My death was relatively peaceful. None of that raging against the long dark for me, no fighting the reaper. Sure, I had plenty of regrets, but doesn’t everyone? No, instead it just felt like an inevitability when I felt my heart stop that night. Not a happy inevitability, but not unexpected. Long years of unhealthy living, or was it simply the fact that heart attacks ran in my family? I would never know.

  As my brain died, many thoughts of my family came up. I quickly discarded them, just as I had done for the past decade. Why should I care what they thought?

  For the briefest of instances, I was actually glad that my cat had died a month ago. I knew they usually tried giving pets to the owner's family, and I wouldn't want that . Then, just like the thoughts of my family, that thought also faded until my awareness shrank to almost nothing, just a single pinprick of light.

  This must have been the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ I had always heard about, though I had thought that it was usually associated with being revived, which was highly unlikely considering I lived alone-

  SLAM

  An intense, throbbing pain radiated from my forehead and I instinctively flinched, curling into a fetal position and cradling my head as I groaned in pain. The throbbing slowly faded and eventually, I opened my eyes.

  Somehow.

  My pained eyes opened, only to find myself in the woods. Once again, somehow. A quick glance around confirmed that towering peaks surrounded me on all sides except for one: forward.

  For a few moments I just sat there, lost in confused awe, because I somehow heard my heartbeat again, until my brain caught up to me and a creeping sense of discomfort settled in.

  Grass itched on my cold bare skin.

  As I began to look down, movement caught my eye. Perched on a fallen log was a fat, brown-gray squirrel, its cheeks bulging with a look I could only describe as a 'comically simple enthusiasm'. Nut in hand, staring at me.

  But it wasn't just some regular animal.

  It wasn’t some exotic species of ground squirrel or something like that.

  No, that stupid little thing was a Skwovet—a Pokemon. I’d never liked the small rodent Pokemon, and seeing one in real life didn't change that. That could only mean one thing, though.

  Holy fucking shit, this wasn’t Earth…

  Was it Arceus? Jirachi? Or a different Pokemon demi-god that brought me here? I had always loved the games, sure, but… really?

  I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts—only to catch a glimpse of my hair color. Green. Green?! That sent me spiraling into confusion, which quickly turned into a full inspection of my body.

  Not that it was hard, considering I was completely naked.

  Good news? I had apparently dropped at least fifteen years, judging by how springy my skin felt. That much was obvious, especially considering my small chest.

  That realization hit hard . I actually broke down for a few minutes, overwhelmed by a mess of gratitude, confusion, and pure frustration at how little control I had over any of this. Yes , I had wanted this. Prayed for it. Given up on it in the face of fascist conservatives, but the want had never dissipated. Still, I had been dropped into this world without my permission!

  A low growl grew in my chest before I forced myself to stop, looking around in sudden wariness. I knew that a real Poke-world wouldn't be wouldn’t be as nice as it looked in the games and anime. Fuck the Pidgeys eating Caterpies—that was the least of my worries. Now that I thought about it, plenty of Pokédex entries heavily implied, or outright stated, that these things wouldn’t just hunt prey.

  They’d hunt humans.

  “H-hey-” I coughed suddenly, my body not used to my newfound vocal cords. Since when did vocal cords itch when you used them? And why the hell was my voice so much higher ? Other than the obvious? It sounded squeaky! I better not be a kid!

  Oh, oh no! It’s more likely than not… Unless I’m just tiny? I’d rather be tiny than a kid, please? I am an adult!

  “H-Hey Arceus, o-or I guess Jirachi? Mind giving me some answers? I-I could really use some…”

  Silence.

  Well, silence except for the same idiotic-looking Skwovet noisily cracking open a nut.

  I pushed myself up, only to stumble as my body refused to work in the way I expected it to. My balance was off, my muscles felt shaky, and I was way too unsteady on my feet. I imagined I looked a bit like a newborn foal, legs wobbling, body moving in weird, random ways as I tried to figure out how to exist in this body.

  A few hesitant steps forward. One step back as my foot met a very rude, pointy rock. I hissed in pain but kept going, slowly making my way forward—until I reached the edge of a cliff.

  That’s when I finally saw where I was.

  Off in the distance I saw a truly massive red-leafed tree. And I don’t mean redwood big—I mean so huge that I couldn't see the top of the monstrosity, considering it was covered in clouds ! I’d probably forgotten most of what I knew about Pokemon, and I felt quite sure that if Arceus (or whoever) had dropped me in Kanto, I’d have no clue where I was. However, a tree that big, that color , boxed in by mountains on three sides, with a wide lake almost surrounding the tree?

  This was the Crown Tundra.

  I was in Galar.

  I was so fucked.

  This was not a friendly area to be in. Even if I’d had clothes, tools, or hell, an RPG launcher, I’d still be fucked . Whether 'levels' were a thing or not, this place was dangerous . And if my memory was correct, I was about as far from civilization as you could get in Galar. It would take me days just to walk to that tree. Days with no food, water, or clothes!

  I let out a groan that slowly turned into a growl of rage. Yes, I was alive again. Younger. The correct gender. In a world I had always wanted to visit. But I was also naked, alone, and my fear was growing by the second. It wasn’t just the massive, carnivorous Pokemon I vaguely remembered living here that I had to worry about. I was pretty sure even the stupid Skwovet behind me could end my life if it felt like it.

  The fact that it probably wouldn’t eat me afterwards was no comfort.

  I sighed again and turned to leave. I was halfway up the slopes of the western mountains on a small plateau, with the sprawling grasslands below me. What I couldn’t find, though, was any sort of trail. I glanced at the Skwovet for a moment before an idea came to mind. I approached slowly, not just to avoid scaring it, but also to hopefully not shred my feet on the rough ground.

  I couldn’t remember the name of the type of stone poking through the loose dirt, but it was sharp and jagged, and despite being a little crumbly, it was easily capable of cutting my bare feet. I’d waded through a stream barefoot on a fishing trip once, and the memory made me wince as the sting of the ground reminded me. Not from cutting myself on the rocks, no, though I’d come close. I’d sliced my plantar fascia, the big tendon on the bottom of my foot, clean in two on a broken beer bottle. Stupid littering assholes…

  As I drew closer the Pokemon glanced up briefly, before dismissing me with hardly a glance. I stopped about ten feet from it and coughed lightly to get its attention.

  “H-Hey, uhh, do you know how to get down from here?” All I got was a blank look. Well, blanker than usual. “Uhh, like, a trail?” Another blank look, but it pointed off to the side before refocusing on the nut in its hands.

  “Thanks…?” The little shit actually chittered at me and shooed me off before it turned its back to me. With a sigh I turned and began walking towards the edge of the small clearing I found myself in. A small trail led down the mountain, seemingly cut into the stone.

  I had always enjoyed hiking. Getting to reconnect with nature, pit your body against the very elements themselves. Even if those elements were just sun and maybe some rain, I had climbed six thousand feet in elevation in a single day, once. I was beat , but I managed to do it. The next day, when I had descended the mountain, was simultaneously the easiest and most strenuous hike I had ever done. My muscles were on fire, but I could practically skip back down the trail the next day, gravity my friend instead of enemy.

  Hiking was fun , and I greatly enjoyed it.

  I did not enjoy doing it barefoot, naked, cold, and with my head on a swivel. The pace I set was excruciatingly slow, but I still managed to make it halfway down the mountain before the sun touched the edges of the peaks behind me. I needed fire, shelter, water, and food, in that order, and fast. The slight chill in the air was quickly growing worse, and I would prefer not freezing to death.

  I had just begun exploring this latest plateau, hoping to find a small cave or hollow tree to make a fire in front of, when I heard a small roar of pain. I froze up momentarily before I heard another roar, this one fading into a high-pitched squeal of agony. I had barely realized I was moving before I was running, feet on fire as I stomped on rocks and sticks in my haste.

  My stupid haste. Because this was stupid. I was stupid. I literally had nothing to fight with, or even just something to stop my fuckin' tits from bouncing and throwing my balance off. Glad as I was to have them, a bra was the first thing I was buying myself once I got out of here. If I got out of here. Considering my current actions?

  A very big if.

  I ran around a large boulder and found the source of the cries. A baby Tyrunt, not even a foot tall and looking like a brown T-Rex with an oversized head, was panting, tears streaming from its eyes as it lowly growled at its assailant, bleeding claw marks down its flank. A Sneasel, the dark purple-black furred Dark/Ice variant of the cat-weasel, was currently licking the blood from its claws as it smirked at the baby.

  I knew the look on its face. Had seen it before in the eyes of bullies everywhere—whether they were high schoolers, drunks, police, or politicians. It was taking pleasure in the baby's pain. It was tormenting a baby.

  I was no stranger to death in nature. A baby animal was much easier to kill than an adult, and ‘survival of the fittest’ wasn’t just some vague idea. I had seen it in action, both in person and online. Watching a leopard eat a literal newborn animal hadn’t been fun, but I would never have called the leopard evil.

  Pokemon, on the other hand? I knew they were intelligent from the anime, and had seen it when the Skwovet easily understood me. They weren't animals . They were people , just a bit different. I probably wouldn't have been furious if it had just gone for the kill. Living things had to eat, after all—even other people.

  And one of those ‘people’ was tormenting a baby just for the fun of it.

  “Hey fuckface!” I eloquently yelled as I snatched up a fist-sized rock.

  The Sneasel took one look at me, sneered, and then turned back to the Tyrunt. The thrown rock hit its head solidly, the thunk echoing for a second. I grinned at my success, but only for a few seconds. The next thing I knew I was on my back, head bouncing off the rock behind me while my left hand felt like ice . I tried to push myself up, only for raw agony to shoot through my left hand. I screamed in pain, instinctively pulling my hand to my chest. My hand, minus a pinky, that was. Hearing a dark laugh, I looked up and found the Sneasel sneering at me dismissively from a few feet away.

  With my pinky hanging from its lips like the world's most morbid cigar. It’s tongue reached out to pull my pinky in, and I could hear the bones splintering as it continued to sneer at me, blood staining its teeth.

  My blood.

  It ate my finger.

  It. Ate. ME!

  I had never been a good fighter. Good fighters were in control of themselves. Every time I had been forced to fight, be they bullies in school or just asshole adults, I had fought the same: like my life depended on it. Like an animal. I had been strong, and large enough that I could actually take some abuse, but never skilled. I didn’t throw punches, I flailed. I was strong enough that it had worked for me, when I was forced to fight. I had never enjoyed it, and never trained.

  Now, I was significantly smaller and lighter, and since Arceus hadn’t decided to give me muscles, also significantly weaker than I had been before.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  All that is to say that when the psychopathic Pokemon turned around dismissively, all I saw was red. I still wanted to save the baby, but now? It was secondary. Still, as I rose to my feet, another rock in hand, I briefly met the Tyrunt's eyes. It seemed to nod, letting out an unfortunately adorable roar at the Sneasel before darting in. The Sneasel simply jumped backwards, but I was there now, swinging the rock around with the full force of my body. It hit the Pokemon in its head, but of course, it only seemed stunned for a brief second.

  A brief second the baby Tyrunt took advantage of, as it snapped its jaws around the Sneasel’s hands. I could see blood start to flow as the inside of its mouth was cut, but I only caught a brief glimpse as I reared back, both hands wrapped around the rock, adrenaline and rage briefly overcoming the sheer agony such an action brought.

  I whipped my whole body forwards, rock smashing into the top of the Sneasel’s head. It tried to rear back, but the baby snarled and dug its legs in. Once more I brought the stone down, this time hearing a crack that brought a vicious smile to my face.

  Of course, that didn’t put the Pokemon down, but it did slow down. Another slam of the rock and it fell to its knees, blood trickling from its ears.

  If I had been a ‘good fighter’ I might have stopped there. It was almost unconscious, helpless. I didn’t care one bit as I brought the stone down once more, causing another crack to ring out. And again. And again. By now the Tyrunt was wailing in distress, but I was still seeing red.

  “You!” Smash

  “Don’t!” Smash

  “Eat!” Smash

  “Me!” Crack

  “I’ll!” Crack

  “Eat!” Smush

  “You!” Splatter

  Finally I slowed down, looking down at the ruined remains of this fucks head. As the adrenaline dump stopped I panted in exhaustion, desperate for air. My hand began to throb again, and I snapped. I let out a growl that turned into a piercing scream as I brought the rock down into the… pile that had been a head.

  I fell back on my ass, sharp rocks digging in painfully as I gasped for breath. I barely felt them over the throbbing agony in my left hand. I began to rise, only to stop at the growl I heard. I turned around, knowing what I would find. That had been way too deep to be the baby.

  I turned, only to find myself staring directly into the bright white eyes of an absolutely enraged Tyrantrum. Even as I felt a chill go down my spine, I noticed just how massive this beast was. It was almost two stories tall, and I knew they were supposed to only be maybe nine feet tall. Its red scales, white ‘beard’ of feathers, and flared orange crown on its head made it unmistakable. Tyrantrum had been one of my favorite Pokemon since they were released, I mean, who doesn’t like a T-Rex, so I knew I wasn’t misremembering that badly. This was a fucking Alpha! I thought they were only in Arceus Legends? So like, ancient Sinnoh, right?

  Another growl, this one more dangerous, and I snapped again. I stood up and growled right back at it, teeth bared in a snarl. Its eyes widened slightly in surprise, and before it could start to growl again I began yelling.

  “Fucking really ? Are you stupid? I just saved your baby, asshole! Fuck off!” I nearly slapped it in the face before a small part of my self preservation made itself known.

  I groaned in pain instead as my stump continued to throb, and I realized that I was probably suffering from blood loss, if the feeling of lightheadedness was anything to go by. I reached over and, before I could second guess myself, wrapped my thumb and pointer fingers around the torn, bleeding stump in the tightest squeeze I could manage.

  The shock dropped me to my knees, but after a pained minute I was able to weakly open my eyes. I was alone with the corpse of the Sneasel now. Missing a digit. Naked. I didn’t even have string to tourniquet my stump, not that there was much of a stump left, and I knew that human hair would just cut into my flesh unless I braided it. Something I didn’t have the time, or free hand, to do. I felt tears form in my eyes, and tried to angrily wipe them away with my clenched fists.

  So this was it, huh? I had no idea how long I would have to hold a stump for it to stop bleeding, but I knew it wouldn’t be fast. Release my stump and bleed out, don't release it and die of thirst or hunger. Or Pokemon.

  Fuck.

  I must have passed out momentarily, as the sun had descended completely on the other side of the mountains when I next opened my eyes, causing a beautiful sunset to envelope the massive valley. I could see some bird Pokemon gliding on air currents far away, well clear of the Dyna Tree, and I felt a strange sense of peace come over me. I had already died once, so at the very least, this time I get to die as a woman, and this time I didn’t have to stare at a blank ceiling. Instead I get a view that I itched to paint. Not that I could paint. Or draw. Or sketch… However, it just seemed right. This scene deserved it. It should be hanging on a wall.

  I sighed and went to stand up, but stopped as the earth shook under me. I looked up in surprise, only to find the Tyrantrum on the outcrop above. It jumped down, landing in front of me and causing my entire body to bounce into the air. Instinct took over and I tried to catch myself with my hands. Of course, that was a very poor idea, and I spent another minute simply rolling on the ground in pain, fingers once again clamped around my stump. I forced my eyes open, only to find the giant Tyrantrum staring at me from only feet away, jaws slightly parted. I froze, but as the jaws began to open I couldn't help but smile in relief.

  The baby Tyrunt stepped out of its parents' mouth slowly, heavily limping, but the long slashes in its flank had somehow already scabbed over. Its jaw also opened, and a bright blue fruit the size of an orange rolled out towards me. I almost expected another tiny Tyrunt to come out of the fruit, like some sort of dinosaur nesting dolls, but the amusing thought was immediately discarded as I realized what this had to be. One of the few I would recognize on sight. I looked up at the family of dinosaurs as I spoke, eyes hopeful.

  “I-Is that an Oran Berry?” A nod from both of them was all I needed, and I didn’t even bother to try and use my intertwined hands. I simply bent down and bit into the giant berry. It tasted like a smooth, bland blueberry honestly, but as I let the last bite (and some dirt) slide down my throat I could feel my stump healing.

  It honestly didn’t feel ‘magical’; in fact, it itched horrendously. However, I watched in grateful fascination as a thick, angry looking scab rapidly developed over the raw flesh and bone. I cautiously released my stump, and couldn't stop the heavy sigh of relief when no more blood flowed out. It still throbbed with an unholy pain that radiated out, but I wouldn't bleed out now.

  “Thank you.” I looked up from my hand to find the Tyrantrum staring at me. It didn’t seem aggressive anymore, obviously, but it was still intimidating. The Alpha then opened its jaws wide, the baby quickly climbing inside. Then it stayed there, looking at me intently. Like it was waiting .

  “Wait, you want me to… come with you?” The sight of a two-story T-Rex look-alike nodding with its mouth wide open, and the little Tyrunt eagerly nodding as well from inside the mouth, made me laugh. Fuck it. If it had wanted me dead it wouldn't have helped heal me. I stood up, wobbling as my lightheadedness surged. I nearly stepped inside the jaws before I remembered my words.

  I had meant every one of them, even if I had been kind of out of it.

  “One second, I’m going to need food.” As I snatched the Sneasel corpse up, the Alpha growled, but this one was a different growl. I could see the corners of its mouth curl up. Yeah, I think it approved.

  I trusted the Tyrantrum not to eat me, for now at least, but the first step onto a giant tongue was not easy, not by any definition of the word. I froze, one bare foot planted on the huge, wet muscle, but before I could put my other foot down the head swung, making me slam into the huge tongue. I quickly grabbed onto a tooth near the front of its jaw, stopping my slide towards its throat. A glance back told me that it’s esophagus, or whatever that flap thing back there was called, was closed. Which made sense, don’t want to swallow your own child, but I was still frozen as the tiny view through the closing jaws changed.

  Riding inside the mouth of a T-Rex was not fun for me, the baby, or its parent. I watched in fascinated horror as the baby's sharp claws dug into its parent's tongue, but only a small amount of blood pooled there. I barely had time to wonder at just how tough its tongue , of all things , was before I felt the world tilting, exiting the mouth and landing directly on my tailbone. The pain served to unfreeze my body, and as I tried to rub the pain away- and rub warmth into my body!- I took in my surroundings. It was the most enormous damn nest I had ever seen, covered in what looked like long, dried grasses, with a view down the slope, and surrounded by a few groups of trees.

  With a small thud the Sneasel corpse landed next to me, and I looked up to find the Alpha staring at me, the baby hopping out of its mouth. I let out a smile at the sight of the infant. And it was an infant. I was pretty sure Tyrunts were two feet tall, but this little one had to have hatched only recently, barely a foot tall. I slowly reached out to pat it on the head, only for it to raise its head to meet my palm. I couldn’t help the wide smile that broke out on my face, only to see the parent staring at me. It smiled as well, before looking down at the corpse. I did too before I grimaced. Looking back at the Alpha, though, I had an idea.

  I was cold, anyway. Really cold, now that it was darker and I was covered in saliva!

  I moved to the center of the nest and began to remove the layers of grass until I had a wide, open area of dirt and stone. I looked up to find them both watching me in confusion. I grinned at that, looking up at the Tyrantrum with a hopeful expression.

  “Could you do me a favor? I need some dead tree branches for a fire, and maybe a sharp rock. Could you help with that?” It stared at me for a full half minute, and right as I began to worry it snorted and began walking towards a stand of trees. I began to follow before I felt a light nip on my hand. The baby stared, then walked in the opposite direction, away from its parent. It then turned to see if I was following.

  I shrugged and did so. It led me to the edge of the nest, and pointed at a nearby pile with its head. A pile of bones. A lot of bones, most of them more fragments than anything else. That tracks, actually, bet they like to chew on the bones, pretty sure big cats did that... Maybe one of them would be sharp? I began to look through the pile and immediately found what it must have been suggesting.

  A Pawniard skull, topped with its distinctive blade. Half of the blade had broken off, but that still left me with a solid three inches of razor-sharp metal. I smiled as I plucked it out, returning to the center of the nest as night began to fall in earnest.

  After a minute of pantomime I had gotten the baby to bite the skull, breaking it into fragments and letting me grab the blade itself. I then turned to the Sneasel corpse, bile rising at the back of my throat. I had killed and eaten plenty of fish back on Earth, but I had never skinned anything. I knew the basics from YouTube doom-scrolling, but that was it. Still, this wasn’t going to do itself, so with a groan I bent forward, eyes squinting in the low light as I shivered.

  Thankfully, the Alpha returned at that point. Carrying a whole dead tree, of course, so I quickly stood up and moved over. Some more pantomime, and the tree had been shredded into sticks and logs. I set up a stereotypical tee-pee style fire before looking up at the Tyrantrum with hope in my eyes. I grabbed a long branch and pointed at the end.

  “Could you use Fire Fang on the end here? Or another fire move?” Its eyes narrowed at me, and before I even realized what happened I felt a jarring impact, finding a flaming stick in my hands. How. The. HELL did it move so fast?! Something that size should not move that fast!

  Doing my best to conceal my sudden panic I busied myself with the fire. In short order I had a nice roaring bonfire going, and I shivered in delight as I stood way too close. It wasn’t exactly cold here, at least for now, but I was naked ! Not for long, though... I turned back to the corpse and steadied myself a bit. This was going to suck.

  It did suck. Badly. However, after a full hour I had finally managed to get the skin off, mostly clean of flesh, an emptied digestive tract for an eventual (and horribly disgusting) water skin, and cut several chunks of meat off. More than enough for me to eat, so after placing a forearm to the side for breakfast I tossed the rest of the carcass and offal towards the baby. Both Pokemon had been intently watching my actions, and as the baby fed on its assailant I placed the chunks of meat on sticks around the fire.

  I sat close to it, trying not to shiver as I continued to scrape away the little bits of flesh from the Sneasel skin. I felt a massive presence at my shoulder, turning to find the Alpha watching me curiously. I began to explain my actions as I worked, but on hearing I was trying to get the meat off it gently plucked the skin out of my hands, laid it on the ground, and after securing a corner with its feet, began to lick it clean.

  The rasping sound was one I was certain I would hear in my nightmares tonight, but soon enough I was holding a clean, if slobbery, skin. I did my best to wipe the saliva off, but at this point I couldn't bring myself to care too much. I was kind of half-covered in dried saliva anyways. It was a small skin, certainly not enough to keep me warm, but I had a better idea.

  The dinos looked very curious as I wrapped the skin, fur side on my skin, around my chest. I tied the arm skins together tightly before turning it around, the knot resting against my spine. One medieval bra, or chest wrap really, acquired.

  Of course, I knew I had a time limit on the skin before it stiffened and rotted. I was fairly certain that tanners in medieval times had used brains and urine to cure hides, but I wasn’t about to do that. Or have the time to let it soak. Or have a tub to collect… stuff in.

  A whiff of cooking meat led me back to my food, which was just beginning to blacken on the outside. Perfect. I’d rather not get worms from this asshole. As I bit into the meat I paused momentarily. I was eating something that had been sapient! Evil, cruel, and undeserving of my pity, but a sapient being all the same. A person! Then the flavor hit my tongue, my new, almost empty stomach growled, and I had no more hesitant thoughts. Just pure, primal hunger as I tore into the flesh.

  When I finally finished most of my food I looked up, only to see the Alpha viciously grinning at me. I grinned back, wiping grease from my mouth. The baby had nuzzled into my side during my feast, and I couldn’t help but coo at the sight of it. It was staring at one of the untouched chunks of meat, so I held it out towards the Pokemon. It sniffed at it for a second before a rough tongue snatched it from my hand. Its eyes lit up as it chewed, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. I sighed as I leaned back on a log.

  I was alive, fed, warm as I could get, and at least temporarily protected. I was thirsty, but there would be no water for me tonight. I looked up at the sky, an expression of awe stretching across my face. I had only seen a night sky like this once, and it had been the same hike I had thought of earlier. On top of a mountain, far away from any light pollution and with clear winter night skies, I had felt the same type of stunned awe as I felt now, seeing the vast universe laid out like a tapestry before me. I didn’t recognize any constellations, but it was still breathtaking.

  For several minutes I just laid back, but eventually, I groaned and rolled forward, back to the fire. The heat. I looked at the Alpha and smiled widely.

  “So, thanks again. For the Berry, and your help. I’d have died without you.” It nodded its head at me, clearly aware of that fact. I grinned a little wider at that. “Real quick, I’ve been calling you ‘it’ in my head, but are you male?” A shake of her head and a low growl was my answer.

  “Okay, female it is. And you, cutie? Are you a girl, too?” I asked, turning to the Tyrunt who was still nuzzled into my side. She nodded, and I smiled again. My smile grew a bit brittle, however, as I looked back at the mother.

  “Do you know where I can find other humans, like me?” A nod. “Are there any close?” A snort and an amused shake of her head. Yeah, I’d probably try to stay far away from her, too, if I had the chance. She seemed nice enough now , but the way she was looking at me… Shit.

  “Is it because you ate them?” A massive smile, lips peeling back to reveal her equally massive teeth. She was doing that on purpose, I just knew it.

  I grinned right back at her huge face.

  “Well, please don’t eat me. I’d have to do the same thing as with the Sneasel and eat you back, and that would take waaay too long.” My snark could have had better timing, but she merely huffed out a laugh.

  “I don’t suppose you'd be willing to lead me to them? I’m kind of… naked and injured right now.” I held up my left hand, still covered in my blood. Shit, I was covered in a lot of blood, and only some of it was my own. I reeked of iron.

  I gave a huge sigh of relief as she grumbled but nodded at me. I looked at her spot next to the fire contemplatively.

  Luckily, she didn’t care when I snuggled into her chest, baby held against mine. I was cold, but the thick, somewhat soft scales on her stomach absorbed and reflected the heat of the fire, making it comfortable enough. I tried to plan my next steps from here, but before I had the chance, I finally passed out, the adrenaline, pain, and exhaustion finally catching up to me. The giant heartbeat I heard and felt against my back was a soothing lullaby as I drifted off.