What does it mean to live?

" Ow!  " exclaimed Lucas as he fell to the cold pavememt

" You dare try to take my bread again you little rascal! " shouted the storeowner

Reeling from the abrupt slap, Lucas scurried away into the dark, narrow alley. The alley was filled with smokey fumes from the beggars smoking, followed by a cold, chilling breeze. The pavement was damaged and ridden with moss and cracks running throughout. the grimy brickwall were infested with ants along them. Leaning against the walls were the homeless, their eyes were void of life, skin tone matched that of the pale cigarette on the floor.

" Damn it! If only I was a bit faster, I could have gotten it this time..." muttered Lucas

Lucas could feel the bruise on his cheek aching as he ran darted towards the street. The sharp Friday afternoon light hit the road, as the alleyway cleared, Lucas was met with a busy crowd. People of different species could be spotted amongst the crowd. 

"I think if I hurry now, I'll still make it to Mr. Langley diner before it opens!" thought Lucas

As Lucas turned the corner, his shoulder connected against someone else, a beastmen of feline decent. 

" Hey kid are you looking for a fight?! " said the beastmen angrily as they picked up Lucas's tiny body off the floor. 

The beastmen was abnormally tall with a bulky physique with broad shoulders. Visible scars were scattered throughout their body, most notably a scar on its left eye. Beastmen are known to be a warrior race dedicated to honing their fighting till their last breath. Beastmen often either stick to their tribes and stay isolated from the general world, or become merceneries in order to fight stronger opponents. Lucas quickly observed that feline had mercenary equipment, stamped with the Craydon Empire's rising sun emblem. Signifying that they belonged to the Craydon Mercenary Corps

" Are you going stare at me or are you going to say something? " said the annoyed beastmen

" I apologize I'm in a bit of hurried sir... " stated Lucas while maintaining a weak smile

" How is that an excuse. " sighed the feline

" I need to go somewhere urgently! I promise I'll give you free feast another day! " exclaimed Lucas

" Feast you say? How am I supposed to know your not lying.." said the feline suspiscously

" Just tell me your name and come to Langley's Diner tommorow, I promise you wont regret it! " Replied Lucas

The feline was seemingly lost in thought. Beastmen are notorious for being unintelligent and impulsive. They rely on their warriors intuition when deciding on a matter.

" Free food you say huh! Sounds good to me. " Roared the beastmen

The feline let go of Lucas, and uttered, " If your lying to me I'll have your head! "

As Lucas struggled to collect himself, the Feline began to leave.

Lucas proclaimed, " Sir what's your name! "

With his back towards Lucas, he put his hand up and he stated, " The name is Lionel, and drop the formalities, I hate those "

As he walked away, Lucas could only shudder at the thought of Mr. Langley having to deal with a beastmen like Lionel. Not to mention he promised him a full feast.

" What was I thinking? A full feast? How am I supposed to convince Mr. Langley to give a monster like him a feast for free? " muttered Lucas to himself as he limped across the street.

After a long and tough walk, Lucas had finally arrived at Mr. Langley's store. He could see Mr. Langley cleaning the diners windows. Mr. Langeley was a middle aged man with a gruffy beard. He possessed an extreme case of dad bod, and his head clean bald. He wasn't too tall and wore green long sleeve under his restuarants black apron. His glasses had a tiny crack on the left lens, while the glasses frame was a faded gray. The diner was located in west side of Doncaster located in the Craydon Empire. Doncaster was one of the many cities within the Craydon Empire, and the Craydon Empire was of a dozen empires on the Essos continent. The west side of Doncaster was known as the slums of Doncaster. Most of the people who lived their struggled with their day to day lives.

" Well if it isn't my favorite theif! Did you come here to steal one my dishes again? " chuckled Mr. Langley

" I wish! I have something important to tell you Mr. Langley. "  exclaimed Lucas

" Well its dangerous out here, lets go inside and talk." said Mr. Langley

When entering the restaurant, the sharp aroma of food instantly hit Lucas making him fantasize about the boar meat special. The restaurant had a relatively large interior, possessing multiple tables and lounge areas for customers to eat and converse. The pine green walls were complemented by the white ceiling. 

As they sat down, Lucas caught Mr. Langley up to speed on his situation on the beastman named Lionel, and how he owed him an entire feast in compensation.

" Why are you always getting into conflicts with someone. "  Sighed Mr. Langley"

" Just help me this once I'm begging you " chirped Lucas

Sigh 

" This is the last favor I'm going to give you, if your going to want something from me your going to have to pay for it. " scoffed Mr. Langley

" Thank you Mr. Langley I promise I will pay you back someday. " said Lucas

" Now mind if I have the boar meat special today? " smirked Lucas

Mr. Langley laughed to himself and said, " You think I'm going to give the best dish I have after the dilemma you put me in? Think again bud! Your going to get the leftovers of the cheese pasta and that's it. "

Lucas sighed in agreement while murmuring curse words. 

As an 11 year old orphan, Lucas often found himself drifting aimlessly throughout the slums. Often times resorting to steal from vendors for sustanince. His skinny physique was met with his long brown hair with hints of blond. Lucas's face was often covered in a thin layer of grime due to the atmosphere in the slums. HIs height gave way for bullies to taunt him. One day he met Mr. Langley after wandering away from the orphanage. Mr. Langley was the first person who ever treated Lucas as a human and not a piece of filth meant for the streets. There were times where Mr. Langley would even teach Lucas literacy while the store was closed. 

As Mr. Langley gave Lucas his food, Lucas was watching a mother and father hold hands with their young daughter. They were smiling and overall enjoying themselves to the fullest. Lucas couldn't help but feel a sense of jealously towards the loving family. Seeing such a family in the west side was a rare occurrence.

"Hey buddy, less staring more eating I got a store to open in 15 minutes. " said Mr. Langley

Lucas glared at Mr. Langley while muttering more curse words under his breath. After which He began eating.

Timed passed and Lucas finished his food. He thanked Mr. Langley for the food and headed out the door.

As the evening began to darken, Lucas walked through the streets, he couldn't stop himself from wondering, " What does it mean to be alive? "

It's a question that he often questioned himself about. As an orphan, Lucas didn't have the drive to do anything, so he often found himself pondering about large variety of questions. All Lucas ever did was stay alive and run around. He wondered if there was any reason on why he should stay alive. When Lucas asked the only person he trusted, Mr. Langley, he said it could be a variety of reasons. The vagueness of the answer left him more confused than fulfilled. A regular 11 year old often dreamed about the job they would get or the family they would want. The only thing Lucas finds himself thinking about is why he should keep going. Every family that comes to adopt him always ended up saying that he's a misfit and couldn't belong to their family. Was it because of the stealing? Or was it because of his looks? Lucas never got the answer. 

A little while later Lucas had finally arrived to place he dreaded the most,

Doncaster Orphanage # 47