Morning time, 8 am.
Ashen wakes up before anyone else and goes out of the room to eat breakfast.
9 am.
Vex and Dax both wake up and see Draven down the hall but after just moments, Yashko, the boy that was seen messily sleeping last night, walks out of the door not far from Dax and Vex at all.
"You're… the boy…." I almost panicked as I couldn't remember his name.
"Yashko. You two don't need to introduce each other. I heard your names… yawn last night" He said in a half asleep voice. Vex just responded with a simple "Ok." As he said that, Tellen also walked out from the same room. Tellen said, "Good morning…"
All 4 of them walked to the big wooden table that had blood vials on it yesterday. When they walked down the hall to it, however, no blood vials could be found on it and instead of being alone it was accompanied with 10 chairs. 4 on the right, 4 on the left, and 2 on the front and back. So far just Ashen and Sporn were there. Sporn was one of the two men when the three were first brought here, he was eating breakfast now while Ashen looked like she had already finished as she was reading a book.
Yashko stepped towards the table and sat down after getting a banana and milk from the middle of the table. He ate the whole banana in one bite and drank all the milk in one sip.
Dax looked a little shocked but also confused, "Wha…?"
Vex didn't show it but he was a little shocked looking at him while Yashko downed the banana and milk.
"You shouldn't do that kid." Sporn said, "Gotta take bites, it's unhealthy otherwise."
"It's more efficient. It takes too long if I take little bites at a time." He said while still chewing.
Tellen was just as confused as Dax. Vex shifted his gaze to Sporn, he recognized him from yesterday.
Vex spoke, breaking the silence, "You."
"Sporn." He responded.
"How'd you know I was gonna ask that?"
"Because you're easy to read, kid." He responded
Vex not completely understanding what he meant by that, he shifted his gaze towards Yono, one of the two women he had met yesterday, walking into the room. She was dressed in all baggy clothes except for the white shirt, she wore black baggy pants and black shoes with them. Brown straight hair. She looked at Vex then Ashen. "Treat his wounds Ashen, before the test. Can't have him dying on us." Ashen, a bit tired, responded, "But," "Uh-uh, it's only gonna take a moment, now go." Yono responded with her finger in the air.
I shift my gaze towards Yono, "I'm fine, and what test?"
"You'll see." Ashen gestured with her head while looking at Vex to come to the other room. Vex hesitated before following her, they both entered the room revealing a small room with a single small bed with wooden walls and a wooden cabinet full of supplies. Ashen grabbed a couple of things, mostly medical things, before shifting her gaze to Vex.
"Let me see your wounds."
"I'm not even hurt, you guys are overreacting."
"Lie down on the bed and stop lying to yourself. Show me. Now." She says as she fills up a bowl with water.
Knowing she was right about him lying, Vex lies on the makeshift cot, taking off his shirt and cloak, his chest covered with wounds from the earlier fight. His breathing is uneven. The flicker of firelight casts long shadows on the walls. Ashen kneels beside him, a small bowl of water and cloth in hand. She says nothing at first, her expression unreadable.
"Hold still."
She presses the damp cloth to a bloodied gash along his side. Vex flinches, teeth clenched, eyes shut tight.
"Tch…"
glances up, deadpan "If I were gentle, you'd bleed out."
He opens one eye and looks at her "Like hell I would."
She continues working, her hands steady. Vex watches her in silence, noticing the faint tremor in her own fingers when she thinks he isn't looking. The firelight catches her fading purple eyes, making them glow faintly.
"...Why are you even bothering? You don't trust me."
She pauses, wringing the cloth "You're right. I don't."
She presses the cloth again, harder this time. He clenches his teeth, and she doesn't look away.
"But Draven does. And I don't feel like digging another grave tonight."
Vex flinched a bit, losing his gaze on Ashen, "Cold as hell."
Ashen said, quietly, almost to herself "Cold keeps you alive."
For a moment, the only sound is the dripping of water back into the bowl. Then Vex mutters:
"t-t..."
Ashen finally meets his eyes, tired, heavy, but there's the faintest trace of something softer there.
"Thanks? Yeah, try and survive the night first."
She ties the bandage tight and rises, cloak brushing the floor. Vex watches her as she turns away, the firelight swallowing her silhouette, a little mad that she knew he was trying to say thanks.
A light bulb dimly lights back up in my head, "Wait."
She turns around putting one hand on her hip. "Mhm?"
"What do you mean by… Survive the night?" I say as I sit up.
"Draven will tell ya. Don't worry, I doubt you'll die." She gave a light smile… kind of, before turning around and leaving the room, closing the door lightly behind her.
Vex sat up before looking at all the supplies on his left then shifting his gaze towards the door that Ashen had just closed. Outside there could be a conversation heard but it wasn't clear as to what they were talking about in Vex's point of view.
"Tch. Stupid Bandages, I didn't need them anyway…" he convinces himself yet deep, deep down he was grateful for her actions. I get up while pressing my hand gently across my stomach where it was covered in bandages now. I walk over to the door after getting up and put my hand on the door knob. I try pulling the knob without twisting it.
"The hell…?"
I pulled it harder, again, again, on the 4th time it could be heard from the outside of the room. I hear footsteps approaching, too light to be Dax, too heavy to be Tellen, too light to be Draven as well. Suddenly the door opens revealing Ashen with a blank expression staring at me, and everyone behind her at a distance almost as if they were holding in a laugh. Not Yono, she was chuckling while covering her mouth with her fingers.
"You don't know how to open a door do you…"
"Tch. Shut up" I attempt to walk past her before he puts her hand against my chest stopping me. She uses her free hand to grip the door knob and shifts her body towards it, and looks at me, then the knob. "Look." She twists it, then returns it to the original form. She does this 3 times before standing back up then looking back at me.
"I knew that…"
Yono intervened before Ashen could say anything more to make the situation worse, "Get over here Vex." I followed her request without hesitation, eager to change the subject and I asked, "Give me this stupid test or whatever already." "I can't just give it to you… but I can send you there." "Huh? What do you mean?"
Draven takes over and says, "Well it's actually for you, Dax, and Temmen." "Tellen," I said. Draven not phased even a bit, "Tellen, right. Basically we can't just babysit whoever so we're gonna have to send you to a low threat gang of blessed. Survive, you'll stay here, if not, well, you know what happens. Anyways, I'm not a huge fan of waiting so who else wants me to just send 'em in right now?"
"Sure." Dax says, "The sooner the better I guess."
"Hey." I say, "We already got rid of a gang, why would we need to get rid of another to prove ourselves?"
Draven intervened, "Uh-uh, but I'm teleporting you to a gang in Canada, the one you took out was in America."
"The hell is the difference?" Vex says
"You'll see." Draven responds, "Anyways, ima teleport y'all now. See ya."
Without letting Dax, Tellen, or Vex say another word, he opens a rift then next thing they know, they're all in a snowy mountain landscape. All three of them are together on the side of a mountain, on a flat part of it. On the bottom of it, Vex notices a man first, he also sees behind the man is a camp along with tents and a slave ground.
"I take it that we kill that camp down there." Dax says, "But what do we do with the slaves?"
I shift my gaze towards the man from the camp and tents. The man looks like he sees us.
"Duck." I say.
Dax and Tellen both follow the order and we all three duck under and take cover behind a rock. I peek over the rock and see the man blasting a horn. I put 2 pieces together and realize what's happening.
"He spotted us, he just let the others know. We might as well go down there, no?"
"True." Dax responds, "Let's do it stealthily though, we have not a clue as to what they're capable of."
I nod in agreement before going back to peeking on the right side of the rock. Tellen also peeks over the rock and when I turn towards her, I see an arrow through her forehead. Blood everywhere. She falls down sideways onto my lap as she bleeds out and all I could do was just look at her terrified, and light headed. I looked over at Dax and found him in the same state.
"Tellen…" I said, "Tellen, Tellen! Get up!"
Dax puts his hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eyes. "Don't dwell on it. We're in the middle of a soon-to-be battlefield. Focus."
Dax had tears rolling down his cheek as he said that. I tried to keep my emotions in check and I convinced myself that she wasn't dead, or that I can grief later, anything that would keep my mind off of things.
"Yes. I won't dwell on it…"
All of the sudden, a man teleported behind us. He had a big red cloak on, was tall and muscular, brown hair, and a deadpan expression. Suddenly he grabbed us both by the collar and held us in the air hovering over the ledge. I grab his arm and grip it tighter and tighter. Dax just gripped his forearm and I could only assume he was just hoping he wouldn't drop us. The man spoke only moments after grabbing us.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't drop you both right here and now."
Before any of us could answer he switched his question.
"No. Before that, state your names. I can tell you're blessed and you're not. You don't have a mark." He says while looking at me.
"I'm, I'm Vex…Voru…"
"Voru!?"
"My last name, yes."
"Voru!? That's not possible, you're not blessed! You don't have a mark!" After a bit he goes back to trying to be nonchalant. "I'm going to let you live. I'll shape you into a great warrior." He smirks then lets us down, he then opens a rift then walks into it, but before that he says without looking back, "I'll see you around, Voru." He walks into the rift and then the rift closes.
"What the hell is he talking about… a warrior? I have no clue what the hell he's on about… why's he freak out over my last name? He didn't even care that you didn't say yours! This is just a dream! Marren isn't dead, Tellen isn't dead!" I say while in a squatting position, looking down, and both hands clenching my hair. "None of this makes sense! This isn't real! None of this is real!!!"
"Vex." Dax puts his hands on my shoulders. "Stop, he's getting to you, this is probably what he wants, don't fall for his damn illusions. This is real. Now all we have to do is wait for Draven to get us back, and then I'm sure Ashen can help Tellen, okay?"
"O-okay… okay…" I try to take deep breaths but my breathing is ragged. Dax waits for my breathing to go back to normal even if it took 2 minutes. I look over at Tellen then look back at Dax.
"We just have to.. wait for Draven. And Tellen will be healed and be completely fine after Ashen heals her up…" I convinced myself.
Dax looks over at a pink-ish and blue-ish rigid circle just floating in the air from where the man closed his rift.
"I think that's a tiny opening Vex. From that guy's rift he left behind, but too small for us to fit."
While I'm still on the ground, Dax walks up to the rift and hesitates before touching it. As the rift immediately grew bigger, big enough for him to fit in it, he backed up quickly.
"Woah, Vex, you seein' this?"
"Yeah."
"Wanna go in?"
"I guess… what other options do we have anyway…"
I get up and walk over next to Dax. I lift up my foot and enter half my foot into the rift before submerging my entire body into it shortly before Dax enters. What we saw was the Safe Haven, but it was Breyer on the ground bleeding out right at my feet, and Yono doing the same only on the other side of the room. Sporn and Draven were fighting off the man with the red cloak.