vs. the Wild

“The first thing we need is fire,” I say.

In the wilderness, darkness is truly dark. There is little natural light, with only the stars and a sliver of moon to see by. I can perceive the faintest of faint edges, and even those only when they’re a few inches from my face.

I’ve been camping before many times. I had once considered living in the woods, but life without heating, wifi, and a stable food supply would be for me a fantasy. But surviving a single night is different.

“Fire, Zorro." I repeat.

“I would light one with ‘Burning Sword’ but I used all my AP to get here… so I can’t use any arts…” says Zorro.

“The only combat art I have is breathing,” I reply.

“Seriously..? Is that all…?”

“I’ll show you if you don’t believe me.”

Maru | Level 3 Journeyman

Shld 5/5 | Atk 2 | Def 3 | Agi 4 | AP | 7/7  | Exp: 0/80

---

COMBAT ARTS

[BREATHING] [DORMANT] [LOCKED] [LOCKED]

“Hmm…? One of my combat arts changed from ‘locked’ to ‘dormant’…?”

“Oh!” says Zorro. “That means you can learn a new art!” She speaks from right over my shoulder, also looking at the stats-screen. “Have you ever awakened a skill before?”

“No, I’ve always known how to breathe.”

Her shadowy-self leans forward. “Usually skills are passed on from one person to another through deep, physical, contact… d-deeper than headpats. Is that something you’re okay with?”

Wait a minute. It’s not that kind of world, is it? I asked to be put in an adventurous fantasy world, not one with adventurous fantasies!

“Like… if I took your hand.”

Oh.

Our fingers interlock, and her palm’s soft and warm. It’s comfortable and soothing, until she squeezes my hand in a vise-like grip.

“W-What’s the matter? Afraid of h*ndh*lding?” Zorro says.

“You’re just handholding very confidently,” I reply.

Her grip intensifies.

“Yes, that’s right. H*lding h*nds is nothing to a warrior like Zorro.”

[SPARK] unlocked.

COMBAT ART: SPARK

[A gift from a misunderstood warrior, this art allows the user to create flames from fingertips. Cost: 1AP]

She releases me.

*Tck*

I snap, and a flame dances at my pointer’s tip.

“Good,” I say. “Now we can see. Normally, we’d want to make a campfire for greater light, heat, and warmth… but it might be better to just rest for the night.”

“We’ll set up camp then,” She says, and dumps her knapsack onto the ground. I can just barely see the materials in the starlight and the ember; the pack has far more contents than its size would suggest. At the very least, it has everything we need for shelter - a canvas, a tarp, rope, stakes, and three long poles.

Constructing a canvas tent is simple.

First, you clear and flatten the ground where you want to set up your tent. This tent will have no fabric on the bottom, so it’s important to pick a relatively clean and comfortable location.

Then, push two poles into the sand so they stand vertically. The other pole will connect them top to top, creating a structure shaped like a lowercase “n."

You then drape the canvas over this structure. You tie ropes around the cloth-covered vertical poles at their peaks, draw them shut,  extend them, and stake them into the ground at the rope's other ends to give those poles support and stability.

Then voila! You’ve set up shelter for the night. Not as complicated as you’d think, right?

However, Zorro’s method is different.

She sets all three poles vertically. Then, she ties the three poles together with string. Then she covers them with canvas, the whole contraption collapses, and then she sits down and pouts.

Setting the poles to the side, she lays the canvas cloth flat on the sand, and droops her buffalo-skin blanket over her head like a Halloween ghost.

“Okay, it’s ready…” she says, voice muffled. “This is my tent for the night. Try it out, it’s great… I’ll prepare one for you as well.”

I stand under blanket with her. It’s sweaty and uncomfortable, and I squash an ant that tries to join us inside our “tent.”

Except, I can’t actually squish it.

Red Harvester Ant | Level 3 Insect

Shld: 20/20 | Attack: 0 | Defense: 0 | Agi: 0 | AP: 0/0

I thwack it a few more times (2 damage! 2 damage! 2 damage!) until Zorro finally stamps it out. Her expression is unamused; or at least from the little of her face I can see.

As she meets my eyes, we come to the same conclusion about one another.

There’s no way that that person can survive on their own!

“Zorro, explain to me how you sleep.”

“I just sleep outside… like a warrior… eep!”

I grab her shoulders.

“Just on the dirt? No wonder you were dead asleep on the train!”

When camping, a shelter is important not only to protect you from the elements, but also to stop insects from crawling on your hands, arms, legs, and into your mouth and eyes…

Not only is it uncomfortable to sleep with flies, worms, and ants, but it can be downright dangerous to be swarmed with vicious insects like mosquitos and scorpions. Zorro survived night to night because she has such high stats, but she must have been deeply exhausted.

“I’ll set up the tent.” I say.

“Fine.” says Zorro. “Set up a tent if you need one. Let me know if you need me to slay any mobs for you.”

I have no problems with mobs, but I do call Zorro over so she can use her sword to whale the stakes into the sand.

I step back and look at the results of my hard work. Standing at about 6 feet tall, a small triangular white-clothed structure now joins the cacti, brittlebrush, and palo verde trees in the desert landscape.

It’s not a five star resort, but it is a shelter. And it’s definitely an improvement from whatever nonsense Zorro was doing to sleep while traveling alone.

“It’s done! Zorro, come in and take a look.”

“I told you! I don’t need a tent!”

If there was a stat for “stubborness” then I’m sure hers would also be 100. She’s scowling and clutches her sword; I’m pretty sure she’ll brain me with the hilt if she isn't impressed. 

I drag her inside anyway.

I needn’t have worried; Zorro is like a child who stepped into a sports and recreation store for the first time.

“Oh! All the bugs have gone away! And it’s warm!”

There’s still a fly or two, but nothing that can’t be taken care of with a flyswatter. or a well-aimed sword.

“...Okay Maru. I’m going to go ahead and sleep outside.”

“Idiot. I set up this tent so both of us can sleep here.” I say.

“I know that, but-”

“You want to be crawled on by scorpions? Pounced on by mountain lions? Soaked in the rain?”

“No, but-”

“Zorro. You. Sleep. Here. With. Me.” I pull her inside push her onto the canvas, and roll her into a quilt.

She looks flustered, but not displeased.

“G-g-g-g-g-good night Maru.” She stammers, face flushed. And I extinguish the light.

I shift around in my own makeshift sleeping bag. Though it’s too dark to even see her sleeping form, I can tell that she’s there, whether from the sounds she makes, her scent, or some sixth sense. I brush against her and I quickly roll away.

I hadn’t thought about it until now, but…

Is this the first time I’ve slept in a girl’s room?