Cup Half-Full or Half-Empty?

"We can't do this."

A voice echoed in Wrylla's ears, one all too familiar, but just out of reach.

Opening his eyes, he was shocked to see only blurry outlines against a bright background. The boy could barely parse through what he saw, only what he could hear.

"So what? You want us to abandon him to this fate?" Replied another, their voice equally familiar, but Wrylla still couldn't put a face to the voice. "Face it, this isn't living, dear. It's barely surviving. The disease will ravage his body. At least if he were here, he would have a better chance at thriving."

"Then what of the others? Are we just going to ignore all of the others with the same ailment as your son?" The former pleaded, an identity slowly forming. "And what of the others further ahead of him? They were still killed for their weakness. This disease… It's a scourage. There's nothing we can do. At least in the forty-fourth, there's solidarity with the others. But here? We'll be abandoning him…"

"It's still a chance to be better than he is. If he really is my son, then he will thrive in weakness. He will be ruled fit to survive despite his ailment."

The voices gradually became more distant. Like they were moving away from him. Echoes of words, cries, shouts, protests rang in Wrylla's ears. Until there was nothing left but himself and the bright background. 

["Survive. The Mammoth Clan will soon be at your beck and call. Struggle, Fight, Thrive. The Clan depends on it."]

Light filled the boy's vision, drowning him in its radiance. 

Pain, a searing pain. 

His entire body burned with a dull heat, not enough to truly be agony, but enough o be uncomfortable. 

He wouldn't know rest for a long while. 

Grunting, he focused inward and produced a string of prana, attaching it onto something nearby and pulling himself up.

"First off, where am I?" Wrylla wondered aloud, analyzing his new living quarters with a searching gaze. 

His back laid against the itchiest bed he'd ever laid on. With a pillow that might as well have been a rock. His surroundings were bare, with only boxes of sorts in the corner, and someone sitting in a chair in the corner, watching his every movement with the gaze of a predator. Their eyes shining with a dark gleam in the darkness. 

Certainly isn't ominous to wake up with someone in your room, Wrylla inwardly drawled, blinking away the spots in his head. 

"You've been moving for a while. If it weren't for your disease, I would have already beaten you for not being quieter."

"Make my stay here longer, why don't you?" Wrylla's immediately retorted, the bed suddenly feeling lighter on his head. "Might make the rest of my painful existence actually worth while."

There was a palpable silence in the room, suffocating in its pressure, like there were a pair of hands around his neck. 

"Maybe." The figure stood, stepping into the light to show a fellow clanswoman, looking back at him with an unamused gaze. And by the look of things, she was just about his age too. "But, if I actually did that, then you would technically be stealing the clan's resources by prolonging your medical leave. So tell me, Wrylla, is that really a wise decision?"

There was an edge to her tone, as she took another step closer, moving to the side of his bed. The boy's eyes squinted in alarm. 

"And what if it wasn't? Not like you were going to do that, were you?"

The girl shared his gaze, the two holding a stand-off for only a single moment, before the tension suddenly disappeared. And a gentle smile etched itself onto her lips, entirely forced in his opinion. 

"Well, I would rather not go against the orders of the settlement leader, dinner can be quite awkward with the weight of a failed mission on your head," She shrugged, taking a seat right by his leg. "Though, I'm curious, why has he taken an interest in you? Besides your bravery, of course."

"Lady, lady, I do not have the slightest clue," A bald faced lie, "Maybe it's my good looks, skill, or my initiative. But I doubt it would be for acting suicidally. Though, I prefer to think he rewarded me for my survival." 

"Right, whatever helps you sleep at night," She rolled her eyes. "Well, the settlement leader wanted to give you his thanks. However, there were other matters he had to attend to, and you weren't exactly conscious. So, he sent me in his stead. Hope I didn't fall flat of your expectations."

A ball suddenly appeared in Wrylla's throat. This was exactly what he wanted. But he felt that something was not as it seemed. 

Swallowing, he steeled his nerves. "Awww, you don't have to say that. I can say with my full chest, that you were above my expectations."

The girl perked up, raising an eyebrow at his words. "Really? Don't see how in the first place. When someone says the settlement leader, it usually means that they're in for something good. But when it's his failure of a daughter… people usually tune it out."

"Then, I'm not like other people then, am I?"

The girl, for her part, punched Wrylla on the shoulder. Just enough for it not to break, but enough for him to feel it.

"Then, you shouldn't say cringy lines like that," She shivered, "It just feel weird, and not in the way free humans talk too. It's just plain weird."

A smile cracked across Wrylla's lips. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? But then again, I'm in the esteemed presence of Yahara Tusk's failure of a daughter! It's not everyday I get to meet the fourth best in the class."

"And still, fourth best in the class, does not mean fourth best in all the clan."

"The difference? You'll still place well enough to receive a silver grade pranic beast. While, I, have a high chance of receiving an egg the clan found by our Empyrean Tusk's discarded toe nail."

And it would be his fate, had he not read the contents of the novel.

A small smile appeared at the corner of her lips, just barely showing, but still there.

"You're right, it just means I have to work harder than all my other siblings, who all placed top of their class, and have years of experience ahead of me."

"I'm sure that's fine," Wrylla placated, "But, that's besides the point, didn't you have a task for me to do? Or are you saving that for the second date?"

"Date!?" The girl turned heel and shouted, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up. "And why would I date you? You're still the dead last of our year, fragment disease or not. The only thing to your name is the things that happened earlier."

"So, as far as I know, your list of achievements doesn't add up to much."

Wrylla didn't have much to say. Words failed to escape him for a moment. Until, like a bolt of inspirations, he found it. "No. Because I also got the failure of the forty-third to be flustered at me. So, I suppose it isn't all too bad."

A sly grin here, and a wink there was all he needed to get out of the situa-

"You know what? Prove yourself well enough, and I might actually give you a shot at that." Wait wha- "My name is Luttrena, by the way. I don't think I ever introduced myself to you. And here, your reward for your actions earlier today. I'm pretty sure some of us would have died if it weren't for you."

A vial was placed into Wrylla's hands, along with a bone slip the size of a finger. The vial shone with an ethereal green hue, glowing like some radioactive goop. Then, there was the bone slip, which…

Mystic Bone Art - Patchwork Clock

"I'll be going now, need to train and all that," She stood, standing out without much fanfare, as she waved him off. "Take care now!"

She swiftly made her way out of the medical tent. Only to quickly back peddle a moment later. "Oh, and don't forget my words, we only have a few months left, and I don't want you appearing weak during the selection process!"

Her yell brought the attention of a few others, but she didn't care, happily walking back to wherever she wanted to go to.

On the other hand…

What the fuck did I do? Wrylla questioned himself, muttering like a mad man.

After all, who wouldn't? Had he flirted too much? Was this a test? He didn't need something like this when he was at the start of his damn journey!

What the hell was he going to do? Shrug her off when damn near everyone was watching? When the crazy lady of the forty- third was her mother?

Was this a scheme from the Empyrean Tusk? Of course, those damn bastards put him up to it. Keeping him loyal to the clan when they had a stray thought of what he was planned for in the future. 

"What am I going to do?" Wrylla clutched his face, sucking in a mouthful of air. "What can I do?"

_______________________

Author's notes: Another chapter, and a honey pot at that. Things are getting heated, and things just started. Also, will try to be more consistent, but projects are all lining up, and I don't want to compromise chapter and story quality in favor of speed. 

Again, thank you for reading, and don't forget to check out my thread on Anvelope's discord (real shit). I want to hear your thoughts about Wrylla and the changes I bring to the story. The link to the server is below. 

https://discord.gg/8B4rZE79Ts