The sun rose eight more times since the first conversation.

  Ever since then, Foreigner stayed with Octavia under her care, and thanks to the rough yet sincere treatment, she gained enough strength to do daily tasks by herself. Although the pain still sprouted for every muscle she flinched, remaining still and doing nothing other than eating became a greater pain. After breakfast this morning, she asked Octavia if she could join the daily hunt, but once she saw Octavia frown without a word, she volunteered to wash the dishes at the nearby river.

  With her hands full of dirty dishes, Foreigner arrived at the river across the snowy woods. The clear water was making a gentle sound as it flowed from one point to another, and the aquatic ecosystem demonstrated a busy daily life of prey and predator. The refreshing smell of grass within the pile of snow agitated her nose alongside a soft yet chill wind blowing from the hill to her left.

  Carried by the wind, a single white, dull-looking bird flew to the side and almost crashed to the ground. It looked slim with its bone structure faintly exposed to the naked eye and sang a broken note as it tried to hum the final melody out of its starving body.

  Foreigner crouched next to the bird, casting a shadow that covered the entirety of its body and the surrounding area. Soon, she heard snow crunching across the river, and there was a red fox silently staring at her and the bird on the ground. The bird's fate was sealed at that moment. It would die here and become a nutrient for the fox to survive the harsh weather. Such is the cycle of nature.

  But for some reason, she felt remorseful for the white bird, perhaps because she was in the same position eight days ago. If it weren’t for Octavia, she would have been a feast for a lucky animal that was passing by, as a lonely stranger who got lost forever. After sharing eye contact with the fox for a while, she picked up the remains from the dishes and placed them next to the bird. It twitched twice before looking towards the leftovers in front of it, then crawled with its wings and small legs towards them to consume its salvation. When Foreigner lifted her head back to where the fox was, there was nothing there.

  She got closer to the river and stared at the reflection in the clear water. The clothes Octavia lent her looked nice, except that they appeared a bit too rebellious. Octavia did say that it was an outfit she wore during her adolescent years, but she couldn’t give a straightforward answer when she was asked why she had it with her when she was traveling in an outland. She couldn’t help but giggle at remembering that, of the dinner last night.

  Foreigner dipped her hand into the flowing river. The shivering chill spread from her fingertips to the top of her head, forcing her to quickly pull her hand out of the water and creating countless ripples spreading through the surface. As she watched over the dissolved reflection of herself, an eye with a seven-splintered pupil stared back at her with a clear vision. It was so familiar, yet mysterious. Although she did not retain any memory of herself, one thing was certain. What she was looking at was herself, without a doubt.

  Soon, her concentration was challenged when a dull-looking bird, now able to stand on its own, came next to her in order to drink from the river. As it made a tiny gulping sound, a sudden gunshot shook the entire forest from afar. The bird flew away into the woods and sat on a branch where it stared at Foreigner before flying away at the second round of gunfire. Then what followed was a high-pitched whistle echoing through the woods. Foreigner knew what the meaning of that sound was. It symbolized a successful hunt by Octavia and that there would be a feast rather than a nasty soup of hers tonight. With hopes and dreams about the dinner, she washed the dishes while humming a melody of happiness.

  Octavia returned to the camp with a deer on her back.

  Skipping a rest, she hung her prey missing internal organs on a pulley she had installed on a tree. She grabbed a sharp knife and used it to cut through the skin from the inside out to make an opening. Then she switched to a different knife, specialized in skinning with a long and radial blade, to finish her job around the meat. It was a bit tedious task, but she didn’t mind doing it at all. In fact, she enjoyed doing it as she was at a level of proficiency where she could do it with her head blank.

  However, this time her mind was full of the stranger that she had been living with. She was quite certain that Foreigner was a nobody who possessed no threat, at least to her, yet she couldn’t help but think that there was more to her. After all, what kind of normal person would roam around the frozen tundra naked and survive while being amnesic? There were more dots to be connected, but there were no clues. And before she could draw any conclusions, there was no more skin left for her to remove, and Foreigner was coming from the riverside with a pile of shiny pots and bowls.

  “You are already done?” Foreigner said in an ever-surprised tone. “I wanted to see skinning myself. How do you do it so fast?”

  “Oh, you are making me blush.” Octavia attempted to seem indifferent, but failed to stop the corner of her mouth from going up.

  Foreigner packed the dishes in the bag and ensured that they were safe inside without any risk of them breaking during the journey today. She stretched her back and took a chance to look around. This morning, two of them broke the tent as a double effort and packed it in preparation for leaving this place where Foreigner got familiarized just two days ago. According to Octavia, there was a native village nearby, and it would take about half a day of walking to reach there. While Foreigner was afraid of the unknown and what she would find out about herself, she couldn’t hide her excitement about learning more about the world, where everything was new to her.

  As she ensured the bag wouldn’t burst during the walk, she heard a quick and consecutive whistle from her side, signaling a triumph. Octavia was done with taking care of the meat and packaging the outcome, a truly delightful work by her. Foreigner couldn’t help but react by swallowing as her mouth got ready for a good, warm meal later that day.

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  “Alright, let’s go.”

  Octavia carried the bag Foreigner just packed and handed packaged meats to Foreigner. While it was exciting to consume, the flesh inside the package was not the most thrilling thing to carry on, and the moisture escaping the packaging was nauseating. But knowing that Octavia’s decision was made based on the fact that they were lighter than the bag, Foreigner couldn’t say a word and accepted her fate.

  Before heading out, Octavia loaded her rifle. There were no sightings of dangerous animals in this area, but accidents happen when one is not prepared. She aimed at a dull-looking bird far away, sitting on a tree branch and taking a nap. She placed her finger on the trigger. Only a very slight force was remaining to test her weapon, and bang. She mimicked the gunshot with her mouth and lowered the gun with no smoke coming out of the barrel. The bird was sleeping like a beauty.

  “So, are we going to that village you talked about?“ Foreigner asked with a heightened tone.

  “Yup. Abaskan. To the doctor I know.“ Octavia walked into the forest, and Foreigner followed right behind her. “You recovered pretty well, but we should double-check your injuries. It is possible that there is an infection eating you up alive right now.“

  Foreigner shook her body as a chill spread through her veins. “I’d rather not think about that stuff.“ She shuddered with a nasty taste left in her mouth and suddenly felt her body itching here and there.

  Octavia laughed out loud at the comedy. “Well, it’s not just you who needs a doctor. We are trying to start a war against the almighty Demerii. I thought we could use a hand or two to take care of our injuries we are gonna go through.“

  Foreigner fell silent and looked at the ground with shadows under her eyes. “Will there be anyone who would join such a journey? In the end, all we are trying to figure out is who I am.”

  Octavia glanced behind her to check on her tiny companion. Ever since she started staying with Foreigner, she learned a few things about her. One of them was that she lacked confidence in herself, which was understandable considering that she was basically an empty suitcase that served no purpose. Another was that she couldn’t stay focused on multiple things at once, even to her own emotion. That being said, Octavia attempted one gamble to see if she could turn the tide of emotions upside down.

  “What do you mean? We are gonna pay him with what you are carrying. He’d better shut up and follow.“

  “Huh? You mean these aren’t our dinner?“ Foreigner said in shock, almost dropping the precious meat in the process.

  “Well, duh. I never said they are.” Octavia smiled at her checkmate.

  “But I really thought we were finally eating something other that s—“

  The thought passed through Foreigner’s brain at the speed of light. Octavia had her head turned towards her, with judgmental eyes on what Foreigner had to say after the first part of her sentence. She had to choose words carefully here, or who knows what.

  “—plendid soups you make! I mean, I wanted to see if there are any foods I can remember, but I don’t mind your fantastic recipe too!“

  With satisfaction, Octavia raised her voice for the entire world to hear. “Heck, yeah! That’s my granny’s recipe, I tell you! Best freaking soup you can ever have!” As Octavia spat out a praise about her grandmother, Foreigner secretly released a small sigh into the air with the relief escaping from her chest.

  “Well, don’t worry. You’ll get to eat something when we get to Abaskan. We’ll be able to earn some money once we sell that meat. Then we’ll use that to bribe the doctor.“

  “By the way, is Abaskan where Demerii lives?” Foreigner raised an innocent interest.

  “What? Hello, no. I’ll never go where those damned suckers live.“ Octavia replied with visible disgust on her face. “It’s a small village of Aranaim. It’s actually one of the few places where Aranaims made a settlement. Most of them like to run wild and sleep where they end up.“

  Foreigner’s eyes shone bright with curiosity. “Do Aranaims look like me? How are they different from Demerii?“

  “Geez, slow down. Relax.“

  Octavia chuckled as she found Foreigner cute in how she reacted like a little girl to every minor detail.

  “I would say they look quite different from us, physically speaking. To begin with, they have three pairs of arms, and they are quite tall if they stand straight, but always go around with their backs hunched. Also, they always wear masks to cover their faces. I’ve never seen them take that off, and apparently, it’s really rude to ask them to do so.“

  “Will they welcome a total stranger like me?“ Foreigner expressed her worry, since she was a new kind of race that even a traveler who went all around the globe like Octavia didn’t know about.

  “Honestly, I wouldn’t worry. If you ask me, you look like a Shakh Sah with no visible characteristics, and it is considered extremely rude to ask a Shakh Sah what kind of animal they resemble. If anyone asks, just walk away. Plus, the village we are heading to is friendly to the outsider unlike most tribes of Aranaim, so I think we’ll be fine.“

  Foreigner got her question answered, but she still had another popping out. “And who is Shakh Sah?“

  Octavia got a bit annoyed at the chain of questions, but she soon shrugged it away and treated Foreigner like a little bird who had just hatched out of an egg.

  “They are the race that lives in the great desert up in the north and the center of the continent. They are—. How should I put this. Like an animal and a wingless Demerii combined together. So, I suppose they look like you except they have animal ears, horns, tails, and stuff like that.“

  After Octavia finished her answer, the silence settled in. She looked behind to find Foreigner in a deep thought, with eyes still gleaming brightly.

  “There truly are a lot of races living in this world. I wonder what kind I am…“ Foreigner murmured her inner thought, not realizing that she was spitting it out.

  Octavia smiled quietly and checked the sun. It was already setting down, proving that the best way to spend time is to have some fun.

  “Well, that’s enough chit-chat.“

  She pulled out a knife to cut down the branches blocking her way and exited the forest.

  A sudden burst of light shone on Foreigner, like a curtain opening in the morning. In front of her lay a great plain with another river flowing across, and the field filled with short green that was triumphant against the harsh snowy weather. A mountain range stood silently behind it with snow piled on top of it, like a guardian protecting the land from the outer threat. Underneath the mountain, there was the village that the two were searching for: Abaskan. In witnessing the civilization that she desperately wished to see back at the tundra, Foreigner felt her eyes getting warmer with tears, but she cleaned them out before Octavia noticed. But she never knew how Octavia already figured it out.

  “Let’s hurry. We should get there before the sun goes down. We still need to sell this meat and get ourselves a room.”

  Octavia snapped her fingers in front of Foreigner to bring her back to reality. She smiled at her before saying the next bit.

  “Then let’s get you a proper meal.“