The moment Arin undid the latch and pulled open the door, the soft, morning light that had been illuminating the bedroom faded into duller lamp light.
Outside was a dark, familiar, and mostly empty corridor. Before stepping into it, Arin glanced back at the room he was still in.
There was still a bed, and a small desk with a single, lit lantern upon it. Other than that, it was cold, bare, and empty.
The illusion was gone.
Arin lifted his wrist to look at the thin, silver bracelet that had appeared upon it at some point.
Was this still the old one? He couldn't tell.
His gaze slipped past his wrist, and he suddenly realized that, even though he'd never actually put on Rin's sandals, he was currently wearing them.
He was fully clothed, in the exact manner he'd been prior to dying. Even his bag was slung by his side.
Whoo. Convenient. Yay.
Even before he could fully leave the room, he was snapped out of his thoughts by a large, heavy body slamming against his own.
He hadn't been expecting that, and his feet slipped out from beneath him as he lost his balance and fell backwards.
'Shit!'
If he'd been hoping from some kindness from his assailant, it didn't come. His curved his back, and barely managed to reduce the impact of the floor against his head.
It was cold! - was his first, instantaneous thought, before a dullish pain spread out from the back of his skull.
'Ow! Ow! You little -!'
A snarling maw snapped at his face, and he hurriedly lifted his arm to cover his face.
'Sorry! I'm sorry! I know you're mad I got him killed! Ugh. But, technically, wouldn't he already be dead if not for me -? Ow! -!
Sharp teeth bit around his forearm, and he had to suck in a deep breath to stop himself from screaming.
...
The corridor had been familiar, because Arin had easily recognized it as one of the ones within the currently-empty headman's estate.
And it had been mostly empty, because...
'Tarra. Tarra, stop! I'm sorry! I really am! But there's gotta be a better way of showing your anger than - than destroying his body yourself, no?'
The large, silver-gray wolf, or some wolf-like creature - he wasn't a zoologist, dammit! - on his chest growled; a deep, rumbling noise that vibrated from deep within her chest.
Something about it was incredibly frightening, and Arin could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise. His heart fluttered in his chest, even though he knew for certain that Tarra wouldn't actually harm him.
'Listen. I'm sorry. It'll never happen again -'
- and if it did, at least it meant he wouldn't have to be around to suffer such retribution -
'I promise! I'll take better care of his body! Sorry, sorry, sorry!'
The wolf-thing panted in his face, her amber-brown eyes glaring down at him. Tarra's warm, damp breath fanned against his face.
He didn't mind that too much in the moment; he was much too concerned about the sharp teeth instead. Even though they had, thankfully, unclasped from around his poor forearm.
'I'm sorry,' he said again, keeping his voice controlled. 'I really am. I promise I didn't want that to happen.'
'And, thank you. For saving us - for saving me! I heard from the tower master that you're the one who took care of everything tonight.'
The creature didn't move to get off of him. However, she didn't snap at him or growl again either. And so, Arin kept on going.
'You've helped me out so much, even since I first showed up here. Thank you. I really don't know what I'd do without you. It's no wonder Rin values you as much as he does!'
Tarra remained very still for a few seconds. Then, she suddenly huffed, short and sharp. After a few more seconds, she finally stepped off his chest, and walked to his side.
Arin felt a wet nose rub against the side of his face, and turned his head away.
'Ugh, no!'
The nose pushed into the side of his neck, and before he could fully twist away or get up, he felt a small, warm tongue licking him.
'Stop! Tarra, stop! You little split-personality mascot, stop!'
...and just like that, the ferocious wolf turned into a reminder of his beloved childhood dog.
...
After Arin finally managed to sit himself up, he pushed up his sleeve to examine his forearm. There were little, visible indents. His skin, however, remained unbroken.
He sighed. 'Thanks for not actually shredding me up,' he said, smiling wryly at the wolf, who now stood to one side, licking her front paws.
She ignored him.
Oh, well. She'd probably done that for Rin's sake too.
Fortunately for him, his fall hadn't actually been too bad. And even though it had only been a couple of minutes since he'd hit it, the back of his head had stopped hurting.
Arin finally pushed himself to his feet.
'Well, much as I enjoy these moments of sappiness and bonding, I still have quite a bit of work left for me to do.'
'For starters, do you know where Siel is?'
The wolf stopped grooming, and looked up at him to blink once, slowly.
Then, in a split-second, she disappeared.
A small, dusty-gray moth fluttered up towards Arin's face. It fit right into the surroundings, barely noticeable in the lamplight.
After a moment, it started flying away, leading him to where the younger tower magician waited.