Blood Bonds And Golden Ties

Chapter 4: Ready Or Not

[Quan Mo Ran]

He glanced down. There, in the snow, lay a boy who lay on his stomach. His hair was matted and filled with dirt. His clothes were soiled and torn. He looked about fourteen or fifteen. Currently he was staring up with huge, pleading, eyes. He opened his mouth and then closed it.

Mo Ran leaned down. "What did you say?"

The boy's arm let go of Mo Ran's pants as he closed his eyes. His head dropped into the snow.

Well surely I can't let him on our property. Mo Ran grabbed the boy's arms and started to drag him off their property.

"A Mo!"

Mo Ran's head snapped in the direction of the voice. A girl wearing soft pink was hobbling toward him. Seeing this, he immidiately dropped the boy's arms and sprinted to her. When he arrived by her side, he grabbed her arm and scolded, "Rui Ming! It's cold out here! You're sick, you should not be out."

"I—" her body shook as she started to cough.
"Jie jie!" Mo Ran clutched her arm, scared she would fall.

"Don't worry, A Mo." She took out a purple soft cloth with golden embroidery on the borders. In the middle of the cloth was a pink lotus. She covered her mouth as she coughed. When her coughing fit had faded, she took the cloth away. It came away with blood.

"Jie jie! You should go back! It's too cold out here!" Mo Ran urged as he tried to spin her around.

"A Mo, stop messing around. What were you doing?" Rui Ming hobbled toward the body in the snow. Mo Ran reluctantly followed.

"Who's this?" She asked as she saw the boy facedown in the snow.

Mo Ran shrugged.

Rui Ming sighed. "Carry him into our house."

"Jie jie! We don't have enough room!"

"And so what? We'll make room. I said carry him." She turned away.

"I won't."

She turned back to him and a smile played on her lips. "Alright, if you won't carry him, I will," she said as she knelt down and reached for the boy's arms.

"Jie jie! Stop! I'll do it," he said as he quickly bent down and picked up the boy by his left arm, draping it over his own shoulder.

Rui Ming nodded in apporval. Mo Ran trailed behind Rui Ming as he dragged the boy.

Once inside, Rui Ming cleared her bed. "Put him here."

"But that's your bed!" Mo Ran protested. "You are sick too! You can't sleep on the floor."

Rui Ming smiled gently. "I know you're worried about me, A Mo, but this boy needs it more than I do."

Mo Ran dragged the boy to his bed instead and laid him down.

"What are you doing, A Mo?"

"If Jie jie thinks he needs it, then he can use my bed. I can sleep on the floor." He stepped away as Rui Ming sat down beside the bed. She felt the boy's head. "Quick, boil some water."

Mo Ran nodded. He left the small room and crossed to the other side of the house. In the small area they called the kitchen, was a stove made of clay. The stove was cylinder shaped and had an opening at the bottom of it. Mo Ran exited the house and brought some small pieces of wood back. He put them in a neat pile at his feet in front of the opening and, picking one piece of wood up, stuck it into the opening. He then took out two rocks and struck them against each other. Soon enough, he had a fire going. Grabbing the water he had taken from the well, he put it over the fire.