43. Tristan

The trip to Steepguard wasn’t quite what Tristan had been expecting. He was prepared to make the trip in silence, a tense awkward kind of silence, but Ashia chatted the whole way. Not about anything important or to him, more so to herself, to the point that Tristan had considered several times if she would even noticed if he had stopped walking and slowly worked his way back to the pack. His eyes were closed most of the time, hoping to block out the drone of her voice as talked about all of the business she had been missing out on since she had left Aeston on her mothers orders. A strong stench of livestock reached Tristan’s nose and he knew they were just outside of the small town. Spending a good chunk of his life as a rouge granted Tristan the time to be around many different groups, but humans tended to be the same wherever he saw them.

They liked to keep livestock, not usually for the meat, but for the milk and wool typically. There were some who would kill them for meat but there was no hunt involved. These animals lived a cushy life in a pen, fed until they were almost too fat to stand, and then killed. Tristan couldn’t help but shake his head slightly, it was lazy.

“Since you don’t know your dad, how do you know who we’re looking for?” Tristan asked, his words slow and drawn out slightly as he didn’t know how to ask without sounding offensive. To her credit Ashia simply shrugged, not seeming to be phased at all.

“We go to where it is easiest to find answers.” She told him, and it seemed that would be the only answer she gave as she led the way down the cobble road. They passed by many people, not too many seemed interested in the pair of strangers other than the occasional fleeting glance someone might throw when they walked by a person. Tristan placed his hands in his pockets, his gaze drifting around as he took note of the different shops around and the atmosphere.

It was closer to being similar to Aeston than it was the Storm pack. People would pass each other by and hardly bat an eye, let alone greet each other. There was no feeling of connection or family here. It was just a group of strangers living next door to each other. But their homes looked nice at least, the pair passed several different style homes, some brick and stone work while others were made of wood. Each one looked different than the next with the only thing being similar was that they all connected to the road.

Ashia led the way down the winding road, taking enough turns to confuse the male walking just slightly behind her though that wasn’t her intention. She was following her nose and very vague instructions given to her by her mother. Her sense of smell was nothing compared to the wolves though. Eventually they found themselves outside of a local tavern, there was little doubt in Tristan’s mind that they had actually passed this building more than once but he didn’t have the energy to say so. With her head held high Ashia walked inside the establishment, only a few patrons looked in their direction but most kept to themselves which helped to keep Tristan from feeling on edge.

“Evening, what can I get you?” The bartender asked as they approached.

“No drink, do you perhaps know a man named Onaxx?” The bartender’s pleasant smile slowly faded away into a more cautious gaze. A nearby patron seated at the bar leaned in their direction.

“What could you two young folk want with that bastard? You’re asking for trouble if you’re looking to get mixed up with that fool.” He snapped through his drunken stupor. Tristan placed a hand on the bar to ensure that the patron could see only the towering male.

“It seems like you know where he lives. What we want with him is none of your business, so tell us where to go and we’ll be on our way.” The male sniffed sharply as he looked Tristan over, the look in his eye telling the sober male that he was no doubt calculating if he could take him in a fight. After a moments hesitation he shrugged his shoulders as he brought his cup to his lips.

“South side of town, run-down shack is his home.” He grumbled over the rim before taking his drink. Tristan straightened himself up and looked to Ashia questioningly, did they need more information or was it enough? She nodded her head and they began to walk away when the bartender called out to them quickly.

“Be careful around him, he’s mad.” Ashia scoffed at his words and threw the front door open harder than she needed, her action was enough to crack the glass on the front door from the force. Tristan bit his bottom lip to keep from chuckling as they worked their way south.

“How are you feeling right now?” He asked after they had walked for a bit more. The young female slowed her steps to put him at her side as she wrapped her arms around herself. For the first time since Tristan had met her she seemed so young and vulnerable, it made him realize that she had a heavier weight on her shoulders than she should have at her age.

“Sick, my stomach, it is making me feel sick but the rest of me is fine. I believe I am just nervous…” Her lips twisted into a frown. Tristan noticed that since her time with the pack her grammar had started to get better, making her sentences more solid and less broken compared to when he first met her.

“Will he even realize who I am? Will he care? I almost do not want to know.” She sighed heavily, her shoulders caving slightly. Tristan extended a hand and hesitated, briefly remembering the fear and hatred she used to show towards him. They weren’t close but the time they spent meditating together had helped to form some sort of bond between them. He finally placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her into his side as he forced them to stop. Her body tensed with surprise as he wrapped his arms around her, she was smaller than he had realized with the top of her head only coming to his collar bone.

“Being nervous is okay, if you don’t want to know anything about him then we won’t ask. But unless you decide otherwise this might be your last time seeing him so if you do want to get to know him, and if you want him to get to know you, well I don’t mind staying for a while so you can do that.” Ashia inhaled slowly, collecting herself before gently pushing him away with a tightlipped smile.

“I will think on it. Thank you.” She turned quickly and resumed the walk though at a slightly faster pace than before. Tristan had spotted the way her ears had turned red and could help but smile as he followed along.

The house that the pair ended up at was not what they had been expecting to find. They had been told to look for a run-down shack but what they found was a moderately sized home that seemed to be well taken care of. There was an abundance of vegetation in the front yard, an assortment of local and foreign herbs being grown in carefully places gardens. Different flowers bombarded Tristan’s nose though the strongest scents came from the least harmful. He could spot several poisonous plants as they approached the front door. Several vines grew along the sides of the home, one side producing fruit while the other seemed to be for the aesthetic. Ashia knocked firmly on the wooden door twice, not speaking a word as an echoing sound of crashing came from the building. She had no doubt startled her father on accident as his rushed footsteps quickly approached though he was much slower and more cautious when it came to opening his door.

“Can I help you?” He asked, his chocolate brown gaze drifted between the pair though neither missed the way his eyes did not seem to recognize the young woman in front of him.

“You are Onaxx correct? I am Ashia, this is Tristan, we request your help. We only need information, nothing more.” Ashia’s words were clipped and to the point as she spoke, her own eyes drifting past him and into his home where she and Tristan both could see that the inside of his home was not nearly as well kept as the outside.

“Information? Sorry I doubt I have any information you’d find helpful.” With that he withdrew his head and began to shut the door but not before Tristan placed his hand on the wood frame to keep him from closing it all the way and pushed it back open just slightly.

“Sir please, we promise not to take up your time, we only have a few questions to ask.” He pleaded, the words tasting bitter in his mouth. He hated that he was having to ask for help this way, or that he had to ask for help at all. The man sighed before scratching the back of his neck and finally opening the door to allow the two inside.

“Please pardon the mess, I obviously wasn’t expecting visitors.” He mumbled, closing the door behind Ashia with a quiet click before scrambling to move what seemed to be research papers out of the way so they would have a place to sit on his couch.

“Do you know the story of the Moon Goddess and the gatekeeper of Hel?” Ashia asked as she made herself as comfortable as she could be. Onaxx paused for a moment before the ghost of a smile met his lips as he seated himself in a chair across from them.

“I take it if you’re asking a question like that neither one of you are human huh? Yes young lady I do know that story, quite a sad one.” Once they had all been seated Onaxx seemed to be much more business-like; the awkwardly uncomfortable man from the door seemed to have been a rouse to get them to leave.

“We have heard rumors that your ancestors are connected to that story, could you tell us how?” Tristan seemed to have peaked the mans interest as he set his ankle onto his knee and propped his elbow onto the armrest of his chair. The gaze that looked over Tristan now was a calculating one that only someone who lived their life to study could contain.

“Well the story goes that a desperate man came to one of my ancestors in search for more power. She could sense something deeply wrong with him however and tried several times to ward him away but nothing she tried worked. In his desperation to make her cooperate he killed her husband, supposedly on accident, and in her grief she did what anyone in her position would have done. She made him the monster he had become. While doing so she made sure his mind was cleared so he could see the devastation and destruction he had caused on his path and repent.” Onaxx tilted his head slightly into his hand after he spoke.

“They say that the man had eyes of fire, amber just like yours.” He added with a smirk. Tristan’s chest swelled in defense, so the warlock seemed to know who he was. Ashia placed a hand on Tristan’s wrist to keep him from doing something foolish.

“How is it possible that his descendants have the same affliction as him. How could the witch have cast such a strong curse as that?” She asked firmly, drawing his attention away from the male at her side. His smirk gave way to another emotion, one that almost looked like regret.

“Unless your mother decided not to share with you all of the details of your lineage you should know exactly how that was possible little Dragon, his curse is connected to me, and to you. For as long as our blood lives, his suffering shall continue. While time may have helped him there is nothing worse than watching your offspring crumble just like you had once upon a time.” The house filled with silence like a weighted blanket. The hand on Tristan’s wrist trembled when Onaxx had revealed that he had known who she was. He found it hard to swallow as he lifted his gaze away from the warlock and to the wall beyond him. Killing an innocent man who he didn’t know could be done, killing someone he had grown to get used to on the other hand was not something he wanted to do.

“You look just like your mother dear, I would have to be blind to not know who you are. You look healthy, that’s good!” He explained with a smile, suddenly acting as if he hadn’t just revealed that only their deaths and any other member of their family would be the only way to save Tristan. Ashia reeled slightly, jumping to her feet at the sudden kindness in his voice.

“Thank you sir, for your time and help.” She hissed sharply before reaching down and grabbing Tristan’s hand and quite literally dragging him from the house. The faint sound of Onaxx chuckling seemed to echo in the male’s mind even as they walked several paces away. Neither spoke for the longest time, not until they reached the border for the Storm Pack.

“I am sorry Tristan, perhaps my mother and Farryn will have different news.” She said quietly as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Tristan found it odd that she seemed so confident that he wouldn’t harm her, but her confidence was well placed. He pressed his lips together firmly in a grimace before looking up to the sky, searching for the moon that was beginning to rise but unable to find it.

“Yeah, let’s hope so.”