Light reflected off the clear blue water it felt warm as he stood in the shallow part of the lake. As he waded deeper, the water grew cooler. He stopped when it reached his knees

  Finally, everything was finally peaceful. Birds sang in the trees above, carrying worms to their babies. Little fish swam around him, accompanied by even smaller darting minnows.

  Ero closed his eyes, letting the calmness wash over him. He tilted his head back, basking in the sun. It was taking Arsi longer than usual to fetch water.

  He cast his fishing line , "."

  Whatever. It didn't matter too much, as long as she didn't bring back anything weird again.

  "Ooh, a bite." He grinned, reeling in the line. It was a big fish too.

  "She’s taking forever," he muttered, sticking his thumb in the fish’s mouth to grip its jaw. He walked over to the basket to store it for now.

  A loud scream pierced the air. He dropped the fish and sprinted out of the water. There was only one scream that sounded like that. His heart raced as he ran toward the creek where they usually gathered water.

  She wasn’t there. Terror gripped him as he looked around frantically.

  .

  "?" He started sprinting downstream.

  "ARSI!

  "ARSI!Are you okay?

  "You heard that?" She asked, confused. How could he not hear it?

  "The whole world probably heard it," he muttered, relieved she was fine.

  "Are you good?" he asked, scanning her for any signs of injury. Other than being a little wet, she seemed fine.

  "Yeah, sorry a frog suddenly jumped on my hand." She looked embarrassed.

  "!" He had run like she was dying, and it was over a frog?

  "You're kidding, right?" He muttered flatly, not even wanting to look at her.

  "Umm..." She probably was going to say something stupid, and he didn't want to hear it. He covered her mouth. At least she was fine.

  "

  "Just don't." This was the last time he ever ran to her rescue. She removed his hand from her face, glaring at him.

  "Whatever jerk, but look at this." She squatted near something blue. It looked like ice, but most of it should’ve melted already. It was too warm for something that large to not be melting at all.

  "What’s that?" he asked, squatting beside her to examine the object.

  "Ice, obviously, dumb dumb." She replied, rolling her eyes as she touched it.

  "?" He shoved her away, smirking as she fell back into the water, drenched.

  "Well no kidding," he responded, still annoyed but feeling slightly better now.

  "Hey!" she yelled, shoving him back. It was probably the weakest shove in the world.

  "I'm seeing what's inside," she declared, moving closer.

  "!" He splashed her with water to get her away. It might be something dangerous. Plus, he wanted to look first it was a reward he deserved.

  "What if it's frogs?" he teased. She splashed him in the face with water. He spluttered spitting, the water out that got in his mouth.

  She removed the lid of the basket and stepped back. She was probably scared. He grinned. Inside, something white was moving.

  "Oh my gods." he said in utter disbelief. It was a baby, that looked maybe a day or two old.

  "What?" Arsi asked, coming closer. Her mouth dropped open in shock, "Oh my gods."

  "A baby." They both looked at each other dumbfounded. Why would a baby be here of all places, and one that was so...

  "" He thought as the baby opened its eyes. They were red and orange, like a sunset on the water. He'd never seen anything so pretty on another person before.

  The baby began crying loudly. "."

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He looked at Arsi and then down at the baby. Never mind, he had heard something like it before.

  "What do you want me

  "I don't know? Hold him, maybe. He must be freezing." Ero told her. To his shock, she actually reached in and picked up the baby.

  The moment she pulled him out, the basket dissolved into water as if it had never existed. Ero could’ve sworn he saw a face looking at him in the water, but when he blinked, it was gone. He looked at Arsi. She seemed shocked out of her mind.

  "What are we going to do?" she asked, sounding worried.

  He thought for a second, reaching out to touch the baby's soft white hair. "We should take him to Tara she'll know."

  She looked almost too happy with what he said. The baby seemed to get more irritable, but really wanted to hold him.

  Holding out his arms to take the baby from her, he said, "Since we're out here we might as well finish fishing."

  He was glad he had his arms underneath the baby, because Arsi dropped him in disbelief.

  "Arsi!" he yelled, catching the baby. He hadn't fallen very far, but still.

  The baby looked into his eyes and stopped screaming. He just cried now instead. Ero cradled the small baby gently. He was so soft and cute.

  He looked at Arsi and then at the baby, who was falling asleep in his arms. " ."

  "What do you think his name is?" Arsi asked. "Also... is he even a boy?"

  Ero hadn't thought of that, and he definitely didn't want to check.

  "I don't know," he replied. "We can call him a nickname or something for now."

  "Oh! How about frog?" Arsi suggested eagerly.

  Ero gave her a look, disappointed that they were even related.

  "No," he said, walking out of the creek.

  "What about fish?" Arsi asked, grabbing her canteen as she followed him

  Ero sighed. "No. We're not naming him that. Be quiet and let me think."

  He pushed her away when she got too close to the baby.

  "Why do you get to name him?" she grumbled, throwing a leaf at him.

  "It's not permanent. Just a nickname until we find out his name." Ero carefully stepped over roots and large rocks, cradling the baby as they made their way back to their fishing spot.

  "Oh, oh! How about duckling?" Arsi asked eagerly. Just before she tripped skipping over a root and faceplanted in the dirt.

  Ero couldn't help laughing, but he did offer her a hand.

  "Sure, I guess we can call him that for now," he said with a smirk.

  She took his hand, wiping the dirt off her clothes as she stood. "Really?" she grinned.

  "Yes... unless you want me to pick something else..." He didn’t even have to finish.

  "No! I finally have a younger sibling!" she interrupted. Her smile widened as she looked down at the baby.

  "Duckling is so cute!" She patted the baby’s head.

  "Yeah, he's okay, I guess," Ero muttered, rolling his eyes.

  Arsi shot him a glare before running ahead down the slope toward the lake.

  Ero watched her go, then glanced down at the baby in his arms.

  "," he thought.

  Not that he'd ever tell Arsi that.

  Once they were in their shaded spot again Ero gently placed duckling down on the grass Arsi flopped down beside him.

  "Don't bother him." Ero scolded her as she poked the baby's cheek.

  "I'm not bothering him you are." she said rolling over onto her side plucking at the grass.

  Ero sighed grabbing his fishing rod, the fish he had caught earlier was nowhere to be found. Well he had dropped it back in the water when he ran to go find Arsi.

  He cast his line into the water he could only hope to catch one that large again.

  //////////////////////////////////////////////////

  How she ended up sitting here in the grass, she didn’t want to remember. The words were almost too traumatic to recall.

  "Since we're out here, we might as well finish fishing."

  She couldn't believe it! Why in the world did they need to fish? They had literally found a baby in a basket of ice. They should have gone home immediately.

  "." She thought bitterly.

  The baby had stopped crying a while ago and was now sleeping on the grass beside her.

  Stop plotting how you're going to kill me and help me with this fish Ero demanded, pointing at the slimy creature flopping on his hook.

  "Gross," she muttered, picking up the net and sticking it under the fish. Ero removed the hook from its mouth, letting it fall into the net.

  Why did she have to participate in this? She couldn't even go swimming because the lake water was too cold.

  Go put it in the basket Arsi he ordered, pointing toward the shore.

  She carried the net over and dumped the fish into the basket. They had been here for hours, but they had only caught about ten.

  Wrinkling her nose, Arsi lay down next to Duckling again. He looked so cute... like a little chick. She had never seen anyone like him before. His white hair was soft like a lamb’s, and his eyes shimmered like the red and orange leaves above.

  Ero definitely didn’t look like Duckling. His curly brown hair reminded her of wet dirt and wood. His light blue eyes were cool, though. As for her own eyes? They were brown-gold, the same color as her favorite tree’s leaves. She liked that.

  She never really thought much about how she looked before. Sitting up, she hesitated before speaking.

  "Ero..." She wasn’t sure if it was a dumb question.

  "What?" he asked, sounding annoyed as he focused on fishing.

  "How do I look?"

  "Huh?" He glanced at her briefly. "Just fine to me."

  "No, I mean… am I cool looking? Like Duckling?"

  "Nah," he said, turning back toward the water.

  Her chest tightened a little at his words. She suddenly felt like crying.

  "You’re pretty," he muttered reluctantly, still facing away. "Duckling’s cool, and you’re pretty."

  She wiped her eyes. "Thanks."

  "Now stop asking stupid questions," he grumbled.

  "Fine," she said with a grin, lying back on the ground. "I also think you’re cool, Ero."

  She stretched her hand next to Duckling, and he grabbed onto her finger. Smiling softly, she patted his head with her free hand.

  It felt warmer as she closed her eyes.

  Arsi didn’t even realize she had fallen asleep until Ero was shaking her awake.

  She ignored him, hoping he’d leave her alone if she kept pretending to sleep.

  "Arsi, wake up now, or I’m going to let a frog kiss you," he said, sounding irritated.

  She shot upright immediately... only to knock her head into Ero’s chin.

  "Ow!" he grunted, falling backward and clutching his jaw. "You dense bonehead," he muttered, glaring at her.

  "No, it's my poor head," she complained, rubbing her forehead.

  "I bit my tongue because of you," Ero grumbled. "Anyway, we need to leave now before it gets dark."

  "Yes! Finally!" Arsi shouted loud enough to wake Duckling, who had still been sleeping. They were even leaving early.

  "See? Look what you did," Ero sighed, bending down to gently pick up the baby.

  "Can I carry him?" she asked, holding out her hands.

  "No. If you carry him, he'll get brain damage—just like you," he said, stepping back and grabbing the rods and bundled gear.

  She pouted. "What? But the basket is heavy!"

  "It’s fair," Ero said. "I fished all day while you slept."

  He smirked. "Either you carry the fish, or I tell Tara you didn’t help at all."

  "Fine," she huffed, picking up the basket. It wasn’t as heavy as she expected. Maybe she was getting stronger.

  "," she thought. This was the real reason she hated fishing. He always caught the fish because she was apparently bad

  "Stop muttering to yourself and start walking," Ero called, already halfway up the slope.

  "I wasn’t muttering!" she yelled, hurrying to catch up.

  //////////////////////////////////////////////////

  Ero sat at the top of the slope, holding Azriel in his arms as he watched Arsi struggle up with the basket.

  The moment she reached the top, he stood and started walking away.

  "You could at least wait five seconds!" she yelled after him. He ignored her, quickening his pace.

  "We don’t have time to take a break. Duckling has a fever." He hadn’t wanted to tell her, but if he didn’t, she might mess around.

  "Are you serious?" she asked, her complaints vanishing as she rushed to his side.

  "Yeah. He started crying while you were sleeping, and when I checked, he was sick." He hesitated before admitting, "That’s why we left early."

  "Wow!" Arsi looked at him in amazement. "I didn’t know you’d give up fishing for someone. Ever."

  "Shut up," he snapped, walking ahead.

  "Is that really why we left so early?" She studied him like he was a stranger. "Are you sure you’re Ero?"

  "Yes. Now stop acting weird. I’d do this for you too," he muttered, eyes focused on Duckling, who coughed weakly.

  "We should probably hurry," Arsi said, keeping pace with him through the forest.

  "Ero."

  "Yeah?" he asked, still watching his step to avoid tripping.

  "Once the village is in sight, you should run him to Tara."

  Ero stopped in his tracks, jaw dropping in surprise.

  "Close your mouth before I hit you," she muttered, strolling past him while he stood frozen.

  "You sure you aren’t Arsi?" he teased with a smirk.

  "Don’t make me regret being nice." Arsi shot Ero a glare before continuing forward.

  "It’s just… you’d usually tell me to take the fish and then try to run away," he said, still surprised.

  "Well, we did may be—kinda, sorta, but not really—just by a very little bit... slightly faster than me," she admitted as they walked side by side, kicking small rocks along the path.

  Ero was genuinely surprised by her actions—but also proud. She must've hit her head real hard when she tripped earlier.

  "Plus," Arsi added, flashing him a teasing grin, "in the future, we can brag to Duckling about how we saved his life."

  "Wow. You’ve only been an older sibling for a day, and you’re already getting the hang of things," Ero said, his voice full of mock admiration. He was, in truth, actually impressed.

  "Heh. I know you do it too," she said, giving him a knowing look.

  The playful conversation faded into comfortable silence as they continued through the forest. The towering trees that had surrounded them earlier grew sparse, their dense canopy thinning enough for larger patches of golden sunlight to spill onto the dirt path beneath their feet. The chirping of birds echoed from the branches above, blending with the rustling leaves as the wind whispered through the trees.

  Ahead, the village came into view, the the fields where farmers worked, tending to new crops and livestock filling a large portion of the glade. A few Uranen, their massive leathery forms grazing nearby, shifted lazily in the warm afternoon sun.

  Ero didn’t wait.

  The second he saw it, he dropped his gear, his heartbeat quickening. He flashed Arsi a grin. Then bolted across the fields, weaving past farmers and dodging the slow-moving Uranen.

  The voices of villagers called after him, asking what was wrong, but he didn’t stop.

  His only focus was getting to Tara.

  //////////////////////////////////////////////////

  Arsi watched Ero sprint through the fields, his figure growing smaller as she bent down to pick up the bundle of gear.

  "Why do I do this to myself?" she muttered. Not quite bitter, but not exactly happy about it either.

  She tried to ignore how heavy everything felt by focusing on her surroundings instead.

  Her gaze wandered past the homes in the glade, up toward the towering stone walls of the mountain. The ravine carved into the rock looked like a giant crack, and inside it, people had built their houses straight into the cliffs. It was strange to think that some of them actually lived in the mountain.

  "?" she wondered, squinting as she tried to get a better look.

  From where she stood, she could see people hanging their clothes out to dry, the bright fabrics catching the wind like colorful banners.

  Some worked on their fences, hammering wood into place or patching up stone ledges, making sure everything held together. Others leaned over the edges, reattaching ladders that had been blown away by last night’s strong winds.

  She knew it was a town, but it was hard to see much of it from here. Too many houses crowded the view, and then there was the gate—a massive, heavy barricade that blocked the entrance to the ravine. Only the homes built higher up peeked above its walls.

  That gate was never open for people like her. It only moved for soldiers coming out or for the rare merchant group passing through. Because of this, she had only ever been inside once in her entire life, and that was before the war had started.

  She barely remembered it. Just that it was loudVoices had overlapped and even the smallest footstep echoed. The sounds bounced endlessly between the stone walls, making everything feel restless and cramped.

  Standing here now, looking at it from far away, it felt like another world.

  "," she thought, sinking down onto the path to catch her breath. "There’d be no trees."

  She had barely taken a moment to rest before an unwelcome voice called out.

  "Hey, leaf brain!"

  Arsi flinched, immediately looking behind her. Of course they showed up now, when Ero was gone.

  "What?" she snapped, standing up and glaring at the group of kids in front of her.

  "Where’d you learn to look at people like that?" the ugliest one of them sneered, stepping closer.

  Before she could answer, one of the grandpas working the field walked over, his hoe resting in his hand.

  "What’s going on here, kids?" he asked in a tone that meant knock it off.

  "Nothing, sir," they muttered, shooting her a glare like she had tattled on them.

  She hadn’t even done anything. They always bothered her for no reason.

  They seriously needed to go get a life, one that didn’t

  The grandpa walked away, and just as she thought it was over, one of the boys threw a small stone at her. She barely had time to react, raising her arm to block it.

  It didn’t hurt much. But that wasn’t the point.

  They ran off laughing, shoving each other like they had done something so clever.

  She really hated them.

  She clenched her fists for a moment, breathing in deeply, then letting the air out slowly. Like she was pushing all the bad feelings away with it.

  It worked, at least a little. She picked up the bundle of gear again and started walking toward the village. Even though she had lived here her whole life, the village always felt weirdafter something like that happened.

  It was still familiar the uneven paths winding between houses, the smell of baking bread and burning firewood drifting from kitchens, the old women sitting on porches, gossiping loudly about anything that breathed.

  But after something mean happened, everything seemed a little less warm.

  She passed by a group of younger children playing with a ball near a fence, their laughter bright and easy.

  Her grip tightened around the basket as she walked faster, passing the clusters of wooden homes and merchants selling things she didn’t care to look at. She just wanted to get back now.

  Back to Ero. Back to Duckling.