I meant to introduce a NPC mostly as flavor to the story, and she goes ahead and ends up being a fully flushed character who proves vital to the mission finale!

As you can see in the title, it's the ninth roleplay in the series. The first official mission only had eight roleplays. (Although in all fairness, this one was heavily powered by Catrina and Dash.)

I'm hoping future missions can turn out about this amount of roleplays, but hopefully with less time being given to the roleplay.

Anyway, check it out. Like a previous effort, it starts out from the viewpoint of a NPC- Moondream! Thus, the subtitle, "A Hippie POV." Enjoy!

This time, the whole thing's done from her . . . . wacky, unusual POV. Enjoy trying to figure her out- if you can!

I haven't lived on the island long. See, Nikkolle and me, we joined this guy together. He was way out there, I mean, just like the coolest guy you'd ever seen, right? So we found this guy, like I said, and he told us some things we like, and next thing you know, it's goodbye Seatown, hello enlightened living.

So like, here's my story, man. Woman. Whatever. Well, not MY story. MY story would be about me shedding my disillusionment with the general population for a more enlightened form of existence. It's totally groovy. You should try some of the brownies next time we come and visit Seaside Town, which should be the groovy side of "Never would be too soon for me."

But that's a different story. This one's a bit weird, even for my new home, and that's sayin' something. That's sayin it's some serious weirdness, you know? So I'm out, collecting the fruits that fell off the tree for our breakfast. Organic food's the best, especially when you can taste the fresh mud still. Yum! (It took me a while to get used to, and a whole lotta smokin' on the local leafs here, but once you go mud, why'd you ever go back, you know?)

There's a whole lot of chaos going on the island lately, so I try to keep close to our camp of free love and enlightenment. But I've still got the smoke from that party a few nights ago, where me and Nikki did some freaky things. Oh, remember, I'm not Michelle anymore. I'm Moondream. And she's not Nikkolle, she's Amber Loveleaf. So I'm still kinda on a new level of enrichment from that party, which's why I end up distracted by a cloud that's shaped exactly like a cloud! I mean.. nature's so beautiful, I just want to hug it, instead of embracing society's preference for violence over sexual freedom, you know?

That's why I wander a bit off course. Way off course, and far out, but not in the good way. You know?

So I'm too far away from the camp, and maybe I'm a little jumpy. I came up across a bunch of Orcs on my way to a sweet fruit tree, but they were drunk and passed out. How lucky for me I'm not into drinking, I think to myself.

Okay, I am for parties but other than that, it's clean counter culture living for me!

So I slip by the pirates, and I figure, why not go a bit further out and find some of the neglected fruits? I mean, fruits only want to be eaten by people like us, and only after they finish up learning everything they can on their knowledge trees, right? And that's why they fall off. I heard that in a dream I had one night after some especially potent smokes of a local plant.

That's when I nearly trip over him. This mainlander, I mean. At first, I got no idea what's going on! I mean, a stranger in the islands?! I figure it can't be good. So I pull out a peace sign shrunken to scare him off. Next thing I know, he's got a broadsword in front of him.

Great. These mainlanders are so violent! This totally proves my point. So, like, naturally, I figure the best thing to do was to chase him off with the illusion of the threat of violence, since we're totally pacifist. Spiritually enhanced and non violent.

Then I figure, hey, wait, what's a more convincing illusion for an attack than an actual attack?! So I show him the meaning of non violence, and charge at him, intent on beating him into a pacifist lifestyle! Of course, I'm not stupid enough to rush at a maniac wielding a broadsword. . . . oh wait, yeah I guess I am. He takes a few warning swipes at me, and I realize he isn't playing around. He's TOYING with me, (Well, that's what I think at the time, anyway.) So I pull out a couple of razor edged peace signs that I usually reserve for such barbaric intruders, and hurl them at him! I figure, I'm close, so there's no way of him dodging right?

Turns out I'm wrong, and he's freaky quick! One's dodged, and the other gets swiped away like it's an annoyance. I'm not out of tricks yet! He starts to say something. At the time I figure he's trying to threaten me. Well, I guess he is, but it only infuriates me, and I pull out a few rotten peaches I found and kept for such an occasion. Never underestimate a rotten beach, an I right, islanders? Give it up! Totally.

So I throw my hippest spinning pear of impending doomnation at him.

And he just FLIPS me over! The NERVE of that guy! That really HURT! Doesn't he know I'm like e delicate peach that needs to like, not be flipped over people's backs?!

My mind's still a little cloudy from the last play sessions in the smoking tent, anyway. That's my excuse and I find it good for Mother Nature. Then he pulls that broadsword to my throat, and I'm sure it's over.

"If you kill me, Mother Nature will rise up and, like, totally eat you or something, man! I'm a protector of Earth! Unhand me! Pleaaase!" I scream. Or whine. I'm not sure which I'm doing at that moment.

He looks at me with this funny look in his eyes. "What are you, a valley ninja?"

I don't really get the reference, but I'm offended he's pretending not to know about me and our group of Earth protector's noble mission. I'm sure the look in my eyes puts the fear of Mother Earth into him, or something, even though I can't really tell. I mean, maybe he isn't, but how could he not be terrified of a threat like that? Especially coming from such a famous group.

"Hardly. I'm one of the grooviest encampment ON this island! I'm Mother Nature's blossom come alive! An example of true clean liv-"

He interrupts me! That, like, totally ruins my good karma vibe I was trying to build up, and he says, "A hippie. Got it." He withdraws his sword, backing up slowly. "I don't have any beef with you, so how about you don't press you luck, and we'll pretend this fight never happened?"

I push myself to my knees, starring at him. He's obviously up to something. Maybe I should get back to teaching him a lesson? He turns his back on me. I reach for my tree bark cutting blade, which of course I'd never use on a living creature like a tree, just in case.

Guess that isn't too smart.

"Whatever blade that is, if you pull it, I'll ram Bad Beats through you before you have time to take a second blink."

That takes me back. "Whooooa, what a far out name for a sword, man! You're like, hip with me. Even if you do smell funny."

"I smell clean," he retorts, not really interested in me. Ouch, like, cruel world, man. Cruel world. He has a point. A crazy point. But I don't choose to press the matter. If he doesn't like Earthly smells, that is totally his loss. He pauses, then looks me over a second time, then a third.

"What're you lookin' at me like that for? It's creepin me out. .. ."

He shakes his head. "You're not the person I was looking for. I didn't think you were, but I had to be sure."

Odd response. "Had to be sure? Huh? Are you high or something?"

He does a double take, like he was about to say something, but then chooses not to say it.

"Ohh, I just had a far OUT idea! Since you're like, new to the island, maybe I could help you look? I mean, you're (cute, but I don't say that aloud) new to the island, right?! Well, I've only been here for a short stay, but the fellows at the camp taught me my way around. And it's, like, our thing to make visitors feel welcome here."

"Are un-provoked attacks part of your typical greeting?" he asks. I THINK he was being sarcastic.

"Hey! The island's been totally messed up! It's like someone sat on it's Feng Shui, maaan!" Just thinkin' about it made me trip." Or maybe that's a result of the herbal tea and the no preservatives bread this morning?

Naaaah. Anyway, that most definitely gets his attention. "Weird things. Like, memory problems?"

Whoa. He's reading my mind. I wonder where I met him at.. "Yeah! There's been, like, an epidemic of that forgetting thing, man! Like, last night, I forgot which tent was mine, right? So I just slept with this really cute guy. I mean, free love, right? Then the next day . . . ." I stop talking because he's stopped paying attention. "What?!"

He turns to me, then kinda smiles, but not really. Something like that, anyway.

"Smoke induced memory loss isn't quite what I meant, but hey, thanks for another reason to avoid you."

"That's not nice!" I protest. "Okay, fine, maybe you do have a point, but things have been WAY out of whack this morning! And you said you had a friend you can't remember? What's she like?"

He shoots me this mean look. I get the point. "Oh.. yeah. You don't remember."

"Exactly." He starts to walk off, and I just had a revelation like half a second ago, so I follow him and say, "You know, I think you're onto something! I mean, I can't remember your friend, either! Isn't that weird? That NEITHER of us'd be able to remember her, man?!"

"You never met her." He comments dryly. He's clearly confused. Probably from a lack of herbs in his diet.

"Well, obviously, that's because I can't remember her! Duh!" I let the 'duh' slip in from my old life. He sorta ignores me. Maybe he'd already forgotten what I'd said?

Man, that poor guy! I'd better keep up with him to like, make sure his karma doesn't get too far out of whack or something. He's clearly out of it.

Take it from me. I know out of it.