(Pure Vanilla x Fem Death’s Touch Reader)
I’ve had this idea for some time now on a reader who was just like Castorice from Honkai Star Rail. Cursed with immortality and death’s touch forever forced to live a life of isolation until she runs into the ancients who don’t crumble. LIKE TELL ME THIS DOESN’T SOUND INTERESTING.
The world hummed in silence, like always. The birds that were sitting on tree branches outside had flown away, the rabbit that had taken sanctuary nearby had scurried away, and any animal big or small that was near had all left in a hurry when they realized you had awakened. Today was the same as any day, at least to you it was. Rubbing the sleep from your eye, you stretched lazily as you got up to get started with your day. You fixed your messy bed, took a bath in the small pond within your home, and then washed your hair with the waterfall that kept your pond full of water, put on the clothes for the day, went outside to pick fruit with a stick, had breakfast, and then you walked around making sure no unwanted plant life had decided to start growing around your home. After, you gathered all the fruit that you hadn’t eaten that morning and placed it into a large bowl. Placing the bowl down onto your old wooden table, then backing up slightly, you swiftly and softly waved your hand into the air, creating a cut. Instantly it opens up widely, revealing a galaxy-like pattern inside, the corners shining a bright purple as it emits a dark purple smoke around the brims. From within, a dragon poked its head out slowly. This dragon's name was Persephone, and they were your one and only companion. You stretched out a hand to them, and they lowered their head, allowing you to gently pet them. “Good morning, dear friend. How was your slumber?” You grabbed the bowl full of fruit and raised it to Persephone, who in turn sniffed the fruit before eating it slowly.
“You seem rather sluggish today. It’s so quiet outside; all the animals nearby must’ve left by now. How about you and I take a short walk? Hm?” Persephone looked at you for a moment before nodding their head slowly and then retreating back into the opening you had made for them. Once they had fully retreated once more with a gentle wave of your hand, the crack instantly began to expand. Once it was large enough, Persephone slowly and carefully began to step out, making sure their steps were gentle. “You’re fine, you’re fine,” you cooed gently. “I promise you aren’t being loud or destructive.” Once Persephone was completely outside, the opening slowly began to close as you gently placed a hand on the back of their neck. “Focus on the sensation of my hand and the sound of my voice. You aren’t doing any harm, my dear friend, so please, relax.” You slowly g uided Persephone down a short path that looped back to your home. You’ve walked down this path millions of times over the years you’ve been alive. You had the whole area memorized and knew that no life ever dared to go near that path.
“The wind and sun feel lovely on my icy skin today. Wouldn’t you agree, dear friend?” Persephone gave a small sigh and nod as you two continued your walk. You walked down the same path over and over again, enjoying each other's company, with you occasionally commenting on something. Then a sudden rustle and the hurried sound of steps caused you to freeze dead in your tracks. Persephone bumped into your leg as you came to a sudden halt, letting out a small grunt of confusion. Then a wild pack of cake hounds suddenly ran right in front of you. One unfortunate cake hound got a little too close to you and dumped headfirst into your left leg. In an instant the poor animal let out a small whine as it collapsed to the ground.
You stared at the poor animal in pure horror but quickly turned your gaze as you hurriedly dragged Persephone back to your home. Ushering them into your room, you quickly went around your home, closing and sealing off all the windows and possible openings that something could use to get inside. Then quickly you hurried to the entrance of your home to board it off. Taking a piece of glass you carry everywhere with you, without hesitation you sliced your left hand. In an instant thick black jam began oozing out at an alarming pace from the wound. You swung your shaky arm around, covering the entire entrance in your jam. As your jam splattered onto the floor and entrance frame, purple flowers began to sprout. Purple spider lilies, butterfly weeds, hyacinthus orientalis, and delphinium bloomed, covering the entire front entrance of your home. Once you were sure it was enough, you tightly squeezed the cut until it held shut as you ran back into your room where Persephone was.
“I’m so sorry, dear friend, but it’d be best for you to retreat now,” You breathe shakily. “I-I promise we’ll go for a walk another day.” You sat down on your couch, grabbed an old rag, and began to roughly scrub your left leg where the cake hound had dumped into you. Persephone slowly approached you, using their nose to stop your hand from scrubbing your poor leg that was red and swollen from you scrubbing it so roughly. Persephone moved to lay their head on your lap with a soft whine. “...Haa. I’m sorry. I’m just... Well, it’s been a while since… That’s happened, is all.” Gently you stroked Persephone's head as you tried your best to calm your shaky breath. You don’t know how much time had passed, but by the time you checked out your window, the sun was almost completely gone from the sky. “Guess whatever was causing the forest to shake is gone now... You must be tired, dear friend.” Getting up, you put on a large black cloak as you opened the door to your room. “Come. Let’s go collect some berries and fruits to eat. After you can retreat back into the nether realm to rest for the night.” Persephone let out a tired sigh as they lazily got up to follow you. As you two made your way to the front entrance, you went ahead and opened all the windows you had closed along with any other opening you may have sealed off. Once you reached the entrance, you stopped mere inches from it. With a gentle wave of your hands, the flowers that had been covering it began to wilt and turn into fine, dark purple ash that disappeared.
Stepping outside, you looked around to see if the wild animals had made a mess you’d have to clean in the morning. Much to your dismay, they did. “...It’s so quiet. Usually I can hear some birds in the far distance or the hurried footsteps of monsters nearby.” Persephone looked around before they walked towards a tree that had claw marks that weren’t there before. “These weren’t here this morning.” You were about to trace the claw marks with your fingertips but stopped yourself and quickly pulled your hand away. “…I’ve never seen any monster capable of creating these kinds of marks. It seems like a new kind of monster has found its way into my little corner of the forest.” You sighed heavily as you placed your whole hand on the tree. In an instant it began to wilt before completely becoming fine ash that disappeared into the air. “No matter,” you said, wiping your hands on your dress. "It's no treat to me. So long as it doesn’t come near my home again, I won’t worry about it.” Grabbing a stick, you spent an hour picking fruit and berries with Persephone helping before heading back inside.
“What a tiring day.” You slumped against your chair as you took a bite out of a berry. Persephone let out a small purr in agreement as they ate the bowl of food you had made for them. “And tomorrow's going to be just as tiring since I have to clean the mess outside! Ugh, I hate the wild monsters and beasts, especially the ones that aren’t aware of my existence!” You sighed heavily as you placed a hand over your forehead. “I hate having to use my abilities to keep the forest animals in check. I always feel like I’m some villain terrorizing these poor, defenseless animals! I wish they’d heed the warnings about my existence that I leave all around the perimeter.” Taking another bite from the berry in your hand, you continued your rant, “I mean, come on, the flowers that bloom because of my jam literally drain the life of anything that has life! You can physically feel it as well, how your body tenses as you feel like you're slowly growing weaker and your eyes blur the longer you're near them!” You groaned in frustration as you threw your head back. “What more of a warning could you need to help convey the message of ‘Hey, maybe you shouldn’t come around here unless you want to die', because I’m out of ideas!” You were about to continue until you heard Persephone let out a tired sigh.
You looked out your window and realized just how late it had gotten. “Oh my, it seems I lost track of time...” You got up from your chair and walked over to Persephone, who was laying their head on their forelimbs. “You must be exhausted, my dear friend. Sorry for ranting for such a long time. I just... really needed to get that off my chest.” You sighed heavily as you gently rubbed Persephone's head. After a while you got up, and just like before, with a gentle wave of your hand, the same slit appeared before you. Stepping to the side, you motioned Persephone to walk through it. “I’ll see you again in the morning, dear friend. May your dreams be filled with flowers and soft light.” You quietly whispered to Persephone before they walked through the rift to go rest for the night. Once they had completely passed through, the slit instantly closed. Sighing heavily, you lazily made your way to your room, dragging your tired body. You quickly changed into your nightgown and slumped right onto your bed with a satisfied sigh followed by a yawn as you entangled yourself in all your blankets. It didn’t take long before sleep took you over.
The next day, as the sun rose and you sluggishly got up from your warm bed, something felt different. You did your normal morning routine, but as you went outside to gather fruit to eat for breakfast, something caught your eye. A piece of cloth, clearly ripped off to be used as a bandage. “How did this end up here? Did a bird drop this by accident? No, the birds typically don’t even dare to fly over my home. Could it have been a wild turmeric boar or hound dog that had this stuck in their mouth? Hmm, no, there's no sign of this piece of cloth ever having been in something's mouth.” You kept trying to come up with an answer on how this piece of cloth managed to get near your home, but after a while you sighed as you went back to picking fruit to eat. “There weren't any signs that cookies were near my home. No footprints or ash from a fire. Maybe the wind blew it here? Maybe?” Persephone wasn’t paying your rambling mind as they ate. “The winds never carried something like this all the way here. Perhaps something teleported near my home and left it here?” A long silence fell. Persephone dramatically groaned as they stared at you. “You're right, that does sound stupid,” With a heavy sigh, you grabbed your cloak and began to walk towards your front door. “I’m going to quickly go place more flowers around to ward off any unwanted guests. I’ll be back in a bit.” Persephone let out a soft purr as they watched your figure slowly fade into the outside world.
Hiii. This is so totally not late! (I suddenly had things to do and couldn’t finish editing this. I am so sorry for the delay.) Hope you enjoy the first chapter 😀. Tomorrow I should be able to get the second chapter out if life would be so kind as to not throw bricks at me lol.
