Play time!
"You'll be the bad guy, I'll be the chief" The guy spoke pointing the stick he was holding down to mandell's chest
Mandell raised the stick guarding his face, and said to the energetic kid
"Okay"
What he said was like a signal, his playmate rush toward him, the stick it was holding hit his neck and it tried to hit him again which he blocked
The barrage continue, and the kid never shown any sign of tiredness, he try hitting mandell's face which he block using the stick
The moment the sticks press against each other a wave of force was send against his arm whispering in an alluring voice,' let go'
Chest...block
head, block
leg, he jump up
The kids movement is fast, but he dealt with Possun rat, which is a hundred times faster, he never beat those rat uninjured, but he gained experience
Feeling tightness in his chest, mandell listen to the voice, and let's go of the stick, he raised both of his arm and said, wishing his playmate would listen
"I lost"
"Hahaha, A bad guy like you can't possibly win against someone like me!!" The kid boasted raising his stick sword up,
"Now any last word" the kid said in a grim tone, lowering his sword to mandell's face
"Um, you will see me soon in hell" Mandell said his voice trembling, limping his leg approaching the kid before falling down
The kid smiled "I have slain a bad one, this will-
"Stop!" He hold two wooden sword intimidating the chief, he lowered it and glance at Mandell
"I'll avenge my brother" He looked at the kid chief and pointed his two wooden blade
"Say hello to my brother"
"You should say that to him yourself" He replied pointing his wooden sword against the two woods his opponent had
While the two is playing hitting each other with sticks, mandell stood up his body feeling completely drained
"Too bad you died" Taly said, the humakey who pulled him all the way outside
"Yup, too bad I died" Mandell replied
"wanna play tag?" Taly offered, pointing at the kids running around a giant dark tree
Mandell looked at the tree, his leg and arms feeling that their about to fall off, he nodded
"Sure, I want to play"
"Sweet" Tally waved at the other humakey's
"Guys Mandell want to join!"
With that they played, mandell was the one chasing them,
They circle around the tree, mandell didn't try to think outside the box and chased them just how they wanted to,
They played for minutes with mandell not catching a single one of them, he goes to the tree and quietly sat down huffing his whole body covered with sweat
"You okay" Taly said looking down on him, she reach her hand and asked
"Need help"
Mandell nodded and grabbed her hand and used it as a support to stand up
"I need water" He mumbled on the humakey's ear
"No!, water bad, you need to rest first before water" She said not talking straight and it feels like she just recited words coming from the corner of her brain
"Then" Mandell let go of taly and let his body fall against the tree "oof!"
"I'll rest here"
Mandell waited swallowing his saliva, and moments after he gained back his energy, his throat feels like the dessert, but aside that mandell could now run and play
'Yeah no, I'll head inside" He pondered, he looked back to the children's playing and he immediately changed his mind
'On second thought....
He played with them, role-playing as a bad guy, running trying to catch the others,
It was childish as it's supposed to be and fun
Mandell catch his breath before heading inside the hut as all of them was called inside
"Did you all have fun?" The teacher asked and the kids yelled excitedly, they didn't say 'yes' or any word they just yelled
"I'll take that as a yes" The teacher then pointed at the board
"Let's move on a different lesson shall we"
It's like a second when the teacher clasped her hand and said
"And that's the end I'll see you all tommorow"
Everyone left , leaving mandell thinking
"Aren't you gonna go home" After hearing the teachers word mandell stood up and said
"bye teach"
He left the hut and looked ahead, a lot of humakey's was on the street and a number of vendors was on the side
It looks busy, mandell took a deep a breath and started to walk
At the side is wooden stores selling foods, he saw the white worm at one of the stores wiggling out of its container, books and colorful scrolls
He saw kids the same height as him talking with each other approaching the vendor selling the white worms
He passed through the kids and walked straight remembering the way he and Ma'am Madell walked to school
Mandell looked at the nearest house and hut trying to find a second story with stone embedded as a frame and a wooden plank door,
He squeeze with the humakey's walking on the street while looking up
As Mandell saw a tall house and seeing the stone frame, mandell smile
"Finally arrived" he approached and opened the door,
The moment he did, he saw humakey's lining up to get to the second floor, the storages door wide open and a number of healer arranging herbs and potion
"Did you made friends?" A humakey guarding the door asked him
"I made one" Mandell answered
The guard went silent and Mandell moved upstairs where he felt eyes lock at him
A number of humakey's sitting still looking at him while healers was focused on their work not even taking a single glance to the person who just arrived
Mandell ignored the eyes and approached Hannah the only humakey who he can recognized with a glance
"Teach"
"mandell, watch carefully, you might want to know this" Hannah replied massaging her patients swollen leg, not even taking a glance at Mandell