A small youngling shivered as he was dressed in simple rags with only a dark fluffy purple scarf to keep him warm from the deadly winter, his dirty blond hair glowed in the sunlight while his three sparkling purple eyes snarled at nothing.
The Cyclopes threw the next rock particularly hard as he walked deeper into the forest. The tiny pebble went somewhere off in the distance. It made him feel better to throw and hit something that wouldn't hit him back for once. The young mutant was a scrawny nothing despite how tall he was compared to the other kids in the strawberry orphanage, that he along with many others was forced into after losing their families.
He was going to be shipped away soon into another home.
This just made the rumors about his third eye only worse.
The 'third eye' on his forehead that the boy tried so hard to hide with his long bangs was a sign of evil to all who gazed upon him– he was strange and ugly in the eyes of the gods.
The child knew he was off, he had always known this painful truth. It didn't help he was the last of his kind as well.
Cursed. His whole race was killed during the last war because the gods feared their power.
The small unfortunate soul throws another rock, this time it hits something or someone.
"Ow!" yelled none other then Dunkin, who had just sat down a long piece of wood into the many piles that he and Johnny had gathered over the past month. Dunkin turns and looks sharply while rubbing the back of his head where the small pebble had hit him directly.
"What are you doing?!" the mutant child demanded while sneering at how deformed Dunkin looks.
As it was just a grim reminder to the child of his own cursed eye and what he had lost.
" What's it look like? I'm building a bridge!" Dunkin stated the obvious to the young brat as he rolled his gray eye. The youngling Cyclopes scoff not believing him," I bet you're just an ugly old jackass trying to get pity! Right?" The three eyed child hisses back, pointing an accusing finger at the older mule.
The Onocentaur's tail whips back and forth angrily as his pointed ears folded back behind his head at hearing the slur. Dunkin gave a scary glare at the three eyed boy, roaring angry as he slams his fist into the ground, causing the very earth itself to shake, "SHUT UP!"
Spooked by his glare alone, the child runs off into a random part of the forest yet Dunkin doesn't run after him.
After all, the child was the last of his kind, Dunkin knew this very well. Looking back on his time as a soldier, he felt guilty knowing that he helped destroy the whole race of Cyclopes's.
Including ones with families.
So, instead he merely wiped his forehead with a light towel that Johnny had given him while letting out a frustrated breath, "damn, kid"
Speaking of whom, Johnny had been watching Dunkin's actions the whole time from the sidelines,"You're becoming a lot like me" the young man remarks with a cheerful smile.
" Don't be stupid" Dunkin huffed turning his head up while crossing his muscular arms over his expansive chest, his good gray eye flashing defiantly, " I'm nothing like you! As soon as the bridge is done! You'll be out of my hair!" he announced then turned away from the young man and stormed away to get more wood. Johnny only gave a soft smile at that, not taking the insult to heart at all. In fact, it was actually nice seeing Dunkin express himself so openly.
Just then Convus landed on Johnny's shoulder, the raven looked smug as ever, for it had been watching the interaction between the two, "He's really stubborn, just like you when it comes to helping others" the raven muses, cawing in a humorous tone. Johnny doesn't reply, no words were needed. The young man only chuckling warm-heartedly, clearly agreeing with the raven before getting back to work, helping Dunkin with the wood.
The deadly winter finally reached its peak around December as the gray skies cleared up. With the tree's bare of leaves, the ground covered in a thick blanket of snow. The duo continued with the task at hand, ignoring the frost bite nipping at their noses and the harsh winds. By mid afternoon, they had only gotten a third way done with the bridge, the basswood glowing against the warmth of the sun.
" After all that work, we're only half way done?" Dunkin sighs sounding disappointed at the sight while shaking his head.
"Yes, it's easier to destroy then it is to build back up" Johnny explains simply, while Dunkin walks on to the bridge and slaps his fist against it a few times just to test the strength holding up the bridge. A proud smile grew across the half donkey's curvy face as not even a crack was even left behind on the wood, "Well, this one might not break at the rate we're building it" he said sounding almost proud of their work.
" Good point! the sooner we get done then you will no longer half to deal with me" Johnny reminded him with a hint of sarcasm before turning and heading off getting back to work. Dunkin paused as the smile faded from his chapped lips," oh, right…" he muttered as the realization dawn on him that Johnny was not wrong. Recalling the whole reason why he is doing this in the first place, the Onocentaur had did indeed only agreed to help originally so he could make Johnny leave sooner.
It finally dawned on him that his life would go back to what it was before he reunited with Johnny months ago.
Pointless and with no meaning.
Despite knowing this, it still hurts that the two had worked so hard on the bridge and they would half to go their separate ways in the end. Dunkin even felt a little envious because it was obvious, Johnny was getting stronger every day with his new found powers.
Though, he wouldn't admit it aloud to anyone but deep down, Dunkin knew Johnny was more fit to be the next leader of the gods then Dunkin ever could be.
Dunkin had always been praying and fighting with life and the current gods. He always blamed his own birth name, only seeing it as a burden until he met Johnny.
The young man reminded Dunkin of why his family gave him that name and how they supported Dunkin threw everything, even if they weren't alive anymore to see how his life turned out.
He still missed them and thought about them often.
Johnny had given him a reason to move on from the past.
Dunkin had never seen someone go threw so much pain other then himself while also never giving up on helping others even if it meant costing his own life.
Despite only having one eye, the Onocentaur still had good eye sight and could see that Johnny is more then worthy to be the next god.