(The art is not mine and was taken frim Pinterest.)
The day has finally come. It's time to harvest those berries.
You snuck out of your house again to meet Eda in the Owl house.
Unfortunately, she wasn't able to come with you on your mission. She was feeling very sleepy today for some odd reason.
You can't blame her though. You'd sleep forever if you had the chance.
You are now walking in an empty dirt road in the Boiling Isles on your way to the forest where Altus berries grew.
'I think I'm close.' You speculated, looking at the map Eda gave you.
While walking, you heard rustling from the nearby bushes.
This alarms you so you hid behind the trees.
It was getting closer and closer. The rustling was then followed by footsteps.
The anxiety built up as you anticipated what it could be that you were hearing.
You crouch down and peek behind the trees where you were hiding. It was a person! It was dark so you really couldn't see their face.
You tried to take a closer look but you stepped on a branch which blew your cover.
'Shoot!' you whispered in a frustrated manner.
They heard you. The person immediatley put on some kind of mask and looked around.
You covered your mouth with your back layed flat against the tree as you were trying to control your heavy breathing.
After a moment of silence you dared to look again and saw that he proceeded to walk deeper into the forest.
A beam of light from the moon hits them and you see the glimmer of a very familiar golden mask.
"Phew it's just the Golden Guard." You sighed in relief.
"Drat! It's the Golden Guard!" You snapped upon realization.
"Oh great~ he's going in the exact same direction I'm going." You mumbled sarcastically.
You follow him as quietly as you could until eventually you reached the place you were looking for.
This part of the forest was filled with emerald green leafed shrubs adorned with glittering red fruit.
'It's them! Just as described by the book.' your eyes gleamed.
You looked at your watch. It was 6:55 PM. Just a few minutes till the harvest period starts.
'You Golden Headache, why must you make my life so difficult?' You internally complained.
The Golden Guard takes out a small cloth pouch and walks towards the Altus plants.
'Oh my gosh he's gonna pick the berries!' You realize
'Wait, he's picking them now? He's gonna get blasted!' You gasp.
"h-Hey wait! Dont do that!" You shout, frantically trying to warn him.
"Wait what?" He looks in your direction but he had already plucked a berry from the bush.
"Too late" You squeaked.
The berry in his hand shaked aggressively and exploded with a massive red cloud.
This sends him flying with a momentum so great that when he fell to the ground he kept rolling over. He hit a rock which caused him to tumble, hitting a huge tree which finally brought him to a full stop.
"Agh!!" He yelled in pain.
You run over to him impulsively.
He's hurt pretty badly.
"Don't come any closer!" He warns upon seeing you.
He reached his staff which fell beside him and points it at you.
You raise your hand in the air to show that you mean him no harm. "h-hey come on! I'm just trying to help." You protest.
"You're a criminal! I don't need your help" He objected.
'Ouch' You thought.
Well you did steal his staff.
He tries to get up but he flinches. He must be hurting somewhere you observed as he struggled to get up.
"You're injured! Just let me help you." You insisted.
"I don't trust you! Now let's have an agreement. You get away from me orrr.... I blast you to bits" He threatened.
"Fine! You don't want my help? I'll leave you be." You narrowed your eyes at him and left.
You walked away from him and continued to do what you're actually here for.
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🛡️Golden' Guard's POV🌻
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The girl did as you demanded and left.
'why does it have to be her at this moment?!' you silently complained.
You try to get up but your leg hurts so bad.
You must've torn a muscle in the accident or something.
You tried multiple times but you just couldn't get yourself to stand.
"If only I could just ride my staff. The healer's at the Emperor's coven can fix me up." You huffed while desperately trying.
You feel a little bit light headed.
The pain and fatigue from the fall is finally catching up to you.
You plant your staff on the ground and use it to support yourself up.
You vision slowly turns dark and your head feels cold.
Until eventually nothing.
After a while you hear muffled noises and ringing.
You slowly try to open your eyes.
"Hey! Wake up!" You hear someone call.
You couldn't get yourself to open them. 'Too tired' you grunted softly.
But then you feel a hard smack on your cheek
"AHHH! What-?!" You jolt awake, now sitting up.
When you finally regain sight you see her. The thief.
Did she just slap you?
She sighs as if relieved. "Phew, you're not dead yet."
She takes your hand then she extends her arm and puts her palm against your neck.
You're caught off guard by this.
"h-HEY! Stop that!" you swat her hand away. "What do you think you're doing?!" You scolded.
"You're hot." She says bluntly.
"wha- what are you talking about?!" You yelled, flustered by her words.
Your face turns entirely red under your mask.
"Your temperature is abnormally high as well as your heart rate." She continues. "Also you're sweating. Alot." She adds.
You turn redder in slight embarrassment.
"I'm fine. Now leave! I can handle myself." You scoff.
She proceeds to tinker with what seems like potions and ignores you completely.
"Are you deaf human?! Well I know your ears have this weird round shape but I said go awa-"
She leaned in close, pinning you against the huge tree behind you, cutting you off.
"Now would you be good and hold still." She instructs.
You're startled. Your faces are inches apart.
You silently stare at her (E/C) eyes.
She glares at you for a moment before pulling away.
"If you want to get yourself killed, do as you please. But you're not allowed to die in my presence." She states in a serious tone.
You roll your eyes at her and grunt feeling somewhat defeated.
She proceeds to pour a potion on your injured leg.
You feel a cool sensation as the liquid seeped into your skin.
'Huh. That's not so ba-'
She sticks a bottle of the same potion in your mouth.
"Mmph! Hey!!" You shouted, pulling the bottle out of your mouth. "What was that for?!" You complained further.
"Eda said this healing potion can be taken both orally and applied directly on the injury." She explained.
"Hmph. Still that was rude." You grumbled as she tended to your injuries.
You drank the potion she gave you.
"Now how do you feel?" She asks.
You attempt to move your toes a little then your whole leg.
Your leg was still a little bit sore but you feel much better now
"i-I'm good now." You answer looking away from her.
"Ok." She says plainly and proceeds to fix up her things.
You were just going to let her leave but you can't help but wonder,
"So how'd you do that? You know... make potions." You had to ask.
"Striking up a conversation now are we?" She smirks without even looking at you.
"Tsk. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." You scoff.
The girl looks at you. "I've been practicing potion-making with the Owl Lady." She states.
"I've been getting good lately but it wasn't enough. As you know I have no magic so I used the Altus berries to-"
"enhance the potions' effectivity! Of course!" You finished her sentence.
"Ahem excuse me." You cleared your throat.
Learning this surprised you as this is the reason why you're in this forest. To pick some Altus berries.
"How'd you know all this?" She asked
"I read it in a book about wild magic once." You explain.
"I read it in one of those books too! Also, Eda might have given me a tip or two on how to harvest them without hurting myself." She responded.
"So there's more to the instructions in the book-" You look down and continue to mumble but stop upon realization. "No forget I said anything." You interjected.
When you lifted your head you saw the girl eagerly listening to you.
You blush a bit as no one really liked you rambling about such things.
"Why is it forbidden when it works so well?" She tilted her head.
"n-Nothing. This stuff is dangerous and must not be meddled with." You answered.
You stand up and clean the dirt from your clothes.
"Aww come on don't leave me hanging!" She whines.
"Well well... I thought you didn't like conversations.~" You teased.
"Whatever." She pouts.
It's kinda cute.
"Thank you. I mean it." You muttered looking away.
"You're welcome. Don't get used to it Goldie." She smiles and punches your arm.
"Ow. My name isn't Goldie." You grumble.
"Do you mind telling me what it is then?~" She coos.
You scoff. "You may address me as the Golden Guard."
She rolls her eyes at you. "And here I thought we were now friends." She whines.
"Don't get ahead of yourself human." You say while fixing your gloves.
She extends her hand to yours.
"I'm Y/N." She smiled.
'What is with this girl?' You thought.
You take her hand anyways and shake it as a sign of your gratitude.
"Thank you, Y/N." You say once again, looking at her this time.
"Welp... Time for me to go now." She lets go of your hand and walks away.
You can't help but look at her as she leaves, still feeling a bit stunned.
"Oh right." The girl stops and rummages through her bag. "Heads up!"
She throws you a small pouch at you. You catch it and open it immediately.
It was filled with Altus berries.
"I thought you needed some." She shouts and carries on.
You ride your staff and fly high in the sky to head home.
As you pass through the clouds your mind wanders off, thinking about the girl.
"Y/N huh." You chuckle.
'Friends... Maybe that would be nice.'
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(Art not mine)
Thanks for reading.