Some time has passed since that ceremony, and I just turned six—time flies! So, what am I doing now? Nothing much, really, just the usual. You know, my super-special daily shaman training. Though my forest visits have been more frequent lately, so I guess that's something new.
But I bet that's not what you were asking, right? You're probably wondering, "Phoebe, what are you doing so close to the tribe all alone?" To that, I'll answer with another question: do you THINK I know what's going on in that senile old woman's head?! So yeah, you can forget about that.
Less than a week ago, she suddenly decided I should go down to the village every day, and for what? I have no idea! It's honestly ridiculous—I've asked about the tribe so many times over the years, but I never got an answer. She always avoided this place like the plague, but then, out of nowhere, she says I have to come here every day, and she doesn't even have the decency to come with me!
Boom
A loud noise to my left interrupts my sulking, and I turn my head slightly to see what's happening.
"You can't catch me!"
"Not fair! You're totally cheating!"
Oh, great, kids playing. A few meters away from me, a group of kids are playing ball. Fun fact: that ball is actually a local plant that, once dried, soaked in an herbal bath, and left to dry for a few days, becomes a durable ball that can last for years if well cared for… It's not like I have many people to talk to, okay?
"Wait, Rihin! Look over there!"
"...That's the weird girl from the river."
"She's staring at us."
"We should keep our distance..."
"Yeah, you're right."
And, as if they had seen a monster, as soon as the kids notice me, they start to back away slowly, like they would from a wild animal. I've been coming down here for almost a week, so I've already met some of the locals. And this is a typical reaction from the kids whenever they interact with me.
Do I feel offended? Not really. Even though I look like a seven-year-old, I'm still an adult on the inside, so I wouldn't be able to blend in with them, even if they liked me. Speaking of kids, the adults have strange reactions too. They try to ignore me as best they can—it's actually impressive how hard they try—but if I just stare at them for a while, they start to look uncomfortable. It's pretty funny, honestly.
Overall, my interactions with the people in the tribe are bland; everyone here avoids me all the time… Except for one strange exce—
"HEY! There you are!"
As if on cue, a cheerful voice interrupts me mid-thought—rude—and a small shadow approaches quickly, settling next to me.
"You weren't in the same place as last time, so it took me longer to find you."
I turn my head again to see the owner of the voice: a smiling figure with lightly tanned skin, curiously lighter than everyone else in the tribe—other than me, of course—rosy cheeks, and emerald eyes shining with the innocent curiosity only a child can have. Her long, messy brown hair is typical of a kid who spends all her time playing in the dirt without a care in the world, which is further highlighted by the light smudges on her hands. She wears clothing made from natural fibers decorated with colorful little stones. If I had to describe her in one word, it would be radiant. Seriously, it almost hurts to look into her eyes.
"Look! I found this colorful stone by the river. Isn't it pretty?"
This is Mirina, one of the tribe's children. And don't let her youthful appearance and carefree manner fool you—she's two years older than me! A few days after I started spending time down here, she began approaching me with a million questions. Honestly, it's a little scary how quickly she can talk sometimes. Right now, she's holding a small, rounded red stone, her eyes shining with expectation, waiting for a response.
"..."
Even when I try to ignore her completely, she still comes back to talk to me. You might think I'm being a jerk for ignoring a kid like this, but I'm doing it for her own good! It wouldn't be good for her if people started ignoring her just because she hangs out with me… And it's not like I need a kid's friendship.
"Speaking of which, you still haven't told me your name. Oh! Wait!"
She jumps in surprise as I abruptly get up and start walking away. Again, I'm not a jerk! And, for starters, it's not like I have all day free, okay? I may be stuck here until nightfall, but that doesn't mean I'll just sit around until then!
I've spent the last few days exploring the area around the village, you know? I need to know what's around, where everything is. And in my investigations, I found a good field to run my experiment.
...
After walking for a while, I finally reach a large clearing a few minutes from the village. Here, you can see lush, tall grass that doesn't spread through the rest of the forest; there are even a few flowers around, which is nice. But more importantly, you can see several mounds of earth—some only a few centimeters high, others larger than a grown man. Now, listen carefully, because these mounds are the burrows of an animal. What animal, you ask? Horned rabbits!
These creatures live nearly everywhere, with hundreds of cataloged variations, so I wasn't too surprised to find their burrows here. What did surprise me, however, was their size. This must be one of the largest species of horned rabbits I've ever seen! The biggest one I saw must have been nearly a meter tall! Life in this forest full of wild beasts must have made them grow so large. I remember reading something a long time ago called The Theory of Continuous Evolution. Back then, I thought it was just a bunch of nonsense said in a fancy way, but as time went on, I began to realize the depth of that piece of paper and it's words never left me.
But now you must be wondering why I came here, and the answer is simple: to hunt rabbits! And why am I hunting rabbits? Easy—because I want their horns! And why do I want their horns? You ask too many questions, you know that? But the answer is simple as well: cooking.
The horn of a horned rabbit has many uses. In alchemy, it's widely used for mixing low level stamina potions; in forging, it can refine common metals. As you can see, the horn of a horned rabbit is a material often used in low-cost markets, and let's say I'm quite familiar with that market. Now, answering your question: when ground, the horn can be mixed into a highly nutritious cereal bar with the effect of quickly restoring energy. This was a common ration in the military, but don't let the word 'ration' fool you! When done right, this bar can be very tasty! And it will be useful to me during my travels in the forest, which is why I want it. Not to mention, the rest of the rabbit isn't useless either—the meat and fur are also important materials. And I haven't even mentioned the bones, but I think I've said enough.
Now, you should be asking yourself, "Phoebe, how are you going to hunt them?" and this is the fun part—this time, I won't need any fancy traps to capture my quarry, because you see, these rabbits are—
FWIP!
At that moment, I hear the sound of something moving swiftly toward me from behind. I spin around quickly and, with my knife in hand, strike the rabbit that's leaping at me, killing it instantly.
As I was saying, these rabbits are extremely territorial and aggressive, so just entering their territory is enough for one of them to jump at you. They're resistant to blunt attacks, so a piercing weapon is more effective. Is this method dangerous? Absolutely. A bow would be much safer to hunt one of these guys, but I've always hunted like this, so it's fine.
This particular rabbit is smaller compared to the others I've seen around here, though still over 10 centimeters tall, four legs on the ground. It was easy to hunt, but if one of the larger ones comes after me... let's just say I'll have a hard time. As for their horns, each species of horned rabbit has its own unique characteristics—size, color, behavior. Most notably, though, are their horns. The ones here in the forest have a single, pyramidal horn with a pale yellow color that covers almost their whole heads, and their pelts range from light to dark brown—great for camouflage.
"These rabbits are even more aggressive than I expected; it hasn't even been five minutes since I entered, and I was already attacked. On the bright side, it won't take long to get a good number. I think three should be enough to last a while."
Satisfied with the results of my strategy, I prepare to walk further into rabbit territory when I hear a familiar voice from not too far away.
"Hello! Why did you come so deep into the forest?"
I turn even faster than when the rabbit attacked, much more startled, hoping I'm just hearing things. But when I turn, I see Mirina, clearly tired after following me through the forest.
FWIP!
Before I can say anything, or even process the situation, I notice another rabbit, this time leaping toward her.
At that moment, time seems to slow, and a sense of urgency takes over me as I dash with all my might toward the girl, who remains oblivious to the danger she's in. In one swift movement, I push her aside, putting myself in the path of the attack.
'What do I do now?'
I think as I see the rabbit flying toward me. Using the knife blade won't be enough; it'll still hit me, and I can't kill it with a single blow at this distance. My only choice is to redirect it with a strong hit.
With that in mind, I twist the knife in my hand and use all my strength to strike the rabbit with the pommel of the blade, managing to throw the rabbit, that was just centimeters away from my face, away. Seeing its attack fail, it scurries off to hide in the tall grass.
"Th-that was dangerous,"
I hear a trembling voice beside me.
"Are you ok—"
"Are you okay?! Are you okay!? Which hole did you come out of?! Who follows someone into a dangerous, unknown part of the forest?!"
"I-I just—"
"Just what?! Thought it'd be a good idea to enter the forest?!"
Sob-sob. "I got worried because you left without saying anything, sob-sob, and I wanted to apologize for making you feel uncomfortable."
Her last words are barely more than a whisper, which makes them even harder to understand through her crying. I feel embarrassed as I realize I've been yelling at a child who doesn't have enough world knowledge to know what she did wrong.
"After the ceremony, my friends didn't want to come near me anymore, but when I saw that you didn't run from me either, I was so happy—I wanted to be your friend. But when you left so suddenly today, I thought that you hated me."
So, you ended up alone too…? I guess I was jerk in the end.
"...Phoebe."
I close my eyes as I sit in front of her.
"Huh?"
"It's my name, Phoebe. Now you don't need to ask me every time we meet."
"Phoebe…"
"And that was a stone was really pretty."
…
An awkward silence fills the space for a moment, and I open my eyes, but before I can worry too much—
"Phoebe!"
I see the girl throwing herself at me with her arms stretched out, making both of us fall to the ground.
"What are you doing?"
"Hehehehe."
The girl just laughs as she rubs her face against my chest. I guess she's just very happy to have made a friend...
.
.
.