Wardrobe

Villager: Imber

You’ve been following the sound of a child crying for about a minute now before you finally come upon the source: a small leafy sea dragon with a rather nasty gash down her tail. Caireann, if you remember correctly. She’s not alone - there’s a nekomata kneeling in front of her, the pastel red of her magic swirling around the injury and healing it even as you watch.

As soon as the injury disappears, the child makes a happy sound and launches forward to grab the yokai in a hug, before bidding farewell and splashing off down the canal road. The yokai gets to her feet, only now acknowledging your presence.

“Hello! Who are you?”

“Me? My name is Imber. I’m an adventurer, one fully trained in the art of healing. And battle - I’m a master of the warrior’s dance, a style of fighting that takes the phrase ‘dance across the battlefield’ quite literally. It’s a way of fighting equally used in actual battle and in traditional performances both.”

“What’s the weapon the fighting style uses? Chakrams. If this all sounds familiar, then you’ve probably met Indigo before. I trained her in the art, and she’s grown very, very good at it. I’m not really one for the stage, but Indigo - Indigo flourishes there.”

The nekomata smiles.

“I’m proud of her.”

"My butterfly? Oh, he’s a Goddess Butterfly. Okay, technically he’s a Moon Butterfly but he looks exactly like a Goddess Butterfly so that’s what he is."

Imber looks exceptionally pleased about this.

"Oh, a Goddess Butterfly is from the Legend of Zelda series. Specifically, Skyward Sword. You should check out the series if you have time, it’s great. It’s nice to have friends here who share my opinion; Morgan, Ephemera, and I can go on about it for hours while I'm here. There’s a video game club on the island here, and I drop in whenever I’m here. You should come join sometime, it’s quite a lot of fun.”

"You want to know about the rest of my hobbies? Well, I enjoy playing the harp, and I also really love to fish. I can sit with my line for hours and hours if need be. It's just a really calming hobby. My favorite catch definitely has to be the giant rainbow fish I pulled out of a crystal lake. I knew since I first heard of it as a little greenhorn adventurer that I just had to catch it. I finally found the lake where it lived when I was 22, almost 23, and after several failed attempts finally managed to snag the thing."

Imber looks up and beams at you.

"And lemme tell you, it felt amazing."

“What else do I do? I mean, I’m an adventurer, adventuring is what I do. My skills in magical healing and on the battlefield all fall under achieving the same goal: adventure! I mean, this is a whole new world open for me to explore. Every day, something new. I move to the beat of my own drum, so to speak, moving around - or not - as things draw my interest. Honestly, after four years of adventuring I can probably actually pitch a tent in my sleep.”

The nekomata chuckles, shaking her head at the joke.

"How do I explore underwater? Not by diving gear, if that's what you're asking. There's this island village of turtlefolk who were kind enough to give me a blessing of water-breathing. I can't- I will never drown again. It's so...freeing, to be able to swim freely under the waves. To see a part of the world normally barred to me, just waiting to be explored."

"Getting in is the hardest part, honestly. My brain still thinks there's no way on this green earth you can breathe underwater, even though I've been doing it for...what, two years now? Yeah, two years. Heh, I always end up holding my breath once I dive in and have to manually let myself take a breath. Once I do that it's fine, but man does it still feel weird even now. To be able to breathe and yet still be entirely underwater. It's the same feeling I get whenever I would go snorkeling, though now I don't need anything for that."

"I would have never been able to do this before, not with- well. It's definitely gotta be the coolest experience with magic I've ever had. Absolutely freaking amazing."

Imber grins at you, before it slides into a frown as she looks up to check the sky.


“Ah, crap, I’m going to be late. I’m actually on my way to the video game club now, so if you’d like, you can come with? It’s up to you whether you want to or not. Don’t feel like you’re being pressured - feel free to say no!”

You decide to decline for now, waving her off. As you watch the yokai leave and turn to go yourself, something nags at you from the back of your mind. The way she talked about exploring, about seeing the world, it just feels so familiar…but why?