The mid-morning spring sun began to beat down casting away the nights chill.
Tora led the way down a forested earthen road lined by wagon tracks, slightly overtaken by grass denoting the risks of traveling in the undead infested south.
Asher walked carrying Sophia on the crook of his arm, her hands clinging onto his shoulders.
Their new cat-eared companion offered to guide them to a town where they'd be safe from the undead, but Asher was far from certain in regards to following her.
He didn't like the idea of having to rely on anyone, even if that person was expressing gratitude. The kinder a person is the more wary you should be, poisonous animals tend to have bright colors after all.
They'd been walking for a good two hours and for the whole duration Tora had demonstrated an amazing talent for not being able to shut up.
Certainly, it had been his intent to keep her talking to get as much information as he possibly could. Since he had spent an unknown amount of time as a corpse, information was something he lacked.
This on the other hand was a bit much. She flew from one topic to another. Mushrooms to mages, the price of bread to the hardness of hardtack.
He was getting useful tidbits that would help with normal conversation, but still he was feeling drained by the tidal wave of words flooding his ears.
An amazing feat on Toras part considering he shouldn't be able to feel tired, or at the very least hadn't managed to reach the point of tiredness.
He sighed silently, blowing air out his nose, his diaphragm lurching suddenly.
"And then this guy Cedric, you might run into him in town, he's hard to miss. Anyways…" Tora looked over her shoulder to see Asher had stopped.
"Something wrong?" She asked concerned.
He held out Sophia for her to take her. She did with a look of confusion. "Everything okay?" Asher didn't answer and walked behind a tree where moments later coughing and retching could be heard, causing Tora and Sophia to exchange concerned glances.
That felt much better. For the several days since he nearly burned alive it felt as though there had been something caught in his lungs, and his throat had a terrible scratchy feeling. He was thankful to finally be rid of the discomfort.
Righting himself, he wiped his mouth of the black fluid comprised of blood and mucus before returning.
"Are you alright?" Tora asked, ears folded down. He shot her a bent headed glance. "Yeah." He replied flatly.
Her ears flicked at his reply, a slight look of suprise on her face as the boy's voice now sounded different. Softer, no longer scratchy and much younger than she initially thought. "I… if you don't mind my asking, how old are you Asher?" She asked.
He had to think for a moment. There shouldn't be any harm in telling her he decided. "I just turned fifteen." He replied, taking Sophia back into his arms.
"Wow you're younger than I thought you were. I enter my nineteenth year in two months." She added, turning back around to resume their march. "And I'm six!" Sophia declared incorrectly holding up seven fingers.
This was also surprising considering just how small the girl was. Was she just small, or is her size the result of a rough upbringing?
Judging by the brother's appearance one could guess that malnutrition may be a factor as to why Sophia's so small. She did seem a bit thin.
"They don't seem to be carrying anything. What have they been eating?" Tora thought pausing; After a moment's consideration, she pulled her bag from her shoulder and reached in.
"Here you guys seem to be traveling light, so have some of this." She said producing a few strips of the tough beef jerky she'd been chewing on the last few days.
Asher stared at the dried meat for a moment, before Sophia's growling stomach and drooling face prompted him to take it. "Thanks." He said not meeting her gaze.
"You're welcome." Tora replied, stretching. "Now that I think about it, we've been walking for a while. We should probably take a break."
She walked over to a large rock and sat down stretching her legs out, rubbing her calves. Asher slid his curved sword from his belt and sat at the base of a tree, holding it singlehanded with the butt of the scabbard against the ground, his long white hair draping upon the earth. Sophia sat in his lap struggling as she tried to tear and chew the tough jerky with her teeth.
Tora sipped from a water skin watching as the girl tore at the dried meat, finding her efforts adorable. She wondered if this is why her people called humans "Kein Tann" which meant little teeth in her native tongue.
Her eyes flicked to Asher noticing he wasn't eating. She went to speak but hesitated unsure whether to ask him about it, not wanting to pry. Was he sick? Did he not like jerky? Wait no, would someone in his state even be so picky?
She rolled the possibilities in her mind as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and took another sip of water.
Asher did his best to ignore the girls staring, focusing his gaze off in the distance pretending not to notice the eyes rolling over him curiously.
"Just what is she thinking?" He wondered. Had she figured out his resemblance to a certain monster was more than just an absurd coincidence?
She didn't seem nervous so that wasn't likely. Perhaps it's the smell of death? No, that could be pinned on the encounter with those undead earlier.
He remained stone faced as he mulled over the possibilities, about what it could be other than just simple curiosity.
"Nngh!" Sophia let out a grunt tearing at the jerky, managing to rip a chunk free, the excess force causing her tiny hands to slap Asher on the leg.
"Ah! Shorry big brubber." She said, stumbling her words while chewing. "It's fine…" He replied, looking at her his expression softening somewhat. He understood her voracity and was happy she could eat something besides roots or wild plants.
During the few days that's all he'd been able to find to fill her stomach. There weren't any wild animals that he'd seen besides birds that were too small to eat.
He looked at the jerky in Sophia's hands, realizing he could probably shred it and make eating it easier for her. He went to reach up and stopped looking down at his bandaged up and necrotic left arm, deciding that It wasn't a good idea to touch someone's food with a hand like this.
Closing his eyes, he pondered a decision. As much as he didn't want to ask her, he knew that for right now he needed to put aside any misgivings about relying on others.
"Miss Vandili." He called, flicking his gaze to the still staring Tora. "Yes?" She answered, going slightly red hoping he hadn't noticed her staring at him.
"Could you shred Sophia's jerky so it's easier for her to eat? I'd do it but." He held up his bandaged hand. "My left hand is necrotic so touching food with it probably isn't safe." He finished.
"Oh sure…" She turned to take the strip of meat from Sophia, meeting Asher's mono eyed gaze. There was something eerie about this boy's eye. It felt like a razor trying to peel away at her.
She pushed these thoughts aside as she tore the meat in her hands into small bits. "Here you are." Tora said, scooping up the jerky and placing it in Sophia's small cupped hands who began to wolf it down.
Toras' talkative nature took hold once again. "So Asher what do you plan on doing once we reach the city? You'll be looking for work I'm assuming?"
"More than likely." Tora flicked her ears somewhat annoyed by his short answers to her questions. "What kind of work are you thinking of looking for?" She started. "…not sure." Tora felt another twinge of annoyance at the lack of a proper answer, Asher took note of this.
"Well what kind of skills do you have besides y'know? swinging tree branches?" She asked jokingly hoping some humor would make him more amicable to conversation.
Asher didn't want to talk all that much, but he needed to keep his cat-eared companion from growing restless. You can't trust someone you can't talk to, and you won't talk to someone you don't trust.
"…I'm good at throwing branches too." He replied with a flat tone of sarcasm, a very slight line of a smile playing on his face. "Breaking them and then kicking whatever's nearby out of frustration."
Tora chuckled, it wasn't the least bit funny, she didn't know why but the way he said it just made her giggle. She went to take another sip of water before offering some to the siblings.
Asher declined, letting Sophia drink. The lingering taste of death in his mouth wouldn't be explainable. It would be even worse if he accidentally spread some kind of illness. He wasn't completely alive after all.
Tora was worried for the boy. She didn't what exactly he'd been through, but wouldn't try to force him. She understood that people who've had bad experiences needed time to move forward, and that forcing them would only make things worse.
It was a fact she remembered unfortunately well as she unwittingly pinched a lock of her shaggy hair.
She stood retying the water sack to her belt and slung her pack back over her shoulder.
"Alright time to get back on the road. We're still a few days from the city." Asher stood sliding his sword back into place at his hip and hefted Sophia back onto the crook of his arm.
They continued their march, eventually leaving the forest and walking out in the open into a sprawling field of green.