Wolf Feris was a firm subscriber to the belief that if something in life was pointing the wrong way, then it was perfectly okay to hit the damn thing over the head until it achieved a fixed sense of direction.
His heel impacts solidly with the nose of a teenage thug, sending the older boy flat on his back in the dirt of a narrow alleyway. The downed miscreant groans in the dirt, insensate as Wolf pocketed his hands with a practiced sneer. Two other smaller wannabe-gangsters step back fearfully, faces terrified as they watched their ringleader fall like a twig blown back by a storm.
"So," Wolf speaks, tone harsh and indicative of the short fuse that lay beneath his taciturn stare as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "I hear you guys were harassing my little sister the other day for her money."
Wolf casually walked forward, nonchalantly stomping on the now unconscious blockhead's face as he approached the remaining duo.
"It's cool. I understand. My little sister is a bit of a brat. She just doesn't shut up, ya' know? So you sometimes feel like bullying her. I get it."
He stomped again.
"It's always, 'nii-chan, buy me some ice cream' and 'nii-chan, carry me to bed'. It just gets tiring when you have to deal with it 24/7."
Stomp.
"She treats me like a gopher sometimes, and yeah, it gets on my nerves when people say I'm so lucky to have such a well behaved little sibling. Sometimes it just makes me want to stick her in a closet and leave her there for a day or two."
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
"You guys get it, right? You guys must have siblings, eh?" He pointed at one of them, one finger extended right at the unfortunate thug's heavily pierced head, "You."
The teen stuttered, "M-me?"
"Yeah, the guy who looks like he shoved his face into a tub full of used needles," Wolf cocked his head, "You got any siblings?"
"N-no?"
That – if one considered how Wolf had then immediately leapt forward and axe kicked the questioned thug's face to the ground – was apparently the wrong answer.
The other, and now the only conscious, wannabe-gangster shrieked, scurrying away until his back met the alley wall and then sliding to the ground in fear of the small child that had so easily knocked out his two friends. The aforementioned blond paid no attention to his scream as with a vicious growl, he stomped on the back of the newly concussed teen's head for good measure.
"If you can't add anything to the conversation then what the fuck are you doing here, huh? Wasting time? Get a job already and stop pissing around. I swear, it's because of lazy shitheads like you that this sector has gone to hell." With one last stomp, Wolf then turned to the last conscious thug as he cowered on the ground, "What about you? You got any siblings?"
"Y-yes! I have a brother! I-I mean a sister! Anything! Just please don't hurt me!" The sole survivor screamed out in a panic, tears streaming down his face in terror.
"Finally, someone who can relate!" Wolf huffed. The blond approached, ignored the flinch of the teen as the terrifying child hauled him up to his feet and then began dusting off his shoulders, "I mean, you gotta love your siblings, right? But once in a while, you just feel like hitting them with a chair sometimes. You must know what I'm talking about."
Frantically, the teen nodded, stiff and shaking even as Wolf pocketed his hands again, leaving him unharmed…physically, anyway.
"Ah, you know? You're not so bad. I mean your taste in friends could use a lot of work but hey, you're a great listener. I feel a lot better now. I really needed to get that off my chest." Wolf smiled warmly, "Thanks, man."
"Y-you're welcome?" The thug's eyes flickered to the exit of the alleyway, wondering if he could survive making a run for it and risk angering the boy again or take his chances and hope that he could get out of this conversation fully conscious and with most of his bones intact.
Before he could make that choice, however, the blond hellion in front of him spoke once more.
"Still, as someone with siblings yourself," Wolf began again and suddenly the smile was not so warm, "You must understand right? The rule between siblings? That the only one that can bully my cute little sister…"Blue eyes flashed, warning of the danger behind his cold grin, "…is me."
No sooner than when Wolf finished that sentence did the teen break into a run, realizing that there was no safety to be found in staying put. The thug ran past the crumpled form of his companions, desperately sprinting to the exit and ready to abandon the rest of his trio to their gruesome fate.
He was close. So close. He could hear the bustle of the streets again, the sound of witnesses and safety in a group. The relief was almost palpable, and for a moment, he felt as if a god had answered his prayers. He would be saved, never have to deal with that little monster ever again. He just had to take a few more steps and he could get out and lose that kid in a crowd. He just had to –
The thug's thought process cut out in that instant as a metal pipe suddenly swung out of the corner, impacting on his face with a dull clang of steel on flesh and bone, rendering him just as unconscious as the rest of his group.
Wolf sighed as he approached, one hand scratching at his head in annoyance.
"Damn it, Aki."
An older red haired girl early in her teenage years stepped into the alley, a slightly bent pipe resting on her shoulders. She pouted at his glare, her crimson ponytail swinging as she walked towards him with a huff of irritation.
"What?" Aki asked in confusion at his displeasure, "He was gonna get away!"
"I was trying to let him get away. You know, spread the message not to mess with any of the kids from the orphanage?" Wolf grit out, crossing his arms and leaning impatiently on one leg, "If he ends up forgetting everything that happened today, I'm blaming it on you."
"Feh," Aki scoffed, waving a dismissive hand at him, "No way. Guys like these have small brains and thick skulls. They'll remember everything when they wake up."
"Tch," Wolf rolled his eyes, walking past the girl with a sigh, "I guess you would know. You're the poster girl for thick headedness."
Aki stopped and stared at his retreating back. Moments passed as she stewed in silent outrage as her features went through a myriad of emotions, cycling from surprise to anger and then finally to subdued irritation. The redhead then followed after him, tossing the used pipe behind her as she ran to catch up.
"This is why big sis Delilah thinks you're bad with people."
The smaller Wolf stumbled, turned and glared at the now smirking Aki, "Sh-shut up! What are you even doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be at the orphanage?"
"I saw you trying to sneak out after breakfast so I followed you since I figured you were going to do something stupid again." She grins at him, "I can safely say I won that bet."
Wolf rolls his eyes, continues walking at a sedate pace as Aki follows beside him, "They had it coming. No one touches Saya. I'm the only one who gets to bully her."
Aki put her hand over her lips as a scandalous smirk spread across her features, "Uwa…there's that sis-con nature again."
Wolf's reply is almost blandly automatic, "Go to hell."
XxXxX
The orphanage doors fling open as Aki boisterously crashes through the door, a remarkably quieter Wolf trailing exasperatedly behind.
"We're home!" Aki shouts pleasantly as Wolf shuts the door behind them.
No sooner did Aki say those words did a little yellow topped bullet suddenly curve around a corner, dashing past the redhead and then throwing herself at Wolf and clinging onto his sweater. The blond yelped in surprise, nearly knocked off balance by the force by which he is tackled. He takes a steadying step back and then glares down at the smiling face of the perpetrator.
"Welcome home, brother!" Saya Feris greets her elder sibling with a wide grin, ignoring the severe expression on his features, "Hey, hey! Did you buy me anything while you were out? Like maybe, I dunno, candy?"
Wolf bops her lightly on the head, "Why, exactly, do you assume I would waste my hard earned money on you?"
Saya blinks innocently under his fist, pouts and looks up at him with military grade cuteness, "Because you're my favorite big brother in the entire world?"
"I'm your only big brother," He rolls his eyes. Regardless, he sighs, reaching behind him and digging into his worn messenger bag. He ruffles through the contents for a moment, keeping a careful eye on Saya's hands as he brings out a neatly wrapped bag of sweet smelling treats.
Predictably, Saya immediately leaps for it, yet misses when Wolf pulls it overhead, far out of her reach.
"Ah, ah, ah!" He waved one finger of his free hand in a scolding fashion, "This isn't just for you. You need to go share it with the other kids, got it?"
"Got it!" Saya nods enthusiastically, only half-listening with fingers still reaching out for the bag of treats.
Finally, Wolf drops his arm and lets the little blond haired girl swipe the bag of sweets away. Saya giggles and holds the bag close to her chest as if it were a treasure of the most valuable kind.
"Tha~anks!" she sing songs her appreciation. She grins happily at him then at Aki before turning and running off again, long sun kissed hair flying behind her as she laughed without a care in the world.
Aki chuckles as she watches the younger child rush back down the hallways of the orphanage. She turns to Wolf with a smile.
"Softy," She teases with a half-lidded grin.
Wolf scowls. Truly, it might have looked terrifying had he looked more mature. Unfortunately, with his childish ten year old features, it looked closer to a pout rather than a scowl.
When it becomes clear that Aki is unaffected by his manly glare, Wolf looks away and walks off with his hands in his pockets.
"Whatever," He mutters as he passes her still smirking face.
"Big sis says to go see her by the way." Aki says to his receding back, "And don't forget! You're on lunch duty today!"
"I know, woman! Jeez." He gives her a dismissing wave without even turning to look before disappearing around another corner.
Even when he is out of earshot, he continues to mutter under his breath about red haired she-devils and their knack for finding him. The children he passes pay no heed to it, either because they are too occupied with their games, laughing and running through corridors as they chased and were chased, or they recognize his annoyance, shrug – "Ah, big bro's just being big bro again." – and leave him to his ill mood.
"It never ends with her." He mutters as he treks through the hallways, "Nag, nag, nag. She acts like she's my mother or something. Would it kill her to give me a break?"
"And what," A hand, petite and womanly yet with callouses telling of a familiarity to manual labor, suddenly clamps down on his head from behind, ruffles and tussles his blond mane with a veracity, "exactly has you in such a bad mood so early in the morning, little Koutavi?"
"Gah!" He yelps, swipes at the hand and jumps back at the same time, protectively covering his scalp whilst glaring exasperatedly at the surprise attacker. Like a sprayed cat. "Big sis Delilah, I told you stop that!"
Delilah giggles, one hand rising to cover the mischievous grin that spreads across her lips yet fails to hide the glint of amusement in her emerald eyes. She cocks her hip to the side, rumbling the pile of laundry she pinned to her side with the other arm, letting her long blond hair lean to one side with her posture.
"Sorry, sorry," The Orphanage Matron says, yet noticeably looks less apologetic than her words proclaim, "I couldn't help myself. You seemed to be in a sour mood – oh don't frown at me like that. It's not good to scowl so much, Koutavi. You'll ruin your handsome face."
He blushes, opens his mouth yet nothing comes out. He shuts it then sighs, knowing that Delilah had more or less swept him into her pace and any further denial or contention would only lead to headaches. It is a lesson and routine that he had grown accustomed to in the two years he had spent in the orphanage, yet experience apparently makes the entire process no less tiring.
So instead, he changes the topic.
"Aki says you called for me."
Delilah blinks, smirks because she knows what he is doing – was the one who taught him that trick even – but plays along anyway.
"Mm," she hums in affirmation, "Just a small reminder for the festival tonight. You're still going, aren't you?"
"Someone has to keep the rest of the kids in line." He waved off, as if knowing what she was going to ask. "Don't worry, sis. I'll make sure nothing happens to them."
Delilah reaches over and flicks his forehead.
"Ow!"
"I knew you'd be like this. Always so serious. You're supposed to have fun in the festival. You know what that is right? Fun?" She frowns, puts her offending hand back on her waist and gives him an annoyed look, "I don't want you to spend the entire night chasing the rest of the children around, Koutavi. A boy your age should be playing, not acting like a bodyguard."
Wolf frowns as well, averts his eyes in inexplicable shame as the disapproval of his guardian's gaze hit him head on, "That's stupid. Just because I'm small doesn't mean I have to mess around all day like the others."
Delilah sighs, "Wolf," She says softly and he tries not to shrink from the firmness that he sees in those green eyes, "I'm thankful for your helpfulness – really, I am. But a child shouldn't be so serious all the time." She kneels and folds her legs under her, stares at him with levelled eyes as she lets the basket of laundry rest to the side. "You're still so young. I don't want you to squander this time of your life with worries and troubles."
Wolf frowns, eyes glued to his feet, "But don't you work all day? You're the matron. Taking care of us is your job." He mutters petulantly.
Delilah laughs, "Is that what you think I do? Work, work, work?" She reaches over with one hand, caresses his cheek and nudges him until he stares back into her bright green eyes, "Listen to me, Koutavi. The children in this orphanage – you are all, without exception, my family. I have never once thought of the act of caring for any of you as just another job or chore to do."
She smiles, bright like the sun as she pinches his cheek with a wink.
"You are my joy. My pride. Do you really think me so shallow as to only care for you so long as I am paid to?"
Wolf cringes, slowly shakes his head. Delilah chuckles softly and plants a quick kiss on his forehead.
"You are still a child, Koutavi. Surprisingly mature, but a child, nonetheless. There will be a time for when you must grow and take up your own burdens…but for now, enjoy yourself."
She ruffles his hair once more, not a wild spray of fingers across his messy head but rather a calm drifting of her fingers through his scalp – a familiar quirk of hers that he had grown rather fond of. Delilah pulls him in after, wraps her arms around his smaller form in a gentle motherly embrace.
"Promise me that you won't forget to cherish what time you have, hm?"
He nods, buries himself into her shoulder.
"I promise."
XxXxX
The festival is bright and cheerful.
Rows and rows of stands align the ghetto's streets, rickety little shacks selling everything from trinkets to food. The bright paper lanterns hanging above their heads glow with a luminescent gold, bathing the surroundings in a halo of soft orange. The large crowds mingle along the aisles of shops, laughing and talking over the bustle of the other festival goers, livening the air with a bustle of laughter and chatter that had become so rarely seen in these trying times.
He is not in these streets. Instead, he is in a darkened spacious open air theater, hidden away in the edges of the festival to keep the noise from disturbing the performance. He watches tepidly as a bright light behind a white curtain bursts to life in front of a wide-eyed crowd of excited girls and boys. A voice speaks, vibrating in the air and hushing the murmurs of the children as they place all their attention on the story's unravelling.
Once upon a time, in a distant land…
The shadow play starts, and Wolf watches the silhouettes begin to dance behind the white cloth with an uncaring resignation. It continues regardless of his lukewarm attitude, black figures moving in and out, rising and falling with the spotlight as the narrator voiced over the performance, keeping the watching children interested through a contrast of melodious calm and tense drama.
His sister is part of the crowd, and he can see her bright sunkissed head of hair sway with every exaggerated cheer for the hero of the story. It seemed she was too enraptured by the moving inky blots in front of her to even notice that her brother had lost interest before the show had even begun and was no longer watching with her, though he still kept an eye on all of the children from the orphanage in the crowd, her especially.
He leans back in his seat at the very back of the theater, separate from the rest of the band of young watchers but with a good view of everything going on. Though they were enjoying themselves, he was unable to find much care for any of the stories they found so enthralling. He had only come here after Saya had pleaded with him to let her watch the show, after all and saw no need to either distract them or hear their excited chatter up close.
"Enjoying the festival?"
Before he can continue his half-musing, Aki approaches him from behind, plopping down on the seat next to him with a tiny smirk on her lips. The older girl ruffles his hair, Wolf swiping away at the hand a second later in reflex.
"My feet hurt," He grouches in return, patting down his unruly hair, "and I hate festivals. Why did I let Saya talk me into coming?"
"Cuz you have a sister complex the size of a mountain." Aki returns with a deadpan stare. He gives an annoyed glare at her answer, yet Aki merely smiles at him in return, "Lighten up, would you? It's a festival! We barely ever have any of these thanks to all the shortages nowadays. It's a small miracle the head honchos over at Fenrir even allows celebrations anymore."
"You try being grateful when you're the one getting dragged around the place by an overly excited pack of midgets." Wolf mutters lowly at her. He loved his brothers and sisters in the orphanage but really, they had way too much energy for goofing off.
"I heard big sis chewed you out for that grouchy attitude of yours." Aki says and Wolf only barely conceals his wince, "I would have thought you would be a little less…well, you. How many years have you been in the orphanage? Three?"
"Two," Wolf corrects flatly, "I was eight when Saya and me found Fenrir. I'm ten now. So two years."
"Right, right. Two years and I don't think I've ever seen you even try to take up a hobby." Aki frowns, "You're only worrying sis with that attitude, y'know? Always so grim. You'll get gray hairs before you turn twenty."
Aki grins, imagines Wolf with a head of snow white hair and can't help but snicker at the ridiculous image. The boy punches her in the arm, light enough that it wouldn't even bruise but hard enough to bring out a small wince from the auburn haired girl. She pouts at him and he meets her gaze with an unrepentant stare.
Eventually, Wolf averts his gaze and sighs, "…It's…I just can't relax. You think I like being so stressed out all the time?"
"What's so hard about relaxing?" The girl scoffs, "You lie back, take a nap and occasionally grab a snack to eat."
"Easy for you to say." Wolf grits, and there is a bit more tension in his tone for it to just be good-natured ribbing now. He rubs his hands together, flexes his right into a fist over and over in nervous habit, "You grew up in the Den."
The paranoia of dreading every shadow. The heart-stopping terror that came from every inexplicable thump in the night. The thought that everything out there wanted to kill him and his sister. The restless line of thought that terrorized him if he were to make even a single mistake. Scrounging, scavenging and stealing any little scrap of food just to keep alive. Walking endlessly through the wastelands, only able to think of how he'd give his left arm for a bottle of water.
Wolf didn't live that life anymore but it had never left him. It was as much a part of him as his own name. Those years spent out in the wastes, desperately trying to keep both himself and Saya alive had stomped out any childish inclinations he might have once had. Back then, his toys were the tools he used to break locks, build shelters, bandage cuts and scrapes. His cradle was a barren landscape of destroyed cities and rancid wastes. His lullabies were the screams of those who were preyed upon by the monsters outside, and mantras repeated over and over in his head to remind himself to keep alert and awake.
Aki was lucky, in some ways. She had been born in the Den, had never known of the terrors outside and grew up in a home with a loving caretaker. He was too, he supposed. The difference between them was that Aki still had her original home while Wolf and Saya had watched theirs burn to the ground.
Sometimes, when he slept, he could still hear the screams. Sometimes, they were of ghosts. Of his parents, of random strangers he had watched die in the time outside the walls of Fenrir and beyond the reach of their God Eaters. He dealt with these dreams simply enough. Bottled up the fear, and if he were a bit stricter to the younger children or a bit more biting in his comments after a night of these dreams, no one commented on it.
But other times, it's not ghosts that come back to haunt him. Sometimes, he sees his sister on the ground, eyes lifeless as monsters tear into her small corpse. Sometimes, it's Delilah, corpse crushed and battered, golden hair tainted with crimson and draped like a veil over her broken body. Sometimes, it's Aki as well, disappearing into an inferno, screams never failing to make his heart crawl into his throat with every time he heard her cry.
Those times, though rare, never left him either. He would struggle in his sleep, crying, screaming until one of the children would notice and call Delilah. The matron would run to his room and he would wake up in her arms, still with the lingering images of watching everything he cared for disappear for a second time, shivering as she ran a comforting hand through his hair and calmed him, whispered assurances that it was alright, he was alright.
"I lost everything once, Aki." He finally says, and gone is the steel behind his voice, the sarcastic edge he always used in the face of her teasing, "I just…don't want to go through that again."
There is a silence, a moment when nothing happens between them and Wolf simply looks at the shadow play as they move the silhouettes through the curtains. He feels tired, like a spring that's been pushed, bent and pulled for years without end, and for a moment, he is back out in the wastes, hands dirtied by blood and mud, the expanse of nothing stretching out over the horizon.
But then Aki ruffles his head, "Dummy." she says and slings an arm around his shoulder and pulls him into a half-hug with a wide grin, "You're gonna make me cry here, Wolf. I didn't know you cared about us so much."
He growls, wonders about the merits of driving his elbow into her ribs and if he can do it without attracting attention from the show. But then before he can, Aki wraps her other hand around him and squeezes him once more, gentler and without her usual teasing manner.
"We're not going away, Wolf." She whispers to him, and it is a comfort that he finds difficult to describe, "I promise we're not going to leave you alone."
He stiffens, finds his voice catch in his throat like a ball of anxiety. But Aki does not stop her embrace, and eventually, he feels his shoulders ease and lets himself fall into an awkward silence that Aki completely ignores.
And for a moment, he can almost believe her words.
But then a shrill ring pierces the peace of mind he had so briefly obtained and suddenly, the anxious paranoia is back, weighing in the back of his skull like an anchor even as Aki's grip loosens in surprise and he takes the chance to stand, turns to the direction of the blaring alarms with wide eyed horror.
ARAGAMI BREACH. ARAGAMI BREACH. ARAGAMI BREACH.