Snippet #2710290

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

With a simple nod acknowledging that Ash had done what she needed simply by reaching the auditorium, she proceed to fold her arms behind her head to wait. The following spectacle with Caius was mildly amusing, as well as a good reminder to her that prudence was the wiser choice when it came to this place. As much as she hated authority, she could stomach it where the alternative would result in worse humiliation like that boy had received. Unlike him, she wasn’t stupid.

Next came the briefest of lectures into what boot camp was going to entail, though it was still somewhat vague what that consisted of specifically. Maybe if they’d had more time she could’ve asked questions and found out a bit more, but she’d have to simply settle on the fact that she’d be learning her special abilities (Whatever they were), how to fight, and apparently participating in some reality show-esque survival game. All in all, she actually couldn’t complain too much. It was better than traditional schooling by a long shot, and she’d been in enough scraps to know the joy of punching some smug fellow in the face. If combat training required sparring, there was more than a few of her fellow demon-kin that she’d gladly take the opportunity to introduce to the floor. Camping wasn’t an issue for her either. In fact, she liked it a little rough.

"Now, if you would kindly follow me so you can learn how to become superpowered cool people, we should leave quickly. We'll be heading to the nearby garage to procure a nice vehicle for everyone to share." Illusion gestured for them to follow her, and Ash resisted the urge to raise her hand to interject. Following slightly behind the group, she figured she’d raise the fact that she’d make her own way using her bike at the garage, particularly given the arrival of Mister Friedman. She did however, turn back to the supply bags. ”Shouldn’t we carry these-?” Ash stopped herself as the bags seemingly dropped through the floor, the portals taking them closing as quickly as they arrived. ”…Never mind.” She mumbled, jogging a little to catch the rest of the group and follow after them.

The walk to the garage was going relatively peacefully, that Ash almost felt inclined to make conversation. In fact, she was about to when they suddenly came to a stop. Illusion first, then by herd mentality, the rest of the group. Leaning slightly to the side and moving up from the rear of the group, Ashley looked to see what appeared to be a bunch of the WDL goons, including that big wig from the other day, escorting some prisoner. He looked normal enough, but looks could be deceiving. She briefly wondered what sort of thing he’d done for such treatment, but didn’t care enough to find out. As far as sideshows went, this wasn’t very amusing.

”Uh, hello? Can we get moving again?” Ash asked, but her question was cut off by an ear-splitting crack, and the sudden feeling of movement as she was forced by another to turn away. So visceral was the feeling that filled her being that it made her visibly flinch. She knew that whatever going on behind her was bad. She could see it in the expressions of the people she’d turned to face. The sounds. Smells. Everything. All the warning signs were there that she should take her good fortune and not look behind her. But she wasn’t a wimp. She was tough. She could handle whatever it was. ”The hell JoJo! Get off me you do-” Ash hesitated as she slightly pushed him away, freezing in place as the blood caked across him registered through the slimy sensation on her hand. She wasn’t nearly as soiled as the boy, nor had she really felt it through her thick waterproof clothes, but it was still there. Slowly, her eyes traced the mess back to its source. She’d seen messed up things before, but never this close. Never this real. It was horrifying, and seemingly never ending. Transfixed on it like a train wreck or a car crash, her mind and body started to get through the shock and start shrieking alarm bells in her head. She took a step back, then inched further away. Barely, she managed to contain her own reflux as she covered her mouth and swallowed it back down. The taste left a knew sensation of disgust through her senses.

It was some sick joke. Some twisted prank by Illusion to throw them out of whack. It had to be. And yet, the blood on her hand from touching JoJo confirmed otherwise. She felt a little weak in the legs as they refused to work, the display of their insignificance and reminder of their mortality a world-shaking experience. As the winds gathered around them from what Ashley recognised to be one of Rick’s spells, it gave the black haired biker a chance to pay attention to the declarations of the demon that rose from the carnage in front of them. As the smoke billowed and the soldiers that had been escorting the prisoner scrambled to safety, Ashley was suddenly very happy to have a nerd like Rick helping them, but she didn’t get to dwell on that feeling long.

The message from the demon was clear. That were to fear him, and what he had planned for them. Ash didn’t really need it stated to her so plainly, as her body already felt that dread all over. The only solace she could take was that for whatever power this monster had; it clearly was not unstoppable. If it was, why didn’t it just murder them where they stood? No, this was just a vow on their heads. It didn’t actually mean anything, other than reinforcing the idea that there were many out there who wanted them dead. All the more reason for them to hurry up with this boot camp and learn some magic mumbo-jumbo to protect themselves from such dangers. Rational as those thoughts were, Ashley couldn’t keep her focus on them. Not with the corpse in front of them. Not with the memories that kept flashing through her mind to remind her of what happened, desperately trying to make sense of it and help her process it.

Around her, the reactions of the group varied. Breakdowns, indifference, mischievous smiles and even JoJo’s ever present practicality. Ash barely registered her own shock as her mouth remained agape, taking it all in. Slowly however, feeling returned to her numbed senses. Her brain began to catch up to the present. Vesper and Rick responded with casual indifference, like this was expected or normal. Ash 100% agreed with Helena’s reaction to that, though she didn’t voice it. That was insane. The fact they could just… Ignore that! Were they so desensitized to that gore and violence that they didn’t react at all? Even with training, Ashley didn’t believe she’d ever be able to handle something like that. She hoped she would never need to again.

Nearby, Caius was having his own personal freakout, though JoJo seemed to be on top of that one. His issues sounded a lot different to what her and Helena were feeling, so Ash instead focused on supporting the only other person who seemed to have a similar reaction to her. ”I’m with... Uh…” The pressure of the situation and the intensity of it all seemed to freeze up her brain, Ash unable to recall Helena’s name at the moment. ”…With the squirt. This is nuts! If you expect us to just accept this sorta thing, you’re even crazier than I thought!” Ash tried to sound tough and forceful, but she couldn’t stop the shaking in her legs. Her body was quivering in a flight or fight state still, and the adrenalin refused to stop. It was definitely putting her on edge in dealing with all of them, her words particularly directed to Rick, Vesper, Illusion and Eine.

”I was maybe okay with this bullshit before all this but this is… It’s just…” Still trembling, JoJo was the first to speak, probably not hearing this side of the conversation as he inappropriately began spouting some nonsense about water bottles. Probably his way of coping, but Ashley wasn’t putting up with any of that crap right now. Too many emotions were running high at this point, and she had to lash out. ”Oh shut the hell up JoJo! Stop acting like some bigshot prick! I’m sick and tired of your freakin’ mediating bullcrap! Just have a goddamn honest reaction for once and shit your pants like the runt and I!” Storming up towards him, Ash had to stop herself from giving him a rough shove, once again noting the blood soaked across him. ”Tch…” Rapidly spinning back around to Rick and the other, she remembered her beef with them, voicing it aloud. "What the hell is wrong with everyone here?!" With a frustrated yell, Ash finally stopped long enough to regain a little composure, catching her breath. She wanted to just get away from this situation more than anything else, but there was no running away at this point. She had to deal, at least to some extent. ”Screw this shit…” She swore under her breath, kicking some debris across the ground. “Why’d this crap have to happen to me…?”