Every hurried step he took with tired legs was harder than the last.  Granted, the unconscious woman in his arms and his manacled hands didn’t exactly help but at least he was out of the prison cell, even if he knew they were still being chased all the same.  “Why is your sister so heavy?” Seyong complained around a grimace as he glared at the taller male keeping pace beside him, his injured left hand cradled close to his chest.

                “She’s not heavy.  You’re just weak,” Gunwoo shot back with an irritated huff, dirty face pinched into a tired scowl.

                “Hey!” the younger male retorted, slowing down unintentionally as he made a face at his ragged companion.  The lean frame was covered in rags more fitting of a street urchin with a mop of brown matted hair on his head that refused to be tamed.  Admittedly, Seyong probably didn’t look much better himself after spending the last two days in prison, getting ready for the gallows for stealing, but still.  He didn’t have enough hair to get that messy anyway.

                Gunwoo paused to look over at him with a deadpan expression as he explained, “The only reason I got you out was so you could carry my sister because I can’t.  So shut up and keep moving.”

                “Anybody ever tell you you’re rude?!” Seyong muttered as he hefted the young woman in his arms again, moving forward determinedly with a nervous glance over his shoulder.  The way was still clear but in the diminishing light of day where the shadows only grew longer, it wasn’t particularly comforting.

                “All the time,” Gunwoo replied without missing a beat, looking back as well.  His mouth thinned into a tense line and he waved at Seyong agitatedly to move faster.

                “Why do they think your sister is a witch?” the younger male asked with a curious glance at the unconscious young woman.  She was underfed, but lean as seen by the overly large shift she was wearing on her frame.  Sharp features adorned her face and her gnarled hair swung under his arm in long, dirty blonde strands.

                “Chaerin,” the other male answered immediately.

                “Huh?”

                “Her name’s Chaerin, and she’s not a witch,” Gunwoo added with an almost gentle look at his sibling as he drifted nearer, the expression vastly at odds with almost every other look he’d seen thus far.

                “Okay…” Seyong murmured, following the brother’s gaze.  “But why do they think she is?”

                “She’s not!” Gunwoo retorted again, holding his good fist up in front of Seyong’s face threateningly.

                “Yah!” he yelped, pulling up short as he turned his body away from the aggressive young man, shielding Chaerin in the same motion.  “Would you stop that?!” Seyong exclaimed with a frustrated look, face scrunched up in irritation.  “Threaten all you want but if you break me, I can’t carry her anymore,” he reminded, stopping in his tracks as he hefted Chaerin’s body up and down to add emphasis to each word.

                Visibly, Gunwoo deflated and sighed, placing his hand on his face with a weary shake of his head instead.  “I just feel so useless right now,” he explained in lieu of apologizing.

                Seyong took another breath and shifted his grip yet again.  Chaerin really wasn’t that heavy but he hadn’t eaten much of anything for the past two days and he was damn tired.  That state of being wasn’t entirely unusual since he was hungry most of the time anyway but this was different.  Though that had been a nifty trick from Gunwoo when he surprised the guards and then picked the lock to get him out of his cage.  “Well, you did get us out of there which was more than I could do.”  Unfortunately, they hadn’t had time to take care of the stupid chains on his wrists yet and the metal was starting to bite into his skin.  It hurt…  Stupid cuffs.

                Gunwoo didn’t say anything but he did look up and managed the ghost of a smile, nodding once with a deep breath.  “We just have to stay ahead of them a little while longer,” he explained with a quick glance at his sister as he nervously chewed on his chapped bottom lip.

                “And then what?” Seyong asked in surprise, glancing at Chaerin as if he could find the answer immediately from her.

                “Don’t worry about it,” Gunwoo waved, grabbing the shorter male’s arm with his good hand to pull him along again.  “Come on.  They won’t be too far behind us now.”

                Groaning under his breath, Seyong sighed, “How do you know?!”

                “Brother Kim bought my sister time by demanding a fair trial before they tried to burn her but there’s no way they’ll just let her get away,” Gunwoo replied dejectedly, the hint of a greater, hidden story underlying his words.

                Once again, Seyong was just confused.  His life before the prison cell all of two days ago had been simple enough, if rather plain and lacking excitement.  The unwanted byproduct of a tavern wench, Seyong never knew his father and avoided his mother as much as possible.  He stole what he needed to survive, generally managing to avoid being seen or at least not being caught.  One slip up was all it took though and he’d ended up behind bars set for the gallows with some bogus, trumped up charges about stealing and attacking a guard.  He would hardly call using one of the overly stuffy patrolmen as an improvised step stool an attack…

                But it had been their word against his and when you were a street kid – no, he was a man thank you very much – you just didn’t have friends.  At least none you could count on not to backstab you at the drop of a hat.  And then this unconscious person in his arms had appeared the next day, brought in by more patrolmen.  Yay…  They’d been jittery as hell fires around her too, and glad enough to lock the door at the end of the prison block with her behind it.

                He had thought that was pretty much the end of it until Mr. Threatening Sibling beside him showed up with a deal he couldn’t pass up.  Seyong had no idea how he’d managed to hurt himself but when Gunwoo had picked him out of the other three occupants of the nearby cells, he jumped at the chance.  Come to think of it though, it wasn’t like there’d been much of a choice between the starving, elderly male in one, and the recovering drunk on the other side in the next cell…

                “She doesn’t look like much,” Seyong grumbled with another quick breath, already feeling his arms going numb, and they’d only been going for a little while.

                “Watch it,” Gunwoo warned, directing an offended glare his way.

                “Do you want me to say she looks like a witch?” he retorted sarcastically.

                “Shut up…” Gunwoo mumbled, dropping the subject.  “Just keep moving, will you?”

                “Like I stopped,” the younger male exhaled, making a face as he adjusted his grip again, wishing she’d wake up already so she could carry her own weight.  Blinking slowly, he eyed her sleeping face and twisted his mouth to the side thoughtfully.  She was kind of cute in that sleeping person sort of way.  That wasn’t a creepy thought, was it?  He didn’t know and he didn’t dare ask with another glance at her overprotective brother beside him.  Feh.  Was his face always stuck in a frown like that?

                “Ah horse e,” Gunwoo grimaced with a look over his shoulder when they both heard the faint sounds of shouting in the distance.

                Startled, Seyong actually stopped to turn around, dark eyes going wide in his smudged face as he saw horses in the distance.  “Yah!” he gasped, pivoting in place to jump forward again, running as fast as he could while he briefly considered dropping Chaerin and saving his own skin.

                “Hurry!” Gunwoo urged, drawing near to help push him along, his expression fractured between outright fear and concern.

                Another glance at the woman in his arms made Seyong feel guilty for even considering such a thing and he mentally cursed himself that he had a conscience, unlike his would be mentor who had left him on the streets without a second thought after he’d taught him his trade and then felt he was becoming burdensome.  Irritating bastard.  “We’re not gonna make it!” he yelped, making the mistake of looking over his shoulder to see their pursuit drawing near.

                “Just keep running!” Gunwoo urged, pushing on Seyong’s back with his good hand to keep him continuing forward.

                “What do you think I’m doing?!” Seyong yelled back, for lack of anything else to say, Chaerin cradled close as his lungs burned with every breath and his legs threatened to collapse at any moment.

                “Halt!”

                “No!” Seyong yelled in a panicked tone, seeing visions of the hangman’s noose flash before his eyes.  He nearly choked when a hand caught the back of his shirt and yanked him to a halt.  He tightened his arms about Chaerin before she could go flying forward which was the only thing that saved either of them.  As it was, his feet nearly slipped and he was a hairsbreadth from falling to the ground under the additional impetus of Chaerin’s weight.  He could have kicked Gunwoo when he realized he was the one that had stopped him…

                “Wait,” the taller male breathed, fingers clinging to the fabric of his shirt as he held Seyong still and watched the approaching patrolmen surround their small party.

                Yanking himself free, Seyong looked around and counted five men on horseback, all armed, all angry, and all afraid.  He could see it in their faces.  Why were they afraid…?  A chill went up his spine at the thought and he glanced down at Chaerin in his arms, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.  Was she really a witch?

                “Surrender yourselves for judgment!” the lead patrolman shouted, his dark brown uniform the same as that of his companion’s though he had a yellow patch of cloth emblazoned on the left side of his chest to denote his rank.

                “I won’t let you take her!” Gunwoo growled, snatching a worn but still functional dagger from his waist with his uninjured limb.

                “Gunwoo!” Seyong hissed, noting the offensive action as he took a hesitant step back.  In little more than rags and further burdened by the woman in his arms and his manacled hands, there was little he could do.  It didn’t matter that the guards were only wearing light leather armor and had short swords themselves; they were still outnumbered and well in over their heads.

                “Take them!” the lead guard instructed, directing the other four men forward first before he edged closer after.

                Swords drawn, two men dismounted to approach on foot while the other two advanced on horseback, the beasts snorting and tossing their heads in agitation.  “e!” Seyong yelped, finally setting Chaerin’s body down as he gripped the binding chain between his wrists.

                “What are you doing?!” Gunwoo demanded, seeing his sister on the ground.

                “Trying to stay alive!” Seyong hissed back, keeping himself stationed between the woman and the guards with Gunwoo on the other side of her.

                “If they take her…” the taller male started to warn before the guards were fully upon them.

                “Later!” Seyong cried with a startled yelp as he took a step back and nearly tripped over Chaerin when the guard on foot advanced with the sword point out.  Nearby, a horse screamed and he heard someone else yell, the sound followed by what had to be a body hitting the ground.

                “Get them!” came the immediate cry and Seyong’s guard lunged forward, swinging the sword offensively.

                “Yah!” Seyong yelled, catching the strike with the chains between his hands.  Sparks flew but the links held and the sword was trapped in the metal bindings as he kicked out, catching the guard in the gut.  He flinched away when the sword was pulled free in a rain of tiny motes of light, stunning him as one of the guards on horseback approached and kicked him in the chest.  “Gyah!” he coughed, falling to the ground hard.

                His heart pounded in his chest as he madly tried to orient himself, hearing Gunwoo yelling something nearby while metal clanged briefly.  It was chaos around him, or at least it felt like it, but when he looked up, the way directly ahead of him was clear.  Without giving himself time to think about it, he pushed himself off the ground and stumbled forward, ducking his head against the sound of shouting at his back, hands clutched close.

                “Get him!”

                He heard the commanding cry and doubled his efforts, gritting his teeth so hard it hurt.  Not even three steps later, a horse galloped up behind him and he screamed when a foot planted itself in his back, sending him face planting into the ground, chin digging a furrow in the dirt.  “Ack…” he groaned, watching the rider circle in front of him as hands gripped him from behind, hauling him unceremoniously to his feet.

                “Bloody coward!” Gunwoo snarled in the hands of two guards on foot, unarmed but still struggling against them as they attempted to bind his wrists.

                Head hung in guilty shame, Seyong shot him a conflicted look and flinched from the sound of the rider trotting by him again.  “Get the girl,” the lead guard gestured towards Chaerin, her body otherwise untouched.

                “No!” Gunwoo denied angrily, his outburst abruptly cut off with a fist to the gut.

                Seyong winced and looked away, staring at the ground before him.  This was it.  He was dead for sure.  The gallows were waiting for him and he’d take his last breath dangling a foot above the ground.  How humiliating…  He didn’t want to die.  Really, he was too young to die…  Why did he ever steal that stupid, worthless trinket in the first place?  Why?!

                Blinking in surprise, he looked up when everything fell eerily quiet and then froze, his eyes wide in his face.  Chaerin was standing up.  And she did not look happy…

                Narrowed eyes glared at nothing under the fall of her messy bangs, the tips of her hair fluttering in a wind no one else felt.  A strange aura appeared to surround her, casting her in a false light that actually moved with her when she abruptly focused and leapt forward to take on the two guards at her brother’s side.

                “Stop her!” the leader shouted as he hopped off his mount to attack her in turn.

                Seyong stared in horrified wonder as she ignored all of it and tackled the first guard to the ground, batting his sword away as if it was nothing.  He screamed in terror as she jumped off his body and spun over Gunwoo’s head, coming down to land on the other equally frightened guard who crumpled beneath her attack, too stunned to react accordingly.  Thus freed, Gunwoo bolted to grab the nearest weapon and finished off the first downed guard, turning to meet his next opponent, the last riding horseman.

                When Seyong’s guard let him go to intervene as well, he swallowed the lump in his throat and threw himself forward to catch the male unawares, pulling the chain tight against his throat.  His opponent managed a strangled yelp before he stepped back and dropped his sword, tripping up on Seyong who fell to the ground with the guard, pinned under the other male’s weight.  Growling through clenched teeth, he did his best to ignore the gasping, labored breathing of the patrolman as he thrashed and writhed, clawing at the chains against his throat.

                His arms burned and he felt physically sick by the time his opponent’s struggles lessened, and Seyong kicked away frantically as he shoved the unconscious weight off him.  Terrified and deathly afraid of the hangman’s noose, he would admit to being a thief yes, but not a murderer by any means.  Panting in shallow breaths, he felt tears wet his cheeks as he looked around in a haze of adrenaline and overwrought emotions before he wiped them away quickly.

                Gunwoo was finishing off the unhorsed patrolman with the stolen short sword, the blade stained red with blood, and his sister had the lead guard pinned to a tree, staring at him intently, though she made no move to harm him otherwise.  After a brief pause, during which time Seyong weakly clambered to his feet, she tossed the male aside like so much refuse and turned around, wild eyes searching the area until they settled on him.

                “Oh hell fires…” he gasped, backpedaling in a panic when she threw herself at him as well.

                “Chaerin, wait!” Gunwoo called to no effect, his tone weary but otherwise unconcerned.

                Her momentum didn’t slow in the slightest and she hurtled into Seyong at full speed, knocking the wind out of him as he hit the ground with her landing on top, her knees straddled on either side of his waist as she gripped his ragged shirt with both hands.

                Like a fish out of water, he gaped at her, trying to regain a measure of breath.  Without knowing what else to do, he held his hands up in surrender so that his manacles were visible and managed a strangled, “I’m a friend?”

                For a moment, she blinked at the chains uncertainly until the wild look left her eyes, returning her to a sense of normalcy when the eerie glow faded as well.  As if a spell had been lifted, she met his gaze again and then flushed upon realizing their positioning.  “Umm…” she murmured in a soft, uncertain tone, pulling her hands away from his chest as she looked around, trying to figure out how to get up without using him as a prop.  “Sorry,” she hummed with pursed lips, tracing a strand of knotted hair behind her ear.

                “S’okay,” Seyong whispered, blinking twice as he held absolutely still otherwise.  He was definitely not used to watching a woman single handedly take down a small patrol of men by herself and then bodily tackle him to the ground.  Personally, he didn’t know if he should be frightened or amazed.  He settled on both before his face turned red when he glanced back down at their positioning.

                He was mercifully rescued by Gunwoo coming over to help give his sister a hand up, lifting her off his body with a tenderly concerned expression, though he had to take care with his left hand.  “Are you alright?” he asked, tracing the hair out of her face again before he cupped her cheek and looked her in the eyes, searching her face.

                She managed a slight nod and covered his hand with hers, bringing it down to clasp it in front of her with both hands.  “You?”

                “Of course,” he smirked confidently, looking back at the awkwardly recovering Seyong.

                “Who’s he?” Chaerin asked, turning to give the stranger a better, less embarrassed look.

                “Seyong.  He’s just a thief,” Gunwoo shrugged with his head tilting to the side.

                “Hey!” Seyong complained immediately before he tried to explain.  “I carried you to safety!” he pointed out with one finger aimed their direction, the chains clanking softly as he did so.

                “Why was he carrying me?” Chaerin demanded with a mild glare at her brother, searching his person with her eyes until she let out a small, irritated gasp.  “Woo!” she snapped, slapping his good arm with her hand loudly.

                “Ow!” he yelped, jerking away to rub at the smarting patch of flesh.

                “Don’t lie to me!” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest with a stern frown.

                “And hitting me is supposed to help?” Gunwoo chuckled, an amused smile on his dirty face.  Seyong had to laugh at that response, his pride mildly assuaged.

                Chaerin scowled at him then, with a perturbed look at Seyong, before she rolled her eyes.  Her expression fell though when she noticed the bodies around their group, puddles of blood slowly staining the ground under a couple of them.  “Again?” she exhaled, her tone heavy and sad.

                “They were going to kill you,” Gunwoo explained softly, letting his hand drop to hang at his side while he looked at the ground before his feet.

                Seyong knew he was missing something important and it almost felt wrong to interrupt, but after everything he’d been through since he escaped, he thought he was rather entitled.  “Didn’t you attack them too?” he asked, distinctly remembering seeing her down several of them with his own eyes.

                “I did, but-”

                “She can’t kill them so I do,” Gunwoo explained in a flat tone of voice, his eyes hard as he looked at Seyong, just enough of a threat present to make the shorter male shiver.  “Ow!” he growled again, stumbling back when Chaerin whirled around to punch him in the shoulder.

                “Every bloody time,” Chaerin exhaled, not in the least bit repentant as she pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled deeply.

                “Um…” Seyong hummed under his breath, shifting nervously from foot to foot.  “Sure,” he agreed, just glad her anger wasn’t directed at him.

                Rubbing his bruised shoulder, Gunwoo grumbled, “You’re the one that got us into this mess.”

                “Drop it,” she muttered with a deathly glare.

                “I told her not to touch it,” he explained with a glance at Seyong, apparently glad to have someone to complain to.

                “I was just curious!” she retorted, stomping her foot angrily as she pointed her finger in his face, the effect comical since she was so much shorter than he was.

                “And look what happened!” Gunwoo responded, easily settling into what appeared to be an old argument.

                “Guys?” Seyong asked, holding up his hand half-heartedly.

                “I never asked you to come along!” Chaerin yelled back, tossing her hair back over her shoulder.

                Seyong laughed at the interaction as he felt a smile pulling at his mouth.  “Hey guys?”

                “You wouldn’t have lasted a day on your own,” Gunwoo scoffed, pointing his finger back in her face in turn.

                “Guys!” Seyong shouted, overpowering them with his voice for just a second.

                “What?!”  Both siblings whirled around to glare at him and he flushed as he raised his shackled hands with a sheepish smile.

                “A little help?” he asked, feeling sorely out of place.

                “Really?” Chaerin scowled, turning to glare at her brother before she stalked a few feet away, scuffing at the ground with her feet and fidgeting with the tattered, gray shift that hardly counted as a dress.  She didn’t seem to know what to do with herself in the aftermath of what had happened.

                Gunwoo chuckled with a shake of his head and stepped close to Seyong, grabbing his wrists in both hands to look at the shackles.  “Don’t think I forgot about what you tried to do,” he warned softly, patting his person before he pulled a metal pick out from behind his worn belt.

                Seyong gulped and uncertainly looked at Gunwoo’s face, unnerved by the fact that it was a mask of concentration as he picked at the locks.  “I’m just a thief…” he trailed off, still slightly guilty about his failed attempt at running.  Not like it had worked anyway.  “Not even a good one at that.”

                “So I noticed,” the taller male snorted, successfully freeing the first cuff.

                “But… what was that?  I don’t think that was witchcraft but…” Seyong trailed off, his gaze darting to Chaerin and back, considering there was a helluva lot more to her than met the eye.

                Gunwoo paused in his efforts and looked at the shorter male from under long lashes, his eyes thoughtful and his mouth quirked to the side.  “It’s probably better if you don’t know,” he warned with a smirk.

                “Well, my mother always said I was stupid,” Seyong shrugged with a quick glance at Chaerin who was watching them curiously.

                “Not going to argue,” Gunwoo snorted, to which the shorter male glared.  “We don’t actually know,” he admitted, unclicking the lock with a satisfied snick, eyes trailing to follow the clinking chains as they fell on the ground.

                “So that whole going crazy-” a look from Gunwoo made him try again.  “Er… attacking everybody thing then?”

                Gunwoo shrugged and glanced at his sister with a nonchalant wave to which she took a deep breath.  “Comes and goes depending on the situation,” he admitted, looking back at Seyong.  “I still haven’t figured out if she can’t or won’t kill when she’s like that but when they don’t stay down, that’s when I step in,” he explained firmly, no doubt in his expression though there was a very slight waver in his tone.

                “Are you coming or not?!” Chaerin huffed, kicking the hilt of a sword away in irritation.

                “Would you quit being a winy brat?” Gunwoo rolled his eyes, dramatically gesturing at her.

                Seyong glanced between the two and rubbed at his freed wrists gratefully, mulling over what he’d been told.  His eyes drifted to the swords lying on the ground and then up and down the road with a thoughtful look.  “Where you guys headed?”

                “Dunno,” Gunwoo chuckled, shrugging his shoulders fluidly.  “Why?”  His gaze turned hard again as he appraised Seyong critically.

                With his most recent escape history, there was little point in returning to town.  Nor did he have anyone back ‘home’ that he would particularly miss; some people he called friend in passing but that was all.  So really, he had nowhere else to go.  And while he wasn’t sure where he stood with Gunwoo, his sister was pretty weird.  Okay, she was damn awesome with all that jumping and flying around she had done.  He couldn’t do it himself, nor could he fight particularly well, but… it might be fun.  “Can I come too?” he finally asked, offering a crooked smile that drifted to Chaerin as well, the expression widening just a little more than usual.

                “Could be dangerous,” Gunwoo explained as he turned away, picking through the remains of the guards before he eyed the horses.  “Go get one of the horses, Chae,” he urged, waving at her to track one down.

                She exhaled heavily and grumbled, “One or two?”

                “Just one,” he responded, bending down to retrieve another sword.

                “I want one too!” she retorted, holding her ground.

                “No,” he responded flatly with an amused glance back at Seyong who was trying to contain his mirth.  She huffed in irritation but went off to do just that anyway.

                “Like I said,” Seyong murmured, hesitantly leaning down to pick up one of the other short swords.  “My mother always told me I was stupid.”

                “So did mine,” Gunwoo smirked, following Seyong’s line of sight as the shorter male watched his sister.  “Don’t get any ideas,” he warned as he smacked Seyong on the back of the head.

                “Ouch!” he winced, clapping both hands to his head.  “I wasn’t!”

                “Get two horses, Chae,” Gunwoo called before she could return, maintaining a skeptical expression on Seyong as he did so.

                “Really?!” she asked excitedly, a bright grin lighting up her face.

                “Yeah.  One for me and you and the other for Seyong here,” he explained with a rough pat on his companion’s shoulder, squeezing hard enough to hurt.

                Seyong’s eye twitched at the treatment but he forced a grin anyway and waved back as Chaerin groaned again.  “That’s not fair!”

                “Life’s not fair,” he waved at her, loosening his grip to pat Seyong on the back.  The shorter male tensed up slightly when Gunwoo leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Try to ditch us again and I’ll kill you myself.”

                “Uh…”  What had he just gotten himself into?  “S-sure,” he stammered a response, the nervous laugh that followed tense and strained.

                “Great!” Gunwoo laughed, doing a complete turnabout.  “Ready, Chae?”

                “Yes,” she mumbled, holding onto the reins of the horses, most of the identifying marks on the gear obscured or missing.

                Seyong nodded once, impressed by the precaution.  Just how many times had they done this before?  “Thanks,” he smiled gratefully at Chaerin, accepting the reins with a gesture that brushed their hands together.

                “You’re welcome,” she responded uncertainly, not bothered by the contact but clearly wary.  “Hey!” she snapped at her brother who was trying to get on before her.  “Are you trying to make things more difficult?” Chaerin muttered, pushing him out of the way so she could climb on first, adjusting her dress with irritation and missing his amused smile until she was settled.  She looked almost chagrined when she noticed his expression and explained, “Your hand is hurt and it’s hard to steer with only one…”

                “She’s right you know,” Seyong laughed, awkwardly getting into the saddle himself, feeling odd and out of place.

                “Can you even ride?” Gunwoo asked, accepting his sister’s hand to climb into place behind her, resting his hands on his thighs.

                “I can today!” Seyong responded confidently, his expression turning annoyed when nothing happened at his first attempts to get the creature moving.

                “Aish,” Chaerin exhaled, turning them close so Gunwoo could grab the reins with his good hand, wresting control from the younger male.

                “Hey!” Seyong pouted, grabbing onto the saddle horn with both hands when they started walking.  “I could’ve figured it out!” he added in complaint as the pair ahead of him just laughed.

                 Gunwoo scoffed at his reply and even Chaerin added, “When?  On the morrow?”  Seyong’s mouth fell open as he gaped at her.  Gunwoo looked back to see his reaction and laughed very loudly, making his sister flinch and smack his knee.

                “That’s so mean…” Seyong whined, slouching in the saddle as the horses ambled along the dirt road, snorting their displeasure at heading away from the town in the fading light of day.

                “Don’t worry,” Gunwoo tossed back with a glance over his shoulder.  “If you fall off, just yell at us to stop.”

                Chaerin giggled at his response while Seyong just glared back.  “Thanks.  That’s so encouraging.”  The smile tugging at Gunwoo’s mouth made him think he was at least mostly serious though Seyong wouldn’t put it past him to leave him behind all the same.  Fine.  He could do this.  He’d always wanted to get out of that town anyway.  So what if his companions were a crazy pair of siblings that included a girl who randomly became a weirdly awesome fighter with a strange glow around her and a man who wasn’t afraid to make threats and kill people when necessary?  Oh yes.  He’d found himself in great company indeed.

                Well, at least he wouldn’t hang to death.  With these two, he was far more likely to die a considerably more violent death… all things considered.

                Eh.  He’d worry about it later.  “Onward!” he cheered, pointing ahead determinedly.

                “Is this guy for real?” Chaerin asked her brother, glancing over her shoulder.

                “Eh.  If worse comes to worse, we can cut him loose as a distraction,” Gunwoo responded and neither was sure if he was teasing.  He groaned in pain when an elbow found its way into his ribs.

                That made Seyong smile as he caught sight of Chaerin looking at him out of the corner of her eye.  He waved and she looked away, but that was alright.  She didn’t hate him!  Maybe she didn’t like him outright either but he had a potential ally who could kick more than her brother could.  Yes!

                Grinning to himself, Seyong looked ahead and nodded.  Whether they were all friends or not he could totally do this.  It was gonna be amazing!