Prologue Pt. 2

"Ready to go, buddy?" Lior Caste's father asked him, poking his head into Lior's room. They were preparing to go on their monthly father-son grocery day. "The market waits for no man!"

Lior giggled, tying his shoelaces into a knot. "I'm ready!" he declared, hopping of his bed.

Mr. Caste smiled down at him. "Wonderful! Let's tell your mom and sister good-bye, then we'll head out for a day of adventure!"

Mr. Caste took Lior by the hand and the walked into the kitchen, where the remaining members of the Caste household sat at the table, eating breakfast.

"Wish us luck! We are going to retrieve this month's bounty from the market," Mr. Caste said, winking at his wife. "We'll be back by lunchtime at the latest."

Mrs. Caste smiled over at him. "Have fun, you two," a note of seriousness creased her brow. "Be careful, Shane. The streets of Mantle are never safe."

"I know, hon," Mr. Caste kissed his daughter on her forehead. "Bye, Lacy Caste. Be good for mama."

Lacy gave her father a gap-toothed smile in return. She was a little young to loose her front teeth, only five years old, but she had knocked them out while trying to learn how to Rollerblade and the dentist said she should be getting her adult teeth in in a few years, so they should just leave in alone.

Lior patted his sister on her head before following his father out the door. "Bye Mama! Bye Lace! See you guys later!"

"Bye-bye Li!" Lacy called, waving her hand at them.

Mr. Caste shut and locked the door behind them. "Where to first, Mr. Lior?"

It had been a long morning at the market, getting to walk around at all the stalls. Lior's favorite as always was the fruit booth. It had the tastiest things, and everything was so colorful! Because his family couldn't afford to buy sweets for him and Lacy, the fruit was a nice treat for the two of them.

Lacy loved apples, because their mother would make the most fantastic apple pie for dinner, but Lior felt they couldn't hold a candle to the imported fruit from Mistral, the kernin fruit. It came in multiple colors, and it was the sweetest of all the fruit in Remnant. It tasted similar to strawberries, but it also had an orange-y flavor that made it amazing.

Lior loved kernin fruit. It was his favorite thing ever.

"You want to hold your fruit bag, buddy?" Mr. Caste asked him. "You're eyeing the bag."

"Yes!" Lior cried happily. He opened the paper bag and breathed in deeply. The smell of fresh fruit wafted into his nose.

Mr. Caste laughed. "You sure do love you fruit, don't you?'

Lior nodded several times.

"I was just like that when I was your age," Mr. Caste rubbed the top of Lior's head.

The two of them were walking down the sidewalk, Mr. Caste walking on the side of the buildings, and Lior on the side of the road. Mr. Caste seemed slightly distracted, reacting to every shadow that passed them. Lior wrote it off as a side effect of living in Mantle, one of the biggest crime centrals in Remnant. It made you a little paranoid, even if you were walking in the safest parts of town.

"You still thinking you're going to go with Laura to battle school when you guys get old enough?" Mr. Caste asked him.

Lior shrugged one of his shoulders. "I don't really want to be a Huntsman. It's all too dangerous."

Mr. Caste nodded. "I understand where you're coming from, but it would help you to at least learn some basic combat training. That way you could keep your sister safe as the two of you get older."

Lior kicked a pebble, watching it fly into the street. "Maybe," He muttered. He really didn't want to be a Huntsman! This was the only matter he and his dad disagreed on. His dad was always trying to convince Lior, but Lior didn't want to do it! It didn't matter what his dad told him, or what his best friend tried to blackmail him into, he wasn't going to be a reckless death seeker.

Lior heard a gasp of surprise that caused his to look up from the street. His father had disappeared. "D-dad?" He called. "W-where did you go? Dad!?" Lior felt his chest seize up. What if his father wasn't just being paranoid and there was something after them? What if, what if what if…? Lior's mind began to spin in a circle of anxiety.

He heard some sounds coming from an alleyway a little ways up and he sprinted to the opening. His eyes widened when he saw the scene before him. His father held a blade in his hand, staring across the alley at a Faunas with a snake tail. Mr. Caste's eyes flickered to Lior. His face twitched. "Run! Get out of here!" he yelled at Lior. "I'll be there soon!"

Lior was frozen. He had never seen anyone like the Faunas before, someone with such deadly eyes. Someone who looked like a killer. "I-I…"

"Who isss thisss, Cassste?" The Faunas hissed, a smile of insanity cracking his face. "One of your flock? Perhapsss a ssson? He looksss jussst like you. A coward, who will only ever watch from the sssidelinesss pathetically!"

With a roar, Mr. Caste pushed off his wall and flew at the Faunas. He swung the blade in his hand so quickly it became a blur to Lior. The Faunas blocked Mr. Caste's attacks with a cackle of glee. He swung his tail, hitting Mr. Caste in the chest and sending him flying back. The Faunas dashed at Mr. Caste, snapping two long blades out of his gauntlets.

Mr. Caste put up his single blade, blocking the long blades, swiping his foot at the Faunas's legs. The Faunas leapt backwards, dodging Mr. Caste.

Lior tried to take a step backward, but his brain couldn't get the message to his legs.

Mr. Caste flipped his grip on the blade and rushed the Faunas. He slashed violently at the Faunas, whipping the blade left and right around his body.

The Faunas kicked Lior's father back and watched him, panting from the excursion of blocking and evading Mr. Caste. A slow smile creeped on his face. "Maybe I'm going about thisss wrong, you think Cassste?"

He spat some sort of liquid onto his hands and then rubbed it on his tail. He shifted his feet.

Mr. Caste's eyes widened, realizing what the Faunas was talking about. "Lior-"

The Faunas sprang forward, faster than he had before, lunging toward Lior. Lior squeezed his eyes shut, tensing in preparation for the pain.

When it didn't come, he cautiously opened his eyes, and instantly wished he hadn't. His father stood between the Faunas and Lior, the Faunas's tail sticking out through his back.

The Faunas flicked Mr. Caste off his tail, letting him hit the wall with a sickening thump. "D-dad!" Lior cried.

The Faunas advanced on Lior. "Now that he isss out of the way."

Lior looked over to his father, hoping in some part of his that his dad would get up and stop the Faunas. Mr. Caste's eyes flickered open and they met with Lior's. A small smile found it's way to his face. "Your wish," he mouthed.

Lior started shaking his head. His dad's semblance allowed him to grant one wish for the people he was close to. Lior had been saving his for a special time, not something like this! He didn't want to wish for anything! He wanted his dad to be alive and help him grow up!

The Faunas spat onto one of his blades and eyed Lior, appraising him. Lior didn't like the way the man was looking at him. He wished that the man wouldn't be able to see him anymore. Lior glanced over at his father again. "As you wish," he mouthed to his son.

Lior's eyes widened, realizing he hadn't kept his thoughts under wraps well enough. A sudden dizziness hit him, causing him to fall to his knees.

The Faunas hissed. "You usssed your sssemblance!" He yelled at Mr. Caste. The Faunas growled and swiped his tail through Mr. Caste, cutting his body in half from hip to shoulder.

Lior slapped his hands over his mouth to keep from crying out. The Faunas turned on his heel and dashed out of the alleyway. "You can't hide forever, little Cassste!" He cackled, wiping the blood off his tail and racing off down the street.

Lior crawled over to his father's lifeless body. His hands and knees felt cold from the blood and the bite of chill in the air. If only he had run! His father could have handled that guy if Lior hadn't frozen! Tears streamed down his cheeks.

He stood shakily to his feet, knowing he couldn't stay here; what if that guy came back for him? Lior stood over his father, whispering goodbye. He turned away and ran down the street, going the opposite direction from the Faunas.

Lior didn't know how long he had been running, but by the way his side ached and his breath came in quick pants, he would assume a while. He sat down in the street gutter. He shut his eyes and saw his father's mangled, bloody body in that alleyway. He snapped his eyes open again, pushing the image down. He looked down at his body, wondering what had happened to him that made the Faunas not see him. With a gasp, he realized he couldn't see his hands. He was invisible.

Lior sat in the gutter for several days, not moving or sleeping, just sitting. He listened to his circular thoughts for hours on end. He didn't even know how long it had been. Days? Weeks? Months? He had no idea.

He did know that he was starving. The bag of fruit he had been carrying when his dad was murdered had been forgotten in the commotion. How was he supposed to get food? He didn't have any Lien he kept on his person. Even if his did, it wouldn't be enough to fill him.

Lior eyed a bread stand across the street. No one could see him. He could just take the food. His dad would be disappointed in him for stealing, but he couldn't just sit on the side of the road and starve to death!

He took two small cross buns and a cream sandwich. He went back to his spot on the side of the road and scarfed the bread down.

That night, he flinched at every unusual sound, at every shadow that passed. The voices of teenagers talking about trading some sort of drug made Lior want to scramble away. Watching the men in shadowy coats slink past him into the darkness of the allies made his heart lurch in fear that any one of them was his father's assailant.

Once the streetlamps went off and the sun began to rise above the horizon, he felt a lot less tense, but he still didn't dare shit his eyes for more than a blink.

A man tripped over Lior's legs and he went sprawling, his briefcase snapping open and sending papers scattering across the street. "You little brat!" The man spat down at him, trying to gather his papers together again. "Sitting in the middle of the walkway like that is completely idiotic!" He slammed his briefcase shut and stormed off.

Lior blinked after him, curious at how the man even saw him. He looked down at his hands. They were visible again! Before he could get too elated about that, he became conscience of the fact that his hands were stained a dark red. Also, if he was visible, that meant that his aura was completely gone. Perfect. Visible and vulnerable.

"Um, excuse me?" A woman's voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Lior raised his gaze to the woman. She was small, a look of concern present in her eyes. He stayed silent, waiting to see what the woman would do next. What if she was a spy for the guy? He couldn't trust her.

"Well," she said, shifting her purse on her shoulder uncomfortably. "I live here. I was going to go inside and get myself some breakfast," she gestured at the apartment building next to Lior. "Did you want anything to eat?"

Lior's stomach growled at the mention of food. He was really hungry. Which would be worse, dying of hunger or of this innocent looking woman killing him?

He hesitated for a second more, then nodded up at the woman. She smiled and went inside the building.

She came out a couple minutes later with a bowl in her hands. "Here you go. It probably won't taste very good, but you can have it if you want it."

Lior took the bowl and the spoon she held out to him. He made quick work of the stew in the bowl and handed it back to the woman. She raised her eyebrows. "That was fast. You must have been starving to eat something of mine so quickly," she laughed and set the bowl on the concrete railing that lead up to her door. "How long have you been on the streets?" She asked, leaning against the railing.

Lior shrugged. He seriously had no idea how long it had been since he left his dad in that alleyway.

The woman shifted her gaze to the street. "I'm Lana. Do you have a name?"

Lior fidgeted with his shirt. Did he want to give this random stranger his name?

Lana jerked her attention back to him. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me, I get that I'm a random stranger to you. It's just, when I try to make conversation I end up sounding super awkward," she laughed softly. A beat of silence passed between them and Lana sighed. "I'm no good with kids," she muttered. "*Ahem* I'm going to go head inside. I'll come back out in a couple hours if you want some lunch."

Lior watched her bounce up the stairs into the apartment building. He rubbed his hands together, a chill passing over him. The sun didn't do much to heat Mantle up.

That evening, Lana came out of her building, her purse once again slung over her shoulder. "I'm headed off to work. Here's you some supper. I hope you don't mind that it's the same thing as you had for lunch," she handed him another bowl. "Maybe it'll keep you warm tonight. Oh! Speaking of that," Lana pulled a sketch pad out from under her arm. "I thought you might be bored. My mom gave me that when I was eighteen or so, but I never got into drawing. You can have it," she grinned sheepishly. "I should be back in a couple hours, I have a short shift tonight," she sighed. "Unfortunately," she said under her breath. "Later kiddo!"

Lior pulled the mechanical pencil out of the sketchbooks' binding. He flipped the book open to the first page and started to doodle.

Lior had been content for several days to sit outside Lana's house, eat her food, and draw in the sketchbook. He kind of liked it when Lana was home, she was nice and she stood outside in the cold to talk to him, even though he never responded to her. It was better than listening to his circular thoughts while fearing for his life.

Lana worked at the hospital down the street, in the geriatric ward. She was constantly around people who were dying and it obviously took a large toll on her, a person with a very sympathetic soul. "...There was this boy who always sat beside his bed. His grandson. The two of them were obviously close," Lana was rehashing the biggest story of her day to Lior. "I just couldn't bring myself to tell the kid that his grandfather was dying. He was your age, maybe a little older. When he came in today, his grandfather was at death's door. He sat with the old man until he passed. The kid looked up at me with these eyes full of sorrow. 'Where will I go now?' he asked me. It made me feel sick."

Lior looked up at her, a look of pity forming on his face.

"Damn it kid," Lana sighed, resting her head against the railing. "You're so sweet. You have to have somebody who cares for you. Why are you still here out on the street?"

Lior focused his attention on his shoes. He did have people who cared for him, he just didn't know how to get back to them.

"Sorry, kiddo," Lana grimaced. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Who's that girl you're always drawing? She's pretty," she said, quickly changing the subject.

Lior felt his cheeks turn a royal crimson. He was drawing Laura, his best friend and the girl he had a huge crush on.

Lana laughed. "Oh, so it's the girl you like. I bet she would be honored to be subject of all of your drawings. You're really good at that, by the way."

Lior sent Lana a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Lana glanced down at her watch. "I don't have to go to work this evening. You want to come to the market with me? We could pick up some food you actually like, instead of the stew I've been making all the time."

Lior quickly shook his head. The thought of the food that had been his favorite made him sick to his stomach, imagining them drenched with his father's blood and rotting in an alley.

"Okay," Lana stood up and dusted herself off. "If you say so. I'll come back with some sort of surprise treat for you then."

Lior returned his gaze to the sketchbook, his eyes glancing off his hand holding it. The blood had crusted underneath his fingernails and seemed like he would never be able to wash it off of his palms. He shut his eyes and leaned against the concrete railing. He was so tired. He just wanted his mom, and Lacy, but most of all, he wanted his dad.

Laura's face smiled up at him from the sketchbook. Lior pressed his lips together and flipped the mechanical pencil over in his hand, resuming his sketch.

He had gotten lost in the image, adjusting minor details trying to make it look more like Laura and adding other full body doodles around the edges of the paper.

He glanced up at the street, feeling eyes on him through the crowded road. His eyes met Laura's, and he slammed the sketchbook closed. Laura. She was here. He barely got to his feet before Laura was squeezing him into a rib-crushing hug.

"You stupid boy!" She cried, pressing her face against his shoulder. "We thought you were dead! Or kidnapped or something! What happened to you? How'd you get here? I was so scared!"

Lior looked past her to see Lana standing a little ways off. She gave him a smile and a thumbs up. He cautiously wrapped his arms around Laura. He had never seen her so upset before. "Th-thanks Laura, but you're kinda crushing me."

Laura sprang back. "Oops. Sorry Lior," she grinned and rubbed the back of her neck. "Oh! I need to go tell my mom! And yours, of course! I'll be right back," she pointed at him. "Don't. Leave." and she teleported away.

Lana smirked at him. "So you can talk. I was beginning to think you were mute or something."

"How did you find her?" Lior asked softly.

Lana raised one of her shoulders. "I didn't really. She found me after some thug took my purse. When she handed it back to me, I was like, 'hey, I know that girl! The boy was drawing her!' and so here we are."

Lior smiled his first real smile in days. "Thank you. For everything, Ms. Lana." He tore a picture out of the sketchbook and handed it to her. "I was thinking about it, and what if you let the boy from the hospital stay with you? You've taken really good care of me the past several days."

Lana hummed. "Maybe. It might feel lonely here again without you kiddo." she studied the picture he had given her. "Is this me?"
Lior nodded. "You don't have to be a huntsman to be a warrior," he hugged Lana.

She put a hand on his head. "Aw, thanks."

That night when Lior was lying in his own bed for the first time in two weeks, (Laura had told him how long it had been) he thought about the man who had taken his father's life. A new emotion bubbled in his chest. His mom had broken because of his dad's death, Lacy didn't have a dad anymore, and he had the guilt of his father. It was all that Faunas's fault. Lior was a weakling right now, but if he spent the next six years bulking up, he could become a Huntsman. He was enraged at the killer.

The man would pay with his own life one day. Lior would make sure of it.

A. N:

Hello! This is going to be a lot of work for me to do, I have so much of this story in my head that I'm trying to get down (I mean, the prologue has four, maybe five parts!). I am going to try to post a new chapter every Friday, but I'm taking a break next week, so Prologue pt. 3 will come out on Oct. 14.

Lior is my favorite character, so be prepared to see more of him in the future.

In the prologues, I'm trying to give you a grasp on what the main characters went through that made them want to be Huntsmen and Huntresses. There will soon be a more in-dept backstory for both Wenara and Jai; the one before this is just a small portion of theirs.

Until next time. /Kronos\\