[hr] [h1]Ruined Inn[/h1] [hr] Okay. Calm down. Take a deep breath. Think rationally. This is a fantasy world, and it's not a dream. That much is abundantly clear. At this point, there's no choice, is there? I thought these sorts of things could only ever happen in fiction, but actually experiencing it before my eyes makes it clear that assumption was wrong. The only possible explanation is that I did, in fact, die when I fell during the emergency landing. That I was given a new body in a new world. To put it simply, I've wound up in a genuine isekai situation. There's not exactly another explanation for it. I clearly remember my original life, and I have no memories of any prior existence in this world. I can remember faces of people I know. I can remember the emergency landing clearly. Undeniably, this is me. These hands move when I move. Every motion I make, the cute elf girl in my reflection follows. Every little twitch of my facial expression. Seriously?! I was isekai'd and I ended up as a girl!? Why?! Why did it have to be the most awkward possible outcome?! How am I supposed to deal with this?! The mere fact that this new form is exactly the sort of girl that I'd like--- Someone just spoke behind me. Erk. On one hand, it's probably not for the best to be alone in a potentially dangerous new world when I have no idea what's going on. On the other, I would [i]really[/i] have liked a bit more privacy to come to grips with this new body. But that's going to have to wait. There's no reason to hesitate any longer, I might as well turn to face the person who just spoke to me. --- She's not a human. She's certainly made to look like one, but I can see those jointed figures. She's like some sort of moving bisque doll, complete with a frilly, fancy dress. And of course, she's taller than I am by quite a bit. Is she someone else in my situation? It's not like becoming something not normally considered to be alive is unheard of in isekai. Or is she native? I have no idea. I don't know how to even start asking. On top of that, someone else just showed up too. He's armored from head to toe, and seems completely lost. That makes it more likely he's in the same predicament I am, at least. Well, probably not [i]exactly[/i] the same... This is seriously a fantasy world. I'm seriously a tiny elf girl. From my slender limbs to my small, frail frame, my pointed ears, my long hair, my smooth skin. This is really me. I can't have a breakdown. I can't freak out in front of these people. I'd look completely insane. It's not like they know what's going on. It's not like I [i]want[/i] them to know what's going on. "... A-and you're a doll," I manage to stammer, in a dull and useless response towards the. Ugh, I'm totally freaking out. I can't hide it well at all. My hands are shaking. I'm breathing unevenly. My heartbeat is hammering. I'm trying not to think about every aspect of my new body and how it's different from my old one. I'm failing that task. I suck in air deeply, and try to clear my head, my gaze briefly drifting out the window. ... There's a few things I missed before. There's fortifications on the street, some of them having been smashed open. A lot of the buildings have been broken into too. The streets so signs of some overgrowth and disrepair. But worse then that--- There's bones. Shambling figures and bones. On top of everything else, of course I couldn't be isekai'd to some kind of peaceful starter town. It's the aftermath of some kind of warzone, and I don't like the look of the wandering shapes out there either. I take another deep breath as my attention returns to the other two. I don't know how to answer that question about my identity. Who would ever want to be open about this kind of situation? So I'll put that aside for the moment. What's going on here? "A-as for what's going on, I don't know any better than you." I managed to at least speak a full and coherent sentence that actually contributed to the conversation. Go me. You're doing such a good job. Erk. "H-how did you get here?" It's a blunt question and I can't say I didn't ask it clumsily. But sometimes being blunt is the only option. I can't see any other way to broach the subject. If they're also from a different world than this one, then at least I'm not the only one. If they're native, then maybe they can tell me what's going on. And why we're in a place like [i]this[/i]. [@FujiwaraPhoenix][@Rune_Alchemist][@Crimson Paladin] [hr] [h1]Forest Shrine[/h1] [hr] Out of everywhere someone could awaken after quite literally dying, a pleasant forest clearing surrounded by nature wasn't exactly the worst. As the trio awakened and got their bearings, they would be continuously serenaded by the song of various birds, and the gentle breeze and warm sunlight would provide them with a rather refreshing environment with which to come to grips with their situation. To put it simply, it could obviously be worse. The ruined building was definitely some kind of place of worship, though so long abandoned that it barely resembled a coherent structure at all. Far above them, one one of the tallest remaining peaks of the ruins, a single raven alighted and peered down at the unusual set of people below with its shiny, dark eyes. It seemed quite curious about these people who just appeared from no-where. It's not as if that happened with any kind of frequency, so perhaps it was only natural for one of the local animals to be confused. It let out a single, sharp caw, before taking flight and flying off and away from the ruins. Aside from that, nothing in particular seemed out of the ordinary. There was a somewhat distant scraping now, like something dragging along a tree, but that was probably just some kind of animal. [@FujiwaraPhoenix][@Raineh Daze][@Pyromania99]