He had heard the arguing long before they entered. Usually, he would have shared a sigh with Emma, but she didn't seem inclined to talk to him. They had walked their way home in silence, Emma's word weighing heavy on him. As they opened the door, their mother's voice hit them, no longer dampened by the door.
"… but of course you didn't," their mother said. "That's too much to ask for. At least you thought about wasting money on more booze!"
Their mother, Marie, stood in the kitchen. She had washed the dishes, but she had abandoned her task to argue with her husband. Leon, their father, sat at the eating table, a bottle of beer in his hand. The pub was the only place in town selling alcohol under the Empire's authority. Some people brewed their alcohol in secret. But regardless of where it came from, it tasted like piss. Liron had tried it once, enough to ensure he wouldn't try it again. This and seeing their father.
The harsh life in Eisenrahm had weathered their parents. Their blonde hair had long streaks of gray going through it. They had deep wrinkles in their faces, and their eyes lacked any spark, ground down by the reality of their circumstances.
Leon scratched his beard, barely paying attention to his wife. "Schatz, calm down. You're in your emotions again."
"I'm in my what?"
"You heard me. You… oh, there you are. Liron, Emma, how were your shifts?"
Their father never asked. "Good," Liron said. Emma said nothing.
Leon drummed with his fingers against his bottle. "Well, it's good you two are finally home. Son, come. We have some work to do. Chopping wood. Making ourselves useful. Isn't that right, Schatz?"
Veins showed up on Marie's forehead. "Of course," she said, her anger accompanying the words leaving her mouth. "Emma, come here. I need your help."
Leon smiled at his wife, grabbing his beer. "No," Marie said. "This stays here. You won't need it if you want to make yourself useful."
"Of course," Leon said, putting the bottle down on the table hard. "Let's go, Liron."
Without any chance, their father dragged away Liron while their mother drowned Emma in a fury of orders. Behind their house, they had a tiny garden. When Liron and Emma were younger, they played here often, safe from judging eyes. Now, it mostly served for nothing but having a hut on it, containing their firewood. A few years ago, Leon had gone to the pub and had been so drunk he didn't want to go to bed with Marie, fearing her response. So, he had decided to sleep in the hut. He had nearly frozen to death.
Leon slumped down on a chair they kept outside after handing Liron an axe. He watched his son chip the firewood, giving instruction on how to do it better without showing it firsthand. After proving he didn't need any help, Leon rested his chin on his hand, looking at nothing in particular, lost in thought.
"It gets worse, you know," Leon said. "She gets worse. Every fucking day. It's like she gets a kick out of it. Like she enjoys it. That's what you get for stayin' loyal."
Liron swore to himself, making sure to keep his head down.
"You know, most men in my place would have fucked off after she gave birth to you. But no, I stayed and raised you. I was well liked by the women in town, you know."
Oh, Liron knew. His father had made sure of that.
"I could have had everybody in my street. But no, I chose your mother. Was your grandfather's idea. Bloody ass. And now see where we are. Can't even have my beer that I bloody paid for."
The fact that his son responded not once didn't make him pause. "One girl that liked me, Ella, her family has lunar panels now. That would be something, huh? But her boys died in service for it. That's not worth it. Don't join them, Liron, alright? That wouldn't be something for you. You'd just hold them back and die."
Leon kept his voice steady and bored. Liron slammed the axe down on the wood, cleaving it into two with ease, the pieces exploding from one another.
"Woah, too much. We need that axe for a bit longer. Do you know how expensive that thing was? Of course not. Wasn't your money that paid for it. You…"
"Is that enough?" Liron said, interrupting his father. If he hadn't, something in his head might have popped.
Leon stood up, examining the amount of wood. "Yes, it will. Good work, son," Leo clapped Liron on the shoulder, squeezing it.
As they picked up the firewood and walked back inside, an argument erupted from inside. Leon turned towards Liron, a tired smile on his lips. "Well, that's gonna be interesting."
Leon was correct about one thing. It had gotten worse.
"I am your mother, Emma," Marie said. "You have to listen to me…"
"No, I don't," Emma responded, grimacing. "I'm not some fucking doll you can play with."
"What is wrong with you, child? I am concerned about your future. You spend all your time practicin' that damned thing and playin' in this Harras abandoned place. As your mother, I worry about you. You know how this looks when you are surrounded by…"
"Ah, so this is what this is about. I thought for a second you were worried about me, but no, it's how this looks."
"I am worried for both!"
They had done some dishes before the argument started. When those two talked, they had to walk on eggshells. One wrong word, and it all fell apart.
Emma grabbed hold of one plate, fiercely cleaning it in the water. "Sure! It really sounds like you give a damn about me."
Marie snapped the plate out of her daughter's hand, drying it with the same ferocity. "I do! But you refuse to grow up, so I have to drag you out of your childish fantasies."
"And those fantasies would be what?"
"That you think you can truly leave Eisenrahm! I'm sorry, Emma, but this will never happen. You need to think about whether you will find a husband and where you can move. You need to find somebody who's well-off. But such a man would never be interested in…"
"Who says I'm interested in him? Who says I'm interested in any of this?"
"Harras, listen to yourself."
"I do! Loud and clear! You might have accepted this, but I will not become a trained dog like you!"
Marie slapped Emma. Its echo left silence. Neither Leon nor Marie had hit them, a rarity in Eisenrahm. Emma stared at her mother, mouth agape, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. As Maria realized what she had done, she staggered. "Emma, Schätzchen, I…"
Maria reached out, but Emma brushed her off, storming out of the house.
"Well, fuck," Leon said. "You run after her. I'm staying here."
Leon walked over to his wife, hugging her right as she started to cry, her face in her hands. Liron ran after her sister. She had lost steam quite fast, marching through the streets at a vast pace. She didn't make it far, going for a less crowded alley, people turning as she passed. Liron caught up to her, grabbing her by the shoulder.
"Emma…"
Emma jerked around and slapped Liron's hand away. "I fucking hate her!" she screamed. "I fucking do! I'm so done with her shit!"
"Emma, wait," Liron said, stumbling over his words. "You shouldn't…"
"She's always up on her high horse, thinking she can treat me like shit! She doesn't give a fuck about me! No, she only ever cared for you! She only looks in my direction if I could become a bad look for her!"
The fury faded from her voice, the first tears rolling down her cheek. "She never cared for me. Neither did Father nor even you."
Liron blinked. "What? I always cared for you! How dare you say something like this?"
"Really, then why are you planning on leaving me behind with them? That's the only thing you care about. You're only happy if you see anything related to this bloody war. You can't wait to fuck off without me. Why can't you stay with me?"
Liron worked his mouth. He tried to summon the rage that had flickered for a moment. But it didn't work. "Why would you think that?" he asked, tears coming to him now, too. "You're the only thing I have."
Emma struggled for words, letting her shoulders slump. "What am I supposed to think?"
After failing to reply, Liron hugged his sister. She shook at first, wanting to fight. But her anger left her fast, returning the hug, openly sobbing. "Please, don't go," she cried. "Don't leave me behind."
"I won't," Liron managed to say through his tears. "I promise. Where I go, I will make sure you will be able to follow. We will make it out of this shithole together."
Emma nodded. "Please. I hate it here."
Liron laughed at that. "Yeah, I hate it here, too."