A Man's Hope is His Castle
Saun 12 697, Midday
The outskirts of Rharne were always filled with thrills and excitement when Patrick followed his older brother out here, often the two came out to enjoy the fun and weather, where an small man made fortress had been put together by the two an arc or so ago. Dominek always made sure they never wandered or strayed too far from the beaten path he'd learned, so that the two were in distance to make a short run for safety. Not that Patrick was scared! He thrived from the excitement of exploring the wilds, and the Stormlands were big with never ending hills that rolled far out into the distance. "Hey Dom, wait up!" He called out to the figure that had to at least be a meter ahead of him, his feet tapped lightly against the gravel within the grass as he ran on. Eager to catch up with his older brother so that the two would arrive at that place, the one spot that they always went to during warm and convenient weather.
"Hurry up Pat!" Dominek's voice echoed from the top of the hill as he moved further into an overgrowth surrounded by trees, Patrick pushed himself harder to catch up with hefty breaths to make up for the energy. Though he might be smaller and lighter than Dom, that didn't stop him from trying to keep up with the older brother; and pretty soon he'd be able to match Dom's strength with his own! Finally when he reached the clearing and ran inside the gap of the overgrowth, he continued into a wooded area where several trees provided shelter from the suns. He made it! He arrived at the castle he and Dominek had built! Though it was practically nothing but broken branches and shrubbery moved about, it still provided shelter within this remote sanctuary of theirs. Dominek had already grabbed a couple of the larger thicker sticks that they usually carried around, one of them tossed at Patrick as he at last caught up with the older brother. "Prepare yer self!"
The stick missed its target as Pat failed to catch it, his eyes locked down on the weapon as he panted heavily for air. "No fair! I ain't caught me breath yet!" The younger sibling stomped rather childishly before he knelt down and grabbed the stick, both hands gripped near the bottom of the thicker end as he looked it over. It was the one he usually wound up with, since Dom liked to pick the best one out of the two.
"Have ya caught it now?!" The older boy prodded with the stick flailed about a couple of times, Patrick nodded with a cheeky grin as he looked to Dom. "I, Dominek Barnell, will protect this castle with my life! What say ya knight?"
"Aye!" Patrick cheered with his stick raised high, the older brother laughed as he turned to a random bush nearby.
"What's that?! A fiend appears! We must fight lil' brother!" He beckoned as he charged forward with the stick raised, a wild slash made against the bush as Patrick watched for a moment. He panned the area for a separate bush close to Dom's and when he found one, did the same in turn with his stick raised in a similar position. With a "Yah" he swung the wooden weapon as hard as he could, a swish made through the air as the leaves of the bush swayed in response to his kiddish attack.