His surroundings were starting to come into focus as his awareness grew. The smell of wood burning nearby, meat and other things were adding to the aroma that was being picked up by his nose. There was a light pressure on him, not restraining but warming his body. Soft, yet, strong and durable, almost a second skin. Then, something caught his attention. A soft humming filled his ears, coming from somewhere nearby. The gentle sound was soothing and put his mind at ease. It helped bury the cold, lonely memories from before and guide him back to reality.

He lazily opened his eyes, it took a minute for him to adjust to the ambient glow. From what he could see, the glow was from a fire in the center of what appeared to be a wooden hut. The fire cast a warm light on everything, even casting a few shadows on the wall. One of those shadows was blocking the light of the fire. A person shaped shadow.

He tried to sit up, but just trying to move caused his weakened body to shake and manage to raise himself up a little bit. Only to flop back on the hammock that he was in, letting out a loud sigh as his head fell back onto the makeshift pillow.

Two triangle ears wiggled on top of the head at the sound he made. The shadow stood up and came towards him, slowly revealing itself as a young vixen, perhaps in her mid-20s. She came over to his side and placed a hand on his forehead.

“Don't try to move," She said in a soft motherly voice, rubbing his forehead. “Mm, at least your fever has gone down."

His eyes adjusted more as he looked at her. Despite the fact that they were just meeting for the first time, she felt familiar. She pulled her reddish brown hair away from her face, exposing the dark orange and white fur with black markings under her eyes that separated the two colors.

He groaned as he shifted in the hammock, taking in his surroundings. Everything looked alien to him, various clay pots and objects that were foreign to him hung from the rafters and other hooks. “Where… Am… I?.." he whispered to himself, “How… did I get here…"

He was surprised when she answered “You are in Chodus village, below the walled city of Thire-Rei." She sighed. “As far as how you getting here…" Her voice trailed off as she recalled the events. “All I am certain of is that there was a flash of light when I was down by the river. When I went to investigate, I happened upon you. You were near death and almost burning to the touch. I… I was worried that you might not recover from whatever had happened to you."

He sighed as he let what she had said sink in. He slowly leaned his body so he could look at her better. “How long ago, was that?"

 “It was…" She thought for a moment before finishing “about 5, 6 days ago." 

5 days… The spell certainly took its toll on his young body, and by the sounds of it, it would have killed him if she hadn't come across him when she did.

 “What's your name?" He gave her a puzzled look which took her by surprise, but she tried again. “My name is Adeia, what is your name?"