The Immortal Mist

Ch. 2

Vira awoke the next morning, feeling groggy and tired. She had found it unusually difficult to find rest the previous night.

Yawning, the Vivari stretched her arms over her head, the tip of her tail twitching.

She hesitated for a moment, dreading the moment she'd have to leave her bed. She groaned, forcing herself up to dress. She had a scouting mission later in the day, after all.

She glanced out the window, watching a few of the village children crowding around a young insectoid man.
She froze, running to the window to get a better look.

The moth from the night before, Mana, had found his way into the village. Currently, Mana was fending off a pair of young Vivari, grinning and laughing along with them.

Vira rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. She quickly dressed, the black dress she had worn before replaced by a tight-fit cloth tunic, light plated armor cupping her chest and shoulderblades. Her legs were left bare, as they couldn't bend as well when restricted.

She rushed downstairs, grabbing an apple from a marbled wooden bowl on the dining table, and briefly greeting her family before she ran out the door.

Biting into the fruit, she glanced around, before dropping to all fours, the apple clutched in her jaws as she ran to the outskirts of the village.

Along the edges of the village was a squadron of Vivari, each wearing a similar tunic to Vira.

Facing all of them was a blonde haired Vivari, giving each of them instructions on wear to search.

As he reached Vira, the hair on the back of her neck began to rise, ears swiveling around.
She whirled to face her opponent, jumping when she was engulfed in a mound of fluff.

She choked on the silky hairs, shoving her attacker backward and spitting the green strands.
Vira's eyes darted upwards, locking eyes with...Mana.

"Mana, you idiot! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
She hissed, sinking her claws into the ground.

"I didn't! You're just way too alert. Who's even going to attack you here?"
Mana retorted, rolling his eyes.

Grumbling, Vira turned back to the blonde Vivari, dipping her head.
"I apologize."

"It's alright. Like I said, I want you to head far East. Accompanying you will be Eileen, Alicia, and Kane."
He confirmed, nodding to her before moving on to the next group.

"And, I'm going too."
Mana chimed in, walking around to face her.

"Really now? So I assume you've gone through the years of training the rest of us have to be able to find suitable land?"
Vira quipped.

"How hard can it be? We're just looking for new territory."

"Excuse me. There are very specific requirements for this land-"

"I know. Clean water, not too close to other domains, etcetera."

Mana shook his head, fluttering his wings indignantly.

"Fine. Come on. The others are waiting."
Vira gave in with a roll of her eyes, rushing to join the other scouts, who were looking on in amusement.

Mana grinned, folding all four of his arms over his chest.

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"This seems good. The air is clear, water's clean, and the earth seems fertile."
Kane mentioned, brushing the dirt off his paws.