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"Unsettling!? Unsettling!?! This is a very happy and joyous tune! You are very lucky to have heard it!" The creature shrieked, clearly displeased with Erin's tone. Its feathers ruffled in displeasure and it openly scowled (which was quite impressive, considering its face was still that of an owl's.)

"Foolish, foolish, foolish," It grumbled angrily, leaning forward to pick up its music box. The tune cut off suddenly, and silence overwhelmed the area. The owl turned and gave Erin another look, blinked, and then stretched out its neck to an unreasonable length. With its neck so intended, it seemed like it might approach Erin... but instead, it bent to shove its head and the music box straight into its own torso, emerging moments later with the music box gone.

"I do not much care for your attitude, purple-hair," It chided, shaking its head as its neck returned to normal with a sickening slurp.

"If you are afraid, if you are uncertain, why do you act defensively? Why does the scarved one cast spells she has never used? Foolish, foolish, foolish!" Again, its feathers ruffled in anger.

"The Zac one was not this way. The Zac one was frightened, but did not cast stupid spells. The Zac one, you know. SPOKE TO ME." Yes, he was clearly upset by the spell. His eyes narrowed angrily at Asiya.

"I had sought you, purple one. The winds say you are a fixer. A fixer of things. But I do not want your rotten, sour hands on such a precious thing." It gestured with a wing to where its belly{?) was.

"This is a gift for a friend. You were GOING to fix it. But no, no. So defensive, so cheeky. If you think yourself a hero, you are wrong. This is not how heroes behave." A giggle on the wind from its masks, and the owl turned its attention towards Asiya.

"At least. At least the artistic one had good intentions. I see it in her. In her story. But you, no. You want to play pretend, make yourself the hero of the story."

It extended its wings, again, towards the sky. The display showed all of its masks- countless of hundreds of them, if Asiya and Erin's eyes were to be trusted. Its body was comprised of the night sky. And clearly, it was not afraid of Erin.

"Do not pretend to know me. Do not pretend to know what goes on here, here where you are Visitors. Unsettling. Are you always so rude in others' homes?"

Its gaze still on Asiya, the owl cocked its head.

"You. Sad one. Very, very sad. Sit down. Do not make yourself ill."

There was no hesitation on Asiya's part, not even for a second.She sat down on the ground and was quiet, though the air around her was different. She felt immensely saddened, as the owl had said. She should have not cast the spell that she did. She should have just approached with caution and simply asked what the creature was and what they wanted. Instead, she just automatically assumed that it was an evil being, and that was foolish on her part. Yet sadness was not the only feeling that gripped the young artist.

She felt humbled as well.

The owl was right. They didn't know it, nor what went on in Other Ashdown. It was a completely foreign realm, and they were merely visitors, allowed in by whatever higher power wanted them to be. Unknowns and higher beings may have been unfamiliar and even feared by Erin, but they were familiar to Asiya. She gave herself to something higher multiple times a day, every day of her life. And it was strange...being there in Other Ashdown...it felt similar to how she felt when she prayed, at least in that moment.


"Please forgive me..." This came out as a whisper, and all of a sudden Asiya found herself both trembling and tearing up. Maybe it was the fact that she was tired from the spell. Maybe it was that she was thinking of higher powers and prayer and spirituality. Maybe she just felt humbled in front of the owl. Whatever it was, Asiya suddenly felt very small, and she did the only thing that came to her mind: she bowed in prostration.

"I was a fool to use such magic. I will not do so again."

"I will try my best, Unspoken. While mechanical objects are not my forte, I will see what I can do," she said, crouching down next to the music box. It did not seem especially complicated, though she wasn't sure what Othe Ashdown-Ness might be present.

With careful hands, she set about dismantling the box, idly creating tools out of thin air to help. Erin gave as much privacy as she could to Asiya and the owl, figuring it was best to not ask why she was crying yet.

At the owls next question, she looked up. "Time moves differently here and my phone does not receive reception. As a fixer of things, I was curious if computers worked in this realm. Figured if I found a computer here, might try fixing it and see what happens." Erin gave a bit of a shrug with one shoulder. Nothing better to day than the truth really.

"I have not seen these phones or these laptops of which you speak. Perhaps that is a clue?" It blinked. "I see many things. Not all things, but many things. If I have not seen them, perhaps they have not been here at all." Its eyes were cast on the music box as it watched Erin work, curiously. It was not a creature built for creation. Nor for destruction, but that was not here or there. It had neither the hands nor the patience for fixing things. Wings were not good for small trinkets. Its friend was much more suited, much more clever.

"See. Do you see, lonely one? Friendless one? When you do not put up the walls, it is better. The sad one enjoys you, as you are. Not hidden. Not defensive. You. You do not need to defend, you need to learn. Its face shifted, and it was someone from Erin's past- a friend she had tried to make, and failed.

"Awkward, awkward. We are all of us awkward. All of us strange. But that is why life is good. You attack, you defend. You try to be the hero. Do not be the hero. Just be you. That is how you help the most."

Suddenly, The Unspoken melted into the ground behind Erin, vanishing. Moments later, the night sky seemed to bubble up from the ground near Asiya, and the great owl reformed itself near her. Now with its own face, it peered downwards... then, as a bird might sit, lowered itself onto the ground to sit beside her.

"You have been sad, yes. Very sad, so sad. I want you to think. If you could get rid of your sadness, would you?" Its head craned to the side, curiously.

"Sometimes. Sometimes, we do not want to remember what makes us sad. I can take the sad. Take ita and keep it and learn, if you want." Another blink.

"Not all of it. No. Not all of it at all. But if there is one- one thing that claws at you, eats at your heart. I can take it." It unfurled a wing, and gestured to the mask of Zac upon its breast.

"I do not know if it hurts. But it is up to you. You can give me the sadness of leaving your family. The anger towards them. Something smaller. But I will take it."

No more sadness over being kicked out of her family? All those negative feelings and animosity could disappear, just like that? How was that even possible? And if she did get rid of them, what would she feel? Nothing? Euphoria? All of these questions ran through her head and more.

"If I give you those feelings, then what? There has to be some sort of catch."

As far as Other Ashdown was concerned, Asiya would treat the residents as if they were fairies. They wouldn't hesitate to help, but doing so always came with a price. Then again...maybe letting go of all that sadness would be liberating? Asiya furrowed elegant brows, and then sighed heavily. Either way, it was a difficult decision. She was damned if she did and if she didn't.

After a few moments of contemplation, Asiya finally murmured a quiet, "Ok. I'll give it to you. Those feelings over my trouble..." She then glanced over at Erin. What would she think over her dealings with Unspoken. The owl's offer certainly threw her for a loop, even after she gave her approval.

All of it just felt so unreal.

Okay that was a little creepy, it's neck twisting and twisting like that. She looked up at the owl, chuckling a little at it's mention of speaking to an owl. Well... yes she was. It made sense here, not so much in the real world. She could comprehend it here. Talking to the Unspoken in the 'real' Ashdown would seem more surreal to her.

She glanced down at the music box, pulling a few gears loose and gently placing them on the ground as she thought. The Unspoken had a point, it wasn't hard to talk to an owl, how hard could it be to be herself?

Then it hit the nail on the head.

Erin looked up at the Unspoken's face, a sad little smile on her face.

"...It's easier to not let anyone in... when every time I do I am hurt by those I let in." The words were quiet, voice raw with thinly concealed emotion.

"Hurt, hurt, you say you are hurt, and yet you are here. Alive. Breathing." The Unspoken stared at Erin, judgingly. Waiting.

"I do not understand. Your human hurt. You show no blood, no wounds. If you say you are hurt, where are the scars? It is a hurt that does not show, and yet you speak of it. Why do you fear that hurt more than you fear me?" It blinked.

"Foolish, foolish, foolish. Fix yourself as you fix your things. Try, try, try. Keep trying. Force yourself to try more. You will impress someone that way. This I know."

When Asiya shook Unspoken's hand, there was the sensation of a pinprick at the back of her skull. It spread to an overwhelming headache, throbbing, grasping at her very being. And then, without a trace, it was over. The Unspoken's gelatinous hand shriveled back inside of itself, and the owl turned and stared at Asiya.

"The contract has been sealed," It spoke, unblinking now. One of the masks on its leg glowed, and then suddenly, bore Asiya's face. There was no going back.

"Awkward one," It called, turning once more to Erin. "Is my gift for my friend done?"

The headache she felt after shaking hands with Unspoken was like none she had ever experienced before. Overwhelmed by the pain that ran through her at that moment, Asiya couldn't help but let out a pathetic mewl of pain. Yet it disappeared as quickly as it had shown up, and she was grateful for that. When the pain went away, the hijabi blinked in surprise, and then touched her head gingerly just to be sure it didn't hurt anymore.

Nope. No more pain.

"Well, it'll be nice not to worry about that anymore," she admitted, more to herself than to Unspoken or even Erin. She couldn't help but grimace some, however, when the mask of her face showed up on the owl's leg. Despite the fact that she was an artist and could appreciate mask-makers and their craft...it was an odd sight. What use would the mask on its leg be, anyway? Were they solely decorative, or did they serve other purposes, too?

Her eyes then fell on the music box that Erin had fixed, and she smiled some. If anyone could fix it, then it would probably be Erin. She was good at things like that. In hopes of helping to reassure her, Asiya placed a hand gently on the techie's shoulder. She did her best, regardless. That's all anyone could have asked for.