Life in a village for Avrin at his age should have been quite simple: go out and play, and then come home and eat. He was currently chopping firewood for his mum, forcing her to go do something else. Too much of this at her age would leave her with a body that would hurt, but being young, Avrin could handle it.
His mother was currently out getting fruits and vegetables from the small market in the village…
if it could be called as such. When Avrin finished chopping wood, he would go feed the livestock and then tidy around.
This activity and work was a form of exercise in itself. Thankfully, being a half demon, he could manage rather well. When his mother returned, she smiled at him. Her friends would often complain to her about swapping children in jest when they saw Avrin working so hard for his parents and learning as much as he could.
"Dear, go get cleaned up. I'll make you something to eat!" She gently ruffled his medium-length silvery hair, causing him to smile warmly at his mother. "I'll do that after I fill up the cistern a little." He then grabbed two large wooden buckets and headed off to the well.
Reaching there, it was empty and he began to hoist up the rope. He looked ahead past the well and heard giggling. He looked over and saw several girls looking at him. He paid no attention and looked back down before filling his buckets and began to head home, taking the alley-like path which was quickest.
"Hmm?" Avrin's eyes narrowed. He saw two boys blocking the exit ahead. He stopped and then turned to look back, seeing another two boys, one of which was the leader of the group, with short hair and a stubborn face. Avrin didn't lower the buckets, holding them carefully and tightening his grip.
"So, what do you guys want?" Avrin spoke with no worry. He was carefully going through scenarios. Three of the boys were 9 years of age; it was the leader that was a little older than Avrin. His advantage lay in his half-breed blood and the buckets he held, along with the alley's narrow path.
"Half-breed mutt, how dare you try and steal our women!" the leader barked out sentences that were clearly influenced by someone older, obvious hatred in his eyes as he roared out. "Get him, make him understand, it's us humans who are the best!" Avrin snickered as he watched the four attempt to charge at him. Ignorance was bliss, he considered. He couldn't beat them up too badly though; to him, no matter how he looked, he was still an adult at heart, and doing too much damage would cause issues for his family.
When the first kid reached him, Avrin swung the bucket in his left hand fiercely, smacking him square in the face. Avrin used the momentum to spin around and grip the second bucket before smashing it upwards against the jaw of the second kid. He held back some strength, considering he also worked out while they spent their time messing about.
The first kid fell to the ground, crying tears of pain, out for the count, while the second child fell to the ground limp with some teeth knocked out. The third child pounced onto Avrin, trying to hold back his arms.
Avrin sighed. He could break it but he needed to make it look reasonable and not so one-sided. He winced as he felt the hits of the leader smack against his body and face. Avrin made sure to move in a way that made it so the fists of the child would not land anywhere on his head that may stun him too much.
After seeing Avrin's face being bloodied a bit, the leader snickering as he pulled his hand back to deliver another punch, but Avrin knew it was time. He quickly used his forehead against the child's fist; a crackle could be heard as he screamed in pain, his fingers clearly broken. Avrin then kicked off the wall that was nearby, letting him smash backwards with the child holding his arms against the wall behind him. The stunned child cried out. Avrin, now freed, glared at the kid, not bothering to do much else.
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He walked over to the leader who was on his knees crying. He looked up at Avrin in fear. "D...don't hurt me!" he spewed tears. Avrin hesitated, then grabbed the buckets and headed back home, bruised and battered and with no water but victorious.
When he opened the door, his mother, who was sweeping the floor and humming, looked over and dropped what she was doing, screaming in shock and panic that her baby was hurt. What followed later that day when the hunters and fathers returned was a little bit of chaos.
The village leader had to get involved, which caused quite a headache. By now, over the years, Avrin had a reputation of being a bright child, even helping other adults with their tasks and chores, while the other kids were seen as rowdy trouble makers and pranksters that did nothing but cause issues. The fact that Avrin had beaten four children, even as a half-breed, showed he was destined for combat and greater things. Many fathers looked at Himon with jealousy.
The fathers of the children were not really better. Three were drunkards with one being a hunter, not to mention that it was them who started the fight. Several people vouched for Avrin, saying that he was getting water and was heading home before they saw the kids rush in after he entered the alley.
The kids were disciplined, strictly told to never bother Avrin again. As for their punishment, it was evident that they had suffered quite enough. If they continued to pester Avrin even after suffering like this, then they would get whatever came to them.
When it came to compensation, which Avrin and his parents knew would come, they declined and spoke about the village as a family and fairness, getting some more praise. This, of course, was told by Avrin to his parents beforehand. After all, in this village, it was better to have friends than enemies, not to mention that this village was poor and barely getting by, so no one could spare anything.
So although the parents of the other children were angry, they couldn't fault Avrin as he did everything right. Instead, they scolded their children, pulling them by the ears and taking them home for a spanking.
Avrin's face had been cleaned up when he went home, but he's mother stayed at home, otherwise with her there, she would be unable to control her anger. "Urgh... she even yelled at me..." His father was a little annoyed as he gave Avrin a pat on the shoulder, pride soon beaming on his face.
"Four against one, you did a number on them. And you got off pretty easy, I'd say," his father spoke. Avrin simply nodded and spoke. "It was tricky to time it and take enough hits to not make it look so one-sided, but it all worked out." His father's brows twitched, realizing that his son, who was always honest, seemed to purposely take hits. Thinking deeper, it was as if Avrin planned things beforehand and probably didn't want to win too much.
He shook the thought off; otherwise, Avrin would be a bit too scary. "Where are we going?" Avrin asked curiously. His father responded, "The herbalist. Your mum said not to come home until you got some medicine for the bruises. She said she wants her baby's face to return to normal." He gave an expressionless look.
Avrin smiled. Their affection was always welcome. He really understood what people meant by a good upbringing could make a person. Eventually, they reached the home of the herbalist. Avrin had supposedly been here once when he was a baby, when he had gotten sick and was bedridden. His parents would simply return with medicine that fixed him up.
The scent of the air changed. It was tangy and peppery but also herby, a mix of whatever had been concocted and most likely thrown out, judging by the dead patches of land and the lush vegetation that randomly was about.
His father approached the door and knocked twice, then waited respectfully. Soon some shuffling inside could be heard before the door opened up. A skinny old man looking to be in his 80s with a long white beard, hunched over with a wooden cane, smiled. His crooked teeth and right bulging eye were a little worrisome to Avrin, whose own face contorted a little, seemingly creeped out.
"Well, well, look who's all grown up now," the old herbalist spoke before eyeing Avrin's face, reaching over with his left hand and examining him a bit. "Bruises, a bloodied nose, not too broken but not too right, split eyelid and lip." He then squeezed Avrin's mouth a bit until his teeth were exposed. "All the teeth are there. Looks like you got in a scuffle alright. Youngsters these days, hehe." The herbalist let go of Avrin's face, then turned and entered, motioning for them to follow him.