My name is Wang Ki. I'm 14 years old, a little short for my age, and have ashy blonde hair that falls just above my eyes. From looking into rivers, I can tell that my eyes are purple. My body is very small as my hyungs say I'm scrawny.

As I get ready for the day, I slide on a pair of black pants. It has a lot of rips in the legs from traveling and just natural wear. They fit my waist and legs well but are a bit short for pants. While the pants are a bit short, no one will be able to tell once I put on my boots. My tunic is off-white and freshly cleaned thanks to Min Su. I slip it on and slide a black bearskin vest on that seems a bit too small for me as well. Looking around the tent, I find something to comb my hair down with and head out to the others.

“Took you long enough,” Min Su chuckles.

Min Su is 16 years old and a bit taller than me. His bright blue eyes can barely be seen under his black hair. While we try not to get into too much trouble, Min Su has a throwing knife pouch on his thigh above his tan bottoms, just in case. His tunic is black that also has a gold symbol on it. I always wonder what it is every time I see it.

“Sorry,” I reply.

“Don't be hard on him. He had another one,” Dae Sung tells Min Su, hitting his arm slightly.

Nightmares. That’s what Dae Sung is referring to. While Dae Sung is the oldest out of us, Min Su is taller than him. Both of them are 16.

Dae Sung has short red hair. But it’s a bright red. The best way for me to describe it is like the color of when the sun sets. Like a faded red-orange. He wears light brown boots over his black pants and a green fighting shirt. Since he’s the oldest, he builds up his muscles and tries to look intimidating. His fighting shirt is strange to me though. The collar sticks up and it’s held together by three clasps on the right side of his chest. Because of that, his stomach shows where the clasps stop. He also wears brown gloves for some reason. He says it’s because he trains a lot and doesn’t want to hurt his hands, but I think it’s because he already shows a lot of skin.

We pack up our things, throw them in our bags, and head out. It's just another day traveling, hoping to maybe find a home. I doubt it though. It's been four years since our home was raided and no one even bats an eye at three kids wandering around.

The world is cruel and people don't care what happens to those without families or high stature. It's a sad fact that I learned at a young age. That’s why the three of us stay with each other. We take care of and protect one another. Dae Sung and Min Su are my family, my brothers. Whether or not they’re actually my brothers or not, I’m not too sure of. We grew up together and I remember them from my childhood. If it wasn’t for these two, I’m not sure where I’d be right now. Maybe dead?

“You’re awfully quiet today, Wang Ki,” Dae Sung points out, looking at me.

“Um, just thinking is all,” I reply, nodding.

Min Su turns around to face me, now walking backwards. “You can always talk to us. We’re here for you no matter what. We’re family,” he smiles at me.

I nod and smile, “I know.” There’s a rock behind him. “Be careful,” I try to warn as he trips over the rock.

Dae Sung laughs and I can’t help but giggle as well. Min Su looks at Dae Sung and pouts. The older holds his hand out and helps Min Su up, as well as helping dust him off.

“Told you to be careful,” I remark playfully.

Min Su laughs and pushes me slightly. “Don’t get smart with me. I’m your hyung!” he remarks.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know,” I reply. “You don’t let me forget.” I laugh and smile, looking down at the ground as I walk. When I look back up, I notice the two of them talking to each other about something. I wanna know what they’re talking about, so I hop over and poke my head in between them. “What are you talking about?” I look at them.

They just laugh. “Nothing,” Min Su is a bad liar.

“We noticed water over there and think it’d be a good idea to get some drinking water,” Dae Sung is better at lying, so I can’t tell.

I look over in the direction he pointed and nod. “Okay. Sounds good to me.”

Dae Sung nods and leads us to the water. It turns out to be a slow-current river. I decide to get closer and look in the water. There’s fish! “Hyung! There's fish in here!” I gasp excitedly and turn to them. Just as I turn, they push me! I stumble back and land in the water. “Hyung! You made me scare the fish away!” I whine.

They just start laughing! “It’s okay Wang Ki. Get out and they’ll come back. We can try fishing, if that’s what you were suggesting,” Dae Sung states.

Min Su holds his hand out to me and I huff. No worries though, I have an idea. Since Min Su is so generously helping me, I grab his hand and pull hard, successfully dragging him in too. Yes! I quickly get up to try for our oldest now.

He seemed to have sensed the danger because now he’s running from me. Min Su decides to help and sprints after him, successfully grabbing his arm. I quickly grab the other one and we drag him into the river too. Now we’re all soaked and playing in the river, splashing each other and laughing. Just having so much fun!

Our playtime is sadly cut short as we’re reminded of how hungry we are by the growling coming from our stomachs. We trudge out of the river and attempt to fish. I decide to lay down and just try to dry off while Min Su takes his turn.

I can hear the splash as he throws his knives at the fish. While it helps to have the knives, Min Su doesn’t exactly have the best aim. I hope he’s able to get those back. After hearing another splash of his knives, I think it’s time for me to intervene.

“Aim in front of the fish,” I advise, still laying down, putting my arms behind my head.

Min Su looks at me and purses his lips in dissatisfaction. “Do you wanna try, mister know-it-all?” he suggests, waving his knife around.

I shrug. “Why not?” I get up and dig in my bag for my slingshot.

“And what is that gonna do?” Min Su challenges.

Instead of answering him, I just smirk and grab a rock. I load it up into the sling and pull it back, aiming at the fish, then releasing it. It hits! I look at Min Su and smirk. “Did you see that?” I boast, "Now you grab the fish."

While Min Su and I bicker, Dae Sung stabs the fish I hit and opens up his bag, taking out supplies. He sets the fish down on a cloth and gets ready to make a fire. “Now get two more and we can eat,” he says, smiling at us.

That stops us and suddenly it becomes a competition for the fish. Min Su seems to have taken my advice since he is finally able to get one. In no time, we both catch a fish and toss it to Dae Sung, who, without us noticing, got sticks ready, whittled, and the fire ready to be started. We sit on either side of him and help get the fire started, setting the fish up to be cooked.

This is the part I hate the most. I don't want to wait for my food to cook. I’m already hungry. This is agony! Even though it is agony to wait, the fire is nice. I was a little cold from being in the river and hug myself slightly. Dae Sung puts his arm around me as if knowing that and rubs my arm. It does feel warmer next to him. Instinctively, I lean on him for more warmth and smile. The wait isn’t so bad now. Dae Sung even starts running his hands through my hair, a gesture that he knows I love.

I'm so comfortable leaning on Dae Sung that I close my eyes for what I thought was a few seconds, but once I open my eyes, the fish are finished cooking. Dae Sung hadn't moved a muscle the whole time I was resting on his chest. How did he stay upright?

I sit up and look at Dae Sung. "Sorry," I say.

He just smiles and pets my head. "You're alright. You were tired," he replies. "Now eat."

Dae Sung hands me a fish and then grabs his own. We all eat silently. Then, once we're done, we throw the sticks into the fire and watch them crackle and pop. One of the sticks pops louder than the rest and I flinch. Even though it’s warm, chaos usually follows fire.

Min Su seemed to have noticed and pats my leg. Instead of either of them saying anything, Dae Sung lays down and pulls me with him. We both just stare at the sky.

"Can we stay here for the night?" I ask.

Dae Sung chuckles. "No. It's only midday."

"How do you know?" I look at him.

He points up at the sky, namely the sun. "Look at the sun, but not for too long. It's at the highest point in the sky, therefore it's only midday. Once it hits the tree line over there," he points in the distance, "Then we can start looking for a place to set up camp." Dae Sung finishes with a smile.

I nod and sit up. "What direction should we go?" I ask him.

"The smartest choice is probably to follow the river," Dae Sung answers. "If we're lucky, maybe we can find a cave?"

Min Su stands up. "We'd better get going then," he states.

The oldest nods and stands up as well. "Let's put out the fire," he suggests. "We don't want it spreading."

Min Su and I are on that. When Dae Sung looks over at us, he just sighs and shakes his head. It probably wasn't what he had in mind, but hey, it relieves the fire as well.

"That's not the method I had in mind, but okay." he confirms. The oldest grabs a bucket and fills it half way with river water. Once we're done and step back, he throws the water on the fire, successfully finishing our job. We all exchange looks and chuckle as we head out.

As we follow alongside the river, I notice a line of rocks and jump up on them. I spread my arms out and attempt to keep balance as I walk across them.

"Be careful up there," Dae Sung warns.

"Don't worry. I will," I comfort. Min Su looks over at me. He doesn't seem convinced that I'll be careful since he keeps a close watch on me.

I definitely got this! I don't even need to put my arms out anymore! I'm walking on these rocks no problem. I even start hopping from one rock to another. This is fun! There's no reason for them to be worried. I could probably do tricks if I want to as well.

I jump onto one of the rocks and it shakes under me. I spoke too soon. I gasp and lose my footing, but thankfully I fall toward the other two. Min Su grabs my arm as quickly as possible to steady me.

I look at him and step away from the rocks. I don't admit to anything though. I was fine. "Told you I'd be okay," I remark.

Min Su was not happy about that comment. He hits the back of my head as if to scold me but I just laugh. I find it amusing.

"I was just having a little fun," I say. “I’m fine.”

“What if you weren’t fine though?” Min Su snaps back. “You need to be more careful even if you’re just having fun.” His tone gets softer as he continues scolding me.

I nod and continue to walk behind the other two. As we walk, I look around at the scenery. The sun has moved a little past its high point and seems to give the surrounding area a yellow glow. The river moves faster and more violently as we travel in the opposite direction of its flow. It too seems to glow slightly yellow.

“Hey guys, when we set up camp, can I sleep in your tent?” I ask, looking up at them.

They stop and turn to look at me. “Of course you can,” the oldest speaks up. “Is everything alright?”

No, it’s not. I don’t want to have another nightmare. I hate reliving that day. Seeing the fire, feeling the fire, panic, anxiety, and hearing the screams and cries of agony for those who couldn’t escape. Everything about it makes me frustrated. Anger for the men who slaughtered my friends and family. Angry that I have no home to go back to. Angry that I couldn’t do anything. Angry that I was weak!

The only thing in this Eirene forsaken world that gives me comfort is their presence. I trust my two hyungs with my whole being. Sighing, I shake my head and look at them. “I just want to sleep next to you two,” I finally answer.

I’m not one to talk about my feelings, so I don’t know if they know how I feel. Even so, I hope they do, even without me saying it. In all honesty, I don't know if I could survive without them. They’ve both done so much for me. Dae Sung was there with me, the night of the raid, when it all happened. He prevented me from doing something stupid. He saved me to say the least. Min Su is always there to pick me up when I get hurt and to make sure my clothes are clean. Both of them are special to me. They’re my family and I love them.

Alright, gross. That was sentimental. When I come back from my thoughts, both hyungs are walking backwards and staring at me.

Dae Sung smiles. “You got quiet,” he states.

I nod. “Yeah. I was thinking.” I can’t look at them. Instead, I end up looking away from them and at the river. The current has gotten awfully strong.

Suddenly, I hear a hard thud and very loud yowl. My head snaps back in the direction of the other two and I see Dae Sung knocked out on the ground. Blood is covering his face and left shoulder. “Hyung!!” I shriek.

Without skipping a beat, Min Su whips out his throwing knives and lands one in the side of what looks like a giant cat. It hisses and swipes at him. He swiftly jumps back and throws another one, but it misses.

I quickly dig in my bag for my slingshot and pull it out, grabbing as many rocks as I can find. As fast as I can possibly go, I load up a rock and aim. I release it and the rock hits the cat square in the face. Yes!

It yowls loudly again and swipes at Min Su once more, unfortunately slashing down his right arm. He screams in pain and drops to the ground, joining Dae Sung in the realm of sleep.

“Hyung!” I might as well be screaming bloody murder at this point. Tears stream down my face as I load up another rock. This stupid cat will pay! I don't know how, but it will! I land another shot in its eye and one more on its side. Damn it! Why isn’t it leaving?

It lungs at me and I slam into the ground, knocking the wind out of me. I can’t breathe! Its paw weighs heavily on my neck and chest. I can feel it digging into my skin as it growls and drags its claw down my neck and chest. I scream out in agony and pure terror, closing my eyes tight. I gasp for air and pry open my eyes just in time to see an arrow land in the cat’s eye. I look down at my chest in utter shock. There’s so much blood. Is it all mine? Am I going to die? I can’t see. Everything is going dark. Something even heavier lands on my chest but I can’t feel it.

Ah. I see.

This must be death….