Wardrobe

Villager: Krystal

You blink, unable to help but be slack-jawed at the sight of a villager in full winter gear on a tropical island. You rub your eyes; nope, you're not seeing things. Now you've gotta go and ask.

"Oh, hello. You're here on vacation? It's nice to meet you. My name is Krystal, and this here is Atlas."

Krystal's mouth curls up in a wry smirk.

"I'm assuming you came over to ask me about my fur coat? Don't be embarrassed, it's okay. I can see why; normally people would have to worry about heatstroke under all these layers. But I'm fine. I..."

Krystal's ears and antenna droop.

"I'm cursed, you see, to forever be cold. My heart, it can never be warm, and no matter how many layers I wear, or how many hot things I'm holding or close by to, or how hot a hot spring I soak in, that'll never change. But there's ways around the curse; these layers may not be able to get rid of the icy grip of my frozen heart, but they make the cold bearable. My heart may still be a block of ice, but at least the rest of me can be warm. Well, as warm as it can get with a frozen core constantly cooling me down.”

"How did it happen? I pissed off a witch up in Tiger Eye Peak. I didn't realize anyone was living there; I just saw some beautiful mountain flowers and went to pick them. I, I didn’t realize they weren’t just flowers, not until they started shriveling up and- and screaming. And when the witch showed up, sh-she started shouting at me, calling me heartless and a murderer, a-and I just, I ran. And she cursed me, as I ran, for 'having an icy heart'. She said now no artificial warmth c-could disguise what I truly was inside."

Krystal’s voice broke at the end. They took a deep breath, before sighing.

"I used to believe her, you know. That I was a cold and uncaring person. Cruel and heartless. For why else would she have punished me like this? The flower creatures, I’d killed them. By accident, but I still killed them. Didn’t I deserve it?”

“But then, I met Polaris. And after hearing my story, where I thought there would be censure and scorn, there was kindness instead. Polaris, she’s the one who helped me to realize that what had happened to me was wrong. That the witch was just being cruel, that she saw me running away as being uncaring and lashed out at me for that. That I didn't deserve this."

The blue gembound gives you a soft smile.

"She took me back home with her, where it's always warm. Well, not always; Arya makes it cold in the winter. But that's okay; I used to live up in the mountains, even after I was cursed. I'm used to it. I certainly can't get any colder."

Krystal chuckles wryly, shaking their head.

"Do I know who the witch was? No, I don't. Polaris doesn't either. Hey, if you're traveling beyond Tiger Eye Peak, the village I mean, and you come across a garden around a strange cabin, just, turn around and run. And if you see a crow decorated in bone, run faster. Please."

The gembound is earnestly worried for you; you promise to run should you see the witch, to ease their mind. They breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. I don't want anyone else to suffer under her like I have."

"My hobbies? Well, I really like painting, and curling up on the couch with some nice snacks for a movie night with friends. Or even just alone; movies are nice. I like taking walks along the beach, too, though you have to be careful if you see any jellyfish strewn along the sand. Even though they're dead, they can still sting, you see. Found that out the hard way."

Krystal just looks embarrassed.

"So yeah. There's some pretty neat tide pools just further up ahead; you can see some really cool things in there. Crabs, fish, anemones, all kinds of things. Even aquatic minipets if you're lucky!"

A long, forlorn whistle sounds in the distance, before being joined by other voices. Not a whistle, but Whistle, you realize. Villagers singing a song.

"Ah, it's time to go. We sing like that here in Oceandome, you see, to call us back home at the end of the day. It was nice meeting you; I hope you enjoy your stay here."

The gembound turns and begins walking back to town; you watch them go, walking down the road winding through the trees until you can't see them anymore.

You're not ready to go back to the longhouse yet. You turn back toward the sea, and after a moment of breathing in the salty air, resume your peaceful walk along the beach.