It was just like any other day for me: running from a swarm of police through the back alleys of New York after being set up in a drug deal. For some reason, this happens way too often to me. But I’m a really fast runner, so I always manage to get away from them, no problem. Of course, this is the 21st century, so there’s video surveillance and other such things, but special makeup can fool facial recognition software, and my clothes will be scrapped before I get home. I have a certain system, and it works, though technology is rapidly evolving, and I have to stay one step ahead of it. That day, my problem didn’t come from technology or the police, though. It came from a tiny puppy and an old lady.

I was running full speed, with the police way behind me. I had pretty much already lost them, and was just about home free, when I heard an old lady scream nearby. I paused for only a second, but didn’t have time to worry about some hag getting mugged, or whatever it was. That’s when the dog appeared.

Now, it must be noted that this dog was not just any dog. It was white as snow, with pitch black eyes, and silver teeth. Though tiny, maybe about a foot tall, when I saw it open its mouth, I could see its long, silver teeth glistening long as my fingers before a black and purple void, as if its mouth led straight to space.

Now THAT gave me pause! I came to a stop, staring at the dog – the beast – before me. I backed up slowly, because I wasn’t quite sure what this thing was, or what it wanted.

“Sir Geoffrey!” the old woman screamed as she rounded the corner after the dog. This old lady was about 7 feet tall, and inhumanly muscular. She had white, curly hair, and was dressed in medieval attire. Honestly, she threw me off more than the dog did!

“Uh?” I said, unsure what to even say. But I heard footsteps behind me, and knew that I had to run, or get caught by the police. That was a mistake.

As I set off into a sprint, the woman screamed a word of warning that I didn’t totally catch. And then I got caught, not by the police, but by the dog. It leapt atop me, and brought its teeth to the back of my throat.

“Woah! Let me go!”

“I’m sorry!” the old woman said. “Once sir Geoffrey sets his sights on a prey, there is no going back. Rest assured, the pain is only temporary, and you will be reborn in a better world, in your dream body.”

“I would rather stay in this world, thank you very much!”

“I’m sorry. That is the Way of the Wolf.”

“Bitch, what?”

And the dog’s teeth clamped down on my neck, killing me.

…

“And that’s how I ended up here,” I explain to the beautiful young woman sitting on a chair next to my bed. Or, her bed, I suppose. I’m not entirely sure about the specifics, but it seems that I ended up in this world in a kind of orphanage, and that this girl adopted me, basically.

“Consider yourself lucky,” she says. “You left your harsh life behind for a life of luxury! When someone is reborn in this world, they’re reborn in The Orphanage, and are adopted. Some are adopted by thieves or other ne'er-do-wells. And some people that adopt have even worse intentions. I won’t go into detail on that, but just consider yourself lucky.”

I look down at my new body. I seem to be a roughly 8 year old girl, with dark skin and long curly black hair, similar to the girl who adopted me. I can imagine what some creeps might want with a beautiful girl my age.

“And so I’m your daughter now?” I ask.

“Oh, no! I’m too young to have a daughter! But I’ve always wanted a little sister, so what do you say? I’ll spoil you rotten!” she says in a sing-song voice.

I shrug. “Well, it’ll be better than my last life, no question about it!”

“Great! First things first, let’s head to the market to buy you some clothes! I brought a few clothes while you were unconscious, but that was just to hold out the few days until you woke up. I figure that your taste matters more than anything else!”

“I guess so. Lead the way.”

I’m slightly dizzy after being reincarnated, but manage to slip on some shoes and a green-gray tunic, and follow the girl out the door.

“My name is Izzy,” she says. “I run an apothecary here in town. Basically I prepare medicines for the people in town. And what should I call you?”

“Oh. Good question. I guess my old name won’t really suit this new body, huh?”

“They sell drugs for modifying your body if you want.”

“Eh, I’ll worry about that later. This body is fine for now. I want to just play and be free, like a child.”

“Alright, so what should we call you?”

I consider things. If Izzy works as an apothecary, then perhaps naming myself after a plant would be a good idea.

“How about Belladonna?” I ask.

“Oh, cute! Can I just call you Bella for short?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, Bella. The market is this way.”

The village is fairly small. Izzy had to go to the capital to adopt me, and was away from home for a whole week due to that. With that said, the village has pretty much anything you need, including a blacksmith, a tailor, a general store, and more. We head directly to the tailor, as that is what we’re here for. I am curious about what kinds of fantasy fruits and such might be here, though.

“I know this is awkward,” Izzy says, “but first things first should be the underwear. We have the same styles from your world, but since we have a dedicated tailor, we can do whatever if you’re more creative. And as far as colors and patterns go, we can do just about anything.”

“We will be happy to help you out with anything, and will be sure to accommodate you,” the seamstress, Kelly, says.

“Can I count on you for the colors and patterns? I don’t know much about that stuff,” I admit. “Just give me a wide variety so I can figure out in time what I would like. Same for the fabric. As for the style, just give me some comfortable styles, whatever is best. I’m not knowledgeable here.

Kelly drafts some potential underwear choices on a piece of parchment paper, and hands it over to me for approval. 15 pairs of panties, mostly boyshort and bikini style. The colors are all mostly dull so they don’t stand out beneath even light clothes, but are in cute colors such as pink and blue, and have patterns on them such as cat prints, hearts, and stars.

“These look good,” I tell her, returning the parchment to her. She stamps them, and Izzy hands her some copper coins.

For the dresses, though Kelly will personally tailor them to my size, she does have some ins tock for me to try on just to determine what kinds of styles I might like.

The first outfit I try on is suggested by my new sister, and is a Japanese sailor type uniform, white and blue. It is cute, but it reminds me too much of cosplay, so I turn it down. Another outfit is a simple blue dress, with a ribbon tied around the waist. It is stylish and comfortable, so I decide to get it. I also get a striped t-shirt with a blue dragon on it, some shorts that are made of material similar to denim, a black skirt with pink stripes going down it, a yellow dress with white buttons by the neckline, a pink jumper skirt, and a one piece swimsuit that is orange with white flowers.

Izzy hands Kelly the coins for payment, and Kelly promises to drop them off at our home as she finishes them. Meanwhile I’m wondering just how much money Izzy is spending here.

As we leave the shop, I decide to ask her.

“Hmm, it’s kind of hard to say. We get people from all over your world, and the amount of money that something costs changes over time. The money I spent for you, just on your clothes today, is equivalent to about… 600 USD, maybe? Tough to say.”

“That’s a lot of money… are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah, no worries! My apothecary has been in the family for generations, and we’ve got lots of money in reserve. As what amounts to the town’s doctor, I’m rather important to the people. I only ask them to pay for what they can afford, but everyone is sure to pay at least something. The richer folk make sure to pay a larger share so that I can stay in business and heal everyone.”

“I think that my world could take some notes.”

“Yeah. Anyhow, anything else you want?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“Plushies?”

I consider that for a moment, then nod my head. “Yeah. That might be good.”

I get a dozen or so plushies of varying sizes and animals. Some of these will be REALLY good for cuddling with at night. Izzy also tells me that she would be good for cuddling at night, and hugs me tight, nearly squeezing the breath right out of me.

After we finish up shopping, we head back home with the plushes in hand. We’re laughing and joking around, when suddenly, I get a sudden pain in my head, and I collapse.

“Bella! Are you okay?” izzy asks, and then gasps. “What is that on your neck?”

I can barely hear what she’s saying. I can’t so much as stand, let alone walk, so Izzy carries me on her back to her house. She lies me down in bed, and runs to get some medicine. A second later, she returns with some kind of bitter powder in a honey tablet. My headache dulls, but does not completely subside.

“What was that?” I mutter.

“That’s what I want to know! And what was with the mark on the back of your neck?”

“A mark?”

“It looked like… a wolf’s head, maybe? The wolf was howling, and stars were coming out from its mouth.”

I squint my eyes and think for a moment. “The Way of the Wolf?”

“And just what is that?”

“I don’t know! I just got here!”

“That was what the lady in the alleyway said to you, wasn’t it? I wonder if someone else knows…”

I lean back in bed as the headache comes back with a vengeance. I don’t know what the mark is about, and I really don’t care. What I want to get rid of this damned headache!

As I stare at the ceiling, stars and galaxies swirl in the air. That dog’s mouth was full of stars. My mark where the dog bit me has stars. What could this mean?

Sadly, the headache prevents me from really considering that more. I scream in agony, and my sister rushes to get more medicines to soothe me. She tries various remedies, but all to no avail. I scream the night away. In the morning, though the headache is gone, the stars and galaxies remain.

To be continued…