Peacock kept his eyes locked on the swaying plants in front of him as he picked his way through the jungle.

Ferret was right. The Smallfolk was excellent at hiding. He had assured Peacock, however, that as long as Peacock kept him in his sights, his awareness skills would increase. Sure enough, ‘Detection’ had been unlocked, and had steadily gained xp. He still couldn’t see Ferret, though, and it was getting annoying.

The rustling ahead stopped. A single vine to Ferret’s left shook once, a signal that he’d found an appropriate level mob for them to sneak attack. A fern to his right shook three times. He wanted Peacock to go first. ‘At the rear!’ he’d explained earlier. ‘Get the backstab bonus!’.

Great idea, except Peacock did not know where the thing was, let alone its rear.

He slunk up next to Ferret’s position and scanned. It all looked normal. Trees, vines, grasses, ferns, fungus. Peacock’s eyes moved past the purple-capped mushroom patch, then snapped back. Now that he thought about it, the middle mushroom looked out of place. It towered a good two feet, making it as tall as Ferret. A black ‘Level 6’ popped up above the mushroom.

ABILITY UNLOCKED: SEEK

Ah, so it had been hiding, or maybe camouflaging.

He stared at the overgrown fungus. A thick white stalk rose to a bright purple umbrella flecked with bronze. Pretty in its own way, and very symmetrical. With no obvious face or limbs, Peacock still did not know which end was which. He resisted the urge to ask Ferret. Talking would alert the mob, potentially throw him out of stealth, and make him a huge target like Ferret had managed in the cave.

Peacock focused on his target and sidled close. There had to be something that gave it away, right? Either that, or Ferret was playing a joke on him, in which case he would have Smallfolk for dinner, training be damned.

There.

Two horizontal slits sat halfway up the stalk, not noticeable from a distance, but glaringly obvious when Peacock got close. A short space below the slits sat a longer, horizontal one, like someone’s poor attempt at drawing a face. Or a mob’s poor attempt at hiding it.

Peacock moved himself to the opposite side the slits and attacked.

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A claw rake followed by a bite, and the mushroom poofed out of existence, leaving Peacock with a bitter, yet meaty, taste in his mouth.

ABILITY UNLOCKED: BACKSTAB

“Wooee! Dude never knew what hit him!”

Peacock spun, teeth bared and heart in his throat.

Ferret’s eyes went wide. “Whoa, just me, buddy. A team, remember?” His voice rose an octave as he spoke.

Peacock took a deep breath, willing his pulse back down. Not being on his own would take a lot of getting used to. “Yeah, I remember. Sorry. Startled me, is all.”

“Riiight.” Ferret let out a nervous chuckle. “Don’t scare the dragon, got it.”

Peacock gave a half-hearted smile before collecting the mushroom’s drops. Mushroom steaks. Nothing unexpected. He turned back around to find Ferret still staring at him. Great. Now he’s sizing up how to get away and rat me out.

“Do you think your character changes your personality?”

“Huh?”

“Well, I’d like to think I made a Smallfolk Thief build because it seemed the obvious route. Everyone expects a Smallfolk to be quick tricksters. Basic trope, right? Plus, I always had issues with authority. Here, I can take what I want, when I want, and who cares if I ruin this character’s reputation? I can always make a new one.”

Ferret’s face stayed neutral, but Peacock heard the sadness in his voice. Still, he didn’t know what his point was. “Sounds like you made your character the way you wanted.”

Ferret’s expression turned serious. “The first time, sure. But, when that didn’t pan out, I tried again, and again. Each time I was born in a new body, I felt less like a human, and more like a Smallfolk. Plus, the more I play as a thief, the more I feel like one.”

“So, you’re learning your build.”

“Maybe.” Ferret crossed his arms and frowned. “What about you, then?" The way you attacked me in your cave, and the way you spun on me just now, it all screamed dragon. Testy, territorial dragon. Is that you learning your build, too?”

It was Peacock’s turn to frown. It was odd he’d attacked an unknown intruder. After his ordeals with Nex, he should have run from such a threat. But a dragon wouldn’t have. Maybe, sub-consciously, he understood and acted accordingly. Or maybe being a dragon changed his personality. Peacock shook his head. Thinking about it gave him a headache.

“I don’t know,” Peacock snapped. “Does it matter?”

Ferret sighed. “Probably not. Not like we’re really people anymore.” Ferret’s melancholy expression morphed back to a giddy, crazy grin. “Let’s go, teammate. We’ve got a lot of training to do, and I sense a new victim close to here.”

Peacock watched as Ferret faded from view and moved away. Ferret was a deeper creature than his childish form suggested. But Peacock was relieved he’d dropped the subject. Whether they changed as Rebirths didn’t matter. They couldn’t resurrect back into the real world. Might as well become what you played and complete the illusion. Wasn’t that the point?

Peacock pushed the troubling thoughts from his head and stalked after his teammate. This was his life, now, for better or worse.