Neverland | Eretria

01

[Forest];
Seven Years Old

Laughter filled the sky as boys raced through the forest; the sounds of feet pounded against the ground sent dirt flying upward.

Whipping around, one of the males braced himself before tumbling down, he wrestling with one of his own. Their grunts and growls of struggle brought attention from the rest, all the others rushing over and whooping them onwards.

"Come on, Artur, take him down!"

"Mäx has got nothing on ya, Artur!"

The chants and yelling continued as the two boys wrestled, rolling and thrashing against the dirt. One of the two was clearly winning, only for the title to be yanked from his grasp as two of the surrounding boys decided to step in and help their friend out.

"Wha-no guys, this is cheating!" the one yelled, only to cough in pain as the other slammed a fist into his gut. Dark brown orbs flew open as he watched as his opponent slammed another fist into his stomach.

This wasn't fair.

They were all ganging up on him, and no one was helping him.

Another pain filled gasp escaped his lips before he was thrown to the ground, the others laughing at his misery.

"You should know better than to mess with a man like me, Mäx," Artur spoke up, grinning ear to pointed ear. The boy on the ground spat blood from his lips, it landing not far from another's feet.

Mäx glared up at Artur, he clenching his hands into fists. "You're not a man, Artur. A real man doesn't need others to hold down his target just so he can actually hit him. You're nothing more than a coward."

The boy glared down at Mäx, his hair dangling in front of his face, obscuring the vicious smirk over his features.

"Why do you even bother, human? No one wants you here, and you're nothing but a punching bag for us. Besides, for being the village property, you talk far too much," Artur growled before slamming his foot against the side of Mäx's mouth with one quick kick. The boys watched as Mäx began to slip in and out of unconsciousness. "Maybe that'll shut you up."

"Still...not a...man..." Mäx grunted before his eyes fell close, listening as the boys walked off, talking about how weak he was.

I'll show them, Mäx thought to himself as he slowly pushed off from the ground, blood trickling from his split lip. He let out a groan of pain as he rolled over and sat up, clutching at his stomach.

There would be a bruise where Artur had kicked, he was sure of it. Gritting his teeth, the tan skinned human got up onto his feet, only to make his way back towards the small traveling village he grew up in.

As he emerged through the brush, people eyed him warily, making good distance from him as he made his way towards a small carriage that he called home. A small group of armed strangers stood near the chieftain's carriage, they all speaking quietly, only to go silent when one noticed Mäx make his way past, not even sparing them a glance.

"Who was that?" one of the travelers spoke towards the chief.

Not bothering to knock, Mäx pushed the door open before trudging his way in, disappearing from their sight outside, particularly aware to only walk on the wooden planks the woman had laid out beforehand.

"Mäx, is that you?" A voice called from the back, catching his attention and stealing his sight from the blood stains on his pants. He could hear the woman shuffle his way from her bedroom, he looking down and playing with the ends of his shirt. "Mäx, why aren't you ans-...Mäx? What happened to you?!"