Morning sunlight spilled across the fields, glinting off the wooden fences that lined the edge of the Smith property. Elias sat on the grass with Milo and Rika, the twins already knee-deep in their morning mission—digging for "Titan worms," which were really just earthworms they insisted were dangerous.
Rika held up a particularly fat one. "This one's got the eyes of a killer!"
Elias tilted his head. "No eyes."
"Details," Milo whispered. "Don't ruin the mystery."
Kaela chuckled from the porch as she sorted herbs into glass jars. "Are they bothering you, Elias?"
Elias just shook his head, poking a stick into the dirt. "Friends."
It was the first time he'd said that word out loud here. Milo grinned and clapped him on the back. "You hear that, Rika? He called us friends! Official now."
"Then he's in our club," Rika declared, grabbing a twig and drawing a crooked 'M' in the dirt. "The Monster Hunters."
Kaela leaned down beside Elias. "That makes you the youngest monster hunter in the Walls."
He looked up at her. "You're one too?"
Kaela raised a brow. "You bet. I've hunted things way scarier than worms."
Behind them, the soft creak of the gate announced another visitor. It was Toma, the blacksmith boy. His face was cleaner today, and he carried a small pouch tied at his belt. Erwin spotted him first and walked over, wiping sweat from his brow. "Didn't expect you out this far."
Toma shrugged. "My dad's selling nails to the carpenter near the mill. I had time."
Erwin nodded. "Wanna spar?"
Toma blinked. "With sticks?"
"Obviously," Erwin smirked. "Unless you brought swords."
Toma's grin was rare, but real. "Alright."
The two boys squared off in the field while Elias and the twins watched from under the shade. Kaela paused her sorting, interested.
Erwin's form was smooth and precise. Toma, in contrast, moved like someone used to dodging sparks and lifting iron. Their wooden sticks clacked together again and again, dust rising with every blow.
"Go, Erwin!" Elias called, surprising everyone—including himself.
Erwin's smile faltered for just a second in delight, then he narrowly dodged Toma's swing. "Hey, no cheering distractions!"
"Sorry!" Elias giggled.
Milo leaned close. "That Toma guy is strong."
"Yeah," Rika whispered. "I bet he could punch a Titan."
"They're all getting stronger," Elias murmured, eyes tracking every movement. "I need to catch up."
Kaela glanced at him. "You've got time, little philosopher."
But Elias wasn't so sure.
That night, Clara helped him into bed while Erwin polished his wooden sword in the corner. The quiet was comforting, broken only by the soft creak of the old house and the murmur of Kaela and Albert's voices in the next room.
"Do you think they'll always stay?" Elias asked suddenly.
Clara looked up from the blanket. "Who, darling?"
"Milo. Rika. Toma."
Clara hesitated, then tucked the covers tighter around him. "People come and go, Elias. But real friends? They leave pieces of themselves behind. In stories, memories, little things."
Elias nodded slowly, eyes heavy with sleep.
As Clara hummed him to sleep, a flicker of something stirred in Elias's chest. A feeling not quite fear, not quite sadness—something like urgency. He was growing. So were they. But something unseen lurked ahead, and he didn't yet know what.
Outside, the stars blinked in silence. But for Elias Smith, the world was beginning to whisper louder.