[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/3zUeu5o.gif[/img][/center] [color=E5A7E2] [center] 🌸 [color=F97FCA]Race:[/color] Half-Elf 🌸 🦋 [color=#FFD351]Class:[/color] Druidic Mystic 🦋 🍄 [color=#BC16A1]Location:[/color] A hut in the Oruna Tribe Village when she was a small child🍄 [img]https://i.imgur.com/cOPfAGm.png[/img] [hider=Music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK1Ij_-mank[/youtube][/hider] [/center] The forest had been watching her long before she opened her eyes. The shadows of the canopy danced across the child’s face as the sunlight spilled into the hut in rays. Light shimmered like rippling water along the walls, gliding through the bark and vine that made up the shelter’s frame. Dust motes drifted lazily in the golden rays like hundreds of tiny spirits suspended in the still morning air. The scent of damp earth filled the hut, mingling with pine. Her lashes fluttered, amber eyes catching the sun as they blinked open. The child gripped the blanket at her chest for comfort as she stared up at the ceiling above her; her gaze was unfocused, dazed, as if relearning how to see. When she turned her head, the blanket rustled, and a faint jingle sounded at her neck. Her small fingers rose hesitantly to touch a pendant resting at her chest over the cloth of her dress: a small amulet set with a dull lavender stone. For a long moment, she lay still. She listened to the sound of the birds calling from far above, the distant hum of insects, the crackle of a fire somewhere outside the hut. The scattered giggling of children just nearby. The girl then pressed her small hands into the rough fabric beneath her. It wasn’t a bed, not really. More like bundled hides and moss. Though it was soft, it was unfamiliar to the child. Her fingertips traced the faint stitching as the sound of laughter grew nearer… and just stopped completely. The sound of shuffling and whispers replaced it, from just beyond the doorway. She turned her head toward the light, squinting against the golden glow, and saw movement that was fleeting at first. Then, slowly, the shapes came into focus: small silhouettes gathered just outside the hut as their little pairs of eyes peered over the edge of the door. They stood half-hidden by the crooked frame and the vines that curtained it, staring in as though the slightest noise might send her back into slumber. Sunlight caught their hair: wild and tousled like the fur of woodland creatures. From the tops of their heads twitched soft, furred ears that flicked at every whisper between them. One of the smallest children leaned forward, his bare feet padding against the earth until he reached the threshold. He had tawny brown hair and narrow little eyes as he peered inside, nose wrinkling in curiosity, Another answered with a hush and a tug on his arm. But then another appeared behind them… and another.. until half a dozen little faces were crowding the doorway, eyes wide and curious. Inside, the bedded child drew the blanket closer beneath her chin as a breeze drifted through the hut, stirring her long hair. It drifted back behind her longer than any they had seen, even among the adults. She blinked back at them, her gaze still heavy with sleep. The smallest child was the first to break away from the threshold. His bare toes curled in the dirt before he finally took a cautious step inside. The others gasped softly but didn’t stop him; they only watched as he crept closer, one hesitant foot after another, until he stood a few paces from her bed. Then, slowly, he lifted one hand and pointed to the top of his own head, where two small, furred ears twitched at the motion. He finally asked with a puzzled frown. [color=#FFD351]“Why… are your ears so low?”[/color] She simply stared at him, as if she could not comprehend quite what he was saying. The words had reached her slowly, as if they had been underwater. He pinched the tip of his own ear between his fingers and gave it a little wiggle. [color=#FFD351]“Eaaars…”[/color] The word was sounded out slowly, as though he was teaching it to her. Then, emboldened by her silence, he took a small step closer, and another. Before any of the others could stop him, he leaned in and reached out with both hands toward her head. [color=#FFD351]““See? You got them too—just lower!”[/color] His fingers brushed the soft curve of her ear. His nose wrinkled once more. [color=#FFD351]“Eugh! They’re so smooth! Did you… did you [i]shave[/i] them?”[/color] Phia flinched, a startled sound catching in her throat, then she shrank back beneath the blanket, clutching it over her face. The movement sent the children scattering with gasps and laughter, both delighted and startled at her reaction. Then, from behind the group, a taller girl stepped forward. She couldn’t have been more than twelve, but the way the others shifted aside made it clear she was their leader. Her hair was dark and braided with tiny wooden beads, and her ears twitched once before settling. [color=#BC16A1]“Hey,” [/color] she said softly, glancing back at the boy. [color=#BC16A1]“Don’t you remember how she looked when she came here? You’d be scared, too. Who knows what she’s been through?”[/color] The boy’s shoulders slumped, and he stared down at his dusty feet. The older girl’s tone softened even more as she turned her gaze to the girl. She crouched so they were closer to eye level as she peered over the blanket at her. [color=#BC16A1]“It’s all right,”[/color] she murmured. [color=#BC16A1]“We don’t mean to scare you. Do you… have a name?”[/color] She blinked. Her lips parted, but no sound came, only a faint, uncertain breath. [color=F97FCA] “Name…”[/color] [color=#BC16A1]“What do others call you…?”[/color] The dark-haired girl touched her chest and smiled encouragingly. [color=#BC16A1]“I am Dawn.”[/color] The girl furrowed her brows in concentration. She stared past the older girl, past the doorway and the sunlight, as if something inside her had turned toward a place only she could see. Voices echoed in her head, vaguely familiar. [i]“Ophelia always bosses me around—!” “Play with me, Ophelia!—” “Hold still, Ophelia—please—”[/i] The sounds fluttered through her mind, slipping away before she could hold them. [color=F97FCA] “Oh…"[/color] Her brow furrowed harder, and she tried again, forcing the fragments out through her shaking lips. [color=F97FCA] “Ph… ia…”[/color] The syllables faltered, falling apart in the air. The older girl subsequently leaned closer, searching her face. [color=#BC16A1]“Phia?”[/color] she asked softly, misunderstanding. [color=#BC16A1]“Your name’s Phia?”[/color] The child blinked, her breath hitching. The name wasn’t exactly right. She could feel that in her chest. But it didn’t hurt when she heard it. [color=F97FCA] “Phia…”[/color] she echoed. The older girl smiled. [color=#BC16A1] “Phia,”[/color] she repeated warmly. [color=#BC16A1] “That’s a good name.”[/color] And the younger children, as if sealing it, began to whisper it to each other in awe. [i]“Phia… Phia…”[/i] A smaller child, barely old enough to speak clearly, piped up from the doorway. [color=C4609C]“And how come you sleep so long? You [b]SLEEEP![/b]"[/color] He raised his voice to emphasize, throwing his arms up in the air, [i][color=C4609C]“For days and days!”[/color][/i] The others quickly turned to shush him as laughter erupted through the hut. [/color]