Rewinding back to a chain of events that set the course of their lives.
The hut door slammed open.
Reiji sighed, "That's a horrible way to greet someone in the morning."
She stared at him with the same cold, blank expression.
"It's the same little girl from yesterday." Reiji thought.
Then he muttered, "You're gonna have to stop giving me that attitude."
He inhaled deeply.
"I now understand this is not a simulation. I've experienced the world myself." he stated.
Tatiana's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Maybe she'll understand if I show her." He thought then he began chanting.
"Forma allineata, precisione assoluta, proporzione divina. Proprioception."
He felt the pulse of energy through his body.
His world expanded.
The trees, plants, and everything his power reached hummed as if whispering in his ears.
Revealing.
Tatiana gasped and immediately shouted, "Bobbin!"
"Oh, she looked distressed. I should do something."
Tatiana immediately whipped into a defensive stance and started casting, "Sekhemu Netjeri, shamru Ani'i–"
In an instant, he knew just what he should do.
"She's gonna love this."
*GULP.
"Sorry for the intrusion. But behold, that's a special grilled meat recipe no. 1—bon appétit!" he announced proudly.
"Food always brought peace back home. It should work here too."
Everything froze for a moment.
"That should do it, right? Why am I so excited?"
Bobbin prepared.
Her ears lay flat against her head.
"Hey, rabbit. Relax. I'm not trying to hurt anyone"
Then he turned to Tatiana.
"I just want to ask her some questions."
But Bobbin wasn't listening, she raised her paws against him in an attempt to take him down.
With Proprioception, Reiji anticipated her every step.
With her forward momentum, he slipped underneath and timed a perfect leg sweep.
Bobbin fell on the ground, crashing hard on her back.
"I don't know how she felt about that, but at least it changed her behavior." He considered.
"Stay down please," Reiji pleaded. "I'm not trying to fight just like yesterday."
"She's calm. Why am I even assuming she's a female?"
He pressed a foot on her.
A gentle pressure, just enough to keep her still.
"Anyway, I have to make sure I have control. I cannot quickly perceive instinctive movements." He thought it through.
"Just like what she said yesterday too, If I wanted to hurt anyone, I would've done it already." He stated smiling as he turned to Tatiana, who was still motionless.
"Little girl, I just need to understand. That's all I want from you."
Tatiana suddenly dropped on her knees.
"She's not listening."
She looked delighted by the food he stuffed in her mouth.
He chuckled.
Looking at Bobbin, he said. "I think she likes it."
"Does this rabbit even talk? Maybe." He mused himself.
He looked at her directly in the eye, "Can I ask you instead? Do you know where this power came from? The emotional shift in me, these mannerisms."
He continued asking hoping for an answer.
"Where did I get this strange surge inside me?"
Bobbin struggled.
She was trying to get out of his control.
"Stop, please." He said.
"I know you're just trying to protect her. That instinct you have to kill anything threatening her. I understand."
He took a deep breath.
"Her eyes say a lot about her emotional state. This food will calm her down too."
He shoved meat into her mouth.
"Apologies as well, enjoy," he said smiling.
Bobbin's muscles loosened.
He lightened the pressure he put to hold her down, "She seems to be enjoying it."
"That's just something I whipped up from whatever looked edible," He explained. "Plus the leftover meat you gave me yesterday."
Reiji smiled. "Glad you're enjoying it."
After a few moments, Tatiana recovered.
Tatiana's eyes sharpened, her posture stiffening.
"How dare you put food in my mouth without consent!"
Reiji relaxed himself.
"She's back. This bunny isn't a threat right now."
"Little girl, you did the same thing to me yesterday. But I apologize." Reiji responded.
"What… was that? How did you make that thing?" she demanded.
"Did you like it?" He asked.
Tatiana's face flushed bright red as she quickly looked away, muttering a soft "It was okay."
"It was just okay?! But your reaction showed you liked it a lot." He responded, wounded by her words.
Tatiana gazed back at him and said, "What did you really do? Did you put dark magic in it?"
"I knew she liked it!" He mused himself.
He leaned forward slightly, "You can ask me nicely."
Tatiana did not say anything.
So he began to explain.
"It's made from those small disk-shaped harvests, and that violet bulb over in that corner, like I told your pet, Bobbin."
Tatiana squinted.
"Those are Rocallini and Cipombole. We use them for everything except cooking. Don't lie to me."
Reiji's expression remained earnest as he replied, "I'm telling the truth, I assure you. They have a flavor profile similar to something from where I came from, but amplified."
"It's basically uncultivated onion & garlic." He reasoned with himself.
He saw Tatiana wasn't buying it so he continued.
"But the secret was the exceptional quality of the meat you left me. It balanced out the intensity of those things."
Tatiana scowled. "It's toxic to us humans, stop insisting something impossible."
He kept trying to convince her, "I know. But this allowed me to test this power I unlocked–"
When he turned Tatiana, her arms were crossed.
She remained skeptical. "That's definitely dark magic."
"If you want, maybe I can just show you?"
"No," Tatiana replied bluntly. "You don't have to."
"Was she convinced about it?" he whispered.
But when he looked at Tatiana, she was on the edge.
"I guess not. The food didn't work." he thought.
"Your trick is not going to work twice." Tatiana claimed.
Bobbin struggled to get off of his control.
He exhaled slowly and let her get away.
"These two, what did I even do to them? Why are they still hostile?" He pondered.
"This isn't working. I need a different angle." He rationalized with himself.
With hesitation, he blurted out, "I thought you two were the ones casting dark magic on me with this illusion."
Tatiana's eyes sharpened.
Bobbin crawled away from him.
Without warning, Tatiana began chanting a boosting spell. "Sekhemu Netjeri, shemsu Ani sagkot kawsara. Halekin!"
As the final word left her lips, a soft yellow-white radiance bloomed beneath her skin that swirled around her in spirals.
The effects amazed him, but only for a moment.
When he blinked.
Tatiana vanished.
He was captivated by the glow and the faint afterimage she left.
But then again, it was momentarily.
Bobbin suddenly let out a piercing shriek, hurting his ears and causing them to bleed.
The glass windows shattered.
"Wha–"
He wiped the blood away, his lips formed an awkward smile.
"What did I ever do to them? I've been trying to connect."
"I tried to be friendly. But if this is how you want this to go."
He closed his eyes, and felt the power inside him.
"I'll give it to you."
He looked Bobbin in her eyes.
Bobbin shrieked even harder.
A blood-curdling screech shook the whole hut with intense vibrations.
He was completely deafened and he fell on his knee.
But he saw Bobbin wasn't trying to fight, she was aiming to run.
So he let her.
A glimpse of Tatiana outside of the hut sneaked in his blurred vision.
She seemed about to blow the whole shack apart.
But she stopped.
Then she cited another spell.
"Sekhemu Netjeri, tahara'e nga'ri hiwaga sagkot Ma'ati." Tatiana chanted
Bobbin gave him one more glance.
"Unravel."
It was the last word Reiji heard from Tatiana before his world flickered.
They were gone.
In a blink of an eye, it was just him, the hut, and some parts of the ruins.
"They kicked me out, huh?" he muttered. "I tried hard to make them feel I was a friend."
He sighed.
"Like always, I horribly failed at that. Maybe my cooking is still not good enough."
Then, a little far off in the trees.
Distant voices rose up suddenly.
"What just happened?"
"This must be the entrance to the lost cursed village of Caledon."
"It popped out of nowhere!"