The two boys sat there hugging for a bit before eventually separating shortly before Rom should be arriving. Yew may have started crying towards the end there, but the two of them decided it wasn’t worth mentioning.

  Willow decided it might be best for him to leave before his brother’s friend showed up and started questioning why he was here.

  But as he got up, a thought occurred to the boy.

  “If you’re lonely waiting here by yourself, you could always join me and aunt Jieun for a bit. Could even show you the qi exercises I’m doing!” He said while giving his brother a hesitant smile.

  Yew returned it with one of his own, though it was slightly diminished by his red and puffy eyes.

  “I might take you up on that.”

  Willow’s curls bounced in a nod as he left the communal building and made his way back to his home, his thoughts all jumbled. He had gotten his answers, but now had to contend with yet another change in the status quo.

  He had a brother who was now striving to be outwardly kind to him.

  Willow had known for a while that his brother cared for him in his own way, after all he could feel his emotions quite clearly. However the older boy felt a lot of things a lot of the time so it was difficult to focus on the genuine care and affection he felt for his family. Especially when, more often than not, he had chosen to be a jerk to him.

  Before he knew it his musings were interrupted by his arrival at the small farmhouse he called home.

  As Willow entered he saw Aunt Jieun once more at the table working on a scroll. Her long black hair tied up in a different way from her usual style, and her dark eyes set in concentration. The way her brush moved over the parchment was mesmerising, each stroke swift and precise.

  The boy tried to quietly walk past her, not wanting to break his aunt’s focus. However, before he had made it to his room she called out without looking up from her work.

  “Child, come here, I’ve just about finished.”

  Jieun’s brush danced over the page one final time, before being set aside. After looking it over with a critical eye she made a gesture with her hand, and her qi moved in tandem, causing the written ink to be dried in an instant.

  She rolled the scroll up with the two carved dowels attached to it and handed it to her nephew, her pleasure at completing the task quite evident to the child's senses.

  “What’s this?” Willow asked, though he had suspicions. He had seen her working on it for a while now, but whenever he tried to take a peek he’d get shooed away.

  His aunt stretched while answering, getting the kinks out of her neck and shoulder. “I promised you a better version of that scroll you love so much, didn’t I? Well, here it is, and honestly I’m quite pleased with how it turned out.”

  The boy grinned as he carefully opened the scroll and took in the new artwork for the story of Eos the Dawnbringer. Despite red and black being the only colors used in the various illustrations they still conveyed different emotions depending on the scene being depicted.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  There was even a new picture for a scene that Willow had always enjoyed, but didn’t have any visual for previously. It wasn’t one of the big action moments, but was instead one that described Eos helping the people of a small town. She used her light to grow their crops and raise their spirits. It had been something that had helped cement his idea of what a hero should truly be.

  Someone who helped those in need.

  He continued to look through the scroll, enjoying every new brushstroke added to his favorite story. Until he eventually got to the end and saw some new words at the bottom that weren’t in the previous version. Words that he was able to read thanks to his aunt’s tutelage.

  For my sworn sister's youngest, no matter what form you take, know that you are loved.

  A smile came unbidden to his face, and he gave his aunt a big hug, careful to not damage his new treasure.

  “Thank you, Aunt Jieun!”

  She chuckled as she patted his back. “I take it you enjoyed my work then.”

  He nodded while not breaking the embrace. “It’s perfect!”

  “I’m glad you like it.” She paused. “Did you read my addition at the bottom?”

  He looked up into the woman's eyes, face alight with a grin. “I did!”

  His smile softened a bit and his gaze grew earnest. “You’re loved too, just so you know.”

  Jieun’s eyes became a bit misty before she quickly composed herself and tousled her nephew’s hair. “Thank you, child.”

  An aspect of the lovely note did prompt a question that had been bugging the boy for a while though.

  “How did you and Ma become sworn sisters?”

  He was familiar with the concept through the story of Megara the Breaker of Chains. She had two sworn sisters that she helped in some capacity before they joined her in her mission. However she doubted the circumstances of that story were all that applicable to her mother and aunt.

  The emotions in his aunt swirled in interesting ways as the question was asked before eventually settling into the form of bittersweet melancholy.

  Her face remained a placid mask as she answered. “My family had me do many unpleasant tasks for them in my youth. One of those tasks involved your mother.”

  She allowed a wistful smile to show. Her eyes clearly focused on events in her past.

  “Lexie stopped me from completing that task several times. On the last attempt she offered me friendship. I twisted that offer into an oath of fealty. She twisted it back into one of sisterhood.”

  Jieun returned to the present and the smile now fully reached her eyes. “I owe your mother much.”

  Willow stared up at his aunt for a couple of moments before scampering off to his room quite quickly. He returned just as fast with his new scroll replaced with the older and more loved version.

  Jieun looked on with a raised brow as her nephew offered her the old scroll.

  She took it with clear confusion on her features. “Why give me this, child?”

  Willow fidgeted in place, eyes down. “You said we should make it a keepsake when the new one was done.”

  He looked up at his aunt. “Since I have so many of my Ma’s stories already, I figured you should be the one to look after it.”

  She looked down at the tattered scroll, its edges worn and frayed.

  “It’s my favorite one, and I hope you like it too.”

  His aunt smiled.

  “Thank you, Willow.”

  She gave him another hug.

  “I’ll treasure it.”

  That day the bonds of Willow’s family grew ever stronger.

  A strength they would need for the coming night.