Trials (7)

Ash tried.

He really tried his best.

Alas, even a person with a degree in English for animals, if that even existed, wouldn't be able to do what he wished to achieve.

After more training and speaking to the raven, which Ash had named, Keen. Ash had officially given up.

Ash wanted to name the raven sage, but from his mycelium, he knew the raven was a he, so he refrained from calling him sage.

But that wasn't what Ash had given up for.

What he had given up was the idea of teaching Keen to speak English.

Don't get him wrong, the mutation that Keen's species had really made them smart. Incredibly so.

In the first minute, Keen already knew the words me and you. Ash only needed to explain to him twice.

Keen also learned the words flower, mushroom, venom, poison, and vines in the first 15 minutes.

He was a much better student than a kindergartener.

The problem was, Keen was a bona fide raven from birth.

Let alone not having the appropriate organ to make him speak human words, the raven also didn't know the existence of the alphabet before.

If Ash really took his time, then Keen would sooner or later know how to read and write in perfect English.

But Ash doubted he wanted to spend a full month or even more teaching his pet raven the alphabet and more words.

And that time was not even taking into account of Keen's lack of fingers or any proper studying tools.

So in the end, Ash hoped that Keen being able to understand him without Ash using the mycelium had completed the banyan tree's requirement.

Ash decided to go back to the banyan tree, hoping the voice would give him another thumbs up and say he had completed the second trial.

When Ash, Doppelganger, and Keen neared the area of the banyan tree, Keen cawed loudly.

He perched on Ash's shoulder, shaking his head left and right vigorously.

Ash then recalled that even the mighty stag didn't dare to step onto the clearing where the banyan tree stood.

'I guess it was because of that being residing there…' Ash figured out as he opened up his palms.

"Come here, I will just hold onto you if you can't do it. Trust me, it's safe. I've been here before."

Keen's vocabulary wasn't that diverse yet, but he was already smart enough to guess from Ash's tones and body language.

He understood that he didn't need to worry and only needed to trust his human friend.

Keen nestled comfortably in Ash's palms, making sure both palms were holding his sides properly before he could truly feel safer.

Keen was a grown ass bird, according to bird year that was, but Ash just couldn't help but wanting to hug him tight when the little guy just buried his huge body in his arms.

Ravens were by no means small like their cousin, the crows. And this particular raven was twice the length of Ash's forearm.

So, Keen's attempt to seek protection in Ash's palms had failed considerably.

But with Ash walking confidently, not even a stutter in his steps, Keen finally felt safe enough to stand back on Ash's shoulder.

The trio arrived inside the wooden cave.

Ash patiently waited for the voice to speak to him and give out the next trial.

Fifteen minutes passed, and still no voice in his head.

Ash then understood that he still hadn't completed the requirement.

"Alright Keen, it seems we really need to figure out a way for you to communicate with me. So what do you want to try? Writing or learning morse code?

Wait, no, I don't know morse code myself. I can't teach that to you."

Ash really didn't want to do it. He just can't imagine telling his raven to use sticks to write on the ground.

It would just be a very annoying hassle for Keen, and an incredibly inefficient method of communication for the two of them.

The problem so far was Keen's inability to speak.

"Wait, Keen! I got an idea! How about…"

Several more words left Ash's mouth, then a short, sharp caw replied to him.

Even without speaking raven, Ash understood what Keen meant.

He didn't want his original syrinx changed to a human vocal cord.

"I understand. I respect your decision. I wouldn't want my vocal cords changed to a syrinx either."

The long time of pondering then arrived. The dawn had changed to noon.

With his plague abilities, Ash was fine not sleeping a wink. His body wasn't a regular human body after all.

Same for the doppelganger. It just stood there, simply existing and staring at Ash with all of its attention.

Well, for Keen, the guy had found the wooden table in the cave to be comfortable.

He was still afraid of the area at first.

But after staying there for hours, nothing was happening, and his trusty human friend watching over him, Keen had nothing to worry about anymore.

Ash had spent literal hours thinking and even talking to himself.

'Should I make a picture book to teach Keen? No, I can't draw.'

'What about making our own language? 

… Yeah, who am I kidding, I can make no language.'

'Then what if I make several pictures, just enough so that Keen can properly communicate?'

Ash began thinking hard. 

If it were just several pictures, it wouldn't be impossible for him to recognize his own drawings, no matter how bad they were.

But after careful thinking, he realized that it would be a huge waste of time and a hassle.

Doing that would mean he would be carrying pictures all the time.

And what would he use to create those pictures inside a forest filled with mutated psycho creatures? His hopes and dreams???

Ash's hopelessness had reached the level where he looked at his silent doppelganger on the side, put his hands on its shoulder, and whined,

"Help me, man. Give me some ideas!"

Hearing the command to help him, the doppelganger began to move, tilting its head and looking at the ceiling of the cave.

Its limbs continued twitching while the doppelganger did that, then its whole body shook.

It seemed to be trying its best to help its master, but it didn't know what to do.

In the end, the doppelganger seemed to malfunction.

Its head kept looking upward, but its limbs were tied to each other.

Causing the doppelganger to lie on the ground motionlessly, its body half curled into a ball.

*PFFT!*

"Ahahahahaha!"

Ash couldn't keep his laughter. 

"Even the incredibly competent guy gave up, eh?

Don't stress over it. It's not your problem. You can fix yourself up, no need to stay like that."

With more commands from Ash, the doppelganger untied its limbs and stood back up once more.

Going back to its routine of watching over Ash.

For Ash himself, something seemed to click inside him when he watched the doppelganger untie its own limbs.

Even when Ash didn't literally say to do it, the doppelganger understood his intention when he said to fix its limbs.

Ash's eyes lit up, hugging his viney doppelganger and lifting it up the air.

"That's it! We can try that! Thanks a lot, man!"