"Go find yourself your own food, freak!" A rock hurled at Mian's face as he was chased from the group of children who gathered around the deer carcass that was laid before them. A frown was etched onto his face as he watched them through his multi-colored eyes. His stomach growled deeply, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't intimidating, nor strong enough to fight his way through the mass of younger, but stronger demi-humans that gathered around to eat.

The guardian that was assigned to watch their group eyed Mian with a critical eye, daring him to complain. A low whimper escaped Mian's lips when the adult only scoffed, her bird-like beak clacking together in irritation. He couldn't help the wrench of pain that he felt in his heart when she ignored his plight. He was used to it, but it still hurt.

Wandering out of the cave, Mian decided that he would try his luck hunting. He wouldn't let it get to him, eat away at his mind and heart. He was stronger than this. After all, if he was weaker, he wouldn't have survived for nineteen years on his own.

The brown walls of the cave opened up, giving way to the open forest that stretched for miles all around. Mian's multicolored ears twitched and swiveled in different directions as the sound of birds chirping drifted into his ears. A smile graced his soft face. Perhaps he would be able to catch a couple birds. Birds tasted nice.

With a soft huff, he began down the path, his feet carrying him in practiced movements. He tried his best not to make a sound after giving some space between himself and the cave. He had done this enough times to know that noise scared away the nearby animals.

*Rustle*

A bush rustling a few meters away from him alerted him. He squatted quickly, hiding his multicolored figure behind a rather large tree. His left white ear swiveled as he peeked from behind the tree.

*Rustle*

A small hare hopped its way into the small clearing, its nose shaking about as it sniffed for any possible predators or some food to fill its belly. Mian eyed the hare critically, his own senses sharp, and looking out for any possible threats that might be waiting for a prey to pounce on the hare, and then it would pounce on them together.

After waiting a few moments, the hare made its way to the base of a bush, poking its head around. It's hind leg tapped a couple times as it did, before it reared its head from the bush it poked it into, a small vegetable stuffed between its teeth.

In that moment, when it was most vulnerable, Mian took his chance! The muscles in his legs twitched, energy bursting within it as he shot out of his hiding place, his blunt claws already reaching out towards the frozen hare.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Just before his claws could reach it, a dark form blurred past him, snagging the hare! Mian reared, his mind reeling from the sudden change. The moment his feet touched the ground, he spun, facing the figure that had snatched the hare. The moment he did though, instead of anger, all he felt was fear. Angry eyes glared down at the young multicolored demi-human, making him shrink back on himself, his white and blue stripped tail twisting around his right leg.

"What are you doing out here on your own, pup?! Don't you know you aren't supposed to leave your group? I'll see to it that you are punished severely, Mian. Now leave!" The large, male, panther-like demi-human hissed at him. Mian fled the moment he was told to, lowered on all floors so he could cover as much ground as he could. He feared the older man would use his claws on him, and he wasn't looking forward to feeling any toxins. Black demi-humans spelt bad news when it came to toxins.

Mian hurried into the cave, shifting back to two feet as he stepped in. The first thing he heard was the hushed whispers, and when he rounded the corner, all the voices disappeared, as all eyes turned to him.

He had been found out. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt a certain pair of eyes burn into the back of his head. With his head down, he turned to face the direction those eyes glared at him from.

"Mian." The guardian's voice sliced through the silence like a scalding hot rod through ice.

"Yes, ma'am." He whispered.

"I can't hear you! Speak up!"

"Yes, ma'am?" Mian spoke up a little louder. The sound of footsteps reached his ears, and a few moments later, the guardian's scaled feet came into his field of vision that was facing the floor.

"Where were you? The Patriarch came to check on our group and you were missing. Don't tell me you went hunting all on your own again." Her voice was lowered to a threatening whisper that just dared Mian to confirm her words. And of course, he knew he had to answer her, for the punishment for ignoring his superiors was far worse than anything he could have put on him this afternoon.

"I was out- Ahh!" Before he could complete his words, a vicious swipe of the guardian's hand raked his face with her talons. Molten fire rushed through Mian's veins as her toxins slipped into the scratch mark that had been inflicted by her talons. Although she didn't hit with the intention of breaking his skin, her non lethal strike was still enough to puncture his especially thin skin.

Mian's body writhed on the floor as his own healing enzymes did their best to combat the foreign toxins. Saliva pooled at the back of his throat as his mind blanked, his vision going blurry with dark spots appearing and vanishing every few moments.

The other children watched from the sides of the cave as this happened, none of them having the courage to check if Mian would be okay. No one wanted to feel the toxins of an adult demi-human.

After ten agonizing minutes, each moment filled with an intense pain rushing through his body, Mian's healing enzymes had finally done enough work to dull the pain, if only slightly. When Mian managed to gain some semblance of control, he picked himself up from the ground, crawling away to a secluded corner. There, he curled up on himself, and let the tears fall.