Chapter 6

Robin looked up. It was almost noon and he still had no idea what to do. With a defeated sigh he realized that just standing there won't help him.

'Might as well explore' And that's what he did. For more than a few hours he walked around randomly through the tribe. The Yiaya camp was not really that big and besides some relatively interesting things like warriors training or a few women crafting bone weapons, there was not much else to see.

He walked around the camp's perimeter, hoping to find some convenient vantage point, but all he found was sand and rocks. It was a bit depressing to his developed mind. Robin was used to his senses being constantly assaulted in modern life. The desert, unfortunately, didn't offer much in ways of entertainment.

Sometime later Robin could be seen at the top of a nearby sand dune. It was not the eagle eye view he was searching for, but it had to do. Climbing up there had been an annoyance. Sand kept slipping from under his feet and getting everywhere within his clothes.

Unfortunately, even with his higher vantage point, he didn't see much except the tribe. He saw Hilda talking with a group of women and in some other palace Vance and his buddies seemed to be chasing some sort of critter.

'God, this is so boring…' he thought. Robin kept watching people go about their business for some time. Eventually, he zoned out and at some point fell asleep.

By the time he woke up, the sun was beginning to set and he was feeling hungry. Watching the shadows become more pronounced and the tribesmen preparing campfires and torches, Robin felt even more anxious.

He couldn't remember the last time he wasted an entire day. He literally did nothing and that was getting to him. His stomach's grumble brought him out of his outrage.

'This is going to be a problem' His body was already skinny, either from lack of good food or genetics, and it was only going to get worse when he will hit a growth spurt. He needed to find a way to get his hands on some more food. Then he could actually invest time in physical training.

For now though, his hands were tied. He considered stealing, but that was just a short-term solution. Besides, the tribe had too few people, he would easily be caught eventually.

'No other choice than to play nice and wait for some kind of opportunity.'

He entered the orphan's tent, throwing a glance around. Most of the other kids were here from what he could tell. He sat down and patiently waited for Hilda to arrive with their meal.

A few minutes later, just when he was about to doze off again, Hilda entered the tent with the, now familiar, tray of food. Just like last night, it was reed soup again. Robin didn't know if it was the same as yesterday or if they bothered to make some again. After eating a bit and cringing he concluded that it didn't really matter.

"Hilda, what did miss Petunia say?" Robin asked her when she finished giving everybody their portion.

"She had no problem with it as long as you behave yourself and listen." Hilda informed him with a small smile. "She usually teaches in the morning at her tent. I'll take you there tomorrow morning after breakfast."

Robin was grateful to her. Finally, he had something productive to do instead of walking around like an idiot. "Thank you, Hilda." he said with a smile.

Hilda took some time to talk with the other kids too before she left. Meanwhile, Robin was already making himself comfortable in a corner. The cold was already starting to creep in so he wasted no time in getting a blanket over himself.

He played with his thoughts for some time until he started finally getting sleepy.

"Oi, mutt, you here!?" A familiar voice reached Robin's ears. The shout pulled him out of the lull he was getting into, making him jump a little. 'Bloody hell, this had better be important.'

"I'm here, Vance. What the fu-what is it?" Vance's face peeked inside through the tent's flap. His gaze searched for Robin until he found him all bundled up in a corner. "Dad said he'll teach you stuff. He said to meet him at sunset tomorrow."

Robin thanked him even if he was still annoyed at the sudden yelling. " Better keep your promise!"

'Oh, for fuck's sake.' "Yes, I'll keep my promise. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Vance didn't respond, giving just an arrogant smirk and storming off, presumably to scare the sleep out of someone else. Incidentally, Robin realized that Vance forgot to tell him where he would find his father. Another surge of annoyance went through him. Now he would have to hunt down the little brat in the afternoon.

With all that commotion, it took Robin sometime before he fell asleep. The cold still made his night very uncomfortable, but he managed to ignore it for the most part.

Morning came and Robin woke up to Hilda coming inside with their breakfast. He ate in the time she finished giving it to everyone and talking to a few of them. He waited patiently for her by the exit. A few minutes later and the two of them could be seen walking through the camp.

Robin prayed Vance would not see them otherwise he wouldn't hear the end of it. True, he couldn't beat Robin anymore, but he could still make himself annoying in many ways.

Thankfully, the walk was not long. Hilda dropped him off near a worn-out tent with a different assortment of rocks and hides littering the ground around it. Some children were already here and talking among themselves. They were noticeably older than Robin or even Vance, most of them looking at least ten or so years old.

About half an hour had passed and about fifteen children, including Robin, had gathered up. Some curiously glanced at him, but most simply chose to ignore him.

Just when he was starting to feel bored the tent's flap opened and a middle-aged lady came out. Her appearance was bland with a forgettable face. The only interesting thing about her was her tail.

It was not the first Faunus Robin had seen in the camp, but it was still strange for people with animal parts, himself included, to be walking around like everything was normal. Then again, this wasn't Earth so his idea of normal had to be rectified soon.

"Good morning children."

" "Good morning miss Petunia!" " The children responded automatically. Robin, for his part, was having flashbacks to his time in primary school except without all the sand.

"Now everyone sit down. We'll continue our talk from yesterday about the various insects in the desert."

Seeing everyone sit down Robin looked around for a spot. The hides were few in number and immediately occupied by the older children. Everyone else had to settle for the rocks. Even if they were smoothed out a bit, Robin still chose to spare his bottom the pain and plopped himself on the sand.

Petunia didn't seem to pay him any mind and began talking about some kind of poisonous beetle. Seeing he was as comfortable as he could be, Robin started listening with attention.

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