The long shadows of the late afternoon stretched across the village like grasping fingers as Fuyu and Manu approached their family hut. The air was cooling, but the heat of the day's violence still pulsed in Manu's bruised forearm and Fuyu's calculating mind. They walked with a heavy, synchronized tread, the dust of the fields coating their skin like a second, grimy layer of armor.
"Mother is going to lose her mind, Fuyu," Manu whispered, his eyes darting to the darkening windows of the neighboring dwellings. He adjusted his grip on his arm, trying to mask the stiffness. "If she sees this bruise, she'll think the world is ending. And the military... hah! She'll never agree. She'll chain me to the grain mill before she lets me touch a spear. We're stuck, Brother. Stuck in the dirt until the scavengers like Rayn finally finish what they started."
