Davin hummed to himself as he picked his way down the cramped and littered path. A puff of a breeze against his skin reminded him of the newest rip in his tunic, courtesy of a morning scuffle with some of the nastier boys in the Alienage. Davin had learned not to mind the black eyes and cut lips, but the real harm came from damaged clothing. Tattered rags did him no good in the winter, and new clothes… well, those were difficult to come by.
The whole situation was worsened by Davin’s realization that Markus would likely be upset with him for being on the losing side of the fray. Markus had tried teaching Davin how to defend himself, how to throw a punch and how to dodge a fist, but all such knowledge would flee the moment Davin saw the tall, barrel-shaped boys heading towards him. No matter how much Markus tried to help him, Davin knew he was never going to win.
Still, he hummed as he went along. It was too pretty of a day not to add his voice to the choir of birds and rustling trees.
As he rounded a corner, he spied a small figure sitting among the bushes tucked up against a wall. He knew whoever it was couldn’t be one of his enemies, because they would be too busy beating someone up elsewhere in the city.
“Oh! Darrian!”
A wide smile sprang to his face and crinkled up his cheeks. He scampered gracelessly over to join his friend, sending a small blur of fur shooting off into a nearby alley. Davin looked down to Darrian’s parchment to see the likeness of the cat he had just scared off.