Ashgate #2 - Unknown Awakening.

You slowly release Umbra from your grasp and went over to the see what you had just shot.

Eh...? Shot? You.... you didn't have a gun.

You looked down at your hands. You stared at your empty palms incredulously.

A moan? What....

You took another step forward and saw a women with bright red hair amongst the leaves. She was dead.

No... this.. isn't what happened. Tyria? Tyria!

~~~

You woke up suddenly. You shook your head. That definitely wasn't how it happened, was it? You cursed your screwy brain for adding in a gun and necked another palmful of painkillers.

~~~
The girl sobbed even louder, and struggled against your hold. You heard a faint rustling of leaves in the distance, and pinned Rydia down. You covered her mouth and brought a finger to your lips.

What will you do?
___________________________________________________
Inventory: Combat Knife, Emergency Rations, Personal Medkit, PD.
Magic: Feather Fall, Camouflage, Suggestion, Blink.
Companions: Tyria

Umbra is under your custody.

 

Placing a hand to my waist, I did my best to make myself look like the local terrain, making myself and the girl camouflaged.

 

"Is that really necessary, Caretaker?" a womens voice responded. It was just Tyria. A beautiful, delicate and fiery bird swooped down from the tree-tops and landed on your shoulder. "You shouldn't waste energy like that."

"Then don't sneak up on me." You grunted, and shooed the bird away. She giggled, and flew towards the floor. The moment she touched the damp earth, she transformed into a human form. You raise an eyebrow at her naked body. She shrugged in response, and then shook out her shoulders. Feathers grew out of her skin, covering her from the rain. "This isn't the Witch, Caretaker. What have you done this time?!" Tyria scolded.

"Change of plans."

"Ashgate isn't going to take kindly to this, you know."

"Right, because I'm supposed to just sit and watch some monster kill off six children?"

Tyria looked like she was going to retort, but she was rendered speechless by your last remark. She sighed heavily, and walked over to the clearing. She inspected the magic circle. "You at least have to take care of the b-"

You glared at her threateningly, and motioned towards Rydia. "I'm going to take her away from here. You deal with it."

You hoisted Rydia back onto your shoulders and walked away into the woodland. It was going to be a long journey to your designated pick up spot.

What will you do now?
___________________________________________________
Inventory: Combat Knife, Emergency Rations, Personal Medkit, PD.
Magic: Feather Fall, Camouflage, Suggestion, Blink.
Companions: Tyria

Umbra is under your custody.

 

I head through the woodland moving slowly to try and muffle my steps keeping an ear out for any sounds

 

As you moved through the woodland, you strained your senses. 10 - maybe 20 - minutes passed before you could hear any normal woodland sounds could be heard. It was safe to say that you had exited The Witch's domain. You straightened up and checked on Rydia over your shoulder. She was still crying - silently. You grabbed her and set her down onto the damp earth.

"I-i'm hungry...." she croaked.

What will you do now?
___________________________________________________
Inventory: Combat Knife, Emergency Rations, Personal Medkit, PD.
Magic: Feather Fall, Camouflage, Suggestion, Blink.
Companions: Tyria

Umbra is under your custody.

 

I look at the emergency rations judging if there way anything i could spare

 

You brought out the Emergency Rations from your coat and inspected them. It wasn't much but.... it would do, at least. You would have to build a campfire to cook them, however.

Will you set up camp in the woodland and wait out the rain? It's possible to make a temporary shelter here.
___________________________________________________
Inventory: Combat Knife, Emergency Rations, Personal Medkit, PD.
Magic: Feather Fall, Camouflage, Suggestion, Blink.
Companions: Tyria

Umbra is under your custody.

 

I pick up Rydia and walk further for a while before deciding to rest for longer, choosing to build a shelter

 

I keep my knife ready to draw at a moments notice.

 

It would be best to put more space in between The Witch's Domain and your current position. You picked up Rydia once more, and readied your knife just as a defensive measure. Half an hour passed until Rydia spoke up again.

"H-hey? Caretaker, right? I.. I don't feel good."

You sighed a little, and reassured her. "Just a bit longer and we'll set up camp and feed you."

"N-no... it's not tHAT" she explained, suddenly shouting. She rolled off your back and onto the floor. You turned around. "WhAT is even haPPENing to mE?" she screamed, writhing in pain. You knelt down to help her, but she only pushed you away. "nO... plEASE don't cOME ANY CLOser!" You felt a pit open up in your stomach. You had misjudged her current state. Your eyes widened as you remembered her words from earlier.

I-i've seen what she did to the others before this.... she makes us ... k-kill people. B-but we... we don't have a c-choice....

Her body burned as a stream of flames hit her with full force. At first you thought it was Tyria attacking her - but no feathers could be seen around her body. You watched in horror as the girl's skin turned to an ashen grey, as her eyes blackened, as her hair sprouted from her scalp and tangled around her person. She clawed at the ground - grinding the ends against the earth, screeching in pain. They grew longer, sharper and more deadly. As she started to calm down, you approached her once more. Black tears stained her face.

Almost immediately - Rydia started to attack. She pounced on you, and the only thing stopping her from slicing open your neck was your frantic attempt to stick your knife into her skull. Gods, why didn't you figure this out sooner? She was stuck in the middle. Neither human, neither Unknown. She could have been human again. This was your fault. Caught up in your self blame, you almost forgot you had the strongest trump card in your arsenal.

"Rydia! Stop this nonsense!" you commanded. She froze, eyes widened.

"T-thank you... thank you so much.... p-please believe me, I-i didn't..." she sobbed.

You relaxed and lay back. You caught your breath. You could have done more for this girl. You could have saved her, and sent her back to her family. She could have lived a normal life, and forget about all of this horrible affair. But you left Tyria to burn the bodies. You let The Witch's power escape her domain and seek out the nearest host. The girl was both cursed, and a fully fledged Unknown.

"Ahhhh, ******* hell." you finally said. Rydia was still sobbing on your stomach. You pushed her aside and stood up. This was as good a place as any. You might as well set up camp here and hope for the best. You cleared a parameter around your current location, and then went about collecting kindling and some firm logs to sit on. Rydia, still terrified, huddled close against a nearby tree trunk and watched your every move. You sighed, and cursed this rain. You would have to rely on Tyria to do the rest for you.

What will you do to pass the time?
___________________________________________________
Inventory: Combat Knife, Emergency Rations, Personal Medkit, PD.
Magic: Feather Fall, Camouflage, Suggestion, Blink.
Companions: Tyria

Umbra is under your custody.

 

I decide to carve random words into the log keeping my eye on Rydia

 

I check the nearby treeline, to see if Tyria had returned.

 

You started to carve some runes into the log you were sat nearby. You watched Rydia in between strokes. You wondered when Tyria would return - it wouldn't take her long to catch up with them over this amount of distance, especially if she flew. she probably saw The Witch's power escape, and was hurrying along her way already.

"You need a new name."

You girl just stared back at you. She didn't resist the idea.

"Let's see... to make sure you don't forget your own name.... Rydia Umbridge, huh?" you said, musing out loud. "Let's keep the 'Um' for starters. You seem like the type of kid to say that a lot." you joked, trying to lighten to mood. She still didn't protest. "Alright then.... I'll take the R and the A... Umra? Nah, that sounds silly. Umbra. Umbra sounds nice." you look over at the girl. "Your name is Umbra now, okay?" she kept staring at you, and eventually nodded back. After a few moments of silence, she spoke up.

"D-do you, uhm, have a real name?" she asked meekly.

"I do."

"Won't you tell me...?"

You chuckled. "Maybe when you turn 16, sure." you said, joking.

Umbra nodded, and committed it to memory. Hah. Kids were gullible.

A few moments later, Tyria flew into your lap. You threw the carved runes you had been working on towards the parameter you cleared earlier. "Why don't you make yourself useful and light this campfire, Tyria?" you said, seething. Tyria let out and apologetic chirp and awkwardly looked over at Umbra. "And sprout some shelter from this godawful rain while you're at it."

Tyria returned to her human form, lighting the fire in the process. As she sprouted new feathers for herself, she shed them and weaved them together with fire, making an overhead canopy. She fixed it to the trunks around them, and let the excess fall to the floor. You sighed through your nose. Concentrating, you took a deep breath and started on camouflaging the camp. You weren't used to hiding anything more then yourself - so the process put a heavy strain on your body. When you were finished, Tyria giggled.

"Ahhh~~ if only you were Unknown, Caretaker! You could use an unlimited supply of magic and weave it like I do." she teased.

"Don't joke about something like that." You spat back at her. You set about cooking the Emergency Rations for Umbra. The girl perked up, and reluctantly sat next to you as you prepared her meal. When it reached completion, she went to snatch the tin out of your hands. "Oi. Stop that Umbra. I'm not done."

You took your combat knife, and removed one of your gloves. With one hand placed over the top of the tin, you sliced your hand open and covered the rations in your own blood. Umbra grimaced.

"Yeah yeah, don't gimme that face. It'll taste good, I promise." you told her, and she reluctantly took the tin from you. She poked and prodded at it, unsure. You grabbed the fork and stuffed some in her mouth. She chewed gratefully. "See? Tastes amazing, I bet."

What will you do now?
___________________________________________________
Inventory: Combat Knife, Emergency Rations, Personal Medkit, PD.
Magic: Feather Fall, Camouflage, Suggestion, Blink.
Companions: Tyria

Umbra is under your custody.

 

"Did you see anyone else in the forest with us? I'm sure there had to be other things roaming around the area." I inquired, rubbing my hand against my pants.

 

"Oh, I did scout the area a little before coming here... seems safe enough." Tyria shrugged.

You really hated her half-assed attitude.
___________________________________________________
Inventory: Combat Knife, Emergency Rations, Personal Medkit, PD.
Magic: Feather Fall, Camouflage, Suggestion, Blink.
Companions: Tyria

Umbra is under your custody.