Ambree

This one is completely my writing. It started out as a sort of fanfiction of my friend's story, but we ended up working it in.

Ambree was an average human living in the Western Cross of Seisen. She only had vague memories of Earth, and she felt no homesickness knowing that it was gone. However, she hadn’t grown much attached to this world, either. While all the other humans were happy to remain safe, secluded, and ignored in their corner of this world, Ambree was constantly restless. She longed to venture beyond the walls that served to keep them in as well as to keep them safe.

This was as close as she was going to get. She kicked the wall before she climbed up it, careful to avoid the barbed wire that lined the other side of the thick stone. There was nobody around to scold her for her actions since it was nearing dusk. The humans were paranoid enough during the day, trying not to wander too far from the center of their small city whilst going about their business. The paranoia only increased at night, attached to some instinctual fear of the unknown. At least, that’s what her father said.

Ambree’s father was just like the rest of them. He was still distraught with the old news that they didn’t have Earth to go home to after exploring the strange new worlds. His fear was increased even more so by the misery he felt at losing Ambree’s mother. She had died in the panic that ensued after word of Earth’s destruction reached Seisen. Ambree’s father never dared to go into more detail than that, and Ambree never wanted to ask after seeing the look of utter despair in his eyes.

It was for all of these reasons that Ambree was able to be more of an independent spirit. She was only sixteen, but her father had become nearly useless after her mother’s death. She took care of him, although he was getting better every day. So was the unstable society they were living in. It would need work, but it was coming along.

Ambree watched as the triple sun slowly fell beneath the horizon. It became a dark and unfamiliar place soon after. The sight of it chilled her, as it did to most humans, but it also filled her with a peculiar longing. She wanted to discover the unknown, not shrink away from it.

We’ve got an agreement; we don’t go out, they don’t come in. Everybody knew that fact. It was repeated over and over again in daily life ominously. Ambree often thought that it added to the widespread fear within the Western Cross.

The world outside of the Western Cross was often described as a horrible place, filled with war and bloodshed and endless perils. Ambree sometimes wondered how accurate these descriptions were. As time went on, the rumors about the outside world grew more appalling.

Ambree broke out of her reverie reluctantly. She couldn’t remain out here much longer; the night watch would spot her and send her home anyway. She took one last longing gaze at the darkness, and then dropped from the wall, heading back to the city.

 

…

 

“Night watch says they saw a blond girl dangerously close to crossing the border last night,” Ambree’s father said casually over a cup of coffee.

God f*****g damn it, was I out there that long? Ambree thought angrily, shoving a spoonful of cereal in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to speak. “Mmm?” she mumbled with her mouth closed, trying to sound disinterested. She silently cursed the fact that her dad was friends with someone in the night watch.

“You know anything about it?” her father asked.

Ambree set the spoon down into the bowl and looked up at him, measuring his expression. From the look in his eyes, he knew. Of course he knew. She sighed heavily. “Dad, we have the wall, a night watch with machine guns, those strange plants that I can never pronounce the name of…I’m not going to be hurt just because I’m watching the sunset.”

“I do wish you would be more careful.”

He was remembering mom, he had to be. He had that look in his eyes again. Ambree looked down at the table, not wanting to see the misery again. “Yes, dad,” she said automatically.

“There are dangerous things out there…”

He was most likely about to launch into the lesson about how perilous the outside world was again. Ambree jumped up, taking her cereal bowl to the counter. “I’m going out for the day,” she told him, facing away. She started to walk towards the door.

“Where?” her father asked.

Ambree paused but didn’t answer. He knew. She walked out of the house. “The f*****g border,” she muttered under her breath.

 

…

 

The night watch wasn’t there during the day. That’s why it was called the night watch. Ambree smiled to herself, climbing up onto the wall again. She was growing fond of this little section. It was along the eastern wall, close to the entrance, facing out into the rest of the world. It was the most reckless part of the wall to be on, she knew, but she hardly cared. She gazed out into the plains that were beautifully illuminated by the light of the triple sun.

She frowned; something wasn’t right. The perfect rolling outline of the land was broken. She lifted her right hand above her eyes, squinting to see. There were two figures headed to the Western Cross.

We’ve got an agreement; we don’t go out, they don’t come in. The fact repeated in her head again and again, but it didn’t fit in with what she was seeing. What did this mean? Were the humans no longer safe? She sat frozen in place on the wall. She was unsure what to do. Should she alert the rest of the city? Something in her stomach told her that would be unwise.

The figures were closer now, and she could tell that they had noticed her. One was a male deer. The aura of power and strength about him was somewhat marred by his vivid pink fur. Her lips twitched slightly, but she could hardly smile at a time like this. He also had a sling around one of his arms. She wondered if his arm was broken.

The other figure was a female wolf. She had pitch black fur that just barely glistened in the triple sun.

Ambree willed her brain to think who they could possibly be. They certainly didn’t appear to be demons or selkies, so they had to be Crusaders. Crusaders? In the Western Cross? They were said to all have supernatural powers. They could most likely decimate the Western Cross if they chose to. But by now it was too late to run and tell anyone. They were already within talking distance.

Reviews

[KEi]

"The aura of power and strength about him was somewhat marred by his vivid pink fur."

roflmao.

WHAT, SO PINK ISN'T MASCULINE? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, AMBREE?!

Of course it's masculine. It's manly, and strong-looking, and not the least bit pretty, and...
Who am I trying to convince?
*Shakes head*
I hope she doesn't pass comment on the pinkness to the guy's face, though. I'm thinking he might snap, a little bit.
xD

[selkietales]

I love this story :D and he's a pink deer! Oh my gosh! That's great...