Through the Trees II
The air was definitely cooling as the group continued walking. Edward noticed it and was subtly reminded of his childhood when he used to pass by the port to reach the commercial district. Ambient moisture, constant cycling of airlocks, and the fact the temperature control was faulty most of the time made the port colder than other areas of his former home. The comparisons to then and now were even more apparent as the roads become muddy, the air had a familiar chilling bite to it, and the forest they were walking through had a thin fog roll through the trees.
"It's going to be a late winter this year," Wraith commented at the head of the group.
"Think we'll get a snowfall this year?" Susan asked.
"Eh I would be surprised if it snowed here at all," Amber commented as she looked at the trees, "The plants here are the wrong type for snow. Though I'm a bit surprised they haven't lost their leaves."
"I've been noticing the same," Sil commented, completely unbothered about the fact his legs were completely covered in mud or not wearing boots.
"What do the trees have to do with snow?" Edward asked as he rolled his shoulder and adjusted his shotgun strap.
Amber paused to look back at him briefly before continuing to walk, "Makes sense he wouldn't understand plants when he lived underwater his entire life."
"I heard that," Edward replied, not bothering to mention that he was quite familiar with underwater flora specimens and the hazards they can bring.
"Not sure now is the best time for a science lesson to be honest," Toth commented before cocking her head to the side, "Also, it's been a while since I've been to a library."
Edward rolled his eyes and continued walking. Putting his confusion about trees and weather out of his mind, he kept his gaze on the road. They had been traveling for nearly a week and a half, relying on foraging to sustain themselves as they did so. Despite the distortions, the traveling had been relatively easy, the worst being the aforementioned foraging and an impromptu swimming session when the group crossed a stream that lacked a bridge and that had been deeper than it appeared (Amber had been furious and with the world being pixelated, she really did become a fuzzy puffball while half dragging Toth out of the stream).
Even with the easy traveling, his paranoia began to itch fervently over the past few days. He could not help but feel like the traveling had been too easy for too long, especially given the supposed stakes involved. But nothing happened and the worst seemed to be haphazard "music changes" as Toth would put it or the distortions catching everyone off guard.
Calm down Ed. You'll deal with a crisis when it happens and you'll be ready for it, he told himself as he ran a hand across his utility belt and brushed it against his revolver.
Amber frowned as her foot went straight into a mudhole and added another layer of mud over her boots, pants, tail, and duster. While far from the worst she has ever experienced, the filth was going to be a pain to clean and the road had become muddy only this morning. Ignoring the mess, she continued onwards and tried to think of something to keep her mind occupied. Strangely enough, this journey was proving to be exceptionally boring. She was wary and kept her guard up as usual, but she was definitely relaxed and could not help but feel a bit...aimless as they walked. She was not searching for something, had no real idea where she was walking to, had no tasks to focus on, and the lack of immediate danger just resulted in her feeling bored. She just followed the path and her "clients" as they walked somewhere.
"When did I become addicted to adrenaline?" she muttered into her neckerchief and adjusted her hat.
"You say something?" Toth asked as she walked up on the side.
"Just on edge and nothing to burn the energy on," Amber admitted before glaring from the side of her eye, "Though if you start singing again I will get creative."
"Don't worry, no singing with this one. Can't even hum it. Sir Coker however does make decent music."
"Stop existing," Amber grabbed her hat and thumped Toth on the head, earning a laugh in response.
"Ah yes! I shall just vanish from this plane of existence in an instant by your command!" Toth laughed before sidestepping another attack from the hat wielding drifter.
"You know Amber, you remind me of some of the soldiers I was assigned with," Susan called out.
"More of a feisty hunter getting into a disagreement over how to carve a deer with a Greenfinger in my opinion," Wraith commented.
"That's...specific," Sil said anxiously as the world distorted into the rubbery flatness.
Amber huffed and put her hat back on. Out of all the distortions, this one was the worst. The pixelation at the very least had a sense of depth to it and the distortion where clothes, accents, and languages got changed was tolerable since it had all three dimensions. This one was just downright annoying. She felt flat, saw everything else like it was a background painting, and she swore she felt more like a puppet being flung about despite being able to comprehend exactly where she was going, what was around her, and how her body moved. The most disorienting fact was that it was not disorienting at all when it should be.
"Oh great, this one again," she sighed, resigned with disappointment in her voice as she adjusted her grip on her bag and continued walking.
"Uh Sil?" Edward called out.
"Yeah?" Sil replied.
"You didn't just suddenly decide to take a mud bath did you?"
Amber turned around and saw that Sil was indeed looking like he had taken a mud bath. In fact, everyone did. Looking down at herself, she grimaced and saw that she was no better.
"That's it. This is the worst way to live. I know I don't have this much crap on me," Amber growled as she vainly attempted to brush the filth off, "It doesn't even feel like there is this much on me so why does it look like it?!"
"Well this is a thing for now," Edward commented as he resumed walking, "Though I do agree with Sil that that comment was oddly specific, Wraith."
"Common occurrence in the tribe I grew up with," Wraith replied nonchalantly, "Was such a common occurrence it was an unusual day when the two could agree without spending an hour arguing."
"As opposed to what? A half hour?"
"That happened...twice to my memory. I left after seventeen summers."
Who spends that much time arguing on how to carve up an animal to cook it? The surface still found new ways to amaze Edward with its madness.
Pushing past his disbelief, he walked over to Amber who was fuming about the distortion. While the mud splatters and exaggeration did not bother him, he could tell it was grating on Amber's nerves. Furthermore, as much as he found some entertainment in her frustration, Edward was noticing that the distortions were taking a toll on her mental state. The moment the frustration was spent Amber would-
And there she goes looking guilty again, Edward thought as he examined Amber's expression.
It had been subtle, almost unnoticeable as it happened. But looking back over the course of their travels, Edward could clearly see that every distortion distressed Amber for far greater reasons than just discomfort. What had started as he protests in trying to avoid blame slowly became guilty acceptance and looks of deep seated regret. As to why Edward could not tell. Amber may have extraordinary powers, but she was a fighter first and foremost and relied solely on technology. There was no way she could do...whatever this was to the entire world.
Another secret, Edward thought as he spotted a squirrel running which caused a tree branch to fall, Or more accurately something else given that she doesn't hold secrets.
"Just ask," Amber sighed after a few minutes of silent walking.
"Hmm?" Edward turned his gaze back at her as the world returned to normal.
"You have a question and are being paranoid so now you're suspicious of me. Just ask."
He had been far from subtle for her. In truth, she had plenty of questions of her own for everyone but she had kept them to herself unless it was innocent and inconsequential. For her, personal questions could wait for a time and place. For Edward, it was a matter of life and death as well as trust. She has accepted that and in some ways could agree with that mentality after getting to know him.
"Something has been bothering you and it's been getting worse ever since we left Crossroad," Edward stated.
"Gee I wonder what that could possibly be," she glared at him and nearly slipped on a mud covered tree root, "These distortions are disorienting, I need a bath, and somehow the thing I'm carrying is responsible for all of this."
"You don't know that for certain," Edward said simply.
"Right… Because a bunch of cultists decide to just harass every drifter they see carrying a three hundred year tablet."
"Cults of Decay don't usually go for subtlety. Usually they just kill and take what they want," Susan called out.
"I can second that statement," Sil said.
"Look, let's just keep walking all right? I'm responsible enough for all of this as is and I don't need… Oh damn it," Amber huffed.
She just had to run her mouth. Now her stupid insecurity is out in the open for them to know. As the group stopped, she could tell she had to explain it or risk antagonizing them.
"Responsible for what?" Edward asked with an edge in his voice.
"I am such an idiot," she ran her hand down her face and groaned, "I just had to say that."
"What are you responsible for?" Wraith asked, looking at her critically alongside Susan.
"I just pulled the stupid tablet out of the Crystal Forest in hopes of figuring out how to fix my ancestors' mistakes, all right? Someone has to undo the damage and the ones responsible are dead. I might as well do something because I'm a Racoon and it was their fault for starting the Titan War!" Amber shouted, glaring at them.
"Wait… You're blaming yourself for the actions of three hundred years ago?" Sil questioned.
Amber felt her eyes burn in embarrassment and shame. She knew it was stupid and that the burden she placed on herself was misplaced. But what else could she do? Her parents had been upset for as long as she knew, she had grown up in the ruins of one of the greatest tragedies of the world, and that was not even including the fact that-
"The past is the past," Toth said suddenly, distracting everyone, "You can run from it or learn from it, but you can't change it. If the mistakes were made three centuries ago then the only thing you're guilty of doing is wasting the time you have on the mistakes of others. Times change, people change, the past doesn't," Toth finished and resumed walking.
Susan and Wraith glanced at one another and resumed walking as well, leaving Amber behind with Sil and Edward. Sil had an anguished look on his own face and he quickly took off to continue walking, not able to look her in the eyes.
Edward sighed and offered a hand, "She's right and I'm sorry. You're an honest woman Amber, flaws and all."
Whipping her eyes and taking a deep breath Amber gave a sad smile and shook his hand, "Thanks Edward. You're not too bad yourself for being a paranoidal pain in the ass."
They both continued walking and caught up with the others.
Later that night they set up camp. Amber found herself tending the campfire while the others foraged for food or firewood. Pulling her bag over, she peered inside and spotted the tablet. She still felt guilt about discovering it and the Crystal Forest back home, but a new set of emotions roiled through her.
"If it helps there are quite a few Floran who share your sense of guilt," Wraith called as he flew down carrying a pair of rabbits.
Amber grabbed one of the rabbits and pulled out her knife to start working on it for dinner, "Not sure what you mean."
"A few years back Cherrystone and Felheim went to war with one another with the Floran Tribes getting dragged in. Most honored the alliance with Cherrystone, some did not. Several of the renegades were led by a hunter turned warlord by the name of Sedge…" Wraith trailed off with a dark expression, pausing his work briefly on the other rabbit before resuming indifferently.
"Whatever he did couldn't have been as bad as what the Racoons of old did."
"Perhaps not, but as carnivorous as we are there's a line between enjoying the hunt and needless slaughter for sadistic pleasure."
Amber opened her mouth to counter the statement but was unable to find the words. From what she had learned and researched, the atrocities of the Titan War had been measures of desperation as opposed to deliberate cruelty. From what Wraith was saying, it sounded as if Sedge had been no better (or even worse) than the Necrophages her father had been captured by. With a grunt, she resumed focusing on the rabbit.
"What happened in the end?" she asked quietly.
"Sedge got cornered by the Greenfinger and lost all of his followers trying to escape. Found himself on the wrong end of some Cherrystone pikemen and was executed on the spot. As for the war itself… Well that's a much larger story to tell," Wraith sighed, "I learned about it right after it ended and decided to wander a bit to see what had happened while I was out exploring the world."
They sat in quiet silence, carving up the rabbits and listening to the fire pop beside them. Somewhere in the distance an owl hooted as Amber threw another pile of sticks into the fire.
"Wonder what's taking the others so long," Amber commented as she pulled out a pan and cooked the rabbit, "It's getting dark fast."
"They'll be all right. You all put up quite the fight back at the tavern and know how to handle yourselves," Wraith shrugged, handing his rabbit over to be added to the pan.
"Can't speak for the others but venturing out into an apocalyptic wasteland forces you to know how to survive. Especially a former battlefield…"
"There are many tribes that feel guilt for what Sedge and his followers had done. Some of them even helped fight against him and yet they blame themselves for his actions. I don't know what Central Town is like nor have I seen this 'Crystal Forest' that haunts you, but it's been three centuries Amber," Wraith huffed, "Right now we need you to be alert and focused, not turning yourself into a scapegoat. The mistakes of someone else are not your own."
Amber sighed and kept her focus on cooking. Shortly afterwards, the others returned with their own foraged supplies and they joined in for a light dinner. It had been a quiet meal and Amber felt herself feeling cold despite the fire throughout all of it.