"So, who are you" I asked the girl, but I was met with a lack of response, she just continued to stare at the rocky ground as I pulled her along with me towards the border. It really shouldn't be that much further now. Eighteen kilometres? Hmm...No we should we a bit closer than that, Mother told me that the closer you get to the border, the darker and cloudier the sky becomes.
Twelve kilometres from the border.
We had been walking for what seemed like hours, the purple flame once again guiding my path, it took me to unmapped territory. It was a huge mountain, bigger than any I had seen near my hometown. We trekked up the dangerous mountain range, rotten trees surrounded us, it felt like a battlefield. The thought of death never left my mind as we traversed the mountain, there was blood spilt on trees and all over the ground no matter how far we walked. "Isn't it strange" I asked the girl in a monotone voice, I didn't expect her to respond, but I wanted an opinion from someone else, I wanted to feel a little at ease about the whole thing, but it was evident that something wasn't right.
Eleven kilometres from the border.
"Look girl" I gave her cheek a soft pat, but she showed no reaction. "I need you to speak up, it's getting annoying, whenever I ask you something you never respond" I say as I push her hair back so I can see into her eyes. That was a mistake, I had let go of her for the first time since leaving the town I found her in, her eyes reminded me of the soulless eyes that would be typically seen in Remnants. Remnants were known as mana beasts but were called Remnants because they were born from the lingering mana particles in the area. Depending on the quantity or quality of the mana in the area at the time, a Remnant could either be strong or weak.
Eleven kilometres from the border.
"You! You're one of them?! You're a Remnant!" I yell at the girl, but she just stands there, just like before she has no reaction. I create my purple flame to ask for guidance, but it continues to point at the girl. The intensity of the flame was unusually high, it was brighter, hotter, and it felt angry. 'Why was it angry' I thought to myself, feeling somewhat guilty that I questioned it's guidance once again.
I grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her along and we continued along our journey. "So...Do you have a name that I can call you?" I ask once again to break the silence, but curious as well to what her name is.
"N-no" the little girl responded weakly. She sounded weak, barely able to speak.
My face showed a surprised expression as I halted momentarily to look at the little girl who had finally spoken for the first time since I had taken her from the town she was dying in. The stop didn't last long as explosions began to commence from the bottom of the mountain we had started climbing from. 'Why now? Why are they fighting so close? I thought we escaped' I thought to myself whilst gripping the little girl's arm and making haste towards the mountains peak. It wasn't long though before my small body became puffed and sore, my lungs felt tight and sore, like they had been slashed at with a sharp knife, but I was more worried about the girl. I looked at the girl who's arm i was still holding and saw that she appeared fine, nothing about her physical appearance was any different, she wasn't out of breath, or sore from the looks of it, she was standing up fine, but rather than looking at the ground as she had the start of our journey, she now kept her head up but her hair still covered majority of her face.
Ten Kilometres from the border.
Where we stand now is the peak of the mountain range, I can see kilometres and kilometres away, it really does feel like being at the top of the world. When I look up, the clouds appear so much closer than they were back on flat ground. After admiring the clouds and the land far out of my reach, I turn to a tree and place my hand on it and look up, the tree was massive, it looks so beautiful, to stand here forever growing without fail. I then look back at the girl and then back at the tree letting go off the girl for the second time. "You said you didn't have a name, right?" I asked looking at the girl still suspicious whether she was lying or not.
"No... Name" the girl said with a slight pause in between words to gather the strength to speak.
The breeze became cold, suppose that's how it should be when you're this far in the sky. "Well, would you like a name? It would be easier to call out too you if something went wrong" I explained to the girl while feeling bad that she doesn't have a name.
The girl simply nodded her head and walked a little closer, she seemed curious, but it was hard to tell with this girl, she had rarely spoken after all which made it a lot harder to gauge her emotions. "What do you think of me naming you, Flora?" I asked, feeling a bit nervous about whether or not she would actually like the name or just downright hate it.
Upon hearing the name, the girl smiled through her long dark hair and nodded, her eyes became somewhat less dead in the process as she hugged me tightly. I felt confused, but a hug for the first time in what felt like years wasn't unwelcome. After a few minutes I started to feel uncomfortable from the prolonged contact and pried her off me gently. Despite prying her off me she still had a happy look in her eyes.