Chapter Text
She stared at the world around her. Recently given the gift to move through worlds, she used it for the first time. She looked down at herself. Still entirely there. Right hand? 4 thick woody fingers. Left hand. 5 thin flimsy fingers constructed by roots. She still had that missing patch of bark on her stomach, which revealed her tough skin. She moved a bit. Looking at her stump-like feet. Everything was the same.
Save for her last of items, but she didn’t typically carry much with her anyway. Her wooden ear twitches up as she heard something. “Helloooo? Is anyone there?” The voice was male, and muffled.
She turned and looked down. A box… strange. She reached out, as soon as she touched the box. It floated up, and dissipated. Revealing a yellow ball with a smile. It fell to the ground, and made a few faces as it bounced off the ground. It switched back to a smile.
“Hello! I’m. Verity! Your personal helper friend! Ask me anything! I know everything!” She stared down at it for a moment, before bringing her hands up to sign. “Nearest Pale Oak.”
She watched Verity open his mouth. “The nearest Pale Oak Forest is 342 blocks east!” She glanced around before signing.
“Which way?”
Verity happily answered. “Where you’re currently standing, east is to your right!” She nodded, looking to her right, going to take a step, before stopping and looking at the yellow ball. She reached out with her rooted hand. The roots pulling apart and stretching to reach the ball, before pulling back and reforming her hand.
She looked at the spherical entity in her hand, before heading in the direction of the pale oak forest.
On the walk there, Verity for the most stayed quiet. She wasn’t sure if he was quiet because she was or something else. Verity’s ball form squirmed a little in her rooted hand as she adjusted her fingers.
“That tickles!” She looks down at him, and switches which hand is holding him. Signing with her other.
“Sorry.”
Verity wiggles a little. “It’s alright, I didn’t mind!” She nods. Verity speaks again. “So Fiora, what are you gonna do when you get to the pale oak?” She stopped and stared down at the ball. He just smiled back up at her.
“I know everything!”
Her eyes narrow, and she signed. “Why ask?” His shape tilts to the side a little.
“It’s good to get to know my owners!” She stated down at him for a minute, before nodding. Signing.
“Okay.”
She starts walking again. She eventually reaches the pale garden, and looks around. Kinda small… but it’ll do…
She set Verity down in the pale moss and touched a tree, feeling a soft pulsing. Occupied. She went to another. Vacant. She went around touching the trees, in total there was 17 pale oak trees. 6 of which were inhabited. She walked up to one of the vacant ones. And stared at it for a moment, before touching it.
Verity stayed in his spot on the soft moss carpet, as he watched the branches slowly pull apart, the stump of the tree getting a little thicker, smaller branches sprouting lower on it. When she pulled back, it looked like a custom built tree.
Which it technically was now. She then set to picking up pale moss, climbing up, and packing it onto the branches to construct a sort of wall.
That won’t protect her from much…
Verity’s eyes narrowed slightly, keeping the smile on his face. Fiora jumped down, and grabbed a couple closed eye blossoms, taking. Verity up with her next time, he looked around.
“Impressive use of organic materials!” He says. Fiora signs a quick “thank you” as she places a few of the eye blossoms. She goes back down again, and comes back up not long after. Packing dirt and grass together on a leaning branch before covering it with moss.
Was that… a bed? Verity said nothing for a minute. “Fun fact: Players can only skip night by sleeping! A bed is crafted with 3 wool and 3 planks of any kind-” Fiora lays on the bed of moss and closes her eyes. The holes in her chest exposing her heart let a soft amber glow shine through. Pulsing slowly.
“…”
Verity stared, unblinking. Eye blossoms began blooming as night fell, and the Creakings in the inhabited started to become active. Fiora was… different.