Black hair and emerald green eyes.
Tall, imposing, terrifying...
The screams of a woman—her pleading and begging. Tears rolling down his cheeks.
The landscape changed.
A desolate basement.
The consoling voice of a different woman.
A boy praying.
The landscape changed again.
Rain fell in an endless rhythm.
Buildings lay in ruins—charred skeletons of what were once homes and shops.
And the blank black eyes of a boy who had lost everything.
The wrong things done so quietly or done by those in power can look a lot like nothing at all or worse still it may even look like the right thing.
---
A few hours passed. Talio woke up from the dream.
He groaned.
'That was not a fun memory to recall.'
'There has to be something to do. I'm so bored.'
Boredom kills or so they say.
He was still by the campfire with the blonde. The Blonde was unusually quiet, a strange contrast to his typically talkative nature. Talio couldn't help but wonder if something was bothering him.
'Well, probably due to the fact we've been living in a cave.'
I'm telling you bro is most definitely suspicious.
If there was any solace to be found, it was that the people they had killed left behind some food supplies—something they'd been running dangerously low on. In fact, they had too many food supplies, enough to make Talio suspicious.
But he couldn't be bothered to overthink it.
The topic was too boring to think about.
A soft voice broke the silence from Talio's left.
The unconscious twin had finally woken up.
As soon as her eyes opened, her sister rushed to her and wrapped her arms around her tightly.
The Bald wiped his brow and sighed.
"All in a day's work."
Right after saying that, his stomach growled loudly. The Blonde and Talio both cracked smiles, lightening the mood for a brief moment.
The Bald coughed.
"Well, shall we start cooking then? Especially since we've got a large supply of food just waiting to be eaten."
Food, glorious food.
The Blonde and the uninjured twin stood up to help him.
That left Talio alone with the once-unconscious twin. An unbearable silence followed.
Seconds passed, but to Talio, it felt like an eternity. He looked straight at her face, as if trying to read her expression—despite knowing full well that, to him, it would always be an X.
Then unexpectedly, the girl looked at him and asked in a quiet voice:
"Do you want to hear a story about myself?"
Talio felt slightly unnerved but nodded anyway. If he could see expressions, he might've moved away—the faintest red tint had crept into her pupils.
"We all lived in a peaceful village ruled by the ?@!#."
Hmm... well isn't that a problem, it's a tad too early now is it not?
A puzzled look crossed Talio's face.
"Ruled by who?"
"It was ruled by the #@%$:!."
Talio, beyond confused, just nodded. The twin took it as a sign to continue.
"I lived in harmony with our siblings and our mother. But for some reason, our mother never trusted the %$!?@'."
This time Talio remained silent. The girl paused briefly, as if struggling with memory—or emotion.
"One day, the @!?%$% killed our mother's siblings. It broke her. She fell into a deep depression."
...
"A seed of distrust for &%£^ started to take root, and the villagers began to grow restless."
A pained expression shadowed her face—or so Talio imagined.
"Then they came. And everything went to hell. Our mother's suspicion was proven right. They came and destroyed everything. We lost our mother... and most of our siblings."
Talio stared at her, wondering what kind of expression she had now. He hesitated, then asked a question instead of offering empty words:
"Who are they?"
If only you know Talio, if only...
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. A familiar feeling washed over him from the girl.
'Bloodlust. Not just any bloodlust... but one filled with indescribable hatred.'
"I don't know."
'What an obvious lie.'
Now Talio really wished he could see her eyes—he'd know exactly what she was hiding. But there was no way for that.
A deafening silence settled between them.
Then—
A loud bang echoed from the cooking area.
Talio snapped his head toward the commotion—only for his instincts to scream at him.
'Move.'
He sidestepped right, trusting the feeling, and drew his weapon in one swift motion—just in time to see the twin lunging at him, dagger in hand.
Talio's eyes turned cold and dull.
"May I ask... why'd you do that?"
She didn't reply. She only shifted her stance, readying herself again.
Talio scratched his head.
"Do you really think you can beat me? I mean no offense, but you and your sister are quite obviously the weakest in the group."
Still no answer. She darted toward him again.
Talio's shock was clear. He twisted his body, narrowly dodging the dagger, and brought his sword down to sever her outstretched hand.
But—another surprise.
Uh-oh.
She pulled back at the last second and parried his blade perfectly.
Talio jumped back, widening the distance between them.
'Why is she so much better at fighting all of a sudden? Was she holding back this whole time?'
He took a deep breath.
'No... there's no way she was holding back. Otherwise, she would've fought like this against the rogues. So then... how is she this strong now?'
He was still confident he could beat her, but it wasn't worth the risk. Not if there was a chance of serious injury.
So he turned and sprinted toward the others.
'I really hate fighting things I can't explain.'
He reached the others—only to freeze in his tracks. The Bald and the Blonde stood on one side. Opposite them was the other twin.
Blood dripped from the bald man's shoulder, soaking his sleeve. He clutched the wound tightly.
The Blonde spotted Talio and shouted:
"Let's run! For now!"
Talio, thinking the same, nodded and followed the Blonde, who was helping support the Bald as they fled down a new path.
The twins said nothing.
They merely watched them go.