Ethan was still in his training ground, no movement at all. But his chest was heaving up and down, sign that he was still alive. His dislocated nose was still bleeding but mildly. There was no sign of him waking up any earlier. His body had gone through alot just now and it was but normal being in this state right now.
Licia woke up, wiping off the sleep from her eyes. She was still feeling dizzy with the way she was looking. She stood up and dipped her face in the bucket of water nearby. It was all that she needed to wake up fully. "Where is brother? I guess he has gone to the forest like every morning." Licia said. She washed her face and cleaned her mouth with some water and went to take her breakfast which was of course what Ethan did yesterday.
It was already close to 2hours since she woke up and there was no sign of her brother coming. She was worried death but she had no idea where to start looking for her brother. She knew he was in the forest but had never entered the forest because Ethan prohibited her from wandering around it which she did as always.
"Borther, where are you? I hope you are fine"
Licia knelt on and started praying to the gods to protect her father. Not only was he her only family but she also loved her brother and had no way to survive in this world without him.
In the forest, Ethan was still on the ground. His nose stopped bleeding. Slowly, he opened his eyes, his vision was first blurry, but as seconds passed by it was becoming clearer.
"Ahhhh...where am I?" He said with confusion.
A piercing pain surged in his head, holding his head, dealing with the pain. Though his body was still numb, every muscle still sore and not in state to carryout any activity, Ethan tried standing. It was then that a piercing and unbearable pain surged to his right thorax, he instantly held it.
"Aaarrrrgggghhhh...damn, it broke my ribs. I underestimated these carnivorous plants." Ethan said, feeling his three broken ribs, he tried standing up. The pain was more than what he has ever felt but this was nothing for him.
"Aaarrrrgggghhhh...it's so fucken paining but so what, even the deadliest pain won't stop me" Ethan said with a smile on his face but there was still a flinch on his face as he tried to covering it with a smile. He mustered his strength and stood up firm on his feet. Slowly but surely, he started walking back to the village. He was sure that Licia was dead worried about him.
After walking and taking some pauses here and there, he finally left the forest and entered the village. Still holding his right thorax, he still walked to his hide out alley in the village. He met Licia on her knees and weeping and mumbling words. He smile and walked toward her
"Hey Kiddo, brother is back"
Hearing his voice, Licia opened her eyes wide, stood up and ran towards him. She jumped on him, hugging him which made him loose balance and fall to the ground. He was already trying hard to be standing and just this little push was all that was needed to make him fall. She was smiling and laughing
"Brother you are here, I thought something terrible happened to you earlier. It's been hours I've been waiting for you" Licia said hugging him tight.
Though the fall made him hit his broken ribs on the ground, the pain he felt made him twist his face but he did all not to shout. He wanted to enjoy this warming hug from his kid sister. Patting her head with a smile he said
"Hey kiddo am fine, nothing happened to me, rest assured. You know brother is so strong right?"
"Yes, brother is the the strongest in the world"
Licia noticed her brother was holding his right thorax where his ribs were broken. Also he was not looking good with how he was walking so she guessed already what was wrong and supported him. She felt bad for him but was happy that he was save. She wanted to ask him what happened but she knew he wouldn't tell her anything as he always did, he would rather say it's nothing and he will be fine and patted her head with a smile. She was used to it and jut decided to take care of him as she could.
He laid on the bags while she dipped a rag in the cold water and massaged the area he was holding. Though it was painful, he always didn't shout in pain when he was close to Licia. He didn't want her to think he was weak.
In the evening, she warmed the soup and helped him feed just like he always did for her. This made him smile and very proud of her. Though it wasn't the first time she did it, she felt like he was been taken care by him mom, like when he was 5years old. This always made him think about the past, a past where he had his mom to take care of him, feed him, bath him, heal him and cloth him. A past that was shattered and will never be thesame again till he died.
Three days past, he recovered from his tiredness but his ribs showed no sign of ever getting well. The pain was still unbearable. The cold water massage will reduce the pain at the moment but after an hour, it would come back to normal. Being the resilient and stubborn type as always, he decided to go for his daily routine training.
"Licia I will be back in not long, I have to continue my training" He explained but Licia stopped him with a hug from the back
"Why brother...why are you so stubborn. You are not fine and it's been three days since you came back from the forest. The broken ribs didn't heal and u always contort ur face in pain. I feel bad and I hate myself because it's all my fault" Licia said, tears running down her cheeks. Pain was felt in her voice
Ethan turned "How is it your fault Kiddo, it's not yours and will never be" He said with a smile patting her head.
"No...it's my fault. It's my fault if you always come back with bruises and wounds of your back, all because you have to feed me, you get caught while stealing to make that possible. It's also my fault if you train everyday in the forest so you can be stronger to evade when they chase you and just yesterday you came back with broken ribs, all of this is my fault, I don't want brother to be hurt again because of me I want brother to be fine, I love brother so much that I wouldn't survive without him" She was already crying buckets, tears running like rivers down her cheeks. Hearing all these soften Ethan's heart as to how his sister was so worried for him
Hugging her tightly "Kiddo this is never and will never be your fault. I decided to train by myself. Brother has to be strong to protect you from any danger. It's a promise I made to mom and I must fulfill it. You are my last family, I have to steal to feed you and myself, no one is coming to help us so I have to handle things by myself. I love you too kiddo, I will do everything to protect you it's my decision and if I get hurt, it all my fault, not yours" He said while patting her head.
"Brother is strong kiddo, these broken ribs won't stop me from training to become stronger and protect you" He wiped her tears, Licia stopped crying. She hugged again once and let him go for his training.
Though reluctant to let him go, she had no choice. She knew as he has decided to do something, nothing will ever stop him from doing that. The flame of determination burning in his soul wasn't one that would loose intensity easily.