Violet could hear the man's sobbing.

She didn't know him, but her heart tore in her chest.

The whole day Violet observed and studied the human. Oohing and aahing. Mostly sighing and rolling her eyes. But when the man spared the rabbit and decided to go hungry. Her preconception changed.

It took time for the sobs to grow in volume. Filled with unbridled emotions overflowing the dam. Violet felt intrusive to this moment. She shouldn't be listening, but there was nowhere else to go, and the man had no clue he was being watched.

Her heart ached at the thought there would be someone so soft and kind they couldn't harm a rabbit to feed themselves. She felt her own tears well up as she allowed her own tears to fall for the second night in a row.

No crickets chirped that night.

=

Morning. Violet slept in, waking up to the buzz of a forest once deserted. A cool breeze blew in from the East, flinging tangled hair into her mouth.

Violet sat up, spitting, her books going undisturbed for the first time. Violet attempted to glance at the clearing through the swaying leaves of the canopy, searching for the man in his hovel.

Missing.

Panicking slightly, she squinted but couldn't find him. Violet jumped off her perch and floated down near the ground. He wasn't in the clearing or near the circling trees, nor on the other side of the boulder.

*Splash*

A distinct sound proclaiming the exodus of water from its calm nature... also known more commonly as a splash, rippled out from the p. Violet whirled around to see a figure surface from the water. The strange man stood half-submerged up to the waist after dunking his head. Brown hair hung down long enough to reach the center of his shoulder blades. The normally normal hair color didn't detract from its beauty. Violet became jealous, seeing how the smooth strands glimmered in the shining sun. It even appeared silky...

…It made Violet want to ruffle it.

"What am I thinking!?"

Violet slapped her cheeks. She shook her head to get rid of such thoughts, but her eyes landed back on the man. He was naked from the waist up... which wasn't naked. Romance novels were coloring her perspective.

Violet struggled internally for a good minute but then started watching, unabashed.

Under the soap, his skin appeared unblemished and smooth. He wasn't muscular, as there are no defined abs or rippling muscles like those in her books. It was an average build. A man's body.

Her cheeks burned brightly and she felt the heat with her palms. Shaking her head violently, she banished the unwanted thoughts.

Violet turned, drooped her head low in shame, and flew back up to her perch. Her short search and rescue mission completed, she decided to go hide under a leaf.

=

Daire woke up early that day. It had been a long time since he cried or had been able to cry like that, so he was feeling rather well.

A few leaves and small twigs sticking out of his hair from sleeping in an unorthodox way. The aches in his joints felt odd but weren't all-encompassing. Though he could feel the grime and dirt coating his face. Unsatisfied.

He spent a few minutes digging up his toiletries before returning them to the earth.

A more convenient hiding place for his belongings should be found, but that could wait. For now, Daire walked over to the pond with his items. He threw off his shirt, laying it by the bank before debating to take off his jeans and underwear.

"Soggy pants or cold water?"

An internal struggle ensued, but Daire ultimately decided to keep the pants.

Maybe this could count as laundry too?

He thought about it, then grimaced.

Just don't make it a habit; it'll be fine.

He did take his shoes and socks off as a compromise. Wading into the water, it was slightly warmer than he thought it would be. Which meant it was bone-chilling.

Daire despised cold showers. Cold baths were even less tolerable, so he hastily undid his hair and dunked his head underwater to get it over with.

On a whim, he opened his eyes. The pond was freshwater, so it didn't sting... much. What surprised him at how clear it was. He could see almost to the other end. It was maybe two hundred feet long and only twenty feet deep at its lowest.

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Quite a large pool.

No fish or crustaceans; it appeared to be an isolated pond that formed from rain over many years. There was minimal underwater fauna, the bottom filled with... gravel? Daire thought he might have seen a small crab scurry under, but he was running of air, so he hurriedly flung himself back out of the water.

Draining his hair, Daire reminisced. He sported short hair in youth but wanted to experiment later on with color and length. It's gotten to the point where it might be getting too long to maintain properly. He had a hair appointment in a few days, too. Unfortunately, Markus came at a bad time. Daire won't begrudge the miracle he'd been gifted with, but the slimy dealer could have arrived at a more convenient time...

Shaking his head, the wet hair flopped, landing coldly on his shoulders. He shivered.

Longer hair had its advantages. He often envied girls who could style their hair in so many different ways. He even experimented with dying his hair, braiding, and even that one horrendous occasion where a friend convinced him to try dreads.

Daire shivered for an entirely different reason.

I would have gone bald from all that bleach.

His hair now reached slightly below his shoulder blades. It often tickled.

Maintaining it was always difficult. Split ends would pop up, or laying on it the wrong way would cause it to poof out in random directions or get tangled. It was a pain to manage, and he abhorred when it was dirty and greasy.

However, the feeling of long, clean hair blowing in the wind was the most wonderful experience.

Pretty is often an adjective used to describe girls. Yet, Daire, without a doubt, felt pretty in these moments.

Suddenly, he felt an odd prickling along his neck. Whirling, he looked around.

Huh.

No one. Just a quiet clearing filled with... a lot of rabbits. Like a ton. Like a fluffy horde. They all looked up from grazing. Then they all scattered.

That was more than a little eerie.

Looking around a bit more, his eyes narrowed on the willow tree.

Now that he thought about it... he could have probably just slept there instead of making a shitty hovel.

The cold water got too much to bare. Daire quickly rinsed himself off and did his hair as quickly as he could.

A brisk five minutes later, he was out.

=

Violets' face was buried in one of her books. It was a horror book. She was trying to get her mind off of what she had seen.

Violet wasn't very self-conscious of this, but she was quite pure. She'd never met another man except those from her own kind, who weren't actually kind. She's never felt attraction before. So, her entire mental faculties were currently overloaded and trying to reboot.

"Is this love? Am I pregnant now that I've seen him naked? Oh no, I'm not ready!"

Violet was speaking nonsensical statements that she herself knew the answers to. She knew what love was from her books. They were mostly fictional works with knights in shining armor, or cute princes, or that one Duke who just can't catch a break.

Regardless of her purity and naivety, she knew how children were made. Scandalous novels spilled the beans. Non-metaphorical steam wafted from her head when she found out.

Not to mention the requirements for her own race to reproduce also clearly haven't been met.

"Is he going to propose? Is he going to get down on one knee and ask for my hand in marriage? But wait... where would he get a ring that would even fit me," she countered. Then her entire demeanor drooped. "Oh, he still doesn't even know I'm here."

Indeed, he did not. Daire also wasn't intending to propose to the first woman he met in this world.

Daire could be considered as shy as the next man; however, even he wouldn't be flustered by his chest being exposed. Though... If a topless woman suddenly sprang out from the water, Daire would admit to being slightly flustered. Maybe different gender norms explained the difference.

"Should I go and meet him? I don't want to keep watching him for another day. That will make me seem like a stalker, won't it?" She fretted.

Daire wouldn't be too upset about it. Again, gender norms are different that way. Mostly.

But if he knew she had been watching him from the beginning…

Violet decided to go down and introduce herself, pretending she hadn't been watching the entire time.

"I should put on my better dress," she hummed.

=

Drying off, Daire waded out of the water.

*HOWL*

Daire's head snapped to his right to see two wolves stalk out of the forest. The one in the lead immediately ran towards him.

"Ah, shit."

Daire left his sword near the campfire. He didn't think this would happen! Not while so exposed.

Not yet!

Daire dashed for camp, shirtless, wet, and scared. He was never a good sprinter; by the time he got to camp and grabbed one of the spears, he was already winded. Adrenaline kept him energized. The first wolf only a few dozen feet away. Grabbing a spear, he aimed and threw.

*Thunk*

The wolf dodged sideways and jumped at him, clearing several feet.

He only had time to grab a spare spear before the wolf fell on him.

Why is it so large!

Daire managed to wedge the spear between the beast's mouth as it tried to devour him. Slobber splattered all over his face. This was no german shepherd or husky!

Squirming his feet under the ferocious canine, he booted the beast away with a burst of energy. Springing to his feet with unnatural agility, he threw his slobbery spear.

It hit! He could see through dangling wet hair that it hit the wolf's shoulder. Blood.

Daire felt sick for a moment but immediately went for his bokuto before the beast could recover. It was able to get its muzzle around the spear and tear it out, a shallower wound than previously thought. Blood trickled down its grey fur, and it seemed to avoid putting weight on that leg, but that didn't stop it.

It immediately pounced again.

This time Daire was in his element. Pivoting a step back and left, the sword slashed diagonally, hitting the wolf's wound. It yelped and landed awkwardly on its injured leg.

Daire didn't have time to spare as the second wolf was now running toward the fight. He had five seconds at most.

Placing the flat end of his sword in the groove between his thumb and fingers, he lunged. Thrusting forward like he practiced hundreds of times before.

It hit again! Daire following up with another diagonal slash and finally with a straight downward chop on its muzzle. Daire felt the impacts shoot up his arms. The wolf lamely shook its head, disoriented.

The second enemy was leaping through the air. Daire was desperate and out of position. Made of only adrenaline at this point, he thrust his left hand out and grasped the wolf's throat mid-air; following its momentum down, Daire slammed it into the ground. His weapon piercing an inch away from the beast's throat, Daire roared!

"RAAAAAAAH!"

He bellowed at the top of his lungs. Screaming his frustration to his heart content, his own spittle flying onto the beast's face.

The wolf underneath him struggled momentarily, then ceased altogether.

Daire looked up through wet hair at the other wolf, glaring his hatred and huffing for breath. Growling, it glanced down at its companion and then back to the strange human.

Then, almost miraculously, it sat on all fours. Licking its lips and staying completely silent.

It was over.