Bet some of you scrambled here for more Ethan or Aaron content WELL THERE'S NONE TODAY SO GO BACK TO THE BASEMENT (jsyk this is not the same Asher as the Jasmine book's one) here's the replacement tho : _ Mist covered the forest, blanketing the tall pines in an almost dreary haze. It looked... mystical, really. A rushing sound came from the heart of the forest - a waterfall, backed up against a sheer, tall cliff and tucked between two of the tallest pines, flowed freely. It looked as if the cascade was the source of the mist, with the fine white cloud that formed at the bottom of the rushing waters. Perhaps it was. Every step Asher took was calculated and careful. One foot in front, sinking into the muddy, soft soil, with the other staying right where it was. He then glanced both ways with his dark, dark eyes, fixing on anything suspicious, before taking another step. And on it went. As he approached the waterfall, he heard a growl behind him. Low. Soft. Deadly. Asher moved as slow as he could, turning first his head to glance behind him. Nothing in sight, but upon further inspection he could see the moving shadow in the woods. His pale hand hovered over his pocket as he narrowed his eyes, watching the figure. The shadow rushed between pines in a frenzy, until - it leapt out of the woods, becoming not a shadow, but - Asher brandished his knife, pulling it expertly from his pocket and swinging to face the shadow completely. But the shadow was not a Maliki, or even a Flazk- It was a boy. A boy around Asher's age, with dark brown, slicked back hair and a thin, tanned face. His bright blue eyes were wide with wonder. Or fear. Asher realized his knife was still out and quickly sheathed it. "I - I'm no monster, in case you were wondering." The boy's accent was strange, but not thick, and he spoke Asher's language, Shorz. Shorz wasn't as common for most people to speak now, so Asher was grateful. Not grateful. Why would he need to talk to someone? He narrowed his eyes. "I'm Tyler!" The boy extended a hand, but Asher just stared at it. Tyler may have thought he was being rude, but truth be told, Asher was trying to figure out what he was doing. He hadn't been raised to shake hands - in his culture, it was considered rude to touch someone that wasn't related to you, even your spouse. Especially not someone with brown hair. Asher tilted his head as Tyler slowly put his hand back to his side. "So, um, are you lost too?" "No." The answer was crisp and cold, but it was an answer. Tyler tilted his own head in confusion. "Wait a minute-" Tyler narrowed his eyes, looking at Asher's hood. The archer-style hood usually covered his hair and most of his face, save for the eyes. They were just plain brown, so what was Tyler concerned about? He reached out a small tan hand and pushed the hood away, leaving only a brown cloth around Asher's nose and mouth. It was too late, even as Asher scrambled to pull it back over. The damage had been done. "Oh my gosh! Your hair! It's white!" "Wow, you can see too." Asher pulled the hood especially tight and leaned closer to Tyler, who was the same height as him but skinnier. Surely Asher could beat this kid in a fight. "Don't touch my hood." Tyler nodded slowly, but his blue eyes burned with questions. Yes, yes, what would a white-haired person be doing alone in the Forzay Forests? Asher didn't want to answer the question - already he had struggled to push the memories away. So why would some brown-haired boy convince him otherwise? He made a snarling noise, raising his hand to his head, covered by brown cloth. He was supposed to stop thinking like that. He couldn't judge someone for being born with their hair color, you couldn't control it. Why else would he have run away? Tyler winced at the snarl, backing up slightly and widening his blue eyes. Instead of running or yelling, or doing whatever those other people did when Asher threatened them, Tyler just blurted out the truth. "You're - scary. But also kinda funny." Funny. Asher pulled the hood closer to his eyes. "Get a move on. I thought I heard a Flazk back there." "A Flazk?!?" Tyler's wide eyes now gleamed with fear, and he turned to face the woods, backing up until he was beside Asher. "I better go with you!" Asher wrinkled his nose, looking over at Tyler. “You think you’re going to protect me or something?” “Well, no, but maybe… you can protect me?” Silence fell between the two. Asher looked into Tyler’s eyes - wide and blue, and full of fear. He needed direction, he needed hope. Who was Asher to give it to him? But he couldn’t just leave the boy here… “Fine. Come on.”
