EVERYDAY LIFE
Everyday life is scary and stressful to Alcide, but there's still a tiny bit of hope. The fear is a natural feeling. How could you not feel fear when everyone around you is filled with hate. The pack despised the guardians because they feared them, or because they blindly followed the pack because they feared them even more than the guardians. No one could leave. If you disagreed with Obscurity she would make sure you payed for it. If you didn’t change you died. Still Alcide’s fear wasn’t all for himself but for his friend Carletta. She possessed a power. He didn’t call it a guardian power because it wasn’t too major, but it was still unnatural. If Obscurity found out Carletta would be hunted down and killed. The same might happen to Alcide if she learned about his betrayal.
The tiny bit of hope is still of Obscurity. Alcide cares about his sister still and wishes to help her like she helped him when he was younger. He wants to change her view on guardians and leave their past with their parents behind them.
THE PAST
Alcide’s past is a blur to him as he was really young when he left his parents. He still remembers a lot more than he would like to. He can remember his parents having a weird pattern with how they treated him and his sister. Sometimes he felt like a normal child, being cared for by his mother and father. Other times he felt like an orphan where his sister was his only protector against the monsters he called his parents.
FIRE
The day of the fire was forever seared into his mind and scares him to this day. Even though just the scent of fire paralyzes him, he still wishes he could know more. Alcide is scared of the unknown and needs know if what his sister did was right, or if he just witnessed the unjustified murder of his parents that day.
I’ll never forget their screams. I had awoke to the smell of smoke stinging my throat and immediately began to search for my parents. They were nowhere to be found. The fire was outside the cave so I went as far back, as far from the heat as possible. I didn't know what to do other than cry. Fairly heard me and picked me up.
We left the cave and I thought we were safe but the nightmare was just beginning. She set me down on the ash coated ground. It was hard to breathe or see but I could see her confronting my parents. Suddenly there was a scream and my mother was dead. I couldn't believe what Fairly did. I didn't understand at the time that she thought my mother caused the fire. Soon after she forced my father into the blaze als. I was shocked, confused, scared, and I just felt sick. She picked me up and took me out of the forest to meet a group. The group was comforting at first, but I would soon come to dislike what they became.
RELATIONSHIPS
Parents
Alcide didn’t know his parents well. They were more of a mystery to him than parents. Sometimes his mother would create fires to keep him warm, and other times shun him and leave him to freeze. Times like that brought him closer to Obscurity.
Obscurity
Fairly is my sister and my dictator but I want to believe she can change. When Obscurity, previously known as Fairly, was young she was like a parent to Alcide. She hunted for him and kept him warm. She defended him when his parents would lash out at him. Obscurity was his protector. But later on the conflict with her parents and the power from the pack changed her. She believes the world would be better if it all went to her plan, and anyone who goes against her is wrong. She needed someone to blame for all the wrong in her life so she pinned it on guardians solely because her mother had fire powers. No one knew if it was her who started the forest fire, but either way their parents still left them. Alcide doesn’t want to dwell on the past. He had for a while being twisted by Obscurity but Carletta saved him. Now she is guiding him toward saving his sister too but it is close to impossible. She believes she is still doing what is best for him.
The ‘Pack’
Alcide despises life in his pack. The others disgust him. They let fear control their lives and Obscurity abuses it to take control. He hears them talk about him, both good and bad. Some see him as a beacon of hope, but its rare to hear this. Anyone who believes that has to be quiet about it. Others hate him because he is related to Obscurity. Some nearly worship him. They fear Obscurity, but in order to feel safer they try to be close to him so Obscurity doesn't hurt them.
No one stands up against Obscurity. She makes sure of it.
“Don’t you dare touch him!” her screech ripped through the air. She Lunged at them, pelt bristled in anger. She attacked them with such hate and fear tears as thick as tar fell from her face. She couldn't control what she was doing anymore. She tore the victim apart piece by piece- only stopping knowing that they where gone from the horrid world. She had stopped and looked to her soaked paws and fur, seeming both confused and proud. I knew at that moment Farley was nearly gone. She made a sound- a horrific screech to the sky. I was terrified. She must have sensed how scared I was. She sighed, “It's ok, they're gone now. We're safe.” She pulled me closer as if she were trying to be comforting and hugged me. I couldn't stop my self from shaking. I couldn't trust her. I didn't know if she would snap and kill me too, but I wouldn't give up on her either.
Carletta/Grapefruit
Grapefruit is a nickname Alcide gave to Carletta. She is the reason Alcide’s thoughts aren’t corrupted and clouded like Obscurity’s. While Alcide was out of the main base training he ran into Carletta. Her power was small, but it was still a power. He saw her press her nose to a trampled flower and it sprang back to life nearly instantly. The act wasn’t destructive or violent, nothing like his sister preached. It was kind, as was Carletta. She became his only friend. He would sneak out saying he was going to train just to meet her. Sometimes they played like visclings, and other times they spoke seriously about the pack and the guardians. Alcide would pass information on plans made by the pack to Carletta in hopes she could warn others.
