It had been a while since the funeral, and for the most part, things had quietly returned to normal, or at least that was how it outwardly seemed.

  As the old saying goes, ‘life must go on,’ and yet while the axe may have forgotten, the tree did not, and so too would many, neither.

  Many who’d in the past would have given Kolu nothing but a quick glance, tolerating his existence or ignoring it in its entirety, now silently glared, their hatred fueled by grief and sorrow.

  The most brazen would make a comment or two; however, at least it didn’t go any further.

  He hoped that, despite their anger, people could at least see he was just a child, incapable of hurting anyone, yet whether that was the case or not probably didn’t matter; now, in their eyes, Kolu was nothing more than a lightning rod for their anger.

  At the very least, Kenneth seemed to be a deterrent, as long as he still had Guest Right, nothing would probably happen.

  Though despite believing it, it didn’t stop him from feeling uneasy and paranoid, that at any moment when he wasn’t paying attention, someone would try something, and he’d find him, dead, or worse, not at all.

  Even part of him couldn’t trust Split to the same degree he once had, at times looking over his shoulder, paranoidly wondering if she suspected, believed, or knew he was responsible for her daughter's death.

  Now more than ever, Kenneth felt trapped in a dank, dark hole; however, at least there was a little light in this darkness.

  “Papa, why not play?” Nokstella questioned in a sad tone.

  “Nokstella, right now, isn’t the best time to be playing,” Kenneth tried to explain.

  “But Papa Nokko and Noktoto say game, play in little while,” she countered with puppydog eyes that, despite his guiltful nature, did warm him right up inside. “No wound here, so why not play?”

  Well, she wasn’t wrong about that. Currently, there were no patients around, so all of them were just sitting around until class began.

  “Please Papa…”

  Against his better judgment. “Okay, fine, Nokstella, we can go, and you can play with your friends.”

  “Thank Papa,” Nokstella excitedly hissed with glee as she hugged his leg and ran off, too excited with all the boredom as of late.

  “That was weak of you,” Split commented.

  “Trust me, I know.”

  A short little walk later, and Kenneth was right on the sidelines sitting with Split and Kolu by his side.

  The game was already in progress, but it didn’t seem like anyone minded Nokstella just jumping in. In all fairness, she played the game properly, running around outside the ring right onto the starting line, and then right into the fray.

  ‘They are having fun. Kids, always so easy to be happy, like life outside the games, doesn’t matter.’

  “They aren't learning anything,” Split commented.

  He glanced at her; her eyes were laser-focused on all of the kids, watching every detail, and for once, not him. “You know if you need some rest or to talk with Noksafgro, you just say the word.”

  “Why do you never listen to me?” she sighed.

  “Because if I had done that from the start, you would be nothing but bones right now, resting peacefully out there in the swamp,” Kenneth replied in a slumped-over posture, unable to look at anything other than his feet.

  “You're not a good follower of Lorizo.”

  “Probably not. But the sad thing is, I’m the closest thing to a friend you got.”

  “I have Noksafgro.”

  “He’s not a friend, he’s family. Admittedly, the two things aren't mutually exclusive…“ While he talked, her scales grew a little lighter, causing him to stop, from shame. “Sorry, I… I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Papa, Papa!” Nokstella excitedly came running. “Kolu, play?”

  “… Nokstella, I don’t know if now’s the right time for that,” Kenneth tiredly told her. “I don’t think they or anyone else want him--”

  “But, papa game not fun, Kolu make fun, others want fun!” She argued back.

  Kenneth raised his head, the group of children, most looking bored, with a few leaving, and then he looked back down at Nokstella, her puppy dog eyes on full display, sighing. “…Okay, but only if Kolu wants to, and--”

  “Thank Papa,” with excitement, she grabbed Kolu by the arm and dragged him along.

  “And if there is anything, don’t hesitate to call!” Kenneth yelled the last part, unsure if either of them even heard it.

  “Why apologize? It doesn’t change anything,” Split replied to his previous statement.

  For a moment, he wondered if he should even open his mouth.

  “… If you want to talk… I’m here.”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “It might not seem like it, but talking, processing grief is the road to recovery.”

  “Whether I want to or not doesn’t matter with you.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “If you want me to shut up, just say so, but I know what it’s like bottling everything up inside. I can’t say I know what you are going through, but I don’t want you ending up like me. I honestly think that’s the worst road you can go down.”

  “…What happened to you?”

  “…”

  “A lot of nothing…” he touched his mask, feeling a mixture of thankfulness and anger. ”…to everything,”

  “Do you have someone to be angry at?” she questioned observantly.

  It caught him a bit off guard. “Yes. Myself a good deal for the choice I made and... Hmph, it's funny… I said I didn’t know what you are going through, but that was a half lie. I know partly how you must feel.”

  “How so?”

  “You probably remember, but my family’s out of reach, and I might hope differently, but most likely, I won’t ever see them again, and more often than not, I’ve wanted to beat the living shit out of the person responsible for that.”

  “At least you know who. I don’t know. I don’t know which heretic, if they killed each other, if they are dead, or managed to escape after. Words are your methods, the hunt is mine. Only I can’t.”

  “I don’t suppose you know how long it will take the hunters to track the slaves down?” Kenneth asked hesitantly as his stomach grew colder, awaiting the answer.

  “No.”

  'At least here’s hoping they can get far enough away before--'

  “Yip!”

  In the blink of an eye, Kenneth’s head snapped up.

  He had been around Aki long enough to partly know most of the different sounds they made, yipping, in fear, even in slight happiness, but this, this was pain.

  It filled the air for a moment before being drowned out by a wave of hissing and grunting.

  The moment his eyes snapped on the scene, he could only see almost all of the children huddle together in one large circle, a couple staying back, but one, Nokstella, pulling at the other children of the group, only to be smacked to the ground by one of the older ones.

  With no hesitation of any kind, Kenneth rushed toward them, yelling, “Stop that right now!”

  Only a couple seemed to notice and actually backed up, but whether it was because he yelled at them or the fact that he was charging toward them didn’t really matter.

  As he made contact, he pushed each and every child in his way to the side as he made it toward the center.

  A couple changed their target and began punching him in the legs, one or two latching onto them with their mouth, a strong bite to be sure, despite their young age, but nothing that was truly painful or damaging.

  Yet they served only as a hindrance that would slow him down for only a second or two as he reached the center. Kolu’s cries and yips, those that hadn't been completely drowned out a moment before, were now silent.

  Plunging his hand down, he grabbed onto Kolu and ripped him up away from the crazed hooligans, holding him aloft as a couple even jumped up snapping at anything like piranhas, while he tried to make his way out, the kids who hadn't already given up or run away flocking around him.

  Now he had become the punching bag.

  Protecting Kolu was his priority, but keeping him out of harm's way didn’t leave him with much of a way to defend himself. He might have pushed a bunch of them aside without a second thought, but he wasn’t about to just start kicking kids randomly.

  Besides, a couple, even through the chaos, were crying, scales fluctuating between pale as could be and slightly darker.

  “RAHISSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!” With a deep bellowing roaring hiss, Split got all of the children's attention, or more accurately, their fear, as all of them ran for the hills and out of sight.

  “Thanks,” He said to Split, before putting Kolu down. He was conscious, a good sign, despite groaning, in pain, and bleeding a couple of places. “Kolu, can you say where it hurts?”

  “Everywhere,” He said in an angry growling tone with tears in his eyes.

  “Yes, but is there anywhere that hurts more than anything else?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Understood,”

  With haste, he did a quick examination of him. But in the middle of it, Nokstella approached from behind, asking in quite voice, “Papa, Kolu fine…?”

  “I’m checking now,” He replied, focused on the task at hand for the most part. “Nokstella, can you tell me what happened?”

  “Papa, we play, have fun, then they say, more fun Kolu, play too, then play, and all attack, I try stop, but not big,” She explained, sniffling, sounding shaken and on the verge of crying.

  “I see,” He replied, though he figured as much. The fear that Kolu had slashed or provoked someone was put to rest, along with the hope that it had just been a big misunderstanding. However, it was perfectly clear what this had been about and why it had happened.

  “What healing he needs, I get,” Nokstella offered.

  “No need, it looks and feels worse than it is, but regardless, let's just be on the safe side.” Kenneth picked him up and went straight to Nokset, who was lying on a table, the entire sand-covered floor a little zen garden with lines drawn in the sand reminiscent of waves.

  “Wow.”

  Despite the seriousness, Kenneth couldn’t help but be impressed.

  “I have to do something, while you leave me with nothing to do,” he explained, in a dull tone.

  “Then I guess you’ll be happy to get some work,” Kenneth walked into the room, almost feeling sorry for ruining his hard work.

  Turning to his side with his head propped up, Nokset lazily watched him and Kolu for a moment, “You do know what people will say if I heal the little furball, especially now?”

  “What the hell? Would you just heal him already?”

  “Already have. People already hate me; this won’t be much of a drop.”

  A bit caught off guard, Kenenth looked down to see his tail poking out from under the table, touching tips with Kolu’s.

  “Thanks. Didn’t know it could be done with anything but your hands.”

  “I can use my entire body, where it begins, is not where it only ends,” He explained. “While I’m at it, do you want me to heal Nokstella too?”

  ‘Nokstella…?’ The question had him bewildered for some reason, as if the idea or concept had been foreign all up until he looked down at her and noticed her snout was bleeding and dripping onto the sand.

  She looked unbothered by it, or more so, it was because her attention was utterly focused on Kolu.

  “Um… yes, please do.”

  A bit of magic later, and things were back to normal, except they weren't.

  What had happened was just a cruel reminder, the death of a hope, that things had both forever changed and stayed the same.

  From that point forward, the day was mostly quiet, none of them really saying anything, mostly keeping to themselves.

  Kenneth figured Split had nothing to add, and that Kolu just didn’t want to talk, and Nokstella wouldn’t push him, but as they got back to, well, their home now things were different.

  It wasn’t that late in the evening, but even so, Nokstella, without saying a word, found a decent spot in the sand, even adjusting it a little to make it more comfortable before she plopped down.

  A little concerned, Kenneth approached, “You okay there?”

  He reached out his hand to gently caress her arm, but she only moved away, “Fine, tired.”

  “I see, you weren't responsible, you know.”

  She didn’t reply, either having fallen asleep or pretending to.

  ‘Maybe a good night's sleep is what she needs,’ Kenneth thought, giving her some time and space as he looked over at Kolu, who was drawing in the sand. “What are you doing there?”

  “Nothing,” he replied.

  “Do you want to talk about what happened?” Kenneth calmly asked.

  “They are heretics. I was dumb for expecting anything else.”

  “… can I join you in drawing in the sand?”

  He shrugged, a half-hearted invitation, but one nonetheless, as they silently drew lines in the sand using it as a giant canvas, they could just erase as they pleased, working in silence.

  As the shared art show dragged on, eventually Kenneth noticed Nokstella moving in the sand, her maw snapping a little at the air, and in a hushed voice, he looked at Kolu, “I think she’s asleep.”

  He shrugged in response and kept drawing.

  It probably wasn’t the time and place, but… “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. I know you’ve had a rough day, and you're probably angry at me as much as those kids, but could you answer me?”

  “Ask what you will,” Kolu replied unbothered as he kept tracing his claw in the sand.

  “What happened when you were inside the bag?”

  Suddenly, Kolu stopped, his ears dropped, and hung low.

  “You mentioned something when you came back out, but I couldn’t really make sense of it--”

  “Black,” He interrupted. “It was all black.”