The Tides of Fate (Ink x Error FanFic)

Chapter 7

The freezing winter days came upon the small village, powdery snow coating the rooftops of buildings and the dirt trails. Snowflakes drifted down onto the land, light enough so you could still see, but cold enough for people to stay inside where it was warm and toasty by their fires and their stomachs full with warm, homemade soup.

Not every one is so lucky, however, for one young skeleton had to spend his every living day in the freezing cold, compacted into his small, self made hut that could barley fit him. Being made of whatever material he could find, may it be torn rags he found in the waste piles from peoples homes or the wooden debris that would occasionally drift in from the ocean. He used anything he could find, which wasn't much, to make himself a 'home'.

Small whimpers and shivers escaped the little skeleton, his legs tucked into his chest with his head down, making himself as small as possible to try and hold in the little body heat he had. The cold winter front was coming in from the ocean, causing the village to shiver under the chill, and it was only going to get colder with due time.

How long had it been since his father left him behind for his 'important journey' ? It felt like he'd been gone forever, leaving him behind in this big, lonely world. What was so important to his father that he had to leave for so long and not tell his own son where he was going and what he was doing? Until the day his father came back, the young boy would never know. So, with his father gone, he was trying his best to stay strong for his own sake, but it was a difficult challenge for a child so young.

It felt as if ice was forming on his bare bones as the wind blew through his thin, slightly torn garments of clothing. His feet were scratched and scarred by glass shards and rocks due to him not owning any shoes of his own, his feet turning a light blueish purple color, threatening to fall off at any moment. His hands were chipped and cracked from working all the odd side jobs he could find the village, from fixing any broken household items or dragging in the latest haul from the fishing ships that come in. He thought that working that much would at least help him scrape enough money together for even a small  shack , or at the bare minimum, a decent enough meal, but no such luck came to him. He barely had enough gold to get the leftover meals and trash from  willing restaurants and stores in the village.

As the sun set along the ocean horizon,  the last rays of light and heat that helped give the boy some warmth was slipping away. He could already feel what little heat he had in his bones vanish as the sun sank into the sea, calling for the moon to bring the night. A lowly growl suddenly echoed through the dark alleyway his little hut was set up in, causing him to stiffen with fear. A few seconds after, however, he realized that the growl didn't come from a person or a raged animal, it was in fact coming from his own stomach.  A pitiful sigh left his shivering body as he made sure his makeshift doors were closed tight to avoid as much drifting wind and snow as possible.

It was too late to go find scraps in the trash, and most restaurants at this hour only had scary, drunk brutes at the table so Ink braced himself for another hunger-filled night. He slowly closed his eyes, forcing himself to get as much sleep as possible in his conditions. However, he became wide awake when he heard a small knock on the side of his hut.

"Hello? Is someone in there?"

It was a small voice, not timid, but not too confident either. It sounded friendly, but he couldn't help but feel afraid. His shy nature caused him to tremble slightly, afraid of who the stranger could be, or who they could be with. Timidly, the boy gently pushed open the makeshift door and poked his head out enough to see who was speaking to him. He couldn't make out the face due to it being so dark and having little light from nearby buildings, but what he could make out is the short silhouette of what appeared to be a skeleton of short stature, like him.