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「◇ ◇ — Childhood」
Long ago, prior to his birth, there were two families within a small village; one known for how everything and anything that seemed to besmirch their name would vanish into the deepest parts of the night, and another who sought to cleanse the village of all that was unjust. Both families hadn't mingled until his parents met as children; his mother a sickly mare from the family of shadows and his father a strong stallion from the family of justice. They fell in love as adults regardless of the loud protests from both families and created their own family, beginning with Requiem and Nevermore as their first children.
As his mother grew sicker she also became aggressive with each passing day, often lashing out at her children and husband when the throes of her illness worsened. Her husband took his sons out often to train both in combat and how to care for others, instilling deeply two different core beliefs into each son in hopes to save and protect his family and tradition. Nevermore was taught to protect his loved ones with every fiber in his being and ensure they wanted nothing, and in turn, sacrifice his own self if it meant his loved ones would live. Nevermore, not knowing better, took these lessons to heart.
His younger sister was born and she exhibited the same sickly demeanor as her mother. Life grew harder; their father began to grind into his sons his lessons without pause, stripping both children of their childhood as his frenzy grew with each day his wife and daughter grew sicker. These lessons would come with punishments if failed, beginning with the day Nevermore was locked out during a heatwave when he didn't respond to Twisted Rose's crying soon enough.
His sister, sweet as sugar and often clinging to her elder brothers when they returned home from a long day of training, was his closest friend as he became a teenager. He wanted to protect her, even if the lessons were growing harsher and meticulously destroying any sense of self he might have. He loved her-- loved her more than the mother who never left her bed and howled vicious threats, the father who had slowly rotted from the core in his disbelief of the deterioration of his wife and daughter, and the brother who viewed Nevermore as another challenge in life. He loved her, and he grew up believing it was only a given he would live for her.
Requiem vanished in the dead of night and, once told of the disappearance of her son, his mother was pushed past the edge for the last time and tipped over a lantern while the family slept. The fire took his mother and father, but not before his father ordered Nevermore to protect Twisted Rose through the flames. Nevermore managed to escape with his sister and greeted his first adult birthday with only his sister by his side.
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「◇ ◇ — Adulthood」
He raised Twisted Rose as he attended medical school, dividing his time between doting on her and working hard on his studies. When he returned home one night and found her sitting vacantly before a dead bird he didn't immediately connect the dots. He comforted her, believing she had found the bird and brought it inside, only noticing the faint smile on her face for a flicker of a second. It wasn't long enough to cast doubt. Kids were weird, after all.
But the animals kept stacking, and he found himself struggling for excuses. Oh, he kept making them, of course, but with each discovery he felt the dread creep in, sinking its way into his bones as she went from the sweet kid he had known and loved and into something... else. Something that felt sinister when his back was turned and festered behind the door when he came home.
Still, he diligently followed his path, providing for her while eventually graduating from medical school and discovering exactly what illness had consumed his mother and now sister. Twisted Rose made a miraculous recovery under Nevermore's care, finally showing the newly made doctor what it felt like to save the life of someone. It felt good, and right, and just.
And then he came home to a body in the living room.
That was it-- that was the night his life began to unravel at her feet, trailing after her and soaking the blood she left behind. He didn't turn her in; how could he? He was raised to be a part of her, to protect her. His family was gone and now there was just her. Her, and the horrible smile that curved past her ears with each disposal.
He eventually forgot how many bodies he had to rid of, and how long it took for her to stop sobbing excuses in favor of a quiet shrug and smile. She became an adult and set her sights on something more substantial, reserving her violence for the target of clients who paid her to rid of their abusers. At least then she was ridding of ponies less likely to be missed and perhaps develop some interesting friends. Nevermore tried to relieve some of the guilt he felt by telling himself she was hurting those who deserved it, but it wasn't enough-- it'd never be enough.
And that is his life; an extension of someone else. His story has remained the same for a long, long, long time, but perhaps that's due to change soon.
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