The world goes on, with or without you.

Hello there! You can call me Moss. I do not care what you call me though, name or pronoun-wise.

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

Well hello there, waifs and urchins, folks and critters! I am Moss. Or if you have something better to call me, that's fine too! I love forest names. Sparrow, Lichen, Algae, Toadstool, or anything, really.

So anyway, I am a lurker, explorer. I live in the woods. I have built many homes before, which I then leave to the Lost when it's time for me to move on.

I love foxes, crows, and pretty much any other creature of the woods as well. Except for mosquitoes. Sure, sure, part of the food chain, etc, but they do far more harm than good. I have no sympathy. They wouldn't comprehend it.

Please, feel free to join me in an adventure, or we could just sit and talk a while!

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

*You hear whispers from the bushes*

Hey Moossss~ come here… We promise we won’t hurt youuuu~

Well. I would not have expected it if you had not specified.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*They’re coming from one bush in particular… which is covered in shadow*

We love you~ just come here and we’ll give you hugs and kisses~

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"Well, er, we might stick to hugs?"

I regard the bush with growing trepidation.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Whatever you’d like Moss~ now come here… we love you…

*You can feel their words echoing in your mind*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"What will happen if I do?"

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

We will shower you with hugs and cuddles and affection… and give you whatever you desire~

*You feel slightly disoriented and dizzy as their voice swirls in your head*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"A- a fairy?"

I press my knuckles to my forehead, trying to relieve the pressure.

"I am immune. You can not take my name, as I have none."

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

We are no fairy… do not fear… we do not seek your name…

*Their whispers have engrained themselves in your head, stuck playing again and again like a catchy song*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"I h- have all I need, please-"

My eyes close. I busy my mind with the many varieties of fungi.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*Anything you try to recall slips from your focus as soon as you think of it, except their voice. You try and try again to recall things and stay on those thoughts, but your focus slips up each time, making you have to try again and again to retain focus on each little thought.*

Just come here~ join us in the bushes~ we love you Moss~

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"Fine..."

I step closer, and closer, foreboding in my bones.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*You feel entranced, your body mindlessly stumbling forward as you fall to your knees and crawl towards the bush*

Good… just come here and we’ll give you all that you desire~

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

The moment my knee meets the ground, adrenaline courses throughout my blood vessels. I creep onto the branches.

"I don't desire anything though, my life is good..."

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Trust us… you do still desire… do not deny it…

*You crawl into the bush, now surrounded by comforting leaves and moss*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

I sit cross legged, making myself comfortable.

"What would I need? I live abundantly, in harmony with all. My brothers, the foxes, they visit sometimes. I am alone, but friends pass by often enough to stave off loneliness. What would I want?"

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Do you not wish to be rid of that loneliness? Wouldn’t you rather have company for the rest of your life?

*Mossy vines start to wrap around your legs, yet despite your cautionary reaction telling you to remove them, you can’t bring yourself to do it*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"That sounds horrible. I do not enjoy constant company. I do not do well with people. And it seems I would lose my freedom."

The muscles in my legs twitch to kick them away, but my limbs will not listen to me.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Oh but you don’t need company from people… all you need is us…

*They tangle and wrap your legs, slowly forcing you onto your back as the moss grows a pillow for you to rest your head upon*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

Terror pulses through the back of my mind.

"Wait- do not put me in a coma, I can not... Are you a wood spirit? A nymph? Dryad? I have never harmed your kind, nor intentionally wronged any. I bear a resemblance to one of the races that claim and fell the trees, but I swear that I have no connection with them."

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Oh do not fear Moss… we mean you no harm… just trust us…

*The vines slowly coil up your torso, softly encasing your within a cocoon of leaves and moss*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"If you have reason to assure me so, it makes me fear otherwise!"

I try to fight, or find some means of escape.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*Your body has seemed to relax completely, refusing to move*

Please Moss… we truly mean you no harm… we are helping you… you’re oh so lonely… we can sense it… your mind has called out to us for it… this is what you want…

*The vines reach up to your chest, softening and holding your arms out in a comfortable position and resting them down into the moss*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"I am not... I am not lonely..."

My voice is tinted with despair.

"But I can not live without my freedom. I will waste away, mind and body. Please, I am not a plant. I need to move, and run, and eat and drink, every DAY CYCLE. I do not hibernate!"

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

You will understand in time that you do not need those things… not anymore…

*By now, your whole body except your head has been encased in a blanket of moss, vines, and leaves that intertwine together into a cloth-like material that is as comfortable as a real blanket*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"I will die. I am not ready to die. Please, what is it you want? I could try to provide it, please, let me free."

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

We just want you to be happy… to do what your inner conscious has asked us to do… you won’t be lonely anymore~

*The moss and vines start to wrap around your head*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"I need freedom. I need to see my friend! Please. I need to see Tosia, a-and I need to see Aellianth and Crow. Please, I collected treasures to give them. I swear that if you release me, I will return, even just after I say goodbye to them..."

I hold back tears.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

You will see them again… soon… just let us take control for a time…

*Their voice is soothing, smooth like silk, emanating a calming aura*

*The vines wrap over your face, leaving room for you to breathe through your mouth and nose*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

I am unable to resist the calmness it exudes, and soon drift off to sleep.

My mind is a chaotic, yet simple place. I only remember a few recent decades, my past deeply buried by magical barriers.

But I have been content, now.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*You rest for what may have been a few hours or a few years, but when you awake, you feel different*

*You awaken to a bright light as you stumble forward into soft grass, your body weak from its slumber*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

I lay there, looking up at the soft sky. My eyes take an agonizing moment to adjust, still drowsy and accustomed to the darkness. The clouds move across the void, in a quantity that makes it feel as if the entire sky was being swept away. It is rather humbling to see.

The grass is soft, the sunlight warm. Grasshoppers, the tiny green ones, hop across my skin. I allow them. The smell of the grass, clover, chickweed, and all else, it brings a great deal of comfort.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*You notice much more than that… you also see the essence of nature flowing in the air… and odd specks of light that you strangely recognize as kinds of spirits and wisps… you can sense and understand all of the energy and magic and life and spirit around you… You’ve become much farther attuned to nature than you were before*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

It is beautiful.

When I get my breath, I push myself up by my elbows, and clumsily get to my feet. My lips move, not even whispering;

"This is amazing."

I look around, for the shadowed bushes, or the whispers.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*You find yourself in another part of the woods*

*You also realize that there’s something off with you… Your skin is coated in tree bark and your hair is made from leaves... You have horns made from tree branches… Almost your entire body is made from plant material*

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

I am taken aback. I stare at the bark on my skin, and I reach up to feel the leaves on my head.

"Does this mean that I can photosynthesize?"

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

*You cannot tell if you can photosynthesize, but you notice a green, flowing, water-like spirit float up to you and speak*

Hello!

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"Greetings."

I watch it curiously.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

You are new to this?

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"I am... I do not really know what happened. Something... a spirit, I believe, it took me into a cocoon of wood magic, I awoke here."

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Your essence has been awakened to the spiritual plane of nature.

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"You were always here, but I could not perceive you?"

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Yes. There are spirits and magic everywhere you look. Many cannot see them.

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

"What can they do?"

I reach my hand out.

[anonymous-narrator-wizard]

Many things. Magic, life, death, love, luck…

[maybe-lil-bit-o-mayhem]

"Luck is something difficult to perceive."

[the-lost-hidden]

"Greetings."

I step forward, my shirt torn at the elbows, dusty, and scraped. I look like I've just escaped someplace.

Eek!

*he jumps a little from where he was eating a fish, when he sees you his hair poofs up and he grows defensive, he hides behind a tree*

What are you?!

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

I hold it out with both hands.

[the-lost-hidden]

*they break a small piece off and take a bite*

[maybe-lil-bit-o-mayhem]

I watch, head tilting almost comically.

[maybe-lil-bit-of-mayhem]

Well hello there, waifs and urchins, folks and critters! I am Moss. Or if you have something better to call me, that's fine too! I love forest names. Sparrow, Lichen, Algae, Toadstool, or anything, really.

So anyway, I am a lurker, explorer. I live in the woods. I have built many homes before, which I then leave to the Lost when it's time for me to move on.

I love foxes, crows, and pretty much any other creature of the woods as well. Except for mosquitoes. Sure, sure, part of the food chain, etc, but they do far more harm than good. I have no sympathy. They wouldn't comprehend it.

Please, feel free to join me in an adventure, or we could just sit and talk a while!