After what felt like an hour of stumbling through the forest with Fina, we finally reached her village. And, let tell you, it was a sight. Not that I was paying attention to anything other than the fact that everyone was practically naked.
There were won strolling around, doing their daily activities, completely topless, not a care in the world. So of them were just hanging out by the firepit, others were grinding so grain, and one lady was even carrying a bucket of water while casually walking down the street. And it wasn’t like they were shy about it, either.
My mouth hung open for a solid few seconds. I thought I’d gotten used to the "bare-bones" nature of this world, but seeing it in person? Wow.
Fina noticed staring and gave a sideways glance. "What’s wrong?"
I blinked and imdiately snapped my head forward. "Uh, nothing. Nothing at all." My voice cracked, and I cursed myself internally. "Just... didn’t expect the dress code."
She grinned, ears twitching. "You humans wear clothes all the ti, right?"
"Yeah, pretty much," I said, trying to act casual as my eyes wandered back to the topless won. "But, uh, your village... uh, everyone... isn’t wearing much."
"Oh, right." She twirled a strand of her hair, a nonchalant look on her face. "Yeah, the won here... they don’t wear bras or any upper clothes once they’re past the age of 18."
I had to process that for a mont. I an, that was... a lot of information to handle. "Wait, so... all the won here... don’t wear bras? Just... nothing?"
Fina nodded, still looking as if she were talking about the weather. "Yep, no bras. No upper clothes. It’s normal here."
I scratched my head, trying to wrap my mind around it. "And the guys? I see so of them wearing... uh... loincloths."
She pointed to a group of n sitting by a fire, their loincloths barely hanging on. "Yeah, n here only wear loincloths. It’s tradition."
My jaw dropped. "Tradition? So, no shirts, no pants? You just... live like that?"
"Pretty much. The humans made it a law," she said, looking sowhat serious. "We’re not allowed to wear anything more than this. It’s part of a law passed a while ago."
I raised an eyebrow. "Humans did this?"
Fina nodded. "Yeah. After they took over a few hundred years ago, they made it so we could never wear clothes again. They think it’s... sothing about maintaining control. They said it keeps us from hiding weapons or sothing."
"Wait... so, it’s illegal to wear clothes here?"
She nodded, an almost amused look on her face. "Yep. They ca up with a bunch of reasons for it, but basically, if anyone’s caught wearing too much—anything other than a loincloth for n or nothing for won—well... they face so serious punishnt."
My mind was spinning. This was a totally different kind of culture shock. "That’s... wild. What’s the punishnt if soone wears sothing more? Like... pants or a shirt?"
Fina shrugged, her eyes distant for a mont. "I don’t really know. I’ve never seen it happen. But my mom told that anyone caught wearing clothes other than the ones they’re supposed to wear get... punished. They can get locked up, or worse."
"Worse?"
"Yeah," she said with a slight grimace. "So people end up vanishing."
My eyes widened. "Wait, like... vanishing vanishing?"
She nodded, and for the first ti, I saw sothing dark in her eyes. "Yeah. No one really knows what happens to them, but people who’ve tried to break the law have never co back."
This was turning into more than I signed up for. On one hand, I was starting to get used to the whole "topless won and loincloth-wearing n" thing, but now I was getting a sense of the danger these traditions held.
"Okay," I said, trying to steer the conversation into safer waters. "But I don’t see anyone freaking out about this. Everyone seems so... chill about it."
"Yeah," she said, suddenly more relaxed again. "I guess we’re just used to it. It’s been that way for a long ti. It’s like it doesn’t matter anymore."
I glanced around again, my eyes naturally drawn to the won walking around without shirts. I quickly snapped my gaze away, feeling slightly guilty but also... completely intrigued.
"So, uh..." I rubbed my neck, still trying to regain my focus. "Do you ever get, like... cold or sothing? I an, aren’t you freezing with no upper clothes?"
She stared at , her expression blank. "Cold? Not really. If it gets too cold, we go into our hos, where it’s warr. But no one wears clothes. Ever."
I paused. "That... really doesn’t make any sense."
She raised an eyebrow. "You think the world makes sense, Allen?"
I had no response to that.
We continued walking through the village, the weirdness of it all slowly starting to settle in. But I couldn’t help noticing how the won walked around with confidence, not a care in the world about the fact that their breasts were, well... free range for anyone who cared to look. So of them even seed to be flaunting it, like it was no big deal.
I kept reminding myself that this was normal for them. But still... a world where clothes were illegal? This was definitely not the kind of thing I was used to on Earth.
"So... are you gonna get in trouble too?" I asked Fina, my voice half-joking.
She shot a sly look. "Maybe. You’ll have to be careful. If you try to wear anything... ’extra,’ soone might notice."
I snickered. "Wouldn’t be the first ti I was told I wasn’t allowed to wear more clothes." Then, with a smirk, I added, "I’m sure I’d fit in just fine."
Fina laughed, though it was the kind of laugh that seed more like a challenge than anything. "You’d better. But no one’s getting you in trouble unless you try to... break the rules." She winked, her tail flicking behind her.
Yeah, sure. No problem. A completely normal world with completely normal rules. How could I possibly get into trouble here?
As we walked through the village, I couldn’t stop thinking about how... unusual everything here was. I an, where else could a guy stroll through the woods and be greeted by a topless girl with a tail, only to end up in a place where clothes are apparently outlawed? And on top of all that, the people didn’t even seem phased by it. Not in the slightest.
Fina, noticing the look on my face as I adjusted to my new environnt, glanced over at with a mischievous grin. "So, uh... you’re still thinking about the whole... no clothes thing, huh?"
"Yeah, kinda," I muttered, trying to focus on anything else. "Just trying to get my head around the whole ’clothes are illegal’ thing. And the... you know... lifestyle here."
She snickered softly. "Yeah, I get it. It’s weird for soone from the ’outside’ world. But you’ll get used to it."
"Yeah, maybe," I said, still feeling like I had no idea what the hell was going on. "But... back to earlier. You were... uh... doing your thing with that guy under the tree. The human, I an."
Her face didn’t change much, but I could see a slight glint of sothing in her eyes. "Ah, you noticed that, huh?"
"Well, it’s kind of hard not to," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "But... you know, with everything going on here, I thought maybe there was a deeper reason for it. I an, why were you... with him?"
She stopped walking for a mont, her eyes glancing around before she sighed, sitting down on a large rock. Her tail flicked lazily behind her as she gazed at with an almost too calm expression.
"Well," she began, "it’s like this. The humans... they kind of set a rule that we can’t wear clothes past a certain age, right?"
I nodded, waiting for the punchline.
"But they also made another rule... one where they get to claim us however they want. They think it keeps us... under control, I guess. So, when I reached a certain age, the humans started picking and choosing who I could be with."
I blinked. "Wait, so... you’re saying they force you to do this?"
She nodded, her ears drooping slightly. "Not exactly force... but they make it expected that we give ourselves to a human when they choose. And that’s why I was with him earlier."
She looked away, a strange sort of emptiness in her voice. "It’s not like I wanted to. But if I didn’t, I’d be punished. And... if I didn’t play along, they’d make life even harder for my village. So, sotis... you just do what you have to do."
I was quiet for a mont, trying to let all of this sink in. The things she was saying—it sounded like a twisted mix of control and oppression. No clothes, forced relations, and laws that kept them trapped in a system they had no power over. I couldn’t imagine living like that.
"That’s... ssed up," I said quietly. "You shouldn’t have to do that. You shouldn’t have to."
She sighed again, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. "Yeah, but... it’s not like there’s much we can do about it. If we resist, they co down hard. And, like I said, the village... we can’t afford to go against the humans. It would be too risky for everyone."
I stood there, feeling a bit lost for words. My head was still spinning from all the craziness that had happened since I arrived. And now, hearing this? It just felt like things were getting more complicated by the minute.
"So, what you’re telling is... that’s why you were... with him earlier. You didn’t want to, but you had no choice?" I asked, still trying to piece it all together.
Fina nodded solemnly, her gaze distant. "Yeah. It’s just part of the world I live in. So of the won... they just accept it. But others? They just do what they can to survive."
I bit my lip, trying to think of sothing—anything—comforting to say. But in this world, what could I say? It wasn’t like I had any experience with this kind of thing.
"Well, that’s... shitty," I muttered under my breath. "No one should have to live like that."
She gave a small smile, but it was more resigned than happy. "I’ve co to terms with it. You get used to it, eventually."
I shook my head. "But you shouldn’t have to."
Fina just shrugged, as though she had no real choice in the matter. "It’s how things are here. We can’t change it."
There was an awkward silence between us for a while, as I tried to think of sothing to say that would make her feel better. But truth be told, I had no idea what to do here. The more I learned about her world, the more it seed like it was built on control, not freedom. And the more I realized... I wasn’t even sure how I could help.
Still, I couldn’t just stand by and watch her or anyone else suffer like that. Not without at least trying to do sothing.
"Well, I don’t know how to change any of that," I said finally, "but I’m not going to let you deal with this alone. I’ll figure out a way to help, even if I have to tear down the whole damn world to do it."
Fina’s tail flicked again, and for the first ti, she gave a real smile—one that actually reached her eyes.
"I don’t know what you could do, Allen," she said, her voice soft, "but... thank you. You’re the first person to say sothing like that to ."
I grinned back at her. "Well, don’t expect to quit now. If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s causing trouble."
She laughed, the sound light and carefree, and for a mont, the world didn’t feel quite as heavy.
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