[center][color=#2eb82e][h3]Sleepless Nights[/h3][/color][/center]

Nara was Taylor’s second character in YGGDRASIL, the first having been wiped after a few hours of playing. It was in Nara that she had the most fun, playing as a Druid who’s methods for protecting nature were never quite good. She had spent countless hours every week playing her dryad, even going so far as to stay up a few nights out of the week to grind up levels or hang out with some friends. Yet, when the last week of YGGDRASIL came there was very little time for Taylor to even log on to the game, let alone spend hours in game. Finals were coming up and she needed to study while her job had been short staffed for almost a month with vacations popping up across the board. She was determined, however, to be there in the last hours of the game even if she did nothing more than wander around.

When the day came for YGGDRASIL to close, Taylor had asked every coworker to take her night shift or to a least come in to finish the shift for her. As was always the case, there was nobody willing to take the shift for her and she was left at work till almost ten at night. Taylor didn’t even hesitate on hopping on YGGDRASIL when she got home and even ignored the fact that she hadn’t eaten yet. Nara was, in that moment, more important to her than anything in the real world.

YGGDRASIL was exactly as she expected it to be, empty with few players wandering around in the final hours of the game. Some kept logging off, presumably to work or head off to sleep since it would be getting late however Taylor had no intention on logging off. Not until she and Nara had said their final goodbye at least. Nara traveled through the forests of the map, even taking to the some of the cities to relish in the majesty of the game she once played. The time for the end was quickly approaching but the lack of sleep had been catching up to Taylor. It felt like time was passing slowly and, in the last moment, she could swear that it had struck midnight.

Yet, it was cold. Bitterly cold and the stiff air felt like it was biting at her. Had she left her window open on accident? She stood up from her sitting position and, in doing so, snapped to what felt like reality. Her legs were not cold yet, upon looking down, she noted that they were green and surrounded by soft white hair. [color=#2eb82e]”No, this is one weird dream. I swear I was in the plains just a moment ago. I must have passed out and auto pathed into the mountains”[/color] She spoke out loud, mostly hoping that whatever was going on was just a figment of her imagination. None of this could truly be real.

At least, she hoped it wasn’t real. Nara walked slowly through the snow, the cold biting into her with every step and the realization slowly sinking in. VRMMO tech was good but it was nowhere near good enough to feel like this and there was no way she could actually have gotten in the mountains on her own. There was really only one way to check, to smile and see if responded. Sure enough, her face twitched and shifted to a smile as her hands felt for a reaction. [color=2eb82e]”That, that isn’t normal. But, if I’m in here then how did I get here?”[/color]

The mountains around Nara were vast and yet, when she looked behind her, she saw a mist in the distance. Below her was a lush forest and she felt a natural attraction to the place, whether this was due to her being a Dryad or simply the fact that the forest was likely warmer than the mountain was hard to tell. However she let the attraction carry her down and to the safety of the woods. The reality of her situation slowly sank in, the realization that she’d miss finals, her brother’s birthdays, even work the next day slowly seeping in. Yet she felt no anxiety from it, no worry or annoyance. Rather, she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, that she was finally free to be as she wishes.

It took a while for Nara to reach the forest however, once there, she felt more at ease than ever before and embraced the cool wind blowing through the needles of the trees. Yet, something was off. She could hear a sound in the distance quite like something crashing high above. Though the direction of the sound was obscured by its echo across the area, Nara trusted in her instincts to lead her towards whatever it was that had happened. [color=2eb82e]”Cloak of Leaves, Activate.”[/color] The words slipped out of Nara’s mouth on reflex, stealthing herself and blending into the surrounding forest so as to avoid conflict with whatever or whoever caused the noise.

Yet, as Nara continued along through the forest she did not hear any recurrence of the sound nor did she hear any voices. Rather, it all felt too silent and too empty. Surely something had to be alive in the forest to cause what she heard. It wasn’t long before she spotted… a person floating through the air. Sure enough, as she grew closer Nara grew more sure that she had seen her somewhere before yet she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. At least, not until the girl’s visage seemed to flicker for a brief moment.[color=2eb82e][i]Ah, so I’m not alone after all. Thank the Gods.[/i][/color]

[color=2eb82e]”Cloak disengage,”[/color] Nara said quietly as she faded out of stealth, [color=2eb82e]”Did you parents not teach you to fear the Woods at this time of day child? Or have you just come to greet an old friend, Iva?[/color]

[@Rune_Alchemist]