"With the distance from here to there and back, it's definitely going to take us the whole day" Daniel says as he continues to guide Dusty
"Yeah, anything else genius" Ashly says in a annoyed tone. She can feel her face getting colder as the wind picks up "Too much wind right now, would this slow us down?" she asked
"Yes, but not by much Ashly, we will have to take a stop midway. My Dusty won't have the stamina to go against this much air resistance." Daniel says as he squints his eyes, the wind begins to speed up. "Never mind, we might have to stop sooner than expected. You know it's better to get to know each other, build trust. We can't be untrusted with each other, that will make this harder than it should be" he says
"Well you start first then" Ashly says, she waits for him to talk. He looks back at her and then in front "Go ahead, you brought it up first. Don't back out now if you want to get my trust"
"Well I have a friend, his name is Amir and he's the most trustworthy man I know." Daniel says as Ashly looks up at him "He helped me out a lot, he's the sole reason as to why I'm still alive today. I own him a lot, no I own him everything" Daniel begins to smile brightly even as the wind blows strongly
Ashly begins to think of something to say to Daniel "Well I also have someone who I can say is reliable. His name is Lucas and well… he's more easier to understand than others. Which is not saying much considering the people who I live with" Ashly says as she looks away. She begins to think about Lucas and how much he has done for her "He and I knew each other for years, the only person who I didn't hate for a long time"
"Well that's great to hear, it's nice knowing someone that you can believe in. Amir he is great at negotiating, my life was saved four times by him. All with his negotion skills and some bad people that I meet. I really made a lot of mistakes that he fixed for me." Daniel turns and then clears his throat "Sorry if I was going on a bit there."
Some time has passed, and the wind has started to calm down a bit. Daniel stops Dusty for the moment "Why are we stopping, the wind is dying down?" Ashly asked but Daniel gets off the horse, he asks her to get off "Fine, I guess we can have a small break" she gets off the horse and Daniel gets Dusty to lay down.
He opens his bag "I'm a bit hungry and it's best for all of us to get some energy." He brings out some hay and hands it to Dusty. Dusty starts eating slowly "Rest Dusty, we'll be going without rest until we get to there" Daniel then brings out a pot and a dried up grass. "Listen see that boulder right there, that's where we are going to start a fire and eat. I don't want to eat cold food and we can use the fire to heat up the food" Ashly then sits by the boulder and Daniel starts lighting the fire
Ashly grabs her side, it's feeling worse than before. She looks at Daniel who is more focused on the fire than anything. He is trying to light the fire but fails a few times. Eventually he sparks the flames and Ashly's feels the warmth of the fire. "Gael told me to kill you if you messed up" Daniel says as he opens his water bottle filling the pot. Ashly doesn't look amused at all "I thought you would have more of a reaction to this information" she looks at him with silence which makes him feel a bit uncomfortable
"Well, the only thing that surprised me was you telling me that. Why did you? I can kill you at anytime." Ashly asked Daniel who is opening a can of beans, "Oh I get it, it was to gain my trust wasn't it" she waits for a response but there's none. She starts thinking that maybe he is lying to her, to gain her trust and then betray her.
"No it's that if you make another mistake I'm supposed to kill you. Gael really isn't playing anymore, I don't want to kill you at all" Daniel tries to explain "I'm not trying to deceive you or anything. That would be a stupid way to gain fake trust. I know this because I went through this once, I know that I'm supposed to be worry of everyone. Even those who I trust, I can see that you understand that very well"
"Listen, tell me if my healing injuries are a liability. It hurts a bit when I ride the horse and I feel a bit hazy already. The cold really is making it worse" Ashly asked Daniel, "I'm only telling you this because you told me what Gael said." The water begins to boil and Daniel puts the beans in the water
"Honestly, with your description to the injury, and how I notice your reaction to it. Yeah it will make you a liability, but I trust that it won't stop you." He begins to stir the beans, their bodies are now much warmer. Daniel looks at Dusty who has finished his food "You don't have to worry much, this won't be a very physical job for us" Daniel smiles at her which she keeps a neutral face
"Alright, I never intended for my injuries to stop me anyways" they remain silent until the beans are cooked. Daniel grabs two cups and hands one to her, she grabs it and he fills it with beans "I don't really like beans but with nothing else, it's what will do" Ashly says as she blows at the beans to cool them down a bit.
They begin to eat, Daniel eats his food slowly. He looks up and see that Ashly is eating fast, she is almost done with her share. The wind has weakened even more and the sky looks a bit cloudy. The snow around them is melting a bit and as Daniel looks around for a second Ashly has finished her food. "Wow what a fast eater, we aren't wasting time at all. Relax and eat slowly, it was a good idea stoping for a while. Dusty will be able to travel much further than if we kept on going" Daniel says
"I know but this is what I got used to when eating. Sometimes I have to be quick or else I might get surrounded. I was taught well by that old man, I can't break that habit anymore" Ashly says as Daniel fills her cup again
"Oh alright then, just eat and relax a bit. It's better that we get a small rests and all" Daniel says as he continues to eat. They finish up eating all the food, Daniel stands up and checks into his bag. He pulls out a map, it shows the sketched area all the way to where they have to be. "Alright we rested more than enough, let's get going now" he puts the fire off with his almost empty water bottle.
Ashly stands up "Alright, I want this to be over already." Daniel helps her back onto Rusty and they go their way. Rusty begins to gallop with energy, Daniel guesses with where they are, in just about 3 hours they will arrive.
——-
Back in Greenside Lucas is walking around aimlessly "Alright, try to remember where she goes" Lucas says as he looks around the area. He notices there are more people than before, and they all seem to be watching him. Lucas is a bit worried but decided to stay calm. As he keeps on looking around he bumps into someone "Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't looking at all" Lucas apologizes and he looks at the person who he bumped
"Yeah, be careful around here idiot" Marie said a bit annoyed "What is someone new like you doing in a place like this? You don't seem to be the type to be here willingly, are you here for the "forbidden"" Marie said in a seductive tone
"Oh no I'm not" Lucas blushes a bit "I'm here looking for someone called Ashly, do you know who she is?" he asked which Marie face forms into annoyance at the mention of Ashly's name "Oh by the look on your face I can guess you do, are you her friend or something?" he asks
"So what if I know who she is, what is it to you" Marie said "She isn't my friend, I don't get what you want from her" Marie says in a tone not as angry as she wanted
"Oh it's nothing that I want, my name is Lucas. I want to hand her a map, it's a way for her to get to Iriage in case she needs my help when I'm not here." Lucas then pulls out the map and shows her
"Oh so you're a guy from the District, must be nice not having to face all this dumpster. Why are you so worried about her, what kind of person is she to you?" Marie said
"She's my best friend, she's the one person I can have fun with. It might be dangerous to hang around with her, but she really is a fun person to be with. Specially when I knew her for years and it's nice" Lucas said "May I ask what's your name at least? I want to apologize properly"
Marie sighs "My name is Marie, forget about the formal apology. Why did you think I was her friend, after I made such a face?" Marie says
"Well it's because Ashly talks about you to me. She does it quite a lot and I thought she was your friend. She mentioned how you were the only person who had a place that she was allowed in. How you let her spend most of her time there when she had the money at least. It's a shame that I made that conclusion without asking you" Lucas says as he pulls out a note that Ashly wrote about her
Marie grabs it and it's mostly about how the place is warm. Some parts are about her, but it's mostly in a way to put her down than compliment her "Yeah, so much evidence that says we are friend alright "Marie says sarcastically, the men around them start ignoring them "Be careful, these men aren't here to play at all. One simple mistake and they will kill you"
"Why? What happened? Are these men doing something illegal"? Lucas asked which Marie can't help but smirk a bit. A snow flake falls onto Lucas's hair "It's starting to snow a bit already? I thought it wouldn't snow until the afternoon"