Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot.
"So, this is where I live." The elderly woman declared as she turned so that she could see him while gesturing towards the cave.
The Ashen One said nothing at this and simply continued to follow her. However, as they got closer, he noticed something peculiar at the mouth of the cave.
There was a barrier, similar to the one on the bridge that led into Ithryll of the Boreal Valley.
Interesting...
He had originally found the old woman to be somewhat strange and weird, but upon seeing the magical barrier, his opinion on her changed greatly.
"... Who are you?" He questioned with a trace of curiosity in his voice, which caused her to come to a stop right before the magical wall.
"No one really," she answered after giving it some thought. "Just an old woman."
He doubted that, but didn't say anything more and watched as she passed through the barrier before following behind her. He had expected it to stop him from entering since the last time he tried to pass through one of these he needed a small doll, but to his surprise, he was able to walk through it with no problems whatsoever.
Once through, the Ashen One saw something he didn't see from outside of the cave, he saw a small wooden house at the back of the cave that had a fenced area on the right side of it. There were a couple of animals inside of the fenced area that had immediately noticed him and the old woman, but they didn't do anything more besides look at the two of them.
"Are you really just an old woman?" The Ashen One inquired after seeing her home.
"I'd like to believe so." She answered after coming to a stop once more and looking at him. "Why? Do I not seem like one?"
"Yes." The Ashen One answered with zero hesitation.
The woman laughed at this, and said in an amused tone. "Well, I guess if you were comparing me to your average forty your old woman, I would be seen as unusual or unordinary, but are you really the one to be asking me if I'm normal? I mean, you are after all the one wearing armor like that in a place like this."
The Ashen One said nothing at this. He wasn't sure what she was trying to say, but it sounded like she was calling him the strange one.
"... I have a high resistance to a lot of things," the Ashen One declared after a good several seconds. "Frost is one of them."
"I can tell," she assured with a small smile. "You don't seem to be bothered by the temperature at all despite it being around five degrees."
"... Yeah." He admitted with a bit of reluctance. He wasn't sure what to say, so he had decided to agree with her.
After that was said, the woman laughed once more before saying, "you really are a strange man."
She then continued to walk towards the log house as the Ashen One frowned at her comment.
After entering the old woman's home, the Ashen One was told to make himself comfortable while she tends to her animals real quick. She didn't take that long, and upon returning she asked him if he would like something to eat.
He, of course, told her that he was fine and not hungry at all, but the woman merely laughed at this, and told him that she would make him some food and that it was okay not to be modest.
Unbeknownst to her, the Ashen One had frowned at her statement. He wasn't trying to be modest at all, he was simply refusing to eat because he didn't need to eat. He was undead and undead were beings that didn't need to eat at all.
Nonetheless, she had made him a meal, and upon giving him said meal, the woman asked him a question.
"So, who exactly are you?"
The Ashen One was silent at first as he removed his helmet, but after several seconds he responded. "A lost and sovereignless soul."
She didn't say anything at this, instead she furrowed her brows and pondered his words.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked with curiosity in her voice after a couple seconds of thinking about his answer.
"I am, or was unkindled," he revealed in a solemn tone. "I was unfit to be cinder, and ultimately died in the process of trying to become one."
The woman said nothing at this, for she didn't know how to reply. She had never heard these terms before, so all she could do was stare at him questioningly.
"However," he continued as he picked up the fork next to the plate, not even aware of the look she was giving him. "I had the chance to become it once again after Prince Lothric refused to link the First Flame, but decided it was better to have a world without fire, and so I allowed the fire to die."
"... I see." The woman stated after nearly a minute of staring at him. She still didn't understand what he was talking about in the slightest, but assumed it was part of the reason why he didn't feel cold and things like that.
"Do you have a name?" She asked after a few seconds of silently gazing at him.
"I did, yes." He answered after swallowing the food he had been chewing.
"May I know it?" She requested with the smallest of smiles.
The Ashen One said nothing and looked at her.
"... Why?" He asked after several seconds of some intense staring.
She shrugged and said, "why not?"
The Ashen One frowned in response to her reply. The last time he was asked for his name was after he gave the Painting Woman the Blood of a Dark Soul and that was something he had done begrudgingly.
Seeing him frown like that, the woman said in a joking manner. "What's wrong? Not fond of your name?"
"No, it's just been a long time since someone wanted to know my name." He revealed as he looked down at his food. "After I became unkindled, I was either addressed as Champion of Ash, or Ashen One, so somebody wanting to know my actual name is somewhat strange to me."
"Is it really?" The woman probed in a slightly awed voice.
"Yes." He affirmed with a small nod of his head.
"Wow," was her response. "So how old are you?"
"... I don't know," He proclaimed after giving it some deep thought. "I was young when I had tried to link the fire, and I don't know how many years it's been since I let the fire fade, so I could only assume it's been a very long time."
"I see, so are you like immortal then?" She inquired inquisitively. She still planned on acquiring his name, but at the moment, she was more focused on learning more about him than discovering that.
"In a way, yes." He confirmed. "However, I do not know where I would revive at if I died."
At this, the woman frowned a little. "So, you can die, but you'll just come back?"
"Yes." He asserted with another nod of his head.
"... What is it like?" She asked hesitantly.
"What is what like?" He questioned in response, he didn't have the slightest clue what she was asking about now.
"Death," she began with a bit of reluctance. "What does it feel like when you die, and is there another side you see before being resurrected or is there nothing?"
The Ashen One gave it some thought before saying to her. "Tiresome. Dying over and over again only to fight through hordes and hordes of enemies is truly tiresome. And no, there is nothing I see once I die."
"Hmph... And this woman you're looking for, is she just like you or is she different?" The woman questioned with traces of curiosity in her voice.
"... Different." He revealed after some time. "She is undead, but not unkindled. Her purpose is to serve the unkindled and guide them to the Kiln of the First Flame."
"... So was she your lover?" The woman probed after giving his answer some thought.
"... You ask a lot of questions." The Ashen One declared after looking at her for several seconds before returning to the food in front of him.
"I do." She affirmed. "The last time I had a conversation with someone was almost twenty years ago."
"That's a long time." The Ashen One claimed, which earned a chuckle from her.
"Maybe to me, but not to you." She stated in a humorous tone.
The Ashe One said nothing at this, for he wasn't entirely sure how to respond. He didn't know how much time had passed since letting the fire fade, so what she said could be true.
"Why are you out here and who exactly are you?" He asked in an attempt to change topics.
"Honestly speaking, I am not just an old woman, I am what some would consider to be either a witch or a shaman, and as for why I'm out here? It's because I grew tired of the lifestyle I was living and wanted to be free." She answered almost immediately.
He wasn't surprised to hear about her being a witch, for he had already figured she was someone like that, but what he was curious about was her old lifestyle.
"What did you do before getting here?" He queried.
"Lots of things really, but nothing notable." She claimed as her lips curved upwards into that of a small smile. "I was apart of a hunter clan and the chieftain's wife, so must of the things I did was helping him. It was nice at first, but as time passed it grew more and more stale to the point where it started to affect our marriage."
"I see..." Was the Ashen One's response.
After chatting with her some more, and spending the night in her living room, the Ashen One left the old woman's home.
"So, will I ever see you again, sir? Or will this be the last time I see you?" She asked as she leaned against one of the two support beams on her front porch.
"... It will most likely be the last time you see me." He answered after thinking about it for a while.
"Really? Well, if that's the case, then can I at least know your name?" She requested once more. "That way I can definitely say we were friends."
The Ashen One said nothing at first, but after what felt like a minute of silence, he replied. "Uldren, Uldren is my name."
"Uldren, huh? Interesting name, I'll definitely remember it." She told him with a smile.
The Ashen One didn't say anything and was about to turn around and resume his journey when suddenly she reached into her pocket, pulled something out, and tossed it to him.
He caught the thing she had thrown at him and upon doing so, she said, "that should help you on your quest. It's an amulet I made a few years ago that'll guide you to whatever you want most. I no longer need it, so you can have it."
"... Thank you." He declared after staring at it for several seconds as he looked up at her.
"Don't mention it." She affirmed with a wave of her hand. "Now, good luck on your quest in finding your Fire Keeper, I hope it ends well for you."
Me too, was all he thought as he turned around and started to leave the cave.
To Be Continued.
So to answer possible questions, the reason why I didn't describe facial features is because I didn't want to reveal those yet, and the reason why there weren't bold letters throughout most of their conversation is because he wasn't wearing a helmet. No, helmet/mask/whatever thing equals no bold font. Anyways, that's all, so see yall later.