The ruins lay silent in the morning light, the ashes of yesterday's fire still faintly warm. The girl stood at the edge of the broken square, her hands brushing against the hilts of her daggers. Her voice, when it came, was quiet but firm.
"If I am to leave," she said, not looking at the brothers, "then the beasts must be dealt with. All of them. Especially their king. Only then can I leave my parents' graves in peace."
Nilo's grin spread wide, his teeth flashing like a wolf's. "Finally! I was hoping you'd say that." He bounced on his heels, fists pumping. "Beast meat gave me more strength than any bug stew ever did. Let's get the rest of 'em and carve our names into legend!"
Kanan, leaning on his stick, tilted his head toward her. His pale eyes, once clouded, caught a flicker of light. The meal from the night before had done something, there was a sharpness to his gaze that hadn't been there in days. He nodded slowly. "If this is what it takes, then we'll see it through." He tapped the ground with his stick, testing its weight. "I'll fight too."
The girl looked at them both. Nilo practically vibrating with excitement, Kanan steady and stubborn and for the first time in a long while, she allowed herself a small, true smile. "Then let's hunt."
The forest rose around them, dense and tangled, alive with whispers. Birds scattered at the sound of their approach, and the shadows thickened with every step. The air grew heavy, the scent of musk and blood mingling, signs of the beasts' lair.
When they broke into the clearing, the ground shook. The king of the beasts stood there, towering, its mane bristling like fire, its claws carving deep furrows in the earth. Around it lingered the last of its pack, hulking shapes with fangs bared, eyes burning with hunger.
Nilo roared before the king could, charging straight into the fray with reckless glee. He leapt, fists hammering into the nearest beast's snout, sending it sprawling with a yelp. "Ha! You taste that? That's called knuckle sandwich!"
The girl was a streak of silver beside him, her daggers flashing in arcs of light. She moved with precision, ducking under a swipe, slicing through tendons, and finishing with a clean strike to the throat. Her blades sang with each cut, each movement a promise to her fallen parents.
Kanan stepped forward last, gripping his stick. One of the beasts lunged at him, its jaws wide, but he pivoted with surprising speed, jamming the stick into its mouth and wrenching it sideways. The crack of bone echoed as the beast crumpled, stunned. Kanan exhaled slowly. "Still works."
The king roared then, a sound that split the clearing, rattling bone and spirit alike. The air seemed to shiver. Nilo's eyes went wide with exhilaration. "That's more like it!" He sprinted forward, ducking beneath a claw that tore through a tree trunk, then launched himself at the beast's side. His fists pounded like war drums against its ribs, each strike fueled by meat-fed strength and raw determination.
The girl darted in beside him, cutting through the beast's flank, her blades finding flesh again and again. The king twisted with a furious howl, its tail whipping around. Only to be intercepted by Kanan's stick. With a sharp crack, he slammed the tail aside, eyes narrowing against the beast's glare.
"Focus," Kanan muttered, his voice steady despite the chaos. "Together."
The three moved as if bound by an unspoken rhythm. Nilo battering with raw power, Kanan striking sharp and precise with his stick, the girl weaving through them like a shadow with her daggers. The beast lashed and roared, but each attack was met with fire, with resolve, with a storm of fists and steel and wood.
At last, the girl slipped beneath its guard, sliding in close. Her daggers crossed, driving up under its jaw with a cry that tore from her soul. The king convulsed, staggered, and then collapsed with a thunderous crash, shaking the clearing.
For a moment, only silence. Then Nilo flopped onto his back in the dirt, laughing breathlessly. "By the gods… did you see me? I punched a king! A real king!"
Kanan leaned on his stick, sweat dripping down his brow, but his lips curled faintly. "You nearly got eaten."
The girl stood over the beast's corpse, her shoulders heaving, eyes blazing. For the first time, the ruins of her past did not chain her. She looked at the brothers, and though she said nothing, something fierce and unyielding burned in her chest.
The fire crackled low in the ruins, its glow dancing over their faces. The night was cold, but none of them felt it. The scent of charred beast still lingered in the air, smoky and rich, and the memory of that first bite clung to their tongues like a blessing.
Nilo lay flat on his back, patting his stomach with exaggerated satisfaction. "That meat… gods above, I swear it was the best thing I've ever eaten. Better than my spit. Better than bugs . Better than - " he paused dramatically, eyes wide. "-better than mother's mystery stew!"
Kanan laughed quietly, shaking his head. "That's not a high bar, brother. Her stew once had rocks in it."
"Seasoning!" Nilo shot back, grinning. "She said it was seasoning!"
Even the girl laughed, though softly, her gaze dipping toward the flames. She hadn't laughed like that in years, not since before the beasts came.
Her smile faded, but only slightly. "It was… different," she admitted, her voice low. "When we ate tonight… it almost felt like… family again."
The boys fell silent. Kanan looked at her, really looked at her, and for a moment the firelight caught in his eyes, clearer than they had been before. "Then let's make it so," he said simply.
Nilo sat up, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah! A promise! From now on, no matter how hard the road, no matter how hungry we get, we'll share every bite. Together. Like family."
The girl's lips parted. A promise? After everything she'd lost, after standing in the ruins of her home with nothing but graves behind her. Could such a thing still exist?
Nilo thrust out his pinky finger, waggling it at her. "C'mon. You gotta seal it proper. Pinky promise!"
She blinked, not understanding. Kanan sighed but leaned forward, hooking his own pinky around Nilo's. "Don't ask. He's been doing this since he was small."
"It's unbreakable!" Nilo declared. "Stronger than stone. Stronger than… beast meat! If you break it, your hair'll fall out and you'll smell like poop for the rest of your life."
That drew a small laugh from her. Slowly, hesitantly, she extended her finger and hooked it around his. The fire popped, as if sealing the vow itself.
Nilo's grin softened into something brighter, more innocent. "Good. Then it's settled. You're our sister now."
The girl froze. Sister. The word slipped into her heart like sunlight through a crack in stone. She had forgotten what it felt like to belong, to be called something other than survivor.
For a moment, she couldn't speak. But then, with a faint smile tugging at her lips, she whispered, "Alright then. Brother."
The fire roared gently, as though pleased. And in that quiet, with their bellies full and their hearts just a little less hollow, the three of them became something new.
Not just wanderers.Not just survivors.
But a family, born of hunger, fire, and promise.
[To Be Continued...]