"I hunted you down for all these years… You left me behind without saying anything. And I had to clean up your filth! You could've at least let me know if you're alive!" shouted Wald as the flame on his head burned brightly.
"I've always told you… I am a solo person and do not stay with friends for long. Besides, you are still alive and not dead. So I presume me leaving you wasn't that harmful," explained Tomoe, without considering Wald's feelings.
Wald widened his eyes in shock. Now that he thought about it, the Fire Mage recalled that Tomoe had never asked to be his friend or buddy. No, it was Wald that wanted to be friends with Tomoe… With anyone at that point.
"We don't need you anymore. You are of age and should get out of our sight as soon as possible. You should have never been born."
Hearing his birth parents spitting those harsh words to him on his 16th birthday was like somebody piercing Wald's heart. Deep down, the Mage knew that he had been a product of an affair and that his birth parents regretted him being born.
Wald had already made plans to get out of the house, but hearing those words still hurt. Thus, Wald was left on the streets like some stray on his birthday. Life was like that for a few months until that rainy day.
Because he was never taught to get a job or had any friends, Wald could only steal food from the shops near him. And unlike most sewer rats, Wald had no clue what he was doing, which got him beat up frequently.
After a few months, Wald had switched between a few towns before meeting another Mage, walking out in the open.
The kid had stolen a bag of bread from the local bakery, and the butcher beside was about to chop his hands off when they were interrupted by a half-human, half-fox.
Dressed in a beautiful butterfly and flower printed kimono, the fox had long, silky white hair with matching color ears and tail. The Kitsune's complexion was pale and more inhuman. His Elemental Aura was strong enough to suffocate the poor kid slightly.
His eyes were piercing violet as he stared down at Wald. For the first time, Wald felt something sparked in him and forced himself to look away from the stranger's handsome face.
"Chopping off a kid's good-functioning pair of hands is a bit too far, don't you think? Besides, the kid's dumb enough to steal stale bread… You telling me that your neighbor is still selling this to the townsfolk?" asked the fox, shaking his head disapprovingly.
Tomoe looked quite angry at the butcher and quickly scoffed at the terrified man before giving him a good kick. The human coughed up blood as Tomoe gave one good step to the man's face.
"How pathetic; get out of my sight," spat the Kitsune as he brushed by Wald and returned to whatever he had been doing.
The young Wald quickly tried to catch Tomoe by grabbing his tail—the fluffiest in all Five Domains.
"What on earth are you doing?" growled Tomoe, annoyed that some stranger again touched his tail.
"I wanted to thank you for saving me… Earlier. And that you look very handsome," said Wald shyly.
Tomoe had been called attractive, handsome, and good-looking by the Albion Red Light District females. But never by a male… Despite that, the Kitsune merely smiled and thanked Wald.
"Well, you should go and make an honest living. Do some chores for a few people around here or something… Stealing ain't going to get you anywhere, and you are pretty bad at it," suggested Tomoe as he began to walk away.
The white fox managed to walk a few shops away from the teenager before Wald lost his cool and yelled at the top of his lungs, startling Tomoe.
"But I don't know how to make an honest living!"
A Tock of silence befell the duo before Wald collapsed onto his knees and started sobbing. Tomoe looked shocked and didn't know what had just happened, but he quickly rushed towards the poor kid.
"Oi… I didn't mean to get you upset… Listen, you are quite a young Mage?" questioned Tomoe as Wald wiped his tears with his sleeves.
"I'm barely 16, and I got kicked out of the Tribe…" sobbed Wald as Tomoe comforted the poor kid.
But the Kitsune froze as he heard the kid spit those words out.
"Did you just say… the Tribe?"
Wald nodded and looked puzzled.
"You aren't safe here; I have to get you out before that Poisoned Pond comes for your neck. Climb on my back and try not to fall off," instructed Tomoe as he reverted to his animal form.