Complete Private Eastern Brisshal Mmmmm... What is that?

[Chako]

Chako was exploring the forests near Honeyhome. A bit more careful than before ever since she had that encounter with wolves that... Was by no means fun, and makes her shiver every time she remembers it.

It was meant to be just that though. Careful exploring. Taking in the sights while paying attention to the sounds to not get ambushed. Picking some wild fruits here and there because a broke cat gotta eat somehow.

Until... She smelled something. Was it... Was it an apple pie? In the middle of the forest?

Maybe there's a Starcalled here? Maybe... Maybe if I look at them with really cute begging eyes they can share it with me? It must be fresh out of the oven if it's smelling like that.

Chako wasn't sure if the inventory preserved smell like that, since she basically never used the inventory in the first place, but it was certainly her best guess, so she started moving in the apple pie's direction.

It didn't take too long to get there... Except... Except... Where is the pie? The smell is around here... Is the person eating it on the treetops?

Chako looked up, trying to find any traces of a Starcalled eating above her.

@Legion

 

[Legion]

The smell continued to grow stronger and stronger, until it was overwhelming. Mouthwatering. Like three fresh bakeries trying to outcompete each other by spewing as much "food scent" out into the world as possible... or, to put it another way: like Honeyhome at dinnertime.

Chako was wise to look up. It was always the ceiling that took the most victims in the horror movies. Creepy crawlies up above. Unfortunately for her, the real danger was at her feet. Having stepped into a shadowy glyph barely visible through the leaves, it erupted in a puff of black smoke, leaving her blinded for a few seconds as some strange substance covered her eyes.

In that time, she began to hear a number of identical voices, each with the sort of voice one might expect of a magical pixie.

"Get 'em, girls!"

"Waaaait! Stop, you fools!! That's a catgirl!"

"Oh, you're right....... whoops. How did that get there?"

"Pffhahahah! Nice face!"

The air filled with a gaggle of laughter. Though Chako didn't have any way of knowing, the puff of smoke had left her with thick clown makeup, although it didn't quite line up with her face: it'd been intended for a larger target. It was, at the very least, obvious something was covering her face, given the strange powdery sensation.

Once she'd finally wiped it out of her eyes, she'd be faced with an army of identical girls staring up at her. A dozen? Two dozen? Wait, were even more hiding in the bushes!? It was impossible to tell.

"Hi catgirl. Let's be friends."

"Wait just a darn minute! How do we know she's not a monster in disguise? Look at that hungry look in her eyes!"

"You girls make me hungry too."

She was smacked by several of the others.

"Oww!"

 

[Chako]

"N-nya!?" Chako exclaimed as she was suddenly blinded and felt some strange thingy hitting her face, W-w-w-what's this!? Is this divine punishment!? Am I being punished by the gods of Arcia for wanting to eat a pie that isn't mine!?

"Get 'em, girls!"

Huh!? It was way too strange... Suddenly the smell became stronger and moved closer to Chako as she heard many voices approaching her... Are there multiple pies!? Multiple talking pies!? Was this a trap set up by the living pies!?

But for some reason, no attack came... Or rather, Chako knew the reason. Apparently because she is a catgirl... Do piepeople have a friendship with the catgirls or something? Is this how this work? W-what's up with this strange lore!?

Chako didn't understand a thing, but... Since they weren't attacking or anything, she felt like it was okay to wipe her eyes and... When she opened her eyes, what she saw was not what she expected, "W-w-whoa!" Chako lost her balance and fell on her butt. Something she was already quite used to by now, but the situation was still far from anything she had experienced so far.

"Pffhahahah! Nice face!"

"I... Uhn... Thanks?" Chako blushed a bit when being stared at by the legion of... Small... Girls.

They're small. Very small. Smaller than Chako... Even while sitting on the ground, Chako could be sure of it. These girls were smaller than her... That was so weird. Chako really wasn't used to it at all.

Maybe they're Landers? They might be children in that case... It would make more sense if it was like that... Yeah, they must be Landers... An army of... Twentish twins?

Chako uttered a silent prayer to the girls' parents.

"Hi catgirl. Let's be friends."

"Wait just a darn minute! How do we know she's not a monster in disguise? Look at that hungry look in her eyes!"

"Sure, let's be friends, I'm Chako!" Chako decided to not overthink it anymore and just smiled at the girls while offering her hand for a handshake.

... She didn't get up yet though. Chako wasn't confident on getting up without help... At least not in a timely manner.

"And if I was a hungry monster... Wouldn't I have eaten one of you already?" Chako tilted her head, "I may be hungry, but I'm no monster. Monsters don't talk to be friends, you see. Monsters eat first and make friends later."

"You girls make me hungry too."

She was smacked by several of the others.

"Oww!"

Chako started giggling, "I guess the piepeople smell tasty even for others like you!?" It really was hard to hold back the laugher, "D-don't eat your sisters though, okay? Your parents won't be happy if you do!"

Of all the things Chako experienced already in Terrasphere, this was by far the most unexpected one... But also one that gave her the purest laugher she could ever bring out.

... If only she could figure out what was that weird feeling on her face though... It was so itchy. Chako scratched her face a bit to try getting rid of it.

@Legion

 

[Legion]

A few of the girls stepped forward to shake Chako's hand, some more suspiciously than others. The rest of them felt content to accept the gesture by proxy.

"Hi Chako."

"Hello Chako."

"I'm watching you..."

"Chako, nyan~!"

A couple of them worked together to push Chako up to her feet. Were Chako anything but a fairly small person herself, this likely would've taken way more than a couple of them, but as it was, they didn't have too much trouble.

"Sisters...? We're n–"

"Oww! Heeey!"

"Don't worry, we sisters love each other very much, and we would never eat each other, even if we really want to."

"Sus."

"Is no one going to mention the fact that she just called us piepeople? Doesn't that bother you!?"

"Huh... you're right. I'll have you know, I identify as a freshly-baked croissant!"

"I'm a strawberry shortcake!"

"I could see the cake, but there's no way you smell like strawberries. I'm a freshly-peeled tangurine, by the way."

This went on for a while, with several of the girls arguing about what each one of them smelled like. Every so often, one of them would stare at Chako and start giggling for a bit before merging back into the sea of little people.

In the meantime, a couple began to sneak up behind her, and with a swift motion, slipped a loud bell to the end of her tail.

 

[Chako]

Chako shook the hands of the many girls that came closer. She was planning on relying on them to pull herself up, but the constant handshake change made that hard to achieve... Though then they seemed to notice Chako wanted help anyways, so they started pushing Chako up to her feet which was... A bit uncomfortable, but Chako appreciated the help anyways, "Thank you all." Chako smiled.

Though they didn't introduce themselves at all? I was expecting to be bombarded by 20+ names at once, instead only they know my name without me knowing theirs? Now that's unfair...

Chako didn't let the thoughts bother her for long as the girls... Hit one of them when talking about being sisters? Then proceeded to joke about eating each other.

Chako giggled, "It's a promise then. No eating each other, no matter how tasty you might be!" Chako was also a tad disappointed that the wonderful smell came not from a pie but from piepeople, but that couldn't be helped. She was just going to have to accept that.

And then... The girls brought up the piepeople point and... Chako couldn't stop herself from bursting out laughing as they assigned flavors for themselves, "Okay, okay..." Chako tried taking in a deep breath to stop her laugher, which was... Moderately successful, "If you aren't piepeople, what are you, then? And why do you smell so lovely?" Chako licked her lips for a second and felt... Something very off. What was this thing she just licked? It was powdery and didn't taste good at all... Did something from the smoke get stuck on her face? Is this what makes her so itchy-

Ding

"Nya!?" Her thoughts were interrupted as she suddenly heard a bell sound, "W-what was-" Ding ding, "Nyaaa!?" Chako jumped in place, with multiple dings following, and with her falling face-first on the ground in her panic.

It was only now, after falling, that she could see that bell attached to one of her tails.

Sudden pie smell... A strange gas coming out of nowhere... Something itchy on my face... And now a bell on one of my tails...

"Pffhahahah! Nice face!"

It took her only a few seconds to connect the dots, "You girls..." Chako clumsily moved her tails near her hands and took the bell off, dropping it on the ground, "What did you do to my face...?" Chako tried making the scariest frown she could come up with.

Truth be told, Chako wasn't really able to do anything about it. Chako doubted she would even be able to get up again before the girls ran away (if they wanted to, of course), and even if she was able to get up, there's no way she would be able to actually run faster than the girls, not with how clumsy her legs were.

Still, Chako had to try to maintain some semblance of dignity now that she realized she was completely fooled by the little girls... Not that she ever had much dignity with all the constant tripping and the like... But hey, she had to try at least.

@Legion

 

[Legion]

"It's a promise then. No eating each other, no matter how tasty you might be!"

A few of them answered...

"Sounds good to me!"

"Hold on, that's not a fair deal! You don't even looks tasty."

"Can we stop talking about eating people!? It's creeping me out!"

Most of them nodded in response to that last comment.

"If you aren't piepeople, what are you, then? And why do you smell so lovely?"

A few replied shortly as Chako 'enjoyed' her moment of realization.

"Pixies!"

"Mahou Shoujo desu!"

"Clones, I think?"

"Hungry after all this food talk."

And then the poor catgirl finally noticed... releasing the flood of laughter. The grassy ground of the small forest clearing was suddenly filled with short people, rolling around with laughter like some had dropped a bag full of human-sized worms.

Short of actually being attacked, the vast majority of them weren't about to run away. Even the wary ones were off to the side, giggling and pounding the trees with their fists to let off the comedic energy.

"Don't worry, it should wash off."

"..."

"Probably."

This earned another wave of laughter, which rippled across the sea of girls. After a little while, one of them finally recovered long enough to wave her hand, summoning an illusory mirror in midair. It was an obvious trap, but a tempting one. The restless army of clones started sitting up and staring with bated breath, just waiting for some kind of satisfying reaction to refuel their laughter.


@Chako

 

[Chako]

Chako did think it was funny that talking about eating people was creeping them out when it was them that brought up the eating each other thing... Wait, hold on, it was me. I was the one who said I'd eat them if I was a hungry monster... Well, they're the ones who continued the topic, so it's obviously their fault! Chako lied to herself.

And now they're messing with me... Chako figured after hearing the answers to the piepeople question... She could agree with the hungry part though.

... And then the worst happened. They all started laughing. Chako was starting to get a tad annoyed at those girls... Who showed her a mirror.

A mirror that showed Chako a clown face... "Probably...?" A vein popped on Chako's forehead, "Probably!?" Chako started hissing. The fur of her tails and the hair on her head both went up, feeling harder than they had ever felt before.

There's no way I can catch them if I try getting up, so... Change of plans!, "Let's make that surely, nya!!!" Chako started running on all fours after the infinite piepixieclones. Any tripping of her legs was compensated by her hands, that somehow stopped her from falling on her face again, "I'm gonna have you all for dinner!"

Though Chako said that, she was mostly just trying to catch at least one of them to at least scare them a bit. There's no way she'd actually eat the little pranksters, no matter how tasty they smelled, "Don't think you can run, I can smell you throughout all of Falderen, piepixieclones!" And Chako refused to refer to them as Magical Girls. They did not deserve to have the same title as Magi.

Hold on a sec... Landers don't know what a magical girl is. Chako felt another vein popping on her forehead as she ran... Those brats are actually older than me, aren't they...?

They better not be a fat old man with a bad sense of humor!!!!

@Legion

 

[Legion]

The girls continued laughing, even as Chako grew angry. Only once she pulled back to pounce did they finally start to scatter...

"The catgirl's gone feral! Head for the hills!"

"So much for the deal!"

"Does this mean we get to eat her now?"

"Don't you stoop to her level!"

The small people were unsurprisingly pretty agile, especially given the odd way Chako was rushing forward. Each time she pounced, they seemed to worm their way right out of her grasp. But eventually, she managed to snatch one.

"Don't eat me miss clown, I don't taste like I smell, I actually taste horrible, really, you gotta believe me!"

"Oh no! She's taken one of our comrades hostage!"

"Stuck in the clown's nasty claws!"

"This is our time to stand and fight together, to take down the Angry Catclown menace! Hold fast to what is right and true as we march to rescue our own!"

In rather ominous fashion, several angry little faces began to circle Chako, peeking out from inside bushes, behind trees, and even from the treetops. Any one of them would've invoked similar fear to that of a child having a temper tantrum, but together, it was the terrifying feeling of being totally surrounded.

As if that wasn't enough, the surrounding forest began to darken, the daylight swallowed by night in a matter of seconds. At first, it might've seemed to be the doing of the girls, but as the forest blackened, their aggression turned to fear. Then came the guttural snarling!

A massive wolf made of shadowy black fur crashed onto the scene, growling and bearing its fangs at Chako, or perhaps it was rather the food Chako was laying claim to. The very air around it seemed to devour what little light was filtering in through the trees of the forest. It turned its snout to the sky and released an ear-piercing howl, crouching down in preparation to pounce.

"I-i-it's... it's... IT'S THE BEAST!! Every clone for herself!!"

"I told you this was a terrible idea!"

"Nice going, catgirl! You used up the trap, and now we're an all-you-can-eat buffet!!"

The girls scattered, vanishing as quickly as they'd assembled. The beast didn't chase after them, however, instead focusing its ire on Chako and her captive.

"Miss clowncat, if you make it out alive, tell the others I loved them!"

If Chako was good with animals, there was something off about this one, but it was hard to place. Maybe a sense of hesitation. For such a massive and seemingly powerful wild animal, it was taking its time, prancing around and circling the two, as if waiting for something...

 

[Chako]

For once, Chako did not laugh at the banter of the girls. It was very unusual for her to feel such... Primal... Anger.

Perhaps she was more affected by being a beastfolk than she herself realized.

It didn't take that long to capture one of the girls. Chako hearing them call her 'miss clown' only helped increase her anger. As the girls started surrounding her, she started hissing in response. Chako really had no idea what she was doing at this point. She just wanted to-

A sudden snarl stopped whatever train of thought was going through Chako's head. Her attention suddenly turned from the girls to the source of the sound.

When did things get this dark? Chako hadn't noticed any of this.

Then, the beast approached. The howl echoing through Chako's ears in a way that made her want to scream... Yet she couldn't. Chako could not even scream in pain when faced with the monstrosity in front of her.

Chako froze in place. She was suddenly back in front of the wolf pack... Only, Magi was not here to save her. Nobody was here to save her.

Chako started trembling. The girl on her hands quickly let go without a single thought given to her. Chako shrunk in place. Her pupils dilated. I have to run. She couldn't run. I have to hide. There was nowhere to hide.

Chako just stared. Stared at the black death in front of her. Thoughts of it being just a game long gone from her head as she just crouched away in fear.

Only... There was something off... The smell... Chako remembered what a wolf smelled like... This was not it... This was not exactly it at least... Maybe... Maybe there is hope... Chako desperately begged whatever gods that could listen for there to actually be hope here, "I-I'm not... Tasty... Please... Have mercy..."

@Legion

 

[Legion]

The wolf continued growling, circling Chako like a piece of meat to be snatched up the moment it felt like it. Except, the more she began to panic, the less the wolf snarled. Eventually, the wolf even stepped back, glancing off to the side, as if it felt guilty.

Chako's begging was the final straw, causing a strange shift in the atmosphere. The wolf sighed and dropped to its knees, slowly transforming into a large man, lifting the dark fog around them. Around the same time, the forest filled with the soft giggling of tiny ladies, some closer than others, but all within viewing distance.

"We're callin' it quits here, ya nasty little demons. This poor felis looks traumatized."

"Boo! You could've at least pretended to bite her head!"

"Yeah, that's what a REAL demon shadow beastie would do!"

"Not a great performance at all: 3 outta 10."

"I must say, this was all kinda bare minimum of you, but I guess you technically earned your pay."

A sack of coins was tossed down from the treetops, smacking the man in the face. He growled, barking back up at the source, though the clone who'd thrown it was well out of reach.

Despite his naturally scary face, the man turned to Chako and softened his gaze as well as he could.

"I'm real sorry about all this. These... things pay a lot for their games, and I've got a family to feed. I hope I didn't scare you too badly."

"You definitely didn't!"

"Shut it, ya faerin-shaped plague."

"Oo, plague...! We should use that sometime!"

"We are the Faerin. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile!"

"OoOOooo, how about this! We find a village, kidnap a few people, then pretend like they became more of us! It'll be hilarious!"

The wolf man slapped his forehead with his palm, rolling his head slowly in regret.


@Chako

 

[Chako]

It isn't eating me. It isn't eating me... Chako repeated to herself. Not feeling relieved in the slightest, but at least a tiny bit hopeful.

Then the beast transformed... It was now a man. The darkness was gone... The wolf was gone.

Chako just stared. She couldn't move. She couldn't react. The talking between man and piepixieclones barely registering on her mind.

Then coins hit the man. It startled Chako. She jolted in place as she stared at him, eyes fixed on his.

The words started becoming clear on her mind again. She was listening again... Faerin... Pay... Plague...

Chako's trembling restarted. This time though, tears came together with it. A river of tears quickly poured out of Chako's eyes as the situation finally dawned on her.

She lunged onto the man and hugged him. Burying her face on his chest. Completely forgetting about the clown makeup on her face, not even considering what it would do to the man's clothes.

Chako just cried. She wailed out loud. She wanted to scream at the Faerin girls. Tell them that they were monsters, but she didn't manage to even do this much.

All she could manage was cry. All she could do was to try and find comfort in the presence of this very man who still terrified her. Who still smelled somewhat like a wolf even after the prank was over.

She hated it. She hated everything this game could do to her. The way it could make her feel all those emotions in a way she absolutely did not deem possible... Yet she knew she was not going to stop. That tomorrow she'd log-in in the same way she did today.

It was not something worth thinking about right now though... Right now... Right now, Chako just cried.

@Legion

 

[Legion]

The man was a bit surprised when the young felis suddenly jumped at him and gave him a hug, but it was a nice kind of surprise. He would've forgiven her for hating his guts, but instead she was turning to her for comfort, which felt honestly flattering. Then again, the other alternative was a heartless mob of humanoid locusts.

"Aww man, I'm sorry, kid... you're alright. You're gonna be fine."

A long moment of awkward silence followed. Even the mob of white hair was silent for a few seconds.

"Hey uhh... I don't really feel right keeping this, so... I think you should have it."

With a slight moment of hesitation, he handed over the pouch of coins and placed it in Chako's hands. Despite the tender moment, the white-haired devils kept talking amongst each other.

"Heh, we got her good! Imagine how great it'd be if he'd really gone for it!"

"Guess catgirls are just as afraid of dogs as regular cats, heheh!"

"I just had another idea: what if we—"

"Shut up, all of you!"

A wave of fearful silence washed over them, as one of the girls in particular took command. They began to back away dutifully, as she stepped forward. She didn't look different at all: exactly the same as the others, but the way the others had submitted to her command hinted that this one was special somehow.

"Are you okay... Chako?"

For once, she had a serious sound to her voice.

"I'm sorry if I went too far. This was all technically meant for someone else, but... well, that doesn't matter. If it makes you feel any better, it does wash off. Pretty easily, even."

@Chako

 

[Chako]

Chako kept on crying for a while... Until the man suddenly dropped the coin pouch on her hands.

That... Stunned her for a second. She was still trembling, and was certainly unable to get up, but she could at least look at the man in the eyes, despite how blurry her eyesight was right now.

And she ignored the Faerins' banter too... Chako just shook her head and pushed the coins back to the man, "I don't have a family to feed."

It's not like Chako didn't want the money, but she also knew how much her own mom struggled with paying their bills... If this man, who was probably a Lander, had a family to feed, then Chako was not going to get in the way of that. She could learn how to earn her own keep... Eventually.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Chako's attention was suddenly pulled back to the Faerin girls. This tone was not the type she was used to hearing from them.

"Are you okay... Chako?"

"No..." Chako instantly replied... She was trembling. She was crying. She was burying her head on the clothes of a man she didn't know and that scared her out of her wits! How could she be okay!?

"I'm sorry if I went too far. This was all technically meant for someone else, but... well, that doesn't matter. If it makes you feel any better, it does wash off. Pretty easily, even."

"You did..." Way too far... Chako might have been angry at the time, but the pranks with the bells and clown make-up were not that bad. She could see it being funny... But the wolf? The wolf...!?

Chako shivered just from remembering its appearance, "Please don't do that again..."

What was Chako even supposed to say here? Or do? She could understand it was a prank, but that didn't simply stop her body from trembling the way it was. It didn't stop her tears from falling down her face.

She really needed a magical girl to comfort her right now... But there were none here.

Still... She figured she would at least try talking to the girl in front of her, since she seemed to be showing some remorse at least, "You the original? The girls mentioned clones and... I figured you're a Starcalled, so you aren't a bunch of twins, right?

"... Your name?"

@Legion

 

[Legion]

The man felt even more guilt as the money was handed back to him.

"You're a good kid. Unlike those things."

The white-haired faerin chose to ignore that comment with a quick roll of her eyes, instead, focusing on Chako.

"I guess you could call me an 'original.' The others are all doppelgängers I can summon for fun shenanigans."

On cue, the flood of girls all ran forward and surrounded the three: the 'original', Chako, and the man (who looked a bit disgusted, but kept quiet for Chako's sake). It was interesting in that, while Chako was completely enveloped in their embrace, it only reached to about the bottom of her neck, the girls too short to drown her completely.

"I'm Aulia. Or, if you like, I call our little group, 'Legion.' People say that's what usually shows up in Investigation Mode."

After a short pause, she spoke again.

"Is there any chance that friend offer is still on the table?"

@Chako

 

[Chako]

"Thanks..." Chako muttered to the man.

Then, she heard the girl explain it... Aulia, as she named herself.

Friends, huh...? Chako wondered... It honestly felt pretty ridiculous, but... With all the other Aulias surrounding and embracing her, she could understand that the words were sincere at least.

Heck... I didn't start playing Terrasphere to make enemies, alright, Chako sighed, "I don't even know how to access this Investigation Mode thing, so... Aulia it is." Then, in-between the numerous Aulia clones, she outstretched her hand that was finally starting to tremble a bit less, "If you help me get up, help me wash this thing off, and don't ever throw a wolf at me again... Sure, friends." Chako shivered just from mentioning the word 'wolf', but she maintained her outstretched hand.

Truthfully, Chako felt like she was really going to regret this, but... It was hard to stay annoyed anymore, and this feeling was certainly better than the terrified sensation she had a while back, so she figured she'd just go ahead with it. It was all meant to be a prank in the end anyways. Holding a grudge over that was just wrong, even if it went way too far.

@Legion