There was a boy (Rhuryc)

[Ephraim]

29th day of Summer, 511 AV This...smell. Ephraim wrinkled his nose, sniffing the heavy, summer air. The young mixed-blood didn't leave Ravok often and if he did it was not a long trip. Few miles up or down the main tract. Even Eph with all his craving for danger was not stupid enough to go deeper in the forest. Truth be told even in this seemingly safe place called a main tract by Ephraim you could easily meet slavers or Ziths running around. Not to mention common robbers. No, Ephraim Lefevre didn't like to leave Ravok but today he was hired to get some herbs, rather common type widely available in the area. The old doctor promised to pay few mizas for this chore. A simple task, though not many would agree to do it. The half-breed wasn't picky when it came to jobs as long as it didn't involve any touching or hunting snakes. He hated snakes. The young half blood had still his cloak on, despite the raising temperature. It was something he got used to , a symbolic protection Eph didn't like to lose. Without it he felt almost naked, vulnerable even if there was no one around. To make sure of that the half-Dhani looked around carefully, trying to imbibe every small detail. Not a sound aside from faint singing of birds. There was something unnatural in this stillness for Eph born and raised within the walls of Ravok. In here every sound was threatening and the young mixed blood jumped at every bird's squeal and any movement of a forest's undergrowth. His gaze swept over the nearest bush in search for sharp leaves standing above the ground, but there was only a small rodent scurrying away. Eph was growing more and more frustrated. The boy generally had little patience to begin with and such tasks bore him easily. Ephraim kicked the small rock with anger. His cursing was not heard by anyone, but still made him feel a bit better. A fleeting thought appeared to just drop this boringly nauseating job and steal something but then again it was shame to miss such easy money. He just needed to find this stupid plant. Eph loitered down the road a bit, small cramps in his stomach unmistakably spoke about growing hunger. Eating was always a problem for the half-Dhani and for majority of time he was hiding himself in the farthest corner with a portion of raw meat. A part of him knew it was a disgusting practice, inhuman. It was a culturally human part of Eph, who was raised by a his mother's side of a family but Dhani's blood in him craved only for rare meat. This internal dissonance made Ephraim to eat only when he had to, often dragging the moment of actual meal when he really couldn't stand the hunger. Maybe he could step a bit into the woods and see if he can catch something? Any small mammal? Ephraim had never hunted in his life, he wouldn't even know where to start, but maybe there was somewhere a natural instinct for him? You could always hope. The mixed blood carefully stepped on the near road moss, gazing at it as if it was a wild animal ready to bite. One small step. What if there were snakes? Ephraim saw the moss lifting up and immediately jumped away, flailing his arms. It was an automatic, animalistic reaction for him, causing his heart to race and breathing to increase. Ephraim looked at the moss, still heaving heavily but nothing crawled from under it. Only then the half-blood realized that his foot made the undergrowth to lift up and he almost laughed aloud at this embarrassing event. Good no one had seen it.