Mink's Lore
Mink, a humanoid-turned-celestial-squirrel due to the magic gifted by her home planet (Celestial Tree), suddenly has her life dictated by a peculiar and magical winged opossum who teleports her across planets, even universes, on a whim.
Chapter 1
Mink was bored. She lay on her nest, consisting of the softest periwinkle silk threads exchanged using but a smidge of the mountainous jewels and rare ores stored in her treasury--all of it gifted by her father. He was nothing short of extraordinary. While her mother focused on raising Mink and her sisters (a feat in and of itself), her father set out across the galaxy using his business savvy mind and physical suave to create an enormous trading empire. As their empire grew, he knew he needed to protect it so he lead the fortification of the Celestial Tree. There were many who were envious of how the celestial beings lived, carefree and happy. The Celestial Tree was a small planet on its own, home to thousands of millions. It appeared to be a never-ending forest as every root and branch was connected. The leaves shined with a golden hue and never fell quite right, always floating off into the great abyss of space.Mink had the means to obtain anything she wanted in this universe and yet she felt that something was missing. While she was easily considered a home-body, enjoying the comforts of her fantastical tree mansion, inside her was a continuous tugging feeling. It had been pestering her for months now, leaving her restless. She sat up and opened the door to one of her many balconies. The city lay below her. Lights shown brightly in all types of colors, reflecting off the floating golden leaves not so secretly attempting their great escape out of the planet's orbit. The tugging strengthened within her.Frustrated, Mink closed her eyes "What am I supposed to do?"Letting the breeze whip through her hair, Mink was hoping to calm the feeling until a loud popping sound forced her eyes to fluttered back open. A grey rodent was falling from the sky right at her. Mink squealed and instinctively jumped back but it was too late. With nothing else to do but catch the animal, it now clutched to her chest.Unsure on what to do, Mink held onto it before slowly peeling away to take a look. It was an opossum. Mink's tail swished with curiosity, taking in the peculiar appearance. Unlike the opossums she had seen in books, this one had pink, shimmering translucent fairy wings. And unlike a normal carrot-looking tail, this one had a small split at the end into two separate points. It was definitely weird but the galaxy had so many creatures that this wasn't the first time an unexpected wanderer appeared on the Celestial Tree through one of the many trading portals. The Celestial Tree was unique in that it powered the portals with a magic supply of its own, unlike many other planets. The magic from the Celestial Tree's core flowed through the ground into the plants, water, and even the animals, giving them special qualities. Such qualities are what turned the humanoid creatures, like Mink, into celestial beings."What brought you here little one?" Mink asked the opossum as it stared her down.A flash of sparkles and a blink later, she was no longer on her balcony. Or in her mansion. Nor her city. Actually she didn't seem to be on the Celestial Tree at all. Slowly putting the opossum down, Mink took a wide-eyed look around at her new surroundings. A bare grass field lay all around her. In a minor panic, Mink took inventory of her body to make sure she still had all her limbs after the space jump and calmed once she was satisfied that she appeared to be in one piece.Mink, now mesmerized by the change in scenery, admired the expanse that lay before her while asking the opossum, "Where did you take me?"The opossum looked back at her before disappearing with another POP. Mink was alone. While the soft breeze gently ran over her skin and ruffled the fur of her tail, she realized the tugging in her chest had stopped.
Chapter 2
With nothing else to do, Mink slowly walked through the field. The breeze softly brushed against Mink's long brown braids behind her. The sun felt soft against her skin. Mink closed her eyes and took a deep breath in as she walked. While she would normally freak out over such an unexpected change of plans (plans of relaxing on her sofa with a good book in hand) Mink felt right being here. Opening her eyes, Mink thought, "If I wanted to go back, I couldn't away. The magical creature is gone so my best chance of even having that option is probably to find civilization, other people." Slight tingles of excitement and anticipation poked at her fingertips. She continued walking, her footsteps strengthening as she moved through the field and towards a nearby structure.Getting closer, Mink realized the structure was a house. For what type of creature, she wasn't sure. This world, this universe she was in could have any type of creature alien to her. Realizing this fact, Mink slowed and attempted to hide herself among the plentiful bushes and trees. Chatter floated to her ears and Mink followed the noise. Poking her head around a large trunk, Mink saw an older woman happily patting the hand of a teenager wearing a pink long sleeved blouse, black skirt, tall black socks, and shiny brown shoes. Mink observed their interaction. They seemed very familiar with each other. Looking past them, Mink realized the small houses were few and far between with open lands of grass or crops. She must have landed in the country side. Feeling more comfortable, Mink was going to step out from behind the tree until she realized, neither the teen nor the old woman exuded any magical energy. Maybe she was in a world with no magic? No. Mink could feel some sort of hidden energy she was unfamiliar with, something different from the magic used back home.Indicators of Mink's Celestial power were very obvious. Two starry manifestations of condensed magic in the shape of butterflies floated above her head, surrounded by three intertwined halos each. The magic held the halos in place, slowly and endlessly rotating like atoms. For Mink, it was like a fashion statement. Both long braids had the same magic butterflies holding the ends in place in addition to two more floating halos near the tip of each braid. Knowing these artifacts, her halos, and magic would easily be noticed and likely appear out of place, Mink tapped into her magic to change her appearance, not wanting to be the victim of a witch hunt later. Starting from the hair's roots, the long brown braids became deep blues and purples. Stars sparkled between the hair strands. The braids became undone and loosened into thick fluffy waves. Wanting to add her own touch, Mink made two space buns on the top of her head. The magic butterflies disappeared and the halos sat, floating around her, waiting. Mink looked at them for a moment. Where would be a good place to hide them but keep them with her? In thought, Mink ran her fingers through her hair, giving her an idea. Aiming to hide the magic artifacts in plain sight, Mink made one smaller braid in front of her left shoulder and condensed the artifacts into a butterfly clip that held the end of the braid. The bright gold color matched her belt buckle. Lastly, Mink used magic to hide away with her fluffy squirrel tail which held the appearance of a starry galaxy. Doing a quick spin, Mink declared in her head, "Light weight and fashionable. It's perfect!"Mink looked down at her clothing, wanting to update it too but felt it was useless until she saw more people to give her a better idea of this world's attire. Giving herself a firm head nod for motivation, Mink stepped out from behind the tree and walked up to the teenager who was coming down the dirt path in the direction of Mink's hiding place. Making a pleasant smile and a small wave Mink thought, "Hopefully she doesn't freak out!"The teen hesitated for a second after spotting Mink, "Hi" she stated with suspicion, looking Mink up and down likely noticing Mink wasn't from the area."Hi," Mink tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice, "I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of a city, or a town maybe.""You're not from here," the teen responded, squinting her eyes."Nope! I'm just traveling and got a bit lost," Mink kept up a big smile.The teen sighed with relief, the confirmation putting her at ease. "Must be an American showing her stomach off like that", the teen thought."Takasaki Town is nearby. I'm headed there right now. You can come with me if you want," she shrugged."That'd be very helpful, thank you," Mink grinned and followed the girl."Takasaki Town...I've never heard of it." The name only confirmed that she wasn't on the Celestial Tree anymore. Having no reason to dwell on it, Mink made small talk with the teen who she discovered was named Yuki. Yuki complimented Mink's baby blue heels, especially loving the little bows on the back."Personal touch," Mink shared with a wink."You designed your outfit? That's so cool!" Yuki's eyes widened with awe.Trying not to blush, Mink thanked her for the compliment. She was proud of her designs even though she rarely left the house with them. It was more of a casual hobby than anything else. "I guess I won't need to change my outfit after all," Mink thought. The two boarded a train while passionately discussing fashion and art. As they chatted, the sun's rays slowly disappeared, covered by dark clouds rolling in from the nearing town. Rain drops danced across the windows as street lights turned on, making the droplets glow.Once they were off the train, Yuki offered to help Mink find where she was looking to go. Not knowing where that was herself, Mink politely declined telling Yuki that she actually would be waiting for someone. Yuki looked a little disappointed but went on her way after Mink thanked her for the help. Now by herself at the train station, Mink looked around at the bright lights. Beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, Mink picked a direction and walked, attempting to avoid minor puddles along the way. Once she got to the edge of the station, she had a choice: leave the platform's overhead and walk in the rain or wait for the rain to stop. While pondering her next move, a kindle gentleman thrust an umbrella into her hands.Mink was shocked and tried to politely decline but the older gentleman cut her off."Don't worry, I won't need it where I'm going. Welcome to Takasaki!" The gentleman cheered, hurriedly going into the train station.
"Either he's going to a sunny vacation or I stand out like a sore thumb," Mink said aloud to herself.She stepped off the platform without looking where she was going first and almost bumped into another stranger. With catlike reflexes, the man ducked, easily avoiding the collision with the umbrella but ending up face to face with Mink. He then looked at her while pointing at the umbrella, "Apologies. I didn't want to get poked in the eye."Mink's cheeks flushed, feeling embarrassed for being so careless, "I'm so sorry!"Peering up at him, she noticed his jacket was damp and raindrops were sliding down his silver hair. A few drops even sat on his glasses. Strangely enough, he wasn't wearing his jacket properly. It was over his shoulders like a coat. After a closer look, she noticed the buttons that held it in place and the tall collar that fashionably sat high around his neck. Mink turned her gaze up to his eyes and when she looked past the glasses, she saw beautiful electric blue. Her heart beat fluttered for a moment. Without thinking twice, Mink offered her umbrella to him, "You can have the umbrella if you need it. I'll be fine."He raised an eyebrow, "It's alright. I'm already soaked. It's better that you keep it."The gentle fluttering moved down to her stomach, Mink spoke quickly with nervousness, "Exactly! You need the umbrella so you don't get any more wet!"When he hesitated, Mink awkwardly continued to blabber, "I mean, I guess we can both fit under it. I can take you wherever you need to go if you don't want to keep it."He looked into her eyes and Mink could feel her cheeks turning pink again."Alright. I'll take you up on your offer. I'm Slayer, nice to meet you..." Slayer paused, waiting for Mink to share her name.The fluttering intensified, leaving Mink blushing at an embarrassing level, "Mink! They call me Mink.""I've never heard of that name before," Slayer nodded slowly, eyeing her suspiciously.Mink furrowed her brows. Not wanting to blow her cover, she retorted, "I've never heard of Slayer! That's an odd name don't you think?""Touché," Slayer responded casually as he slowly walked past her, expecting Mink to follow.