After taking a glance at the moon... Zolli's eyes swept across the silent sea of children, her gaze became desperate, searching, flickering like candlelight in a storm. Faces blurred in the silver wash of moonlight... some pale with fear, some hollow with numbness, others quietly weeping into their sleeves. But none of them were Yai Lu.
She stepped forward... only to feel a rough shove at her back.
"Stay here," the weathered man muttered, his voice like broken gravel. He released her grip and pushed her forward with one strong hand.
Zolli stumbled.
Her bare feet scraped harshly against the jagged edge of the cobblestone. The fall wasn't deep because her robe, but her knees still suffered a hit on the stone with a sharp sting, and a small smear of blood welled up from where her leg had grazed the edge, soaking her light red robe...
But Zolli didn't care about that, her mind was too focused on Yai Lu. Her brother. He wasn't here. He wasn't among the crowd.
She moved to rise, her palms pushing off the cold stone. But just before she could lift herself fully, a shadow stepped in front of her.. calm, steady..
A hand reached out.
Slender, ungloved fingers, a little calloused but warm. Zolli paused, blinking slowly, her emerald eyes following the arm upwards to meet a face.
A boy.
He looked to be about fifteen. His skin was lightly tanned beneath the pale moonlight, hair black as spilled ink, unkempt but not wild, hanging just above his eyes. And those eyes.. deep orange, like the final light before dusk gave in to night.
His expression didn't shift.
He wasn't smiling. He wasn't frowning. He wasn't cold or inviting. It was just… calm.
Still.
Zolli hesitated for half a breath, then placed her hand in his. The boy helped her up without a word, his grip firm but not harsh. And just like that, as soon as she was steady, he let go.
Their hands dropped to their sides like they had never touched.
Zolli glanced sideways at him briefly, but he was already looking forward again, lost in the silence like everyone else.
She turned back too, her fingers curling slightly at her sides as she tried to still the worry in her heart. Her eyes kept moving, scanning each face, each figure.. still no sign of Yai Lu.
More children were being brought in, one by one, two at a time, sometimes longer gaps between them. Zolli's emerald gaze shifted towards the wooden gate she'd been dragged through. Guards stood beside it.. silent sentries with arms crossed and backs straight, their faces hidden beneath shadows and conical straw hats, the brims dipped low like they had no interest in the children at all.
Zolli's breathing slowed. The cobblestone ground beneath her was uneven but dry. The space they stood in was enclosed by stone walls that rose high and jagged, as if carved from a cliff rather than built. There was no roof.. only the sky stretched above them, wide and indifferent, with the moon watching everything from its perch.
Its silver light poured down on them, turning the children's hair into rivers of white and shadow, glinting off their worn clothes and dirty skin.
Zolli's thoughts drifted, but were pulled back by a voice beside her... soft, patient.
"…You're looking for someone?"
She turned slightly. It was him again, the boy.
His voice matched his expression. Calm. Not warm, not curious. Just… steady.
She hesitated for a second before giving a small nod.
"Yes," she said quietly. "I'm looking for my younger brother. He's not here yet. He's small. I thought maybe... maybe he'd been brought along with me, but…"
Her voice trailed off. The boy didn't say anything right away. He just looked forward again, his arms still at his sides.
Then he said, with the same calm tone, "Just watch a while."
Zolli didn't understand what he meant. But there was something about his voice that didn't invite questions. Not unkind, just... final. A simple truth spoken out loud.
So she did.
She watched.
She counted.
Every time the wooden gate creaked open, her breath caught. Every time a small figure stepped through, she looked for Yai Lu's soft features, his curious eyes, his uneven gait. But none of them were him.
Forty-six children. That's how many she counted so far.
She didn't know if the number meant anything, but counting kept her thoughts in order. It helped her feel less helpless.
Some came alone. Some were carried. Some walked like they were already used to this kind of silence. Every ten… sometimes thirty minutes, the gates would open again. A quiet rhythm of despair.
Then, beside her, the boy spoke once more. His voice barely above a whisper, yet clearly heard in the still air.
"Just be patient. He'll be around soon."
There was a pause, and then his voice shifted.. not in tone, but in intent.
"What can I call you?" he asked.
Zolli blinked. At first, the words didn't register. They circled in her mind for a second before falling into place.
She looked at him again, this time more directly before finally opening her mouth..
"…You can call me Zolli," she said slowly, brushing a strand of dark hair... streaked with that single patch of silver from her face. "Xu Zolli Bing is my full name."
Then, almost without thinking, she added softly, "What's yours?"
The boy didn't answer immediately. He stared ahead, his deep orange eyes reflecting the pale moonlight.
"…Vadd," he said at last.
"Vadd…" Zolli whispered, testing the name gently on her tongue. She gave a faint nod, her voice soft as a falling leaf. "That's a nice name." Her words hung for a moment, before she drew in a quiet breath, her green eyes still scanning the crowd. Then she turned slightly toward Vadd... the boy beside her. "If I may ask… how long have you been here? I mean, how long since they brought you to this place?"
Vadd didn't answer immediately. He shifted his weight, eyes gazing forward into the cobblestone clearing with the same quiet depth as before. A breeze stirred, brushing past his dark hair, but his face remained unreadable.. still, like a lake untouched.
"I was the fifth person to be brought here," he said, finally.
Zolli nodded slowly. She didn't ask more. Not because she wasn't curious, but because something in the way he spoke.. measured, intentional, like each word was chosen carefully, made her want to respect the silence between them.
Time passed.
Hours slipped by like melting candlewax. The moon drifted higher into the ink-black sky, its pale light spreading wider over the open cobblestone ground where nearly fifty children stood huddled together. They stood under nothing but that moon.. no roof above, no walls but the wooden gate they were dragged through. The air had grown colder, but Zolli barely noticed it. Her eyes had not stopped searching.
She stood beside Vadd in the crowd, her green eyes unwavering. Though the scrape on her leg still stung faintly from earlier, she had long since stopped feeling it. Her only thought.. her only focus was to find and try her best to protect her junior brother.... Yai Lu.
Clunk!
The wooden gate creaked open again. Heavy boots stepped through.
One of the men reentered the cobblestone yard, his rough voice like a slap across the silence. "Get in."
A small figure stepped through behind him.
Zolli's heart lurched.
The boy looked like he would shatter at any moment. His thin arms trembled slightly as he walked with his head low, black hair falling over his face. His movements were stiff, unsure. He didn't even raise his head at first.. until a soft whisper reached his ears.
"Yai Lu…"
His eyes widened.
He stopped.
Slowly.. almost like he feared it was a dream, he lifted his head and turned toward the voice. His breath hitched. His eyes.. dark brown and shining with sudden emotion, locked with a familiar pair of dazzling emerald green.
Zolli.
His elder sister.
A light bloomed across his tired face as his legs broke into a small run. Zolli stepped forward slightly at the same time, arms already open. They met in the crowd of children, her arms folding around his small frame like a protective shell.
He clung to her tightly, his face buried against her chest. His shoulders shook with silent sobs. She felt the tears soaking into her robe.. she couldn't help but let out a calm chuckle as she patted his back softly, her chin resting gently on the top of his head.
"It's alright… it's alright," she whispered, voice trembling with quiet relief. "You're here now. With me."
Her arms tightened around him just a little more. She didn't care about anything else in that moment. Her brother was here. He was safe. That was enough. That was all she needed to stay calm, to stay grounded.
But then…
The air shifted...