As if I couldn't add to the grief of this character, there I go and write this story.
Enjoy!
It was the dead of night when a five year old Fisher Tiger was woken from his sleep. The fire had burned down to the coals and the house creaked. It shouldn't have been creaking. Tiger sat up and his thin blanket fell down to his boney knees. He hugged his arms to try and keep himself warm but to no avail.
The noises continued and he tilted his head in confusion. But he already knew why he was up.
His father was up and about.
Spineless. That was what his father was known as in their part of the Fishman District. It's what his only son called him. And that's what he was but it was more than that. Tiger's father was a coward and a liar and a cheat. He borrowed money and bid it away right as he obtained it. He was a man in trawled by drink and drugs. But above all the man was a lowlife coward. He had always been like this, so this time it would be no different.
Fisher was silent as he slid out of the sheets that were his bed. Dirty feet touched the dirty floor but still the father didn't seem to notice his son. He continued to pack up things in a frantic rush of cloth and crumbs. A few moments more and he was rushing right out the door. Tiger grabbed his cloak and flung it over his shoulders as he ran. The cloak was old, filled with holes, a faded blue and tearing at the edges. It had once belonged to his father.
His father threw his sack onto his shoulder and rested it there before other Fishmen approached. The first was a Tiger shark Fishman, a chubby fellow despite being part shark, who wore finer clothing than half the people of the district. He was clearly in charge, the one with deep pockets. The other two were taller in simple rag clothing. Both were thin as twigs but they had muscles built in the right places. The slightly taller one had dark red hair that looked as if it could be blood and the other one had hair that blended in with the shadows of the night. Tiger couldn't tell what kind of Fishmen they were however.
Spineless stopped right in his tracks, knowing he couldn't dare to run at this point. He placed the medium sized bag on the ground and put his webbed hands up, "It's not what it looks lik-"
The short Fishman cut him off, "I don't need nor want to hear your pitiful little excuses. And by the look of things you don't even have one, cur". Fisher, frightened as he was, walked and stood beside his father. He looked from the strange Fishmen to his father wondering who they were and what they could possibly want from him.
"You owe me a good amount of cash and I'm not waiting any longer. If you don't plan to pay in cash I'll have to take back the debt in blood". The short man sneered.
At this point Tiger finally understood what was happening. He may have been a mere child but he was quite clever for his age. He finally knew where- or really from whom- his father got money to pay for his drink. Where the milk and bread that was put on their table came from. It came from this Fishman's money and now was the time to return what had been given. And they didn't even have a penny to spare between the two of them.
His father glanced down at him and looked him in the eyes. He should have said something meaningful or comforting but instead he broke away from his son's gaze and locked eyes with the man and said, "If it is blood you want take the boy". He didn't even look remotely sad and he didn't even regret his harsh words. The same words that struck Tiger in the heart and beat him upside the head with no remorse whatsoever.
However, the three Fishmen only laughed at his father and his words. None of them bothering to even try and reach for the little child. Fisher couldn't move or speak. He wanted this all to be a dream. He knew he was nothing but a disappointment in his father's eyes ever since his mother died. He had nearly died with her. The sickness that took her away from him had nearly taken his life as well. Though he was getting stronger with each passing day. In truth, one day he would be able to take up a weapon and make his old man proud. But here Spineless was ready to let his only child- his only son- die so he could live awhile longer.
The sickening laughter died in the cold air and all was silent once more. "I could take the boy and let his blood run over your shoes. But no- I want you. I am sick and tired of listening to your lies. It is time for you to pay up". The man said this as his two henchmen drew nearer. They pushed the five year old child out of the way. One grabbed the left arm the other grabbed the man's right arm. Tiger's eyes where wide with pure horror. He was going to lose his daddy. He was going to lose the only family in the entire world he had left. And all he could do was stay still on his ass in the dirt and watch.
His father begged and pleaded. He wanted more time. He said he just needed more time. He offered them anything and everything he owned. He tried offering things his son owned. Alas, the cries fell upon deaf ears. A blade was taken from its sheath and the leader held it to the Fishman's neck. A thin line of blood ran down and shimmered in the light of the moon. The begging stopped in an instant. No more words were spoken to Spineless or by him. The little man drew his blade back and in a flash it sunk into the Fishman's flesh. Blood spilled to the ground and fell upon the killer's body. A smile slowly widened across his face and he turned to the child.
He walked the few steps to Fisher Tiger and leaned in close, "That's what happens to cowards who run, cowards who hide, spineless cowards like you". He wiped his bloodied, webbed hands on Tiger's cloak and sauntered down the road. The two other men followed close behind and dragged his father's dead body behind them.
That was the last image Tiger had of his father. A lifeless body kicking up dust and gravel as it was taken away by murderers. That day the young boy swore he wouldn't live to be like his father, a spineless man. He would fight for honor, adventure and for the family he would one day have. He would never let his future brothers see the disappointing things he had seen in his own family.
With those thoughts in his mind, Fisher stood up and shook the dust off his clothes. He made his way to the center of the Fishman District. There would be most of the orphans of the island and their caretakers. They would surely take him in. They would raise him and care for him… or at least give him a roof over his head. There he would come to meet his new family.
But that would come at a later time. As for the time being, he was without anyone to call kin and all alone.
The End.