It took a bit of time, but Moros moved his sleep-deprived body out of the school gate. A cold wind shot through the streets and blessed his tired eyes with a wave of relaxation.
"My jiggery-pokery, you will never get your noodle wet if you keep any girl waiting like me."
The bikini-clad madam that had been waiting for him outside of the school exclaimed with a playful undertone.
"Malissa, we both know my cherry will never be popped. No girl is crazy enough to go wild at the thought of a guy being covered in monster guts." Moros added, taking no offence at the statement.
It was simply the truth to him. The type of girl that would like him for the kind of smell that lingered on his clothing was not the type of woman you would let in your life if you wanted to keep it.
Sometimes he wished his parents would have given him a jacket or anything to cover up with.
But no, the clothing he had on his body were the only ones he had left. A short-sleeved thin T-shirt and normal blue jeans with way too many holes in them.
Swiss cheese had nothing on them.
The cold mercilessly assaulted his senses still. But in a moment of monetary weakness, a snowball was flung right into his face.
Feeling the cold upon his body, he was more than happy to be walking beside the walking radiator, his best friend named Malissa.
Surrounded by the flame she had cast, he would never feel the bitter cold too much.
Despite her attempt at cold-blooded murder, he chose to forgive her since he was a man with a big heart and she was a woman with a big…heart too.
Though it was still rather chilly. But as a manly man, his pride would not let him appear weak in front of the gal who walked around like she was one step away from showing the world what she was born with.
For a quick second, he entertained the thought of asking her for her top, since even this little fabric would provide him with more warmth.
As a man of high intellect however, he knew better than this. He would not ask for the little fabric of a girl on such a starry cold winter night…he would ask for her shorts, since this would cover up more space.
However, as a man who liked his life, he chose to do none of that.
Seeing Moros shiver slightly, Malissa mustered the smile only a gremlin could have after it discovered the filthy human to have stepped into its trap.
"Hoopla, do you not find me hot?"
Her question was laced with playful ignorance, daring him to look at the lawless zones of hers.
Moros, the ever-vigilant guardian of his virginity, would not fall for such weak provocations. He returned her gaze and stared, respectfully, into her eyes─the real ones.
"Miss, you are the sun of my life…so please do not burn these clothes off my body…unlike you I need to wear clothes."
His begging, a genuine fear proven by countless experiences dealing with the fiery childhood friend of his. Just last time he had chosen death, by claiming that she left him cold…
Which prompted her to just burn all his clothes and leave him to walk home in a not-so-child-friendly way.
Malissa giggled at the reply of her friend. "This is why coming to this school was the greatest thing that could've happened to me."
"How so?" Moros inquired, clearly surprised by the words that came out of Malissa's mouth.
"It's funny, I could dress how I want and nobody really cares."
Moros certainly knew that she would kick anybody's butt, who would actually try to do such a thing, but he kept that fact to himself because he was concerned for his safety.
"Kevin is more focused on playing his games, Justin just reads books about military tactics, Aaron just likes to draw and you, the weirdest of them all, just like to sleep all day."
Malissa pranced around, jumping and twirling around. Her movement clearly brought an indecent exposure charge on the menu, but she did not care. She thrived in the lack of attention given to her.
"Nobody in this class or school cares about what you do or who you are…we all are just lost in different ways. We are all friends, since we are the useless!"
Moros marched wordlessly beside her.
"Friends?" he muttered beneath his breath. This interpretation, he liked. But he could never claim it was how the world was actually like. It was just hopeful idealism of a lady who had more hope than clothes on.
Though he did like her for her uncaring nature, not caring about what the world or anyone thought about her.
That was Malissa, the discarded daughter of a famous mistress, known for her tempting illusions and the long-lost magic bewitching magic.
Their steps echoed through the empty streets as they made their way towards their homes.
They walked on for a while, talking about the latest rumours about which misfit doing what improper thing and about their family really not caring about anything they did.
Moros just listened with one ear, as he was busy trying to muster his will to live, because he would soon have to deal with the duties of a descendant again.
Time passed by as they arrived at a little house, the young lad ever so deep in his thoughts.
Seeing her friend not paying any attention, a mischievous plan festered in the mind of Malissa.
In a moment of surprise, Moros was ripped out of his thoughts as an unknown assailant threw a large, black bikini top at him, followed by an onslaught of pants that covered his peripheral vision.
The perpetrator of this vicious assault left behind a threatening message to the poor victim of this cruel attack.
"Would you wash them for me? You know how my parents are about me going out like a human being."
And before Moros had realised her actions, she had already disappeared into her house.
Seeing the prized possession that he wore on his head, Moros flashed a knowing grin and stuffed the garments into his pockets.
"This girl." he spoke with a grin "...is truly the devil."
Asking such a thing of him and not even giving him some money. She truly was stingy. Whether she was flirting or just using him as a cleaning service did not enter his mind…he was just concerned about the extra work that fell out of the sky.
With a sigh, he turned around and made his way towards the outskirts of the town. This is where he lived, after all.
After 8 hours of school work, the last few steps were always the worst. Especially, in the middle of winter when his human campfire had entered her home.
Yet, after just 5 minutes of walking Moros suddenly halted his steps, his eyes peering at the vacant shop to the right. A rundown shop that once belonged to a friendly neighbour before it was discovered that he was skipping out on taxes.
Afterwards, he was thrown into a portal and never heard from again. Such is the fate of this world.
The shop "Rizzmatas" became a din of all things that the law might deem not so legal and the people that walked through it, would not stay on Elysium for long if caught elsewhere.
Moros walked through the endless pile of drugs, misery and criminals with purpose in mind.
He was here for his buddy "Poppycock", the guy everyone visited if they wanted things, truly illegal things.
Moros had a fond memory of the gum with narcotics he got from here once, the best nap he ever had as the sports teacher was tripping in another universe.
Techno music blasted his ears and a familiar face appeared in front of him
There he was at the most dirty, most godforsaken corner of this town and world.
With a wide grin plastered on his face, a 4'10 muscular dwarf greeted him. Poppycock, the legend himself. A thumbs-up was presented to Moros.
" I got the stuff you asked for…"