A/N: heyo! new chapter already because i had a lot of fun writing this one. kai and nya are hopelessly adorable, i rest my case.

updates will probably end up being kinda weekly? i haven't figured out a writing schedule yet, but i'm gonna try my best! not like i've been writing this during english class when i should be typing assignments! that'd just be . . . crazy . . .

enjoy, fellas!


The first night in their new environment is rough. Nya tries to sleep in her own room, she really does. After all, she's ten now, and that's definitely old enough to survive a night with Kai right next to her. She's gonna be mature, gosh darn it.

But later that night, when the moon is high in the sky, Nya wakes up, her pulse hammering much faster than what is normal. She blinks, remembering where she is and that it was only a dream. The dark doesn't freak her out. No way. That's dumb.

Stop being a baby. Woman up.

So she does, burrowing back under the covers, convinced she is beyond the days of being scared of the dark. That's behind her now. She's ten.

She lasts one more minute.

Nya rips off the blanket, scrambling out of bed and making a beeline for the door. Screw maturity, she's lonely and she can't sleep. Being ten is overrated anyways!

Just as her finger grazes the knob, the door swings open, nearly slamming her in the face. She yelps, throwing an arm up to maybe block an attack from whoever had broken into their house—

"Geez, Nya, it's me," Kai says, sounding worn out, but slightly amused nonetheless.

She lowers the arm, relief washing over her.

"Sorry," she says. Nya almost launches into an explanation about why she's awake, but Kai beats her to it. He reaches up to scratch the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Ah . . . so, here's the thing." He laughs resignedly. "I, uh . . . couldn't sleep. The room felt so big, and I just—"

Kai catches sight of Nya's expression, even through the hardly-existent lighting. She must look surprised, because he backtracks.

"Never mind, it's stupid," he says, relenting and making a move to turn and leave. Nya springs to life.

"No, don't go!" she all but yells. Kai turns to gawk at her. Good thing they don't have any neighbors, because all of them would've just woken up.

"I—I mean—you can go, if you want, but I—well—" She rocks back and forth on her heels, hoping Kai will maybe just read her mind so she can get this over with. What kind of ten-year-old can't sleep in a room by herself? Kai must think she's weak or stupid or childish—

"Actually . . . wanna head to my room? Just—ya know. It's empty. I'm not used to it yet."

A smile splits across Nya's face. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Cool."

"Cool."

Closing the door behind her, Nya trots after Kai in the hallway until they reach his room. They crawl into his bed together, curling up contentedly. Nya still feels immensely grateful that Kai didn't want to be alone, either. Not that she needs her big brother to feel safe or happy or anything, pssh.

. . . Well. Okay, maybe she just prefers his company to being by herself.

Eh. Whatever. Either way, Nya knows she'll sleep much better now.

oOo

Months pass. Kai, true to his word, gets the shop running again, somehow. He spends every day standing at the forge, sparks flying and hammer swinging. Nya wonders where he learned how to do any of this. It must be a miracle of some sort, because Nya had so many doubts that she could've written a novel about them.

But they're getting customers. Not many, but it's enough to buy food and, you know, stay alive. That's good enough for her!

Kai doesn't let Nya do any actual smithing yet, which she has mixed feelings about. It's not like she wanted to in the first place, but now that she's not allowed, Nya wants to pound some metal. Just to prove that she can, thank you very much. But Kai holds firm, and she lets him have his way.

He does let her work the counter, though. It's not as fun as working with fire, but hey, Nya's not complaining. At least she has something to do now.

Their customers are not exactly frequent, but every now and then, someone wanders up to the shop curiously, and she's gotten a lot better at talking to people. Today, Nya is absently fingering her still-very-short hair, twirling it around as she stares at the horizon. Behind her, the sound of clanging metal rings out, and sometimes Kai makes irritated noises.

(He's not the best blacksmith, but she'll never tell him that.)

A figure is suddenly in front of her, hands in pockets, glancing around. Nya starts a little, straightening up and trying to look a few years older than what she is.

"Good morning!" she chirps. "What can we do for you today?"

It's an older man, maybe in his late fifties. His slightly-graying hair and warm, brown eyes give him an approachable look. He smiles at her.

"Never thought I'd see the day," says the man. Slowly, like he's in awe, he surveys the shop, eyes lingering on the weather-beaten sign in front. "Hasn't changed a bit."

"Um." Nya falters. The script Kai made her memorize doesn't exactly cover situations like this one, what's she supposed to say?

The man is looking at her quizzically, like she's someone he recognizes. "Have your parents returned?"

Something like a brick drops in Nya's stomach as she fumbles for a reply. Parents? Returned? Who is this guy? Does he know her parents? Does he know what happened to them?

Wait, no. Clearly he doesn't know anything, otherwise he wouldn't be asking her.

"I, uh . . . they're . . . dead, sir," Nya finally manages to force out. The man's face falls.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Before he can say anything else, Kai materializes at her side, probably alerted by her prolonged silence. He glares.

"Who are you, exactly?" he says. Nya wonders how much of the conversation he heard.

The man ducks his head a little, chuckling. "Ah, sorry. Name's Walter Pine. Used to be a regular around here, when your parents were running things."

Some of the suspicion fades from Kai's expression. It's replaced by barely-contained interest. "You—you knew them? Our parents?"

"Sure did. Ray was a good friend of mine, back in the day. I'm sorry about what happened." Walter's gaze flicks from Nya to Kai and back again. "God. You two look just like 'em."

A little flutter of pride bursts to life in Nya's stomach. She looks like her mom. She looks like her mom. She likes this guy already.

"Living with a relative?" Walter asks, tone more serious, like he's hoping they'll say yes.

To his credit, Kai only hesitates for the barest or seconds. "Yeah. Our uncle."

Walter nods, subdued. "I see. You wanted to get the place runnin' again, huh? Your uncle help you out?"

"Sometimes. He's uh, not around much."

Maybe it's sympathy, or maybe it's just general concern, but Walter gives them a little smile and glances around one last time. It's obvious he doesn't really believe Kai, but he has enough tact to let the matter drop for now.

"Well, hey. If you two ever need anything, all ya gotta do is ask. I live right over the top of that hill." Walter points across the winding stone road, referencing the patch of green farmland that always has sheep grazing in it. Nya's heart soars. Their closest neighbor is a family friend! Good to know.

"Thanks, Mr. Pine," Kai says, sounding grateful.

"Walter," the older man replies, smiling ruefully. "And no problem. Anything for Ray and Mya's kids." He turns then, walking calmly down the road, hands in his jacket pockets. Kai and Nya share a glance, exchanging silent observations. At least they're not alone here. The thought is comforting.

So yeah, sometimes the weeks go well. Sometimes Nya has a long string of good days all in a row, but she knows better than to assume it'll last. She's spent enough time around Liam to know a few good days doesn't really mean much.

The bad days usually come sneakily. They pounce on her when she's least expecting them. For instance . . .

Every week, Kai and Nya have to make the three mile journey to the Ignacia market for food and material, which wouldn't be so bad if they didn't have to walk. Neither sibling can drive, and they're too young anyway, so they close the shop for a day and head out down the road.

Nya thinks it's kind of lame that they have to go together, since it blocks their business off for a whole day. But Kai won't leave Nya there alone for a day, because dangerous, but he also won't let Nya go to town alone, because dangerous. So she's stuck making the trip once a week, whether she wants to or not.

To be honest, Nya hates town. Especially the marketplace. There's just so many people. And—not that it's relevant, of course—she hates seeing other kids wandering around with parents. Well—maybe it makes her a little jealous.

Okay, a lot jealous.

It makes rocks form in her stomach, which is not only severely uncomfortable but also very sad. If she just doesn't think about her parents, usually she can pretend she doesn't care. But things like this? They make Nya realize she does, in fact, care.

Kai, apparently, doesn't have this problem, because he just grabs her hand and marches right through the crowds, seemingly oblivious to the stares they're getting. And the whispers.

Where are their parents?

Are they lost?

Are they looking for someone?

The whispers just make Nya angry. Her life is none of anyone's dang business, so leave her alone, gosh. She and Kai are doing perfectly fine without adults in their lives, they don't need any dumb supervision. What's everyone so worried about?

But despite all that . . . Nya can't help the little pang of sharp longing that hits her when she sees families strolling past. She can't help it, but she can ignore it, so that's what Nya does.

Nya likes to feel strong. Feeling weak is one of her biggest fears, maybe because she grew up with the knowledge, the constant reminder that weakness would get her in trouble. Stand up for yourself. If they hit you, hit 'em back.

Well, that's what Kai always told her. It's worked, so far.

Unfortunately for her, today is one of the bad days.

As Kai is tossing apples into a bag, Nya wanders away a little, drawn in by an abrupt raise of voices that caught her attention. Her eyes scan the market, looking for a sign of what's going on. The noise is coming from—from over there.

Steps a little faster now, Nya ducks behind a stack of barrels and finds herself standing at the mouth of a corner alleyway, brick walls lining either side. Right in the middle, four boys her own age are surrounding a younger, skinnier boy.

"What're you gonna do about it, Aiden?" one of them asks.

"He's prob'ly gonna cry," says another.

Nya can't see what's going on from where she's hiding, but from what she hears . . . this sounds like something bad. Probably something an adult is better equipped to handle.

So, naturally, she takes matters into her own hands.

"Hey!" she barks out. But that's all she's got, and now all five boys are looking at her and she doesn't have a follow-up statement. Where was the wit when she needed it, geez.

"What?" one boy hisses, and now that she's a little closer, she can see that she's the shortest one here, which is . . . not helping.

"What's going on?" she asks, directing the question to the smallest boy in the middle—Aiden, was it?

Aiden steps forward, encouraged by her appearance. Clearly he'd been crying, though, because his voice is still wavering as he speaks. "I found this cat—and they were—they were trying to kick it."

Nya's eyebrows shoot up as she peeks around Aiden, and sure enough, there's a little orange kitten curled up near the wall, ears pressed flat against its head. It's so small that it could fit in Nya's two hands. At this point, it can't even defend itself. And this kid was just trying to help. Nya feels something angry bubbling in her stomach.

She whirls on the taller boys. "Why would you do that? What'd the cat ever do to you, huh?"

One boy scoffs, tossing an amused glance at his friends. They laugh.

"Awfully tough, arn'cha?" he says. "We don't listen to little girls."

Little? Nya knows she's maybe on the shorter side, but little? That's pushing it a bit. Her hands curl into fists at her side.

"Leave 'em alone," she orders, stepping between the cat and the four boys. Aiden shuffles over to stand next to her, which makes her feel a little better, even though he doesn't look any stronger than her.

"Or what?"

"Yeah, or what?"

Two of the boys shove Nya aside and pick up the kitten, letting it dangle by the scruff of its neck. Nya grabs for it.

"Put it down!"

They don't listen. They laugh louder as Nya tries harder, jumping up and down to reach the poor cat, but nothing is working. Aiden watches with wide eyes.

"Come and get your kitty," one boy taunts. "C'mon, shorty, can't you reach?"

"Jump higher next time!"

"Oh—almost had it!"

Their teasing blurs into static between Nya's ears. She stops trying and steps back, tears building up as she bites down on her lip.

Why is she so useless, this is impossible. She should've walked away when she still had some dignity left. Now the boys are laughing at her and Aiden is waiting, expecting her to do something.

She tried to help and she failed.

Never mind this whole thing.

Nya stomps away, squeezing her eyes shut at the hoots from the boys.

Come on, Nya, you're better than that. You scared Liam away but you can't even handle some dumb boys.

She's pathetic.

As she hurries for the alley's entrance, Nya imagines what Kai would say about this. His voice rings in her ears.

Seriously? Quitting already? You're not a baby anymore. Get back in there and finish this.

"Shut up," Nya mutters to Kai's voice in her head.

Just before leaving the scene behind, something makes Nya pause. She hears the boys shouting and laughing, and from the corner of her eye she sees them tossing the kitten back and forth like a ball. Rage ignites in her again.

Aiden is still doing his best, calling out, "Stop! Guys, I'm serious, stop!" It's not working.

Absently, Nya eyes a broken board lying close to her feet.

Maybe . . . no. No. Nya, just leave. Just go.

But she stays. And when Aiden makes a pained grunting sort of sound, Nya turns just in time to see him stumble backwards into a muddy puddle, the other kids laughing because they pushed him.

Nya hates people that push other people.

Yeah, she's mad now.

Caution thrown to the wind, Nya picks up the board and spins right around, running all the way over to the boys and vaulting right onto the tallest one's back. He yelps. Aiden's mouth falls open in astonishment

"Hey—hey, get off!" He whips around all over the place, jerking Nya in every direction, but she's sick of these kids and she's not done yet.

Before the other guys can move a muscle, Nya cracks the board down on the tall boy's head. With a surprised gasp, he topples over, landing hard on the smooth dirt. Easily, Nya rolls off of him and snatches up the kitten, tossing the broken board at the nearest boy.

"I said, leave. Them. Alone."

Newly inspired, Aiden grins and hops over to stand by Nya again. They don't look like much, but Nya isn't that scared anymore. The boys are looking at her like she just grew a second head, which means she's successfully established her dominance here. Feels good.

From her arms, the kitten mews appreciatively.

Ha. She showed them. And she'll show them again if she has to, because man did that feel great. Kai would be so—

"Nya?!"

She jumps a little at the voice. Kai's voice. He's squeezing through the opening she'd crawled through, but it seems like it's more difficult for him, since he's slightly bigger. Finally, with an annoyed grunt, Kai strides over, looking much older than he really is.

"What's this?" he demands, casting a threatening glare over the group of boys. When no one says anything, Nya pipes up.

"They were pickin' on this kid. And this cat." Fondly, Nya holds up the tiny kitten, which squirms a bit in her grasp.

One of Kai's eyebrows goes up as he looks her over. Seeing that she's unharmed, he turns to the other kids and gestures abruptly.

"Well go on, get outta here!" he yells. Like the flick of a switch, the four boys are gone in a blink.

Maybe Aiden is set on edge by Kai's (rather intimidating) presence, because he punches Nya lightly on the shoulder and says, "Hey, thanks." He takes off in a flash.

Nya is left standing there with that little ball of orange fluff, and Kai's looking at her with an odd expression.

"Whaaat?" Nya asks, putting on her best I'm innocent face.

"What did you do?" Kai sighs wearily.

"Nothing."

Kai glares skeptically and Nya caves.

"Okay, they were being really mean, and what was I supposed to do? Stand there and let 'em mess with that kid? Or this kitten?"

Kai tilts his head back and groans. When he meets her eyes again, there's a new emotion there. Not that she should make assumptions, but—she's pretty sure Kai looks proud.

"Fine. You're off the hook, for now. We need to head back, before it gets late."

Giving her one last I'm watching you look, Kai starts out of the alley, shaking his head amusedly. He could be such a mom sometimes. Not that Nya would know, or anything, but still.

Also . . . she can't leave the alley.

Kai notices she's not following and peeks back at her. "Come on," he says. "What're you waiting for, a golden invitation?"

Nya shifts uncomfortably. See, the thing is . . . she's kinda still holding the kitten, and she thinks it might've fallen asleep, and she just doesn't have the heart to put it down. But she's also way too scared to ask Kai if she can keep it.

Thankfully, Kai beats her to the subject.

His eyes light up with realization when he looks down at the kitten she's cradling. He winces.

"Nya . . . we can't take it home."

Her whole mood takes a dive off a cliff. "But - we can't just leave it here!"

Kai tries to open his mouth and say some other lame, responsible stuff, but Nya rushes over and holds up the kitten, right in front of his face.

"Look at it!" Nya pleads. "Look how small and cute!"

"Nya -"

"You're saying you would abandon this poor kitten? On purpose?"

When Kai stutters, Nya knows she has him trapped. And when she gives him her best shiny, begging puppy-dog-eyes, he doesn't stand a chance. He at least tries, though, standing there with his arms crossed, like it's supposed to make him look authoritative.

Finally, after a maddening stretch of silence, Kai shakes his head and frowns. "Ugh, fine. We can keep it for a little while, but then you gotta find it a new home, okay?"

Nya beams, bouncing forward for a quick hug.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she blurts out. The kitten stirs quietly in her hands and Nya stops moving, remembering not to wake it.

So, she gently sets it in the pocket of her jacket and follows Kai back up the winding stone road, all the way home.

During the walk, Nya can't decide what to feel, exactly. Sure, she stood up for that kid, and she informally adopted a kitten, but the events before that replay in her mind, over and over again. It's not fun. Nya's reminded of the feeling she'd been exposed to - anger and guilt and helplessness.

She hates it. Feeling weak sucks, and she doesn't ever want to deal with it ever again. So it's right then that Nya decides she's going to do something about it, someday. Someday, when she's old enough, she's gonna help people. And the bad guys will be scared of her, not the other way around.

It's more of a passing thought than a solemn vow, but Nya keeps it locked away in her subconscious, knowing it'll come in handy one day.