Ban l My Lily [On Hold]

Chapter 1 l Stealing

"Your hands are slow and sloppy. Your eyes show your true intention. Your feet are loud." Calla's head dipped down in shame. "Have I taught you nothing?!" Her mother snapped. "Without your father and only your useless brother and I, you need to to toughen up and find us something to eat." Calla's lip trembled before her mother backhanded her. "What did I just say?! Toughen up would ya'?! Now go out there and find something!" She barked. Calla held her cheek for only a moment before she stumbled out into the dirty streets of Ravens. Find something? All the stall owners know I'm a thief anyway. She thought, pushing out her lower lip. As she slipped through the streets, she heard shouting.

"You little rat!" An older man screamed. Calla rounded the corner and saw a small boy wearing an old red shirt getting kicked in the stomach. Calla wanted to run and grab something from the stall while he was distracted, but saw the boy cough up blood and decided otherwise. She grabbed an orange from the man's stall and threw it at his head.

"Hey! Stop hurting him!" She shouted. The man turned and his angry scowl turned into a somewhat menacing smirk.

"Do you really think you can stop me, little girl?" He asked and stepped away from the boy. She grabbed two pieces of bread and stuck her tongue out. "You brat!" He started chasing after her, but Calla was faster. Looping around him, she crouched down for a moment to drag the other boy up.

"C'mon, we gotta get out of here!" She said and his eyes fluttered open, eyelashes brushing against his drawn out cheekbones.

"Huh?" He muttered. The man's feet drew closer and Calla ducked into the closest alleyway and drew the both of them against the wall. The stall owner ran by, ignoring them completely. Calla let out a small breath of relief.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly. A small gasp ran through her as his eyes opened completely. His eyes were a deep crimson, matching the blood still staining his chin. Calla used her shirtsleeve to wipe away the blood and he flinched.

"Hey! Stop!" He exclaimed and she drew back.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." She explained.

"Why did you help me?" He asked and she shrugged tiredly.

"Because he was hurting you. Why was he anyway?" The boy glanced away a bit of shame crossing his face.

"Because I stole from him and he got mad." She cocked her head to the side.

"Why are you ashamed? I stole from him too." She said and the boy looked up as she produced two loaves of bread. "Here you can have one." She offered. He eyed the bread and shook his head.

"I'm not hungry." He denied, and just as he said it, his stomach growled. Blush adorned his cheeks and she scooted closer, putting the bread near him. He finally caved in and took the bread.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"What's your name?" She asked as he stuffed a piece in his mouth.

"Ban." He answered, slightly muffled. "And yours?"

"Calla." She said. "Like the lily!" She said. Ban eyed the other loaf and looked back at her.

"Why aren't you eating. You look as starved as I do." Calla looked down at the bread.

"I would, but my mom told me I had to find something for her to eat because she has a bad 'record.'" She explained. Ban huffed.

"Sounds like my parents." He muttered and looked up at the darkening sky.

"Hey, how about whenever we can we meet here? We can share some of the extra food we get." She offered. Ban considered it for a moment.

"I'll try." He said and grinned, small canines gleaming.

"I will too."

"Kay~ Then I'll see you later, Ms. Lily." He said and limped down the alleyway, Calla watching with worried eyes.

~

"You only got one loaf of bread?!" Calla's mother demanded. "This is nothing! This will last us one day you useless child!" Calla's head hung low before her mother's hand gripped her hair and threw her outside as Calla cried out in pain. "You're sleeping outside tonight, just as any other dog would!" Calla hit the stone ground of the street, banging her head and elbows. The door slammed shut and Calla struggled to her feet before thudding against the stone. Why was she even getting up? She had nowhere to go. No one would accept a dirty thieving rat like herself. Except...A dirty thieving rat like herself. Calla felt a small smile grace her lips and hoped that perhaps Ban was there. But her hopes went down when she realized that he had went home before dark. It didn't stop her, she ended up going down the street from just a few hours ago. Her mouth fell open when she saw the same tattered red shirt and light blue hair on the ground curled up, fast asleep. Calla crouched next to Ban and saw a bruise forming on his swelling cheek. Pitying him, she ended up curling up against him, trying to at least warm the both of them.

~

Ban hobbled back towards his home, secretly missing Calla. She was the first nice person he had ever met. Heck, she had even saved him from the stall vendor while stealing two loaves of bread while he had gotten nothing but bruised ribs and stomach pains. Ban eyed the front door to his house, almost scared to walk in. They wouldn't be happy if he didn't grab anything and he would most likely been beaten. After a few minutes, Ban decided to open the door and try to quietly make it to his bed-which was more of a pile of musty blankets–but his Dad happened to have gotten home late, smelling of liquor.

"There you are ya' little bastard!" His father slurred, getting to his feet with his face flushed with anger. "Still nothing ya useless brat! And look at that, looks like you ate what you grabbed anyway!" Ban's face only showed true terror when he realized a few crumbs were still evident of his face. His mother, hearing the commotion walked in.

"What have you done now you little shit!" She demanded. His father tipped his ale back before pointing at his son.

"He ate what he was supposed to grab!" He shouted. Ban held up his hands in a defensive state.

"No—no I didn't. It was given to me—" He was cut off by a fist meeting his cheekbone. Ban's head snapped to the side and he landed in a heap.

"Now get out! And don't come back unless you have food! Maybe if you weren't so greedy Kilia would still be alive!" That hurt. A lot. Before he could react, Ban was thrown out into the street, knocking his head on the stone. The door slammed before he could even get up and Ban's head hung low.

"I know, Mother. If I wasn't so greedy, Kilia would still be here." He muttered, and limped back towards the spot both he and Calla had claimed as their own. As soon as he rounded the corner and made it to a somewhat hidden area, Ban collapsed, and ended up pillowing his head against his arm. He shivered in the cold, wishing for a blanket as his eyes fluttered close.