Submission (#1998) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act 2
Act Type: Character
Word Count: 1261
Adult Elnin Present: n/a
Regional Affinity: Silveil
Claiming Regional Affinity for: Aria [ELN1800]
[Noble] Rank Unlock Mini-Requirement: Treasured Possession (Raven's Feather)

While Noctis had soon lost interest and wandered off, Aria lingered behind. He mentioned wanting to explore a bit, and so he ventured into the forest once more. Aria in the meanwhile had wanted to examine the shack, and had reassured him that she would catch up to him soon. Well… to be fair, he was surprised since she had been rather reluctant to come here, and while she had expected him to gush at her more on how cool this place was, it seemed aside from it being pretty much an abandoned shack, there wasn’t much more to it.

Still, while he had dismissed it fairly early, surely he wouldn’t have brought her here if there wasn’t something of note to show her? She wondered if he came across hidden treasures here and had already pilfered them. She often liked to joke and called him “Raven of the Night” due to his fascination with shiny trinkets. Granted, she was no different. Despite being completely different personality-wise, both shared similar interests in treasures. Noctis leaned more towards tangible items, such as gold, shiny stones, even the bioluminescent mushrooms growing in the forest. He had harvested such an amount for his own den that she often wondered if it’d rival the luminosity of starlake and silveil’s forest combined. As for her, she liked the stars, the lake, and… she supposed for tangible items, most of her “treasures” were pretty much just gifts from Noctis. That said...

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air felt thick, damp, and cool. Similar… yet different. Unlike the dampness carried by the waters of Starlake, this felt more… earthy. Well, it made sense since they were in the forest, after all. A dark forest, rich with strange bioluminescent flora. She opened her eyes, adjusting them to the darkness in the shack. Well… it wasn’t completely dark, as the glow from her eyes and horns as well as the mushrooms peeking from the corners of the dilapidated shack added a touch of light. Moonlight also spilled through the broken ceiling beams and walls, filtered through dusty broken windows and reflecting off the shards of glass below.

Though she couldn’t see the sky right now, she knew that ever as always, it was filled to the brim with shimmering stars, each twinkling ever so bright to let her know that no matter where she was in Silveil, no matter how dark the night may seem, there was always a source of light to guide her path.

With this thought in mind, that made the forest seem… a little less scary, and the shack… well, she supposed “inviting” wasn’t the word, but she was a little less nervous about being here. While certainly empty now, she was certain this used to be someone’s home once, and if she looked around, she could probably pick out parts that’d help her piece together what the previous homeowner was like. 

In the corner was a lone wood table, accompanied by a single dusty chair. On top of it were various pieces of sticks and branches, as well as dried up mushrooms. Perhaps the owner was an herbalist, researching the flora of Silveil and crafting herbal remedies from it. While she wasn’t overly versed in horticulture, Silveil was home to many fascinating specimens, and while could certainly cause… interesting effects and used for not so great applications, the opposite was true as well. Perhaps in her mind she liked to think the owner was testing these applications for a GOOD purpose.

That said, there was also what looked like a carving knife as well as various wood shavings scattered on the table top as well as the floor. Perhaps they were a carpenter? Or took up the hobby of carving little sculptures out of wood blocks. It was something that fascinated Aria, but certainly not something she’d believe she’d have the skills to achieve. Carving intricate markings or shapes with nothing but some wood and a carving knife seemed nothing short of magical, and on the few occasions she accompanied Twinkle or Lumia on their trips to Silveil City, she remembered being awestruck not only by the large and flashy buildings, but also the small side vendors with handcrafted items as well, ranging from handmade jewelry to fine-carved creations.

Of course, this was just speculation on her part. It could just very well be something the elnin would pass the time with and not an extravagant hobby. 

In another corner of the shack, were various pots and pans. Aside from a thick layer of dust, in them she found more dried up herbs or leaves of some sort, as well as berries. Maybe she was right in thinking they practiced medicine! She blew at the dust, immediately coughing as it swirled up in a thick cloud around her, swatting at the air as it settled down on and around her. Ugh, that probably… wasn’t the smartest decision. She grimaced as she tried to get it out of her fur, shaking a paw as a loose cobweb clung to it, and then let out a shriek as in the process of putting said paw down, she ended up putting it into one of the jars laying about and toppled it over along with the pots and pans, sending out a loud clanging sound ringing out into the distance.

It was probably a good thing Noctis had left, she sincerely hoped he wasn’t close enough to hear. She could already imagine him returning at JUST that moment, laughing at her predicament and calling her silly.

Groaning, she pulled her paw free, and shuddered. She was definitely going to need a bath after this, ugh. It looked like in the scuffle, she ended up spilling the contents of the jar and utensils. There were dried berries and more mushrooms, and other various assortments of stuff that was possibly edible. Perhaps she had been wrong, and the previous owner was a chef of some sort? She recalled coming across these berries when she went exploring with Noctis when they were smaller, and she remembered recoiling in horror when Noctis had presented her with a similar version of the dried berries fresh, telling her they were highly poisonous before popping them in his mouth. She remembered bursting into tears, thinking he was going to die as he just laughed at how gullible she was.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Even now, he was just the same. Perhaps she didn’t have to worry about needing to “grow up” anymore.

“CAW!!!”

The sound made her jump, and she spun around to be greeted with a rather large raven, its wings flapping loudly before landing on the window sill. It tilted its head and looked at her with dark beady eyes. Before she could say anything, it let out another loud caw, and flew off, leaving a single feather in its wake. Aria went up to it, picking it up. Perhaps the raven came by after hearing the noise she made, or perhaps it too had once considered this place a home?

She smiled, and held the feather close. As sure as she was that this place probably held lots of precious memories for the previous owner, she was sure this feather would also mark a new memory for her here today as well. It was different from her usual collection of treasures, and while it wasn’t given to her from Noctis directly, it was still a treasure to remind her of the events that unfolded today.