Alis walked away with the stick and sat on the sidewalk. The cobbled road was hot under his feet, so putting his feet up was soothing. Alis saw something in his peripheral vision, and he turned his head to see a calico cat staring at him with wide eyes. Alis hadn’t seen a cat before, but that didn’t stop him from smiling wide.

“What are you?!”

The cat inched closer, and Alis reached out to pet it, and it leaned into his palm. Alis giggled warmly, and then the cat walked onto his lap and promptly ripped the skewer out of his hand. Alis jolted to attention and sprinted after the cat in desperation.

“Give it back,” Alis cried as he chased it down an alleyway. “I don’t know when I can eat again!”

The end of the alley was growing near, and Alis was sure he had run him to a dead end. Alis smirked, and then the cat jumped on a crate and flew through a window. Alis didn’t even know what to say; he was so shocked. How could a mammal have such agility? Alis sighed and gazed down, and he noticed a figure sitting in the corner. Alis moved closer to examine it and saw that it was a boy, malnourished and small. His eyes were big, and his irises were that of the night. His hair was raven black, and his skin was icy pale. He glared at Alis and asked, “Why did you give up your food so easily? You should have guarded it with your life.”

Alis scratched his neck and said rather awkwardly, “Yeah, I should have…”

Studying the boy further, it was clear that he was sick. The shirt he was wearing was far too large on him, so it was hard to tell exactly how skinny he was, but his legs were bone thin. His voice was hoarse, and he had dark circles under his eyes. Alis frowned and said, “Wait here.”

The boy simply stared at him as he left, and Alis walked out into the streets. Alis walked up to the vendor again and asked, “Can I have another one? It’s not for me; it’s for another boy.”

The vendor asked, “Does this boy have horns?”

Alis paused and said, “I think so. I didn’t really notice.”

The vendor asked, “How could you not notice something so obvious? Anyway, no. I told you I wouldn’t give you anything more.”

Alis argued, “But he’s starving!”

“He’s a demon!”

Alis stared at the vendor blankly, and he explained further, “A creature of the night, a dark creature… How do you not understand something so simple? You’re an elf after all; next to an angel, you’re basically on the same level.”

Alis truly didn’t understand what the vendor was talking about, and he asked, “What’s wrong with a creature of the night?”

“There was a war twenty years ago where the angels saved us beings of light from the creatures of the dark and chased them away to the Old World. Before then, the world was enshrouded in chaos, and no light being was safe from those dark monsters. Anyway, it’s best you stay away from that demon. We let him stay here out of our goodwill, but he’s the worst creature of the dark that there can be. The demon clan is evil.”