Sylas awakens to the smell of stew and the somewhat soft bed of the family. She laid on her back and as she turned to her side to look at the pot, she was greeted by the smaller boy who stared at her. He was reaching for her horns, but Sylas's eyes made him retract his hand. He spoke to her, though the message was lost. Sylas sat up in bed, stretched her body, then had the urge to pee.
"How the fuck do I pee?" Sylas thought, her heart racing as she jumped out of bed. The smaller boy moved to the side. Sylas stumbled. She felt as though she had grown another inch or so. That didn't matter. She felt the rush of water move inside of her. The table had 5 bowls on it and 5 chairs surrounding it. The wife was stirring the pot when Sylas ran past the table and out of the front door. She had a confused look on her face as she yelled something out to Sylas, the message lost.
Outside, the sun was blazing down on the world. Sylas took note of this, "How do they tell time in this world if the sun doesn't move. How long was I sleeping for?" She whispered as the miner and the bigger boy played catch in the front lawn. The miner had cleaned up, he wasn't covered in dirt. Sylas ran to the privy. When she ran past the shed, she smelt the scent of blood and decay. She covered her nose as she entered the privy.
It was just a wooden bench with a hole in it. There was a trapdoor on top of it. Sylas lifted it and a terrible stench hit her, she fell back a bit, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She caught herself and closed the trapdoor. She walked back out and went behind the privy. There was a stone plate behind the privy with engravings on it. It reminded Sylas of the rock that moved on its own in the cave. She thought it would be rude to piss on the stone. So she eyed the bushes that were laid along the edges of the miner's farm and the forest.
She crossed her legs as she felt her urine forcing itself out. She took a deep breath. The urine almost freed itself. She forced it back. She leaped off of the ground. When her next foot landed, she pushed herself forward. She ran to the bushes with an impressive speed. As she swung her arms, wind blew back with enough force to make the larger boy protect his eyes from the dust that it carried. The miner stared in awe. Sylas couldn't quite stop. Even she was surprised by her own speed. When she had reached the bushes, she tried to slow down but flew into the bushes.
"Ow." She yelled as she recovered somewhat quickly. She got out of the bush while she picked out leaves and sticks from her hair. Her horns had pierced through some berries that left a blue juice running down her horn onto her face. She relieved herself once she had found some good cover. It was weird. She couldn't really aim like she used to. She kind of closed her mind, heart, and eyes to the act as she did it and let her instincts guide her.
As she returned to the house she thought, "I should refrain from running that fast. I get hurt. I got lucky off of getting no injuries or cuts, but who knows what kind of medicine exists in this world. For all I know any of the boys could die from the common cold." She looked at the larger boy who watched her go back into the house. He hid behind his father, peeking over his leg, he placed his hand on his son's back.
When she got into the house, the smaller boy was already seated at the table. He was spouting something, the message was lost, he slammed his fists up and down on the table. His mother softly yelled at him, then turned from the pot to point at a seat for Sylas. Sylas took the seat and sat in silence. She simply observed her surroundings as the wife called out to the miner and the larger boy.
Now seeing the whole family together, with the door shut, and the only source of light coming from the window in the kitchen area, she noticed how similar everyone looked. They all had short black hair. The miner had cleaned up his short beard, it better complimented his slim pale face. They all had slim faces. The wife was dark-skinned with sunken eyes. They all had brown eyes, but the boys had skin that looked like a mix of their parents. By far the one with the palest of skin was Sylas. She had never realized just how pale she was until now. She wondered if she was some kind of vampire, but that thought quickly died when she already spent adequate time in the sun.
The wife got stew in all of the bowls on the table. Sylas's mouth watered as she picked up the spoon next to her bowl. SMACK! The wife slapped Sylas's hand, she rubbed the area that was hit as she felt her heart drop along with the spoon. The larger boy laughed. The smaller boy watched with some pity in his eyes. Everyone had been seated. The wife and the miner exchanged some words. Sylas looked around pouting. The miner clapped his hands.
He said some words, then lifted a cup in the air. He drank from it, then passed it to his wife. She drank from it then passed it to the larger boy who did the same as his parents. He passed it to his brother, who drank from it longer than the others. The larger boy slapped his brother in the back of the head, who slammed the cup on the table. The smaller boy screeched at his brother. The wife softly mumbled something. That led to the miner slapping his knee and laughing. The wife was smiling for the first time in the presence of Sylas.
The larger boy gestured with his arms towards the cup and his brother as he went on what Sylas assumed to be a rant. Meanwhile the smaller boy started trying to sneak another drink from the cup. The larger boy turned to his brother in the middle of his rant, looked back at his parents, then looked back at his brother. He kept pointing at his brother and jumping in his seat. The wife chuckled, then told the smaller boy something. She waved her hand towards Sylas. The smaller boy pouted, then passed the cup to Sylas. She nodded, then looked into the cup.
It only had water in it. The water that was there was about an eighth of the cup. She fiddled with the cup, looked up at the family who were all watching her actions. Save for the smaller boy, he seemed to only stare at her horns. She drank the rest of the water and set the cup on the table.
The entire table erupted into laughter and cheers as she wiped her mouth. Sylas smiled, "I wish I could understand what just happened." The family started digging into their stew. It was an assortment of vegetables, carrots, potato, herbs, and had chunks of meat in it. Sylas picked up her spoon and ate without any reserves. Pieces of vegetables flew onto the table and the floor. Some of the broth dripped onto the table. The family stopped eating for a moment to watch Sylas for a moment. They all laughed or chuckled as they continued eating. They conversed, and Sylas ate in silence. Save for the grunts from trying to breathe in between eating.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
The howling of a wolf that shook the earth accompanied knocks on the front door. Sylas felt a wave of drowsiness hit her. The wife asked the miner something. He shrugged his shoulders. They both got up, the wife to fetch a lantern inside of a cupboard, and the husband to the door. The boys yawned. The miner shouted at the door as the wife settled the lantern in the middle of the table. The wife waved her hand to the boys and Sylas. A rough voice responded back at the miner. The boys got out of their seats and ran to the bed. Their eyes had shrunk, sweat built up on their foreheads, and lips quivered. The larger boy held onto his brother, who had tears welling up in his eyes.
"What's happening?" Sylas said as she heard the door creak open. She had remained seated and the wife barked at her to what she assumed to be, "MOVE!" Sylas hopped off of her seat, but looked at the front door. Beyond the miner was a man cladded in armor. He held a large spear that was bigger than the door frame. His tail slithered behind the miner.
"His tail?"
The man in armor pushed the miner to the side, and looked down at Sylas. He was a humanoid with snake-like amber eyes and the head of a dragon.