House of Ashes

❝ To descend into the unknown alone is extremely brave... or extremely foolish. ❞

                                     Jason Kolchek and Original Characters                         from The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes

Enok stayed seated on the rock he had picked as his throne over the river. If Ji-Eun insisted… he had just offered help. H could for sure teach her one or two tricks. But she seemed determined to do it her way. If she had a certain technique, Enok wouldn’t even have suggested help. But she looked like she had not really caught a fish ever before. At least not with her bare hands.  

And there seemed to be a deeper issue at hand.

I can’t rely on someone else all my life…

There was a sadness and anger to that sentence that Enok understood.

So he did not make a joking comment when the fish she had tried to catch slipped away - of course. He could have told her that she needed to actually hold onto it. Or that it swam that way. Or that her dinner was not as cooperative as she hoped. But Enok said none of that.

Instead he stayed seated on his rock, but smiled at Ji-Eun.

“Damn, you almost had it! That was a perfect pick! And nearly perfect catch. The next one is yours, I’m sure.”

Ji-Eun straightened up again with a deeply exhaled breath. She was more than a little annoyed, the failure felt like a huge disappointment. All she could wonder was what would her father think...

Though her attention shifted. Enok was so lively and full of enthusiasm. His determination rubbed off on her, how could it not, the way he spoke made her feel like this was possible. That she still had it in her.

“My father taught me how to catch fish like this in the river near our home.” she suddenly spoke, revealing a rare piece of information about herself. She didn’t often talk about home or her family. There was too much pain there. That was something Enok understood all too well. The happier days in their lives were dearly missed. Memories that, with time, were slowly fading.

Looking back to the water Ji-Eun started her slow approach again. She remembered those lessons... though she had only been a small girl. And admittedly she had never been very good at fishing.

MEME → First meeting prompts.

The library was a no-brainer when a person needed to knuckle down and prepare for a study session. Though Millie had never been one for closed in spaces inspiring a good flow of thought. That was why she sat in the bleachers far-flung from anyone else.

Were there many people outside? A few, mostly those running track to prepare for the upcoming fun run. Though like the sleepy little town it was named after, Greenwood High wasn't exactly a hive of activity. And so long as she kept her head down no one was likely to bother her.

... Until someone did.

"Eh?" she asked, almost sounding the part of an offended old woman about to chastise some kid.

Looking up with a squint she had to consider Vergil for a moment. He was in a grade below her, though with blended teaching they did share a few classes together. Such as Trigonometry, where few others were enrolled, and their age groups had to be lumped in together for convenience.

“If you need help catching fish for dinner, you only need to ask, y’know?”

MEME → Tagged appropriately.

The months following Jason's 'descent into hell' as he affectionally called it hadn't been easy, though they proved rewarding. Rose hadn't forgotten him and true to her nature she visited upon him in the dead of night, unannounced, and led him to look around his own home as though he were chasing a thief skulking in the dark.

That night had marked the beginning of his mercenary work. It was an offer he couldn't refuse, nor would he, the world didn't have room for the war torn men and women who returned from deployment, much less one with an unbelievable story. He'd rather put his skill to some use than end up a veteran in debt, or even homeless.

To cede the role of leadership had been the biggest adjustment. Jason wasn't new to having a chain of command but he was certainly back on the bottom rung. It had been the cause of some few, or many, 'disagreements'.

So, when he was alerted to the clamber of another body in his new home he wouldn't have stopped himself from cursing even if he tried. "Fuckin' Rose, cut it out with this bullshit," he stormed, knowing all to well exactly who had invited themselves into his private space.

Tense, like a tightly wound coil, Jason seemed ready to unload some months worth of pent-up frustrations... until he laid eyes on the situation. Like a switch, he went from anger to militant. Already pacing to retrieve a med kit to sort out this bloody horror that had landed on his new carpeting.

MEME → Tagged appropriately.

It was little wonder Ji-Eun yet lived and breathed. Though the injury wasn't severe, the threat against her life had been unrivalled. The chancellor had betrayed Niflheim. Had infected the country at its core and set in motion an insurmountable tide of dark and despair.

Her anger roiled any other feeling she had in the moment. Listening to Ardyn proudly confess to his deeds, poised to attack the high commander who had been felled and laid vulnerable on the metal flooring.

The decision had already been made. She leapt into motion and landed bodily between the disgraced chancellor and Ravus. Her gunblade caught the purple crackle of his weapon. He would have to go through her. And, truly, he would have. Though fate had smiled on her that day and the arrival of another stole all of Ardyn's attention. He left them to fend against the daemons. That is exactly what she did.

In the aftermath it was evident Ji-Eun had suffered a gash to her arm. The scythe had caught her, the magic discolouring her skin. It was painful having it tended to but it needed to be done. No matter how cruel a task it was, Ravus undertook it all with firm care. After all, they couldn't risk infection.

When all was said and done, it wasn't so bad. Some few tears had been spilled but in the absence of pain relief it was hardly a weakness.

[╳]     ||     Much had been involved in planning for today, and he was determined to see it through ‘til the end. The schedule had been organised so as to leave no margin of error ; everyone had been assigned their places, the Emperor’s personal guards would see him to the border of Lucis, and key personnel would be on stand-by to respond to any situation that might occur.

All being well, nothing would go wrong. The Emperor would enter the Citadel, the treaty would be signed, and everyone would return to Gralea without incident or injury. He had heard quiet talk of such optimism among some of the soldiers - but the Deputy High Commander was too much of a cynicist to be so hopeful. After all these years, it took the Wall being reduced so much before Lucis’s King had accepted the offer of the treaty. Only when his beloved city was at risk otherwise.

One of the few he knew he could count on, without question, was the very woman that stood before him. Her salute was acknowledged with a curt nod before he began to walk, pleased to see Ji-Eun fell into step with him as easily as ever. “Good.” A mental checklist was run over once again. His weapons were stored safely with his other personal belongings in the airship he favoured, and most of the soldiers would be on airships by now as well, or on their way there.

His own additional plans would be implemented once the treaty signing was underway.

So, Ravus shook his head. “Everything has been prepared. All we need do now is make our way to Lucis, and accompany the Emperor to the signing ceremony.” He would trust that in asking, Ji-Eun was also informing him that her own preparations had been made and she was also ready to depart.

“Tant que vous avez vos manières.” Ji-Eun quipped in his mother tongue. It was an incredibly tongue-in-cheek remark coming from a military advisor whose solitary purpose was to keep Ravus aligned with Niflheim’s best interests. The hint of a smile was more than enough evidence of her lack of remorse.

She had to keep her finger on the pulse. Every hour of every day, she read the room. It was a loosely guarded secret that the former-Prince felt embittered by the betrayal of King Regis. The father who saved his own son and ran away while Tenebrae’s royal family was torn asunder. Those feelings, while understandable, presented a problem in this grandeur endeavour for peace-keeping.

Though Ji-Eun wasn’t a fool. Told one thing, while the reality bustled around them in the airship landing. This voyage was a militarised one. Either there was classified intel about King Regis’ intentions, or Emperor Aldercapt’s.

[╳]     ||     Oh? Well, Ravus would not deny someone so earnest, and so he took a seat as well - not without effort, given that he had several considerably large bruises concealed beneath his clothing, but Serah did not need to be informed of any of that. Truth be told, his preference was that she assumed he was simply getting old.

He listened to her  ‘ report ’  with as much attention as he would have afforded any of the soldiers, if not more, and remained quiet so she could speak uninterrupted. He had to agree with the opinion that Serah’s mother was likely remaining close by due to missing her… and in case of any emergencies. The notice to evacuate could be given with little to no warning, so of course a mother would not wish to be far from her children.

“I see.” He would have to track down some more information regarding those new people, if only to ease his own concerns for the settlement’s longevity. For them to have been accepted past the gates was a heartening sign though… and he nudged those thoughts away for the time being, in favour of returning his attention to Serah and dipping his head for her to whisper -

- and he chuckled. “That was kind of you. You have my thanks, Miss Serah.” Ravus glanced around before adding quietly, “Would you allow me to share some with you? It seems only fair, since you were the one to find it.”

“I’m sharin’ with you!” Serah declared with a bubbly giggle, thinking it was very funny that Ravus thought he was the one who brought this amazing treat. Then she lifted a finger to shush him as though he had been the one to make a commotion. “It’s still a secret. We have to be very quiet.”

That was Enok’s influence seeping through. He was a natural around the younger folk of the settlement, always animated in the way he spoke with them. Even the way she held her finger up had been a mimicry of his dramatic hushing. It was all a big game. The children all thought they had gotten away with something spectacular when in reality their parents all knew about it... they had to, it was a risk to simply give little one’s food not knowing if they would have a reaction.