Whispers of the Beast Realm

Allmer

"Here, eat this," he said, holding up a marble. I stared at it with a question in my eyes. "For your injuries. It won't cure the deeper ones, but it will slow down the blood flow," he explained. I ate it, and it melted instantly in my mouth. Surprisingly, my pain eased a bit, and the wounds on my hands and legs stopped bleeding. The most astonishing effect was on my vision; I could see so clearly now, even the fine details of Allmer's eyebrows. "What was this? It fixed my blurry vision," I exclaimed.

"That was an emerald. Really helpful in curing any kind of injuries," he replied. It felt incredible. "Your name?" he asked. "Shira. And yours?" "Allmer," he answered. A decent name, I thought. After a moment of silent eating, I decided it was time to be straightforward. "Allmer, you saved me. What do you want in return? From what I've grasped till now, your world works on give and take." He seemed to expect this question. "Nothing really. Just tell me about your world for a few hours, and after that, I'll return you to the gates of your city."

It was an odd request, but easy for me to grant. "Alright," I said apprehensively. "What do you want to know?" I asked. After some thought, he said, "Tell me about inventions. The last thing I know is about black boxes that showed people of other places." Confused, I asked, "How do you even know about those?" His answer surprised me but also brought relief. "Snake men have the memory of their forefathers. One of my ancestors was the mate of a human. She used to tell him about her world."

Although it made some sense, I was still confused. "You mentioned an ancestor, but TVs aren't that old. I'm not sure if I'm thinking about the same thing as you are," I replied. Allmer chuckled, "Little one, you really are clueless, huh? Time flows differently in different worlds. One hour in your world is one year in this world. Even if you manage to go back to your world after 10 years, no one will figure out you were gone." That was great news; at least I wouldn't have to worry about being reported missing to the police. I'll just have to now contact and gather information from the Apes that live in the city of beasts.

I proceeded to tell Allmer about my world, my work in the technology industry, latest inventions, and how different my world was. He enjoyed the entire time, actively listening and asking questions. Several hours passed, during which he occasionally took me to a small pond outside the cave when I was thirsty. Despite my injuries, I slipped a lot due to being barefoot. When Allmer decided it was enough, he suggested I rest for a few hours before he would take me back. I honestly don't think this is paying back enough. He saved my life, was kind throughout and I just give him some Wikipedia information in return, but we'll if it pleases him.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask me to become your mate. From what other ladies told me, ferals, which I think are the cold-blooded beastmen who don't easily find their mates, often force women," I said, now feeling totally comfortable with him. We had chatted for so many hours, and he occasionally pointed out how foolish I'd been, so I took the liberty of teasing him about his albino look, though he explained that his kind of snakemen was indeed full white.

"Mhmm, I've lived so long, I've gotten bored. Not even the thought of having a mate amuses me now. Plus, I do have the memory of how my ancestors forced their mates. I don't want to repeat that tragedy," he explained solemnly. "How old are you anyway?" I asked, eager for more details about him. Before I could get an answer, a black shadow suddenly jumped past me at Allmer, digging its teeth into his chest and drawing blood. The unexpected attack added a tense twist to the scene.

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