Now that the man had taken off his cloak, his features can be seen as clear as day under the afternoon sunlight. His grumpy face bore a horizontal scar that went across the bridge of his nose while his unkempt hair was similar to the color of lilac. Despite the soft color that would likely suit a gentler face, it surprisingly didn't look out of place for him. However, what was most striking about this young man was his eyes- he had heterochromia. On one side it was silver and the other was gold.

This man's name is Leo Quinnel, a resident of the southern forest, who lives with his younger brother, Rae Quinnel.

“Are you done?” Leo called out. He wasn’t much of a cold temperature kind of person. Even being outside for a few hours felt like he was about to become a human popsicle soon.

“Yes, I've just finished wrapping up her wounds” Rae responded, his voice hinting that he was a little fatigued.

“I- is safe to go in?”

‘What he means is, is she properly covered?’

The boy chuckled at his innocent older brother. Rae himself had already seen several naked bodies due to being an apprentice healer. He didn’t shy away from them despite his young age, but his brother on the other hand…

“Yes, it’s alright now! I've covered her up”

Leo breathed a sigh of relief, going back inside the cave once more. He saw that his capable younger brother had already made a fire and moved closer to warm up his body. He held up his numb fingers against the heat of the warm glow and spoke.

“So, how is she?”

“Lucky for her, we had got here just in time so I've managed to disinfect and bandage her wounds. And, I also gave her some water mixed with painkillers so she shouldn't feel any pain for now”

The young man nodded, gazing at the girl who was still looking a little pale. Her face was contorted when they first stumbled upon her, but now her facial expression was relaxed. He wondered whether the painkillers had come into effect already.

“… Rae?"

"Yes?"

"How did you give her water?”

“Oh … well, you know” Rae stuck his tongue out cheekily and looked away.

“THIS BRAT!” Leo stared at him in disbelief, knocking his brother’s head with his fist. Wasn’t he too young to be giving a girl, who was a couple of years older than him, a kiss on the lips? Even if it was to feed her water, it's too shameless!

“She wouldn’t drink it when I tried to give it to her through the bottle!” he pouted as he defended himself. Rather, he was afraid she might accidentally drown herself if he accidentally tipped the bottle too high.

Leo narrowed his eyes at the boy who had the face that could fool anyone about his innocence. But, he knew his younger brother well- underneath those big watery brown eyes and adorable baby cheeks, laid a boy who knew how to charm anyone he wanted- men or women alike. He was only twelve but already knew how to take advantage of his face for his own benefit.

“Don’t worry I didn’t do anything else to her” he crossed his heart and smiled. It's true! He was far too busy treating her injuries to do anything. Besides, he was also raised to respect women so he would never do anything against her consent.

Leo rolled his eyes but, trusted it anyway. His brother may be a charmer but he was raised strictly by his brother.

Rae's face suddenly dropped and turned his gaze towards the sleeping girl next to him.

“So what do we do now?”

“...”

Both brothers felt a little conflicted about what to do next.

“You know it’s a taboo to bring an unchecked outsider into the village. Master would cut off our heads for breaking the rules, especially this one” Leo sighed deeply.

“I know. But, I don’t want to leave her alone like this here. Isn't it a little too cruel to leave a wounded, defenseless girl in a cave? Who knows if beasts might come out at night and attack her?”

“...”

“...”

After a long period of silence, the young man stood up and gathered his belongings.

“Let’s go”

“Wait, br-”

“And bring her along with us”

Rae was stunned at the words of his older brother. Out of everyone in the village, aside from the master, he was the wariest about outsiders. Whenever he had to interact with other people outside the village, he would always maintain a safe distance and plastered on a cold facade in front of them. Leo wasn't afraid to bare his fangs at anyone who dares to come too close for comfort.

“Really?”

“Yea. I’ll explain it to the Master. But, we’ll have to put some restrains on her in case she wakes up. I’ll … take responsibility if anything happens” he trailed softly at the end of his sentence, scratching his head as if he could not believe his own words.

The boy broke out into a wide grin. It made Leo slightly uncomfortable.

“W- what is it?”

“Brother is actually really kind, isn’t he?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? I- I just want my cloak back that’s it!” he jumped.

“Sure, brother. Whatever you say”

“It’s true! It’s my favorite cloak so I’ll make her wash those bloodstains off once she wakes up!”

“Okay! Okay!” Rae chuckled. His brother may be wariest but, he was certainly not the most cold-hearted.

starsmidnight

I'll be switching it up to posting once every two days instead of daily updates :) After I've caught up with my editing, this will change to 2-3 chapters a week. Also, sorry for the kinda boring chapter- this was intended to introduce the other two main protagonists and what kind of personalities they have :> I promise the next one will get into the more important part!

Note: This chapter is unrevised so I have yet to edit it for grammar and spell checks