Charlotte would clean his clothes and face in the water, trying to get rid of the dried blood. He set them up on a branch to dry as he took a deep breath and dove into the water.
He could see the fish around him scattering and swimming away; his gaze was locked on the darkness underneath him as he swam down. He expected to reach the bottom in a few seconds, but it seemed to go on forever. He looked upwards, and the darkness around him almost enveloped him. He could see the sun reflecting off the water, but it felt like looking through a well.
"This Is wrong; the lake isn't this deep. The hell is going on..."
Charlotte focused on their eyes; they could see a bit better. It was enough to see something under them; it looked almost like someone had sliced a hole through the world. The exciting part was what looked to be a wolf. It was dead but emanated strength and power from its appearance alone. He also felt some Chi going into his body; it was small but noticeable now that he was paying attention.
He swam down to get closer, but he saw silhouettes of hands pulling the wolf into the Rift once he did. He didn't understand why, but the Rift looked comforting, almost as if he belonged inside it.
He was starting to run out of breath. As he contemplated going back up, something brushed against his leg. The same hand he saw around the would seem to be trying to wrap around his leg. He focused on his arms and legs and swam upwards with all his might, barely managing to avoid being grabbed by the hand.
He didn't look back down as he surfaced and caught his breath. He didn't know what he saw or what that was, but he wasn't ready to deal with it. He swam out of the water, trying to avoid enticing whatever that thing was.
His chance to rest was interrupted by the man he had defeated as he held onto his chest plate and gauntlets.
"Put those down unless you are looking to get beaten up."
The man glared at him as some guards came out of the forest, each wielding a sword.
"We will be taking these as a way to pay for the damage you did to my armor; now, how about you get dressed and stay out of our way."
They couldn't tell, but Charlotte spread Chi throughout their body as he came out of the water.
"I will make you regret doing this; now let go of my things. I don't know how much he paid you guys, but broken bones aren't worth it."
They raised their weapons at him, while the man looked a bit smug when he saw them standing on his side.
"Fine, I tried to warn you...what's with people and just not listening today."
Charlotte looked like he had disappeared from their point of view. He appeared in front of a guard and struck his chest, sending him into a tree. As they turned to see where he had appeared, he was already gone. Like that, each guards were taken out by a single blow to the chest. The man tried to run, but Charlotte grabbed him by his shirt and tossed him towards the lake.
"L-let me go, don't kill me!"
The man tossed the gauntlets and chest plate on the ground and raised his hands in surrender. Charlotte held onto the man's shirt before striking his face.
Charlotte lessened the output of his strength, but he still kept hitting him till he fell unconscious and left him with a broken nose before letting him go. He couldn't rightfully stay In this town anymore; he might get attacked by the guards, or the man might attack him again.
He walked around to the guards, making sure they were unconscious. If they weren't, he punched them to knock them out and checked their pockets to get any money. Most of them weren't carrying anything. Still, a few had enough, and he had fourteen gold coins at the end of his search.
He would put on the gauntlets and chest plate and quickly climb up the tree to grab his sack filled with meat. He heads to town, hoping the money he has on him will be enough for a carriage to the capital. He would be heading a few days earlier than expected, but better early than late.
"How much for a ride to the capital?"
He asked the woman loading a carriage with wood; he turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Charlotte knew that look and rolled his eyes.
"I'm not a kid. I am practically an adult...if you call me a kid, I swear."
The woman smiled and laughed; she stopped loading the wood onto the cart and sat down.
"How much money you got?"
He showed her the fourteen gold coins in his hands, and the lady shook her head.
"How about you help me load up the carriage now, and when we get to the capital, you help me unload it?"
She held out her hand, and he put the coins in his pocket and shook her hand. She smiled and walked to the front, and climbed up the driver's side. He didn't want to waste time, so he spread Chi through his whole body. He quickly began picking up the wood and putting it into the carriage.
In just a few minutes, the carriage was filled, and he walked around to the other side and climbed up to sit down next to her, placing the sack in front of his feet.
"You're stronger than you look; maybe I should have charged you money."
She said with a smirk; when she saw him pouting, she laughed and patted his back.
"I'm kidding; I won't go back on my word. The name is Stella; what's your name?"
She flicked the reins as the horses started moving out of town; they were going a bit slower than usual due to their weight. At least he wouldn't have to walk there, and she seemed to be a decent company.
"It's Charlotte, nice to meet you."
She raised an eyebrow and squinted her eyes as she looked at him.
"That's...usually a girl's name; you aren't a girl, right?"
Charlotte chuckled; he hadn't heard someone say that in a while.
"No, I'm not a girl. When I was born, my mom got sick and soon passed away. She wanted to name me Charlotte because she believed I would be a girl. My dad decided to give me the name anyway as a way for me to remember her."
Stella stayed silent; she seemed to be conflicted from what he saw. Usually, people get like this when he mentions his mother, but he doesn't even have any memories of her, so it's hard to feel sad.
"Sorry if I brought up bad memories; I wasn't trying to insult you."
After that, it got a bit silent as the two rode silently. It would take a few days for them to get to the capital; he didn't want it to be awkward the whole way there.
Every time he tried to say anything, though, it didn't feel right. He didn't know what to say or do, so he stayed quiet and trained.