265 New destination decided
“Is this really going to work? Sending a tarnished like to the sky wings wouldn’t be seen as disrespectful?” Ash asked doubtfully. “They are even more traditional than the elders of our clan and would hate to have soone like .’
“Even if they hate the idea of ??welcoming soone like you, they will have no choice but to accept you, since you won the duel against the most promising young man in the clan in front of most of the clan’s influential figures.” The master replied while shaking his head to clear Ash’s doubts.
“If they reject you as a failure, it would be the sa as saying that all the other mbers we send who were unable to even participate in the tradition were useless and could return to the clan.”
“I think I understand what you an, father, but I don’t understand why you would send there. It doesn’t make much difference to serve in the sky wing clan or join the army, so why should I do that?” Ash asked doubtfully.
“Our clan only has black hawk beastn in our army, but the sky wing clan has different beastn, so their strategies are different and not as strict as ours. You can adapt and find a new place to call ho.”
“When do we leave?” Ash asked after so ti thinking, agreeing with his father’s words. It would be difficult for him to start a new life elsewhere, but it was still better than continuing in the Black Feathers clan.
“I’m going to visit the sky wing clan in a week and I’m taking the warriors as tribute with , so you have until then to prepare for the trip, son.’ The clan master explained and prepared to leave the room.
Left alone, Ash began to think about what his future would be like as a soldier of the sky wing clan.
‘I’ll probably be isolated just like here, but hopefully things will get better after so ti. There are different species of beastn, so I won’t stand out as much.’ Ash thought hopefully.
.....
‘Other clans also have a tradition of killing defective babies, but none of them are as traditional as ours and maybe I can finally make a decent living.’ He thought and started to feel excited.
Ash knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up and would very likely be the target of a lot of hate in the near future, but he still held out hope that things could be different.
‘I’m tired of this clan shit and their stupid rules. It might be a good idea to breathe so fresh air and et new people. Maybe I’ll even get to make so friends my own age for the first ti.’ Ash was tired of his own clan and hated everyone except his father.
Everything and everyone could burn and he wouldn’t blink as long as his father lived.
‘I should start preparing for the trip...’ Ash thought, but his head started to feel heavy and he felt sleepy. Ash was still extrely tired and went back to sleep within seconds.
When he woke up the next day, it was almost noon and his stomach was growling after almost an entire day without eating anything.
Ash got up with difficulty and felt his body aching and tired, but hunger spoke louder and he left the room towards the mansion’s cafeteria without even changing his clothes.
He stinked and badly needed a bath, but his stomach kept growling and all Ash could think about was food.
The clan master’s mansion served as both the master’s residence and the clan’s eting place, so the place was huge enough to hold many guests and was defended like a fortress. There were dozens of employees and it was an important place where many beastn visited frequently and Ash hated it as it made him feel hated inside the only place that should be a safe haven.
‘What is happening?’ Ash wondered as he walked down one of the halls of the mansion and looked confused at the beastn passing by.
Normally, beastn would look at Ash with hatred and contempt, but now they looked at him with doubt and even a slight fear, sothing he wasn’t used to.
The beastn’s attitude had changed after Ash defeated Loke and although they still didn’t accept him, there was no more contempt and they were just ignoring Ash, unsure how to treat him now.
‘Well, I’m not going to complain about this treatnt. It’s still a better treatnt than before where they called nas and purposely bumped into just to humiliate .’ Ash asked in relief as he reached the manor’s dining hall.
The dining hall was a large two-story space with wide wooden tables and dozens of beastn employees who worked in the mansion were having lunch during their break.
All the beastmans stopped eating their lunch when they saw Ash’s arrival, sothing the last one ignored as sothing normal and moved to get his lunch and find an empty place to eat.
“Mister Ash? Do you need sothing?” One of the employees mustered up the courage to approach and asked nervously.
“Mister?” Ash echoed, incredulous that soone called out to him in such a respectful manner. It was sothing as foreign to him as waking up in the morning and finding that the sun had risen in the west.
“Yes, can we help with sothing?” The beastman asked again.
“Yes. I an no, I don’t need anything. I just ca to get sothing to eat and then I’ll be gone.” Ash responded with a stutter, not used to the respectful treatnt he was receiving.
“Why would you have lunch with us and not with the clan master?” the beastn asked confused.
Ash looked around and noticed that all the beastn were watching Ash’s reactions and were looking at him strangely.
Ash used to have lunch with his father and when he couldn’t, he just had lunch alone in the cafeteria and avoided contact with the employees.
“My dad must be busy and I just want to eat sothing quick, so can you leave alone?” Ash spoke and went out to get sothing to eat, increasingly annoyed by the behavior of others.
The beastn didn’t bother him anymore and stayed away from him throughout the al, annoying Ash a lot. He was used to getting an looks, but the fear and concern on the staff’s faces was sothing he wasn’t used to and it bothered him a lot.
Ash finished eating as quickly as he could and walked out of the ss hall towards the clan master’s office, hoping to question his father why everyone was acting so strangely.
‘I understand ignoring , but staring at with fear is too much.’ Ash thought as he arrived in front of the clan master’s office.
“Dad, this is Ash, I’m coming in.” Ash yelled outside the office and opened the door.
“Son, are you feeling better yet?” The clan master was working on docunts at his desk.
“Did you see how people are acting strange in the mansion? What happened while I was passed out?” Ash asked as he walked over to his desk and sat down in one of the office chairs.
“That’s only natural. After winning the duel, you proved your worth to the entire clan and though they don’t recognize you, no one will openly attack you now. Those arrogant beastn may feign ignorance to try to maintain their image, but the sa cannot be said of the mansion staff.”
“They live with you constantly and fear retaliation, so they were walking on eggshells around you about how to proceed from now on.” The clan master spoke with an amused smile, imagining the desperate faces of the manor staff.
“Didn’t you tell that I’m leaving in a week along with the rest of the soldiers sent as tribute?” Ash asked doubtfully, feeling awkward at the idea of ??being feared instead of hated.
He felt hatred for everyone in the clan, but he wouldn’t do anything as big as attack them personally for revenge. Ash’s life was not yet in a situation where he could fully relax, one misstep and everything he had fought for until now would be in vain.
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