Day 1 of 'Acceptance'

You think a lot on the way back to town. She sent a swarm to kill me after killing her daughter, and then she wants to have my kid? How does that make sense? You think through it, before eventually going back to some of the options the gods had given you for your reincarnated self. Therian family, broodsire monster power... They both leaned heavily on using your children as minions. Bugs count as therians, I think, and they self-fertilize, so they're broodsires, too. She purposefully sent her minions after me, maybe assuming they'd be killed. So that brings up the question of why she would send them to their deaths with no kind of benefit from it? Unless... I am the goal... Is she using her spawn to look for potential mates? Then what's her criteria? Is it just based on power, like being able to take on a bunch of enemies at once, or something else entirely?

Your line of thinking is interrupted when you first spot Riverbend. You pass over your crater when you notice a significant blue coloring to it. You quickly come to a stop before turning to glide down to the clearing. When you pass the horizon of trees, you quickly realize that the crater is half-filled with some kind of water. At least I hope it's water. You land at the edge opposite town and turn once more to face what seems like a pond sprouting out of your entrance to this world.

You carefully descend, ensuring you just reach the edge of the 'water' and not fall in. This...isn't normal water. It's way too blue compared to the river... You squat down, not spotting any kind of life in the translucent liquid. I should probably ask someone about this. It could be acid for all I know... You climb back out of the crater, preferring to lift off from solid ground. When you reach the crest though, you spot something peculiar.

A weird bluish blob rolls out from the nearby tree line and begins tumbling down the slope. Is that...a slime? You quickly launch a light bolt to the thing before it can reach the pond. It deflates, its descent becoming slowed without any propulsion. It rolls like a flat tire before entering the blue fluid, slowly sinking further down below. That was weird...

You land in the goblin village, once more startling the nearby ones. You drop off the two hornets you carried here with the makers, who are already hard at work trying to disassemble the previous day's batch. You give a thumbs up to the two goblins as you begin searching around for Eve. I imagine she should be in the chie- in 'my' tent. I don't think I'll be using it anytime soon, though. You peak into the tent to find...nothing.

Where is she? You take a look around the hut, wondering if she had left a note, but you don't find anything. You return outside, scanning the surroundings for your self-proclaimed cocksleeve. She doesn't seem to be anywhere, and you begin scratching your head in confusion. As you do, you feel a tug on your shirt. You look down, spotting...you don't know who, but it's definitely not Eve. The goblin points across the encampment and into the trees.

"Eve?" You point in the same direction. The goblin nods before returning to walking in a different direction. You stand a bit dumbfounded for a moment before walking in the direction he told you. You walk a bit, glancing up at the scout nests to see if Eve is among them, with no luck. "Eve, you out here?" You reach past the extent of the village's influence, wondering where she could have gone as the sounds seem to turn to just the forest.

It isn't long before you hear a brief whistle. You try to find the source, taking embarrassingly longer that you feel you should to spot Eve waving at you from one of the treetops. Camouflage? I guess it makes sense... "How you doing up there?"

"Doing fine, for now." She rapidly climbs down head-first from the tree, and now stands only a few feet away. "I, uh, had to get away from everyone for a bit." She blushes, looking away for a moment.

You think to her...condition, and become upset by the thought of the other goblins being with her. You clench your fist before shaking yourself of the feeling. "You didn't want to...'enjoy yourself' with the others?"

She shifts nervously. "No...I am your cocksleeve, after all." Her face turns a brownish color as she moves to cover her face. "Sorry Chief, I don't know why I'm getting so embarrassed by this. I was fine yesterday, I swear!"

"You don't need to worry about it." You chuckle as you step forward, for some reason relieved as you rub her hair, which has almost completely been torn out of its braid by now. "Any reason you're still out here, though?"

She gazes out into the trees. "I, uh...found out that I enjoy the quiet. No...that's not right. I like the sounds of the forest, away from all the noise of the goblins, the humans-"

"Even me?"

"No!" She coughs, catching herself. "I mean, you're always welcome to join me out here. I'm probably gonna be spending a bit more time out here. It's nice, peaceful." She holds her hands together as she forces herself to continue looking out into the forest.

You chuckle as you sit down against a tree, trying to position it at the center of your back to be comfortable with your wings. You pat your lap, and Eve turns, realizing what you're telling her to do, and quickly sits in your cross-legged lap. "So, you enjoy the forest sounds, huh? Makes sense why you have the Lore of Forests, then."

Eve cocks her head, continuing to look straight ahead. "Is that another thing I'm supposed to be remembering?"

"Well, it's supposedly loads of things." You think for a moment, trying to find some kind of example. "Like, what can you tell me about the kind of trees around us?"

"Most of the ones around the village are oaks. They're sturdy, but difficult for us to take down to use." She pauses. "...why do I know that?"

"Because you remembered it. Before you lost your memory, you already had more knowledge of forests than most could learn in a lifetime. For you, if you keep reminding yourself of things, you're bound to remember plenty of things that seem like random bits of trivia."

She sighs. "So I can remember a bunch about trees but still not who I am?" She leans back, seemingly taking comfort in being in such close contact with you.

You wrap an arm around her and pat her head with the other. "You'll remember soon. You just need to be patient." You both sit in silence, enjoying the sounds of the forest a bit longer before you need to get back to town.

You land behind the church on the riverbank, quickly polymorphing yourself into a human state. Walking through town, all eyes are once more on you and Eve, and you take her by the hand for some bit of comfort on the way to the barracks. When you get there, you hear the clanging of metal-on-metal from behind the building, and come around on a sight to behold: seven people are standing around while Camilla seems to be demonstrating something with an eighth. The poor soul quickly yields after a barrage of attacks from the captain.

"You think a monster's going to let you surrender peacefully?" Camilla crosses her arms.

"I would." You raise your hand and all eyes turn to you.

"What the hell's he doing here?" You spot him, the same guy who led the mob against you last night. He stands, seemingly ready to make things a brawl.

Camilla smiles to you before addressing the man. "Harold, he's here because unlike you, he's actually a competent fighter. Even with most of his power drained to look human, he could still take you in a fight. In fact, Dusk, get over here. You two are going to have a match." She tosses you the rusty sword she was using, and you barely catch it without cutting yourself.

Looking at the man, and knowing he could pummel you if this fight were back on Earth, you gulp. But...Cap's got a good intuition most of the time. If she thinks this will help, I might as well try. You step into the ring, and Harold takes one of the larger swords and grips it with both hands as he glares at you. He's a bit taller and definitely bigger than you right now, but you've got experience...at least mentally...kinda. Polymorph seems to take away nearly everything, including the knowledge you'd normally gain from Fighter's Legacy. You ready yourself, raising your sword above your head and extending your other arm out. Is it optimal? Probably not right now, but having your free hand ready to cast a spell would normally be important.

Harold is the first to strike, furiously coming at you with seemingly random strikes. You're quick to defend, bracing your blade with both hands. It's uncomfortable, and the blade oddly vibrates before you painfully tighten your grip. You deflect a lunge to the side, and now he's no longer occupying the center of the makeshift arena. You play defensively, trying to keep track of where his weapon is as he pushes you around the ring. You eventually get proper footing, and thanks to your boost from Pure Land, you don't give an inch on the next attack, instead pushing back and staggering him. You raise your bloody sword to his neck, the point mere inches away from his throat. Why is it bloody?

You shake your free hand, only now realizing you cut yourself when you were guarding. "You've got power - I can feel it in your attacks - but what's the point of strength if you're just flailing it around and not attacking with purpose?" A glance to Camilla shows she's actually blushing a bit, her mouth slightly open.

Unfortunately, you shouldn't have taken your eye off of Harold. He pushes your blade aside with his own, before pushing you back. You stumble, tripping over yourself and falling on your rear as your sword lands in the dirt a few feet away. The brute raises his sword up in the air and swings low and you raise your arms to protect yourself, but the sound you hear doesn't accompany any pain. When you lower your arms, you find Camilla standing between the two of you.

"Do that again, Harold. I'll be happy to help you realize just how much a sword hurts." Her voice sounds pained, and you catch a glimpse of blood dripping in front of her.

Harold steps back. "Why'd you stop me? I had him!"

"I said you'd have a match, not that you'd kill each other. If Dusk wanted, you'd already be dead and you know it." She turns, and you can now see a deep gash along her forearm. "And that goes for all of you. I'm done dealing with all this skepticism and hatred to someone who's just trying to help us out. I won't tolerate it anymore. Understood?" The other men and singular woman all nod before she turns back to Harold, her arm still bleeding. "Well?" You can now clearly see the man's face, and he glares between the two of you. With a grunt, he throws the bloody sword on the ground and storms off. Camilla exhales, turns to you, and offers her good arm to help you up. You take it, and as Camilla heals your hand and the gash in her arm, she turns to the recruits. "Alright, who's next?"