Lucas

My eyes slowly opened as the softened sunlight beamed down on my face. I attempted to turn my body but hit a wall, it was Jasper's back. He was sleeping right next to me. We dozed off on the rug; I also didn't think that human beds could handle the weight of one of these monsters.

Using my frail hands, I shook him with all of my might but he did not budge. Plan A had failed. Plan B was up next. I strolled to the other side to face him. My fingers gently poked his eyes. As that didn't seem to work, I put more strength into it.

"What the hell are you doing!" he said.

He woke up suddenly and stood up.

"Do orcs wake up this late?"

"No we wake up before the sun rises to hunt, now let me go back to sleep," Jasper said.

Before returning to his slumber, he turned around and looked at all of the windows before coming to a stark realization. The sun had been up for quite some time.

"Shit, I'm late. I had plans to go hunt with the others."

"Can I come with you?" I asked.

"Not today, we still have to ask the other group members if they are fine with you joining us."

"Does everyone hunt together?"

"No we have several groups that hunt. I'm running late. Don't venture out too much and wait for my return," Jasper said.

His humongous body squeezed through the door and sprinted away. My eyes wandered around the house and a question popped up in my head. What was I supposed to do in the meantime?

I arranged a makeshift breakfast with whatever I had at hand; despite it not being tasty in the slightest, it did fill my stomach. The meat was barely edible at this point and was on the verge of being rotten. An hour later, I was bored and had nothing to do. I was still unfamiliar with this place. This tribe alone was several kilometers in diameter; I hadn't even seen a small portion of it yet! I set foot outside and cautiously walked on the gravel path.

"Please stop, I'm sorry."

My body swiveled to face the direction of the voice. A young orc was kneeling in front of three others, his back against a wall. Tears filled his eyes and flowed down his scarred body. The young beasts were not that much taller than me, so I reached the conclusion that humans and orcs were of similar heights during childhood. But what happened during adolescence that changed them to such an extent?

The young orc was bleeding from several cuts on his face and arms. His cheeks and eyes were severely swollen; it was truly a sad sight.

I considered helping him, but after using simple logic, I decided otherwise. Orcs were still stronger than humans and if I lent him a helping hand, both of us would be beaten to a pulp. I didn't yet have the strength to do what I wanted. I also didn't know the victim and what he might have done to infuriate them.

Step by step, I edged closer to try to hear what was going on.

"Sorry isn't going to cut it. Why haven't you prepared my food yet?" the group leader said.

"I-I'll bring it now Arthur. Please let me go."

Arthur placed his hand on the orc's neck and slowly tightened his grip before lifting him up. The beast's legs were seesawing as his hands grasped his assailant's wrist in a last ditch attempt to survive. His mouth was wide open, desperately gasping for air; he would perish if he stayed in that position.

"I'll let you go today. Don't make the same mistake again."

He released his grip causing the victim to plummet to the ground, struggling for air. The other two laughed hysterically before leaving with Arthur. As soon as the coast was clear, I rushed to see the young orc.

"W-Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Jett, I just joined this tribe. What's your name?"

"Lucas."

"Come, I'll treat your wounds," I said.

Lucas was rightfully wary at first but my sincere body language convinced him that I meant no harm and he followed me to Jasper's house.

"He must have something somewhere."

"What do orcs use to treat wounds?"

"There must be some leaves around; those are Atolla leaves and they have medicinal properties," Lucas replied.

The leaves were stored in a wooden box along with some rolls of makeshift bandages. After wrapping up his arms and torso, it was time to obtain some clear answers.

"Why were they attacking you?" I asked.

"I- I'm their servant. The food wasn't served fast enough and Arthur was enraged."

"Did you say anything to the higher ups?"

"What good would that do? He's the chieftain's grandson," he replied.

"Is he Hunter's son?" I asked worriedly.

"No no, he's hunter's nephew."

I heaved a sigh of relief; such a kind individual couldn't have raised a bully.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, I'm taking my leave before they get wind of what you did," he added.

My face wore a sad expression as Lucas passed through the door. What a pitiful life he has; having to serve someone who has been terrorizing him for so long must be grueling.

I sat on the floor contemplating about life. Beasts were not that different from humans; the strong trampled on the weak. That was the conclusion of a five year old who didn't even have any experience in the real world.

Long hours passed before the wooden door swung open and a massive figure wearing a wide grin walked in; it was Jasper.

"Was the hunt successful?" I asked.

"Oh very, but that's not why I'm happy. I have two pieces of good news to share. Everyone agreed to bring you hunting in a month's time."

"You just need to strengthen yourself as much as possible despite you being smaller than my forearm," he added.

"Was the last part necessary, you fat beast," I replied.

"How am I supposed to get stronger?"

"That's the second thing. The one who'll be in charge of overseeing your training will be yours truly," he said with the most Machiavellian look imaginable on his face.

"Training starts tomorrow at dawn."

"You can't even wake up on time; you're that lazy."

"You little brat, come here!"