Curse I - The Itch

When Asterludae thought about it afterwards, it probably started the day of the farmer’s market.

—

It was a lovely if typical day. Weather was mild in Goldfair. Gentle breeze rolling through the grass fields. One or two clouds dotting the sky. Picturesque stuff! Aste was in the village for its weekly farmer’s market, getting fresh goodies not only for her bees, but for herself. For once; she was blessed with an abundance of coin from the last harvest, and Aste rarely spends coin on herself, but you know what, the day was lovely and business was good, and good days deserve good things!

Mistake number one.

Aste did her rounds, exchanged ‘how are you’s, tucked various purchased fruits into her well-worn satchel, caught up on gossip. Living in Redwick didn’t give her the most social experience, so these events were a good way to rub shoulders (and peddle her bee products). And Goldfair was lovely, filled with equally lovely ‘lons. After going to their farmer’s market for a few months now, she can recognize everylon, almost by name, though sometimes during the market, new faces pop up to set up shop, usually newcomers trying to make a name..

 

So that’s what Aste initially thought when she noticed an older pouflon a bit of a  ways away from the usual cluster near the square. 

Dark in color, she struck quite an imposing figure; curving buck horns adorned with dangling (if slightly concerning… was that a tiny skull??) jewelry, a relatively large stature, and a silvery, piercing gaze. She had a blanket set out with various doodads on it, and… that was it. All ‘lons in the square made a wide berth around her, and Aste thought it was understandable; she was a bit scary. 

But more importantly, she was new, and Aste remembered that feeling. of other ‘lons barely giving her the time of day as a newbie. Last thing she wanted to do was put another ‘lon through that, so at the very least, she’ll give her business a look-see, maybe even buy something!

Mistake number two.

As Aste approached, she took in the items this mystery pouflon was peddling. They were… a little bit weird, she would admit; a few roots, some crystals, a deck of cards, a… doll? It looked like a little ursuki, and rather cute. There was also a glass jar filled with soil and an odd collection of flowers, very eerie-looking. 

All in all, it wasn’t an assortment of items you’d normally see here.

Aste stopped in front of the blanket, giving everything a once-over. “Howdy!” she greeted, bowing her head. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen your face ‘round here… Gotta say, you have interesting stuff! Where ya from? What do you do for a living?? Did you make that lil’ doll??? It’s super cute!”

The stranger slowly leaned away from Aste; in her excitement, Aste was unconsciously leaning closer as she spoke, getting firmly in the pouflon’s personal space. She seemed taken aback, not expecting the barrage of questions (or just somelon like Aste, really). Silent for a second.

“...yes, I made these,” said the pouflon, who resettled in her seat. “I’m a crafter by trade. I’m not local, though I do pass by this area frequently. I figured why not attend one of these… markets, see what the fuss is about. Sell my wares.”

“I see!” said Aste. “Well, everyone here is real friendly, so I’m sure you’ll get your legs soon enough! Especially with your selection; can’t say I know many pouflons who have what you have, so you’ll definitely stand out!” Aste looked down, eyeballing the card deck. “Do you mind if I…?”

“Oh… by all means.”

With a sparkle, the deck was scooped up by Aste’s magic, cards shuffled and examined. It was unique, Aste could see that. They didn’t seem to be playing cards, but each had a picture on them with different scenes. Some were a bit, uh… gruesome, but maybe they symbolized something? Aste wasn’t worldly enough to really grasp the concept of these cards.

Next was the doll. It was super cute, details almost lovingly crafted; from the leafy wings on the back, to the lil’ sprout on its head, to the shiny button eyes, Aste could almost believe it was a real ursuki. Even the fur looked realistic! It was quite impressive, really. What she didn’t understand was the needle inserted into its side; was it not finished?? Odd…

Then the jar caught her curiosity. Lifting it, Aste got a closer look at the flowers within. She couldn’t put her hoof on which kind they could be… maybe some exotic kind? She has an amateur garden, so admittedly, even though Aste has a basic understanding of the common plants one can find, she doesn’t know the more esoteric ones… maybe it was used for magic or –

“Hey Aste! Wanna do some bartering, if you’re down for it!” a voice called.

“Huh – oh! Yeah, sure, give me a – whuh oh oH NO – !”

A quick turn of the head to address her friend. A momentary distraction. A lapse in concentration.

KSSSSSH!

The jar crashed into the ground, shattering into numerous pieces and scattering its contents everywhere.

Mistake number three. The most severe mistake.

Aste was immediately distraught. “OH NO I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T MEAN IT,” she wailed, reigniting her magic to pluck the glass from the ground, ears flicking madly. Several pouflons in the distance turned to look at the commotion, some even murmuring in sympathy.

(It was a shame she was so distracted; Aste was so focused on gathering shards that she completely missed the other pouflon muttering, quietly: “Finally.”)

“Please forgive me,” Aste begged, trying to collect all the fragments into a neat pile, to reduce the chance of anylon stepping in them. “It was an accident, I swear!”

The stranger tsk-ed. “Accident or not, the end result was the same.”

Aste practically wilted in shame. “I feel sooooo bad… tell me if there’s anything I could do to make it up to you!” she pleaded, earnest. “I swear I’ll pay you back anyway I can!”

Mystery pouflon had an… odd expression on her face. Aste, who couldn’t keep eye contact from the guilt, just assumed she was mad, which was well within her right. And any other pouflon probably would be mad, but it looked more like…

…amusement?

“Oh, don’t worry,” the stranger said, too-wide smile on her face.

“You will pay.”

As Aste nudged the glass to the side to get it out of the way, a jolt rocked through her system, like she touched a piece of metal after walking on carpet. It was so brief she almost thought she imagined it, but her fur standing on end confirmed something happened. Her brain even blanked out, like it got shocked, too.

“That was… weird…”

“Hmm? Something the matter?”

“UH NO, I’m totally fine! Peachy,” said Aste, shaking her head like she was trying to get rid of a fly. “Um… I’m sorry, what did you say before…?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, dear,” said the pouflon, tone almost sickly sweet. “Well, these things happen. Maybe you should be more focused from now on, eh, clumsy hooves?”

Chastised, Aste resettled the flowers back in the soil - what was left of it, anyway. “Yes, of course… would you take coin to help cover costs…?”

The pouflon shook her head. “No need… I’ll get what I’m owed elsewhere. But it might be best if you moved on and finished your business, yes?” She smiled again, sharp around the edges. “You’ll forgive me if I feel rather uncomfortable with you standing around.”

If Aste’s head hung any lower, it would drag against the ground. “I think I will… oh dear…”

—

When she got back home, life continued as usual.

But a week later… the itch started.

Slight in the beginning, went right by Aste’s notice as she tended to her bees, drowned out by the other stimuli present when caring for an apiary.

And then it got worse. 

And worse. 

It got so bad that Aste had to stop midway through her chores, the itch so maddening it was all she could focus on. She needed to scratch it, but she very quickly discovered a problem. 

It felt like it was right on top of her head, smack-dab where her horns would be. Which was both frustrating - as she didn’t have the joints to bend enough to scratch that high - and odd, as she never… had itchy horns before? She didn’t even know horns could itch, or had the nerves to itch! They may tingle sometimes, when she’s using her magic to shove a particularly stubborn box, but itch??

Well, she was nothing if not resourceful. Desperate to scratch, Aste curled her magic around a branch above her head, snapped it clean from the tree, and brought it down to prod at the section that itched the most. A little finagling to get it at the right angle, and –

tink.

…huh? Why… that was her horn she made contact with, but… did it just clink?

A shudder slithered through her body. An impulse inside - one that’s been sitting in the back of her mind these past few day, which quite suddenly reared its head and demanded to be known - made Aste get up and trot over to the nearby river. She had to see what was going on. A visual might calm that nagging impulse.

Aste reached the riverbank and immediately peek her head over to see her reflection.

And gasped.

Right at the base of her horns, it looked transparent, almost reflective. The rest of her horns were fine, but right there, that tiny section.. It was… glass-like? How?? Why??? When????

Aste stepped back, a pit forming in her stomach.

Something was wrong. 

Something was very, very wrong.