The wind blew across the grassy hills, the trees swaying gently in the breeze. The sun shone high upon The World. And there sat Shino, in the shade of one of those trees, a Sleipner grazing nearby.
Watching the CG clouds going by, Shino got lost in her own thoughts. There were memories about the Twilight Brigade, about that first meeting with Ovan. Vague scenes that played in her head of the time her consciousness lay within Ovan throughout the duration of her coma. There were real life worries too, about how she would get her life back on track after eight long months, back to the way things used to be… if that was even possible.
Then, flashing across her mind, was a brown beast of a thing, following her wherever she went, constantly calling her name.
“Hey, Shino!”
Shino opened her eyes, bolting up and looking about frantically to make sure it was all in her head. The Sleipnir had wandered up to her, seemingly cocking its head at her fright.
But that was all she saw. The brown beast was not spotted lurking nearby.
Shino nervously smiled to herself. ‘I’m being silly… it’s just a game, it’s not possible that she-’
“Heeeeey, Shino! There you are!”
And so the brown beast waved to its prey with delightful enthusiasm. Shino’s character may not have shown any reaction, but the real Shino’s mouth was agape.
Iulia ran over to her faster than any Speed Charm would allow. “Phew… I’m so glad I found you! I was starting to worry that you may be avoiding me!”
“Ahahah… yes…” Shino forced out. Her heart was still racing from the surprise of Iulia’s appearance, making it hard to say much else. But that was perfectly alright with Iulia, who felt free to do all the talking.
“Wow, it’s so pretty here! No wonder you love coming here, Shino!” she stated as she turned her back to Shino to view the area around her.
“Y-yes…” Shino responded, deciding not to let the fact that Iulia knew such a fact get to her too much.
“There are so many nice places here in The World, huh? I really love the sunsets, they’re so gorgeous… oh, but this place is great too, Shino!”
Shino simply nodded in response.
Silence reigned across the fields. Iulia turned her head and stared at the cleric for a moment, bringing a hand to her hair as it rustled in the breeze. After some time had passed, she looked down and said, “You know, I really love The World... I don’t know what I’d do without it,” she commented.
Shino glanced up at the girl, the sudden comment bringing her attention back to the game.
Iulia continued. “You see, I don’t really have many friends in the real world… just a few, here and there. So it’s really great when I can come here and meet so many nice people!” she exclaimed as a big smile graced her character’s face.
Shino sat there, letting the girl’s words churn in her mind. Then she smiled.
“That’s right, Iulia.” Standing up, she walked over to the girl’s side, also letting the sun wash upon her pale skin.
“The World… is full of different people and unique experiences.”
“S-Shino?”
“It’s important to remember that. After all, we all come here to enjoy ourselves, right?” Shino gave the girl a smile.
Iulia looked close to tears. “D-do you really mean that, Shino? I was starting to think that maybe…”
“Please, don’t worry about it. Let’s just enjoy ourselves.”
Iulia happily nodded. “Yeah, let’s!”
The two Harvest Clerics gazed upon that beautiful world, taking in its beauty and peace, simply enjoying the other’s company… at least, that’s what they did for five seconds, until Iulia began her incessant chatter once more and Shino had to force her computer to shut down in order to escape the girl.
But still, for those five long seconds, The World was in true harmony.
