A Chance Meeting

Rhea Autumnborne
The Beyonds
Unknown date (day 1)
Mid-Afternoon
Unknown Forest

You've gained 15 exp!

You've reached level 6 in Cooking!

You've reached level 6 in Foraging!

You've reached level 7 in Foraging!

You've reached level 1 in Observation!

You've reached level 2 in Observation!

Rhea drools at the sight of what she's created. A roasted pheasant, lathered in a honey pear sauce and served with a side of minced berries on mint leaves. It smells so delicious, and to think she had prepared it all herself. She licks the drool off her lip, holding her face in wonderment.

"Wow! I can't believe I made this all by myself! Back home I never made anything more complex than cup ramen and burnt steak!" The elf comments as she marvels at her meal. "Bon apétit!" she shouts, before plunging a wooden fork into the meat and ripping off a tender chunk.

It had taken most of the morning to catch the pheasant and collect the various ingredients. Helpful displays told her what everything was and what was edible and what wasn't. After that it was all a matter of preparation and cooking. Plucking the bird. Getting rid of the entrails. Her levels in tracking had allowed her to identify a trail used by what she suspects is a wild boar, so she left the bucket of bird guts there for the beast to feed on.

As she feasts upon the day's catch, chewing into the tender meat of the pheasant, she suddenly gets a cold shiver down her back. Licking the meat from the bone, she can't help but shake the feeling that she is being watched.

You've reached level 1 in Intuition!

Okay. Now she knows she's being watched. After licking the meat juices from her fingers, she grabs her dagger and whips around, getting up off her knees and turning around in the direction of the bushes behind her.

"Who's there! Show yourself!" Rhea shouts, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. At 5' 9", the svelte elf perhaps isn't the most intimidating adversary, but maybe she could scare off whatever is out there.

"S-sorry! I'm just so... Very hungry!" A small voice calls out, and a tiny fairy flutters out from the bushes. With blonde hair and wearing a white dress that looks to be made from the petals of a lily, the little creature doesn't appear very threatening.

Level 5 Light Fairy
Neutral, Hungry

You've reached level 3 in Observation!

"A fairy, huh? Fairies can generally be summed up into two categories, companion characters that help the main character progress, or treacherous devils that pretend to help the main character progress only to stab them in the back later on." Rhea comments, using all her background as a gamer to speculate on the fairy. "And since I didn't shell out for a companion, you must be the latter!" The elf accuses, pointing towards the fairy.

"Wh-What are you even talking about? Companion character? Main character? In what world are you the main character? You're just some elf living by herself in the forest!" The fairy counters, folding her arms under her breasts.

"Seeing as how this is a single player game that I shelled out 120 credits for, this one. And I'm not just some elf, I'm Rhea Autumnborne, master hunter and beauty of the deep woods!" Rhea flourishes, giving a showy bow to the fairy.

The fairy blinks multiple times, her face twitching. Then, the fairy busts out into a fit of laughter. Falling onto her back while still hovering in mid air, she rolls around as if there were solid ground beneath her.

"Hahaha! Ahaha! Oh my goddesses! I have never seen a more grandiose introduction in my life. I've seen noblemen with more humility than you. Elven princesses have more sense." The fairy chides amid her laughing fit.

"Umm. You know I can see up your dress, right?" Rhea asks with a deadpan expression, pointing repeatedly at the fairy. "You're not wearing panties. I can see your folds and everything."

"What's it matter? We're both girls." The fairy remarks, standing up and readjusting her floral dress.

"True, but I'm a lesbian and if you're going to flash me your pink parts I'm going to get ideas even if you are small enough to sit in my hand." Rhea warns her with a shrug.

"Hey! Show a little decorum! Don't talk about my private areas in such a vulgar manner!" The fairy blushes, and puts her hands on her hips, marching on thin air like it were solid ground until she stands in front of the elf's face, glaring at her. She glares at Rhea with a scornful expression.

"Don't blame me! You're the one who was showing them off. Besides, didn't you call me just some elf living by myself in a forest a minute ago? Were you expecting the manners of a high born?" Rhea asks, waving her hand dismissively at the little fairy.

"No! But I didn't expect to be sexually harassed by a complete stranger!" The fairy accuses, clenching her tiny fist in anger.

"Oh sweetie, that wasn't sexual harassment. Trust me on this one." The elf corrects her, before smirking at the fairy. "It'd have been harassment if I mentioned how cute your pink little parts and how I want to pluck you in the air and rest them on my tongue."

"Wh-what? How dare you?" The little fairy screams, her blushing face red as the berry minced berries prepared by the elf.

"Well, if you're going to accuse me of sexual harassment, at least now I've actually sexually harassed you!" The elf says with smug satisfaction, turning around and dropping back to her knees before her food. "Anyway, I'd like to eat my meal before it gets cold. If you'd like to join me, by all means, help yourself."

The fairy continues to glare at the elf as she resumes feasting upon her pheasant. After a minute, however, her stomach growls, and she reluctantly plops down on the other end of the stump she's using for a table. Crawling up to the wooden serving plate, she starts shovelling up some of the minced berry with her hand and eating it.

The two eat in silence for several minutes, only interrupted by noisy chewing and slurping of the elf. The fairy tries to ignore the rude way in which the wild woman consumes her food. Eventually, however, she breaks the silence.

"I'm Illumise." The little fairy greets. The elf looks down at her, and barely contains a chuckle, snorting as she holds it in. "Wh-what's so funny? Are you making fun of my name?"

"No. It's your face. It's covered in... Hahahaha! Your face is all red from the wild berries!" Rhea snorts, making the fairy blush. "You were bragging about all the royalty and nobility you know, and after all that you're a messier eater than I am!" The elf chuckles.

"What! I was not bragging!" The fairy retorts, while frantically wiping her face on a mint leaf.

"Sure! Sure! I'm sure it's just a coincidence you dropped the noblemen and elven princesses you know in our very first conversation." Rhea says, grinning smuggly at the flustered little fairy.

"I-I was just... I am not a braggart!" Illumise insists, puffing out her cheeks as she glares at the elf.

"Look, all I'm saying is I don't find the need to name drop celebrities I've met into my first conversation with people." The elf says, licking the meat juices off of her fingers with noisy smacks. "Not that I've met any. But if I had, I wouldn't go around bragging about. Show a little humility."

"A little humility? You do not get to lecture me on humility, Miss I'm-the-Main-Character!" The fairy scolds, before dipping her hand into more of the berries and stuffing it into her mouth. Rhea laughs at that display, and goes back to stuffing her face full of bird.

Rhea Autumnborne
The Beyonds
Early Evening
Rhea's House, Unknown Forest

"You know it's weird that I couldn't even see this house until you invited me in, right? It just looked like an ordinary tree!" Illumise says as she watches the elf put away her equipment.

"Yea yea. Whatever you say." The elf says as she starts taking off her clothes. She'd slotted the leftovers into her inventory and deposited the bones and other bits into the bucket by the boar trail, which she'd notice had already been picked clean. "If it bothers you so much, you're welcome to find somewhere else to sleep."

"No! I think I'd prefer to sleep in the undetectable house instead of alone in the wilderness, thank you very much." The fairy says with her arms crossed beneath her chest. "And why are you getting naked!?" She yells.

"What? I always sleep naked. Don't tell me you sleep with your clothes on?" Rhea asks, as she looks over her bare shoulder at the fairy.

"Yes, actually. As I usually sleep alone in the wilderness I don't often have the luxury of sleeping without my clothes on as I might have to flee at a moment's notice!" Illumise yells in an exacerbated tone.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Rhea responds with a shrug, before hopping onto her bed, laying down on the comfy sheets. "Well, feel free to make yourself at home."

The fairy makes her way over to the wooden table, a slice of tree stump that looks suspiciously like a piece of the stump they'd used for a table outside, only this table has traditional legs attached to it.

"How is it so warm in here, anyway? It's like 50° outside but it's warm and cozy in here." The little fairy says, as she looks around at the little house.

"What? My house is magically cloaked and you're surprised it's magically heated? It's also magically cooled in the summer, and magically resistant to forest fires and other types of disasters. This house is armageddon proof!" The elf says dismissively, waving her hand.

"Armageddon proof? Do you understand what you're claiming? Do you really expect me to believe your home is one of the most secure buildings in The Beyonds?" The fairy asks, glaring at the naked elf.

"I don't care if you believe me or not. It doesn't change anything. Anyway, I'm about to enter a deep sleep for awhile and will be entirely helpless, so if you do anything to my avatar or rob me while I'm asleep, I'll track you down and leave you begging for ." Rhea warns the fairy. "Disconnect!"

"Wha-? What kind of monster do you take me for? I'll have you know that I'm a lady, not some wild elf living on her home without any manners." The fairy scoffs. After a moment without getting a response, she looks over at concern at the elf. "Rhea?"

Scooting her butt off the table and flying over to the elf, she starts lightly poking at the elf's cheek. Not getting a response, she examines the elf closely.

Rhea Autumnborne, Level 1 Wood Elf
Neutral, Asleep, Disconnected

"Disconnected? I've never even heard of that status before." The fairy comments, fluttering up to gaze over the nude splendor of the elf. "What are you, Rhea?"