Chapter 1: Lost!

Disclaimers: The Familiar of Zero and all other references aren't mine.

"Okay, NOW where are we?" Joshua grumbled. Indeed, it can be quite annoying to get lost three times in one day. Even more so crossing three dimensions in said day. It also didn't help that all of his fellow lost people are unconscious. Seeing that no one replied to him, he started to get something done. Not that they could anyway.

"Alrighty then. First step, gather your data…" He then looked around. The surroundings seems to be a mix of a temperate forest and a rainforest. While the trees are quite plentiful and do provide a lot of shade, there was also a lot of room down here, with rocks and some other small crevices scattered randomly, complete with grass carpeting the topsoil. An occasional critter tumbles through the ground, one looked like a medium-dog-sized brown rabbit being chased by a horse-sized red-maned warthog , though it didn't look like it was actually trying to eat said rabbit. While he was walking towards the group from the high ground he stepped on earlier, he heard a nearby creek gush it's waters towards a nearby river.

"Perfect." He rubbed his hands and smiled. While he is no expert on history, he did know for sure that all major civilizations in the world, in his world at least, started around rivers. While they may or may not stay here permanently, having a place to sleep for tonight is best.

"Phew. Would be a big help if at least one of these people are awake…" He said as he avoided stepping on some green toadstool. As he made his way, he originally planned to wake up Angelo, but the situation was…complicated, to say the least. Lying on top of him are two girls, namely one with blonde hair and rolls, the other one with flowing pink hair. They were positioned in such a way that trying to wake Angelo will also rouse the other two. So he looked on to the others and did a human head count while he was at it. One, two, four, seven…eight, eight people in total, with five girls and three boys, including himself. Also there were some creatures that he guessed were the familiars of those wearing the robes, who he also guessed are supposed to be the mages. It was quite fortunate that the Brimir guy and the other person called Angelo and him in for a tidbit of info, or else he would have been totally stumped right now, though he wishes he could've at least known the robe person's identity. Looking over to the animals, he can see a relatively large mole, a surprisingly normal-looking orange frog, a red salamander straight out of a RPG game that reminded him of a certain Pokemon, and a blue dragon, though this one looks quite harmless when you compare them to the generic Western serpent. The thought of having a dragon as a companion tingled his animal-loving spine. Who would've thought that in all his dreaming, he'll actually be able to spend some time and befriend a real, true-to-life dragon! That is, if it doesn't eat, nay, devour him first. As for the remaining people, there's a blue-haired petite girl, a voluptuous redhead with tanned skin like him, a green-haired woman looking around her early twenties, and finally a blond-haired Don Juan-esque trollop. He really didn't want to judge books by their covers, but he can already sense the headache the fop will cause him. Sighing once again, he resigned himself to his fate and started thinking on how to get them beside the river. His mind drifted back to the maned wild hog earlier. From what he had seen earlier, this world seems to have a similarity to his, although it is quite magical. In that case, thinking that trolls and other dangerous creatures might be lurking around is certainly valid. Then again, danger is subjective. What's dangerous to the ant is but of little concern to an elephant, so to say. There are also cases in mythology where supposedly dangerous and vicious mythological creatures become helpful, and vice versa. Still, he didn't want to risk it. What's more, the sun is already starting it's descent to the mountains, and being this vulnerable at night is just plain suicide, especially since they are in a place completely unknown. Thinking of all these things, he sighed heavily, a bit distressed with the situation.

"Of all people…why me?" He moaned to the wind. Groaning, he decided on which to do first: Secure a location to build a makeshift shelter, or carry them all to the riverside so that there'll be less hassle in moving them later? What should he—

"Mn…Munya…" He heard a soft, mumbling sound from the direction of the pinky. Damn, did it surprise him. Quite enough to temporarily break his chain of thought.

"Who the hell mumbles 'munyaa' in their sleep anyway?" He grumbled to himself as he decided in the favor of securing an area, though he'd like to hide the others somehow first. Looking around for a few minutes, he finally found a nearby place sufficiently packed with shrubs that are considerably close together and are also somewhat beast-free. As he was roaming around in search for an amply sized cave, he face-palmed at himself for being such a whiner. Normally, he isn't like this, but barring saints, who the hell wouldn't complain at such a situation?

"Mental note to self – minimize whining." He nodded to himself. After another few minutes, he finally reached the creek. It's a bit larger than the other creeks he has seen, roughly twice the size of the norm, though not big enough to be an actual river. Unlike most of the natural bodies of water back to his home world, this one's crystal clear, so clear that it's as if looking at a perfectly made glass. He pondered on whether drinking it was safe to drink. Give or take, the last time he drank something that was actually meant to be drunk was around one o' clock while as of now the sky looked around five to five-thirty, and with the blistering heat of the equatorial Sun's blaze, his throat is starting to feel like the Sahara desert. Come to think of it, he did see three containers of water near the green-head…

Meanwhile, a certain bluenette started stirring from her slumber, "portal lag" still permeating her being. She nearly got hit by a branch, but luckily her small frame saved her from another round of involuntary unconsciousness. With great care, she freed herself of the miniscule stiff sticks and leaves that the brush covered her with. As she stood up and looked around, she realized one thing.

They were lost.

For one, she didn't recognize this area. To compare, if she ever got lost in the forests of Halkeginia or Gallia, she's a hundred percent sure to find her way back. While some of the flora are familiar, the place is still too different. She tried to recall what happened prior to her loss of consciousness. After a few seconds of mulling, she recalled the Familiar Summoning Ritual. Immediately, she searched for her new dragon. Thankfully, she found her by the nearby brush. As she pulled out the blue familiar, she heard a shuffling sound from down the slope. She then picked up her staff and prepared for trouble. What she didn't expect is another teenager male that looked around sixteen. His expression shouted exhaustion as he huffed and puffed. This one doesn't seem to be a threat, though she still kept her staff to herself just in case. The person was wearing somewhat strange clothing, but nevertheless she can see that this person can't use magic.

"? ? ?" The plebeian spoke a few seconds after staring at her. His tone was questioning, yet more of concern rather than demand.

"? ? ? ? ?" The plebeian spoke again in a language she can't understand. Deciding on a translation spell, she thought for a bit before chanting the spell, waving her staff in the air.

"Understand?" Tabitha asked. Unlike most of her fellow nobles, she wasn't hostile to plebeians.

"Yep. Could've sworn you spoke French earlier though…" He said, scratching his head. "Anyways, are you alright?"

Tabitha nodded in response. Seeing that this person has been awake for quite some time, she wanted to ask if he knew here they were. Thinking for a one-syllable statement, she finally said…

"Location?" She muttered almost inaudibly.

"Ah, I really don't know. Oops, the sun is setting. Gotta finish all this work. May I ask for your help, Miss…?" He nearly forgot that he was speaking with someone who is accustomed to Medieval France's traditions.

"Tabitha." And with that, she nodded. She put out her palm just before Joshua turned around, asking him to wait. After that, she tried to awaken her familiar. Emphasis on tried. Though she was unable to awaken her new dragon, she was able to confirm that it is still alive. Standing up, she finally nodded and followed the plebeian. Joshua then led her to the creek and said…

"Alright then. See that cave over there? Since night's about to fall, I thought on staying there for the night. However, I need your help on some things." He said as he filled the containers with water. Tabitha raised her brows in curiosity.

"Yeah, so…Firstly, I already checked out that cave over there and removed the fallen leaves inside. No monster within, which makes things easier. Now, I need to collect some firewood. If it's okay with you, can you perhaps move the rest inside the cave?" He asked as he gave Tabitha a container of water. She nodded once again and went back to where the rest were still sleeping. As she disappeared into the lush, Joshua thought about her for a bit. The Tabitha girl. She was cute, definitely. Probably the cutest among the women for him. Then again, she's unnaturally quiet. It's as if…nah, just, no. Whatever it is, he needs to observe her for a while before making a verdict. She's just that damn good at hiding her emotions. And here he thought he was good at disconnecting his brain from his heart.

"Interesting, interesting. Just as interesting as that dragon. Meh, this'll have to come later. First things first." He snapped back to himself as he roamed on to get some firewood.

XXX

Louise woke up to the sound of something crackling. She's pretty sure that she put out the candle lights before bed so she tried to sit up, but her neck suddenly hurt. Real bad.

"Ow…" As she looked forward, it seemed that she was in a cave. She'd like to turn her head around, her neck hurts every time she tries to look at a different direction from forward. Realizing that she is on the floor, she began the tedious process of getting up from the stone floor with a horrifyingly painful stiff neck. Finally having stood up, Louise can see Kirche's red hair reflect the fire from outside the cave she was in. Above her, the cave ceiling arched out in a reverse bowl-like shape, with small stalactites hanging from them. It was also very dry yet cool. The size was also quite small, being just a few inches taller than her, and since she was quite short, that's not too much vertical space to consider. At the very end of the cave, the fire's bright light dimmed out to reveal some collected firewood. Though none were bigger than her forearm, there were a sure whole lot of them, enough to ensure their light and warmth until the sun rises.

Outside, there are two people awake. Tabitha, and another person that she didn't know. The bluenette's dragon familiar was there as well, sitting behind her "big sister". Beside the stranger was some small, sharp stones and two containers of water, though they seem to be empty. They were situated a few feet just outside the cave, with a two, small, makeshift torches bordered the terra firma entrance. It seems that they are talking about something as a certain blue reptile stared at the cooking pot over the flame. The creature's blazing appetite is practically all over it's eyes, it's mouth almost salivating. It's owner however is more focused on the stranger, and based from their movements, it looks like they're discussing something. She tried to look around, but everyone else is asleep. Looking back at the trio, she then remembered the Ritual and realized that she summoned no familiar. Sobbing to herself, she tried to muffle her noise, but to no avail as the stranger and Tabitha went to her.

"Everything alright? C'mon, we can talk there." He said, pointing towards the fire just outside the cave. After a bit more persuasion, Louise finally gave in and followed them, sitting on the right side of the stranger, with Tabitha on the far side, facing her. As the pinkette sat on the log, she saw the stranger pull out his glasses from his pocket. Tabitha then looked at it and asked.

"Glasses?" She said as she studied it from afar. The boy, having sensed his seatmate's curiosity, handed it over to her for some further research.

"Yeah. Kinda lost it when we got sucked in the portal and I found it just an hour ago, so I washed and fixed it." He explained. Wait, portal?

"Portal? What do you mean portal?" Louise questioned quite loudly. After all, one moment they were in the Magical Academy of Halkeginia, and now she wakes up inside a cave? She deserves an explanation! Or so she thought.

"Yep, portal. Got sucked right in. Just before that light nova." He continued. Suddenly, the thought hit her.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

Stay tuned and review!