"We picked the wrong day to go fighting," Raten said. He huffed and huffed, climbing up the hill. His body drenched in sweat.
It was dark already and it felt as though the top was getting farther away. The twins were very exhausted while their father walked ahead with no problem.
The freezing chill only made things worse.
They just needed a few more steps to get there but their legs were failing them. Taking in deep breaths, the twins carried on walking with heavy bags hung on their shoulders.
"I wonder what's in here. We didn't have this much load on our way here, why are there so many bags now, and why does it feel so hard?" Kiyan placed his hands on his knees, stopping to take a breather.
"Just a little more," Raten said, pushing himself forward. They could no longer see their father's back because he was already at the top. They assumed him to be at the house already.
******
"Geez, what's taking them so long?" Agnar sat outside with his legs folded and his head rested on his arm.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have left them behind. This particular hill is very dangerous. Especially at night," One-eye said coming from behind him.
"They're fine, just lazy." Agnar said, still staring at the place his sons were supposed to walk in from.
"Yes, exactly like you." Raymond said and sat next to him.
The three men then sat in the same position waiting for the two.
"Just a little more," Kiyan grabbed onto the earth in front of him, pushing himself up as he crawled. Right behind him was Raten.
Their hands first, then their heads emerged as they both crawled up the hill.
"Wh-what the..?"
They saw three men seated exactly the same way waiting for them. With a glowing stick kept right in their middle, the twins could see their faces clearly.
"You're crawling? When did you become a creeping animal? On your feet," Agnar said, still staring at them. The twins immediately stood up with the bags still hung over their shoulders.
Unlike him and his usual blank expression, the other two beside him looked somewhat happy to see them. The first of them to move was One-eye.
"Hey gorilla, aren't you going to introduce us?" He said while moving closer to the twins. They instinctively took a step back. But looking at the man in front of them, they felt something similar to Agnar's presence.
"The eyepatch..." They noticed. After Agnar's explanation of their current situation, they asked him more about his comrades, and there was one person he described very well and that person stood in front of them.
"Y-you are One-eye." They said in unison. They were shocked to suddenly see him here.
"Great! No introductions needed," he smiled and swung his arm over their shoulders. "Seems like you love me so much. I never seem to escape your mind, Agnar."
"Don't be a fool," Agnar said and stood up.
"If they know you, then I don't think I need to introduce myself as well." Raymond said and moved closer.
"Uh, father? Who is this?" Kiyan asked, pointing at Raymond.
He flinched.
"You told them about this fool and not about me?!" Raymond shouted.
"Oh yes, that's Ronaldo, the fastest sprinter." Agnar answered with a yawn.
"Oh?" The twins said, looking at him.
"Swordsman! Greatest swordsman, you moron! And my name is Raymond. You named me that!" Raymond sounded pissed as if a nerve had been struck inside of him.
"Ah yes, I must have forgotten. Bad memory," Agnar said nonchalantly.
"Bad memory my arse!"
"Language, language. There are minors here," One-eye said.
The twins just watched them. What caught their attention was that the raging man in front of them just claimed to be the greatest swordsman.
"Shall we go inside now?" One-eye said leading the boys in.
"Leave those bags there, I already have every essential thing inside," Agnar said to his sons.
The twins happily threw the bags off them but then stopped to ask.
"If these bags aren't necessary, what was in them?" Raten asked.
"Rocks." Agnar answered. The twins were dazed for a moment.
"I knew something was off! They were too heavy! Too heavy and hard!" Raten shouted. In a fit of rage he kicked the bag. He was the one who ended up hurt.
"Ow." He winced in pain and grabbed onto his foot.
"You made us carry rocks the entire journey?" Kiyan sulked with teary eyes. "Why do I feel closer to death every moment with this man?" He mumbled.
"Days from now on are going to be very enjoyable. Trust us!" Raymond said with a smile referring to himself and One-eye. The twins didn't trust his words one bit. To them, a friend of their father cannot be any different.
They all went inside.
"You both were part of that playful kids fight today," Raymond said, stuffing his mouth with food.
"How do you know that?" Raten asked.
"We saw it all." One-eye said. "There is one thing that was shameful... You two ended up badly beaten."
"We're here now. With our help, you will become untouchable." Raymond said with an evil glint in his eyes. The twins looked at their injured bodies and back at them. They gave a nod of determination taking the men by surprise.
"You mean you are willing to accept whatever we throw at you?" One-eye asked.
"Of course we are. Besides, if we can bear what this old geezer throws at us everyday, a little more won't kill us," Raten responded and gulped down the drink in his cup.
"I'm already a proud uncle." One-eye sniffled.
"You should take it easy on that." Raymond warned the boys. What was in their cups was alcoholic and they continued taking it down.
"Hm? This is nothing new." Kiyan said.
"What do you... Agnar, why would you give them alcohol at this age?" Raymond pulled on his ear.
"What does age have to do with anything? Besides, I drank a lot more than this when I was their age, and I'm fine." Agnar said, slapping Raymond's hand off.
"Let it go Raymond, they seem to be handling it just fine." One-eye said with a smile while he filled up the twins cups once more.
After much chatter and dinner, they retired for the night. The twins had separate rooms this time. Agnar stayed alone. The other two stayed in the living room.
Compared to their last homes, this one felt like a castle. It wasn't as big as Demas', but it was spacious enough. Three bedrooms, one room filled with weaponry, and another filled with books, majorly spell books.
The living room had fine furniture and not just roughly carved wooden objects. The kitchen was well arranged and they even had a dining area.
While the twins were fast asleep, Agnar stood by his room window staring into the night sky. He seemed to be lost in thought until a hand squeezed his shoulder slightly, bringing him back.
"You did good," One-eye said.
Agnar sighed.
"You have no idea how badly I failed."