in the sunlight.

They bring their hands and begin saying in unison.

“Oh goddess. She, who watches over us all. Please guide these lost souls who have met their ends in suffering. May only dreams find them in their eternal slumber.”

After finishing this prayer, the three of them stay in absolute silence, with sad expressions on their faces.

I want to say something, but I have this feeling that interrupting them would’ve been the most disrespectful thing I ever did in my life.

Orange light starts to emanate from the bodies of the dead wolves, completely enveloping them. I’m completely mesmerized.

A minute passes, not a word is said during this time. When suddenly, their corpses vanished into dozens of small light spheres, floating to the sky like fireflies.

I can’t describe with words what I felt at that moment. It was melancholic but beautiful at the same time.

With that over, they all turn to me.

“Now that that’s done. WHAT WERE YOU THINKIN HUH?!!” The orc girl gets right into my face.

“Going so far from town and not only that but going inside that cave over there! Do you even have anything inside of here?!” She pokes my head. Even a light tap from her finger feels like I’m getting punched.

“That was beyond reckless! Your family must be worried sick!” The goblin girl puts her hands on her hips, scolding me.

“What were you planning in there?” The wolf man crossed his arms and eyes me up and down, like he’s scanning me.

(This is bad. I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone so soon, so I haven’t come up with my origin story yet. What do I even say? I’m already suspicious as hell. Does the concept of reincarnation even exist in this world. Staying silent for so long is just making my case worse.) They keep looking at me, expecting my answer.

(Here goes nothing)

“Well, I don’t know.”

“What?!” They say in unison.

(In this case the best thing to do is play the amnesia card. I have no knowledge about this word, so not knowing anything makes it even more believable.)

“I don’t know what I was doing. No matter how much I try I can’t remember from before. I just woke up inside that cave in these ragged clothes and that’s all I know.”

Their faces change completely. The suspicion turned into a face of surprise and disbelief.

“Are you being serious?” The wolf man arm fall limp do his side.

“Does that mean…” The goblin girl covers her mouth.

(Did I mess up?!)

I have no time to open my mouth again. The orc girl grabs me by my shoulders and start to shake me back and forth.

“Are you sayin the truth?! Was there anyone else with you when you woke up?! Did Lady Sonala talk to you about anything?! Anything at all!!”

I can’t take it anymore. The shaking is too much. The pain and the dizziness completely overwhelm me, and I pass out.

I can’t faintly hear them talking.

“What are you doing you idiot!”

“Oh shoot, my bad! Hey, wake up.”

“Quit shaking him around!”

“Now what do we do?”

“If he’s telling the truth we have to bring him to the capital immediately. We must report this to the Guild Master!”

“Let’s go”

I can feel myself being carried. I’m too tired but I can barely open my eyes.

I’m being carried on the orc girl’s back, while the wolf man and gobbling girl take the lead.

Looking at them something catches my attention. On their belts, they have some sort of amulet. It’s a large ring made of wood with a weblike design inside of it made with string, and feathers dangling from it.

It looks exactly like the symbols painted inside the mine.

I recall what the voice said to me before I was reincarnated.

(Look for the ones with the amulet that wards off nightmares…)

My thoughts drift away as the exhaustion takes over me. I fall asleep.