Caelum and Aurelia lay content in their cozy little burrow, the soft leaves beneath them making it the most comfortable they’d felt since their arrival in this strange world. The glowing tree outside kept the space lit with a warm, calming glow, and for the first time in a while, everything felt peaceful.
As they basked in the calm, Caelum’s thoughts began to wander. He absentmindedly crawled around the burrow, touching the leaves and pebbles they’d carefully arranged. His mind was half-focused on the things they still needed to do and half-distracted by the peaceful atmosphere around them.
“Caelum, are you even paying attention?” Aurelia asked, her antennae twitching with mild amusement as she noticed him fumbling around.
“Huh?” Caelum replied, glancing back at her, not quite sure what she had just said.
Aurelia gave him a soft, knowing look. “You’ve been spacing out for the past few minutes. I was asking if we should gather more leaves tomorrow.”
Caelum blinked, suddenly realizing he’d been completely lost in thought. “Oh... yeah, leaves... Sure!” he said, though he wasn’t entirely sure what Aurelia had been talking about.
As he turned back to their little pile of leaves, something strange happened. Caelum moved to pick up a stray pebble they’d missed during their decorating spree, but as he did, his legs fumbled beneath him. His balance slipped, and before he knew it, he had rolled over onto his back, tangled in the leaves, with the pebble flying out of his grasp and bouncing off the wall.
“Ow!” Caelum exclaimed, more out of embarrassment than actual pain. He struggled for a moment, flailing his small body as he tried to flip himself back over.
Aurelia, watching the scene unfold, burst into laughter. “What was that?” she said between giggles. “Did you really just fall over a pebble?”
Caelum felt his cheeks heat up—well, if he had cheeks, they would’ve turned red. “It’s not my fault! I just... slipped,” he muttered, managing to right himself after a few more awkward movements.
But just as he got back to his feet, something even stranger happened.
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Skill Gained: Clumsy Tumble Lv. 1
Description: You have a tendency to trip over things, roll awkwardly, and get tangled in your own movements. Sometimes, your clumsiness will help you avoid danger, but mostly, it just makes you look silly.
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Caelum stared at the notification in disbelief. “What... what is this?” he said aloud, his voice a mix of confusion and disbelief.
Aurelia, who had just calmed down from her fit of laughter, tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”
Caelum sighed and activated Appraisal, just to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.
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[Appraisal Activated]
Clumsy Tumble Lv. 1
Description: A skill that reflects your tendency to stumble and bumble your way through things. Sometimes, luck will be on your side, and you’ll avoid danger by accident. Other times... well, you’ll probably just fall flat on your face.
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Aurelia, sensing something was up, asked through their telepathic link. “What skill did you just get?”
Caelum sighed again, feeling both amused and exasperated. “It’s called... ‘Clumsy Tumble.’ Apparently, I’m so clumsy that I earned a skill for it.”
Aurelia blinked in surprise, and then, without warning, she burst out laughing again. “You... you got a skill for being clumsy? That’s amazing!” she managed to say between fits of laughter.
Caelum couldn’t help but laugh a little himself. The absurdity of it all was too much to ignore. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said, still half in disbelief. “Apparently, I’ve leveled up in tripping over my own feet.”
Aurelia wiped a tear from her eye, still chuckling. “Well, at least it’s a unique skill! Maybe it’ll come in handy... somehow?”
Caelum wasn’t so sure, but the whole situation was funny enough to lift his spirits. He imagined trying to explain to another creature how he had earned a skill for falling over. Maybe I’ll use it to dodge attacks... by accident.
He decided to test it out, just to see how the skill worked. He walked around the burrow, deliberately moving a little too quickly as he tried to focus on the skill. Sure enough, his legs tangled again, and he tripped, tumbling forward. But this time, instead of falling flat on his face, he rolled smoothly, ending up back on his feet in an awkward but surprisingly successful maneuver.
“Well, that’s... something,” Caelum said, dusting himself off. “It’s like I’m a professional at falling now.”
Aurelia, watching his clumsy display, smiled. “You know, Caelum, I think this skill suits you. You’ve always been a little absent-minded, but now you have something to show for it.”
Caelum grinned, his embarrassment fading as he embraced the humor of the situation. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll take it.”
As the day went on, Caelum couldn’t help but try the skill a few more times—each time tripping or tumbling in some awkward way but managing to recover just as awkwardly. It was strange, but at least it gave Aurelia something to laugh about. Even in this dangerous world, there was room for a little clumsiness and a lot of laughter.
And as the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the forest, Caelum and Aurelia settled back into their cozy burrow, chuckling softly about the newest addition to Caelum’s skill set.