Whispers and averted gazes followed Amity as she shouldered her way to her next class, head low as she double checked her face mask.  She sighed as she finally settled in her seat, ready for the class to be over so she can finally pick up her Dream Unit.

 "It isn't my fault I look like this!" Amity muttered darkly, causing those close to her seat to avert their gazes nervously, before the whispers started again. 

 ". . Dangerous. .wierdo. ."  The whispers all said similar things, Amity was always the oddball in school.  With a tall, willowy frame and voluminous red hair framing petite features, she should be fairly popular.  Unfortunately, Amity was not so lucky for her appearance to be limited to such descriptions.  

Her eyes held a steely grey gaze maintaining an aloof aura, and her face mask only helped change that aura to intimidating.  Her frame was perpetually covered in a black bodysuit, ever present under her normal clothes and uniforms, with a hood covering her hair and eyes.  No skin was exposed to the sun, and this odd atomosphere has kept everyone at bay for the entirety of Amity's schooling.  Even the teachers left her to her own devices, though that may be more from her family ties than anything else.

 Amity sighed again and laid her head on the desk to feign sleep, on the last day of school attention was not particularly necessary.  When the bell rang she rushed out to the waiting black car with dark tinted windows, and ordered the driver to Dreamworld.

Upon arriving to Dreamworld, the only store selling Dream Online merchandise, Amity earned stares as she came through the door.  Quickly getting over his curiousity at the oddly dressed young woman, the middle aged clerk reluctantly approached.

"Can I help you?"

"Y, yes! I Dream of being a Tamer with lots of cute pets!"  

Taken aback at the outburst, the experienced clerk ushered the young woman away from the giggling onlookers.  Mortified, Amity explained further in a more subdued tone,

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"I would like to purchase the Dream Unit with the game please."

 Business quickly done, Amity tried to ignore the stares as she left the store to the waiting car.

Once home, Amity flew to her room to set up the unit.  Her room had blackout curtains and dim lights, and sparsely furnished.  Once the machine was hooked up, Amity changed into track pants and a tank top.  Pale skin and face finally relieved of the constricting bodysuit and hood, She stretched out on her bed, put on the Dream Unit, and booted up the game.  As she drifted into darkness, her imagination was floating with images of sunlight and animals.

"Please state your name, while we initiate body scanning" a voice rang through the darkness.

"Amity Reddian"

"Creating account for Amity Reddian. . . Scanning complete".  Once the voice finished scanning, Amity's vision lightened and she could see a projection of her appearance.  Stunned, Amity looked herself over.  The machine got everything from her pearly skin to her unruly mane of red hair.

"Character creation initiated, please select a race."

Amity scanned the dizzying list of templates, and her eyes settled on the Fairies.

"I'll be a Fairy!" She stated.  "Can I customize my wings?"

Once the words left her lips, various wing options appeared.  Amity could see beetle options with a hard carapace, dragonfly wings, even bumblebee wings! After going over everything, Amity bypassed the beautiful and flowing butterfly wings and selected the large and metallic looking cicada wings.  After they were equipped, they settled down her back and ended at her ankles, when amity turned around, she saw the iron hue complimented her own iron gaze.  With a smirk, she confirmed the choice.

"Please select a starti-"

"Tamer!" Amity shouted, her excitement finally getting the better of her.

"Before we finalize, please state your Character name."

Amity thought for a moment.  Her name is a burden in the real world, a farce of an irony for those who have no friends, and as she pondered, she thought of what this game may help her achieve.  I can have pets, and I can finally be in tha sun without pain! Amity's expression brightened and she said, "Sunny!"

"Taken, please choose again" the voice cruelly replied. 

"Ray?"

"Take-"

"Sol, Sunshine, Sunrise, Sunset, Sunbeam?!" Amity practically shouted.

"Taken, please choose again".

"I guess that's what I get for waiting a month to start. . . How about Soren?" Taking inspiration from her favorite tactics video game and giving up on being more original.

"Welcome Soren, you will start in a random beginner city, enjoy Dream Online."

Surprised that was actually approved, Amity, now Soren, felt a mental shift as she closed her eyes.  When she opened them, what greeted her was a shrine looking down on a mountain hamlet, and lounging around that shrine were about a hundred cats of various colors and sizes.