Quoted By:
im going to fucking regret this!
The cheerful calls of wild Hoothoots echo around me as I carefully step through Ilex Forest; it's the crack of dawn, the perfect time to be out searching for berries. This place is normally filled to the brim with travelers during the day, but at this hour it's actually quite serene. The only thing that breaks the silence are the calls from the forest inhabitants, and the wind gently blowing through the trees. A beautiful orange glow is cast over the forest by the sun rising in the sky; it makes me want to just stand here and admire everything—but I don't really have time to mess around. It'll only be a matter of time before the place fills up, and I want to be home before then.
The first bush I come across on my path looks like someone has already picked it dry, there's berry juice smeared all over the place and the branches look all mangled; whatever it was must have been pretty large—and hungry. It's the same story for the rest of the forest too—everywhere I look, the bushes are picked clean, there just isn't much left here. With a sigh, I turn around to head back before noticing something that I must have missed. There's one bush out in the open covered in a smattering of yellow and red berries! They're sweet smelling; I can smell them all the way from across the forest and my mouth waters just thinking about how they must taste...
As I walk over to the bush, my feet practically moving on their own, the sound of hooting suddenly comes to a stop. I'm too busy filling my bag with fruit to notice though; all I can think about is how delicious these berries must be. I reach out to pick another one when I'm forced out of my stupor.
The trees above me shake violently as a shockwave rips through. Losing my balance, I stumble backwards and fall onto my back, splattering everything I was carrying in my bag all over the ground and my body.
