"What's your name?" The boy asks.

Keon blinks. "O-oh, um yeah. Name is Keon."

He scratches his head lightly, and continues fidgeting embarrassedly.

The boy smiles. "Nice to meet you, Keon. I am Lucus."

Keon nods. "Nice meeting ...ya too."

"Thank you against for saving me. I am in your debt," Lucus says chuckling. He gives Keon a mock bow. 

"Ah! No need..!" Keon says nervously.

"But of course, I am yours to command." Lucus gives him another playful bow.

Keon laughs. "Alright. How about letting me go for a quick sec?"

Lucus frowns, and tightens his grip. "..promise you'll come back?"

He nods excitedly. "Yeah, yes, course."

Lucus studies his face, and thinks about it for a while. Then he lets go of his shirt. Keon quickly jumps up and climbs, making his way back up on the ledge.

"Careful!" Lucus calls.

Keon laughs. Hehe, this is nothing. He makes it to the top, and grabs his bread. Then jumps back down again.

"See? I'm back!" Keon exclaims, smiling brightly.

Lucus lets out a breath. "That was high. How can you do that?"

The other boy beams. "It's sum thing 'm good at."

"Something."

"What?"

"What? Nothing."

The boys stare at each other, confused and wondering.

"Anyways," Lucus draws, "What's that in your hand?"

Keon gives his a smile, and holds his hand out. "Food! An' it's still warm. Want?"

Lucus looks at the bread, and holds back from cringing. "No, I'm good. I've eaten; you go ahead."

The boy's smiles fades. "....ok." He turns his face away a bit, and continues eating where he left off. 

Lucus notices the boy's sudden down mood, and tries to cheer him up. 

"Let's play a game," he says. Then he taps Keon's shoulder and yells "Tag!" while zooming off.

Keon is stunned for a bit, caught off guard. Then he smiles at the challenge and chases after the boy, his bread forgotten. 

It doesn't take long for the boys to switch roles. Keon catches up to Lucus in no time, and taps his neck. 

The other boy gasps. "Wow, you're fast." He makes a hard stop, and runs after Keon.

It begins to get a little dark, and Keon decides to let Lucus tag him. The other boy comes up to him panting, and wearily taps him. 

"Let's take a break," Keon suggests. 

The boys sit down on the floor. 

A few minutes later, they are back to chasing each other.

....

Noshin walks across the street, a trail of extra soldiers behind him. He scans the area, and every person who might be the one he's looking for. 

There's only one reason he's there: the Silver Prince. Prince Lucius had run off again for the third time; the boy was honestly rebellious at times, but he was the Crown Prince, the heir to the Silver Throne. 

A group of soldiers came up to Noshin. 

"Shield, the Crown Prince is nowhere to be found," they report. 

The Shield rubs his forehead with worry. "Keep searching."

If he didn't find the Crown Prince, the Silver King would would be furious. This wasn't how his heir was supposed to act, but Noshin could slightly sympathize with him. After all, a lot was expected from him; he had very little to no free time or privacy. 

As the Queen's former Shield, he felt responsible for the boy, and was able to watch him more than any other guard. He took one break, and somehow the Prince was able to slip under the Royal Guard's watch.

Noshin narrows his eyes in thought. Where would the Prince possibly hide? He doesn't know the streets; he could have been harmed. He would have been sure to stand out. 

Just as his frustration is about to get to him, he spots something. Or someone to be more precise. 

A cloaked figure is being chased by a blur. As the blur gets closer to the figure, he gives a panicked scream. 

The Shield freezes. He can hear nothing but a ringing in his hears and the Prince's scream. His vision tunnels to the scene of the Prince running for his life from a threat. A threat that must be terminated.

Noshin begins to sprint at full speed towards his Prince. 

"Go after the threat that dared to try to attack the Prince!" He yells to the soldiers behind him.

As he gets closer to the Prince, he sees that the blur was another young boy. That brat! He will be punished for this.

The Shield's blood boils, and he picks up the pace, his fury fueling him.

The boy doesn't even see him coming when he yanks him back. The boy stumbles hard against the ground with a grunt.

"Lucius!" He calls out to the prince. The Silver Prince turns his head in confusion. He sees Noshin.

"Shin?"

The Shield opens his mouth to convince the Prince to come quietly. It would troublesome if people noticed he was the Silver Prince; it could put his life in danger. 

Suddenly, he feels a hard object smash against his head. 

The Shield's eyes widened, taken completely aback. He turns to see the source, blood trickling down into his eye. 

The boy who was chasing the Prince pounces on him, knocking him back. The boy hisses in pain at the contact of Noshin's armor.

Noshin slams the young boy against the wall. He hears him cry out, but doesn't stop. He was planning to harm the Prince, and attacked a Shield!

"Shin! Stop!" A voice calls out, but the Shield can barely register the words.

He is about to destroy this boy, when he feels something touch his back.

"Noshin!"

He flips his head back, surprised to hear his full name. The Prince comes up to him. "Leave him alon-"

The boy at his feet jumps at the opportunity, and tries to escape. He begins to run, but Noshin pulls out his sword and stabs him before he gets the chance.

"Keon!!"