► A Little Sister ◄
Vox and Shoto had to slow down quite a lot, since they had to adjust their pace to their new little companions. So, they told Celine a few stories about their past adventures. Through this, Vox and Shoto also learned something about each other, since it was the first time they heard about those stories. Naturally, they tried to sugarcoat them a little. Like the moments where they killed their opponents or the scenes where there was a lot of blood and the likes. A child shouldn't be hearing about such violent stories just yet. And, it was a nice change for both of them.
'Could you tell us how old you are, Celine?' Shoto wondered. 'I will be ten next month' she answered. Both men were a little surprised, since she didn't look older than eight. 'How did you live until now? Did you have a home? Were you able to eat enough?' Shoto worried. Celine's gaze dropped while remembering her life until then. 'We didn't have a home. We lived in some place called slum and we didn't have much to eat. When we were lucky, we could eat a loaf of bread in two days. I couldn't even help mum when she got sick. Even the herbs I picked didn't make her feel better' she sniffled.
'I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you remember your past. Everything will be better now. I can't bring your mum back, but I can be your big brother, if you want' Shoto smiled. 'Really?! I always wanted a brother' she beamed with joy. 'Two brothers' Vox added and winked. 'Yay. Thank you' she sang while jumping up and down with snowball in her arms. The two men looked at each other with grins on their faces. Suddenly, Shoto remembered what happened when they crossed the river before and started blushing. He averted his gaze and turned back to Celine. 'S-Speaking of food. How about we eat something. There should still be enough food for all of us. If not, we can always go hunting' Shoto suggested. 'Yes please' Celine smiled.
He rummaged in his bag to get out some bread and dried meat. 'For now, it will only be dried meat with bread, but when we get back home, we will make you something much better' he promised. 'This meat is already better than what I had until now. I'm so happy' she proclaimed. Once again the two men's hearts melted and ached at the same time. How could someone be so cute and yet so pitiful? 'The first thing we are going to give you, is a nice and warm bath. For snowball too, obviously' Vox stated. 'Yeah. We could wash your hair now, since we have magic stones. But, I think it's too risky, since we could still be followed' Shoto agreed. 'What are magic stones?' Celine wondered. 'You can imagine them like beautiful looking stones or rather crystals. They exist in multiple colors depending on their elements' Shoto explained. 'Does each color have other powers?' she asked. 'Yes. You are right. For example: a blue stone has the element of water and you can use it to get fresh water and a red one is a little more versatile. You can either start a fire with it or you can just use it to warm you up a little' Shoto continued. 'Then, is a fire stone dangerous?' Celine worried. 'Well. It depends on the concentration of magic energy in the stone. Normally, it has a set capacity of magic energy stored inside of it. When the energy runs out, the stone will become transparent. But, remember: A small fire can be the cause of a wildfire. So, to answer your question. Yes, it can become dangerous, if the user isn't careful. And, since you are still too young, we won't give you a fire stone just yet' Shoto explained. 'Alright. I'm fine with that' the little girl chimed. 'And, if bad people come to know about us having magic stones, they might want to hurt us' Shoto added. 'Oh no. Then, I will keep it a secret. Bad people are dangerous' she said. 'That's right. You are very smart, Celine' Shoto praised. 'Hihi' she laughed proudly. 'How do you know so much about magic stones, Shoto?' Vox asked. 'Well, I found a book about it. It was in the possession of one of my targets' he answered with a bitter face. Vox understood, that he didn't want to go more into detail. 'Oh, ok. Got it' he said.
After eating, the three started setting up their camp, since the sun was already setting. They decided, to take their time as it was dangerous to continue at night, especially with a child in their group. Vox declared that he would be the first to keep night watch. 'We only have two sleeping bags so you can have mine. I'll be keeping watch anyway' Vox declared. 'But, it will be cold at night. Celine can sleep with me in my bag' Shoto disagreed. 'But, I'm dirty...' she protested. 'That doesn't matter. We are in the wild anyway, so we are bound to get dirty' Shoto countered. 'That's a good idea. You can sleep in my bag when Shoto switches with me. This way, no one will be cold' Vox agreed. 'O-Ok. But, don't complain afterwards' she pouted, which caused the two men to start chuckling. 'We won't' Shoto assured. So, she hopped into his sleeping bag and nestled herself into his warmth. 'Nighty' she mumbled and fell asleep instantly. 'Good night' Shoto smiled and also closed his eyes while slowly drifting away. 'Good night' Vox whispered while observing his cute companions. They look like real siblings. I think, she will help him in overcoming his past. Also, aren't they way too adorable? It's a crime, really. Vox thought. As he saw how Celine used snowball like a cushion he chuckled slightly. Looks comfortable.
A few hours went by as Vox kept watch. He spent half of the time doing some light exercises and sometimes he took some time watching Shoto's sleeping face. He was about to start his next exercise as he suddenly heard Shoto groaning. Does he have a nightmare? He thought and went over to check up on him.While approaching him it became clear that he was indeed dreaming. Thankfully, Celine was still fast asleep. '...sorry' Shoto mumbled with a painful expression plastering his face. Vox decided to wake him up because he couldn't stand the sight of him being in pain. 'Hey, Shoto, wake up' he whispered while shaking him awake. 'Ngh. What?' Shoto's eyes blinked open as he slowly got used to the light of the camp fire. 'You were having a nightmare. Are you alright?' Vox asked concerned. 'I- Yeah. I'm fine. It's nothing' Shoto avoided his gaze. 'Let me guess. You dreamed about your past?' Vox speculated. 'Wha- How did you know?' the other asked confused. 'Well, you were apologizing about something. So, it must have been about something that happened before and you avoided me just now, so I thought, it was about something you did in the past' the demon explained. 'Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. To be honest, I dreamed about a demon child that I...' Shoto wasn't able to finish his sentence as regret took control of him. 'Hey. We talked about this. It's ok. You changed and you are doing the best you can, alright?' Vox tried to cheer him up. 'I know. It's just... really difficult with all this guilt' Shoto sighed. 'Then try to lean on me in times where you feel like you are feeling now' Vox offered. 'Ok. Thank you, Vox. I'll try' Shoto nodded with a brave smile'
They sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Shoto decided to get up and start his night watch duties. 'It's fine if you sleep a bit more, you know?' Vox said. 'Nah. I'm awake now anyway. You should also get some sleep. The sleeping bag is still warm and Celine doesn't seem to wake up that easily' Shoto declined. 'Or, we could continue what we were doing before we got interrupted' Vox grinned. Shoto instantly blushed as he remembered that moment. He tried so hard to forget about it, but Vox seemed to have other thoughts. 'I-I don't know what you are talking about...' Shoto avoided. 'Oh sure, you don't. Well, it's ok. We don't know if the little ones will wake up, so I'll let you off the hook this time' Vox chuckled. The other didn't know what to say to that, so he just kept quiet and switched with Vox, his face still as red as a tomato.
Vox lay down next to Celine and gave Shoto another quick glance, before drifting into sleep. Shoto nearly forgot about his nightmare as he was too occupied thinking of what could have happened, if he had said yes to him.