No one knew exactly how much time had passed. In the early weeks, Yongguk tried to keep track. Once, he told himself that they would begin packing for Akug in four days.

But this didn’t happen.

The orphans played together in these woods. Though their old toys broke from poor maintenance, they creatively designed new ones using the resources of the forest.

The few books Youngjae had managed to carry from Mato and the diverse foliage permitted him to further study the art of healing.

The scarce weapons they still had were put to use for hunting and sparring. Yongguk insisted that they learned the ways of battle. If the raiders returned, it would be the duty of the older boys to stand their ground.

They no longer knew death as they once had. Since everyone was a little happier, the suicides stopped. The fires and blankets of sewed animal hides meant no one froze. The hunting saw that nobody starved. The water, though, wasn’t clean. Yongguk suspected that improperly filtered water had caused two children to fall ill.

He would have loved to remain in the forest. It felt like their new home, but he knew that the water issue alone meant they had to find somewhere else to settle. He’d miss the meat – they’d found a thicker piece of woods where there were boar. He only trusted Himchan, himself, a couple of others to hunt the large swine. Even then, they went after strictly the old or crippled. Most of the injuries and gashes Youngjae treated were the results of poorly attempted boar hunts.

But more than just the meat, Yongguk would miss the odd peace he’d found. There were just 23 Mato children who roamed the woods. They looked out for each other. He’d been amazed whenever moments of total silence would breeze through. Yongguk knew that at any village, there would be a lot more people. People who would ask them questions and challenge them. There would never be silence. It would be an uphill battle to make a home amongst an already established community.

He sighed, thinking that he should go with his original plan. They would head to Akug where he’d make sure the young kids and girls had a safe place to stay. He’d then take Himchan, Jongup, and a couple older boys with him to BeeMill.

The Piapi islands were a part of the country, Tisen. This was despite the Tisen government mainly ignoring the islands due to their low harvests and less than prosperous livestock.

BeeMill was the capital of Tisen, where the high officials and oracle priestesses resided. Yongguk had never gone, but he knew it wouldn’t be a place where he’d fit in. Still, he vowed that he would go report to the high officials about the raiders in Piapi. He didn’t believe that the raiders were Tisenans, fearing that this was a sign of more than just violent criminals… but war.

He intended on sharing all the details of his plan with Himchan and Youngjae - all the details except for this last concern and what he’d swore he’d do after telling BeeMill of the raiders.

He sighed again as Youngjae softly massaged a salve onto the small cut in his calf.

“You’ve been doing that a lot lately, old man,” Youngjae joked.

Yongguk glanced at him from where sat, leaning against a tree. For some reason, he had the thought that Youngjae would make a good mother.

“Just thinking about our next move,” Yongguk admitted.

“So then we’re not staying here,” Youngjae’s words were somewhere in between a statement and a question.

“We’ll pack and head north to Akug,” Yongguk explained. “Then Himchan and I will take some others to tell the officials at BeeMill what happened.”

“I’ll go,” Youngjae quickly volunteered, steadfastly looking Yongguk in the eye.

Yongguk shook his head and ruffled Youngjae’s hair. “No… No, you should stay with the little ones and the girls. They’re attached to you and there may be a doctor you can learn from in Akug.”

“I want to stay with you,” Youngjae said, forgetting that he had been applying salve to Yongguk’s wound. “I have books to teach me healing, but there’s more that I need to learn from you.”

Yongguk let out a slight laugh. “I have no wisdom to offer you, little brother.”

The scene didn’t have a blatant audience, but it wasn’t lost to Daehyun and the other children. Rumors had been floating around about Yongguk and Youngjae. Behind their backs, kids referred to Yongguk as Ap, or “Chief,” and to Youngjae as Eo, the “Chief’s wife.”  

Youngjae smiled at their leader and went on to say something that made him laugh. Daehyun couldn’t help the scowl that crept over his face as he sharpened the blade of a short-sword.

Zelo stood at the edge of the camp, looking to the sky. He squinted hard before pointing upwards and loudly asking, “What’s that?”

All the nearby children looked up. Smoke brushed the canopy. The wispy gray fumes seemed as though they were being drawn down from the north.

Yongguk stood, immediately alarmed.

“Hey, you shouldn’t-” Youngjae began only to be cut off by Yongguk hushing him.

The camp grew silent, all kids looking to Yongguk for an answer or a sign. After a few long moments of gauging the situation, he dealt out orders.

“Kill the fire,” he demanded and it was quickly done. “Everyone, pack up anything you can. Stay low and quiet. If you see a stranger, run. Himchan, Jongup, Jeong, Dongwoo, Mak, you’re coming with me.”

Yongguk was swift in picking up his longsword. It had belonged to a friend’s father, but now both had passed on. He wielded it since it was the best weapon available. And he was easily their best warrior.

Daehyun grabbed Yongguk’s arm, asking, “What about me?”

“Stay here,” Yongguk told him.

“I want to go.”

“Why?”

“You asked all the strong people to come with you,” Daehyun said confidently. “I’m strong.”

Yongguk breathed deeply as he tried to think of the suitable way to word his feelings. Daehyun had taken down a single boar on his own once. He nearly lost a leg doing so. He held the record for starting fights with other kids. He also held the record for winning fights. He was the only one who rivaled Yongguk during sparring practice. He was strong. But he was something else to.

“I don’t deny that,” Yongguk said kindly. “But your sort of strength is not what I need in my warriors. Stay here and protect the others.”

His voice grew louder, “If anything happens… Youngjae...” A nod said everything that a boy Yongguk's age couldn't force himself to say. He considered himself brave, but facing his mortality, sacrificing himself, the thoughts got stuck in his throat.

“Me?” Younjae asked, pointing at himself.

“Him?” Daehyun asked, trapped in a deeper disbelief. "Him in charge?"

“Let’s go,” Yongguk ordered, once his chosen troop had gathered before him, armed and standing in a salute. They slinked off into the little coverage the loose forest provided them. Children scrambled to pack up their things, some looking at Youngjae with admiration as though they’d already retrieved Yongguk’s body.