Morality & Mortality (Artificer x Reader)

Even In A Dream

I could not see. For my eyes were filled with tears.

 I could not shout. For my lungs were caked in ash.

And I could not hear. For my ears were deafened by screams.

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It was another windy day in paradise.

A haven where nothing could go wrong. 

Vultures and lizards would never dare attack a place protected by The Cycle itself. 

The Rain could never harm it, as The Surface was higher than any cloud. 

A warm bed, a nice shelter and the loving embrace of family just a few minutes away. 

It was perfect. 

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You woke up again, ready for another day of gazing at the horizon, wondering what lay beyond your hometown. Perhaps it would be nothing but a desolate ocean with islands scattered about, or a hellish swamp with monsters lurking beneath the mud.

Maybe its best if you didn't know, it would be better to fantasize about what could be than behold the mundanity of the truth.

You grabbed your journal crafted with plant fiber and the few sheets of paper you could get your hands on. You also couldn't forget the writing tool that you've been using for quite a while now.

For such an isolated community, they sure had a nigh limitless supply of ink. 

The Elders would be introducing new guests today. It was strange, letting other creatures inside your isolated village. Not even others of your kind were an exception to this rule. 

The only foreigner that was allowed to enter didn't even have a mouth, and they didn't seem all too willing to answer questions from a curious young slugcat like yourself.

So, the new arrivals were an exciting prospect, most of the townsfolk have been renovating their households in preparation for the event. All you have to do now is hope that at least one of the visitors should be able to tell you about their travels below. 

Forcing yourself out of bed, avoiding the papers on the ground, you walked forward somewhat groggily as you felt the heavy winds brush against your fur.

There was an unusual spring in your step as you made your way towards the place you loved to read. When the sun reaches its peak, the visitors will come, you had to get all your thoughts together. 

Missing an opportunity is worse than having none at all.

The wind picked up further as you descended down a pole.

You had begun to notice that nobody seemed to be around.

It wasn't an unusual sight; it meant that everyone was either in their homes or in the church. 

Though it was lucky coincidence, nobody to mess around with you while you organized what questions to ask.

There were so many things that came to mind, but you imagined that you'd only have so little time to use for questioning. The visitors would be in The Surface for an incredibly short period; isolation was still very important to your elders.

It took some thinking, but you boiled it down to three very important questions, all you needed now was someone to test them out on.

"Good day esteemed guest of The Surface," You had nervously approached your target, a stationary popcorn plant that stood stiffly, unmoved by the wind. "I was wondering if you could answer some questions before you left, if that is ok with you, of course"