At that, it started to fit into pieces.

The scared looks,

intense atmosphere,

shaky hand.

"You're a Walker?! Woah! This is legit the first time I have ever met an aside for the one pass-" Willow took a step in front with her hands outstretched for a handshake from the stranger before her brother came in front of her. Blocking her path and pushing her backwards with his arms outstretched and a serious look on his face.

This must be the first time I have seen his face! Willow took note of this interaction.

A scared Mr. Marshall whispered sharply, "Kid! Are you stupid? Do not go near him!"

As he walked past the duo, he went up to the front of the walker and whipped out a strange-looking device with a screen and some buttons decorated upon it.

"Remove your hood walker or else-!"

"I, by the oath taken up on my soul to the good Lord that I haven't changed.... yet." a sarcastic reply came out in a thick accent.

As the hood was lifted, Ashley's eyes widened in astonishment.

Now there stood the face of a young lad, around Dan's age, with dark luxurious locks of raven hair which became dark indigo upon getting luminous with light. It was pulled into a small bun with the hair still hanging down and bangs flowing down his forehead.

As he swiped his hair upwards, his sharp eyes glided over the room's itsy-bitsy spots: the withering wallpaper, the cracked rooks with distinct types of wood planks attached and at last, landed on Ashley's face. Mesmerized by the ocean blue colour of Ashley's right eye, curiosity peaked his eyes and stared right back into that right eye, searching for any hidden agenda or any remembrance. He did not miss the jet-black leather eye patch. He made a note to ask her about it if they meet in a more comfortable setting in the future.

At that exact time, Ashley was starstruck by his gorgeous eyes with the inner ring being bright yellow while the outer ring surrounded it in its greyness. When he closed his eyes for a moment, Ashley could make a thin silvery line across his left eye, that continued across his lips and ended over a little by the sharp V-shaped jawline. She was captured by his deadly stare, which she quickly pulled away and went to look down at the floor making it seem that the floor was much more interesting than the godly-looking human in front of her.

"I will the judge of that." Mr. Marshall spoke, breaking the intense atmosphere surrounding the two. He jumped into motion, on one hand with the device and with the other he motioned to give the stranger's hand. Ashley's eyes gulped down the intersection as it was the first time to see such a process.

But not the last to hear about how terrifying the experiences are.

With an annoyed look, the stranger rolled up the selves and removed his finger-less gloves, gracefully putting his hand on the Incharger's hand as if saying yes to a ball dance.

"Mister, I don't need to check your temperature or whatever. I need your blood." Mr. Marshall chuckled waiting for his reaction. As if on cue, he turned on the device to demonstrate the inspection he had to go through. The device roared to wake with motor sound spiking up and at the speed of light, a needle poked out. It was safe to say that even Danny felt sorry and traumatized for the new person as Mr Marshall went on to explain how it would detect the level of acidity in his blood and declare whether he was healthy.

"...and don't worry, this needle here is replaceable so you don't have to worry about contracting any disease.'' He tried to reassure the horrified looks the visitors gave him to lessen the worried look the newcomer had given him while he slipped down the couch and laid his arm on the armrest.

In the end, it did not help.

"Alright, now this might sting a little..." Mrs. Marshall said while pulling out a safety med-kit, and a strange suitcase. She then pulled out a blood tube from the case and a clipboard of papers to be filled on the desk. She nodded to let the inspection continue.

Ashley whipped back to a painful whimper coming from the handsome stranger, there Mr. Marshall had pressed and pushed the device onto the poor fellow's finger and a few drops of blood leaked out after removing it. Mrs. Marshall quickly gave him safety aids and gave him the clipboard to make his ID.

"What a way to welcome people to Umbridge..." the stranger mumbled under his breath as he rolled down his sleeves to cover his arm. Mrs. Marshall heard it but if she did, she did not show any signs.

"Oooo! Even you're going to Umbridge?" At that the exhausted stranger jerked his head towards Dan, who appeared right behind him.

The stranger nodded his head at a Dan-point.

"So, what's your name, buddy?" Dan decided to break the ice and make a new friend. It was evident that Ashley had a crush on the person as she avoided eye contact at all cost and looked elsewhere. Danny smirked at Ashley's blushed face and sat next to his new buddy.

"Eiran," He repiled delightfully as Dan took his clipboard and started to write down his information.

"Name's Danish but you can call me Dan or Danny. Your choice." He introduced himself while extending his hand out for a handshake.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Eiran shook his hand strongly.

"More like Danny the drunkard." Ashley scoffed at their weird manly handshake and folded her arms while looking at Mr Marshall as he transferred the blood from the device to the tube.

She looked at the brand name and regretted it.

X-tech.

The company she had been long associated with.

It brings back the grief and the long-lost painful memories.

At least I made it out alive, but it wasn't my fault Daya didn't...

"May I know the name of this pretty girl?" a smooth voice called her out from her behind

"My...name...?"Ashley stuttered at the question.

Ashley jumped as she realized the voice seemed closer than before. She slowly turned and there he was in front of her with his hand out. She was speechless at his gorgeous curls, and look at those veiny hands and those bice-

"Her name's Ashley Will- OH MY GOD ASHY ARE YOU BLUSHING?" Dan gasped loudly with his hand over his mouth to tease his little sister over the couch.

"Ashley... what a wonderful name?" He said in a soft tone and streched his hand out.

Without waiting a beat, she shook his strong rough palms and quickly backed her hand before turning to scream at Dan's false assumption.

"DAN! SHUT UP FOR ONCE AND YOU-"Ashley stopped to remember the stranger's name.

"Eiran." he answered taking a step backward.

"-EIRAN, GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT AND STOP INVADING MY PERSONAL SPACE!" She spewed out nonsense at once just to realise what a dumb mistake she made.

"He was just stating a claim here. Nothing personal. So, why are you so angry?"He shrugged while handing the clipboard to the Incharger.

"You could had just properly introduced yourself, right? So,instead of feeling gratitude towards your friend, aren't you being a bit mean to him?" He spoke calmly while waving his right hand between them.

"Oh my god! Eiran, you're the only person who can understand my suffering. You, my friend, will be my new soul-buddy. For the record we are siblings so... I think you would understand the anger issue this little tray of Ash has..against me." Dan pointed out, restraining his smile.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Within a moment, he was at his knees kissing Einar's feet.

Literally, kissing his feet.

To which, Eiran gave a confused look.

Ashley sighed with her fingers at the bridge between her brows.

"One, I am not angry. I just got spooked because I was observing the..." Ashley looked around for something far more interesting than that dashing man.

"The results?"Mr Marshall suggested helping the teen girl out of the awkward situation.

"YES! The results. So, is he a walker or not?" Ashley replied a bit too optimistic.

"Sadly, nope." Mr. Incharger chuckled at the interaction.

Oh boy! This is much better than a soap opera, He thought

"Ok. Good for you, Eiran." Ashley humped back down on her heels.

"Thanks, and were you dissapointed that I am NOT a Walker?" He shot glances at her while adjusting his selve.

"And two, I am in foster care." She counted by holding up her two fingers, ignoring the question asked.

It went unnoticed as Einar rolled his eyes and waited for her answer.

Silence echoed louder than before.

"Oh, that makes sense by a LOT." he finally snapped and emphasised on the 'lot' with a smirk.

"What's that suppose to mean, wimp?" Willow fired back.

"It's quite fasinating that Danish over here seems very enthusiam to my existence than you and quite well mannered and, not to mention, has excellent speaking skills ." He coldy explained to her while proceeding to smile at his pal.

To which, Dan gave him a flying kiss.

Yet again, Eiran gave a confused look.

"And? It's not like that's his whole personality and you guys have just met. Surely, you have a great idea about his drinking habits." Ashley encountered while closing her ears at their obnoxious handclaps.

Eiran whispered something in Dan's ear which perked up his eyes.

Uh oh. Something is about to go down, Mr Incharger exclaimed himself.

"For the record, despite growing up in the same household for years, you guys have....so different and diverse personalities." Eiran lazily looked over at Ashley's furious eyes.

"Your point?" Impaient Willow called out at this persona.

"Then, why is his's personality better than yours?" He happily triphumt at his victory.

"OH MY GOD! EIRAN ARE YOU ASKING ME TO MAR-" Before he could complete his question, his suppose-to-be-bride clamped his hand over his mouth.

Ashley stood there in bewilderment until Mrs Marshall pushed in her way.

"Alright, you folks can leave now. Fortunately, the boat arrived on time, so grab your packs and get lost!" Mrs. Marshall announced loudly at the commotion.

Pheww ! I got saved by that scary lady; she thought while walking out of the shed embrassed at her defeat.

The cold wind splashed her face with icy snow covering her brows with snow. Her boots were covered in the muddy soil that went on forever till the docks where it melted into the unrefined sands. Despite it's mulky lanscape, the main landmark was right after it.

In front of her laided the breathtaking crystal clear strait with its unique biodiversity residing at the bottom. The cold weather couldn't stop the penetration of the sun creating the shimmering effect on the waters that cleared it till the seabed. Salmons could be seen swimming in clusters with's dark fins and steamlined body through the water currents. It prevailed the water force due to its unreachable depths. Rumour has it that there is an undiscovered marine animal that lurks in those dark waters. The length is so long that it strectes till the orange horizon. It would take fours and half to reach Umbridge by a boat. Luckily, it was the ferry "Arabella" by the shore down hill. The time taken then would be two hours.

She was pulled away by the loud horn blown down the shore. She stood near to the edge of the steep to get a better view of the navy blue ferry coming close to park in the dock.

"-Don't worry man I will give you a fantastic tour of UMBRIDGE. You can trust me, you know, we are best friends, right?" Danny spoke while putting an arm around the newcomer.

"Sure? I guess...I mean I just got here, so I could use the help getting around here and there." He answered while shoving his hands into his pockets.

Ashley quickly dusted the snow off before Dan could make that grandma joke again before letting all her anger out.

"Hey! Who's going to get the bike? HUH, get it quickly or else we will miss the ferry." Ashley scolded Dan moving towards him.

"Goodness, can you stop embarrassing me in front of my new friend?" He threw his arms up in the air before he went back to retrieve the bike.

When the coast was clear, Ashley apologized for the inconvenience.

"It's alright, just that you...can you go easy on your brother and why are you so angry with him?" he asked her while they walked down the steep.

"It's just that well you heard it he's a drunkard and....he almost died," she said in a low tone voice at the last part.

"Oh...I see...no wonder you're upset with him." He gave a pat down her back.

To which she straightened her back and laughed an awkward laugh.

"YEA! I mean I would be so upset and won't be comfortable enough to celebrate my birthday..." She looked down elsewhere while her hand went up and down her open hair.

"True...Wait for today's your birthday? well, then happy birthday, Ashy!" He gave her a smile that melted her heart.

"Thanks! I am fifteen years old now. How about you?" she asked curiously, still avoiding his gaze.

"I am sixteen and going to turn seventeen this winter." He replied while trying to make eye contact with her.

"Oh, I thought you were as old as Dan," she said without thinking again.

"Oh really? I look that old......

darkness engulfed her surroundings

'She is still asleep. No responses.'

The black hooded figure hovered with a flashing light-

"-Ashy, whenever you are talking to someone; you better look into their eyes and speak without breaking their gaze. It would come off rude, but you are lovely girl... so is it because I am hideous that you won't look at me?" He stepped onto her path to bring her back to reality.

Before she could stop, she bumped into his chest and mumbled an apology again.

"Or is it because your hair is blocking your view? If so, can I move it?" he asked.

Ashley nodded.

With one swift move, he moved her hair back to the ear and placed his hand on her face.

"You're hot as hell Eiran that's why I can't hold your gaze, and truth be told you're the first to make me feel this way," she confessed with a her face turning red quick as lighting.

Now it was his turn to be in shock.

"Darn, Ashley you're way too straightforward and well.... Honestly, I like that. Would you love to go on a date with me?" he whispered in her ear while trying to maintain distance between his body and hers.

As she wondered why things were moving so fast, no wait, the correct question was, —What the hell is even going on?

Within a snap of an eye, Ashley slapped her face.

"....come on, do I actually look that old? I LITERALLY do skincare every week. That too organic." He was pounding his cheeks as he turned to her to give the are-you-ok look.

Seems like someone was having the best daydream ever.

They were still walking on the steep from when Ashley had the daydream attack.

"By the way, why did you just randomly decide to slap your face?" He was quite concern about the mental state of the familiar stranger next to him.

"Mosquitoes." She answered confidently, knowing that would suffice his doubts.

"Hmm..... alright, back to what I was saying-" He shrugged at Ashley's eye rolls.

"— to which I was joking-." she spoke in a hushed tone to end the discussion about his luxurious skincare routine.

And he responded with his hand plumed straight in the air to continue his point.

"— I know that the ointments that I use are not made from superb qu-" He stopped in mid-sentence before slamming his head on to his hand.

"What is it?" Ashley looked at his dashing face and was questioning why was he so sensitive about his face, doesn't he himself realise how much his face card would worth up to?

"I FORGOT ABOUT LOU! I AM THE MOST, STUPIDEST MAN ALIVE! LIKE, HOW COULD I JUST LEAVE MY BABYGIRL OUT IN THE WILD? SHE MUST BE SCARED AND LONELY!" He frantically went through his hair. He turned and sprinted towards the muddy, sloppy steep.

As Einar approached the shed, Ashley took a deep breath, pinched her cheeks, and then tried to process what had just happened.

"You just had a daydream of a guy you JUST MET! JUST MET! How could you stoop so low?" she frustately scolded herself at the incident and started to blame her hormones for it.

"And plus he got a girlfriend....." and that brought a pang of jeaousy to her heart.

Stopping for a minute Ashley couldn't comprehend that the guy who had just roasted her made her like him. Frustrated Ashley mentally scolded and decided to seek asylum for this pathetic disease. Before she could continue, she heard raised voices along with some noise accompanied with it.

She had to wrap it up quickly.

"Boys are NOT worth your time, they are a wastage of your energy and time. " she concluded her statement with quick breath in and outs before turning to hear the sound of a familiar motorbike and ...neighning?

She felt her eyes betray her brain from the scene that unfolded in front of her.

A giant horse with thick fur and sturdy legs was walking along side Einar. Its hooves were covered from the knee to the bottom with long snowy hair that looked like silk in the partial sunlight that blosomed at it's arrival. While Einar was whispering in the horse ears and guiding it on the path, Dan slowly rode on his bike with his jaw on the floor.

"EINAR! MY MAN YOU GOT A HORSIE?" Dan squealed with delight at marvellous horse who towered over him.

"Aah...yea, a Shire horse. Isn't it obvious?" Einar looked at his dumbfounded friend who started to defend his iq level.

The horse responded with a loud neigh, kicking the dirt at Einar's feets.

Before he could start nagging his horse, Ashley butted in.

"Wait, so that's LOU?" Ashley shockingly covered her mouth at her own stupidity.

Foolishness don't always transfer from genes, it transfer from the world they live in.

"Umm.. yea, what about it?" He asked while brushing Lou's hair and rebraiding her hair.

Upon further gawking, Ashley found mutiple tiny braids with colorfull ribbons ranging from pink to indigo. She couldn't beilve that there were glitters in the horse's hair and its saddle was so polished that it reflected the small sun beams back at her.

"YOU LITERALLY MADE IT SOUND LIKE IT WAS A KID! And look how MONSTEROUSLY BIG it IS!" Ashley furiously threw her anger at him.

"First of all, Lou's pronouns are her slash she; and second of all, yes, she is my kid and always be my babygirl, won't you be?" Einar's deep and proud turned to a sweet and caring baby voice that got an 'aww' from Dan.

Ashley swored that she saw the horse snort at his question.

"OKAY! Now that we ARE clear on WHO Lou is, can we get going on to the ferry?" Dan interrupted the dead silence that followed afterwards.

"Sure." He said while mounting onto Lou's saddle. He well adjusted his seat while Ashley-annoyed with the sudden realization that everyone was waiting for her-followed the cue and hopped on the bike behind him clutching his shoulders in her razor sharp nails. Dan hissed in pain but didn't complain when he saw Einar eyeing him.

After everyone got to their sits, Dan felt obliged to be the new head of his new gang.

"Follow me," Dan's bike started with a booming noise and horse's hooves beating in response.

Both darted out in trencheous speed, with adnerline rush, competing on who would come out as victor.

While, Ashley fell off her seat.