Homegrown

Chapter 1: I got evicted by my parents? Is that even legal?

A/N: First chapter of my story :D. If anything is confusing leave a comment, I'm happy to clarify!
Written by Moss, beta'd by Mango.

Nyx sighed, adjusting his backpack. The fruit was edible, he was sure of it. It would solve the small famines plaguing Evelys, the smallest island in Sevika.

Luckily it was summer, so he shouldn't be in danger for now. Maybe Subi could help him. They were homeless after all, and only a few years older than him. With that in mind he sets off towards Subi's 'fort', which was really just some glorified cardboard boxes and planks, but it was warm and cozy.

Nyx walks into the alley cautiously. It's dark and sometimes other homeless people were lying somewhere here, and accidentally kicking them should be avoided at all costs, they were the absolute opposite of kind and understanding when it came to strangers. He carefully peers inside Subi's makeshift fort, spotting them immediately. Nyx let's out a sigh of relief.

"Hi Subi." He says, looking down at his feet, it still feels awkward to come here, he doesn't want to intrude.

"Oh, hey Nyx! Come in!" Subi exclaims while closing his sketchbook. He seems more excited than usual, but that's probably just Nyx' mind playing tricks on him. Subi was always happy to see him, making his worries about intruding melt away immediately.

"So, uh, I kinda got, uh, kicked out." Nyx says quietly, the last part turning into barely audible mumbling, but Subi could probably guess what he was saying. They had both seen this coming for a while, it wasn't really a surprise.

Subi gestures for Nyx to come over, and Nyx quickly ducks through the entrance of the fort, taking place next to Subi, who just slung an arm around his shoulder and gave him some sort of embrace with one arm, which Nyx didn't appreciate, but he'd let it slide. They didn't mean to hurt him after all.

"It's okay kid, I'll look out for you", they say, "you're always allowed to stay here, you'd make it a lot better out here, I'll help you." They say, a slight smile on their face.

"Thanks." Nyx says while slowly escaping Subi's embrace. He felt tired, getting kicked out is an emotionally heavy experience after all, which tends to make you tired. He made his way into a small space between some boxes. There was a pillow there, although he didn't know who it belonged to. He slowly nodded off into a dreamless sleep. Subi seemed to be doing the same.

Nyx woke up early the next day. He had free from school, although he didn't know if he would even be going there anymore. He had no idea what to do at all, but food seemed like a priority to be taken care of. He couldn't just steal Subi's food after all.

He made his way over to the market quickly. The markets of Sevika weren't anything special compared to the markets of the other two countries, Crona and Doko, but it was enough. He noticed Axel, the butcher, shooting him a glare, like he always did, and quickly made the decision of not getting caught up in trouble immediately. He shot away through the crowd.

He quickly noticed the fruit stall, and made his way over there. Sorazel, who had a small job at the stall, gave him a small smile. She was somewhere in her twenties, always cheery and patient, and kind to Nyx. She was still dealing with some customers, but quickly made her way over to him.

"Hey kid! I haven't seen you in ages." She tossed him a fugi, a sweet type of fruit. "How's life been?" It had only been a week, but Sorazel liked to exaggerate.

"It has been fine, nothing exciting really. Did anything happen here?" Nyx asks. He and Sorazel got along well. She'd been working at the stall since Nyx was young. He and his dad always went to get food here often, when Nyx was younger, before everything went wrong.

"Well, a few days ago there was this guy, and he said that everything was too expensive these days. Don't get me wrong, I get it, we're all poor around here, but he just wouldn't go away! Luckily I got him to leave, but he held up the line for half an hour. Luckily my mom was there to help other customers." Sorazel answered. Sorazels mom, Orse, owned the stall, but she was getting old, and something was wrong with her joints, so she only worked once a week.

"There are so many lovely people walking around here." Nyx responded sarcastically.

"I know." Sorazel responds, a silence follows.

Suddenly Sorazels face lit up. "Oh yeah, Nyx, aren't you obsessed with the tree or something?" Sorazel asked. The planet consisted of a donut shaped cilinder with a sphere in the middle, from which four trees grew, one for each country, including the abandoned one.

"Yeah, why?" Nyx asked warily. The tree was a bit of taboo in Sevika. You weren't allowed to eat its fruits, something with religion. It was a topic usually avoided.

Sorazel pushed a paper into his hand. "I found this poster, they're looking for interns at the science station. Thought it might be something for you, you're old enough now." She said enthusiastically.

Nyx' eyes lit up when he read the poster. He could sign up next week. This was perfect. He'd have a place to stay, and he'd get to research the tree with other people that thought like him, from other countries even!

"Glad you like it kid." Sorazel chuckled. "I know your parents aren't the most supportive, but I'm sure you'll be able to convince them. I'll see you around, I have customers to tend to." She said, going back to work.

Nyx walked off, clutching the poster. He hadn't thought about parental permission at all. It all seemed too convenient anyways, he couldn't be that lucky. Getting his parents' signature right after they kicked him out, an impossible task although there had to be a way, right?

With this thought, and after carefully avoiding Axel, he made his way back to Subi's fort, if you could call it that. He had to put the poster away in a safe place, and think of a plan. He had a week.