Pain and agony. The boy curled on the ground in a filthy, coble-stone alley. He gritted his teeth against the throbbing in his head and the aches throughout his body. The stench of decaying rubbish and putrid refuse choked - strangled - all the joy from his soul. He tried to open his eyes but the bright afternoon sun forced them shut. "Ral help me I will never take that… " A sharp kick to the leg finished his whispered prayer.
"Boy, get up!" A gruff voice boomed in his head. The boy didn't move. Another kick. "Faldamnit, get up, Akina!" Akina, the boy thought, no one here knows that name? He cracked his eyes open to see who had kicked him, however the needle-sharp light of the sun stabbed relentlessly till he squeezed them shut. He savored the small relief provided by the darkness while begging and beseeching Brother Ral to send this fool away.
"Keep 'em open, Boy. Ral's Light, what have you been doing Akina?" The voice asked. That name again no one here should know it.
He forced his eyes open, despite the pain, and the face that he saw was familiar. He climbed to his feet slowly and leaned against the stone wall of some merchants building. It was hard to stand. His knees trembled and he nearly fell, but the man steadied him with a surprisingly gentle hand.
"It's that Faldamn poisonous junk isn't it, Akina?" The man, Teka was his name, said as he inspected the boy's eyes; lifting lids and peering closely at dilated pupils.
"Stop Teka; it is." Akina said quietly. "Why are you here?"
"Did that stuff make you stupid and skinny as a sapling all at once, or did it take some time." Teka replied stepping away from the boy yet still eyeing him up and down.
Akina was bent at the knees cradling his head between his hands, trying to fight back the bile rising in his throat. Once he had recovered, he leaned back against the wall and eyed the large man coldly. "It's time then."
"Far past time, actually. It took the better part of a week to find you. I never thought to check the alleys." Teka said, leaning against the wall across from Akina, muscular arms crossed at his chest.
"Then -" The boy hesitated "- I suppose I have no choice."
The barrel-chested Teka responded with a snort while turning to make his way out of the relatively dark alley into the blaringly bright openness of the main thoroughfare. "Choice is not a word your father would use in this matter, boy - and suppose isn't either. Come on, we have some riding to do."
Akina braced himself for the pain of the sun on his highly sensitive skin and eyes. But, he thought as the horrible sunlight brought beads of sweat to his brow, maybe I can find Felps before we leave Tillamun. This ride will be unbearable if not. Or maybe Tukar has some. He's usually at that tavern by the front gates…
The boy of only 16 cycles continued his line of thought as he trudged doggedly behind the man who had come to retrieve him at his father's command.
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