And I'm finally back. Like I said, updates will be irregular, but I'm going to try updating more frequently, or perhaps give more substantial updates.
One thing I found interesting from the novels is how (particularly in the Alice in Jails arc) it notes just how much of a constant factor fighting- or just being strong- has been in Firo's life. I wanted to focus on that for this update. The last few have been more introspective than actual story, but expect some action next time around. I'm also experimenting with meshing narrative into a voice closer to the character's, so there will be sentence fragments, run-ons, etc.
Warnings for child abuse and a rather dark thought process
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Birthdays didn't get much of an emphasis in the Prochainezo household. Firo didn't know his mother's birthday, and she never willingly surrendered the information. Firo was content to simply show his appreciation for her whenever it came to mind; perhaps with a sloppy drawing (crayons and paper pilfered from school) or a treat with mysterious origins (though that was rarely met with gratitude).
Firo's birthday would be a little pocket of sweetness in an otherwise bitter time. Celebrated on Sunday, her only day off, Mrs. Prochainezo would take her son out to the movies. For a little while they could be distracted by the wild dreams of the screen.
Much as Firo liked that precious time, it wasn't the most significant thing about birthdays. What made birthdays important was the knowledge that he- though only a day older than yesterday- was growing up. Getting stronger, he hoped, and moving that little step closer to leaving childhood behind.
He hated being a child, and small for his age on top of that. It gave people an excuse to knock you down, ignore you or look down on you.
Children should be seen and not heard. All that meant to Firo was that they could beat you up as everybody ignored your cries for help.
That was fine with him. He'd long since learned that nobody could save you but yourself. And that was why he wanted to grow up so badly; he'd be stronger and bigger and that much better at protecting himself. And others, too, he wouldn't abandon his one family member just because that was how other people got ahead. Firo knew he could support them both. If only he was a little better...
Of course, he couldn't just let people step on him until he was an adult, so Firo devoted his spare moments to becoming stronger despite his scrawniness and youth and other "flaws" people just couldn't wait to pick on him about. He was fast and dexterous, and surprisingly strong for a small kid. Firo could be vicious, too, and he learned to use that whenever the situation required it.
Perhaps schoolyard fights weren't the best place to share the lessons you learned from the school of hard knocks. What Firo classified as self-defense the teachers called "deliberate malice," "sadism," "horrifying," and a bunch of other long words that confused Firo and made his mother angry at him in meetings with teachers and distressed parents.
He couldn't help it, could he? They were asking for it. And there was no way he would find somebody to challenge him who wouldn't paint the pavement with his blood. Nobody wanted to be friends with the overly confrontational kid, and for a while he thought he'd never find luck with a sparring partner.
And one day, he found people who could prove him wrong...
