here's a draft that i might never finish, but enjoy anyway!

Chapter 1

High mountains that covered their area of the peninsula were made up of miles and miles of risen land, green as far as the eye could see. Nobody had gotten to place down civilization here despite the rivers running down from the melting wintry peaks of the taller grounds. A good thing, she supposed. The only issue would be that a walk to the nearest town took hours both to and back.

In any case, the only dirt path that was around went in a winding loop around many forestal obstacles before it reached the closest local well. The pump back home had stopped working and they would have to wait until her grandpa came home to fix it, so the well would have to do. A one-time case, her relative had crowed as she was given a crudely-shaped bucket that looked as if it were halfway to falling apart completely.

The trip was not worth the walk. One look at it made her question its source along with how many radioactive elements had been introduced.

The water burbled and emanated light as wells were most often not able to do, although it didn't seem harmful to any of the surrounding stone - a stray droplet did spark here and there, but the grass where it landed seemed to disappear entirely. She did not want to find out why.

The roof of the well was old and shingled, parts of it scattered around the stone opening. There was a hole in the top. Through the cracks in the bricks she could see the sharp outline of something: once in a while, a sharp flash would catch and a cool mist rose from the depths of the well. She wondered briefly if someone actually drank from it if they would live long enough to make it back.

She and her brother had taken this plane as per her mother's instructions. She would be busy with finding a buyer for their old scrap of a house, her mom had claimed, waving a stapled packet in the air threateningly. Her father was still drunk downstairs, and they could both hear his snoring even through the closed door. He wouldn't be up until late afternoon.

They were now residing in one of their grandparent's empty houses out in the fields, miles away from any large city or shop. Her grandma was old and sharp-witted, harsh with her words and assigning various chores that Ying now expected she'd have to do daily. She stood in front of the well now, eyeing the small shingled roof above the mouth of the well. She held an empty wooden bucket in her hands, the rope attached to one end. The other was coiled around at the base of the stone well, looping multiple times to indicate its length. She swung the bucket once, contemplating the light emanating from the depths.

The light was faint, she noted, watching it move in an entrancing pattern. Spots of light rose up and faded out before she could actually comprehend it, reaching out like small faeries before they pulled back, giggling. She wondered if she'd eaten something to make her hallucinate, or this was just some really strange water.

She decided to test the bucket.

Carefully she threw the rope over the pole hanging just above the rim of the well, letting it hang above the wisps. She let the rope go at small intervals of time, craning her head a bit forward. At least it wasn't poisonous to inhale the mist.

And suddenly, she felt a sharp pull.

Ying grit her teeth as she dug her heels in, struggling to maintain her hold on the rope. Did the bucket get caught on something? There was no way fish lived down there, and by the sound of it she didn't hear any sounds of splashing. She risked leaning forward a bit to see what was happening.

The end of the rope was gone. From the bottom of the well she could see ripples, but they were not from any sort of liquid material. Instead it was glowing, shifting in variegated shades of blue and white. She could briefly hear faint sounds of laughter. She instantly knew what it was.

Folklore from ancient times had been passed on from every other generation of her family. Her grandfather was a fantastic storyteller, but his claims were wild and impossible ones, things from fairytales: wells to another dimension, rings of grass in empty fields, fire spirits in the night. This was one of them: the soul-stealing well. She always enjoyed listening to him, but she never thought that any of them were true. She most likely hit her head after tripping on a stone.

She tried to pull back again, but the rope stayed taut. Grunting, she pulled harder. Grandma would kill her if she lost not only their bucket, but the rope as well. The bricks dug hard into her legs, and with a final curse she let the rope slip through her fingers, falling into the portal below.

"Shit," she said, falling back on all fours and pressing her lips together as her hands stung. The rope probably drew blood from the amount of friction she'd struggled through, and there were lines above her knees from prolonged contact with the well. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and scowled, knowing she'd be out for cleaning duty as soon as she returned.

There was a tug on her jacket.

"Wha-"

She was jerked back, hard. She craned her head, trying to see what had caught her, but again she was pulled. She attempted to shrug off the layer of clothing as quickly as possible, but this time she was too late. Her breath caught as she was flung over the rim of the well.

She was falling.

Instantly she forced herself upright, scrabbling for a hold on the well. Her nails were too short to have any purchase, and her fingers were further bloodied as she attempted to slow her fall. However, the line connecting her to the portal was still pulling and impossible to stop. "Fuck!" She held her breath and-

Warm winds came from the east, further proving his suspicions of no success. Gon Freecss was perched atop high ground, waiting for tension in the string to indicate that the bait had been caught. He's been waiting for that fish to catch for weeks. Sure enough, there was still no sign of it; however, patience was a virtue that he had plenty of. His breathing slowed.

He felt a bite. Instantly he was up, the birds nesting on his leaf-covered hat fluttering in distress. He shouted his approval and pulled hard three times in succession. It was pulling back in a struggle to escape. Gon wound around the tree, using the momentum to try and get the fish out of the water. The branch pulled under his weight, but the wire was strong enough to stay put. He could feel it coming.

Instantly it came out out of hiding, white streaks of movement indicating its ferocity. However, the telltale signs of blue scales were not there. It tugged free of the jacket (a jacket?) attached to it and fell a couple of feet, splashing back into the water. Gon could see flashes of definitely human arms and jumped down to get a closer look, instantly panicking. Did he just catch a drowning girl?

The girl coughed roughly, attempting to dislodge any water in her system. She was young, wearing dark jeans and a waterlogged black shirt that shifted noisily as she moved. She removed a few lungfuls of water before swiping hair out of her face and freezing upon eye contact.

"Who the hell," she asked, before thrown into a violent coughing fit once again. Gon thumped her on the back to help her get the water out. Slowly, she pulled herself up into a sitting position, dripping water onto mossy earth. She looked around, growing more alert by the second. "Holy shit, where are we."

"Whale Island," Gon chirped, inclining his head. "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy," she replied, wrangling water out of her hair. She seemed to be calm despite nearly drowning earlier, he thought, watching her fish out her jacket using the pole still hanging from the tree above them. She patted the pockets down before withdrawing something. "Huh. I didn't lose anything."

"Who are you?" He asked, observing the items she withdrew from her jacket: a butterfly knife, a wallet, a piece of strange coil bifurcated into two ends. She pressed a button on a device attached to her shirt and the screen turned on.

"It's still working? Holy crap."

She turned to face him, eyeing him with a strange intensity. He blinked once. "You wouldn't happen to be Gon, right?"

"H-how did you know?"

"Uh...just a guess." She plugged one bulb attached to the string into her ear and the long end into the device. After a moment, she removed it and placed everything back into her pockets. She slung her wet jacket over one shoulder. "Okay, okay, what are my priorities... Hey, can you point me to where civilization is? I'm starving and I seem to be lost."

"I'll take you to my place! You can borrow Aunt Mito's clothes while you're there!" She gave a thumbs up in response, turning the fishing pole in her hands. Her eyes widened a bit in recognition.

"Oh, man. You're gonna catch that huge crab-fish thing, aren't you?" She rubbed at her eye. "I thought I was imagining things when I saw it coming for me. I kicked it in the side. Sorry about that."

He was a ball of reckless energy. "You saw him!?"

"Yeah, yeah. Here." She rustled around a bit more in her other pocket before pulling out a plastic package. "Use this as fish bait. He'll come to it in seconds."

Gon's nose twitched. "Jerky?"

She laughed. "Yup. Works every time, especially with bigger fish." She sneezed. "Shit. Care to lead me before I catch a cold?"

Aunt Mito was a kind, motherly figure, worrying the second she stepped foot into the household and letting her take the shower as she gave her dry clothing to change into. Ying got out quickly and toweled her hair as she watched Gon flitter around, firing a barrage of questions in her direction. She bowed her head as bowls of steaming soup and dried fish were placed in front of her, remembering her manners.

"Thank you, Mito-san," she murmured, feeling warmth seep through her bones. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ying Li."

"Pleased to meet you, Ying." Mito smiled. "Help yourself. Gon told me about the bog."

"Where are you from? How'd you know my name?" Gon piped in eagerly, nearly falling over into his own food. Ying chuckled before leaning forward, face serious.

"I can tell the future."

Gon stared at her for a moment, and Ying wondered if he would believe her. Slowly but surely his face began to light up, and Ying marveled at how easily Gon left his heart on his sleeve. "Really?" He gasped. "Then do you know when I'm going to catch the Swamp King?"

"Let's give the girl a rest, now," Mito warned, ushering him away, though Ying could see the sharp glance of worry. She placed a finger to her lips and nodded as a signal that she'd keep her mouth shut. Mito's relief was plain to see, and Ying listened to the sound of stomping footsteps as they moved upstairs.

Ying closed her eyes and breathed in. She could smell the hint of spices and the sharp tang of alcohol, likely from the clothing Mito lent her for the moment. The house was small, but it felt homely. Warm light streaked in through the sunlit window, sparkling crystalline and clear. She smelled summer rain and faraway lands, seas that seem so familiar to her and yet so ephemeral. A bird sang nearby, perched neatly on a golden branch as it caught the sun between feathered wings.

She plugged one earbud in and began to hum.

- In the Making -

Mito let her sleep in early after giving her space to rest, curled up on the mattress and breathing softly. Ying peeked through half-lidded eyes as dark shadows passed behind her door. It was too early to be up, but from the sound of the footsteps she could hear soft squeaking and the rustle of cloth.

"What are you doing?" She murmured. The footsteps froze for a long moment. "Gon, I know it's you. Get in here."

Slowly, the handle opened. Gon crept inside, silent as a snake as he pried the door open and closed it shut behind him. Ying nearly laughed at his guilty look. "I won't tell. Come on, let's go."

Even when he was trying not to wake Mito up, his voice was at a whisper-shout. She wondered how he'd ever survive as an assassin. "You knew I was gonna sneak out?"

Ying tapped the side of her head with one forefinger. "I'm a seer, remember? I'm bored, and catching this fish is way more important than staring at a wall doing nothing."

She unlocked the window and slid it open, peeking out to see the path she should take. She hopped a few steps back before taking a running leap, landing easily on a sturdy branch of the tree next to the house. A few leaves rustled, but that was all. She slid down as Gon came out next, carrying his fishing rod on his back. She looked up at the darkened sky and bared her teeth with a wild grin. "Which way's the wind blowing, Gon?"

"West," he said, almost in awe. There was a surge of excitement in his first step forward, heading towards the bog where she'd first arrived in this world. Ying didn't bother calling for him, as he was already a speck in the distance.

She wrapped her valuable items and shoved it into her bag, surveying the moss at the foot of the hill where the forest began. She knew where Gon was headed after the fish, and for a moment she was uncertain about whether to chase after him. Did she want to become a Hunter? She simply wanted to go home.

"Well," she sighed, starting to sprint after him. "Why not see where he goes?"

Hey hey hey! I have so many stories I want to start, and I'm getting them all out now. This is one of them, a fall-into-another-world trope. Hope you enjoy it!

If you know about Chinese legends like Journey to the West and with navigating sailors, the four winds mean certain things:

Wind from the West, fish bite the best.
Wind from the East, fish bite the least.
Wind from the North, do not go forth.
Wind from the South blows bait in their mouth.

Ying's grandfather taught her how to fish using the long river near their run-down house. She eventually learned to anticipate the weather by his teachings, so she's a decent observer as well.

Thanks for reading!

Gladiolus: Symbolizing strength and moral integrity, gladioli also represent infatuation, with a bouquet conveying to a recipient that they pierce the giver's heart with passion.