[Thalia Carrots & Sotu Ros] Prologue: Dreams of Adventure

[Throndir]

Thalia Village
Day 2 - Earlier that morning

Trying to sleep was harder than normal. Just that night before Thalia announced she wanted to go to Orario! The city of adventurers, heroes, and riches! The city said to be the center of the world. She figured the rest of the night would help calm the spark of adventure that continued to grow and grow. She was, after all, just a farmer for the village. True she had been studying under her mentor, Ayla Virfiel, an elf in the familia who could cast magic, but Mimsy only trained under her because she had developed a rare magic slot due since receiving her falna. It would have been a waste not to do anything with it, and being wasteful was never something Mimsy approved of.

Even if every fiber in her body really wanted to go to Orario, to be part of the first group that would prepare it for their goddess, Mimsy knew she had many more responsibilities here back at home. Her parents, the farm, the vegetables, her brothers, her sisters, and Sotu, too of course. They all looked up to her. So when the night had ended with the announcement by the goddess being the talk of the town all the night and probably this morning as well, Mimsy did her best in hiding her true desires.

"Okaaaay! Mimsy! Snap out of it." The hume bunny whispered quietly as she got up, sighing. Her eyes were baggy still, she hardly got any sleep at all. Her thoughts for that entire night had been dreams of adventure. She looked around, realizing the rest of her siblings were still fast asleep. Sotu had been lying nearby on the multiple large beds the siblings shared with each other, and Mimsy couldn't help but pat the younger girl's head. Sotu didn't have the same bunny ears, or tail, as the rest of the Carrots family. Sotu was a cat person. But this cat person was still family to the rest of them.

That's right. This was her true calling. As Mimsy continued to stare at Sotu, then moving her eyes to the rest of her siblings who were still sound asleep, that was enough to calm that so-called spark of adventure in her. First and foremost, Mimsy was the eldest sibling of the Carrots family. Even if she wanted to go to Orario, her family came first.

Mimsy stretched, then quietly hopped off the bed, and made her way towards the central room of their burrow. She wasn't expecting anyone at all, her family was still likely asleep. But instead she ran into both her mother and father. They both sat at the table, facing towards her, almost as if they were expecting her or the others to wake up.

"Morning sweetie, we have your pack ready." Her mother, Layla, said. Mimsy frowned, a bit confused.

"Make sure you're safe out there." Her father, Zen, said right after.

Out there? That spark of adventure within her flared again as Mimsy hesitantly moved forward, seeing that indeed a backpack had been placed on one of the seats at the table.

"What do you mean..?"

"You're going to Orario, aren't you? We're your parents, we know you've always wanted to go there... Don't think we didn't notice when you started to ask about stories from Orario, or when you began training with Ayla."

Mimsy paused, her face a mixture of confusion and surprise. She didn't really know how to respond. It was true she wanted to go, but she didn't think anyone really caught on to it at all. Either it was the hesitance, or the silence that began to draw out, that her father eventually broke the silence.

"You heard Thalia last night... She wants her familia with her. Make sure we have a place to go in Orario. We're a village of almost 400... If anything... Make sure your siblings have a place to be over there. We'll just be a month behind."

"B-but... What about harvest? Or the rest? Shouldn't we wake them? What about Sotu? She's been so attached... I can't just leave them."

Mimsy glanced back towards the opening to the large bedroom, hoping none of the others had woken up yet.

[Asta]

Sotu yawned wide and sat up slowly in bed, blinking away the sleep lazily. A conversation in the next room had woken her, and though she couldn't tell what was being said exactly, she knew it was between Mimsy and her adoptive parents. She carefully picked her way over the bed, ensuring she didn't wake any of the others that were sleeping next to her. A small shiver went up her spine as her bare toes made contact with the cool floor, but she managed to find good footing and padded her way to the door. Beyond, Mimsy and her parents were still talking.

"What about Sotu? She's been so attached... I can't just leave them."

Her sister had turned to look at the doorway that Sotu had just come to stand in. Was that a look of surprise on her face, or disappointment that she was up so early? In the end it didn't matter, Sotu had cast a sleepy gaze across the room and noticed the pack filled with traveling supplies.

"Ah. I see." she said, and nodded slightly before turning back into the bedroom. A few minutes later, she returned clutching a bag of her own possessions as well as a long object wrapped up in a cloth.

"When do we leave?" she asked, looking up at her sister expectantly.

[Throndir]

Thalia Village
Day 2 - Early morning

"S-Sotu!" Mimsy said hesitantly realizing that her younger sister had been listening. The girl turned back towards her parents, her eyes almost pleading. It was one thing going to Orario. But it was a totally different one risking her any of her siblings. "Sotu, we're not leaving! I can't risk you..."

For some reason, the two parents only nodded, as if guessing that Sotu would have wanted to follow. They all knew how Sotu was like, and why they had chosen to adopt her in the first place those many years prior. This was Sotu, she was inseparable from Mimsy.

"You both will be fine. Sotu here can probably already beat me in an arm wrestle." Zen said.

"Sotu did already, dear." Layla responded, though Zen only shrugged. Layla stood up, then made her way towards Sotu. "If you're going too, protect your older sister, okay?"

"Protect each other." Zen corrected. "We'll be fine on the farm here. And we'll see you again in a month or two."

Mimsy's arguments wasn't getting any traction at all. However, it did seem like everything was aligning with going to Orario. She could hardly believe it.

"W-well... how about the harvest?" Mimsy asked, but knowing full well her arguments were starting to seem thin even to herself.

"Mimsy... Like I said, help the familia find a home there, that will help us too." Zen said trying to assuage her worries. Mimsy still looked like she was in conflict however. Zen eventually laughed. "Okay... then we have some new chores for you, Mimsy, Sotu." Zen said. "Help the familia with us a home in Orario. Be safe traveling there. And protect each other. Promise?"

Mimsy turned towards her younger sister. She was still worried of course, her eyes taking in the form of her younger sister. She didn't want to cause any of them harm, but she also knew that Sotu would probably follow her to the opposite end of the continent if it came to it. She couldn't really fault her little sister of course, in some ways that made her adopted younger sibling even more endearing. Mimsy patted the girl's head, then looked towards their father.

"Alright... I promise."

"Good, and you, Sotu?"

[Asta]

"Hmm!" Sotu grunted in the affirmative giving a nod and an enthusiastic thumbs up, her eyes shining like diamonds in the morning light coming through a nearby window. It was no secret to anyone in the village that Sotu had a preternatural attachment to her older sister that bordered on the comically absurd. If it wasn't so obviously wholesome it might have been a cause for concern, but the truth was simply that Mimsy had been kind to her and Sotu had silently promised that she would see that kindness returned.

"If anything tries to hurt her, I'll whack it." she said earnestly, and patted the long form wrapped in cloth. Beneath the layers of fabric was a large two handed sword with a curved blade she had purchased explicitly for the purpose of "whacking" anything that threatened Mimsy. She hadn't had need for it yet, but that was more than likely going to change in the near future. "Gonna whack it real good."

[Throndir]

Thalia Village
Day 2 - Early morning

"That's my girl." Zen said as he smiled at Sotu's proclamation. With that, Zen proceeded to hand Mimsy the bag that had been sitting on the chair directly. Mimsy simply nodded slowly as she held the pack. However, instead of slinging it on her back, she placed it on top of the table instead.

"W-well... I want to say goodbye to everyone first..." Mimsy said as she looked back towards the bedroom quietly. "I admit I'm really excited to go, but the rest will probably wonder where we went... C'mon Sotu." Mimsy said as she lead the way back to the room.

The next few minutes consisted of waking up all the younger siblings as both Zen and Layla watched from the door. Then a longer time followed after as Mimsy had gone around giving each of her siblings a long hug, including those who weren't as affectionate as the eldest sibling of the Carrots family. She made sure to sit with each one for a minute telling them to take care of themselves, to make sure that they did the chores, or brushed their teeth, or any number of individual flaws and quirks each of them had. To the second eldest Carrots sibling all the way to the much younger babies who only giggled whenever she simply petted or poked them.

Most of the children seemed to take it well with the fact that both Mimsy and Sotu were going away for a few weeks. Though, there were some who probably didn't realize what it actually quite meant yet. A few of them had been sadder at first, but Mimsy had quickly eased their worries and fears. Soon enough, both Mimsy and Sotu said their final farewells, and the both of them headed out the door.

[Throndir]

Experience

CR 1/2 excelia earned for both Mimsy and Sotu.

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