It wasn't a great day for Kai. No, not one little bit. If he was going to be honest with himself, every day was a struggle. He would always hear things like: "Movement spotted in the forest, conceal yourselves in you huts immediately!" Or "Kai! Stop running around like a mindless sheep!"
Okay, that last one was his fault. But he wanted to adventure! It wasn't asking for much.
Why wasn't he allowed to adventure? Because of the "Non-Humans" as everyone calls them. In old man Thistle's words, "they'll find one of us, then track everyone else down, and capture everyone!" He would say it with exaggerated gestures.
Personally, he's never seen them in his 16 years of living. But every adult in the village tells stories about them. So he doesn't really have any ground to say they don't exist.
According to the history books in the village's small school, the story goes like this: The ancestors of the village from a long time ago lived on another continent, dominated by beasts called dragons. They escaped the land by crafting neat contraptions called "boats" that allowed them to move across the ocean. After an arduous journey, they arrived on new land, which had no dragons, but instead intelligent monstrous races that enslaved the people. They somehow escaped the slavery and founded this village, hidden from the various non-human races. And where a lot less dangerous animals resided. All their actions led Kai to this day.
He shifted, leaning back against the cool, solid curve of the mud wall in his family's small dwelling. "I'm telling you Adelaide, you really need to try it!"
Adelaide, who was meticulously sorting through a pile of dried berries in a clay bowl, didn't even look up. "I am not trying anything," she argued back, her voice level but firm. "It's completely stupid, and you're just asking for trouble. What in the world do you have against LISTENING!?"
Kai waved his hand dismissively. "I don't have anything against listening, but do we really need to live in a hut like this our entire lives?"
Their house was a simple, practical dome of dried mud and straw. Sparse furnishings – woven mats for sleeping, a small, a few sturdy wooden stools, clay pots on shelves for storage – they were all arranged neatly around small partitions.
"I don't know, but I am perfectly content with it." She stated, folding her arms and looking over to Kai. Her stare was sharp. One of her eyes was a beautiful jade green, the other a sky blue. It was a village oddity to say the least, but to Kai, it was really cool. His eyes were a boring brown. Her hair was a little lighter than his as well, being a blondish color. His hair was the same color as his eyes; brown and boring. Just like the clothes everyone wore to camouflage.
Kai sighed and said, "I just think you'll be missing out on actual fun, If you just stay inside the village perimeter your whole life. Come out on an adventure to the outskirts with me! Don't be a scared frog like the rest."
"No," she responded. "I have enough fun day to day. Risking being eaten to death or captured does not sound fun." She shook her head.
Kai gave a sinister smirk. "What if I told you Grove was planning on going along with me?"
Adelaide's eyes widened and her face began to flush a bright red color. Oh yeah, here's the reaction I was hopingfor. Grove was Kai's friend, but also Adelaide's crush. It went both ways.
"W-what did you say!?" She blurted, dropping the dried berries back into the bowl with a clatter. She clapped her hands to her hot cheeks, her breathing quickening slightly. "T-that's not true in the slightest! You're making it up!"
"It's very true," Kai replied. "We agreed to explore the outskirts in a few days!" He stepped forward and added, "Besides, I know how much you like him, it's no secret."
Adelaide shook her head. "No, no no no, I don't like him one bit." Kai knew she was lying out of her teeth.
"Yes, yes I know you like him, so why don't you come with us?" Kai reiterated.
"No, I'm not a complete idiot like you and Grove." Adelaide grunted. She turned around and began nuts for snacking on the family table. With a full mouth, she continued. "Besides, this rumor that I like him is completely untrue."
"Yeah, sure," Kai gave in. He walked over to the door and looked back at his sister. "Anyways, I'm going out. Mom and dad should be back soon. They said something about a 'once in a lifetime' sale for a delicious fruit that was found recently."
Adelaide nodded. "Yeah, go ahead. I'm going back to bed, it's too early for this."
Kai waved and walked to door. As he walked out of the musty hut, the floral air of the wilderness filled his nostrils. Towering trees dominated the sky with shades of green, small beams of warm light filtered through the tall canopy. Small pathways and other small mud huts were scattered around him on the forest floor. He began walking down the path.
What he needed to do was find Grove, so his first idea was to go to his house. Grove was the only one in the village who would do these little adventures with him. He shared Kai's whole life philosophy, that being: "The purpose of life is to experience things, good and bad."
Kai thought it made sense, and Grove did too, so it had to be true. Plus, at the end of the day, he could relax and feel good about his experiences.
It was really close to his own house, under a minute when walking. It was really a minute walk at max to get from one side of the village to the other. He passed the main market in the village, with a few shops open and some people walking around, but it was mostly empty. The market was usually the most busy during the mid-day, not the morning. He took a left at a split path and continued down for a bit, passing a few houses until he got to Grove's. It was on the right side of the small path, and it looked not much different than the other houses – slightly round, brown and muddy – with it's shape.
The only way he could tell which house is Grove's, was to count the number of houses from the start of the path to the end. He went up an even smaller path, leading to the front door. The house had a small garden in the front, like every other house in this small section of the village. He went up and knocked on the door. A few moments passed, and then the door opened. He was greeted by Grove's mom, a familiar face.
"Oh! Good morning Kai!" she said. Grove's mother, had kind eyes and smile lines crinkling around them, and lovely blonde hair.
"Morning," Kai replied, offering a polite smile. "Is Grove around?"
She nodded in response. "Yes, yes he is, he's just finishing some dish cleaning that should've been done a while ago." She shot a deadly glare back into the house. "Honestly, that boy. Always putting things off. Come on in for a second while he finishes up," she stepped aside with a smile, gesturing him into the familiar dimness of their hut.
It was much like Kai's own home, perhaps a bit more cluttered with woodworking tools tucked into corners – Grove's father was one of the village's primary carpenters. The air smelled faintly of sawdust mixed with the earthy scent of the mud walls and the lingering aroma of whatever breakfast Grove had just finished.
"Did your parents head out for that Miriberry sale?" Grove's mother asked, wiping her hands on a cloth tied around her waist. Her apron was a patchwork of faded colors.
"Yeah, they left just before I came over," Kai confirmed. "Said it was a 'once in a lifetime' thing. Hope they get some, I've heard they taste amazing."
"Oh, they do," she agreed wistfully. "Sweet, but with a little tart kick at the end. Haven't had them since I was a girl." She sighed, a shadow flickering across her usually cheerful face before she shook her head, dismissing the thought. "GROVE! Kai is here! Finish up and get out here!" Her voice, though raised, still held a warmth that Kai's own mother rarely used when annoyed.
A muffled "Coming!" echoed from deeper within the hut, followed by the clatter of a pot being set down. Their family house was a little bigger than Kai's, with actual small rooms.
"Anyways," said Grove's mom, "I'll be in the other room, just holler if you need anything."
"Thanks Mrs. Tanner."
A moment later, Grove emerged, wiping water from his hands onto his brown tunic. Grove was built sturdier than Kai, with broader shoulders and arms already showing the beginnings of muscle from helping his father. His hair was a lighter shade of brown than Kai's, almost sandy, and perpetually messy, sticking out at odd angles. His eyes, a warm hazel, lit up when he saw Kai.
"Hey! Finally," Grove grinned, tossing the damp cloth onto a nearby stool. "What took you so long?"
Kai wiped some dirt off of his sleeve. "I tried to convince Adelaide to do it with us."
Grove's ears reddened slightly. "Oh? How'd that go?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"About as well as you'd expect," Kai said dryly. "She called us idiots and said she wasn't coming."
"Yeah, sounds like her," Grove commented. Kai knew she would've said no from the start, but it was worth a shot. "Anyways," Grove continued. He walked to the table and pulled a chair back. "Come sit, we need to make a plan."