"[i]-ou. Wake up, would you?[/i]"



[i]He didn't know that voice[/I], was Caspian's first thought. He had always been a light sleeper, so there was usually no need for someone to go further than a verbal request. Breathing in deeply, he slowly opened his eyes to peer at whoever it was that wanted him awake. His mind was blank then, sleepiness fogging his thoughts. His vision still blurry at first glance, he moved to rub his eyes, coming aware of the the slight soreness all over his body. It was a familiar feeling. It was as if he had slept on hard floor, and his hands pressing upon the hard grounds proved it to be true. It had been awhile since he last slept on something that isn't a bed. 



Disoriented, he slightly narrowed his eyes confusedly at the unfamiliar larger man before him. Was the man a new companion? In all his life, there was only one person he knew who had red hair. Albeit, his best friend's hair was a tad brighter, almost like fire. At the thought of his friend, he immediately turned to look around him, searching for another red head almost frantically. A small feeling of panic started to blossom deep within when he failed to see anyone he knew at all, like a heartburn he was trying hard to not acknowledge. Moreover, he vividly remembered that they were still in a city then. Kalakyth was a city of smoke and suffocating hot air that distinctly smelled of burning soil, cigar and liquor. It bore absolutely no resemblance to the refreshing green around him. He could almost still taste the awful mead that he spat after taking an experimental sip from his friend's flask.



Yes. He had a clear recollection of where and what he was doing. They were in Kalakyth because of a stop over, and their group chose to spent the night in the awful city of dark skies and smokey air over sleeping underneath the stars in the forest miles away.  Kalakyth was located in the foot of a mountain that once had thousands of trees, with its incessant mining and pollution. From a distance, it looks like a black splotch. They were walking, he remembered, when he asked to take a sip from his friend's flask. They were leaving the city. What happened then? He knew he could remember if he just thought a lot harder. A place like the one around him was not something they could have found anywhere near Kalakyth. The disgusting men of that city wouldn't have let something as unnaturally pure and fresh go untainted. 



Caspian tried not to think too deeply, truly. His thoughts were swirling violently into directions he didn't want to it to go, and he was actively avoiding the panic that was surely a layer just beneath his calmness and confusion. [i]Breathe deeply, focus.[/i] It wouldn't do well for him to panic. Perhaps he was not in a safe place, perhaps he was. He forcefully brushed it all off, and breathed in deeply as he pushed himself to get up. It was colder, he realized, and he unconsciously tugged on his cloak. He felt around his body to feel if he still had his things. He did. 



"What is this place?" He asked, his fingers tugging on the neckline of his shirt that felt a bit suffocating - a nervous habit of his. He stood too close to the larger and unfamiliar man, so he nervously took a step back, eyes flickering at the man's appearance. Older, larger and most probably stronger. Bigger people made him nervous. The look on the faces didn't matter. His friends taught him that people with kind faces could merely be better in hiding secrets and trickery. Granted, the men he calls friends trusted no one but the ones in their group only. They made him paranoid, too.



"Who are you?" [i]And who are the men around them, and where was he, and just where were his friends? Where was Ni-[/i]. He exhaled, thinking about the fact that he shouldn't dwell on things that aren't currently in the present. The first thing was that he should look for familiar things, but nothing seemed familiar at the moment because he was still trying to clear his mind.



Nothing was familiar and it didn't make sense.