Thud! Two fists thrown right into a brick wall. It crumbles a bit onto the shoulder of the boy as he dodges to the side and then charges forward. The insectoid's compound eyes flash a glint of contempt as it goes for a backhand with its pair of left arms. The boy lunges beneath the thing's swing then rolls to the left, dodging the thing's kick and throwing his entire body at his opponent. The insect, on one leg, loses its balance and slams its head hard against the wall. The boy's eyes flush with bloodlust, but before he can do anything, a beastkin jocks him hard in the head. It laughs: "I can't believe you would struggle with a mere street rat, Ant! How pathetic! How 'bout you keep boasting about that chitin armor of yours, yeah?" Still laughing, it picks the boy up by the scruff: "As for you, what should we do with you, hmm?" Cruel thoughts go through the thing's head before it is interrupted by another voice: "Stop messing around with that thing, help Ant up, and let go, the boss is calling." The beastkin casually throws the boy like a sack of garbage, grumbling as he goes over to help the insectoid up: "Looks like today is your lucky day, vermin. Try not to die from blood loss, yeah?"

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  The boy lays on the ground, slowly losing the feeling of the warm liquid on his head and the sound of hurried footsteps. Was he dying? Maybe he was just losing consciousness. He has lost consciousness before; will he live? Why is he living? What for? His train of thought runs slower with each random, pointless question before he is hit with a sudden burst of clarity and a question in a strange voice:

  "Would you like to try something new?"

  "Why not?" the boy answers before blacking out.