This can be read in conjunction with my other story, Wolf's Weakness, or as a completely separate entity.
Venom. As much as it should; try to not let the thick fog of pollution, poor weather and heavily militarized government scare you. While it's true that it certainly doesn't have the best reputation in the Lylat System it's good to sometimes step back and put things into context. Contrary to popular belief; just like on any other planet the majority of Venom's population live entirely normal lives, separated from the actions of their notorious leaders and serving the only community they know in whatever way they can. Grocers, chefs, farmers, doctors… Spend a day in one of the suburban districts and you might start mistaking it for any other town you could have grown up in. Keeping that in mind, however, it goes without saying that the reputation the planet has didn't go unearned. The darker, less civil side of the society was something that couldn't be ignored; especially if you were unfortunate enough to have been born into it.
The cities in particular were large, overpopulated and unclean; the results of many years of both constant expansion and constant neglect. The biggest example of this was none other than the capital metropolis known as NuVenom; a massive, sprawling city that played the role of a central economic hub. There was a small percentage of the population that was rich enough to live in the lavish upper-tiers of NuVenom's society but apart from them it served as a practical dumping ground for undesirables. The overpopulated streets were crowded with the homeless, criminals, low-wage workers and everybody else who couldn't afford to move elsewhere. Needless to say that crime was rampant and the police were underfunded, it had been that way for so long that the populace had grown used to it.
It wasn't all dreary and depressing though. There was a certain charm that could be found buried under the layers of grime and for millions, this place was home. The nighttime aesthetic was uniquely unparalleled; neon signs, billboards and other advertisement-bearing screens lit up in bright colors all vying for your attention. No matter what time of day it was there were always ships coming and going as well as thousands of people bustling about in the streets. There was always something happening and that was a particular kind of allure that one could only find in a degenerative, vice-filled city like this one.
Leon Powalski's story wasn't much different from the stories that could be told for many of the orphans who lived on the streets of NuVenom. The household he was born into was poor and his parents irresponsible; both mother and father struggled to hold down any meaningful, long-term employment and would leave himself and his brother, Lars, on their lonesome for long stretches of time. Lars was only two years older than Leon but, still technically being the eldest, he was always the one to man up and take charge of things. Cooking, cleaning, shopping… At times he came across as more responsible than the people who were supposed to be raising him.
Being so frequently abandoned unfortunately meant that committing to getting an education was a big struggle for the growing boys. The closest school was still too far away to walk and they didn't have reliable transportation. That, coupled with the fact that they were mal-equipped to handle a normal school day, meant that even when they did find their way there they still weren't known to get good marks. Their poor grades, unreliable schedule and lack of sociability all added together to culminate in both of the cold-blooded chameleons dropping out at depressingly young ages. But, keeping on the brighter side of things; they had a warm apartment to sleep in, enough food to get by and a working television. The necessities in the eyes of eleven and thirteen year olds.
Tragically, however, even simple comforts such as those weren't to last forever. When they were together the parents' arguing was ceaseless, resulting in the times that they were away being stretched for longer and longer. It grew to a point where, secretly, Leon would wish that they would just leave him alone, that he could just be with Lars and didn't have to worry about his parents anymore. Somebody, somewhere must have been listening because his wish came true. Eventually there came the day that everybody expected; Dad just didn't come home. They waited, called around… Even talked to the police but, of course, that didn't go anywhere. Mom's mental state deteriorated as she scrambled trying to make everything work but when it finally sunk in that he wasn't coming back, she took the easy way out; the traumatizing bang of a gunshot resonating from her room late one evening making it clear that Leon and Lars were now left all alone in this world. Despite his young age Leon's older brother had already begun maturing and he proved it that night. Stories went around about what happened to kids who went to orphanages on this side of town so instead of letting fate decide what would happen to them next, Lars set aside his grief and sprung into action. That very same night he threw together some bags, grabbed his younger sibling by the hand and took him to the streets. He knew they'd be better off this way.
As dreadful as that may all sound, Leon never really considered himself to be a 'miserable' person and, in a twisted way, his 'wish' had come true. Sure he and his brother had to fend for themselves, living off of whatever they could get their hands on, but when he really thought about it never explicitly hated that. Somewhere deep down in his heart boiled resentment for the parents that failed him but that was outshone by the love and respect that he held for Lars. Lars was always the closest person that he had in his life and now they were on their own, fully reliant on each other. This newfound feeling of proximity was all he'd ever wanted. Even at such a young age, Leon's tendencies to lionize those who took responsibility for him was obvious to any outsider looking in.
To say that he idolized was an understatement. Leon was obsessed. Constantly looking up to his older brother and striving to be just like him, spending his days following closely in his footsteps in whatever ways he could. When it finally came time for him to learn the ropes so that he could help out, Leon's passion for impressing Lars was so strong that he forced himself to excel. Intently he focused on his lessons and then rehearsed over and over until it was second nature to him. He'd stay up late days in a row practicing until he'd perfected what he was shown, honing his reflexes and dexterity to a sharpened edge. Given enough motivation, the potential that he had was apparent to anybody who'd seen him in action. It grew to the point where almost anything that could be concealed under a coat was fair game to steal and any fence standing in his way was fair game to hop. The debt that he felt he owed to his older brother could only be repaid by making him proud.
Since they could never keep their hands out of the dirt the two brothers rarely stayed in the same place for very long. Sure there were times when they'd run into an influx of money and would treat themselves to a night in a hotel room, but those were few and far between. It was far more common for them to float from alleyway to alleyway, staying out of sight and living the developmental period of their lives with feet planted firmly on the pavement. That is, until they finally landed what you could call a steady source of income.
Steady it was but honorable it was not, the young wandering chameleon boys got wrapped up in the local gang. Now a city like this housed a plethora of gangs and the one they joined wasn't even close to the largest; but consistent work for consistent pay was a big step for them to take, even if it was particularly nefarious work. Most initiates didn't stay at the grunt level for long but being reptiles in a city of mammals, they didn't get the same opportunities that the others would have gotten. At the bottom rung of the latter they'd be stuck, tasked with the same high-risk low-reward jobs over and over again. Because of the unparalleled nature of Leon's abilities to stay out of sight and escape from sticky situations, more serious crime such as this resonated easily with him. His brother, however, was a different case. He tended to land himself in trouble and unfortunately, this was one of those times.
In the brightly lit lobby of a police station a 24 year old chameleon solemnly resided, plopped down in a hard plastic chair and sighing as he took in the, unfortunately, familiar surroundings. He'd seen the inside of this place too many times for comfort. In fact, he'd spent so much time waiting in this exact same spot that he'd identified each progressive step of wilting on the potted plant left ignored over by the front door. His legs were spread apart with his curled tail resting between them and slowly he sunk down in the seat, three-fingered hands stuffed firmly in his pockets. It wasn't the length of the wait that got to him, it was the embarrassment of being here in the first place.
If felt like an eternity but eventually the door in the back of the station waiting room opened and a big, burly looking ape barged through. He was dressed in a police officer's dark blue uniform and was dragging a familiar face along in tow. Leon immediately snapped to attention, craning his head to see if he could get a better view.
"Alright!" The cop yelled. He turned and fiddled about with the person behind him for a moment before the sound of unclasping handcuffs could be heard. "You're free to go, punk. But I swear to god if I ever see your filthy green ass in here again there won't BE a bail next time. You got that?" He stepped out of the way as he bellowed out his lecture, grabbing the bailee by his shoulder and pushing him out into the lobby. Leon could feel his cold heart racing as his brother's face came into view; a couple nicks and scratches here and there but he seemed to be in one piece.
"Y-yeah, yes sir. I understand. Thank you." Lars spoke timidly, waves of embarrassment crashing over him as he took the abuse directly in front of his younger sibling. Timid as they may be his words seemed satisfactory to the ape, who nodded with a grunt and disappeared back behind the same door he'd come though. As soon as he was sure that they were left alone Leon's tail end shot out of its chair and he excitedly rushed across the room, both of his arms wrapped around his brother's midsection as they collided with a force that caused the pair to stumble.
"You scare the hell out of me, Lars."
"I-I'm sorry Leon." The older sibling's eyes were locked with the white tiles on the floor, sad tail drooping as he recovered his balance.
"If you really were sorry then you'd stop letting them catch you." Leon's embrace grew almost uncomfortably tight as he spoke, a hint of annoyance hidden somewhere behind his actions.
"I know! I know. It's just- it's a streak of bad luck you know? It'll get better, I swear it."
"Yeah it'd better…" The younger chameleon stepped off enough to look his older brother in the face, using a dexterous hand to trace over the boy's new collection of cuts and scratches; Leon silently hoped that none of them would develop into scars. Lars already had enough of those. "Because I don't think we have enough money to get you out again. You… You got roughed up good didn't you?"
"Yeah, I don't really want to talk about that. I'm fine." Eye contact was difficult to make right now, Lars continued to stare at the ground and nervously shuffled his feet against each other. It was clear to him that their sibling roles had changed- now HE felt like the burden. This was the fourth time in the last few months that the police had scooped him up. He was older and as such he knew he had to set a better example than this, after all there was at least one person looking up to him. "I just- I really am sorry okay? This was just a big accident." Leon's head shook, he clicked his tongue soothingly.
"Don't worry about that too much right now, I'm just glad I didn't lose you this time. Are you sure that you're okay? We don't have any cash but I'm sure that Deckard would do us a favor, we can go-"
"No! No, Leon. Forget about me. I'm fine. I just want to get out of here, alright? I want to go home, I'm sick of this place." The two stood in silence as Leon continued to run gentle fingers over the cuts, an equal mix of sadness and familial concern on his face. A moment of this passed before the younger one leaned in and gave his elder sibling a peck on the cheek.
"I'm sick of it too, let's go home."
The walk back that ensued grew both long and tiresome; the station was only about a mile from the apartment complex they rented a room from but the weight of the events over the last 24 hours was weighing on the duo and dragging down each step. Most of whatever they'd managed to put into their nest egg was gone after Lars's last few romps with the police and while Leon was certainly grateful that his only family was still here, it was tough to ignore the long road ahead to recoup their losses. On the other hand the shame that the older chameleon felt was immense; being solely responsible for the dark cloud looming above their heads was a heavy burden to carry on one pair of skinny shoulders. But quiet, shuffling and mopey as they may be, the pair eventually made it back to the place they called home. Right back where they'd started early this very morning; lying side by side in their single bed staring up at the mildew patterns on the ceiling.
The apartment they lived in wasn't much to brag about but after sleeping on the pavement using old newspapers as pillows, they'd learned to appreciate what little blessings they had earned. After all at least they had their own bathroom they could use. Not much furnished the bare, wooden floors outside of their twin-sized bed; they had a dresser they'd found as well as a few other odds and ends here and there but nothing terribly noteworthy. The curtains were almost always drawn shut and the room instead kept lit by a single lamp. Paying the rent in cash, on-time every month was the only way this pair of degenerates were allowed to reside here; with no employment or housing history to their names that was really their only option. Look at the cash reserves now though… This month might demand a bit more leeway.
"…Did you want to talk about anything, Lars?" Leon broke their long standing silence with his inquiry, looking over at his older brother.
"Not really."
"I think we need to talk." Slowly, his dexterous hand crawled up to the sibling's torso and gave him a comforting touch, this subject wouldn't be the easiest to confront. "…You can't get arrested again. You heard what the jailer said."
"He's bluffing."
"Even if he wasn't bluffing we have no money to bail you out. Nothing. We're almost completely dry and goddamnit…" He lowered his voice, words seething for emphasis. "I can't lose you."
"You're not going to lose me Leon! Just- you need to stop worrying about that stuff okay?"
"All I want to suggest, for your safety, is that maybe we should explore other options for you."
"What're you saying?" Leon took a deep breath, this wasn't something he wanted to say but he knew that it was better off just getting out there. His demeanor was timid but words resolute.
"You're old enough now that I was thinking; perhaps we can get you out of the gutters and into a real job, no? One that doesn't involve running from the police every week."
"…So that's what this is about." Lars had an inkling of a thought that this was what this was about but it was still disappointing to hear it confirmed. He let out a big sigh and sat up, pulling Leon's hand off of his lap and resting his chin on his knee. "You just want me to quit." His insecurity was showing. "After everything that we've done here, you just want me to give up on it. I bet you think you're better than me, don't you?" The younger brother didn't have much to say this time, now sheepishly avoiding eye contact. Lars watched for a moment before letting out a scoff. "Your silence says it all."
"I'm just worried for you. You're the only family I-"
"Just stop it Leon! This is weird. I don't care how old we are now you're still my little brother and I'm supposed to be the one who takes care of YOU. Not the other way around. I'm not- I'm not comfortable with this right now." His sharp wits sensing an opportunity to lighten the mood and dodge an impending argument, Leon went in.
"Oh quiet, you know you like it when I take care of you." A sultry uptone in his voice accompanied these words as a smirk formed in the corner of his mouth. He looked back at Lars through the corner of his eye and was delighted to see that he'd caught him completely off guard. Not knowing how to respond the older sibling backed down, slumping his posture and averting his gaze as the green scales on his cheeks flushed in color.
"Hey, I… Just… Not right now."
"I'm teasing you." As the years they'd been together saw them grow emotionally closer, Leon had come to learn another way to compensate his brother for his kindness. Not able to fully get past the taboo Lars was still a tad bit uncomfortable and as such didn't often reciprocate, but he'd also never say no to it either. "Let's save tomorrow's problems for tomorrow's Powalskis then, hmm? Apologies for bringing it up."
"…N-no it's… You're fine." The elder was still flustered but he managed to speak regardless, settling back down into the mattress again. A stressed sounding breath came from between his lips as his curled, prehensile tail gripped the corner of the bedding. "I'm going to make this work... You believe me right?" Leon's smirk turned into a pleasant smile as he heard the sounds of renewed confidence.
"Yessir. I believe you."