Into the trees they moved, step by slow step.
After the turn, the ground stopped climbing, spreading wide under a roof of trees. Light slipped through gaps up high, dappled and pale where it reached the dirt.
Moving forward, Ethan scanned left then right, his gaze steady across each shape around him.
Footsteps soft on the path, Andrew followed. Silence hung around him. His hands stayed buried deep in coat pockets.
One stayed quiet. So did the other. It was the mountain that spoke instead. High above, birds moved through leaves. A branch groaned now and then as wind pushed it sideways. Dirt gave underfoot with each step they took.
Quiet never bothered Ethan. Busy taking in each thing nearby, his eyes moved without pause.
Footsteps carried on, steady beneath their boots, tracing paths between tree trunks with no map or plan. Onward pulled them, not by choice but motion.
Deeper they went, where light thinned and roots twisted across the soil. Behind lay the village - distant now, muffled by distance, as if remembered from another life.
Farther on, the woods grew less dense. Trees stood farther apart up ahead.
It hit Ethan first, not Andrew. Down went the earth. There, ahead, the trail vanished into nothing - just air meeting horizon where rock gave way to blue.
A cliff.
Right where the ground dropped off, Ethan came to a halt after moving directly at it.
Out of nowhere, the sight struck him. He saw it before he could think.
Green covered everything. From where he stood, tree after tree spread across the horizon. Up high, it seemed like a sea made of leaves, shifting softly over hills and valleys.
Empty air hung above - no clouds at all. Not a single structure broke the view. Paths were missing. All traces of towns or cities simply gone. This place held only silence and trunks thick with time.
There he stayed, eyes fixed on the thing before him.
Footsteps slowed when the trees came into view. Not glimpsed through glass, nor framed by city paths. Instead, a vast stretch waiting ahead. Eyes met canopy without barrier or break.
Surprise lit up his face. That moment caught him off guard.
"HEY."
A sound broke the silence - Andrew speaking, his words quick, pressing, cutting through the air from somewhere at his back.
"DO YOU WANT TO DIE? GET AWAY FROM THE EDGE. NOW."
From where he stood, Ethan caught the sound. Each syllable landed clear in his mind. Yet his body refused to respond. Not a single muscle gave way. Fixed on the forest stretching beneath, his gaze held without break.
"Over here - check it out, Andrew," called Ethan, rooted in place. "Just look what's ahead."
"Hey." Andrew's voice was louder this time. "Didn't you hear what I said?"
Andrew paused before saying anything.
"If something happens to you, Mom is going to kill me."
Back toward his brother, Ethan twisted his neck. Then came a slow glance.
Frozen a few steps behind the drop-off, Andrew stayed put while his features tensed into a familiar mask - one Ethan had seen before.
Worry curled beneath the surface, even though he acted irritated. That particular frown never fooled anyone who'd watched him long enough.
Ethan paused, his eyes on the man before shifting once more toward the horizon. The quiet stretched between them like a held breath.
That brother was familiar. Yet never fully known, not once in all those shared years under one roof.
Things stayed tucked behind Andrew's voice - the way he'd speak like Mom was always watching. What he truly thought? Almost never spoken aloud.
Still, Ethan saw right through the whole act.
What mattered to Andrew showed up sideways. His concern wore a different face every time.
Instead of warmth, he offered logic dressed as caution. Years back, Ethan caught the pattern. It wasn't distance - it was delivery.
Funny how he'd nag, like clockwork, every time Ethan stepped near rain without a coat. A bit much, really - hovering when there was no need.
Still, Ethan held him close in his thoughts, always. Quiet truth sat between them, unspoken but clear: Andrew's care ran just as deep.
Funny how he kept hoping Andrew might unwind now and then.
Down on his knees went Ethan, right where the land dropped off into nothing. He peered over the lip, gaze fixed below.
A sudden idea appeared in his head.
Back toward Andrew he looked, the one staying put well away from where things were happening. Not a single step forward wanted by him.
The concern in his eyes? Still there. Worse now, really, after seeing Ethan drop down onto his knees.
Footsteps behind him grew faint as Ethan stared into the treetops beneath his boots.
A pause came first. After that, just a twitch near his lips.
"Hold on, Andrew - check what's happening over there," he said, a spark in his tone. His gaze swung again to his brother. "Two Bears are fighting down there."
"Hey, what are you doing?" Andrew's voice was loud again. "Get back here."
"Over there, come and look." Ethan swung his head around to face the cliff again. "It very messy down there."
A hush came from the space at his back.
"What are you talking about?" Andrew spoke softer, his tone losing its edge, shifting toward bewilderment instead. "Out here," he said, creatures like that don't exist."
"Come and see for yourself," Ethan said simply.
Stillness took hold. There he remained, gaze fixed beyond the rim, silent in his wait.
Stillness again. This one stretched farther than before.
Far off, past his shoulder, a sound broke through. A noise crept up from where he'd just walked.
Crunch. Each step landed light, dragging through dust. Not fast - measured, like something watching where it treads.
Andrew was walking toward the edge.
Eyes locked ahead, Ethan stayed silent. Close enough now - his brother would finally notice what held his stare.
Footsteps drew nearer.