His skull was pounding.
Not the familiar pounding you could recover from with enough self-pity and a glass of water, but the kind that reminded him of a very specific Saturday morning: friends shoving beer into his hands, insisting his bachelor party had to happen downtown and end in a pub they used to frequent when they were younger.
Beer, according to his Scottish grandmother, was simple economics. "When drinking, we're just borrowing tomorrow's happiness."
A few too many bad decisions later, Albin woke up with the worst hangover of his life. That was over a year ago—but today felt exactly like it did back then.
Eighteen months later, he was married to Celine. They had been together for six years before he finally asked her to marry him. They lived a quiet life in a small town, shared a house, a rescued dog named Ronny, and a routine that was simple, honest, and theirs.
On days like these, he would have slept for a few hours. Normally.
He would have slept – if not for Ronny.
His friend licked his fingertips. Eagerly. Wetly.
Albin wiped his face, brought a hand to his forehead, and felt the pounding. He wiped his eyes and slowly opened them. His breath caught halfway in, lungs stuttering like they had forgotten how to work.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw that their marriage portrait, which used to hang over their bed, was now gone. In fact, the whole ceiling was gone. His shoulders jerked, as if someone had pulled invisible strings along his spine, and his fingers dug into the grass before he realized he had moved at all.
His eyes widened, pupils shrinking, when Albin looked at a pink sky.
Albin blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Nothing changed.
His heartbeat pulsed loudly in his ears, drowning out everything else.
"No," Albin muttered, "No, this cannot… No!"
He looked to his left, expecting Celine to lie next to him. He wasn't lying in his bed either. His heart started racing. Rather, he lay on his back in the middle of a grassy field. He touched the grass, which felt warm and soft. The color of the grass looked exactly like his neighbor's lawn, which he spent years growing and taking care of.
His fingers dug into it harder than necessary, as if he could tear it apart and jump home.
He looked at the sky again. The pink gradient came from a rising sun. It still bothered him.
Directly underneath in the distance, there was a group of trees, casting long shadows. East then. He turned to what he made out west and saw a river leading to a small village. Leaving the village was a road that went over a few hills. Then, Albin lost its path in a forest further in the distance.
"What happened? And where the fuck am I?" he thought.
He looked down and mustered his appearance. Dirty chinos, his once-white shirt, buttons torn from the neck to his chest. His good Lloyd shoes. Albin winced when he noticed a scratch in the leather.
He exhaled when a laugh slipped out of him. Short, sharp, and wrong. He stopped as quickly as it had started.
Waking up in a field in the middle of nowhere was something he thought he'd left behind years ago.
There he was, laughing – until he shrieked as something touched his leg.
Albin spun around and looked into big, green eyes. Not the kind of green you'd see in nature, but rather the kind people call emerald because it sells better.
Standing in front of him was a black cat. No familiar dog snout, no floppy ears, no tail wiggling.
The cat had the usual pointy ears, short but muscular legs, a wet nose, black whiskers, and a bushy tail that stood straight in the air as it moved back cautiously.
After a while of intense eye contact, the cat blinked, walked towards Albin, sat down in front of him, licked its paw, and then – "Meow!" Its gaze felt uncomfortably intelligent.
"Thanks, very helpful."
Albin kneeled on one leg to take a closer look at his newly-found friend, who turned its head and leaned against Albin's hand as if they'd known each other for years. The cat's fur was soft as his hands brushed through it. It was different from the short, stiff hair he used to know from his dog. Different, but pleasant.
He continued to run his hand through the fur when an ear-numbing sound reminded Albin of his headache.
He jumped up to watch for its source and shockingly took a step back, legs shaking as something blurred into his vision. At first, it was difficult to read, but after some intense staring, the letters formed words:
New Ability acquired: Summon Familiar
You may summon a familiar. Its abilities grow alongside yours.
Albin blinked once more.
The text was still there. His stomach tightened, hollow and heavy at the same time, and swallowing suddenly took effort.
He pushed a pointing finger through the words, but nothing happened. His finger first, his complete hand second, went through the message as it consisted of smoke. His pulse spiked violently.
He opened his mouth, closed it again, and dragged a hand down his face as if the sky might smear away.
Out of thought, he focused on breathing. He forced air into his belly, counted without knowing why, then let it out through his nose.
It didn't help.
So, out of further ideas, he started wiping his eyes.
The message remained.
He shook his head from left to right.
His throat felt tight, dry. Like he hadn't swallowed in hours.
He shoved his arm back, ready to punch at the text.
"MEOW!"
He looked to the ground, watching the cat mustering him disappointingly.
It made a jump forward and did a swiping gesture with its paw, staring at Albin expectingly now.
"I can't believe, I'm really doing this…"
Albin slowly raised a hand, still shaking, and swiped through the text from right to left. In an instant, the words disappeared in almost unnoticeable white smoke. It took maybe half a second, and it was gone. Nowhere to be seen.
Albin stared into the air, where the text has once been.
The cat sat. Calm and unimpressed. "Meow."
"Thanks, that was reassuring."
It yawned back at him.
"So, familiar, hm? That means… No, I mean… but what if…"
Albin slapped a hand against his forehead. The pounding within his head remained.
He pinched himself in the arm.
He didn't wake up.
His knees buckled before he realized he had stopped standing properly. He could feel his heart racing, the pounding inside of his skull intensifying.
For a few seconds or maybe even a minute, he stood in the middle of a way-too-green field, underneath a pink sky that looked too saturated, next to a cat he had never seen before, waiting for the world to snap back into place and waking up next to his wife.
He didn't. And it was this realization that hit him like a blow to his face.
Out of words, out of thought, and apparently, no longer sane, he sighed and sat down, pressing his hands into the grass before he unraveled.
He thought about the message once more. Like it was magic, announced by the same white smoke, it appeared again:
Ability: Summon Familiar
You may summon a familiar. Its abilities grow alongside yours.
He looked at the cat.
Then to the text.
Then back at the cat.
"So uhm… that means… You?"
The cat's tail strifed through the air, pleased. "Meow."
Next thing, Albin swiped the text away and noticed something else in his vision. A black paw.
"So, this really is no joke, hm?"
Going along with whatever happened, Albin felt inside himself. Something was there. Something new that made his skin prickle. Something he has never felt before, but at the same time, it felt like something that's always been there and is supposed to be.
He looked at the cat once more and thought about this new sensation. All of a sudden, the cat decreased in size rapidly until it was nowhere to be seen. Vanished. Gone. Leaving behind little black sparks that eventually dissolved in the surrounding air as well. Albin gasped, stumbling back.
"What… What have I just done? How can I – no, how did it…" His stomach grumbled, and for a second, he felt like it had to be – "WHAT THE FUUUUUUCKKK!!!"
He waited for something—shock, fear, regret.
Nothing came.
His hand lowered on its own.
He thought about his ability again and, announced by the same black sparks, the cat appeared in the same way, it had vanished – just in reverse.
As if nothing had happened, the cat purred, sat next to Albin, and started licking its paw again. After a while, it stretched itself.
"I mean, if this is no joke, then… I am a wizard… probably. And you are my familiar?"
The cat stopped for a moment, putting its leg onto the ground, blinking, and then staring at Albin. Its eyes narrowed slightly, as if it was judging him. A feeling overcame Albin. A feeling of positivity? Reassurance? No, it was just acceptance.
"Then how do I do this? Do you accept to be my familiar?"
The cat didn't move or react in any way. Everything stayed exactly the same. It was the kind of silence that stretched uncomfortably.
"Okay, let me take this as a yes. In that case, you most certainly need a name, don't you? Since you're a magic cat, I cannot call you Bella, Tinker, or Oreo – God, I hate this name. I mean, you can appear and reappear… uh… Shadow?"
The cat's tail shot straight up, and an enthusiastic "Meow!" was shouted in Albin's direction.
"That does sound like a yes! Good, so here we are, Shadow. Two idiots in the middle of nowhere. Let's go home."
Albin looked around again, his eyes staying on the village in the west for a moment. Wherever he was, he wasn't alone.
"Help. I need help."
He took the first step. And Shadow followed.
Slowly, the sky had turned into a normal color, the pink fainting and turning into a brighter blue color by now.
With each step, two things happened. On the one hand, Albin's legs were shaking less and less. On the other hand, his panic reduced and became controllable. Playing with his new ability, Albin let Shadow dis- and reappear several times, until Shadow showed Albin – quite painfully – that his fangs were sharp and an immense amount of ability-usage was discouraged by his partner.
He also found out that even magic cats needed to pee from time to time, which made Shadow appear more real than before.
"I really needed that. Now, back to the human."
"What? Hello?" Albin shouted into the air.
"No, it's me, you idiot."
"Who's there!? Show yourself!"
"I did not sign up to this…" he heard and saw Shadow lunging into view after disappearing to fulfill his basic needs, "Here, Albin. It's me." Followed by a "Meow."
"Like… SHADOW!?"
"Yes, like Shadow. You don't have to talk to me. You know this, right? Can you please stop talking?"
"What do you mean, stop talking? Do you know how scared I was? And apparently you could talk the whole time!?" Albin stood still, mustering the cat disbelievingly. Slowly, the panic became uncontrollable again, and he could feel his hands starting to shake again, his knees getting weaker. His pulse became louder.
"You know, we can communicate by thought? Also, please stop calling me a cat. I am a familiar from Kosh, not a pet. Oh yes, and your thoughts about going home. I don't think this is going to happen anytime soon."
Albin felt his knees shaking uncontrollably. His vision darkened at the edges while the center of focus became blurry. His head created white flickers dancing in front of his eyes until – everything went dark.
XXX
When he woke up again, Albin threw up. It all landed on the same field he had already woken up on before. He took a while until he could sit straight again. He saw these green eyes in front of him. Again. This must be a bad dream. At least his head wasn't pounding anymore.
"So, ready for a conversation?"
"I… I'm not so sure… What is happening to me?"
"Okay, for starters, as already mentioned. Please stop talking. Thanks."
"Oh yeah? And how does a conversation work like this?"
"Do you see my mouth moving? No? Good. Now your turn. Speak what you want to say, but keep it a thought."
"All of this cannot be real," Albin thought, watching his weak legs lying in front of him. He was certain that he couldn't stand up even if he wanted to.
"Oh, trust me. It's real. Not really my choice either."
Instinctively, Albin crawled back from Shadow. The cat stood up and slowly walked from left to right in front of Albin. Tail straight, eyes never disconnecting from him.
"Well, welcome to Aventia, Albin."
Shadow circled him once. "Try not to pass out again."
"So you can read my mind?"
"Only if you want me to. Same for me, by the way."
"Why haven't you done that earlier? And more importantly… Where the fuck am I!?"
"You're in Aventia, my friend. How was I supposed to tell you earlier? You just named me a few moments before you passed out? Like the name. A bit cliché, but alright."
"What is Aventia? Do you know where Celine is?"
"This world? Aventia? Come on, haven't you noticed? You're not home."
"What do you mean?"
"You're an outwolder. Got yourself summoned here. Your Celine is – if not summoned herself – in your world."
"But that – ", again, Albin vomited onto the ground. What he has already feared just got confirmed. It pressed the air out of his lungs. His breathing rhythm increased. His heart felt like it had doubled in size and sat right in his throat.
"Calm down, it's nice here. I think. Pretty new myself. About half a day to be precise."
Albin wiped the liquid from his mouth and spat, "So I am really in another world? How?"
"Don't you listen? I don't know how exactly. But you summoned me, so I figured you were quite powerful. Most people choose something bigger as their familiar, so it was a pleasant surprise."
"Wait. Stop. I… How do I get back?"
"Don't know. Maybe an Archmage from your world could summon you. But don't get me wrong. From what I've seen, I doubt you are in high demand."
Albin searched his pockets. No phone. No purse. Only the picture of his small family. Celine. Ronny. Albin. He pushed the picture in front of Shadow's eyes. "Have. You. Seen. Them?"
"No."
His eyes filled with tears that were hard to hold back, and snot filled up his nose.
"Fuck this. Fuck all of this. I want to go home…" he sniffed while wiping a tear out of his eyes, fighting more to come.
"I'm sorry."
"Any other way… Any other way home?"
"Not that I know of. I mean, I'm your familiar. I'll do whatever you ask of me. Success rate may vary tho."
"So Aventia? Where exactly? And where do I go if I want to go home?"
"My first time as well. But I've got some knowledge. Yes, you are in Aventia. Kingdom of Thuria to be precise", pointing a paw in the direction of the village, "and this should be Mistelbrunn."
"Kingdom of Thuria, Mistelbrunn…" Albin gulped, finally realizing this was his reality now.
"Yes. So, I know and can clearly see, most of it may be confusing to you. But hey, at least you're not alone. Also as your familiar I feel obliged to advise you to not get into the same state you had tonight."
"What… what state?" Albin muttered, fighting the last tears in his eyes.
"Drunk. Couldn't get you to notice me. Lucky, I have a lot of patience."
"I'm… Sorry about that?"
"No worries. So, what now? Ready to walk?"
Albin moved his legs. They were still weak from the shock. With shaking hands, he pushed himself onto his feet, taking one wobbly step after another, becoming steady after a while.
"I think it will work for a bit. But I need some rest. Some undisturbed rest."
"Figured. So still to Mistelbrunn? Another piece of advice: I know you humans have a weaker sense of scent than I have, but you should take a bath." Shadow nodded into the river leading to the town now known as Mistelbrunn.
"Good point." And Albin started walking towards the river. After a while, he stopped. "Uhm… so since I can summon you, where do you go when you're not here?"
Shadow's eyes narrowed. For the first time, his eyes unlocked from Albin's eyes as the familiar looked into the distance.
"Home."
Albin's eyes filled with tears once more, but his breathing technique helped him stay as calm as humanly possible in another world.
"So… So do you prefer to travel with me? I can dismiss you, if you'd like."
"I prefer walking freely."
Slowly, swaying from one foot to the other, Albin made his way towards the river.
Shadow smirked and followed quickly. "I know how you feel, and believe me, I feel with you. Let's make the best out of it."
And so, the two started walking. Each one of them alone. Both of them together.