Chapter 4: Dare To Live
Panting with every step as his legs began to give out. Teus stopped in the middle of the streets while trying to catch his breath. The crowd walked past him, going about their day and usual errands. He became almost invisible in the backdrop of the busy marketplace. The unanimous frustration, fury and insults being directed at him was no longer present as the minute they did not perceive him as a threat of immediate danger, Teus became just like every other vagabond in Thorinhil, a meaningless bystander.
He remembered the words of the shopkeeper with a scowl as he grit his teeth together so hard they threatened to burst.
"They're only saying what they're saying because they don't wanna see you die."
Still in the midst of trying to catch his breath, he stared intently at the fish in his arms.
His tone shrunk in zeal and a dejected attitude infected his expression.
"But I would have starved if I didn't catch this fish today…"
Thorinhil was a far cry from a utopia of prosperity. Ever since the world had been taken over by dragons, humans had been forced into the deepest, darkest corners of Gayeal in order to survive. Though people may have proclaimed heartwarming ideals, their honest actions were often much more cut throat.
The truth of the matter was that Teus had to accept he was an orphan in a poor land.
There was no room for him in the hearts of Thorinhil.
Nobody had the time or resources to take care of him as much as the normal kids, who were not doing much better anyway. Everyone was struggling, and if one did not take survival into their own hands in this town, death was all too eager to meet them.
And unless one increased the likelihood of somebody's survival, they would continue to be dead weight. The town may have claimed to have meant well, but it was empty compassion. In a real way, the child was nothing but a rowdy, unruly burden to the people, taking up space on the streets. However, that is still no reason to roll over and die.
The inside of Teus' fist clenched.
"That damn shopkeeper! He doesn't get it at all. If I did what everybody wanted I'd be long dead by now…! Who cares what they think? even him! Once I leave this blasted town and find the King's Crest I'll prove them all wrong. If he's so certain that I can't find a weapon to do it, he's got another thing coming!"
He exhaled as his breath took the form of a small gust of wind and gave the path before him a determined look before continuing to sprint to his next place for his delivery.
"I'll show them they were wrong…!"
****
Deep in the center of Thorinhil was a dark alleyway in between two rundown buildings that exuded an ominous aura.
"Morning, Mister Fluff and Puff~♪!"
The boy's feet came to a screeching halt before he lifted his head to view the grimy abyss. Head tilted and eyebrows scrunched together in uncertainty, he squinted his eyes as he looked closer in the alley.
"...Is he even here today?"
A couple moments passed.
As Teus' eyes studied the dingy cavern, a big and hairy rat scurried from the alley. Darting from left to right it was obvious the rat was terrified, almost as though at the moment Teus called, the rat started to run towards him for refuge…as if it was running away from something.
As it continued to dash through the dirt, Teus watched a large, thick and weighty sword that was comically oversized, at least a third the size of a full grown man, come flying from the alley. Spinning in a perfect circle before acutely hitting its mark. The point of the blade perfectly penetrated the rat's spine, ceasing its movement. The rodent twitched its body a couple more times before relenting to its fate and rolling its eyes inward.
A grin stretched past Teus' face.
"He is here!"
He took a few more hurried steps nearer to the alley before calling out.
"Mister Fluff and Puff!"
"..."
"..."
An old grizzled man with a dirty silver beard reaching down to his chest arose from the shadows with his hand firmly placed on the bricks of the building next to him. He appeared slightly more disheveled than any other vagabond in Thorinhil, lacking a shirt and shoes, only being covered by thin, muddy, unwashed pants that were begging to be replaced. With a cold and imposing demeanor he towered over the boy.
He solemnly analyzed his face for a few seconds before quickly changing his demeanor into a more joyful and lighthearted expression.
"Ah, Treasure hunting Teus! I thought I smelled you around here!"
Teus, with a chuckle escaping his mouth, extended his arms towards the old man, presenting the fish he had stolen earlier.
"That makes sense, I caught a whole bunch of fish today!"
"Neat! Then I get to save that rat I just killed for later!"
Teus immediately frowned as he shivered at sight of the filthy rodent.
"...Please don't." He advised, while clearly repulsed.
"Aww, You used to like eating rats!" The old man sheepishly stated.
"That was when I had no other choice!" Teus barked.
The old man cheerfully patted Teus on his back before replying.
"Flesh feeds the muscle, Teus. You shouldn't restrict yourself about how you get it! Ahaha!"
"Uwargh!"
Teus recoiled as he cringed, much to the old man's amusement. He cackled at the boy's reaction. He effortlessly pulled his sword from the ground, the rat along with it, and pointed his blade in the direction of the alley as the rat fell into the square of his palm.
"Ready to cook these things or what? I'm sure you have quite the story about how your looting went while we eat!" he asked intently.
"But…fine, I'm not eating the rat though!"
"More for me! Now go clean out the fish in the pond while I start the fire!"
****
In the alley the two of them sat on used wooden barrels next to the fire, roasting the fish as Teus regaled the old man with his story about his treasure hunting for the day. Out of everyone in the town he was the one who enjoyed Teus' stories the most, or would even listen to them without being annoyed, even if the events happened to stay mostly the same.
The old man burst out into laughter bellowing deep from his belly.
"I can't believe you let that stupid little bear almost get the better of you again! I can't wait to teach you the way of the sword, this looks so embarrassing!"
"Hey, that beast is huge and terrifying! Shouldn't it be impressive that I managed to survive that thing!?"
"Oh please, back in my day as a Beast Breaker, bears like that were easy work!"
"You always say that Mister Fluff and Puff!"
"Because it's true!"
The old man took a bite out of his fish before continuing.
"Still though, you got some serious guts running into their own territory like that with no sword or nothing. I don't think I would have done that when I was younger. Give it enough time and I'm sure that bear will be running from you the second it smells you. You'll get there eventually…"
He finished the last bit of his fish before pointing the spine of the fish at Teus.
"...Wanna know why?"
Teus froze for a moment, his face sculpted into a dumbfounded expression before remembering the answer.
"...Oh, because we're-"
"Because we're dreamers!"
The old man interrupted and bonked Teus on the top of his head using his fist, as if to imply he took too long to come to that conclusion.
"Everyone else is enslaved by the mere thought of danger! Out of everyone in Thorinhil, Teus, you and I are the only ones. The ones who don't only wish to survive but live without restraints. We, who refuse to die and refuse to be in bondage. The only ones who, in a dying world, dare to live. That's you and me."
Teus nodded his head aggressively in agreement. In between mouthfuls of cooked fish he made muffled sounds of affirmation to the old man's speech.
"Mmhm! Mmhm!"
"That's why in due time, something as silly as a bear won't be able to chase you. Especially with me teaching you, you'll be unbelievably strong in no time! Haha!"
"Yeah! I don't think bears even have dreams!" Teus cheered.
"Idiot! That's not the point!" The old man shouted before hitting him on top of the head again, this time, with so much force he fell off the barrel. The old man continued.
"It's about in the face of one who's fueled with a true dream, nothing can hold you back!"
Teus grabbed his head as he got up from the ground and quickly retorted.
"But we're saying the same thing! When my dream is to find the King's Crest and a bear doesn't have dreams at all. The bear doesn't stand a chance against me!"
"..."
It became awkwardly quiet in the alley.
"Wait…Are you still trying to find the King's Crest?" The old man yelled.
Teus began to sweat profusely.
"Oh no…"
As the wooden barrels began to fly in all different directions the old man was swept up in a comical anger. Teus dodged the swings of his blade with a panicked look etched onto his face. He attempted to deescalate the situation.
"Mister Fluff and Puff, calm down!"
The old man roared.
"No! We talked about this before! Out of all the crazy dreams we dreamers are to have. We're not allowed to even dream of having that one!"
The boy instinctively ducked out of the way of a wooden box thrown in his direction as it smashed into pieces after its impact with the wall.
Teus groaned exasperated.
"Oh come on, what happened to dare to…"
A white flash appeared in front of Teus' eyes before he could finish his sentence. His knees buckled when he saw the old man swing his sword and a crescent shaped wave of compact air flew towards him at life threatening speed.
The rest of his sentence fell out of his mouth in a dejected tone as his lips quivered.
"…live..."
Within less than a second the attack was inches away from his face. Teus was moments away from death.