The Lynx || jjk [ON HOLD]

Prologue

-----

"Food, I want food."

She read the movements of the running kids grimly. They were quite old, running away from the shopkeeper... after robbing him.

The shopkeeper was rather a chill man to notice. He sat at the corner puffing a cigar, as he read The Daily while cracking up to the lame jokes of his favorite Radio Jockey.

The small shop barely had customers. Water trickled from the cracked pipes, the air filled with rottenness. Few hairy rodents scurried across the greasy, smudged floor. The foul smell, capable of boring holes in the lungs of any organism. It was the last place, a human would like to come.

Well...not only the shop, but her whole village was also a dump yard, slum.

She grinds the slick dry material between her germy yellow teeth which were unbrushed for almost half...a decade?

Chewing the piece for almost an hour was far from contentment, so she decided to mill it for another good hour while observing the salient moves of the kids.

She followed the kids. Quite but quick. Like a cat.

Her footsteps caught the pace of the older kids and she made sure to go unnoticed.

She was quite experienced for her age where kids would be still clinging on their mother's fingers and embracing their mere toys.

The older kids failed to welcome the new shadow behind them.

"I guess we lost that old hag." One of them panted glancing down at the bag, drooling into a pool for ants to have a chill vacation.

"We did indeed. We can finally have some meat."

'Oh, you thought...'

Her small body swiftly moved in between the boys, with her pocket knife against the bag to make a slight cut, enough for the meat to fall like a hail rain, splattering on the ground.

Taking the chance, she grabbed the biggest chunk of meat and ran the opposite way, ignoring the loud cries of threats thrown her way.

She stole the stolen food.

The night fell down, and she managed food, yet another time. She had a mere body of a six-year-old but had already mastered the art of stealing. For as long as she could remember, she never had a roof over her head.

She grilled the piece of meat over the deaf and frantic fire, staring intensively at the bronze flame. The meat looked delicious even though it was raw. She took the meat out of the flame, ensuring it was cooked enough, and was about to eat it when,

"Quite a stunt you pulled there."

The sudden voice made her flinch under the dull and dingy street light. It was a deep voice, belonging to a male she never met in her life. He was tall, very tall to her liking, and looked at least in his early twenties.

Hiding the meat behind her back, she glared at the man. Afraid that he was one of those hungry wolves who would snatch away her food in a blink of an eye.

"Who?"

Her speech was limited. She didn't have a family to teach her words or any language.

"Feisty much huh? For a mere five-year-old, you have quite the talent for stealing...."

The pale man was intimating. His jet black eyes could dig holes into the soul of the person who made eye contact. His dark hair swayed with the night breeze making her shiver. Clothes darker than the night sky, he reminded her of the grim reaper she once heard about while stealing her meal. Only if he had a psyche, he'd definitely suit the role.

"..." She refrained herself from answering.

"Don't worry though. I don't plan on having your food, so calm down and have it before it cools down."

'Suspicious big handsome man........ be more careful.'

"You don't have to put on that scary face. A cute little girl like you should smile more. I'm not gonna hurt you or report you either.

I'm here.....for a different reason."

He smiled. A smile gorgeous enough to kill hundreds, only if it didn't hide the malicious intentions behind it.

"What?" She asked.

"You see......I saw how you stole the meat from those boys. In fact, I've been keeping an eye on you for quite a bit."

She did not understand what he was trying to say.

"....... What I want is for you to come with me."

"Why?"

"......You'll find out."

She willingly stood up. As a small child, she wanted a guardian and shelter, and most importantly food. The strange man extended his thin bony hand draped by leather gloves which seemed to be made up of pure animal skin, showing a gesture to follow him.

She went with the strange man. For the first time, she saw a proper house. The proper environment could make anyone blasted, and the smell of civilization and socialization perfumed around the air could heal the torn.

Stepping inside, she saw things she never knew existed. He took her inside a bedroom.

"This is your room. From now on, you'll stay with me and be my assistant."

"Assi- what?"

"I just need someone to clean up my mess. I'll give you food, clothes, shelter and everything you ask for. It's not a tough job compared to what I'm offering. All I ask from you is a helping hand......

For you to get rid of the traces I left."

"You give me food?" She asked.

"Yes. Definitely, and anything else you require."

"Me stay." She answered without any second thoughts.

She didn't realise this was going to be the biggest mistake of her life.

"Good. We'll have to work on a lot of things, gotta teach you how to get rid of evidence and, most importantly, gotta teach you how to speak."

She nodded, quite happy to have secured her food supply.

"..... little one, what's your name?"

"Me, no name." He chuckled. It seemed genuine.

"Well then, I'll give you one. How about I call you...

....Lynn?"

-------

Votes and comments are really appreciated ;)