ATTENTION: This is one of my few theories on Vaughn's backstory. I'll explain it at the end so you can have a chance to try and figure it out. Yes, Vaughn's wife is Chelsea. And I am aware that Vaughn told Denny he didn't know who his family was. I'll also explain that.
Worn, beaten boots the color of musty chocolate pounded on the forest floor. Trees, who were giving up their leaves in preparation of the harsh winter to come, swayed above him. They beckoned him to scuttle up their trunks and taste the autumn air on his lips, trying to convince him the wind would blow away his troubles.
Except he didn't taste that air. He tasted nothing.
The wind that was begging Vaughn to taste it turned the tables, and flew around him in a gentle whirlwind. The tanned, crackly leaves smacked his face. He pulled his worn, leather cowboy hat over his eyes in defense. He stopped trekking the merciless forest. That didn't seem to stop nature's attack on him, though. The wind left his vicinity and ran throughout the trees, harmlessly scraping the bark of the wooden monsters. The gasing of the wood seemed to resonate in a whistle. A whistle that made a noise so familiar he was sure it was a name. He thought he was mistaken, so he listened again, hard.
VIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAN
His mind was playing tricks on him. The wind seemed to remember that night, it seemed to call out to him with a name that he held dear. A name that represented his past, a name that reminded him of what he would have been if it hadn't been for that kind, blonde woman with the daughter a little bit younger than himself.
Every 19th of Fall, he made his way into the depths of this unforgiving forest. No one ever knew why he left the islands on that particular day, only to return hours later. No one knew of this forest that was endless miles away. Not even his wife. Only one soul besides him knew, the one who had saved him from the forest's abyssal clutch.
VIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAN
He was sure he heard it now. It was all too clear. The wind resonated with a scream of a young boy that had been let out 16 years to the day. Vian.
When he had woken up that morning, he didn't remember the night before. This strange woman, the first human he felt he had met, led him to food. Sweet smelling, warm feeling food in a welcoming, homely kitchen. That little girl looked disgusted at him, as if her mother had pulled him from the nastiest of street scum. He didn't pay her any mind. He didn't pay much attention to the woman, either. His mind was locked on one word.
Vian.
A name. A name which was stuck in his head for no reason. Or was there a reason?
Over the course of that week, he had sought out that name. On that last day of searching, he came across one of the woman's old books, which contained thousands and thousands of names and their meanings. He searched for that name, the spelling the only thing he had to go on.
Then he found it.
"Vian. Vee-ughn. M/F. Origin: English. Meaning: Full of Life."
So it was a unisex English name that meant 'full of life'. Why did it matter so much?
It was then as if a light switch was turned on in Vaughn's brain. The events replayed in his head, details slowly coming into focus.
First, there were two boys, his age, who looked exactly alike. Vaughn could tell one of them was him, but who was the other? Maybe it was this Vian. The names sounded sort of alike. Vaughn and Vian. Vian and Vaughn. Were they brothers? They looked identical enough to be twins. They were twins. Twin brothers on the run. But what would two ten-year-olds run from? Their mom? The mother of those boys... her picture drifted into his mind. Not a loving woman, smiling and holding her sons, laughing and giving affection. A cold, cruel woman, beating them with whatever she could get her hands on. Screaming at them for ruining her life, for ruining her body, and thus, ruining her line of work. She never meant to have them. It started to all come back in waterfalls now.
She had driven them out to this forest and left them to die. She was fed up with them, sick of raising them, and she wanted her life back. Who would care if two boys with silver hair, violet eyes, and an unknown father died in the middle of a forest in autumn? Who would know?
They would.
The two boys were past the learning stages of surviving on their own. That other boy, Vian, said he was going to find them some food, like he did every night since they were left to die. Every morning he would return with something for them to eat. If you could call it that. The two resigned themselves to knowing they would eventually die out here, no path to follow out, and the worn road taken to get here miles away. But that next morning, he never came back. He assumed Vian was late and would be back soon. Afternoon neared, and he was getting worried. When twilight was setting in, he took off in the direction Vian usually went. Ten minutes time took him to that timeless spot. The raggedy, white, blood-stained piece of cloth on the ground that was ripped off of Vian's worn shirt. All night he spent screaming Vian's name, cloth in hand, running around until his legs went past the point of lactic fermentation, and he collapsed. He heard people off in the distance. He remembered thinking that his mother sent these people to come kill him and Vian. But that was not the case. A woman, her daughter, and a few other people were out looking for a dog. Then they found him, took him in, gave him food and a home. He never saw Vian again.
VIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAN
The name was haunting Vaughn now. His breathing got shallow and labored, not because of emotional trauma, but he felt his lungs malfunctioning. This happened every so often. Always on today. Nearly all day, sometimes. He grasped the white bandanna around his neck, and he felt Vian with him. The pressure in his chest lifted, and he began to breathe with ease. He had saved this cloth for 16 years. He had found it on the otherwise barren forest floor and had the woman who saved him fix it up. She cleaned it, sewed up the edges to make it smooth, and worked the gentle fabric until it was sturdy once more. He had worn it around his neck ever since, and whenever he had his breathing problems, he would clutch it and his lungs would accept oxygen once more. It was almost as if Vian was a part of him, their twin connection still strong.
He couldn't help but wonder what actually did happen to Vian. Maybe someone else found and saved him. Maybe their mother found him and took him in as if the past had never happened. Maybe he was ripped apart by a bear. He would probably never know.
All he knew is that his twin brother with whom he shared an abusive past, a horrid week in godforsaken woodland, and life with was still inside of this bandanna, and forever immortal in his locked up heart.
Shadows with eyes were beginning to watch him now. A pair of violet-colored ones seemed to study him more than the others.
"Rest in peace, bro." Vaughn mumbled, his lips barely opening. "Vian." The name was hard to choke out. His chest started to tighten again, and his hand shot up to the white cloth. Except this time, doing so only made the pressure worse. Another presence was in this wood, one Vaughn didn't like. He mouthed his double's name once more, and the pressure let up enough to allow him to run.
So he ran.
Okay, so if you didn't catch it, here's how it went down:
Vaughn had a twin brother named Vian. The two were born to their slut of a mother, who didn't know who their father was. Needless to say she wasn't happy about them coming into her life, and she was abusive. When they were around ten years old(Vaughn is twenty-six in this), she abandoned them in the woods. They managed to stay alive for a week, then Vian disappeared. Vaughn was found by Mirabelle that night, and she took him in and raised him.
I know it sounds like every other whiny-tale, but I figure this is a good spin to explain everything. It would make sense for Vaughn to have a part of him(Vian) missing. Plus, in Sunshine Islands, he says he was abandoned. Plus in my fandom, Mirabelle actually adopted Vaughn, but regardless.
On Denny and Vaughn, what I can think of is Vaughn wouldn't consider his mother actual family considering how she treated him and he wanted to keep Vian a secret part of him.
I hope you liked. Even more, I hope you have some tips for improving. Please R&R! God bless ya ^^
