The sound of Lujic running and shouting made me smile. I stepped to the left a little, as to stare out the window nearby.

  He was chasing after a chicken. A fat brown one that was outpacing him rather easily.

  I had asked him to catch one, as to make dinner, but had I known how difficult it would prove to be for him maybe I shouldn’t have.

  The poor boy felt restless. His sister had still not woken… and he had a strange sense of pride. One that made him unable to just sit and wait, or rest.

  I had asked him to draw water the other day and he had tripped and dropped the bucket he had filled not far from the house as he brought it back. He hadn’t cried, but he had become rather quiet. He spent the rest of the day bringing water from the nearby river, to fill up the large barrel this house had. We hadn’t needed that much water, not now anyway, so I think he had done so simply to prove to himself he could do it without falling.

  It was honestly a little adorable, and it made me wonder why I wasn’t bothered by his pride but I had been my own brother’s.

  Was it because he was still so small? Maybe if he had been fully grown, I would have not look kindly on such stubbornness?

  Pondering that, I turned around and looked away from the window as Lujic disappeared out of sight. He had chased the chicken over a hill and towards some trees.

  The kitchen I was in was small. And had a strange window inside, one that was on the opposite wall and allowed me to see into what was considered the sitting room. Lujic had called it a living room, though I wasn’t sure why. Maybe one was supposed to live in it? Rather, sleep there instead of the beds?

  I wasn’t sure why it was odd to me, since it was actually kind of neat. I could see how such a window would be useful. Like allowing someone in the kitchen, while working, to easily see and speak with someone in the other room. Plus it’d let the smell of the food fill the house better, too.

  But right now the window was useless. Other than myself and Ginny, no one was in the house… and likely haven’t been in a long time.

  A few days ago we had happened upon this little homestead. A small house, with a barn and some fields. It seemed abandoned, and it seemed it had been for a while now. The house had been dusty, cold, and lifeless. The storage, such as for the water and food, had all been empty and even the crops nearby had all been overgrown and full of weeds. There were a few remnants of the previous tenants, like the chickens scattered around the area, but there were no more larger farm animals. The barn had a pen next to it, one built not for chickens but something bigger. Pigs maybe. But they were nowhere to be found, not even their corpses.

  I wasn’t sure why this place had been abandoned, since it was actually a very nice home. But I wasn’t going to miss on the opportunity to give Ginny and Lujic a chance to rest comfortably… especially since Ginny had yet to wake for more than a few moments since I had found them.

  She was in one of the two other rooms of this house, a large bedroom with three beds. I could hear her soft breathing as she slept,

  Ginny had only coughed up blood once more since that first incident. And it hadn’t been anywhere as bad as the first time. Since then her breathing has been clear and healthy, and her sleeping sound. I wasn’t really sure why she hadn’t woken up fully yet, but something told me it was just pure exhaustion. I remembered a few times in my youth when I had been beaten and thrown into the pit that I had spent days in and out of consciousness while healing. Maybe she was just going through something similar.

  The sound of bubbling drew my attention, and I smiled at the pot that had started to boil over. I quickly went to grab it, using some of the thick cloth I had found in one of the cupboards to hold it. I poured the excess boiling water into a different pot, and then put the original one back onto the stove.

  There wasn’t much in the way of food in the pot. Basically no meat at all. I had slaughtered a chicken yesterday, and had thrown the thing’s bones and refuse into the pot as to make broth for today’s meal. I’d eventually be making a makeshift soup… which was regretfully more greens than not. It was to be stuff Lujic and I had gathered from the nearby farm fields… which honestly wasn’t much, but it was food at least.

  Once the food was done and Lujic had brought another chicken, and I cut and prepared that one for our upcoming meals, I planned to head to the nearby river to catch some fish. It was a small distance from here, but close enough I could probably catch a few larger fishes and be back before nightfall as long as Lujic hurried up.

  “Maybe I should just go catch one,” I wondered. How long did one give a boy to complete a task before you stepped in? Would his pride be offended if I just caught one? Or would he understand?

  My brothers would have beaten me if I did such a thing. But I wasn’t sure if the young boy would do such a thing. He seemed to get quiet and sullen more than angry, from what I’d been able to see so far at least.

  Stirring the pot, I smiled at the swirling water. It had begun to darken. I knew I could soon add the stuff I’d be using for the soup proper into the other pot. Then I could add the brother later, and make a proper soup.

  A light cough made my stirring stop, and I quickly turned my head towards the direction of the room and hallway.

  Ginny coughed again, and this time also groaned.

  She was awake!

  I hurriedly abandoned the pots, since they were just boiling and would be for a while anyway, and rushed to the bedroom.

  We had left the door open, both so I could hear her better and for airflow, and so I found the girl shifting in bed… struggling to get up and out from under the heavy covers.

  Unable to contain my smile I stepped into the room and went to the largest bed that she was in. “Morning Ginny,” I said, greeting the girl as I grabbed the blankets and lifted them up and off her.

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  The girl went still at the sight of me. She blinked up at me, and I heard her legs and feet twitch and shift under the covers. “Uh…” she made a sound as greeting back, and I grinned at her.

  She blinked at me a few times. “A cat…” she mumbled under her breath at the sight of me.

  “Can you sit up? Do you need to go tinkle? How are you feeling?” I asked, and realized I had probably asked too much at once. Really Renn, be calmer!

  “Um…” she made a different sound this time as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. About half way up though she winced and made a tiny whine. “Oww!”

  She reached down and pulled at her shirt. I helped her lift it and we both stared down at her stomach. It was still bruised, rather heavily, but not anywhere near as bad as it had looked the other day. It was already starting to lessen in color and size.

  “Lujic said you had been kicked,” I said. Though not necessarily by who or what.

  “Mhm…!” the girl flinched as she nodded and she leaned back down. Tears welled at the corner of her eyes as she writhed a moment in pain, and at the sight of such a thing I panicked.

  “Ginny? Ginny…!” I felt a strange sense of unease fill me as I watched the little girl grab at her clothes and blankets in pain. She had closed eyes, and was beginning to cry.

  What do I do? She was in pain, obviously, but it wasn’t like I had anything to give her for it. Witch had used to make drinks for people to drink after she performed her miracles, drinks that had eased their lingering pains and stuff, but…

  I scoured my memories of the surrounding forests and plains. While checking this empty house for supplies I had also walked around the immediate area. Mostly to make sure we were truly alone and no one else was nearby, such as living at another nearby farmstead. While doing so I had checked for any familiar plants or herbs, ones that I knew from watching Witch worked for such medicines.

  None that I recognized were here. I had traveled too far from home, and now didn’t know most of the plants here in this region.

  The best I could think of were a few weed looking things near the river. They had looked somewhat similar to some stuff that Witch had always gathered when she saw them, stuff she used to make her herb drinks. But they were a different leaf. A little more pointy than the ones Witch had used.

  It worried me to feed the young girl something I didn’t fully understand. What if it only made it worse for her? I knew some plants could be just as poisonous as a snake bite. One needed to be wary…

  “Ginny!”

  I stood up a little straight as I was basically pushed aside as Lujic ran into the room. As he rushed up to the side of the bed, something flapped and clicked and clacked behind me. I turned and found a chicken. Not the large brown one from earlier but a smaller one. It was flapping as it righted itself upward and got onto its little feet. Lujic had likely tossed it aside at the sight of his sister being awake.

  “Luji!” the girl greeted her brother through clenched teeth and shut eyes. The two found each other’s hands, clasping them, and I felt strangely dizzy as I watched the boy’s face contort into terrible worry. As if he too was now feeling the same pain his sister was.

  How lovely. Why hadn’t my siblings been like this?

  “Renn! What’s wrong? Why’s she hurting?” Lujic asked worriedly as he turned to look at me. Although he had turned half his body, and his head, his eyes had remained on his sister. Eyes now brimming with tears.

  “She woke up, Lujic. So she feels the pain now,” I said, giving the only answer that made sense.

  Lujic finally looked away from his sister and up at me. “What can we do?”

  Once again his eyes of worry dug deep into me. How come such heartfelt eyes hurt so much? It wasn’t as if he was blaming me, he was just desperate.

  “Just be there for her. I’ll go boil some cloth, maybe something warm on her stomach will help,” I said. Witch had done similar for people with such bruises before. Though she had boiled those bandages and cloths with herbs, not just water…

  “Luji, it hurts,” the girl whined, and although it made my heart turn and writhe… I noted the voice she had spoken with.

  Stepping a little closer, I studied the way she peered at us through now half-open eyes. Her little pupils were not as strained, and her body wasn’t trembling as strongly as before.

  She was getting use to the pain. Rather quickly.

  A little relieved, I smiled gently at her. “Keep an eye on her Lujic, I’ll also get her something to drink,” I said as I patted the boy on his head and stepped away.

  “Mhm!” he didn’t hesitate to agree, making me a little jealous somehow.

  As I stepped away from the bed, I hurried over and grabbed the small chicken that was still in the room. It had calmed down enough that it barely noticed me picking it up, and even as I did it didn’t fight back at all. It simply tilted its head at me as if to ask where we were going.

  “You’re a little small,” I said to it as I left the room and headed for the kitchen. Should I toss this chicken out and go grab another? It wasn’t even half the size of the one Lujic had been chasing before.

  I debated until I reached the kitchen, and decided to do just that. I tossed the smaller chicken out of the window, where it fluttered its wings and flew away. It landed a distance away, near one of the farm fields, and made noises as if insulted at how it had been treated.

  Ignoring the thing, I checked on my soups, and went to prepare a new pot of water. One to boil some of the thick and rough cloth that could be used to lay over the girl’s stomach and chest. If done properly it might relieve her of some of the pain.

  If that doesn’t work maybe I should try boiling and preparing some of those herbs near the river. I could always drink some first, and wait a while, to see if they’d make me sick or not. Then once I verified I was fine, I could have the boy try a cup full too. Just in case. Then afterward I’d catch some fish and a larger chicken. For dinner and breakfast tomorrow.

  Flicking my ears a little as I became busy… I listened to tiny voices. Coming from the other side of the house.

  The siblings were quietly talking. He was telling her who I was and how we had found this house. That their uncle was dead, as were their friends.

  Somehow listening to them felt wrong. As if they were speaking of precious secrets no one else should share… but it was hard not to hear them. The area was quiet. The house even more so. Even with the boiling pots, and the clucking chickens outside, I’d be hard pressed to not catch a few words no matter what I did.

  Still…

  Stirring one of the pots, I frowned at myself as I listened to the two children go quiet. I heard the boy sniff, and no more sounds from the girl.

  She had maybe fallen back to sleep.

  My eyes began to blur a little at the weird feeling of relief. If she had woken, and fallen back to sleep, then maybe she would be okay. She just needed time. Time to heal. Tender care as she did.

  She’d be okay. As would the boy.

  I just needed to keep the two fed. Warm. Safe. Honestly it didn’t seem too difficult, really. At least for now… even if I was still anxiously worrying about the girl’s health.

  Decent food. A nice bed. Warm clothes. Safety from the outside elements, especially the cold and damp. Maybe some remedies if I can find and prepare some.

  It felt like I needed to ensure so much, yet honestly most of what they needed was simple. Simple, basic necessities to survive.

  Taking a deep breath, I sighed as I tried to not think of my own family. Of my own siblings… and especially so my own parents.

  “If they’re not even my children… and I still feel like this… how come my own parents hadn’t?”