A small, dirty-faced girl with missing front teeth ran up, grabbing Lyra's cloak. "Lyra! Did you catch the rabbit? You promised to teach us how to track with our ears!"
The context for this little excursion had been a friendly challenge. As the evening drew near and the sky began to descend into true darkness, Yoriichi had decided they needed to bring some food back before everyone said their farewells for the day. Lyra, always eager to test her heightened senses, had challenged her brother: The one who brings food back to the fire faster, wins.
Lyra walked up to the fire and held up her empty hands, offering a sheepish smile to the surrounding kids. "The rabbit tricked me. It jumped into a hollow log, and the echoes confused my ears. I lost it."
The children groaned playfully, but their disappointment vanished the moment Yoriichi stepped into the light, holding the massive, ten-pound river trout by the tail.
The kids cheered loudly, abandoning their games of tag and mock-sword fights to crowd around him. Their eyes were wide with absolute amazement.
"By the Gods, Yoriichi, did you catch that with your bare hands?!" one of the older boys asked, staring at the clean, surgical slice through the fish's torso.
"I used my blade," Yoriichi replied simply, though to the other children, slicing a leaping fish mid-air was a feat straight out of the legendary songs of the Age of Heroes.
With the food secured, the clearing immediately transformed into a bustling, well-oiled machine. It was a beautiful display of teamwork that spoke volumes about how these neglected children had learned to rely on each other.
Yoriichi handed the two halves of the fish to a skinny boy named Bran, who had a knack for precise work; he quickly began to gut and clean the remaining bones with a small paring knife. A young girl named Elara pulled out a small pouch of wild garlic and crushed salt she had traded for in town, generously rubbing it into the pink flesh.
Finally, Tom grabbed two sturdy green sticks, skewered the seasoned fish, and propped it carefully over the roaring bonfire to grill. Other younger children began gathering more dry wood to keep the flames high.
While they worked, Yoriichi walked over to the edge of the clearing, stepping behind the thick trunk of an ancient oak tree.
His clothes were still dripping with the freezing river water. Thanks to his breathing techniques, his core temperature was perfectly safe, but walking back to Mole's Town in wet clothes would draw unnecessary, worried questions from their mother.
Serena, however, knew her children's antics better than anyone. She always prepared for the worst. Before they left the house that morning, she had silently slipped a bundle of dry spare clothes into Lyra's satchel.
Behind the tree, Yoriichi quickly stripped off his wet tunic.
Back at the bonfire, Lyra, who was warming her hands near the flames, suddenly twitched her ears. Despite her blindfold, she turned her head sharply toward a pair of local girls sitting on the opposite side of the fire.
The two girls, barely thirteen themselves, were giggling silently. They were leaning far to their left, trying to peek around the oak tree to catch a glimpse of the stoic, handsome, and heavily muscled Yoriichi changing his clothes.
Lyra crossed her arms, a knowing, mischievous smile spreading across her face.
"If you lean any further, Rin, you are going to fall directly into the fire," Lyra teased, her voice ringing out clearly over the crackle of the wood. "My brother is changing, not putting on a mummer's show."
The two girls instantly shrieked, their faces turning the color of ripe tomatoes. They scrambled back to their logs, burying their embarrassed faces in their hands while the other boys burst into fits of raucous laughter.
"I wasn't looking!" Rin lied terribly, her voice muffled through her gloves. "I was... looking at an owl! In that tree!"
"Uh-huh," Lyra nodded sagely, though she was grinning from ear to ear. "A very muscular, red-eyed owl."
A moment later, Yoriichi stepped back into the firelight, completely oblivious to the comedic drama that had just occurred. He was now wearing a dry, thick woolen shirt and a warm cloak. He walked over and calmly took a seat on a log next to Lyra, his red eyes reflecting the dancing flames.
"Is the fish cooking well?" Yoriichi asked, looking at Tom.
"Almost done," Tom replied, rotating the stick carefully. The skin of the trout was beginning to blister and crisp, the rich smell of roasting meat, melting fat, and wild garlic filling the crisp evening air and making everybody's mouth water.
As the fish grilled to perfection, the chats around the bonfire began to rise again. The children talked about the mundane, happy things—who had found the prettiest stones in the mud, which Night's Watch recruit had fallen off his horse that morning, and what Serena's shop was selling for the upcoming week. They traded stories, laughed at silly jokes, and for once, their bellies were full.
For a brief, beautiful moment, there were no White Walkers, no corrupt Crows, and no bloody politics. There was just the warmth of the fire, the smell of good food, and the easy laughter of youth.
But as Yoriichi looked up through the canopy toward the darkening sky, his unparalleled instincts hummed quietly in his chest. The peace in the woods was perfect, but he knew the winds of change were blowing toward Mole's Town. The real world, with all its monsters and men, was waiting for them just beyond the tree line.
------------------------------------
well for now released a few extra (will add more)... within a week i will start to update regularly like 5-6chs/week. ok?
Also dear readers thank for this fic support and appreciation..