"Hiein…"
That name was mumbled out of the voice of a 9 year old boy, with fluffy brown hair and brown eyes.
Yet another 9 year old boy, with straight brown hair and brown eyes, turned over to see his brother, Kel.
"What is it?" Hiein asked, sitting down on the grass in the yard of the mansion they lived in. Kel walked over and sat down next to his brother, hugging a teddy bear.
"I'm scared…"
"Huh? Why?" Asked Hiein, looking up at the blue sky above, where clouds did not appear.
"When I think about the future, the more scared I am. I don't want to die."
"Huh? Is this cause of what happened to mom?"
Kel nodded his head. Hiein scoffed, extending his hand for the teddy bear. Kel was confused, but handed it to Hiein anyway.
Hiein balled up his fist, reeling his hand back, and punched the teddy bear right in the face. Kel's eyes widened, and he quickly took back the teddy bear.
"Hey! What was that for!?"
"That was to show you how badly I'll beat up anyone that messes with you. You're my little brother, and dad said I've gotta protect you."
"That doesn't mean you have to beat up Snuggles… and I'm not your little brother! We were only 5 minutes apart, mom said!"
"And? I was still born first, soooo…"
"Ugh."
Kel stood up, looking down at Hiein.
"Anyways, I don't want to die like mom, so I'm running away. Do you want to come with me?"
Hiein was surprised, taking a glance upwards and standing up, patting his butt to get any grass off.
"Did it really scare you that bad? C'mon, we're dragons, dad told us this kind of stuff was bound to happen."
"Yeah, I know. That's why," Kel paused, shifting his teddy bear to be hugged in his armpit. "I'm going to run away. Since we're dragons, we're more likely to survive in the human world than in the dragon world."
Hiein scratched his cheek with one finger, before shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I'll come with. When are we leaving?"
"At midnight, I guess," Kel began. "And we have to take a lot of money, or else we won't be able to buy stuff."
"And what happens if that money runs out?"
"Er… we steal even more money, maybe? Or do we get jobs?"
"It's your plan, genius," snorted Hiein, before the two went back to the inside of the mansion.
With their mother's recent passing at the hands of the Graves family, the house felt very different. It felt empty, and dull, like the color had been removed from the walls.
Their father went over to them, smiling slightly, though it did not reach his eyes.
"It's a beautiful day outside," said their father. "Shall we go swimming in the pool?"
The two brothers looked at each other, and Kel shook his head. "No," he said, "not right now. I'm tired."
His father seemed a bit hurt, but accepted that, nodding his head. "I understand. We're all tired, aren't we?"
The three agreed, before the brothers went up to their room and began to pack their things. They packed the teddy bear, Snuggles, as well as some food, like candy and snacks that didn't need refrigeration.
Their sister, Anastasia, waltzed into the room, holding a kitty plush, looking at the boys. "What're you doing?"
She was a good year or so younger than them, so she was often left out of things.
"Nunya," said Kel.
"What?"
"Nunya business!" He yelled playfully, to which Anastasia frowned, turning her head down before heading out of the room.
With that out of the way, they finished packing, and the rest of the day went by fairly normally. It was the weekend, so they had no need to worry about school.
Once the clock reached midnight, the two tired 9 year olds grabbed their bags, going downstairs and taking a bunch of their family's money, around 10 grand worth.
They snuck out of the house, and ran away from home.
…
Several days had passed. Overall, the two children, with their incredible speed, were able to get away far from the house, evading police and anyone who might be searching for them.
Currently, the kids found themselves in a public park, late at night. The lights were on, and they both sat down on a bench, their backpacks in their lap while Kel held Snuggles.
"My feet hurrrrrt," complained Kel, to which Hiein scoffed. "So do mine. It sucks that we can't fly yet, we'd be all the way in China if we could!"
"Maybe… This money's actually going by pretty slowly. Now that I've eaten all the snacks, my backpack's full enough to hold toilet paper for when I poop, and I can use the water bottles to pee in too. We've still got lots of money, but I kind of want McDonalds…"
"No," Hiein began to explain. "We can't buy McDonalds, all we can have is microwaveables for dinner and that's it. We're going to live out the rest of our life on this money, so we can't make stupid decisions."
"Ah, but I want McDonalds… okay, fine, no McDonalds."
"Anyways, I'm tired. I'm going to go sleep in the grass, where are you sleeping?"
"I guess I'll sleep in the grass too. I don't want someone to call the cops on us for sleeping on the bench again."
The boys went over to the grass, and laid down, as they used their backpacks for pillows, though Kel had Snuggles to cuddle with.
"Goodnight, Hiein."
"'Night, Kel."
…
Those days became months.
After a month of living on the streets, they noticed that their teeth needed to be brushed, or else they'd hurt. Not to mention, they'd smell bad if they didn't take showers.
So, the children became accustomed to breaking into houses, using their microwaves for meals and practicing hygiene by using the sinks.
That was, until one day.
…
"Hurry up…!" Whispered Kel. Hiein, who was busy brushing his teeth, told him to "whold on."
Once Hiein finished brushing his teeth, Kel began to do so. But as he did so, there were footsteps afoot, and an old man saw them both.
The lights were on, so it was quite obvious that they were children.
"Children…?" Asked the old man, muttering it to himself. This frightened both of the boys, who let out a shriek.
The boys both put their hands up to fight, though Kel was holding a toothbrush. This got a mix of concern and amusement from the old man, who chuckled.
"Hey, hey, easy now, easy," he began. "What's going on? Why are you two boys here?"
This question was unanswered for a few moments. Kel went back to brushing his teeth, meaning that Hiein had to be the one to answer.
"We're, uh, using your sink and microwave."
"Why?"
"We… we need to brush our teeth, and make our food…"
The old man took a small step forward, which made Hiein even more uneasy. The old man crouched, getting to the boy's eye level from a distance.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay, I don't want to fight. I just want to talk. Why do you need to use my sink? Where are your parents?" He asked, in a gentle voice, one that could only be spoken by an old man.
"We… ran away from home."
"Really now? Why's that?"
"We… we didn't want to die. It would be dangerous if we stuck around with that family, so we… we ran away."
The old man frowned. He slowly stood up, though it hurt his old joints a fair amount.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Hm. If you need to use my sink, or whatever, go right ahead. In fact, I wouldn't mind taking care of you, though I should ask my wife first before we do such things."
Hiein furrowed his brows, skeptical. However, Kel, sick of the constant running, seemed enthused about it. He finished brushing his teeth, and walked over to the old man.
"You'll take care of us…? Will you get us McDonalds?"
The old man seemed to think for a moment.
"Maybe, but it won't be every day, now."
"Ah, whatever. I really want McDonalds. C'mon Hiein, let's stay!"
Hiein was baffled by Kel's idiocy, but ultimately accepted, as he too was wanting McDonalds.
…
Those months became years.
The old man's wife, Anya, was a retired teacher. So while they didn't legally adopt them, the boys still received an education.
As for the old man, Jimmy, he took the boys out on trips occasionally. And at one point, he took them fishing.
Now 12 years old, the boys sat on the boat out in the river near their home. They cast their rods, and waited.
"Hey, grandpa," Kel began. "What do I do after I turn 18? You didn't legally adopt me, I'm still technically missing. What am I even going to do?"
"Ah," Jimmy said, fixing his hat, as the sun was getting in his eyes. "Well, you might have to go back to being on the run."
"Ugh, but that's so annoying. It sucks! C'mon, seriously, what can I do? Do you have any relatives?"
Jimmy shook his head, having had no kids of his own, as the couple, in their younger years, didn't want any kids. And by the time they thought it enjoyable to have one, they were too old to adopt.
"Hm. Maybe you could build a cabin in the woods? You can stay there with Hiein. Then, you won't be on the run. Though, you will have to steal food and whatnot. Plus, the plumbing would probably be unable to be set up."
"A cabin in the woods, huh? But I kind of want a little more, y'know? It sounds kind of boring."
"Don't underestimate such a life, Kel. A simple life is a good life. Money can buy things that make it easier to be happy, but money isn't the only factor. You need good health, and people who you can trust. Even if you just have a cabin, as long as you've got your brother, and you're eating right, you'll have a good life."
"Hm. I guess so."
…
The boys got to work near their 18th birthday. They began to build that log cabin they imagined, using tools provided by their guardians.
It took them 6 months, and after it was all said and done, they rested inside of that cabin, which was somewhat well furnished. They had plenty of games, and took pleasure in doing physical things outside, like hunting, fishing, and climbing.
But for now, they simply rested, sitting on their new beds for the first time.
"Hey Kel," Hiein spoke. Kel replied with a hum, to which Hiein asked him.
"I just wanted to say, I think that… I don't know if I'd want life to be anything but this."
"Really?"
"Really."
"We can't be considered dragons anymore, can we? Are you still scared?"
"Scared? Of what?"
"Y'know… dying? It's why we left in the first place, remember?"
"Oh, right. Hah, I mean, I am still pretty afraid of it, I guess. But back then, I was afraid because of how permanent it was, and because mom died in a lot of pain. Right now, I guess my biggest fear is probably… I don't know. I'm not so scared anymore, I guess."
The two brothers smiled.
"But if I do have some complaints, it's that gramps and grandma think we're crazy cause we smell something they can't. But since you can also smell it, I know I'm not crazy."
The two brothers sniffed the air at the same time, noticing that the smell got stronger.
"It's annoying that it doesn't really go away," said Kel.
Then, there was a knock at the door. Kel was the one who got up to get it.
Upon opening the door, he saw Jimmy. However, of course, he wasn't in one piece.
It was likely known since the very beginning, after all. That this small story would be a tragedy, a story without a happy ending.
"G-gramps—!"
A kick was thrown, and the log cabin, the one which took 6 months to build, now had a hole in the ceiling. Hiein stood up, beginning to call out for his brother, before the figure chucked the corpse of both the old man and his wife across the cabin.
Their bodies hit the floor, and Hiein's eyes immediately locked onto them. He was too stunned to move, and his mind was flooded with thoughts, all of them loud, yet none of them particularly intelligible.
Fire sprouted from the hand of the attacker, before an explosion was unleashed from the palm, igniting the cabin and completely destroying it.
…
Ears ringing, Hiein tried to stand, make sense of anything that was happening. The man went over to Hiein, placing his foot on his throat.
"———"
Though his lips were moving, Hiein couldn't make out anything of what was being said. However, the man was quickly retaliated against, when he was punched away from him, Kel stepped in to deliver a mean punch.
After some time spent recovering, Hiein turned back, seeing Kel and the man duking it out. Explosions were launched left and right, destroying the forest they were in and setting it all ablaze.
Hiein fell to his knees, his ears still ringing very slightly, though it was mostly audible.
If he lived in a world where the concepts of heaven and hell, God and the Devil existed, then surely, he would believe himself to be in Hell.
The flames began to cover everything. The forest, the grass, the cabin, everything.
"My name is Alex Graves! I figured you might wanna know, since I'll be the one killing ya," yelled the attacker. The two boys regrouped, as Kel had been badly burned in the side as a result of the fight.
'Graves? Graves, Graves, where have I heard… mom.'
The Graves family had killed his mother.
With a smile, Alex said yet another line.
"But hey, if you can stop me, then who knows? If you don't kill me, I'm going to kill your brother."
'Kill… I won't, I won't let you, I won't let you, I won't let you, I won't—'
…
Sprawled out along the burning forest, was the soon-to-be corpse of Hiein.
"A-ah, aaah." Such noises escaped his throat, as he looked up, seeing Alex the Traitor holding Kel up by the throat.
'No, don't, don't, don't.'
Kel turned to look at his brother, with soft, gentle words escaping his lips.
"Hiein… please, I—"
Cut off. The words were cut off, as the explosion occurred right from Alex' hand, completely blasting Kel to bloody chunks across the forest.
Such a loud, permeating boom echoed through the forest, as the cabin which had taken 6 months to build finally fell apart completely, collapsing in on itself.
The night was a mixture of flames, explosions, and darkness.
And as a direct result of his weakness, Hiein was forced to witness it in its entirety. His eyes began to water, the ears continued to ring, and his body lost all strength, having witnessed everything be ruined before his eyes in one single night.
All he could do was yell, sob, wail and anguish deeply within the core of his heart and body.
Alex walked over to him, pointing out his arm, ready to deliver the explosive finisher. But he was stopped, stopped by his sister, Clover.
All this time, she and her family had been searching for them. And, coincidentally, upon following the Scent of the Traitor, she'd found her brother.
But it was too late.
…
In the months following his reunion with the Assas family, Hiein stopped smiling.
He left behind the human life he'd grown accustomed to, and instead embraced being a dragon. He trained, trained, trained, and anguished.
The simple life he once led was gone in its entirety.