Ori and the Stranger

Chapter 1

     Ori shot up, gasping for breath. A feeling of warmth washed over him, and he felt the pain from his wounds, but dull and throbbing. His gaze whirled around as he panted, a cold shiver running up his spine from his brief but all too real touch with the void. As adrenaline slowly left his body, he looked down at his body. He saw it wrapped in long strands of white cloth, stained red with blood in a few places.

     Ori then looked up and around. He found himself in a small cave, dry and cold. A small fire crackled in the center, casting a warm, orange light over the cave. The darkness outside suggested that it was nighttime. Ori was laying on a small cushion made of dried out moss, which wasn't very comfortable, but it was better than laying on the cold stone of the cave.

     Ori tried to get back onto his feet, but his body had absolutely no energy to spare and he quickly crumpled back onto the cushion. He laid still, breathing heavily and groaning. His mind was still trying to process everything. It wasn't fair. What had happened? Why was his home gone? Why was Naru gone? Ori started to shed tears as sadness slowly crept in.

     His thoughts were cut off by footsteps outside the cave. He gasped, and his sadness was replaced by fear. Was it a monster? Did it want to hurt him? He tried to get up and move, but his body still didn't have enough energy to do anything. He could only sit helplessly as whatever it was entered the cave.

     What entered the cave was unlike anything Ori had ever seen. It was about the size of Naru, but way skinnier. It didn't have fur, just a kind of cloth covering its body with metal plates covering vital areas such as the torso, shoulders, forearms, and legs. It had long strands of leather across its waist, torso, and a few limbs, all of which had several strange metal objects. Ori couldn't see its face, as it had a large piece of metal fitted over its head, with a strange black glass where the face should have been obscuring the creature's face. On its hips were open leather pouches, each containing a long piece of metal with a wooden grip on the end. On its back was a strange metal box, with several open cylinders sticking out of the lower half.

     As the thing entered the cave, Ori felt a small sense of relief, but did not fully lose his fear. The creature did not look like a monster, or like it wanted to hurt him. The creature walked into the cave and settled down beside the fire, letting out a long sigh that sounded slightly distorted. It reached into a particularly large pouch on its belt, pulling out a long, white stick contained in some kind of wrapping. An aroma met Ori's nostrils, and Ori's mouth watered as he realized the stick was food.

     Ori hesitated, still unaware of the creature's intentions, but his hunger eventually overcame his caution and he tried to get up again. Once again, his muscles immediately gave out and he fell back onto the cushion with a grunt. The grunt caught the stranger's attention, and it turned its head to look at Ori. Ori gasped and tried to hide himself, but the stranger had already noticed him.

     It let out a small chuckle, and stood up onto his feet. "Looks like you aren't dead after all," it spoke. Though its voice was still slightly distorted, it sounded masculine. The stranger walked over to Ori and knelt down to be eye level with him. "You're lucky I found you, little guy. You were in pretty rough shape."

     Ori let out a whimper, gazing up at the stranger in fear. The stranger slowed down, trying to be as nonthreatening as possible. He spoke in a warm, comforting voice. "Don't worry, little guy, I'm not gonna hurt you," He said while holding out the food stick, "You must be hungry." He chuckled a little when he saw Ori's mouth watering at the sight of the food. He placed the food near Ori's face, and Ori weakly but hungrily chomped down on the food. It tasted bland, but Ori was so hungry he didn't care. The food filled his stomach up surprisingly fast, and he was already full when he finished it; normally, it would've taken four or five fruits of similar size to fill Ori up.