A new world is opening to you (part 2/2)

Birds chirping. It was the first thing getting him up. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling dazed. And heavy. As if he woke up from a slumber. He sat down, looking everywhere. There were trees and grass surrounding him, in a lush shade of green, with soft grass lying beneath him as well. The sun above was pretty high right now, and he could feel it stroking his skin, as he stood up. He checked his hands, then feet. Where was he…? Why was he dressed in sheets? Why was there a field-glass in here? And most of all… what happened? He remembered being on a little cloud, before feeling like he fell from a very high distance before dropping here. And the last thing he remembered… was his name.

Nathanaël.

Such was it.

He wasn’t sure of himself, but he was convinced it was something like that. And now that was sorted out, he better take a decision on what to do now. He would not be able to stay there for long. Instinctively, he walked deeper into that patch of trees, hoping to find some resources, anywhere. He took slow steps, turning his head to the side, with the grass softly thumbing beneath his feet. It was a particularly appreciative sensation, along with the wind gently lifting his blond locks. He made it until he could hear the relieving sound of water flowing just next to him. A river! That way, he might be able to find habitations and, who knows, people. He paced up just so to see the stream, then followed it to make it to a rather deep lake, with spots of flowers boarding the body of water, keeping it decorated. He smiled, then walked to them, bending down in front of them. He greeted them off while he sat in front of them. He closed his eyes and sniffed, so he could smell their flourish scent. He smiled to the contact of the flowers just atop his nose. Flowers had always made him… comforted, in some way. He felt as if they would make him feel safer. He stayed with them a while longer, until he decided it was time to go explore some more. He stood up, and picked some flowers with him. Now he did that, he turned around, and as soon as he started to walk, he fell face to face with a tall figure standing just in front of him. He jumped and screamed, then fell to the floor, dropping the plucked flowers. He held a tight grip to his chest, breathing heavily as he looked up to who was facing him. It was a young man, dressed in formal attire, and his raven black hair fading progressively to a bright shade of red, a part of it covering his right eye. He considered the man a moment, before relaxing, but not really. He was still a stranger to him, after all. Nothing became too sure for him. Was he there before? What took him there, and most of all, who was he really? The tall man then looked down to see him dropped on the grass, looking rather awkward.

“Oh… sorry to make you fall like this, miss,” he apologised.

“It’s… okay…” he slowly lifted himself up, dusting his ragged dress off.

“Here… let me help you with standing up.”

The stranger held his hand out. He hesitated, before taking it in his, and standing up with his help. And as soon as he looked back to his eyes, he felt a sudden sensation in his chest. It was as if a hand gripped on his heart and squeezed it tightly in its palm. He felt a great surge of dread submerging him, and he was fixating on the glimmering red eye meeting his, breaking a sweat from his temple. In just one second, he felt as if the world stopped revolving. His head spinned like a carousel, and he felt like his legs would give him up soon. As soon as he could feel them trembling, the man caught him in his arms, and asked him:

"Miss? H-Hey, Miss, are you okay?"

Those words were just enough to snap him out of his trance, now blinking and focussing back on reality. Did he really just hear what he said? Was it really these words coming out of his mouth?

"H-How dare…" he slowly stretched his hand away, then retorted: "How dare you call me a miss!"

The stranger blinked his eye in disbelief. He then looked apologetic.

"I… beg your pardon?"

"I'm not a miss! My name is Nathanaël… you can tell by it that I am a boy!"

"Oh dear- I apologise for assuming your gender so quickly. I could not tell from afar," he then bent down to him.

"Oh, it's okay! Everyone generally assumes I'm a girl due to my outfits… dresses are just so comfortable, you know!"

"I… see…" the stranger responded, while Nathanaël brushed the subject off.

"But, enough about me! Now you know about my name, could I get to know about yours?"

"My… name…?" he looked down, musing with his head on his chin. "I… don't reckon knowing it…"

"Whaaat? You don't know your name?" Nathanaël whined as he crossed arms.

"Well, you see. I don't seem to even know why I am here in the first place. Nor what I am doing here with you. Or what my name is, for instance. As if… I forgot it."

"Oooh… I think I get it," the blond boy mused. He, too, had a familiar experience just about now, after all!

"The only thing I remember is that it started with an A… A-something…"

"I have an idea! I'm going to help you with having a new name!"

"Oh… you would do that?"

"Yes! Let's see," Nathanaël thought out loud. "I like Adrian… if that can help you, I could name you that, the time you find back your true name! Moreover, I find it fits you well. I could call you Addie too, even! What do you say?"

"Heh. Surely I can go with that for the time being…" Adrian then addressed him a smile. "Thank you for that, Nathanaël."

"Haha, don't mention it! By the way, you can call me Nate, I don't mind that!"

"Alright then, Nate," the said boy smiled brightly at him before he could get the chance to ask: "So… how about we get out of this grove now?

"Sure thing! The earlier we get out of this place, the better it is!

With that agreed, both companions walked by the lake, countering it and going in a random direction, hoping to find an exit soon. The vision soon blurred out, as The Visionary stirred it away with their staff dipped into the Tempered Source.

"Now… who was that person?" they wondered out loud. "Just like Neige, I felt that dreadful sensation in my chest… perhaps have we seen each other once, somewhere precise?"