Rookies

Morning broke gently over the cabin.

The sun's light crept across the wooden walls, through the windows, and onto the living room floor where the twins had fallen asleep curled together under one blanket. Selena was already up, sweeping ash from the fireplace, while Lio sat at the table, balancing a spoon on his nose.

Red emerged from his room in silence, carrying a small burlap bundle under one arm.

He stood by the table, placing four folded bundles of cloth, white tunics, sturdy long pants, and soft leather boots, one by one.

He didn't announce anything. He didn't explain.

But when Lio, Selena, Lia, and Lana came in for breakfast, and saw the clothes laid out neatly with their sizes in mind…

Lio blinked. "Uh… Red? What's this?"

Selena stepped over and gently opened the bundles.

Her eyes widened.

Inside were white tunics, simple but finely stitched. Long, durable pants. Soft-furred boots reinforced with leather soles, sized for each of them. Even smaller pairs for Lia and Lana, with little buttons stitched into the cuffs.

Selena touched the fabric. "You bought these…?"

Red gave a small nod.

Lio blinked, his hands hovering above the soft fabric. "For us?"

Another nod.

Lio sat upright, jaw slightly slack. "Wait, wait, you got these… for us?"

The girls' eyes shimmered.

For children who had known only rags and dirt, the tunics felt like silk. The pants were thick, warm. The boots… actually fit. It wasn't just clothing. It was something more.

A second chance. A fresh start.

Red turned away and poured the coffee as if nothing had happened.

But when Lio looked at Red, who simply moved to the doorway, fastening his sword belt and adjusting his gauntlets, he understood.

It wasn't just about the clothes.

It was a shelter. Food. A home. And now, the dignity of clean clothes to call their own.

Lia and Lana squealed with excitement as they tried on their tunics, spinning in place with big smiles. Selena helped them into their boots, tears pricking at her eyes, though she quickly wiped them away before anyone could see.

For the first time, Lio didn't make a joke.

He stood straighter.

And for the first time, all of them saw Red not just as a protector…

…but as something closer to family.

After his morning coffee and routine checks, Red set out again.

Armor on. Sword checked. Traps secure.

He took nothing else.

He walked the path alone, heading toward Silverhaven like he did every morning, quiet, composed, unreadable.

He moved through the forest, cloak trailing behind him, boots pressing gently into familiar earth. Each step had a rhythm, a purpose, a silence earned over years.

He arrived at Silverhaven before the marketplace had fully opened. The guild was quiet, save for a few Bronze adventurers whispering about local boar hunts.

The guild was no different.

Red approached the quest board.

Still empty of goblin or orc quests. Still stacked with supply runs and pest exterminations. Nothing worthy of him.

Just more fetch requests, caravan escorts, and beast exterminations for teams of four.

He didn't take anything.

Instead, he turned and left.

And as always, he turned to the marketplace and packed food.

Rice. Bread. Water flasks. Fruit. potions.

He packed enough for the slums again.

Red crossed the outer road and slipped past the wall into the overgrown trails outside the city. The guards never stopped him. By now, they knew where he was going, even if they didn't understand why.

He entered the slums like a breeze, unseen, unheard.

In his pack: loaves, dried fruits, hard bread, three water flasks, and six red potions.

He stopped by the usual drop point and placed everything carefully into the old crate.

But something… felt off.

Different.

It wasn't the weather. Or the wind.

It was something deeper, a pull. Instinct honed by years of hunting monsters, surviving traps, and killing what others couldn't face.

He paused.

Then turned.

And walked deeper.

He didn't understand why.

His instinct just…pulled him.

It was quiet here. Too quiet.

He stepped past a collapsed fence, past a half-burnt shack, and into the remains of an alley swallowed by rust and vines.

Past the scattered shacks, beyond the firepits, into the edges of the slums where no one dared sleep. Where the buildings leaned too far, the air smelled sour, and even the desperate avoided staying too long.

He stepped through broken planks and rusted gates.

And then he saw her.

A girl.

She lay crumpled near a collapsed well, her body half-curled, skin pale. Pink hair, stained by dust and sweat, clung to her cheek. Her clothes, simple, but far too clean to belong here, were torn slightly at the hem.

But what caught Red's attention was not her clothes. Nor her strange presence in a place she clearly didn't belong.

It was her face.

He'd never seen her before.

Not once.

And Red had walked this place longer than most people knew.

His eyes narrowed.

He knelt beside her.

Her pulse was weak, but steady. She was young. No older than sixteen. Her hands were soft, her fingernails trimmed, not the hands of someone who had grown up in filth and hunger.

She was alive…barely.

So what was she doing here?

Who was she?

There was no one else nearby.

No sounds.

No trail.

Just her.

Bruises dotted her arms. Her fingers twitched faintly as he reached down. No blood. No visible wounds. But she was drained. Whatever had happened to her… it had taken everything.

Red lifted her carefully and adjusted his balance.

She was light. Feverish.

He said nothing and began the long walk home.

The rain began halfway through the path home.

It was light, more mist than water, soft on the leaves overhead.

Red walked steadily, adjusting his cloak to shield her better. The girl stirred against his chest, eyelids fluttering slightly.

Her lips parted.

"…Where…?"

"You're safe," Red said.

Her eyes flicked open, unfocused at first. "You…?"

Then they met him.

She flinched, trying to push away, but her arms had no strength.

Her breath trembled.

Red didn't stop walking.

She tried to move, but her arms refused.

Red: "You were unconscious. In the edge district."

"I… I wasn't…" she mumbled. "Supposed to…"

She didn't finish.

Whatever had brought her here, whatever she was trying to escape from, it had nearly broken her.

Red's grip didn't falter.

Her voice was small. "You're not… taking me back… are you?"

Red: "No."

That word, so simple, so final, made something in her ease.

She let her head rest against his chest.

"…Okay," she whispered. "Okay."

By the time they reached the cabin, the sun had dipped low again. Orange light cut through the trees like scattered fire.

Selena was the first to spot him through the kitchen window.

She stepped outside immediately, her eyes widening.

Lio followed, mouth open.

"…Did he just bring another one?" he muttered.

Selena elbowed him. "Not now."

Red stepped onto the porch, still carrying the girl, who had fallen unconscious again.

"She needs rest," he said simply.

Selena nodded and opened the door.

Red carried the girl inside, laid her gently on a cleared cot in the corner, and stepped back.

None of them asked questions yet.

But they would.

And Red would answer.

When the time came.