#asra fyth

This was not a place for a child born of the Wood. This small, enclosed, metallic room. Not a single window of sunlight to be seen or breeze of fresh air. The silence only giving way to the distant hum of magitek systems fueling this abomination of Garlean construction.

But Asra was here, strung up like an animal. However, to these soldiers he probably was just that, an animal. An Eorzean beast with his viera features. They'd spouted their many derogatory words at him already as they'd cut and beaten him for information. Information he did not have, of course. The group he had been accompanying were the allies of the scions, not him. He was just a simple viera, lost in this big unknown world beyond his wood and those kind people, his friends, were gracious enough to tolerate him. They had welcomed him into their fold despite his...condition, and it was such a welcomed kindness how could he not take any opportunity to defend them?

As he hung there drifting in and out now, he thought back to the moment the Garleans had taken him. He and his friends were making their escape after aiding the scions in some mission, he didn't know the details. Didn't feel the importance in asking. Whereever they went he'd follow. Only this time he didn't. The mission had been successful but the number of soldiers had far exceeded what they had expected. Their escape was futile and as they were pursued it became obvious to Asra they couldn't all make it out if someone didn't at the very least delay the soldiers. So he stayed behind, with a promise to catch up with them called out upon the wind, he remained and he fought. Death should've been expected if he failed but they didn't give him that mercy, no. Instead they wounded him, brought him here, and then continued with their questions and their torture. And he had given them nothing.

He didn't regret it, of course. His friends made it out. They had to have. He succeeded in that at the very least. And even though his being trapped here now meant he could no longer protect his Wood and his people, he trusted his friends would continue their mission with the scions and protect them in his stead. He could live whatever time he had left content with that. Hells, maybe the longer he stayed in this place his corruption would eventually take to this place as it had in his Wood before he discovered it. Wouldn't that be something?

That thought prickled him a bit. Just how long exactly had he been here now? His arms and shoulders had long gone numb by now from where they had been chained. The pain from all the bruises and cuts that no doubt covered his body now had all merged into one endless ache. There was no part of him that didn't hurt. He tried to keep his breaths shallow or the pain in that would be enough to make him cough and that, he had quickly learned, was its own kind of torture beyond what the Garleans could do.

Not only that but the days felt endless. Well, that is if there was even an indicator for the passing of the days. Without any sunlight it was impossible to tell just how long he had been here now. Sleep didn't come to him easily with the pain shocking him awake so that couldn't help him determine time either. Time just kept blending together. Each moment an endless cycle of exhaustion, pain, more pain from his torturers, restless sleep, darkness. It was unrelenting.

Gods he was just so tired.

As his thoughts wandered it became obvious he wasn't going to blissfully slip into another bought of slumber. His head lulled as he tried to lift it but found even that was too much work. The strain of such a miniscule movement caused his shoulders to pull and he huffed a quiet groan at the discomfort. So instead he let his body go slack as he waited and listened for his assailants to return. No doubt he was do for another session of their abuse any moment now. He wondered when they'd give up. What more did they hope to get from him when he had nothing to share? Not that he'd tell them anything anyways. Just how much more was he to be forced to endure until they'd be finished with him? At this rate he didn't know how much longer he could last...

"You won't last another round. The next time they come through those doors you will break." The sudden voice in his head shook him alert. Asra groaned aloud in response. This was the last thing he needed. His unwanted passenger had been considerably silent through this entire ordeal. There had been moments Asra wondered if the voidsent had finally decided to abandon him. Or maybe he was just enjoying the show. Either way his was the last voice Asra wanted to hear right now.

"I'll admit I didn't expect you to last so long. You really are stronger than you look," the voice continued. There was something different about his tone, Asra noted. He almost sounded calm. Proud? And strangely...sympathetic? No, that wasn't right. The beast was never sympathic.

"Leave me...alone," Asra managed to huff, barely even a whisper. His patience was barely a crumb of existing but he had to hold onto it. Had to grasp it like a vice before his sanity slipped.

"It will slip," the voidsent answered as he continued to listen to his every thought. "Whether it slips from you before or after they finish with you is the question. Would be better for you if your mind had left you days ago but you are resilient, little rabbit. You should be proud."

Asra winced and hissed as he strained against his binds. "Just shut up. Please. I can't-" I can't deal with you is what he meant to say but God's he was so tired. He didn't have the strength to argue anymore. If this was to be his final hours why couldn't this thing just leave him in peace and silence?

And yet, the voidsent continued. "These brutes have been quite thorough. Not many would've lasted this long. This kind of pain is unbearable..."

"Like you would know," Asra managed to spit back.

There was a pause from the voidsent a moment before its reply came in a soft rumble. "I do." There was something haunting in those words that Asra didn't have the energy to ruminate on but it sent a shiver through him regardless.

"But nevertheless, it's as I said. You're at your limit now. When they return, and they will return, it will be your end. Whether you're still breathing or not they will finish you off," the beast said matter of factly.

Asra's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment. "What do you mea-"

"These fools don't like to waste their prey. They will use your corpse, living or dead, to fuel their weapons. It'll be a blessing if your mind is lost to you by then but doubtful it matters to them."

No no no. Asra had heard sparse few tales of the horrors the others had witnessed from these Garleans. The labs of monsters patched together with magitek and ceruleum. He didn't want to become such a creature. Whether he was aware or not it was too much. His flesh was already a prison for some being from the accursed void, why must it endure more?

"Be still, little rabbit. I do not tell you this to upset you," the voidsent pressed. Odd, the thought passed through Asra briefly through his mounting panic. The voidsent seemed to catch it though and hummed with amusement. "I've been watching what they've done to you. It...displeases me. I do not care for others damaging what is mine."

Amidst the panic and the pain Asra's breath had begun to race. He couldn't hold it back anymore. This fear. He suddenly felt overwhelmed. The sudden reminder of, yes that's right, what exactly would become of his body once it was free of himself? Would this creature entertwined with his own aether take his place? Would it finally get what it wanted? "I'm...I'm not yours," he managed to wheeze out. No he couldn't let that happen. He had to keep fighting. Be the vessel. Protect the Wood, protect his friends, protect-

"Hush now, that's enough." The voidsent snapped through his panicked thoughts. Despite the venom in his tone he still held that strange air of sympathy. It was confusing Asra's already exhaustion addled mind. He just couldn't make out what it was exactly. Maybe his mind had already broken and he was hearing something that wasn't there in this voice that has tormented him so long. "Listen to me. I can do what must be done to get us both out of here. All you have to do is-"

"No!" Asra desperately cut him off. He already knew what the thing was going to ask. That's what all this was. It was waiting for him to become tired and weak and desperate. Then it would make its offer or try to take him over by force.

"Look at me, little rabbit," the voice said but suddenly it no longer seemed to come from within. It echoed against the metal walls of the chamber Asra had been confined to. The shock of the change forced Asra to quickly look up, wide eyes taking in the shifting shadowy cloaked figure before him. He'd seen this figure before when they fought together in battle. Those moments when their aether seemed to flow together as one and the voidsent's power felt like his own. But in those moments the voidsent beneath the cloak took on a ghastly visage. This time, however, was entirely different. This time there was the face of a man beneath that hood staring back at him with those red glyphed eyes. He was deathly pale and gaunt but with a hauntingly noble and intrepid beauty about his features. His cloak seemed to whisp and flow about him as if it drifted and disappeared into the air around him. It was as if he was formless and yet right there in front of him so real and solid enough to touch. The very sight of him sent an immediate chill through Asra as true fear settled into his very core.

Suddenly the figure's hands reached up and Asra flinched back as they cupped each side of his face between its freezing claws. And claws they were. The hands and palms themselves were just as deathly pale as the face but the tips of the fingers were stained black and sharply pointed. Asra could feel the razor like tips just barely brushing his skin as they held his head firm. It wasn't until those hands had grasped him that he realized he had been quickly shaking his head back and forth.

The voidsent stared intently as he held Asra still, holding his gaze as he finally spoke. "Calm yourself and listen to me, Asra. I can get you out of here but you have to trust me."

"N-no."

"You just have to let go and I can take care of the rest."

"No."

"Let me have control and all this can be over. Just let me in."

"No! No! I can't! Please, just stop! Stop!" Asra finally sobbed as he tried to finally look away but the hands held him firm. The voidsent fell silent then, his gaze never leaving Asra. There was a strange calmness to him as he just patiently watched and waited for Asra's painful sobs to subside. He just remained there taking the heavy weight of Asra's tired head in his hands and it wasn't until all that could be heard from the young viera was his soft sniffling when he finally spoke again.

"I promise, you will wake up once I've gotten us free of this place," he said assuredly.

"You're lying. You always lie." Asra winced at how pitiful his voice sounded.

"I do not lie about this." The voidsent finally dropped his hands from Asra's face and his head abruptly fell. Asra groaned but dared not look at the creature before him again and instead rolled his head to the side to press his cheek against his shoulder.

The voidsent let out a heavy sigh. "I am still too weak to survive without your presence in this flesh. If you die here then so do I."

That wasn't something Asra had known before. The sudden admission made him finally peek up at the voidsent. The figure was still watching him silently, waiting. Its patience seemed almost more unsettling than its appearance. Asra winced as he tried to maintain this strength fueled by his panicked adrenaline but he could already sense he was losing the momentum and quickly. "How can I trust you to let me wake up again? H-how do I know you won't keep me trapped?"

"Trusting me is the only choice left to you now. Or you can trust the soldiers. But I can assure you I have no desire to keep you buried beneath the shadows of your mind. That would be far too boring, don't you think?" A subtle smile tugged at the corner of the voidsent's lips and the sight of it made Asra's skin crawl. But the creature was right, he had no other choice now. Either way it'd be death. But still he was so frightened. That part of him deep inside that constantly fought for survival just could not let him give in. He could do it without this demon's deals, he could survive this, he could...

The voidsent's earlier amused look swiftly vanished and an unusual pity overtook his features. "Asra...that's enough," he said softly.

And that did it. That strange tenderness, even if it was a lie, seemed to shatter whatever resolve Asra had left. It was too much and he was too tired. His body sagged as all the energy left in him gave out and as the tears fell from his eyes all he could whisper was the name of his shadow, "Erimus..."

The voidsent, Erimus, was there again cradling his face in those claws. "It'll be alright, Asra. It'll just be like falling asleep. The next you wake you will be safe, I promise you."

Asra let his heavy eyes fall closed as he let the soft words wash over him. "I just want to go home, Erimus," he muttered. Whether he said it aloud or merely thought it, he wasn't sure. And whether he meant the Wood with his village where his mother and sister waited for him, or his friends with the scions, he couldn't be sure. Home...home...far from this darkness, far from this pain, anywhere but here...

Erimus shushed him as he brushed the bangs from his face. The unexpected tenderness almost jolting Asra out of the wave of slumber that was taking him. "I know. We'll get you there. Just rest for now."

The promise of home was what finally took him under. The dark came closing in and he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper. The soft rumble of Erimus's words growing distant and muffled until, finally, there was nothing.

---

There was warmth. It was a subtle warmth that started slow but soaked deep into his skin. It felt like the sun. Then there was the glow of light beyond his closed eyes. Then the soft rustling. Wind in the leaves, his mind quickly recognized. It was such a strange sensation as his senses seemed to slowly return to him. As if he was leagues deep beneath water but he was slowly coming back up for air. He could now feel the blades of grass passing between his fingers as he laid on their surface.

Where was he? As he steadily came to he tried to remember where he had been before this. It was so faint and dark. Every memory felt heavy and fuzzy and muffled. But thinking wasn't going to answer the burning question of where exactly he was right now. Slowly he began to open his eyes, squinting against the bright sun. It felt like ages since he'd seen it. Felt its warmth. After blinking a few times, trying to adjust to the light, Asra gazed up at the canopy of tree branches above him. The sun beamed through the leaves in gorgeous golden rays. The breeze that rustled them brushed over him as well and he felt a sudden rush of peace.

He knew these trees, he thought. He knew this sun. This smell on the wind. This was his woods, his home. His fingers curled into the grass beneath him and he let out a content sigh. He let his eyes fall closed again as he took in the peace and calm and all that was familiar.

But then a memory flashed before him. Cold, dark, metal walls and an endless cycle of pain. Cruel hands and weapons tearing and bruising his flesh. Asra gasped a fearful breath as his eyes flew open. He remembered now, he was captured. How did he escape? How did he get here? Was...was it all a dream? No, the memory was too real it couldn't have been a dream. And there was something else. Someone? The more he tried to remember the harder it was to form the images in his mind. There had been someone else there, right? Someone who was cruel...but they made a promise...

Asra winced and reached a hand up to rub his head as the thought made it ache. What happened to him?

"Whatchya doing?" Out of nowhere the shadow of a familiar viera girl blocked out the sun above him as she leaned over him. Startled, Asra yelped and shielded his face with his hands as he shrunk back into the grass. The girl immediately burst out into a fit of giggles. "Scared ya, didn't I!"

It took Asra a heartbeat to instantly recognize that voice and that laugh, that face. That beautiful, wonderful face of his older sister. "Aoife?" Asra breathed out in disbelief.

"Well duh. Who were you expecting? And what are you doing way out here? Did you fall asleep again? I swear you could fall asleep on an anthill," she laughed, leaning back to give him room to sit up.

Asra faced her, eyeing her incredulously. "H-how? Is it really you?"

Aoife gave him a confused look. "Of course it's me. Who else would I be? Are you alright?"

In a rush, Asra hugged her tightly. He could feel tears burning his eyes but he couldn't care to hide them. She was here, really truly here. His big sister. He could feel her warm and solid in his arms.

Aoife froze in his grasp and seemed to hesitate a moment before hugging him back. "Is everything okay?"

"I've missed you so much," Asra whispered as he buried his face into her long hair that fell over her shoulders. She even smelled the same like the fresh ferns after the rain. It was just as comforting to him now as it was when he was a boy.

"Missed me? I saw you this morning, silly. What's going on with you? Did you have a nightmare?" she asked nervously.

Asra let out a small chuckle. "The worst kind." It really was all just one big bad dream then? The metal room and the pain, the running from strange city to strange city full of strange and unfamiliar faces. Being so far from the Wood he could no longer hear its words. The friends he'd made in the scions. His heart suddenly ached at the thought of them. So they weren't real either? How strange to mourn the loss of them if they didn't exist. His friends weren't part of the nightmare. They were the good in all that bad. But then...a shadow. He remembered a shadow.

There was suddenly a sound on the wind. Screaming? The sounds of blades clashing? Was it just a trick of the wind blowing through the branches? It sounded so faint and distant but-

"You really need to stop eating so many sweet berries before napping. You know those always make dreams funny," Aoife interrupted his thoughts. Asra finally pulled back from her, wiping his eyes as he grinned.

"Sorry, yes you're right, I just," he took her in finally. She looked exactly how he remembered her. But of course she would. He had never left. He had been home this whole time and he had just fallen asleep. Now he was finally awake. "I dreamed I had to leave the wood. That I'd never see you or Mother again."

Aoife's brow furrowed in concern. "That sounds terrible."

"Yes," Asra agreed,"it all felt so real. But I had friends there. Really good ones. And I think...there was a monster..." There was that sound on the wind again. Like distant echoes through the trees, faint screams and the sound of battle.

"Well it wasn't real. You're up and awake and here I am and Mother is waiting for us back at the village. And now you can help me with these baskets. We need to get these vegetables back in time for the feast," Aoife said strangely cheerfully as she bent down to heft up a basket onto her hip. Asra eyed her carefully, his focus suddenly being broken away from those eerie distant sounds. Something about her sudden cheerful demeanor felt off. She never used to brush off his concerns so quickly.

"Feast?" Asra questioned.

"The autumn feast of course. Sheesh are you sure you just fell asleep and didn't actually fall and bump your head?" She reached out and ruffled the top of his head between his ears.

Asra scrunched down beneath her hand. "Cut it out. I'm not a child-" wait that's right. Asra froze and looked back up at his sister. "Wait, why am I back here at the village? I'm of age.I should be out defending the wood now."

His sister gave him a confused look as she dropped her hand from his head. "What do you mean? You don't have to leave the village when you're of age. We all stick together."

Asra's eyes widened in shock. "What-"

"You're acting really weird, Asra. C'mon let's hurry up and get back and get some food in you. Maybe that'll help you feel a bit better." She gave him one bright smile and then swiftly turned around walking away from him.

Asra kept eyeing her and the basket she had been gesturing to. Carefully he took up the other basket and followed on her heels as she led the way towards the village. He almost felt robotic as he followed her. There was this constant buzzing in the back of his head telling him something wasn't quite right. Which was such a ridiculous thought to have when here he was safe and sound back at home. Something about this moment didn't seem to line up either. This wasn't how it was before.

He remembered his coming of age ceremony. The hair tie his tribe had collectively gifted him. He reached up to feel the very same one bound around his hair now. That was unexpected too. He had thought the hair tie lost to him when they had stripped him of his belongings when he'd been captured. He remembered his master. A wise and strong male elder who taught him so much. Their time among the branches in the canopy watching, listening, feeling the whispers of the wood.

He remembered them finding the dead foliage. The shriveled and decayed plants poisoned with corruption. He remembered the strange stone vessel. His hand reaching out to touch it.

Blood. The sickly metallic scent of it. His master's torn body lying before him in that dead decaying brush. His hands covered in red. Dripping. He's screaming. He's afraid. There's a another voice inside his head-

"Asra!" Aoife calls to him and Asra quickly snaps out of the memories and looks at her. He suddenly realizes she's quite a distance ahead of him now and he must've stopped following. "Keep up. We'll be scolded again if we take too long."

"R-right," Asra tries to collect himself. He shakes off the chill of the memory and quickens his step behind her. That...all happened didn't it? No, it couldn't have if he's here now like this. What was going on with him?

It didn't take them long to return home, climbing the steps into the houses built skillfully in the trees. There was quite the excitable commotion going on as the others prepared for the feast. Asra felt himself staring in awe at them all as he and his sister moved past. All these familiar faces. His family. It felt like ages since he'd seen them all. That wasn't quite right though was it? He'd only been away a few hours at most. And yet why did seeing them make his heart ache?

Aoife led them straight to where the feast would be taking place. Large, ornately carved tables were presented before them already covered in dishes and foods everyone had been preparing. It was quite the spectacle. This seemed even bigger of a feast than what Asra had remembered them holding before. The last he could recall of this scale had been when he was small and their sister tribe from the north had traveled down to visit them. That was something that rarely happened, perhaps once or twice in a century or so. He didn't think they'd hold such a gathering again already.

"Are we hosting another tribe this time?" Asra asked his sister as they set down their baskets.

"That we are! And not just one but both our sisters! Did you not notice them already?" a cheerful and familiar voice replied from behind them. Asra immediately whipped around to see his mother setting down a plate of freshly steaming roasted dodo onto the nearby table.

"Mother!" Asra cried as he quickly rushed over and embraced her. He squeezed her tighter than he'd ever had before and she didn't hesitate to squeeze him back and rub one if his ears.

"Oh my, you haven't hugged me like this since you were a little kit!" she laughed. "What's all this?"

"Asra's been acting funny today," his sister said as she approached them.

But Asra didn't care to listen. He could feel silent tears falling down his cheeks as he buried his face into his mother's shoulder. This felt all too surreal. No matter how much he tried to remind himself he hadn't been away, he still couldn't stop this awful aching clenching in his chest.

His mother stroked the back of his head and hummed. "Well if feeling funny gets me hugs like this then I won't complain. However, we do need to finish up helping here so we can all eat so you're going to have to release me at some point this evening." The amusement in his mother's voice made him smile as he pulled away. She took note of his tears and gently wiped them away looking suddenly concerned. "Is something wrong, little love? What're these for?"

Asra sniffled but kept smiling as he shook his head. "It' nothing I'm just- I'm just really happy."

His mother smiled softly back at that. "Of course you are and as you should be. All our families are here together today. And I sure hope you kept your appetite. I made sure we cooked up all your favorites," she said and gestured to the tables beside them.

Asra managed to tear his gaze away from his mother and to the tables before them. Truly a sight to behold now as he took it all in. The smells, the excitement, the smiles and laughter from the other viera as they mingled about. He finally noticed now the faces of those from the other tribes he had nearly forgotten. Some older now since they were kits the same age as him when he last saw them. And speaking of kits, there were the little ones running by them as they played. He couldn't help but laugh as a few of them pushed past him nearly knocking him aside as they chased each other. He looked up and past them and his eyes lingered on a group of male viera engrossed in their own conversation. He knew them well, his tribe brothers, but rarely had he seen them. They had long left the comforts of the village to live out in the wood on their own and yet here they were. All together at once. That was something that never happened and yet here they all were enjoying the feast along with everyone else.

As he watched them, another man approached them, clasping the shoulder of one of the younger men as he caught the group's attention. He said something that made them all laugh but the sight of him made Asra's blood suddenly turn cold in his veins. The warm smile that he'd held suddenly dropped and he felt his breath catch in his lungs. He recognized this elder viera instantly. And he had just caught the eye of the elder and he was now approaching him. The smile on the man's face upon seeing him grew softer, familiar, warm. Suddenly it was like all the noise around them had gone quiet and all Asra could hear was the beating of his own heart loudly in his ears.

"Master," Asra finally whispered once the man had stopped in front of him.

His old master's smile widened, "Asra, you look well! Forgive me I meant to arrive with the rest of the tribe but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see how the hunter's fared with the game for this gathering."

"Of course that's what would distract you, Sylrin," Asra's mother laughed as she gave the man a gentle smack on his shoulder with the back of her hand. "All these years and nothing about you ever seems to change."

Asra's master regarded her with a smirk and a wink. All the while Asra was frozen in place. This wasn't right. It couldn't be. The memory from before flashed in his mind. This wasn't possible. His master couldn't be here.

The elder looked back at him and his face suddenly dropped in concern. "Are you alright, lad? You've gone pale." He made to reach out to him but Asra aggressively flinched and took a step back. His master froze, looking a bit shocked and wounded by his reaction. Even his mother and sister seemed to watch on surprised.

Asra's lips trembled as he drew in a breath to speak. "Y-you...You're dead. I-" I killed you. The words caught in his throat. He couldn't will himself to say them aloud. But the horror of seeing this man before him, alive and whole and full of all that bright life he remembered. No, this wasn't right, this couldn't be.

Screams echoed on the wind again. Something fragile felt near to breaking. He could feel it splintering in the back of his head. His breathing began to pick up, he could feel that panic settling into him again. Darkness creeping into the edges of his vision.

A sudden breeze rushed past him, the sound of it like a voice shushing the sounds of those distant screams. The dark shadows in his vision suddenly cleared as he swayed a moment, his eyes lulling. His breathing steadied until he blinked rapidly taking back in the sights and sounds of the others around him. The laughs and joy, the smells of the food. His gaze turned back to the elder man in front of him. The man was still staring back at him with a soft smile as if nothing had happened.

His master's brow raised in surprise as he looked down at himself. He lifted and stretched out his arms as he took full stock of his person. "Well I certainly hope not. I don't feel dead yet. I know I'm getting old even for viera but I still have a few hundred years left in me." He let out a warm chuckle as he dropped his arms and smiled back up at Asra.

"Oh please, you're barely older than myself. That isn't old at all," Asra's mother exclaimed.

Asra listened to them, trying to understand just what was going on with him. He suddenly felt so strange. He felt himself swaying a moment on his feet as he stared back at the man before him. His master must've suddenly taken notice because soon Asra felt the man's arm wrap around his shoulders as he guided him to sit down at the nearby table. Asra didn't shy away this time and merely slumped down on the bench.

"He fell asleep out in the glade today and he hasn't seemed to be feeling well since," his sister said as his master began to pour him a cup of water from a nearby pitcher. Asra gulped it down gladly, the coolness of it settling in his stomach. Something in his mind reminded him how real that felt. He could drink. He could taste the water on his tongue. Yes, he was here, this isn't a dream.

"Easy now," his master muttered to him, but then spoke up so even his sister could hear. "He must've just gotten overheated in the autumn sun. It can happen to the best of us. You thinking you're napping in the safe shade, but the sun turns during the day and next thing you know it's set you roasting."

Asra's sister shrugged, "I suppose so. I just hope he isn't getting sick again like when he was a baby..."

Their mother quickly shushed her and gave her a stern look. His master patted his shoulder as he set down his cup and finally Asra was able to look at him again, his eyes clear.

"There he is," his master grinned, giving his shoulder one last squeeze before letting him go and standing up. "Get this boy something hearty to eat and he'll be right again. I've clearly upset the lad, though, so I'll leave the three of you to it for now."

He made to turn away but Asra's hand quickly reached out and grasped the fabric of the man's cloak as if it had a mind of its own. The man froze and once again looked down at him surprised. Asra looked up at him, a hot wave of horror rushing up his cheeks as he quickly dropped his hand.

"I um..." he muttered. "I'm glad to see you again..."

His master grinned at him and reached out to ruffle the top of his head just as his sister had earlier. "It was good to see you too, Asra. Now enjoy yourself."

Asra gave a short nodded in response and the man finally dropped his hand, turned away, gave his mother one last wink, and then made his way back into the crowd of festivities. A comforting warmth seemed to spread through Asra's chest as he watched him go. Suddenly something about all this did feel right. He turned his gaze out to the people of his tribe and he realized this was everything he could ever want. Everyone he knew and cared about was here. The autumn sun was warm and golden, the food was fresh, a group of his cousins had started playing music and everyone looked so happy. It suddenly occurred to him how silly he was being thinking this was all a dream. Of course it wasn't. He was home.

And so he let himself settle in with the others. His sister dropped a plate of his favorite food in front of him and he didn't hesitate to start digging in. They continued to chat and laugh like they'd always done. Later a few of his tribe brothers and sisters joined them and it all was as it should be. As it always should've been.

It didn't take long for Asra to finally get swept up into the familiarity of it all. The uncertainty and strange memories and sounds on the wind seemed to be long forgotten. Even the dear friends in those memories didn't even enter his mind. For this moment as he sang and danced and reveled with his kin, he was finally free.

After what seemed like maybe hours Asra finally sat back down at a table, a laugh escaping him as he watched his sister and cousins play some game. He'd lost this round and it was about time he took a break from the excitement anyways. As he took a sip from his cup, a grin still on his lips, he could've sworn he heard someone whisper his name. He paused mid sip and turned around. No one seemed to be behind him, how strange. He turned back and set the cup down, glancing around. His sister's loud cheer caught his attention as one of their cousins appeared to have lost this round of their game.

Again, the whisper of his name. Like a breath near his ear. Quickly he turned again, but there was nothing. A chill began to prickle at the back of his neck as he nervously kept glancing about. Was he still not feeling well? It had been hours since he'd felt off he'd nearly forgotten he'd felt amiss at all.

Wait...hours? Asra turned his gaze up at the branches of the trees above him. At that golden autumn sun still gleaming through their leaves. It's been hours and yet the sun hadn't set? That didn't seem right...

Asra glanced back down at the others around him. The peacefulness of them all still cheerfully celebrating. The children still running around, his mother off to the side chatting with his master, his sister and their cousins and their tribe siblings. All of them still full of joy and it didn't seem to be slowing. All of the chatter and the laughing and the music suddenly felt so loud to his ears. Everything overwhelming. Something was wrong...

"This is a lovely memory. A pleasant...dream." A soft and rumbling voice spoke beside him and as Asra quickly turned to look at the source it was like all other sound fell away, muffled in the background. His eyes widened and his throat went dry as he stared at the man sitting calmly next to him. It was the same man he'd seen before in a memory he couldn't quite remember. The man in the dark and metal room that had made him a promise. He was no longer wearing the whisping black cloak, but was instead adorned in black noble garments. They reminded Asra of the sorts of things he'd seen the nobles in Ishgard wearing. The man was still incredibly pale, but he didn't look quite as deathly and gaunt as before. His hair was long and black, the strands falling elegantly over his shoulders. His ears were also slightly pointed, Asra noted. Not quite as dramatic as most elezen and his features seemed very hyuran. Half born then, perhaps?

But those eyes. Those eyes are what caught his attention the most. They no longer had the red glyph emblazoned on them. Instead they were a soft shade of light green and not nearly as frightening as he expected. He noticed suddenly, as the man kept his gaze ahead of him, not meeting Asra for the moment, that he looked extremely tired and there was a deep sadness in those eyes.

The man remained still then, silent and watching the others around them. He had both his arms resting on the table before him. One hand passively wrapped around the rim of a cup as if he had simply been dining beside Asra the whole time.

And as Asra took him in, a weight dropped into his stomach. This was his shadow. His beasty. And as sudden as that realization struck him, an obvious revelation overcame him. "None of this is real, is it..." he stated quietly.

The man next to him let out a sigh and finally turned his tired gaze to him. "No," he simply said.

A tightness clenched deep in Asra's chest. He couldn't help but look back at his sister and his mother, his vision beginning to blur as the sting of tears filled his eyes. He nodded solemnly as he tried to hold back the shattering emotions that were building up inside him. Before it could become too much to bear he let his head drop as he sniffed back his tears.

"It felt so real. I wanted it to be..." he finally admitted. He was surprised to find his voice so steady. His body simply sagged in defeat as he sat there. All the memories from before, his being forced to leave the wood with his voidsent parasite, wandering around in foreign lands, his time with those kind friends with the scions, being held prisoner by the Garleans. Suddenly it was all so clear and so very real. He was such a fool to think any of this dream had been anything but just that. A dream and a lie. A pathetic hope of what could have been. Gods he was such a fool.

"That was the point, little rabbit," Erimus said sounding just a slight bit irritated, but still incredibly tired. "But I'll have you know it didn't seem to work all that well. Your resilience is still incredibly frustrating. There were a few moments there I nearly couldn't keep you out."

Asra slowly gazed up at him. The man was still looking at him calmly and patiently. "What did you do? While I was here, I mean."

Erimus hummed and turned his eyes down at the cup in his hand as he traced his fingertips along the rim. "Better you not know."

Asra kept eyeing him carefully. That wasn't much of an answer. Those faint and distant screams he'd heard, was it connected to what was going on outside himself? And if his voidsent was here now then where was his body? Who was in control at this very moment?

"Don't worry, we're safe now," Erimus continued. "I got you out just as promised. And all that's left is for you to wake up." Erimus' hand finally paused as he glanced up at the dream before them. His eyes traced over Asra's family with an unreadable calmness. "It is difficult to pull yourself away from them though, isn't it."

Asra slowly tore his eyes away from him and followed his gaze to the phantoms of his family still filled with so much joy.

"It's good you miss them, you know. It shows how much you loved them. How much they loved you."

Quickly Asra looked back at him a bit startled by his words. The sad sincerity of them. It was so unlike anything he'd ever heard come from this creature. He couldn't help but eye him suspiciously. "Why are you being so kind to me?"

"Is it a kindness to take you from this?" Erimus asked him gravely as he turned to level his gaze at him once more. All Asra could give him in reply was a troubled stare, his brow furrowed as he struggled to understand. But of course he understood. He knew when he woke he'd be thrown right back into that miserable world where there was no wood and no family to welcome him. That his body would be bruised and broken from the Garleans. There would be no songs and laughter and joy and all the things he loved and missed and all that understood him outside of this.

There would still be this shadow beside him. Haunting him.

Suddenly Erimus chuckled softly to himself as he looked away from him finally. "Or, you know, you could stay," he said as he reached out and plucked a blueberry from a nearby bowl. He held it up to his face seeming to deeply scrutinize it as he rolled it between his fingers. "But then I would be breaking my word. I did say I would set you free and get you to safety and then you could wake up. And as much as leaving you here to your pleasant dreams is oh so appealing, between you and I," Erimus let out a heavy sigh, "I am quite tired."

Asra bristled a moment as he watched him analyze the berry in his grasp. Just as he made to respond, a sudden figure just past Erimus caught his eye. Asra stared past him with wide eyes as he watched a young man sitting just at the far end of the table from them. He stood out conspicuously among the rest of the residents in this dream, not fitting in. He was dressed similarly to Erimus. The same short point to his ears. The same green eyes and black hair, though cut close and shorter than the man beside him. He was less pale too. More warmth in his cheeks and a pleasentness to the way he carried himself. The resemblance he held to Erimus was striking but there was a bright youthfulness that Erimus lacked. The young man smiled at Asra and it was such a bright smile that lit up his eyes. He lifted a glass to him as he did and Asra felt a haunting chill run through him. He had seen brief flashes of this man before when his mind had encroached too closely to Erimus in their memories. Each time he caught even a glimpse of him it would enrage the voidsent so to see this full apparition here and now, and so very real, sent a rush of worry over him.

"Erimus," Asra began carefully as he finally managed to take his gaze off the young man and focus on the other man beside him. "Who is he?"

The whole while Erimus remained completely calm. Not once had he turned his focus from the berry between his fingers, completely ignoring the young man who had suddenly appeared. But just as Asra had finished asking his question, the fingers holding that berry abruptly squeezed and crushed it. The sudden snap of it bursting almost seemed too loud in this phantom space. "Just my own unwanted shadow. Nothing more," Erimus growled.

Asra looked past him again and just as quickly as the young man had appeared, he was now gone. Asra looked back at Erimus as the man suddenly closed his eyes and his body seemed to sink slightly as he let out an exhausted breath.

"Really, Asra, you must wake up now. I truly am very tired," Erimus huffed.

A strange feeling of pity seemed to take hold of Asra as he watched him. It was strange to see him this way. His tired voice didn't hold the same bite. He seemed like just a man and not the beast he had grown to know. How could this be the same creature that had tormented his every waking moment for so long? But regardless, the man was right. He had to wake up. He couldn't stay here, he had to return to his friends and help them protect their star. And in doing so protect his wood and his family.

His family... he looked up again to take in his sister, his mother, his master, all the others he had grown up with. Aunts, cousins, tribe brothers and sisters. All of them so happy. This was why he had left the wood and took the corruption with him. This is why he kept going. Why he kept fighting.

As he tried to commit their smiling faces to memory, he paused suddenly realizing something. He turned back to meekly look at Erimus who still sat there with his eyes resting closed. "I um...don't know how," he confessed.

A small smile creeped over Erimus's lips as he softly chuckled. He opened his eyes and sat up straight again, eyeing him with a glint of amusement. Asra watched him as Erimus reached out a hand towards his face and, strangely, for once Asra didn't flinch away. He held firm and for one final moment he met Erimus's eyes as the man suddenly and almost playfully flicked his forehead.

-‐-

Asra gasped awake. His eyes flew open and he immediately hissed and winced as tried to breathe. The pain, there was so much of it. He couldn't even see from the sudden shock if it. It felt like he'd been crushed by an aurochs. No, worse, like a whole airship had crashed right on top of him. He groaned and sunk into the bed as he tried to take shallow breaths.

Wait...bed? Asra ran his sore fingers over the sheets. He grimaced as he slowly turned his head and glanced around the room. It was small, wooden floors and pale stone walls, a vanity with a mirror at the other end, a quaint window just to the side with the sun beaming through its curtains. Where?...

He made to sit up but quickly let out a sharp breath as every muscle in him screamed. He collapsed and glancing down at himself he took in all the cuts and bruises covering his body. Some of the bruises in different shades of colors in their healing, but someone had seemed to have bandaged the worst of his wounds. The bandages were clean and blinding white against the contrast of his tanned skin. He carefully brought a hand up to feel at the largest one wrapped around his torso and winced at the sudden ache.

Who did this? Where was he? He glanced around the room again and tried to listen. He couldn't hear anyone but the birds outside the window. Wherever this place was he had to figure it out and get out of here. If he was still within the Garlean territory he had to get out now and fast. Asra bit back the pain and sat up, sluggishly swinging his legs off the bed and pushed himself up to stand, but immediately collapsed onto his rump with a hard thud onto the ground. He had let out a surprised and pained yelp as he did and quickly covered his mouth as he panted through the striking pain that had shot through him. As he leaned his back against the side of the bed, collecting himself, he realized he had caught his fall as he splayed his other hand atop a small table by the bed. He could feel what felt like a piece of parchment and quill under his hand as well as something thin and string-like. His fingers slowly curled around the items as he tiredly let his arm drop into his lap.

He closed his eyes a moment, panting through the aches and pains. Gods everything hurt, he groaned. Once he had felt himself begin to calm he finally glanced down at the items in his hands. There was indeed a piece of parchment with a definite note scrawled across it and a quill that the feather was now ruffled from his grip. But those were not what held Asra's immediate attention. The third item, the string-like thing, was the hair tie his tribe had gifted him, completely undamaged. He stared at it for a long while, a sudden lump forming in his throat. He had thought it lost to him. How could this be? How did it get here? He found himself clenching the band and the beads in his fist as he brought it up to his lips and closing his eyes, overwhelmed by an emotion and relief he couldn't quite describe.

After a moment he finally looked back down at the note in his other hand. At the top of the page someone had begun to write in very small and elegant cursive. But it was as if the one who had written them had suddenly remembered the recipient of the letter had the reading comprehension of a child and the words had been struck out. Instead below that were large, clear letters that Asra slowly sounded out in his head.

SAFE

WAIT HERE

FRIENDS ON THE WAY

-E

Asra stared at the words for a moment. E? What was E? He pondered a moment trying to think of a single word that comprised of the single letter E. Hold a moment, he thought, this is a note and he'd been taught people usually sign letters with their name. So E is a signature? A name?

"Erimus?" Asra rasped out uncertainly. Then it clicked "Erimus!" This time he straightened up, suddenly aware of the silence in his head since he'd woken up.

"Are you there?" He carefully asked aloud. Silence. No response. It was strange how alone that suddenly made him feel. He glanced back down at the note in his hands, then over his bandages. And if the note spoke truth then his friends had also somehow been contacted and were on their way to him now. This was all Erimus's doing? A strange feeling settled in his chest at that. He had only promised to get him to safety. To do all this...

Asra looked down at the hair tie still clenched in his fist. Why did he do all this for him? How did he bring him here? To someplace comfortable even, with a bed of all things. But still where exactly did he bring him?

Quickly Asra looked up and towards the small window. He dropped the note to give himself a free hand to grasp the small nearby table again and push himself back up. Again he winced through the pain but he had to endure it. He had to see where he was.

Slowly he staggard step by step over to the window. Outside was the familiar pale Gyr Abanian stone and soil. So his little voidsent hadn't taken him too far. Not out of the country anyway. He swayed as he stared a moment longer at the dry scenery, squinting a bit at the bright light. The movement of his swaying reflection from the nearby vanity mirror caught his eye and he turned his gaze over to it. Stumbling closer to it he now took in his full image, slowly trailing his eyes over himself and all the damage he'd sustained.

He looked like such a mess, he thought ruefully. He barely recognized himself beneath all the scratches and bruises. His eyes were even still shadowed but at least there didn't seem to be any swelling there. His eyes trailed down over all the different colors and the bandages and cuts, all these unfamiliar wounds he couldn't even place a source to, until his eyes fell on one singular scar on his hip. He slowly and gently traced a finger along the faded curve of that scar.

This one was one he knew. He had gotten it when he was a boy. He had been whittling while sitting high up in some tree but had foolishly slipped and fallen, landing right on his blade. The knife had lodged itself right into his hip there and dragged along the curve of his side as he had tumbled down the hill. It was a nasty wound at the time but he had healed quickly and all that was left was the memory and the scar. Tracing his fingers along it now seemed to ground him as he stared at this nearly unfamiliar reflection of himself. This old scar was proof he was still himself. All this would heal too and be just another memory.

Suddenly beside him the door to the room began to swing open. In a flash Asra had grabbed a letter opener that was lying on the vanity, the nearest sharpest object to him that his instincts could discern. He held it out before himself defensively and toward the person entering through that door.

"Oh!" A round, portly woman exclaimed as she froze in the doorway. She was holding a tray with a pitcher and cups and seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. "Oh dear, you're awake! And even already on your feet, would you look at that."

Asra eyed her carefully, still holding the letter opener pointed in her direction.

"Now, now there's no need for all that." She seemed rather unbothered by his current position and jovially stepped past him to set the saucer down on the small table by the bed. Asra slowly began to lower his blade as he watched her turn around to face him again.

"Who are you? Where is this?" he managed to ask.

The woman's brows raised in surprise. "Goodness me, seems you lost all those fancy manners as you recovered."

Asra gave her a confused look.

The woman gave him a sympathetic smile. "But I won't hold that against you, dear. You were in quite the state when you showed up here. I'm not surprised your memory would be a bit messy. But you have nothing to fear. This inn is the safest spot you'll find this far out. There was a castrum a few miles over but men keep coming in with word saying someone attacked and took the whole place out. Saying there wasn't a single survivor to be had." She paused and eyed him carefully. "You happen to know anything about all that?"

Asra remained silent.

The woman quickly hummed. "No, of course you wouldn't. A little thing like you. Well," she clapped her hands once, "as you asked, I've brought you some water and checked in and you seem to be well on the mend. Is there anything else I can get you?"

Asra's gaze lingered on the pitcher. "I asked you?"

"Mhm, you explicitly stated to not disturb you for two days and then to bring you some water and check in to see how you were faring. You are doing well, yes? Maybe I should find you a healer. To think you bandaged yourself..." she took in the sight of him then and Asra's ears drooped slightly as he suddenly felt a bit exposed.

"I'm fine, thank you. I have some friends on the way. They should be able to look after me."

The woman's eyes seemed to twinkle warmly at that. "There's those manners. That's good to hear. Well then, I will leave you for now but how about I get something warm started for you. You must be famished."

Almost as if the mere mention of food suddenly woke up his stomach, he could feel it rumble at the thought of something to eat. "T-that would be wonderful," he said, shyly as he watched her quickly step back towards the door. Just before she stepped out she swiftly turned back around with a warm smile still on her face.

"Oh, should your friends arrive would you like me to send them right up?"

Asra gave her a small nod and a smile as his heart fluttered a moment at the thought. His friends, here, finally back by his side after everything. Oh how his heart was fit to burst at the thought of being reunited with them again.

The woman nodded back graciously and finally turned and closed the door behind her. He waited a moment, listening to her walk away, before looking back at the pitcher of water she had left behind. Slowly he stumbled back to the bed and heavily sat down on the edge. He sighed and wearily closed his eyes. It was like a sudden and immense weight had just lifted off his shoulders. He really was out of that nightmare. He was safe. And two days? He had been here for two whole days? Then it would be just a matter of time before his friends would arrive. Oh how he missed them so much...

The longer he sat there, finally letting this wave of relief and comfort come over him, he just couldn't shake this confused feeling deep in his heart. His whole being here was because of Erimus, his voidsent, his shadow, his resident nightmare. His beasty. Sure he had said he'd get Asra out of that whole mess but he expected him to just leave him to his own devices out in the middle of nowhere. His voidsent was always cruel, feeding off his own aether like a parasite and trying to use him to steal it from others. All the terrible things the creature had said and done and forced him to endure. There was never a shred of good in such a beast. And yet here Asra was, comfortable, safe, bandaged and healing, reassured of reunion upon waking. And a soon full belly to boot. And...

He glanced at the hairtie still clutched within his grasp.

The voidsent had no reason to go this far with this kindness.

Erimus, Asra suddenly tried to think deep. He tried to reach out into the darkness in his mind but there was still nothing but silence. In the dream he'd said he was tired, perhaps he was just resting. Strange how in this moment, when Asra was finally able to sit in the silence of his one mind, his own singular voice in his own thoughts, that he would for once look for a reply. He let out a huff of a laugh at the baffling realization he was actually worried about his voidsent.

Really just about my headcanon thing about his viera tribe and the hair tie he uses. I like to think that in his tribe when a male viera comes of age and is about to leave with their new master all the women of the tribe who raised him and grew up with him all work together to make a sort of trinket or token for them to keep with them. Something to remind them of their home and the mothers and sisters who are their family. Kinda like their reminder of what they're protecting the wood for. For Asra's they all made him a hair tie that they all made their own beads/feathers/strings and leather cord to add to the piece. It's something that, even after his situation with the voidsent, he still wears and is very dear to his heart. If anything were to happen to it or if he were to lose it itd just be very devastating to him.

And kind of going off that I like to think after some time when things between Asra and his voidsent kind of start to kind of calm and they start to sort of get along, especially after erimus saves him, Asra would try to make him his own viera trinket. Itd feel odd considering its not something the men of his tribe are usually responsible for making, but Asra would kind of start to feel like this is the best way he can show erimus that he doesn't consider him a threat or an enemy anymore. Erimus doesn't have a tribe but Asra can be his kind of thing. And I think he'd make it as some kind of bracelet, maybe made of materials of things that had significance on the journey they've spent together. Of course as a voidsent that isn't physically present though Asra would end up wearing it on his own wrist but upon gifting it to erimus he'd kinda use it as a promise that one day he'd figure out how to find a way for erimus to wear it himself, with a body of his own. Which I think that'd be the huge turning point for Erimus' growth and being not such a malevolent creature lol basically this is good ending scenario for them tbh which is fun to think about. Erimus has some serious redemption to go through lol

Smol baby boy. So innocent so pure a sweet summer child. Still niave to the world outside the wood and nothing bad has ever happened to him ever.

And then I look at him as a reaper and

Cursed boy. Edgy boy. He's seen the world and seen some shit. Hasnt had a decent sleep in months.

Asra finally slumped himself down against one of the many trees on the Sharlyan campus. It was a particularly warm day so the shade was welcome. He took a brief moment to take in the scenery, the sounds of the nearby river rushing along, the birds in the tree above him, the wind in the reeds and leaves. For a moment if he closed his eyes he could almost trick himself into believing he was back home in the forest.

But reminiscing was not why he was here. He quickly gathered up the reeds he'd harvested and set about weaving himself a basket. It was a silly thing to be doing really, what with the more modern cultures having plenty of shops with baskets already fully made and available for purchase. But Asra needed something to occupy his time. Leon and the rest of the scions were conducting their heroic daring-do in the library and he was of no use in such an environment. Probably more of a distraction really. So he resigned to a moment to himself on the grounds and once these reeds growing by the river had caught his eye he knew exactly how to waste his time.

He expertly began to braid and weave the strands together in smooth and quick motions. It had been some time since he'd made anything quite like this but the fingers never forget and as he let them do the work his mind was left to wander.

He was suddenly reminded of the time he made his first basket. He was so young, a small kit at the time. His older sister had sat him down and helped teach him claiming they had to hurry up and make some while the berries in the meadow were ripe.

Thinking back now it seemed like such silly timing for a lesson when they should've just gotten already made baskets if they were in such a hurry.

But at the time he was too young to question it. So he followed her instructions as best he could and crafted a basket of incredibly questionable durability. But he was so proud and his sister seemed satisfied enough with his work that the two immediately set out to gather their quarry.

Once their baskets were filled to the brim, although some berries being consumed along the harvest, they began to make their way back to the village. But tragedy struck when the bottom of Asra's basket had come completely unraveled, spilling the entire contents of the berries within. It was only then did he realize he had been leaving a trail of berries along the entire trail and had been stepping on them the entire way. Feeling heartbroken at the loss and embarrassment that only a young child can experience, Asra had begun to cry. His sister had quickly ran to his aid and did what she could to dry his tears and gather whatever berries could be salvaged into her own basket. She somehow managed to calm him down enough to guide them the rest of the way back home and by then Asra had calmed down and the two were able to sit and enjoy the berries from his sister's basket. As they munched and Asra observed his destroyed basket mournfully, his sister promised to help him get it right the next time.

Asra smiled softly at the memory. Such a memory of his sister brought up others then. Small moments in their childhood. Most happy, some sad, some just silly. Moments that felt like an entire lifetime ago.

"You miss her." Asra jumped slightly at the familiar and unwanted voice inside his head. He suddenly realized his lapse of focus in the moment. Moments like this when he almost feels as though he's alone and forgets to keep the wall up in himself against his unwanted passenger were rare. He quickly ran a check over that wall and catching the small window that had formed within it. The wall itself was still firm, keeping the creature at bay on the other side. But it was there and it was watching and had gotten a full view of his reminiscing.

Asra paused in his weaving then and did a quick scan about his surroundings. It didn't seem like anyone was around to hear his mad ramblings so he judged it was safe to respond outloud.

"I do, yes," he said softly. Funny how responding to the voidsent lurking in his mind aloud made him feel less crazy. Anyone to witness though would no doubt feel otherwise.

There was a pause then. Asra held his breath as he waited for that brief wave of exhaustion to run over him. The telltale sign of the voidsent feeding off his own aether while his emotions were full of sadness and longing for those halcyon days. However that feeling didn't come and Asra, though suspicious, let out the breath.

"You claim to miss her but that seems awfully silly with how you little rabbits live," the voice finally continued. Its voice was uncharacteristically casual. Although in hindsight it had been as such more often lately, Asra noted. "When I found you hadn't you already left her?"

Briefly Asra tried not to think about the moment it had "found him" so he quickly shoved that memory down. He instead looked out at the water in the river before him rushing by, chewing his cheek in thought.

"It's different now, I think," Asra began. "Before, its tradition and my duty to return home every few years so it was always guaranteed I'd see her again. But now..."

Asra paused. Now...yes what about now? He glanced in the direction of the library. He thought about Leon then. Of all the places they'd already journeyed, the lives they'd saved, the lands they'd seen that he could never have dreamed existed. Before, when he was first burdened with this occursed creature bound to his soul, he believed he was still serving his duty to his tribe by taking the danger with him out of the wood. He even kept his forest name in the foolish belief that he hadn't technically left the wood if he was still protecting it by leaving. But things were different now. Felt different. The thought of leaving Leon and the scions caused more pain in his heart than the thought of never returning home now.

"But now it's harder knowing I may never return at all. That it means I really will never see her again," Asra continued. He waited again for that feeling of the voidsent feeding knowing this wave of emotions was ripe for the picking for it. But again nothing came.

After a moment the creature spoke again, "I see..."

Suddenly a flash of a memory that was not his struck Asra like a lightning bolt. He jerked at the suddenness of it, his hands gripping the half made basket in his hands. It was just a moment of a memory. As if he was looking briefly through another's eyes at a young man. His hair jet black, his eyes a soft green. He'd seen eyes like that before. They were a near match to the ones he'd seen belonging to his unwanted passenger but instead of the pale sickly green that matched that of moss on a pale corpse, these were soft. A color more akin to grass dusted by the frost of an early dawn. The young man was looking back at him and he flashed a bright grin, a laugh escaping him. Asra felt like he had to squint just looking at him. The man was so bright. Like he was a beacon of light.

But then there was a cascading wave of emotions that came crashing down upon him all at once.

Love. Admiration. Pride. Hope. Love. Pain. Loss. Grief. Grief. Grief. Love. Hollow. Anger. Betrayal. Hate. Rage. Rage. RAGE. RAGE.

And then there was one word that almost seemed to scream through his mind: Brother.

Just as quickly as the flash appeared it was suddenly yanked away. Asra gasped audibly at the abrupt absence of it, gasping for breath that he didnt realize he had been holding. It felt as if someone had struck him across the head and he was reeling as he tried to recover. It was only then did he realize the loud hiss that was ringing in his head. Asra found himself reaching out for that wall between them in his mind and felt himself recoil. It was not just the wall he had made now, no. There was a darkness enshrouding it, keeping himself at bay.

"I-I'm sorry," Asra stammered, not exactly sure what he was apologizing for. The brief moment of accessing a memory he wasn't supposed to see? For whatever caused these emotions that were clearly the voidsent's from a life before?

"Keep your pity, little rabbit, and leave me be," the voidsent snarled. The casual nature of his words before were now gone and the familiar animalistic venom had returned. Asra winced at the volume of it as it rang through his mind.

He tried to take a moment to compose himself then. Steadying his breathing and recollecting his thoughts. There had been times when the voidsent had let its own memories slip through. They were mostly ones of its mortal life, moments of its cruelty even then. They were never like this though. Something unbidden and so rich with emotions. So strong.

Finally after a moment of silence Asra glanced down at the crushed basket in his still tight grip. He relaxed his fists and tried to smooth out the weaves, finally sighing heavily as the tension in his mind began to calm. The voidsent was silent, curled within a corner behind the wall it had reinforced. Asra chewed on his lip a moment.

"Im sorry...It's hard losing someone you care about," he said. Not really sure why he felt the need to say it considering all the torment this creature had put him through. But all the same whoever that man the memory was, he...was good. Asra had felt certain of that and the man deserved some kind of word.

The only reply Asra received was a guttural snarl. He half expected more. Maybe a tear at his aether but again surprisingly nothing came.