Lumen lifted his head, his eyes snapping open wide as the man in front of him was grabbed from behind. A figure taller than him engulfed in the shadows of the buildings on either side, stood behind the red-headed creep. A large clawed had grabbed the man's shoulder and quickly spun him without care, slamming his back into the wall, causing the red headed man to cough loudly, sputtering out jumbled words between breaths.

"What?! Who the fuck- What the hell do you want?!"

He shouted angrily at the taller figure. Lumen knew he should probably start to run, but he couldn't bring himself to move his legs; they were firmly planted on the stone beneath him as he watched the entanglement of bodies before him.

The hooded one grabbed the strange man by the collar, shoving him to the floor without hesitation, immediately standing over the confused, sputtering red head. The hooded figure slammed a boot down onto the man's hand, pinning him to the ground. Lumen heard him shriek; it made him feel slightly sick hearing sounds like that, another person screaming in agony.. yet somehow, after what he had done, he couldn't find any sympathy.  The cloaked man seemed unfazed by the pain he was inflicting.

"Wha- What the hell man! get the hell off of me!" 

He pleaded from the ground, staring up at the man enshrouded in cloak and shadows. Lumen could see he wore dark colored pants fitted closely to his skin. Overtop were a pair of black boots that stretched up his calves. Everything above his waist was shrouded in a midnight black cloak, save for a golden belt shining when he moved, catching a few rays of the sun occasionally.
The hooded figure ground his boot into the man's hand, eliciting a desperate shriek from his victim. He didn't seem to care as he leaned down, reaching inside the red-headed man's inner breast pocket and pulling out a pouch. Suddenly he began to panic and thrash his head from side to side — like a realization had hit him.

"Hey, Wait! Wait! are you with them? Listen I can pay I swear I'll- I'll pay just let me g-uck"

A wet, crunching sound echoed as the man on top kicked the other in the side of the face, bruising his cheek almost immediately. Blood spattered to the ground below and suddenly Lumen felt the need to leave. Right now. He quickly began to step away, backing up towards the crowd in the streets. The man in the hood glanced at him. He could see the sharp glint of gold behind the hood; perhaps the sun caught his eyes for a brief moment. Blood roared in Lumen's ears when his eyes were caught by the strangers. Something tickled his nose, something.. similar to spice? cinnamon maybe? Lumen's brows creased as he stumbled backwards, quickly breaking their eye contact before he hurried away. Lumen rushed through the streets, not even concerned about the people around him or the looks they gave.

He glanced behind him, seeing nothing of the other two; he sighed through his nose and met with the gates of the city. The guards nodded to him and he returned the gesture on his way out. Lumen considered reporting on the event, but in the end, he felt too scared to do so, it wasn't really his concern anyway. He followed the uneven stone until it was just dirt. The sun was still high up, which left an unsettling realization that he was just attacked and in broad daylight, then his assaulter.. was assaulted? He tried to make sense of what he just saw; the tall hooded man hadn't seemed to care for his presence at all. It didn't feel like an act of a savior; more like that creep had something the other man wanted.
He swallowed hard and tried to keep his breathing steady as the deep green arms of the forest welcomed him home, hundreds of rows of brown and verdant as far as he could see, small shrubs dotted with red and clusters of fungi sprouting beside fallen, rotted logs. Birds, singing above him. He sighed. He felt at peace here.

After awhile of walking he caught sight of his cabin, a sense of comfort washing over him; he sighed as he brought out his key, unlocking it he stepped inside and immediately placed his sack of food on his wooden floor. He quickly slid off his shoes and his cloak, sitting down quickly in the chair in his kitchen, he sighed and stretched his arm out.
"What a weird day.."

Lumen mumbled as he stretched his arm out, and folded it back towards himself a few times. He couldn't get the image of blood hitting the stone, the sharp glint of gold under the hood, the red-headed mans disturbing words. Something about his smell?

Lumen shook his head. He figured the man was probably just crazy or involved in something weird. Lumen stood, shaking off his messy thoughts, as he began storing his vegetables before he heard a soft scraping at his door. He smiled as he walked towards the familiar sound and opened the door.

"Ah! Biyo!"

The small multicolored cat greeted him with a soft meow, rubbing its body against Lumen's leg. It wasn't exactly Lumen's cat, but he had began feeding him about a year ago after seeing him in the woods. He wouldn't even go near the food at first, but after awhile Biyo would approach if Lumen left it unattended, and slowly came around to Lumen being closer. Eventually Biyo let Lumen touch him. He was so happy when this happened, something that no longer judged him. Biyo regularly came into Lumen's house now, and likely stayed somewhere nearby outside nowadays.

"Biyo! I brought you some fish today."

Lumen removed a few vegetables from his bag, finding the paper-wrapped fish. He unwrapped it and placed it on the floor for Biyo. He had only really bought it for this purpose. He wanted to at least make something happy. He smiled as Biyo purred, beginning to gnaw at the fish.
Lumen stored away his groceries, and began to prepare his lunch, although it would probably be his only meal.

"Oh, right" Lumen thought out loud as he reached into his worn bag hanging from his chair. He reached inside and pulled out the folded brown paper bag. Unfurling it, pulled out the delicate garment inside. Admiring it for a moment, he smiled. The color reminded him of his mother's hair. He sighed and draped it across the back of his kitchen chair; It was still too warm for such a thing.

A few hours passed, Lumen sitting outside, enjoying the swaying of the trees, as he inhaled the air, earthy, sweet, it tickled his nose and filled his lungs. He often sat outside in the evenings, before it was completely dark. Occasionally he could hear the residents of the houses not too far from him; but it never bothered him. He didn't speak much to them, but they didn't seem bothered by his being there. Lumen's thoughts drifted around in his mind like a cloud, his mother.. he missed her. Every day. This cabin felt empty since she passed, but it was still his home.
Lumen felt a soft weight on his lap. Biyo had jumped up on him and sat himself down on Lumen's lap. He couldn't help but smile at the simple gesture of affection.

"Hey Biyo"

Lumen ran his hand down Biyo's back, watching it arch up as he stroked him.
Lumen began to wander in his mind again while absently petting Biyo. He thought about those two men again, nearly being assaulted. He squeezed his eyes shut, not even wanting to imagine what the red-headed pervert would have done to him. But..The other guy was a complete mystery.
Lumen opened his eyes and glanced down at the colorful cat on his lap, trying not to think too much about what had happened. He had enough food to last him a couple of weeks, at least, hopefully long enough neither of them would be around.

Suddenly Lumen's heart sank. His breath was stuck in his throat and pain began to creep through his insides.

"Ugh..No.."

Lumen gasped for air as Biyo jumped off of him, circling his feet. His fist tightly grabbed his chest, squeezing his shirt as his body broke out into an uncomfortable, sticky sweat. He shivered, his legs barely able to hold him as he stood; his brain felt like molten liquid, and his bones were screaming at him. Lumen gasped for air as he slowly hobbled inside. God please no.. Please make it stop.
Lumen chanted in his mind, wishing for nothing but the pain to go away. He held the walls as he stumbled, making his way to his room, slowly, one step at a time.
Sweat soaked his clothes and his lungs burned as he gasped for air, feeling like his chest would collapse at any second. Even laying down the room spun, Lumen pulled his knees to his chest; letting out a sob. He desperately questioned what was wrong with him.. Why.
His last thought was clear as day among the pain. He was going to fix this. He was going to Astradel to fix this.
Lumen's consciousness left him.