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If not for the silver light of the moon and the sparseness of the waking forest, the night would have been pitch black. Though the mostly bare branches silhouetted in the moonlight gave the place an eery atmosphere, Jorran was grateful for it as his older brother pushed their journey on long after the sun had set. Something about his older brother’s dark mood and the urgent pace he set gave Jorran a foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach. Try as he might, he could not shake away the feeling. Tales and rumors of deaths and disappearances from the village gossips would sneak through his defenses. He had no wish of succumbing to the fear-mongering of bored villagers, but his brother’s earlier comments and his following silence did nothing to abate his imagination. So as they setup camp, Jorran decided to speak.

“Estin,” he said as he tied their horses’ reigns to a nearby branch at the edge of the clearing. His brother was just returning from collecting wood for their camp fire, “there is a question I have always wanted to have answered.”

His brother said no reply and continued to arrange the wood in the middle of their small clearing.

“At my last attempts to clear up the mystery, mother would turn things to her crying about my leaving.” He unstrapped their packs and continued to rub down the horses. When he looked over, his brother had the fire started. “I have always wondered. Mother’s eyes are the same as Viyah’s and yet for some reason, both of ours are different – even from each other.” Jorran finished with their mounts that snorted their appreciation.

“You’ll find no answer from me,” Estin broke his silence. “Only more questions.”

Something was better than nothing so Jorran turned to feeding the horses as his brother, in turn, fed the fire and waited for elaboration.

After a moment, Estin gave in, the dancing firelight adding to the worn look on his face. “Mother seems to have a colorful past that she keeps to herself.” He gave his younger brother a serious look. “What I know, and you should know, is that we are family, and we will always be.”

Jorran finished with the horses and turned to arranging their bedrolls. “You say that as if there would be a chance we would not be.”

An annoyed look passed over Estin’s face. “What does it matter? What are you unsatisfied with?”

Jorran sighed. “It is not with you, or Mother, or Viyah.” He sat down when he finished with the bedrolls and reached over to one of the packs and took out the bread, cheese and smoked meat their mother had prepared for their journey. “It is difficult to explain,” he frowned and passed the food to his brother.

“Well, either try or let me finish preparing for sleep,” he said as he took a bite of food and lay on his bedroll. “You have first watch.”

“I feel incomplete and on the edge,” he said after he finished chewing and swallowing a mouthful. “It’s as if half of me is missing and I need to go find it or feel vulnerable forever.”

Some form of mirth flashed in Estin’s eyes and for just a moment, his old cheerful self resurfaced. “I never imagined you to be a romantic,” he said, clearing his throat.

Jorran threw a twig halfheartedly at his brother, fighting a smile himself. “Nevermind. You’re no help,” he said.

Estin finished eating and settled in to sleep. “Keep that sword ready. I hope your musings will occupy you enough to last through your watch so I can get some rest. Wake me when something happens.” He turned his back towards Jorran and the flames effectively ending their conversation.

When something happens? Jorran sat musing, once again aware of the looming shadows overhead and around them past the warm influence of their camp fire.