Wren looked at the food set down before him. The main dish seemed to be wings glazed in a sweet and sticky sauce that Wren could only hope was chicken with the rest being a collection of green vegetables the likes of which he’d never seen before.

“Dusk Vulture wings.” Liam said, spotting the cautious look on Wren’s face. “They taste surprisingly good.”

“And the green stuff?” Wren asked.

“Herbs and leaves grown naturally on the island. What you’ve got there is the Ventus staple diet.” Liam chuckled.

“Thanks.” Wren mumbled.

He didn’t know what Liam’s play was. Was it a peace offering? Was the boy trying to get close to him after seeing his speed? Or did he just not want to eat alone?

Wren took a bite out of the wing. It was good. Really good. It didn’t taste exactly like chicken, the meat was slightly tougher and had a rich tang to it that the sweet and sticky sauce did well to compliment.

“How’s your first taste of monster meat?” Liam said with a smirk.

Wren gave him a side eye as he bit into the wing again. He couldn’t get over how good it was.

“Never use those words in that order ever again.” Wren replied.

A realisation dawned on Liam and he blushed a little before laughing awkwardly.

“You’re so wrong man.” He said.

“You’re the one that said it.”

Done with the wing and casting the bone to the side, he took a handful of the green leaves and placed them in his mouth, chewing down. They were also good, not as good as the Dusk Vulture wing, but still better than a lot of the food he’d had back on Earth.

“Are they supposed to taste like potatoes?” Wren asked.

“Yours taste like potatoes? Interesting.” Liam replied. “I’ve heard that Ventus leaves taste different for everyone, something to do with how your specific mouth enzymes react with the leaves. I take a bite and all I can taste is apples. A weird combination with the wing but it still tastes good.”

“Apples?” Wren said, his eyes widening. “I’ve never had an apple before. What do they taste like?”

Liam paused and gave Wren an incredulous look. Studying the dark-haired boy to see if he was telling the truth.

“What do you mean you’ve never had an apple before?”

“They’re not really common on Earth and fruit is expensive. In all the neighbourhoods I’ve lived they never sold any, and even if they did I could never afford it. I guess you never would have had that issue though would you.” Wren told him.

“Oh.”

Liam was at a loss for words. Growing up a legacy he’d never had a need for anything. He’d never thought he’d been wealthy by any means, but he realised that he’d never had to struggle for food or clothes or shelter. The simple taste of an apple had reminded him of the difference of Wren’s and Liam’s worlds.

The two boys sat in silence, eating their meals and washing down the leafy greens with water.

Wren felt bad. Liam had made the effort to sit with him when he was on his own, bring him food, and even try to make conversation. But Wren could only attack him. He could only focus on their differences and admonish the boy for something he had no control over.

“Thank you for the food.” Wren finally said, breaking the silence.

“No problem.” Liam replied.

“You did really well in that strength test. Have you always been that strong?” Wren asked.

“Kind of. I’ve always been bigger than other people, good genes I guess, so I suppose that the strength just comes with it. Back when my dad was still living with my mum and I he would make me do physical training though. He has a similar build to me so we would just always do a lot of lifting together.”

“Bro-ing out.” Wren chuckled.

“Yeah I guess you can call it that.” Liam laughed back. “What about you? You were incredible on that speed test, have you always been that fast?”

Wren paused, thinking back to the test. He remembered the way it felt running across that field, his feet gliding through the dead grass, his body light but powerful. He’d never felt anything like that before.

“Honestly. No.”

“No? What do you mean? Where’d you pull that speed from then?” Liam questioned.

“I honestly have no clue. My body just moved like that, I don’t know what happened.”

Liam studied his companion, searching his face for any signs of falsehood. Wren didn’t fully trust Liam so it would make sense if he was keeping things from him.

“Just so you know, I overheard some of the people in the class saying that you cheated.” Liam told him.

“Cheated?!” Wren exclaimed. “How could I have cheated?”

“They’re saying you used a wind ability to make you move faster, they think that no person could move that fast without the help of an ability.” He said.

“That’s ridiculous, I only awakened as a wind elemental yesterday, the same as everyone else. I’ve never even used an ability before and they think I’m using one to cheat in the tests?”

Liam held his hands up in surrender, trying to placate the boy before him.

“Hey, I’m only telling you what the others are thinking.” Liam said.

“And what do you think?” Wren questioned. “Are you like them? Do you think I’m cheating my way into a good position?” His tone had become biting, communicating his anger to the boy.

Liam looked away, focusing on the trees in the distance, anything to avoid Wren’s gaze.

“I don’t know what I think. You said it yourself, you don’t know what happened. You could have been using an ability by accident.”

Wren just stared. His eyes digging in to the side of Liam’s face, he still wouldn’t face him. He quickly got to his feet and walked around to face the boy, locking eyes.

“You’re the same as them. Don’t talk to me again.”

Wren walked away.