Category: Darksiders I & II
Rating: M
Couples: Azrael/Abaddon
Warnings: AU, Disturbing Imagery
Chapter: Prologue
Copyright: Characters & places © By Appropriate Copyright-holder, Plot & OC´s © by me and Foodformind
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The first thing he saw were his siblings leaning over him.
The first thing he heard was his sister cooing to him, her purple hair a fan around her head.
The first thing he felt, his middle brother adjusting the soft furs to cover him better.
The first thing he tasted, the milk he was fed by his eldest brother.
He squeaked happily, reaching up towards the pale-skinned male holding him. The other grinned lightly, offering his finger to the flailing hand.
The first thing he touched was the bony finger, the skin cool to his touch.
"He has a strong grip." The eldest said, tugging playfully on his finger. "He'll be a great warrior when he grows up."
"He'll need to be." The sister whispered, carefully caressing the snow-white hair dusting the little head. "He looks like a little angel."
"We're going to have a field-day keeping him alive, aren't we?" The middle brother muttered, briefly opening the furs to look at the babe his sibling was holding. "The others will so try stuff, won't they?"
"Do not remind me." The eldest growled softly, wrapping the furs around the child again.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Nuh!" He squirmed. "I dun wanna!"
"You have to." His eldest brother held him securely tucked under an arm. "You brought it upon yourself… what with rolling in the mud."
"But… but… they started it!" He increased his squirming when they got dangerously close to the river. "DUN WANNA!"
"Child, you will go into the river, whether you like it or not." The male holding him stated, tucking him back when he nearly escaped. "Also, how will you ever earn your name if you are afraid of water?"
"I is nut scared! Water is cowld!" The child exclaimed, struggling to get out of the death-grip of his sibling. "Lemme go!"
"It's 'I am'…" The elder automatically corrected him. Arriving at the water's edge, he did not stop walking, but headed straight into the current.
"NUH!" The child wailed, before being dunked into the icy water. For good measure he got dunked a couple more times before his brother headed back to shore with him. In one hand, he held a shivering little wet ball.
His teeth clattered like mad and the child could have sworn he did not feel his feet anymore.
Back in their tent, the elder wrapped him in several warm furs and put him beside the cooking-fire.
"Bath?" His sister asked from where she was cooking dinner.
"He rolled in the mud." The eldest answered, nodding lightly as he headed over to his sleeping-roll.
"They started it." The child countered again, burrowing into the warm furs as he still shivered from his impromptu bath. "They teased me cause I looks like angel."
"'I look like an angel'." His eldest brother immediately corrected. "And you should not have started throwing around punches."
The child pouted, nearly disappearing fully in the furs.
"Where's Strife, by the way?" The black-haired male asked. "I have not seen him all day."
"He got called for a raid while you were gone." The female answered, using her dagger to poke the meat. "He said they'd be back in three days."
"But he went last week already." The eldest took out his work, returning to working on the skin. "What is it with Absalom and sending him out?"
His sister merely shrugged.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Here, child." The eldest held out something to him. "For your third winter on this world."
"Oh?" Big blue eyes looked at the offered thing. "Whas it?"
"'What is it'." The elder corrected with a chuckle. "It's a toy I made for you."
The eyes seemed to widen with delight. "Really!?" He reached for it, accepting it. It was a bunny – or rather had been a bunny – stuffed with what felt like straw and two black stones for eyes. "Is so nice! Thank you!"
"'It is'." Came the automatic correction. "I am glad you like it." A bony hand came to rest on the white-haired head, briefly tousling the long tresses. "Take good care of it, yes?"
"I will." The child beamed, hugging it.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Stay nearby, will you?" His middle brother called out, jogging after the child. "You know you're not supposed to leave the camp alone."
"But you is with me." The child countered, giggling while he clutched his bunny. He started running again when the older male nearly reached him. He liked playing with him.
"Not if you keep running away from me." The short-haired male answered, keeping a steady jog after his sibling. "Now come back here!" He broke into a sprint, making the little boy shriek with laughter as he barely missed him.
They toyed around like that for a while, until the little boy collapsed to the ground, giggling even as he tried to catch his breath. His older sibling sat down beside him, poking him.
"Do you yield?" He demanded, lightly tickling the child.
"Never!" The white-haired child squeaked, trying to wriggle away from the tickling fingers. "Stwife, you so silly! I never yields!"
"Little brat." 'Stwife' took to poking him again. "I'll show you butchering my beautiful name!"
"NUH!" The boy shrieked with laughter. After a few poke-filled minutes the elder stopped, allowing him to catch his breath.
"You hear that?" 'Stwife' suddenly asked. Gathering his younger brother in his arms, he swiftly headed towards the sounds there were now filling the silence. It sounded like screams…
"The camp!" The child pointed, one arm clutching his bunny. Several tents were burning!
A series of curses left the elder's mouth. "Listen to me, you gotta…" He turned to his sibling, moving to put him down. Said sibling would never know what he wanted to say: blood splattered him when something pierced the elder.
Steel stopped mere inches in front of his terrified face. His brother groaned, gritting his teeth when whoever wielded the blade twisted it and pulled it back smoothly. He fell, barely missing his little sibling.
"Stwife!" The child wailed, about to run forward when seeing what was in front of him. A big, blue-grey form towered above the fallen male. Light-blue eyes widened in fear and the little boy tried to run. Instead a hand reached out, yanking him back by his long hair. Grabbing the hand that held his hair on instinct, the boy dropped his toy to fall in the rapidly forming pool of blood of his elder sibling.
"Well, you are a cute one." The sharp teeth formed into a grin. "I know exactly what to do with you." He tucked the struggling and screaming child under his arm. "Vulgrim will pay a nice price for you, I am sure."