Laments of a outsider

When the war ended, Malus' mother was initially thrilled, expecting a swift return from her husband. However with each passing month, she grew more and more anxious, spending most her time in front of the window on the second floor looking out across the gardens and down the road. Malus worried for her mental health as she was the closest he had come to family in either of his lives. After half a year she had seemingly given up hope, becoming very depressed. On Malus's sixth birthday his mother brought him to the capital to meet some "new friends" because having only one was abnormal according to his mother. Zal'tai took offense to this especially because he wasn't allowed to come. Malus and his mother took a fancy carved wood carriage with glass windows pulled by several strange horse-looking creatures and driven by one of the servant staff he had only seen a few times. The man looked grizzled and kind of old, with a salt-and-pepper beard. The top of his head was covered with a cap that looked close to a flat cap. Malus paid as little attention to him as possible because the man seemed unreasonably friendly, almost creepy. The trip to the city took several hours. Malus watched various the scenery during the trip, watching mountains, streams, and trees of all shapes, sizes, and colors go by. Malus felt a sense of wonder as he watched such wonders pass by slowly, absorbing every detail forcing him to wonder. [Do I really want to go back to stealing? I've been given a second chance at life, is that really what I want from this life too?] Malus continued to stare out the window absorbing the scenery for the rest of the distance to the city, thinking upon this subject. When the carriage reached the Capital, Malus' mother turned to him. "Malus, I'm worried about you, you spend all your time with Zal'tai doing strange things. You need some normal friends."

Malus opened his mouth to protest but was glared into silence.

"We are going to meet with the royal family. They are friends of your father's and they have a son and daughter about your age. Treat them like normal kids no matter what they try to say to you or threaten you with." His mother stared into his eyes with a worried expression on her face. Malus nodded in agreement. "Good, and do try and get along, I don't want to hear about you hiding from them like you do the staff at home." She looked out the window sharply, disallowing any rebuttal. Malus realized that they were in the city and this would be the perfect time to observe social tendencies and looked out the window. The buildings were very similar to that of old European structures and stereotypical fantasy setting human buildings, bland but not so much as to be depressing. The streets were wide but filled with the bustle of street vendors and random people wearing drab cotton attire. The most extravagantly clothed people were the nobles, or at least Malus assumed they were nobles because how otherwise would they have their nose so high in the air? The nobles of the city either rode horses or rode in carriages, some with escorts and some without. They all exhumed a air of nobility, or as Malus liked to call it, "stuck upetness." Malus was a bit disappointed not seeing anything fantastical, and rested his head back and closed his eyes. He began drifting off to sleep when he heard a shriek from outside. He snapped awake and pressed his face to the glass to see the cause of the commotion. The source of the shrieking was a young girl in plain-looking clothes, maybe three or four years older than Malus, who was being pressed into a wall by a young man in lavish clothes who was maybe a year or two older than her. Despite her shrieking and pleading, everyone around them continued on their day or deliberately looked away. Malus stared in disbelief. [I know this is close to a fantasy setting but I didn't know we would have everything from a fantasy setting.]

Malus opened the door and hopped out. Ignoring his mother's shouts to stop, he shouted over his shoulder, "I'll be right back," then he ran onto the scene, stopping just behind the pair, formulating a plan. Malus wasn't a violent person in his old life, in fact he hated violence, however there were some people who he felt needed removed from the gene pool. He started tapping his foot loudly until the young man stopped groping the young woman and turned his head. "Get lost, kid, this is grown-up business."

Malus burst into laughter as a young child might. "Grown-ups? Where? All I see is a spoiled jerk who doesn't know the meaning of the word no." The young man turned around sharply with a twisted expression of rage. "What did you say to me, brat? Do you know who I am?"

Malus looked straight up at him and chuckled. "Nope, why? Do you need to hide behind Daddy in front a six-year-old?"

The young man's face stretched into a cruel smile. "You're right, a man should fight their own battles." The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a silvery straight blade. "I think it's time you ran back to your mommy before you get very hurt." Malus' smile faded from his face, however he smirked internally Who pulls a knife on a 6 year old? The young woman shrieked and ran away as soon as she saw the knife. Malus sighed with relief. The collateral was out of the way. Malus had learned many martial arts in his old life, as well as several climbing styles for urban and rural areas, neither to pick a fight, but there's a first for everything. He rushed forward, kicking the man in the knee uselessly before remembering he was six. The blow did not have intended effect, however it still hurt. The man winced and swung the knife toward Malus. Malus blocked the blow by punching the man's wrist, causing him to drop the knife. He then picked up the knife and slashed the young man's face, causing blood to gush from the wound. The man shrieked in pain, holding his face before running off into the crowd. Malus heard clapping and cheering as the man ran off and at this time noticed the hustle and bustle of the streets had stopped around them to watch the confrontation and had begun clapping and cheering at his success.