His legs ached. He was running out of breath. However, when he heard the growls from behind him, he was motivated to run. He surged through Gelun Forest with his little boot-clad feet digging into the snow with every step. He tripped on a tree's gnarled root and he flew forward, landing on the snow on his stomach. The growls came again. He jolted up and ran. The pain on his right foot caused him to limp, slowing his initial pace.

"Alen-uno!" he cried. Tears streamed down his face as he ran. He looked over his shoulder and saw the small and quick shadows moving between each one. Fear caused him to rattle and he cried out for his brother once more. He was lost. Everything looked the same everywhere he looked. He should've listened to his eouno.

A force rammed into him from the side, before the sound of tearing cloth followed. He fell to the snow on his back and he cried harder because of fear. He casted his tear-filled eyes to the right sleeve of his jacket and found a gaping hole exposing his grey wool shirt.

More growls drifted to his ears. He shot up, ready to run, but froze on his spot. His breath hitched and his eyes grew big in fear. Two creatures with fine white fur dotted by black spots circled him. Their tails wagged with every step they took and every growl which came out of their teeth-filled maws. Small white wings fluttered, but too small for the creatures' bodies. Yellow eyes stared at him with hunger in their depths.

He gulped before a sob escaped his lips. He curled into a ball, while his eyes remained wary of the snow cats. More tears spilled down his plump cheeks, and he whispered.

"Eouno, help me."

He sucked in a breath and looked to the beasts once more. When he did, the biggest stepped toward him. The creature was quite small, even smaller than his height while sitting down. However, it was a dangerous little predator.

He heard footsteps but it didn't register in his mind. However, the beast took interest in the sound and turned its head toward it. For a moment, his sobs ceased. He watched as the creature's pupils dilated. Its ears flattened against its head and its tail dropped between its legs.

Curious of the snow cat's reaction, he twisted his neck to the direction it was looking at. His eyes widened before another sob escaped his lips.

"Al..." he trailed off. He stiffened when he saw the look on his brother's face. His Alen-uno's face was dark, and the shadow the sun casted over it made it darker. Pale blue eyes stared at the snow cats, and they were stone cold. His brother only stood there like the statues he saw often in Icefall City and Gelun. For some odd reason, he felt his limbs shake from staring at his brother. It was the first time he'd seen Alen look like he did in that moment.

The whimpers coming from the snow cats caused him to tear his gaze away from Alen. When he turned, the only sight he saw was the two beasts running with their tails tucked between their legs. They ran so fast, faster than the speed they used to chase him.

"Alec!" his brother called as he ran. Alen dropped to his knees and engulfed him with his arms. Almost immediately, Alec wailed against his chest after throwing his short arms around him. He sniffed and sobbed while his brother stroked his fingers through his long hair to comfort him.

"Hush now, little brother," Alen whispered. "You're safe now. Eouno won't let anyone or anything hurt you. I'm here."

He pressed his face against his brother's chest while Alen kissed the top of his head. "I thought I was going to lose you. I'm going to go insane if that happens!" Alen rambled and kissed his head again.

When Alec's sobs dwindled, he felt his body leave the ground. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around his brother's neck and his legs snaked around his waist. Alen kissed his forehead again before rubbing circles on his back while they walked home.

"I'm sorry eouno," Alec said. "I should've listened to you. I only wanted to see their cubs. I didn't think they would see me."

"It's alright, little Drae. Just don't do it again," Alen said. "Now, sleep. You're tired."

He didn't like to sleep. Often times he argued with his brother about him not wanting to take naps or even sleep early at night. But he fell into dreamland after a few moments.

――—

"Eouno, I can eat by myself. I'm five already," Alec whined when his brother said he was going to feed him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest while glaring up at Alen from his sitting position on the bed. His brother looked down at him, smiled, before reaching out and pinching his cheeks.

"You're so adorable, you know that?"

"Eouno, that huts!" Alec yelled. Alen let go of his face with a laugh before turning back to the dining table, which was only a few feet away from the bed. "How can I forget when you keep saying over and over that I'm adorable?"

His brother laughed again before walking back to him with a plate of food in one hand and a glass in the other one. He placed the glass of water on the bedside table, before handing him the plate. Alec beamed and brought it to his lap, before digging into the food with his spoon and fork. He munched on his meal of meat and a few vegetables, glancing up every now and then to see the smile on his brother's face. He smiled back every time, and Alen would laugh.

Once he was done, he reached for the glass of water and drank. Meanwhile, Alen took the plate to the sink and came back later with a clean white cloth. Alen then wiped the cloth over his mouth. "You're such a messy eater," his brother sighed. Alec grinned and Alen shook his head at him. As Alen stood from the bed and took the glass, Alec spoke.

"Eouno, how did you scare away the snow cats?"

Alec saw how his brother's shoulders tensed and how the glass almost broke when it fell to the sink. His small brows scrunched when his brother turned to him with a small smile—looking almost forced out.

"Little Drae, don't ask that question again, alright?"

His lower lip jutted as he looked up at his brother. "But, that's already the fiftieth question I'm not allowed to ask."

"You're actually counting?"

"Eouno, you're changing the subject again!" Alec said.

Alec continued glaring at his brother, and Alen met it with a blank face. After a while, Alen broke away from his gaze and ran his hands through his messy locks. "You won't understand, Alec," he said.

"I will. I'm smart, you said so yourself," Alec shouted. An audible sigh came from his brother causing him to lower his head. When his brother sighed while they were arguing, it meant that he wasn't alright with it anymore. His brother rarely got angry, and he would like to keep it that way.

Alen crossed the small space between them and sat on the edge of the bed. He slapped his lap and Alec took it as a signal to sit there. Once there, Alen wrapped his arms around him and stroked his long black hair.

"You're smart, smarter than me when I was your age. You're more mature compared to a normal five year-old too," Alen said. "But, believe me when I say you're still too young to learn a few things about the world. And as much as possible, I'd like to keep it that way."

"Alen-uno..." he said. He snuggled up to his brother's chest and embraced him. "I believe you."

"Thank you, little Drae," Alen said. He kissed his forehead, and Alec stood on his lap to kiss his cheek, making his brother smile. "Now, go get your favorite story book. I want to tuck you in before I do the dishes."

―――

He held Alen's hand as they weaved their way through the trees of Gelun Forest. All the while, he kept a wary eye on his surroundings after remembering what almost happened to him the day before.

"Where are we going, eouno?" he asked. His brother was silent for a while as they went deeper into the forest. The leafless trees were replaced by towering pine trees full of brown cones. Small birds flew by every now and then and he also saw rabbits disappearing down holes under the trees.

"Remember when you asked me if I could teach you how to fight? What did I say?" his brother asked.

"That was last year," Alec said. "You said no because it's too dangerous. And you also said that it is one of the things that a four year-old should never ask for."

"Correct," Alen said.

They stopped in a white clearing surrounded by the pines. His small eyes scrutinized the area until they fell upon hay-filled sacks strapped onto poles stuck on the ground. He looked down when his brother released his hand and crouched before him on one knee. He offered a sheathed knife to him and he took it with both hands. It was heavier than he thought.

"After what happened yesterday, I realized that you need to learn. It doesn't matter if you're only five. You need to know how to protect yourself."

"But, you said you'll always protect me."

His brother's hands fell on top of his small shoulders. Alen remained in that position, staring at him with a gaze filled with an emotion his young mind couldn't decipher. He leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"I won't always be with you, Alec," he said. "I wish I would be able to protect you always. But eventually there will come a time that I won't be with you. If that time comes, you must learn how to protect yourself."

There was a long silence as Alec stared at his brother. Alen's gaze refused to meet his, so Alec dropped the knife and his small hands reached out to cup his eouno's face. The older boy was forced to look him in the eye as he spoke.

"Eouno, when you say that you won't always be with me, did you mean when you leave me alone in the house to go to town or to hunt?"

He saw something flash in his brother's pale blue eyes. Alen reached out to rub his right cheek before pulling him into his embrace, burying his face in his long locks. "Yes," he whispered, "that's what I mean."

Every time his brother lied, he would always hug him to prevent him from seeing his face. He's lying, his mind screamed. He knew his brother meant something else, and the fact that he lied about it saddened him a little.

They broke apart and Alen told him to pick up his weapon to begin his first lesson.

―――

"Does it still hurt, Alec?" his brother asked. He only shook his head, before wincing when Alen tightened the bandage around his right hand. While they were training a few moments ago, he unsheathed his blade by accident and it cut a gash on his palm. Alen brought him back to their home in record time, and dealt with stopping the bleeding at once. "This is why I told you to be careful. You're lucky you know? My first wound from knife handling was deeper than this."

"I was careful."

"Not careful enough, little brother."

Alec fell silent and watched his brother tie the piece cloth to secure it in place. Again, he winced, but it didn't hurt as much as before.

"I'm taking you to the park tomorrow," Alen shattered the silence. "It's a play day, so you have a big chance of making friends."

"Do I have to?" Alec whined. "Remember the last time I tried? They looked at me like I was a weird person."

Alen sighed and ruffled his hair. "Maybe if you say hi before introducing yourself and stop being Mr. Smarty around them, you'll succeed. Act your age."

"I don't know how to act my age," he said.

"I have nothing to say to that, since I can't recall a time when I was your age."

"Then stop telling me to act my age, since you have no idea how I should be acting."

A small cry of pain followed his words and his hands went up to rub the spot on his forehead that his brother flicked. His brother's right eye twitched twice and he knew better than to continue speaking without permission.

"What did I say about being Mr. Smarty around me?"

"Not to be Mr. Smarty," Alec said. "I'm sorry, eouno. Don't be mad."

His brother's hand replaced his and he was the one to rub the reddish spot while he spoke. "I'm not mad. All you need to do is to pout at me like that and apologize with your little voice and I'm done for."

Alec smiled, and Alen returned it with a grin showing his perfect rows of teeth. When Alec remembered that he was going to be taken to the park, his lips turned down and his gaze lowered to the sheets of their bed. Before long, Alen's fingers tipped his chin up so they could lock gazes.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to make friends," Alec said. "I already have you, eouno."

"Little Drae..." his brother sighed. Alen tugged off his boots and crawled over the bed till his entire body lay on it with his head nestled on the pillows. Without anymore words, Alec joined him and he lay with his head lying on his brother's arm. He was then lifted ever so lightly until he lay on top of his brother. "Alec, friends are important. They'll be there for you in your time of need and make you happy when you feel sad. And I told you this morning, didn't I? I won't―"

"You won't always be there for me, I know," Alec said. His brother's arms wrapped around him and squeezed him into a hug which he returned soon after. He looked up at his brother and asked. "Alen-uno, have you made friends before?"

For a moment, his brother's eyes widened, looking like he was taken aback by the question. It wasn't until later that a smile broke on his face.

"Yes" he said.

"How many?"

"Only one, but he was a true friend. He was my best friend," he said.

"What was his name?"

"I called him Yen," Alen said.

"When did you become friends?"

"I think we were both thirteen then."

Silence engulfed their small home, with the exception of the crackling fire in the hearth. All of a sudden, a grin appeared on Alec's face and Alen raised an amused brow at him.

"What's with the grin?" Alen asked.

"I just realized something after you answered my questions," he said. "I'm only five, so I don't need to rush making friends. I can wait like you did. I also don't need to make too many friends. Maybe one true friend will be enough to make me smile the same way you did when you spoke of him."

Alen's jaw fell ajar and his stunned expression remained on his face for a few minutes. When he recovered, Alec felt his chest rumble with laughter and the sound soon filled the silence of the room.

"All right, I give up," he said. "I give up in forcing you to act normal. You're definitely not a typical five year-old."

Alec grinned before kissing his brother on the forehead. He received a squeeze on the cheek for that but he didn't mind. As he stared at his brother, he saw his lips turn down and the sadness in the depths of his eyes.

"Alen-uno, why are you sad?"

"Huh?" Alen said. He blinked a few times before he answered. "I just miss my friend. I wondered what he's doing right now."

"Okay," he said. He lay his head on top of his chest and wrapped his small arms around Alen's neck. For a long while, they lied there in comfortable silence. He loved cuddling with his brother. He wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

"I love you, eouno," he said. Alen's arms tightened around him and he felt him lean and kiss the top of his head.

"I love you, little Drae," Alen said. "Not it's time for your nap."

Alec groaned from on top of him and made a move to escape. However, his brother kept a firm hold around him.

"I don't think so, little brother," he said. "You will take a nap so you'll grow big and strong enough to hold a knife in one hand."

Alec wanted to protest, but when his brother rubbed circles around his back he felt drowsy. All the more so when Alen sang.

"Close your eyes and drift away,

"To the land where you're always free.

"I'll be by your side

"Until tomorrow comes our way..."

As he continued with the song, Alec slipped into dreamland before he even heard the end of it.

#####

I'm very sure I nailed this one! Yup, I'm proud of this one. Now if only, I could think of a better lullaby that I haven't used yet. (the lullaby above is from my other story...hahaha...ran out of juice to make a new one)