"Are you ready, Lune?" Kael asked as he went towards the exit of their tent.
"I am," she nodded, turning on her heels towards him, "Let's go enjoy the water."
And with that, they were out of the tent, towards the pool a hundred feet away from them.
"We are going," Kael said to Celine and Miyanna, who stood at the entrance of their tent.
"Enjoy yourselves," Celine waved them off, "We will be nearby, so do not worry about anything."
Kael and Lune nodded as they kept walking.
And Kael's thoughts began running inside his mind, too, with each step he took.
I wish I could read that book already, but we are stuck in here for a whole month.
Ugh…
But at least it makes sense why.
I'm weak. Lune is weak. We are weak.
We even got scolded for preparing a place for us to sleep.
The only thing we might have been good at, and even there we failed.
But that too makes sense why it happened.
It's so frustrating… I wish I could be grown-up already like Blanc is.
If I were, I would have protected and fought together with the rest.
And we might have won. I'm certain of that.
But because we are still small, Blanc had to leave and take us away from the battle, and care for us as if we were his children.
… That too makes sense why it happened the way it did.
Blanc was chosen by the rest of the family because he was wounded and because he always looked out for us.
And now, even if he wanted to fight with Father and the rest, he is caught here with us.
Foraging for us, killing for us, crying for us, getting angry for us, all Blanc does is, in a way, for us.
I know he would love to, if he could, stay somewhere with Celine and Miyanna, offer them a good life, and be happy together.
I see that in his eyes.
I also see that he suffers thinking about the rest of the family and what he could do to get them back safely, or what sacrifices are required from him.
I'm sure he would be glad to offer his life for that.
But I do not want that from him.
Celine is pregnant, and at the rate they are going, Miyanna might at some point get pregnant too.
He deserves a good life.
For that, I need to get stronger. And as fast as possible.
"The water looks clean," Lune said, before placing her foot slightly inside the water.
"How is the water?" Kael asked.
"It's cold, very cold. Perfect,' Lune grinned with joy, before, as if she were made of springs, she jumped straight into the pool, sending the cold water everywhere, including Kael, who did not expect the water to truly be that cold.
"Pfuu," Kael exhaled, the shock of the cold water sending him jumping back slightly while screaming, "I will kill you, Lune!"
"Hehe," Lune giggled, as she played around in the water, "Come on in and stop complaining."
Kael sighed, but the oppressive heat around him made him realize that the temperature of the water was perhaps not that bad.
So, slowly, in small steps, he went in, his feet in shock due to the coldness and his upper body crying because of the heat.
"If you do it like that, it will be hard to adjust," Lune said, as she approached, a wide grin on her lips, "Just go in like this."
Her words were followed by a swift jump straight onto Kael's side that made him lose his footing and go headfirst into the pool.
Though shallow, the water was still half their body, meaning there was no danger to Lune's playfulness.
Not in the literal sense, that is… for when Kael returned to the surface, any resemblance to a smile was long gone, as he grabbed Lune and submerged her.
But Lune did not falter, as, while being held under the water by Kael, she stretched her hands just enough to grab Kael's feet and start tickling him, until Kael let go and fell back into the water.
"Haha, fool," Lune laughed, emerging back up.
"You are a child," Kael said, gasping for air.
"In case you forgot, Kael, we are twins. So what does that make you, I wonder?" Lune taunted.
"You…" Kael muttered, taking a step towards her.
But Lune was quicker, as she dove into the water, and in a moment, while Kael turned, trying to locate her, she was already behind him, attaching herself to his back and, with a gasp of air, pulled them both into the water.
Minutes later, after both grew tired of this playfighting of theirs, they found themselves just sitting there, enjoying the water's coldness and the waterfall spraying water on their faces.
Which made Kael return to his thoughts, as question after question emerged from the play-fighting he had with his twin sister.
Lune is stronger than I, and we have the same amount of Raw Vita…
Why is that?
Am I not made to be a warrior?
Or am I really that weak?
But is that surprising after all?
I've spent more time reading books than training.
When Mother Mera asked me what I would like to do when I grew up, all I could think of was joining the Archivum Civitas or an Academy and becoming a scholar.
Yet now, I am forced to be a warrior.
No… I want to be one.
To protect my family.
I do not want Blanc to know what I want.
He will try to make it a reality.
And another thing for him to think about might just make him go mad.
Never mind…
Such were the thoughts Kael drowned his mind with while watching the waterfall.
Who was there to blame him, to judge him?
Would Blanc really not support his choices if he knew about them?
None could say, since Blanc did not know Kael's thoughts.
Only Kael's own thoughts blamed and judged him.
His twin sister did not, and neither were the two women watching from a distance as they kept them safe.
Only himself.