The desert was an interesting place, but Hydrostatic was more interested in this 'ashen' place that he heard a few NPCs occasionally speak of. It didn't come up often in conversations but still, the jaguar cub was still interested in it. And of course, being the mischievous and explorative sort, Hydro was looking for this place. He wanted to know why everyone spoke about it in hushed voices, as if it was somewhere spooky.

What Hydrostatic wasn't expecting though, was the chills that went through his body as he neared The Ashen City. He thought that the name of this abandoned town was just a joke, something that others said to scare their friends. But no, this place was literally an ashen city. Burned down from... what? Hydrostatic didn't know, nor did he really want to ask why this place was so desolate - even in comparison to the god damn desert. He didn't like it here, didn't like the eerie feeling he got.

And yet, Hydrostatic couldn't force himself away from the city.[glow=white,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[div style="max-width: 360px; font-family: palatino; color: #2e8b57; text-align: left; padding-top: 8px; padding-left: 10px"]HOW DO YOU RUN FROM Y[color=#5d8e93]OUR OWN MIND?

Ash and dust... It seemed to follow her.  Her life a series of... Harsh events surrounding fire.  Watching the ashes that remained.  A hollowness in her chest, where she had held friends and family within her heart.  Mother.  Brother.  Kydobi.  Washed out by flames.

Perhaps that was the ashen city repelled the petite deer-fox.  The promise of ruins.  Emptiness.  The dust left behind by those she had never known.  The aftermath.  Before Jervis' reign.  Before she and her father arrived to the desert. 

It might as well be a graveyard and the similarities... To the place she'd been born... It chilled her to the bone.  Pushed her away from the city whenever she wandered too close.  Always eager to keep moving.  To focus on gathering desert plants or patrolling the worn paths.  Anything to stay away.  Anything to avoid the threat of those memories.  Lingering on the edges of her mind.  Nothing but fear and loss.

And she would've done the same today, had hazel hues not caught the blur of spots in the distance.  Confused.  Concerned.  Wings pressed close to her sides as hooves hesitantly trotted over the sand.  Chest tight.  Stomach constricted.

"Hy-hydrostatic?" Seemed okay.  Just... Staring off into the city.  The ruins.  The ashes.  "Are- are you okay?"

© MADI

Hydrostatic didn't hear Aine approaching, but he did hear her voice as she called out to him. For a moment, Hydro blinked, at first believing he was imagining someone talking to him, but once he looked over to his side, he saw Aine standing there. She looked concerned, and maybe for good reason. "I-I think so." The cub replied. "I just... don't like the feeling this place gives me. It's... scary." And yet, he couldn't force himself away from it. Not on his own.[glow=white,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]

[div style="max-width: 360px; font-family: palatino; color: #2e8b57; text-align: left; padding-top: 8px; padding-left: 10px"]HOW DO YOU RUN FROM Y[color=#5d8e93]OUR OWN MIND?

Aine breathed out softly, nodding.  Tried to keep her gaze on Hydrostatic.  A worried flicker in her eyes as he said it was scary.  She hardly wanted the boy scaring himself.  Especially when she agreed... Caught by the vision of smoke rising from the city.  Spilling into the clouds... The taste of charcoal and iron on her tongue.

Barely breathing when she blinked, hazel hues lost in the sky.  White clouds.  Four... Seven... Eight... Her legs felt shaky.  No smoke.  Just the scattered ruins ahead of them.  Scary.  Haunting did it more justice.  Aine shifted her weight from one side to the other, turning back to Hydrostatic.

"It was- it was before da and I came here." Two years now?  How long had it been?  "This city- it used to be the Pitt's camp." But the finer details, the personal history, she knew little of.  Nor why when the jungle offered more protection from the desert.  Even when the buildings stood, she wondered how hot it would have been.

"But the Pitt- we were- we were more violent then.  Hurt others.  Got into- into all sorts of conflicts. This- this is what... This is- this is the cost." Ash and dust.  Nothing but fire and death. "But we don't- we don't do that anymore." Most of them anyway.  Some still pushed their progress back.  She didn't understand.  Tired.

"You don't- you don't have to be scared of it, Hydro," she murmured.  An attempt to be reassuring, even though her feathers still felt ruffled.  "I'd just- I'd just watch my step if you ever- if ever go further in.  I don't want- I wouldn't want you coming in with a broken leg, yeah?" Not fun.  She knew from experience.  Recalled her father's frustration when she tried to avoid him.  Prolonged the setting.

"We can- we can take a closer look, if you want.  Or I- I could show you someplace less scary. My garden- my garden's back in the jungle.  A little closer to camp."  A dramatic change in scenery.  But she'd let him choose.  Better to have someone with him if he did want to see the city closer up, after all.

© MADI

It used to be The Pitt's camp. And yet, it was completely empty now. Disserted. Although Hydrostatic didn't have the same visions that Aine was having, he could almost imagine what horrific disaster caused this. A mudslide in the Coalition had destroyed their camp for weeks, and yet here was an old camp that was completely destroyed. Hydrostatic looked at Aine as she spoke, forcing himself to look away from the ashes and focus on her words. He did want to explore the city further, but the Fleshweaver seemed almost unnerved by it as he was.

Hydro didn't want to stress her out either, though. "A-a garden would be nice. Can we go there?" He asked, even though Aine offered to show him herself. He just wanted to make sure. Maybe he could have his father or Dante show him the Ashen City at some point, maybe when he was older. Less unnerved by this town.[glow=white,1,400] ━ ✧*:･ﾟ[/glow]