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It started with some silly Hermit Challenges. Thanks to the jungle bandit’s prank, Catty is now a member of Hermit Challenges. If anyone asked her if she understands how it works, she would shrug because she can’t understand any of the rules at all. It’s weirder to see Mumbo Jumbo call a chicken parrot, but then again, the world she lives in is HermitCraft where shenanigans happen. For her first challenge was to get a white fox. Sound easy enough, but now she needs to think twice about her decision.
To get a white fox, you can find them in the taiga biome or a nearby village. Sound easy but doing it is hard. When she arrives at the taiga biome, she can hear a small whimper came from the North; she followed the noise. Halfway there, the scenes slowly turned into a brutal image to see blood spatter on the tree and the snow, making long crimson red trails. Catty can’t hold it but feel sick at this frightful scene, the flash of red reminds her, what happened, but she reminds herself that she is safe now, no need to worry. Walking up more and she saw three wolves, which it’s trapped a white fox, swiftly pulled out her bow and aim at the wolf. Catty takes a deep breath as she releases the flaming arrows as she watches them lands immediately at the leader as the others quickly look where did the arrows come from. She shoots another as a warning for them, a relief to see they leave the fox alone.
Catty slowly reaching out to the fox with a wild berry in her hand, hoping that she can check on the canine. A few attempts later, the fox slowly working its trust in her, Catty can’t hold it but smile as she watched the fox slowly trusted her. After feeding some berries and examine the wound, Catty pulled her jacket out as she wrapped around the canine and started heading back to her base. When the nights came, it’s getting lots colder. She can feel her hands are stiffening and her legs are trembling, but being stubborn as she is, she keeps moving and ignores the freezing wind that hits her body.
The next day, Catty feels like she doesn’t want to get out of her bed. But today they have a weekly meeting and some important stuff to discuss too... Catty let out a small groan as she gets up and stays there for a few minutes before getting up and heading over the shopping district. While flying over there, she may or may not crash into the tree a few times and maybe died few times; people died a lot while flying but died over and over for the same cause? Today is not her day at all. Catty arrived on the roof of the new town hall but hastily falls from the edge, but the bushes save the day as she fell safely on it. Groaning at her clumsiness, she gazed up at the sky while feeling the greenery bushes underneath her, the longer she stares, the more unsteady she feels. Should she ask Xisuma if she can skip today’s meeting, she can always ask someone to fill her with the news but the thought of trouble someone always roaming in her mind. After a while, some people started showing up, greeting her, and slowly everyone was gathering around the town hall, talking and chatting happily about what they do in the week.
“Hey Cat, are you looking okay there?”
Etho asked, leaning over to looks at her face closely. She has been coughing a lot when he arrives, her face is flushed bright red, but when he tries to reach out to her forehead, she quickly moves back like an instinct.
“Y-yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”
She tries to laugh it off, but she quickly turns away coughing. Etho was going to ask her if she needs any help before Xisuma clear his throat, gathers everyone's attention. Thirty minutes passed, Catty tries to keep her head straight but her body didn't move as she wants, so all she can do is rests her head in her hand, hoping that Xisuma finished the meeting and she can go back home now. Sigh in relief as he finished the last problem but the mayor came up to where Xisuma has stood and has some announced which it takes thirty more minutes. As she listens to him talking about the upcoming project, she can feel her body is aching, her strength is slowly weakening, her visions are getting blurry as she sways and fell to the floor, breathing heavily. She can hear a faint shout, someone's face, a chilly feeling on her forehead before she went numb.
It’s not her first time getting sick and fainted before. No, when she was small, she would get sick a lot. If her sister gets sick, she would complain a lot, but she has her mother who would kindly make some warm food and telling her bedtime stories, things that make her younger self craving for her love. But when she gets sick, the only thing she receives from her mother was her nagging for skipping her fencing, blamed her for being the worst “son”, she will always look like her father.
When Catty wakes up, she is no longer feels the heat or sore muscles, she still coughing but not much as she arrives. Everyone was around her, sleeping on the mattress, some on the floor peacefully. She smoothly gets out of the bed, moving Stress next to False, and slides out of it quietly, placing her blanket over people who were on the floor before heading out to the balcony. Roaming the town halls barefooted, she finally reaches the balcony where she can see the sun is slowly rising. The wind is getting cold in the early but Catty doesn't worry as she looks at the sun greets the server a new day.
“Enjoy the view?”
someone threw the coat over her head as she let out a small screech at the unexpected newcomer. The similar white hair, Etho leans in as he looks over the sun as well before continue talking,
“You kinda freak everyone out back there, y’ know?” Catty only let out a small hum as agree with what he spoke.
"Sorry about that, I don't want to ... freak everyone." She let out a small giggle as she looks back at him. " I get used to deal it alone so i..." She babbles out, tries to find a random reason to tell him, she can't just say that she doesn't want to disturb them at all.
"Do you want to hear a funny joke?"
Etho changed the topic which she quietly sighs in relief as Catty slowly nodded
"You may or may not called Xisuma dad while you're unconscious"
"You're joking."
Etho shrugged, but she can feel he is smiling and so was she as Catty throw some playful punch at his shoulder. "Is that a smile I see? " which ends up getting another punch at his arms.
" I don't know what happened before you join, but you can always ask for help from anyone, we're family. And family help each other, right?"
Family. How long has someone told her that this is her family now? So long that she can't remember. "We are.. family now?" the question itself contains so much mixed feeling in there as she glances at him, hoping that what he said was correct.
"The moment you join this server, you already become a part of our family."
She can hear the hermit's voices as one by one is getting up, greeting one and another before finding out Catty already leave the bed. Etho looks down and lets out a small laugh, see everyone is freaking out, and try to find the sick patient, Catty looks down as well as she let out a laugh as well. Another day of Hermitcraft server, or should she say, another day of her home now.