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Malkin's lifeless hands dangled from side to side, he had fallen asleep on his brother's shoulder and had no clue about the state he was in.

Quiv however, continued to push ahead, till his legs could no longer carry him, and he stopped to rest. There was no ounce of life around the area, all the villagers had retreated past the mountain, to neighbouring villages for help.

The image of his parents flashed before his eyes, and a sudden string of realisation hit him. He covered his mouth with both hands, refusing to make a sound.

"Mmhm..." Malkin winced in his sleep, employing his little hands to warm him up from the cold breeze that tickled his arms and legs.

Quiv laid him beside a tree and sat on an opposite rock, keeping watch over his brother whilst he slept. He picked up a stick to defend them if any other bandit were to approach them.

His mind drifted to the pouch his father had slipped into his sachel right before they parted. His greedy fingers dug into the leather bag and pulled out the small silver pouch.

"This is six frickin silver coins!" It was not his intention to yell, but the amount of money certainly took him by storm. His total amount of savings over the past six years, was a silver coin and thirty copper coins.

"Tch." He hissed under his breath, clutching tightly unto the pouch with his pale fingers. Quiv felt miserable at the knowledge that his parents had been making various sacrifices all for him.

"It isn't safe here, we have to find shelter." Quiv voiced out his thoughts, shoving the pouch back into his bag. He placed his hands behind his ears, to listen for any threatening movement nearby.

'Good, nothing but night creatures...' Quiv observed, wearing a relieved expression on his face. He crouched down to pick up his defense stick, only to hear the sound of multiple footsteps headed in their direction.

"Shit." He cursed frozen in fear, as the uncalculated footsteps became louder with each moment. Quiv made a move towards his brother, carelessly slinging him over his shoulder to make a swift retreat.

The sleeping child slowly woke up from his shock induced slumber, only to discover he was moving at a moderate speed through thick and clustered trees.

"Quiv?" His brother asked in a drowsy state, using the back of his palm to remove the spec from his eyes.

"Where are we?" Malkin could see that his brother was the one responsible for him moving without having to run. But why they were running and most especially who they were running from remained a mystery.

"Where's mom?"

His questions fell on deaf ears, as all his older brother could think of, was running away from whomever was running after him.

'If I can just keep this up till daybreak or at least till we reach a village closeby...' his string of thought was disrupted by a strong pull on his left ankle. One that sent both Quiv and Malkin flying to the snow, tumbling around till they landed against a nearby tree.

Malkin didn't feel any pain, because his brother wrapped his weak arms around him, caging him in a tight bear hug.

"You okay?" Quiv whispered into his ears, forgetting that he was the one whose back landed hard against a tree.

His brother nodded, unsure if asking Quiv for an explanation would be ideal in their situation. Malkin had never known his brother to be interested in anything athletic, hence his shock when he woke up to see his brother running.

"Who are you?" Quiv asked, rising to his feet, nabbing a little twig from the side of the tree, recklessly brandishing it at the figure that marched towards them.

At first, he couldn't make out if what chased them was human, though his silhouette appeared to be that of a man's. Strands and locks of his hair came alive and appeared to look like multiple snakes on his head.

"And what do you want with us!" He placed his frightened brother behind him, and stepped forward, acting tough and unafraid.

The figure marched closer to them, kicking twigs and stones in his path, swaying his hips every which way, till the distance between them was gapped.

The moonlight shone on his greyish silver locks of hair that had turned into multiple snakes on his head. His green reptilian eyes met with Quiv's petrified gaze, which caused a smile to play on his lips.

"Found you." The dark skinned man exclaimed, looking behind Quivier to see just what he was hiding.

It took Quiv a second to recall where he had seen this man before, the stick dropped from his grip unto the unforgiving dirt. The youngster relaxed his shoulders, glad that it was only the Naga he had met earlier that day.

"Your legs run faster than they're given credit for." The Naga said to him, his strands of hair slowly reverted back into silky locks of hair, sheltering his green eyes from others.

"Yeah, that's because I thought you were a bandit." He replied him, folding his arms across his chest. His eyes noticed how the Naga's scales glistened under the moonlight, drawing much attention to him.

Malkin tugged on his brother's shirt, reminding him of his presence. Quiv looked down at his brother, and noticed how red his nose and ears were.

His ears picked up on the close sound of footsteps approaching, he made a motion to pick up his stick, then remembered there was an adult Naga in their party. He relaxed again and backed away, giving his customer the space he needed to defend.

Little did he expect to see a bunch of children from his village, marching towards them in a straight line, holding hands.

Quiv recognised the red haired girl a year older than his brother, Eira, a half elf half human girl. Someone he had left behind at the village cemetery to be stampeded on by the desperate adults, who cared only for their life.

"Come on, if we start the journey now, we'll make it to my cave in no time." His customer said, lying through his teeth, trying to raise the spirits of the children who were cold, tired and hungry.

"I think he needs it's warmth the most." The Naga pointed out, gesturing at Malkin, who was on the verge of losing consciousness any second due to the cold.

Quiv who couldn't have asked for a better opportunity, happily agreed to join them, certain that if any danger arose, his strong customer would take care of it.

"Yeah." He answered, crouching down to carry his tired brother on his back, balancing him perfectly.

**********

The children were reluctant at first to step into a cave without their parent's consent, especially one that seemed so dark and scary.

Quiv recognised their fear, and pulled out a green crystal from his sachel, then took the first step inside, pointing the crystal at the darkness. The glow coming from the rock excited the children, that they ran into the cave, sticking close to Quiv like glue.

It didn't take long for the children to encounter more glowing crystals growing on the walls of the cave. Their curious fingers plucked as many as they could, fascinated by how shiny they looked.

"They don't come in contact with these kinds of things?" The Naga asked Quiv, who was now lagging behind from the group. Malkin was still resting on his back, sneezing at intervals.

"Our village barely has traces of Mana, so shinning crystals is a big deal for them." Quiv's mood dampened when he spoke of his village. His mind flashed to his parents, whom he had no idea of their current state.

"I went after you to give you the money you left behind and saw it all." He took a pause and diverted his glowing eyes to the children.

"You saw me act like a coward and leave them behind." Quiv spat out referring to the children, averting his gaze from his companion to the ground beneath him.

"It's not your fault, after your parents sacrificed their lives, it would be disrespectful to lay it to waste."

Quiv didn't miss what his customer told him about his parents, though he desperately wished that was not the case. Nothing had prepared him for losing both parents in one night.

"Thank you, for saving us, I'm in your debt." He parted his lips to say, meaning every word he said.