Clamoring sounds arose from the village. The spirit animals might not have made any noise, but Vur certainly did. Natives swarmed out of their teepees and lit up torches for lighting. They approached Vur and froze, not quite sure what they were seeing. The spirit deer awakened from its shock and shouted, “Run!” Portions of mist split off of the deer’s body, entering the natives, including the ones still staying within the teepees. As if possessed, they all turned around at once and sprinted away from Vur, running much faster than the average human. The children within the teepees ran out, traveling as fast as adults would. The deer stood in front of Vur, blocking him from the natives as if she were defending her young. “I won’t let you hurt them!”

Vur blinked twice. The spirit bear opened its mouth to say something, but Vur moved quicker. His jaws split open, and he bit down, engulfing the deer in one bite. He raised his head, and surprisingly, the deer didn’t phase through his mouth. He didn’t bother chewing, and he swallowed under the stunned spirit bear’s gaze. His brow furrowed, and he wrinkled his snout. “Tastes like water.”

“Y-y-y-y-you ate her,” the spirit bear said. It wanted to point at Vur, but the majority of its body was still frozen. It swallowed. “I, I helped you find her, right? You’ll let me go now?”

Vur lowered his head and stared at the bear. “That wasn’t her. I said I’m looking for a girl with horns.”

The bear opened and closed its mouth a few times. “She … had horns. You weren’t looking for her? I, I don’t know any other girl with horns.”

“Vur!” Sheryl said from the sun-like runes on Vur’s shoulder. “The deer you ate appeared inside of you. She looks terribly confused and frightened. What do we do? Hey, Ms. Deer, are you okay?”

“W-where am I?” a feminine voice called out of Vur’s stomach. It belonged to the spirit deer. “Am I in a dream? I’ve never seen a building like this before in any of my people’s dreams before.”

Stella’s forehead wrinkled. “I think there’s something wrong with your digestive system. Does your stomach lead to your soul? This is why you should chew before swallowing.” Her body dissolved into spots of purple light, and she sank into Vur’s snout, disappearing from view. “Hey, you! Deer! Don’t you dare eat that leaf! Deedee, stop her!”

Rumbling sounds came out of Vur’s stomach, and a few yelps rang out. The spirit bear listened with its mouth hanging open. “Deer, are you still alive?” it asked.

“Bear! Help me! The ground inside of here is trying to eat me!” the deer shouted from inside of Vur. “Where are you? I heard your voice! What exactly is happening to me!?”

“I, I don’t know, Deer!” the spirit bear said. “This giant lizard—”

The bear stopped talking as Vur swatted at it with his paw. Even though his paw phased through the bear, it still terrified the bear. Vur snorted. “Dragon. I’m not a giant lizard. I’m a dragon.”

“Right, dragon,” the bear said and bobbed its head up and down. Part of its neck had been freed thanks to Vur’s claw. “This dragon wanted me to bring him to a girl with horns, so the first person I thought of was you. I, I didn’t know he wanted to see you to eat you. I’m sorry. If I knew, I definitely wouldn’t have brought him here!”

“So…, right now…, I’m dead?” the spirit deer asked. The spirit bear could barely hear her voice.

“No! That shouldn’t be the case,” the spirit bear said. “You’re still talking to me, but … you might be digested soon.”

“Did this dragon eat a sun?” the spirit deer asked. “Why is there a sun inside of its stomach? Why is there such a magnificent building? The building’s even bigger than the dragon! How could it have possibly eaten this?”

“I….” A dark expression appeared on the bear’s face. “Deer, I’m just a bear. Why would I know this?” He glanced up at Vur. “You should know, right?”

Vur shrugged. “I thought I ate her. I don’t know how she’s still talking.”

“But … why did you eat her?” the bear asked and furrowed its brow.

“Because I was hungry,” Vur said and blinked. “Why else do you eat things?”

While the bear was rummaging through its mind for a retort, Stella’s voice came out of Vur’s stomach. “I caught her, Vur. These spirit animals are some kind of special existences that we don’t know much about. I’m going to lock her up in the dungeon and figure some things out.”

“Dungeon? What dungeon? Where are you taking me?” The deer’s voice became softer and softer before it faded into a whisper.

“Don’t worry,” Stella said, her voice equally soft. “It’ll all be over soon.”

Vur scratched his head and blinked at the bear again. “So, you don’t know where Tafel is?”

“I don’t even know who Tafel is.”

Vur rubbed his chin. “I guess you’re free to go then.” If the bear couldn’t help him find Tafel, and if it wasn’t going to taste like anything, and if it didn’t even fill his stomach, then there was no point in keeping it around.

The bear opened and closed its mouth a few times. After a long while, it only squeaked out one word. “Really?”

“No!” Stella shouted from somewhere near Vur’s tail. “Keep him as a translator. The spirit deer told those humans to run, and they understood. It’s quite clear they can speak to them! If you can talk to those humans, it’ll be much easier to find Tafel later on.”

Vur nodded. That made lots of sense. He gazed down on the bear and snorted. “I guess you’re not free to go after all.”

The bear wet its lips with its tongue. “I’m not too good at talking to the natives, but what if I introduce you to a spirit animal that is? Will you let me go then?”

Vur nodded. “That’s fine too.”