Prologue (2/5)

The village of Arina was mostly comprised of farmland, acres upon acres of neatly organized crops that were needed to sustain the residents and help the surrounding land thrive even further. Every able body, including children and teenagers, would work year round on the maintenance and supervision of each individual spot of land, the plants requiring a plethora of tender, love, and care.

While adults worked on the more tedious assignments, such as barehanded plowing, the other youths were assigned their own essential roles and jobs that were to be completed on a daily basis. Pulling weeds, making rounds to check every plant, and assuring that every crop was properly watered was just a few of the menial tasks that were given out. Everyone had a role to fulfill with chores to complete and, with nearly 300 people working day after day, the farmwork was pretty much smooth sailing.

With that being said, Sans was probably the only child in the village history to hang out with the adults when it came down to pure exertion. No one questioned why he became a fellow laborer with the other men nor did they have any complaints as any obligation the youth took on was already out of their expectations. When it came down to it, Sans was already at the level where he could assist the older generation with the grunt work, the child being a freak of nature with stats jacked up from a young age. In a contest of stamina, speed, and strength, not a single youth came close to him.

Probably the only complaint Sans ever received about his affiliation with the men of the village was that he moved far too fast for them to keep up with. They often made jokes about the black haired boy putting them out of a job, the adolescent easily doing the work of two full grown men in a minimal amount of time. At this point, no one was really surprised by what Sans was capable of, though Kindo and Andan swore up and down that he was a monster in human form, constantly referring to him as a freak or a beast.

It was all in good spirit though and Sans never took it personally, choosing instead to see it as a sort of praise that lead him to try his best each and every day. It was for this very reason, even now as he helped the older gentleman out with some plowing, that he always gave it his all whenever he chose to actually put in some work.

"Oi, Sans! Maybe you should go and see your folks off," A voice shouted, derailing Sans's train of thought as the boy took another swing at the ground with the hand plow. "I heard they're leaving pretty soon."

"Its already been two hours since I talked with mother around the storage shed," Sans responded as he set down his iron tool, his bare upper body glistening with sweat as he shook head. While it wasn't particularly hot out, the youth had been sifting soil with the hoe for a full hour or so and, while not exhausted, he was feeling a bit overheated from the constant repetitive motions. "Shes probably gone by now. Uncle Jugo said they were moving out earlier then was scheduled."

"Well how about you go and see for yourself little man," Iroh, an older gentleman with salt and pepper hair, said as he gently took the hoe away from Sans. "You've already done so much for us. At this point I'd just feel hella bad if you weren't able to at least TRY and wave them off."

"Yeah, we got things here," Konta, Kindo's father, chipped in. "If we need anyone I'll simply have my son come and fill in. You go and take a break kiddo. You definitely earned it."

Sans wanted to argue with them on it, but was vastly outnumbered as a few of the other workers chimed in, urging him to go and take a breather. They formed it as a request instead of an order, which actually made the youth feel a bit better then if it had been demanded of him to stop working. After tons of joking and back and forth banter with Iroh, the child finally departed from the area, heading in the direction of the shore.

The black haired youth wasn't too far away from the village, what with the first acre of vegetables only being a bit less then half a mile away, so it didnt take him long to get back home. He wanted to have a proper shower before heading to the beach where the boat had previously been positioned even though he already knew the boat was long gone. When Uncle Jugo said something, it got done no matter what had to happen for the goal to be achieved. It was one of his many strong points and it was him and Sans's father who first sought to repair the boat and make it seaworthy.

Before Sans's father and uncle had begun the boats restoration, the large Barque had been in a state of deterioration. As it hadn't seen action in decades, maybe even a century, many things were falling apart, making it close to unsalvageable. Luckily though they had chosen the prime moment to begin the reparations as it could've very well become completely useless. After about a year of working on it in between jobs, the men of the village were finally able to stare at the completed project in awe, admiring their own hardwork and dedication.

(("I wonder how fast it can go,")) Sans wondered thoughtfully as he dropped his shirt in the hamper located by the front door. (("Should be quite speedy considering it has three masts and so many sails. They're most definitely long gone by this point."))

"Sansss!!"

Just as he was about to head inside and wash up, the young man was stopped as a feminine voice filled with distress called out to him, halting him halfway through the doorway. Not many people ever came to him in a panic as, though he was as hardworking as the older generation, he was still a child and most opted to go to an adult or village elder in case of emergency or problem. For him to be spoken to with urgency was new to him and therefore his brain momentarily stalled as a young woman ran up to his home, completely out of breath.

"Ah, Dana. Something wrong?" Sans backed up and closed the door as his curiosity took over. "Do you need help with something?"

Dana was the village princess, someone who was sought after by many teenagers because of her above average physical appearance. Sans himself didnt really get it, probably because he wasn't old enough as of yet, but every male that appeared in her vicinity seemed to lose quite a few brain cells. Even some of the adults treated her with a vast difference compared to the other young ladies in the village. While old enough to understand why they were acting like idiots, Sans was unable to fathom why they would lower themselves simply because of ones said appearance. It was like allowing yourself to get burned simply because the fire was gorgeous or giving up on oxygen because the water was fresh and crystal clear. It was completely idiotic to judge based on ones looks.

Right now, even drenched in sweat and hair a mess, Sans admitted she was rather nice to look at but, apart from that acknowledgement, felt nothing more then curiosity as to why she looked like she ran a literal marathon.

"Sans, do you.....know where Kindo.....and Andan.....are?" Dana said in between jagged breaths. "They were supposed....to come by sometime earlier....but they never did."

These few sentences actually made Sans feel a little apprehensive as he tilted his head, thinking for a second. Up until that point he had been almost certain the two had wandered off to Dana's house to show off their ability to carry a barrel of fish. Now that that theory had been thrown out the window, he had to use his head to figure things out which wasn't much use considering he was, once again, a mere child.

"Maybe they're slacking off somewhere," Sans offered. "Its hard to believe that those two would be doing anything else. Even if one of them got hurt, the other one could always bring the injured back."

Dana shook her head quickly as soon as Sans finished speaking. "They've never missed a chance to help me. It's either their early or they're right on time. Can you at least help me look for them?"

Sans found it rather difficult to refute any of the logic given as it fell in line with how much the two teenagers chased after her. If Dana had said they always arrived on time then he was inclined to believe what she said. It also helped that the young woman was known for her integrity and compassion, making it easier for others to readily trust what she said. While still wanting to shower and wash off the smell of dried up sweat, it seemed that this was now the priority.

"Alright, I'll help," Sans said, flashing a smile. "However, you'll owe me some food for this."

"Agreed," Dana exclaimed, immediately brightening up. She held out her pinky finger, a small ritual that the two of them normally did when making any sort of pact. "I'll owe you a favor as well."

Sans let out a small laugh as he interlocked pinkies with her. "Its a deal."

"So where do we look first?" Dana asked as she stepped back, adjusting her now frazzled brown hair. "Where did you last see them."

Sans gestures for the youthful maiden to follow as he headed immediately began walking, charting a path straight towards the shore where he had last seen the two idiots. As he had no clue where the two of them could've gone, he opted to start where the trail had gone cold and hopefully work his way from there. He had every plan to find those two and bash them over the head for making a fellow villager worry over nothing but their own stupidity. While this wasn't the first time they slacked on the job, it WAS the first time they had been MIA (missing in action) for such a long period.

It took him around 30 mins to find the spot where he had lost sight of them, and even then it took him a while to find it as he had to properly search through his memory banks to remember the moment they vanished.

Although now that he was here, he didnt really have to look through his own mind to know that he was at the right spot as the enormous, charred, and downright incinerated basket of fish lay on its side.

//Trying to get better at writing so bare with me. It'll get better as I go.