Crystal Magic Adventure: A Tale of Discovery

Chapter 5: New Beginnings

The sun dawned on the ruins of Gladeside. Its sole survivor, Lila, was sleeping soundly on the ground next to a fresh grave. Her body was covered in mud and dried blood.
Next to her was a blue crystal, shining brightly with a blue glow. It was floating vigilantly as Lila's defenseless and exhausted body needed a guardian to watch over her while she was recuperating. As it stood guard, Crystal thought about what this young girl had gone through in such a short period of time. Her entire world collapsed in the blink of an eye, suffocating her under the weight of its rubble.
Despite all that, she managed to come back to her senses through great hardship, and with a tiny bit of help from her blue partner, of course.

Still, it was incredible for her to bounce back from that state of mind though. Not everyone would've been able to do what she did. If something was for certain, this girl truly had potential in addition to an immense mental fortitude.
Impressive for someone so young and inexperienced. While Crystal drowned in deep thought, the sun finally rose in the sky, beginning a new day for the duo. Sunlight shone on the gaunt face of Lila, providing much-needed warmth for the malnourished adventurer. Although Crystal wanted to let her sleep a little bit more, it knew that sooner or later others would be coming to the village.

Knowing that she had to wake up, Crystal whispered in Lila's mind, "Wake up sleepy head, there's a long day ahead of us."

Normally, not even a deafening explosion would've been able to wake up the sleep-deprived girl but the link between her and the crystal allowed it to make Lila open her eyes.

Yawning, Lila slowly got up from the spot she slept on. Now sitting on the dirt, she turned left and then right to crack her lower back which was then followed by another yawn along with an eye rub.

"Good morning... Ughhhh, how long have I been sleeping?"

"Since the sunset. Normally I'd let you sleep more but we need to get moving as soon as possible girl."

Lila looked around herself and remembered what happened yesterday. She slowly got up on her feet while patting her rear.

Still yawning and sleepy, "You're right Crystal. First, I need a bath and these clothes need washing. I don't want anyone else to faint at first glance again." She said, clearly still annoyed by the fact that a grown adult fainted after seeing her.

"Oh? You don't like looking like a monster? And here I thought you enjoyed making men faint just by giving them a look," Crystal muttered, making sure Lila tasted the sarcasm in its tone.

Lila lifted her eyebrow and looked at it, seemingly done with Crystal's shenanigans. She decided not to play its game and decided to ignore its snark remark.

Eager to get rid of the putrid smell that took hold of her, "Okay, let's just go to the river and let me clean myself. "

The duo began walking to the river, which ran through the glade. This was Maya's favorite place to collect herbs and medicinal plants before she perished. Lila's dad also preferred to fish around the same area where Maya collected herbs. Apparently, those plants attracted the fish in the river. After Lila arrived at the slow-flowing river, she quickly took off her clothes and her underwear, fully revealing the current state of her body. In addition to her pale skin and gaunt face. Her body was so thin that her ribs were sticking out and her belly looked as if it collapsed in itself.

Lila spread the clothes on the group and splashed water to prepare them for washing. She then opened her backpack to take the tallow soap her mom made from sheep fat. Even though her village was small and no visitors came from outside, they took great care of their hygiene. She was also somewhat of a hypochondriac, so the fact that she let herself get into her current state drove Lila mad. With that, she got into the river.
Crystal watched Lila in surprise since she wasn't disturbed or shy while being completely naked. From Crystal's point of view, she looked like someone who would scream if someone saw a tiny part of her bra.