In a small area surrounded by tall mountains, a quaint town named Shakter stood, with Izbas lining the foot of the mountains, supported by fitted stones forming a natural brick. The houses, crafted from logs and planks with a stone foundation, surrounded a little circle of plain grass. A lone dirt path led to the outside gate of the town, serving as an entrance to their space.
Despite its size, Shakter's atmosphere was far from lonely. Children played in the small flat green fields scattered around, people gathered stones for construction, and others minded their own business. In other words, the little town of Shakter was lively.
Amidst this activity, a unique house stood out. It occupied the highest possible altitude in the town, standing in the middle and overlooking the entire village. Shaped like a combination of a log church and a hall, its door was a bit larger than normal, featuring a deer's head with antlers that looked like blades with branches – sharp and pointy.
Inside this distinctive house, clearly belonging to the chieftain, a young boy no older than seven stood on the second floor. He looked outside the window from a small wooden chair, compensating for his young height.
" What can I play today other than king of the hill? " mumbled the little boy with his head resting in his hand. His eyes looked down, observing some kids playing with flags while climbing the smallest hill in the town, prompting the boy to let out a bored sigh.
Taking a closer look at the boy's room, two beds occupied both corners. The right bed was messy, scattered with kid's stuff like a wooden sword and a makeshift bow. On the left was a neat bed with fur and blankets properly folded, accompanied by a lone stuffed toy with a body of a man wearing red clothes with yellow patterns and brown pants. The stuffed toy's head was that of a deer.
While the boy was still lost in thought outside, the door of his room opened slightly, and a girl with brown eyes and bright reddish hair peered in.
" Brother, mom is calling for lunch, " the girl spoke, but the boy didn't respond.
" Brother! " the girl lost her cool, entered the room, and shouted.
" WEEEAA! " the boy, now shocked, almost lost balance on his mini chair. " Hey! I'm not deaf; you don't have to shout! " spoke the boy with his cute, young, mad voice.
The small girl, no older than five, wore a small dress with sleeves puffing up to her elbow. Her dress was white with red patterns surrounding its collar, and the red ring surrounding her collar was hollow with some straight yellow patterns in it. Her dress came with a red fabric belt, and her white skirt was long enough to cover below her knees.
" You are! And mom also said to clean your bed before you go down, " and without waiting for the boy's reply, the girl got out and shut the door.
" Ey! Sairi! " the boy shouted. " Tcht, " the boy then looked to his left and saw a bed that was probably his, messy like a snake that had just shed its skin and left the mess behind – well, that's what his mother always says.
The boy approached his bed and observed the unfolded blanket. After a second of scrutiny, the boy smirked. He grabbed the blanket made of some animal's fur and rolled it in his hands, making it smaller and molding it into a square. He put the blanket back, hiding the mess underneath and creating the illusion of neatness. Now, his lazy way of folding was done, and if someone looked into it, they would see nothing wrong until they flipped it.
" There, and just put the weapons here, " he then proceeded to throw the bow and the sword under his bed. " Done, now let's go, " and the boy left the room. Just outside, there was another door in front of him. The boy closed the door and went left to the stairs leading down.
When he got down, a woman's voice called him.
" Rio, come on, sit down, " the boy called Rio looked to his left as he went down. He saw his sister Sairi now sitting at the square table, enough to fit a family of four. The woman was arranging plates as Sairi waited for her food. By her side was a middle-aged man, at least 5.9ft tall. He wore a long-sleeve brown shirt topped with a brown leather sleeveless jacket. The man's hair was black, combed up with some white hairs on the side caused by his age. His face was kept clean and shaved, his head a little oval, and his chin kind of sharp. Same as Sairi, his daughter, they were both idly waiting to be fed.
Rio approached the table and sat in front of his sister. Not long after, his mother placed a stack of four wooden bowls and a tiny wood plate by the side with spoons made of the same material.
The mother was taller than her husband, about at least 6ft, with hair that reached her waist, a deeper red than her daughter's. She wore a brown long-sleeved puffed shirt, patterned with a red ring around her neck with yellow lines along the buttons on her chest, wearing a long skirt of deep red and black of two different clothes stitched together.
Rio then took a bowl and a plate and passed the stack to his father. Not long after, everyone got their bowls. Rio's mother returned with a steaming pot of soup.
" Rio, can you get the bread for me? " Rio's mother asked after putting the pot in the middle of the table.
" Yes, mother, " Rio then left and fetched the bread.
" Sow, Sairi, do you know why your brother was at the window again? " The mother asked as she served Sairi some soup and bread.
" How do you know he's at the window again? "
" It's been three days, honey, and I'm getting tired of him sighing like your late grandfather. "
(Ugh, I think she meant "sighing.")
" Well, he's been saying he's bored and stuff, " replied Sairi as she ate not so elegantly, " and the other kids are boring and always do the same thing, he said. "
" Is that so? " the father spoke, " maybe he will be interested if I bring him there. "
" Are you sure Kaschet? " the mother spoke.
" He said so himself Youya, he already explored whatever there is to discover here. Maybe a visit with me may spark his interest again. "
" Well if you're sure then, I think it will interest him. He's quite the curious goat after all, " Youya then looked to Sairi, holding her bowl as she slurped down the soup. " Sigh, any plan for today, Sairi? " Youya asked.
" I'll be going to Tyuly's house. She said the wildflower seeds we picked began growing, " said Sairi as she wiped her mouth with her sleeves.
" Here's the bread, Mom, " Rio said and put the plate of bread as he started eating.
" Rio, " Kaschet spoke.
" Yes, father? "
" Wanna come with me today? "
" Hmm? Where? "
" Well to where I work of course. "
" Oh, you never told me where you worked. "
" I'm surprised too that you didn't ask, knowing you always asked about anything. "
" I, um, wasn't that interested I guess, " slurped Rio. " So, um, where do you work? "
" In... " slurped Kaschet. " I'll just take you there. Let's enjoy the food first. "
" Okay then. "
" It's a mine, by the way. "
" What? " Rio said midway through slurping his bowl.