Chapter 7
Hello again, this is chapter 7. I'm actually really proud of myself so far, I might even make it through the story because I've got so many ideas lined up perfectly. I haven't lost interest in this story one bit and it's already chapter 7! Yipyip! Lol well anyways, here is the writing you're actually waiting for! Have fun.
Sin's P.o.v
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sin breathed deep as the wind slipped across her face, the sweet smell of fall clung to the air. Leaves crackled uncomfortably under hoof as they trotted along smoothly. This horse seemed especially built for travel.
"Autumn will be here soon" Asch said on the seat behind her, mirroring her thoughts.
"I like the fall," she decided to inform him "not too cold, not too hot and it smells the best."
Asch nodded and then pulled his trotting horse into a walk, although it seemed his chosen mount would go on forever if he asked it to.
"Why are we slowing?" she asked out loud, turning around to look at his face.
Asch just gazed over her head "No need to rush."
The girl started suspiciously at his face for a moment but when he didn't respond she turned back around.
The horse huffed and snorted occasionally and she reached down to pet its shaggy black fur.
"You must be tired" she mumbled. Asch's quiet laugh sounded behind her.
"That's funny how?"
"It's not, but this is" Asch said and then he snaked his arm around her waist and securely and slammed his heels into the steeds sides.
The horse exploded into a gallop, and Sin gasped as its hooves pounded loudly into the dirt ground as it soared across the field. It seemed unbothered by its master's orders to run like the wind- even though it had been traveling a large portion of the day.
"Whoa!" Sin yelped as the horse did what it did best and in her shock she leaned back into Asch and he tightened his hold on her.
Her body stiffened when she felt her back against his chest.
'Too close, too close!' her mind yelled.
But even as her insides twisted and her mind pulsed, she couldn't push away the feeling of excitement that shot through her every time he touched her. By accident or on purpose, it didn't matter- the effect was always the same.
After the horse had run a few hundred meters and the initial shock wore off, Asch pulled the reigns back and the horse slowed to a walk again with a snort.
"N-not funny!" she gasped and then she elbowed him in the stomach to get him back.
"So, still think he's tired?" Asch asked with slight humor present in his voice.
Sin shook her head frantically, "No, no he's just fine!" she laughed.
Asch nodded, proving his point.
A few minutes passed and the horse wandered to the edge of the forest. Sin realized, as the horse jumped a small river, that Asch still had his arm around her. Blood involuntarily rushed to her face.
'He just forgot…uh yeah, yeah forgot!' Her mind was so scrambled and she shivered.
Then Asch moved behind her and as she turned around, his black cloak was thrown over and wrapped around her.
"No, I-I don't need this-" she tried to explain but she didn't dare mention that he was the cause.
As she tried to pull it off and hand it back to him, he stopped her by wrapping his arm around her waist again so she couldn't remove it.
"It's alright" he said in a low voice "I'm not cold and I've lost count on how many times you have shivered since we left."
The red in her cheeks did not cease "I've shivered maybe twice" she fired back hotly.
"Let's be fair and say ten…" Asch said grimly, though she knew he was putting on a show.
Sin huffed and fell silent, but it didn't feel as uncomfortable as before.
To pass the time, she watched the forest canopy. The way it shivered, sparkled, reflected, absorbed… there were too many things to name off how it looked. It simply looked impressive with all the different colours.
The horse was walking along the edge of a shallow hill now; leaves shifting as it walked by and sliding down the side of the hill like a colourful avalanche.
"Hey Asch…" Sin began as she watched it "you never told me what your favorite season was…"
"Winter" he responded automatically.
"How come?"
"Because of the storms."
That was an odd answer.
"You like storms?" Such a childish question.
Sin sensed that he nodded, "It'smuch more exciting than the sun or the rain all the time" he continued "That's like black and white, good and bad. Life doesn't always have to be one-sided."
Sin was impressed, that seemed like an awful amount of thought.
"That makes sense, but you wouldn't want it to storm everyday would you?" she asked.
Asch remained silent as he thought about his answer so Sin waited patiently and listened to the sound of the crackling leaves and the horse's gentle huffs.
"All the more reason to wonder why it has to storm everyday" he answered a minute later.
"Wondering all the time wears you down" Sin responded, not even trying to stop her shoulders from slumping.
"If it was sunny every day, would you wonder why?"
Sin kept her gaze straight ahead, her eyebrows pulled together as she thought.
"Hmm…probably not" she admitted.
Asch gave a soft kind of sigh, almost like a chuckle and she turned around in his arms with a curious look on her face.
His eyes were closed and he had the smallest of smiles at the edge of his mouth.
"That's why you will never beat me" he said suddenly "you don't see clearly, you don't wonder about choices, you don't think."
Sin stared at him, not sure whether to be offended or take it in stride.
"Well…" she began, still turned around in the saddle "If I thought, I would have never have considered doing this-" and then suddenly she snapped her arm out and wrapped it around his neck.
Asch's P.o.v
Stunned.
That's what he was. There was no other word for it. Her body held close to his as she wrapped her arm around his neck and held on tightly.
He didn't know what to do for once, he actually couldn't decide how to respond to the sudden action. She was hugging him. The scent of spiced roses collapsed in on him and he couldn't stop his arms from going to her, gently starting to wrap around her waist. Why couldn't he…think straight? His eyes were closing…
But just as his fingers brushed her ribcage, he felt the ripple of muscle underneath and he stopped- just as she suddenly threw all her weight to the side, dragging him with her.
He yelled as they tumbled off the horse, the leaves crashing in a wave around them and continued rolling down the side of the leaf covered hill.
He heard her laughing as they slid down the hill and he tried to right himself, but the shock of what she had done hadn't worn off yet and he couldn't get his bearings. Maybe he didn't want to.
They crashed together at the bottom of the hill, he had no idea how he managed to be on the bottom but somehow she was lying on top of him now; a huge, triumphant smirk on her face.
Leaves that they had tossed in the air floated gently down and she caught one in her hand.
"So how'd you like that one?" she asked innocently as she twirled the red leaf by its stem. She was still sitting on him.
He relaxed with a sigh and let his head rest on the pillow of leaves.
"You're such a child" he said smoothly, shaking his head. That was something else entirely.
"Damn straight" she commented, her eyes playfully agreeing.
He watched her as she pushed with one leg and rolled onto the leaves beside him, than tucked her knees in close.
She astounded him. One moment they were talking about seasons, then she launched herself at him, confusing him to no end and then she lurches them both off the horse only to tumble down what seriously seemed like the longest and most exciting hill he had ever been down.
Asch kept his face looking straight ahead, but the corner of his eye was on her; her ink black hair falling over her, her face, the leaves, over her closed orange eyes; her new pale blue hoari sweeping the coloured leaves and tucking around her, and the scent of roses still lingered. Always roses.
"Hey Asch…" Sin spoke up softly, her eyes drifting open.
He turned his face to her.
"Are we friends?" she asked with the smallest tilt of her head.
This question surprised him. Not because he had never considered it, but because he had considered them friends right from the second day. She had waited this long, wondering? It wasn't a surprise that her shoulders had slumped when she talked about wondering.
'I'd wait too' her soft words rang out in his head like he had heard them yesterday and he wondered if she even remembered saying them.
His gaze lingered on her face; it was open, ready, prepared to accept the worst. He wouldn't be able to picture her if he had said no.
Luckily he didn't have to and he nodded.
Her blazing eyes blinked once and then a euphoric, soft smile spread across her face. She wasn't one of those people that could, or wanted to hide it.
"Thank you…" she said so softly it sounded like the wind.
Then, exactly like before, she reached over and gently, carefully wrapped her arm around his neck. Except this time it wasn't so unexpected.
Asch let his eyes close and he was about to respond just like before as well. It didn't feel odd, or awkward, it felt…right.
But she pulled away faster than he thought, rolling back onto her side and he let his hands reluctantly fall back down onto the carpet of leaves, his fingers tingling.
"What's there for us to do in Valinsa?" she asked after a moment and Asch realized he hadn't even told her the reason yet.
"The town has been complaining of bandit attacks for a few weeks now…" he said and she nodded for him to continue. His mind was still swirling oddly but he shook it off.
"We didn't see this as a big threat because rogues or bandits normally attack a town once or twice and move on, and then the town repairs itself. It happens, it's not uncommon."
"These ones haven't moved on though?" she caught on.
"That's the problem, they seem to be lingering around this town, waiting, attacking it almost every night. The towns people are farmers, they cannot fight forever."
Sin was thoughtful as she spoke "Are they waiting for some sort of agreement?" she asked while pushing her hair away from her face.
Asch nodded "That was my guess too"
"We should hurry and get there if they need us so badly. I'm sorry I created this little delay" she laughed with a small blush on her face.
Asch nodded and pushed himself to his feet. He felt drowsy, like he had laid there dreaming for hours.
Sin jumped to her feet beside him and he glanced over, bemused. It seemed like she wasn't affect at all by time.
They walked carefully back up the hill. It wasn't too steep and Asch was really wondering how she had managed to make them roll all the way down.
The horse was standing patiently at the top of the hill, its black eyes patient and loyal.
Sin's P.o.v
Sin patted it as she walked over to the saddle. Asch was already in the seat and he reached down and pulled her up effortlessly.
"Onto Valinsa!" she yelled like a child and she dug her heels into the horse's side.
But it didn't move.
Asch was silent, but she could feel the silent laughter rolling off of him and she didn't even turn around to glare when the horse began to walk a moment later- on what seemed like completely invisible orders from Asch.
They walked for hours, talking little but neither was bothered. Sin was just satisfied to be with him.
They were friends after all.
The sky began to fade to dark blue but no stars shined yet. Shadows grew longer as more time passed until finally she had no idea what direction they were going. It seemed like every tree looked them same and every bolder they passed seemed to pass them again a minute later. Were they going in circles?
"Let's rest here for the night" Asch finally said and before she could agree, he slipped off the horse and motioned for her to get down. She complied and he caught her. She knew she could easily have gotten down herself but she liked it when he caught her. His arms were so safe and secure.
"That was a good time to stop, I was getting dizzy" she said as he patted his horse on the neck.
He looked at her quizzically.
"Weren't you getting confused, it was like we were wandering in circles" It was like she was trying to reason with him.
Asch just smirked slightly and shook his head "I've been through here many times. I don't get lost any more."
Sin took comfort in that and walked with him over to a small clearing. It was getting too dark to see anything but him.
When they reached it, she walked over and settled herself close to the trunk of a wide tree; its branches protective and menacing all at once.
Asch walked a few steps away and began to kick some leaves.
She stared at him as he did this.
'What is he doing?' she wondered, a confused look on her face. He didn't seem like the type who would stop and do something pointless.
The he bent down and brushed a few more leaves aside until there was a large patch of dirt. Next, he grabbed some sticks from around him and tossed them lazily onto the patch.
'Oh, he's making a fire pit' she thought to herself sheepishly, ashamed of thinking so lowly of him.
When he was finally finished there was a neat ring of rocks around his bundle of sticks. There were still leaves around it but it was a damp night, they wouldn't catch.
Then when he was done, he walked over to her and sat down, though the fire pit remained unlit.
She was confused again.
"Don't you have-" but she cut herself off as he reached toward the pit and a moment later the sticks burst into flame.
"Oh, I forgot you could use fonons" she said as she stared into the new fire. The heat felt nice on her chilled skin.
They both watched it quietly. Then flames licking higher and higher into the night sky, the small glowing embers drifting up and then puffing out and swaying back down into the fire where they slowly burned away.
Asch's P.o.v
His eyes glazed over as he stared into the dancing fire. His thoughts drifted peacefully as he listened to the crackling of the flames and the steady breathing of the young girl beside him.
It felt nice to have someone quiet around for once, who didn't feel like they had the constant need to talk for no reason. They weren't lonely, but they were alone.
Although she was childish in many ways, he had found a few mature things about her too. She didn't talk when she knew she was wrong and she didn't try to hide the fact that she was a replica, or lie.
It was in that moment that he understood how difficult it must have been for her; being called a replica while her life progressed. She had emotions, she had a brain, she felt aliveBut she would never be considered normal.
And eventually he would take away that feeling of being alive from her. She would be no more than a combat tool for the rest of her controlled life. She would have no regard for her own life and in battle, she would do massive damage to a single army, a Spartan, then she would fall, because the flash of steel an inch away from her neck would not scare her into realizing she was in danger. Rationality was a useless thing to a replica who had the fonon essence helmet on.
She wouldn't live through the first battle, to stand with him in the second.
His heart thumped painfully in his chest. This was no good. He couldn't let this happen.
In an instant, his mind was clear. His friends death wasn't an option. New plan.
When he returned he would change the ladies mind; convince her that the fonon essence helmet would not aid them in battle, if they were in it for the long run.
If they wanted to survive, let alone win in the heat of battle, he would need to train her to her potential. She would have to listen and understand the battle and how tides could turn quickly. The girl would need to learn when to attack, how and why. Retreat would follow the same rules. Over time and without the fonon essence helmet, she would learn, she would thrive but most importantly; she would live to see another day.
"Asch, know what I was thinking?" her childish voice cut in.
He glanced at her with a skeptical expression "Yes, you are thinking that I don't know what you are thinking" he said flatly and she laughed.
"Well, maybe the bandits are hanging around because they have something precious to the town that they want to trade in exchange. I don't know what they want though…" she trailed off, resting her chin on her knees.
"Yes. It doesn't make sense why they wont leave." He agreed but they would see soon enough.
"Why did the town only want you to go?" Sin asked. Apparently that statement about her not thinking enough was a little off.
"The town is poor, they cannot afford to ask for a whole army and I'm sure they don't want an army to draw too much attention to them. Once the army leaves, that plants a whole new target on them." He gave his reasoning out loud so she could hear.
Sin nodded "they just want to handle this quickly…but…" her voice faltered and he turned to look at her.
"Well…do they expect you to take on all the bandits by yourself?" she blurted out frantically.
"No," he replied "the town does have villagers that are willing to fight but it could be like you said and they are cautious of striking for some reason…"
It all made sense; her little theory actually explained it all.
Beside him, the 14 year old yawned.
"Sleep now" he said but as he said this he somehow felt incomplete. He wanted her to be right beside him, so he could watch over her while she slept safely.
"I forgot…" her tired voice said suddenly and then he saw the black flash of his cloak as she pulled it off. He had forgotten she had been wearing it.
"Here" Sin said simply as she reached her arm out from her position a few steps away to give it to him.
Asch just shook his head and turned his gaze back to the fire "you keep it"
Beside him, her arm pulled the cloak back to her body; but instead of wrapping it around herself again, she stood up and walked over.
His eyes flicked up to hers and he noticed she had a cautious look on her face, her eyes blazing like the fire in front of him. He didn't look away.
"Well at least…" –she sat down smoothly right beside him and then placed the cloak over them both. It was big enough, she didn't take up room anyways.
He didn't object because in exchange, he had gotten what he secretly wanted.
"G'night…" she said, closing her eyes and letting her head slump forward.
The night rolled on and finally her breathing deepened and he knew she was asleep. His eyes turned to the girl; this was the easiest time to watch her.
Asch was comforted by the closeness now. Before he froze up or he pushed her away roughly, even if it had been an accident. But now if his pupil wasn't in sight, his insides twisted uncomfortably. Having her close was the only way to make him feel like he wouldn't lose her, or she wouldn't lose herself. That certainly was possible.
Now, while she slept peacefully, he reached around her and pulled her closer- so her small form fit right into his side. He wasn't alone. This felt right.
'Sleep well…my friend'
………………………………………………………………………………………………
End of chapter 7
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Wow that was a long chapter it seemed like. I really had to plan carefully for that one. Aw man I'm so tired lmao, but that's what you get for typing at 12:00 at night. But the bunnies haven't found me yet! Lol well I hoped you liked this chapter. R&R!
Thanks
Kazink
