Ugh... the swamp.

For you, it's a particularly unpleasant section of the journey between the village and your home. Everything ends up getting dirty, with the ground nothing but deep, sticky, foul mud or shallow, cold and stagnant water, both turning the air stale and bitter. Not to mention the slimes. Not particularly threatening monsters, just... annoying. At least the frogs eat them; means there's less of the stupid things.

But it's still unpleasant. You struggle through the mud, trying your best to stay clean, when suddenly you hear footsteps, squelching through the mire. Human footsteps..? Impossible. You've never seen anyone else out here. Why would anyone..?

Suddenly, a flash of lime-green and magenta, offset with stains of dirt, jumps up behind you with, and taps on your shoulder. You turn around, seeing a young woman with deep blue eyes and a cheeky grin.

???: "Oi! Whaddaya doin' out here? Ah, wait - keep movin your feet around. Don't wanna get stuck, after all - this mud's suuuuper clingy. Bleurgh..."

She sticks out her tongue in mock disgust, strolling around as if unaffected by the same muck she just warned you about.

???: "I'm Rana, by the way. I like frogs! So I live out here with them. Studyin' them, learnin' how they do what they do, that kinda stuff. Been out here a couple months. I, uh, did adjust quite quickly."

She looks down, as if that last part wasn't quite true. Indeed, though, you notice the hood of her bright green coat looks very much like the face of a frog. She looks back up, noticing you looking at it, and appears thoughtful, a more genuine smile on her face.

Rana: "You probably worked that out already, huh? You're smart. I like ya!"