"Ack- shit!!"

Running through the underbrush, they trip and stumble over bushes and roots, gasping as their lungs screamed for air. Low hanging branches smacked at their face and twigs scratched at their skin but they kept running.

Almost...ah-

They snagged their foot on a thick root and crash into the ground, pain flying throughout their upper body. Pushing themselves to stand, their vision spun and warm metallic liquid filled their mouth and streamed from a few open wounds.

"Sonofabitch..."

They spat and brushed themselves off, standing, only for a large hand to tightly close around their neck. Gasping, they're held above the ground, clawing at the predator's hand.

"Ah ah..no one likes a mean kitty..."

Tossed to the side, they yelp in agony as their spine collides with the trunk of a tree. Dropping to their knees, the world slowly darkened, their breaths ragged. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-

But as their fate seemed set in stone, quick footsteps reached their ears and a large figure burst from the underbrush, colliding with their assailant. They struggled to keep him restrained, grunts of exasperation and anger coming from the both of them.

"Run!! Go!!"

Realizing they were just struggling there, allowing their life to continue to be in danger, up they sprang, bolting away on weakened legs, movement surely worsening wounds. Running until the noise of fighting drifted away, they slowed to an injured limp before dropping down, breathing deeply.

The moon was their only source of light and company as they brought their hands to their face, wiping away spit, blood, and dirt. Their body was covered in scrapes but that was the least of their worries.

They slipped in and out of consciousness, breath slowing every few moments before their head lolled to the side and darkness encompassed their vision.

• • •

Waking up, a low groan escapes them as their body seizes up in pain. Everything was on fire, especially their sides and back. Even still, they sit up quickly, glancing around with their good eye. 

"Hey hey, relax. You've been out for a few days." Their head jerks to the unknown voice, glancing up and down at the individual before them. Auburn skin with indigo hair in a loose braid, cool grey eyes, and a wood-ish tattoo curling around their left arm to their back. The person tilts their head, curious. 

"I'm Echo, and you?" 

They try to relax onto the bed they're on, noticing bandages covering their torso and arm. The pain was like a hot knife pressed against their skin, but they wouldn't show their discomfort. "Zach.." they mumbled, voice sounding of gravel and charcoal. Echo smiles, turning and pouring something into a wooden cup.

"Nice to meet you, Zach! You took quite a beating, huh?" Echo offers the liquid, Zach accepting with skepticism. 

"Something like that.." They sniff at the drink and sips gently when figuring it's some kind of tea. The hot liquid felt painful yet soothing to their raw throat, setting the cup down next to them. "Where am I?"

Echo turns to them, chipper as ever. "You're in my home! I saved you a few nights ago, pretty cool right? What'd ya do to get such a big guy on your tail?" They gesture outward as they speak, Zach finally taking in their full environment. 

A wooden cottage is what they assumed, the walls dark oak. As was the floor, and the doors, and.. everything really. If it wasn't made out of cloth, it was likely to be made out of wood. At least the place smelled nice.. Earthy? Piney? Well, it's not pine wood, so that wouldn't- Zach glances at Echo and realizes they're still waiting on an answer. Clearing their throat, they shrug halfheartedly.

"Beats me," they huff, setting the tea down. "Where.. where am I, again? Like- like I'm in your home, yes, but where is your home? Any- any landmarks? Neighboring cities?" Knowing won't allow them any real information as it's a completely different dimension, but having some knowledge will allow them to find food and shelter.

"Hmm, I guess the closest city would be WaterDeep. Well, if 10 kilos is close for you," Echo turns from Zach and begins to tend to the foliage in their smallish cottage. Zach squints at the name WaterDeep, placing their head in their hands. Of course WaterDeep and Dungeons and Dragons as a whole are real somewhere else. They groan as they try to stand up, Echo quick to turn back around worriedly.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what're you doing??"

"What's it look like? I'm gonna make my way to WaterDeep."

Echo's face turns to one of incredulous uncertainty, rubbing their neck. "Mind my words but, are you out of your mind?? You're hurt! Injured! Out of commission! And, like I said, WaterDeep is 10 kilometres north from here! You'd get eaten alive!!"

Zach looks around for their shirt, seemingly undeterred. "Then I guess I'd better get going before nightfall, huh?" They shuffle on their shirt, wincing as they move wrong.

Echo exhales sharply, pulling at it's face. "Stop stop stop! You're- urghh!! I'll take you to WaterDeep, just- oh my gods.." 

The latter pauses their, albeit minor, self destruction and looks to Echo, quirking their head to the side. "You would? But it's still 10 kilometres, that would just put us both at risk."

"I'm a Druid, I could shift into a bear and carry you all the way there. It'd take a lot less time then on foot."

Zach blinks, appreciative. "Wow.. I-I don't know how to thank you, Echo-"

"I do! Go to a hospital in WaterDeep and get checked out! I was going to wait until the next day over, but I guess getting seen sooner is the better option. We'll leave in 20. If you need anything, what's mine is yours."

They go to say another thanks before pausing, waving their hands. "Wh- What? No no no no no, I couldn't possibly take any of your things, you've already shown me so much kindness already, I don't want to over step-"

"Please Zach, I insist. I assume you're some kind of traveler? If you had things on you when you were attacked, they're definitely gone by now. Take anything you need." Echo leaves the room they're in, likely to get ready.

Zach stands in the middle of this room, this wooden cottage that 10 kilometres from WaterDeep, that's owned by a Druid that can use Wild Shape to turn into animals. It's not like this is the craziest thing they've encountered, but it feels like it should be up there. Zach grabs a bag and really only puts two things in it; an on the road medical kit and a small dagger. After that, they change out of their clothes, shove them into the bag, and don something more appropriate for the world they're in. 

There's a full length mirror in this "guest room" of sorts that they look in, checking out their full outfit. A chuckle leaves them, sighing. They look like a DND self insert. Guess they kind of are. Stepping out the guest room into a larger, similarly decorated, room, they glance around for a kitchen doorway. There were two leather chairs diagonal to a table with a potted flower on top, looking at a fireplace. Next to the fireplace was a door that led to a bathroom. There were spiraling stairs going down next to the bathroom that showed them they were in a house built between two large trees. How does someone build so well this high up?

Back near the south of the room is a small area for reading as well as the doorway to the kitchen. They walk over and find Echo packing their own bag with small eats. It turns and yelps, Zach holding up their hands in a flinch.

"Gods, you scared me," they say, laughing gently. Such a chipper individual. "Are you ready to go?"

Zach nods, their bag at their side. "Uh, yeah I was just gonna get some things to eat, but it looks like you've already got that covered."

Echo nods, finishing off their snacks with a bite out of an apple, putting their own pack on their back. They lead Zach down a second flight of spiraling stairs, reaching the base of tree one. Looking up, the entire bottom of their home camouflages with the lower hanging canopy of the forest. "Slick.." they mumble, Echo smiling.

"Yeah? Took lots a' work to get it all finished. All plumbing and heating is magically powered. Wouldn't want someone finding it because of pipes running down the tree bark, now would I?"

Zach looks away from the house, humming. "No.. I guess not." They turn to Echo just as it's shifting into a large brown bear. It growls and falls on all fours, glancing to Zach. They are hesitant at first, unsure how to do this, before gripping onto Echo's fur and heaving themselves onto its back. Zach groans as their muscles contract around their injuries, taking deep breaths as they lay on top of Echo for a bit. Catching their breath, they take tight fistfuls of Echo's fur and speak.

"Alright, let's get goING!!!" They barely finish their sentence before Echo takes off, Zach quick to press their body against the large animal so not to be flung or snagged by low hanging branches. They knew bears were fast, but it's not as if they've ever ridden on the back of one as it ran through the forest. It was definitely an experience to remember.

The two ran until night fell, Echo setting up a small camp for the two of them. They could see WaterDeep over the horizon, but it was still about 2km away from their immediate location. Zach leaned up against a tree as Echo used a fire starter for a campfire, looking through the canopy with an exhale. They miss their friends, they haven't seen them in years.

Echo finishes and hands them a piece of bread and cheese, Zach accepting it. They take a few bites, humming. "I still can't thank you enough, Echo. You really didn't have to do this. I do have a question though.. why didn't you just give me a potion of healing and send me on my way?"

The other sits beside Zach, eating their own small dinner, thinking. "That's just not who I am. Sure, I could've given you a potion, but then what? Send you into the forest with no knowledge of where you are? You didn't exactly look from around here when I first found you. Not only that, but you were completely unconscious! Did you expect me to force feed you a potion instead of nursing you back to health? I took on that guy for you just to leave you? How would that make any sense?? And also-"

"Alright alright, I get it, I do. Sorry for asking.." They laugh a bit, taking another bite out of their bread and cheese. A silence falls over the two before Echo speaks up. 

"You're not really a team player, are you?"

Zach shrugs, sighing. "Not really, no. I used to be, but that was a long time ago."

"Care to indulge me? It's not like we'll ever see each other again." Echo gives a curious smile, glancing to them.

They stare back, weighing the pros and cons, before conceding. "Sure, it's one way to pass the time besides sleeping.. So, as you already guessed, I'm not from around here.. in fact, I'm not from this universe at all. I use this," they gesture to a watch secured around their wrist, "to jump from dimension to dimension."

"Oh! I wondered what that was, but chose not to mess with it." Echo nods, already invested in a story that's barely started.

Zach can't help but snicker, humming. "And I'm very appreciative of you not touching it. Without it, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere. But uhm, yeah I'm not from this universe. I was an offense fighter on a large military space ship, last I remember. Something had happened, changed my body. The Void is what I called it. I wasn't who I used to be and it was causing a lot of problems. That aside, I liked my crewmates. We all worked well together."

As they spoke, a small smile formed on their face. But as they continued, the smile falls. "There was this entity that attacked us, Sandman. He pretended to be a benevolent god but, as time went, he planted seeds of doubt within the team. He preyed upon our insecurities, making us feel lesser and unequipped to be a part of a team. I think I was easy pickings, uncertain who I was or what gender I was.

"I retreated before things could get worse. Well, I'd like to say that but really I was discharged for mental health reasons. I returned to Earth and lived out my days as someone else. And then I went through a portal."

"That's it?" Echo tilted their head in confusion, leaning against their knees, baffled.

"I- well, no, a lot happened before stepping into a portal but-"

"Well get on with it, then! Are you still living as someone else?" Echo interrupts.

"No, I-"

It interrupts again. "How'd you change back? I want all the details!"

"I- it's just the story is getting a bit long, no?" Zach thumbs at the gifted clothes they wore, glancing to Echo.

"We've got all night. Isn't that why you started telling me in the first place?"

It is, they had to admit. Their face showed they had walked into a corner, sighing in defeat as Echo beamed.

"C'mooon, you sound like you've wanted to tell someone this for a while." It punches Zach playfully, but they wince, taking all the fun out of Echo's face. "Oh gods, right you're hurt you're hurt, I'm so sorry. Do you need anything, a potion, new bandages, water?"

Zach waves their hand and exhales, holding their arm daintily. "I'm okay, I'm okay.. just sore it all. Let me continue, yeah?"

"Yeah.." Echo gives an apologetic smile, allowing their excitement to simmer down.

"Right. Hmm.. I returned to Earth someone else. No records, no family I was proud of seeing, just me and my ex girlfriend. She was a big help with all this. I wonder how she's doing now.. no weirdness anymore. I studied up, I wanted to go back to school, get this new life in order. In some odd twisted way, I was given a second chance. Do things differently. And what did I do? The same exact shit."

"What?? Why?"

Zach chuckled dryly, shrugging. "I couldn't get away from what I loved. Science, the unknown, mechanics. I went right back into it, just a different field. Instead of going into space, I was going across dimensions. Where I lived just figured out the way to open dimensional portals, and I'd be damned if I didn't get in on that action. So I was one of the first.

"It was supposed to be simple, just grab a sample and come back out. But when I went through, I was me again. I'm still unsure how or why, but those didn't matter anyways. I was me. And being me meant I had another life, again. I didn't go back. I closed the portal and just lived. I jumped from dimension to dimension, just exploring. The things I saw.. nothing compares."

Echo hummed, thinking over their words. "You've done a lot, traveller. And here I thought adventurers went on wild journeys. Though, a fair share have tested the fates meeting with gods and entities so maybe you are cut from the same wood. I hope you do well to keep yourself safe as you move to the next world. You won't have me to nurse you back." It snickers, rolling out a bed.

"Oh ha ha," Zach says, moving towards the other bedroll Echo packed. "You always this chummy with people you met a day ago?"

"Only the ones that reciprocate it," they say, laying down.

They guess that's fair. It's not as if they were held at knifepoint to share their life with a total stranger, so it's pretty understandable Echo would be kind and hospitable. Sleep came easy for them, careful not to tear any quick stitches or move the wrong way.

Tomorrow was WaterDeep, and after that, who knows.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Echo's House

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ Author's Note ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Thank you for taking the time to read this story of mine! I hope you enjoyed! I haven't used Wattpad since 2017 and I haven't written an actual story since 2019 so if words flow oddly or mistakes are made, so sorry. 

If you'd like more information on Echo or Zach, I've linked their Toyhouse pages below 

There is no real schedule to this story. I'll update it when I can, but the world moves and my life outside wattpad trucks on, yeah?

See you in the next chapter :]

Zach

https://toyhou.se/21422453.zach-king?key=nYf2sAlHaueHzQa

Echo

https://toyhou.se/23143171.echo-dnd-5e?key=H2UOvvsPeE9bzF1