Walking back to the rear of the train, Edwin met Salissa who was on her way to teach her class. She smiled, and the two bumped forearms in passing. It was a nice evening, as spring had finally rolled up its sleeves and kicked winter to the curb for good. It was still cold, but not unpleasantly so, especially not for Edwin. He weaved his way through the stopping carts and wagons, between soldiers running to and fro, starting cooking fires and setting up tents.

As it turned out, Bordan was not back yet, probably still neck-deep in maps and little wooden figurines with the rest of the senior officers. There was somebody else though, and Edwin’s good mood evaporated like a drop of water on a hot summer day.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Gedrin asked loudly. In the light of the cooking fire, Edwin could see the confused expression on his face as he stepped back from his younger brother. “All I wanted was to make sure that you’re alright. A battlefield is a dangerous place, and I don’t want you to get hurt, or worse!”

“Are you serious?” Leodin growled. “Why won’t you just leave me the hell alone?!”

Edwin stopped next to three men in archer uniforms who were keeping well away from the argument, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“How long has this been going on?” Edwin asked quietly, and the one nearest to him turned around to answer. He blinked, coming face to plate with Edwin’s pauldron, then looked up until his widening eyes found Edwin’s in the darkness.

“Erm, not long. We just got here.”

Edwin sighed. “And I was having such a nice day. What does he want this time?”

The man cringed. “He just said he wanted to visit his brother. Sorry, we had no idea it would turn out like this.”

“Look, if I said something to offend you, I apologize. I don’t want you to be angry at me!” Gedrin said, raising his hands in a placating manner.

“Should’ve worried about that ten years ago!” Leodin hissed. He was right in his brother’s face now, staring up at him with an furious expression.

“What do you mean?” Gedrin shouted, frustrated. “I don’t understand where this hostility is coming from!”

“Oh you don’t, do you?” Leodin said mockingly. “Are you actually telling me you didn’t know that you were the reason I left home? That I was fine with leaving mom and dad behind as long as I didn’t have to deal with you anymore? And now you come here, worried about me like you actual give a damn?”

Gedrin staggered back, the look of shock on his face seeming pretty genuine to Edwin.

“What do you mean? Of course I’m worried about you!”

“Well, you can stop!” Leodin yelled. He took a deep breath, then continued in a normal voice. “Are you still telling that story where you shot two scrawny goblins, the one that all the girls were so impressed by? I’ve killed more goblins with my sword than you have with that crossbow, Gedrin. I’ve faced things that would make you wet yourself, and I’ve put them the hell down. You may still be a better shot than me on the range, but we’re not on the range anymore. I’m an adventurer, all you’ll ever be is a hunter who’s too full of himself. I’m the one you call when you’re in danger. If there is one of us who shouldn’t be on a battlefield, it’s you. Now get the hell out of my camp!”

Edwin leaned down, putting his hand on the soldier’s shoulder. “This is your cue to grab him and bugger off before someone gets hurt.”

Leodin turned around and stomped off, leaving his brother open-mouthed by the fire. His three comrades grabbed him and pulled him away, stopping again when they came face to face with a tight circle of stone-faced adventurers just outside of the firelight. After a second or two a gap opened, and the four of them ducked their heads and left the camp without looking back.

Edwin followed Leodin, finding him a short distance away. The young marksman had his hands on his hips, head turned toward the sky with closed eyes, breathing deeply.

“You alright?” Edwin asked, stepping beside him.

Leodin opened his eyes and looked over. He didn’t seem as angry or distraught as Edwin had feared.

“I’m fine,”

“Liar,” Edwin said, smiling. “Been better?”

“Hah!” Leodin barked, though he couldn’t help the corners of his mouth from creeping upwards. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

Edwin turned serious again. “Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Want me to kill him?” he offered. “I’m pretty sure I could manage it without anyone knowing it was me.”

“Tempting, but it would break my mother’s heart,” Leodin answered with a wistful sigh. “Alright, I’ll spill it, stop nagging already. But let’s wait until the others are back, don’t want to have to tell it all twice.”

“Sounds good,” Edwin said, slapping his friend on the back. Considering how bad Walter had been with people, he was quite pleased with himself. “Let’s get the tent up.”

--- ----- ---

“He’s my brother, though I guess you probably knew that. Three years older than me.”

They were sitting around their cooking fire, just the four of them as Edwin and Bordan had quietly asked their usual companions to clear out for a while. Leodin was staring into the flames, elbows resting on his knees, a faraway look in his eyes.

“I’m from a fairly large village, just northeast of where we looked for the goblin nest. My family has been hunters for generations, so we both started shooting crossbows the moment we could hold one. He was always better than me, but then he was always good at everything. He was strong, fast, tall, good-looking, and a great shot… As a child, I really looked up to him. Wanted to be like him, you know? Then I got older, and I wanted to be better than him. Not at everything, one thing would’ve been enough. One thing that I could call my own, that proved to everyone that I wasn’t just a worse version of him.”

“Oh Leodin,” Salissa whispered, placing a hand on his arm. He gave her a sad smile, then continued.

“I failed. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t match him. I’d spend every day on the range, giving it my all, but in the end he’d beat me anyway. Afterward, he’d give me this condescending smile, telling me that it didn’t matter whether I lost or not. Like it didn’t even matter what I did, I’d never be good for anything. Even when I finally became a man myself, I was only ‘Gedrin’s little brother’ to everyone. There weren’t a lot of people my age, so I barely had any friends, and the girls wouldn’t give me a second look. So I packed my stuff and got out of there, heading somewhere where I wouldn’t be compared to him.”

Quiet followed his words, as they let his story sink in. Walter had been an only child, his mother dying not long after his birth, so he’d never experienced what it was like to have a sibling. As a child, he’d wished for a brother or sister, for someone else to be there to help him fill the void in his father’s heart that he alone couldn’t. He’d never thought that having a sibling could be this hard.

“What about your parents?” Bordan asked. As a father himself, it was probably hard for him to listen to siblings ending up hating one another.

“Looking back, I don’t think they understood what was going on with me,” Leodin said. “Gedrin was always the golden boy. He’ll inherit my father’s hunting business, so dad would take him out to hunt, to show him his secret spots and techniques, from an early age. He only started taking me when I was much older. They loved me, especially mom, but they never expected anything from me either. Thanks to Gedrin, inheritance, grandchildren, and anything else they were hoping for was secure, so what became of me didn’t really matter.”

Leodin leaned back and let out a short, self-deprecating laugh.

“I thought I’d gotten over it, but seeing his smug face again really got to me. I guess I really made a fool of myself earlier, didn’t I?”

“Why?” Edwin said. “Nothing you said was incorrect. No matter what happened before, you went and made your own way. You’re already a pretty damn good adventurer, and you’ll only get better with time. If your brother can’t see that you’re not a child anymore, he’s an idiot – which, in my opinion, he is anyway.”

The young marksman ducked his head. “You don’t need to say that to make me feel better.”

“It’s the truth,” Bordan said. “You’re great at what you do, Leodin, and we’re glad to have you. Really, I’m grateful to that little shit of a brother for making you leave. I wouldn’t have wanted to face what we faced alongside anyone else.”

“Yeah,” Salissa said, scooting closer and bumping her shoulder against his.

“Thanks,” Leodin mumbled, staring at the ground to hide his embarrassed expression.

They’re so young, Edwin thought. They haven’t even had time to figure out who they are. What kind of ruler willingly sends people like this to die in a meaningless war?