As I enjoyed my apple pie as Carine, a sudden shiver ran down my spine in Feyt’s body. An alarmingly quick thump echoed outside my door, soone barreled towards my door at breakneck speed.
Who was it? I asked myself. Before I could theorize, the door flew open, slamming against the wall with a resounding crash. There stood the source of my fight-or-flight response.
Her intimidating presence and towering figure told exactly who she was. My sister, Fray.
Fray has blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to mine. She was tall compared to , but I was still a growing kid, so I don’t know how good of a description that was. With a well-built yet still feminine figure. It was clear she went outside a lot and wore what seed to be leather armor.
“Hey there, Lil’ Bro!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. “Haven’t seen ya’ in a while! Co on, hug your sis!”
As she approached with her arms spread wide, a sense of dread perated through my entire body.
“Woah, woah, hold on!” I tried to avoid her, but before I could even roll off my bed, it was too late.
I got hugged with the force of a bear. How could such soft arms be so dangerous?
“C-can’t… breathe…” I gasped, my lungs nearly crushed.
“Oh, thanks! I miss you too~!”
Her hold on was strong, too strong. Was she trying to end right here, right now, by a hug attack?
I couldn’t escape her grasp no matter what, and I began to think this might be the end of my life as Feyt.
After what felt like a lifeti, Fray—or rather—Sis, finally released , pushing both of us apart by holding my shoulders.
“You’re alright, Feyt?”
“You… almost killed …” I wheezed.
“Huh? I didn’t hug you that hard, did I?”
Despite my near-death experience, it felt nostalgic for so reason, which creeped the hell out of .
I recalled a set of mories inside , ones of near-death experiences whenever I was with Sis. The hug of death has haunted since birth, it seed.
Sure, she was my sister, and I loved her dearly, but sotis… it was just too much.
“Ugh… I need to… lay down…”
“Hmm,” Sis tilted her head. “Did I get carried away?”
Yeah, carried away to heaven you almost did.
She chuckled nervously, ruffling my hair with an apologetic smile. “What, don’t tell that actually hurt you?”
“It did, actually, thank you for your concern.”
“Haha, sorry, sorry.” She patted on my back. “Anyway, I wanted to see you to apologize about last night.”
“Last night?”
“You know, when I... uh, knocked you out accidentally?”
“Oh, right. When I surprised you when you returned ho.” I gently rubbed my head bump. “Yeah, I rember it now.”
“Yep! Sorry ‘bout that! When you jumped out of the door, I thought you were one of those bandi—I an those… uhh… jesters! Ugh, I hate those.”
Did she an to say bandit earlier?
“It’s fine, sis. I should’ve known better than to jump out at you like that.”
Why did I even do that? Would a rational person jumpscare a gorilla? Truly, the definition of a death wish.
“Yeah, you probably shouldn’t do that again.” Fray scrunched her brows. Her eyes narrowed. She leaned in close. “In my line of work, you don’t get to make mistakes.”
But you just deliver things, though?
Fray was a trader, transporting letters and food supplies between villages and towns. That's why she was rarely in our village.
Although rough terrain and bad weather were to be expected, actual threats were rare on the safe, well-trodden paths she took.
After all, what bandit would make a living stealing herbs and letters? And with a hug like hers, she could knock out a bear easily. She had a pretty nice job for herself.
I was sure Sis was just exaggerating her work to look cool, but her jumpy nature and the tone of her voice sounded serious.
Sis began poking my chest and shoulders. It tickled .
“H-hey! What are you–”
“Hmm, still in shape, huh? Good, good! But you’re getting a bit chubby here…”
She was examining like I was a doll or sothing.
“Sis, stop that!” I brushed away her hands.
She giggled in response. “Sheesh, just wanted to make sure you didn’t slack off when I was away.”
I let out a sigh, “Of course, you do. So, how is it?”
“You need to go outside a bit more. Other than the fields, I an.”
She ruffled my hair again, this ti more gently, and stood up.
“Alrighty. Since you don’t have anything better to do, want to go outside and train? The weather’s good, we could go around for a jog,” she said as she stretched her legs.
“I think I’ll skip this one, thanks.”
Carine’s private tutoring was in half an hour, I couldn’t risk wasting my focus on jogging.
“Huh, that’s a first. You usually beg to train you. What’s wrong?”
Is she blind or sothing?
With the tip of my index finger, I pointed at the bandages on my head. Without a single word uttered, it would seem like she would understand, but…
“Hmm… a head bump… Nah, you pushed through worse. Co on, let’s go!”
“What?! Are you serious?! This is a head injury that you made!”
“Hmm,” Fray squinted her eyes at my bandages, then she shook her shoulders. “Nope, still just a bump to .”
“What do you an just a bump?!”
“Let’s just say I have an eye for things…” She said in an evasive manner. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. Rember how you fell from that tree a few years back and got up and running just seconds later? That injury was way worse but you kept asking to train you. I even had to drag you to the doctor.”
How would she even know how bad an injury is? Oh wait, is this one of those Talent things?
Fray looked out the window and gasped. “Oh, looks like it’ll get real cloudy soon, so–!” She lifted off the bed by my shirt as if I weighed nothing. “Let’s go!”
She held like I was baggage, carrying out of my room with ease.
“W-wait! Stop! Seriously, I have sothing I need to do–”
“Nope, no excuses. You begged to train you, so I’ll be training you!” She said with a wide grin.
“Wait, sis! Please! I need to rest for a bit! Mom said–”
Before I could protest even further, my worst fear ca true.
—
A knock switched my attention to Carine, soone was outside the door.
“Lady Carine? Professor Karvin has arrived, shall I help you prepare?” Leila said from beyond the door.
Welp, just my luck.
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