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Some boy is coming out of the woods.
He only wears short dirty pants and even his feet are naked.

Hey, I got something for you. You must be hungry.

The girl standing on a dirt path is happy.
Her brother always takes care of her well.
He gets close to her and strokes her head.
She at least wears a torn coat which covers her complete body, but she also doesn't have any shoes.

They don't have a proper home.
So they look for a nice place in the forest, where they prepare their food.

This is going to be delicious!

I'm sure it will be. You always put so much love into your food.

Without you we wouldn't have it in the first place.

When they prepared the food, they immediately eat it.
The girl really likes eating it.
The boy holds back, so his younger sister gets enough to finally grow.

I'm still hungry.

Sorry, that's all I got for now.

The girl is pretty underdeveloped. Despite being less than two years younger than her brother, she looks like she's almost half his age.
She really needs some proper food.

They've been living here for a long time.
Both of them can't remember living anywhere else.
And even if they don't know a different life, having to get food everyday and not knowing where to sleep the next night is always so annoying.
They are still pretty young after all.

After a while a huge group of people passes, partially with horses and a horse carriage.
It's always dangerous when people cross. When they notice them, they could do anything to the siblings.
A few times they were close to being killed, but they always could escape again.

But there also have been nice persons who gave them food or helped them in other ways.

The next days they don't get any food at all.
The weather is pretty bad, too. It's very cold and it's raining. The girl is freezing.
The siblings are hiding under a tree in the forest which is able to protect them from getting wet.

While sitting there the girl snuggles up to her brother.
He hugs her and starts to caress her.

Oh, you're shivering.
I really need to do something.

Yeah, but who could give me more warmth than you?

I think I need to get you some food.
This will warm you up from the inside.

Yeah, that would be nice...

But during weather like this, most animals are hiding, too.
It's difficult to hunt something.

Yeah, of course they do.

We still have to do something.

Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

She's still shivering. The boy hugs her closer, but it doesn't seem to help.
She needs food. He's sure about that. But he can't leave her alone like this.

Maybe they should have asked the passing people for help.
Even if it was dangerous, most people are still trying to help.

So they keep sitting there.
The girl looks like she's getting tired.
When the rain stops after a while, the boy finally gets up.

We have to go somewhere. Staying here won't help.

The girl is surprised. She must have been sleeping already.

I just had such a nice dream.
Can't you go alone and come back?

The boy is really worried about his sister. He starts to doubt that she would be able to make it if he left her now.

You have to get up, too. That's the only way.

The girl is annoyed but gets up.

While walking along some paths, a guy crosses their path.
He has a bunch of knives on his belt, so he's likely to be dangerous.

Under normal circumstances they would hide now.
But the boy is really desperate.
So as he's comming closer, the boy slows down and looks at the guy.
The guy notices them.

Oh, what are you two doing here?
You are very dirty.
And you must be freezing.
Do you need some help?

The boy cautiously nods.

I'll take you with me to my tribe.
We just came here a few days ago.
We give you what you need.
Come on!

The boy and the girl follow him without asking.
The girl really seems happy.
The boy is skeptical, though. There has to be a catch.
But wherever the guy brings them, it can't be worse than living in this wilderness.
It wouldn't be worse than just letting his sister die.

So what have you been doing here alone?
Where are your parents?

Parents?

So you don't have parents?

No, we don't have parents. I can't remember them.

Oh, that's sad. We'll take care of you from now on.
I'm sure our chief will accept you.

Oh, really? Thanks a lot!

The boy still isn't convinced, but what else should he do?

So what are your names?

Names?

You also don't have names?
Of course you don't. You grew up without parents.
It's a wonder you can even talk like this.

They guy stops and turns toward them.

I'll just call you... the boy and the girl, I guess.
You can call me Gorak.

Fine.

Nice to meet you, Gorak.

Nice to meet you, boy and girl.

The girl giggles.

Soon they reach a huge tent.
It's more like multiple tents, but some tarps are stretched between them to cover the whole area, which makes it seem like a really huge tent.
Most of the individual tents are already pretty large.

Just feel like home here.
We'll have dinner soon. Do you want to participate?

Yeah, I'm really hungry!

It's still the boy who has to decide if you eat with us.

She's starving.

Okay, right.

You might be right. So is there a catch?

No, you'll be part of the tribe now, so you're allowed to take part in everything, as long as you follow the rules.

Really? Thanks a lot!
But what are the rules?

Oh, you'll learn them soon enough.
We aren't strict on new tribe members.

They immediately enter one of the huge tents where dozens of people are already sitting at multiple tables.

I think, I can leave you alone now.
Just take a seat and start eating.
The meal is already standing around on the tables.

Okay. So they'll really accept me here?

Sure. Just try to be nice and nobody should have a problem with you.

Thanks. One last question, though.

Yeah, what is it?

Where can we sleep?

There are multiple tents to sleep. Just pick one. There should be enough space for a single couple in all of them.

Thanks.

And if you want, you can also put your sister into the girls tent.
Nobody is allowed to go in or out, except for girls when their owner brings them or wants to have them back.
It's guarded all night, and the guards are always pretty trustworthy.

Uhm... no. I want my sister to stay with me.
I want to know, she's fine.

That's your right. If you think you can protect her yourself, that's a good option. She's yours after all.

Protect her? Is there anything to watch out for?

Not really. But other men are sleeping in the tents, so they might get pretty close to her.

Okay. Sounds acceptable to me.

Cool!
So I guess I can leave now.
See you!

Gorak leaves them, and they sit down at some free bench.
The girl immediately starts eating.
She doesn't know, what food this is, but it's so delicious, she can't stop.
She has never eaten so much at once in her life.
The boy also starts eating.

After both of them finished eating, they get up and look for a tent to sleep.
On the way to the tent, another guy, not much older than them, is approaching the tent.

Hey, you!

Yeah?

Is this a tent to sleep?

Yeah, of course.
Are you new to our tribe?

Yeah.

You have a cute girl.
Is she yours?

She's my sister, so in that regard, she's mine.

And who is her owner?

She doesn't have an owner.

Oh, she doesn't?
In that case, I'd gladly take care of her.
She's very cute.
Can you give her to me?

No, you can't have her! She's my sister.

She isn't yours. You can't prevent anyone from taking her!

Of course she is! And so I will protect her!

That makes you her owner.

Whatever, then I'm her owner I guess...

This must be one of the rules Gorak was talking about.

The other guy goes ahead into the tent.
The siblings enter the tent.
There are a lot of sleeping places, which look much more comfortable than any place to sleep in nature.
It's just some kind of blanket, but they still call them beds.
And it's pretty full already.

Let's just get a bed together.
Did you already see a free place?

The girl goes to one and lies down.
The boy follows her and lies down next to her.

The boy really must watch out for his sister.
The guys probably want them for their own.

So they really think of him as her owner.
He needs to let everyone know about that.
If they know he's her owner, they'll probably respect that.

So this night, he hugs her very tight and caresses her as usual, so she'll feel comfortable soon..
His sister isn't used to such tight hugs, but she doesn't complain.
They still don't really feel comfortable around so many people, but in such a comfortable place they'll probably fall asleep quickly.