...I'm lying in some hole somewhere, covered in dirt and mud, with no idea how I got here. For some reason, I don't think this is the worst scenario I've found myself in. This isn't even uncomfortable, just bizarre. Yeah, I've definitely woken up in worse ways.
"Alola," whispers a soft voice. "Are you a shooting star that fell to earth?"
Am I a... Okay, what? Suddenly, I'm very worried about where I am. I open my eyes, and see a white fox with huge blue eyes and six tails, wearing a purple cape. My jaw just sort of hangs open.
The fox giggles. "Oh? I am sorry, I suppose even a fallen star could be left speechless by a frosty little princess."
"Fallen... Okay, shut up." I try to stand up, but my legs don't move the right way. "Where the hell am I?"
"Ah! And a fallen star could be so... crude!" The fox looks hurt by what I said. ...Has it never heard a swear before? "But to answer your questions, o star, you are in the Forest of the Fae, a mystical land where the Fairies roam and mischief reigns."
I groan. Even by weird-talking-fox standards, this thing is weird. I try to stand again, and fall down again.
"My star, are you well?" The fox takes a step closer. " 'tis like you've never stood on your own paws before."
"Stop. Calling. Me. A star," I growl. "And I don't have paws."
It gets even closer. "Are you quite sure? Oh, you must have hit your head when you fell from the heavens. Here." It reaches out. I try to pull away, but I'm already backed against the edge of my hole. It takes my arm, and...
What. The actual. Hell.
There isn't an arm. There's a leg, an animal's leg, covered in grey fur that ends with a tiny little paw. ...Oh my God, the fur freaking sparkles when it moves. SPARKLES. I look at the rest of me, I know I shouldn't, but I do, and I'm all furry and shiny, and there's a giant bushy tail, and... is that a MUZZLE? How did I not see that before!?
"See?" The fox smiles, for some reason. "You're a little white fox, just like me."
"No, I'm NOT!" I snap at it, and it jumps a few feet back. "I'm not an ANIMAL! I'm a HUMAN! This isn't real! You're not real!" I keep snarling and screaming until I need to breathe.
The fox looks at me, like I just told it the puppy died. "...O star, please do not be afraid. Though I know you once shined in the sky, my eyes see a Pokemon here on earth." It sits down and raises its head, and sets a paw on its chest, trying to be all dramatic. "Please, be at peace knowing that the frosty princess shall do all she can to return you to your rightful place in heaven."
I stop listening once it says 'Pokemon'. Again, horror dawns on me. "...You did not just say I'm a Pokemon."
"But I did, for that is what you appear to me as."
And I get back to screaming and snarling, ranting about how Pokemon aren't even REAL, just some Japanese thing that sells toys and people obsess over. God, I don't even know WHY people love the things so much! They're just. CARTOONS. I go on and on, and don't stop until a little after I need to breathe.
Again, the crazy fox thing's looking at me with the dead-puppy eyes. "You... truly believe that? But... I am real. My parents, may mighty Moltres and Articuno bless them, are real. My friends, my homeland, my neighbors... They are all real." Then it stands back up. "Or... perhaps none of us do. Truly, if a star can fall and become a silver-coated Eevee, 'tis possible that none of us are truly what we are, only taking shapes in this mortal realm until we return to the realm of spirit, where we find our true selves. After all, you claim to be human, a creature that has only been seen in legend," it says wistfully. "Why, 'tis only reasonable that we are your legends as you are ours." Then it smiles. It FREAKING smiles, like I just gave it the freaking answer to life itself. "Thank you, o fallen star, for allowing my eyes to be opened."
Why does it keep calling me a star? I'm clearly not a star. I SHOULD be a person, and apparently I'm a glittery fox. ...Forget that, only someone crazy as this thing could come up with a conclusion like that, and I don't even want to know what's going through its head. I somehow manage to stand up... on my four... paws... and crawl out of the hole.
"Ah! So you can walk!" The 'princess' gets all excited by my one action. "I was afraid you may have hurt yourself when you fell. 'tis good to see you are not broken."
"...What are you talking about?" I give it a passing glare. "You keep calling me a 'fallen star', why?"
"Are you not? I saw it with my own eyes: On a fullmoon night, when the dark was broken by silver light; Stars fell from sky, bright golden tears I saw it cry; They faded to dark, but one came down and left its mark; Come morning, from home I fled, to know for certain the star wasn't dead."
I groan. "Okay, you're a poet. Great. Can you say that in English?"
The fox gives me a mischievous smile. "Words are as much an art as paint or clay. 'twould be a crime to take their magic away."
It takes everything in me to not smack the damn thing right there. That, and the fact that I don't know how to smack with these stupid forelegs. Walking's simple enough, but everything just feels so... off about me.
"Would you grace me with your magic word, o star, and tell me what you are called?"
"Meh?" Right, it's still there. If I tell it my name, it'll probably stop calling me a star, at least. I'm already sick of that. "I'm Victor, but everyone calls me Vic."
"Victor..." The fox gazes at the sky... or something. "So 'tis a champion among stars to have fallen down to us..."
"It's just a name," I mumble. It's not like it means anything about who I am. Just something my parents thought sounded nice.
It looks back at me, with those giant eyes. "I suppose I must introduce myself, too." Its cape blows in the wind. For some reason, the wind wasn't here until now. "My Mother was a beautiful Queen of the ice and snow from the islands, my Father a wise lord of the heat and flame from the far East. Of their love, I was born, an ice-fox like my Mother." So is it going to say its name, or not? "To strangers, I am Vulpix, the six-tailed fox. But to those who know me, I am Aurora, the lovely princess of winter frost and lingering ember, named for the brilliant sky under which my parents met."
I roll my eyes. "Great story. So, is there any, y'know, civilization around here?"
"But of course, Sir Victor." Aurora skips ahead of me. I never knew things with four legs could skip until now. "The Forest of the Fae is no place to stay, unless you are one of them, or a wild beast. In fact, should we linger too long, we may become one of those things. But worry not, my star. Though I am but a flurry, my frost shall protect you from harm, and I shall lead you to the place of my dwelling: Argenheim, the Silver Home."
Reluctantly, I follow the crazy fox through the forest. It's not like I have any better options... Hopefully, there's some normal people in this 'Argenheim'. Or... as normal as cartoon creatures can be.
...God, what did I do to get thrown here?