Specks of sand flew softly on the hard wood planted within the sand, blocking it from entering a small shack within the scorching desert.
Inside, a middle-aged man with coal black hair stood against a wooden table, prepping some sort of soup, as the air around the man cooled down, causing the small wooden reside to feel rather comfortable amidst this unfavourable place.
Sitting on the floor of planks against a wall was a young boy, around 7 years of age, his russet brown hair in a mess, resembling a bird's nest. He wore brown cloth pants and a white garb, it's sleeves hanging loosely over his hands; these clothes were more fit for a grown adult.
The man paused for a moment, before turning to the young boy, walking over and kneeling in front of him. He extended his arm out, offering the boy the bowl.
The boy paused for a moment, before grabbing the brown clay bowl out of his hands, eyeing the cold soup in front of him. It had carrots, potatos, and other unrecognisable things within, submerged in a golden brown stock.
He slowly drank the soup while picking away at the chunks of vegetables.
The man looked at the boy with a somber expression.
"I was curious.. Tre, why were you wandering the desert alone..?"
He felt he already knew the answer to this question. He didn't want to admit it. He didn't wish for the cruelties of this world to be the truth of it. He truly wanted the boy to say he had gotten lost, or ran away..
The boy stopped eating for a moment, glancing at the man in front of him.
"I- my mother.. died some years ago. At that town called Bolt. They watched her die. They saw her. They watched her, but.. they didn't do anything.. they.. they watched her.. die.. I had to leave. I wanted to. I heard of a place called the pavilion.. and that it's a safe haven for even people with nothing.. so I wanted to go there. I wanted to try."
His face tightened, furrowing his brows. He gripped his hands tightly, his jagged nails digging into his own flesh.
The man looked at the young boy with a distant gaze.
'No one should have to go through that.. let alone a child of this age..'
Yet..
'If he stays here.. it will only get worse. Much worse. He can't go anywhere though. Once even just one of those people find out, there's not much even I can do.'
The somber silence of the bitterly cold room was cut though by a loud knock at the front door.
Sigh
The man slowly stood up, walking over to a silver steel Zweihänder resting upon the timber wall.
He cast his gaze at the boy for a moment, before turning towards the door.
"Close your eyes for me, kid. And cover your ears."
The boy hesitated for a moment, before placing the clay bowl on the floor and doing as he said, covering his ears with the palms of his hands.
Opening the door, a scruff man with messy, dirty blond hair stood in the blazing desert, suited in dirty steel armour, with the engravings of a sword on fire displayed on the breastplate.
A palpable silence lingered between the two men, broken only by the gusts of sand wailing against the wooden shack, before the scruff man spoke up.
"What do you think you're doing, Lloyd? Why haven't you returned?"
...
The man in the shack tightened his grip on the wooden door he was holding onto for a moment, before loosening.
"Leave, Kain. Don't make me tell you twice."
He brandished his steel Zweihänder within his left hand hand for a moment.
"Im serious."
The man known as Kain feigned a surprised look, before catching a glance at a young boy sitting at the back of the shack. His face turned grim.
"Who is that, Lloyd?"
Lloyd didn't answer for a moment.
"I'm not returning. Tell them that, if you want. Now leave. I won't tell you a third time."
Kain wore a shocked expression for a moment, before returning to a more natural composed, cynical look.
"Ahaha. So this is how you're doing it. We won't let you off easy, surely you know that, right? Everytime you sleep, you will have to worry about a knife sliding across your neck. You can't just simply walk away from this, Lloyd. You and that boy will suffer."
The air cooled at these words, Lloyd demeanor suddenly shifting. The bwads of sweat dropping from the Kain's forehead froze; his throat constricted, barely making enough room for his breath to flow.
"Leave, Kain. Chase me to the ends of the Earth, if you wish. Let them know of this, though;
If you do so much as touch a hair on that boy's head, I will strike down every one of you.
"Do. You. Understand?"
Kain nodded, his face paling at the sight of this threat, Coughing out;
"I.. will leave.. but don't expect me not.. to tell them."
The man struggled a bit, before running off, disappearing amongst the vast sand in this barren land.
Glancing at the young boy, Lloyd stepped over towards him, tapping him on the shoulder, letting him know he can open his eyes and release his ears again.
Gazing outside the door of the shack, the man's eyes sharpened, his will becoming resolute.
***
A shocked jolted through Tre's body, causing him to sit upright.
Laying in a silk bed, he was covered by a soft blanket, resting in a small dorm, with oak wooden planks serving as the floor and orange stacked bricks serving as the walls.
Standing up from the bed, Tre moved slowly over to the window beside his bed, the light of the moon glaring at him through the clear windows.
'I slept through the first day of school.. that's rough.. I guess tomorrow I'm going in blind, since I wasted the first day.'
He opened the window, feeling the cool air biting into his skin, brushing past his hair and soothing his fatigued eyes.
'But still..'
"It's such a beautiful breeze, isn't it?"