[] Armor
You decide to go for the armor. Looking good is always nice, and having some additional defense should you need it couldn't hurt. After the frog hunting, and another night at Aida's place you head back to Shin-Shine. Fortunately the Keeper you need to see for this is at that particular city, otherwise you would have a pretty long trip to the next one.
It takes a lot of negotiation to get her to do it. She's a busy fairy, and even with the amount of shinies you have, it's not something that she's going to put aside all her work for. It takes a full on day to get some time with her, and even then you wont get the armor immediately.
"Well, at least you have the build." The Keeper muses as she measures out your body. "Some of the ones that come here simply don't have the right amount of strength for it-t."
You tilt your head as wraps the ribbon around your neck. "Would think that most hunters would want a set. It might be expensive, but against spikies this will be really nice. And most of us are really strong-g."
The keeper brushes a hand down your back and at the base of your wings, pressing there to make a point. "Here is where it counts. Even some hunters don't keep up the flight muscles right. This armor is as thin as I can make it and still be good, but it's still weight that some can't handle right-t."
That's interesting to note. "Didn't think of it that way. Would it be a problem for me-e?"
"It might, if you don't train with it." The Keeper sets aside the measure and picks up a gauntlet, placing it over your hand. "Clench please." You do so, and feel something hard jab into one finger. "Otherwise I don't see any obvious issues. Once I get it fitted right, just wear it when you go around with your normal duties. It's easy to take on and off." she takes off the gauntlet and notes something on it. "We don't change much physically, so you don't have to worry about it chafing, and this set will fit over another, skin-tight spidersilk that I will give you. If it loosens come back to me and I can fix it-t."
"Sounds good-d!" You chirp at the keeper.
The adjustment itself takes yet another day, and you are left without any more shinies, but you do have a form fitting set of metal armor, complete with a helmet. You do a few acrobatics, and are surprised at how little it restricts your movement. The helmet doesn't even restrict your sight (A rather big requirement in your profession.) You barely even notice the weight. All in all, you are now a happy armored fairy.
You are in the process of doing a few stretches and other, more outlandish movements by another fairy coming up to you. She looks maniac, and disheveled. The entire look she's giving you makes you blink a few times and then take a step back. It tickles at your memory.
"You! You, you, you!" She points at you and then grins, not exactly the picture of sanity. "I said I would bring you to her, I will do it-t!"
You open your mouth and close it as it suddenly comes to you what's going on. Huh, you never thought you would be the target of an awakening. You remember now, that maniac desire, the intensity of the need. The sheer absolute focus. A dreamer could, and would drift for ages. They don't care. The only way for them to Wake was to Need. To want something. Not something as simple as "I want to eat" It had to be "I WILL have this." You can't force it, and you can't coerce it. Every Dreamer had a different thing that would trigger it.
That you were the target meant that this fairy would do anything to get you to this 'her.' Anything and everything. They would bribe, wheedle, steal, kill.
Yours was "I want this DEAD." You achieved it, and have no regrets about what you had to do for it.
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