Night had fallen.
The goblins had completed their camp, which was quite modest composed of some large tents made from cloth and pitched up by sticks. There were some forty members in the group and five of them would be staying in each tent. The tents were crude and shabby, they might improve the condition of the place later but for now, they can make do with this much.
Two pieces of flint slid against each other, creating a spark of light. This would continue for a few times until tiny flames appeared in a small pile of straw. The smoking pile was picked up and dropped onto a bundle of dry leaves, sticks and twigs. The leaves burned first, then came the sticks and twigs and finally, a fire flared up, giving heat and light to the surrounding area.
A goblin could be seen putting the flints down, moving one step back from the immediate position of the fireplace and sitting down with a few of his companions.
“You know, even though this forest is much cooler than the outside due to the mist, I still prefer being here more than with those bunch of mean orcs. Well, it’s quite warm right now.” One spoke.
“Agreed,” another one began. He raised his hands to the fire, enjoying the warmth. “Normally, we would not be able to light a fire at night if we don’t want to be discovered but this very same mist hides the smoke pretty well. I just hope that we have thought about this sooner, didn’t like the cold from the previous nights in the slightest.”
Hearing that, some goblins felt chills on their skin. They all didn’t have good memories of sleeping through the nights prior, lying on nothing but big leaves placed on top of each other, constantly kept awake and reminded by the freezing cold.
“Isn’t that because we wanted to move fast though? We didn’t even spare any time building stuff. The only thing that was on everyone’s mind was to cut off any potential pursuers, well, then it kind of switched to how to get out of this forest as soon as possible.”
“Yea, those mysterious presences scared the hell out of me but there don’t seem to have anything of sort here. The only thing I’d complain would be the cold around that girl the first time… Hmm?”
“What is it?”
“I feel like after she’d calmed down from her attacks and she could understand us because of the translation scroll, and especially after Fekal and Edria talked to her, the temperature of this area increased.”
“…You’re right! Before when we came near the lake it was much colder than when we were in the middle of the forest but now, I think it’s even slightly warmer than that.”
“It’s interesting… And Edria is still playing with that girl.”
They all looked in the same direction. A distance away, the blue-haired girl and the young goblin were happily running around and catching fireflies or other bugs. The pair did not seem to be bothered by the dark.
“They fit rather well, don’t they?”
“They do be the same with that childish personality, not that both of them look like one… From my first impressions, and excluding the fight, I’d say Cirno is the more sensible one of the two, however little that may be.”
The goblins continued the small talks about various topics. Around the camp, there were more fireplaces like this being built. Before this point, they were no different from strangers being assigned to the same team and forced to fight a war that didn’t relate to them in any way. After they were separated from the other teams and had to wander through this forest together, they all quickly became closely acquainted. The fact that goblins were a highly communal species also helped. For the goblins, eating the meal together means a family.
A while passed and some of them were starting to run out of energy as they were getting hungry. Right then, a group of two dozens walked out from the lines of the trees, carrying with them wild fruits, vegetables and small animals like rabbits. Excited cheers rang out as they set down the things they had collected.
“We got a lot of meat tonight, managed to sneak on unexpecting prey.” The leader of the elected hunting team said.
“Oh, how very nice, I don’t regret having to wait at all.”
“So, why don’t we get to roasting already?”
“Ha ha! You can’t catch me, Edria!”
“Hey! Come down here! It’s unfair if you are flying!”
After the wonderful demonstration that was the spellcard filled with swords flying in random directions, many of the goblins, because they were so packed together at the time and therefore had no room to dodge, were hit multiple times by giant and sharp projectiles. Sure, the bullets were non-lethal, but they definitely caused pain, so much so that by the end of the barrage, most of the individuals present were on the ground, groaning. The exception was Cirno, who easily outmaneuvered the swords in the air, Fekal, who somehow managed to not get grazed even once amidst the chaos, the goblins at the outermost position, and Edria herself.
The scene looked suspiciously similar to when they had to deal with Cirno’s spellcard.
Luckily for Edria, she didn’t receive any punishment of any kind… sort of. She had to apologize to everyone, was told not to do it again, had to help with treating the wounded (not from the spell itself, but some might have fallen a little too hard and/or got trampled on) and had to assist in constructing the camp… Which she had only done one of them. After giving a half-hearted ‘sorry’, she got distracted during the moment when everyone was helping others to get up and played with Cirno instead, at which point the rest of the group just didn’t bother doing anything about it anymore.
Edria and Cirno had been playing various games since the afternoon. The young goblin didn’t know some of them so the fairy had to explain the rules to her.
A minute earlier, Cirno proposed a game of tag, a game which Edria knew how to play so she quickly agreed. At first, things were pretty normal with the fairy having to chase her but then a problem soon arose when she was touched and their roles switched. She ran after and was about to reach the fairy then suddenly Cirno took off to the sky, denying her of any chance to catch her.
“Isn’t that you can run anywhere? I don’t remember any rules that said you can’t fly!” Cirno shouted, still staying afloat.
“Just you wait!” Edria walked off and looked at the ground, searching for something.
“Hmm? What are you doing? Giving up so early?”
The young goblin grabbed that something from the ground. “Here it is!” She turned back and faced the fairy. On her hand was a pretty big rock, so big that she could barely hold it with only one hand.
“Huh? Wait… Don’t tell me you are going to- Whoa!“ Edria hurled the rock up at her before she could finish the sentence. The throw was surprisingly accurate and the fairy was hit in the face. The force from the fast and heavy projectile knocked her out of the air and sent her diving. Cirno kept falling lower and lower until she was slammed onto the ground, her body sprawled across the grass.
Edria approached the figure of the blue-haired girl. “I got you. How’s that?”
It took just a few seconds before Cirno regained her sense and swiftly got back on her feet. “Hey! Who said that you can throw a rock at me?” She looked furious.
“Heh, I don’t remember any rules that said you can attack others!” The young goblin said mockingly, trying her best impression of the fairy’s voice.
Cirno stomped the ground violently. “Grr, if you want to be like that, then so be it!” She then raised her hand and soon enough a bunch of icicles arranged in a cone shape flew out.
The young goblin didn’t expect the sudden move from the fairy and so she wasn’t prepared. Three of those bullets found their target despite her trying the best to dodge. The icicles felt as if a bunch of extremely cold nails cutting through her skin but leaving no wound behind. “Why did you- Alright, if you want to fight, then it is a fight you get!” After that, she responded with projectiles of her own.
The game they were playing quickly became a game not. From the camp, everyone could see the two firing colorful bullets at their opponent with increasing intensity as time passed. Fortunately, the camp was far enough from the fight that the occasional stray bullets didn’t really pose any trouble. None was too concerned about the two seeing that they were using the non-lethal danmaku. In fact, most of the goblins were watching the fight as entertainment while waiting for the meat to cook, interested in who would win. They both were strong with one of them enough to beat the whole group down and one of them caused nightmares for the enemy on the battlefield… and beat the whole group down.
Occasionally, the fairy would fly up and shoot from above, putting the young goblin at the disadvantage. However, it didn’t seem that she was particularly discouraged by that. The battle would go on with both sides continuously shooting bullets, indirectly lighting up the mystic landscape of the lakeside at night in a colorful scheme.
The meat was almost ready to eat and everyone around the fire was getting prepared. Aside from that, the only thing that had changed was the addition of one goblin and one fairy, happily chatting.
“So, can anyone explain to me how just some minutes ago they were going at each other like lifetime enemy but now they are acting as if they are the best of friends?” A goblin asked. As expected, he received nothing but shrugs and headshakes from the others.
“Before the people I have met are all either annoyed by me or being very mean like the orcs, but you are not like that! You are my best friends ever!” Edria said enthusiastically.
“You are also among the best friends that I have!” Cirno thought for a bit. “Oh, maybe when we have a chance, I will introduce you to Daiyousei!”
“Daiyousei? Who’s that?”
“She is a fairy just like me! She has green hair and is slightly taller than me and also she is extremely kind! She would go and play with me every day and we always have fun!” The fairy described her friend. She then poked two heads of her index finger together. “Sometimes, though, the pranks we played on the humans ended badly, or I would prank her from time to time, but she never seems to hate me for anything...”
“Sounds like she really cares about you.”
“Yea, but I wonder where she is right now. Normally, no matter where I’m at she can always find me for a while now she is nowhere to be seen…” Cirno trailed off, her voice filled with a tinge of sadness, which was out of character for her as far as anyone was aware.
She then felt someone patting her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m not sure what happened, but she will not leave you behind.” Fekal spoke from next to her. “For now, how about you have some roasted rabbit?”
The fairy agreed, still holding onto the optimistic thought that Daiyousei would show up eventually.
There was this certain lake that was covered in a perpetual layer of mist.
There was this certain girl who was on her knees and weeping, an unending stream of tears formed under her eyes.
She had green hair and wore a blue dress. Next to her was a spot with displaced grass that looked as if it was pushed away from a center by a powerful force.
She didn’t know how or why, but for some reason, she could feel her presence, she had always been aware that she was there, and she could guess her location in an oddly accurate manner. Maybe it was called instinct? Unique ability? Divine skill? She was thankful, whatever it was because it had helped her to get her friend out of trouble many times.
However, all that wasn’t important anymore.
She didn’t know what that magic did, but somehow, not only had she disappeared physically right in front of her eyes but that presence, which she had always been aware of subconsciously, was gone as well. It was as if her existence had been completely removed from this dimension.
A person who she really cared about, her friend, her best friend, was taken away, and this spot was an indication of that.
And she was there, crying, crying because her friend was gone, and she couldn’t find her even if she tried, not this time.
And then, as sudden as how the magic engulfed her friend, with an ominous buzz, a black line materialized. This line then expanded and soon enough it had become a void in the space at the front. This void, filled with many eyes moving inside, tied by a ribbon on both ends and suspended by nothing but thin air, could be described as a ‘gap’, one that defied any natural laws, one that seemingly cut through the fabric of reality itself.
Out of it stepped a woman. She had a fairly young appearance, her face looked like she was in her early twenties. She was wearing a pink and purple dress and a pink mob cap with a thin red ribbon tied in the front and from which a long blond hair flowed under, a pink parasol was also being held in her right hand.
“Hmm… Is this the place?” The woman asked herself, she observed her surroundings for anything of interest.
“Huh? You- You are-“ The girl froze, startled by the sudden appearance.
Unfortunately, the woman seemed to have heard that, she turned around, catching the girl in plain view.
“Ah, do I know you?” The woman said in a gentle voice, which sounded strangely terrifying and sent chills down the girl’s spine, as she slowly approached with graceful steps. “I sensed a serious breach in the barrier, the source is somewhere around here, do you happen to see anything out of the ordinary recently?”
Before she knew it, the woman was right above her. This woman honestly creeped her out with the unnaturally immaculate beauty accompanying a strange aura that she couldn’t put to words. However, “I think I might know a thing or two…” she still mustered all of her courage to speak up.
If anything, this might be a chance, she thought, she believed this woman would be able to help her to find her friend.
Daiyousei is crying while Cirno is playing with the non-japanise goblins.
Yea she has quite the short attention span isn't she?
@Nhatduongg Lucky she has the size to pairing with