A Whole New Adventure (Octopath Traveler 2 Reader Insert)

A Huntress of Toto'haha

The sun shone through the fresh green trees as the wind blew the salty air all across the beaches of Toto'haha, an island in between the eastern and western continents of Solistia. Within the deep forest of the island, two individuals were hot on the tail of a recent threat to the islands ecosystem. The more human of the two, leading the duo, was a young woman, appearing around her early teens, with a bow and quiver strapped to her back, and axe at her hip. The other, was a bright orange fox-looking creature, with blue markings on its front paws, and a loyal companion to the first. The girls ears perked up as she sniffed the air rushing by the duo and announced, "I can smell it. The scent of our quarry. It's close... Very close."

Suddenly, a giant lizard, easily ten times the size of the girl, with red spines all along its back broke through the treeline as if the trees themselves were blades of grass. "Aha! There you are Mr. King Iguana!" The girl responded to the sudden appearance, "You eat too much, and have gotten too big! It's wrong to take more than your share. The forest belongs to everyone. Sorry, but I'm here to hunt you. And then get back in time for breakfast. Come on Akalā!" The girl said as she pulled her bow off of her back and let loose an arrow, piercing a weak part of the creatures skin, catching its attention as it came to a sliding stop and turned to its new assailants.

Everything went according to plan, and soon, the creature was unconscious, lying on the forest floor. "Whew! That takes care of that." The girl said as she caught her breath. The fox creature named Akalā then walked closer to the girl and began to yap, but the girl understood her companion perfectly. "I thought he'd be more of a challenge." Akalā then looked down and with a smug expression, continued, "Heh... Nothing in the forest is a match for us anymore." A low growl then made itself known as the girl turned to the iguana and groaned, "I'm so hungry... 'The weak are meat for the strong to eat.' That's the rule here."

"Don't eat him yet, though." Akalā said as the girl got closer to the beast. The girls ears twitched as she began to drool, "Oh Just one bite. A nibble at the edge..." She then ran to the side of the beast and was about to take a bite when Akalā said, "It's wrong to take more than your share, remember? The hunt belongs to all. That's also the rule." The girl gave in as she stepped away from the beast, preventing her subconscious to take a bite itself. But the two were interrupted as the sound of splintering wood and snaping branches, along with several birds vacating the area, caught the girls attention as her ears perked up. "What is it, Ochette?" Akalā said as the fox creature looked in the direction of the noise.

The girl, named Ochette, stood in silence before she looked back to the iguana, but then took a step forward, "It sounded like something big falling from a tree. It's too large to be a bird. Let's go have a quick look, then back to the village." Akalā nodded as the two quickly made their way over in the direction of the noise. Snaking through the various trees, the two soon made their way into a small clearing, where a person was lying up against a tree, with various cuts on their body. The two quickly took initiative and ran over to the person, scaning them for various injuries. "It's a human." Akalā stated, "But what is it wearing? I've never seen clothing like that from the other humans before."

Ochette sighed before mostly managing to lift the unconscious person over her shoulder, "Let's get them back to the village. There, we can get someone to treat their wounds." Akalā was a little on edge, but none the less, grabbed the straps of a strange bag that was right next to the person and carried it with the two back to the Beasting Village.

As they climbed the hill and saw the familiar wood and straw houses up in the trees, Ochette took another deep breath as she set the person down and said, "The storied hunter returns to the village!" She then put her nose in the air as she spoke, "Hm...? Do I smell... humans?" She quickly spotted the figures entering their side of the village from the hilltop. "Come on, Akalā!" She said as she lifted the person back over her shoulders and slowly made her way down.

One of the four human villagers walked up to the group of human animal hybrids and spoke, "Listen up, beastlings. Our forest is almost hunted out. So give us some of your forest, too. We humans need it." The other humans approached as the beastlings began to look nervous. Another man shook his head as he insulted, "This is pointless. They're animals. Can't hardly talk, even. Maybe they'll understand this." The man then walked up to a female beastling and pulled out a small knife. The female beastling backed away in fear as another human spoke up, "Hey! If Cohazeh hears about this..." The human then backed up in fear as he pointed out to the rest of the humans, "It's the Warden! The Warden of the Isle!"

The group then looked up to see a magnificent lion approach the group from one of the balconies, speaking with a deep and clear demand, "Begone, O humans. We have lived on this island in peace since time immemorial. Now you who came after seek to rob us of it. We had an agreement. We divided the land and swore not to trespass against each other." The leader of the group then spoke up, "Right. And now we want more. How are humans supposed to live here without enough food and resources?" The lion then scoffed as he spoke again, "Your greed betrays you as always. You felled the forest so your settlements could grow. Instead of plotting to steal the forest, better you learn to coexist with it."

"We don't need coexistence. We need land. Maybe we should take this whole village!" The man with the knife threatened. The warden let out a ferocious growl as he took a stance, ready to pounce. The other humans backed away in fear as one exclaimed, "Wh-What the...!?"

Then, Ochette and Akalā finally made their way down the hill and onto the scene. Ochette lay the person she carried down comfortably and said, "...I knew it! Humans from the next village. And I still haven't had breakfast. Let's get 'em out of here. Go get 'em!" Akalā then quickly made his way in between the two groups, easily startling the human with the knife, before he called out, "I'll vanquish this beast!" Which is exactly what he didn't do. Akalā swiftly knocked the knife from the man's hand and pushed against the man, knocking him backward. The humans were terrified as they fled the scene, with the man with the tainted dignity said, "You'll regret this, beastlings!" Ochette simply waved the group off as she turned to the others and announced, "Hi, Master Juvah! Hi, everyone! I'm back!"

The lion known as Master Juvah sighed as he muttered, "So quick to resort to violence..." Master Juvah sat down as the beastling from before said, "Thanks, Ochette." Another one called out, "Our hero. Family's pride." Ochette giggled as she responded, "Heh heh! Hunting was good today, too." A fairly young beastling then called out, "Looking tasty! Looking good!" The rest of the group chimed in as Ochette began to prepare the meat, but then remembered what else she brought with her. She ruffled her hair as she spoke, "Oh, shoot. I was so caught up in the moment I forgot!" Ochette then walked over to the person from before who was still unconscious. "I found this human in the forest. They seem injured. Could someone help me?" Ochette said as the beastlings looked at the human in slight fear.

Master Juvah caught sight of the human and hopped down onto the ground as he walked over to Ochette and Akalā, who were working on bandaging the scrapes that were still bleeding with leaf bandages. It was then that Ochette had a look at this person's strange clothing. They were wearing a top that was the color of a (Favorite/Color) flower, with leg coverings that were a deep black. As the three were examining the mysterious person, they then tensed up as they began to wake up. Maybe now, Ochette could get some answers as to who they were, or where they came from.