Chapter Text
Written: October 25th, 2024
- Northern Vermont -
"I'll be back in a few days, okay ma?" I say to my mother while packing my massive hiking bag full of things I'll need. My empty gatherers net bag hanging off of it as well as my basket for berry collecting.
"You better be careful, Ellen Brian Paige!" She wags her finger at me with a stern gaze. Uh oh, she whipped out the full name. I know she's serious. "Do you have your Papa's knife that he gave you?" My 60 year old mother walks out of the house with worry in her brow, not liking that her autistic daughter goes off on hiking trips randomly. Even though I pretty much stay in my great grandmas property... Even though it's over 40 acres.
"I never leave home without it." I say with a fond smile, patting my Winchester 2003 knife that's in my shirt pocket. My grandfather gave it to me when he learnt about my gathering hobby. I like to go out in the middle of late spring and during fall and collect ripe berries or mushrooms sometimes even flowers or acorns to make dye. I even trap rabbits and other small game while I'm out there to eat, I use the pelts for the various crafts I do. I go full wild mode for about a week. I don't use any man made tools unless it's an emergency.
"Will you keep Audry2 fed and watered for me?" I ask Mom while stuffing my sleeping bag into my pack with a grunt of effort.
"Yes. I will feed your pitcher plant.." Mom sighs deeply, shaking her head fondly. Grimacing at the idea of tossing live grubs into the plant.
"And Carnivine? Cacnea? My garden?" I say with a squint and raised brow, knowing the woman doesn't really do anything after she comes home from work... and she does NOT have a green thumb.
"Yes honey, I will take care of all your plant children like how you wrote down. Go have fun and keep me updated okay? You have the power banks? Solar panels?" She looks at me with worry and I smile and nod.
"Yes, I have ten power banks and a solar charger with multiple backup cords. I even have my geo tracker on me so you can track where I am on the app." She sighs with relief and nods her head.
Grabbing my pack with a grunt due to the weight, it's stuffed with dehydrated and freeze dried provisions should I ever get lost. I even have re-usable water filters, I am prepared to survive the zombie apocalypse as my little brother would say. Surviving in the wild is a hobby, I'm even working on making a cabin for myself out in the middle of nowhere for me to use. My goal is to be able to stay there for an entire winter at some point.
"I'll see you Monday, okay mom? Love you!" I give her a kiss and she sighs, standing at the door as I begin to trek into the backyard.
Walking past the rusted cars that degraded in the elements that have sat there since i was born, moving past an old syruping shack. I make my way into the beautiful Vermont wilderness. Taking a deep breath I bask in the fresh air, autumn just around the corner. I can smell it in the air. "Into the thick of it! Into the thick of it! We're, trampling through the bush!" I sing to myself over and over and over again, letting my mouth be busy so my brain and body can concentrate.
- Evening -
As the dark begins to setting and the sun lowers from the sky. I smile and find a good area to hunker down, I quickly set up my hammock. Throwing my cable into the tree a good ways away, I use the pulley to make sure my bag filled with food is nice and high. Not wanting the bears to steal it. Quickly eating some berries I harvested earlier using a pair of chopsticks and a bowl. Not wanting to get the juice on my hands and attract the bears to me. Nature's teddy bears are ah.. tenacious.
Climbing into the hammock, I snuggle myself up and look at the moon that begins to shine above me. I smile and sigh happily, finally feeling relaxed. "Alright, goodnight moon. Goodnight Stars.. Goodnight you bhaddies twerking up there on Mars." I say with a little giggle and stare at the night sky until I get drowsy and fall asleep.
- Two Days Later -
This is the farthest I've ever gone before. We're going into unexplored territory! I'm so excited for what I'll find! I've collected many acorns and mushrooms. I made sure to give the shrooms a couple of good smacks to make sure the spores would re propagate.
"Huzzah! Unexplored land!" I say while resting my leg on a conveniently placed rock overlooking a small valley filled with trees.
"I claim this for the Paige clan!" I proclaim with a smirk, holding my hand out with my walking stick. "Now.. how can I get down there?" I ask myself with a hum. "When in doubt we go around!" I say and begin to walk along the edge of the cliff face. Making sure to stay a good ways away from the edge, since I don't know the stability of the soil.
Hearing a noise I stop and look, I freeze with wide eyes when I see a baby moose.. "if.. baby's.. where's.." I back away from the moose. "I don't want no trouble swamp puppy.." I say while backing away, but the curious baby moose walks closer. Hearing snapping of twigs my eyes widen and I scream when a mother moose charges me. I try to run away from it but she hits me square on with her rack, I choke in pain from the hit. Lifting me in the air, I hold on for dear life with a scream. She bellows and thrashes her head, I cling on but my grip loosens. She manages to toss me free from her antlers.. right over the fucking cliff.
"NOOOO!!!!" I scream out and press my emergency life alert as I fall. Knowing they will be able to use it to collect my body if I die.. or save me. Whichever comes first.
I hit tree's as I fall, hearing the crunching of branches and bone alike. I finally hit the ground head first on a boulder. Dying on impact, my skull caved in. I lay there with eyes wide and jaw hung loosely, blood begins to ooze lazily from my head. My pupils unfocused.. it's not one day before the coyotes find my body and begin to feast on it.. A day later a bear comes along and eats everything in my pack.. On the final day a rescue crew arrives and finds my half eaten corpse laying dead on the ground... My mother wails in agony when she's told the news.
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Desert...?
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Third Person POV
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"Ah.. Finally, it has been some time." A voice speaks from the area filled with cactuses of varying species and heights. A wilted flower sits in a pot on a large rock like alter, given to the feline by her mother.
Something green jumps up onto the rock, covered in prickly thorns.. it looks like a dark green Lynx? It's eyes resemble that of a sunset. "Who do we have here? Hm?" The Cactus cat says with curiosity as it inspects the soul it was given to oversee. It inspects what the soul took as its visage in her dimension, it tells much about the person's character. "Ah a dandelion, you must have been stubborn and set in your ways.." The cat looks down and reads the name on the pot. "Ellen.. it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Opuntia." The cactus cat sets her paw on the small pot, green wisps of magic thrum from her paw. Traveling through the pot and into the soul, the dandelion inside returns to life once more flourishing under the felines magic.
"There we go, I cannot have one of my possible future children be dead, hm?" Opuntia smirks as she looks at the newest soul who has joined her eternal garden. Those who have failed remain dormant and become fertilizer, the souls remain in the soil and the energy they emit naturally feeds her plants. She is not like her barbaric siblings who eat their souls.
Placing both paws on either side of the terracotta pot, she analyzes the girls life through the petals with intrigue. "You enjoyed plants as much as I do. I do hope you succeed in the trials.. Why don't I send you to a more.. fantastical world? Hm? One you enjoy yes?" Opuntia smiles at the dandelion with a fondness. A large pot emerges from the ground nearby, a small cactus grows from it... Each of the cactuses within her garden are souls who have succeeded.. the taller they are, the longer they have been there. Once Ellen finishes her trial she shall transfer her from the pot to the soil, she shall be able to mingle with the others if she so chooses.
"I wish you well child.." Opuntia touches the petals of the flower delicately, her paw glows ever so slightly. "There, now you have power over plants. I wish you luck Ellen.." Opuntia lifts the small flower out of its pot, the pot that once held it disintegrating.. her connection to her old world severing completely. The feline walks over to the large pot and plants the flower beside the cactus. Watching as they connect to one another, the flower begins to transform. Absorbing completely into the cactus and turning the flowers on top into dandelions.
- ??? - Ellen POV -
"Ah... Fuck.." Holding my head in pain, I look around in confusion. Seeing a cliff face, I sigh knowing I've been pushed off it by the momma moose. "Can't fault her.." I say with a grunt, feeling pain in my back, sitting up with a grunt.
Grabbing my compass from my pocket, I hold it up and give it a look. My brows furrow in confusion when I see the direction I was facing.. "What..? The cliff was facing west.." I look to the cliff which is clearly in the opposite direction. "Wait.. that.." I stare up at the height of the cliff and my eyes widen. "That fall should have killed me... Humans are glorified meat suits." I say with a scowl, looking down at my unharmed body that's only experiencing aches and pains. "I.. I remember the branches.. then a burst of incredible pain.... why aren't my bones broken?" I press against my ribs and feel no pain only a minor ache.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, exhaling shakily. "It's okay.. we've got this Ellen. You couldn't have been Isekai'd..." I calm myself down and look to my compass with a grimace. "Well, we pick a direction and pray to the Norns that we find civilization.. If I don't, it's no skin off my back." I attach the wristband on the compass to my body and doublecheck myself and my things. Finding everything satisfactory and there, I huff out with relief and begin the trek. "Here I go again on my own.. walking down the only road I've ever known.." I sing to myself softly while walking through the trees. Trying to find a way back on the cliff so I can see what I'm working with and try to find my way back home. I marked the tree's on my way out here with my knife and by breaking branches. So it should be easy!
- Evening -
It's night when I hear wolves.. or something wolf like howling. Coydogs maybe? I climb up a sturdy tree and use my camo hammock situated between to thick limbs. I know I'm not in my world anymore, the stars told me that much.. I may not know a lot of constellations, but I sure as fuck know the big and little dipper. And they ain't in the fuckin sky, I got up on the cliff and looked around.. no space ladles in sight.
Wherever I am, I'll need to survive. I don't even know if humans are the apex species.. Looks like i will be living out my hermit dreams. I sigh softly and get to sleep quickly, knowing I'll need as much rest as I can. I'll need to search for a water source tomorrow and make my home relatively nearby. I don't want to be wiped out by a hurricane unlike the idiots who decided living close to water was a bright idea.
- Day Two -
Munching on some of the fresh provisions I collected in my old world which somehow have been sent with me. I finally found a decent river for me to make my home nearby. With my water bottles and filters I should be perfectly fine with water, plus I can always make a distillery. "Thank fuck I play Minecraft." I toss another berry into my mouth with a huff, walking around the area I search for a good place to make a hidden hut.
Ive found a huge clay deposit in the side of an embankment, so I gotta dig myself out a some clay for later use. I'll still sleep in the trees until I can cut up enough wood to build a small house. I'm going to have to make sure that I won't be seen, I don't know what type of intelligent life there is.. I frankly don't want to get killed. I've set up a fuck ton of traps around the area I've made my home. I'm hoping I'll be able to get some meat to cook during the day.
Finding the perfect spot in a small divot in the ground, I grab my paxel and get to work. Making it bigger so I can use it like the beavers house in Narnia the lion the bitch and the glorified fucking closet... Or Ratatoskr the brown, that was his name right? The wizard dude from the Hobbit movies?
Once I've got a good enough area to start I nod in satisfaction, wiping my paxel clean to get a nice edge. I walk over to some younger trees and chop them down. I'll need something simple first just to keep me safe at night. I toss the logs I've gathered near the hole I dug. Pulling off all the leaves and shoving them in a little net bag so they dry out. I plan on using them as kindling.
Looking up to the sky I see it's about noon. I'll finish the house then check traps if I have time. Grabbing the small logs I stab them into the ground and make a tiny teepee, using branches covered in leaves to make sure it's covered. I'll have to make a mud, clay and straw mixture to make bricks in future.
Grabbing some vines off of the trees, I use them as rope to tie everything together, it's getting close to sun down when I'm finally done my little shelter. Grabbing my paxel and bag, I take off into the woods, carving symbols on the trees that only I will understand to mark my way home.
Finding a rabbit in one of my traps I kill it quickly with a stab to the brain stem. I gut it and take the meat back home, cooking it away form my home before making my way back and crawling inside to sleep. This shelter should last until I make a more proper one.
- Day Five -
I've finally made my little house good and proper, it's simple and I plan on making a better version but I just need protection from the elements. I already got moss and leaves to cover the outside to act as camouflage. If you didn't look hard enough you would think it was a rock thanks to the clean grey clay.
I'm now working on a bed, which will be simple. Just elevated off the cold ground so I can conserve warmth in my sleeping bag. I'm using the rabbit skins as another barrier against the ground. I cooked the insides over the fire so it wont attract any animals. I finished it just before dinner time, eating some rabbit and mushroom stew. I properly identified it using my book when I gathered it before I fell.
- Day Six -
Waking up surrounded by flowers growing inside my hut was not on my bingo card. All of them even look medicinal, I recognize a most of them... Except one. "The shit?" Leaning closer I move to touch the plant only to freeze and watch as the plant moves to touch me, the vine wrapping around my finger.. I watch as all the plants sway side to side. "There's.. there's no wind.." I say with slight fear as the plants lean towards me, a stalk of lavender stroking my leg. "Wait.. am.." I squint at the plants and hold my hand out, the lavender moving as I will it. "Holy fuck buckets I'm poison ivy." My eyes widen in shock then I grin maniacally. "Hehehehe...." Rubbing my hands together evilly. This world won't know what hit em.