For most of the journey, Ashya had brooded in solitude, ignoring her companions, lost in thought and in their surroundings. She had plenty of food for thought – mostly centred on the Joining, the pyre of dead bodies following it, and the fact that she had been thrust in a group of people most of whom she was unfamiliar with.
The girl turned to glance at them all again, running her eyes briefly over every single one of them. Barring Aurin and Noah, whom she knew – if briefly – from the Tower, the others she knew very little or not at all. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but unexpected. She had imagined that everyone who left the tower with her would remain as a group.
Of course, that couldn’t have happened with most of them dead from the stupid, stupid Joining.
The girl scowled to herself again, clenching her fists, before sighing and drawing her cloak closer. Her mind had picked at the rumours and memories until the mere thought of the Joining made her stomach turn.
And here there were four of them who had – somehow – survived the Joining. And she was glad Signy was still around, but as for the others – she didn’t know them, and she couldn’t help wishing that it had been them to die instead, leaving Byron, and Emrys, and Maddock alive. It colored her mind every time she saw them and it did kind of hamper conversation from her side.
After setting up tents (which Ashya helped with, but not excessively – there were strong men around, after all, to do the dirty work), she resolved to at least try and get to know someone new. So, attempting to break out of her self imposed sulk, she approached the fire, venturing a smile at all gathered there. She sat down next to Quintus, remembering him as the man who had brought them pastries on the Joining night, but her words, when spoken were directed at the whole group.
“I don’t know about the rest of you…but I don’t know quite a lot of you,” she declared, looking at all of them in turn. “I think perhaps some introductions are in order, since we’re going to be fighting next to each other it seems. I’ll go first…I’m Ashya, a mage from the Circle…but I suppose that’s obvious,” she said with a small shrug and smile. Her robes and staff left little to question. “What about you?”