Somewhere in a dark forest a kid wanders through the forest.
His black hair blends into the night sky. He wears a torn brown poncho, and holds his stomach in hunger.
His eyes don't glimmer, not since last week when he ran from his home.
He stumbles feeling like he'll pass out from hunger and he sits against a tree.
He looks at the full moon and starry sky, the light pollution having long since disappeared.
"They burned my house to the ground, my families dead… should I really continue living on?"
With the sounds of a nearby flowing river despite his hatred for water he had contemplated drowning himself.
The peaceful ambience of the forest and chirping crickets is interrupted by a low snarl of a nearby wolf.
At this point the boy had no strength left to fight the wolf, every now and then slipping in and out of consciousness.
He sees the wolf with fur that sparkles just like stars, and a yellow mark on his toothed in the shape of a crescent moon.
The wolf walks up to the boy against the tree and places a dry straw basket by his side.
"Huh… I guess you're just a good boy after all."
He tries to reach his hand over to scratch the wolf's head but the wolf had pushed it over to the lid of the basket. It barked once more and opened the lid for him.
Inside the basket the aroma of freshly cooked meat wafts into the air.
Noticing his limbs grow ever so more noticeably limp the wolf feeds him the rather tasteless meat.
It almost causes the boy to laugh, but he refuses to while he chews.
"Hey Wolfie, I guess food is always more enjoyable when you're surrounded by those you love. Not that I don't like you."
The wolf curls up walks to his side after finishing feeding the boy and just sits there.
"I guess I should rest if I'm too continue my wandering, do you mind watching over me while I sleep?"
The wolf whimpers and lays down next to him.
After some hesitation the boy lies down by the dog who feels like he becomes a lot less tense.
In moments he falls asleep.
Because of the light of the morning sky his eyelids slowly flutter open. He still feels the warm fur of the wolf from last night.
"It's best I get going now, you should watch for others in need."
As he gets up the wolf is already gone, knowing it's duty is done.
He continues wandering, his feet hurting and the soles of his boots slowly being worn out.
Finally he finds a clearing of flowers. And he plucks 3 from their stems for his family.
Then he walks up to an apple tree in the middle. He still feels hungry, his stomach growls even louder than yesterday.
He shakes the tree, dislodging a few apples of various colours.
He crouches down and bites an apple, the taste being like dirt.
"Damn, what the fuck? Why does this taste so terrible?"
He forces the rest of it down his throat and stores the apples away into the empty satchel on his back.
Under his breath he mutters more curses.
"I'll just eat these later."
He continues walking, his feet feeling like they are in shreds.
Hours later he makes it to town, the warm stone path hitting his feet through his thin soles.
He pats hit pockets but he has no money so he can only watch others eat the beef skewers from the stall named Durian Food Stall.
The man managing the stall seems to have felt his gaze and picks out a fresh skewer.
"Hey kiddo, you hungry?"
Despite the food smelling just like gasoline he immediately nods his head.
"Yeah I guess you would be from how you look. Listen this is free on the house, but if you see my wife managing the stall tomorrow don't ask."
He musters up the courage to speak a nervous word.
"T-thanks."
The man stands back up and walks to the stall.
"Alright I gotta get back to managing the stall, if you're hungry later just come by."
When the man leaves he hesitates and chooses not to eat it. He walks through the town, and settles in an alley way next to an apartment complex.
Once more night settles, nobody paying attention to the poor looking kid.
He doubled up his poncho folding it to try and increase the warmth the thickness gave.
Then a shadow is cast across his face.
"Kiddo I can assure you I wouldn't harm you."
It is the man from earlier once more, his pale skin illuminated by the lantern lights.
The boy looks away a bit scared and sad.
"H-how did you find me?"
He backed up until he's against a chain fence.
"I know I couldn't leave a child alone. Especially with all the Aether attacks lately."
He takes another look at him and then reaches his hand out.
"I'm assuming you're a victim of the barbarian islands. Which means your whole family is dead."
He mutters under his breath, trailing off on what he is saying.
The man instantly appears in front of him despite being a few meters away earlier.
"You're our son now I guess, well it's better than being alone."
Last night was like a blur, now he is in the kitchen, a frown plastered on his face.
"Kid… this is really good'."
He tries to sound convincing but disgust seeps through his voice.
Cyrell sighs and looks at the stove disheartened.
"Just tell me what I did wrong this time Mr. Lorand."
The man raises an eyebrow and looks at the eggs on the plate.
"Call me father, and we'll…" he scratches the back of his head and looks at the counter. "To be honest are your taste buds and nose even working?"
Cyrell breaths in and everything still smells like shit.
"No…"
The man walks up to Cyrell and squints.
"No wonder, you still feel like your existence has no purpose so parts of you are losing purpose. Well to put it simply, your shutting down and dying, it started with your taste then your smell… well maybe it started with your stomach because of your appetite."
"That's just mean, father."
Lorand pats him on the head and smiles.
"I'm sorry kiddo, I'll help you… uh, I guess we could help you find a new purpose."
Intrigued he immediately looks up and into his eyes.
"When do we start?"
The man shrugs dismissively and then picks up a mug of coffee that floats mid air
"Next week I guess. I'll teach you how to do this while we search as well."