Vitmori POV

I was a few steps out of the workshop when Historietta spoke up. "Before you touch grass and all that, mind walking me down to Lictdren's room? I was kinda hoping not to have to go down there alone." She mentioned, looking up at me as she flashed a smile.

I didn't see anything wrong with that, and I figured I ought to get my steps in anyways and put this new body through its paces before I go out into the open. "Sure, why not." I reply simply. With that, I decided to lead the way as we descended.

As we walked, Historietta piped up to fill the silence. "I know I was kind of evasive about my answer back there, but you look pretty good. Like, it wouldn't be a stretch to say you look like a character from a tv show." She mused as she walked by my side. I could sense her eyes on my body, and not in the metaphorical sense, but I could tell where she was looking and the fact that she was looking at me without looking at her. I couldn't help but wonder if it was one of those skill things I have, but I didn't wonder for too long as Historietta spoke up again. "Especially with all those scars and wounds on your body... Some of those look much nastier than tv would have suggested, though I suppose special effects can only go so far." She surmised before poking at the scar along my stomach. "How did you get this one?" She asked curiously before looking back up at me.

I jumped a little when she poked at me; even if I saw it coming, the sensation of being physically touched was almost jarring after being deprived of it for so long. Even though I knew which scar she was talking about, I made a show of shifting around before looking down at the scar and humming thoughtfully. "Hm... Well, that one was a close call. It was somewhat self-inflicted, though entirely unintentional." I mentioned absently as I touched the imitation of the old wound. Meanwhile, Historietta had a look that simply begged for me to continue as she seemed to listen with rapt attention while we walked. "It was about four years into the apocalypse; a PDA hired me to watch his back while we went on a scouting run in a place where there was reported bandit activity. Oh right, a PDA is..."

I went to explain, though Historietta grinned and spoke up. "I know about PDAs, Phoenix Down Agents, right? Members of a secretive military group that worked towards the benefit of humanity." She said before continuing. "Reyvyre told me about them, she claimed that was one of the good things happening during the apocalypse."

I'm again surprised that she knew about the things of my world, but I suppose I shouldn't question it too much as I flashed a grin. "Well anyway, we had been out scouting for about two days. I watched his back while he used his special watch to scan the bandit camp from a distance to map it out and prepare for a plan of attack. We had been moving from rooftop to rooftop, doing our best to stay out of sight and remain silent, which meant any zombies we encountered had to be put down with close combat rather than use guns to pick them off. Even if they were silenced, they weren't entirely quiet and a person could easily pick out the sound on a clear day if they were paying attention." Historietta nodded intently at that, still listening as we were about halfway down by now. "All that to say, while we were moving to the next scouting point, I heard the sound of creaking of wood underneath the PDA's foot as we crossed a rooftop. Before I knew it, I had lunged forward, grabbing the guy by his pack before throwing him back, but that only caused me to be the one to fall instead. The wood crumbled beneath my feet, and I fell through two floors of water-rotted floorboards before crash-landing on a desk. I was lucky that my pack took the brunt of the fall, but it didn't help that some of the wood splinters I crashed through skewered me. Most of it was just splinters, but one thick shard pierced me clean through; luckily nothing vital was ripped apart, but it really sucked to move. Luckily, that PDA didn't leave me for dead, though I was nearly killed by a lone zombie who wandered in after I crashed into the room." I couldn't help but grin as I recalled the memory, it was a pretty close call, but I survived that encounter. "I managed to crawl away from where I crashed landed and hid behind a filing cabinet. I wasn't gonna be swinging around a weapon anytime soon, but I had this spring-loaded, telescopic baton with a spike welded into the tip that I used with great accuracy to quickly and quietly put the freak down. Afterward, it was just a matter of keeping myself still and awake until the PDA found me. We ended up having to cut the bigger wooden splinters out of me, and it was not a pleasant experience, to say the least. Luckily, between some strong painkillers, a bottle of vodka, a knife, and some staples, we got me patched up enough to make the trip back to the settlement to have my wounds properly treated and cleaned. I was out of commission for a month, but I earned my keep by helping train up some folks with gun handling and close combat, as well as a few odd jobs here and there."

Historietta seemed to take a few moments to digest my story, though I could feel her eyes look at that particular scar once again before looking at a few of the others. "Wow, just... Wow." She said after a bit before smiling a bit. "You must have a high pain tolerance; I don't think I could even move if I was messed up like that." She considered as she absently touched her side.

I chuckled a bit at that. "Yeah, I've had lots of experience getting hurt; a few times were especially bad, though it's just a matter of doing your best to not let the shock settle in and to keep your mind focused on a single goal, even if that goal is to just keep your feet moving." Though with that said, we finally reached the slime spring room when I glanced over at Historietta. "So, what are you looking for within these journals?" I ask as we enter Lictdren's bedroom.

Historietta hummed thoughtfully as she picked up the journal she looked at before, then glanced over at the small bookshelf with similar-looking books. "I... I just want to know what happened back then; maybe we can help prevent whatever happened to her from happening to you." She explained as she looked over at me. "But ultimately, I'm just curious about what life was like for a human from another world like us." She admitted as she flashed a sheepish smile.

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"Well, it's not like I can use them in their current state..." I mention with a shrug before smiling a bit. "Tell you what, you can take all these books as long as you translate any recipes, rituals, or anything you think might be useful to me." I offer as I make my way around to Lictdren's wardrobe, snooping around for any clothes that might fit me. Alas, they're all rather petite and not nearly big enough to fit my body.

Historietta looked pleasantly surprised by my offer, though her expression turned into one of uncertainty as she looked over the books again. "I dunno; I still feel it might be bad news to bring books with me from a supposedly cursed and blighted territory."

I smirked a bit at that description before shrugging as I shut the doors to the wardrobe. "Well, don't bring them with you. Not visibly, at least. Didn't you say you had some sort of storage space?" I mentioned as I walked back over to her and looked over the bookshelf.

Historietta seemed to think on that as she held one of the books. "I mean I do, but I only have one free slot left... Maybe if I take my knife out, I could at least carry two books?" She considered as she glanced between me and the book in her hand.

"Couldn't you just tie a bunch of books together and store it in your slot as a book bundle?" I considered. I mean, if she has a pouch of coins in her inventory, what's stopping her from having a bundle of books?

"What do you mean? I can't... I can't do that... Right?" She suddenly looked somewhat perturbed as she considered the possibility of my suggestion.

Meanwhile, I collect the remaining nineteen books from the bookshelves, setting them all out on the desk. After a moment of thought, I decided to go after the pillowcases from the bed, peeling the covers off the pillows before loading all twenty of the books inside the pillowcases and tying off the ends to make two impromptu sacks. "Here, two bags of books. Give it a try." I offer, feeling more than a little amused as I watch her glance between me and the bags of books.

I watched as a knife suddenly appeared in her hands; it was a simple but fine-looking dagger. After setting it down, she held her hands over the two sacks before touching them. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but in a blink of an eye, the two bags disappeared, and Historietta looked ecstatic. "A-awesome! Holy crap, this opens many more possibilities for the kinds of things I can store! Sweet!" She exclaimed excitedly as she hopped around, pumping her fist in the air before catching herself, her cheeks flushing as she suddenly remembered I was standing there, watching her get all excited like that. "S-sorry... I suppose I might have gotten a little carried away." She mentioned before clearing her throat. "Anyway, I'll see what I can do about working on these, though I think you should pay me a visit if you want the fruits of my labor." She mused cheerfully as she started making her way out of the room. "I'm sure I should have a decent amount of these translated by the time the Peace Banquet comes around."

"I suppose that's as good a time as any. Sure, why not." I didn't really have a deadline in mind after all, though I could tell she was just excited to have me over, as if she was just inviting a friend over to her house.

"Good, good, I'll be expecting you then. Don't be late; in fact, you should show up early, okay?" She mused, now especially cheerful at the current developments. "Oh, I can't wait to start reading in full, I wonder when she started keeping her journals." She considered excitedly as we started making our way back up the steps. We make our way back soon enough, though I stop as I peer into the workshop and stroke my chin thoughtfully. I could feel Historietta watching me curiously as she decided to speak up. "What's up? Did you forget something?"

"Hm? No... Well, I was actually thinking of how to cover up better, I'd rather not look like I just stepped out of the shower after all." I muse as I gestured to the simple white cloth wrapped around my waist.

The fact that I was basically in a towel didn't seem to click until just now, if Historietta's expression was anything to go by as she suddenly smirked and snickered at my expense. "I suppose it would certainly help with your image if you put something on. Though are there even any clothes to be found in here?" She asked as she followed me into the workshop and looked around.

"Doesn't look like it, no." I reply as I wander over towards the intricate loom before looking over at the bolts of fabric I had picked through the other day for that care package I sent with Legosi. "I guess I could just wrap some cloth around me until I can get some proper clothes made." I considered aloud as I looked through the bolts of fabric, spotting what looked to be cotton fabric dyed black and plucking it from the other bolts.

"Oh? Thinking about dressing like an ancient roman or something?" She asked, a hint of amusement in her voice as she came over and looked between me and the bolt of cotton fabric. "Want some help?" She offered with a smile as she held her hand out.

I returned the smile as I passed the bolt over, holding my arms out as she began wrapping me up in the cloth, generously using about sixteen or twenty feet of cloth as my left arm and chest were covered, with the remaining six feet or so having been bound around my waist to keep the wrapping around my lower half secured in one place. Looking myself over, I couldn't help but smile. The black cotton felt nice against my wooden skin, and despite the excess cloth, the way she had wrapped it around my waist proved to look somewhat slimming. "Well, what do you think?" I ask as I flash a grin over at Historietta while slowly spinning in place once.

Historietta seemed to scrutinize me rather seriously, looking me up and down and pacing in a wide circle around me before speaking up with her verdict. "Meh, you look good enough for a fancy mannequin." She teased with a smirk as she looked over the workbench with all the cloth, finding an oversized safety pin as she came around and pierced the cloth around where she tucked in the end of the piece of cloth. "There, now that should definitely help keep things in place." She mused as she bobbed her head with a satisfied nod before flashing a sincere smile. "You look good, go for your walk, but make sure to come over to the Haven to say goodbye when I leave later today." She said cheerfully as she bumped her fist against my chest.

"Sure, I'll come by." I offered a smile in return as we made our way out of the spitter wolf den. On our way out though, just about every wolf turned to look at me, and I could feel their surprise radiating from each of them as they all laid down submissively as I walked past. It was just a little unnerving, though I suppose I am their boss and the reason all of them are alive. I hesitated as we approached the mouth of the cave, the sunlight pouring in from the outside was nearly blinding to my new, artificial eyes. But I couldn't help but push forward, the anticipation of being outside far more overwhelming than any trepidation I may have about being limited by my bubble of influence. I finally step outside, and for the first time, everything is clear. There's no cloudy barrier between me and the outside, it's just forest as far as my new eyes could see. If I was made of flesh, I think I might have shed a few tears. How I've missed this, the smell of nature and the beautiful lush greenery. I could feel Historietta watching me a little more before going off toward the Haven. As for me, this walk has been a long time coming.