Clouds of Ash Chapter Seven
Harrier stared out over the Wastelands, watching a nearby volcano belch its sulfurous fumes into the air. He was aware of Ravess's presence next to him, and he tilted his head slightly to look at her. His gaze met hers, and he found himself staring into her eyes, which reminded him of molten gold. After a few moments, he turned his gaze back to the glowing lands below. They were... beautiful, in a strange way. The way the lava glowed, giving off its soft red lights. Yes, the Wastelands were beautiful, but they were the most dangerous place in the Atmos. They would need to get out soon, if they were to survive. He gave the woman next to him his word of honor, and he was determined to keep it.
"I think the nearest terra to here would be Terra Atmosia," the sky knight said thoughtfully, turning his determined gaze towards Ravess. "Perhaps we could find some way to alert someone there..."
"Atmosia?" Her eyes widened slightly. "We can't go to Atmosia! Do you have any idea what they would do with me there? We were going to invade Tranqua, so that must be closer."
"We intercepted you before you were even halfway there," Harrier replied. It felt odd, being reminded that she was the enemy. He met her startled gaze. "Nothing will happen to you on Terra Atmosia... I will keep you safe, I swear it."
Ravess crossed her arms and broke eye contact with him. "Would you really go against the Sky Knight Council to protect me, an enemy of the Atmos?"
He opened his mouth to assure her that yes, he would find a way to get her of Atmosia safely, but he closed it again. She was indeed an enemy of the Atmos, and as a sky knight, it was his duty to carry out the Council's wishes.
She took a few steps away from him and stared back down at the Wastelands. Her arms were no longer crossed, rather they were wrapped around her, as if she was hugging herself. He stared at her for a few moments, then she spoke. "It seems no matter what we do, I end up trapped. Either trapped down here, or trapped on Atmosia..."
Harrier's eyes softened and he took a step towards her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Things will turn out alright in the end..." He hesitated, considering what to say next. He had been about to say that the Sky Knight Council would be fair and just toward her, but decided against it. "Let's just worry about getting out of here first."
Ravess said nothing for a few moments, then suddenly stiffened, as if she realized how vulnerable she had just been. She turned towards him and rested one hand on her hip. "I don't need your pity."
A flash of amusement flashed across his face. "It's not pity, Ravess, I assure you..." Kneeling down, he gathered his armor into a pile and began putting it on.
She watched him for a few moments before speaking. "What are we going to do about water?"
Harrier sighed. "I'm not sure... But we can't just stay here... If we didn't, there would be no chance for us to get out of here... I guess we'll have to hope we find some..."
"Like that's likely to happen... We're lucky we even found this... There'll probably be nothing to eat out there either... Unless you want to take on more of those scorpions, that is."
"We'll manage, somehow..." He stood after fastening his breastplate. "You seem like an intelligent woman, Ravess... What do you suggest we do?"
"Me?" She blinked, surprised that he would ask her opinion. "Well, there's not much we can do, I suppose... We can only head out there and hope we find something..." She sighed and stared out over the Wastelands again, searching for anything that could help them in some way. There was nothing, although she was only eight feet off the ground, not giving her too much of a height advantage.
"We should get moving then," the sky knight said, beginning to make his way over to the cliff side. He waited to make sure Ravess was following before beginning his descent. Reaching the bottom, he took out his energy blade and ignited it with a quiet snap-hiss. There were a lot of beasts around, and he didn't want them to catch him off guard.
Ravess climbed down nimbly and without pausing began walking. Harrier followed after her, glancing wearily from side to side as he spotted a fire scorpion a ways off. They walked in silence, neither having much to say.
They had been walking for about an hour with little conversation between them. Harrier's eyes were drawn to Ravess as she walked in front of him, her hips swaying slightly as she walked. Realizing just how low his eyes had been drawn, he snapped his eyes up, flushing, although she wasn't looking at him to see his blush.
Another hour or so passed, and Harrier was beginning to find himself parched. If only there was some source of water nearby... Gazing around the landscape, he searched for any sign of something liquid. Finding only lava and ash, he sighed. Turning his attention forward again, he almost walked straight into Ravess, who had stopped in front of him.
"I see something... There." She pointed, and he squinted, trying to make out what she saw. "Let's head in that direction." Not waiting for Harrier's answer one way or another, she headed off in the direction she had pointed.
Following after her, he still squinted, trying to see what it was. He could only make out a faint black shape however.
"I think it's a crashed skimmer," she informed him.
"You have sharp eyesight," Harrier commented.
"I'm a sharpshooter," she replied. "I have to have sharp eyesight. Perfect eyesight, and perfect aim. I have both."
He nodded. "I wonder if perhaps... Perhaps it would be in good enough shape for us to fly out of here?"
She shrugged. "We'll see soon..."
Within a few minutes, the skimmer- or rather what was left of it- came into view. To Harrier's disappointment, it was almost completely destroyed. Two of its wings were sticking out of a lava stream, slowly melting. The rest of it was smashed into large pieces that had crumpled into a heap. Its fuel crystals had exploded on impact, melting a large portion of it. Its insignia was obscured, and barely legible, but Harrier recognized it right away.
"A Talon..." He neared the crashsite. "I wonder if the pilot survived?"
"If he survived the crash, he's most likely gone now," Ravess replied. "Look."
He followed her gaze, and his stomach sickened as he spotted a bloodstained boot. Whether he arrived dead or alive, the creatures around probably didn't care. Drawing his gaze away from the boot, he began rummaging through wreckage, hoping to find something to savage. He grinned as he pulled out some sort of flask from the wreckage. Miraculously, it had survived the crash unscathed.
Shaking it, he realized that it was still filled with something. Taking the cap off, he brought it up to his face and sniffed it. The strong scent of the alcohol alone was almost enough to make him dizzy. Bringing the flask to his lips, he took a swig. He swallowed and the liquid burned its way down his throat. It was whiskey, and probably the strongest he had ever tasted. Well, at least they would have something to drink, even if it did make them drunk. He supposed that drunk was better than dead.
He handed it over to Ravess, who took a large swig from it without checking to see what it was first. She winced, not expecting the strong sting of alcohol, but swallowed it down. She raised the flask to take another swig, but Harrier put his hand out to stop her.
"You might not want to drink too much of that at once."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Sky Knight. I know what alcohol does."
"That's not what I meant," he replied. "We need to make it last; we don't know when we'll be able to find more liquid..."
Ravess glanced down at the flask a little regretfully, but handed it over to Harrier who put the cap back on and attatched it to his belt. "And here I thought we found a better way to pass the time..."