ren

▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▒ ▒ ▒ ▒ ▒ ▒ ▒ ▒ ░ ░ ░ ░ 𝙳𝙴𝙲𝚁𝚈𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶... 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙰𝙲𝙲𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙳 ―――

isaac was a boy at the time.

standing five foot six with gold ingrained within the flecks of grey-slit eyes, of his father's, and strands of hair from his mother's. huge in stature as expected of his species, but not about of the growing penchant for holding things close to his ribcage; a dangerous place to keep a double-sided dagger pointed to heart, after all.

but he didn't know that.

what he only knew was the elation he felt for the first time that his belongings were not chastised nor pulled away from his grasp. isaac had been a faithful son and never coveted anything that his father had ―― he couldn't ―― which had been adequate reason for the opportunity he received.

not without sacrifice and compromise, since the task was herculean in terms of training a nulhound after a RETRIEVAL.

perhaps it was that child's striking gold eyes that reflect his own, that isaac felt the desire to possess the wild beast. a hauntingly similar mirror of himself in the exact way that half of his companions assigned to him had been slaughtered by an unknown force of nature. whereas a Retrieval mission only involved the return of missing paraphernalia back to the HQ, an unseen pestilence became a priority when most of his mother's men turned into grinded meat and mismatched bones.

with Fortuna's touch and the satisfying grip of a name in his closed fist, the young serpent makes his first contract with a slave.

” serve me forever, and you'll never starve again, ███████ .”

. . . a foolish plan.

safe to say, it wasn't that isaac was not fearful of the outcome if his calculations were off; he merely accepted the fate to take a risk for the cost of capturing a pet. a property. a person he could call his own;

and, there was not a day that isaac did not play with his new toy. prying its insides open to see how a mutt ticks, after isaac was certain that its heart was already laid on a silver platter, ready for the taking. in every mission, speculations of how the young master tamed and made a guard dog out of a failed experiment create lovely rumors within his personal circle. in every moment of scars traced on skin and open wounds to be bandaged in between them, a passing brush or a lingering stare threatens the equilibrium to tip.

. . . a very foolish plan to keep a friend.

” do you think we'll never know? “ ” of how heads roll whenever you send me to hell? something i'm sure you're supposed to be proud of, old man. “

isaac should've known when his father began to care more than usual. teeth bared when he grinned wickedly, when the old man approached to fix his boy's crooked collar. because erik never cares, unless there was ―

” naive child, you need to learn how to tie up loose ends properly. otherwise, you'll find yourself strangled from the noose you unknowingly made least you expect so. “

. . .

the threat met the end of the barrel of his gun, gold-silver alloy intricately designed into its bullets. open-mouthed, scales lodged in between its teeth fell off; ichor bleeding into rubies when isaac gazed into its eyes for the last time.

there was no traceable recognition. for this creature, isaac was no more than food. for his father, isaac was no more than a weapon.

the pain in his chest intensified even when isaac knew that the venom he injected were far more lethal than the damage those claws caused on his body. his friend, one and only, writhing and whining while it suffered paralysis under the moon it was supposed to thrive on, slowly withering away its fading light.

dropping on his knees, the young snake howls that night.

░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ 𝙰𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙸𝚅𝙸𝙽𝙶 . . . ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░ ░

june 19, 20XX. 12:00 AM. current location: the viper room

red swirls within wine glass

unfortunate it is that he lost luck in resting his mind for longer periods of time throughout the years, and more so when the memories become a blur in the day. never knowing which was real, which was fiction. which was his fears, which was his desires.

though there are some things he simply wish not to remember and yet, the adrenaline rush from combat or the intoxication from the alcohol are not strong enough for that particular moment.

” ... i've always liked raising pets, “ isaac hums nonchalantly towards you, gaze set faraway. nose scrunches at the mention of dogs, distaste immediately evident on his face; an unreadable frown, before laughter follows to mask such repulsion.

” this time, i want to raise a tiger. think you know one? “