Troops clad in iron marched past a concrete wall protecting a sturdy two story house from the street. The old, rusty gate swung and squealed from the commotion.

On the outside, the house seemed peaceful and quiet. On the inside, tension brewed between three siblings, two equally unhappy to share the same house, while one recieved the care and the affection of one, while recieving cold gazes from the other.

The siblings names were Ezri, Ailae and Seil.

Seil was the youngest, offspring of Ezri's father and Ailae's mother, while Ezri and Ailae bore no relation to each other, both equally tormented by bitter resentment.

To them, it was seen as a betrayal - their parents moving on from their past partners in less than a year and getting married in one.

Ezri hated how Ailae's mother spoke to him in a slow, condescending tone, and Ailae hated how Ezri's father didn't try to strike up a conversation with her. Seil hated the conflict, and loved both his siblings, though only Ailae loved him back.

Ezri had slipped into bad habits following his fathers abrupt remarriage. He skipped meals and school, picked on his little brother, and in general avoided involvement with any of his family members, including his father.

Ailae dealt with things differently but alike at the same time. She became rebellious, cared for Seil, tormented Ezri to the point of beating him, tried her best to exclude Ezri and his father, not that either of them were eager to participate in family things anyway.

Seil was young and innocent. Despite being thirteen, he held a hopeful ideal that his family was happy. He kept an optimistic mindset, often earning him a sharp retort from Ezri.

Their house was filled with stony silence, except the occasional giggle from Ailae's mother having dinner with Ezri's father.

Today, Ezri was out of the house, in the back alley picking fights. He came back late covered in bruises and with a cut on his lip and blood dribbling from his head.

Ailae's mother quickly rushed to reprimand him, speaking in an awfully clear and loud voice as she said,"Fighting is bad, okay? When you fight, you get hurt, and your mother worries."

"You're not my mother." Ezri grumbled, shifting his feet apprehensively, earning him a sharp flick on his wrist.

"Go upstairs and get yourself cleaned up. Don't come back down until you've had a bath." Ailae's mother exaggerated a sigh. "Parenting is hard, isn't it?"

Ezri slowly walked up the stairs, the floorboards creeking in his presence. Hatred boiled up within him as he stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door. He looked at himself in the mirror, only to punch it in anger. In the reflection, he could see himself - his dark navy hair with a lighter blue streak, his blue eyes… His gentle face contorted in anger.

He hated his eyes. His stupid father's eyes. He wished he looked more like his mother, and all he had from her was his dark hair.

The mirror shattered onto the floor. Blood dripped from his knuckles.

Ezri was still furious. He had to share his eyes with Seil, of all people. The maggot that constantly came back to try win him over. The one he wished had never been born at all.

His skin began to crawl and he clutched his face in anguish. He collapsed onto the floor, scraping his knees on the shattered glass, not that he felt it anyway.

He began to claw at his face, wanting to rip out his eyes right then and there. He gazed into his reflection just as the skin on his face began to tear.

Long claws had grown from his nails and under his eyes were black and blue scales that grew downwards, giving the illusion that his eyes were melting.

The skin on his face was in shambles, long tears flowing down. His ears caught his eyes. They were sharp and elongated, noticeably so, and his hearing had certainly improved.

He stood up shakily, still gazing at himself in the mirror, which had been stained black.

A thin, tufted tail snaked out from his back, and his socks were torn and claws stuck out from small holes.

Clutching the wall to regain his balance, he walked downstairs slowly.

Ailae's mother called from the kitchen. "Are you done with your bath already?"

Ezri replied at the doorway. "No."

Ailae's mother sighed again. "You should listen to your mother. Chop chop, back upstairs with you."

She turned around as Ezri walked into the kitchen. She visibly tensed. Her mouth opened and closed silently, as if she couldn't form words.

Ezri was consumed by anger. He grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter. He held it awkwardly and edged towards Ailae's mother.

She backed away fearfully. Ezri held the knife up and plunged it towards her.

She shrieked and plummeted to the ground, dodging the attack narrowly.

Breathing heavily, Ezri threw the knife at her, hitting her in the stomach. She clutched it, looking up at him with nothing but fear in her eyes.

Ezri tensed again, ready to attack, to hear the clang of iron against iron as the front door burst open. He heard muffled yells as he shakily turned to face them.

Twelve Seirnolean soldiers, each armed with sharp spears, stood in front of the kitchen doorway.

Ezri tried to back away but slid on the blood pooling from his stepmother.

Uttering a silent curse, he struggled to regain his stance, looking up to a spear at his throat.

"You're coming with us, Irregular." The soldier said in a voice muffled by his metal helmet.

Ailae ran through the doorway and immediately began tending to her injured mother, not sparing Ezri a single glance.

The soldiers roughly grabbed Ezri by the shoulders and threw him across the floor, away from the corner.

Ezri began to shiver violently, his tail wrapping around his legs as he held himself upright.

His claws retracted into normal nails as the soldiers held him up to attach a muzzle to him as well as tying his hands in chains and adding weights to his legs.

His heart sank. Why did he do that? What consumed him at that moment?

What a fool he'd been.

His mother would be disappointed.

He slumped, hugging his legs. He felt the tears pooling in his eyes.

"Stand up!" A soldier barked.

The soldiers grabbed him under the arms and forced him to stand. Silent tears dribbled from Ezri's eyes as he gazed at Ailae, tending to her mother with care.

How would he have felt if Ailae had attacked his mother?

His head spun and he began to feel nauseous. He vomited, but the metal gag at his mouth forced him to swallow it again, burning the insides of his throat.

His father dashed inside, holding Seil, who was gripping his head to the point he was pulling his hair out.

Seeing his wife bleeding on the floor, he shot a hateful glance at Ezri, shattering his heart. Seil let out a wail and collapsed to the ground. Ailae left her mother's side and held him, rocking back and forth.

Why exist, when everyone you know wants to see you suffer? He thought, as he blacked out.