As Ashly leaves, Agnes stands up and calls for Lucas "Listen to me young child, that girl is not the type of person you should be hanging around with. I understand that you care a lot for her, but this should be a sign that she isn't who she seems to be." Agnes is already next to him and she holds his hands "I can see it in your eyes, you're being blinded by a false image of her. Don't let your biases overlook what she does." And with that Agnes turns around, and leaves Lucas who feels a bit worried.
"Listen to me, I promise that this is going to be a one time thing. Ashly she will…" Lucas shuts his mouth and begins to think for a bit. He lowers his head and feels sadness, "Just…"
Ashly is already far away from the others in such short time. "Danm it, why did this happen? This could of been easy, I could of lived here for a while, and still mooched of Lucas while he had full trust in me." she says and before she can curse she hears footsteps behind her "Lucas, so you decided to follow me then." She turns around and sees Mindy instead. Mindy is smiling at Ashly and with the darkness of the forest, she looks a bit creepy while she still has blood on her face "What do you want weirdo?"
"You're …you're strong." Mindy says in a whisper "I mean it…you're very strong and that punch hurt…a lot." Mindy touches her nose again "I never got hit this hard before, and it feels so different. It's as if you intended to cause more damage than just making me bleed." Mindy looks up at Ashly again "Tell me, what was in your mind when you were going to hit me. Were you planning to break my face, or knock me out?"
Ashly grunts and begins to walk away, she notices Mindy who began to follow her. Ashly starts speeding up her pace "You're very uncomfortable to be around with you do know that right?" She said "I don't want you to step any closer to me, leave me alone as I don't want to get in any more trouble."
"You see Ashly, I like the fact that you don't like me." Mindy says "It's very exciting and refreshing to see someone actively hate me this much." Ashly has started to run which Mindy does as well "You see, I don't like normal people, they are too boring. That Lucas guy, he's too nice and that makes him unbearable. I like you because you're the opposite of that, you're fun and I like fun. Do you want to be my friend Ashly? My first ever friend at that!" Mindy says as she tries to catch up with Ashly "I overheard you and wow, I was right, you were lying to that boy. Serves him right for being such a boring man, did he buy the whole changing stuff that quickly?"
Ashly stays silent to that comment, "That's not a lie… it's just that not every thing happens at once that's all." She says as she continues to run around, she doesn't know where she is going. All Ashly wants is to stay away from that girl, and begins to think if Lucas is currently trying to find her.
"This is going to be so much fun, I can't wait to experience the best time of my life." Mindy says loudly with a cheerful tone. For a girl with her physique, she is fast and doesn't seem to be anywhere close to being tired.
Back with Lucas he has lost Ashly, and seems a bit worried. He has also noticed Mindy is missing "This can't be good, they are both gone, and I don't know the interior of this forest." Lucas says as he walks around the area "I am sorry that I lost her already, I'm so irresponsible" Lucas says to he Quill makers.
"Yes, it is very irresponsible as you failed to keep such a promise with us already." said Eder "All we asked was for you to keep that girl in control nothing more, it's very simple yet you managed to fail." he says "I do appreciate your kindness and compassion, but that doesn't excuse this at all. We beg for you to make sure she doesn't cause any trouble."
"I'm sorry I know, but Ashly is just full of energy and a quick mind." Lucas says "She isn't really educated, or had time to learn critical skills at all so please be lenient on her."
Agnes sighs "I can guess by your demeanor, and talk about school that you're from the district." Lucas nods "Well I guessed so, you should really have a talk with her and learn more about her. If you're her friend then she will definitely tell you more about herself."
Lucas is about to go out to where Ashly disappeared, but turns to the Quill Makers "Is it true that those from the district are different from those outside? I mean I was told by a man that there is a difference and I want to know if that's true."
"Well it's quite a complicated answer dear child. It's true that there is a difference, and it's mostly about how district people are more emotionally mature. There is also this stereotype that they are also known for being cowardly and not having strong stomachs. Those two aren't always true with each individual person as they are just that, stereotypes. Just like with those outside and how they are all stupid, and lack intelligence, it's just not applicable to everyone."
"Thank you for answering my question." Lucas says as he bows "Well, I want to ask since we came here unexpectedly, is there a place where we can stay at? I can pay up now with the money that I have." he says.
"Well we do have some cabins that were build quite some time ago. They aren't dirty or abandoned, we keep them cleaned as we don't want to waste space." Silas says "I can guide you and Ashly, if she returns that is to them." as he said that Ashly has returned looking dirty and covered in a few leaves.
"Ashly, where have you been? I looked away for a second and you were gone." Lucas says as he approaches her "Oh you're dirty, I can help you get the leaves off of you if you want me to."
"Well I was only going to be away for a short bit, but that girl followed me." Ashly said which Lucas asked her where did Mindy go "Oh her, I Threa- I mean told her to let me be for the while that's all."
"Well since you are here, follow me to your temporary place." Silas says as he walks north, Ashly and Lucas begin to follow him. Lucas can see how the new clothes he bought her has already been scratched, and torn by the branches. He can also spot some cuts on her body but decided to stay quiet. "Listen Ashly, don't act so violent. We are worried and most of us don't want you to stay here, I want you to prove them wrong. Can you just try at least?" Silas says.
Silas guides them to the two small cabins "They are quite small as they originally were for two younger members." Silas says in a sad tone, he looked at Ashly and Lucas and realize what they were thinking "I mean that they left us for the District, sorry if I alluded to something else." he says with an embarrassed smile "Well, they are yours for the time being, your horse is still outside right? We can take him to an open area where Eder can take care of him, and our other horses."
Lucas enters the cabin and it's clean and well maintained. Lucas looks around and sees how the wooden table is square shaped with three seats "You said these cabins were for two people yet I see multiple seats, do you visit each other?" Lucas asked.
"No we don't, that's reserved for the community circle. The place we were all at, these are in case of future children or for multiple people living in the same place." Silas says smiling at Lucas.
"Oh that's quite smart I guess." Lucas says as he keeps on walking, he enters the bedroom. The bedsheet seems to be made from cotton while the blanket is sown wool "It's soft and seems brand new." Lucas says as he touches it.
Ashly is inside her own cabin and waits until dark to visit Lucas. Ashly has entered the cabin and Lucas is sitting down writing a letter "Lucas, it was a mistake to be in this place, I mean it. I already made a bad impression and they want me out, we should leave as soon as possible."
"Ashly I get what you mean but just try, this could be your chance to show yourself as a good person. Try to be nicer and more thoughtful with your actions. I made sure they gave you another chance."
"That's not what I'm saying, that girl is a creep and she won't leave me alone. If she tries to touch me I…I don't know what will happen as I never think of that. I'm not like you who had time and was taught about these type of situations." Ashly says frustrated "We can check another place, check that map of yours and choose the nearest one."
"Listen Ashly I'll think about it, we need to rest and I'm tired. These people are nice and they will help you if you allow them to." Lucas says.
"Fine then, if something happens don't act surprised." Ashly says as she leaves the cabin "Such naivety for someone who acts smart." she says under her breath as she walks to her cabin.
It's the next morning and Lucas is at the community circle. "Listen I want to apologize again about yesterday. I want you all to know that Ashly didn't mean to cause such a ruckus, its just that she hasn't remembered the last time she asked for help before." Lucas says.
"Yes, yes we hear you, I get that you care for her, but don't apologize so much because if you do, your words won't have much meaning nor weight behind them unless you show us they do." Eder said "Silas told me that you had that wooden carving, the one we gave to Brando right? That carving has trust build onto it, and we do want to trust her. We believe you were sent here for more than just to stay safe."
"Yeah it's not like we want to hate Ashly, it's Mindy who we are concerned. Mindy has always felt distant from us and never wanted to talk to us. We tried to talk with her many times but we failed everytime. She seems to not want us as she only sees those who have bad intentions." Silas says as he takes out a small carving of a man hugging his knees "We are worried since she acted this way that Ashly might be very dangerous. We may have lied about wanting her to be here, but that was to test how she or you reacted. It seems you took it better than we expected, and Ashly didn't seem to mind which is fine. Listen Lucas, we want to help her out before such intentions in her get out. Will you allow us to help her out, we can do it and we have proof of it. We had managed to reform people who seek out for help, and we want you to help us help her."
"Yeah I talked to Ashly about that last night, and she doesn't seem to happy about that. I will try to convince her as she trust me more than anyone." Lucas says as he holds Silas hand tightly "I promise you that we will get her the help she needs."