The night was silent and warm along the sandy waterfront. It had been many hours since the sun had set and the surrounding jungle was alive with life. Chirps and droning filled the darkness. The occasional rustle in the undergrowth could be heard, as unknown animals played a dangerous game of hide-and-seek. Fearsome predators prowled the forest floors at night. It would be a foolish and fatal mistake to be caught off-guard.

Yet, this did not faze the lone figure lying on the shores of the inland sea. His breathing was steady and his mind was dreaming. A long bloody gash extended up the side of his ribs. His clothes were tattered and torn and one of his boots had gone missing.

A moan erupted from his dried and cracking lips, his eyes fluttering. As his senses slowly returned to him, an unknown fear shook him awake. He sat up suddenly and opened his eyes wide. He placed a shaky hand on his chest, his breathing growing feverish. He sat for a moment, scanning the horizon carefully, methodically moving his eyes along what inky silhouettes he could make out.

Frustrated, he laid back down and covered his head with his hands. As he did, he seemed to become aware for the first time of his wounds. He clutched his side in pain and grunted slightly.

“Where the hell am I?” He mouthed silently to himself.

The lapping waves of the lake were almost enough to carry the tired man back into sleep.

No, not now.

A sound from the lake drew the man’s attention, twitching his ears. Painfully, he forced himself to sit back up and once again scan the surface of the inland sea, but there was very little visible on the water, even with the full moon.

“…And thank God,” he spoke aloud once more, looking up at the night sky. It was only then he realized he was plainly lit up by the moonlight. The beach being the only thing not reflecting blackness. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Another sound from the water. A sudden, mysterious feeling of great peril washed over him.

With tremendous effort, the man forced himself to stand, laying heavily on his knees. He stood , tenuously on the beach, placing most of his weight on his left leg. He couldn’t take his eyes off the water. A terrible sinking feeling overwhelmed his desire to leave the beach. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to turn around and face the prospect of entering the jungle.

But his thoughts were jumbled and incomplete. He wasn’t thinking straight so he shook his head a bit. This only inspired a sharp pain to rocket through his brain like pins and needles. He immediately stopped in his tracks and tightly closed his eyes, opening them wide a short moment later then closing them again.

Should I build a fire? Maybe I can signal for help? What do I have on me that’s useful? Am I being followed? I’m fucking hungry. Am I hungry? The only thought he could muster that made any sense was that he was in danger. Though he didn’t know why, he just knew, this was no normal jungle.

“I wouldn’t go that way if I were you.” A soft voice came off the water.

Terror once again gripped the man’s heart. The voice was alluring and peaceful, but some other instinctual part of him sensed danger. A very carnal sense of danger. The man turned around slowly, bracing himself for what he may see. But there was no one standing there. The sea remained calm, continuing only to gently lap at the shores.

Determined now more than ever to get away from the water, the man began to scurry up the beach, ignoring his wounds. A sudden splash from the shoreline followed by a single loud thump could be heard, but the man was determined to continue.

Don’t stop. Dear God, don’t look back.

Just as the man was halfway up the beach and a significant distance from the water, a massive shadow blotted out the moonlight. Drops of water rained down on the man from above. A rush of hot breath bared down on the man’s neck. Without looking up, the man felt the overwhelming presence of an extremly large predator. He instinctually knew his life was over. He’d made a mistake somewhere along the line and he would now pay the price.

Looking up, he saw two large blue eyes staring at him from above. The silhouette of a human-like face surrounding them.

The monolithic figure said only one thing, “Boo!”

Completely startled, the man fell backwards onto his rear. This caused the figure to let loose a series of stifled giggles.

“Oh, you are too easy to scare! Sliding partially back into the water, the massive creature let the man out from under her shadow. Now, completely visible in the moonlight, the man could see the mermaid for who she was, the gigantic guardian of Jadong Lake.

“You’re… a mermaid?” He said with a bit of uncertainty.

“Well, you sure are observant, aren‘t you? I’m Anko. Pleased to meet your acquaintance. What’s your name?”

The man looked down for a second then said, “I… I think…”

“You think? You don’t know your own name?” That’s when Anko seemed to first notice the state of the man, “Hmm… someone looks like they enjoy gettin’ punch-drunk a little too often. You’re a mess!”

“London!” The man said triumphantly, “My name is Cedrick London!”

Anko looked unimpressed. “Did you hit your head or something?”

“I can’t remember… I don’t even know where I am.”

Anko eyed him for a moment, placing her head on her arms and crossing them, burying her fingertips in the sands. “You really lost your memory?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I remember I was sent here to do something… and there were others… I must have gone though some kind of portal… and.. And something went wrong. Yes! I remember the panic right before I walked through. Someone made a mistake… Then I… I woke up on this shore.”

Anko’s eyes were half closed. She puffed her lower lip out comically, clearly disinterested. Towering over the tiny man before her, she yawned loudly, giving the man a shadowy view into her massive maw. The sight of which made him tense up and take a step back. She was truly colossal. She would have no problem eating him if she so chose.

“Weird… what kind of name is Cedrick? I mean, for a neko.”

Cedrick was dumbfounded, “Wha-…?? Are you blind?” He almost laughed, “A neko? I’m clearly a human!”

Anko just laughed, “Right. You're not a neko. You’re a stupid neko. You bumped your head and now you think you’re a human! Trust me, if you were human, you’d probably be in my belly right now.”

Stunned, Cedrick stopped laughing and took another, much larger, step backwards.

Anko giggled, closing the gap Cedrick had made between them by merely leaning in, “It’s a good thing for you you’re just a stupid neko!”

Cedrick took another, even larger, step backwards, this time tripping over a rotting log. Falling on something hard, he reached to inspect it with his hands. He found it was furry and long. Running his hands along the length, he traced it back to his own rear, it ended attached just above the small of his back.

Fear and panic having gripped him, Cedric stood up and grabbed at the tail. Pulling with all his might he frantically tried to remove it from his body. For the moment, he forgot about Anko.

“No, no, no….”, he yelped.

In his struggles he stumbled and tripped again, this time landing into something soft and wet. Pushing himself away, he realized he had tumbled into Anko’s gigantic lips, who had been watching the spectacle unfold just below her. She grinned widely.

Partly out of curiosity, the giant mermaid poked her massive tongue out from between her blue lips. The slimy muscle skimmed along her top lip then the bottom then receded back inside her mouth. Smacking her lips animatedly, she refocused her eyesight on Cedric.

“Odd… you do taste like a human.”

This was almost more than Cedric could handle right now. “But… I… I mean, I’m just a neko!”

Anko didn’t laugh, but she smirked as she leaned in closer to Cedrick, “That’s not what my tongue is telling me.”

Cedric took off down the beach as fast as his feet could possibly allow. Head and side wounds be damned! He didn’t bother to look back. He didn’t bother care to see if Anko’s hands were about to grab him and thrust him into her hungry mouth. He may have lost part of his memory, but he knew hungry eyes when he saw them.

Or so he thought.

The sound of bellowing laughter caused him to stop and turn around. He was a good hundred or so feet away from Anko, who hadn’t budged an inch. Her massive body was still half in the water.

“Ahahaha! Stupid Neko!” She remarked as she retreated back into the deep waters of Jadong Lake.

“Cedric the Neko, trying to pull his own tail off! Ahahaha!”

“Hey!” Cedric yelled back. He placed his hands on his hips, only to be painfully reminded of the long gash on his side. Perturbed, he watched the massive mermaid sink below the waves. Before disappearing forever, she waved one last time and shouted to Cedric, “Perhaps we’ll meet again… Nekoman!”

Cedric did not wave back. He was once again alone and left even more confused than before. Amnesia or not, he knew damn well he was a human before tonight. At least his encounter with Anko told him one thing, he was pretty sure he knew where he was. A small portion of memory had been unlocked. He was in Felarya, this much he knew. How much he could remember of the place would be seen. It only meant he would be in constant danger until he found somebody he could trust.

Not remembering one’s name was enough of a burden. However, to have been transformed into a neko and sent to Felarya was just plain awful news. Cedric knew the odds were completely against him.

As he set out along the beach, the morning sun was rising and the ferocity of the jungle night was calming. With absolutely nothing but the rags on his back, Cedric would have to survive in one of the most dangerous worlds in the known universe.