A True Person

The man's heart beat loudly as he ran up to the pair of creatures, gesturing for the zebra to hide behind him. The zebra, though somewhat surprised by the new creature's appearance, realized that she had better obey and follow directions. She had no other options anyway.

The hyena stopped, laughing excitedly. Her eyes glittered with hunger and greed. She eyed the spear in the man's hands warily, but she wasn't about to back down. Quickly and nimbly she ran around, trying to snatch the zebra, but staying at a safe distance.

Alexei stood still, constantly circling, keeping the hyena between himself and the zebra, and looking for an opportunity to attack. He knew his opponent was experienced and cunning, the hyena's reaction to the spear spoke of that. Apparently, this was not the first time it had fought with a creature armed with a sharp stick, but the man was not going to give up.

And so the opportunity presented itself. The hyena was too greedy, getting closer to the zebra. The man did not hesitate. He swung his spear towards the hyena, aiming for its eye, but it deftly dodged, avoiding serious damage. The spear struck her shoulder and slid off without doing any tangible damage. Her hide was surprisingly tough.

The hyena grew bolder and bolder in her attacks. Her attacks became more and more aggressive, opening up new opportunities for counterattacks. But the man did not panic.

He struck again, but the hyena was ready. With the agility and strength of a beast, she grabbed the spear with her teeth and pulled sharply, wrenching it from the man's hands. Her neck, surrounded by powerful muscles, gave an impression of primal might.

"She seems pleased with herself," the man smirked as he watched the hyena shake the spear violently, savoring her small victory.

"Then let's move on to plan B," Alexei smiled, pulling out a knife and clutching it tightly in his right hand.

The hyena wasn't particularly impressed with the knife and spitting the stick aside, it was already preparing for its next attack.

The man crouched down a bit and spread his arms slightly, as if preparing for a dash, but in fact he wanted to show the hyena his exposed neck. It may have had some experience, but it was still a beast. Instincts deeply engraved in her brain instantly gave an order that the beast could not ignore. The hyena, immediately realizing that she had received an excellent opportunity to strike a decisive blow, rushed forward, aiming directly at the man's throat.

Alexei was ready. At the last moment he raised his left arm, wrapped in a leather belt, and let the beast bite it.

The belt, though it offered some protection, proved insufficiently reliable. One of the hyena's fangs slipped between the layers of the belt and sank into the man's flesh. Immediately the hyena began to twist its head violently, trying to tear off a piece of meat. But the man ignored the pain and with unrelenting determination plunged his knife into the beast's neck and then twisted the blade. The hyena let out a shrill shriek, let go of his hand and bounced away. In the process, the knife handle peeled the skin and nearly dislocated several of the man's fingers. But he still held the knife in his grip.

Now the hyena was thrashing about frantically, driving its paws over his neck as if trying to wipe away the wound. The man was no expert in anatomy, so he didn't know the exact location of the artery, but he was confident in his knife. Scarlet blood spurted out of the wound onto the withered ground in a pulsating stream.

A puddle was quickly forming around the hyena.

Yes, now he was sure he had hit an artery.The man stood motionless, not averting his gaze, waiting for further action from the wounded beast.

However, the hyena seemed to begin to weaken and consider the possibility of retreating.

He had no intention of letting her go. The moment she turned around and was about to flee, the man jumped up to her and kicked her forcefully in the right side, turning the beast around with the impact. The hyena growled, trying to bite him, but the man nimbly bounced away, avoiding the danger.Their roles reversed, he became the hunter and she became the prey.

The man made dangerous swings of his knife, which now clearly frightened the beast, but it was all just a farce. He was just stalling for time. The hyena tried to run away again, but the man quickly rushed towards her, giving her no chance of escape. The more she panicked, the harder her heart pounded, and the more blood flowed out of her.

The hyena bounced to the side, avoiding the imaginary blow of his knife. Alexei wasn't going to hit, it was all just another trick.

The hyena began to stagger, her movements becoming unsteady. After a few seconds it finally fell silently, resigning itself to its inevitable fate.

The hyena's side slowly rose and fell in time with her fading breath. The last glimmers of life were leaving her exhausted body, and finally her eyes closed forever. The man sighed and put the knife away. Cleaning the blade could be taken care of later. He turned away from the dead beast and focused his attention on his hand.

Pulling off his belt, he began to survey the damage that the fight with the hyena had left behind. His gaze flickered to the zebra that had frozen some distance away. He wasn't going to let her go either, but for a different reason. First things first, the wounds.

Two wounds were clearly visible on his arm: one the size of a fingertip, oval and bleeding, left by hyena fangs that had penetrated deep into his flesh; and a smaller one. The rest of the injuries were minor, a few bruises and bruises. The man pressed his lips to the wound, sucked in the blood, and spat. He then began to lick the wound, knowing that the human's saliva contained an antiseptic. He wasn't sure how much it would help him, but he figured it certainly wouldn't make it worse. Continuing to treat his wound with improvised methods, he turned to the zebra.

The little zebra was still breathing heavily, clearly in a state of shock, keeping his eyes on the already dead hyena.

Slowly and cautiously the man approached the zebra, careful not to frighten her. He had no desire to chase the creature across the plain. The little zebra seemed to ignore him until he came quite close.

Her gaze slid down his torso until finally their eyes met. The zebra's pupils had narrowed to the size of needles, and her body trembled slightly. It was unclear whether she was paralyzed with fear or simply exhausted after the long chase. The man's tall stature obviously made the zebra nervous and was subconsciously associated with threat.

The man slowly lowered himself to the ground in front of the zebra, carefully crossing his legs, trying to avoid any sudden movements. The zebra continued to watch his every move without making a sound.

“Ты, очевидно, разумное создание (You are obviously a sentient creature),” he said in a soft, calming voice. "Ты меня понимаешь? (You understand me?)"

To think that the zebra understood Russian was perhaps too optimistic, but the man wanted to explore every possibility. The zebra only blinked in response, but seemed less frightened already, soothed by his affectionate tone. The male decided to try other options.

"Can you understand me?"

"Sprechen Sie Deutsch?"

The zebra perked up, started making squeaky noises and gibbering something in her own language.

"Really? Did she recognize German?" the man thought. His knowledge of German had already ended at one phrase, but he had no right to complain. His musings were interrupted by a small foal.

"Name," the zebra said, pointing with a hoof at himself. "Itanya."

The name and tone of voice gave a hint that the zebra he'd rescued was most likely a female.

"Name," he repeated automatically, pointing to himself. "Alexei."

More importantly, the zebra knew English!

The zebra didn't know English. Her knowledge of English was even worse than his in German.

After long and awkward minutes of facial expressions, gestures, and diagrams drawn on the ground, the man was finally able to establish a semblance of communication with the zebra.

First of all, Itanya was incredibly grateful for the rescue. However, she would have been even more grateful if the man had agreed to carry her home. Walking on her own was something she was incapable of doing and evening was already setting in. Her request matched the man's plans.

Secondly, Itanya had informed him that there was some sort of settlement of other zebras nearby. She had even drawn a small map on the ground. The man was about to set off when he remembered something else.

He started drawing on the ground, trying to explain to the zebra that he needed to step back into the forest for a while. Itanya was frightened by the idea, and interestingly enough, her fear was specifically related to the forest.

"What's wrong with it?" thought Alexei. "Maybe she's just afraid of being alone?"

He insisted, however, and headed in the direction of the forest, glancing at the zebra from time to time.

After walking about a hundred meters, he stopped and found a suitable spot. Pulling out the contents of his pockets, he buried it as deep as he could, covering it with earth and covering it with leaves. The knife and clothes could still be explained, but the plastic and money, if found, would certainly raise questions.

With some sadness in his heart, he turned around to look at the forgotten hares and sighed. He couldn't take them with him either. It would be somewhat embarrassing if they turned out to be some sacred animals to the locals. Not to mention the whole meat-eating thing. As he chatted with Itanya, he didn't notice any fangs on her. Looks like the local zebras followed a regular vegetarian diet after all.

Returning to the zebra, he gently picked her up and laid her on his shoulders, ignoring her disgruntled squeaks. The zebra was almost the same size and weight as a normal dog. Picking up his spear, he headed in the direction the zebra had indicated.

An hour of the trip flew by. The zebra, who called herself Itanya, kept telling him something, repeating his name, but he only smiled back.

The settlement stretched out clearly before him, and it seemed that the inhabitants had noticed his approach. A group of zebras armed with spears approached him swiftly, their leather armor gleaming on their bodies.

One of the warriors stood out for his power and commanding appearance. His leather armor was adorned with massive metal plates, giving the impression of being unyielding. He had silver earrings in his ears, shimmering against his black mane. The bodies of many zebras were decorated with scarlet tattoos, mostly animals and some strange patterns.
Behind them ran a lone zebra without weapons.

Finally, they surrounded him and pointed their spears at him. The spears were real spears with metal tips, unlike his pathetic stick. The zebras had secured their weapons to their flanks as they ran, but now they held the shaft deftly in their hoof.

The man scrutinized each zebra, remaining calm. His gaze paused on an unarmed zebra, who looked anxiously at Itanya who was on his shoulders.

"A relative?" he thought.

Finally, the warrior he had spotted earlier emerged from the crowd, apparently the leader among them. The moment of first contact with the sentient race of zebras had arrived.

"Acha mtoto aende, mnyama," the leader said sternly, swinging his spear.

Given that Itanya was showing a reaction to English, the man decided to communicate in it.

"I do not understand your language. I am a friend. I saved Itanya from the beast," he said calmly.

The leader was a little surprised, but immediately replied already in English, "First let the foal go. We'll talk later."

"All right, all right. Take it easy. I'm a friend," the man reassured him.

Carefully lifting Itanya off his shoulders, he released her and she instantly rushed to the lone figure behind the warriors. They embraced and began touchingly rubbing against each other, expressing their joy at meeting. Then Itanya broke from the embrace and began to gibber furiously in her language, pointing at the man.

"Only good things, I hope," the man thought, still searching for gaps for a possible escape.

Itanya's words proved effective. The leader said something, and the zebras lowered their spears.

"Follow me," the leader said simply, turning and heading towards a nearby settlement.

"Where are you taking me?" - The man asked.

"To the chief. He will decide your fate," replied the leader.

"We ask the questions - you answer. Is that clear?" came the voice of a zebra clad in gold jewelry. It was the chief of the tribe, whose power and authority was reflected in his every movement. A zebra with an abundance of jewelry looked somewhat unusual, but even stranger was the old zebra to the left of the chief.

The zebra's head was adorned with the skull of a horned creature, and its body was wrapped in a net studded with feathers, black crystals, gold coins, and various bones. The presence of this zebra gave Alexei a very strange feeling. It was as if thin claws were scratching the back of his head while sending a cold breeze down his back. The man felt like he was facing something supernatural. Instead of the expected fear, he felt anticipation. The word "shaman" came up in the zebras' conversations as he waited in the chief's tent. And, indeed, this zebra clearly resembled a shaman in his appearance.

"Yes," Alexei replied briefly.

A feeling had arisen in his soul that it was not proper to lie. But what was a lie and what was the truth?

"You saved a foal from a hyena?"

"Yes."

"How exactly?"

"Killed the hyena."

"Why did you decide to save her?"

"Heard it calling for help," the man shrugged.

"What's your name?"

"Alexei."

"Where did you come from?"

"From the forest."

"How did you get there?"

"I was walking along the road at the edge of the forest, there was a bright light and pressure, then a blow, I lost consciousness, woke up here. I don't know where I am now."

"Where is your homeland?"

"In the south."

"Are you from a tribe of monkeys?"

"Yes," Alexei replied, feeling somewhat amused, but he didn't show it.

"What do you know about the explosion in the forest this morning?"

"The explosion? What's he talking about? Is he about the whole portal thing? Did they sense something even here?" the man's mind flashed.

"There was an explosion? All I saw was light, and then I blacked out. When I woke up, I found several dead small animals nearby."

The chief silently shifted his gaze to the zebra shaman, who only nodded in response.

"We never thanked you for saving our young," the chief spoke with gratitude in his voice. "Tell me, what do you wish?"

The man hesitated, weariness reflected on his face.

"May I answer later?" he finally uttered, raising his gaze to the chief of the zebras. "I am wounded, exhausted, and hungry."

The zebra chief smiled, nodding his head.

"So be it," he replied. "There is an empty hut at the edge of the settlement, you can sleep there and recuperate."

The man felt a sense of relief. It seemed the interrogation was over for the day.

"There is a mare waiting for you before you enter," the chief continued. "She will take care of your wounds and hunger and show you the way. Go."

"What mare?" the man thought confusedly.

Noticing his bewilderment, the chief laughed.

"You have already seen Imani," said the chief. "You saved her sister."

Alexei made a short bow, deeming it appropriate, and walked out of the hut. Two armed zebras flanked the entrance, watching his every move.

A little in the distance stood the aforementioned mare. Her head barely reached the man's chest, and the look in her eyes was full of respect and gratitude. She quickly ran up to the man, stood on her hind legs and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you. Thank you!" - sobbing, the mare whispered. "I wouldn't know what to do if I lost her."

The touching moment was interrupted by a rumbling in the man's stomach, reminding of his hunger. The mare released him from her embrace, brushed away tears, and smiled.

"Let's go," she said vigorously and led him toward a certain shack. "I won't let my sister's savior starve! But first your paw must be patched up."

The man's attention was drawn to the surrounding zebras, who cast a few grim glances at him. One in particular stood out, if he had gotten it right, a tightly built stallion looking at him with obvious malice.

"Why do they stare like that?" he addressed his companion, leaning in close to her ear.

Zebra sighed and seemed to gather her thoughts to formulate a suitable answer.

"I'll be honest," she finally spoke in a quiet voice. "You are not from here. You're an outsider. And you came at the wrong time. The tribe faced a beast raid in the morning. And here you are. Many see you as a herald of new troubles."

"I understand. Thank you for your honesty," the man murmured thoughtfully.

Finally, they came to Imani's hut.

Inside the wooden shack, there was an atmosphere of warmth and modest comfort. In the center of the only room was a small table covered with colorful pieces of cloth, beads, feathers, and shiny stones. On either side of the room were low shelves stacked with a variety of things. The ones on the right were filled with spools of brightly colored thread, bags of colorful beads, and other materials for jewelry. On the shelves to the left were ceramic pots of herbs and roots, bundles of dried flowers and herbs, and several small flasks. At the back of the room lay two stuffed sacks of coarse cloth, apparently serving as bedding for the residents.

Itanya, Imani's younger sister, was also present in the shack. As soon as she saw the man, she ran up to him and hugged his legs, repeating his name. Imani smiled and said something to her sister, whereupon she left the shack with some reluctance.

Imani sat the man down on the sack and began running around the room, bringing in a variety of pots and jars. While the zebra tended to his wounds, the man decided to find out what had been bothering him since his encounter with the chief.

"Can you explain something to me, Imani?" he began cautiously.

The zebra simply nodded, not taking her eyes off of applying some sort of herbal ointment to the wound.

"During my meeting with the shaman, I had some sort of strange sensation. I felt cold and something else. What was it?"

Zebra looked up and gave the man a perplexed look, as if he had just admitted he was an alien.

"Ancestral spirits. Who else could it be?" she said, looking at the man questioningly. "You've never met a shaman?"

The man felt as if he'd been electrocuted.

Spirits! There really were supernatural powers in this world! It was not in vain that he had come to this world! Perhaps it was here that he would find what he longed for.

He looked at Imani, and the zebra backed away slightly from his gaze, filled with obsession mixed with the flames of ambition.

"Can you answer a few questions?" the man said in a gentle voice, smiling at the zebra.

"What did the spirits say?" the chief asked.

"He hasn't lied once, but he's not telling us much," the shaman replied.

"Is he dangerous?" the chief clarified.

"I do not sense any magical powers from him. If there are any, they are extremely weak," the shaman shook his head.

"His appearance is suspicious. Is he connected to that explosion?" the chief continued to question.

"Not likely. He has no such powers and he told the truth, spirits don't make mistakes," the shaman replied indifferently. "He's probably another victim of the explosion, just like us. That would also explain his memory loss."

The chief remained silent, thinking deeply about the shaman's words.

"Look, if you dislike him so much, just kick him out or kill him. Or are you not a chief anymore?" the shaman asked caustically.

"You spend too much time with spirits, old friend," laughed the chief. "He saved one of our own. If we don't reward him properly, what will the other tribes think? In the future, if members of my tribe run into trouble, who will help them? You know better than I do how quickly news travels around here."

The shaman just shrugged, remaining indifferent after the chief’s passionate speech. He cared little for the affairs of the living.

"It is decided. The outsider will receive his reward," the chief concluded.

They talked until late into the night. Alexei had finally gotten a general sense of the world, cloaked in the isolation of his homeland and slight memory loss.

Spirits! Magic! Alchemy! Thousand-year-old creatures!

This world was filled with all sorts of riddles and mysteries. Almost every creature in this world could use magic in one form or another. Zebras had a special innate sensitivity and could interact with spirits, also thanks to this sense they were the best alchemists. Gryphons who controlled lightning. Pegasi who conquered the wind. Earth ponies that manipulated plants and the earth.

Unicorns stood out the most. They had no innate talent in any particular area, but they could use any magic once trained. And their ruler?

Alicorn, who had lived for thousands of years and, he still somewhat doubted, ruled the celestials. The man remembered the name of this being well - Celestia. To him, she was like the unreachable sun.

He found out from Imani that in addition to the shaman he already knew, the tribe also had a zebra-alchemist. He immediately wanted to become their apprentice. He wasn't sure about the shaman - he didn't have any of the necessary sensitivity - but alchemy was available to everyone.

Imani immediately crushed his naive dreams. Neither shaman nor alchemist would share their secrets with an outsider. The shaman already had an apprentice, and he was always the only one. That option immediately fell away. The only hope was alchemy. If it didn't work out, he would leave this tribe and head for Equestria, ruled by the very same Celestia.

Imani also sincerely advised him to ask the chief to make him a friend of the tribe. According to her this status was difficult to obtain normally, but he had the advantage of having the chief's promise. After becoming a friend of the tribe, he could ask the alchemist to make him his apprentice.

Now he was standing in front of the entrance to his hut, still coming to his senses. Imani was not with him. He had convinced the zebra, clearly tired of his onslaught, that he would find his way just fine on his own. He wanted to be alone. The brief directions were enough to keep him from getting lost.

The man raised his head and looked up at the starry sky. He remembered his life on Earth, its limitations and vanity. Why had he come to this world through that portal? What had driven him when he had risked his life without hesitation? What did he so passionately desire?

Eternal life.

He didn't care about the wealth, fame, or high position that the people of Earth chased after. They all live in a fake world with made-up rules, comparing each other's lives.

In his eyes, everything that would die sooner or later was equal. If you can't live forever, is there any difference between a king and a pile of shit? There is only immortality, only eternal life was the goal he wanted to pursue. There was no way to express such an aspiration to others, but Alexei wasn't looking for understanding.

On Earth one could only dream of something like this, but here? A glimmer of hope appeared.

He stood like that for a while, lost in his thoughts, and his gaze, previously blazing, grew colder and colder.