A Midsummer Dream in the Making (Ophelia vs Dixi)

Close by northern Juria lies a forest that has a number of nasty rumors that circulate around it. Those that go in on their own have been known to occasionally vanish, never to be heard from again. The skeptics say that the roads are merely treacherous, and many lose their footing among the natural terrain. The fault of the traveler, they say. The more spiritual among them claim that an evil spirit resides in those woods, exacting its revenge on those that travel through them regardless of who they are. Many expeditions have been sent into those accursed woods, but nothing has ever been found of note, aside from a few bears. In the end, people in the nearby towns were encouraged to travel in groups or by carriage, since those had been the most safe, even if they didn't know what they were trying to be safe from. Many counted their blessings that whatever was in there paid no attention to the surrounding villages, if there truly was some dreadful monster that made that forest its home. But the mystery has never been solved...

It was only a matter of time before someone more competent came to investigate, and that day happens to be today, as a certain black haired woman came to the edge of the forest.

"Alright, so a mystery force huh? Better watch out, nothing that creates this kind of rumors can be something to laugh at..." Dixi had been sent to investigate the mysterious rumors about the forest filled with evil spirits. Determined to reach the bottom of this, Dixi set forth into the forest, keeping an eye out for possible threats...

As soon as Dixi took her first steps into the forest, the beings that made the forest her home were already aware of her presence. Nothing immediately stood out to the woman, however, and it seemed mostly normal. The trees in the woods had likely been here for generations, as they stretched to a massive height and the branches and leaves blotted out the sun above, with only a few rays of light shining underneath. The place was teeming with wildlife, with birds chirping, squirrels storing away for the future winter, and even a few deer that were startled by her appearance and dashed off farther into the brush.

"You know, you don't need to hunt, right? You've got me, after all~"

"Oh, yes, I am well aware...however, I want to. It is in my blood. The rush, the thrill, of capturing my own food...it is not something I can simply give up."

"Well, that's all fine and good, but that one..." She pointed towards the newcomer. "That one's a step above the standard traveler. At least let me help."

"...oh, very well. I can always trust you to point me in the right direction. I feel like I would be sufficient on my own, but if it would make you feel I am more safe. Come along, Katarina, we have to get into position..."

There was definitely a path through the forest, probably one that was formed by travelers. Dixi could make out carriage tracks as well, pointing it out as the main route. Nothing had jumped out to her yet, so she might have to go deeper to find anything of note.

Dixi crouched to examine the cart tracks. Despite the rumors, people still traveled this roads and this last one was recent as well. She got back up and looked around, the trees were making it hard to see something. With the very same determination, the brawler resumed her march, heading deeper into the forest.

Dixi ventured forth into the deeper, unexplored regions of the forest. The footsteps were far less common out here than they were on the main path, and the carriage tracks all but vanished. The claims she had likely heard about rough, rocky terrain off the beaten path turned out to be very true, with a number of sharp ledges, carful leaps and unstable footing. If Dixi weren't as fit as she was, she could easily believe someone accidentally getting themselves seriously injured out here, if not much worse.

Little pockets of light shines through the thick canopy, and she could make out the sound of running water, as well. Along with another sound...humming? It definitely didn't seem natural. It was also the first lead she had gotten in what felt like an hour or so without much to show for it.

"Humming?" Dixi trying to pinpoint the source of the humming around her. Whatever it was, it might had something to do with the rumors plaguing the area. She tried using her senses to feel any presence that could be around her before proceeding with more caution than before, not only to the unstable footing like just moments ago, now she also had to sharpen her senses and stay on guard against a possible ambush...

As Dixi tried to stealthily approach the sound of the voice, the accompanying sound of running water was growing stronger as well. Feeling presences through the forest had been somewhat difficult the entire time, possibly because of the sheer amount of living beings present through the woods. It was hard to make out individual presences, even as she got closer. However, it wasn't long before she saw what was the source of that noise...

Illuminated by the pocket of light from the sky peeking through the canopy was two figures. One that stood a head taller than her, while one that was only about six inches tall. Both of them had luxurious wings growing out of their backs, and it seemed like they were washing up. The light reflected off of the taller one's skin, and the sight was downright mesmerizing in its beauty. The humming had come from her, as she was helping the smaller one wash herself...to a degree. It looked like she was trying to be independent about it, though. While they seemed they weren't aware of the peeping gaze of the new outsider, everything was going according to plan by their own metrics...

When Dixi found the source of the humming, she couldn't help but to blush and take a couple of steps back. She noticed the wings before she looked away. She had read about that kind of creatures, fairies. Weak creatures that fed on people's mana to survive but she had never seen one of them, less one that had human size and, not only that, she was taller than her. "Hmm... Are they the cause of the rumors?" Dixi wondered, it was true that fairies were mischievous but it was just two of them, could they really be the cause of the rumors? The cause of people being afraid of crossing the woods on their own?

The two fairies went about their business, blissfully unaware of the presence that was watching them. At least, to Dixi's perspective, anyway. The larger of the two gently cupped the smaller one and turned in Dixi's direction, giving her a much more detailed view. "I feel it has been far too long since we did this together, do you not think so? Ah, and it is the perfect weather for a bath." Even her voice had a melodious tone to it that made the scene harder to tear her eyes off of.

"Yeah, but it's been so quiet lately! Not like there's anything else to do but find food and look for something entertaining." The larger of the two gently scrubbed the top of the smaller one's head with a thumb, getting rid of specks of dirt that were in the smaller one's purple hair. The movements were through, and enough to rock her head back and forth.

"Indeed. Fewer people are coming through the forest, as of late. We may have to start venturing outwards to find food...but I am somewhat apprehensive about that." Each word was carefully chosen to match their onlooker, even as another is an onlooker to her, far beyond her capability to perceive.

Dixi listened carefully to what the pair was saying while mumbling to herself. "Food? That's human's mana... Are they really the ones behind the rumors? They don't look as dangerous as the rumors says but... Fairies are known for their schemes... In that case I bette-" She peaked from her hiding spot but immediately went back in when she noticed that... Well... That they were still taking a bath. A brighter blush now on her face as she thought to herself that, maybe, it would be polite to wait until they were finished.

The figure watching from the shadows giggled at Dixi's expression, flustered beyond belief. She could see why Ophy was so insistent on the hunt: watching their expressions alone was worth it. Regardless, the elder fairy did seem to have things under control...for now. She would jump in the second danger presented itself, however.

It was only a few minutes before the two fairies seemed to finish, drying themselves off with an oversized leaf. "Ahhh...you were right, I needed this."

"So did I..." The older of the two slipped her dress back on, one that still was fairly revealing and alluring. Something about that one was extremely eye-catching, almost unnaturally so. She moved over to the smaller one as Dixi went back behind the corner, the direction she had been looking having been right in her line of sight. "Well, now that that's taken care of, I would say it is time for us to head back. Before it gets too dark, at least." This was her chance! But as soon as Dixi looked out from behind her hiding spot...

...they were gone? Completely gone! Not a trace of the two fairies could be seen from the babbling brook, vanished into what seemed like thin air. She didn't just imagine that...right?

"What the...?" She looked around confused, there was no way she had imagined that. Dixi never was one that favored stealth, she preferred tackling things head on. With the fairies, mysteriously gone, the brawler stepped out of her cover and into the clearing, looking around for potential leads.

They really were gone without a trace. It was true that details on fairies weren't exactly well known, but she hadn't expected them to just vanish into nothing right in front of her. Maybe it was magic? Were they invisible? Maybe it was something else entirely? She wasn't entirely sure, and had no way of knowing for sure. At best, she could examine the location, and see if it left any clues.

It really just seemed like a normal, average riverbank. Even the oversized leaves they had used to dry off weren't present anymore, gone just like the fairies themselves. The only thing left was to survey the landscape and see if maybe there was any bent branches, pushed out of the way leaves, or something, anything to give her a hint.

As she pulled herself up, however, two hands closed over the girl's eyes before she realized it. "You know, it is rather rude to peep on someone during their intimate moments."

"Yeah! Super rude!" Another voice, one that was the smaller fairy from earlier. Busted.

They managed to sneak behind her. This made Dixi feel a bit more embarrassed. "S-Sorry! It was an accident." She moved to put some distance between her and the woman before turning around to face her.

The taller fairy merely giggled at the woman's shock, although the smaller, floating effortlessly in the air, had her arms on her hips in a pout. She let out an indignant 'hmph' noise, but the older was quick to chastise her for that. "Now, Katarina, that's no excuse to be rude back."

"But we don't know who she is! For all we know, she could be one of those big soldier guys we saw a couple weeks ago! I didn't wanna mess with them, honestly..." The purple-haired fairy circled her, taking in her features.

"Well, does she look like someone here to cause us problems?" The smaller fairy waited a moment to respond...before shaking her head. "I didn't think so. Why don't we ask what she wants, instead?"

"Okay!" The little fairy went up to her face next. "Hey! So what're you doing out here, anyway? Most humans don't go anywhere near this deep in! At least not accidentally...you're not here to start trouble, right?!?"

"Katarina, what did I just say..." The older of the two shook her head, her fingers to her forehead. "You'll have to forgive her. We've seen our fair share that would make someone a little jumpy around new people."

Dixi wondered for a moment about the soldiers that the smaller fairy mentioned. "I'm not here to start trouble. I'm just investigating some rumors." Dixi crossed her arms and looked at the pair for a moment before focusing once more on the taller fairy. "Villagers are scared and talking about evil spirits plaguing the forest. I was wondering if you knew anything about it?"

"Evil spirits?" Both fairies looked at each other, and then back at Dixi. "Not that we're aware of, at least. As far as we know, we're some of the only things here that aren't wild animals."

"If you asked us, anyway! I've heard some people going through here say fairies aren't any better than wild animals, before!" The little fairy pouted at the thought.

"Not all humans even know about us, Katarina. I wouldn't blame them entirely..." She huffed at the attempt at calming her down, and the larger of the two sighed. She turned back to Dixi. "Ophelia. And, my daughter, Katarina."

The little fairy perks up a bit. "If you want, we can try to help! Our home isn't too far from here! We can plan a bit better once we're somewhere comfortable. Cmon!" Katarina was already starting to flutter off in another direction.

"Oh, there she goes...she's very eager today. We haven't had much company in some time. Come, come. It's best not to keep her waiting." Ophelia followed suit, urging Dixi to follow along.

So far they seemed... Nice. Not much like the stories Dixi had hear about fairies, maybe they were just exaggerations? "Dixi. Nice to meet you two, Ms.Ophelia, Katarina." She nodded and started following the fairies to their home, if they weren't the source of the rumors maybe they could help her, they seemed to know their way around the forest anyway.

It was a good thing that she had run into them, as she followed the two behind them, as the path through the forest was just as rough as it had been earlier. The shadowed figure followed along, slightly impressed by how well Ophy had predicted everything working in her favor.

The two fairies traversed the terrain fairly easily, however, as if it was a normal occurrence in their lives. Despite Ophelia being a head taller than Dixi, she moved like she was very light on her feat, hopping from careful step to careful step. She had no trouble making a small leap across a ravine to the other side with ease. "Are you some kind of adventurer, then? We've seen a few of those types before. Most of them ended up tripping somewhere along the path."

"Yeah! We watch them sometimes. A lot of them think they're sooooo great, they're usually the ones who trip and hurt themselves trying to show off." Katarina giggled to herself remembering the ones she was thinking of. Even still, that was quite a steep drop between herself and the two fairies...and the figure was lying in wait in the darkness for her part. Ophy had specifically mentioned this one. She didn't really understand what she was thinking, before, but now...

Dixi followed the fairies paying close attention to the terrain she was going through. One mistake could end up making her fall and get lost. "Kinda, yeah. I guess my assignments are like jobs for adventurers so that kinda makes me one." She watched down the ravine and then prepared herself to jump.

Ophy had wanted subtlety with her help, and she had been more than happy to provide. A little manipulation here, a little illusions there...if she had asked, she probably could have ensorcelled the woman right then and there, but this was what she wanted. And right now, what she wanted was to make the cliff look just a bit more stable than it actually was.

Dixi made the jump, her food landing on the edge of the ravine, thinking she was perfectly fine...before the ground underneath that foot started to crumble. Panic set in as she realized she wouldn't able to make the leap in time. "Dixi!" The fairy's hand shot out to grab Dixi's, the woman's body hanging by a single foot, arched backwards and extremely close to plummeting an extremely long fall. Katarina went behind her and pushed as hard as she could, which wasn't all that much due to her size, and the two, with some effort on both of their parts, were able to pull her out of that scary situation, causing the two of them to tumble into each other. Dixi landed on top of the elder fairy, face first into chest.

"Oh, goodness...that was almost very, very bad. Are you unharmed?" Ophelia might need a moment to recover from that, as fairies aren't very strong by nature. Katarina grabbed a nearby leaf and fanned the two of them, worn out from the exertion.

Dixi cursed under her breath when she noticed that she miscalculated the distance (and stability) of the edge. She prepared herself to sink a blade made of Ki on the rocky wall but, in the end, that wasn't necessary. Ophelia managed to catch her in time and pull her up, making her face land between the woman's soft chest. Blushing, the brawler moved her face out of there. "S-Sorry about that, Ms.Ophelia!" She apologized and gave the fairy a bow. "Thank you for that. I could swear it was closer than that."

Ophelia giggled as Dixi quickly pulled herself out her cleavage, the look of embarrassment plus her blush impossible to hide. "The forest has a way of making you think you are safer than you truly are. I do not doubt your abilities, but do be careful. I would not want something awful happening to you..."

Katarina took a look down at the ravine she almost fell into and winced. That went far. She would've really hurt herself if she had been just a second too slow. "I think the only evil spirits here are the ones that make people try dumb things to show off." She peered her way really deep into the ravine to maybe see something...maybe a few bones at the bottom. The cliff had also broken off a bit on both sides, too. The gap was much farther now than it had been earlier, and trying to jump across now would be very, very risky.

"Oh, dear...we will have to find another way back, when you leave. I was rather fond of this route, but we do know this forest very well. Rest assured, we can find an alternate path. But, come, after all that excitement, we could use a rest as well. Our home is not far from here." Katarina fluttered to Ophelia before the two started their way back. It seemed the forest really was dangerous, but so far, not because of any spirits. The look on Dixi's face had been priceless to the shadow-y onlooker. She had to hold back not to burst out laughing. She was starting to see the merit to Ophy's method by now, getting under her skin. This really would be a nice diversion.

"It's okay. I was preparing myself in case I fell. I owe you one though, Ms.Ophelia." She wanted to continue her investigation but Ophelia was probably right and Dixi could use a breather after almost falling into the dangerous ravine. Taking a deep breath to calm down, the brawler followed the fairies towards their home. "You two live alone in here? Isn't it dangerous? If there are really evil spirit roaming in the forest."

Katarina broke off from her mother and took a seat onto Dixi's shoulder. "If there are any evil spirits out here, we've never run into them! And we've been here for years! The most dangerous thing around here is the forest itself...and some of the wildlife. There's a few families of bears that live out here! They're nice, though." Her little legs kicked as she rested on Dixi, not really worried about personal space.

"The terrain is less of an issue for us. Also, it is less dangerous than you might think..." The group was coming into a clearing, where an old house stood among the trees. Time had been rough on it, but it was kept as well as could be, even if vegetation had grown upon the edges quite heavily.

"We're pretty sure humans used to live here! I'll bet they forgot about it, because we found this place when we came here about a few years ago!" That was partially true, at least: they did find it, at least.

"Yes, it is just the two of us. But we manage. Come, you're probably exhausted. I'll make you some tea." Ophelia went further in, opening the door for Dixi with a gentle smile on her face.