The forest was quiet, aside from the nearly imperceptible little crunches of snow under the feet of the few woodland animals that hadn’t vanished into some sort of den for the winter. It was peaceful, but like many a peaceful scene, it could only last so long before something barged its way in. In this case, it was a small, young girl, suddenly winking into existence and dropping a few inches to the ground and into the snow. All of a sudden, at least a dozen unusual sensations struck Vanilla at once. Mostly strange sensations related to the unfamiliar body: like the weight of her long, white hair, the fabric of the new clothes, and the massive loss of size. She felt just plain tiny. Hah. This was hilarious. She hadn’t felt this crazy in ages. But there was definitely a problem: it was really, reeeaaally cold. Turning around a full 360 degrees - stumbling a bit - Vanilla failed to notice any sort of path to warmth, or civilization. Just trees, snow, and ice. "You couldn’t have at least started me with a coat," she complained to the thin air? What a weird sounding voice. After the air failed to respond with any kind of warmer article of clothing, she finally started off in an arbitrary direction. "Maybe it’s cause I started with beast taming," Vanilla mumbled as she trudged along through the snow. "Should’a started with blacksmithing, or campfiring, or... I dunno, pyromania? Guess this beats getting dropped in a volcano though." Slowly pushing through the snow for around twenty minutes, Vanilla felt no closer to reaching warm civilization. It was all still snow and trees. Once her body started shivering, she finally broke. Stupid game; who would wanna endlessly wander around and freeze themselves to death? Time to log off. Vanilla held her palm out to open the menu, eying the ‘logout’ button, but before she could hit it she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to catch a better look at the moving thing, closing the menu again. It was a snow-white, arctic fox, just sitting there staring at her. Were this not a game, it would’ve been uncanny and concerning, but seeing as it was a game… “Ah hah,” Vanilla exclaimed relatively softly! “F-finally, something interesting. G-get ready t-to be t-tamed, fluffbutt!” It was obvious from her shivers and stuttering that Vanilla was downright freezing, and probably looking at that warm fur as a very attractive looking, makeshift blanket. It was also obvious that she had no idea what she was doing... “Uhh… w-wait a s-second, h-how do I…?” Vanilla started flipping through the menu again, this time trying to find out where the little mastery guide was. @Harveste
She'd found it lying rather tired in the woods- a fox that surely didn't belong in this section of the world, if anywhere. It was snowy since it was winter, but even then, what would an arctic fox- a creature she doubted fit the terrain otherwise- be doing in these woods? The fatigue made sense, at the least. Just looking at it she knew it needed food. Aren't they carnivors? But... I can't grow meat. I can't tame animals... All I'm good at is growing plants... Considering how much it struggled, the faerin with a strong ability to connect with animals despite not being able to tame them had only one method she could think of. Apologizing to the animal as she pet it, her body fell into the snow unconscious. Her mind had moved on to the fox, to help it find some food. It was unusually easy compared to her normal form to wander in the snow- perhaps because the fox was far better with the cold than the faerin had been. As she walked in its paws, watching the tracks left in the blanket below, she noticed a voice while she hadn't been paying attention. The fox seemed to follow it while she was sitting there silently along for the ride. Um...Why do I keep finding people that the animals like while I'm hiding in their bodies? And something tells me this time you weren't attracted by food... A beeping haunted her ears. Curse this weather- it was making this task harder than it should have been! Using her own consciousness, she got as close as she could as a fox, yipped after nuzzling against the young girl's leg, and ran back towards her body- much to the hungry creature's chagrin. They weren't far when she noticed that her small form was turning a light blue from the cold, despite wearing some fairly well made gear. Not far away, a rustling in the bushes kept her from actually returning her self to her body. It was in the opposite direction of the girl that she'd hoped would follow her. It may be food, but... I'm not sure I want to go back to that freezing shell until I know what it is for sure... I hope that girl is coming with us. I'm gonna need some help getting you food... Without dying in the process from letting my energy run out from the cold debuff. [OOC: I just wing things. The rustling could be food for the fox, an aggravated enemy they can work on getting rid of as a group, or y'know... her imagination. I figured that was a good way to give Vanilla time to catch up before she actually jumps ship, so to speak. Or fox. Whatever it'd be called xD]
As Vanilla continued to fiddle with the menus, she suddenly felt a very fluffy nose poke her leg and dropped all the menu panels to get a better view of the fox that had approached. That was oddly close for a wild animal to get. Wait, was that it? It did look kinda tame, so maybe that was how it worked? But she hadn’t really done anything? Something didn’t feel right; shouldn’t there be some success notification or something? Vanilla cracked a wide smile at the yip. This really was an adorable creature to come across, and it was hard not smile at something so cute. It also appeared to be leading her somewhere… maybe. Or it could’ve just been her imagination, but if she was lucky, maybe it had a den or something she could fit in. Anything to escape the cold. Rubbing her hands over her arms furiously to try and warm them up through friction, Vanilla ran after the fox as quickly as possible. After a short minute or so, she’d actually warmed up a bit off of her own exertion, though she was obviously still chilled to a growing extreme. Or perhaps she was just getting used to the discomfort. Probably both. “Please tell me you’re actually going somewhere, Fluffbutt,” she shouted forward towards the white creature still trodding along. “Ya know, somewhere warm would be real nice. A town? Even a hole in the ground.” She continued chattering to it, though one could easily get the impression she was actually talking to herself, and the fox was just serving as some kind of outlet. Suddenly, she heard the soft rustle past the fox in front of her that seemed to have come from a nearby bush. An inconspicuous bush, albeit a very large one that could be holding something of nearly any size. Vanilla froze in place, almost expecting a giant bear to lumber out, but instead, what exited the bush was smaller, and tore its way out surprisingly fast towards the fox. “Gah!” The bush shouted in frustration as the crossbow bolt that had been launched from it just barely missed, perhaps due to the bush itself getting in the way. Suddenly, a young man dressed in a very warm looking coat and trousers burst from the bush, wasting no time in reloading his crossbow. He spent a quick second to glance at Vanilla, but didn’t bother wasting any time to speak. Vanilla, on the other hand… “Oi! The fluffbutt is called for,” she shouted, trying to claim the fox for her own! “Don’t you have any respect for dibs? Get your own!” Although she was trying to sound serious, it came out as more of a whine with the unfamiliar voice. “Ya don’t exactly look like a hunter, miss,” he responded coolly as he fit the next bolt into place, trying to play out the gruff woodsman role. The unshaven chin and long, messy, black hair definitely helped out with that image. “If yer tryin’ to tame something, I can help ya find something else after I finish up here,” he offered, speaking quickly as he pulled the bolt back and snapped it into place. Raising the crossbow again, he took aim to fire the second bolt more carefully. Although Vanilla failed to notice it due to not realizing the fox’s hunger, the hunter had a few slain animals hanging from his belt; mostly rabbits from the look of it. If the fox could get its paws on one, it could be enough for a hardy meal, though from the look of the crossbow the man wasn’t about to make it that easy. “I already said I had dibs on this one,” Vanilla shouted back at him, indignantly passing up on his offer! “Jeez, are you deaf, ya mud-covered hooligan!?” @Harveste
Considering its hunger, the fox was oddly able to ignore the hunter- in this case, it was mostly thanks to the girl trying to tame it, of course. Since the hunter had someone to distract him, the fox could get some help from the unconscious body in the snow not far from them. It nudged it's nose into the neck of the small, purple-haired girl. A soft hum began to come from the faerin's lips as she began to struggle onto all fours. She'd heard rumors that there was a hunter in the area with a tendency to be a bit 'rough' with the players that got involved. She'd been sure it was a nasty rumor about someone until she realized, before regaining control of her own body and leaving the fox to its own, that they had a basis. Although her normal height in this game was barely any bigger than the youngster she'd unintentionally brought into danger, the faerin was curled up somewhat awkwardly, hunched over because of the cold. The fox had moved to rush towards its 'new friend's' side, growling low at the hunter when it seemed like the lad might be wanting to attack the girl who'd been far from wanting to harm it. The humming grew louder as Harveste managed to close the gap between herself and the girl that would no doubt be confused to see her, let alone find out she'd been the one to generally drag the child into the mess. The song, however, began to have an effect from under the snow. The hunter seemed to suddenly stop trying to get closer, groaning. "W-Why can't I move?" Apparently, the hunter was able to be scared himself. With a bit more song escaping the throat of the purple-haired musician, it became more clear without words what the cause was. The hunter had vines slowly crawling up his legs and binding his body together, to some degree. With a smile when she felt 'done', the girl replied happily. "Because my friends that were sleeping under the snow and I said so. We just made friends with this girl and her fox friend. No reason for you to ruin our happiness... Though, I'll let you go if you leave these two alone and maybe leave one of your smaller kills for our friend here to eat. This fox is hungry as a horse." The hunter grunted, trying to wiggle out of the vines- but the more he did, the more he began to hear humming again. Cursing, he tried to break the vines with his crossbow. "Why should I listen to you? I found it fair and square." "Technically, you didn't. You've been creeping in that bush for who knows how long knowing the fox would come back, I bet. After all... Why would you be just staying in there otherwise? I may not have any scars on my body, but who knows what you've been doing while watching me lay there half-dead." Since the man wasn't likely to agree to her much easier, the girl turned to the beast tamer and the fox that was now free to its own devices. "What do you two think we should do? I know our little friend here is hungry... And something tells me as I look at him that this hunter has a habit of going overboard. I don't think we want to do the same though... Should we let him go? I can probably keep him tied up a while longer, but my energy's getting pretty low from the cold... And I doubt you're happy with the cold either, right miss?"
Vanilla continued glaring down at the hunter, hoping she could intimidate or… maybe guilt trip him or something? Obviously, it wasn’t working terribly well. If only she knew how to use that magic skill she took, maybe a little poke or distraction would do the trick but hadn’t the foggiest clue how to make use of it. It was just then that a sweet humming sound caught her attention. Turning around to find the source, her eyes fell on the vibrant purple of a mysterious girl that seemed to have just stood up from the snow. Was she there the whole time? How many people were hiding in these bushes?! Even more oddly, she looked roughly the same size as Vanilla herself. Weird. At least she looked to be on her side. “I… err...” Vanilla was speechless as the purple girl approached. She turned to the hunter, then back to the girl, and continued this back and forth a few more times as she noticed the vines, then the reason for the vines. Nature magic then? Disturbing: it looked like a bunch of green snakes climbing up his legs. But at the same time, it was also relieving, a bit. “Huh? Friends,” Vanilla asked, legitimately confused? Was 5 seconds of contact now enough to form a bond? At the very least, Vanilla was smart enough to realize she was referring to the woodland creatures with ‘friends sleeping under the snow.’ She wasn’t about to complain just yet though, with there being a bit of a crisis going on and all. “Fluffbutt’s hungry,” she asked, turning to the fox with some concern? It was nearly impossible to tell with one’s eyes alone, considering all that white fur. .The purple-haired girl then turned to address Vanilla, kind of ignoring the hunter. Vanilla was still just baffled by the strangeness of the situation, but she forcibly snapped herself out of it and tried to respond in a coherent way. “Yeah, I am pretty cold,” she admitted, nodding in agreement. Looking back at the struggling man, it appeared as though Vanilla was hesitating against taking some kind of action. After a brief moment, she finally sighed and proceeded forward towards him, past the growling fox. “You want the kill cause it’s valuable, right,” Vanilla asked him, approaching the topic professionally, not unlike a businessman preparing to make a multi-million dollar corporate deal. “Obviously! Why else would I hunt the thing? That fur can make some of the finest winter clothes you’ll ever wear. I’m sure you can understand the need right about now...” he hinted, motioning to Vanilla’s bare arms with the one hand that wasn’t busy trying to hack at the vines. It was definitely true that her clothes were more suited to a spring outing and not… ‘this.’ “Well if it’s money you’re after, then I’ll buy Fluffbutt off of you, along with a few of those,” Vanilla offered, pointing towards the dead meat on her belt. It seemed like an incredibly generous offer and one that made no sense considering that the fox certainly wasn’t his property. It seemed Vanilla knew how much of a ripoff it was too since she actually looked disgusted at herself for even making such an offer. Nevertheless, she pulled a handful of shiny gold coins from her inventory and held them out. “You serious?” He glanced at the coins in disbelief, sending another wave of regret through Vanilla. Crap, she was over-paying. The downside of not knowing what a ‘gold coin’ can buy in this world. “You kids are insane… but alright, fine,” he accepted, grabbing the coins and pocketing them. Following through with the trade, he detached a couple dead rabbits and tossed them in the snow at Vanilla’s feet. “Now will you get these things OFF already,” he demanded, continuing to whack at them. Vanilla, on the other hand, grabbed the nasty raw meat and rushed over to the fox, sliding them across the snow and up to its mouth. It didn’t even bother waiting for Vanilla’s hand to get clear before the fox tore into the fresh meat. Watching the fox, Vanilla couldn’t help but smile. It was even cute when it feasted on dead things… who would’ve thought? Curious, Vanilla then turned to the sudden rescuer and instructed her with some uncertainty, “I guess you can stop that vine... humming... thing. Thanks a lot.” She nodded in appreciation. It was astonishing how small this girl was… and even more astonishing that she - herself - was actually a few inches shorter. “So um… I can’t believe I’m asking this, but... do you always sleep outside in the snow, in freezing weather? That just sounds stupid,” Vanilla scolded, unsure why anyone would do such a thing.
If anything was impressive, rather than her own magic, it was that this girl was so blatantly able to get the hunter to leave things alone when all the faerin could think of was holding him down. A slight pink took her paled, cold face- and, swiftly, as she was told it was safe to, she snapped her fingers- a different form of music. The man seemed to run the moment he was able. "Ah-" She jumped lightly from the younger girl's words. An explanation was surely in order, considering the young lady didn't seem to quite grasp how Harveste knew of the fox's hunger or anything else. "Actually... I wasn't exactly 'sleeping'. With all that happened, you probably didn't notice the way the fox came to nuzzle me for a sec while the hunter was there, did you?" Seeing that the fox could finally eat something, Harveste crouched down to pet it while it ate. It got irritated and growled, but let her continue as it chowed down on the raw meat the other girl had gotten it with logical means. "While my body was asleep in the snow, I myself was wide awake. As you saw... I'm a naturamancer. Naturamancy comes with one unusual extra skill, if you work on it enough." The fox yipped, as if trying to finish her sentence. She laughed a bit, glancing to Vanilla more properly. "I can share the body of an animal in consciousness, though it requires leaving my body consciously to do so. Essentially, my spirit moves into the animal to share its body for a bit. Our fox friend here was struggling to find food, so I thought I'd try to help it so it could rest its mind, to some degree, for a while." Stretching and standing at her full, small length, the girl smiled a bit more broadly. "The thing is, it uses a lot of energy to share an animal's body, and you lose energy faster when your other needs- such as temperature- get lower, apparently. I didn't quite realize that when I chose to do it right here." She moved one of her stretched arms behind her, scratching nervously at her neck. "As my body got colder, my energy began to plummet faster... So foxy here and I got closer to you than you'd likely see a wild animal do without being on the attack. I figured if I got your attention by getting close, you'd follow so I could ask your help in finding him food more easily while my body was adjusting to my consciousness and the cold. Without my body conscious, I had no idea there was someone watching and waiting there. Figures I'd really screw the pooch this time around..."
Vanilla gave this purple girl a curious head tilt as she began to explain the bizarre situation. “What,” Vanilla stated. Not even as a question: just a general remark of disbelief. “WHAT!?” The second wave of astonishment washed over her as she realized what the other girl was actually saying. “That’s just plain creepy! Blah...” Vanilla shivered. Though it was probably more from the cold than the disturbing reality of the situation, it was definitely a factor. Vanilla gave the fox a distant stare, as her devious mind worked around the idea. Finally, she voiced her thoughts aloud, “So like… you can take over a rat, or a snake, or something small like that, and spy on people. Jeez… that’s just freaky.” Finally coming up with another idea, Vanilla strode up closer to the fox and placed her hands on its back. “It’s warm…” she remarked longingly, trying to practically bury her arms in the fluff. It wasn’t much, but it helped a little. Meanwhile, the fox looked up from its meal to give her a quick, suspicious glance, but returned to the food, probably figuring she wasn’t about to harm it after supplying food. “I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it,” Vanilla comforted the little stalker as she showed that she was a bit upset over leading the creature into the trap. “It happens. Plus, that guy was clearly pretty good at hiding; I didn’t even notice him until he attacked.” She shrugged, showing a fairly calm and casual attitude. “Not your fault.” “Anyways, I’m Vanilla,” she finally introduced herself to the other girl, calling up to her from pressing her face against the fox’s warm fur. It was kinda awkward looking, but also cute in a way. “I’m… new around here I guess? Very new, actually.” All of a sudden, Vanilla hopped back up, almost recoiling from the warm fur. “Waaaait a minute! There aren’t any more of you in there is there,” she asked, pointing to the confused looking fox as she met the girl’s eyes?
"Yeah, I guess in reality it does sound pretty creepy." She laughed a bit, surprised it took her having someone tell her it was for her to realize it really had a stalkerish edge. "Adding the fact I'm a rogue probably makes it even more stalker-like, doesn't it?" For someone so cold, she felt oddly warm. Maybe it was because she was just glad to see the fox eating properly? She couldn't help her bubbly smile, even though she wanted to cry or complain at the moment from the stiffness of her joints. It was times like this she was glad she went for lessened pain realism. She had enough pain in real life, she could go for some less of it in her second life. "What do you mean 'more of me'? I'm still only one person myself. Being able to astrally project into an animal doesn't mean I have MPD... or... what was the proper term for it nowadays? I haven't really read the proper terms for personality disorders in a while. Last time I did was reading one of my grandma's old DSM books." It took her a moment before she realized that she'd been given the girl's name- which, in her opinion, was fairly fitting as she looked at the girl with care. "Vanilla fits you, I think. You're gentle like its flavor, or so it seems to me... And I mean, your hair really looks like the petals of a vanilla orchid in a way, at least in color and how soft it looks." Considering this and the fact the young girl was hugging an equally white-furred creature, she found it hard not to giggle a bit from the sight. A white haired girl hugging a white furred fox in the white blanket of snow. What a unique picture the tale might hold! "I'm Harveste. It's nice to meet you." She held her hands behind her back rather than offering a handshake, likely to warm them up with her fiddling. For once, she was rather happy with some of her nervous tendencies. "I know it may sound strange, but... Are you a human? You're so small and cute, I'd originally think you a faerin, but... Your ears look more human than mine do. It's a conundrum, and now I'm curious about it." In order to express her point more clearly, Harveste moved some of her purple hair behind her shoulder and pulled on her own ear, hoping to make the slightly odd pointy end of it, like an elf's in a way, more obvious. "Well, either way, race doesn't matter I guess. Small and cute is small and cute. And adding your snugly friend there, it just makes the picture all the cuter!"
Vanilla raised an eyebrow at the rogue claim, responding with a silly sarcasm, “Well, if I need someone to ‘vanish,’ I’ll let you know.” The offer didn’t sound serious in the slightest, especially coming from a young girl snuggling up with what looked like a living plushie. Vanilla gestured towards the other side of the creature, possibly having noticed - or just guessed at - the other girl’s discomfort. “Erm… nevermind,” Vanilla conceded after hearing the girl’s confusion, returning her face to the warm fur. Whatever disturbing thought she’d had in mind had been debunked by the girl’s question-filled answer. “I guess I’m just a little new to this whole ‘magic’ thing. It should stop weirding me out eventually.” She idly rubbed her cheek on the creature. As the girl gave her reasons for liking her name, Vanilla chuckled, though it could’ve also passed as a giggle depending on one’s ears. “That is… a really deep and nice observation about my name,” she admitted with a bit of shock. “I just looked at my head, thought it looked like a vanilla ice cream cone, and went with it.” She shrugged again. “Nice to meet you then, Harveste.” She paused a second before continuing, “...are you sure it’s not Raspberry?” From the wide smile on her face, it looked like it was a casual attempt at a joke. Feeling that she’d finally warmed up a bit, Vanilla finally gave the fox some personal space and let go, standing back up. “Err… I think I’m a human? Pretty sure…” Vanilla repeated, ironically less sure than the first time, causing her to feel out her ears and compare the shape to Harveste’s more carefully. “Yep, they feel human. That’s good to know,” she remarked, wondering if it might’ve been a better idea to pay more attention in the character creation area. “Calling me small and cute though?” Vanilla’s face turned upward into a teasing little grin. “Isn’t that kinda like a pot calling the kettle black? Actually, I don’t get that… what if the pot’s light grey, or even bright red...” she questioned, pondering it for a moment? “Eeehhh, basically I mean you’re kinda the same,” Vanilla finally explained, awkwardly disappointed at that little social failure. “Speaking of Fluffbutt: how can you tell if he’s tamed or not?”
The fox perhaps only was willing to let the faerin join in because it noticed the way Vanilla had seemingly signalled her closer- but, because it seemed like it as acceptable, Harveste was quick to join the snuggle pile, adding an unusual violet hue to the otherwise white blanket of fur, hair and snow. Softly, she murmured a word of thanks, enjoying the shared warmth between the three of them. "Like a pile of living pillow pals~" Giggling despite realizing what she said sounded strange, the girl was too happy to have some warmth returning to her frozen joints. Though she shivered as she did, she listened carefully to Vanilla's reactions and inquiries, though was slow in reacting as she mulled things over one step at a time. But first, she had to let the surprise go from her system. "Is it really that strange for me to think so deeply on it? I suppose since I didn't go into much thought when I made my name it might seem that way..." Then, another remark she couldn't quite decide the basis of. Raspberry? Her hair was a little to lilac to fit that kind of fruit. "If we're gonna go by berries, I'd probably say grape would be more suitable. But... Raspberries are super tasty. Best flavor there is when it comes to snapple." It wasn't long after that she realized it had been a joke more than anything, making Harveste's already pink cheeks turn deeper in shade- likely to match the nickname she'd thought she was given, even if only for a moment. It only got worse when Vanilla's reaction to being called 'cute' came into play. "I-I don't think it really suits me as much. Though I suppose some have called me it." She tried to stop the thoughts that raced from her own words, the memories that came to mind like water coming to a boil in her head. On the bright side, she soon realized, her tendency to overthink and embarrass herself had a good point. If her blood was rushing, it meant she got warmer, didn't it? Vanilla soon regained the girl's divided attention when mentioning the unusual use of the adage she'd used herself. "A lot of old phrases are like that, if you think about it. It's like when we say 'having more than we can shake a stick at'. Why are we shaking a stick at whatever it is anyway?" It was nice to have someone that thought similarly, she'd admit easily. Someone who questioned the peculiarities of language, whether using them themselves or not. As she was beginning to think she was making a new friend despite the peculiar start to the circumstance, Vanilla mentioned their the third in the group with a rather interesting method. She giggled from the continual use of calling the fox 'fluffbutt', before snuggling a bit closer into its fur as she spoke. "I don't know how it is for other people but... For me, it's pretty easy to tell if an animal's been tamed or not because if it's been tamed, my magic to share the body doesn't tend to work. I've heard there are some people who are pretty good at doing it even with tames, but... I'm pretty sure that it'd be clear to that person too, if they're sharing the animal's body. I mean, we can do it because our hearts are in sync, I think. Though to be honest... I could just be totally off here. Even I don't fully grasp my magic, and I've got enough mastery in it to be considered a master." In a way, this was a sad reminder to Harveste she should really bug the mascot of the game one of these days for more tutorial things. "Trinity, the mascot... I think she gives tutorials, but to be honest, I can't say I got very much information when I chose my skill set... It's kind of a lot of trial and error. Life's just like that, I guess, you know?"
Vanilla gave her a thumbs up as Harveste joined in, adding a wink for a bit of extra silliness. For Vanilla, the added body helped with the warmth, though the appropriately named ‘Fluffbutt’ was starting to feel a bit chilled from the two girls piling on it. Luckily, the initial shock of it wore off over time, and was eventually replaced with a happy medium between the three. “I guess it’s not that strange,” she admitted. “Hmm… grape would make sense. I saw a raspberry bush back there, so I guess that’s why my mind went there. Very tasty for sure. Don’t worry about it though, Harveste works just fine. Very ‘nature-y.’” Vanilla appeared to be rambling a bit, perhaps buying some time for Harveste to collect herself from the blushy wonderland. Raising an eyebrow, Vanilla looked confused at Harveste’s denial to her claim to cutedom. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to her, denying such a thing when the girl was basically a tiny magical woodland fairy. Did she kill children in their sleep or something? In the end though, she let it go, figuring the girl had been thoroughly embarrassed enough already. “I mean…” Vanilla started, responding to Harveste’s - probably rhetorical - question, “I think magic wands are a thing. Right?” Vanilla honestly hadn’t a clue, having played for all of maybe 2 or 3 hours at this point. “Maybe you’re shaking the magic stick at your stuff to do… err… something magical? Turn it into gold, maybe?” Yeah, she was definitely blathering at this point. Eh. It made for pleasant conversation at least. “Anyway, Fluffbutt hasn’t tried to bite my face off yet, so…” Vanilla trailed off, petting the soft fur of the new animal friend. As if responding to the notion, ‘Fluffbutt’ finished off the last bite of rabbit and turned its head to look into Vanilla’s eyes. Finally, it curled up in that spot, accepting the fact that these girls were probably going to keep it here for the time being. “If you ever ask for a magic tutorial, take me along, would ya,” Vanilla asked? It sounded like an offer of friendship, or at the very least a ‘I wouldn’t mind keeping in touch.’ “This whole magic thing is crazy cool, but I feel like I’ll sparkle-blast my eye out or something if I’m not careful.” She offered another pained wink to express the idea and gave the closed eye a very light poke.
It was an odd relief when she was told her name was suitable enough in being 'nature-like', since at the time she made it, it had been the main thought behind it- though that was honestly years prior, and at this point, she'd just be too lazy to change it if she could. The words had softened her anxiety somewhat, her lips curling into a bit bigger of a smile as she felt the fur of the fox tickling her nose. Whether 'fluffbutt' was good for heating them or not, it still would probably be important to not stay in the cold too much longer. At this point, she was just glad to see their friend eating well, and to feel the gentleness that was the warmth of others at her side. "You have a good point. Magic staves and stuff are things that you can get in this world. I have magical tools as an ability so I shop for things like that sometimes... Though so far, I only have a specially made grimoire from prior to one of the bigger patches the game went through, and my nifty armband I mostly bought because it reminded me of an anime I like." Her timidity was showing in her laughter, but it was an honest fact she'd shared as she moved one hand to touch the armlet in question. While it didn't have the same image to it as the one in mind- or at the very least, not the same feeling to it, the name being a major reason if nothing else- she still felt like when she wore the armband, it was fairly empowering to her. Empowering, but with a hint of worry never leaving despite it being meant to bring tranquility to her spirit and spells. "Different kinds of magical tools do different things when you use them. My grimoire- as all of its kind do- stores mana of its own, so I don't use my own energy so long as it has enough to use for my magic instead. The armlet I wear is considered more of a 'trinket' and basically just helps speed up my own energy recovery... though it works better when I'm actually in my body. I think I read that rods contain specialty spells that are mild and require little energy, but that's the main thing they do for magic." She took a breath and thought a bit further, realizing she was going into far more detail about one of the few things she'd worked hard to research when she started to gather equipment early on. Since she didn't have any other weaponry she could use, and it was before she learned how music could work with magic, she had gone a bit overboard trying to figure thins out. With a soft sigh, she finished her rambling with a gentle wrap up of sorts, realizing her writerly nature was catching up to her in the heat (or cold) of the moment. "Basically... There are all kinds of magic tools and they all do different interesting things. I hear there are even tarot cards. That might be fun to try sometime. That or an ocarina. I took up magic so I can sing and play instruments for fun and magic as well." Her sighs turned to giggles as she felt the warmth of having used her mind a bit more than necessary helping to keep her eyes steady, her energy recovering with the help of her armlet just as she'd explained. When she was in one of her resting states from speaking, she perked from what was essentially an opportunity to meet the other girl again. Smiling, she let go of the fox she'd joined in hugging just long enough to work with her hand to find the friend request option, sending on in reaction. "I'll definitely let you know when I find one... But there's lots of different kinds of magic, so one that would fit mine might not work for you. What kind of magic did you take? Maybe I can ask people I know that have it for insight, too. Sometimes that can be just as helpful." Seeing the pained wink, she completely stretched herself out and held a hand out to her new friend. "I'm not sure if it's the magic giving you a headache or a cold... But let's eliminate the easier-to-fix one. Shall we find a warmer place? It'd be bad if fluffbutt started to freeze from giving us his warmth anyway. For him and us."
“Hm… I did take the magic stick skill,” Vanilla confirmed, getting it ‘almost right.’ It was hard to believe she wasn’t doing it on purpose. “I’m pretty sure I’m broke though. Fluffbutt, why’d you have to cost me so much cash,” she whined, rubbing the fox back and forth with both arms. It glanced back at her with a curious stare, as if it were trying to ask what the heck she the girl was doing. “Cool armband you got there though,” Vanilla remarked, complimenting the magical accessory. “It reminds me of a police officer… kinda. Those are the ones that wear armbands, right? Pretty sure. Well I’m sure I can find me something neat eventually. Give it some time, some grinding, whatever. I’ll get there.” She flashed a casual grin at Harveste. In a quick moment of recoil, Vanilla fell backward into the snow and glanced around as a little ping sounded to let her know about the friend request. It took a moment, but she finally checked the palm menu and noticed the little red ‘1’ on the social button. Without any sort of hesitation, she opened the full menu and accepted, closing the interface up again shortly after. “My magic… umm…” Vanilla searched her brain for the name of it. The downside of not putting much thought into these things. “It was the purple one, with the teleports. Teleports are fun. It was called um… magimancy? Purplemancy? Sparklemancy? I’m pretty sure these guesses are just getting worse…” she admitted, finally giving up. “Anyway, maybe I’ll start by buying a magic stick or something. The instruments are cool and all, but I definitely can’t sing.” Vanilla scratched her head awkwardly. Nodding in appreciation, Vanilla took Harveste’s hand, allowing her to pull her up off the ground and lead her to warmth. After they’d taken a few steps forward, she turned and shot a quick whistle behind her. “Come on, Fluffbutt,” she called, hoping it would recognize her as a tamer and follow along. It was the moment of truth. The fox immediately looked up at the whistle and glanced in her direction, but remained in place. After a short, tense moment, it finally got up and followed along beside its new master, unaware that it was dooming itself to accepting the terrible name it was assigned. “Haha! Yes! There’s a good… err…” Vanilla glanced to the side at it for a moment considering the gender, but didn’t really want to check, “...fox,” she concluded.
"It's a magic item that supposedly brings tranquility with it," Harveste mused with a light laugh. She hadn't thought it looked related to anything in reality before, but by taking a closer look, she had to admit Vanilla had a point. She did look a bit like a traffic officer with it. Still, there was nothing to say on that matter- it was something to look into in the future, if only for ideas for her next story out of game. Her focus at this point was very much the small girl near her. A girl she still pondered about in many ways- such as if it was really a child under that facade, or if her intellect being shown was proof of adulthood. I guess it doesn't matter. I look young for my age no matter where I am. Age is just a number. Her smarts are unrelated to that. She had to think for a moment when the many attempts at coming up with the name for the magic skill Vanilla had seemed to come in vain. It was only thanks to the color coordination used in this game's magic system she figured it out, ears perking lightly as she spoke the proper term. "Arcanamancy?" The word itself made her flush deeper, as her natural first thought of people she knew with Arcanamancy made her mind race- which, on the one hand, had its perks. On the other, she had to stop them quickly, if only to feel less distracted. She'd promised to focus on Vanilla! This certainly wasn't a topic that would help her focus. "Arcanamancy is a pretty special one from what I know from people who can use it. It's pretty complicated, because it has bits of all types of magic to some extent... or something." She giggled, trying to remember just how it worked from the little she personally knew. It really was a subject she barely knew well. "I'll, er... Ask someone I know about it later. If I can't understand it enough as a third party, I'll push her your way." She didn't want to quite yet, but it was the best she could think of at this point. At least until she found a proper tutorial from Trinity, that was. Changing her mind's topic, she waited until her hand was taken to react to the idea of a magic stick. The particular term made her natural jumping mind to think of an anime that, quite honestly, made the concept of a 'magic stick' as concerning to her as her own armband from the one she'd been mimicking when she bought it. "I already had some singing ability and I've always liked writing poems and songs, so... I decided to take it up when I had a fourth mastery slot open. So far, though... Honest, I don't find it all that helpful. Or at the very least, I haven't found a proper instrument in stores. I'd read they're like magic items, but apparently they aren't easily found in such shops." An idea sprung to her head as they began walking. With her free hand, she pulled up the mini map to find where the closest town was to their coordinates, eyes occasionally glancing to her new friend who was seemingly focused on their third musketeer, the fox who's name was basically chosen. "Fluffbutt seems to like his new name. I don't actually know how taming works, but I thought of taking it at one point... I have a fifth master slot open, or so it looks like, but... I have no idea what to get. There's a lot of options I've had in mind. It's kind of troubling..." Having been watching, she saw the way Fluffbutt seemed to feel at ease around Vanilla, or at least it seemed so in her mind. She was intrigued that Vanilla didn't jump the gun like the faerin had with assuming gender, but it was possible to Harveste that she had a hunch more because of having shared the body not long ago. "Now that I think about it... How do you tell a male from a female with foxes? Is it the same as other animals? Isn't it kind of embarrassing to check...? I'd kind of feel like a pervert...Even if I wouldn't even think of that kind of thing..." Realizing her words were far too awkward, she began shaking it off, quick to change the subject. Pointing in the direction from the compass rose on her map, she felt her grin turning just a bit broader. "So long as Fluffbutt is considered one of us, it should be fine for him to come too, right? I figured out where the next town is. If we go there, we might find a nice warm shelter and maybe a few shops to peek around. I wanna see what kind of magic stick you'd choose up close."
“Tranquility…” Vanilla mentioned idly, staring at the band of potentially magic calmness around Harveste’s arm. Without much of a second thought, she gave it a slow poke and paused there for a few seconds, waiting for something to happen. “Nope. Don’t feel any calmer. Not that I was that tense to begin with.” Indeed, the only time Vanilla even seemed stressed was when Fluffbutt was about to get impaled by the crossbow bolt, and that was more of a focused agitation. Really, it was just a game in the end: why stress over stuff? “Arcanamancy sounds about right,” Vanilla agreed, nodding. She couldn’t help but notice a little twitch of the girl’s unusual ears. Cute. “I figure if I need to fight anything tough, it’ll help if I can shoot a purple death laser at it. Or something like that.” She shrugged - again - not really understanding much about the magic or what it could do. “I’d rather tame them though. Seems wasteful just to blast ‘em to death.” “Lemme know later then,” Vanilla responded to the girl asking her friend. “I could use a death laser sensei. Ideally, one who doesn’t like death lasering their students.” Vanilla made a finger gun with her hand and made a show of mock firing it at her head. “Actually I’m more in it for the teleporting anyway,” she continued. “Walking is slow, and teleporting has lots of potential.” “I didn’t even know you could have more than 3,” Vanilla remarked, mentally noting that down for later. “You should sing for me sometime then. Humming doesn’t count,” Vanilla pointed out, expecting something with words from the one claiming she liked writing poems. “Weird that it’s so hard to find an instrument though. I’ll let you know if I find one. With my luck, maybe I’ll come up with something annoying like bagpipes.” Vanilla shuddered at the thought of that painful screeching that was supposedly called music. Vanilla chuckled at Harveste’s remark on the name. “Really? Fluffbutt’s like the worst name ever,” she stated without a second of hesitation or irony. She gave the fox’s head a bit of a rub as they continued through the forest. “Not untrue though. But maybe I’ll find him a better name later. And yes, I’m going with ‘he’ until something says otherwise. Checking up on it would just be nasty.” She concluded that thought with a little pat on the fox’s head. “Finally,” Vanilla shouted, relieved that warmth and civilization were close at hand. “What magic stick, hm? Well, I’d have to see what’s there. And have money, that’s also a problem. It wouldn’t hurt to browse through the stuff though. For later.”
