Balm looked down at the twins. “Well, we have no money to afford an inn or a tavern, so we need to come up with a plan.” Sequoia’s face was riddled with guilt, she felt responsible for this situation, if it weren’t for her, they wouldn’t have had to spend all of that money, afterall, it wasn’t like they spent Kara. Tears started to well up in her eyes, enough that she wasn’t able to see through them. She felt a hand land on her head, she blinked to allow the tears to roll down her cheeks. When her eyes were clear she saw her twin patting her on her head in an attempt to comfort her. A gentle smile formed across his face. Meanwhile the men were in discussion on what their next course of action should be. Acanthus lifted his hand off of Sequoia’s head and walked over to Chestnut, who had been holding on to their baby brother. He took him out of Chestnut’s arm, allowing him to continue in the conversation. Acanthus walked back over to Sequoia, keeping hold of the baby. His eyes were wide open, a deep brown, much like Sequoia’s and Acanthus’s. The baby cooed at Sequoia, smiling brightly at her, looking at her with nothing but love and affection. Sequoia looked at her brother’s, thankful for her supportive and kind twin and her innocent and loving baby brother. She wrapped her arms around both of them, squeezing them tight. When walking through her village she felt very few emotions, only the sadness of her parents death, the guilt of having to kill with her own hands and the fear she felt after getting attacked and not really knowing how to deal with it. However, other than those moments, she didn’t really feel anything, no guilt, no anxiety. She clenched her hands, crumpling a clump of her brother’s clothes as she came to her realisation. She looked back on the moments in her village where she didn’t feel much, if anything, wondering if there was something wrong with her, if her aunty was right to ignore her. With each memory, each sensation she remembered, she blinked, trying to remember her feeling, trying to figure out why she behaved like that. She took deep breaths, coming to a realisation. She realised that during the exploration she was on guard, protecting herself by minimising her emotions. She let go of her brothers, knowing now that she was in a safe place, at this moment she was safe and could finally breathe and release all her guilt, sadness and frustration. 

After taking a step back from her brothers, her mind finally felt a little clearer. Although the emotions she had just experienced were released, they were far from disappearing. She looked back at the men who were still debating. Unsure what to do she stuck to her brothers, watching people pass by them. They observed where they were going and what shops people went into. Chestnut was getting increasingly frustrated, their conversation kept on going in a circle, they would think of one idea only for another problem to be thought of. Eventually he decided to walk, leaving the others to either follow him or keep on arguing. Bougainvillea and Balm knew what Chestnut was like, even though he was usually silent, he was just as expressive as someone who was chatty. They looked at each other and sighed, signalling for the children to follow. 

Chestnut marched forward with no destination in mind, the others strayed behind, taking time to think to themselves. Their walk lasted for half an hour, going down different roads and alley’s, walking past large houses and small shops, that is until they walked down one of the many alley ways that led into large yet quiet roads. They stood there, allowing themselves to have a break for a moment. The children noticed a man, quite tall compared to the average Kaleshian, rushing past a narrower and darker road and then slowing down as soon as he was past it. The children looked on in confusion, even if it seemed intimidating at a quick glance, there didn’t seem to be any issue to warrant such avoidance. The men looked towards where the siblings were looking, recognising the road and where it led. They started to walk away, Balm grabbing the children’s hands and moving away. Sequoia started to pull her arm away, trying to resist the urgency in the men. Acanthus, on the other hand, followed along quietly, not wanting to stir up trouble. 

It wasn’t long till Sequoia managed to worm her arm out of the grip. “Why are you dragging us away? It’s not like we were in any danger!” Acanthus didn’t say anything, but his eyes were pleading for knowledge. Bougainvillea and Balm were visibly uncomfortable with answering the question. They’re just young children, not from the city so of course they wouldn’t understand their perspective. Balm placed his hand on the children’s shoulders. “They are…travellers, from the Olsharla Empire. Plus that road, despite what it looks like, is actually more like a small city.” Sequoia was clearly unsatisfied with this response. She pressed for more answers. “Even if they are travellers, there’s no need for us to move away so quickly, and what does the size of the road have anything to do with it?” Balm took a moment to think “Well-” Before he could say anything else Chestnut interrupted. “They aren’t travellers. They were banished from their homes, or at least most of them were. You can tell by the snake they have branded on their cheek. Olsharlians are very loyal to their empire and so even if they were to commit a heinous crime they wouldn’t abandon their homeland, however those who were falsely accused move to other countries. Afterall, in the Olsharla Empire it is essentially a death sentence to leave their community.” During this explanation Balm and Bougainvillea wondered if they should stop Chestnut in case it would be too much for the twins. Despite their concerns the twins seemed to understand, at least mostly. However, they still had their questions. Acanthus was the one to speak up this time. “If they were criminals, even if they were actually innocent, how were they allowed to move here?” Chestnut shrugged, “I’m not sure, I never thought about it.” The three looked up to bougainvillea and Balm, awaiting for their answer. Bougainvillea looked down at the baby, deep in thought, unsure of the answer himself. Balm took a moment to think. “Well, I’m not one hundred percent sure myself, but I have heard a few rumours, some say they have to bribe the border guards to allow them through, others say that there’s an official process they have to go through, but ultimately it is strictly confidential information.” Acanthus looked down at the pebbles on the ground, questions continuously running through his head, his thoughts interrupted by Sequoia’s leading question. “If they’re innocent then why do people avoid them?” The men paused for a second, even Chestnut wasn’t sure how to put it. They thought for a moment before Chestnut decided to tell it as it was. “There’s many reasons for it, the main reason being because they aren’t from here and look different to us. They behave differently to us and their culture is different to ours. There are many other reasons but they’re the main ones, well aside from them being supposed criminals.” The children look at the adults and back to each other, still confused on why it was such a bad thing to be different. Acanthus, opening his mouth to speak, quickly got interrupted by Bougainvillea. “It’s best we get moving, it’s getting late and we don’t know when they will start wandering the streets.” He looked towards the open road where the Olsharlians reside. The children looked back at the road as they were pulled away.