I am peaceful.

- [Sunflower] -

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 103/310 EXP (Burch): 113/160

Wind blows across the rocky landscape towards which we have diverged, leaving the road of days before far in our past, leaving the waterfall of days before far in our past.

I am serene.

- Leaving the field of red, stained with the blood of the hobgoblins, far in our past.

Burch climbs, doing her best to navigate over and through the field, which is comprised entirely out of large rocks and stones, each the size of a boat, each the size of a house.

‘Arrows’, not long stingers, fly through the air, whistling like the screeching of a diving bird of prey, as they make their way towards our backs.

- I am whole.

Burch jumps down, quickly hiding behind a stone just in time as the volley of arrows, shot by the band of our pursuers, strike, clattering all around us, dashing themselves to death on the limestone rocks of the karst.

She catches her breath and then spins around as footsteps approach us from above.

(Burch) used: [Minor Pulse]

A body flies. The struck hobgoblin loses its footing and crashes down to the sharp stones below and breaks many bones. But it does not die.

It screams a horrible scream and we continue to run.

- I am powerful.

The sun shines brightly above our heads, setting the sweat on Burch’s skin aglow with the loving ruby light of a brand new day, full of potential, full of possibilities.

- [Sunflower] -

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 104/310 EXP (Burch): 114/160

- I affirm that I am all of these things and also so many more.

Spreading my petals out wide, I keep my balance on Burch’s back as we run, lifting my head somewhat indifferently towards the sun.

What a good day.

Snarls come from behind us, as the creatures, who I have identified as ‘hobgoblins’, continue their hunt. It seems that they are indeed, not birds.

Very interesting.

I had never known that such a thing as a hobgoblin could exist. But here they are.

- What a world.

More whistling, more arrows come, likely all tipped with deadly poison. They careen towards us, intent to bring us to death.

This is the best.

Tell me, Burch; why is it that the hobgoblins pursue you? Do they not want you to seek paradise? Is such a thing forbidden by the ethos of their clan and breed? Or is it now just a matter of principle?

- We have hurt and killed many of their kind. Perhaps this is really just about revenge at this point?

Although, it does confuse me. Is revenge so enticing a thing, that one would travel the world with their kin and their weapons in pursuit of one, single individual?

It seems very stressful.

Why do the hobgoblins not simply sit down in the light of the sun and relax a little?

I feel that would be best.

- Or maybe there is another reason entirely?

I can not say. I am a sunflower.

- [Sunflower] -

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 106/310 EXP (Burch): 116/160

Oh well.

It is thrilling, being hunted. Only those who are alive can know the surge of adrenaline, the pumping of the heart, the thrashing of the limbs.

Is there any more powerful feeling than fear?

Ah. Life is amazing.

Burch and I reach the end of the rocky place, an escarpment, a downhill rolling layer of grass leads towards our escape. The hobgoblins are fast hunters, but my friend is faster still. She is a fast monster, perhaps the fastest of them all?

I can not say. I have never seen another monster like her before.

- Save for those of her ilk. But they seldom run like she runs. She hides and runs from them a lot too. I wonder. What are you, Burch? What are you, that not just the hobgoblins, but also that the people of your own blood and flesh fear you?

How perplexing.

We slide down the hill, making our escape into a forest, losing the hobgoblins who hound us once again.

It rains.

Not much. It is not like the last time that it had rained, back when we hid in the rocks, when a strong, powerful storm came to rush over the world.

No. This is just a drizzle.

It is calm.

It is warm.

I never knew that rain could be so relaxing.

The sun still shines, pressing through the soft, light clouds of gray and I absorb both the light of its grace, as well as the droplets of the rain, both washing down my body, as well as Burch’s.

- [Sunflower] -

You bask in the light of the sun

+ 1 EXP

EXP: 108/310 EXP (Burch): 118/160

The rain, the sun, they nourish us with energy and with water; both are precious for life. Our escape, daring, nourishes us with thrill and with danger; both are precious for the spirit.

Running out of breath, Burch finally stops and leans against a tree.

We sit down and rest and we enjoy the sensations of both wet and warmth that this most curious day brings us.

I never knew that perception could be so complex.

“Hey,” says Burch, breaking the silence that has held between us for days.

I have missed her voice.

“Thanks for being my friend,” she says. “Even after I ripped you out of that field.”

It was a meadow, not a field, Burch.

But I appreciate the sentiment.

While I am unable to speak, I instead display my reciprocation of her feelings by pressing my roots, dug in through her back muscles, towards her striking and beating heart, so that I might grasp it, so that I might tenderly touch it, so that I might drink of her rich, dark heart-blood and so that she might receive my most precious and valuable sugars and minerals.

- Is this true friendship?

I think so.

Perhaps I was mistaken once again? Could something as malevolent and wicked as a monster offer such warmth and grace and companionship?

I do not know any monsters, but I feel as if the answer to this is ‘no’. Perhaps this means that my friend, Burch, is not a monster at all? What a fool I have been.

We keep walking, moving closer and closer towards paradise by the day.

- But then what else is she?

I wish I could ask her, but I have no mouth to speak with.

Ah, how curious.

I realize that I care about this.

I realize that I am not indifferent.

This is most unusual for a sunflower.

I realize that I care about Burch, perhaps more than I do for the idea and the place of paradise. So, I suppose it matters not if she is a flower, or a fish, or a bird, or a monster, or a fox, or whatever else exists in the world, together with us both. What matters is that she is my friend.

- And this is a very unusual thing for a sunflower to think, no?

It is perhaps most unnatural, even.

I have lived. I have felt. I have traveled and seen and experienced things most wondrous and fantastic and amazing. Yet none of these memories compare to the sensation of not being alone in this moment right now.

Oh well.

It doesn’t matter.

I suppose that my thoughts tend to wander to odd places sometimes. I wonder… if they wander long enough, will they find paradise too?

I can not say.

I am a sunflower.

Death.

Death comes for us all, eventually.

Perhaps this is frightening for some. But I do not fear death.

- If anything, I find it… saddening.

After all, it is an experience in and of itself, which will be most thrilling. But when it comes, will I long for the experiences of this world that I have yet to have had?

Burch presses the ‘knife’ into the heart of the hobgoblin, pinning it against a tree. It squirms and kicks and howls, but Burch presses the blade deeper and deeper and the deeper it goes, the deeper the shade of red that flows from the body turns, painting us both.

In death, will I long for the shores that I have yet to see? For the sunrises that I have yet to feel? For the sensations of the winds and the distant places and strange feelings that I could never identify, for my lack of having ever experienced them before?

- Perhaps.

I fear, if anything at all, that I will miss so much that I have yet to see. That is the only thing that bothers me about death. However, perhaps, if I am lucky, my friend and I will be able to die together?

That would be nice.

The hobgoblin falls silent as the last beat of its heart ripples through the dagger, up her arm and into my stem, shaking me with an excited quiver.

It falls limp and Burch pulls the dagger out of its breast, sighing in relief as the last hobgoblin of this pursuing band falls dead at our feet, another five lay strewn around us, broken, cut, consumed.

But despite all of the death and coming decay that surrounds us, that we leave in our wake, my dearest friend seems more alive than ever. Her eyes are aglow with a shine akin to the most radiant morning sunlight and she bounces around like a playful rabbit, letting out the oddest, most excitable sounds that I happen to find unusually endearing.

I am glad that she is glad.

Although I do not quite understand why. Perhaps she has come to understand the joy of killing too? My friend Burch and I are very alike.

- [ The fight is over ] - (Hobgoblin)(Hobgoblin Scout)(Hobgoblin Archer)(Hobgoblin)(Hobgoblin Shaman) have died. + 48 EXP EXP: 156/310 EXP (Burch): 160/160

LEVEL UP!

Congratulations! You are now level {5}!

+1 Ability points [5]

You may now choose a class.

- [Burch] - Health-Points: 27/27↗↗ Soul-Points: 23/23↗ Level: 5 ↗ Experience: 06/240 Class: None Sub-class: None Race: Human Obols: 000 - [Stats] - STR: 07 ↗↗ DEX: 12 ↗↗ WIS: 06 ↗ INT: 06 ↗ LUK: 09 LOV: 05 ↗↗

Oh well.

She is happy and it is good.

Life is good.

This is good.