Smiling Critters: Ancestra Au - Cancelled

Winding Steps - Season 2

Hoppy was doing her part, along with Simon and Poe, or the crow with Baba, the three helped her go from mission to mission, giving a good part of the reward to help her earn that quick money.

Three days passed and Hoppy spent some nights doing missions, after all, she agreed to help Dogday so that money was needed quickly;

— Are you going out again? This is the third day you haven't slept, you should rest, girl — Simon warned before Hoppy left the Guild building.

— I have to earn this money... the sooner it's over, the sooner I'll see my friend getting better... — he ignored the dragon and walked past him.

— That's not how it works, Hoppy. Even if you're fast, you don't need to pile up piles and piles of homework to do all at once! — She walked through the empty village.

— But I have to! I've never seen that boy so sad as he is now! It was a struggle to get him to talk after Catnap was arrested! And when he did, it was this plan: Dogday wants to free the one who adopted him, the one who took an interest in him! — He took a heavy step, turned, and snapped at Simon.

— Just today… rest today, tomorrow we’ll go out, the five of us, I have a better plan, please…

Hoppy sighed, relaxed her body and made her way back to the guild, went upstairs and went to her room, where she lay down next to Baba who was only startled by the girl's choice, but who soon wrapped her up and comforted her.

Simon climbed in through the window, threw himself on the bed, but couldn't sleep very well. It took him a while to fall asleep, but he soon drifted off after a few tries. The next morning, he was awakened by his children, Bart and Janette, jumping on the bed and laughing to wake Simon.

The two handed over a note announcing the group's departure, and that he would know how to find them since he flies...

“They’re playing a joke on me…” was what he thought as he read the note with a look of disgust.

It wasn't long before he found the group, ending the fight they were in with just his landing. And the mission was complete. There were three more to complete...

[/∆ Mission number one: Rescue ∆\]

Poe guided the group to the location where the rescue would take place, someone with no exploration experience ended up getting lost in the “Ghost Forest”, sent a letter asking for help and Hoppy made a point of choosing this mission.

The forest was covered in a low mist, the grass was gray, and the trees were dead. There was rarely a tree with leaves, but they were black, and touching them could cause wounds. Not only these leaves, but there were flowers of various shapes in the same black state. This situation is called "Winter Life," in the case of flowers, "Winter Flower," in the case of trees, "Winter Flakes."

— Huff… this place gives me the creeps — Hoppy commented, shivering but still walking.

— “Ghost Forest”, this place is known for organizing the souls of those who die here… or pulling them to this place — explained Baba, who was the only one who wasn’t trembling.

The rest of the team was shaking, including Simon, who was trying to maintain a posture of... seriously? He was forcing himself to do so, as if he wanted to show Hoppy that he understood her, who was also doing the same things, feigning seriousness.

The exploration began and it didn't take long for spirits to manifest and try to scare the team, they failed with everyone, Hoppy was not easy to catch off guard, and the rest were already used to the environment, even though the shaking was present, something impossible to avoid.