There was little to say about the farmlands of Sekudui. The large farmlands spawned for miles and miles in the horizon. They were seemingly endless, and the same could be said about the flat path of stones and pebbles that crossed them. It was a place that could almost be called deserted as farm work became less and less appealing to the younger generations, who preferred the easier city lifestyle to the hardworking life of a farmer.
The green grass was sometimes adorned with fences or cattle, with tiny little houses and barns far away into the distance. Some trees lined the rocky path, together with golden crops of hay and wheat. They flowed in the wind, adding a soothing little melody to the quiet and seemingly empty farmlands. Apart from a Tuskow mooing or a handful of hens clucking, it was but nature all around.
But on that day, there was also something else that added to the background noise. Slowly and gently passing along the path was a small traveling wagon dragged on by two Cavallions. The wagon was made of the best materials: a beautiful beige top shaped over the dark wooden body made of thick mahogany. The wheels were much of the same, bumping along the path as the purebreed Cavallions dragged it along from their leather harnesses.
Sitting in front of the wagon was a man with seemingly no history, together with a peculiar-looking child who was, arguably, not fully human.
It was quiet between the two men, but it was to be expected when the two were on a long, long journey. When you were tasked with traveling the world, there was no telling when the journey would end, nor where it would take you. It was a city for a while, and then it was off to the mountains; and then the road could go to unknown places from there. At a certain point, even the chattiest of folks ran out of ideas to talk about.
The man was the one handling the Cavallions, mostly because the child next to him was too small to handle beasts of that size, especially if the horses went out of control. Having the horses walk at such a gentle speed meant barely any work for him, regardless, as he didn't need to hold on to the leaches very tightly. Admittedly, it was a little min-numbing to be sitting there with absolutely nothing to do. Under normal circumstances, he would pay attention to the scenery, but it had barely changed in the last few hours, only ranging from one pasture to the next.
At some point, one hand let go of the leash so that he could rest his chin in the palm of his hand, arm propped on his leg. He breathed in deeply before letting out a sigh. "You used to live in this kind of place, didn't you, Merle?" he asked the little boy next to him, turning just slightly. Nothing was going on, so there was no need to even keep his eyes on the road.
While the man looked like any other young adult male out there — except maybe for his particularly golden-orange hair — his companion, Merle, was far from being a common sight. Although his anatomy was close to that of a human's, his features were animalistic, including his entire body being covered in fur. His hands were both that of a human and of an animal, having sharp claws and soft pads on the fingers and palm. The same could be said of his feet, which even had an extra toe on the side that was similar to a dewclaw. The ears were distinctively longer than that of a human's, having an animal shape to them that swivelled and moved depending on the boy's emotions. Even his face was animal-like, having a little black nose sitting on a snout that slightly protruded from his face. His front teeth was unnaturally long and sharp, but they were nothing compared to his long, bushy tail that curled behind him. Despite his animal-like body, the boy wasn't left naked: he wore a small white t-shirt that was covered by some blue overalls — although one of the overall straps was missing, letting one half of top to flop over. As far as garments were concerned, however, that was all the boy wore; it was a stark contrast to the man, who was wearing something akin to a hoodie. In both cases, very simple and light clothes were being worn.
Any way one looked at them, this pair was nothing short of unusual.
Merle was sitting quietly next to the man, the tip of his thick tail twitching occasionally. Typically, he didn't speak unless he was being spoken to, either. When his friend asked him that question, however, he did answer the question with a nod. "Yeth," he replied in his high-pitched voice, trying to speak as clearly as he could despite his lisp. It was sometimes a little difficult to understand him, but he did his very best to pronounce the words as clearly as he could. "I lived on a field thimilar to thith before I became a thlave for your family, Fall." While he'd always been taught to speak only when spoken to, his relationship with the man, Fall, typically ignored that rule. Being a slave bought to serve the family, Merle was the type to be obedient and quiet, as expected of him. Fall, though, considered the animal boy as a friend, and not as a slave; not even as a servant.
"I guess it's nice," Fall pointed out, but then he sighed again, this time feeling a little bit more bored than before. Everything looked the same, and although they'd been traveling on the same one-way road this whole time, it felt like they've traveled this way before. It was impossible for them to have taken a wrong turn, and yet Fall felt the urge to ask. "Is it always this boring?"
What Fall considered to be boring, Merle considered to be soothing. It was a special feeling to be connected to nature, and living in a pasture like this was one of the best ways to form a bond with the land. "Maybe, but it'th very thafe," Merle pointed out, and knowing that they were traveling through a safe part of the world put the mind of the little boy at ease. Although Fall knew how to handle a sword well, Merle himself wasn't much of a fighter. While he had claws and sharp teeth, sometimes they weren't enough or even useful against certain enemies.
Fall let out a chuckle when Merle pointed out that they were currently traveling across some lands that were safe and, arguably, devoid of any conflict or danger. "That's true," he answered with a smile before letting go of the leash and stretching his arms. "But after hours of this, I kinda miss danger," he added, grinning a little with teeth showing. He didn't really mean it, but really, it would be nice for something to happen — anything, really. A Tuskow walking right in front of their wagon, or maybe a sudden change in the weather. Anything, no matter how small, would be enough to break the stillness around them.
The green grass was sometimes adorned with fences or cattle, with tiny little houses and barns far away into the distance. Some trees lined the rocky path, together with golden crops of hay and wheat. They flowed in the wind, adding a soothing little melody to the quiet and seemingly empty farmlands. Apart from a Tuskow mooing or a handful of hens clucking, it was but nature all around.
But on that day, there was also something else that added to the background noise. Slowly and gently passing along the path was a small traveling wagon dragged on by two Cavallions. The wagon was made of the best materials: a beautiful beige top shaped over the dark wooden body made of thick mahogany. The wheels were much of the same, bumping along the path as the purebreed Cavallions dragged it along from their leather harnesses.
Sitting in front of the wagon was a man with seemingly no history, together with a peculiar-looking child who was, arguably, not fully human.
It was quiet between the two men, but it was to be expected when the two were on a long, long journey. When you were tasked with traveling the world, there was no telling when the journey would end, nor where it would take you. It was a city for a while, and then it was off to the mountains; and then the road could go to unknown places from there. At a certain point, even the chattiest of folks ran out of ideas to talk about.
The man was the one handling the Cavallions, mostly because the child next to him was too small to handle beasts of that size, especially if the horses went out of control. Having the horses walk at such a gentle speed meant barely any work for him, regardless, as he didn't need to hold on to the leaches very tightly. Admittedly, it was a little min-numbing to be sitting there with absolutely nothing to do. Under normal circumstances, he would pay attention to the scenery, but it had barely changed in the last few hours, only ranging from one pasture to the next.
At some point, one hand let go of the leash so that he could rest his chin in the palm of his hand, arm propped on his leg. He breathed in deeply before letting out a sigh. "You used to live in this kind of place, didn't you, Merle?" he asked the little boy next to him, turning just slightly. Nothing was going on, so there was no need to even keep his eyes on the road.
While the man looked like any other young adult male out there — except maybe for his particularly golden-orange hair — his companion, Merle, was far from being a common sight. Although his anatomy was close to that of a human's, his features were animalistic, including his entire body being covered in fur. His hands were both that of a human and of an animal, having sharp claws and soft pads on the fingers and palm. The same could be said of his feet, which even had an extra toe on the side that was similar to a dewclaw. The ears were distinctively longer than that of a human's, having an animal shape to them that swivelled and moved depending on the boy's emotions. Even his face was animal-like, having a little black nose sitting on a snout that slightly protruded from his face. His front teeth was unnaturally long and sharp, but they were nothing compared to his long, bushy tail that curled behind him. Despite his animal-like body, the boy wasn't left naked: he wore a small white t-shirt that was covered by some blue overalls — although one of the overall straps was missing, letting one half of top to flop over. As far as garments were concerned, however, that was all the boy wore; it was a stark contrast to the man, who was wearing something akin to a hoodie. In both cases, very simple and light clothes were being worn.
Any way one looked at them, this pair was nothing short of unusual.
Merle was sitting quietly next to the man, the tip of his thick tail twitching occasionally. Typically, he didn't speak unless he was being spoken to, either. When his friend asked him that question, however, he did answer the question with a nod. "Yeth," he replied in his high-pitched voice, trying to speak as clearly as he could despite his lisp. It was sometimes a little difficult to understand him, but he did his very best to pronounce the words as clearly as he could. "I lived on a field thimilar to thith before I became a thlave for your family, Fall." While he'd always been taught to speak only when spoken to, his relationship with the man, Fall, typically ignored that rule. Being a slave bought to serve the family, Merle was the type to be obedient and quiet, as expected of him. Fall, though, considered the animal boy as a friend, and not as a slave; not even as a servant.
"I guess it's nice," Fall pointed out, but then he sighed again, this time feeling a little bit more bored than before. Everything looked the same, and although they'd been traveling on the same one-way road this whole time, it felt like they've traveled this way before. It was impossible for them to have taken a wrong turn, and yet Fall felt the urge to ask. "Is it always this boring?"
What Fall considered to be boring, Merle considered to be soothing. It was a special feeling to be connected to nature, and living in a pasture like this was one of the best ways to form a bond with the land. "Maybe, but it'th very thafe," Merle pointed out, and knowing that they were traveling through a safe part of the world put the mind of the little boy at ease. Although Fall knew how to handle a sword well, Merle himself wasn't much of a fighter. While he had claws and sharp teeth, sometimes they weren't enough or even useful against certain enemies.
Fall let out a chuckle when Merle pointed out that they were currently traveling across some lands that were safe and, arguably, devoid of any conflict or danger. "That's true," he answered with a smile before letting go of the leash and stretching his arms. "But after hours of this, I kinda miss danger," he added, grinning a little with teeth showing. He didn't really mean it, but really, it would be nice for something to happen — anything, really. A Tuskow walking right in front of their wagon, or maybe a sudden change in the weather. Anything, no matter how small, would be enough to break the stillness around them.