“Yves! We have to leave now. The soldiers are coming..” The panicked child shook the still drowsy girl up from their straw beds.

 

“But I wanna sleep more.” The swan flopped her body back to the floor before she was alarmed by the sounds coming from the bottom of the ground. 

 

“Pack our stuff, we gotta leave before they capture us for good.” The frightened girls then grabbed whatever’s in their sight before disappearing into the forest. 

 

---

 

“Soul, can you catch up? Here, water. I’ll go get more from the stream nearby, so just stay here.” The child of the mountain clan smiled after the girl gobbled up the liquid and she quietly hopped to the source of water to avoid the wandering soldiers nearby. 

 

As the child watched her friend leave, she listened to the sounds of the stream. 

 

“Hmm.. It’s clear, so it should be safe.” The girl then stood up and walked towards the sound of water. 

 

As expected, the other one was squatting near the biggest bush she saw in the territory. With a soft tap and another hand on the mouth, she blew softly at the swan’s hair, who almost screamed. 

 

“What’s with the way of greeting? You could’ve blown our covers.” Yves threw her hands into the air before making sure they couldn’t be seen. 

 

“It’s safe, so I came to check on you. Besides, we can’t ever be apart even when we’re meters away.” JinSoul then clung on tightly onto the swan as she waited for the girl to collect the water supplies. 

 

“Shouldn’t this be your job?” The mountain child looked on at the other girl. 

 

“I only go where the water flows. We don’t stay at a place for long.” JinSoul drank the water from her palms. It tasted a little funny to her, but she chose to stay silent.

 

“Oh well then.. In that case, do you think we should stay here or move further out?” Yves looked at the fish and the answer was revealed. 

 

“Let’s go then.”

 

---

 

The girls always had to stay away from places that were already inhabited by the soldiers over the kingdom. 

 

It wasn’t long before one of the girls got themselves a present each. 

 

“Soul, look what I picked up from my search earlier while collecting berries.” The excited girl carefully pulled out an object wrapped with cloth and revealed the items in it. 

 

One knuckle duster and one dagger, to be exact. 

 

“Well, I like to do close combat fighting so this one will be mine.” The girl then grabbed it off the cloth and started to practise on her own. 

 

“Don’t come near me while I’m training, I might hurt you!” The girl then ran off to a quiet area, leaving the water child behind once more. 

 

“A dagger huh.. Seems like the one Grandpa used to own before his existence came into question.” JinSoul stared intently at the sharp object before leaving it to be while facing in another direction as she watched the sun sets. 

 

A few days passed since the children had their own weapons. As they were walking down a muddy path, one of the squirrels snapped a tree branch nearby and their presence was felt. 

 

“There they are, capture them!” A man’s voice belted through the trees and the two girls fell into panic. 

 

“Don’t worry, stay close to me. It’s time my practice turns fruitful. I’m excited!” The cowardly girl then stayed at the back of the girl who valiantly fights to the best of her abilities. As the girl was about to claim victory, a cry from her friend warned her of another man trying to stab her from behind. 

 

“Yves, behind you!” The words were well-taken in as she turned back swiftly to knock back the people in red.

 

“Thanks for looking out for me.” The tired girl now plopped onto the mud with her weapon still in her hand. “It was hard but fun.” The swan said between her short breaths while crawling back to the scared child. 

 

It was the first time she’d seen her friend with such bloodlust. 

 

---

 

When the girls were close enough to see another market from a nearby province, the swan girl struck up a conversation. 

 

“If you can’t learn to pick up a knife or a gun, then I’ll hunt them for you.” She then showed off her hand buddy to the girl who stared on silently as she looked on how proud the child looks with her new accessory. 

 

“It’s okay. I’ll try to do better next time.” JinSoul spoke with her head down before hearing the sound of water once more. 

 

It’s true that the longer and further away from the province where they came from, there were lesser soldiers chasing after them. However, it’s only a matter of time before they got captured again. This had the children stay on their toes all this while. It’s hard to not trust anyone around them, but it’s for their best. 

 

“I’ll be looking for water, perhaps on a lookout mission too.” The water child then grabbed the bottles and headed to where she’s being called to. It was a different stream from the one before, but she knew it well and walked towards the flowing water. This time, she tasted it once more. Silently sitting at the spot for a while, she opened the cap of their bottles and returned to the other girl as quietly as she could. 

 

“How’s the situation out there?” Yves didn’t hesitate to drink down the contents of the bottle the moment JinSoul came back. 

 

“It’s getting dark, so the soldiers are retreating back to their camps. We will head out later at night.” I smiled to reassure her nothing will be going wrong for a while before my eyes fell onto the water bottles we have in our hands. 

 

---

 

As days or even months passed by since the soldiers invaded our last hideout, we’ve been praying to no one but the Gods. We weren’t sure if their existence in this world is real, but it couldn’t hurt to try doing it for one more time. One more time before we get captured by those adult men.

 

The poor girl still hasn’t noticed, but her strength and accuracy are growing weaker by the day. All because of the water in the streams that we’ve been drinking from. Once the water’s been poisoned, there’s no turning back. To a normal human being, your death is inevitable the moment it courses through your entire body. But for someone like me, you turn into a superbeing, thanks to our family traditions. 

 

I don’t really know if it’s a blessing or a curse. Like what everyone says. The very reason they want me dead. Yves was simply a decoy all along. I’m the one they’re dead set on after. If that’s that, then so be it. I’ll settle things on my own. 

 

---

 

“Soul- why..?” Her eyes were overwhelmed with terror. 

 

“In my territory, there can only be one standing. And that’s me. Are you proud of me now?” The blue-betta stuck her dagger deeper into the other girl without emotions as the other child wriggled hard on the floor, not willing to give in to the pain exerted on her. 

 

“I trusted you..” The bloodied swan lay motionless after a few minutes. 

 

“Looks like my end is near as well..” The blood-stained hands that were holding onto a weapon, now cupped around the head of the distressed child. Coughing up several bouts of blood from inside, a sharp sensation pierced through the body of the girl. 

 

Amidst the thick fog that soon invaded the area where the children once stood, only a pair of deep blue eyes could be seen.