Lyriana descended in a slow, controlled spiral, her wings folding neatly against her back as her boots touched the ground without a sound. The babies remained secure in her arms, cradled within a thin veil of blood mana that pulsed softly in time with her breathing—protective, warm, unwavering.
Aldric turned—
—and immediately broke into a wide grin.
"Lyriana!" he called, striding toward her without a shred of caution. "You won't believe this—your big brother almost got himself killed by those holy knight bastards!"
Lyriana's eyes widened.
She reacted instantly.
Her wings snapped outward as she leapt back, boots carving a shallow trench through the earth. "Don't come any closer!"
Aldric didn't slow.
"Hey—come on!" he said, still advancing, arms already spreading. "Give me a hug. I was seriously worried I might not see you again—"
"**I said don't come any closer, damn it!**"
Her leg lashed out.
The heel struck Aldric square in the chest.
**BOOM.**
The impact sent him flying like a launched projectile, ripping through the air and snapping branches as he was hurled backward. Aldric twisted midair, wings flaring once as he flipped cleanly, landing in a crouch that barely disturbed the soil.
He straightened slowly, jaw tightening.
"What the hell was that for, Lyriana?" he snapped. "I was just trying to give you a hug! Is that how you treat your big brother after he nearly died?"
Lyriana didn't relax.
She simply **glared**, eyes sharp and wholly unimpressed.
"Damn moron," she said flatly. "Is *that* why you're running around like this?"
Aldric blinked. "Like what?"
"Why didn't you put on some clothes first, idiot?"
Aldric paused.
"…Huh?"
He blinked.
Once.
"…Huh?"
Following her glare, his eyes traveled downward.
Aldric slowly looked at himself.
Then froze.
Silence stretched.
Then—
His eyes widened.
Reality finally caught up.
No clothing.
No trousers.
No dignity.
Bare chest.
Bare waist.
Bare—everything.
Completely, undeniably—
**naked.**
A breeze swept through the ruined forest, cool against bare skin.
Aldric stared at himself for a long moment.
"…Ah."
The last remnants of what *might* once have been clothing were long gone, burned away by holy fire during the chaos—utterly obliterated.
He stood there.
Utterly naked.
"…Oh," he said.
Lyriana's eye twitched.
"You absolute **moron**," she snapped, wings flaring as she adjusted the babies in her arms. "Is *that* why you've been charging around like a lunatic?! Why didn't you put something on first?!"
Aldric looked down again.
Then—
"Hahahaha—!"
He threw his head back and **laughed**, loud and utterly unbothered, the sound echoing through the blood-soaked forest.
"Wow. So *that's* what you were yelling about?" he said, grinning shamelessly. "Here I thought you were just being cold."
Her glare sharpened.
"You almost got yourself killed," she hissed. "You show up out of nowhere, punch through holy knights, slaughter them, drain one dry—and you're worried about a **hug**?!"
She turned her head sharply away. "Put something on before I stab you."
"Hey, no need to be violent," Aldric said quickly as blood began to rise, coiling instinctively around his waist like forming fabric. "You didn't complain when we were kids."
Her gaze snapped back. "Say one more word and I'll rip your wings off."
Aldric rubbed the back of his head, still smiling.
"Hey, cut me some slack. I *did* almost die," he said casually. "That deserves at least one hug from my little sister, don't you think?"
"Not while you're naked!"
She kicked up a clod of dirt at him for emphasis.
Aldric dodged it lazily and shrugged.
"Alright, alright," he sighed. "Fair point."
He waved a hand over his shoulder without looking back.
"Give me a sec."
He strolled over to one of the fallen knights as if browsing a wardrobe, crouched, and **grabbed the corpse by the armor**. With a sharp tug, metal clattered loose as he tore the chestplate free and tossed it aside.
Then he went for the inner layers.
He stripped the knight without ceremony—ripping off the blood-soaked shirt, yanking free the shorts beneath the armor, utterly unfazed by the dried gore or the stiffness of death.
Lyriana stared.
"…You are unbelievable."
Aldric slid the shorts on first, adjusting them with a grunt. "Hey, don't judge. Emergency situations call for practical solutions."
He pulled the shirt over his head next. It stretched awkwardly across his frame, clearly not made for him, but it covered enough. He tugged at the sleeves, then the hem, glancing down.
"Hm. Bit tight," he muttered. "But I've worn worse."
Lyriana's eye twitched again.
"You could have just made armor with magic."
Aldric straightened and shrugged. "Yeah, but those don't breathe. And honestly?" He glanced back at the corpse. "Might as well make use of it. Waste not."
He turned toward her fully, rolling his shoulders as if testing the fit. The borrowed shirt creaked faintly at the seams.
"There," he said. "See? Presentable. Mostly."
Lyriana looked him up and down slowly, unimpressed.
"You're wearing a dead man's clothes."
"And you're flying around with babies in a warzone," Aldric shot back lightly. "We all make choices."
She huffed, wings settling as she adjusted her grip on the children.
"…Idiot."
Aldric grinned, entirely unbothered.
"Yeah," he said. "But a properly dressed idiot now."
He spread his arms. "There. Decent enough?"
Lyriana eyed him warily, then snorted.
"Not even minimum," she muttered.
Aldric stepped closer—**slowly this time**, hands raised in surrender.
"See? Not trying to scare you," he said. "Just… worried. You've got the babies. You shouldn't have had to deal with all that alone."
Her grip tightened around them for just a heartbeat.
"…I was alone," she said quietly. "And I handled it."
Aldric's grin softened—just a fraction.
"Yeah," he replied. "You did."
His gaze drifted over the drained corpses, the ruined forest, the lingering scent of holy mana hanging in the air.
"But let's make one thing clear," he added lightly. "You're still not allowed to die before me."
She shot him a sharp look.
"Neither are you."
He smiled wider.
"Deal."
For a brief moment, the chaos faded—just siblings standing amid ruin, breaths steadying, blood drying.
Then Aldric's expression shifted, sharpening as his gaze moved deeper into the forest.
"…Alright," he said, tone changing. "Jokes over."
His eyes narrowed.
"Something tells me this night isn't done yet."