I had grown numb to the newness of this strange world, my senses overwhelmed with each new, dangerous thing that I observed. Free from the shadow of the colossal baby giant, I had opted to continue following my spotted savior, sensing that despite his otherness and size, he meant me no harm. I tried to stop being such a wimp, but no amount of familiarity stopped my body from jerking away from his every time he moved in a way that I didn't expect.

Meeting his silver-coated friend had been just as confusing. I had listened as the pair exchanged words without understanding what had been said, and had politely attempted to share breath with them when they came close, but I had otherwise avoided contact. Their quiet nature was intimidating, and more often than not I could feel the weight of those dark, brooding eyes shifting over my skin.

I wished that I could ask them who they were or what this place was, but the words refused to take shape in my mouth. When I thought they weren't looking, I had tried again to make sure, pursing my lips and contorting my tongue in an effort to make any productive noise at all but the soft sound that escaped bore no resemblance to any sort of word I recognized in any language I'd ever heard. I was still just as broken as I had ever been.

Immediately after their exchange, the pair turned to the ocean and began ushering me in that direction again. The thought of submerging myself in the water again was terrifying, but when confronted with either doing that very thing or being left alone in this alien landscape, I did not hesitate to follow the pair. Besides, he had said humans. Maybe he knew where they were and could take me back. What little energy I had managed to regain from my interrupted nap in the Commons depleted quickly, even with the assistance of my two bodyguards. By the time we made landfall on yet another strange island, it was all I could do to keep from falling to my knees in the sand. Exhausted, I barely flinched from the spotted stallion's outstretched muzzle, too tired to fight whatever violence he intended to inflict.

Contact never came, and I turned my bleary eyes up to his in surprise, and what was a selfish sort of dismay. From here, the distance to the safety of dry sand seemed like an insurmountable trek, one woefully beyond my grasp at the moment. The press of another body at my side made me stiffen, but I yielded to the pressure of the nameless silver horse, allowing them to nudge me inland until the sand underneath grew firm and dry.

The bell-like tone of their voice drew my gaze, and I watched the twitching of charcoal lips without much hope. Woo ewlik toeye down? I sighed in frustration and shifted my gaze back to the spotted stallion that had protected me in the Commons. I still felt as though he were too big to be real (even when compared to the giant that had appeared and disappeared just as quickly), but he had tried to keep me safe, and so I tentatively assumed that he would not have brought me to this stranger if they meant me any harm.

Toeye down. The syllables repeated themselves in my mind, the meaning of them darting just beyond my reach like a silvery fish over golden sand. Eye down. Lie down? Gods, lying down sounded nice. They were staring at me expectantly, probably waiting for an answer that I could not give them and I shied away from meeting their gaze. I did not know what else this pair had in store for me, but I was also fairly certain that I had no energy left with which to fight them, and so with a last glance at the spotted stallion, I took a step forward and gracelessly flopped down onto the dry sand.

I didn't know if this place was safe, or if that was what my companion had meant, but I knew I would be useless for any other hiking until I'd had a chance to rest my weary bones. Their proximity was both comforting and unnerving, but I tried to ignore it and gestured courteously to the empty sand around me in an open invitation to either of my companions.

homeless . loveinspired