As Forde watched his brother disappear into the woods with General Seth, he heaved a heavy sigh before collapsing back onto his blankets. Around him, quiet conversation and breakfast preparations created a pleasant hum of relaxed activity, but there remained a tightness in his chest. Rolling onto his stomach, he bunched the blankets under his chin and glanced over to Kyle, who was already in his own bed with eyes shut, chest rising and falling in a rhythmic motion.

"Kyle, are you asleep?" he whispered.

"Yes," Kyle mumbled back without opening his eyes.

"Do you think he's gonna be okay?"

"Who?"

"Franz; who do you think?"

"Of course he is: he's with the general."

"I know, but that… that's kinda what worries me."

With a longsuffering sigh, Kyle rolled to his side and propped his head up on his hand, "Why?"

"Well, I don't know, it's just that General Seth can be awfully… severe," Forde shivered slightly, "And the look he gave Franz… I had forgotten how terrifying he can be when he's angry."

"Yeah, I was definitely glad that look wasn't directed at me," Kyle yawned, "But I still don't see the problem. You seemed angry enough yourself just a moment ago."

"I was, but… I just… he's my little brother," Forde finished lamely.

Kyle raised a brow and shot Forde a look through half-closed eyes, "Ah, I think I get it. You're having a hard time trusting the general with your brother."

Forde stared at the ground without speaking.

"Forde…" Kyle sighed, "You know Franz has been training under General Seth for most of the time we've been away with Prince Ephraim."

"I know."

"And since he is your brother, I can't imagine this is the first time he's had to face the general's… correction."

"I don't know what you mean by that," Forde huffed, giving Kyle a side-eyed glare, "You got in trouble with him practically just as much as I did."

Kyle flopped back down to his back, "And it was almost always your fault."

Forde opened his mouth to argue, but stopped short when a pained cry filtered through the trees. It was faint, but clearly discernible, and it was unmistakably his brother's voice.

"That's… he's…" Forde had himself halfway pushed up before he even thought about moving, then sat frozen as the cries of distress continued from within the woods.

"Forde, calm down," Kyle rolled himself back over to face his comrade once again, "You used to trust General Seth completely; don't you remember what it was like when we used to get in trouble? Did he ever treat us unfairly?"

Some of the tension released from Forde's shoulders, "No."

Kyle nodded, "You know Franz earned this, and yeah, it's gonna hurt, but he'll be better off for it. We always were, even if we didn't always see it at the time."

"You… you're right," Forde collapsed back against his blankets, then brought his hands to his ears with a grimace in an effort to block out his brother's pathetic wails, "I just wish he would take it a little farther away."

"Heh, you know that was always the general's custom when he dealt with us, too," Kyle replied, settling back into his own bed, "Far enough away to give us some privacy, but still close enough that everyone could hear. It never stopped us from wailing our lungs out when he whipped us, either."

"Mmm," Forde mumbled a contemplative hum. Looking out at the rest of camp, he noted the various reactions his comrades displayed to the cries from within the forest. Those who had years of experience with General Seth paid the wailing no mind, going about their business as if nothing were wrong, or at most shaking their head with a rueful sigh. Some of the newer members of the party cast various concerned or questioning glances towards the forest, but mostly returned to their activities without comment when they saw their comrades did not seem to be disturbed by the ordeal. A few of the younger members of the party looked truly frightened, but even they settled into acceptance as they interacted with their older companions.

When Forde glanced back to the bed beside him, he saw that Kyle had already returned to his coveted slumber. He settled back into his own bedding, but did not close his eyes. Instead, he lay on his back with his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky as he continued to listen to his brother's faint cries. He felt like it was his duty, as the older brother, to stay up with his little brother and support him, at least symbolically.

There was a short pause before the wailing started up again even more earnestly, but they did not last long this time. Finally, the cries from the forest faded into silence.

Forde breathed a sigh of relief. He had made the decision to trust Franz to the general's care, but he had always hated hearing his brother cry, regardless of the circumstances.

He lay there for a while, listening to the quiet hum of activity buzzing around camp, and thought about closing his eyes and joining his companion in sleep. Before long, however, he noticed a sudden quiet, and glanced up to see his brother and the general emerge from the forest at the edge of camp.

He pushed himself upright and joined the rest of camp in watching the pair approach. Franz was dressed in only his undershirt and breeches, carrying the rest of his clothing and armor in a bunch against his chest. He hesitated just as he entered the camp when he noticed every waking eye had turned toward him, but the general's firm hand on his shoulder propelled him forward until he stood near the middle of camp.

Franz swallowed hard, glancing back at Seth for a moment and receiving an expectant nod before hugging his bundle of clothing tightly to his chest and stuttering out, "I… I'm sorry, everyone… for all the… all the trouble I caused last night. I know I-I put you all in danger by leaving my post, and… and I'm sorry."

He finished with a little bow, staring down at the ground. Several nods and murmured reassurances indicated his apology had been accepted by the group, and a few people patted his shoulder or shot him an encouraging smile as they returned to their morning activities.

When Ephraim approached him and placed his hand gently on his shoulder, Franz almost broke down all over again.

"Prince Ephraim, I'm so sorry! I swear I'll never abandon my duty again!"

"Good," Ephraim smiled, "I'm glad you've learned from this. You should take some rest: you look like you're about to fall over."

"Indeed," Seth nodded and steered the young man over to where his blankets were stretched out: right next to his brother's, "We will still have quite a ride today. Sleep while you can."

Forde, who had watched the whole scene from his bed, cast a searching look up at his brother. The younger man's eyes were still red from tears, but there was a peacefulness about him that set Forde's mind at ease. Kyle was right: the boy was better off for his time spent with the general.

"Forde… I'm sorry for worrying you…" his head was tilted down, but his wide eyes glanced up briefly at his brother as he spoke.

With a little smile, Forde leaned back on one arm and opened the other up to his little brother, "C'mon, you idiot."

Franz practically collapsed on top of his brother, falling gratefully into Forde's welcoming embrace. He heard the older man chuckle and felt a hand ruffle his hair, and he knew he was forgiven.

All at once, his lack of sleep the night before crashed into him like a boulder, and he felt his body grow heavy with fatigue. He barely registered his limbs shifting as Forde adjusted him to lie on his stomach, and within moments he was out completely.

When Seth walked back over to check on the boy a few minutes later, he found him lying halfway between his brother's mat and his own with Forde's hand resting on his back, both boys sunk into an exhausted sleep. Shaking his head with a bemused smile, he carefully repositioned both young men so that at least they would not wake up with any unnecessary aches or stiffness. The day's ride was certainly going to uncomfortable enough for Franz as it was.