Shilin retraced his steps for a while and found a boy sitting on top of a rock, trying to make a bow.
With one foot, the boy held a thin stick while using both hands—and his mouth—to bend the other side of the bow and try to fasten a string to it.
Leaning against a tree, Shilin watched the boy struggle with the bow for a few minutes before making a loud yawn that made the boy jump up as he startled him.
Unable to speak the boy's language, Shilin raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture. He then slowly approached and, with a quick motion, helped bend and secure the string around the bow's limb. The task was manageable, even in his weakened state, though it left a few beads of sweat on his brow.
Shilin then took one of the nearby arrows from the boy, scanned the surroundings for a target, and finally spotted a rather large lizard that could provide good tasting meat.
He nocked the arrow onto the bowstring, ready to take aim. Without a sound, the bow shot forward and struck the animal in its throat, leaving a stain of blood as it fell from the tree.
"Cualli tlaquimiloa!" the boy called out in joy. Shilin passed the bow to the boy, who wanted to try doing the same.
Picking up his kill, Shilin looked at the two parts and decided to leave the head behind. As for the body, he drained some of the blood before going back to the boy and started collecting a few branches and sticks to make a quick fire.
"If there's one thing I know… it's that food is always a good start to a long friendship. How about it? Want some?"
Shilin, of course, knew the boy would not know his language, so he just hoped that the expression of a kind and welcoming older man would at least be enough to keep the boy in place so Shilin could extract some necessary information.
Impaling a portion of the lizard, which was neatly cut in half and made into fillets, Shilin whistled a jolly tune from one of his past lives as he slowly cooked the meat.
Within half an hour, a delightful roasted aroma filled the air from the skewers he had prepared.
The boy, who had sat in place throughout the process, tried keeping the sound of gulping to a minimum as he waited, hoping to receive even a small portion of the meat.
"Well then, how about we start? I want to understand your language, and you want half of my hard earned meal... I am sure we can come up with a solution, my young friend."
"Ahmo nitemachtia in ticateh."
"Okay, okay… we might need to go slower. How about the basics? I am Shilin."
He did the classical introduction, pointing to himself as if trying to introduce himself.
"Nican nicah Matlalihuitl."
The boy, who quickly caught on, repeated his gesture. He emphasized the word "Matlalihuitl" a few times, as if that was the one word he needed to know—his name.
"Well, little man, you'll have to forgive me, but Matla..lihu..itl? Is a bit too long to remember. How about Matla? Please forgive me if I offend. Anyway, let's eat—I'm sure I'll get better at this on a full stomach."
Shilin then pulled two of the skewers from the dying flames and handed one to the boy while taking a bite out of the other. It did not take long for the meal to be finished, and both the kid and Shilin were full, or at least a third full, as the lizard was not as large as he had hoped.
Shilin took this time to think over a few conjectures he had so far. The boy in front of him had answered many of his questions just by sitting next to him.
His simple but colorful attire covered the top, middle, and lower parts of his body. Green braids ran through his hair.
The boy's leather sandals were worn out but well taken care of. Not a thread was loose—he clearly cared for them.
As for his face, it was that of a Native American. His eyes were dark brown, as was his hair. His skin was a dark shade of brown, darker than it should be due to being in the sun for so long.
But the boy looked healthy, just a little thinner than he should be, but otherwise in good shape.
Shilin knew he wouldn't get much from talking, so the next big thing was to see how much magic influenced this world. If possible, a good tome or grimoire would help.
He tried to enact a few spells, from explosions of fire magic to strong winds produced from nothing. The boy thought he was playing around at first and laughed at his bad attempts at acting, but as soon as he understood—especially when it was about wind—the boy stood up and pointed to a small pendant he had on his collar.
Within it, he spotted a serpent with wings, resembling the one he had seen previously. This indicated that it was no normal beast but one that held high authority in this land.
"No wonder he came to look for me… the problem is what he would do if he found me…" Shilin shuddered.
He tried to remember what that deity's name was. It was hard after having lived in twelve different worlds, twelve lives, and all the memories those encompassed. But in the end, nothing really worried him.
Shilin might not be able to defeat the deity, but he did not have to either. He was just here to find the woman who would have a part of his power and would become his first wife.
"So… do you know where… to get magic?" Shilin began speaking while waving his hand like wind and ended the sentence while pointing to himself.
The boy nodded before pointing back to his pendant and the symbol of the creature within it.
Shilin sighed. He knew it was going to be harder than he originally thought. Meeting a deity was usually hard, especially taxing on one's mind, as they had to be wary of not only the way they spoke but also how they thought.