Welcome to Gaia! ::

Despite his reputation for being a wild and reckless boy, Koa had never actually spent more than a day on the streets at a time. Sure, there were times he'd stayed out late or slipped from his room to run around with the guys, but in the end, there'd always been a bed to return to, and angry parents waiting up for him more likely than not. Despite whatever trouble he'd gotten into, no matter how stressed his parents were or severe the punishment, he'd always had that bed to return to every night.

That hadn't been the case since the night things had gone weird. Just that day, while he was with his gang, ditching their afternoon history class, the subject of the Game had come up. Some had whispered about strange kids and monsters around the city. Knowing that none of the boys had any more inkling about the Game than he did himself, Koa had proudly proclaimed that he himself was participating, he'd just not told any of them because he didn't want to make them jealous. Then he went on to regall them with fictionalized exploits until a teacher finally found them and dragged them to the principal's office.

He'd gone to bed, as usual, but sometime during the night he'd woken up - probably from the heavy rainstorm pounding on the roof, he was in one of the rooms just below it - as if from a dream, but he couldn't remember what it was about. Feeling restless and strangely sore in the face (perhaps a lingering elbow to the nose), he'd gotten up to go to the bathroom to relieve himself, but when he'd flipped on the lights, the visage that greeted him in the mirror drove all his worries about the night's dreams out of his mind.

Now, Koa had always had a bit of what his relatives called a 'button nose,' a 'cute' upturn of his nose that had been his bane at every visit to his aunts. He'd always hoped he'd eventually grow out of it, or it'd be broken into something less cute. The nose his mirror-self was sporting was a far cry from anything human. He reached up, feeling the flat porcine snout that was now a part of his face, and then felt his ears, which stuck out pointed from his head. Even his mouth was sporting a pair of oversized teeth in his lower jaw.

He'd left home that night, almost immediately after grabbing his clothes and a pack of food, and not returned. That'd been only three nights ago. Living on the street had proved more challenging than he'd initially expected it to be, especially finding some place dry and warm to sleep. This night, he'd found a box in an alley to keep the elements off. It kept him away from people that'd give him strange looks, and out of sight of any older kids looking for a loner to pick on. He couldn't go home like this. He couldn't go home to his bed.

The boy had just begun to doze off when the sound of his name in a stranger's voice jumped his nerves back into defensive status. Someone unfamiliar on the street knowing his name usually meant a beating was forthcoming, if they managed to catch him anyways.

It wouldn't do any good if he didn't know who he had to run from, though. The grubby boy pushed back out of his box, standing up straight and glaring defiantly at the dark stranger intruding on his privacy. "Who wants to know?" he demanded.

Koa blinked, having expected a very different answer. "...Game?" he said stupidly. His expression changed from blank surprise to suspicious scrutiny as he remembered himself, and eyed the pretty sweet-looking tooth necklace the man was offering. Koa reached for it, but hesitated.

"Yeah? How do I know you are who you say you are?" He pulled his hand back and folded his arms stubbornly. "You could just be some weirdo who happened to hear my name somewhere!"

Scowling, Koa grabbed the necklace. He wasn't about to let anyone think he was a chicken. Besides, despite his attitude, Koa really was intrigued with the possibility of being a part of the strange, elite group that made up those within the Game.

"I don't know who this Kama-pooah is," he said as he tied the thong back around his neck and examined the fang in his hand. Alright, that was definitely cool. "...but yeah, I'm game. So how do you win?"

"Last standing..." A smile crossed Koa's face. That didn't sound too hard. He'd won a fist fight or two. He could win this too. Besides, just being a part of the Game made him practically a legend instantly.

A concern struck Koa as the man looked like he was getting ready to leave. "Wait! Is there any way to, you know..." He waved at his face. "Fix this?"

"Hey, wait!" Koa shouted, but it was too late. The stranger was gone, leaving the boy alone in the darkening alley. A droplet of cold on Koa's face made him flinch and glance up. Gray clouds had gathered. It was beginning to snow. Koa shivered. Looks like he'd be searching for better shelter this evening.