The Stone Cutter

--Sky's Perspective--

We returned back home, and Ellie took the lead, walking by the gate and tugging on it. "It's a good design, but without stone, this would be such an easy gate to breach. I'll introduce you to cementing paste and stone we can use to improve it." She said. I nodded, following her deeper inside.

"These logs… it's a great idea, but the wood you used for stakes can get weak and nimble when they're wet, so before they do-" I cut her off.

"Carl! Follow Ellie's lead and replace all of the wooden stakes with stone pillars, okay?" He nodded, following behind us.

"You need to upgrade to stone, but first, we need to get my stone cutter from home. Since Dani left her cart back there, I can haul it over with Sky. Will all of you guys be okay without him?" Ellie asked, but I didn't let them respond.

"Of course, they will, we protect each other, and the danger is gone, I'll be right back," I told everybody.

Everybody nodded, but Dani came over and wrapped her arms around me, burying her head into the shoulder that didn't have blood all over it.

"Please be safe and come back fast." I nodded in shock… Dani was really warm over this cold weather blowing in my face.

"I will," I told her. I turned to Ellie and we began our journey to her house with her stone cutter.

"Now just you and I can talk… finally." I nodded. I didn't really know what she wanted from me.

"Things are going to get ugly from here on out. I don't want to be the owner, but more people will die. That is unavoidable. Domin was the start of a horrible calamity we've awakened, but I've seen this before, so I will help you. If you let me, I will reside within your base and train as many people as I can to fight properly, fight the way Orion trains his soldiers. I used to be at the top of his army; I know what they do." I forced her to stop.

"Why would you just hand out that information? If betrayal seems to be so common, why do you trust me? And why should I trust you?" Ellie pulled out the sword from her hip and handed me the handle.

"Why do you trust your friends? Who's to say they don't try to kill you while you sleep? The truth is, in the state of this Isle, you can't trust anybody. If you're not with Orion, you're running from him. He catches everybody eventually, it's just a matter of when. Nobody is safe from him, so with that truth, why trust anybody? Push whoever you can under the dirt to get higher ground so you can run from him for longer. The reason I'm telling you this is because you're far too naïve to be a leader. You're naturally charismatic, and even when I try to be the one to lead, you overtake that from me and give out the instructions. You need more scars on your body to lead efficiently." I looked at my arms to see what she was saying.

"Those aren't the kind of scars I'm talking about." She clarified.

We continued forth, traveling over the path where the deer came from. "How do you know so much? Where did you get that knowledge from?" I asked, but she only wagged her finger before placing it over her mouth.

"Just trust me. I trust that you won't kill me with my sword, and you trust that this information I have is accurate. It doesn't matter how I know so much; it matters what you take from it. Am I lying? Am I being honest? If I give you all the answers, how useful are you really?" I remembered back to Dante, asking me what gives me the right to have a name other than 'White Stone'.

"Then I'll determine if I can trust you on my own, based on your actions. So far, you seem alright, unless you plan to trample over me to escape from Orion. But, based on what you have done for me and this weapon you've given me, I think you'll be okay." I told her. She only smiled and continued forward.

I analyzed her short sword. It had a cool guard to it, in the shape of a crescent. It was an overall cool blade, and I actually wanted to keep it. "Hey, if you train me and I beat you in combat, can I keep this? It's a friendly competition." Ellie nodded.

"If you can beat me, it's all yours. I have one at home I'm grabbing anyways." Ellie was a simple girl, a few nods were all we had to say to each other when the conversation died out, and then we could be completely silent beyond that point, not even making an awkward atmosphere.

"Do you think if you have children with Dani they'd come out with White Stones?" I could feel my face heating up.

"W-What kind of question is that? I don't think they would." Ellie began to laugh. So much for saying she wouldn't make an awkward atmosphere.

"Well, you woke up with one, does that count as being born with one?" I shook my head.

"I don't think it works like that. I don't remember my parents, so I don't think I was born. I think I just appeared one day." I told her. Ellie had an unimpressed stare directed at me.

"People don't just 'appear', well, maybe you did, but you came from two people at one point, just who they were remains a mystery. Doesn't stuff like that bother you? Not knowing your parents?" She asked.

Ellie helped me climb up into a plateau layered in rocks, and then I began, "I don't think so. If I can't remember my original parents, I wouldn't want any other parents, but in a way, I don't think it matters. I fight for what I believe in and I know how to be polite and I know basic rules, what else could they teach me?" Again, another unimpressed stare.

"There's a lot your parents teach you other than guidance, you know… you're a real airhead, aren't you?" Ellie slid down the cliff and landed in the snowy grass once more.

"I guess you're right, but I don't feel sad about it at all. Mainly, why are you asking me questions about this stuff?" Ellie shrugged.

"Ever heard of small talk? I'm not going to sit here in silence until time ends, I'll talk about whatever I think about… that being said, what's up with that Dani girl?" I pushed back bushes so Ellie could walk through, thinking about the answer to that question.

"What do you mean?" It seemed like I really knew how to draw out that unimpressed look from Ellie.

"What do you think I mean? Is she your girlfriend or something? I didn't see a single other person hug you when you left with a mysterious person into a part of the Isle you're unfamiliar with." I guess Ellie had a point, but a girlfriend?

"I wouldn't call her my girlfriend. Don't you have to ask somebody for that kind of thing?" Ellie shook her head.

"I told you, the Isle is unpredictable. Why not just say it in front of her and see what she says? Remember when you sat in that base by Domin and the first thing she did after seeing that mess on the ground was ask if you were okay? Did Carl do that? Did Red do that?"

I thought about what Ellie was saying. She had a strong point, so I guess Dani would be my girlfriend then.

"Well, it would be better for me if Dani wasn't your girlfriend, so don't think about it too hard, okay?" What was happening right now? I hope I can just get this stone cutter and get this over with.

"It's right here. Wait out here while I get it and my sword." She walked in and I waited outside, looking at her surroundings. She had a pond out back that was frozen over. I decided to step on it, hoping to break the ice, but it didn't break?

I was bold enough to try standing in the middle of the pond to see if the ice would even start to crack, but it was intensely frozen solid, it wouldn't move at all.

"Why are you doing that? That's incredibly stupid." I heard Ellie's voice from the window against the back of her house.

"What if that ice broke and you fell in? That water would be so cold your muscles would lock up." She patronized me. I looked down into the water.

"But it isn't, so it's okay, right?" I asked her. Ellie walked away from the window without responding.