For three lightly clothed people lost in the middle of nowhere, they slept quite well. The red grass surrounding them was moist with morning dew, glistening in the sun. And as a thin ray of light fell on his face, Dar's eyelids fluttered open. He half expected himself to see the torn paint of his apartment ceiling, or maybe even the dingy lights at his agency's office, but of course, that didn't happen. He hadn't been sleeping at home, nor had he stayed up late sorting out paperwork for his lazy-ass manager. He was in another world.
Welp. Guess it wasn't a dream after all.
This had already been made clear to him beforehand, but still, a small part of him had foolishly clung to the thought. And now its hopes were completely dashed.
Dar wanted to rise from his seat and begin his morning exercise routine, but first, he had to deal with the girl whose head was resting on his shoulder. It seemed as though both of them had accidentally fallen asleep after their conversation last night.
"You were supposed to wake me up," he gently accused, trying to shift her away from him without waking her up. "Guess no one was keeping watch then, huh?"
Other than the drool trickling down from her mouth and onto Dar's arms, Etoile's beautiful features seemed to be completely intact. Her eyes weren't red or puffy at all, almost as though the tears from before had never existed in the first place. In fact, she appeared to be perfectly content, smiling serenely as she mumbled in her sleep.
"Thanks," he whispered to her as he pulled himself up.
His coat, which Etoile had presumably spread out over the three of them while he and Dolly slept, dropped silently onto the ground. He was surprised by how open she'd been with him so far, and although he had felt extremely uncomfortable sleeping in their presence, the gesture made him feel slightly included. And a little warmer inside.
Come to think of it... Where did the other one go?
The space Dolly had previously occupied was empty. Had she seriously gone out on her own whilst completely naked?
Dar scanned his surroundings but could not spot her anywhere. He also needed to check up on the few supplies he'd managed to scavenge from the camp of rhinoheads. Since no one had been on the lookout, the possibility of it being lost to wild animals or something was not too unlikely.
But as he limped a few paces over to the burning embers which had once been their campfire, his heart sank. The sack he'd brought back had disappeared, and some of the food it contained now lay partially crushed in the dirt.
Bloody hell...
They hadn't just lost a couple worth of rations. The sack also contained some pretty handy loot like a sheathed dagger, a couple of vials of some mysterious red liquid, and a leather waterskin. It seemed like something other than their physical performance had been cut down to a third. And that was their chances of survival.
"Sorry about the food," A voice behind him said "I know it won't help much, but I'll deal with my sister once she's up."
"Dolly...?" Dar asked. He was about to turn round to see her but decided to stop himself partway "...Are you decent?"
"S-Sort of... I don't really mind you looking..."
"'Sort of'? Are you sure? Because I don't wan--"
"I'm sure." she cut in firmly. However, Dar noticed a trace of hesitation in her voice as her next words began to trail off slightly "You can look..."
As he slowly turned to face her, Dar was met with the most bizarre sight he'd ever seen. His face was torn between the urge to both laugh and cower in fear. Instead, he decided to settle with a strained sort of smile. At least he knew where the sack had gone. But its contents were a tiny bit different than before.
Due to the lack of clothes they had between them, Dolly had compensated by pulling the sack over her slender body, so that it completely covered her torso and thighs. Three big tears were made in its brown fabric: one for the head and two others for both her arms to protrude from. And in her right hand was the dagger, unsheathed and dripping with fresh blood. In other words, Dolly looked like some sort of genocidal bean bag.
"Wow..." Dar was lost for words. She was resourceful, no doubt about that.
Now, this is the sort of person the costumers need on set.
The girl shuffled a little uncomfortably, clearly embarrassed to be seen in her new outfit, and Dar quickly averted his gaze to address the elephant in the room.
"So erm..." He began tentatively "What happened with the supplies?"
"Monster squirrels probably came during the night and ate all the food," Dolly replied. She indicated to her bloodied weapon "They left the dagger and some of the potions behind."
Potions? She probably means those red vials.
"Did you kill them?"
"Only one of them. It trapped itself in the sack, so I stabbed it." As she showed him the skinned creature in her other hand, he noticed that it was shaking slightly.
"For breakfast," Dolly quickly added "Um... can you help me prepare it? I already tested it for any fast-acting poisons."
"You tested it for poison? How?"
"Well," she said, "I think these red potions increase life force. I cooked some on the embers and ate it, then used these just in case."
It did not take long for the smell of earth to be replaced with barbecued squirrel, and Dar knelt in front of Etoile's still sleeping figure, now on his fifteenth attempt to wake her up. Until now, he'd considered himself to be pretty experienced in dealing with lazy people. There was himself, for one, and then his manager. And although he enjoyed his sleep like the next overworked man, meeting the final boss of slothfulness herself was making his patience wear thin.
Dar chugged a life force vial, allowing the pain in his wounded leg to gradually disappear. He could probably remove the makeshift bandage he wore. But he decided to keep it. Just in case.
*Blip*
---
Consumed [Life Force Potion]
Dar: Life Force (15%): 228(+361)/589
Identity (13%)
Mana (0%): 0/0
---
"Dolly," he called after her "Can you pass me some of that squirrel?"
She rushed over and handed him a skewered piece that was slightly burnt but he took it anyway, his eyes more focused on something else that was beginning to smolder.
"Your get-up." He pointed out. A small flame had formed over the edges of the sack "It's on fire. Here, let me extinguish it,"
But as he reached out, Dolly flinched and took a sudden step back.
"Sorry," she muttered, "I-I'll do it myself."
"Yeah... No problem. That was my fault,"
Was it just him or was she more jumpy than usual when he was around? Dar also felt as though she'd rarely called him by his name compared to before.
Well, I guess I didn't give her much of a warning first. That's a pretty normal reaction. Right?
He turned back to Etoile and stuck out his squirrel skewer in front of her. Dar was already fully aware of Etoile's intense love for food. He was hoping that the scent would cause her to wake up, and sure enough, her nostrils widened a little. Seeing her like this, Dar couldn't help but think of a wild dog.
Yes. That's right. Wake up already... There's food... FREE FOOD!
But the next voice he heard was one from within his head.
⌈"Free... Food...?"⌋
Etoile suddenly lunged forwards, seizing the squirrel with her teeth, then yanked it off the skewer with all her might. He barely had time to react.
"No way..." Dar said, his eyes widening in incredulity as she continued to doze away "There's no way she's still asleep."
"That won't work. Waking her up is next to impossible," Dolly said, kneeling next to her twin. "Can you stand back a little, please?"
"Okay," Dar said apprehensively "What are you going to d--"
*Smack!*
She backhanded her elder sister with such strength, that Dar wondered whether she'd broken any bones. But she merely shook her hand and then went in for another strike.
*Smack!*
"Dolly? I think we should st--"
*Smack!*
⌈"More food..."⌋ Etoile's sleepy disembodied voice sounded out ⌈"More..."⌋
He'd met many strange personalities in his career, but Dar hadn't seen anything quite as extreme as this. More importantly, how was Etoile still sleeping so peacefully? He couldn't help but question what the hell kind of people he'd run into.
These twins are a complete enigma...
"You're right," Dolly said finally ending her slapping spree. Both Etoile's cheeks were now a bright red. "I'll have to resort to more drastic measures."
"Now wait just a minute," he began. As reluctant as he was, Dar was ready to step in if things got too out of hand. "What are you planning to do now?"
"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt. Well not physically anyway."
Dolly leaned in towards Etoiles ear and began to whisper something.
Dream manipulation?
Whatever Dolly was doing, it seemed to be working.
"No... I swear it wasn't me..." Etoile mumbled, her face suddenly paling. She began to squirm, her legs stirring and digging themselves into the dirt. "I don't want to work anymore... Anything but overtime... Please!"
Seriously? Her greatest nightmare was having to work?
Was he finally caught a glimpse of her other true side? Where had the responsible sister he saw last night gone?
At long last, her eyes flew open, and she stared blankly at Dar for a moment, before having her gaze linger on Dolly's bizarre outfit.
The silence lasted for several minutes.
Then...
"Awwww Dollyyyyyy!" Etoile immediately launched herself at her twin sister, embracing her so ferociously, that Dolly began to gag. "Sooooooooooo Cuuuuuuuuuute!"
"Get--off. Can't--breathe! Save me, Kadar!"
"Kadar?" Something began to stir in his memory, but he couldn't recall it properly "Is that... my name?"
But he suddenly felt himself being pulled in.
"Hehe~ It must be my birthday!" Etoile said happily, as she hooked an arm around Dar's neck "This is the best dream ever!"
Having a still drowsy Etoile yell in his ear, Dar struggled to gather his thoughts.
Those slaps must've given her brain damage.
But there were still more pressing matters to attend to other than the weird amnesia thing he'd been experiencing. They were running out of supplies, and a camp of hostile rhino-headed people was nearby. They needed to constantly be on the move if they wanted any chance of survival. And the village he had scouted out earlier would be their first destination.
"So," Dar said, releasing himself from Etoiles headlock. "Once you two settle down, there's a place I suggest we visit..."