“Terrafeara?” Well, fuck if that name alone doesn’t sound terrifying.
“Yes, Terrafeara is the home of the Glowranth.” He pauses the task of preparing food to walk towards me and the TV.
“And the Glowranth is?”
“The dominant species of this world.” While his tone is still a grumble, there’s a softening to it, as though he’s aware he’s got a lot of explaining to do while I try to wrap my head around everything.
I’m still caught on the whole “dominant species” thing and what that implies about Solan. That means he’s not a Glowranth, right?
“There is a lot to say. We can talk while the small human watches, yes?” He gestures with a hand towards Jamie, who’s paying attention to everything we say.
I know I’m the adult here, but it seems wrong for Jamie to not have as much information as I do.
“Jamie—that’s his name. He’s my nephew. My?—”
“I know ‘uncle.’ Like Arnold inThe Kid & I, yes?” His already-bright eyes are practically glowing as he speaks.
I don’t have the heart to say I have no idea. Sure, I grew up watching Arnie movies, but I’m not a hard-core fan or anything.
“O-kay…,” I drag out. “So, yeah, that’s Jamie, and I’m Jack.”
I jump when Solan violently thrusts his arm out towards me, flexing his four fingers. Understanding what he wants, I swallow thickly and extend my hand out to him.
As soon as my palm makes contact with Solan’s, the world spins. It’s not just warmth that spreads through my body—it’s like I’ve been plugged into a live wire. A surge of heat shoots up my arm, not painful, but intense, almost exhilarating. I gasp, my heart slamming against my chest like a drum.
It feels like my whole body is on fire, and for a second, I’m sure I’m about to disintegrate into ash right here in front of him. But I don’t pull away. It’s terrifying, yes, but there’s something else underneath that fear—something almost… right? I don’t even know how to describe it. Like a part of me is waking up that I didn’t know existed.
Solan, meanwhile, goes rigid, his eyes widening as if he’s just been struck by lightning. For someone built like a tank, the look on his face screams panic. But then, in the blink of an eye, his expression shifts, his features tightening into something neutral,almost forced. He tries to retract his hand, but I can feel the hesitation.
“Ah….” His voice cracks slightly before he clears his throat, then speaks again in that same deep, Arnie-like tone. “You are… strong.” The corner of his mouth twitches like he’s trying to keep his composure, but his whole body is tense, and his eyes—those bright golden eyes—are almost… frantic. He lets go of my hand a little too quickly and steps back, bumping into the table as he does. “I mean—very strong grip, Jack.” He chuckles awkwardly, but there’s an edge to it.
I blink, trying to steady my breath. My palm is still tingling, almost throbbing, as if whatever just happened is lingering in my skin. I rub at it absently, my mind reeling. What the hellwasthat?
“Are you okay?”
Jamie’s voice cuts through my spiralling thoughts, and I manage a tight nod. “Yeah… yeah, I’m fine,” I say, though my voice is shakier than I’d like. “Just… tired.”
Solan quickly turns to the food he’s been preparing, making a show of chopping some sort of root vegetable with a little too much enthusiasm. “Yes, food! We eat, and we talk, yes?” He gestures towards a crude stone table in the centre of the room. “Sit. I will bring food. Good for strength.”
I don’t know what’s weirder: the fact that I just experienced some kind of fiery body shock or the fact that this hulking creature is acting like nothing’s out of the ordinary while he’s clearlynotokay. But I’m still too rattled to figure it out, so I take the seat he offers, pulling Jamie with me.
My palm still burns, and when I glance down, I notice a small cut I hadn’t seen before. It must’ve snagged on something when we were running from that car-sized monster earlier. The skin around it is red-raw, but the heat radiating from it doesn’t feel like a normal cut. It feels… alive.
I clench my fist, trying to push the sensation aside as Solan brings over a plate of what looks like cold roasted meat alongside the weird root vegetables. He’s still moving with that stiff, too-controlled air, but he’s trying to cover it up with forced casualness. I can’t help but notice how each of his movements seems hyper-deliberate, like he’s focussing way too hard on something.
And how I know that from being in his presence for a smattering of hours is beyond me.
Jamie, oblivious to the tension, digs into the food immediately. “What kind of meat is this?” he asks, his mouth full.
Solan freezes for a second before answering. “It is…rethogmeat. Very tasty. Like… your chicken.” He gives a tight smile, but his eyes flick back to me every couple of seconds, like he’s trying to gauge my reaction.
“Right,” I mutter, taking a hesitant bite. It’s actually pretty good, but my focus keeps drifting back to the monster. There’s something about him…. His presence feels different now, more intense, and it’s like the air between us is charged. I can’t help but notice how his skin glows faintly under the dim light, the way his horns catch the shadows, and that his movements—though controlled—still exude power.
My breath catches in my throat again. Why am I suddenly so hyperaware of him?
“Tell me about this place,” I say, mostly to distract myself from the heat still lingering in my palm—and the fact that I feel like I’m being pulled into some strange orbit around Solan. “You said it’s called Terrafeara?”
Solan nods, visibly relieved to change the subject. “Yes, Terrafeara,” he says, his voice falling into a steady rhythm, as if he’s reciting from memory. “It is a land of many species. The Glowranth, they rule here, but there are others—beasts,creatures of all sizes.” His eyes flicker towards me, then quickly away. “The merging of worlds… it has brought confusion, chaos. Parts of your world, parts of mine… colliding with Terrafeara… maybe others too. LikeJingle All the Waywhen they fight for the last toy.”
