The dilapidated lean-to barely deserved the term "shelter." Misshapen branches leaned against a fallen log, draped with tattered animal hides. Slivers of sunlight pierced through gaps in the covering, creating a mottled pattern on the hard earth below. Orphaned children of the Silverglade Tribe huddled in the scant shade or lay listlessly on the uneven ground, seeking relief from the day's oppressive heat.
Among them, a young girl clad in little more than a ragged animal skin lay beneath a large hole in the hide roof. Arin's eyes fluttered open, consciousness gradually returning. Her body felt foreign, controlled by another.
She raised her hands to her face, pausing to scrutinize them closely. The hands before her eyes were not her own. They were smaller, childlike, with skin several shades darker than she recalled—a rich, golden hue she had never possessed. She flexed her fingers, observing the small digits obeying her commands.
A lock of hair fell into her face. She noticed it was no longer the straight black she was accustomed to, but a mass of wavy, dark brown strands. She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling its unfamiliar texture. The strands were coarse yet surprisingly soft, tangled from sleep and lack of proper care.
Arin slowly pushed herself up, her new body feeling different yet intriguing. The space around her came into sharper focus. The ground was bare earth, warm and dry, with no cushioning save for a sparse scattering of dried leaves. The air was thick with unfamiliar scents - smoke, sweat, and something earthy she couldn't quite place.
"Where am I?" Arin thought, her heart quickening with curiosity. "This isn't my room. This isn't Tokyo. What's happening to me?" Her mind raced, trying to reconcile her memories with her current surroundings. The stark contrast between the modern world she remembered, and this primitive setting was jarring.
"No way?! Transmigration??" Arin's mind reeled. She'd read about this in light novels and manga, but never in her wildest dreams did she imagine it could actually happen to her. The concept seemed so foreign, yet here she was, living proof.
She looked down at her body, draped in what appeared to be a crudely fashioned wrap made from a single animal skin. Nothing was familiar. It was if she had stepped into a new world, and the textures, smells, and sensations were vivid and real. The skin wrap was rough against her body, a far cry from the soft cotton clothes she was used to. She could feel every imperfection in the hide, every bit of coarse fur that remained attached.
"This is too detailed to be a dream," she thought, pinching herself and wincing at the sharp pain. "And if it were virtual reality, there's no way the sensations would be this intense."
"Okay, Arin, think," she muttered to herself. "If this is really transmigration, there must be a reason. A mission? A destiny to fulfill? Or am I just cosmically unlucky?" Her voice, barely above a whisper, sounded strange to her ears - higher pitched and with an unfamiliar lilt.
Cautiously, Arin made her way to what she assumed was an exit. Her legs felt wobbly, unused to supporting her new frame. She stumbled slightly, catching herself on one of the crooked branches that formed the lean-to's frame. The rough bark against her palm was startlingly real, scraping her soft skin and leaving a faint red mark.
She pushed aside a heavy flap of hide, blinking her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight outside. The world that came into focus was utterly alien to her. Structures that could barely be called huts dotted a large clearing. Some were nothing more than pits dug into the earth with crude roofs of branches and leaves. Others were simple teepee-like structures made of long poles covered with animal skins.
The clearing was surrounded by towering trees, their branches reaching towards the sky like gnarled fingers. The forest seemed to pulse with an energy of its own, a living, breathing entity that both awed and intimidated Arin. Birds of exotic colors flitted between the branches, their calls unlike anything she had heard before.
People moved about, their bodies barely covered by roughly sewn animal skins or simple wraps of coarse, handwoven fabric. The language that reached her ears was completely foreign, yet somehow, she felt she should understand it. It was if the words were just on the edge of comprehension, frustratingly out of reach.
Arin took a few tentative steps forward, her bare feet sinking into warm, soft earth. The ground felt strange beneath her, almost if it were humming with energy. Each breath filled her lungs with air that tasted wild and pure.
Fruits of impossible colors hung from nearby trees, their hues vibrant under the midday sun. Animals unlike any she had seen before scurried through the underbrush. She could have sworn some of them had eyes gleaming with an intelligence that seemed almost human.
"Where in the world is this?" Arin wondered, bewilderment filling her. "How did I get here?" The last thing I remember is... But she couldn't recall what had led to this moment. Her memories felt fragmented, like pieces of a puzzle that didn't quite fit together. The more she tried to remember, the more elusive the memories became.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ringing of a large stone gong. The sound reverberated through the air, causing a flurry of activity among the people around her. They rushed towards the edge of the forest, their faces eager and expectant. The gong's deep, resonant tone seemed to vibrate through Arin's entire body, stirring something deep within her.
Arin found herself swept along with the crowd, her smaller body jostled by the excited villagers. She tried to speak, to ask what was happening, but her voice came out a strange croak. No one seemed to notice her confusion or distress. The air was thick with anticipation, and Arin could feel the excitement building around her like a physical force.
From between the massive trees emerged a group of men and women, their bodies glistening with sweat. They dragged behind them an enormous creature that looked like a bear, but far larger and more impressive than any bear Arin had ever seen or imagined. Its fur was a deep, midnight blue, and strange protrusions jutted from its shoulders. The creature's size alone was staggering, easily twice the size of the largest bears she had known about in her previous life. Its blue fur seemed to ripple like water it moved.
The crowd erupted in cheers, their voices filled with joy and relief. Arin stood at the edge, her mind struggling to process everything she was seeing.
Without really knowing where she was going, Arin began to move. Her small legs carried her swiftly through the village, dodging between crude shelters and bewildered villagers. She had no destination in mind, only the instinctive desire to find somewhere quiet where she could think and try to understand what was happening to her.
The noise of the village gradually faded behind her. She found herself at the edge of the clearing, facing the dense forest that surrounded the village. The trees loomed before her, ancient and imposing, their canopy stretching high above.
Arin chose a spot just at the village's edge, close enough to the village that she could still hear distant sounds of activity, yet far enough to feel a sense of privacy. She reached the base of a massive tree, its trunk wider than any she had ever seen. Feeling suddenly exhausted, she sat down, her back against the rough, warm bark. The forest sounds enveloped her – the rustle of leaves, the distant calls of unfamiliar birds, the occasional scurrying of small creatures in the underbrush – all while the faint sounds of the village provided a comforting backdrop.
Finally allowing herself to fully process her situation, Arin let out a small, incredulous laugh. "Well," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, "this is one way to avoid Monday morning meetings."
Taking a deep breath, Arin attempted to analyze her situation. "Okay, let's break this down," she said to herself. "Stone Age-like setting, check. Primitive tools and shelters, check. But weird fruits, strange animals, and that bear..." She shook her head, struggling to reconcile her observations with her knowledge.
The laws of nature here seemed to operate on unfamiliar principles, if someone had reimagined the Stone Age in a fantasy setting. Arin's mind whirled with possibilities. Could this be some alternate version of the Stone Age? A parallel world where evolution took a different path? Or perhaps this was the far future, where humanity had regressed technologically but nature had evolved in bizarre new directions?
"Who am I?" she whispered, her voice sounding strange to her own ears. "What's happening to me?" The questions hung in the air, unanswered. The forest around her seemed to listen, leaves rustling softly if in response.
Arin sat there, her thoughts began to chase themselves in circles. Each new theory led to more questions, more impossibilities. She felt her heart rate increasing, her breath coming faster the enormity of her situation truly hit her. Panic began to set in, threatening to overwhelm her.
But then, almost quickly it had come, the panic subsided. Arin took a deep, steadying breath. She realized that no amount of theorizing or panicking would change her current reality.
"Okay, Arin," she said to herself, her voice firmer now. "You can do this. Take it one step at a time. First priority: survival. Everything else can wait."
Arin stood, and the forest seemed to shift around her. Leaves rustled in patterns that whispered like distant conversations. The gnarled bark of ancient trees twisted into faces that watched her with silent curiosity. The eerie sensation of being observed by the very forest itself sent a shiver down her spine.
Shaking her head, Arin tried to dispel the unsettling thoughts. "Note to self," she muttered with a wry smile, "if I start having full conversations with the trees, that's when I'll know I've really lost it."
A little unnerved by these fanciful thoughts, Arin glanced up at the sky visible through the canopy. The light had shifted, taking on the golden hues of late afternoon. Realizing how much time had passed, she decided it was time to head back. She made her way towards the village, the forest around her seemed to come alive with the approaching evening. With one last glance at the darkening forest behind her, Arin stepped out of the trees' shadow and made her way back into the village.