𝟏𝟎𝟓𝟎 - 【𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫】

- 𝟎𝟎

— CH. 00 "SERENITY"

Rolling hills, soft grass, expansive meadows, an impressive set of mountains, winding rivers, vast forests, and unique ecosystems.

[Y/C/N] contained all of that, and more. The only downside, was that it was quite lonely; only inhabiting it's natural animals and such along with [Y/N].

How it went unnoticed for such a long time? Nobody knows. Many countries would fight for this land, but it's not like the country that inhabited it was aware of that, only knowing how to live off their land. All the other countries, the countries that were way more advanced, having been to space and made weapons of mass destruction, trumped [Y/N] easily. But they didn't need to know that.

[Y/N] hummed, a little tune they made themselves. They were foraging for berries and other foliage in one of the many forests. Whilst foraging, the country spotted a family of rabbits and sighed wistfully, for they had no family themselves. [Y/N] often is captured in their thoughts, wondering how they had learnt to speak, sing, forage, and such.

Snapping out of their thoughts, they dropped the berries and other greens into a small woven basket they had made, and started to navigate their way back to her home. [Y/N] was well versed with their territory and had mapped quite a bit of it, sure it was kinda wank and a little inaccurate, but it did the job.

Following the winding river, they had finally tracked their way back home! Their eyes sparkled in the sun, cheering to themselves in content.

They opened their door to their small cottage, it was simple and cozy, being made from rock-brick and logs. Latching the door closed, they set their basket on a little table.

The cottage was only a single room big, having some sort of furnace in one corner, a table and chairs, a bed, and [Y/N]'s belongings scattered around and about.

Sun filtered in from the windows, it was around golden hour. The sun was to set soon, meaning that [Y/N] should get hurrying on their dinner!

That was until the country picked up on the sound of heavy footsteps. They furrowed their eyebrows, peaking out slightly from one their windows, when they were met with the sight of two unfamiliar figures!

The two figures vaguely resembled them, they had seen themselves in the reflection of things, and knew that these.. uh.. people.. were not predators! Right?

The naive country didn't realize how long they were staring until the two figures suddenly turned to their direction. They gasped and mentally face palmed, and then ducked, praying they didn't catch a glimpse of them. They were conflicted, a part of them wanted to run into the two figure's arms, and the other part of them wanted to run the opposite way and flee.

Their breath hitched when they heard them conversing, unfamiliar noises and sounds were being exchanged between the two. Cautiously, they slowly moved to get an axe they had, what used to be for chopping trees might be used for chopping something else now.

But they didn't have time to think about their plan when their door suddenly flew open.