Lastland (Stormris) Oneshots

Three Times Charmed

Storm straightened up, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. Someone, something, was watching her. Did she succumb to the primal fear and dare to look over her shoulder, or did she keep her resolve and resume drinking from the river. It was a rare Silverstream, who knew how long it would last? Typically, one did not simply dip their hands or face into a river and begin to drink, but in the Forest of the Highest Sun, as the name implied, strange things tended to happen when the sun was at its brightest and hottest.

One such phenomenon was the temporal existence of "Silverstreams", so named because certain bodies of water would suddenly take on a silvery quality and were not only safe to drink, but encouraged, as it was thought that water of a Silverstream restored strength, health, and mental well-being just as much as it satiated third the way regular water would. After a moment of consideration, Storm decided to continue drinking. Even if the entity watching her was a threat, she had the Silverstream.

When Storm had her fill, she finally pulled away from the little river. She hissed in surprise and recoiled, for staring at her from the trees ahead was a pair of glowing purple eyes. I know that's the thing that's been watching me, but I didn't know it was watching me from the front...

She was lucky that whatever it was, it didn't seem to be hostile. They held gazes for a moment, purple and blue.

"Well?" Storm gestured impatiently to the river. "Did you want some too?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, but since she was done, she got to her feet and backed away, still holding an arm out towards the river. She was armed, but she wasn't going to attack a creature without cause.

For a moment more, purple held blue, then it faded away, leaving a very confused, self-conscious Human Fighter in its wake.

ooo

The next time Storm entered the Forest of the Highest Sun, it was a return trip. Her mission to the northern plains of the realm was a success! Satisfied, the warrior woman slipped off her white horse—Thunder—and meandered the brown path, surrounded on all sides by green, dotted with color. She was not a romantic, not one to enjoy a view enough to linger, but she could appreciate the solitude and silence of nature. As much as she loved to fight, she also liked to be left alone.

Except for you, Thunder, she thought with a small smirk as she led her horse to the water's edge. It was not high noon, therefore there would be no Silverstreams, but the water was still good enough to bathe in, and traveling through such a hot forest certainly made the cool water all the more pleasurable to bathe in. Storm lost herself in the little lake, staying near the streams that fed into it. She paused only once, just as she was about to douse her face again. That familiar prickle at the back of her neck had returned. This time, she obeyed it immediately and looked over her shoulder, though it was already in the back of her mind that the eyes might be in front of her rather than—

Storm jumped back. "You must stop sneaking up on me like that!" She clutched her chest, then sank deeper into the water in embarrassment as she remembered that she was naked. Purple eyes stared up at her from the water. Storm could see wavy brown hair, but that was it. "D-don't you need to breathe?!" she muttered uncomfortably. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around herself, but the longer she and the purple-eyed thing held one another's gazes, the longer Storm realized that the creature's mouth and nose were still beneath the water.

The purple eyes narrowed, closing and crinkling at the corners. A few bubbles rose up from the creature's mouth, but rather than rising, it sank beneath the surface of the water once again.

"W-wait—!" Storm reached forward, as if to pull the creature up, but by the time her hand reached the place the creature should've been, only the bottom of the little, shallow lake met her hand. The feeling of being watched went away immediately after that, but Storm was almost frustrated rather than relieved or afraid. Storm was unable to linger. Thunder had to get home, after all.

ooo

But the Human Fighter made a promise to return as soon as she could. To encounter a mystical creature once was nothing. To encounter it again a week later...? And Storm knew it was the same creature because even though, both times, she only saw glowing purple eyes, she could feel it in her very soul that they were from the same creature. If Storm could lure it out a third time, then she would have her answer. She would know that the creature was watching her, specifically. First, though, she had to find—

The wind was knocked out of Storm immediately, and she was sent flying through the air. She had just enough time to feel a surge of panic before her armored back crashed into a tree.

The next time she came around, something was roaring and screeching in the distance, as grating as nails on a chalkboard. Her vision was blurry, so even as she pried open her eyes, she could see almost nothing. She flinched in pain when a bright light suddenly pierced her vision, then it was gone again, obscured by a blurry face hovering above her own. She fought to pry open her eyes again, and she saw a flash of purple.

You...! Storm slipped in and out of consciousness, but the purple was still bright enough to cut through the darkness slowly clouding her sight. She just barely managed to see the brown face and hair of the same color framing the glowing purple eyes. The humanoid figure lifted a finger to her lips, eyes flashing again as she knelt over Storm. Then, she pressed something to Storm's lips.

At first, Storm flinched and recoiled. I don't know what's in that thing!

But the figure hushed her again gently, touching her cheek. Storm twitched beneath her touch, but she did not pull away. Instead, she was embarrassed by the rush she felt in response to the figure's hands. When the little glass vial was pressed to her lips again, although she was still suspicious, she did not fight. She sipped it reluctantly and was pleasantly surprised by how warm and light she felt only seconds after.

Her vision cleared, but only for a moment, and she heard a soft, feminine voice inside her head.

Sorry about that! One of our pets got loose! But don't worry, by the time you wake up, you'll be back at the edge of your hometown. If you want to visit me again, just ask. I've seen you thrice, and you have charmed me. I'm three times charmed, I guess you could say. You amuse me, I like you! So you don't need to try so hard or risk so much next time, ok?

And sure enough, Storm would wake up some unknown amount of time later, curled up beside the path leading from her town to the Forest of the Highest Sun. Aside from a few bruises, all of the larger injuries she should've sustained were gone, and in her head, a single name echoed. Iris.

Oh yes, she would definitely be back.

AN: Vaguely DND inspired.