A little purple numbat was sitting on the edge of a bridge. Mind you, it wasn't a very big bridge - just a little set of wooden planks crossing a shallow stream in the middle of the woods - but it was pleasant nonetheless. These were Mask's favorite kinds of places. Far away from the bustle of society, far away from all the reminders of reality. The perfect place to forget about life. But she wasn't there to forget. She was there to remember. She dipped the end of a mossy stick into the water. When had it all started? When had she first discovered the clan? The memory was a little fuzzy, but she could've sworn that it started when she met... Pika? Or maybe Pixel, or Canary, or Kip...? It didn't matter. What mattered was that they were artists, and wonderful ones at that. It amazed Mask, but even more than that, it inspired her. With a little practice, improvement was bound to make itself clear sooner or later! And so she got to work, slowly but surely cleaning up her shaky lines and learning the ins and outs of the trade. She knew about AnimationClan at the time, of course, but considered it a shining star on the horizon. An inspiring sight, but one that she knew she'd never be able to reach. Simply watching their work from afar would be enough. Right? As the months passed, people who she once saw as distant inspirations revealed themselves as friends. Ordinary people, just like her, doing what they loved to do. Mask swirled the stick around, watching the water begin to follow suit. A small smile began to appear on her face. Eventually, she caught wind of something very interesting. AnimationClan, that group she'd always looked up to, was opening up applications. Well, she thought to herself, what's the worst that could happen? I like to think that I've become a half-decent artist, and I know that everyone here (the ones I know, anyway) is quite friendly... why not give it a try? And, so, she did. She posted an application, and waited... A few people - those she'd known for a fair amount of time, like Pika and Cinders - greeted her with excitement as she did. A flutter had surged through her heart. They really believed that she could do it? And then, the message came. Obviously, she'd been accepted. Otherwise she wouldn't have been writing a whole story about it. 'Of course!' Pixel had said. The words still stuck out in her head. 'Welcome to AC!' Mask sighed happily, taking the stick out of the water and holding it up. From then on? Well, she'd only gotten closer to many of her friends, and met so many new ones to boot! It was really like a family... She stood up and straightened her bow tie. It had been a nice little excursion, but she couldn't stay out there forever. She had a family to get back to. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uhhh I hope this is okay! Not just because it's being shared on the day it's due, but also because... I'm not 100% sure if I followed the prompt right? It doesn't actually involve anyone else in AC outside of the memories, since I'm really bad at writing other people's characters... but, I mean... it's a short story, at least! I got that part down! Uh, hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! Also, the stream featured in the project is an actual photo that I took while out on a walk! It had a little bridge/dock that I sat on, and served as the inspiration for this story. Piece of advice - if you're ever stressed, go out into the woods and listen to Super Mario Galaxy music. It's a lovely experience ^w^ ~Music is the title theme of Animal Crossing: New Leaf
