Kai woke slowly.
His body ached from the night's events.
Kai blinked as the morning light shone through the rips in the tattered cloth that served as a ramshackle ceiling for his bed.
'Oh, right. I passed out.'
The scent of damp wood and unwashed bodies filled his nose, and the distant murmur of voices reached his ears. He was on a makeshift bed of rags and straw, his broken arm bound tightly in a rough sling.
'Someone patched me up?'
The smell of stale, mouldy bread and damp wood filled Kai's nose as he stirred, his body aching from the rough sleep. A low murmur of voices surrounded him, hushed yet full of energy. He had survived the night.
Kai sat up slowly, his fingers pressing against the cold ground as he took in his surroundings.
The slums of Ylthara were a world apart from the grand Halls of Sorcery or even his hometown. Here, the walls were crumbling, the streets narrow and winding like veins, and the people, no, the children, were like ghosts in their own city, unseen and ignored by those who lived in comfort beyond the district's border.
'I know how it feels to be ignored...'
"You're awake," came a voice.
Rhea, the oldest or at least the tallest among them, stood with arms crossed, her piercing green eyes watching him carefully. Even in the dim light, he could see the way she carried herself, like someone used to being in charge. Her dark, unevenly cut hair framed her face, and her expression was unreadable.
'She can't be any older than sixteen.'
Around her, the other children whispered excitedly, eyeing Kai with curiosity rather than suspicion. They had accepted him quicker than she had.
"You slept like a rock," a younger boy said, plopping down next to Kai. "I'm Finn!"
'He's what, maybe seven?'
He was a unhealthily thin boy with wild brown hair.
"Kai, a pleasure." he responded.
"I told you he wasn't mean," another child chimed in, a girl with short curls, "Shade likes him."
"Shade's weird, Merri." Finn said with a sigh.
At the mention of Shade, Kai felt the familiar shift of presence at his feet.
'It's not like Shade has a choice. It's not alive. But... I guess I can show them more of him.'
His shadow rippled unnaturally before Shade formed, taking the shape of something small and almost cat-like. The children gasped in delight as Shade flicked its tail and twirled in a circle.
Rhea frowned, watching the display, but said nothing.
After a quick breakfast of stolen bread and whatever scraps they had, Kai spent the morning learning the children's names and their stories. Most had been abandoned or had escaped from harsh lives. Some were 'variants'; children with odd abilities or magical traits that set them apart. Others were simply discarded, forgotten by the city. They were all unwanted.
"You're lucky," Merri said, sitting next to him as they watched the younger kids play. "You still have a name. A lot of us had to make ours up."
Kai glanced at her. "You don't have family?"
She shook her head. "No one that would claim me. I gave myself the name Merri because it sounds like merry and it might make me sound happier."
Kai looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. He had never considered what it meant to not exist in the eyes of the world. To not even have a name given by someone who cared. The thought made something tighten in his chest.
'They never had someone care about them. No family. Nobody but each other. I wasn't very lucky in my first life, but my sister still loved me and I was at least given a name. These children...'
Kai struggled to hold back his tears but failed miserably.
Later in the day, the group huddled together to discuss his situation.
"You can't just walk out of Ylthara," Rhea said. "The gates are watched at all hours."
Kai frowned. "I need to leave."
"We all do," Finn muttered. "No one's ever succeeded, though."
Rhea shot him a sharp look. "Because it's impossible. Everyone who has tried just gets rounded up and imprisoned or killed."
"They would really go to that extent?" Kai asked.
"Yes. I hear it's even worse in the Citadel. There's nowhere to hide, there."
Discussions continued for a while, and Kai got no further in his plans to leave the city.
Merri nudged Kai when a conversation grew heated between Finn and Rhea regarding escaping through the sewers.
"Shade's really sneaky. Can it carry things? Could it steal food?" She peeked at Kai's shadow, as if expecting it to appear at any second.
Kai blinked before nodding. "Yeah, Shade can do plenty of things."
'Nothing too heavy yet, and I won't mention how dangerous it can be.'
Rhea turned to Kai and a slow grin spread across her face. She ignored Finn's cussing and made her approach. "Then let's start there. We need food first. Then we plan the rest. Can't plan on an empty stomach, or we'll end up like Mr. Skyship Captain over here."
'Smart. She's trying to use me before I leave. She has more wits at fifteen or sixteen than I do now. Probably how her group has survived for so long.'
That afternoon, Kai and the children put their plan into action.
Kai sat perched on an old crate, his eyes scanning the crowd while Shade darted between stalls. The shadowy being moved unseen, slipping under carts and behind wooden stands, swiping whatever food it could. It was never much at a time, but Shade returned with a couple of pieces of fruit, vegetables, meat, or bread and filled a nearby barrel with them.
The other children attempted to make it easier for Kai and Shade by distracting the merchants. But their approach was more direct and far more dangerous. Merri complained about the quality of the fruits at a stall and reached for a red fruit that looked like an apple, her fingers just brushing the red skin before a rough hand clamped down on her wrist.
"Thieving little rat!" the shopkeeper bellowed, his meaty fist tightening around her thin arm. Merri cried out in pain, twisting in his grip. "You lot keep stinking up my stall, scaring off paying customers! Get out of here before I break your damn fingers!"
Finn, older and always protective, rushed forward. "Let her go!" he snapped, shoving the man's arm. "We just wanted a bit of food!"
"A bit of food?" The vendor's face twisted in anger. "You filthy brats bring nothing but trouble! You think I don't notice when my stock goes missing? It's because of you that decent folk don't want to shop here!" He shoved Merri backward, making her stumble into Finn's arms. "Go beg somewhere else! Or better yet, drop dead!"
Finn's fists clenched at his sides. His jaw tightened, his eyes blazing with fury. "You've got more than enough! You won't miss a couple of apples, you greedy bastard!"
'You're not Joran. Don't provoke them too much, you idiot...'
The shopkeeper sneered. "Oh? So you admit to stealing from me?" His voice rose, drawing the attention of nearby guards. "You lot are nothing but trash! Thieves, beggars, and filth-"
'I knew it.'
Kai controlled Shade to strike before the man could finish his screaming. The shadowy figure slipped unseen beneath his stall several times, its ethereal limbs wrapping around fruits, root vegetables, and loaves of bread before vanishing back beside Kai to dump them into the barrel.
Other merchants left their stalls to watch the commotion more closely.
A bundle of dried meat disappeared from a hook at a butcher's stall, yanked away without a sound.
Several cakes disappeared from a small baked goods stall.
The shopkeeper's ranting was cut short as he turned back to his wares when he heard a clatter behind him only to find them significantly emptier.
"What the-?!" His face paled as he noticed the missing goods.
"Come on!" Finn yelled, grabbing Merri's hand and yanking her away before the guards could reach them.
The children scattered, disappearing into the maze of alleyways and side streets. Kai followed Finn and Merri from a distance with another couple of children, who helped him carry the barrel full of food. They ran back to their meeting point while Rhea watched them like a hawk on the rooftops above, ready to step in if things became too dangerous.
After they gathered their stolen harvest, they met on the rooftops near the slums. As many of the children who were part of the operation enjoyed the first taste of the haul, Kai walked over to the edge of the rooftop to examine the city.
The thrill of stealing didn't sit well with Kai at first, but seeing the way the children ate and how they wolfed down their share like they weren't sure when their next meal would come, his conscience settled.
'Maybe stealing serves a purpose if it helps enough people. I should know that, though. This isn't Earth.'