This is the first chapter of Mystic Heart Odyssey, part 1: Strangers in a Strange Land. It takes place in a very primitive fantasy world. The story overall will contain adventure, romance, and, yes, some sexy time, although that is not main the focus. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know if you did!

-Lloxie the Phasefox

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It was a sunny, late afternoon and the village of Lakefire, and its surrounding territory, was abuzz with activity. Its residents, the Ashers, were a tribe of konuul- anthropomorphic canids that looked like a mix of wolves, with some husky-like features. Each of them above a certain age had a role in their society, and the day kept them all busy.

Shore-sweepers combed the edge of Shimmer Loch, alongside fishers hauling in nets full of food for the tribe. In the mixed stone, clay, and wood buildings surrounding the lake, young carriers helped moved resources around while the sound of tools at work rang out from the woodwrights’ and stone masons’ workshops. The oven-houses at the base of Sunstone Ridge belched smoke into the air as meat was dried with herbs. And outside the village, in the surrounding woods, the hunters tracked down dire boars and large turkeys, while the gatherers collected anything else the tribe might need from the forest that day.

And among the gatherers, a spirit-chaser named Lykou was giving a helping hand.

“Another slow day, hmm?” his close friend, Naira, teased him. “You know the chief’s going to get rid of that job one day.”

Lykou rolled his eyes and smirked as he carried a few more branches over to the firewood that was being collected. “Like that’d stop me.”

As a spirit-chaser, his role was theoretically to watch out for spirits within sight of the village, to chase off bad ones, welcome friendly ones, and, most of all, chase after the alivi-ka- the guide spirits said to lead people to great riches, enlightenment, or even the spirit world itself. Of course, this was all in theory. In practice, nobody had really encountered an actual spirit in-person for many generations. A few made claims, but they rarely had evidence and usually came from individuals with a less-than-credible mental state after a big celebration. The only reason the job existed at all were due to old legends, including the story of the founding of the village after a spirit supposedly led their ancestors to the lake beneath a cliff that shined like a beacon on clear days.

The job didn’t exactly pay well, and its status as a humble-yet-respected spiritual role had been waning in recent generations. But Lykou didn’t care. His head was filled with dreams of adventure outside the confines of the little valley he’d spent his entire life stuck in. And chasing a spirit one day seemed like his best chance at that. Unfortunately, keeping himself fed sometimes meant pitching in on other jobs.

He could easily have been a great hunter with his speed, stealth, and to some extent his strength- but that was nowhere near where his heart was. Not that he had any problem hunting, but he didn’t want to spend all of his time doing it.

“You know, you could just join us out here as a gatherer in the first place, and keep watch for your little ‘spirits’ while you’re at it.” Naira pointed out. “You’d be doing the same thing, but with less pretense.”

“Yeah but then I’m stuck in one area the whole time with you guys.” Lykou dumped another load of wood into the cart.

“What, am I not interesting enough for you, Lykou?” Naira said in mock-offense.

“You know what I mean,” he said, pushing her playfully. “You could become a chaser too, you know.”

“I like having decent sized meals regularly, thank you.”

“Can always catch something out there while scouting around,” Lykou gestured vaguely off to one of the less-visited areas to the north. “I can make a decent squirrel soup.”

Naira made a face. “Ugh, squirrel…”

“Picky, picky~” he teased her. In truth, he preferred turkey himself, but he had less luck with those on his own, and had to hope one of the hunters was in a generous mood if he wanted any. Which, even having a sister working as a hunter on most days, was not especially frequent.

Naira put one last armload of firewood into the cart, then picked up its handles. “Well, thanks for the help, ‘kou. Want to walk back with m-”

“Who’s that way out there?” another gatherer, who’d been gather herbs nearby, interrupted. He gestured off in the distance where Lykou had vaguely pointed to. Both Lykou and Naira turned to look. At first, neither of them could see anyone. “I could have sworn I saw someone standing up there a moment ago… that’s not in our hunting grounds.”

Lykou squinted and started moving in that direction. It was true, the section of land he was pointing at was known to be a particularly uninteresting patch that the bigger game never wandered into. And the trees were being left to regrow after they’d harvested a lot of wood there in previous years. “I’ll check it out. Go let Ryvis know, just in case.”

“Be careful, ‘kou,” Naira urged him.

“I will. Don’t worry, it’s probably just a spirit,” he joked, though of course deep down he wanted it to be true, even if the odds weren’t high.

One of the more practical duties that had been added to Lykou’s job was to act as a general scout. It was honestly probably the only reason the title hadn’t been retired completely. It was rare for an outsider to be seen in their territory- the only other known tribe even remotely close was a clan of ursarans, a race that resembled a cross between bears and tigers, with all the fierceness and size that would imply. But they’d long since learned that the Ashers’ superior weapons and numbers were perfectly capable of stopping any raids in their tracks. And in any case, that tribe was in almost the completely opposite direction, at least a few days’ travel southwest of Lakefire. Still, any sign of a stranger in their territory was cause for concern, and it was Lykou’s other job to keep an eye on any that appeared.

He unsheathed his knife, which glinted with a sunstone edge, just to be on the safe side, as he began making his way to the north. The further he got, the more he thought it was a false alarm. But then, finally, he spotted it- a tan figure in the distance stood up from the ground, having been gathering something from the forest floor. After initially freezing at the sight, Lykou crouched down lower and started approaching more cautiously, being careful not to make any sound as he deftly moved between potential hiding spots. When he got close enough to get a better look, his eyes widened and adrenaline started running through his body. For there, a dozen or so yards away, was the forest spirit he’d been waiting his whole life to see. Or, so he initially suspected. Although, weren’t they supposed to have big horns on their head or something?, he thought.

It looked more… fleshy than he expected as well. He thought spirits were supposed to be all ethereal, and shrouded in some kind of mist, or light, or something. He took another look. It definitely wasn’t an ursaran. Whoever and whatever they were, they had tan fur- a notably thinner coat than his- with lighter, cream-colored markings. They looked lithe and agile, like they were built for speed above all else. And their tail was short and stubby, unlike anything Lykou had seen before. After a moment, it occurred to him that it could have been an odd-looking, short-furred konuul from some other tribe, so he decided to try calling out to them first, after first sheathing his knife, to avoid looking hostile.

“Hey! Wh-” he called over to them as he stood out from behind the bush he’d been hiding behind. But before he could finish asking what they were doing, the entity stiffened up and quickly glanced back at him before bolting off. And that was all he needed to see- on their head, he spotted two small nubs that were probably horns of some kind. An instant later, Lykou was in quick pursuit.

He could hardly believe the day had finally come. Inside, he was bursting with excitement. But externally, he stayed focused, never letting the stranger out of his sight. He and his quarry- though perhaps that wasn’t the right word- ran and ran for what seemed like ages. He’d always been one of the fastest members of the tribe, and he was determined not to fail his one chance to prove himself. His heart pounded in his chest as he carefully matched every move, every change of direction that the aliki-ka made to try and trick him. Despite his legs burning and his heart pounding, he never let up.

But then the sky began to grow darker. And not just from the sun beginning to dip behind the nearby mountains. Soon, rain began falling- lightly at first, but quickly picking up intensity. He should have known then that something was amiss- the sky had just been practically cloud-free when he started the chase. It started getting harder and harder to keep track of the spirit, and his heart started sinking. After another ten minutes of the chase, he suddenly slipped in the mud and faceplanted. He quickly pulled himself up, but it was too late- he lost track of the aliki-ka. Defeated, he turned to return home, but the wind picked up and bolt of strange, purple lightning struck the ground not far away, accompanied by a loud clap of very strange sounding thunder. It almost sounded like deep, roaring laughter.

It was then that he realized this was no ordinary storm. Could it be the work of the spirit? Another bolt of lightning encouraged him to ponder such thoughts later. He knew he had to find some kind of shelter immediately. To make matters worse, he realized the area he’d chased it into was unfamiliar to him, at least in the raging downpour. After scrambling around in some desperation, he spotted a cave a short distance away. Now terrified for his life, he frantically started running for it, narrowly dodging some falling limbs as the wind whipped up, constantly changing direction. More of that mocking, laughing thunder began to fill the air, and the multicolored flashes were soon the only real source of light.

Finally, he made it to the cave and collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. Only after catching his breath for a moment did a sound in the back of the small cave catch his attention. He wasn’t alone. Nervously, he waited for his eyes to adjust as he pulled out his knife to defend himself from whatever might be lurking inside.

But once he got a better look, the knife dropped from his hand and his eyes went wide again. There, pressed against the back wall, was the aliki-ka. Who, as it happened, was staring back at him with equally wide eyes. But their posture was decidedly un-mystical. This close, his doubts resurfaced and intensified. He wasn’t looking into the eyes of some mystical being bearing the secrets of the forest. What he saw was someone terrified out of their head, and just as exhausted as he was. And also quite naked. And male.

For a moment, they both stood in perfect silence. It was as if the world froze, their eyes locked onto one another. And there was a strange, indescribable charge in the air. Then, the stranger quickly grabbed and held up what he thought was a nearby rock in desperation. “S-stay back! I w-won’t go down without a fight!” Even as he said it, tears were forming in the corner of his eyes and his words lacked any kind of confidence.

Lykou’s stare turned slightly level and he had to stop himself from snickering. “That’s.. a cave beetle…” he quietly responded, pointing at the stranger’s hand. “You’re… not an aliki-ka, are you?”

The stranger’s eyes darted back and forth from Lykou to his hand for a moment, before he suddenly yelped and chucked the now very confused and upset beetle towards Lykou- though it missed and landed somewhere outside the cave, where it decided to find a less crazy giant-infested place to settle for the night. Now unarmed, he seemed at a loss for a moment. Finally, he broke down and covered his head instinctively with his arms. “Just… promise it’ll b-be quick and p-painless… please…” he weakly said, his voice trembling.

“...huh?” Lykou responded, uncertainly. Then the meaning dawned on him. “Woah, wait, hold on, calm down! I’m not here to hurt you!” To reinforce the point he quickly picked up and sheathed his knife, then raised his hands as a gesture of peace. “See? All good.”

The stranger glanced up, then clenched his eyes shut, tears leaking from them. “D-don’t play games. You won already. You caught me. Just… just get it over with.” his voice was barely a whisper.

“No, really, I’m not going to hurt you, I swear!”

There was an extended silence, as Lykou wasn’t sure what else he could say or do. Eventually, the stranger’s eyes open again, and he looked confused, if still scared. “R… really?”

“Really! I just came in here to get out of the storm, I didn’t even know you were in here,” the konuul assured him.

“But… you were chasing me…?” At this point the fear on the stranger’s face had mixed with a fair bit of confusion.

Lykou finally sat down completely and gave a somewhat embarrassed, awkward smile. “Uhh… yeah, that. Well, you see,” he began trying to explain, then sighed. “Let’s just say I thought you were, uh… someone… well, something else.”

“You’re… not going to eat me?” the stranger nervously asked, making Lykou blanch.

“WHAT?! EAT you??” he blurted out incredulously.

The stranger started to relax, but only slightly, lowering his arms a bit. “Y… you’re a predator aren’t you? I’ve seen your kind hunt before...”

The question threw Lykou for another loop. “Uh, yeah, wild boars and turkeys and such… but not people for crying out loud!” He paused a moment, then gave a perplexed look. “Wait, do you not-… what are you, exactly?”

The stranger shifted, having gotten particularly uncomfortable in his cowering position. “S… sereva…”

The word was completely alien to Lykou. “A… huh.”

The two sat in silence for a time, just taking each other in as their bodies recovered from their strenuous run and the recent tension in the air, which was just starting to ease slightly. Eventually, Lykou broke the silence again, “So uh… what’s your name?”

“...Kuna,” the sereva answered, after a brief hesitation.

“I’m Lykou. I’m from the Lakefire tribe,” Lykou continued, drumming his fingers on his knees as he decided to make some idle conversation to try and further ease the tension, as well as pass the time. The thunder had strangely faded a bit after he first entered the cave, but otherwise the storm was still raging outside. “...down by the Sunstone Ridge. Where are you from?” he added, after not getting any kind of response or reaction.

Kuna stared at him for a moment, then suddenly his expression changed and he looked away, with what looked like a bitter expression on his face. After a moment, he got up and warily moved towards the cave’s exit, keeping as much distance from Lykou as he could.

“Woah, wait!” Lykou urged and suddenly reached out towards him, making Kuna recoil, immediately scared again.

“Yousaidyouwouldn’thurtme!”

“Yeah and where do you think you’re going?? Do you see what it’s like out there? You’ll get killed out in that!” Lykou pointed out. As if to verify his point, another flash of lightning filled the cave briefly with blinding light as it struck nearby, accompanied by one of the loudest thunderclaps yet, making them both jump a bit.

Kuna glanced between the storm and Lykou a few times, then slowly slid down against the wall opposite him, looking defeated.

For a while, the only sound was the pouring rain outside. Somehow none of it was getting into the cave, despite some sizable puddles forming outside. And though lightning continued to flash intermittently, the thunder stayed low and more distant for the moment. It all seemed… alive, somehow. Kuna curled up a bit, sitting with his legs hugged against his chest. Eventually, Lykou broke the silence between them as they both started out into the strange chaos. “This is unlike any storm I’ve ever seen before.”

Kuna glanced at him, then back outside, choosing not to respond.

“I have a feeling we’re stuck in here for the night.” Lykou took off his chaser’s pack- a bag he’d had strapped to his back. It was just big enough to carry a blanket, some dried meat, a waterskin, and a few other odds and ends in case he should ever get stuck outside the village in a situation like this. On rare occasions, he’d specifically chosen to camp out under the stars in a secluded area when he wanted some time to himself. This was the first time he didn’t have a choice in the matter. He stretched the blanket out to let it dry- luckily the leather pack had kept most of the water off of it, but some bits were still a bit damp. Once he’d checked over everything and put back every item except the blanket, he paused and decided to put his knife and its sheath in as well, hoping to give Kuna some peace of mind. Then he settled back down closer to the back of the cave, further from the entrance and chilly air that was blowing in from it.

After that, he turned to size up his cave companion again. Kuna had been watching him unpack, but looked away when he saw Lykou returning his gaze. The poor guy was obviously starting to get cold, with how tightly he was holding himself, and starting to shiver a bit. His fur wasn’t as thick as Lykou’s, and the lack of clothing certainly didn’t help.

“Hey, it’s a little warmer back here,” Lykou suggested. But he received no response other than another wary glance. After another bit of silence, he continued. “You’re welcome to share my blanket with me. It’s more than big enough.”

Kuna continued not to respond. The only sign of life was his slight shivering and the glance- almost a glare- that he would shoot Lykou’s way each time he spoke to him. Eventually, Lykou gave up and sighed. “Fine. Be cold, then.”

For the next hour or so, they sat with only the sound of the pouring rain, howling wind, and rumbling thunder to fill the silence. Finally, even Lykou started to feel a chill himself, and went to check the blanket. One edge still had a slight tinge of dampness, but he figured it was dry enough and wrapped himself in it. Before returning to the back, he gently reached out to put a hand on Kuna’s shoulder.

The sereva reacted with a jolt and scrambled away from the touch, falling over on his side, immediately entering wide-eyed panic mode again. Lykou frowned and withdrew his hand. “For the last time, I said I’m not going to hurt you.”

Kuna curled back up again, glaring at him. “...still a predator…” he muttered, not taking his eyes off the canid.

Lykou gave him a flat stare in response, then sighed and reached for his bag. “Don’t panic, I’m getting my knife but not for you,” he assured Kuna. He pulled his knife back out, leaving the sheath in the bag. Then he once more sat, cross-legged, across from the sereva, facing him. He didn’t have to tell the guy to look at him, fortunately, since his eyes hadn’t left him since he started moving again. For a moment, he looked around the cave nearby. After a moment, he picked up a suitably interesting-looking and seemingly durable triangular stone. It was smooth and had a couple pretty colored stripes running across one side.

He wasn’t sure why he was about to do this for a total stranger, but… there was just something about this particular stranger that stirred something in him. Lykou had a pretty strong compassionate streak, but now he felt an even stronger than usual urge to convince Kuna he was trustworthy. To ease his worries and let him know that it’d be alright. The urge to do… something. And he could only think of one possible way that might just earn his trust, or at least acknowledge his sincerity. It was an old custom, rarely used anymore, but it was worth a shot.

He held out his hand with the stone in it, and the knife in his other hand, making sure he had Kuna’s attention. If anything, his audience seemed more fixated now than before, wondering what he was doing. He took a breath, then reached across and cut his own palm, causing Kuna’s eyes to go wide again. Lykou winced slightly. It was a small cut, but it still stung. His bleeding hand clenched tightly around the stone. “I, Lykou of the Lakefire tribe, swear on my blood and soul, that I will not harm you, Kuna.” He paused for a moment, then reached across with his cut hand. “Here. Take it.”

The air filled with a strange, subtle energy for a moment, but both of them were too focused to notice.

Kuna hesitated, but slowly lifted a trembling hand, if only because he was freaked out and didn’t want to potentially upset the strange predator that literally just cut his own damn hand to make some kind of oath. He held the now slightly bloody stone uncertainly after it was dropped into his hand and glanced nervously back and forth between it and Lykou.

Lykou took a spare piece of cloth out of his bag and quickly wrapped his hand. Luckily it was a small cut, so it’d heal quickly enough. “There. As long as you hold onto that stone, if I break that promise, my soul will be forever trapped in it when I die. And uh… I hate sitting around in one spot all day, so I won’t.” He smiled, hoping the little bit of humor would ease the tension.

“O...kay…” Kuna replied uncertainly, his hand hesitantly closing around the stone. His voice was no longer barely above a whisper, but he still sounded anxious. “...that was the… weirdest way to promise something, I’ll give you that.”

“So you’ll trust me now?”

Kuna remained silent for a minute. Then he sighed and turned his gaze downward, wrapping his arm back around himself alongside the other one. “Look, it’s… it’s n-not p-p-personal. I just… d-don’t do trust, r-really.”

Even as he spoke, his shivering was picking up again.

Lykou stared flatly at him for a minute, then smirked and put away the knife. “Right. That’s it.” Without warning, he spread his arms out, holding up the blanket, then suddenly swooped in and grabbed Kuna under it, pulling him in closer and towards the back of the cave.

The sereva boy immediately let out a… squeak, as he started squirming in a panic. But by this point the combination of the cold, the earlier run, and now all the tense unease had sapped away most of his strength. His eyes clenched shut in fear, and he expected the jaws of death any moment. But after a minute he stopped squirming and opened his eyes again, when he realized he wasn’t being devoured. Instead he just felt… warmer. Cozy, even. Once he took stock of his situation, he realized he was practically sitting in the konuul’s lap, his arms and blanket wrapped around him. And on top of that, he felt Lykou’s chin resting on his head.

“I’m not sleeping in a cave with a cold corpse, and that’s that,” he heard Lykou’s voice somewhat playfully say above him. “So stop being stubborn.”

Kuna was utterly bewildered, but also well beyond exhausted. And for the first time in… who knew how long, he felt strangely, well, comfortable. Nice, even. A faint blush tinged his cheeks as he sighed. “F-fine…”

They sat there for a while, listening to the storm continuing to rage outside. After some time, Lykou suddenly realized Kuna had drifted off to sleep sitting there, finally succumbing to his fatigue. He smiled and gently laid himself and his companion down on the ground in the flattest, smoothest area he could find, making sure to keep the blanket wrapped snug around them. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but at least they wouldn’t freeze. He then sighed and glanced back out at the storm. Whatever was going on, even if Kuna wasn’t a spirit, something supernatural was going on. He could feel it. And when he laid his head back down and closed his eyes, he fell asleep with a vague feeling that he was suddenly floating.