Wonderer's Wish World: An Empty Land

Heats On :)

They wouldn't have become friends in any other circumstance, probably. They definitely wouldn't have been enemies, but they were the type of people that probably wouldn't have anything to do with each other, with no need to do anything other than say 'hello' in the school halls.

For one, Anne didn't have a lot of friends anyway, mostly those that she'd made during preschool, like Sasha and Marcy. Anne had other friends, but those were the ones that she'd been close with from the start. She liked her other friends, the ones at school that shared her common interests, but she wouldn't, say, trust them with her life as they fought an army side by side with nothing but their wits, bravery and incredible violence.

Fei Fei, however, was different. She was friendly enough to most people, too, like Anne, but she wasn't exactly close to anyone at school. She was mostly close to her dad, and also maybe Chin and her new mom, even though she hadn't gotten to know them very well before she was stuck here.

They first met shortly after the two of them were transported to this new place, both on opposite sides of an unassuming but rowdy town. Neither of them had any idea of how they got there, nor where they were, but Anne had a slight suspicion that she was back in Amphibia. This assumption was quickly dashed, however, because no sooner were the words 'Huh. This must be Amphibia!' out of her mouth than a normal human person walked by.

It was only after Anne randomly walked into some random business that she got a better idea of what was going on. The place she had walked into was a tavern (classic), and it was filled with a bunch of middle age fantasy medieval people. So, with that logic, Anne was in an isekai, inspired by D&D. Obviously.

...Stranger things have happened.

Anne didn't know it at the time, but Fei Fei was in that bar, too, but she wasn't visible. Well, trying not to be visible. Fei Fei was hiding in the corner, trying not to be seen, but also trying to gather information. Unfortunately, the bar was loud, and everyone was speaking over each other, so Fei Fei could only hear about every third word, and her English was not good enough at that point to even begin to decipher anything.

At first, Anne and Fei Fei didn't see each other. While Fei Fei tried not to bring attention to herself, Anne walked right up to the bar counter and sat down. The bartender ignored her. Fair enough, she looked underaged and probably like she had no money. Anne didn't worry about it, though, that wasn't what she was here for.

A guy beside her, there was a person sitting who was completely dressed in armour, like a knight, expect his armour resembled the shape of a fox or a dog, like a furry. His armour was a bright red. He gave her a double look when she sat down.

"Uh... I'm not completely sure you're allowed in here," he told her, and his voice was pretty deep, exactly what Anne would expect from a knight. In response to his comment, Anne shrugged.

"The bouncer at the door didn't tell me to go away," Anne replied. Technically, she wasn't really sure he was a bouncer, bars didn't usually have bouncers, and also the guy was asleep.

The knight guy jerked his head irritably. "What does he know? Anyway, I work here, too, and I'm telling you you're not allowed in here!"

"Why not?" Anne asked him back, frowning. "I'm not going to drink anything. Unless you all of water."

"Water costs 1 chaching," the bartender called over to her, and Anne crinkled her nose. What kind of garbage bar was this, to make people PAY for water?

"What else are you here for, if you're not going to drink?" the knight asked curiously, and while he still looked tense, he didn't seem ready to throw her out anymore.

"Uh..." Anne's mind went blank, and before she could think of a proper line, she blurted out the truth: "Information, mostly."

The knight drew back, obviously surprised. "Information?"