Chapter Text
“Shut up and eat, you animal.” Ashe snaps.
He tears apart the strangely purple, cooked meat with his crooked teeth and, regardless of its revolting origin, Ashe found it to be quite tasteful. However, Chime silently looked at it uneasily as if the meat grew eyes and stared back at him, and Ashe, looking at him with questioning, sharp eyes, quickly became annoyed.
“What’s even the matter with it?! You have no problem eating human beings and yet you sheepishly hesitate with this! There’s no difference.” Ashe says, sighing dramatically, irked with the irony of Chimes ‘predicament’. Chime scrunches his keen nose, shaking his head. “The food isn’t the problem, you bastard…” Chime huffs, tilting the stick and holding the meat around with his fingers. Examining every feature of the thing that made sickness pool in his stomach. He then hangs his eyes low to the discolored ground, the blue blood splattered on his legs, and the faint chirping of what monstrosities lie further into the distant fog of the forest. Hoping, for even a second, to hear the tiniest hint of Quinn’s voice, or any humans voice other than Ashe for that matter. They had finally managed to catch prey, or whatever that creature they found was, for the first time in forever and he fought his loud hunger.
He and Ashe have lost count of the days if days had passed at all. Time was different in the new, strange world they found themselves trapped in and the daylight cycle seemed nonexistent for how drastically time fluctuated. Time was in favor of someone who likely enjoyed the hot rays of the scalding sun while a cool breeze passed by and found solace in the moon as rain clouds formed. One moment they were treading through streaks of light and the other, Chime rummaged through the pitch black as Ashe staggered blindly close behind. Minutes turned into days. Then years. Then seconds. It was chaos and yet, it was normal and almost peaceful for the life of this place. And, throughout the entirety of their journey, they have not once encountered another lost one like them; Chime could only go so far listening to Ashe, and he strongly believed that feeling was mutual.
Ashe raises his eyebrow, a scowl on his face. He leans back on the massive tree stump, finding comfort in its moss and by crossing his arms to rest. “News to me. Seems you eat anything or any one just fine.“ Ashe scoffs, never once stopping to remind Chime that he's a monster. Chime swiftly sends him a testing glare, taking a deep sigh as he tensely rubbed his forehead that rested in his palms.
“It’s this place,” Chime admits, his wavering eyes panning his eerie surroundings. As much as he despised conversing with him, he still opened his mouth; It wasn’t like Ashe could exploit this truth and shape it into a weapon. “This place brings… a sense of dread. I’ve never felt such terror before, it’s unimaginable. Not surprised you can stomach food in this atmosphere, then again, maybe it’s because Quinn and Shen are fucking gone due to your reckless, stupid actions!”
“I haven’t done jack shit, you asshole!” Ashe claps back, “Quit your weak, insufferable whining for the goddesses' sake, Chime , and stop pinning all of this mess on me! “ He sneers, uncaring of their distinctly echoing voices. "I told you, I didn't fucking know they'd be gone the second I turned around, it's not my fucking fault!"
A moment of heavy silence is shared between them, well, what is even considered silence at this point? The air was filled with earthly sounds, sounds of life and death, even sounds of standing right in the middle; Faint roars echoed through the trees and Chime's ears were just accurate enough to notice the scattered mess of a mother-birds nest in the trees. Or, what he hoped were birds.
With a soft blow towards a single, black strand of hair to move it out of his face, Ashe speaks. “Who are you to even accuse me? You weren’t there. You weren’t there for when they vanished so don’t fucking point a finger at me, prick…”
Ashe scoffs, contempt brushing against the sides of his crooked nose. The cogs in his head turned as he opened his mouth, paused, and spoke, “In fact, I’d go as far as to say that you weren’t ever there for Quinn the way I was for him-“ “Sheesh, cut the crap and spare me your sick sob story.” Chime interrupts.
Ashe blinks, shivering in baby rage but fights his pride in order to shrug it off when even the cricket-like insects surrounding them began to snicker and laugh. He focuses his eyes on the dying fire, slowly poking it with a stick until a lightbulb shined brightly above his head. Unprovoked as usual, Ashe grinned a grin that could rival a demon. Chime's ears twitch slightly, sitting across from him and suddenly called to the emphasized, ruffling movements of Ashe but, exhausted with the attention-seeking actions of Ashe, he turns a deaf ear to it much to Ashes' relief.
Ashe's boots rumple against the pink dirt, noisily digging his rough hands into his scarred, brown satchel; He rummages around for a while before grabbing onto a sleek rope and triumphantly bringing it out of his bag wrapped around an oddly shaped stick. His makeshift slingshot.