Work Text:
"Have you ever thought about a world where everything is exactly the same… Except you don't exist?"
Those were the words that echoed through Niko’s skull every night. She had wanted to learn more about the world and what the elders of its village called the multiverse. She had taken after her mother, leaving the village when she turned 17. It promised to visit when she finished her learning. But..
She placed the book in the bag she kept hidden around her waist, dusting her dress off. It walked out of the library, clearing her throat. Niko smiled, its eyes dropping to the floor as she walked to the owners of the house. She thanked them, her voice quiet. Soft even. They called it a nice young lady and waved her off.
–
"Everything functions perfectly without you..."
Niko laid in her bedroll, staring up at the stars. She replayed the words in each of those books. What if her existence was a mistake. Maybe she wasn’t meant to be. It sighed, covering her face with her hands. She needed to stop thinking about those words. They probably meant nothing. ..But, what good was she if it never considered every word in her learnings? Its mother would be disappointed. She must’ve known about this and.. Her mother was so.. Cheerful. The light of the village, as the others described it.
..She had to learn more, yes? That’s what a good cleric would do.
Learn.
It pulled the blankets over her face, groaning softly. Her head hurt. Niko turned to the side, chewing the inside of her cheek. It closed her eyes, letting the warm embrace of sleep take it.
—
"Ha ha... The thought terrifies me."
She laughed softly to herself, feeling ashamed of itself for being terrified of words. Words were just stuff spoken by people. Not something that could kill you. ..Unless they were spoken by a bard. But books were not bards. They were simply books. Niko sighed softly, walking through the crowd. ..This place was quite crowded. It hurt her head with how many people were talking. Then again, the place she was at was pretty popular due to that.. Chester character.
Its thoughts drifted to more simpler times. Times when she couldn’t imagine how big the multiverse was. What she was to it. Just a spec in the great span of things. Someone who would eventually be gone. Be.. Dead.
Niko was broken away from her thoughts as it bumped into someone. She apologized, unwrinkling the dress it wore. She looked at the person, seeing the unmistakable ears of an elf behind the blonde hair they had. “Oh! Don’t worry! It’s okay!” The elf looked young, happy. Niko nodded. The elf turned to walk off before pausing and turning back, grinning. “Waitwaitwait! Do you, um, um, um.. Ah! Do you adventure??” The kid looked so excited, so.. Happy.
Niko paused before nodding, mumbling something about how she technically did. The kid beamed. “ME TOO! I’m trying to, um, go on a really cool quest! Like the ones REAL adventures go on!” They rambled, hands moving wildly around the place. They suddenly looked to the ground, fidgeting with the white sleeves of their coat. “D-Do you wanna, um, maybe come with me? I’ve just been going around for a bit by myself and- and I think it’d be REALLY COOL if I had a um- team!” The elf’s smile widened. She stared at them for a moment, taken off guard slightly. It glanced around. She had nothing to lose so..
Niko agreed, causing the kid to start bouncing up and down. “YEAH! This is gonna be REALLY cool! O-Oh! I forgot! My name is… Alastyr! Alastyr Cross!!” Alastyr put out a hand for Niko to shake. It hesitantly took the hand in her own, shaking it.
“Niko. Niko Nightmantle.” She said, voice quiet. The elf cheered and tugged her along. It felt a sense of belonging. “THIS IS GONNA BE SO FUN!!”