Sighing, I ran a hand through my long brown hair as I walked the streets of another strange world. This was the third world I'd been to in two days and I was tired. I could barely keep my human form together, and as it was I was walking around with my ears and tail showing. Fortunately the people here were barely glancing in my direction, allowing me to relax a bit and actually take in what I was seeing.

This world seemed peaceful enough, but then again the last one had as well at first. I stopped in the shadows of a building and just watched people pass by. There were humans and it looked like elves. A few people wandered by who looked human but I vaguely saw shadows of wings and horns on them. It seemed I still had a lot of my powers here which I was grateful for, I did not want to be caught off guard and almost powerless like before.

I frowned, shaking my head, trying not to dwell on what happened a few hours ago. Just then my stomach decided to let me know for the hundredth time that I needed to find food. Sighing and stepping out into the street again, I wandered for a while spotting a clock or two that told me it was around 8 pm.

~Will there even be any places that serve food this late? ~ I wondered to myself. Just then I spotted a building that seemed to draw me towards it. It just was inviting for some reason, looking up I spotted a sign above the door.

"Timelord's Tavern?" I smiled, it sounded like a pun on a show from my world. Walking in I noticed there were a few people sitting at tables and one or two up at the bar. The bartender was a middle aged looking guy with glasses and grayish/silver hair; it was hard to tell in the light. He was in a white button up shirt and a brown vest and pants from what I could see. He was busy chatting with one of the customers at the bar as I approached. As I sat on one of the barstools he walked over to me and smiled kindly.

"So what can I get you Miss?"

"Please just call me Briar, Sir. And I um..." I looked down blushing slightly. "I'd like something to eat but…..I don't have any money. I'll be more than happy to work for it though. I'll do whatever you need. Washing dishes, cleaning the floors, anything."

"Well how about I get you some food first and we can talk about you working it off later, hmm?" He smiled and pulled a menu out from under the bar. "Here, look it over and order whatever you like."

I thanked him with a smile as I took the menu from him. I looked it over as he went back to the person he was chatting with before. I scanned over the menu quickly and ordered steak and mashed potatoes when he came back and, not wanting to risk any bad reactions with stuff I used to drink, I went with water for a beverage.

He left to get the food and I took the chance to look around the Tavern more. It was really nice, made from some kind of dark wood. There were fewer people in here than when I entered, it looked like mostly humans or elves. To my right on the bar was the person the bartender had been talking to. She was sipping a drink muttering to herself a bit. She was sitting, or it looked more like resting against the barstool. From the waist up she looked like a normal person probably around my age, but from the waist down she had a long shimmering green snake tail. She was a naga, a real naga.

I stared, fascinated, until the bartender came back with my food. I thanked him and started eating happily. It had been days since my last decent meal. I took a sip of the water and jumped slightly at the taste. There was a citrusy taste to it and I set it down quickly, eyeing everything with suspicion.

"Is something wrong?" The bartender asked.

I jumped not realizing he was there. "I…..the water tastes kinda odd….I'm sorry if this sounds rude Sir but….did you put anything in it?"

He chuckled softly. "Just call me Chronos, and I didn't think you'd be able to taste that. You looked kinda worn out when you walked in before. It's just something to give you a little energy boost. We don't want you passing out on the streets when you don't know your way around right?" he smiled warmly. "Don't worry; it won't last long depending on how fast your system burns it off."

I was about to ask him what he meant, since I know I didn't say I was from out of town, when the naga called him over demanding another drink. I went back to eating quietly. The bartender, Chronos he said, was right. I had been really tired and whatever was in the water was helping a lot. I just hoped there were no side effects, but I felt like I could trust him for some reason. I finished up quickly and he came back over to get my dishes. He set them in a bin with a few other dirty dishes and came back over to me.

"Ok, now about working that off."

I waited, expecting something harsh like scrubbing the entire tavern from top to bottom, but he just pointed to my right at the naga and smiled a bit mischievously.

"I'd appreciate it very much if you could take Selvina there home for me. When you get there you can ask my son if you can stay with him for a while, since you probably don't have anywhere to stay, am I right?"

I nodded sheepishly as he pulled a map out and drew a route with a pen, circling a house not all that far from the tavern before handing it to me.

"Just follow this and you should have no trouble, ok?"

"Ok." I took the map and gently grabbed Selvina's arm, pulling it over my shoulder to help her stay up right. I thanked Chronos, who waved smiling still, and started towards the door with Selvina. On the way, she kept chattering happily about random things so I started asking her questions to see if she'd give me answers. To my surprise she did, quite willingly too.

I found out that Chronos actually owned that tavern and was Selvina's grandfather. She had a sister named Raenn. And her father Kenshin actually created them both. That part shocked me into freezing in the middle of the street.

"What do you mean created you and your sister?"

"Itz juz what it zoundz like. He made me firz to tezd a theory and made Raenn when I worked out fine"

"Ok I get that, but how can he just make two people on a whim?"

"He'z the god of creation."

She said it simply like it was common knowledge and for all I know it could have been. But I was terrified. The god of creation? What was he going to be like? I haven't exactly had pleasant experiences with gods or deities these past few days. Then another thought hit me.

"Chronos is your grandpa; does that mean he's a god too?"

"yez. God of time and zduff"

I inwardly groaned. Of course he was a god too. That explained his odd comments and how he knew I wasn't from around here. Selvina mumbled something about going to be sick which made me finally move quickly the rest of the way towards her house.

It didn't take all that long to get there. Standing on the doorstep I nervously knocked on the door and waited for an answer. After a couple seconds it swung open to reveal an Elven boy younger than me by a few years with spiky brown hair, a red and dark red headband, yellow eyes, a grey hoodie and blue jeans. He looked from Selvina to me and back again before sighing.

"Dad asked you to bring her home huh?"

I just nodded, a little surprised at what I saw in front of me. This kid was a god? He opened the door wider and stepped out to grab her other arm.

"Here, I'll help. Let's get her to her room."

It took a little to manuver the now passed out Selvina into her room. After she was situated on her bed the boy motioned for me to follow him into the living room. I did so cautiously still not sure if I could trust him or not.

"My name's Kenshin. What's your's?" He asked with a smile.

"Um… Briar is what most people call me." I answered shifting uncomfortably. Glancing towards the door and wondering if I should just make a run for it.

"Briar? That's an interesting name. So is there anything you'd like as a way of thanks for bringing Selvina home?"

"I um….kinda need a place to stay…if it's not too much trouble." I looked down at my feet a bit embarrassed.

"Is that all? That's no problem. I actually have a spare room set up for any guests I might get."

He smiled and motioned for me to follow him as he headed up the stairs. For the second time this night I found myself following him not really knowing why I didn't just run and head for a new world. Maybe it was because he was younger than me and neither he nor his dad had given me an uneasy feeling like they were hiding something bad. I followed him up the stairs and down the hall to a room that was plainly decorated and well kept. I walked in and sat on the bed.

"If you need anything just let me know. I'll be down the hall." I nodded and he left closing the door quietly. I sat there for a bit before deciding I should try to get control on my appearance before I did anything else. I stood and reached for my powers to alter my appearance when suddenly this bolt of pain shot through my body. I cried out and grabbed for the bed before passing out.