Seven days have passed since our rest day and we’ve finally stumbled onto a market town. From the looks of it, everyone is human, or at least doesn’t show signs of magick. We’re here only for clothes and essentials is what Pixie told me. Does that include bread? I’m really wanting bread again.

As we walk into the town, I stop and look up, closing my eyes and letting the sun seep into my clothes. With the air heavy enough to make it hard to breathe and the sun beating down on us to make me feel hot and sticky, Snowfall just seems so far away.

“You good there, Blondy?” Pixie’s words pull me out of my thoughts as I turn to her.

“It’s hot,” I tell her with a chuckle.

She scoffs and pets me, messing up my already sticky hair. “I know. It is the middle of the Sunny season,” she points out.

I roll my eyes and nod mockingly. I know it’s Sunny season. That’s why Dae Sung and I are covered in sweat from just being in the sun. Training first thing in the morning makes it even worse. I huff and try to get my hair to stop sticking up but that’s proving to be harder than I thought.

While I look like a complete mess, the hair sticking to his forehead and cheekbones somehow makes Dae Sung look more manly. Who am I kidding? Everything about him is more manly. His muscles are bigger. He’s taller than me and looks like he’ll be taller than Min Su too in no time. His voice even seems to be getting deeper every day. I hope to be like him someday.

I decide to watch him as he walks off to talk to a smaller, pretty-looking boy and attempt to flirt. The other male looks up at him in awe as Dae Sung talks. While moving his hair aside, Dae Sung goes to lean on a cart that is next to him. Apparently he didn’t see that it had wheels since he almost falls over when it moves under him. The boy giggles and steadies Dae Sung by putting his hands on the older’s shoulders.

At that moment, Min Su decides to intervene and pulls our hyung away by the ear. Even though I’m not close enough to hear them, I can see Dae Sung saying ‘ow’ several times before Min Su lets him go. He faces the older male and snaps at him before crossing his arms carefully, clearly not happy about something.

Instead of watching them argue, I decide to follow Pixie to a nearby clothing shop. From the looks of it, I can only assume that it’s for girls only.

“What are you gonna get, Noona?” I ask.

“Just a smock. That’s what I came here for,” she states.

Shrugging, I turn my attention to the dresses and look through them. All of them are roughly the same color with only a few shades that make them different. They’re all light in color possibly to make them easier to dye. I find one that feels really soft and hold it up. “Noona. What about this pink one?” I wonder.

Pixie looks at it and scrunches her nose. Shaking her head, she decides on a white one and shows it to me. “White is easier to dye anyways. Pink can make it harder to get the right color,” she states and heads off to buy it. Before she can, the shop owner stops her and looks her up and down.

“You look like a woman that could use some support,” the lady says.

I’m taken aback by the sudden statement. What the hell does that mean?

“What do you mean by that?” Pixie’s question is nicer than mine with obvious confusion written all over her face.

The lady’s eyes dart up and down on Pixie. Before I have time to figure out where she’s looking, the shop owner walks away.

I turn to Pixie and furrow my eyebrows in confusion. “What is going on?” I ask.

Pixie shrugs and throws a hand up. “Hell if I know,” she states as she waits for the owner to come back. When she does, the lady holds out a piece of clothing for Pixie to take.

“Look at it,” she insists.

When Pixie takes it, she lets it fall open and examines it. It just looks like a half-lengthed shirt with the chest stretched out.

“And if you don’t like the color, I can dye it for you! Free of charge!” the owner states. “Come back here and you can try it on. Come on! Let’s go!”

Judging from the look on Pixie’s face, I don't think she wants to. She’s hesitant and seems tense. Eventually, she gives in to the lady’s persistency and hands me her cloak to disappear into the shop. While I wait for her to come back out, I put on her cloak and look around to see what shops are nearby.

After a few minutes, the sound of shuffling feet brings my attention back to the shop in front of me. The owner is making her way over in my direction with a piece of black clothing in one hand and seemingly dragging someone behind her with the other.

As it turns out, that person is Pixie and that piece of clothing is Pixie’s shirt. The lady pulls her out from behind her to stand in front of a mirror. Pixie looks in the mirror to see how the piece looks on her.

“What do you think, boy?” the owner questions.

“Me?” I ask in confusion but look at Pixie anyway.

When our eyes meet, she looks away quickly. I notice her cheeks color as she avoids my gaze. Thinking that she must be embarrassed, I can’t help but smile a little.

Looking over the item of clothing, I notice how her chest seems to be more supported by it. I guess that’s what the lady was talking about. The shirt hugs her form to show off her stomach which is toned to match her arms. Her arms are completely showing as the sleeves are just two thin cloths connecting behind her neck. Pixie moves her arms to cover her stomach and clears her throat. She looks nice.

“Quit staring before I punch you,” Pixie threatens. Her tone gets softer when she speaks again. “Does it look okay?” she asks.

I nod quickly and answer without hesitation. “Yes! You look great!”

Pixie turns to the lady and nods. “Alright I’ll take it,” she concludes. “And the free dye job.” She half smirks as the owner nods and takes her back to get changed.

As she disappears again, I turn around and let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I place my hand over my chest to find my heart beating fast for some reason. Deciding to not try and figure out why, I take a deep breath and use this time to calm down. After all, it was just Pixie. Why would my heart race just because of her? She was really exposed though. Shaking the thought away, I turn back around and look at the ground.

Shortly after, Pixie comes back and hands the two garments over to the owner. “What color would you like them, deary?” the lady asks.

“Black if you can,” Pixie replies.

The lady nods and tells us to come back the next day to pick them up. Pixie pats my back and puts the hood of the cloak up to cover my head. I’m a little confused but when I look at a shop that we’re passing by, I understand why. On the entrance door, there’s a wanted poster with my name written in big letters and a picture that resembles me. Underneath my name is smaller letters that I can’t read.

“Do you wanna look around more? Or should we head out to find a place to camp?” Pixie asks.

“Let’s find camp,” I answer. “I’d rather not be here too long.” She nods and we head off to find the other two first.

When we do find them, Min Su is leaning with his back against a tree and the older standing in front of him. Dae Sung’s arm is resting next to the younger’s head against the same tree as he attempts to lean over Min Su, despite the fact that the younger is taller.

As we near, we must have startled them since Dae Sung quickly moves to stand next to the tree and begins fixing his hair. Min Su dusts off his clothes, even though there isn’t any on him, before glancing at the older and hitting his chest. I raise my eyebrow at the odd response but decide not to say anything.

“Whatever you two were doing, I don’t care. Let’s just go find a place to set up camp,” Pixie speaks while raising an eyebrow.

They both nod quickly and follow us back into the forest so that we can stay hidden. While walking around, we find a small clearing only big enough for a fire and decide to settle there. Pixie tells us to make our tents around the area.

Since we’re still in the forest, it’s harder to pitch the tents evenly. Well, it is for me anyway. After moving all the sticks out from where the tent will sit, we set them aside to use to start the fire later. With Pixie’s help, and some struggling on my end, we get everything set up and work on getting the fire started.

Dae Sung looks down at the small pile of sticks that we already collected and smiles. “Min Su and I can head out and grab some more firewood if you two do the setup,” he suggests.

Pixie nods and answers for me, “Alright.”

The older grabs Min Su’s hand and leads him out into the forest. I watch them go before turning to Pixie and grabbing a stick.

“Don’t they seem a bit weird to you?” I ask.

She glances at me. “No. Elaborate,” when she sees my confused look, she continues. “As in, explain your thinking.”

“Ah. Well.” I start and wave the stick around. “They’ve been doing everything together, holding hands, hugging a lot, and just being all touchy. And it’s just weird.”

Pixie takes the stick that I was waving around away and I pout. She points it at me. “It’s called being affectionate. And I don’t find that weird. It actually seems quite normal from what I’ve seen.”

I furrow my brows and squint at her. “Since when?” I challenge.

“Ever since I’ve been here. It’s possible that they’ve always been like this and you’re just now noticing,” she suggests.

I shake my head in protest. “No. That doesn’t make any sense!”

Pixie scoffs and rolls her eyes. “And why’s that?”

“Okay, it does for Dae Sung hyung since he’s always been affectionate. But it doesn’t for Min Su hyung!” I correct. “He hates affection. I remember, like two years ago, Dae Sung hyung tried to kiss his cheek and he nearly fell over trying to avoid it.”

Pixie laughs. “Oh really?” What kind of question is that? Yes really. “I saw you do the exact same thing not but three days ago,” she points out.

“That is not the point!” I exclaim. “We are talking about Dae Sung and Min Su hyung!”

Pixie laughs at my protest and I roll my eyes. I huff loudly to try and get my point across. She finally stops laughing and looks at me. “Alright. Tell me more then. You have known them longer than I have,” she smiles and starts on the fire set up.

Nodding, I smile and adjust to be sitting on the ground. “So, Dae Sung hyung has always loved to give us affection, even when we were in the village. He’d sometimes run up to me, kiss my cheek suddenly, and then just run off! He also likes to hug us from behind and just not let go.” Leaning back, I chuckle and smile at the memories.

“And why aren’t you like that? You two grew up in the same house,” Pixie questions.

Looking up at the sky, I take a moment to think about the answer. “Maybe because he was orphaned. It’s possible that he has the mindset of ‘I need to let them know how much I love them’ because of that,” I nod but keep thinking.

“That’s very possible,” Pixie agrees and looks at me. “Keep thinking, observing, and keep trying to understand things,” she smiles and pats my leg.

Feeling her warm hand on my leg suddenly makes me shiver. The feeling is odd and I’m not sure why. I watch as she turns back to the sticks and then I take a deep breath. Why am I being so weird? Shaking my head, I prop one leg up and rest my arm on it.

“Dae Sung hyung likes to tease us too. I think that’s the fun part is for him. It’s almost like a game but he also gets to show he cares through it,” I conclude with a nod.

“And what about Min Su?” Pixie asks.

My eyes search the ground as I think of an answer. “I’m not too sure. I just remember him never liking being touched. Ever,” I state.

Pixie finishes the set up as I finish my statement. Nodding, she dusts off her hands and stands up. “Like I said earlier, keep thinking,” she smiles.

I nod in reply. Startled when I hear footsteps, I quickly stand up. To my relief, it’s just Dae Sung and Min Su. They hold up their bundles proudly and smile.

“Let’s start a fire!” Dae Sung sings the last word and sets down his bundle. Min Su follows and sets his down as well.

Watching them, I step back and let the oldest two start the fire. Min Su does the same and goes to his tent. Coming back out with his bag, he kneels down and starts to rummage through it. One by one, he lays out the cooking tools, eating tools, and the food.

By the time Min Su has everything laid out, the fire is started. Dae Sung heads over to him and grabs the cooking tools. He ruffles the younger’s hair, squeezes his arm, and smiles. Min Su shakes his head as if to shake off the older's hand and grabs the food. They both head to the fire and get ready to cook.

Pixie steps back and stands next to me. I cross my arms and watch the other two. Stealing a glance at her, I notice that Pixie is smiling at me and hear her chuckle. She rubs my back and heads to our tent. Turning my attention back to the matter at hand, I look over at the older two.

Dae Sung is facing Min Su with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. He says something to the younger and his smile gets bigger and open-mouthed, clearly proud of what he’s just said. When Min Su just shakes his head and looks at the ground, I hear the older laugh.

Hearing Dae Sung’s laugh, Min Su smiles. He nods his head and looks at the older. When Dae Sung speaks again, Min Su rolls his eyes and hits the older’s chest.

Laughing even more, Dae Sung leans away from the hit and grabs Min Su’s arm. He quickly pulls him closer and hugs him from behind.

Min Su grimaces slightly and wiggles around. As the older begins to speak, he stops wiggling and listens. Nodding, the younger says something back, making Dae Sung smile.

Almost immediately following, Dae Sung kisses Min Su’s cheek and a small shout of disapproval leaves the younger’s mouth. The older laughs and pushes Min Su towards their tent. He goes inside with Dae Sung right behind him.

This whole day has just been strange. First Pixie and now this. I need answers soon. Sighing, I head to my tent and sit in the entryway.

“Hey, Blondy,” Pixie greets.

I wave to her. “Hey, Noona,” I huff and lay with my upper body in the tent. Pixie chuckles and leans over my head from the side.

Tilting her head and sitting next to me, she asks, “You good there?”

Shrugging, I look up at her. “Today has just been strange,” I confess. “I just wanna know what’s going on.”

Pixie smiles and plays with my hair. I close my eyes and relax at the comforting gesture. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon,” she comforts.

I nod and smile, enjoying the moment. When I open my eyes back up, Pixie is no longer in the tent. I sit up and see the other three sitting by the fire. The smell of food makes me think I must have dozed off. Standing up, I take a couple of steps to stand next to Dae Sung. He looks at me and smiles.

“Have a nice nap?” the older asks while handing me my food.

Taking it, I nod and sit down to begin eating. No one talks for the rest of the time eating. Dae Sung feeds Min Su quietly and then starts cleaning up. I decide to help.

Once camp is cleaned up, I lean against a tree and observe my surroundings. Min Su walks over to Dae Sung and whispers something in his ear. He’s standing very close to the older. During that moment, the younger places a hand on Dae Sung’s shoulder. Whatever Min Su said makes the older smile and instinctively grab at the younger’s wrist. As he pulls away, the younger runs his hand down Dae Sung’s chest and smiles at him. While returning the smile, Dae Sung ruffles the younger’s hair and pulls him away. After just a few steps, they disappear into their tent.

I look up and sigh. Moonlight seeps through the gaps in the leaves to barely light the area around me. With the fire put out, it's the only source of light I have. I puff out my cheeks in disappointment as I wish I could see the stars. Stargazing has been my favorite thing to do ever since I was little. It’s the best thing about the night.

“You gonna come to bed, kiddo?” Pixie’s voice snaps my attention away from my thoughts.

I look at her and shake my head. “I’m not tired,” I tell her.

She smiles. “You shouldn’t have had that nap,” she scolds gently.

Nodding, I look back up at the trees as the leaves move with the wind. “The breeze is nice on a Sunny Season night,” I state. When she doesn’t respond, I look back at Pixie. She’s standing with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. “What?” I ask.

“You’ve matured,” Pixie replies. “I can tell by the way you speak.” Before I can even begin to think of a response, she disappears into our tent and comes back out holding my bow. She hands it to me and speaks again. “Try to draw it back. It’s been a while.”

I take it and look at her. “Um, alright,” I respond while standing up straight. Holding it out in front of me, I grab the bowstring with two fingers and pull. I bring it all the way back to my cheek and smile widely. Returning the bow to its original form, I turn to Pixie in excitement. The look on her face says it all.

“I knew you could do it,” she states proudly.

Excitement taking over me, I can’t help but jump around. I did it! No more arm exercises for me! I jump up and punch the air in celebration.

Pixie chuckles. “Alright. Come on. Let’s get some rest before you have to start training.”

I nod quickly and head to our tent. Once inside, I remove my shirt and glance at Pixie. She looks at me and pats my arm.

“Look at this muscle!” she points out. “You’re getting stronger!” Pixie chuckles and lays down, already ready for the night.

Smiling, I finish readying myself for the night and lay next to her. Normally, I would lay on her chest and get comfortable. But for some reason, tonight, I can’t do that. Instead, I turn away from her and lay on my arms. The spot on my arm where she touched tingles slightly. I decide to ignore it. Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe tomorrow I won't have these weird feelings.

“Goodnight, Blondy,” Pixie says.

“Goodnight, Noona,” I answer.

When morning arrives, training starts immediately. Dae Sung learns a new fighting technique and spars with Pixie. She even includes Min Su today by giving him a knife and telling to practice using it with his left hand. I finally learn how to shoot an arrow, which, turns out, is a lot harder than using a slingshot. To nock the arrow, drawback, aim, and shoot requires a lot of concentration. Being able to shoot accurately and swiftly is a whole other story. I don't know how Pixie does it.

By midday, we pack up camp and head back into town. Pixie gives me her cloak again so that I can stay hidden before going to the little shop to pick up her clothing.

During that time, I put the hood of the cloak up and look around for the shop that had the wanted posted of me on it. When I find it, I grab it, roll it up, and put it in my bag. After, the four of us look around for any other supplies that we may need.

“Can we buy bread?” I ask while looking at the older three.

Dae Sung shrugs. “I don’t see why not,” he answers.

“Wait. No,” Min Su interjects. “We don’t wanna spoil him.” I roll my eyes and cross my arms. “Do you think that you deserve bread today?”

Pixie laughs and pats Min Su’s back. “Just come to a decision.”

“I so deserve bread today!” I declare.

“And why’s that?” Min Su challenges.

I huff. “Because I learned how to shoot the bow today! And I think that deserves some celebratory bread,” I argue.

Before Min Su can snap back, Dae Sung waves his hand to dismiss the conversation. “We can get bread. I wouldn’t mind some either,” he states.

“Glad that’s settled,” Pixie comments as she walks to the nearest bread stall and buys two loaves. “There. Now shut up about it and let’s travel.” She hands me her new clothing pieces and gives Min Su the bread. Smart. I probably would’ve eaten it.

Putting her clothes away, I sling my bag over my shoulder and follow behind everyone. We get far enough away to where I can’t see the market anymore before I decide to put my hood back down. Dae Sung walks next to Min Su and is seemingly teasing him about something. To mock him further, the older does a little dance. Min Su responds by hitting his arm.

“Oh what was that?” Dae Sung teases. “You can’t scare anyone away with a girly punch like that!”

Min Su sticks his tongue out at the older and punches his arm again.

“Girly punch!” Dae Sung repeats, earning another punch from the younger. “Why are your punches so girly? I thought you were a man!” he continues to mock.

At that moment, Pixie turns around and punches him hard in the arm. Dae Sung gasps and grabs his arm. “What was that about girly punches?” she smirks and pets Min Su before turning back around.

“Oh my Loki that hurts!” Dae Sung exclaims and grunts in pain. “I hate you.”

I can’t help but laugh as he did deserve that. Dae Sung glares at me and Min Su pushes him gently.

“And just because I don't have the strength to punch hard right now doesn’t mean I’m not intimidating,” Min Su argues. Is this what they were talking about?

Dae Sung finally recovers from Pixie’s punch and looks at the younger. “Are you now?” he challenges. “I don't think you are.”

Clearly having had enough of the older’s teasing, Min Su grabs a fistful of Dae Sung’s tunic and gets in his face. The younger glares at him in an attempt to intimidate the other. By the look on the older’s face, it doesn’t seem to be working. Instead, he’s staring back at him with a smirk across his face and lands a kiss on the younger’s nose.

“So intimidating,” Dae Sung teases again.

Min Su’s cheeks start to color as he continues to stare at the older. Dae Sung’s smirk gets bigger and he winks at the younger. Now is not the time to get flirty. I decide to intervene.

“Okay. Stop. What is going on?” I step in the middle of them and glance between the two of them. Pixie also stops and watches us. “Why are you two so touchy? Like, I get Dae Sung hyung but what’s up with you?” I look at Min Su. “What’s your excuse?”

Dae Sung looks at me and then to Min Su. If I wasn’t paying attention, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the little nod that the younger gives to Dae Sung. When he does, the older takes a deep breath and crosses his arms.

“Alright fine,” Dae Sung starts. I cross my arms and wait for his answer. He lets out a breath and nods. “Min Su and I have been together since Snowfall when we had the celebration of his birth,” he confesses.

I scoff in surprise. “And you didn’t think it was a good idea to tell me this?”

“We were just worried about what you’d think. I hadn’t exactly told you that I like men yet,” Dae Sung argues.

I look at him as if that was the stupidest thing he’s ever said and throw my arms up to get my point across. Pixie chuckles at the gesture. “I’m your little brother!” I exclaim.

“That’s exactly why we didn’t tell you,” Min Su speaks quietly and I turn to him. “We thought you might get disgusted and leave us.” Our eyes lock as he continues. “And that terrified us since you were the only family we had left.”

I nod in understanding but rub my face in frustration. Sighing, I reply, “Look, I’m happy for you two. I’m not gonna leave you. It’s just really annoying when I don’t understand what’s going on.” I chuckle to lighten the mood.

Dae Sung chuckles as well and nods. “Glad to know we can keep you,” he jokes and hits my arm.

“Now that we finally know what’s going on between you two, let’s keep moving,” Pixie speaks up. “We have to find a place for camp before sunset.”

Everyone nods in response and continues walking. Running up from behind Min Su, I trap him in a hug. He wiggles to try to escape and I laugh. After I let him go, he huffs and I push him gently. As if to get revenge, he hits my chest then pushes me right into Dae Sung. As we both fall over, Min Su laughs.

“Rude!” I declare as I get back up. After I help Dae Sung up, we quickly catch back up with Pixie and continue traveling. Remembering that I’m still wearing her cloak, I call out to her. “Oh! Noona!”

She hums in response.

“Do you want your cloak back?” I ask.

Pixie waves her hand in dismissal. “Keep it. You seem to need it more than I do,” she answers.