The boy turned around. His black hair cascaded, and the rags he wore fluttered in the gentle wind. His face was immature, in contrast to his sea-green eyes, which reflected shrewdness that went beyond his age. He offered Eclipse a hand, “You must be new."

  “Fuck off.” Eclipse coldly spat and then swatted the boy’s hand away, his face deathly pale.

  The boy frowned, “Hey, I just saved your life. The least you could do is - ah?! What’s wrong? Hey, are you good?”

  Before he could finish his sentence, Eclipse’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as his person finally gave in to the fatigue layered from days of misery, pain, and hunger. His fragile body drooped towards the earth, but the boy caught him in his arms, his cries of concern blending into Eclipse’s ears as distant and incoherent words.

  With that, Eclipse's perspective turned into a long yet well-deserved pitch black…

  When his eyes fluttered open again, his entire body felt numb. He grimaced slightly before his eyes widened in shock. He was lying in a pile of rags… inside a room. The room was almost completely dark except for the dim shade of orange coming from the protruding ember of dusk.

  As he sat up, Eclipse made out a single cupboard and an old wooden door.

  Narrowing his eyes, he took his gaze to the gloomy sunset thoughtfully as his mind flashed with memories of his encounter with the wild dogs, the heartless sneers of the villagers, and the boy who had saved him. Frankly, if he had not intercepted, Eclipse would have most likely been dead by now.

  After a few minutes, the wooden door creaked open, and a voice rang into the room, “Finally awake? Geez, it’s been a whole four days.”

  The boy made his way into the vermillion radiance of sundown, where Eclipse could see him clearly. He barely reacted, though, and simply looked at him from the corner of his eyes. The boy bought out a match from his pocket before promptly lighting it, producing a flickering flame in the dim light, and set it atop a candle next to the window. Soon, the room was lit with the colour of fire.

  Eclipse finally got a clearer look at the boy. He had striking green eyes, which were bright and sharp in the way they reflected the firelight. His black hair was quite longer on one side than it was on the other, with strands falling over his brow. He looked to be around the same age as Eclipse, yet his build was very different. The boy’s forearms were corded with lean muscle, his chest popped out beneath his top, and his shoulders were naturally broad, and he was taller than Eclipse by a few inches.

  Despite his age, Eclipse could immediately tell from everything that had happened that this boy was very experienced.

  Eclipse didn’t utter a single word, and he simply pulled aside his cover and stood up. However, as his feet touched the ground, he wobbled slightly. Alarmed, he used the wall for support as he steadied himself.

  For an instant, Eclipse froze - then came crashing down to his knees.

  But despite this, he desperately struggled to get back up, “That’s right, Shadow! Where’s Shadow?”

  The boy’s eyes widened, and he rushed to Eclipse’s side and shook his shoulders. “Hey, what’s wrong? Don’t worry about your pet dog. I’ve patched him up.”

  Sure enough, right by the pile of rags that Eclipse was sleeping on, Shadow lay atop a ragged cushion, unconscious.

  “Shadow is a wolf,” Eclipse said, gritting his teeth, but internally he breathed out a sigh of relief. He struggled to get on his feet once again.

  The boy looked hard at Eclipse for a moment, then his face lit up as if he had figured out the solution to world peace, “Oh, I get it, you’re hungry?"

  He waved his hand towards his pocket and took out an apple. Eclipse’s eyes turned fierce, and he snatched the apple from the boy’s hand before wolfing it down.

  Proud of himself, the boy nodded happily as he started talking, “Ahaha, I can tell when- hey, slow down, you’re going to choke!”

  Seeing Eclipse gag on his apple, the boy facepalmed before slapping Eclipse's back with one hand, “Geez, you’re hopeless. Aha, I don't have any more food, but I can help you get some. How about it?"

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  Finally having finished the apple, Eclipse stood up and faced him, his expression completely frosty, “Get lost, I don’t need your help. I'm not hungry.”

  “Uhh, you’re seriously saying that after you finish eating the apple I just gave you?”

  Eclipse walked away as if he couldn’t hear the boy.

  GRROOWLL~

  A sudden twisted noise resonated from his stomach, and Eclipse stopped in his tracks.

  “Ahaha. Yeah, that’s what I thought." The boy smirked, “Guess your stomach is disagreeing with you there.”

  “About helping me get food… I’m listening.”

  Smiling, the boy turned around, “Alright, follow me.”

  He opened the wooden door, which was located far to the left. It creaked loudly as it opened, sending several rats scurrying away in alarm. When Eclipse stepped out of the room, he saw a large hall. Debris was littered all over the uneven concrete floor, and parts of the ceiling caved in towards the ground. The windows were completely shattered, and the scarlet light of dusk poured in.

  They made it out of the building, and as they did, Eclipse turned around briefly to take a look. It was an inn. An abandoned inn situated in a very isolated area at the borders of Gravestone Village.

  The boy reached for a wooden stick outside the inn and flung it over his shoulders. Noticing Eclipse looking thoughtfully at the inn, the boy said expressionlessly, "This is the Gravestone Inn. It used to be lively, but things have… changed in the past few years. It was the doing of a bunch of warriors from the Dracoferus Tribe.”

  As soon as these words escaped the boy’s mouth, Eclipse’s pupils contracted, and his body stagnated all of a sudden. The boy raised an eyebrow as he saw Eclipse’s abnormal reaction, "What's wrong?"

  He didn't reply. His fists were clenched so hard they turned pale as blood, and anger surged through his veins. Taking a couple of consecutive deep breaths, Eclipse forced himself to calm down.

  He turned around and let out one final deep sigh, "It’s nothing. Lead the way.”

  A strange expression flashed across the boy’s face. He understood that something was wrong, but he didn't pursue it, "Alright then. Let’s go"

  After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a street with quite a few people walking around. This area seemed more like a bazaar rather than a block of slums.

  “We might get our asses kicked, so brace yourself for anything.” The boy stated, his face serious for the first time, then an arrogant sneer wrote over his face, “But that's part of the fun. Ahahahahaha!”

  “Okay.”

  The boy's laugh died to a smile, and then he pointed at a certain spot within the bazaar. “You see that man over there?"

  Far in the corner was a shady-looking man behind a stall. Rats scurried around his feet, but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

  “Yeah?”

  The boy then whispered something into Eclipse’s ears. He nodded as he listened, then frowned, “You’re going to use me as a decoy?”

  “If you’re too much of a bitch, then we can switch places.” The boy smirked.

  “Tch. Doesn’t matter.” Eclipse scowled at him.

  The boy walked towards the stall, his wooden stick balanced on his shoulders with his arms over it.

  After a while, Eclipse followed him, intending not to make it seem as if he and the boy knew each other. When the boy stood in front of the stall, the stall owner eyed him in irritation.

  “Beat it, kid.” He barked.

  “Oh, sorry, sir.” He said apologetically, then proceeded to turn around. When he did, however, his stick whacked the stall owner's head.

  He growled in pain and then barked, trying to snatch the piece of wood. “Bastard, gimme that stick."

  The boy sneered, then bowed, the stick getting pulled out of the man's grasp in the process. He then said in a very polite and apologetic tone, “I'm very sorry, sir. Pfft, I didn't mean to wack your shiny head.”

  The stall owner growled, completely provoked. Somehow, this boy's ‘apology’ made him fly into a rage more than any insult ever could: “You fuckin’ runt!”

  Suddenly, amidst the commotion, Eclipse rushed over and grabbed two apples, then dashed into the alleyway nearby. The stall owner, noticing what had happened, bellowed lividly and proceeded to run after Eclipse. “You fucking rat!”

  Just as he had taken the first step, the boy whipped out his stick, and the man tripped, falling flat on his face.

  “Sorry.” The boy laughed and then ran the other way.

  “You little fuckers!” The man finally got up and chased after Eclipse. Once he arrived at the alleyway, there was no trace of the kids. He looked around, his face red in anger. He then let out a grumbled huff and walked away, “Fuck those rascals. Two apples won’t do nothin' to my damn business, anyway."

  Seeing him leave, Eclipse breathed a sigh of relief and jumped down from the rooftops of one of the structures. He turned around and saw the boy smiling, carrying an entire batch of various fruits.

  “Hah, fair play, monkey-man. You’re more athletic than you let on.”

  Eclipse bit off half of an apple he was holding in a single bite, “Don’t call me that again."

  The boy held out his hand with a grin, “Chael, nice to meet you.”

  Eclipse continued wolfing down fruits without even looking at the boy, “My name’s not Chael…”

  “Ahaha, I mean my name’s Chael, you idiot.” The boy laughed.

  “What a weird name.”

  “What’s yours?”

  “Eclipse.”

  “… Whose name is weird exactly?”

  Having finished the entire batch of fruits in a couple of minutes, Eclipse slid down a wall on his back and sat on the floor.

  Chael asked, “What’s your story? I mean, you came to this village looking beaten up and all.”

  Eclipse’s eyes widened, then he slowly took his gaze up to make eye contact with him. Chael’s eyes widened, realising in that moment that he had asked a question that he shouldn't have.

  A beat passed.

  Eclipse’s pupils flashed as though he was possessed by a devil, “None of your fucking business."

  Chael laughed nervously and scratched his head, “Ahaha, my bad…”

  As the sun sank behind the horizon, the two made their way back to the inn without exchanging a single word.