"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, before I pour a bucket of cold water over your head!"
Cole stirred. Blinking blearily, he sat up and shivered. He realized it was only the break of dawn; the sun wasn't out yet! The sky was a navy blue mixed with gray, the tall pine trees stood around the camp, silent and still. The fire was somehow still blazing, and a tea kettle held up by metal rods hung over the flickering flames.
"Five more minuets..." He murmured, and slumped back onto his mat.
A stick whacked him over the head. "Ow!" He cried.
"All right, all right, I'm up! Sheesh..." He threw back the blanket and grimaced when his shoulder painfully protested. The cold morning air hit his body and clung to it, sinking into his bones.
"About time. Here's your shirt and jacket. Had to take them off to heal your shoulder." She handed him his clothes and turned to the fire. A large, flat boulder sat nearby, serving as a sort of table. Some food was there, steaming hot.
Cole's mouth suddenly watered. Was that the smell of...? Surely not...
She handed him a plate, where a slice of some light-colored pastry, covered in something that looked suspiciously like frosting.
His jaw dropped. "Is this...cake?"
She shrugged casually. "Of some sort. A bit sugary, but a good meal to have before a long journey."
He glanced at her suspiciously.
She rolled her eyes. "For crying out loud, it's food. It may not be well-known in Ninjago, but it won't smash you. Served it to a couple of kids your age a while back, and they loved it." She turned to the boulder and started picking up cooking items.
Cole hesitated, then took a bite. He then wolfed it down, shocked at how delicious it was. After several bites he reached for a tea kettle sitting nearby, needing something to wash it down.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Matilda snatched it away. "Trust me, you don't want that. That's Traveler's Tea. Here." She poured him a cup from the kettle sitting over the fire.
How would Matilda have been able to make cake . . . but then, she is a witch of sorts.
You received answers of both three seconds and eight seconds; both are wrong. It was long enough for Laval to ask Craggar who those random pajama men falling from the sky fighting were.
Cole stared at Matilda in surprise. He thought what with the attitude she had about him, she'd want him gone as soon as possible.
As if answering his silent question, she stated tartly. "It's not that I enjoy the company of arrogant teenagers who think they know best. It's just that my conscience won't allow me to leave you in this sorry state."
He thought about it. When he ran off, he wasn't planning on tagging along with a creepy lady who totally looked like a witch. Then again...what other option was there? Crossing the mountains alone? Perhaps a bit of company would be welcome, however sharp-tongued it may be. Plus, if bandits attacked, Matilda could use a little muscle to protect her.
"Well..." He sighed. "...OK. I'll travel with you. Just until my shoulder heals, of course." He added.
She nodded sharply in approval. "Smart kid. Grab your things, we're off."
He swung his backpack over his healthy shoulder and trotted after Matilda, who had already begun walking. "Where are we going?"
There was a moment of silence before she replied. "I've come to the Yokai mountain ranges in search of certain herbs and plants."
"Are you a witch?"
She sniffed. "I prefer the term 'herbalist'."
"Herbalist? What about the hat? Isn't that the kind of thing witches wear?"
"It's the style where I went to school."
"There's a school for what you do?"
"Mmph." "What do you do?"
"Throw annoying teenagers into my witch's pot and serve them to dragons."
"Har, har." He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, though."
"I do a great number of things."
"Like what?"
"Visiting distant lands." Each reply was short and sharp.
"Like northern Ninjago?"
"Mm-hm."
"Where do you live?"
"Everywhere."
"That's not an answer."
"That's as good as an answer you'll get, kid."
Cole glanced at her belt. He saw a smooth stick half a foot long in a strange leather sheath. "What's that?" He pointed to the stick."
Disclaimer: Matilda Ravencroft is not a character from the world of Harry Potter, not even an HP OC, despite the references. Don't ask what I was going for here.
Disclaimer: Matilda Ravencroft is not a character from the world of Harry Potter, not even an HP OC, despite the references. Don't ask what I was going for here.
I'm still gonna say she's a Hogwarts student in my mind's eye until this is officially disproved.
Disclaimer: Matilda Ravencroft is not a character from the world of Harry Potter, not even an HP OC, despite the references. Don't ask what I was going for here.
I'm still gonna say she's a Hogwarts student in my mind's eye until this is officially disproved.
The sun rose steadily, turning the sky into a mix of deep vermilion and purple, and turning the fluffy clouds floating by orange with blue hues. Birds began to sing in the treetops, hidden by the thick boughs. Otherwise the forest was still and silent, save for the two sets of footsteps crunching on the ground littered with pine needles.
Matilda stared off into space, her brown eyes unreadable. At first Cole was uncomfortable with the silence, but then he began to listen to the birds chirping and the trees creaking ever so softly. The thick woods were serene, and he allowed himself to relax and breath into the fresh, cold mountain air.
Time slipped by as they walked uphill, passing looming trees and wide bushes. At one point Matilda suddenly asked. "Do you know why these mountains are called the 'Yokai ranges'?"
He started at the sound of her voice, then shook his head.
"Do you know what a yokai is?"
Again he shook his head.
"Long ago, the villagers who lived nearby these very mountains told haunting tales of angry spirits wandering these woods. A certain class of yokai were obake and bakemono...they were shape-shifters. It was said that while they could transform themselves into humans, their true forms could be a fox, a raccoon dog, a badger....or a cat."
Cole suddenly recalled the peculiar tabby cat who had led him out of the alley. "Do you believe those stories?"
She glanced at him with a wry smile. "Do you?"
He didn't know how to answer.
She locked her gaze at something past him. "Mm! Wait." She brushed past him and waded through tall grass to a tall, dark green bush with leaves similar to pine needles. Bright red berries were adorned on the branches, looking similar to a Christmas tree. From her bag she pulled out a gardener's glove and a small cloth sack. She began to pick the berries delicately off the bush, dropping them one by one into the sack.
"What are those?" Cole asked.
"Yew berries." She muttered, not taking her eyes off her task.
Really? I think know or have known about 10+ redheads. They are all great people! In fact I would even go as far saying a few of them helped make me the person I am today. Actually as a matter a fact my grandpa was a redhead when he was younger, I just always forget that since he's got gray hair now.
Not personally, I've seen plenty on the streets before, but that's it.
After Cole had scarfed down the cake and tea, Matilda began picking up the mats and blankets they had slept on and packing them into a small carpet bag. "So, what exactly did you think you were doing, climbing a mountain in the middle of the storm?" She asked. "If there was a 'Stupid Stunt' contest, I believe you would have won the grand prize."
"Har, har." He muttered. "I was traveling. I thought I could find shelter before the storm hit."
"Traveling, hm? Where to?"
He hesitated. "To..." He tried to remember lessons from Geography class. "...Jumanakai Village. Yeah."
"Hm." She grabbed some bottles filled with colored liquids and stuffed them in the bag. "Why are you heading for Jumanakai?"
He frantically searched for believable lies. "Uhh...to visit my uncle. He's a martial arts teacher."
"Why are you crossing the Yokai Mountains to get there? Surely you could just take a bus to Warbler Town and follow the river from there."
"Uh, I thought this would be quicker."
"Hsst..." She turned and glared at him. "Don't you lie to me, boy. Tell me the truth. Why are you traveling by yourself?"
He sighed. "OK, OK..." He took a deep breath. "...I'm running away. From school."
"Hmph. Thought so." She folded a blanket. "Why are you running away?"
"I just..." He crossed his arms, trying to think. How could he explain how he felt? There were so many mixed emotions. "...I just...couldn't." He paused. "My dad wants to send me to the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts...he wants me to follow his footsteps and become a dancer."
Matilda didn't reply.
"He's trained me all my life to dance. It's not that I'm ungrateful or anything, it's just that I don't think it's right...for me." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "He didn't take it too well when I told him I didn't want to dance. He said I was going to school whether I liked it or not. So..." He shrugged. "I ran away."
There was a moment of silence. Then Matilda murmured.
"So what do you want to do, Cole?"
Everything named after Yokai has a lot more meaning for me now.
Cole looked at Matilda, but her face was hidden by the wide brim of her brown hat. He was surprised by the question.
"I--I don't know." He mumbled.
"What are your strengths?" She laid a folded blanket in the carpet bag.
"Well..." He thought about it. "...I'm strong. Physically, I mean. I can lift up things three times my weight sometimes. And.." He pondered about himself. "...I'm athletic. I like to be outside; running, jumping, climbing, anything with a challenge."
"Hm." She secured a tea pot into the bag. "What would you like to do for a living?"
"Well...I don't know...something active. Something challenging, something risky. Doing some good for the world...Helping Ninjago." He stared at the ground. "I've thought about being a police man and a fire-fighter before, but those things don't seem to be...enough." He sighed in frustration. "Ah, I don't know! I want to do something, I'm not a dancer, I'm a fighter! I need to be a part of something, but I don't know.....I just don't fit in anywhere. Nobody understands me, my dad thinks I'm just lazy, and I..."
He sighed and stood up. "Forget it. Just forget it."
"I'm not about to forget a little speech like that." Matilda retorted. She inclined her head to him. "Sounds to me you feel like an outcast."
"Mm." He grunted.
She gazed at the bag. "That's everything." She snapped the bag shut and slung it around her shoulder with its leather strap. She adjusted her hat, then looked at him. "So where are you headed?"
"I don't know. I've really just been wandering."
"Hmph." She was silent for a few moments. "How about you travel with me?"
"Me?"
"Does it look like I'm talking to anyone else?" She snapped. "You have a bad arm, a torn-up head, and no idea what you're doing. It'd be a shame for me to go through all that trouble rescuing you, and then as soon as you left you fell off another cliff."
"I won't fall off--"
"That's probably what you said to yourself the other night." She snorted. "So. Are you coming?"
10/10 Heartfelt moment. 
![[derp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/YqNTPqyQUocVMYXZgUAI.png)
![[lenny]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/7elNEqtPK2hcSAiIMFNh.png)
![[fp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/72cJSUMelnneD_GuLdak.png)
I think know or have known about 10+ redheads. They are all great people! 
In fact I would even go as far saying a few of them helped make me the person I am today. 
I'm genuinely confused.