The scattered light that filtered through the tree leaves left a shifting mottled pattern on the forest floor. The ferns glistened with dew drops that glittered like jewels. The light breeze carried the fragrance of flowers and damp moss while the trees occasionally shed a leaf that floated gracefully down onto the ground. The birds flittered through the trees as they sang their songs unabashedly and the bunnies grazed on the grass and shrubs they found satisfactory.
The peaceful morning was ruined by the raucous laughter and tramping of unruly travelers. The bunnies squeaked and hopped away when the travelers approached and I sighed as I lost the measly source of entertainment I had.
"-I wish you could've seen the look on his face. Oh hey look, an NPC."
I was almost immediately crowded by an orc, human, and elf. They stared at me curiously while examining me head to toe. I gritted my teeth in annoyance as their stares lingered.
"Greetings travelers! Welcome to my humble abode. How might I be of assistance to you?"
"It says she's a witch." The elf, TippyToes, commented as he began to make gestures in the air in ym direction. I could only assume that he was interacting with screens that I couldn't see."Ah. She doesn't sell anything useful. Just weak mana and health potions."
"She's pretty cute though." The human, trevor.1, commented. I stiffened as he began to circle around me with a leering gaze. The welcoming smile on my face didn't waver though. Being an NPC had its perks; my poker face was unbeatable.
"Most regular NPC's usually don't have a color like this though. Maybe she has some secret quest or something." The orc, Morkie mused with as he rubbed his chin.
The human that now stood behind me hummed in agreement. I almost jumped when I felt a slight tug on my hair. I wanted to tell him to keep his filthy hands to himself, but instead gritted my teeth in annoyance. I could hear his reprimands already.
Just relax. Normal NPC's don't react to things like this.You don't want them asking questions do you?
"It's a shame their just a bunch of 1s and 0s. The things I would do..."
I immediately lost all reservations when I felt him brush his fingertips across the back of my neck. I spun around dramatically and stared at the traveler with a shocked an accusatory stare and back away from him while clutching my chest.
"Help! I'm being attacked!" trevor.1 jumped away from me in shock.
You have marked trevor.1 as a criminal!
"What?! I barely even touched her!" I "fell" to the ground and raised my arm to block a blow that never came. When I let out a gut wrenching scream, the travelers winced.
"Stop right there criminal!" A guard's shout could be heard from some distance away. I knew that he wouldn't get here in time if I was actually in danger, but it was a great deterrent for annoying travelers. The maker never berated me for falsely accusing travelers of crimes they didn't commit, which I thought was strange, but I took advantage of it.
The human, trevor.1 sprinted into the forest and the orc and elf began cackling madly.
"That's what he gets."
"Should we wait for him?"
"Nah. The guards will be aggro-ed on him for a while. Let's just meet back up later."
The orc and elf quickly lost interest in me and made their way into town. As soon as they left viewing distance, I dusted myself and made my way back into my hut.
I sat in front of my small vanity and began to unravel my long hip length braid. I began the long process of brushing through my wavy hair as I stared at myself through the foggy mirror.
Bronze skin, auburn hair, and maroon eyes. My dress was very different to the villagers. A long brown dress with flared sleeves and a low neckline. The corset of my dress was pulled tight and emphasized my assets. All together, I had a sultry look about me which made my day to day life bothersome. There was always the occasional traveler that tried to make a pass at me.
The other villagers from what I've seen all had the same straight and boring blonde or brunette hair. Most of them wore them in simple plaits and twists and tucked their hair into their bonnets. Tying my hair in different hairstyles was a relaxing pastime that occupied plenty of time. The travelers often had strange and unique hairstyles that I sometimes liked to emulate.
Before I could decide on what I wanted to wear today, the maker notified me of another visitor. With a sigh, I dropped my brush on the table with a loud clack, and decided to leave my hair unbound for the time being.
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The full moon illuminated the sky lighting up the forest to a degree making it easy to traverse the foliage. Night was my favorite time of day as no travelers visited and I was free to do whatever I'd like. The maker always nudged me to go to sleep at this time, but I ignored it in favor of exploring the nearby forest.
Less than a 5 minute walk away, and I could gather as many herbs as I needed for whatever potion I wanted to create. Having a quest for gathering common plants felt redundant when I discovered that fact. It baffled me that the maker insisted on me requesting that they'd be collected when I could easily do so myself, but who was I to question them? The maker worked in mysterious ways.
The further I went, the denser the greenery got. I constantly had to free my dress from the brambles and untangle my hair that constantly got caught up in low hanging branches. I hadn't ever traversed the forest this far before, but I felt daring this night. The trees grew so dense that the moonlight was unable to pierce through the foliage. I was traversing the forest through blind. I almost made the decision to head back, when I saw a few rays of light peeking out through the distance.
I barely managed to slide through the last pair of trees and almost tripped over the thick roots as I passed through the last of the trees. They gave way to a peaceful looking meadow littered with tiny violet flowers dotted through the blue tinted grass. Numerous fireflies floated in the air making the area seem luminous.
What took my breath away though, was the large pond that took up half the space of the meadow. Despite being stagnant, the water was crystal clear. Lilly pads dotted the surface with blooming lilies that seemed to glow under the moonlight. The petals looked as if they were made from fragile glass. A single tree stood on the shore blooming with flowers akin to cotton.
As I got closer, I noticed that there was a soft glow emanating from the bottom of the pond. I toed off my shoes and stepped into the gentle water that was pleasantly warm. I waded out into the water uncaring of the fact that my dress was gradually becoming soaked. The closer I got, the more enchanting the light became. The glow beckoned to me.
It wasn't until my lungs cried out for air that I realized that I went much deeper than I anticipated. I wrestled with my dress as I fought my way back to the surface and nearly panicked before my head hit the surface of the water. I dragged myself back to the shore and flopped down onto the grass to catch my breath.
Despite the fact that I had almost drowned, I couldn't help but want to throw myself back into the pond for a second attempt. Even when I tugged my shoes back on and dragged myself back to my small hut, I wanted to go back.
The yearning I felt was quite disturbing, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
It's not wrong to be curious , is it?