I open the bag of chips while Mike watches me from his bed, taking out a chip and making sure he sees it clearly. As I bring it to my mouth, I see him start to salivate while trembling.

“Okay, Mike, I’ll give it to you.”

I approach him, but decide to play a little longer.

“Give me your paw.”

I extend my hand, palm up, asking him to give me his paw like a dog. But suddenly, this turns out to be a very bad idea. Mike starts growling like I’ve never seen him before, I can see all his teeth as I hear the deep growl, his eyes reflecting intense anger.

“I am. Not. A. Dog.” —he growls through the snarls.

I step back, almost falling on my back from fright. Suddenly, the growl stops and Mike starts laughing, laughing so hard it seems he might choke.

“You were scared! You should have seen your face.”

For a moment, I stay still, still processing what just happened. This wolf just scared me as if it were a normal joke. But now I have my revenge.

“This won’t please Mitch, I’ll tell him you almost bit me.”

Mike immediately stops laughing, I can see his fur bristling as he trembles. That reaction again. I think Mitch is definitely his greatest fear.

“Now it’s the big bad wolf who’s scared. I think that’s enough revenge.” —I say laughing.
“You’re cruel, Sarah.”
“Are you telling me that after scaring me first?”
“You treated me like a dog!”
“True, but…”
“But if you did that to someone else, you’d probably end up in the hospital. I care about you, Sarah, but don’t do that again or I’ll really get mad.”
“Okay, sorry.”

I think he’s right; there have been several times they warned me not to do these things, and I keep making the same mistake.

We stay silent for a few seconds, not really knowing what to do. I look around and see a TV in front of the bed.

“Does this TV work?” —I ask foolishly.
“Of course, but they never show anything interesting.”
“Would you let me watch it for a while?”
“Yes, but… isn’t there a TV in your room?” —he asks, quite surprised. “I thought all guest rooms had one.”
“No, mine doesn’t.”
“Then go ahead, take it.” —He hands me the remote. “You can sit here if you want.” —He pats the bed, inviting me to sit.

I sit down and turn on the TV. I start flipping through channels, first hitting the news. They’re presenting a story, so I turn up the volume.

“The police are still investigating the spectacular apartment fire in downtown Valdora. Everything points to members of a criminal gang. As for the neighbor who lived in the apartment, it is believed to be Mitch Ardan. It’s unnecessary to mention who he is.”

“They’re still talking about that… days have passed!” —complains Mike.
“The way they mentioned Mitch… does everyone really know him?”
“I’d say almost everyone, at least on this continent.”
“And I suppose, like with humans, everyone must think he’s horrible and terrifying.”
“I suppose so.”

While we talk, they finish showing the news with images of the burned apartment. Then they move on to another story, again mentioning Mitch.

“We are informed that several alleged members of The Family have been violently killed; the bodies were found with gunshot and stab wounds. It is speculated that Mitch may be involved in this as retaliation for the fire at his apartment.”

I glance at Mike and notice the terror in his eyes again. It’s as if his fear of Mitch is amplified by the news.

“Change the channel, please, Sarah.”

I don’t ask why; I already know how scared he is of Mitch. I’m sure the wound he came home with was from fighting those people… or rather, killing them. I change the channel to commercials. I keep flipping through a lot of uninteresting channels. Mike was right.

Suddenly, I stop at a channel showing a group of wolves wearing nothing but loincloths. They are facing a bonfire, performing a strange dance. They jump, beat their chests, make intimidating movements, all while growling and howling, showing their teeth and occasionally sticking out their tongues. It reminds me of the Maori Haka dances from my world.

“Mike, do wolves really do that?” —I ask, pointing at the TV.

Mike makes a face of strong displeasure.

“Don’t compare me to those savages, Sarah, they’re from a Lycaria tribe.”
“A tribe of what?”
“Lycaria. Don’t you know anything about our world?”
“Mike, I don’t even know where we are, just that this world is called Animalia.”

Hearing this, Mike grabs his phone next to the bed, opens an app, and a map of the world appears. He zooms in with his fingers, centering on a continent.

“Look, Sarah, this here is Naturia, the central continent of Animalia.” —He points on the map. “This is Valdora, the capital, that’s where we are.” —He zooms in on a central coastal area of the map.

“So we’re here. But where’s Lycaria?”

Mike zooms out and moves to the top part of the continent, the farthest area. Then he zooms in slightly again.

“This is Lycaria. As you can see, it’s very separated from the rest of the continent. To get there, you have to pass through Cindrel, a forested area with hardly any safe paths. Very few people live there.”