You may blame
@Dermonster,
@OffBrandANON,
@carni, and
@RunicRhythm herself for suggesting/encouraging this utter nonsense. Only spent half a day on this, so it's probably not my best work, but it was fun to write anyways.
Away With The F(l)airies
(A Bronze Heart Omake) (Lise SI)
I awaken to the sensation of my face impacting directly into the ground.
Hard.
(-5 HP)
O... owww...
I groggily push myself to my knees, moaning from a mixture of pain and fatigue as I press one hand to my nose, hoping it's not bleeding from whatever the hell just happened. Did I just fall out of bed or something? I haven't done that in
years...
And... maybe I still haven't, actually, because that doesn't feel like floor beneath my fingers. Feels like... dirt? Huh?
Finally mustering the strength to pry my eyes open, I do so, and find myself staring at what looks like a park.
A really, REALLY big park.
Suddenly feeling very awake indeed, I struggle to my feet and pan my gaze around the area, eyes widening further every second. I'm standing in the middle of what appears to be some sort of huge dirt path, cast in the light of the setting sun. The path is bordered on the left by grass that looks to be at least half as tall as I am, and on my right by a vast expanse of concrete. Upon that concrete stands a pair of enormous benches, tall enough that I don't think I could even reach the edge to pull myself up onto one, and which are themselves set on either side of a colossal fountain, which is large enough to rival a small house in size.
My mind races, panic rising in my chest. W- what the- did I get randomly teleported to the land of the giants in my sleep?! Or did someone somehow
shrink me, before tossing me into- no, seriously, where
am I?! What is even going on-
"Lise?"
The voice
booms out from high above me like a miniature thunderclap. A strangled scream rises in my throat as I whirl around to face its owner, and am confronted with the sight of-
A... statue? A huge, towering bronze statue at least four or five times my size, molded into the shape of a young girl. Additional accessories appear to have been added to the monument after the fact, including a golden necklace in the shape of a four-pointed star, a similarly-colored circlet that somehow goes under the statue's hair, and a bit of ornamentation around the outside of its dress. Oddly, though its eyes are just as metal as the rest of it, they seem to have a strange sort of depth to them.
...and are also currently blinking at me.
"Are you okay?" the statue speaks again, every word like a tiny, strangely melodious explosion.
"That looked like it hurt..."
I fail to answer, simultaneously intimidated by the sheer size of the titanic statue girl, and baffled by the conclusion my mind is now pointing me towards, based on what — or rather,
who I'm looking at. And- what did she just call me?
My gaze drifts downwards as though on its own, whereupon I finally realize I'm not clothed in my usual sleepwear — instead, I'm wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with holes in the knees, a simple shirt of roughly the same color, a soft, rust-colored cardigan, and an orange-red scarf with a ragged end. The same orange-red as my hair in fact, which is now long, loose, and getting in my eyes. A pair of metal gauntlets and matching greaves are strapped to my forearms and legs respectively, and on my back, four thin, gossamer wings twitch idly.
...you have GOT to be kidding me. Bronze Heart isn't even finished yet; hell, it's barely even
started-!
"Are we going to get moving again any time soon?"
My eyes dart to my right, where a green-haired girl just as large as the statue girl — as Betsy — is standing, an unimpressed look plastered across her face. Flora- right, why wouldn't she be here too?
"Can you fly?" Betsy asks.
"I... maybe..." I murmur, Lise's high, slightly squeaky voice projecting further than I'd expected given my current size.
I twitch my new wings, trying to feel out the muscles needed to actually use them, even as I silently wonder how the hell I'm supposed to explain I'm not Lise.
Should I even try to explain I'm not Lise? I don't even really know
how I'm suddenly Lise, let alone why-
"C'mere, you..."
I
yeep in surprise as Betsy's cold, metal hands gently close around me and lift me off the ground. She tries to set me on her shoulder at first, before deciding that isn't going to work and setting me down on her head. This gives me a wonderful panoramic view of my new surroundings, but also leaves me slightly terrified of the relative height I can now potentially fall from, presumably for a second time over. Seriously, how do these wings work?!
"A-ah..." I stutter. "Uh..."
"Hmm..." Betsy hums, her entire body resonating as she does so, causing me to vibrate slightly on top of her head.
"Flora, could you maybe heal her too?"
"Seriously?" Flora replies, raising a vaguely-irritated eyebrow in our direction.
"I told you, I can't cure idiocy. The fairy dove into the ground all by herself."
"Come on, please?" Betsy pleads.
"I've only known her a few minutes, but she's gone really quiet all of a sudden, and it doesn't seem like her."
Flora's expression darkens, going from merely unimpressed to an outright frown, but after heaving an exasperated sigh (which to me sounds like a gust of fairly heavy wind), she lifts the wooden staff from her side.
"...fine." she grumbles, even as a glowing green aura shines around the wood.
"In the future though, do at least try to keep in mind that I'm not just a walking fountain of healing magic."
As she speaks, a second, smaller aura abruptly appears around
me. The sparkling emerald glow runs around and over my body like water, sending soothing sensations up and down my spine.
(+2 HP)
I blink at the glowing green numbers that appear in the air next to my head, just before they themselves blink out of existence.
...huh. Didn't realize that visual effect was meant to be taken literally. Regardless, that felt... strange, but nice. I ache a little less, at least.
"Um, thank you." I manage to squeak in Flora's direction.
"Yeah, thanks again, Flora." Betsy agrees.
A slight redness rises to Flora's cheeks, but her frown remains.
"...whatever. Weren't we in a hurry?"
Betsy agrees, and the two of them set off, whilst I cling to errant strands of Betsy's hair and just try my best not to
fall off.
Okay, so... we're on the way to Kiere's cabin, I guess? Yeah, I can literally see it from here, all of 30 feet away. Not that knowing when I am in the story
helps me all that much, since Bronze Heart not being anywhere near completion means I actually know
less about this world than anyone here, barring perhaps Betsy herself-
...oh,
hell.
