To the Village of Beast People

Kaitlyn looked at the unconscious old man slumped over at the tree. "If he wakes up, won't he try to kill me again?"

Zell thought for a moment considering her words. "He might, but I doubt he would attempt it after the last time." He replied.

"You did throw him pretty far…" Kaitlyn looked at the devastation once more. "Oh no!" She screamed. "The elder is going to kill me! So many trees have been destroyed!" She jumped up to her feet and started pacing. "No, no, no, no" she continued.

"I'm sorry!" Zell bowed his head to her. "I have caused you trouble, but why would your elder blame you and not us?"

Kaitlyn stopped pacing as if she had run into a wall. "Oh, that makes sense." She sighed with relief. "I mean what would he have expected a little girl like me to do! Of course, if I would have stayed hidden you wouldn't have had to push that old man and save me. Oh! It's completely my fault! What am I going to do!"

"I found you," Zell explained. "You did nothing wrong, nor could you have done anything differently."

"I know!" Kaitlyn said. "I will take you both to the elder and you can explain that you broke the trees!" She walked over to the slumping Donovan and grabbed his arm. She started to walk into the tree line dragging his lifeless body behind her on the ground. All manner of dirt, twigs, rocks, and insects were finding their way into Donovan's robe and beard as she dragged him. She turned back to Zell. "Are you coming? The village is this way, the elder is the only one who might be able to wake this one up anyway."

"Okay!" Zell said with a head nod and quickly followed behind her. He watched as she dragged him and saw that he was getting increasingly dirty. "Would you like me to carry him?"

Kaitlyn stopped and dropped Donovan's arm. It landed on the ground with a thud. "Oh, right, sure, that makes sense." She said. She waited for Zell to pick him up and giggled at the result. "You look so funny carrying that old man with your tiny body. So, tell me Mr. claims to be a human, how are you so strong and fast and just overly crazy?"

"I have just always been that way." Zell answered.

"No magic ritual to bind your soul with a wandering god or spirit?" She asked.

"Not that I know of?" Zell said. "I have been this way since before I could even remember."

"So maybe they did it to you when you were a baby, and you just don't remember it!" Kaitlyn continued. "Would have to be a very powerful god or spirit, that's for sure."

"So that's a thing that can actually happen?!" Zell asked.

"Well sure." Kaitlyn said, surprised by Zell's lack of knowledge. "Although it takes a special person with the Vessel skill to survive the linkage. It is common among the beast tribes for at least one member of the tribe to be imbued with the power of a spirit. There was even one time a beast person had the power of a god."

"That's incredible." Zell said. "I honestly don't know if humans have anything like that. Today was to be my first day of school, but one thing led to another and here I am."

"With all your power did you expect it to be a normal day?" Kaitlyn looked confused.

"Well, I have always been able to hide it from everyone." Zell said. "I slipped up today, I wanted to be in the same class as my sister so that I wouldn't bring shame on my family, and I guess things went from there."

"Humans are weird." Kaitlyn said. "If I had unmatched strength, I would never hide it! The whole of the world would know of my name and what I was capable of! They would always greet me with cheers and humans would run away instead of attacking me! Yes, life would be great!"

"I have always felt like a monster in a glass world." Zell explained. "If I did not constantly control my power, I might destroy my city or kill those around me. I hid it because I just wanted to be normal, and I did not want anyone to treat me like the freak of nature that I am. I wanted them to see me as me and not the monster inside of me."

"I don't think you're a monster." Kaitlyn smiled. "Though I still say you are way too nice to be a human, are you really sure you are a human?"

"I have a mother and everything." Zell said in response.

The trees began to break, and Zell could see the outline of huts and buildings in the distance. "We are here!" Kaitlyn said. "Oh, and if you please refrain from destroying me and all of my people that would be awesome. Just tell the elder you broke the trees, ask him to wake your friend up and you two just vanish from here just like you came." She said extremely quickly.

"Alright…?" Zell was confused by Kaitlyn's extensive list of demands spoken at an outrageous rate. "I'll just follow you then."

Kaitlyn walked to the building at the center of the village, it was the largest by far. A cloth hung from the doorway, covering the entrance. The exterior was made of clay and wood. As she opened the cloth door she shouted, "Grandpa, I am home!"

"Are you alright?!" An older male's voice could be heard from inside.

Kaitlyn went inside and motioned for Zell to follow. Inside the building was a large room with a fire pit in the center. A hole was in the roof so that the flames would not torch the ceiling. Sitting next to the fire was an older beast man who resembled an elder lion, whose fur had begun to turn gray.