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It hurts so much.
Johann has a hard time trying to breathe. He doesn’t even know where everyone is.
It’s so dark. It’s scary. And it hurts. Every single part of his body hurts, compacted in the rubble that resulted from an unexpected landslide. He can’t help but want to cry.
So he cries.
Johann can’t help but wonder. Why did this happen? He just wanted to have a bit of fun with Mommy and Daddy at the coast, leaving Trostenwald for a bit.
And then the rocks started falling, and then Mommy and Daddy were screaming, and they were all running.
Johann had blacked out when the first stone hit. There was darkness. And then he found himself surrounded by darkness.
He doesn’t know how long it’s been since he was knocked out. But he’s so scared. He’s so very scared.
Breathing gets harder and harder the more he squirms. It’s like he’s being choked by the rocks.
Johann cries out one more time, hoping for Mommy or Daddy to come and find him.
He begins to lose consciousness again. It’s too painful to stay awake.
His eyes begin to close.
A sudden noise gets Johann’s attention, pulling him back from the comfort of the dark.
Voices, from outside. Adults? Monsters? Adult monsters? No. They sound like people. They sound like…
Another voice rings out. This one sounds… angry. A roar rings out, followed by the rumbling and clashing of stone and metal. What’s happening out there?
The sounds soon stop. But it’s not entirely quiet.
Footsteps. Coming closer. Friend? Bad person? Who is it?
Johann hears the grinding of stone above. A good person, coming to his rescue? Or a bad person, coming to take him away? Where is Mommy and Daddy?
Suddenly, he can see light peeking through the stones. A little bit at first, and then more and more rays of light shine through.
There’s air. He can breathe.
Johann takes a breath. It still hurts, as he’s still buried. But even that pressure is soon gone as more stones are lifted away.
At long last, he can see the sky.
And above him, there are three people.
One of them is Mommy. Another one of them is Daddy.
And the last one… is that an angel? She looks familiar.
“Are you okay?” The angel asks him.
Johann doesn’t have an answer. He faints.
Some time later, Johann wakes up again. He’s no longer in the rubble.
He’s being held in Mommy’s arms, wrapped in a blanket and still hurting badly. They’re in the cart, he thought they lost it when the rocks fell.
Daddy is off to the side, having a brief talk with the angel lady. He can get a good look at her now.
Oh. Oh yeah. She was at that carnival back home, before things got scary and bad.
She looks so nice.
Johann coughs, finally able to breathe without too much trouble.
Daddy and the angel turn to him and approach.
“Are you alright, Johann?” Daddy asks him.
He nods. “I’m okay, Daddy.” He turns to the angel. “Did you save me? Are you an angel?”
Her face turns a little red, as if she’s shy. She’s so pretty. But he thought that angels had white hair. Her hair is black. But she still has the face of an angel.
“Yeah, I did. I’m glad you’re okay,” the angel says back.
Johann smiles at the angel. “I’m Johann. Thank you for helping me.”
The angel runs a hand through his hair. It feels so nice. “I’m Yasha. Glad I could help.” She turns to Daddy. “Is there a city past this point?”
“Yes,” he replies, pointing southward. “Nicodranas. One of the biggest cities along the Menagerie Coast. Still quite a ways away.”
Mommy then speaks up. “Are you heading there as well?”
The angel — Yasha — says to Mommy, “Um, yes, I am. I should probably—”
“We can give you a lift over there. It’s not too much trouble.”
Daddy nods. “Least we can do as thanks for saving our boy.”
Johann nods as well. “Please?”
Yasha looks at all of them, briefly looking as if she’s thinking about something before she nods back and climbs aboard.
Johann now has a better look at her. She’s strong, and tall. And she’s got a rather big sword across her back.
“So where are you from, Yasha? Don’t think I’ve seen you before apart from that one carnival.”
Yasha looks at Mommy and makes a bit of a face. “Um, well… I don’t really have much of a home right now. I just like traveling.”
“I see,” Mommy replies.
A bark suddenly rings out. Johann almost forgot about him.
“Simon!” He shouts as the little gray corgi pops up from the bundles of clothes in the corner. He barks again and makes his way over.
The look in Yasha’s eyes is a little wider, but filled with such cuteness. “Aww, a puppy!” She turns to Mommy. “May I?”
Mommy looks down at Johann. “Can she?”
Johann nods a little too quickly as he winces. He’s still hurting. “Ow ow ow.”
Yasha’s expression changes again as she reaches out. “Here, let me help.”
Her hand starts to glow with a warm light as she touches Johann’s forehead. It’s as if he’s floating at the Ustaloch on a hot summer day.
The ache in his head lessens. His eyes go wide.
“Wow.”
Yasha pulls her hand back and tilts her head. “What?”
“You really are an angel,” he says with awe.
Yasha looks like she’s about to say something else, but soon after Simon leaps into her lap. The lady immediately starts to hug and pet him, and gives him plenty of tummy scritches.
“I love dogs so much,” she says as she is just completely distracted by the puppy.
Johann just smiles. She is such a nice lady.
The cart continues its southbound journey to Nicodranas, with plenty of conversations and companionship along the way.