The Forest

"Would you rather shit piss, or piss shit?" Solara asked with a deadpan face.

Abraham looked over at her. "What??"

"You heard me," she said, walking a little ahead, hands casually behind her back as if she had just asked about the weather.

"That's not even — how would that even work??" he muttered, looking at her in sheer horror.

"Think about it." She turned around mid-step, walking backwards. "One way you get piss coming out of your ass. The other way, you're shitting through your dick."

Abraham froze in place.

She raised a brow. "Oh god… don't tell me you're above these questions."

"I feel like this is a sign that I should have travelled alone."

"Nope. You let me tag along. I'm just trying to get to know you."

Abraham scoffed. "You call this getting to know someone?

Solara shrugged. "I think the world deserves to know your answer."

Abraham sighed and rubbed his face. "Fine. Shit piss."

"Coward's choice."

Abraham paused for a moment.

"Well I did say I was a proud coward…"

Moments later, the forest was quiet — except for the lingering memory of that cursed question.

Abraham pulled the map out of his casing and examined it.

"Hey, we're halfway there." He murmured, "Let's set up camp."

Solara nodded in agreement.

They both unpacked beside a tree.

Abraham crouched by the tree, fumbling with the kindling. The fire coughed out — again.

"Fuck. Not again."

He grabbed more sticks and added it into the set up.

'As they say, fifty-fourth time's the charm'

He failed miserably again.

Solara snorted, barely holding back her laughter. "You need help, fire bender?"

Before he could respond, she flicked a finger through the air. The kindling burst into flame, sending Abraham leaping back like it had roared at him.

"Hey, prick! A little warning next time?"

Solara laughed, "Whoops… my bad!"

Abraham grunted and slumped back against the tree.

Another moment of silence passes as Abraham is stuck in his thoughts…

Solara suddenly cut the silence, "So… can we talk about your attribute real quick?"

Abraham glanced over at her. "What about it?"

Solara looked at him, slightly frustrated, "I don't know… maybe the fact that you gain more pulses every kill instead of one?"

"Oh that. Again, I thought this was normal for everyone." 

Solara rolled her eyes. "Can you just give me your hand again? I didn't look into it as much as I wanted to."

Abraham looked at his hand and sighed. "Sure, let's get this over and done with."

Solara grabbed his hand, prompting his panel to open up to both of them.

[Name: Abraham]

[Age: 20]

[Pulse: 41]

[Attribute: Combat]

[Trait: ???]

[Titles: —]

[Equipment: Rusty Knife, Daylight]

Solara stared at the attribute for a moment.

Abraham shifts uncomfortably, already regretting giving his hand over.

The panel begins to start glitching slightly as Solara looks deeper into his soul.

Suddenly, she lets out a sharp yell. "You've inherited… a sacred attribute."

Abraham looked at her and then away towards the trees.

"Just who were your parents?" Solara asked, eyes widened

"They were dormant humans."

Solara's mouth dropped. "Ok, what about grandparents…?"

"Also dormant."

She began to look more and more stunned

"Before you ask about my great grandparents and beyond — they were all dormant too."

Her fingers tensed around his wrist. Her eyes narrowed. The panel glitched again, harder this time — a pulse of static that buzzed in the air.

"Holy shit what is up with your blood…"

Abraham looked back at her, "Oh, I drank something in some temple in the middle of a fight."

Solara looked at him as if her soul left her body.

"What kind of idiot drinks something unknown in an abandoned temple??"

Abraham smiled, "Well I thought I was gonna die anyways so it didn't seem like I had anything to lose really."

She blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Solara blinked a few times. "Hold on, did you say temple?"

Abraham nodded slowly and then looked up at the sky to stretch his neck.

"Mind telling me what temple…?" She asked, almost as if she didn't want to know.

"Oh it said it was a temple for some Anouk dude."

Solara fell back and let go of his wrist, closing the panel.

She didn't move. Or speak for that matter.

Abraham looked over at her.

'Why do I end up meeting unstable people…'

Eventually, Solara calmed down and began to speak again. 

"She's a woman."

Abraham, caught off guard as he was daydreaming, looked back over at Solara.

"What?"

"You said 'Anouk dude.'" She exhaled slowly. "Anouk was a woman."

Solara wiped the sweat off her face and looked at him.

"My mother… killed her."

Abraham, finally showing some hint of care in this entire situation finally asked: "Who the hell even is this Anouk then?"

Solara cleared her throat. "Well, to put it lightly, she was originally part of the big three of the Malakhs."

Solara inhaled and continued. "Anouk's attribute granted her an affinity to war."

Abraham, more interested, listened to her more closely.

"She previously ruled over Citadel Schrade, within the extremely dangerous Rhineland."

Abraham was speechless.

"My family… comes from Schrade. Well, before it was destroyed like 1,000 years ago or whatever."

Solara breathed, then said, "I'm guessing Anouk anticipated her death and stored a part of her attribute somewhere as to prevent it from going to someone random."

Abraham started laughing violently. "Guess she failed then."

Solara looked up at him, almost in reverence. "Who knows, but my gut is telling me she didn't."

Abraham yawned. "I'm going to sleep, wake me up when your shift on night watch is over."

Solara rolled her eyes and stood up as the night began.