Material Gathering

Koi was not feeling well today.

The Adventurer's Guild shack was too small, and she felt uncomfortable in such close proximity with other people. Although many Otherworlders slept in nicer places, there were still several adventurers who stayed at the shack because they were completely broke. The space was extremely tight, and it didn't exactly make for great company. There was no privacy and they were so noisy.

The fishgirl had trouble fitting in.

A few people had tried to talk to Koi -- attempting to be nice to the newcomer. However, she paled in the presence of so many eager people who constantly laughed and played games with each other. Apparently, dice games had recently come into fashion.

In the middle of the night (yes, many of the Otherworlders stayed up late), Koi slipped away from the shack after struggling to fall asleep. 

She started to take a stroll towards the forest.

"I wouldn't go into the forest at night, if I were you," a voice called out.

Koi turned around.

She held her breath for a second. 

It was Rio, the man who had helped her with her guild registration.

The fishgirl felt her chest tighten slightly.

"I'm not a child," she said rashly. "I can take of myself."

"Sure." Rio responded, disinterested. "Sure you can."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them.

The human adventurer was sitting on a tree stump carving away at a block of wood. Koi couldn't tell exactly what he was carving, but the man never raised his head. His eyes were focused.

Koi suddenly felt childish. Why exactly was she being stubborn? She knew next to nothing about this place

"...So what's in the forest at night...?" She ventured hesitantly.

"Giant mosquitos. Big bugs. You know, generic spooky scary stuff comes out in Myral Mistwood at night."

Koi paused again.

—Giant mosquitos? But how giant, exactly?

"I was going to... collect some firewood," she said slowly.

"You should do it during the day, when the sun is up."

"...Right."

There was silence again.

Koi wasn't very good at holding a conversation.

She coughed slightly.

"...What if I wanted to collect firewood right now?"

Rio's reply was prompt and immediate.

"Then you should stay at the edge of the forest near the village, and you should take a lantern with you."

Koi didn't have a lantern though.

"You can borrow mine," he said, almost as if he could read Koi's mind.

"Don't you need it in order to see your woodcarving?"

"I'm going to bed."

The man stood up without warning. He walked past Koi, and handed over a small lantern that glowed with faint orange light.

"You can give back to me tomorrow morning."

"...Thanks."

Koi was left staring at the silhouette of the man slowly walking back towards the village in the darkness. Despite his serious and frosty demeanor, the man was unexpectedly nice. She didn't expect him to offer his own lantern.

Was this... really okay...?

In either case, Koi spent the next few hours collecting firewood at the edge of the forest.