He hastily walked out of the orphanage, walking towards the village centre in search of his favourite food stand.
Although he was less than fortunate when it came to money, he had managed to scrounge a few coins from Tila, and he had some luck when searching for dropped money in the streets and main roads.
The owner was mostly kind to him as long as he was paying, never really saying anything about his situation or the negative reputation that hung in his shadow.
His interactions are always swift, with the man being pushed away after gathering the delightful buns freshly baked each day.
He approached the stall, streets empty apart from the man, making for the perfect environment for his business.
"Hello, mister! I'll take one Boom Boom bun, please!" shouted Ratella. His excitement got the best of him as he declared his order to the empty street. A couple of people walking by turned their heads toward them.
Ratella fondled with the money, gathering the exact amount. He forked it over to the man. Half of his savings was gone in a moment. But it was worth it to the boy, who enjoyed yummy food above everything else in the world.
"Quiet, I don't mind you personally, but the citizens of this wretched village disagree with me. It could hurt my business if you stay for too long, you know this."
Ratella's mood was slightly dampened after hearing this, lowering his head slightly, not wanting to hear any more of the man's words.
"Huff, I'm sorry, Kid. Here, take this."
The man's apology was followed by the feeling of warm hands grasping his own, tilting his head upwards, casting himself out of his sadness.
Multiple coins nestled in his hands—half the amount he just paid. In his grasp was also a freshly steamed boom boom bun.
Its smell is intoxicating, inviting a rapacious hunger to manifest itself deep within his mind.
"I know it's only half, but it's all I can afford to give you back, unfortunately, business hasn't been good."
"Is it my fault?"
"Of course not, we live in the middle of nowhere in a village abandoned by the choir, and it's not like anyone sees you here anyway. Don't worry about it."
"Okay, if you say so. Thanks for the food, old man."
"Hey! I'm not old, just matured."
The man rustled the boy's hair, inviting a few chuckles to escape their mouths for a brief moment. They laughed together, looking to be the perfect father-son duo.
"I appreciate the discount, old man. See you later."
Ratella walked away toward the Nova meadows, waving as he went. He nibbled his boom boom bun, savoured the flavour, held it in his mouth, then swallowed.
The man chuckled before greeting another customer, upselling his products to make up for his loss. Apparently, the customer hadn't noticed the boy's lack of effect on his sales, thankfully.
A conflicting feeling raced across his thoughts. While he was happy not to have affected his business, he still felt downtrodden about taking the man's charity and damaging his profits.
His greed getting the best of him for a brief moment in time, he silently vowed he would return the charity two-fold next time he was hungry for a bun.
The start of the day was always early, allowing Ratella to watch the sun rising every morning without fail. Within the meadow, a gathering of lilac and golden trees stood upon a hill, the positioning perfect for sightseeing across the land.
Every day, he would sit nestled between the trees, watching the sun rise from the darkness, casting its light across the vast collection of floating islands. From his position, the islands could be clearly seen stretching across the sky.
He knew of the dominions that divided the land, but couldn't exactly state where these dominions were actually located. All he knew was the five names. The Star Dominion was where he currently resided, so he knew the general outline of the dominion, but the others were still a mystery.
Nature Dominion, Sun Dominion, Moon Dominion and the Order Dominion were the rest of the ruling bodies that governed the land.
He would try to guess where these dominions were every day, tracing his finger across a worn-out plain map of Kathoros he found discarded on the floor.
Golden and lilac petals fluttered down onto his head. Grasping the petals, he applied gentle pressure, crushing them into tiny fragments, leaving only the memory of their former selves.
Kathoros was littered with trees of lilac and golden colour, their colour irregular and majestic compared to the surface world. The common theory was that the colouring was a side effect of a God's divinity being cast across their land, but whether this was true was another mystery adding to the increasing pile.
Lost within his thoughts, he had yet to notice the encroaching figures coming his way, heading upwards towards his location. When he finally noticed it was too late for any escape, the figures blocked his way and steadily approached.
There were three children in total, all of whom he recognised from the orphanage. The one leading the charge was a black-haired three-winged angel, his personality just as plain as his appearance.
Often sucking up to the others in the orphanage, living and leeching off his status as a three-winged angel.
His two followers were trailing behind him, their two wings stretched to the max, trying to make themselves look bigger.
Despite their less-than-intimidating looks, Ratella knew their appearance would be anything but friendly.