Hellwalkers

Jake

Upon not finding Jake in his room that morning, Striker assumed he must have gone ahead to hunt something for breakfast. His son's smaller crossbow was missing from its usual place, so that must be it. He's been insisting that he wants to help provide for his mother and little brother or sister.

"He reminds me of you with each day that passes." Jane laughed

"What are ye sayin'? He got the knack for gettin' intro trouble from ye, love." Striker countered with a smirk, barely dodging a smack from his wife's tail. "Well, I better go catch up with him. The last thing I want is for the boy to get caught in a trap or runnin' into a town Imp by himself."

Before leaving, though, he made sure to take a look at Mikhail. There didn't seem to be any bruises or injuries, which meant that no harm had come to his brother. Still, Striker couldn't help but wonder what was taking him so long. 

Striker picked up his own crossbow and left the den. The hellbeasts instinctively followed after him. 

"I told ya bunch that ye can't come out in the daytime," he told them sternly. "I'm just gonna look for Jake, go back to bed." 

The hellbeasts lowered their ears and snorted in disappointment, but obeyed nevertheless. Striker recalled a time when they wouldn't listen to a word he or Mikhail said, back when their mother was still the leader of the pack. They'd seen about five generations of this pack alone, and yet they had to earn their place as the leaders once their mother was too old for it. Something Jake would one day have to do when he came of age. 

Speaking of Jake, he found his trail not long after leaving the sanctuary. Striker had a bad feeling as it led him closer to the edge of the forest, but surely Jake wouldn't be foolish enough to do the one thing he'd forbidden him to do... until he reached the edge and realized that the impling's scent led towards the town and got lost amongst the stench. 

Striker's tail rattled, fists clenching. "That boy is in so much trouble!"

*HB*

Everything was so different! The paths were hard and made of stones. The town imp dens were made of wood and seemed to be far more spacious than the cave. The place was so crowded that Jake had to push his way through the crowd, earning shouts and irritated glares in the process, but he didn't care.  

He came across a long pathway lined with wooden booths displaying a great variety of things, some of which Jake had never seen. The stench seemed to come mostly from this area. Jake stuck his tongue as a vendor nearly shoved a fish in his face. Puaj!

"Pies here!"

"Fresh fish!"

"Get yer pork, lamb and beef!"

Finally, he came across a booth displaying the same things inside the basket. Jake's eyes lit up. Finally! As he was about to grab one, a sharp knife dug into the wood inches away. startling the impling. 

"Ye got money, kid?" the large, gruff town Imp behind the booth asked with mild hostility. 

Jake tilted his head. "Money? What is that?" 

"If ye don't have any coin, then scram!" 

Jake barely managed to dodge a smack to his head as he scurried away into an alley. No wonder Dad didn't like town Imps, they're nasty!  

The sound of chanting and child's voices led him away from the marketplace and further into the alley. Some implings about his age seemed to be in a sort of game, circling around a small wooden cage with another boy inside. Far from being stressed out, the 'captive' seemed to be enjoying himself as he tried to reach for the impling standing on top of the cage.