Carmencita_

Your character has just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As they look around, their gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. They duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? She begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.” ((How do you respond?)) Lulin's brows furrow ever so slightly, skeptical, yet amused by the older woman's seeming familiarity with her personage. This seems all too fishy, though it is rude to deny your elders, she thinks to herself. Her thoughts seem to get the best of her as she stands there in silence, only to realize she had never answered the mystic. Flustered, she sits on the cushion, legs crossed, and her posture firm. "I suppose I could enlighten you," she accepts the invitation, "Though I warn you there is not much to tell." Lulin takes a deep breath as she steadies her hands on her thighs in a balled-up motion. Finally, she opens her eyes with a grounded look on her face. "I grew up in a tribe a bit away from this land," she began with some unease, "My people are not... kind, to outsiders. It was strictly forbidden to interact with them. Though I wasn't aware of such consequences, I was too curious about the outside world. It enticed me. One day, a travelling caravan was passing by. I couldn't let the opportunity go, so I went to see the people." For a moment, her face softened, and a faint smile formed on her face, as if stars entered her eyes. "They were so free-spirited, able to go and see whatever they desired. It was the life I always wanted for myself," she reminisced, "I even.. got to talk with one of them. I could have stayed there for hours." Quickly, though, that twinkle in Lulin's eyes faded, and that impenetrable expression formed on her face once more, "But I was careless. Someone from the tribe had seen me leave. When I came back, the chief was furious, and my mother was stricken with grief. I was marked and exiled, never allowed to return." There was a long pause after that; her head hung low in silent contemplation. "And now," she sighs, "I am here."