(Steven Edwards)

I woke the next morning after helping Heinz join the village to see the blinking light. I sighed and opened it

DAILY QUEST PEST CONTROL

PESTS HAVE INVADED YOUR FARM. FAILURE TO STOP THEM WILL RESULT IN A 10% LOSS IN CROP PRODUCTION.

REMAINING PESTS:

GRUB x4

CRAB GRASS x2

WIND HARE x1

Crab grass? That sounds easy. I took Lu-Shi to Yanors and saw Heinz waiting outside her house, his blanket around his shoulders like a cape again. He smiled up at me as we walked. “Morning Heinz.”

“Good morning my friend.” I said with a frown as I put Lu-Shi down.

“Now is that anyway to greet me?” he frowned and looked worried. “Okay I’ll start this time. You can’t leave me until you answer these questions three.” he smiled and brightened up. “Did you sleep well last night?” He said beaming.

“Yes. Did you two?” Lu-Shi just nodded and yawned and nodded, covering my mouth.

“I did. Did you have a good breakfast?” I asked.

“I did. Lusinda is a wonderful woman. She was shocked to find out that I don’t like meat.” He said with his normal growing smile. I was happy my big buddy had made new friends.

“Nice. Lu-Shi and I haven’t eaten yet, but she will be eating soon. I may grab something on my way back to the farm.” I said with a smile. He nodded and smiled as he rocked in place. It was like he had a lot more energy, maybe he was able to sleep better in a bed.. “Now last question,” I said as I took a deep breath. “Are you still my friend after what I put you through yesterday?” he grabbed me up into a massive hug.

“You are the best friend I’ve ever had. Thank you so much.” He said, shaking me like a rat in the maw of a dog. I shall love him, pet him, and call him George and by that I mean I couldn’t breathe.

“Little tight bud.” I gasped.

“Ho, sorry.” H said as he set me down and rubbed the back of his head with the two arms on his right side. Lu-Shi walked up and hugged his huge leg. He looked down and smiled. “Good morning my little elf friend.”

“Good morning my flower friend.” She said in her normal sweet girl way. Both smiled at each other before hugging.

“You two have a great day, I’m going to get some work done.” I said as I turned and left. Maggie was up and gave me a bowl of rabbit stew. I was starting to wonder if the woman ever slept or ran out of energy, but this was a game and she may not need to sleep. With a whistle in my heart I went back to smash some bugs, cut some grass and look for a hare.

Turns out crab grass is not what I thought it was. A crab as big as a trash can lid with huge sharp looking claws skittered at me. It had a mat of long grass covering its back. I had thought it was just grass that needed to be trimmed until it stood up and charged me. I quickly got out my shovel and ran around striking at its back. It took a while and I have little doubt that it looked silly as hell, but the crab died easily and so long as I kept moving it wasn’t a real challenge. I touched it and got a bit of a surprise.

YOU HAVE LOOTED CRAB GRASS AND FOUND 5xp 2 LAND CRAB MEAT, 3 GRASS AND 2 COPPER.

I smiled. These guys I liked. I hefted my shovel and looked for the other patch of grass. On a whim I picked up a grub with my shovel and dumped it off my land. To my surprise it worked. I didn’t have to squish these guys. Yeah I may lose out on a copper, but I didn’t have to risk looting them. The other grubs went the same way and I even used my shovel as a catapult and that little bug flew a long distance. It was turning out to be a nice easy day… until I saw the bunny that is. A small white rabbit with sharp red eyes looked out at me. It didn’t run as I walked up and actually gave off a murderous aura. It hopped to me slowly as though it knew it outclassed me by a fair bit. I remember Monty Python and knew how this would go. Death by bunny didn’t seem like a fun way to go. Where is my holy hand grenade? I backed away slowly. The psycho bunny that stalked me for a little before stopping and washing it’s cute little face as though saying, you better run punk. I found the other crab and then watered my crops applying the horse dung to my fields. I could add up to three of them and was happy to see each one took off a day and added a fifty percent buff to yield. I looked closely at them to see the normal pop up window.

WHEAT CROP. FERTILIZER HORSE DUNG x3 = HEALTHY= 5% BONUS, LEVEL BONUS= 3% TIME REMAINING 6 DAYS, 4 HOURS, 25 MINUTES BONUS TOTAL= 158% YOUR CROPS ARE HEALTHY AND HAPPY.

I walked back to the city in hopes of finding Kara. A hunter may be better than a farmer for taking care of a killer bunny. Today was full of surprises as a window came up. I blinked at the blue screen before focusing on the words.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEND A DOVE TO A PERSON? (YES) NO

AVAILABLE TO MESSAGE

KARA (NO LAST NAME)

TINA WRATHOOF

POP WRATHOOF

YANOR EMBERWOOD

HEINZ

TABBITHA HERRIS

LU-SHI {PLAYER}

I selected Kara and started typing on the keyboard that popped up.

Hey Kara,

Sorry for the sudden message, but I have a rabbit on my farm that I’m not sure I can take care of. You are welcome to the body, I’d just be happy to get it off my property and see you of course.

Hope to see you soon,

Steven.

On pressing send I wasn’t prepared to see the screen morph into a bird and fly off into the woods. It seemed to fit this game world well. I took out my sickle and started mowing my lawn, keeping a careful eye on the murder bunny. About an hour later I saw the green cloak of the cute catgirl come into view out of the woods. She seemed to glide up to me as though she danced on the very wind itself. Large green eyes looked up from the edge of the cloak before looking down again. Her long tail swished back and forth behind her and I wasn't sure if she was happy or annoyed. Maybe I had taken her away from something better than a rabbit.

“Morning. I hope I didn’t take you off the trail of something better than a rabbit." I said, echoing my fear. She nodded and just said softly.

“No… no nearby... game… far away.” She said stiltedly as she looked arend.

“Well I’m happy to see you and happy I didn’t bother you.” I said in my friendliest way. Her ears went up and focused on me and her tail stopped waving. Maybe I had gone too far with that. She looked more at the ground, her face hidden completely by the hood. “Do you think you can handle the killer rabbit?” I was wondering if I made her feel bad about something and had no clue what I had done. It was easier when I was a vegi-man. She looked up a bit and nodded.

“How much?” her ears were focused on me fully as she asked.

“I think I could pay one silver.” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. She shook her head rapidly.

“How much… I pay... you?” She asked. I laughed and she looked up a little more. I could see the frown on her now exposed face. I was screwing this up badly.

“Nothing. You are helping me. Why would I charge you?” I asked in outrage. Her eyes came into view and I could see a puzzled look. “I would never charge you for helping me.” I said waving my hands.

“Your land… charge to… hunt.” She said and I could still see a puzzled look in her eyes.I reached a hand out.

“You are allowed to hunt on my land at any time, no charge or percentage needed. Your kill, your coin. All I ask is that you don’t hunt any animal I domesticate.” Her face softened and she lowered her hood again. She took my hand and I was surprised to see it was soft and warm. “You and the kittens are always welcome in my home as I value all three of you.” her face lowered back to the ground and she nodded slightly. “Did I do something wrong?” she shook her head back and forth wildly.

“No… good man.” She said and I could hear a delighted smile in her voice.

“Kara, you can call me Steven. That is unless it makes you uncomfortable.” I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. She just nodded and her ear twitched to the side. She pulled a long silver knife and turned. “The rabbit.” I said, the fear beginning to build in my cheat. It had been making its way slowly to us as we talked. “I can be a distraction so you can get it from behind.” She nodded, crouched and faded before my eyes. I saw the grass move to the right, but could only track her for a few steps. My eyes went back to the death wabbit and saw it slowly stalking me. Red beady eyes watching me closely. Its evil tail began to wiggle and I saw its back legs tense. If she didn’t do something soon the rabbit would have me for breakfast. Without warning it jumped and I did the manliest thing I could think of. I fell on my ass and raised my arms to block my face. The sound that I made was a little less than manly and something I’d rather not talk about. Just before the murder bunny got to me a hand reached out and grabbed it around the neck. She snapped the bunny to the side rapidly and I heard a sharp crack as she broke its spine. I should have seen the smile on her face or the proud look in her eye, but my mind was lost in shadow, wondering if my own neck made that sound. The years came back and my smile was gone. I curled up my head between my legs and just looked at my flexing fingers. {They can move. You are not trapped. YOU ARE NOT BACK THERE!} I inwardly screamed. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see worried green eyes looking down at me.

“Okay?” She asked, a mixture of fear and worry in her eyes. I nodded slowly knowing my face had to show a strange level of horror and fear. I was unable to focus and unable to breathe.

“I… I’ll be fine… just shadows from my past. Need a moment.” I gasped out as I tried to find my center. Much to my surprise I felt arms around me. Her free hand moved to my hair and she started petting me. It was warm, nice and I just sat there.

“Okay now… be fine.” I started rocking back and forth a few unmanly tears making their way out. {You are okay dude. You got this.} I said to myself. It was like my inward voice was trying to keep me sane. I slowed and reached up to hold her hand. I needed her more than I wanted to admit.

“Thank you. Sorry for that. Just bad memories.” I said, shaking a little. She nodded and I took a deep breath before letting go. I stood and whipped my face off before looking at her. She was worried as she looked up at me. Large green eyes wanting to ask. “Lu-Shi and I have bad pasts before coming here. I broke my neck in an accident.” I started feeling the tears flow as a lump formed in my throat. She nodded and reached out, but let her hand fall. “Sometimes the past is hard to run away from.” I said with a sigh. She nodded and took her own deep breath.

“Don’t run… fight… be strong.” She smiled softly at me and I tried to take her words to heart.

“I’m happy to have a friend like you.” Her face fell again and I could see her tail waving from side to side as she refused to look up at me. She held out the rabbit by the ears. “No. as I said, your kill, your coin. My offer still stands.” I said feeling a little more confident than I felt.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Friends?” She asked

“You are the best little kitten a man could ask for.” I said feeling like I was going a little far, but it was too late to take back my words. She refused to look up but her ears went back and her tail stiffened before swaying madly back and forth wildly. “Did I offend you?” I asked, feeling my heart hammering in my chest. She just shook her head and looked down. “Would you like to take a break on my porch before you go back to hunting? Sadly all I have at this time is water, but it is there if you want some.” I offered. She nodded and turned to the house. I fetched a bucket of water, cups and filled hers before my own. WIth a grunt, I sat beside her. Her tail slid across the porch and I saw her looking over at me, but turning away when she saw me looking. “I have been meaning to ask, why do you seem to struggle with talking?” She looked over letting me see one eye. Was that a blush on her cheeks? That may be my immigration.

“Hunting… don’t talk… home late… tired.” She said, turning away and looking into her cup.

“You spend all day hunting and by the time you pick up the twins, you are too tired to talk.” I said making sure I got her words right. She nodded and lifted her cup hiding it in her hood.. A strange sound came to me and it took me a moment to realize she was lapping the water like a cat. It was cute. “Does it rain here?” She looked at me, giving me a puzzled expression.

“Yes rain… Rain where… you're from?” She asked.

“Yes it rains back there, but back there we have people who can tell us when it will rain or snow and what to expect throughout the week.” I said hoping I could get the weather channel here. If we were going to get heavy rain or hail, it may be better to plan for it. She nodded, but hid her face.

“Sinda… weather… witch…. does that.” She said, her switching tail stopped and stiffened a bit.

“You don’t like Sinda?” I asked unsure what I was getting myself into. She shook her head twice fast. It was clear that was an understatement.

“No… easy… not like.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but would have to find out. I just hoped I would live to see the answer.

“Where does she live?” I asked. Suddenly Kara stood leaving her cup behind and pointed to the village.

“East village… listen for… frogs.” she sounded mad as she nearly growled those words.

“Thank you for the help today and for the information.” I said, hoping to smooth things over. She nodded and turned to the woods.

“I hunt.” She began to run back to the forest and I watched her fade into the trees. I could have sworn she looked back just before she was gone in the green of the woods, but that could have been my mind playing tricks. I rubbed my head trying to clear the shadows and stood up. After putting my things away, I made my way back to town and to see the witch. I may or may not have been humming the wizard of oz as I went there. The town was active and people seemed happier as they moved through the streets. I made my way to the center and turned east. About half way through the town I heard the distant sound of frogs croaking and followed it to a swamp that was brightly lit and seemed to be in a perfect circle with a narrow path of stones leading to a cabin that wouldn’t look out of place in a horror movie. I thought my place looked like something out of Evil Dead. This one made mine look like Snow White’s cottage. Taking a deep breath I crossed the stones to the door. Luckily I didn’t fall in the swamp. The door looked like it would fall over if I knocked too hard so I knocked on the frame instead. A soft sweet voice came from inside that made my spine tingle in a fun way. What big teeth you have grandma, I thought.

“Who is it?” It sounded soft and the door opened slowly. I found myself looking at a large pair of bright blue eyes that seemed to shine in the light. Her hair was blue and the short dress was, you guessed it, green. By that I mean a deep blue. She even had blue lipstick and eye shadow. It gave her an odd look, like she was frozen or drowned. She looked up at me and smiled warmly. “Hello new person.” She said as she had a blank almost airhead look and way of talking. Oh, she is going to be in for a hard time when the other gamers get here.

“Hello Sinda the weather witch?” I asked. She nodded, sending the blue hair waving in a way that seemed to suggest it was underwater. How did she do that? Must be magic. Witch using magic to make her hair stand out.

“I am Sinda Sandwich. My grandmother had a gift with earth magic. You are?” She asked, blinking those large blue eyes at me.

“Oh. I’m Steven the farmer. You can just call me Steven.” I said proudly. She blinked slowly and welcomed me in. Her place was decorated with frogs. The bookshelf was frogs, the table was frogs and even the chairs were just normal chairs. It was a bit weird. I was expecting frogs, but no normal chairs. She offered me one and seemed to look at me without blinking. It felt like I was a mouse in the sights of a large snake. Get this done Steven and you can go home. I told myself.

“So farmer Steven, what do you want?” The way she asked it seemed to have almost a double meaning. Was she coming on to me?

“Weather. Just wanted to know the coming weather.” she sighed at my words as though hoping for me.

“How boring. I was hoping for a love potion or a hex on a rival, but for weather it will be fifty.” She held out her hand.

“Fifty gold?” My words made her laugh in a flirty way.

“No silly, frogs. I need fifty frogs a week or three silver if you want to be boring.” She said, batting her eyes at me again.

SINDA SANDWICH IS OFFERING YOU THE QUEST: “FROG PRINCE” COLLECT 50 FROGS AND RETURN THEM TO SINDA. SHE IS OFFERING YOU A FROG CATCHING STICK TO COMPLETE THIS QUEST ACCEPT (YES) NO

I accepted and got up to go out to the swamp. “One question, why frogs?” I asked, almost fearing the answer. She smiled and giggled and a flirty way as she took a breath.

“Mama said I’d have to kiss a lot of frogs to find my prince.” She batted her eyelashes at me. I couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not. To be honest it could be taken both ways. I inwardly laughed at my own joke. I know I’m like mentally five, don’t judge me. Now I knew why Kara didn’t like her. I shrugged and started catching frogs. Turns out all I had to do was touch the frog with the stick and they were transported to my inventory. It was simple at first, but the buggers would move when I got too close and there were less of them as the day wore on. The sun was nearly down by the time I got number fifty and returned to her door covered in slime, muck and the gods only knew what else. Not going to tell you how many times I fell because I lost count after sixty. She had a bright smile on opening the door, but frowned when she saw me. “Oh my you may need to get cleaned up before you are edible.” She said with her normal sweet flirty smile. I shook slightly trying not to get worked up.

“Here are your frogs, I’m going to get my girl and go home.” I held out my hand. She took it in two thin blue gloved fingers and I sighed with relief as the window popped up.

YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE QUEST: “FROG PRINCE” YOU HAVE EARNED 10xp, A WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE COMING WEEK AND 1 SILVER. YOU ARE NOW FRIENDLY WITH SINDA SANDWICH. SHE WILL OFFER YOU BASIC WATER MAGIC FOR 10 GOLD AT THE TRUSTED FRIEND LEVEL.

I smiled at her. “Thank you. See you next week where I hope I’ll be covered in less slime next time.” I said laughing. She giggled and called to my back,

“If not, I know how to clean you up.” This woman was going to send my mind to places it didn’t need to go right now. I looked at the forecast and saw we had light rain in three days. I walked to the bridge that used to be Heinz’s home and cleaned in the river where I hoped no one would notice as I didn’t want to go too far covered in this stuff.. As I waited for my clothes to dry, I checked my inventory.

YOU HAVE:

WOODEN HOE

WOODEN SICKLE

WOODEN BUCKET

WOODEN RAKE

SMALL MONSTER BUG MEAT x3

CRAB GRASS MEAT x2

POISONED STINGER

HORSE DUNG

GRASS x132

SNOT BALL x4

COINS P(0) G (0) S(7) C(8)

MISSING ITEMS CAN BE FOUND IN YOUR HOUSE “OLD ROCK FIELD FARM”

REMAINING MORTGAGE 2 GOLD AND 1 SILVER NEXT PAYMENT OF 3 SILVER IS DUE IN 57 DAYS.

I smiled as I may have even half the farm paid off by then given the way things were going. I almost had a gold and would have to debate on the farm or paying for herb gathering soon. That or cooking, but I’d rather hold off on that until we had some food coming in. no point in knowing how to cook an egg if there were no eggs. I tested my clothes and found them to be dry enough to deal with. With a smile on my lips and a hum in my heart, went to pick up Lu-Shi and then off to the tavern for our evening meal. It was becoming a habit for us at this point. She loved eating with the twins and this time I’d just bring them with us. The tavern was relaxing and the girls played as they waited for the bunny stew to be ready. I hoped this wasn’t the bunny that tried to kill me, but I didn’t want to know or ask. Pop and Tina were there early and I was pleased to see Heinz eating with them. Pop seemed to take a shine to the big troll. I looked at the bell as it rang and Kara came in. She smiled at the four of us before taking her seat next to me. I noticed that she wouldn’t look me in the eye and I hoped to break the ice a little. I smiled at her and asked in my friendliest,

“How was your day?” She gave a tight smile as she looked away.

“Rabbits… how was… Sinda?” She almost had a growl when she said the other woman’s name. I sighed nearly growing in my own way.

“I see why you don’t like her. Seems like an airhead and what is with the frogs?” I askeda slapping the table in anger. She looked at me with shock in her green eyes.

“Hunt… frogs?” Her tail and ears were at attention as she looked right at me.

“Yep fifty of them. I was covered in slime by the end. Luckily Heinz had moved out because I used his river to clean up. I was so lucky no one goes near his place or they would have seen me.” I said in outrage. She sagged in her seat with a sigh and her tail went back to switching back and forth slowly. I almost caught the glimpse of a satisfied smile before she turned away. I never had much luck with the ladies, but getting a read on Kara seemed impossible. The girls talked with both of us about their day. I would reply and Kara would mostly nod. Yanor and Heinz went with the three of them to pick flowers in the afternoon and Yanor only took her crown off when I knocked. So the elf had a sweet heart. Good to know. “Do you mind me picking up the girls for dinner?” I asked the small cat woman. Kara shook her head and gave me a slight smile.

“Easier… Thank you.” I smiled back as she answered.

“Also if you ever want to talk, you know I’m here.” She just nodded at my words and smiled slightly. The dinner was nice and it wasn’t long before Lu-Shi and I were in our beds waiting for tomorrow. Aside from the slime, killer rabbit, and freak out, it was a good day. I closed my eyes and faded away.

Message from Travis Walker,

{Hey guys we have to close down the system and run some maintenance and updates. Do you want to be kept under or come out? You can respond mentally and I’ll be able to see it.} I looked at the words and tried to speak, realized I couldn’t and just thought.

{Given the choice, staying out or being put into a movie theater would work. I know Lu-Shi may be missing some of her Happy elf shows.} I thought

{She says that would be a great idea or at least I think that is what the equivalent of EAAAAAAAAA means. Kind of happy I wasn’t hooked into the speech part when that came through. I’ll patch you in as soon as I can.}My best friend said. The darkness lifted and I was back in the theater with fake ads playing. This one was about, shower in a can might make for a good idea for the game. I was missing my sponge baths and had gained a slight smell over the last few days. Luckily the smell wasn’t here with me now. Lu-Shi popped in beside me and smiled.

“Papa has great ideas.” She said, looking around in wonder. “Do you think the twins can join us some day?” a voice came in over the speaker.

“They are sleeping right now, but I don’t see why they couldn’t have a dream of being with you. Their code isn’t being worked on at the moment.” I didn’t recognize the voice, but smiled as the twins popped in and took their place on either side of Lu-Shi. They had so many questions about this place and what was going on, but Lu-Shi and I just left it as a dream that the four of us were having. A bag of popcorn popped in and the lights dimmed. It was cute watching the young girls be young girls and enjoy a movie. Turns out this one was about a bird and a frog. The frog was being a jerk to the bird and the elf princess, but made friends in the end. Once more why did the princess need to be there to settle an argument between animals? The girls seemed like they had a great time. I wonder if movies could be a thing in the game? I would have to ask Travis when I had the time.

{Dr. Emma Winters}

Emma was at home, fresh from the shower and feeling a little bit off. He had been gone for a little over a day and it felt like she was truly alone. Travis was off with his new team and she was mostly just watching Steven’s feed and scans by herself. A few mild spikes of fear from the deer and the bugs, but other than that, everything was normal. She had her laptop open so she could watch both from home. She didn’t even need to go in other than to check in. She felt truly alone like when she was studying for her doctorate. Freckles had laid claim to her laptop and was laying on the keyboard. She had to turn it off every time. There was an accident a few years ago when the little stinker had sent a mass of random junk in as a paper to her professor. Luckily the man was a cat lover too and laughed it off. She pulled cold pizza from the fridge and started eating. Breakfast of champions, she thought. She wanted a hot meal, but didn’t know how to cook. She could mix things from a box, but really cooking a meal was far past her skill and she didn’t have the time or that is what she told herself. She frowned at the cold pizza and pulled a plate out. “Into Mr. Microwave with you.” She looked at the living room when a ping came through the speakers on her laptop. Freckles yelled as he jumped off disapproving of the disturbance. She poked the screen bringing it to life and moved it to the kitchen so she could make sure the kittens didn’t get this meal too. She poured a glass of wine as she pulled up the alert. Her eyes went wide and she nearly spat out the wine as she looked at the data. His levels were through the roof. It only lasted a moment, but she slowed down the scan and pulled up the feed to the start of the issue.

He was standing in a field and facing down a cute bunny. It jumped and a strange woman with cat ears caught it in mid air. To Emma’s horror the other woman snapped its neck and stood over Steven, pride and satisfaction clear on her face. Emma searched in outrage at the killing of the cute bunny. The spike started, Emma watched it closely beginning to understand what was happening. She was watching a panic attack in real time with a full brain scan during the attack. This was groundbreaking stuff. Scans of this nature have been done before, but never to this level. The microwave dinged and she just stood there watching the feed. She watched him move into the fetal position and then the other woman held him, stroking his hair. “That bitch.” She slammed her hand on the counter and then looked around. “Why did I do that? I’m not jealous. I’m just here alone talking to myself. Yep, perfectly sane. Right Emma? Yes Emma.” She turned back to the scan and watched the spike lower. When it returned to normal he stood and the two of them walked to the house. “Is he going to sleep with her? It’s the middle of the freaking day.” Why was she getting worked up over this? He was a man and had his own life to live. They weren’t a thing no matter how much Emma wanted them to be one. She blushed at her own confession. Why did he make her feel like she was in highschool?

She reached for the glass and went to take a sip when she heard a clink of her necklace. She looked down and felt the pain of jealousy hit her again. She turned back to the screen and saw the two sitting on the porch talking. He gave her a glass of water and after talking for a bit she stood and ran off. “Yes, you aren’t getting laid today Mr.” why was she happy about that? She sighed and made a full report about the attack and had to reheat the pizza once more. A few glasses of wine and she turned on a cheesy chick flick. The box ran dry and her eyes were anything but. She was very drunk and turned on the feed before going to bed. “Yeah baby, take it off.” Steven was covered in slime and going to bathe in the stream. God he looked tasty in that avatar. “I need to get a boyfriend. Emma you got cats. You don’t need no man.” She saved a few pictures for later and watched for far longer than she should have. Her head lulled and she passed out on the couch with the feed pulled up, his voice in her ears. Somehow his voice was just the right level of relaxing to her.