After walking for whoever knows how long, I finally found my salvation, sitting at the top of a lonely hill in the middle of nowhere. It was a camp, a big one at that. Back then I wouldn't know how to call it, but now that I think about it, the place was so large it could easily pass for a smaller settlement.
The place was surrounded by giant sharpened logs, acting as a wall that went around it whole. A palisade, if you will. And on one of its sides, that being the one I was facing, there was one behemoth of a gate, guarding the inside from the outside.
With a faint and blissfully ignorant smile, I trotted forwards, barely keeping myself from tripping over my own feet. The sun was already beginning to set, which would have meant that I have been walking for the whole day.
I silently congratulated myself for not passing out and gave myself a pat on the back. Sadly, my happiness wouldn't last very long, as the closer that I got to the encampment, the more I could make out what was on its walls.
On them were hung several flags, most in different colours and with different styles. The only thing that connected them to each other, was a small symbol of what appeared to be the head of a small rodent.
As my eyes travelled over the walls draped with banners, they soon came to a halt, as they spotted a figure, sitting inside a large tower with their back turned. I hesitated to call out to them, and I probably wouldn't have done so if I knew who they were beforehand.
But I didn't.
I cleared my throat to try and sound as good as possible, standing in place and waving one of my arms high in the air, while the other held on to my head. It had stayed glued to the same exact spot for the whole journey before, might I add!
"H-Hello..." I weakly said, clearly too silent to be heard as the person didn't even turn around. I cleared my throat once more and beat my fist against my chest lightly, to try and cough up some more powerful words. "E-Excuse me!"
This time, it worked like a charm. A mighty looking fellow turned their head towards me, peering outside of the confines of the wooden tower, his eyes wide like the moon as he saw me. Before I could say anything, he was already gone, and only a deafeningly loud whistle could be heard from somewhere inside.
My hands moved to the sides of my head to protect my ears from the screech of the whistle, as it wailed as a banshee for who knows how long. When it ended its solo, the person from inside the tower came back to look down at me, a look of confusion plastered on his face.
"Oi! The hell are ye' doin' 'ere?! Ye' better go away before I get the boss!" He spoke, his voice brutish and rough in tone, making him sound as if he wasn't the brightest of people. I could only give him a thumbs up.
Their boss? I didn't even know them... Though, that person is talking to me as if he's known me for a long time beforehand! He had a rough and raspy tone, and it definitely didn't sound like he was expecting to see me, nor that he was happy to.
I had no clue what I was doing, but thinking that since I got this far, I might as well follow through with the events that might unfold. I hadn't been mentioning any feelings thus far, because my brain was still mush, staying that way for at least a week after my stay at the camp.
I continued to stare at the broad-shouldered person in the wooden tower, as they lazily draped themselves over the railing like yet another flag, grimacing down at me. I didn't smile back, I simply gazed into him... and at the setting sun behind him.
It wasn't long after that when a loud creak came from the direction of the gate, as it slowly parted its sides and made way for another figure, letting them step through it and into the outside world. Before I could even see the person, they laughed loudly, their voice booming through the surroundings.
"Ya lil' runt! The hell are ye' doin' 'ere, eh?! Came for a wee chat, eh?!" He exclaimed happily, smiling from ear to ear as he slowly walked towards me. Back then, I didn't know why, but I felt as a chill ran up my spine as he spoke, even though I wasn't afraid of him.
Maybe it was the way they all spoke, or maybe it was their imposing stature, but I began feeling increasingly uneasy the closer he walked towards me. It was only about five meters away from me when he realised there's a big gash on my head.
His smile immediately faded away and he stumbled closer to me, catching me by my shoulder and grasping at the sides of my head, pushing it down to see the wound for himself. "Oi, where ya been, eh?! Looks like ya been dragged through the Nine Hells 'n back!"
I scowled and hissed through my teeth as he touched the wound. Even if it was quite old, it still hurt like hell. I didn't say anything. I didn't have anything to say. I simply let him inspect me with no complaints and stayed quiet, as did he.
His head swivelled back to the gate as he sighed audibly. "Reckon we got a healer somewhere 'round the camp. We'll chat once she patches ya up. Fer now, just come on in. Rellonheim's open to everyone." He then walked around me and put his arm around my shoulder, pushing me along into the open gate.
With whatever courage I could muster at the moment, I turned to him and smiled weakly. "T-Thank you sir." To this day, I still remember very vividly how big of a smile he gave me back in return, patting me on the back and guiding me into the palisades' safety.
Just like his smile, I can still recall what I saw and how everything had looked; in short, it wasn't the best. Trash scattered everywhere, with wide but flat huts running along the walls of the settlement, all built with wood and stone, though having straw as their roof material.
Its inhabitants were looking just as poor as their surroundings, with many of them having torn cloths draped over their bodies and crooked facial features. Those who had beaks had them either viciously sharp or broken in half- no in-between.
And the smell... I don't know whether I have smelled something worse than this before in my life, but the absolutely horrid smells of burnt trash and smoke that filled the entire place made me choke on my own vomit a couple of times. Of course, it probably wasn't the only cause for that; case in point being my head.
But the settlement's villagers weren't all in such a bad state. As we headed further and closer to the middle of the camp, the better everything was looking. People had either normal clothes or had enough fur to cover themselves, unlike the ones from before. Their homes were vastly different as well!
Instead of being built out of primitive materials like the aforementioned three, these were built out of brick, having visible imperfections where the small brown blocks connected. Even though the aftertaste of the smell from before had stayed until then, it was quick to disappear, being replaced my burning wood and fresh baked goods.
At that time, I thought I had made the best decision I could ever do by coming into these premises. A medic to take care of me, a friendly leader... What I didn't realise, is that that which I would come to hate the most, oftentimes hides in the dark, and waits for you to get closer before it can strike.
Though, for now, the road ahead was peaceful. Neither I nor the bulky badger were making any conversation, and maybe for the better. I didn't have the energy to make up responses on the go at the moment, as it was taken away by the long and fortunately eventful journey from the forest to here.
The man himself- or rather the badger himself- was a hulking mass of muscles, standing tall and with a neck so long that he couldn't keep his head up for long! He, like me, also had fur, though his had more colours than mine- three, to be exact; white, black and grey. Scars painted his back, running up and down, left and right- a very scarry visage.
Eventually, we both stopped in front of a small tent, crammed in between two large buildings with no space left for an alley. A sign was left in front of it, and if I could read at that time, I would've known that it read 'Triage tent', in big and bold letters. Over the pavilion, hooked to a wooden post from a neighbouring building, was also a big, green hanging sign in the shape of a plus symbol.
My guide pat me on the back and looked down at me with a big grin, his sharp teeth reflecting the setting sun and beaming at my face. "Healer's in that tent there. Jus' go in 'n tell 'er yer hurt; she'll be right over!" The hand that was resting on my back pushed me forward, ushering me inside.
With no other choice (and with a gross wound on my head), I shyly stumbled inside and immediately went to look around. There were cabinets of all sorts everywhere, all neatly labeled in eloquent and very fancy handwriting. So were the bottles of liquids and herbs that were scattered about on the floor and wherever they could fit.
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to speak, to call out to the nurse that was supposed to be somewhere inside the tent, but a voice stopped me right in my tracks, coming from right behind my ear. "That's a pretty bad head injury you got there..." A soft, female voice sounded, making me jump in slight fright.
I turned my head as fast as I could, looking for the source of the voice, and finding it right away. A petite woman was floating right by my side, an elongated, shadowy arm reaching out to my head. Her eyes snapped on to mine, as we stared at each other; one with confusion, the other with curiosity. A big grin slowly grew on her face, as her mouth opened like a zipper.
"Come on, are you new here? Don't move, or you might be permanently paralysed~." She mused gleefully and moved her arm further up my head. And so, in a moment of desperation, I caught her before she could do anything else. Her smile went away as quickly as it came, and she tilted her head at me, baffled and surprised.
"Yes, I'm new here, and I'm sorry to let you know that I would rather you don't touch that wound." I spoke up for myself, staring back at her with a sharp glare in my eyes. In hindsight, that was a little bit too harsh for my liking, even if it sounded like the nicest disagreement in history. Still, it worked like a charm.
Her mouth bent upwards again, in a softer and more gentle smile. She giggled to herself, stretching out her arm even more and patting me on the head, even while I was holding her. "Finally, someone smart enough to disobey." She said and sighed, shaking her head as she retracted her hand and floated away from me, further into the tent.
"You know, most folk that live here are too dumb to say no to a doctor." She vented to me, flying over to one of the many cabinets and taking out a flask and bandages. "They just agree with whatever I tell them..." She groaned in frustration and got back closer to me, opening the flask and looking up at me.
Unsurprisingly, I was hesitant, taking a step back as she rose the flask above my head. "Don't worry, it's clear water. I just want to clean the wound." She reassured me and shook the flask, the water splashing around inside of it and making pleasant sounds. After another moment of silence, I nodded and let her do her thing, lowering the flask and tipping its head to pour the water on my head.
I hissed slightly as it made contact, the feeling definitely unpleasant, but mandatory nonetheless. After properly washing it, the nurse went back into her cabinet and put the flask back in its place, taking out a small tin and popping it open to reveal several small red leaves- red spiky leaves.
She looked back up at me and giggled again, seeing my hesitance and beckoning me to come closer. Naturally, I obeyed; I didn't want to be rude. "These are Fiery Herbs. Very unoriginal name, I know, but they work like a charm when it comes to mending open wounds!" She said with a smile and lowered the leaves to my injury as soon as I got closer.
I hissed in pain, a burning sensation spreading throughout my body like a wildfire. It hurt like hell, but I knew that if I refused the nurse's help, I'd probably die. Not a moment after administering the medicine, she began to wrap my head with the bandages she took before, holding the herbs in place so that they would stay pressed against the wound.
A tear rolled down my cheek as she finished up, purely out of pain. She reached out with one of her arms and wiped it for me, grinning at me widely. "There, there. It's all good now." She reassured me and pat my shoulder, turning away to put her supplies back in their place and taking a notebook from a nearby counter.
She flipped through the pages furiously, humming to herself what sounded like a simple lullaby. She stopped on a blank page, taking the pen that was secured to the book with a thread and looking up at me expectantly. "Name?" She asked.
Oh god, here we go again...
I had to think of a name on the spot; it'd be embarrassing if I told her that I don't know! I'd lose my pride! I stuttered at her, squinting my eyes and contorting my head in all different angles. I couldn't think of any good one (or one that wouldn't make myself and others cringe), so I gave up after a moment of silence.
I sighed, scratching the back of my head and looking down at the floating nurse. "...I-I don't know." I admitted, unsurprisingly embarrassed about the truth. Who wouldn't be? She only nodded to herself, jotting something down in the small notebook in her hands.
"What about your family? Know anything about them?" She looked up at me again, squinting her eyes and raising an eyebrow. It was only a matter of time before I'd have to tell her that I might have amnesia... I just had to hope she would deduce that on her own. Outright saying so would damage my fragile pride!
I shook my head at her question, slowly shrinking as I felt her eyes boring into mine. She began writing in her notebook again, this time taking a moment longer than before. She hummed softly to herself, eventually looking up at me with a small smile. "What species am I?" Her words came, chaining me up again and waiting patiently for my answer; one that I didn't know of.
I shook my head again, sheepishly. I began fidgeting with my fingers out of nervousness and the imminent tension that began to suddenly emerge. I was working under pressure, which results in stress, which results in stupid answers. To this day, I still look back at that moment and cringe to myself internally, hearing my past self say a random jumble of words that he could think of at the spot.
Baffled, she first flinched backwards at my oblivious answer, before- unable to contain her laughter- she burst out laughing like a maniac, right in my face. As she did so, she tried writing in the notebook in her arms. Emphasis on the word tried.
After what felt like an eternity but was actually just a moment, I could feel as my embarrassment began to lift itself off of me, the nurse's laugh contagious. I couldn't help but crack up myself, laughing along with her at my stupendously awful remark. Back then, I didn't know why I did that. I thought that I was a prideful, mighty person, one that would criticize others for laughing in his face...!
But as I am right now, I can see the fine line that separates a good person from an evildoer, from someone who's sole goal in life is to make other miserable, sometimes unknowingly and sometimes deliberately. I can see myself being the former, far away from being a menace. Today, many people call me a 'fine lad', some call me 'the best', and a few call me their hero.
...Though, that's for a later entry. I'm getting too off-track here. After the woman stopped laughing, she simply grinned widely back at me, her eyes barely open and staring at me through small slits. "I'm a banette! And my name is Joyce." Her grin slowly got smaller and smaller, until it was reduced to a small, cute smile.
Her slender arms extended towards me, waiting patiently for me to shake it. I looked down at it, then up at her again, and then back down at the hand. I smiled and took her hand in mine, snuggly squeezing it and shaking it up and down. "And you, my friend, are a zeraora." Were her words.
A zeraora... To this day, I'm still searching for one of my own species, and are yet to find them. Just like the man in blue; it's only a matter of time. I'm running out of space to write on on this page. I'll write more about Rellonheim and its inhabitants in a later entry. Until then.
-Vehemently yours,
XYZ.