...
Something stirs in the light passing through the window. A weak breath escapes through her lips, but this time it's only a dragged yawn.
She slowly gets up to sit on the bed, a terrible headache afflicts her. While still unable to see properly, a blurred image reaches her, and before she can react-
''That's enough, aye!'' - Phi'lip pulls her out from the bed where she slept.
''What the...'' - Ashes gets on her feet holding on to the chair behind her. - ''What is wrong with you?!'' - She yawns and scratches her eyes.
''I should be askin'ye that! Why's ye on me bed? 'Tis a sacred place, you can't barge in 'ere.''
''Right. Did you forget you drank yourself to bits? Left me out there by myself. So your father said i could spend the night in here.''
''Could've woken me up! Me back's full o' bites now.''
''Oh pray, whooo did the biting?'' - She sweeps a hand across her forehead, teasingly dramatic.
''Ants.'' - He mutters, deadpan.
''Ants?'' - She breaks her act, stifling a laugh.
''Aye, ants.''
''Yo-'' - She stops herself mid-sentence, looks up, thinking. - ''Greatest explorer west of Chambéry crying over ANT bites? That's your grand tragedy? The mighty explorer felled by ants?''
''Ah fuck off... They do hurt ye'know?'' - He picks her 'new' boots lying close to the bed and throws it to her. - ''Ye look... grand, in our style.'' - His eyes traced her village clothes, admiration flickering.
Ashes slips on the boots, deepening her voice in a mock imitation. - ''Aye.''
They both stare at each other for a few moments, before both bursting into laughter. Phi'lip moves back towards the door.
''Close enough. Let's get goin', i've been told to start trainin' ye.''
''Told? Who by?'' - She twists her head to the side
''Who b-'' - He looks down, chuckles and steps through the door - ''Oh Ashes, never change.''
''Eh... What is that supposed to mean?'' - She follows him through the door.
''No bother. Who'd'ye think told me to train ye?''
''Boulder i assume?''
''The Boulder, Aye. He has no time, ye'won't get the Boulder, but ye'll get the Stone.'' - He raises his right arm and flexes it while walking down the staircase, to which she is equally unimpressed as when he did it before.
''Right. And so what are you going to train me for?'' - she asked, matching Phi'lip's stride.
''For yerself. Lost memories and all, I reckon ye can't do much.'' - He smirked. - ''Actually, I reckon ye can't do anythin' at all. Ye'd likely die out there alone.''
''That's not true!'' - It is true, she thought, biting her lip. - ''I'd survive better than you, I'm sure.''
''Oh, inlight me then.'' - He stopped, hands on hips. - ''Can ye even make a tinecampa''
"A what?"
''Firecamp'' - He said with a grin, correcting himself. - ''Campfire, ye fancy city rat. Can ye do it?''
''Yes… probably.'' - She faltered under his stare. - ''Not really.''
"Well, ye will after today. I'll see to it."
The morning sun warmed her face as they leave the house, the village hummed with cleanup. Axes bit into charred beams from the burnt houses, and a lone straggler snores under a feast table, cups scattered nearby. The thought that a certain woman could have been a part of the feast, had she not delayed herself and Phi'lip, but she lets the thought go for now. Her son, Finn, was nowhere to be seen after his mother's death.
Ashes scanned for Máistir Ewan's piercing gaze, half-expecting him to loom behind a corner, but saw only villagers hauling water from the well. A chill pricked her neck, was it him, or just her nerves?
A couple of them wave to Ashes as she passes, one of them approaches her.
''Maidin! Lady Ash, Phi'lip.'' - Her dark curls bounced as she dipped her head in a clumsy bow.
Ashes waves to Iris. -''Please, i'm no lady, see?'' - She points at her 'new' clothes. - ''I'm just like you now.''
''Iris, Maidin. 'ready started workin'?'' - Phi'lip taps her shoulders. ''Micht need a new set o' blades for the goldenhair.''
''Aye, im'ma 'bout to take water for the forge. If'ye serious 'bout the blade, come over!'' - Iris seems excited to have them.
''Maybe later, need to teach Ashes how to do stuff on er' own, but she'll need the blade at some point.''
''Ah, grand! Jus' let me know, i'll ask Máistir Sano himself to forge hers.''
''He better, he owes me a favour or two anyway.''
A bald man yells from the side of one of the houses, calling for her. He seems dirty with coal dust.
''Och, haev to go, don' forget to visit me lads!''
''Aye.'' - Phi'lip replies while Iris goes back to the well, picks a bucket that was being pulled by a young boy and lifts the bucket up to her shoulder.
''That's... a very big bucket.'' - Ashes is in awe, the bucket is almost half Iris's size, yet she seems unbothered by carrying it, despite not being particularly strong.
''It is, but Iris has been at that since she was a baby, she knows her stuff.''
They leave the village, although not too far, just enough to be unbothered by the noises people were making over there.
...
Phi'lip chooses a spot with fewer grass, just distant enough from the trees surrounding them. Despite the proximity to the village, and the sparsity between trees, it still seems more lively than the forest around The Manor.
''First thing is the spot, ideally, ye want som'ere flat, like here. Away enough from everything else.'' - He kneels down, takes out a dark grey stone, about the same size of her finger. - ''This is flint, easiest way to make fire. Micht be small, but it isn't about the size of the stone, but how you use it.''
"I know what flint is," Ashes said, circling him. "I'm not that clueless. My brother used it sometimes." - The words slipped out, as if she was exposing something she herself didn't know about. She can't recall much of anything about her brother, much less about him using flint, and yet, the words slipped out.
''Ye've a brother?'' - He twists his head slightly, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
''Not anymore, it seems.''
''Ah... I'm sorry. if'ye want to talk about it, i think-'' - He's interrupted by her seemingly carelessness for the topic.
''I'll tell you some other time, now, what of the fire?''
''Aye...''
Phi'lip gathers nearby dry leaves and twigs, crushing them into a nest with softer bits in the center. Smashing the leaves into very small pieces. He takes the flint and sets it on the middle, pulling a small knife from his belt and slashing it through the flint.
Sparks come out of the end, making contact with the leaves, setting a very small cinder. He gently leans in and blows over it, the cinder gets bigger and bigger, burning the other leaves around it before fully catching fire.
''Does not seem that much difficult. Lend me these.'' - Phi'lip hands the flint and knife to her.
She does the same as him, gathering dried leaves, small sticks. Making a similar formation to his, though more messy, she kneels down into the center of it and slash downwards through the flint with the knife. A few sparks do come, but they're much smaller and expire as soon as they appear.
He gets down by her side to guide her, holding her wrists into handling the flint and knife in the right way.
''Ye've to slice it at an angle, can't have the blade cuttin' the flint like bread. At an angle, like this...'' - He moves her hand up and down the flint slowly, making her get an idea of how to move the blade across it. - ''Ye need'nt do it fast too, it can be slow, but it has to be right.''
Following his instructions, at a slight angle, she slashes the blade through the flint, and a wave of sparks come rattling down into the prepared leaves below, almost immediately, the whole thing is set aflame.
''I did it!'' - She warms herself on the fire.
''Aye, but out there, it won't be so easy...''
Phi'lip steps into the campfire, kicking it around, killing the fire and making a mess of the materials.
''What? Why did you d-'' - Ashes gets up in confusion.
He pulls out a flask and pours water down at the ground where her camp was. She looks at it, then at him, confused.
''When ye're out there, things micht happen, things outside yer control. Wind, rain, and if it ye can't make fire on those situations, ye micht not make it. Doin' it in the clear, in peace, that's real easy.''
He turns back, walks into a nearby tree and leans back into it.
''Go on, i wanna see a fire coming up.''
Her knuckles stung, but she rebuilt the pile. The first try failed, sparks drowned in a gust she imagined as rain. Frustration flared, but she adjusted, shielding the flint with her body. The next sparks caught, a stubborn flame flickering to life.
...
By sunset, her hands were blistered, wrists aching. Piles of dead campfires dotted the clearing, each a victory over wind, damp leaves, or Phi'lip's sudden kicks. She'd learned to read the ground, to coax sparks in chaos.
They sat by her final fire, the night creeping in. The warmth fought the chill, stars pricking the sky.
''Ye micht be a fire prodigy, really.'' - Phi'lip says, smiling. - ''Took me two weeks to not mess up the fire hole, and ye took three tries... If ye're as good with a sword as ye're with a flint...'' - He smiles, looking up.
''Hm... and what if i am?'' - She nudges his leg with her foot, smirking.
''Tell'ye what, if on day one, ye beat me, i'll give ye me own sword.'' - He gets up and lends her a hand to help her get up.
She takes it, letting him pull her up. - ''And what if i lose?''
''Ye'll owe me a favour.'' - His grin held a spark of mischief.
She laughed, brushing ash from her sleeve. As they walked back to the village, the fire's embers glowed behind them.
...