"All you need to do is change the coldest of hearts to make the world a better place," She whispered.
"You really believe that?" He questioned, looking down at her.
"Of course I do," She replied, smiling with shining eyes.
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•••
"If you don't wake up, I'll flip the mattress."
"Do that and I'll kick you in the stomach."
Ash had officially been with peculiars two weeks.
It was an odd two weeks. At the start, she was sad, yet trying to stay optimistic about the place. It was absolutely everything she had ever wanted, the beautiful nature, a hearty home, and friends. Not to say her home with her mother wasn't hearty, she loved her mother and home dearly. Her home was small, cozy, and quiet, but often too quiet and too lonely.
Ash came to be great friends with Emma and Bronwyn. She loved to play rough with the boys, and absolutely adored Olive and Claire. There were many things the children did to entertain themselves, whether it be all together, in pairs, or simply alone. Ash had the opportunity to be one on one with all of them, and the abundance of personalities was extraordinary to her. Back home, it had just been her and her mother, who were similar and secluded from others. Ash hardly saw another person but once a month.
"I'm serious, Hugh" Ash warned, barely popping one eye open.
"You wouldn't," He dared. His goggles were pushed up on his hat, allowing Ash to better see his green eyes narrow.
"You wouldn't." Ash tested, sticking her foot out from under the covers.
"Vic and Bronwyn don't even bicker this much and they've been together their entire lives," Emma grumbled as she walked into their shared bedroom, a pale hand running through untamed curls.
"This isn't an argument, Emma, it is a battle," Ash said with umph, raising a fist as she sat up.
"Whatever," Hugh scoffed. "Just get up, we wanted some help building a log fort after breakfast."
And with that, Hugh left the room, the bee he "accidently" let slip out buzzed around his head, demanding an entrance. Ash tilted her head as she watched him suck it up. She still couldn't understand the science behind how the boy functioned properly.
Ash tossed her quilt off of her and stretched out, disgusting Emma as all of her bones and joints crackled.
"You sound like someone stomping through the forest." She would always say, shaking her head.
Ash tossed on a dress she wouldn't mind getting dirty, one she had when she first came to the house. Miss Peregrine so graciously had gotten her so many more dresses, since hers were worn, and she couldn't borrow Emma's since she was so much taller than Ash was.
All the children had learned that Ash liked to sleep late, she was always the most tired at the end of the day. It baffled Ash the most, she used to go to sleep far after dark and wake up before the sun. Now she goes to bed just after the changeover and wakes up when the sun beats in her window. But she would always feel bad when she got downstairs and breakfast was already prepared and the table was set. Ash hated feeling useless more than anything.
Just before breakfast, Emma had sent Ash to retrieve Enoch from his hole of a bedroom, which didn't seem like the most fun thing to the brunette. She could get a knife thrown at her, for all she knows.
Ash was surprised to hear music softly playing through his door, the normal clicking of tools accompanying the noise. She softly knocked on his door, awaiting an approval to enter. She didn't ever get one, so she waited a moment before entering. There was a sweet smell that she was greeted with, despite the formaldehyde and other smelly things Enoch worked with. A blue curtain was drawn back to let in a little light, and she could see the smoke curling up from the jasmine incense burning from his bedside table.
"Oh, she's actually awake," Enoch said with lack of emotion. He hadn't looked up from what he was working on, and Ash quirked an eyebrow at his words. The boy was just confusing.
"Yes, I know. I'm as surprised as you are," She smiled. He didn't reply and she watched his hands fiddle with some contraption he was building. She didn't notice she was standing there to long, until her blue eyes met his chocolate ones, staring at her as to ask her business.
"Oh, uh," She snapped her head to look out the window. "The boys, well, all of us were going to go build a fort in the forest. I-we were wondering if you wanted to come along. You don't necessarily have to help us, but just to let you know."
"I'll think about it." Enoch was quick to tell her, picking up his tools and resuming his tinkering. She curtly nodded her head and turned on heel, heading out the door.
"And also," Ash began, remembering why she was originally sent up there. "Sustenance has been provided downstairs."
She swore she almost saw the ghost of a smile on the boys lips before she softly shut his door.
Enoch had come late for breakfast, sitting at the head of the table beside Ash. The group eventually headed outside after tidying up afterwards, Emma and Fiona opting to stay inside and help Miss Peregrine with their chores. The boys were loudly leading the group, Victor and Hugh fake fighting with their axes as Millard decided to keep his distance, avoiding an obvious mistake. The plan was to make a large fort with sticks and small trees, of which Horace had already declared himself king of, though he would not be getting his slacks or sweater dirty.
Ash was always happy to feel the warmth of the sun, it seemed that even though the same sun was out every day, she couldn't get enough of it. Her pale skin even burned for the first time in her fifteen years.
"Has there been any conclusion to your peculiarity, Ash?" Horace spoke from beside the girl, striding alongside her.
"No, Horace. I'm afraid not. I keep looking out for it, but it seems to just be a small thing," She admitted, kicking the same shelled walnut she found by the house.
"Perhaps try letting it happen naturally. Looking out for it will only be like watching paint dry." He winked. The pair stopped by the edge of the forest, and she almost questioned him until he shooed her after her brother. "Go on then. Big things to accomplish."
Hugh was elected leader of the whole operation, he commanded Ash and Millard to find appropriate small trees for their grand fort, Olive and Claire to move brush to the side, and Victor and Bronwyn to chop the trees down. Enoch sat off to the side, a book on whatever in his hands.
"Listen, there's a good tree over there, just don't get in my way." He had told her when she asked if he would want to help. She walked awkwardly over to the small tree and marked it before going back to stack a tree with the others.
When she was done, Ash leaned against a large tree as she thought. She didn't want to be narcissistic, but she thought of herself as a likeable person. She was friendly enough, and always wanted to be kind to everyone. So she couldn't wrap her head around why he wouldn't try to tolerate her. He liked Hugh enough, so why not her? She didn't do anything to him, but it still seemed like her presence was the worst thing he could think of.
Ash began to think the worst, and grew upset. She didn't notice the strange feeling welling up inside of her, she was too busy toeing the ground to notice her surroundings. Her head snapped up from the ground when her blood felt as though it was boiling and then the tree beneath her hand was falling.
