from his pale ones, and Ana offered a small smile. "Thank you," she whispered, looking up as a woman entered. Asthar cleared his throat, thanking the woman for letting them stay.

The new stranger had the skin of an old witch, rags of a poor woman. Her black hair was knotted beyond hope, and lavender eyes held flecks of gold. Mesmerizing yet ugly, though Ana would keep quiet other than a soft thanks. The woman introduced herself as Meridyth, gasping and bowing as soon as she laid eyes on the curly-haired girl. She stammered in an unknown language then rushed off. "What was that about?" Ana asked softly, Asthar looking over. "She will bring us food," he said simply. Ana knew there was more but didn't press, nodding slowly. When Maridyth came back, she brought warm stew for the two. Though the meat was unknown to her, Ana quite enjoyed the meal.

***

It was sunset when they left, and though it was dangerous at night, they had to make it to the village. Asthar had some friends there to help their guest, plus the Inn for rest.

Ana had fallen asleep when they get a room but had recently awoken, slipping down to the saloon to meet up with Asthar and his friends. None looked human, well, sort of. They all had purple eyes of some degree, with flecks of other colors. There were two girls, one with black cat ears attached to her head and a tail swishing behind her. The other had fiery red hair and wore armor while cat-girl wore a cape over her clothes. Ana learned that this planet was a diverse one, like Earth, but instead of skin color, it was species. The red-head was a dragon rider, and the cat-girl was her lover and familiar – like sidekick in the dungeons. There was a man with them with light brown hair who was said to be the guard in the kingdom.

Ana started to get flashbacks when the guard locked eyes with her. Nothing but blurs and him, and she had to grip the chair to keep from falling. When they finished, Ana let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "What was that, mate?" the red-head, Cherri, asked. Concern drawn on the faces of their company, "Just... visions, I think," Ana murmured when her voice steadied.

A cute, blonde waitress came walking up, getting everyone's order. Of course, Ana let Asthar order for her. When their drinks came back, it only took one sip before Ana's vision blurred and she was wobbling and giggling like crazy. That made Asthar worry, so he brought her back to the room, but every one of Ana's steps felt like a step backwards.

Then the floor came close, and her vision went out.

***

A small groan left Ana's lips as the sun broke through her sleep, a pounding headache shutting her up. She let out a breath and sat up slowly. Asthar was nowhere to be seen, but a seemingly golden panther laid on the floor. Ana was too tired of the alien world to care much, raising an eyebrow as she slipped out of her bed to her backpack for water. After she chugged it, she fixed herself into the clothes waiting for her on the chair: a new pair of underwear, a simple grey shirt, and some ripped up black skinny jeans, as well as some armor and jewelry, and a black cloak. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun, slipping on the gold leaf ring and adjusting the silver moon pendant on the choker she wore.

Once she was ready, she went down, followed by the panther, to the public part of the inn. Ana found Cherri and Lucky, the cat girl, already there and drinking with Asthar.

They welcomed Ana andlaughed as the panther turned into the guard from last night, Ethan. He grinnedat her and she gave a small nod, feeling awkward around him. Asthar chuckledand patted the spot next to him and Ana sat. Since the drink of whatever messedher up last night, she refused to drink anything. Everything in this place wasforeign to her, and she hated it. When she glanced at a menu, though, shenoticed one word that had been in