Rin and Zuan

Part 1: Corromin

Chapter 1: This beautiful new world!

  Life is a game.

  So let's go to another level!

  A bright ray of sunlight fell on his face. "Did the cat climb on the windowsill again and pull back the curtain? No, it seems to be closed normally.... Damn it, and where is it blowing from? And the ocean is noisy. Didn't the TV turn off again?" Rin was lazily thinking, having woken up from a bright ray falling on her eyes. I tried to turn around..., it hurt in my side, sand and small stones were clearly felt under my ribs. One eye opened lazily. What the...? Rin abruptly opened her eyes and sat up.

  From the amazing azure-green morning sky, two rising luminaries looked at her: a huge blue giant and a golden brother modestly peeking out from behind it. The sky shimmered to match the luminaries with a delicate sparkling haze, like mother-of-pearl, a thin veil of clouds spread out in graceful feathery strokes and filled with delicate pink and gold shades under the rays of the suns. Rin herself was on the edge of a narrow ledge jutting out from the eggshell-smooth rock. Far below, the ocean lapped, crashing in foam waves against the foothills of the mountains and disappearing into a shimmering haze somewhere out there, far beyond the horizon. The morning fog was still covering the coast with its fluffy blanket, making it impossible to see the coast and the forest rising like a fortress wall near the coast more clearly. You don't need to be a giant of thought to come to the only correct conclusion, and no amount of skepticism can explain the two luminaries in the sky and the three moons arranged in an exquisite circle around the star pair. No matter what this "common sense" says, no matter what the mind, nurtured on distrust and the logic of a "purely scientific approach" dictates, but the eyes cannot deceive. This is an alien world. And its reality is indisputable and uncontroversial.

  Rin hugged her knees with her arms, silently looking at the ocean. I didn't want to move or think... But there was no desire to go home either. It was funny, but this world didn't seem completely alien. Rather, unfamiliar. It's a stupid idea, of course. But... There was something to it. Strangely, there was no panic, as if someone was supporting her, convincing her that everything was fine, everything was as it should be. Apparently, the craze for fiction and similar genres of literary and gaming creativity has affected. But, oddities are oddities, and it is necessary to go down. The morning has just come into its own and you can do a lot in a day. Something insistently told her that she needed to quickly descend from the mountainside and by nightfall have a safe and inaccessible shelter from the ground.

  The girl stood up, shook off the pebbles with fine sand from the sides, and looked down wistfully. It's at least twelve meters to the water. Upon closer examination, the narrow ledge turned out to be a banal rock outcrop, and its length was no more than four meters. The wind was blowing harder and harder, it was getting cold, and the rising stars did not give much warmth. Rin shivered. And the water is likely to be very cold. As always in the morning. However, there wasn't much choice, and Rin took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and jumped off the cliff.

  She had never been a good swimmer, much less a tower jumper. But someone's will forced her to change the position of her body in the fall, carefully enter the water and come to the surface. Rin was desperately afraid of deep water, but here the familiar state of panic did not come from childhood. Or rather, he was simply overwhelmed by someone else's will, forcing him to swim to the coastal rocks. Rin did not resist this intervention, just diligently kneaded the water with her hands and feet, gradually approaching the desired cobblestones. And it didn't seem like someone else's interference either. As if this was the way it should be, as if this someone had every right to interfere in her actions and give such intuitive orders.

  Rin was very cold, swallowed water that turned out to be only slightly brackish, and to top it all off, she tore the skin off her leg, slipping on algae clinging to a rock. The morning started amazingly.... Rin sat on top of a rock, hugged her knees with her arms and settled down to dry off under the rays of the sun, staring blindly at the darkening silhouettes of the mountain range.

 

* * *

  Chiinar removed the window. For several long seconds, he looked at me with piercing blue eyes, without saying a word, without moving. I knew that he was calculating his and my capabilities in a direct fight. I had a chance in a one-on-one fight. And he knew it.

  Vladyka sighed. Straightening a lock of milky-white hair that had fallen over his eyes, he grumbled:

  "The girl is very interesting. The adaptation is the strongest. As far as I understand, she has already established contact with Azzar."

  "Undoubtedly."

  "Who is the second of the pair?"

  "I don't know."

  "You don't know?" Chiinar was surprised. "Did you put your Power on the line without knowing who was playing for you?"

  "I know the race. But I can't identify the identity."

  "Is he human?"

  "No. That's the whole point."

 

* * *

  It was not difficult to reach the shore by jumping over rocks or swimming across small gaps. The alien presence felt like a barely perceptible ringing thread, as if someone had pulled the thinnest wire and hung a tiny bell on it. It seemed like pull a string, pull it harder, and someone on the other side would answer. Rin shook her head. What kind of strange thoughts are these? If you follow the logic, the thoughts are really stupid. But... if you follow the same logic, then the alien world is just a figment of her sick imagination and the result of yesterday's protracted raid and games until morning for almost a month. However, this figment of a sick imagination bit painfully into a plump ass with sharp stones and blew a light breeze through a wet body.

  The most annoying thing in this situation is the banal lack of clothes. And, even worse, shoes. She was only wearing what she went to bed in yesterday. It was a good thing it was cold in the room, and she fell asleep in a long T-shirt. Besides, her watches and trinkets had moved with her-she'd forgotten to take them off. It's not interesting at all to climb around someone else's world naked. I had a nasty urge to cry. What's the use? The girl sighed. Wiping away an uninvited tear, Rin got off the rock and swam to the shore, which was densely overgrown with a pretty golden shrub.

  The trees in this forest were worth a separate description. Rin had never seen anything like this before. It seemed that even a gigantic sequoia would turn out to be a thin and stunted tree next to these gray giants. Each tree grew out of a veritable mound of blue moss, its trunk as smooth as a telegraph pole, and just as smooth. The first branch was barely visible, merging with the crown somewhere far away, in the gray-green haze of the crown. Rin estimated that the lowest branch she had seen began at the eighth or even ninth floor level. She couldn't even approximate the height of the tree itself. Fortunately, the trees were densely overgrown with vines and ivy, so it was difficult to climb if desired, but quite realistic. However, none of the trees she saw aroused a desire to settle on it, and Rin continued on her way to the side... The girl stopped. But actually, where is she slapping so cheerfully for the second hour? The answer surfaced by itself — to the river. Well, to the river, so to the river, although she did not see any signs of any other body of water besides the ocean — at least the sound of the surf gave it away. But the confidence was just unshakeable. There will be an exit from the forest and a river in half an hour ahead.

  The forest ended as abruptly as it had begun: the trees did not grow smaller at all, they simply did not grow beyond the invisible border, only the golden shrubbery pushed aside the various grasses of the plain, making their way in groups to the river. All the vegetation of this world that the girl encountered on her way had little in common with the plants of her native Land, although it was so similar that it did not cause a sense of alienness, creating a harmonious picture of another world untouched by civilization. Huge trees with smooth gray bark and delicate green round foliage, narrow light green grass with blue polka dots, in which small forest flowers grew abundantly, a diverse guard of vines and ivy from white to red contributed to the shimmering kaleidoscope of this strange forest. The shrub, confidently dominating the forest, had blue-black glossy twigs, so smooth and shiny, as if it had been carved from obsidian. It grew in extensive thickets of brown moss. The leaves grew only at the very tips of the branches, which made it seem as if a fluffy blanket of thousands of heart-shaped leaves had been thrown over the plant. In some places, the shrub bloomed with large black and red flowers, descending in lush clusters to the ground. With a certain madness of coloring, the forest produced a warm and pleasant impression, it looked completely healthy and exuded the power of a pristine, untouched intelligent race of nature. Perhaps there are no representatives of a civilization in this world at all that can leave its mark on the planet.

  But the same inexplicable certainty proved: there is a highly developed civilization here! Or its individual representatives. Or maybe she just wanted to believe it?

  Rin froze in place. Was it just my imagination? The movement was barely perceptible at the limit of vision, as if ripples had passed through a dense blanket of leaves. Maybe it's just the wind? The girl crouched down and glared at the bush, as if it were the most important and valuable thing in her life at the moment.

 

* * *

  The magic screen flickered: the fading decay was still disrupting the tracking systems. The red-haired girl walked briskly through the forest, not paying the slightest attention to the animals around her. However, the animals posed no danger. At first glance, everything was fine: the transfer was successful, the girl adapted and had already discovered a connection with Azzar. But... She's more vulnerable than ever.

  According to the rules of rin"agarumm, I have the right to interfere in the course of the game three times. Usually, these priceless three interventions were reserved for the most extreme case... and they lost. It was precisely because of the rigidity of the rules and the high probability of failure that rin"agarum was not popular and was considered a step of desperation. I've thought about this strange circumstance many times. It seems that all the conditions are favorable: the opportunity to choose strong figures with almost no restrictions, full protection from interference from the opposite side, the right of the wards to use any forces and artifacts that they can get... everything is good and beautiful. But almost always the side that demanded rin"agarumm lost. Perhaps it's not the rin "agarum" itself, but the misunderstanding of it? Perhaps you should do something else? Should we intervene now, at a time when the Tandem is at its most vulnerable and fragile? While they still can't and can't do anything? Perhaps it's not worth waiting for the moment when things will go so far that the personal intervention of the Master will be required for the survival of the Tandem? This idea interested me. But what if...

  This should work!

  I turned my gaze to the pretty girl who was so helpfully shown on the screen. It is useless to search for Azzar — the search may be erroneous or damage him. But it's worth working with istaya. The girl is talented, that's for sure. But what is her talent? I didn't know that, and it's impossible to determine the quality of the force now. Her gift is not even activated, buried under layers of genetic seals and moral prohibitions. But what if all these layers are removed and she gets access to her reserves and potential? What will happen then? Give her a quick start while the world is new and unfamiliar to her, rather than letting her development take its course. No wonder my father told me: "That which does not sink floats by itself."..

  In any case, it's hard to imagine a situation that could be worse for me than defeat. Unless it's disembodied. But the Great City accepted them and allowed them to bring together a Tandem, which means that the Tribunal of the Ages did not threaten me. Of course, I could have been wrong to bet on the wrong ones. I could have lost tritely by putting an untrained Tandem into the meat grinder of the Game. They can be killed before entering the First Gate.

  I dismissed such thoughts. This is not going to happen. I did not have precise knowledge: the Lords do not have, and never will have, the gift of foresight, so I could only rely on my intuition and the long-standing prediction of an old fortune teller, given to me during my human life. Stupid? Undoubtedly. But the very idea of a man becoming a Ruler was stupid and insane. And yet.

  Perhaps it's for the best that the reset of reality exposed my boundaries and provoked a neighbor's attack. Now I have a chance to initiate my Tandem in front of everyone, and even do it legally and with the approval of the Eternal City. And I took this chance.

  Well, baby, let's see what kind of monster I'll release from the depths of your soul.

  Funnily enough, initiation is an easy and instantaneous process. I just touched it, breaking the blocks and seals, giving freedom to the raging golden ocean of power. At the last moment, I was confused by the color and activity of her power, but it was too late to change anything and I had to wait for the result.

 

* * *

  Bush. A big beautiful bush. Rin had been staring at him for half an hour now. Twirling a lock of red hair around her finger, she sat silently, almost motionless, on the grass under the shrubbery. Finally, a bunch of leaves trembled and flowed, wrapping around a large red and black flower. There was something so special about these leaves... some kind of shape was hidden in this shapeless bundle. Something like that ... The elusive! A gust of wind shook the branch, the leaves fell down in a golden shower, revealing a chiseled head on a thin flexible neck. The animal squeaked, fluttered, thin webbed wings opened, and a tiny, barely palm-long dragon flew into the air. After scurrying for a minute, the animal dug into the leaves, quickly tearing them off the branch until it completely disappeared into a pile of leaves, merging with the crown of the bush.

  Rin chuckled. A baby dragon. Wow. Tiny, feathered, but undoubtedly a baby dragon. Now that she knew what to look for and how to look for it, she easily found a dozen more such piles. I wonder if kids are plucking bushes like that, then how fast should the leaves grow?

  Gradually, the dull dullness passed. The mind has reconciled itself to the alien world. Fatigue set in. Heavy, oppressive, oppressive. In an instant, she lost everything she had. Home, friends, family, everything. But at the same time, she got... what? A chance? An opportunity? Rin deftly caught a bunch of leaves. The baby dragon squeaked frantically, but the girl held on tightly. The leaves fell like golden confetti on the stone, and the dragon struggled violently, squeaking thinly. Rin did not move, and so the animal stopped its desperate attempts to free itself. He felt the warmth of the body and the presence of someone else, the unfamiliar smell unnerved him, but at the same time he felt... safety. And soon he calmed down, curled up in his palm, covered with thin wings. The girl gently stroked the back, barely touching the feathers with her finger. The dragon twitched, jumped up, looking around and squeaking. Rin stroked the wing. The animal squeaked, twitched, but did not bite. The small mouth only settled on the finger, but the jaws did not clench. Rin opened her hand, giving the baby freedom, and the animal immediately shot into the air, chirping and squeaking furiously. Tiny heads rose from the heaps of leaves all over the bush, watching their brother with interest. The little brawler screamed at the top of his tiny lungs, spinning in the air, his friends were chatting and chirping, a couple even took off, joining the first dragon, the animals were spinning in the air, sometimes hovering in one place, and looking closely at the girl sitting motionless on a rock.

  Somewhere out there, in the thick of the bushes, a thin, high-pitched squeal was heard, immediately picked up by other animals. The little dragons became alarmed, darted around, and from somewhere above, from under the crowns, a dark shadow rapidly swooped down. A bird? The kids darted into the bushes, disappearing into a cap of golden leaves, leaving three baby dragons and the brawler in the air. A quiet panic began among the animals, the little dragons darted around, one darted into a gap between the piles of roots, the second into the dark moss, and the remaining two pulled... to Rin. They were almost there when a dark shadow took shape-something that looked like a cross between a bird and a bat, spreading its paws, falling down without a single sound. Rin didn't know why she did it. At some point, she felt sorry for the golden animals, and she slapped the predator in the face. The "bird" turned out to be a fragile creature, and even such a slight blow was serious for him. The predator flew away, falling on one wing.

  The little dragons were silent for a while, hiding somewhere, and then... They chirped, beeped, and chattered. Almost the entire population of the surrounding shrubbery gathered around Rin, the most brazen perched on their shoulders and heads, the rest circled in the air. Are they really that gullible? It turned out — not so much. They were sitting, but they wouldn't fit in my hand. Undeterred animals... clearly didn't know what a human was. On the one hand, it's good. With another... Apparently not here... people. On the one hand, it's good. With another... Apparently not here... human.

  The river was discovered quickly. Seven minutes walk from the edge of the forest and here it is — a deep and wide river, lazily rushing its waters to the ocean. The local reed variety was actively growing along the shore, completely blocking access to the water with a wall of tall elastic stems. In some places, there were clearings in the undergrowth, trampled by local wildlife to the water: the river was popular, and the chance of running into a thirsty animal was very high.

  By this time, the star couple was godlessly hot, although it was still far from the middle of the day, and it was getting uncomfortable under the bright sun. My stomach, accustomed to getting breakfast in the morning, demanded food, my bare feet ached and pinched in small scratches, and my head felt hot. The situation is lovely.

  Pushing aside the vegetation, Rin climbed out onto a wide stone extending into the water. The reeds provided enough shade to protect themselves from the scorching rays, and large fleshy leaves with sides resembling a palette in its classic oval design floated near the shore. In some places, arrows with large red flowers and black cones of delicious fruits stuck out between the leaves.

  They're poisonous.

  The confidence is just ironclad!

  Impenetrable.

  She might have thought the same thing when she saw a pale toadstool. But the rather vile-looking slimy yellow balls floating in the water on faded antennae caused profuse salivation and a hungry "brrrr" of the stomach. On second thought, it was the yellow stuff that looked the most unappetizing. But, again... the same stupid conviction. Rin, ignoring logic's screams in the shower, stretched out her leg, hooked a pale spirochaete tendril with her fingers, pulling the ball towards her. I got it. The tendril turned out to be unusually strong, it didn't even stretch, but the ball fell off with a rather unpleasant dancing sound. Releasing the tendril, Rin peeled off one of the palette-shaped sheets and placed a yellow slimy ball on it. It felt even more disgusting than it looked. There, on the "tray", went a bunch of blue balls, stripped from some underwater plant and ... a large beetle. Very big. If not for the same confidence in its edibility... Catching a black beetle the size of its head... Brrr! And what mandibles he has... Mommy! Rin pinned the beetle by its shell with her foot and carefully tore off its head. It will bite again... And then you won't know what to treat or how to treat it. Tearing off two more very strong and tough leaves of local water lilies, Rin picked up her prey, kicked the severed head into the river, and crawled out from behind the reeds.

  Two attentive yellow eyes were looking at her from the grass. Round, with vertical pupil. They're cold. Evaluators. The eyes of a predator. On a green furry muzzle. The mouth, generously studded with teeth, cut this very muzzle from one round salad ear to the other.

  Rin's heart skipped a beat. Apparently, her journey in the new world will end quickly and sadly. Rage rose from the depths of his soul, fueled by despair and someone else's anger, filling with a black wave of rage. Yes, like... this... green... the furry one... It dared... A low, hollow growl was born somewhere under the diaphragm and, fueled by rage and despair, burst out. Rin, this cute fluffy red-haired creature, growled low, aggressively, menacingly, leaned forward, looming over the predator crouching to the ground. A wave of light came from Rin. The gray eyes glared at the yellow ones with a heavy, angry stare, the beast hesitated, his eyes widened even more, his gaze darted. The animal was completely confused. What kind of strange creature is this? And the girl swung at the feline and screamed:

  Get out of here, you green face!

  And the beast... He ran, squealing in fright. There was a strange rumble in Rin's voice. Inconspicuous, almost indefinable, but... tangible.

  The grass only moved behind the beast, and Rin sank heavily to the ground. My heart was pounding in my chest, trying to pop out, burst, my blood was pumping adrenaline through my veins, and my head was pounding heavily. Damn it! And it could have ended very sadly! She needs a weapon. No. She needs a weapon! Gradually, the jitters passed. She stopped shaking, her thoughts stopped racing across the fields, and she calmed down a little.

  Rin shook herself and cheerfully ran towards the forest. It's not far to the mouth of the river, and there's a forest, and the ocean, and such convenient stones. Her feet splashed on the grass, it was easy to run, and after another ten minutes, Rin snuggled down on a rock by the water.

  After sorting out the loot, she gathered dry twigs and pieces of bark, built a small fire on the ground near the stone and, twisting the lens from the watch as she was used to hiking with her brother, carefully caught the rays of the sun in focus and froze. A bright point of light touched the bark. The gray surface quickly turned black, and a thin smoke appeared. Now the smoke became thicker, the first reddish reflections appeared, Rin blew cautiously, and again, and again, and finally, a timid flame flared up, and after a couple more minutes a small bonfire was burning merrily on the ground. How to roast a yellow ball, Rin found it difficult to say. After thinking about it, she let the fire burn out and placed a beetle and a washed ball wrapped in a thin leaf of some kind of plant directly on the glowing coals. And she sat down to wait.

  After a while, amazing scents began to float. The girl turned over a beetle and a half-charred leaf with a stick. Half an hour later, reasonably thinking that everything was ready, she rolled a beetle and something half-burnt onto a fleshy leaf. The beetle was left to cool. Rin carefully unwrapped the sheet, burning herself, blowing on her fingers. The yellow filth turned into a golden fragrant ball! Peeling off the burnt skin, Rin reached the appetizing-smelling porous fluffy mass. It tastes like the freshest bread fresh from the oven! Fishing out a pellet at the bottom, Rin pinned the beetle. The shell cracked and gave way on the third blow. After uncovering the insect, the girl got to the juicy whitish meat. A great lunch! Delicious, somewhat similar to chicken spicy meat, porous fruit... Lovely! A familiar chirp sounded from the nearby bushes, and a pair of feathered dragons glided onto a rock. Rin smiled. The beggars. So trusting? Or do they just know that they won't be offended? The girl threw a piece of an aquatic plant on a stone, and the dragons did not refuse the treat. Rin let the meat cool down and slowly fed it to the animals. They stole the meat on their own, gnawing off the torn pieces of chitin. Rin thoughtfully watched the dragons chewing enthusiastically.

  "What should I do, kids? What?"

  The day was slowly declining towards evening, the suns were sliding towards the horizon, the sky was slowly darkening, the first stars shone in the north. The forest was noisy, animals shouted at each other, birds chirped, insects chirped, squeaked and chirped. Life went on as usual. Night was approaching. It's hunting time. Rin seriously thought about staying the night. Spending the night on earth is idiotic! She remembered the green cat and those vague shadows in the forest twilight, at the approach of which life stopped.

  One of the nearby trees was so thickly wrapped in ivy and all kinds of climbing parasitic plants that it was quite realistic to climb it. Tying a leaf with the remains of the meal into a bag, Rin approached the tree, tilting her head back, examining the plants on the trunk. She tugged. They held on tight, but she additionally reinforced them with light. Hanging the leaves around her neck on a rope woven from grass, the girl carefully climbed up, expecting at any moment that the ivy would start to break. But the climb went without problems, and soon she was sitting astride a thick branch. At least some semblance of security. Even if it's a similarity. Climbing onto the upper branches and choosing a very nice fork, I twisted the gap between the branches in the manner of a hammock and lay down to sleep. There was a gap in the canopy just above her. Lying on her back, she looked up at the stars. To the alien scattering of constellations, brighter and more juicy than on such a distant Earth. The red moon hung in the sky in her sight. Beautiful, gloomy, scarlet... A haze of bright stars. How beautiful! A nearby nebula spread its tendrils across the sky, coloring the night with a fantastic lilac glow...

  One of the stars blinked with green fire, flickered, shining brighter and brighter. As if approaching. Rin braced herself. The star broke into a scattering of green lights, dark shadows blocked out the stars, and not a single extraneous sound! A moment later, a black predatory shadow rushed over his head! The cold steady fire of the engines, not a single sound! The fighters! More, and more, and more, and more! Seven elongated sharp-nosed shadows! The wedge raced over the forest and sped off into the distance. There was a distant explosion, and the night was lit up by the glow of fires. A flash, the screech of gunfire, the roar of explosions... and suddenly — silence. It took no more than a minute. Sudden attack, explosions. That's all. Rin clutched the branch convulsively. The fighters! The war! The world is not only inhabited, but also inhabited by a warlike people... The questions arose on their own, and along with the questions, anxiety was born. An animal can be predicted, its actions can be predicted. He can be understood. But it's much more difficult to understand and even more difficult to predict another reasonable one!

  A quiet voice sounded faintly, drowning in the sounds of forest life:

  "Who are you?"

 

* * *

  Early in the morning, Rin was awakened by the roar of a ship flying at low altitude. Early in the morning, Rin was awakened by the roar of a ship flying at low altitude. Not an airplane, but an aerospace ship! The sharp-nosed miracle of someone else's technology passed overhead and disappeared into the mountains, leaving behind a terrifying roar. Rin, covering her ears with her hands, gently wished the ship to stick into the nearest rock.

  The rumble of the engines stopped. Rin breathed a sigh of relief. The sound of a broken string sounded clearly in my head, an explosion thudded in the mountains, and a puff of black smoke rose into the air.

  Rin's jaw dropped. For a few seconds, she just stared at the smoke cutting through the blue morning sky. It was real. The ship exploded. Fact.

  The girl swallowed.

  "I didn't mean to..." shaking her head, she corrected herself: "No. I just wanted to. Is this a coincidence?"

  The answer was a column of black smoke, disappearing into the sky with a mute reproach. Rin felt guilty, which, however, quickly faded. The girl stretched. A wonderful new day was beginning!

Chapter 2. The Green-eyed killer

  When meeting neighbors, it usually sounds like a cross between "Good afternoon" and "Absolutely fucked up."

 

  The week slipped by unnoticed in the worries of food, housing arrangements and exploring a new world. Rin thoughtfully arranged herself in a tree: the same fork high in the crown became the base of a small hut, woven in two days. There was no time — drown! The day turned out to be three hours longer, the nights were quite short, eight to nine hours each, and daylight and prolonged twilight provided a lot of useful time. Besides, Rin could see perfectly well at dusk and in the dark.

  A hut appeared first, and the next day a small hammock woven from the pale tendrils of a yellow-fruited plant replaced the pile of overstuffed reeds. The same mustache, which turned out to be very long and unusually strong, was used to build a rope ladder and to form the basis of new clothes. It's amazing how much you can do in one day! The three— or even four-meter "mustache", drying out, did not lose its elasticity and were simply irreplaceable! Rin learned how to pull them out carefully so as not to damage the tubers of the plant, from which new tendrils grew two days later, replenishing the building materials for the rapidly growing dwelling high on the tree.

  The locals turned out to be quite active, and Rin watched the fleeting aerial battles several times. Usually, the skirmishes took place over the mountain range itself or in the immediate vicinity of it and did not cause much trouble, but still did not allow them to relax. The whole thing was happening so far and high up that it wasn't even necessary to hide. Theoretically. It was simply impossible to determine which races were at war by ships, and there was no desire to get to know each other. There was no doubt that these were different races-their ships were too different. It wasn't a matter of differences in details, outlines, body contours, or models. No. There was a COMBINATION. A kind of unity, a kind of community that does not even give reason to doubt the differences between the creators.

  Rin spent most of her free time on the rocks, looking at the pretty white beach, which was covered with smooth, as if sifted sand. It's a beautiful beach, no matter how you look at it, but it's populated by local predators. It was only necessary to throw a twig on the white sand, as the beach exploded with exuberant search activity. The mass of tentacles carefully examined the disturbed area until it found the cause of the disturbance. Only after figuring it out did the colony subside. What the creatures ate, Rin couldn't figure out-she hadn't seen a single successful hunt in all that time. However, it is quite possible that the main diet consisted of nocturnal animals, and Rin sat very high in a tree at night.

  One day she went to the place where the fighters broke off at night. It was impossible to make a mistake -the burnt ruins had just begun to overgrow with grass. She spent almost an hour climbing through the ruins, not venturing deep into the underground buildings. There was something repulsive about these black corridors, deformed by the explosion and scorched by fire. Intellectually, she understood that there were no nasty creatures or undead creatures there — the dead were dead, and animals would not enter an abandoned house burned by such a fire. The smell of burnt plastic, melted metal, burnt rubber and vile decay is too strong. But something in the depths of his subconscious prevented him from descending into the underground levels of the destroyed base. The mind knew that there was something useful to be found in the surviving corridors, but... She couldn't get in. That invisible adviser ordered: "Don't you dare!" And she didn't dare. We managed to find a magnificent knife at the top and peel off a relatively flat sheet of tin. It was not possible to properly explore the ruins — a pot-bellied transport emerged from behind the forest, clearly taxiing to land in the ruins. Rin left quickly, not expecting anything good from such a meeting. The ship stood for three days, after which it flew away, and a column of flame rose into the sky after it. When Rin went there again, she saw only a huge melted funnel.

  It was a beautiful morning! The pearly sky with transparent pinkish clouds is of stunning depth, the double luminary proudly shines above the horizon, a gentle breeze blows over the skin, the rumble of waves... beauty in one word. Rin still had that wonderful time when everything had not yet had time to get tired, the change of environment was pleasing, and the world had not lost its beauty and attractiveness. The steady feeling of calling warmed the soul, for some reason driving away sad thoughts of loneliness and satisfying the human being's craving for communication. She has developed a completely nasty habit of telling an invisible interlocutor about her pleasures and troubles. The mental conversation warmed my soul, the call became more and more regular, there were no answers, of course.

  Distant thunder rumbled in the mountains. Rin roused herself. Thunder? What the hell kind of thunder! The explosion! And not far away! A puff of smoke rose up the slope. Okay, that's interesting. The girl glared at the rock, sincerely regretting her brother's binoculars, lying forlornly somewhere at home on her desk. But still, it was possible to sort out the general situation. A fairly narrow ledge wound along the rock, descending in several steps. It was on the lower one that she blinked a week ago. A man was running fast along this very ledge. Or not a person, it's impossible to tell at this distance. He was being chased by animals with the size of a passenger car and the agility of a domestic cat.

  Since Rin couldn't see the fugitive or the creatures chasing him, she could only watch them. And she wasn't sure she wanted to see this one... a man nearby. For some reason, there wasn't a shadow of a doubt that it was a man. Why would that be? Propping her head on her fist, she silently watched the vertical jumps, mentally touched by the dexterity of the stranger. At the very least, he could jump off at any moment, because it's very deep down. I checked it myself. Personally.

  As this thought lazily crawled to its end and took shape in his head, the stranger abruptly turned around and jumped down. My heart skipped a beat for a moment, beating faster, harder. It's him! He is the source of a strange obsession, this incomprehensible call that has been stirring her all these days! But... My hand flashed with pain, as if something toothy was clutching with a death grip, a series of angry obscenities in a foreign and such native language flashed through my head. He was probably bitten by that toothy worm, which has been unsuccessfully hunting it for the fifth day! Rin felt someone else's irritation and rage. The bite sensation disappeared, and the creature seemed to have been killed. The warrior has survived and is swimming to shore. TO THE SHORE! There are those tentacled creatures!

  "Don't step on the white sand!"

  "I won't step on it." A silent reply came. Calm, without a shadow of surprise or doubt.

  "Go out on the rocks."

  There was no response, but after a few long minutes, someone splashed water on her back. Rin turned around.

  He sat on a rock, dangling his legs into the water, and silently examined it. A blind helmet covered the face up to the chin, turning into a scaly collar, matte-black armor covered the body from neck to toe, repeating the shape of all the curves of the muscles, twisted black saber hilts protruded above the shoulders, weapons and ammunition fitted to the body so as not to interfere... Warrior. An outsider.

  He silently took off his helmet and set it on a rock. Without a single sound, slowly, calmly. So as not to scare. Rin sat down, hugging her knees, silently peering into his face. Into the handsome pedigreed face of a hereditary aristocrat, into the large slanted eyes of the amazing pure color of spring foliage. And cold as the depths of space, appraising, attentive, intelligent, burning in the depths of wild, primal rage. Pointed cat ears, covered with short black red-speckled fur with a long tassel at the end, peeked out of long blue-black hair, quivering a little from the rage overwhelming the warrior.

  The warrior cocked his ears, smiled thinly, and said:

  "Your help was timely."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I didn't know it was safe to jump off." He jerked his foot out of the water, and the creature's jaws snapped in vain. "There's nowhere else to run." A blade flashed like lightning, and something gurgled in the water. "And I couldn't take the fight: there were too many of them."

  To be honest, it was unconscious. I didn't know you'd hear it.

  "Are you sorry?"

  " Mm-hmm. No." Rin looked at him with open curiosity.

  "And how is the inspection?" The warrior asked with an undisguised grin.

  You're an extremely curious guy.

  "You'd think you'd never seen Ross."

  "I haven't seen it. Are you surprised?"

  "I'm surprised."

  "Don't you believe me?"

  "Yes, that's why I believe." Ross settled himself more comfortably and sheathed his sword. "How did it happen?"

  "I wish I knew." Rin sighed. "You know, when you go to sleep in your bed on your planet in the evening, and you wake up fuck knows where, and even your ass slides off a rocky ledge into the abyss... It's a little unusual, you know. And a little bit like that, slightly surprising."

  "And why would that be, really?" The warrior chuckled. "Don't you know anything about this world?"

  "Nothing. I'm not even sure if this world is inhabited."

  "In the classical sense of the word, no. It is not inhabited."

  Rin sighed, resting her chin on her arms crossed in her lap. The warrior turned out to be surprisingly loyal, did not attack, did not offend. That's all. Here he is, sitting next to me. So what? He looks at her with green eyes, and his hand involuntarily fiddles with the sword belt. It's a strange combination of swords and high-tech armor, but it looks completely natural on him, as if it should be.

  "Who are you fighting with?"

  "With your kind." — He replied calmly.

  "With mine?"

  "They call themselves hommo."

  "What about you?"

  "Ishon. According to their base star."

  "And what are you fighting for?"

  "For this world."

  "Is he yours?"

  "Ours."

  "And what color is the base star of ishon?" Rin asked in the same bored tone.

  "The capital is blue."

  "Yeah."

  "Do you want to return to your tribesmen?"

  "Want. Theoretically, someday maybe in the distant future. But the Ishon are not my kind. They are no less an alien race than the Rosses. I'm not ishon, I'm a human being. And our star is yellow. And they are not able to fly further than the neighboring planet. And they haven't really climbed on it yet. And the number of planets in the system has not yet been fully figured out. That's it." Rin swallowed a sudden lump. "I do not know where my home is. I do not know where I am. I do not know how I got here or what to do next. I have no weapon, only a half-burned knife found in the ruins. I don't have any clothes. You see everything on me. That's my interesting situation."

  There was a commotion in the bushes by the shore. A couple of baby dragons rose into the air, spun around a bit, squinting at Ross in disbelief, but still, not considering him a danger, flew to Rin's shoulders. The girl absently stroked the dragon's back. Other animals chirped, circling over something in the grass. Rin whistled, and a green, eared face with round yellow eyes like saucers rose above the grass. Ross tensed. The cat growled. The beast, frightened by Rin on the first day, got used to her and resorted to cuddling or eating. Rin lived on his property with his permission. And the cat brazenly used a free feeder: every time the cat resorted to Rin, she always treated him to a fish or a piece of meat.

  "Come here." Rin slapped the stone next to her.

  The green beast hesitated, but still jumped over a small tongue of water in a couple of jumps over the rocks, approached the girl, sniffed and licked her shoulder, growling Ross in a not very affectionate way. Rin stroked the hard green fur, scratched behind the ears and under the chin. The pussy thrilled and dragged, but as soon as the girl took her hands away, the beast yawned, showing a palisade of teeth, and lay down next to her.

  Ross watched in silence, not making a single gesture to show his attitude to what was happening. The cat soon purred, blissfully squinting her eyes.

  "Good little animal." the warrior said neutrally.

  "Sweet." Rin was scratching her furry ear, and the beast was just entranced. "We get along well with him."

  "With her."

  "It doesn't matter."

  "It does. The females are completely wild."

  "Even so?" Rin pulled the parasite out of the fur and threw it into the water. "I didn't know."

  "It's amazing that you survived the encounter with the lowland int."

  "I scared her."

  "How?"

  "I don't know. It's just that something fell down from fear. Apparently, my soul hit my heels painfully. I yelled at her, and the cat ran away."

  Ross was silent for a while, looking at the girl. Without a single movement. Silently. Something flickered on his belt. The soldier squinted, read a short message on the computer on his forearm, looked at the girl and took off a wide sling belt with a knife and a pistol strapped to it.

  "Take."

  "thanks."

  Rin tried on the belt, but it was hanging from her hips. Ross smiled, tightened the buckle, selected the length of the belt, and unfastened the extra links.

  "That's better, thank you."

  "You don't have to thank me."

  "Why?" Rin looked up at him.

  "Maybe I'll be the one to kill you."

  Ross's face was as impenetrable as a statue's.

  "Who knows." Rin shrugged phlegmatically, accepting the weapon.

  "Can you use it?"

  "I'll figure it out." Rin hesitated for a few seconds, calculating his reaction. "What's your name?"

  "Nav'." The warrior replied calmly, without a trace of annoyance or displeasure.

  "Is that your name or is that your name?"

  "That's my name."

  "A nickname?"

  "Warriors don't advertise their names." a barely perceptible predatory smile slid across his lips.

  "Nav'. Does it translate?"

  "yes."

  "How?"

  "Death."

  "You're a sweet guy. Rin sighed. "Is that what the warriors called you?"

  "yes."

  "For what?"

  "yes."

  "You're just adorable."

  A light on his belt flickered insistently. A light on his belt flickered insistently. Nav squinted.

  "Are you being summoned?"

  "yes."

  He put on his helmet. A moment later, Rin heard a muffled voice:

  "Nav. Yes, I know. I'll be there via roll. I can handle it. Not worth it. They'll get in the way. Realight."

  "A new assignment?" the girl asked calmly.

  "yes."

  "We'll meet again."

  "Undoubtedly." Ross stood up in one fluid motion.

  "Well, take care of yourself."

  He stared at her in surprise.

  "Why are you looking at me like that?" Rin yawned. "Who was bitten by the hand in the water?"

  "Me."

  "It hurt me. And I don't feel like checking out what would happen to me if you were allowed to eat sausage."

  Nav' silently sat down on a rock. He took off his shoulder guard and rubbed the bite. Rin also silently turned her hand: a bite mark was clearly visible on the thin skin, exactly matching the bite on Ross' shoulder.

  "Did you skin your leg seven days ago?"

  "me. Did it hurt too?"

  "A little bit."

  "Funny, isn't it?"

  "Nothing funny." Ross frowned. "why?"

  "I found someone to ask." Rin shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. So take care of yourself, okay?"

  "Good." He smiled. And for the first time, there was warmth in his eyes.

  "Now get lost."

  He gently touched her shoulder. Lightly, fleetingly, like a ghost. As if doubting the correctness of the action. She turned away for a moment, and he was gone. He just disappeared, as if he had never been there. But he was. The thin ray of the call felt clearer and clearer, and now Rin knew exactly who was on the other side of the chord ringing in her soul.

 

  The sky was suffused with twilight, and sticky fear spread like dark molasses in the bends of the canyon, immersed in dense darkness. A group of people slowly made their way through the pile of stones, trying not to lose sight of their neighbor. A barely perceptible gleam of an invisible blade, a wheeze audible on the verge of sensitivity, and silence.

  "Hansor?"

  "Be quiet!" An angry shout in a strangled whisper.

  "Hansor has disappeared...."

  Before the soldier could finish, a curved black blade appeared from his throat as if by magic, and the next moment his head rolled on the rocks. A lightning strike, a jerk, and the third soldier slides heavily into a pile of his own entrails, frantically trying to close his stomach, which was split open with a single swing of the saber. The man ahead raised his rifle, noticing movement in the shadows out of the corner of his eye. There was a silent flash of metal, and the soldier collapsed on his back, thrown back by the blow, choking on his own blood and a black throwing knife sticking out of his throat.

  "Where are you?" The voice of the last of the soldiers rose to a shout.

  "Here."

  He appeared out of the darkness of the deep shadow like a ghost, a dark shadow in the darkness. The impassive helmet mask hid his face. The soldier turned with a jerk, but the warrior was gone. A moment later, a thin sword whistled, and the man fell into the dust, and not a single movement anymore. Silence. The wind howled loudly, echoing low in the rocks. Only a small stone crumb slowly carried away five bodies...

 

  Time passed slowly. By and large, there was nothing to do. Rin slept off all the years of lack of sleep in her home world, swam in the bay, trained baby dragons and a green cat, and learned how to use Ross's weapons. At first it turned out very badly. To put it bluntly, it's disgusting. Periodically, she could hear Ross's mental chuckles. He saw it all. The bond developed somehow, and sometimes they could see the world through the eyes of the other. And communicate. The first surprise passed, attempts to explain it somehow clearly did not bring any benefit, and after a long argument, the topic was closed, accepting what was happening with philosophical equanimity.

  Rin saw Ross quite often. The mighty warrior often appeared off the coast, knocking out small groups of people. Rin saw it periodically. Nav was wary for a while, but since Rin didn't comment on his actions in any way, he calmed down.

  And Rin noticed that she was starting... change. The first sign was that the ship had exploded on the first day. The girl chalked it up to an accident, as did Nav'. But when Rin tore up a huge tree along with its roots, just wishing him all the best and kind... It made me think. A week later, she created fire for the first time.

 

  It was fast approaching evening, the double luminary was setting below the horizon, and all four moons were joyfully shining in all their glory in the sky. A fresh breeze blew in from the ocean, and the grass rustled steadily. Rin stroked the cat's head, taking a bunch of dry twigs from her paws.

  "Ita, stop it!"

  The cat yawned, but took its paws away. The peculiar ritual was repeated day after day. When Rin was lighting a bonfire, preparing to cook dinner, Ita did her best to prevent this. However, not for very long. The yellow fruits with the taste of bread pleased the cat, and when they were toasted, the hefty plain predator turned into a petty thieving beggar, which brought Ross to tenderness.

  Speaking of Ross. Rin raised her head, peering at the darkening horizon. He's been delayed. Have the Ichthans been pinned down somewhere in the passes again? Nav was just having fun chasing hefty six-legged creatures. However, sometimes they chased him too. Like that time on the cliff.

  "Are you looking for me?" A soft voice bathed her soul like a balm.

  "You, you." Rin smiled, trying to light a fire. Wet firewood did not want to catch fire.

  "And how are you doing?" The warrior asked curiously, watching her efforts.

  "Yes, that's it. No way." Rin carefully blew on a tiny flame perched on the tip of a twig. The light went out. "You bastard! May you burn!"

  Nav' barely managed to pull Rin off the rock and roll with her into the water before a firestorm swept over them. Ita was yapping indignantly, floundering in the shallow water, thrown off by the shock wave. Rin was sitting on Ross's lap, hiccupping. Silently. With bulging eyes.

  "How are you?"

  "I don't know ik."

  "Your job?"

  " Ap ik paren-tly, yes. ik" Rin rubbed her cheek.

  "Whole?"

  "Y-hic-yes."

  Ross picked her up in his arms and sat her down on a rock. The campfire was still burning. A steady, clean fire. Without firewood. The flame just hung in the air without any support. A normal campfire, but without firewood. The meat and yellow fruits were completely baked, and the moss on the stone was burned clean.

  "A good campfire."

  "I didn't want." Rin looked at the mess in confusion.

  "Yes, I know." Ross rubbed absently at the bruise on his cheekbone. "If I hadn't seen it myself..."

  "It's impossible!"

  "Apparently, it is possi... Ita!"

  The cat growled with its mouth full. While Ross and the girl were distracted, the brat had stolen one of the fruits, and now, pressing her paw against a stone, she was quickly and greedily eating it.

  "Don't choke on it already, little thief."

  Int grumbled, but she didn't slow down.

  "They tamed it on their own." Rin grumbled, gathering up the remains of dinner, fortunately it was enough for the eyes. "Will you?"

  "I won't refuse. I won't get on the ship today."

  "Far away?"

  "Yes. I moved a lot to the south."

  "Because of me?"

  "Partly, yes. Partly because of Ishon's activity in the area. They still want a base on the plain. And we knock them out quickly."

  "I saw. When I first arrived here, a flight of fighters bombed the underground base. At night."

  "Yes, there was such a thing."

  "Participated?"

  " no. I was leveling another base back then."

  "Alone?"

  "One. My squad has now dispersed throughout the array. There's no need for us to work as a full squad here. They split up into pairs or singly."

  "Professionals."

  "Warriors." Ross corrected her. "We have an army, we have special forces, and we have warriors."

  "Are they some kind of mercenaries in government jobs?"

  "I guess so." Ross took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "That's funny."

  "what?"

  "You look so much like them, and you don't look like them at the same time."

  "I don't know, I can't compare it."

  "There are many of their posts in the mountain range. You'll run into it again."

  "Most likely. I won't always be sitting on the coast."

  "Not always. Autumn and winter are coming soon."

  "Cold?"

  "Severe. Six months."

  "How much?!" Rin already sat down.

  "Six months. Ours."

  "I can't survive without shelter, without clothes..."

  He didn't say anything. A couple of hours later, he left, disappeared into the night, leaving the girl high up in a tree.

 

  And in the morning, Rin found out that he was caught.

  She saw everything through his eyes. How an armored transport with a pair of machine guns taxied out from behind a pile of rocks. A group of soldiers. The short skirmish ended quickly, as Ross was covered with a taser. Rin felt the deathly numbness that had gripped his body, the cold from the blow, felt his rage, anger, and.. despair. Understanding that this is the end. Ross was mentally apologizing for his own stupidity and overconfidence... He was saying goodbye. And then he passed out from a powerful blow to the head with the butt of the rifle.

  Rin did not see him being loaded into an APC and taken away, she only heard. And then the contact disappeared completely, and only the very feeling of the call made it clear that he was still alive.

  Rin sat on a rock by the water, hugging her knees, listening to the thin tinkle of an invisible thread. Nav would not survive captivity, she understood it very clearly. Ishon won't let him go. He's too strong, knows too much, annoyed them too much. The Russian Ishon warriors were feared and hated.

  They'll kill him! As soon as they milk everything they can, they'll kill him And he himself will not be saved. Confidence is ironclad. He won't be saved. He won't be able to. He won't be able to do it himself!.

  What should I do?

  Somewhere out there, in the mountains, an ichthan howled mournfully. It was low, dreary, and so dreary that her heart ached. And the call grew fainter and fainter, leaving an invisible tear in its wake...

  The decision came suddenly, like a flash of inspiration. A firm, unshakable confidence.

  She'll get him out of there.

  Somehow... As best he can. As it turns out.

  He trusted her, he helped her, and she will help him. When he needs help so much.

 

Chapter 3: Kindred