Soaked and exhausted beyond they could articulate, Entro and Agri started heading inland, in search of food.
Their entire swim of pain was perilous for more reasons than muscle fatigue.
With no way of swimming and carrying food, any meal they received came from fish unlucky enough to swim by close enough for Agri to snag.
They ate rarely and only to stay alive.
Hydration, however, came from storms.
As much as they wished to, and boy did they wish, they couldn't consume seawater.
Storms brought up powerful and violent waves that threatened to crush them into the sea, forever lost.
Instead of risk swimming through them, they clung tightly to each other and used the opportunity to drink water raining down.
The amount they were able to catch was meager and unfulfilling, but it staved off dehydration long enough to reach their destination.
Now on land, the thought of food kept their feet moving and bodies longing.
Entro and Agri walked mindlessly with no destination in mind, just necessity.
Miles into their walk, they saw a small village in the distance.
Normally, Entro would have to enter himself and Agri would be nearby, hidden. But this did not occur to either of them as they stumbled right in, causing a panic.
"Beast!"
Someone screamed when they spotted Agri, causing the entire village to break into a frenzy.
Many women ran around, grabbing as many children as they could before running into nearby houses.
The men had varying reactions.
Some also ran to hide, others were stuck between hiding and protecting their families while some brave souls toughed it out by bringing guns.
Entro looked over at Agri to see what the fuss was about.
Standing at the height of a moose, his fur was midnight, sleek, and streamlined with a massive head and paws.
'When did he get that big?'
Looking back at the frightened villagers, Entro understood why they might be a bit startled; he just walked right in with no warning.
"It's okay, I'm not here to hurt anyone, we're just hungry," he began explaining while exaggerating gestures with his hands."
"We're," moving his hand over his stomach, "hungry."
He even made a sad face to emphasize their situation.
The first to respond was one of the armed men.
"We understand English asshole."
Entro blinked.
"Oh."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Entro sheepishly scratched his head.
"W-what is that thing beside you," one of the other armed villagers questioned.
Looking at Agri, Entro thought it best to just say he fed his dog too many steaks or something.
"That is-"
"I am nothing but a loyal servant to the god before you," Agri interrupted.
'Damn it'
Someone out of sight started screaming once more.
"It talks!"
All of the male villagers clenched their firearms even tighter, not taking their eyes off Agri.
Entro awkwardly shifted from side to side.
"Yeah... surprise! He talks."
"But he's nice, great with children, and an amazing cuddler."
The men seemed to believe that last bit, glancing at each other and nodding
"Please, we just need food."
Unconvinced, the bravest of the bunch still warily watched Entro.
"He called you his god, why?"
Entro didn't have an answer for that. How do you explain alien cells and bioengineering to a random Joe on the street?
Unfortunately, Agri had the answer quicker than he did.
"He created me, with his own hands; now I serve as the first of many in his royal guard."
'What?'
The villagers, however, seemed to be put at ease by this.
"A king and a god, I would've never guessed," the bravest man chuckled.
Lowering his weapon, the man gestured for Entro to follow.
"Come Your Highness, welcome to our humble village without a name."
The more fearful individual wasn't very convinced.
"Are you sure Benjamín?"
Glancing at his companion, Benjamín scoffed.
"Yes, Luis, I'm sure, unless you want to take it up with him," he said while gesturing at Agri.
Making eye contact with the giant wolf, Luis shivered and silently followed after Benjamín.
Not seeing how this could go wrong, Entro followed as well.
"Welcome to my village tour Your Highness," Benjamín exclaimed before pointing at buildings in no particular order, "over there is the hospital, there is where we store food for the winter, that's our school and everything is a house."
Smiling, Benjamín waited for Entro's reaction.
"...Wow, you guys live close together."
Benjamín erupted into laughter.
"Ah yes, it makes working together much easier; terrible for sickness though, would not recommend."
Although he clearly had an accent, Benjamín's English was pretty fluent, making conversation relatively smooth.
"So what brings you to Chile?"
He looked Entro up and down.
"You're obviously not from here."
Looking over at Agri laid out in the dirt, children climbing all over him, Entro mysteriously responded, "We're headed to Antarctica."
"El Continente Blanco? Why would you go there?"
Pointing at Agri, Entro's voice took on a dangerous edge.
"There are some very powerful people who want to take him from me. You could say, I'm going to get the strength to fight back"
Benjamín's face had a look of understanding.
"Well domador de lobos, do you have a plan to get there?"
"There are tourist cruises in Ushuaia, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if one of the passengers just happened to go missing."
Benjamin raised an eyebrow.
"You're a few weeks late, the most recent cruise won't be back for another month, do you have somewhere to stay?"
Sighing, Entro shook his head.
He figured they wouldn't be lucky enough to be in line with a cruise leaving soon, but a month was a ways off.
"You could always stay here," Benjamin offered, before getting a stern look, "you will have to pull your weight."
Looking around the village, he saw the kids playing over Agri, the women who resumed their daily routine while nervously watching the children, and other villagers who were away when Entro arrived getting pulled aside and caught up with the situation.
The state of their homes, the hungry look in their eyes accompanied by a lack of meat on their body, sporting a visible rib cage in their steed.
"Yeah, I'm fine with that."