Chapter 1: Luka of the forest
Sylph is very much a morning person. The one who would always be up the second the sun rises.
This fact in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, unless she also just so happens to be living inside your head as you're trying to sleep. In which case, it's a very annoying, very prominent problem for our shy forest dweller.
"HEY LUKA!" It felt like this his hundredth time hearing that this morning.
Slowly opening his eyes, the boy tries to find the source of his ire. "Hnnggg."
"Oh! Are we playing that one today! Let me guess, is it a seal? It sounded like one!"
"Nooo…"
He could hear her flying around in shock, thinking she got it wrong. "It's not? Okay don't tell me, I'll try again!"
This went on for a while until the boy couldn't sleep anymore.
===0===
"Can I even eat this…?"
"Sure you can Luka! I don't see why not?"
"…It's blue." The boy could admit he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he could tell an apple aren't supposed to look like that.
Sitting atop a branch of a tree, the boy and his friend discus the validity of her statement.
"Yeah! Looks pretty cool. I saw some elf ate those without any problems, I'm sure you can!" As simple as those words are, Luka can't really do much but accept them as it is. He doesn't know how to hunt, have no idea how to cook, and no money. Even if he does, it's not like he can just walk in any random monster village he finds and buy anything. There's no telling what they'll do to him!
His best bet is to find places with a lot of eatable fruits that he can safely pick for the time being. Speaking of that, "Ilias, if you're listening, please make this taste good." Desperately praying to his goddess, Luka took a bite and waited.
…
"Sooo… how was it?" Asked the wind spirit.
"It's not bad actually. I think it taste like grapes for a second, now though…"
"Hmm?"
"I can't feel my tongue…"
"Ah."
Over time, Luka got used to eating the unknown fruit. It even became a part of his daily diet.
===0===
"Hold on, I have a great idea!" Said the fairy as a giant ball of gust appeared above her.
"Wait Sylph don't-"
A loud crashing sound could be heard as piles of dust and dirt shoot out of the old abandon house at breakneck speed. Among them being one disheveled boy flung across the front lawn (he was actually thinking of turning it into a small garden later on if he had the time).
"Look! Luka I just clear our all the dust! Now it's super clean!" The fairy cheerily echoes throughout the house.
"That's great buddy…" Says the boy, spitting out any dirt that got into his mouth.
"Yay!"
===0===
Spotting another one, he began to wonder if it has something to do with the abnormality of his house. Glowing slightly, the rune carved into the threes surrounding their area is well hidden from any prying eyes.
The wind spirit suggested that the previous owner of the house must've place them to prevent any interlopers from entering. Ironic, considering the reason Sylph was able to find the place at all was because of the faint traces of wind magic they gave off. Any creature that's sensitive to wind magic can find them if they try hard enough.
"Who knows? Maybe they're just an introvert like you!"
"Am not!"
She laughed at that, "Then why didn't you go and talk to that group of fairy girl we found the other day." Seeing his face reddening, she laughs even more.
Turning away, he sulks to himself. "Not fair…"
Sensing another presence coming closer, he left the area immediately.
A couple seconds later, an elf woman appears to scout the place for any danger.
"Huh… I thought I heard someone here." She walked away, failing to notice a strand of purple hair on the ground. "Must've been one of the fairies again."
===0===
Humming an old, familiar tune, the boy work diligently. On his left was a box of sewing tools he thought himself how to use, his hands moving almost automatically to complete a small project of his.
"Is it done yet?" Chimes the fairy atop his head, once more playing with his growing hair.
"No, not yet. I still need to add another layer after this."
"Hmm?" Came the unasked question.
"Or else it'll be too easy to tear apart." He patiently explained to his only friend.
An imaginary lightbulb lit up above her head, "Oh! Then I'll just bless it with my magic to make it stronger!"
He paused. "You can do that?"
"Of course I can! I've seen Gnomy do it with an armor before."
"Who's that?" He remember she would mention that name before but never ask about it.
Her face lights up in excitement, "She's my best friend! We used to travel the world together back then with everyone! Now she just live in a desert all alone." That last part concerns him on several levels, until he realised that whoever this "Gnomy" is probably isn't normal if she's friends with Sylph.
He wonder about that for a moment. Traveling the world, making a bunch of friends, an adventure like that, back then he would have probably jump at any chance of it ever happening.
Not anymore though, now he couldn't imagine ever leaving this safe place he has made for himself. The world out there is way too dangerous. Someone as weak as him would never have made it.
"Luka?"
"Hmm?" Oh, he space out there.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something." Giving her one of his usual smile, he said, "If you want to, I'd really like if you can help me with this buddy."
The cloak wasn't perfect, there's flaws all over it, very telling of his amateurish sewing ability. In the end, he wore it everyday with pride. Why wouldn't he? It's something made by his friend and him together.
That's all that matters to the boy.
===0===
"No." Gently, yet firmly, he try to end the conversation.
"Why not!" Unfortunately for Luka, the fairy failed to see why.
"It's unnecessary and would cost too much of our time."
"But it's gonna look so cool if we have it!" To be fair, she right on that one. But still.
Exasperated, he has no choice but to crush her innocence wish. "Sylph, I don't even know how to make a glider. Do you?"
"No..."
===0===
The sound of running water accompany the boy as he patiently waited for any movement below. The bait floating in the middle of the lake, tempting any fish to take a bite.
Fishing was originally an idea completely rejected by him, the thought of sitting still, waiting for fishes to come to him and leaving himself outside of his save heaven for a long period of time? Madness.
Now however, he found himself suprisingly enjoying the activity. The river would dampened any sound he make, gust of winds gently flowing around him, warning the boy of any other presence coming closer. Luka manages to find himself another "happy place" as to say.
Of course, Sylph also had to choose that exact moment to broke the peace.
"Hey Luka~" As jovial as always, the wind spirit started.
"What is it buddy?"
"I've always wondered, you said you came from Iliasville right?"
Ignoring the bad taste in his mouth that came from the mention of that place, he answered her question, "Yeah... what about it?"
Sylph struck a thinking pose, "Well... I just think it's odd is all."
"How so?" Not really paying attention, he idly inquire.
"The wind says that the place is really far from here, a whole continent away actually! So how did you manage to get here then Luka?"
...
...
...
By now he's not really sure how long he has stayed that way. The question not only came as a shock to him, but also act as a trigger that made him remembered what happen on that night.
"Luka?" The fairy asked worriedly.
"H-huh? Oh! Right Sylph, sorry I just space out there..." He didn't even know where to begin.
It's not like he doesn't trust her either, he really does. It's just that thinking about it always guaranteed he would get that dream again tonight.
He doesn't want her to continue worrying about this, but he know if he stop here she'll get even more nosy. So he'll settle for half truth instead.
"On that night... I remember running away from that village." She hover closer to him, maybe as a way to help, "I ran, the longest I have ever run in my entire life up until that point. After that I... I don't know if it's just my imagination but there was a light."
"A light?"
"Yeah, I remember my body feeling lighter than usual and then when it stop, I stumbled into this forest." He finishes, his breathing shaky but nothing too serious.
"S-so yeah... That's all I remember. Sorry if that doesn't answer anything..."
"Nah."
Her abrupt response cause him to do a double take.
"Really?"
"Of course silly! I asked for your sake, not because I wanted to make you sad!" She ended it with a smug grin.
'Sylph...'
He honestly couldn't have ask for a better friend.
===0===
Who would have guessed that making a garden is actually a lot harder than he thought. Couple with the fact he has no idea what can or can't be planted and have never took care for any plant, make it a lot harder for him.
It took several years of trial and error for him to really develop his green thumb. By that time his garden was one that would made any gardener proud.
"There..."
Patting his palms together, Luka admire the fruits of his labours. The garden Infront of his house now twice it's original size and blooming with life. From flowers of many colours to as many eatable plant that he could found.
"Not to shabby." Winter's not gonna be a problem this year then. That's good to know.
If it weren't for his friend's warning, he's pretty sure he wouldn't have survived the cold all those years ago.
Speaking of her, Luka focuses on the air around him. It leads him to the table in the living room, there she appears to be in the middle of eating yesterday's harvest.
Knowing she's fine and isn't up to another prank, he ended the connection to the wind around him and wonder if he wanted to add pumpkin to his garden next year.
===0===
The judging look she's sending him is all that is needed for her feelings to be known.
He stubbornly held the fairy close regardless.
"..."
"..."
Currently hiding on top of a tree, they both observed the one below them. On the ground with her damp cloth and short silver hair was an unconcious elf girl.
The reason as to why she's the way she is now all started about an hour ago.
Luka was ready to start his day with his friend as usual when the he felt the disturbance in the air. Somewhere close to the river he would go fishing a person's life is in danger.
Without thinking, he found himself rushing all the way there at speed he didn't even know he had.
Soon after he got there, he saw someone drowning in the middle of the river. Throwing his cloak away, he jumped in and helped them to dry land. Sylph catch up to him then, watching him look over the unconscious girl over for any other injury.
It's clear to him that the girl (an elf, he noted in the back of his mind) wasn't breathing, panicking about what to do, he followed his instincts and let out his wind magic to help her, he must've done something right when she started puking water and her breathing returned.
Relief that now she's not dying anymore, the boy finally realised something. Something very important and has been overlooked due to the circumstances before.
There's a person Infront of him that he's interacting with that's not Sylph.
He immediately jumped across the river and grab his cloak, ready to ran before she could see him. Only to realised that doing so would be a pretty horrible thing to do. Not only is she unconscious, she's also vulnerable in the middle of a forest filled with monster girls roaming around looking for easy prey.
Turning around, he found Sylph and decided to wait until the elf girl woke up. Then he can watch over her until she made it back to her home safe.
Sylph propose the idea that they should just wake her up and help her get home faster. He thanked her for her input, and promptly ignore it.
After waiting for a while, Sylph was about ready to woke the girl up herself before he grab her and held her close. Preventing Her from blowing their cover.
Now back to the present, the two of them was to busy dealing with each other to notice the elf girl finally opening her eyes.
It wasn't until she started to stumble her way home did they realise this. One awkward hide and seek session where one of the player didn't know they were playing later, they both saw her safely walked into her village.
Luka watches as a bunch of worried elf fuss over her, they must have been looking for her the whole time. It brought a certain bittersweet feeling to his chest.
A couple days later, he saw her walking near the river she had nearly drowned in. The silver haired elf looks around, trying to find something there. When she couldn't find it, she had a pout on her face.
Paired with her freckled face, the boy couldn't help but find it adorable.
Slowly but steadily, he started noticing her more often near his safe heaven. He found out later that her name was Donna.
'What a pretty name.' He though to himself.
The wind spirit encourages him to go and talk to her, but he can't do that!
He wouldn't even know what to say!
END OF CHAPTER
Author's note: First time writing something with a slice of life theme. Tell me if there's any glaring mistakes that I made.