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Harper's eyes opened slowly. She still felt Hyde's warmth against her. She felt secure in her position until her vision came to. Yanpu was gone.

She unwrapped Hyde's arm from around her and sat up quickly. The mat moved, and Hyde felt it. He opened his eyes, and rubbed them, wondering why Harper was so frantic.

"Yani! He's not here!" Harper crawled on her knees and moved off the mat. Hyde growled.

"That darn kid..." He pulled off the sheet and grabbed his belt.

"He's not here!" Harper ran into Hyde as she tried to run back into the bedroom.

"Relax,"

"Relax?" Harper heaved. "You want me to relax?"

Big mistake. He should've just kept his mouth shut. While Harper began swearing at him, he strolled by her and opened the bathroom door. Yanpu happily ran out, shocking both him and Harper, with a critter in his hands.

It was a canine, with white fur and large pointy ears. Its tail was fluffy and thick. But when Harper saw its face, she let out a horrendous scream and ran away.

"Hey! Wait!" Hyde quickly stepped in to stop Yanpu from chasing her with it.

"Can we keep it?" Yanpu giggled excitedly.

"Get it away!" Harper screeched as if the critter had done something unspeakable to her. Harper backed into the wall, shaking and shivering.

"Get back." Hyde nudged Yanpu back. "She's scared."

"What's wrong?" Yanpu frowned.

Hyde studied her. "I'm not sure." He walked over and bent down on one knee. "You wanna explain what's going on? It's just a—"

"It's a dog!"

"It's not a dog," Hyde rolled his eyes. "It's a Whilfox. Part of the canine family."

"I don't care! It looks like a dog, so take it away!"

"Are you scared of dogs?" Hyde raised a brow. Not even a moment later, it clicked. It was because of her experience 10 years ago when the bloodhounds attacked. She was traumatized after that.

But he didn't think that she should be afraid of all dogs because of that. "He's a pup. He won't hurt you."

"I don't care!"

"You need to take a breath,"

"And you need to get that thing away from here! Take it far away!"

"Alright, so we're doing this my way." Hyde grabbed her and propped Harper up.

"What are you doing!?" She hissed.

"Kid, bring it over," Hyde motioned Yanpu over. Yanpu happily obliged, but his steps were too quick. Harper tried to elbow Hyde to run away, but he held her firmly in place.

"No! Stop! Please!" Harper began to hyperventilate. "AHHHHHHH!"

"Not too fast. Come slowly." Hyde commanded Yanpu. Yanpu took careful steps forward, holding the creature up. He held it near Harper's front. Hyde grabbed her hand and brought it over to the creature.

"Don't do this,"

"It's not going to hurt you, see?" He placed Harper's palms on top of the Whilfox's head gently. Then he began to stroke her hand on it. "He's a puppy."

"I'm gonna throw up." Harper groaned. But she did feel more calm after touching its fur. It was soft and gave her a fuzzy feeling.

"Can I have him?" Yanpu asked.

"I dunno," Hyde released Harper and grabbed onto it. "It might have a family."

Hyde placed it in the bedroom and closed the door. "We'll discuss it when we come back. Didn't you say we're going to go job hunting?" He looked at Harper.

"I did. But..."

"Don't worry about the whilfox. You should worry more about the boy."

"What do you mean?"

"We're not bringing him with us, are we?"

"Why wouldn't we?"

"That's a quick way to get denied a job. It's unprofessional." Hyde placed his hands on his waist. "You, stay here. We'll be back in a few hours. Don't open the door, and don't leave. You're going to stay put."

Yanpu nodded.

"Good. Let's go." He grabbed Harper by her forearm and dragged her out.

"Ow!" She puffed. "Why are you being so rough?"

"Times-a-ticking. How many days of this month do we have left?"

Harper counted with her fingers. "15..."

"So we have 7 days to land jobs and another 8 to work enough to pay for the first month," Hyde mumbled. "We don't have time to waste."

He was right. Harper agreed and marched on with him.

~~~

"I'm overqualified for this," Harper shifted one sheet of paper to her other hand, moving on to the next one. "This one too,"

"Let me see," Hyde looked over her shoulder, studying the list of careers where her finger was placed. "Dunno, I think you'd be great at cleaning oars."

"I'm a scientist. I don't know a thing about manual labor. I've never done it."

"Sheltered." A soft chuckle left Hyde's lips. "It won't hurt you to do a bit more of hands-on work."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe it'll be beneficial for you? You could use that skill to teach the kid..."

"Good save." Harper flipped the paper once again. "Did you find anything? Does butcher happen to be on the list?"

"People's meat is not the same as cutting animal meat." Hyde exhaled. "I think I found 2..."

"2? Which ones?" Harper took a closer look at his sheets. "Lumberjack, and a Spear-fisherman? Are you sure you want to do those? It's a lot of work."

"My body was made for the purpose of battle. I need to do something that'll keep me active, or I'll get sick."

"Sick? Sick how?"

"Dizzy..." He folded the paper in his hands.

"How much is the pay?"

"Lumberjack, 70 talents a day. Spear-fishing, 50 talents."

"Maybe Lumberjack would be the better option. You wouldn't have to work as much."

"I'm going to do both."

"Both!?" Harper's eyes widened. "You want to work 2 jobs?"

"The more income we have, the better. Maybe we can pay the shed off in less than 10 months..."

"That's... ambitious of you."

"It also leaves us extra money for food, clothes, or any emergencies."

"Emergencies?"

"You've never lived by yourself, have you? It's wise to always have something extra for emergencies."

Harper had likely spent most of her time cooped up at the Facility. Working in the science field required an unhealthy amount of work ethic, and long hours without breaks. Harper probably had slept in the Facility's infirmary, or in her office.

Hyde shrugged. "I'm going to go and make my way around. Keep searching until you find something."

Hyde walked away, in the direction of the other sheds. Harper frowned.

"It's not that easy..." Harper sighed. Everything on the job list was either something she was underqualified for, or overqualified. There was no middle ground.

But she had to try. So with determination in her mind, she ventured to different huts, asking the locals for any other jobs.

In the span of 5 hours, she visited 7 homes. It

took a lot of walking because the sheds were spread out from each other. They were placed to complement the waterfall and river, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

It was a slight inconvenience for people who never grew up with this much space.

She asked the locals if there were any jobs she could find other than the ones on the board. Some suggested cooking for the village, which paid around 40 to 60 talents per day.

But Harper didn't know how to cook. It wasn't at all one of her best skills. The best she could whip up was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There was also that carrot stew recipe Giada taught her, but she didn't know if the island had all of the ingredients to make it.

Others suggested Yole-calling. The job paid 50 talents a day. She didn't know what the heck a Yole was.

Harper found out that the island was full of creatures, ones that seemed mythical. A yole was the size of a squirrel, with a fluffy button

-tail, white fur with blue stripes on their backs. They hopped around like rabbits.

They called on the Yole to fertilize the soil. Sometimes they were kept as pets.

Harper didn't feel comfortable getting a job where she had to speak the Paradiso language. That would have to be a skill she acquired later.

Harper eventually gave up for the day and walked back toward the board post. Hyde was there, tying his hair back into a low ponytail. He leaned on the wooden pole and placed his head back against it.

He closed his eyes, not noticing that Harper had walked up to him.

"How was it?" She asked anxiously, hoping that he was able to find something.

Hyde opened one eye and tilted his head at her. The corner of his mouth twitched upward. "I got the job."

"Both of them?" Harper gawked in surprise.

"Yep." He voiced nonchalantly, popping the p sound. "Didn't even have to go through with an interview. Apparently, carrying lumber is a very difficult thing for the villagers here to do. It's not a job that most would want. But it's no problem for me."

"Be mindful when you are doing that job. Don't use your abilities that much."

"Why?"

"We have to avoid suspicion."

"This isn't the mainland. Haven't you checked? This segment of land is full of men with muscle. I don't think using all of my strength will make a difference to them."

"Okay."

"What about you? Any luck? Found something yet?"

Harper shook her head. She didn't say anything, but Hyde sensed how disappointed she was with herself. "Oh."

He voiced in an undertone. Her shoulders dropped. He didn't know what to say, but he started talking.

"Don't worry much about it. I'm sure you'll find something soon."

"I hope so."

"I found out there's more to this speck of an island than I thought." Hyde changed the subject, attempting to keep her mind off of job searching. "The spearfishing dock is 15 minutes away, next to a marketplace. And there are more establishments even further away."

"What kind of establishments?"

"A sandpit, for fighting, wrestling. I think it's a sport."

"Don't get any ideas..."

"I wasn't," Hyde laughed. "It wouldn't be fair to them if I joined the league."

"Your confidence never ceases to amaze me."

His eyes lit up at her words. Was this really the same woman who was cursing at him days before?

It was. She still had her quirks at times while arguing with him. But it was odd. He didn't feel as frustrated or beyond irritated by her retorts. Not as much as he was used to.

"There is also a school for children..." Hyde let his words drift in a hum, waiting for Harper to catch onto his hint of suggestion.

"I..." Harper crossed her arms. "I don't know..."

"You don't know? You know the truth about him. Don't you want to give him normalcy? All kids have to do it at some point."

"You still haven't told me before, why Yanpu always came back with an elevated heart rate?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?"

"If it was bullying... I—"

"Bullying is nothing new. It's common."

"That doesn't make it right!"

"I never said it was. I'm not defending it, I'm saying that it's an experience the kid will have to go through. If you baby him now, he may grow up loathing you."

Harper thought hard about it. Sending Yanpu to school was going to be a big step for him. She had witnessed what went on in Piccposto. Yanpu didn't get along well with the other children.

Yanpu was academically advanced. He was always curious about the facts of life. He never showed much interest in others around his age.

She always attributed that to him being a special kid with potential, but she realized that he could grow up to be apathetic if he didn't learn how to care more about others around him. The school would teach him how to do that.

"When we start working, he can't stay at the house the entire day. He's still a kid. He'll get into mischief. And I refuse to clean up after any mess he's gotten himself into."

Now, Hyde sounded like he wanted to send Yanpu away for a selfish reason. But he wasn't wrong. Kids needed to go out, get fresh air, and spend time playing. They needed to tire themselves out.

That was something that was fun about being a kid. It was what Harper didn't have much of. The poisonous fog in Westona prevented her from doing that.

"Are there a lot of kids that go there?"

"I don't know." Hyde shrugged. "You'd have to check for yourself."

"Will you take me there?"

"Do I have to?" Hyde didn't want to be around any more children than he had to. Yanpu was more than enough for him to deal with a close vicinity.

"You don't have to, but... I would appreciate it if you did."

"I think it's time we head back." Hyde ignored her. "We've been out for a while. The kid may think you've abandoned him." Hyde was aware of the dirty looks that Yanpu shot him whenever he interacted with Harper.

It was another reason why Hyde strayed far from kids. They all shared some level of contempt for him.

"Hyde, can you please just call him by his name? He is your brother."

"I don't want to,"

"It's disrespectful."

"Maybe you're not aware." Hyde paused and turned to face her. "He's hostile toward me because of what I did to you. He used his abilities and almost killed me."

Hyde brushed his long bangs back. "He's still operating under the notion that I'm keeping you alive because of his choice to stay in check."

"What?"

"He doesn't trust me, so I don't trust him. You haven't explained the entire situation to him, so he will always have disdain toward me."

"I suppose I could explain why we had to leave. But you'll have to start using his name to address him once he understands."

"When I get to a point when I feel comfortable doing that, I will."

"Hyde!"

"You're not gonna change my mind about this," Hyde tusked and kept it moving. "I'm hungry."

Harper crossed her arms, frustrated with Hyde's attitude. But she followed him. "Maybe we could ask Akamau for food. I'm sure she'll understand if we tell her we are short on income."

"We're not going back to that witch's home."

"She's not a witch, she's a healer. A doctor."

"That's not what the chief said."

"Weech doesn't mean witch. It could mean 'Doctor'."

"Witch. Witchdoctor. Same thing. I don't trust her. She knows too much about us."

"She only knows that we are foreigners, as everyone else has noticed."

"How did she know how to whip up medicine for my condition?"

"She saw your scar and touched your arms. She looked familiar with how to treat you."

Hyde was going to make a point about it being suspicious that she was familiar with his illness, but hearing that she touched him made him gag. What was it with women putting their hands on him while he slept?

He wasn't a doll for them to study. "The fact that she knows about my illness proves that we are at her disposal. We're not going back to her. I'm gonna find a fruit tree or something to gather food."

~~~

Harper completely forgot about the canine. When they opened the door to the shed, the whilfox skipped toward them happily. In seconds, Harper found herself climbing onto Hyde's back to protect herself.

"Ahhh!" She hollered.

"Shite!" Hyde grunted as she wrapped her arms around his neck tight, nearly choking him. She hiked her legs higher, clutching them around his abdomen.

She wasn't heavy or weighing him down, but the way she jumped almost made him lose balance. He could've fallen and they both would've been badly hurt.

He leaned forward to steady her.

The whilfox stood on its hind legs, asking Hyde for help. He glared at it and nudged it away gently, but firmly. "Didn't I say that this thing wasn't gonna hurt you?"

"His eyes... he keeps looking at me... like he's hungry..."

"Oh, for shite's sake." Hyde fixed his posture. "He is a puppy. The only thing it's hungry for is milk. Not human flesh. Get real."

"You say that now...wait until you find my bones lying somewhere after he's eaten up all my flesh!"

Hyde scooped up the whilfox and placed him on the couch.

"Put him outside!" Harper huffed. Her hot breath tickled Hyde's ears, which he didn't like.

Suddenly, Harper was dragged off of Hyde's back and pulled around to his front. A yelp escaped her when he set her down. "I'll take care of him after I eat."

"Hyde!"

"I'm not doing anything on an empty stomach." Hyde's tone was stern. "Go check on the kid."

The canine had run out to greet them, but Yanpu was nowhere in sight. She feared that the pup did something to her boy. She ran into the bedroom.

Her nerves calmed when she saw him on the mat, sleeping peacefully. He probably played with the puppy all day and fell asleep.

Harper walked over to Yanpu and sat on the edge. She brushed his black hair out of his face and fixed his position, before tucking him under the blanket.

He looked so innocent. So vulnerable to the world around him. It strengthened her desire to protect this child from the danger this world promised him.

She realized it was a heavy sacrifice. She would never be able to go back home to see her mother again. But for the sake of this child's life, it was worth it.

Harper leaned forward and kissed Yanpu's head. A loud crunching sound alarmed her. She turned her head to the door.

Hyde was leaning against the frame, taking a bite of a round pear-shaped rough-edged yellow fruit he found. On the way back, he gathered a few.

They just stared at each other for a moment. But Harper looked away after realizing Hyde had nothing to say.

However, Hyde's gaze remained on her and Yanpu. Something about their dynamic irritated him. He wasn't sure how to explain it.

Harper's taking on the role of Yanpu's parent made Hyde feel uneasy. He wasn't guilty, but it was odd. Maybe it was because he had missed out on the experience of having a mother treating him so kindly.

Back in Piccposto, Giada was the one who took on that role for him, and he still wasn't used to it. It was odd to see how much a person could change so quickly, based on a single experience.

Harper wasn't completely different. But he realized that her attitude definitely was. It was Westonian culture to have some level of distance from your parents. Harper probably learned how to act motherly from Giada.

It was still a shocker to see her displaying her affection for Yanpu so openly. He wasn't used to it. And it would take him a while to understand it.

However, he also felt touched by her efforts. It allowed him to let another wall down for her. But he would still be alert, in case she even had second thoughts about helping him.

~~~